IMPORTANT! READ PLEASE!: Okay, I know this story doesn't have many followers and that probably only a few people will actually read this, but can you, whoever's reading this, do me a favor? There's an awesome story up by an extremely awesome author, my beta, Roxas.97 The story's called Venomous Reality. Can you guys check the story out and give the guy some feedback? He's getting little to no reviews cause of the pairing and so it's not popular, but believe me when I say the story itself is friggin' awesome. I ain't joking.
I hope I got my point across.
A huge thanks to Roxas.97 for betaing this!
A Ghost's Conviction
Chapter two: Departure
A pink haired teen panted as he held two wooden kendo swords shakily. He groaned when he noticed a nasty scratch on his left shoulder and glared at the white haired man who openly grinned at his direction, a single wooden kendo sword in his hand. He stood his ground firmly as his pointy black eyes stared at the pinkette.
"What's wrong, Natsu? Already done?" The man said mockingly, making the teen let out an almost animalistic growl.
"Shut your trap, Lyon-nii!" Natsu shouted and charged the other with a battle cry. He swung both of his kendo swords at every direction, trying his best to hit the man.
Lyon laughed as he blocked Natsu's attacks. Some of them he dodged, some of them he blocked with either his sword or the armguards that went from his wrists to his elbows. He grinned as he noticed an opening when Natsu had to step back slightly after Lyon pushed him away while blocking one of his attacks and he kicked Natsu's stomach, effectively making the pinkette stagger. Creating an opening with his last attack, the white-haired man swiped at the pinkette's head, sending him flying a few meters back and making him roll on the floor.
"Too easy, Natsu. Is that really all you got?" Lyon mocked with a laugh, his eyes widening slightly when he noticed the pinkette stand up shakily on his feet.
"As if." Natsu said weakly as he glared holes at the other. He breathed in before steeling himself. He spread his legs as he got into a focused combat stance, his body's right side slightly turned to the side, his left arm was set in a low position, blade pointing forwards, while his right arm was higher and slightly backwards. A strand of hair covered his left eye while his right one glared daggers at his enemy.
Noticing the change of expression in Natsu's face, Lyon couldn't help but grin. Finally he was taking this seriously. Lyon got into his own fighting stance, his legs bent and spread, his left arm placed forward with his armguard, acting like a shield, while his right hand was set slightly back yet his blade was still pointing directly at Natsu, ready for a stabbing motion.
"Bring it." He said and motioned for Natsu to attack with the palm of his left hand. Taking this as his signal, Natsu charged, now faster than before, and jumped straight at the white-haired, swinging both of his swords at him in a vertical motion.
"Too slow!" Lyon shouted and blocked the attack with his armguard. He lunged forward with his own sword, intent on stabbing the pinkette, but he was surprised when Natsu used his armguard as a sort of stepping stone and pushed himself off. Lyon's mid-section completely open, Natsu kicked off of the white-haired man's stomach and let himself fly backward a few feet.
The white-haired man gasped slightly from the hit but was given no time to recover. As soon as Natsu landed he lunged again, this time in a slightly crouched position which almost made it look like he was hovering through the air as his steps only barely touched the ground. In a few swift steps the pinkette was in front of Lyon and slashed in an X pattern upwards.
The white-haired man anticipated this and swung his wooden sword downward, meeting Natsu's wooden blades as a tug of war ensued. Both of them tried to overpower the other but, in the end, Natsu had the advantage since he could use his feet to push himself forward. With as much strength as the pinkette could muster he used his legs to propel himself and pushed Lyon's sword away. Using this opening while Lyon tried to keep himself on his feet, Natsu stabbed his stomach multiple times, making the white-haired stagger a few feet back.
Lyon coughed slightly before steeling himself and glancing at the confident pinkette with a smile on his face, "It seems you have been training. Let's see how well your defense fares!" He shouted and started running towards Natsu.
