Chapter I

Hello all! Yes, I know, another new story. This one, The Endless War, features Alister Manase as the lead character yet again. This time it is focused primarily on more of the giant robot anime like Gundam and Super Robot Wars. As usual it is a harem story with lemons likely to come some time in the near future. Let me know what you think of the story with a review, and I would also like to extend my thanks to Bakuto Masaki for his ever-present help in such stories.

A young man with short, messy brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a fair skin tone wearing a plain white t-shirt, blue jeans, a black wristwatch, and dark grey sneakers sighed as he walked down the street of a small town. "Damn… why is it always so hard to find work…? None of this will get me any money. And I'm so hungry…" he moaned as his stomach growled.

"Hey!" a voice shouted desperately. "Let go!"

The man's attention was drawn to the side where he saw a beautiful woman with long, waist-length, dark blue hair tied back in a long ponytail, her bangs framing her face and falling just above her very generous bosom, wearing dark pink lipstick, a tight, yellow sweater with vertical stripes and very form-fitting jeans, however, he then noticed a masked man pulling on her purse.

"I said hands off!" she urged angrily.

"Just hand it over, lady!" the man growled before pulling a knife from his pocket.

"Hey!" the brunette shouted before rushing over, swiping a chop at the assailant's hand, knocking the blade from his grip, before pulling his arms behind him in an arm lock and slamming him against the wall. "Not so tough now, are we?"

The assailing man paled in fear.

"Now, I'll give you two choices. Get the hell out of my sight or I break your arms and leave your corpse for the cops to get."

"Okay, okay! I'll leave!" the man shrieked as he paled further before sprinting away.

The woman sighed in relief. "Thank you for that, though I assure you I had him on the ropes."

"Right…" the brunette answered, unconvinced. "By the way, I'm Alister Manase."

The woman nodded before bowing slightly. "Rinko Iori."

Alister was interrupted from speaking another word as his stomach growled loudly.

"O – Oh my," Rinko remarked with a surprised blush.

"Sorry 'bout that, I haven't had much to eat today," Alister apologized as Rinko smiled confidently.

"Then please, let me repay you with a meal."

"… Thanks."

Shortly later, Alister and Rinko stood in front of a small building with a sign atop the front.

"Iori Hobby Shop… what's that?"

Rinko smirked and replied, "Exactly what it says. A shop that sells models of Mobile Suits and other such things. Now, come on in."

As they walked in, a young boy with short blue hair bowed. "Welcome to – Mom!" he stopped and exclaimed excitedly as he saw her before seeing Alister.

Rinko smiled and waved. "I'm home, Sei."

The boy, Sei, looked at Alister in thought. "Who's this?"

Alister waved lazily. "Name's Alister Manase."

"Ah, nice to meet you, I'm Sei Iori."

"Right. So…" Alister noted before seeing a small plastic model of a blue, humanoid robot with a whip coming from its forearm. "What's with these MS models, like this Gouf?"

Sei's eyes lit up with excitement. "They're models based on the mecha used by the various governments and from the series Armored Core!"

Alister blinked curiously as he looked at the excited boy. "Armored… Core?"

"Yep!" he exclaimed before picking up a similarly sized model of a white robot with multiple weapons on its back. "A series of video games where you build and battle mecha against other players! Like this Hogire!"

"… I… see…?"

Rinko giggled lightly in amusement before patting Alister's shoulder. "Please forgive him, he gets rather excited about these things."

Sei pouted in rejection. "Mmoomm…! They're not things!"

"Right, right. Now, Alister here will be joining us for dinner."

Sei raised his eyebrows in thought as he looked at Alister. "Really?"

"Yep!"

Alister looked around the simple building curiously before walking through the door behind the counter to their living area. "This is a pretty nice little house."

"Why thank you. My… ex originally bought it," she explained with a small wince. "Anyway, how does vegetable stir-fry sound?"

"Mmoomm…!" Sei pouted. "Again?"

Rinko smirked playfully. "Aren't you the one who said my stir-fry is the best?"

Alister scratched his head in thought. "I usually eat meat but I guess I could try this… vegetable stir-fry."

"Then stir-fry it is!" Rinko cheered with a smile.

Some time later, Alister, Rinko, and Sei sat around a plain wooden table, the pot of stir-fry sat in the center.

Alister sniffed the steam rising from the meal. "Smells good. Wonder how it tastes." Sating his curiosity, Alister took a spoonful before blinking in surprise. "It's good."

Rinko smiled with a small blush. "Why thank you."

"You're welcome, beautiful."

Sei stared at Alister incredulously.

"Huh? What's up?"

"Nothing," Sei huffed before beginning to eat.

"Okay…?"

"So, do you have a place to stay, Alister?" Rinko asked.

Alister shook his head in denial. "No, I don't. I was planning on getting a hotel room."

"I don't think you'll have much luck. Due to the tournament coming up almost all of the hotels are completely booked."

"Tournament?"

"Yep!" Sei cheered. "The Burning PT Regional Tournament!"

"And that is…?"

Sei gaped slightly. "You don't know?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I did."

"People build and customize MS models and then put them in a machine that controls their movement."

"I see…"

"The world championship's grand prize is the World Champ trophy! Oh, and I think like ten million yen."

"I'm in," Alister immediately asserted.

"H – Huh?"

"I want in this tournament."

Sei looked at him surprised and confused. "Have you ever played before?"

"Can't be that hard."

Sei frowned before a new, shrill voice shrieked, "Iori!" causing him to stiffen in fear.

Rinko tilted her head in confusion. "A customer at this hour? I'm certain I put up the closed sign."

"It might not be," Alister remarked as he stood.

Making their way to the front of the store, the three saw a boy Sei's age with short brown hair in a bowl cut.

"Sazaki…" Sei grumbled.

Sazaki smirked and pointed at Sei. "Today's the day, Iori! You're going to give me that model for the Burning PT!"

Sei stiffened and then gulped. "… N – No… I won't give it to you."

"And why not!?" the boy snarled.

Sei lurched back slightly. "B – Because…" he stammered looking for an excuse before his eyes landed on Alister. "B – Because I already have a pilot for it."

