Brave Homu! Operation Rescue Bronya (Part 1)
“Phew~ I feel much more refreshed now~”
Mei walked out of the restroom holding her stomach. Since eating Kiana's cooking, this was already the fifth time she felt such pain.
“Stop exaggerating. Was the food I made really that bad?”
“You went to the bathroom several times yourself!”
“Well~ it's a specialty dish, it helps with digestion~”
Looking at Kiana's playful smile, Mei could only let out a long sigh. Ever since her dark cuisine was ruined last time, Kiana had an unexpected obsession with cooking.
“...By the way why hasn't Bronya hasn't come out yet? It's been almost an hour.”
“Could it be!?”
“No way!”
Mei glared at Kiana. Although she didn't know what Kiana was implying, she always felt that Kiana wouldn't say anything normal.
Just then, Mei noticed a small figure walking out from the entrance of the restroom stall that Bronya had entered.
“……Isn't that Bronya's plushie!?”
“I think it's called Homu... wait! Since when can that plushie walk on its own!?”
Kiana also noticed. The plushie that Bronya usually held in her arms was walking on two legs just like a human!
“Hey hey, quickly go after Bronya, Homu!”
“Wow! The plushie talked!”
Kiana was startled by the talking plushie, unable to believe her eyes.
“What happened to Bronya?” Mei hurriedly asked.
“She just broke through the restroom wall and left by herself!”
Mei and Kiana quickly followed Homu into the restroom. On the wall near the window, a large gap was clearly visible, its edges cut very smoothly—likely the work of the mecha controlled by Bronya.
“Kiana! Let's chase after her!”
“Hey! Wait! Do you know which way she went? How are we supposed to chase her!”
“Follow me, let me take you there, Homu.”
Homu jumped out through the gap in the wall, pricking up its ears as if sensing Bronya's direction.
“This way, Homu!”
Saying that, Homu ran off into the distance. Though skeptical, Kiana and Mei had no choice but to follow.
“Homu-chan, why did Bronya leave alone?”
Mei asked while following behind Homu. Although Homu kept running, due to its small size, Mei and Kiana could easily keep up at a walking pace.
“After Bronya went into the restroom, she looked very pained, then she seemed to change personality and punched through the wall and ran off, Homu.”
“I see... so it was because of that cooking after all... Kiana, what strange things did you put in there to make it taste like that?”
Mei recalled the taste of that dish again and shuddered all over. As if the weird flavor was back in her mouth, she couldn't help but stick out her tongue.
“Nothing strange, I just mixed strawberry jam, seafood sauce, and chocolate sauce together, then added some cumin powder, a little vinegar, and mustard~”
“……”
“It's fine~ See, we ate it and nothing happened~ Oh! Before Bronya went to the restroom, didn't you give her some strange drink?”
“That was just to help her rinse her mouth because she looked uncomfortable after eating, and Dr. Pepper isn't a strange drink!” Mei retorted.
The two looked at each other and fell silent.
“Both of your foods are weird, okay Homu! It must be a chemical reaction from mixing them, Homu!”
Finally, Homu's voice broke the deadlock.
Mei finally gave up arguing with Kiana—after all, she bore some responsibility too.
However, after a few steps, a swarm of mecha girls suddenly appeared from the sky!
“Wait! Why are there so many mecha girls!?”
“No time to worry about these guys!”
Homu ignored the mecha circling in the sky and kept running into the distance, but the mecha girls gave chase, firing missiles down from the air.
Kiana quickly pulled Mei to take cover in a low-lying area. A fierce explosion sounded behind them, and the heat wave kicked up dust and smoke, forming a considerable storm.
“Homu-chan!”
Mei watched Homu-chan disappear into the flames of the explosion, powerless. Intense artillery fire kept pounding the cover, and the mecha girls closed in. Kiana and Mei gripped their weapons, readying for the impending battle.
“HOMU!!!”