The pinkette, feeling exhausted from receiving multiple hits and dishing out many strong attacks of his own as well, was barely able to block a swipe coming from his left side. Using his right arm he swung his sword horizontally at Lyon who caught the sword with his palm. Pulling Natsu's sword towards himself, Lyon pulled Natsu's entire body and opened up with an elbow to the younger man's face, effectively making him fall to the ground.
Smirking and panting slightly, Lyon spoke, "You're getting good, Natsu. A year or two and you'll finally reach my level." He said and grinned.
Natsu glared at the other while panting, "That's unfair, Lyon-nii, you grabbed my sword with your hand!" He said.
"Fights are never fair, especially in the battlefield." He said knowingly before offering Natsu a hand which the younger man took and stood up shakily, "You need to remember this if you want to survive as a Ryuukishi. Never give your opponent an opening and use anything and everything you can as an advantage."
"But this isn't a battlefield!" Natsu said with a pout, making the older man frown slightly.
"This is training for one, kid." He said and patted the pinkette on the head, "Training will never be the same as the battlefield, but it will prepare you for one. You need to imagine that training is a real live combat situation if you want to be ready for when you're out there in your suit." Lyon said with a fond smile on his face.
"Hey, nii-san…" Natsu paused, "You think I'll ever find that guy?" He said as his expression darkened slightly.
Lyon thought about what he had asked for a moment before realization struck him and a sad expression shaped his features, "The one you saw at Area 15?"
Natsu nodded, "That purple one."
The older Ryuukishi sighed before placing a hand on the pinkette's shoulder, "I don't know, Natsu, I don't know. Honestly, if you ask me, I think it is better if you didn't."
"B-but…" Natsu's sad face twisted into one filled with anger and resentment, "That guy… he k-killed…"
Lyon squeezed the teen's shoulder gently, "I know, kid. Look, what I mean by saying that you're better off not seeing it is the same anger you're feeling now. If you'd encounter him in a real life combat situation you would prioritize the bastard and your anger would get the better of you which could end up with you or your team losing their lives."
Natsu swatted Lyon's hand away angrily, "I don't care!" He screamed, "Why do you have to always give live combat examples?! Like that or something else could happen!? We're not in combat yet!"
Lyon scowled before shaking his head slowly, "You're missing the point, kid. Every bit of training, even verbal training, is needed before live combat. It is because nothing will allow you to know what you will be up against, but knowing even the most smallest of details will always help you out. Knowing how to deal with things may increase your chances of survival immensely." He said before his phone beeped quietly, indicating that he was needed by command, "Look, Natsu, I'm needed by HQ."
"A new mission?" He asked and the white-haired nodded, "How long?"
"Not sure." He said with a shrug, "In any case, we'll continue with training once I get back, okay?" Lyon asked and the pinkette nodded, "Think about what we talked about and don't forget to train, alright?" He smiled as he turned around and made his way towards the training room's exit.
"Yeah." The teen said with a small smile of his own, "Don't die, Lyon-nii." He called out to his older brother figure who waved his hand in return while continuing on his path.
Natsu rubbed his face at the memory of what happened all those years ago. He clenched his fist and smashed it against one of the locker's doors, effectively bending it, as sadness and anger filled him. He couldn't believe that happened so long ago. Rubbing his face again and scratching his eyes to prevent a tear, he zipped up his Ryuukishi suit before placing his clothes in his locker.
He wore a black skin-tight body suit with cyberneticaly weaved extremely small parts of armor plating, like the design of chain mail, only invisible to the naked eye. His chest was covered with a dark sleeveless Kevlar vest where his gun holster was placed on the left side. It had his name, rank and regiment plastered on the right side of his chest. On his left bicep was the flag of New Fiore. An emblem of a skull on the left side of his chest; only the upper part of the emblem resembled a skull while the lower one looked like a gas mask. Ghost squad's own emblem. A belt on his midsection where a combat knife was located with many other small packs to hold ammunition for his handgun, two grenades and a communication device if things got bad and he had to make do without his fighter. Kevlar armoring covered the area from his belt down his thighs to his knees. Covering the knees were rounded metal guards that wrapped around, covering the front and both sides of the knee but leaving the back unprotected. The boots themselves were metallic and came up to the shins. From the outside of the knees downwards was a long piece of metal that got wider as it went down and as it reached the halfway point between the knee and shin it turned into a narrow triangle. From the lower edge, nearest to the front of the leg, a small strip of metal was wrapped around, covering a portion of the leg before disappearing inside the top of the boots. On the edge of the triangle, nearest to the back of the leg, a small strip of metal went out and trailed the calf before attaching to the ankle of the boots. The boots themselves resembled something you would see on heavy weaponry such as a mechanical armored suit or a mech. It was used to enhance Ryuukishi movement if they were ever forced to leave their suits and retreat or fight in hand-to-hand combat.
