Author's Note - It's been a while since i did a Gurren Lagann story, and this one made me smile so i thought i'd share it. It can be counted as a companion to my previous story, Viral the Storyteller, but you need not read the other to understand this one. It is 100% stand alone.

Let Me See You Grit Those Teeth!

"Lazenhei Bachika, you have failed your exam and will not be accepted into the academy." The announcement, cold and formal from the soldier behind the low wall left him feeling empty and broken.

He turned away and made his way back home in a daze. How could he have failed? He had studied day and night. He had practiced until he could not stand time and time again. He had devoted his life to this... And now? It didn't matter. He had screwed up. All the studying and practice in the world had not prepared him for the exam.

He had been doing well, he thought. He'd out preformed his peers with flying colors for the first half. He'd been the first one done with the written section, and he was confident he had excelled at it. He had beaten every challenge in the practical section, even taking time to help some of his struggling classmates through the worst of the obstacles.

But then it has come time for the special evaluation. No one knew what it measured, but everyone knew that if you failed it, there was no hope for you. If you had the natural talent to pass that postion, you could always study or train more, but if you didn't pass the final test, you should give up and find a new line of work.

Blinking in surprise, he realized he was home. Had he really been walking for that long? So it would seem. He stepped through the door, barely noticing the anticipation of his parents as they waited to see how he had done. His empty expression and sluggish pace told them all they needed to know. Without a word to them, he went straight through to the back door and out into the yard, intent on isolating himself from their disappointment for a few more hours.

Inside, his mother sighed and turned to her husband. Kiyal weighed her options and made a decision. "Simon's not here, so you'll have to do it, you know." She said sadly. She generally disapproved of some of the more barbaric traditions of the men in her life, but she could not deny that there was no better cure for this situation.

Viral nodded his understanding and then opened the back door, following his son out into the night. He immediately saw the dark silhouette of the boy's back against the sky, sitting on a swing they had set up a decade before. As he drew closer, his son tilted his head slightly. He probably heard his father approaching. It had been a lot of years since he had any good practice with stealth. He'd have to sharpen up again.

Lazenhei turned slightly, reluctantly looking up to his father's face, disgusted with himself and fearing the disappointment he expected to see there. Instead, his father looked understanding and maybe a little hesitant. That was good. At least he would not be disowned for dishonoring his father's good name.

"Lazenhei, it was the final test, wasn't it?"

"Yes, father." The boy felt dispair hit him again. It was that obvious? Had his father known all along that he didn't have what it takes to be a soldier? After all, he had helped develop the exam. He would know better than anyone if someone could pass it.

"What were you thinking when you took it?"

"I wanted to be like you! It's been my dream since I could understand what it meant... Is that so wrong?"

"That's not what I meant." Viral shook his head even though his son was facing away from him again. "I mean, what specifically was going through your mind when you took the final test?"

"I don't know... I was... Scared I would fail. Worried about what was coming. I had no idea what to expect. I had prepared for everything else, but I couldn't prepare for that. I was nervous."

"And that's the problem. You have to face the last test with absolute confidence in yourself. You have to believe in yourself. Let them see your fighting spirit, and you'll pass easily." Viral said calmly, patting his son's shoulder.

"How? I'm sent into a room to take a test I don't know anything about to determine whether I will become a soldier or not! They hold all the cards, and all I can do is accept their decision! It's impossible!" Lazenhei said angrily, almost shouting.

"Impossible? Kick out logic and do the impossible! That's what it means to be a real soldier! If you make it in, you'll have plenty of time to follow orders and follow plans. During that test, you forget them. They have no power. It's all you. Don't think about the past or future, just think about that moment and the next, and move forward." Viral could still remember Simon shouting similar words at him years before, when he had become the first Beast Man to develop spiral power. He also remembered what came next.

"I can't do it! I failed! Everyone knows that if you fail the final test, your done!" Lazenhei stood up and turned to face his father, tears beginning to stream down his face. He barely had time for his eyes to widen.

"LET ME SEE YOU GRIT THOSE TEETH!" Viral shouted, grinning wildly and swinging with the full strength of a seasoned spiral warrior. His fist landed on his son's cheek, spinning him completely around before the boy blinked in surprise and fell backward.

"W-what?" He stared up blankly, beyond confused. His father had never hit him outside of training, and he got the feeling this was no exception. He rubbed his jaw and blinked again.

"Think! You've studied history! What does it mean to be a spiral warrior? What does it mean to be a spiral life form?! What is spiral power made of?" Viral demanded, fist already pulled back and ready to knock more sense into the boy.

"Its... Fighting spirit. But it's more than that. It's the spiral. The double helix. Turning, and always moving onward. Always becoming something new, moment to moment. It's about... Rising above yourself!" Lazenhei said, understanding beginning to register in his mind.

"Exactly! Everyone fails the final test the first time. That's how they decide who has what it takes to be a spiral warrior! The people who can fall, get up, and try again, time and time again! It doesn't matter if you fail a hundred times or a thousand times, you'll never pass if you don't try again! Spiral on. Get up, and move forward, got it?" Viral let his fist fall to his side and then offered a hand to his son, pulling him to his feet.

"I understand. I'll be back at the academy tomorrow. And the next day and the next until I can pass that test!" Lazenhei grinned.

"That's what I wanted to hear! I'm proud of you. Now, don't let those you care about fall. If they ever give up hope, you know what you've got to do. Kamina did that for Simon, and Simon did that for me. Pass it on when you meet someone who needs their point of view adjusted." Viral laughed and walked back toward the house.

The next day, Lazenhei retook his exam. When he reached the final test, he didn't have a doubt. It didn't matter that he would take the test every day until the end of time if he had to. It didn't matter if it was impossible to pass the test. He was the son of Viral. He was a spiral warrior at heart, and he would never falter again. He grabbed the core drill with a confident grin on his face, and when he twisted it, the spiral just kept spinning outward with power. He passed his exam on his second try.

He would never know that only Simon and his father had ever passed the exam with less than five attempts before him.

Review? Please?