Just then, a roar came from the sky, and a huge figure burst out of the smoke. The mecha girls that had been attacking Kiana and Mei immediately shifted their target and swarmed toward this giant!
“This is... a Homu Gundam!?”
Kiana gazed in awe at the giant yellow robot that looked just like Homu, shouting out a term she must have picked up somewhere, her eyes sparkling with stars.
“HOMU!!!!”
As if responding to Kiana's expectations, the mechanical Homu struck cool poses amid the mecha girls' fire. It raised its arms high and opened its mouth—that had been wearing a creepy smile—and a golden glow gathered inside!
“BOOM!!!”
A powerful beam blasted from the mechanical Homu's mouth! The airborne mecha girls turned into fireworks in an instant, and within seconds, the entire mecha army was reduced to ashes!
The beam gradually faded. The mechanical Homu let out a burp, blowing a big smoke ring from its mouth, then closed its jaws again with a satisfied grin (though it was hard to tell the difference).
Kiana excitedly ran to the foot of the giant Homu robot and hugged its thick cylindrical leg, rubbing against it.
“Wow!!! Amazing!!! This cold metallic touch is irresistible!!!”
“Is this really the same Homu-chan from before...”
Mei looked up at the towering mechanical Homu, when suddenly a small hatch opened on its chest, and Homu-chan popped out, waving its little hand as if signaling something.
The mechanical Homu lowered its arm to the ground. Lacking hands, Homu-chan gestured for Mei and Kiana to sit on the robot's arm. Then the mechanical Homu lifted its arm, presenting them with a broad view.
“This is...”
In the distance, a massive floating fortress came into view. Its main body was spherical, with two large drills attached to the sides, making it look from afar like Bronya with her twin drill pigtails. Dense swarms of mecha girls emerging from the sphere's center surrounded the fortress like a beehive!
“Let's go! Homu-chan! Bronya must be over there!”
“HOMU!!”
At Mei's command, the mechanical Homu roared and strode forward toward the fortress. The enemy mecha girls also prepared and swarmed in, the tide of war about to crash!
“Can you not make it so thrilling every single time!!!!”
Brave Homu! Operation Rescue Bronya (Part 2)
“Kiana! The port side barrage is too thin!!”
“That's because there are just too many mecha girls!!”
Kiana raised her gatling gun and fired at the airborne mecha girls, sparks of explosions tracing a golden line across the sky!
The mechanical Homu was besieged from all sides in the hail of gunfire. It opened its mouth again and blasted a hole with its Homu Beam, but the gap was immediately filled by more mecha girls...
“This is endless! Homu, do you have any area-of-effect weapons!?”
“Roger, Homu! All ammunition loaded, Homu!”
A series of rumbles sounded from within the mechanical Homu, dull thuds echoing inside. It slowly opened the panels fixed on various parts of its body, revealing gun muzzles from beneath!
“Fire, Homu!”
The mechanical Homu fired all its guns at once, a deafening roar resounding across the heavens. Countless shells and rockets surged toward the target like a tidal wave, brilliant explosions and flames lighting up the entire sky, even outshining the sun.
Finally, the explosions and fire gradually faded, and the wreckage of the mecha girls rained down like a storm. The sky was now a pristine blue, the clouds evaporated by the heat of the blasts.
The distant fortress, stripped of its mecha defenders, hung alone in the air. The mechanical Homu took heavy steps toward it.
Just then, the large drills on both sides of the fortress suddenly activated and rotated 90°, charging straight at the mechanical Homu!
The mechanical Homu hastily raised its arms to block the drills. A harsh screech accompanied by sparks shot out, as if the very air was about to ignite!
“Look over there, it's Bronya!”
Kiana looked in the direction Mei pointed, and there stood Bronya atop the fortress.
“Nyahaha~ Big sisters, have you come to play with me?”
Bronya, who usually had no expression, now had her lips curled like a mischievous kitten.