Natsu shook his shoulders to get a feel of his suit. The armored shoulder pads made his shoulders feel stiff, something he'd have to talk to the engineers about, but all in all he felt comfortable in it. He ruffled his hair before putting on his gloves that were covered in Kevlar armoring from his elbows to his wrists. They had a small computer mainframe on his left appendage. Something he'd need to use to add memos, get objectives from command or simply map out an area. He considered the thing extremely useful since it basically acted as a replacement for your mech's interface if you ever got separated from it.
Huffing and nodding to himself, he checked the time on the small computer on his left arm and sighed. Ten minutes till mission start. He'd have to hustle it. He closed his locker and locked it before exiting the changing room.
Walking through the underground corridors towards the Ryuukishi hangar, Natsu was deeply lost in his own thoughts. Why did he remember Lyon? That question gnawed at him as much as the memory. Lyon Vastia, one of the best Ryuukishi in New Fiore's history, dubbed Reitei (Sub-Zero Emperor) for his cold and decisive actions on the battlefield, Lyon had only lost three battles in his whole life. And he had been a part of many, ranging from fighting against rebels, traitors or the now nonexistent plague. He missed his older brother figure, he really did. Lyon was the one who taught Natsu everything he knew when he was young and Natsu couldn't be more grateful to him for that. Lyon was the reason why Natsu survived his first battle in the first place.
His very first battle with the Sanshōo 1 where he managed to survive because of Lyon's guidance in the past. Using the knowledge the white-haired man passed onto Natsu, the pinkette managed to turn the tables on his mission and narrowly escaped defeat and death. Although, after the mission, the Sanshōo had to be scrapped since it almost cost Natsu's life when it exploded due to Etherionite vibrations, an error in the design of the whole machine. Ever since then Natsu has been with the Sanshōo 2, a completely new design with no glitches or danger to the pilot's life, and has never had any complaints.
He smiled fondly as he replayed the memory inside his head. He chuckled slightly; if he were to go against Lyon now he would probably kick his ass into next week. Now he could easily point out the mistakes and errors in his own stances, attacks and defense. Hell, he could even point out some of the weaknesses on Lyon's part, though he was sure the guy wasn't even serious with him back then.
Natsu groaned over dramatically and ruffled his hair with both of his arms as he turned a corner. First Gray comes in and ruins his mood, now Lyon comes around and makes him feel all nostalgic and depressed. Why is it that those two always pissed him off the most? Who was he kidding, the two were his only friends, hell, they considered each other brothers. Sighing before smiling fondly, he chose to shove those kinds of thoughts aside for now. He had a mission, after all, and as Lyon had said: Always prioritize the mission. One single stray thought and you might end up as cannon fodder. He groaned again, he was still thinking about that bastard. Go figure.
Near the closed doors to the hangar Natsu saw a person that made his eyes widen and his cheeks turn red slightly. Major Ultear Milkovich. The woman was leaning against a wall, her hands folded and eyes closed as she hummed a tune Natsu knew all too well. NJ Legion Iced Tea. Why did the music they listened to had to be so similar?
His pace slowed slightly as he continued to the hangar. Ultear's eyes snapped open as she heard footsteps and looked to the pinkette's direction. Noticing him, her cheeks were covered a bright red as she turned away.
"Y-yo." He greeted dumbly with a wave of his hand.