"Huh!?" Sazaki growled before looking at Alister. "… Him!? He doesn't even look like he knows the first thing about piloting a PT!"

Alister twitched an eyebrow at the brat. "Has anyone ever told you not to miss a good chance to shut up?"

Sazaki gaped in disbelief. "Why you…! Alright, prove it! Face me!"

"If you want a spanking that badly, brat."

Rinko led the group to a room in the back of the shop, with a set of four, tall, hexagonal platforms grouped together.

"This is the Burning Personal Trooper, or BPT, system," Rinko explained.

Sazaki smirked before holding up a model of a grey and purple humanoid robot with a red shield and a single pink eye. "My perfect Gyan!"

Sei walked up to Alister and handed him a red and white model of a humanoid robot with three pillars on each forearm. "Here, you can use this. I call it the Gespenst Mk-II Type-SA."

Alister grinned excitedly. "Nice custom unit."

Sazaki huffed in derision. "Heh. But with an amateur like you behind it, it won't get through much."

"You really need to stop talking," Alister threatened as he and Sazaki stood on opposite ends of the machine.

"Set your PT Base," a computerized voice ordered before Alister and Sazaki set their models on small platforms.

Suddenly, a holographic array formed around Alister, with a control panel and two glowing orbs in front of him. Putting his hands on the spheres, Alister looked around the virtual cockpit in thought. "Hm… this is really similar to the real thing."

"Match, start."

At that moment, inside of a virtually constructed desert wasteland, the Gyan and Gespenst launched from rails, surging through the air into the vast emptiness.

"Hm… this should be quick," Alister commented as he looked through the virtual cockpit. "Hm… six beam sabers, a single rifle, missile pods, and the chest cannon." He smirked as he equipped the rifle before looking ahead.

"Here it comes!" Sazaki chortled before shooting a barrage of rockets from his shield.

"Fool," Alister chided before shooting the rocket in the center of the group, causing a chain of explosions that destroyed the rest. He then immediately aimed his rifle down and fired a series of shots.

"Crap!" Sazaki growled, having dove below Alister, before he dashed back, narrowly avoiding Alister's shots.

Alister quickly realigned his aim and fired, hitting Gyan's shoulder joint, knocking it off balance, before charging forward, the three beam saber handles on the left forearm beginning to vibrate and glow.

Sazaki paled and attempted to raise his shield to defend himself, but the arm went limp as the shoulder sparked. "H – Huh!?"

"Too bad, kid," Alister remarked coldly before jamming the glowing pillars into the Gyan's torso. "But you lose. Jet Magnum!" A sudden blast of energy discharged from the pillars into the Gyan before Alister dodged away as it exploded violently.

"Wh – Whoa…" Sei gasped as he watched the battle alongside Rinko.

Sazaki stumbled back, trembling in disbelief. "Wh – What… what the hell just happened…?"

"You bored me," Alister retorted as he began to walk away.

Sazaki picked up the remnants of his Gyan and growled angrily. "Y – You cheated! Yeah, that's it! You cheated!"

"No, you just suck. You didn't stand a chance against me from the beginning. So own up to your lack of skill and go."

"Ggrr… I'll be back!" Sazaki hissed before stomping out of the building.

Sei's eyes lit up with excitement. "That was so cool! How'd you do that!?"

"Do what?" Alister asked with mild confusion.

"You were so skilled and perfect with that PT!"

Alister raised an eyebrow in thought before pulling his wallet from his pocket. "That's probably because I'm an actual Federation pilot."

"Wh – Whoa…" Sei gasped. "So… the pilot of my PT is… an actual MS pilot!?"

Rinko smiled warmly as Sei cheered excitedly.

The next morning, Sei waved happily before running out the door.

Alister, sitting at the dining room table, raised an eyebrow curiously. "School?"

"Naturally," Rinko answered with a smile as she cleaned some of the plates.

"Huh…" he hummed with a frown.

"Something wrong?"

"Huh? No, it's nothing."

Rinko frowned slightly in concern. "Ah. Well, I can't thank you enough."

"For what, beautiful?" Alister asked in surprise.

"Sei hasn't been so excited and happy like that in over a year."

"Ah…"

"Not since I split up with his father." Rinko then glanced to the side at a small box wrapped in cloth. "Oh dear, Sei forgot his lunch."

Alister looked over at the box and then picked it up. "I'll get it to him."

"Um, it won't be that –" Rinko began to clarify as Alister left. "And he's gone…"

Alister looked around curiously as he jumped from the roof of one building to another. "Hm… so where is it…? … Damn, should have asked for directions." As he leapt, however, he noticed a large, multi-story building sticking out atop the others. "Hm… maybe?" He quickly leapt towards the building and then noticed the number of students walking about the place. "Guess this is the place."

The various students watched with confusion as he nonchalantly walked in through the gate and looked around.

Alister frowned as he looked around. "Hm… I should have asked her which room he's in."

"Hey!" a new, gravelly voice growled loudly.

Alister ignored the voice, continuing to look around before a fist grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't ignore me!" a young man with thick sideburns growled.

Alister instantly reacted, ducking down before sweeping the man's legs out from under him.

"Gah!" the man growled as the students gasped in shock.

"H – He just took out Gonda…" another of the students gasped in awe.

Alister blinked curiously. "Gonda?" he muttered before looking at the man on the floor. "You mean the gorilla? Huh. Weird name to give a gorilla."

Gonda stood with a growl. "I'm not a gorilla dammit! I'm Monta Gonda! Vice president of the student council and model-building club! Outsiders aren't allowed in the school without permission, so identify yourself and your reason for coming here!"

In one of the rooms above the main area, several students gathered at the windows to watch the conflict going on below.

One of the students gasped, "Holy cow! There's a guy picking a fight with Gonda out there!"

Sei, sitting nearby, blinked curiously. "Seriously? Who'd be crazy enough to do that?" Sei then approached the window and watched Alister knock Gonda onto his back. He paled before running out of the room.