“Bronya, wake up! You just have a stomachache! Please go back to your usual emotionless self!” Mei shouted at Bronya, trying to call her back to her senses.
“I don't want to! I want to stay cute like this forever! If you want to stop me, you'll have to defeat me!”
“Looks like we have to resort to force. Mei, let's go!”
Kiana leaped onto the outer wall of the fortress and charged at Bronya, swinging her bat. But Bronya simply slid back and sidestepped, easily evading Kiana's attack.
Kiana spun around and attacked again, but before her bat could connect, Bronya calmly dodged and with a backhand sent Kiana flying several meters.
“Ugh! She's amazing... This is completely unlike the Bronya I know...”
“Heh~ Is that all you've got, Kiana~ How disappointing~”
Bronya looked down at Kiana kneeling on the ground with a contemptuous smile.
“Tch!”
Kiana stood up, picked up her bat, and charged at Bronya again.
While Bronya and Kiana fought, the battle between the mechanical Homu and the fortress continued, the clash of drills and iron fists deafening.
Mei watched the intense fight with hesitation. Then an idea struck her—she pulled a bag of candy from her pocket and tossed it toward Bronya.
If Bronya ate the candy, maybe she would break free from Kiana's evil cooking. Even if it didn't work, the candy could be used to persuade her!
As Mei had hoped, the candy caught Bronya's attention. Bronya wagged her tail and pounced toward the bag like a kitten!
“Mei's candy is mine!!!”
Just as Bronya was about to reach the bag, Kiana suddenly darted in and snatched it with her mouth, snatching it away!
“Kiana, you idiot!! What are you doing!!!!”
Kiana landed gracefully and spun around, flashing a triumphant smile as if to counter the humiliation she had just suffered!
While Kiana was reveling in her candy victory, an enraged Bronya had already summoned her mecha behind her, its shoulder cannon aimed straight at Kiana!
“Oh no! Kiana, dodge!”
BOOM!!!
As Mei spoke, the laser cannon fired, and Kiana was instantly engulfed in the explosion...
“Ki... ana...”
Mei stared blankly at where Kiana had been. As the smoke cleared, she smiled again, because Kiana was standing not far away, completely unharmed.
Kiana was holding Homu in her arms. Its bright yellow fur was now scorched black from the blast.
Mei's smile froze. The area below Homu's stomach was also burned away, cotton seeping out with small embers...
“Homu!? Why did you protect me...”
“Ugh... I can only help you this far, Homu... You must save Bronya and bring her back to her old self...”
“Homu! Don't die!”
Kiana hugged Homu tightly. At that moment, Homu-chan in her arms used its last strength to reach its hand toward Bronya...
“I have no regrets in my life... Homu...”
“HOMU!!!!”
...
Mei couldn't help but cry at this heroic scene, tears blurring her eyes. When she slowly opened them, she found Bronya sitting quietly beside her, holding Homu.
“Big sister, finally awake?”
Still expressionless, the Bronya before her was undoubtedly the emotionless girl she knew. Mei propped herself up and sat up, feeling her body as heavy as lead.
“Ugh... my head hurts, feels like I slept for a long time, my whole body aches...”
“You two have been unconscious ever since we ate dinner yesterday... Bronya was very worried.”
“Bronya... are you okay! Thank goodness, did you finally return to normal?”
Mei hugged Bronya and checked her all over for any abnormalities.
While feeling Mei's touch on her body, Bronya replied: “...Bronya doesn't understand what you mean. Turn back?”
“Alright, so it was just a dream... Where's Kiana?”
Mei turned and saw Kiana lying beside her. “It seems Kiana will need some more time to wake up.”
“Mm... same here...”
Mei sighed. At this moment, the unconscious Kiana seemed to be in the middle of a fierce battle, beads of sweat on her cheeks, mumbling something...
“Homu... I will avenge you... Take this, Bronya... This strike contains my very soul...”