"Good morning…" She said quietly, her hair covering her eyes slightly as she kept looking to the side. Was this really the same Major he knew? The ruthless Major warrior woman that wouldn't know what affection meant for the life of her? In any case, he thought that the situation he had gotten himself in was extremely awkward, so he did what any real man would do; he decided to brush it off as a one night stand.
"N-Natsu… I…" Ultear began, but was interrupted before she even got the chance to relay what she wanted to say.
"I'm sorry!" Natsu said with a bow, surprising the dark-purple haired woman, "I'm sorry for forcing myself on you last night! I was extremely drunk and I didn't realize what I was doing until I woke up this morning! The fact that I can't even remember properly what happened yesterday can only add to that." He said without noticing that her body started to shake slightly in anger, "Yesterday meant nothing, so please, don't feel embarrassed over what happened and I hope that…" He was cut short when a fist smashed against the back of his head rather painfully.
"You stupid idiot!" Ultear growled as she rubbed her fist. Damn this guy's head was hard, "What did I expect from an immature idiot like you? And I came all this way to wish you luck on your mission. I'm so pathetic!" She screamed at herself and simply walked away.
Natsu rubbed the back of his head and glanced at her direction dumbly. What the fuck just happened? Was he imagining things or was the Major… no, was Ultear actually interested in him? And did he just fucking blow it to smithereens? Punching himself in the face mentally, he had to agree with her. He really was a fucking dumbass.
He sighed and was about to continue to the hangar as if nothing had happened before she turn her head to the side so she was able to look at him with her backside facing him, "Don't die, okay?" She said and continued on her way.
The pinkette's eyes widened once again as he stared at her retreating figure without realizing what the hell had just transpired. He ruffled his hair and groaned. Seriously, women were beyond him. Although he had to admit, those words did make his heart tingle, even if just a little. A small smile making its way to his lips, he pressed his palm against the door's touch-pad before it scanned his fingertips and a green light of affirmation shone above the double doors as they opened.
Upon entrance he noticed that all of Ghost squad, minus Mavis, had gathered. All three of his teammates looked at the pinkette curiously while he kept scratching the back of his head. Damn, that punch Ultear threw at him hurt like a motherfucker.
"Didn't you say you'd be here before we got here, Lt?" Sting asked with a small smile on his face.
"Sorry, I got lost taking a walk down memory lane." He said and waved his hand in dismissal. All three of the Ryuukishi stared at their lieutenant blankly.
"Cheesy." They said in unison, making the pinkette chuckle.
"Maybe, but it's true." He smiled fondly, remembering the time he, Lyon and Gray were kids, "In any case, let's get started. I want to get back to sort some things out." The pinkette said and the others of Ghost squad nodded before they made their way to their machines.
They were greeted with the expectant dark-blue eyes of Juvia Lokser, a senior New Fiorean engineer, "Good morning." She greeted them with a smile while sitting at her desk, fiddling with her computer.
"Mornin' Juves." Natsu greeted back with a smile of his own as he approached her desk, "What have you got for us today?"
She glanced behind Natsu and then back at him curiously, "Isn't Gray-sama with you, Natsu-san?" The blue-haired woman asked and the Ryuukishi had to suppress the need to facepalm. 'Gray-sama this, Gray-sama that… I seriously need to kick that guy's ass and tell him to notice her so she can stop annoying me with this shit!' He thought to himself with a sweatdrop.
"No, he isn't. He's talking with command." He lied. This was the only explanation that he could tell her so she would stop pestering him about that raven-haired freak. Seriously, it was the one and only explanation that would make her stop questioning since if lieutenants went to command it was usually top secret stuff that engineers shouldn't butt their noses in.
Juvia frowned at the information, "The Sanshōo 2 has been completely repaired, Natsu-san." She said, pushing the sorrow of not seeing Gray-sama away… for now, "Per your request, I have made adjustments to the Sanshōo's joints and propulsion system. You should no longer feel like 'the thing's about to blow to shit,' as you said, when you're airborne or landing." She said and Natsu grinned.