"I – Iori!" a young girl with short, chin-length, dark brown hair, her bangs swept to the sides above her light brown eyes, wearing red half-frame glasses, a blue blazer, dark blue skirt, and brown shoes, gasped before following after him.

"Gorilla, move," Alister snapped, causing Gonda to snarl angrily.

"Not until you answer my questions, or I'll have you thrown out!" he bellowed.

"I guess I'll move you myself then," Alister threatened before moving towards Gonda when the two were distracted by a desperate shout.

"Wwaaiitt!" Sei hollered as he ran towards the conflict.

"Huh? Oh there you are."

Sei stopped just ahead of Alister, huffing with exhaustion. "Wh – What… what the heck are you doing!?"

Alister held up the wrapped lunchbox. "Rinko said you forgot this."

Sei stiffened before turning red. "… O – Oh… th – thanks…"

Gonda huffed in annoyance. "So, are you –?" he began to ask, stopping when he noticed a pouch hanging off Sei's belt. "Iori!"

"Huh?"

"What is that?" Gonda demanded, pointing at the pouch.

"U – Uh, nothing…"

His eyes narrowed before he took the pouch forcefully and saw the Gespenst model inside. "I believe the rules are clear that only members of the Model-Building Club are allowed to bring PT models to school."

Alister frowned suspiciously.

Sei stiffened. "B - But, you only allow Second and Third Year students into the club!"

"No excuses!" Gonda snarled.

"Doesn't sound like an excuse, gorilla," Alister grumbled.

"I thought your business was done here? Leave."

"Give Sei back his model and I will."

"He's not allowed to have it in school. When the day's out he can have it back."

"How 'bout no? Because I don't trust you not to mess with it, gorilla."

"Why you…!"

"Now, if you won't give it to Sei, give it to me. Otherwise I'll take it and your hand. Understood, gorilla?"

"My name is Monta Gonda!"

"Are you going to give it to me or not?"

"No, now leave."

"Don't say I didn't give you a choice," Alister threatened before raising his fists.

"D – Don't!" Sei shrieked as he stepped in between them.

Gonda smirked and retorted, "Want to fight, do you? So be it, though I'd rather not embarrass you with a fist fight."

The others all gaped at Gonda. 'You embarrass him?' they thought in unified disbelief.

"Then what do you propose, ape face?" Alister retorted.

Gonda growled as a vein popped on his head before he pulled out a round, yellow model. "Burning PT match against my Sumo!"

"Fine," Alister huffed before grabbing the Gespenst from him. "Let's get this over with."

The group made their way to the school's auditorium where Alister saw an arena similar to the one in Rinko's shop but many times larger. "That's a big arena."

The brown-haired girl explained, "The student council president, Tatsuya Yuuki, his father is a big contributor to the school and donated the arena."

Alister looked at the girl. "Oh? And who are you?"

The girl blinked before bowing. "China Kousaka."

"You make me sound like some spoiled rich kid," a voice remarked.

Alister glanced to the side and saw a young man with chin-length, wavy brown hair and green eyes, he then flinched when the numerous girls in the room, except China, shrieked excitedly.

"Yuuki-Senpai!" they all shrieked.

Alister sighed a bead of sweat fell down his cheek in exasperation. 'Guess these are those… fangirls Excellen warned me of.'

China sighed in annoyance. "Geez, why do they always go crazy when he shows up?"

Tatsuya turned his attention to Alister and asked, "So you'll be fighting Gonda, then?"

Alister shrugged dismissively. "The gorilla won't listen so I'm going to have to tear his tin can apart here."

Tatsuya nodded in understanding. "Ah. Well, good luck, Manase."

Alister waved as he walked away. "Right." 'Wait, did I tell him my name?'

Before he could speak his question aloud, the system's computer announced, "Set your PT Base."

Alister put the model down on a small pedestal in front of him, as did Gonda.

The computer then announced, "Initiating Plavsky Particle dispersion," before holographic displays formed around the two and the arena.

Alister took a breath and put his hands on the glowing orbs in front of him. "Now then… let's get started."

"Battle start."

Both models launched into the air, launching over a replication of a deserted city.

Alister grinned as he readied the Gespenst. "Time to hunt." He immediately rushed forward before leaping into the air, opening the missile pods on the mech's back, and spun around, sending a barrage of rockets in all directions.

China gasped in disbelief as she watched the battle. "Is he crazy? Won't he get spotted up there?"

"I don't know…" Sei muttered in confusion.

"Fool!" Gonda howled as he fired beams up at Alister.

Alister smirked and leapt down, firing at the ground, sending a cloud of smoke into the air.

"Huh?" Gonda muttered in confusion.

Alister rushed from the smoke and emerged behind Gonda and thrust a beam saber at the man's golden mech.

Gonda growled and dashed to the side, his Sumo gaining a large gash on one side but the blade narrowly missing the cockpit. "Why you…!"

Alister huffed and then swung his blade with force, slicing Gonda's machine in half. "Too easy." However, Alister's mech was suddenly hit from behind by an explosion. "Huh?" he mumbled before turning to see a dark red machine with multiple rocket pods on its body. "A red Zaku?"

A familiar voice announced, "This is my Zaku Amazing," before more rockets fired.

"Yuuki?" Alister hummed before raising his rifle and firing, Tatsuya easily dashing to the side, firing his Zaku's machine gun. Alister jumped to the side, dodging the shots. 'Interesting. This one has some actual skill.'

Tatsuya rolled to the side as Alister fired several more shots before kicking off a building and charging at Alister.

Alister grinned excitedly and drew a beam saber with his other arm and charged when Tatsuya circled around him. Alister kicked back at him, however Tatsuya caught his foot and slammed his machine against a building. Alister grinned widely. "You're good. Definitely much better than the gorilla." He grabbed the Zaku Amazing by the head and dashed up into the air.

"You're pretty good to, Manase," Tatsuya retorted before kicking away from Alister and fired a rocket, destroying most of the Gespenst's right arm.

Alister's grin widened. "True. I guess it's time I took you seriously." He then suddenly grabbed his dropped rifle out of midair and fired multiple rockets at Tatsuya as he spun around, backhanding the Zaku Amazing with his Jet Magnum. Alister ducked to the side as Tatsuya punched at him before throwing his rifle at Tatsuya.

"Tch!" Tatsuya hissed as he knocked the rifle aside, only to see Alister eject one of his beam sabers, grab it out of midair, and then deftly slice the Zaku Amazing in half.

The crowd gathered in the room stood in awed silence as Alister merely laughed with excitement. "Now that was fun!"

Tatsuya sighed before smirking as the holographic displays vanished. "Yes, it certainly was."

Gonda gaped in disbelief. "H – H – He beat… president Yuuki…?"

Tatsuya's fangirls in the room had nothing to say.

"Wh – Whoa…" Sei muttered in shock.

"That was awesome…" a young man with short, spiked brown hair and brown eyes, wearing the same uniform as Tatsuya, gaped.

Next to him, a girl with short, curled blue hair, her parted fringe stopping just above her azure eyes, wearing a similar uniform to China, the blouse hugging tighter against her moderate bust, nodded slowly in agreement. "Y – Yeah…"

Alister smirked as he walked up to Tetsuya and shook his hand. "Thanks for giving me an interesting fight after the letdown of one the gorilla was."

Tatsuya nodded in understanding, chuckling lightly at Gonda's angry growls. "Same to you. Will you be in the Burning PT tournament?"

"Yes. Should be an entertaining way to gain a lot of money."

"Then I hope to face you at your best there," Tatsuya replied before walking away.

Alister sighed and then rubbed his throat in discomfort. "… I'm thirsty."

"I have some drinks you can try," the blue-haired girl greeted.

Alister turned to the girl in thought before smirking. "And who might you be, cutie?"

"Kusuha Mizuha," she answered with a smile before handing him a fluorescent green drink.

"W – Wait!" the brown-haired teen shouted.

Kusuha blinked curiously. "Ryusei?"

Alister gulped the drink down swiftly. "Ahh… refreshing. Thanks for the drink, Kusuha."

Kusuha nodded with a pleased smile as Ryusei gaped in shock.

"He's… still alive…?" Ryusei muttered.

"Y – Yeah…" Sei added in shock.

"Why are you guys acting so weird about this?" Alister challenged.

Kusuha pouted in frustration and added, "Yeah, that's rude."

The others simply stared in silence.

"That was amazing!" Sei cheered as he sat at the table with Rinko and Alister.

"Oh? And what might that be?" Rinko asked with intrigue.

"Alister got into a PT match with Tatsuya Yuuki, the best PT player in the school, and it was incredible!"

Alister shrugged dismissively. "It was fun but I wouldn't call it incredible."

"How can you say that!? No one's ever beaten Yuuki-Senpai before!"

"And I should know this… how?"

"Um… well…"

Rinko smiled as she put plates in front of the duo. "Now, now, let's focus on dinner."

"Fine by me," Alister quipped before Rinko turned to him with an intrigued smile.

"So you said you're a pilot?"

"I am. Graduated from the academy little over a year ago."

"If that's the case, why are you so desperate for money?"

Alister stiffened and then chuckled weakly. "I kind of… crashed a prototype MS. They want me to pay for part of the repair costs and put me on temporary unpaid leave."

"Oh my. That sounds quite expensive."

"You have no idea. The winnings from the tournament should help cover the cost for the damaged parts of the Wildraubtier."

Rinko tilted her head slightly in confusion. "Buildraptor?"

"No. Wildraubtier. It's a prototype variable Mobile Suit."

"Oh."

"Variable!?" Sei exclaimed in shock.

Rinko looked at her son in thought. "Is that important?"

"Of course it is!"

Rinko merely chuckled lightly. "Then I'll just let you two hash it out," she remarked as she watched the two talk.

Later, after dinner, Rinko finished cleaning the dishes when she noticed Alister asleep on her sofa. She hummed in thought for a moment before grabbing a comforter and then noticed him twitch slightly. "Is he having a dream? Or maybe a nightmare…" Slightly worried she reached out to rock his shoulder when he sat up suddenly, breathing heavily. "Are you alright?"

"Y – Yeah…" he stammered weakly. "Just… a weird dream…"

Rinko smiled softly and patted his back gently.

"Huh?"

Rinko chuckled lightly. "Nothing. Whenever Sei has a bad dream I pat him on the back and it seems to calm him down."

"I – I see…"

Rinko blinked curiously as she looked at him before leaning closer. "Hm? Are you sure you're alright? Your face is turning red."

"Y – Yes. It's just… your breasts are really close…"

Rinko looked at him in thought before standing straight with a smirk. "Are you that bothered by these old things?"

"They are big and most likely beautiful, Rinko."

"Oh? I had no idea you went for older women."

"You don't look that old. Maybe in your thirties."

"You're just full of flattery," she teased before leaning forward slightly. "I wonder what else you're –"

Before she could finish her sentence, Sei, sleepy and rubbing his eyes, mumbled, "Mom, I'm thir –" stopping when he saw Rinko and Alister. "What are you doing…?"

Rinko quickly and immediately stood away from Alister, flustered. "N – Nothing!"

"Oh… okay. I'm thirsty…"

"R – Right! I'll get some drinks!"

"I – I'll go make some breakfast!" Alister stammered, causing Sei to look at him curiously.

"It's still nighttime…" Sei mumbled groggily.

"O – Oh…"

Alister sighed as he flopped onto his temporary bed. "That was close… Way too close…" He gulped in thought as he thought back to Rinko leaning over him. "But still, she's… so hot…" He then shook his head fervently. "No! You have a girlfriend! Even though she came up with that plan… and even got Kaguya in on it too… No! I won't!"

The next day, Alister sighed as he looked around the shop in boredom before walking up to Rinko, stiffening slightly as the night's events entered his mind. "H – Hey, Rinko… do you need help with the shop?"

"Hm?" Rinko hummed as she turned to him before smiling. "Certainly!"

"Cool. What do you need?"

"Can you man the register for a while? I need to get some supplies."

"Sure, I can do that."

"Thanks!" she chirped with a smile.

Alister stiffened with a blush. 'Beautiful…'

Some time later, Alister sighed as he stood at the register. "Damn… I'm more bored than I expected…" He then looked around at the various models in the shop. "There sure are a lot of these things, and they're certainly realistic." His attention was redirected as the door opened and he saw a tall, hefty, older man. "Can I help you, sir?"

The man looked around in thought. "My name is Ral, I'm wondering, is Rinko Iori here?"

"No, she just left."

Ral slumped in disappointment. "Damn…"

"Something wrong?"

The man stiffened before hiding his hands behind his back. "N – No, nothing."

Alister frowned suspiciously. 'I don't like this guy. At all…' "Why don't you show me what you've got behind your back there?"

Ral stiffened and began to sweat. "W – Well, th – that's, um…"

"Oh, Mr. Ral?" Rinko remarked as she entered the shop.

Ral turned swiftly with a smile. "Ah, Rinko!"

Rinko glanced down and noticed a small red box in his hand. "Hm? What's in that box?"

"Well, you see –" he began before Alister swiped it. "H – Hey!"

Alister opened the box and flattened his brow before staring at Ral. "Perverted old man."

Ral stiffened.

"Huh?" Rinko hummed in thought before Alister pulled a lacy black bra from the box. "O – Oh my!" she gasped.

Ral gaped in horror.

"M – Mr. Ral…?"

Ral stiffened before bolting out the door.

Alister huffed as he tossed the box aside. "What a creep. You okay, Rinko?"

Rinko turned to him with a shaky smile. "Y - Yes, I'm fine. I've known for quite a while about Mr. Ral's feelings, though I haven't found a good way to say no since he's our best customer."

"Ah… you need to get more customers then."

"Maybe. But this is a small shop is located in a small alley in a small city, plus we're only one of half a dozen other model shops here."

"Then it's a good thing I'm using Sei's Gespenst."

"Huh?" she mumbled, turning to him curiously.

"Tell me… what do you think would happen if a MS model made by this shop won the tournament?"

"We'd get… all kinds of publicity!"

"Exactly. Meaning all kinds of customers wanting to buy your models."

Rinko shrieked with excitement before hugging him tightly. "You're a genius!"

Alister stiffened and turned red before slowly returning the hug. "Th – Thanks…"

Rinko blinked in surprise after a moment.

"S – Something wrong?"

"You're poking me," she noted in thought before he immediately and suddenly stepped away from her.

"S – Sorry…" he mumbled.

Rinko tilted her head curiously.

Later in the day, Alister sighed as he leaned back in a chair. "Geez… just sitting around all day like this isn't my style… Maybe I should take a run through the city to get an idea of the layout."

As Alister made his way around the small city, he started noticing strange sounds nearby. "The heck?" Looking around, he then heard the sounds more clearly from a door at the basement of a bar. Going up to a small door, he looked inside and saw several men in fake military uniforms playing Burning PT. "Well… that's weird."

"Well this is rare," a new voice remarked.

Alister turned and saw a tall, tanned man with chin-length brown hair behind him. "What is?"

"A new face around here," the man remarked.

"Ah. Well I just got to the city a few days ago."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ricardo Fellini."

Alister nodded and shook the man's hand. "Alister Manase."

"So what brings you here senor?"

"Was just walking around when I heard some noises and decided to check it out. Then I saw this."

"Ah. They're… fanatics. They've been obsessed with building and customizing these models since before it became the 'in' thing to do. Obsessed with the games they're based on too."

"Ah…"

"Want to have a go against them?"

"Sure."

Ricardo nodded and opened the door. "Yo!" he cheered in.

Ral, amongst the group, turned in surprise. "Ah, Felli – eek!" he shrieked suddenly at seeing Alister, the other men looking at him in disbelief.

Alister twitched an eyebrow in annoyance. "Old man."

"O – Oh dear…"

"I'm only here to use the PTs. I'll deal with you later."

"R – Right…"

One of the men looked at Ral curiously. "Lieutenant, what's this about?"

"Nothing!" he answered suddenly.

"Okay…?"

Alister smirked and cracked his knuckles before looking around. "So who here wants to be my punching bag?"

The others all stared in disbelief at his bravado.

Some time later, Alister, using a Gespenst Type-S model, finished off the last of the men's models and sighed in annoyance. "Can none of you fight? I was hoping for at least a bit of entertainment."

Ricardo smirked confidently and stepped up to him, holding up a model of a tall, sleek, blue-grey model. "Want to try your hand against me and my White Glint?"

Alister raised an eyebrow in thought and then shrugged. "Might as well."

The duo readied their machines and began the match readily.

Alister smirked as he watched Ricardo's White Glint dive into the buildings, hiding amongst them. "Now to begin the hunt."

Ricardo suddenly dashed past an alley, firing a flurry of shots from his rifle, Alister jumping to the side, avoiding the shots before launching a barrage of rockets from the Gespenst's backpack, causing Ricardo to suddenly speed up, blasting away faster than the missiles.

Alister smirked in amusement. "A speedster, eh? I know how to deal with your type."

Ricardo grinned derisively. "You don't even know my type, kid."

Alister twitched an eyebrow angrily. "You focus on high-speed hit-and-run tactics, using a lightly armored unit to avoid enemy shots due to your unit's weak armor and more than likely use that beam saber to get in close."

Ricardo flinched back, his voice catching in his throat. "Guh!?"

Alister grinned confidently. "Now… to commence my attack."

"W – Won't be that easy!" Ricardo stammered, sweaty, before suddenly dashing to the side before Alister threw several grenades to exploded in clouds of smoke. Ricardo smirked as the White Glint's eyes lit up, allowing him to see through the smoke, just in time to see Alister waiting for him outside the smoke. "Crap!"

Outside the arena, Ral and the others watched in disbelief.

"How's he doing so well with just a generic model like that…?" one of the men stammered.

"I – I have no idea!" another exclaimed before gulping.

Alister swung his Jet Magnum at Ricardo, whom jumped back and fired a shot from his shoulder cannon, causing Alister to duck to the side before smirking. "You know what the biggest weakness is with high speed machines?"

"Huh?" Ricardo mumbled.

"They can't brake worth a damn."

Ricardo turned in realization, only for his White Glint to slam into a wall.

"It's over!" Alister bellowed before firing all of his rockets, his rifle, and the cannon on his machine's abdomen at once, blasting the White Glint to pieces.

Ricardo gaped in awe as the virtual environment faded away, leaving the fragments of his model. "H – H – How…?"

"Hi-res scanners aren't made to see buildings in smoke."

Ricardo gaped in disbelief. "How did you even know I was using them!?"

"Hi-res scanners emit a very noticeable pulse throughout the area, causing a minor distortion in everything they pass over."

Ricardo stiffened and twitched an eyebrow angrily. "Okay, spill it! Who… what are you?!"

"Second Lieutenant Alister Manase of the Federation's Mobile Suit corps."

The others all gaped in disbelief.

"He's a real pilot!?" one man exclaimed.

"Holy cow…" Ral mumbled in disbelief.

"Guess that explains a lot…" Ricardo grumbled.

Alister stretched his neck as he walked into the house and looked around curiously. "Hey, where's Sei?"

Rinko, cleaning several dishes, answered, "He's been in his room ever since he got home working on that model."

"Ah. Well it does need some work if we are going to sweep the tournament."

"Oh. Well where have you been all this time?"

"Running."

"Ah. Oh, did you bring a change of clothes with you?"

"… Why?"

"W – Well, you… probably need to change clothes occasionally…"

"Ah…"

"F – Forget I asked…"

"Okay…"

Alister slept soundly the next morning when Sei suddenly barged into the room. "Wake up! Wake up!"

Alister quickly sat up, pulling a pistol from his nightstand. "What!? What's going on!?"

Sei blinked in bewilderment. "… H – Huh…? It's just… today's the day for the championships to start…"

"Oh," he mumbled before putting the pistol away. "Right then. We should get going."

"R – Right…"

"Something wrong?"

Sei gulped in confusion. "Wh – What's with the gun?"

"Standard issue sidearm to MS pilots."

"O – Oh… a – anyway, it's done."

"Good. Let's go kid."

Alister blinked as he and Sei approached a large building with several large screens above its wide entrances showing footage of Burning PT battles.

"Guess this is the place," Alister remarked.

"Yep!" Sei chirped happily.

After heading inside the building, Alister looked around in thought. "Huh… it looks even bigger on the inside."

Sei looked at several doors before seeing a hallway marked "Pilots" nearby. "I think the competitors gather down this hall."

"Ah. Let's get going then."

Inside a large room, Sei gulped as he looked around the room at the various other competitors. "They all look so strong…"

Alister huffed as he folded his arms. "Physical appearance means nothing. Only skill in a MS. You can be the most terrifying looking person with an incredible looking machine but it means nothing if you don't have skill in using it. So don't worry. I highly doubt any of them are the real deal. Now let's see what they got."

Sei looked at the large screen in the center of the room. "Looks like the first match is Yuuki-Senpai."

"I feel sorry for his opponent." Alister watched as Tatsuya took the stage with another player, the arena lighting up before the match started, ending only a few seconds later. "Well that was boring. If I knew it would be I'd have gone to sleep."

Sei looked up as the two left the arena and saw the screen light up once more. "Oh! We're next!"

"Got it. You going up?"

"Yeah. I'll monitor the Gespenst's status."

"Right. Then let's get going."

The duo made their way up to the large arena in the center of the room and stood opposite Sazaki once more, holding a slightly altered, golden Gyan.

"Oh great, you," Alister mumbled in annoyance.

Sazaki grinned confidently. "I hope you're ready for my Gyan Gya Gyan!"

"Big whoop. You painted it gold. Just makes you an easier target."

Sazaki growled angrily. "Why you…! I'll prove it's better!"

The desert area appeared on the large arena as the two machines launched.

"So what's the secret of this spike?" Alister asked to Sei, standing just behind him.

"I've tied it to the Jet Magnum system, and it charges in all the power that would normally go to three sabers," Sei explained.

"Nice," Alister muttered.

"Battle Start," the computer announced.

Alister immediately dashed forth, Sazaki raising his Gyan Gya Gyan's two shields and firing a barrage of missiles.

Alister dodged to the side and fired multiple shots at Sazaki, the brunette raising his two shields.

When Sazaki lowered his shields, however, he looked around in bewilderment. "W – Wait… where is he!?"

Just as suddenly as he shouted this, Alister appeared behind him, the spike on his Gespenst's right arm glowing bright with energy before he slammed it into the back of Gyan Gya Gyan's back, piercing the generator, before jumping away as it exploded.

Sazaki paled in disbelief. "No! My Gyan Gya Gyan!"

Alister yawned in boredom as the arena vanished. He grabbed the Gespenst and turned away.

"That was fast…" Sei muttered in shock.

Alister huffed. "It was boring. He had no real improvement at all. Now we wait for the next match?"

"Ours won't be until tomorrow."

"Ah… Then I'm going home. None of the rest interest me."

"Okay?"

As he left, however, he heard the crowd start to cheer wildly. "Hm?" Turning back, he saw a young woman with long, wavy, bright pink hair tied in two, zagged pigtails by star-shaped ornaments, flat-cut bangs ending just above her dark violet eyes, wearing a frilled white collar, elbow-length white gloves, a tight, white top that barely covered her moderate bust, a star-shaped tattoo on her waist, thigh-high white boots, and short, white shorts with red trim.

The girl smiled as multiple men in bright outfits followed her, enthralled, the men in the stadium cheering wildly as well.

"And who's she?" Alister questioned in thought as he looked at the girl.

"Dunno," Sei remarked.

The girl suddenly kicked a leg up, put a peace sign next to her eye with a wink and smiled playfully. "Kiraran!"

The men in the crowd excitedly replied, "Kiraran!"

Alister tilted his head in confusion. "The hell's a Kiraran?"

The girl smiled happily as she took to the stage. "Hi, everybody! Your PT Idol, Kirara, is here!"

"Never heard of her," Alister noted.

The battle started and moments later the opposing model's joints popped right off before Kirara blasted it to pieces.

Alister narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "That shouldn't have happened."

Kirara winked playfully. "Kiraran!"

Later on, Alister sighed as he sat on Rinko's sofa. "Good god I'm bored… I need something to do… maybe cook…"

Rinko hummed in thought as she walked past him. "Hm? What for?"

"Something to do. Besides I haven't gotten a chance to in a while."

Rinko put a hand on her chin in thought. "Hm… okay, I don't mind."

"Thanks," Alister chirped before heading towards the kitchen.

Sei blinked in thought as he looked over the assortment of beef, shrimp, and greens on the table. "I've never seen you make this before, Mom."

"Because I didn't," Rinko remarked with a smile.

"Huh?"

"I did," Alister urged.

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"Huh…" Sei mumbled in thought before taking a bite of the beef. "Huh, it's good."

"Why do you two seem so surprised?" Alister asked, perturbed.

"Well…"

"You just don't seem the type to cook," Rinko remarked.

"It's something I learned to do outside of training."

Rinko blinked before nodding in understanding. "Ah. Well you're quite good at it."

"Thanks, beautiful."

Rinko smiled slyly. "Certainly."

Sei looked between the two in confusion.

The next day, Alister sighed as he stood behind the cash register for Rinko. "Man, this waiting stuff is so boring…"

He heard the door open and looked to see a young woman with long, straight, dark purple hair that reached her waist, her straight-cut bangs ending just above her violet eyes, wearing a tall, pink beret, a long, form-fitting, dark purple coat that showed off her sizable bust, and black, high-heeled boots.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"My name is Mihoshi," the girl greeted. "Is this Iori Models?"

Alister nodded in return. "Yes it is Ms. How can I help you?"

"I heard that the pilot of that custom Gespenst is from here."

Alister pointed to himself. "You're looking at him."

Her eyes glimmered with excitement. "You're the pilot!?"

Alister frowned slightly. "Yes… why…?"

"Can I see it!?"

"No," he replied bluntly.

"Aw…" she pouted.

Alister shrugged lightly. "Sorry Ms. Just don't want to show it to anybody without good reason. Can't be too careful. Especially with one of the opponents in the tournament. Kinaban I think she's called."

"It's Kirara," Mihoshi corrected sternly before stiffening slightly.

"Kinana?"

"Kirara!"

Alister chuckled lightly. "Guess you're a fan of this Kilala?"

"Y – Yeah… something like that."

"I see."

"So you really won't let me see it…?"

"Sorry. Just don't want to risk sabotage. I think that's what happened to Kilimanjaro's last opponent."

"That's not even similar!"

"Really?"

Mihoshi twitched an eyebrow in annoyance.

"What?"

"N – Nothing…" she muttered before turning to leave.

"You're not going to buy anything Ms.?"

Mihoshi shook her head in response. "Nah, not this time."

"Ah. Well I hope to see you again, Mihoshi. Beautiful name, by the way."

Mihoshi looked at him in surprise.

"Something wrong?"

"N – No, it's nothing," she muttered quickly before walking out of the store.

Alister raised an eyebrow as she left. "Weird girl. Beautiful but weird." However, at that same moment China walked into the store and looked around in confusion. "Ah. Kousaka. Nice seeing you here."

China stiffened slightly as she looked up at Alister. "U – Uh, hey… is Iori here?"

Alister nodded. "Yeah in his room I think."

"O – Oh…"

"Something wrong?"

"Uh, n – no…"

"I see."

After several moments of silence China asked, "Um… you were really good at the tournament."

"Um, thanks. But that guy lacked any real skill."

"O – Oh…"

"Yeah. Wonder if my next opponent will be fun. Whoever they are."

"Um, right…"

Alister frowned in annoyance before turning to the nearby hallway. "Oy! Sei!"

China blushed slightly from his shout.

"Get out here!"

"I'm busy!" Sei called back from his room.

"That cute girl from your class is here!"

China's face immediately turned bright red.

"So get your ass out here! You're too young to start becoming a hermit!" He then turned his attention back to China. "Sorry about that. He'll be here soon. Or I'll get him myself. Till then want to look around the shop?"

"U – Um, sure…" she answered unsurely.

Alister showed her over to one of the shelves as she looked around in awe.

"There's so many…"

"Yeah. Want one?"

"Um…" she mumbled in uncertainty.

Alister quickly panned over the shelves and grabbed a box labeled "Beargguy". "How about this one?"

China looked it over in thought before gasping in surprise. "Ccuuttee!"

"You know how to build one of these things?"

"… S – Somewhat…"

"Ah. Neither do I."

"Ah…"

Sei rushed out into the front of the store. "Hey, Kousaka, sorry I'm – oh, are you buying a model?"

China stiffened and turned to him in surprise. "Y – Yes, I am. I – I was hoping that… that you'd show me how to build it."

Sei blinked in thought.

Alister frowned in annoyance. 'Do it dumbass.'

"Sure, I don't mind."

"Thanks!"

Shortly later, Sei and China sat in Sei's room as Sei instructed China to build the model.

Pointing to one of the parts, Sei directed, "So, just put this part here, then use the sandpaper, and…" he trailed off before looking back in annoyance at Rinko, standing at the doorway, watching them with stars in her eyes. "What are you doing…?"

"My son… Spending time with a girl…" Rinko mumbled in excitement.

Alister tilted his head in confusion. "They're just kids, they're not gonna do anything."

"So? This is still good!"

Alister chuckled lightly. "You sure dote on him. A lot."

"Well he is my son. So of course I will."

"Right…"

Several hours passed before the model was finished and China went to the door before looking outside and realizing the sun had gone down. "Oh no. It's dark outside."

"Yeah…" Sei muttered, feeling guilty.

"Guess that means you're sleeping over!" Rinko chirped excitedly.

"Eh!?"

"H – Huh!?" China gasped as well.

"Is that a problem?" Alister muttered.

"N – No…" Sei mumbled.

China frowned in worry. "M – My parents might not like it…"

"Would they want you walking the streets at night?" Alister challenged.

China stiffened at his words.

Rinko nodded as she spoke on the phone before putting the receiver down. "I just spoke with your mother, China. She says it's okay."

China blinked in surprise. "R – Right."

Alister then raised his eyebrows in realization. "Wait, do you have anymore spare rooms?"

Rinko smirked. "That won't be a problem. She can share with Sei."

"EEHH!?" the two children shrieked in surprise.

"What?"

Alister nodded in agreement with Rinko. "Yeah. What's the problem?"

"Y – You can't be serious!" China shrieked with a blush. "I – It's a boy and girl in the same room together… alone…"

Alister smirked lightly. "Oh? I guess girls really do mature faster than boys if you're already thinking about that kind of stuff."

China turned bright red in response.

"Wow!" Rinko gasped.

Sei tilted his head in total bewilderment.

Alister sighed with a shrug. "Come on, it'll be fine. If it bothers you that much I'll stay on the couch and she can use mine. Okay?"

"You could sleep in my room," Rinko offered.

"Oh?"

"Yep! My bed is definitely big enough."

Sei tilted his head in confusion as China's face turned neon red.

Alister stood next Rinko as she motioned to her large, violet, queen-sized bed. "This is a pretty big bed you've got."

"Yes, it is," Rinko responded chirpily before Alister flopped into a chair nearby. "Huh?"

Alister explained simply, "I can sleep here. I've slept in worse spots."

Rinko frowned slightly in disappointment.

"Oh? What's with that expression?"

"I was hoping you'd get in bed with me," Rinko rebutted.

"And you don't think it a bit sudden?"

"What? It'd just be us sharing a bed. It's not like we will be having sex so soon."

"You haven't exactly kept it secret that you want it though."

"Huh?"

Alister sighed before crawling in bed next to her. "Nevermind."

Rinko smiled before laying down as well.

Alister yawned as he awoke the next morning before seeing Rinko cuddled close next to him. "… Great, I'm stuck." His attention then moved down to her monumental mounds pressed against his side. "… So soft… and big…"

Rinko then shifted in her sleep, gripping him tighter.

"Oh great…" He then poked her cheek lightly. "Hey, Rinko, wake up."

Rinko moaned softly from his touch.

"… Just great… Please wake up before this gets too weird…"

Rinko then slowly stretched her limbs as she slept.

"… Okay, now I know you're awake. So get up or I won't cook breakfast."

Rinko pouted as she sat up in her light purple, transparent nightwear. "You're no fun."

"Only when I want to be."

"And done," Alister remarked as he prepared breakfast.

"Smells good…" China mumbled sleepily as she walked in.

"Hopefully the taste matches."

"Yeah," Sei added.

"Let's eat!"

Later in the day, Alister sighed as he stretched. "Time for the next match, eh?"

"Yep!" Sei chirped excitedly.

"And our next opponent?"

"We won't know until we get there."

"Ah. Gespenst?" Alister then looked ahead and saw a man approach the other side of the arena with a plain, pointed blue model. He blinked in confusion. "Eh?"

The man smirked confidently. "You ready to lose?"

Alister then glanced to the side and noticed Mihoshi sitting in the stands.

"Hey!"

Alister turned his attention to the man in boredom. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"You jackass…"

"No seriously, what were you trying to say? I had something much more interesting to look at."

The man merely growled in annoyance as the computer announced, "Battle Start."

Alister smirked in amusement. "Time to hunt," he remarked as a virtual asteroid field in space appeared. He then sped forward, charging into the asteroid field before jumping to the side as a beam blast flew past him. "Well that wasn't any fun."

"I'll make you pay for dissing me you prick!" the man howled as he flew towards Alister in his blue machine, now in a flight mode. "My Hambrabi will crush you!"

Alister dashed to the side, dodging the charge of the Hambrabi, firing his rifle at him from behind.

The Hambrabi rolled to the side, turning quickly, launching missiles at Alister.

Alister launched a set of missiles from his backpack, taking out the barrage.

The Hambrabi fired a lance out at Alister attached to a cable that coiled around his rifle before sending a powerful surge of electricity.

Alister huffed as he threw the gun away before it exploded, firing a blast of energy from his bazooka.

The Hambrabi transformed and flew to the side, ducking behind an asteroid for cover. The Hambrabi leapt up, firing several missiles and beam blasts at Alister.

"Oh come on, give me a real fight!" Alister hollered as he flew to the side, dodging the shots and sending out more missiles.

The Hambrabi dashed to the side, launching more beam blasts out.

Alister shot to the side at high speed before flying up behind an asteroid.

"Shit, where'd he go!?" the Hambrabi's pilot growled before turning around. "Shit!" he cursed as a beam of energy fired at him, cutting through his machine and blasting it to pieces. The man gaping as his machine exploded.

Alister sighed in annoyance as the holograms disappeared. "Boring…"

Mihoshi smiled as she watched the match end.

"So fast again…" Sei commented in awe. "How does he do it…? I could never be that good…"

"Man that guy is amazing…" Ryusei remarked as he stood next to Kusuha.

Kusuha nodded in awed agreement. "Yeah, I'm sure he can win the world championship too."

"Yep." Ryusei then turned to Sei as he walked by. "And just think how popular your mom's shop will be, Sei."

"Whoa…" Sei muttered in realization. "We'd get so much money for new models…"

Ryusei chuckled lightly. "That's all you think about, isn't it?" He then looked up at the central arena. "Oh! I'm next!"

"Good luck Ryusei!" Sei cheered.

Ryusei grinned as he walked up to the arena.

"I don't think I saw his battle before," Alister remarked as he and Sei went to the stands.

"That's because you left too fast," Sei admonished.

"Because none of the fights were interesting."

And there you have the first chapter! It was not as long as most of my starter chapters, but I hope you all enjoyed it nonetheless. Be sure to leave a review letting me know if you did. If you were uncertain, confused, or simply had questions about anything leave a review letting me know and I will do what I can to address your queries. If you did not enjoy the chapter... sorry? Post a review if you must but might I suggest you do something you actually enjoy instead? Regardless, I have nothing left to say here, so I will see you next time!