"You're a life saver, Juves! Seriously, thinking that I might die just from igniting my damned thrusters is a bit… bad." He concluded for lack of a better word, making the woman smile brightly at him.
"I take it you gentlemen have to depart as soon as possible, yes?" She asked and Sting popped into the conversation.
"Yup, we're actually a bit late, Juvia-chan, so could you please let us proceed?" The blond man asked with a pleading smile on his face to which the woman sighed and nodded. She turned to the computer on her desk and pressed a few buttons. They heard some rumbling before a gate of sorts started to lift and four extremely large robots or, in this case, pieces of armor were visible.
Four armored beasts, one red while the others were black. The red one was almost colossal, it was massive and covered in armor. The head was circular, had a pointed jaw, narrow eyes that glowed gold, and the top of its head jutted forward a few inches above its eyes and slightly resembled a whale's head. Attached to the jaw were two metal 'collars' on each side of the head and on the end of both of them were two narrow metal 'antennas' that resembled the blades of swords. The chest protruded outwards slightly in the shape of a triangle of sorts and in addition to that a golden line ran across it and inside the line on both sides of the chest were narrow lines resembling the eyes of the head. It had rounded shoulder guards which jutted outwards slightly and its upper arms were unarmored while its forearms were armored and it had metal protrusions extended from its forearms that resembled metal wings. It had a narrow waist which was lined with micro weaves to give the unarmored waist added protection. Along its hips was a metallic and armored skirt designed to give its armored thighs extra protection. Its legs had standard armor and its knees were protected by slightly pointed knee guards. Its feet were narrow and slightly pointed and, in addition, on top of its feet, wrapping around its ankles, were metal bands that pointed backwards, slightly resembling blunted blades that protected the joints connecting the feet to the legs. The frames on each of its piece of armor were covered in a golden color, making it almost like eye candy to a pilot who valued the appearance of his mech.
The robotic giant was well known around New Fiore's military. The engineered masterpiece made to endure almost every situation probable and made specifically for one of the best pilots the military could offer. The Sanshōo 2 was made specifically for Natsu's tastes and per his requests.
The three other ones were of similar design, only that they were smaller and were darker with the same frames the red one had, only that they were grey instead of golden. All four machines had Ghost squad's emblem on their right shoulders, an insignia of a skull with the lower part being a gas mask.
Natsu smiled fondly at his machine. He has been in numerous hard situations with the new Sanshōo and could easily call the mech his partner in crime. Chuckling at the reference, he walked forward and up the stairs that led to his cockpit, followed closely by others of Ghost squad.
He walked through the bridge until he reached his mech. Pressing a few buttons on the computer mainframe on his hand, the hull of the Sanshōo opened and a platform with a mechanical chair extended to him. Smiling, he sat on the chair as a hologram of a touchscreen appeared. He pressed a few buttons on the holographic touchscreen and the platform started to move again. It retracted before the hull closed and Natsu was encased in darkness. Soon, a dim blue light made itself known and illuminated the insides of the mech. Scratching the back of his head, Natsu raised his arm and searched for something before pulling down an item that resembled visor-like glasses. He put them on pressed a button on the visor's right side.
"Power: on." He mumbled to himself and the visor flashed. In moments his vision changed, what he saw was changed from his own vision to what the Sanshōo's mechanical eyes were seeing. The mechanoid's head moved as it observed its surroundings, "Field of view's alright, colors seem to be in order, reaction times to ordered movements are solid as well." Natsu's voice rang through the Sanshōo's speakers
"Let's run a test before you depart." Juvia said and the red giant glanced at her direction before nodding stiffly.
The bridge that obscured the Sanshōo's path lifted and the robotic monster took a few steps forward to give itself more space, "Movement's alright, joints seem okay." The armored plates on his shoulders and legs shot out before thruster like rocket packs ignited themselves on the same armored plates, "Thrusters are working to their full capacity. No Etherionite errors present. Propulsion system's A-Okay." Natsu announced as he kept checking his mech's stability. The thrusters turned off before the armored plating retracted itself back into its metallic body. "On ground movement system," Natsu's voice echoed once again as wheels sprouted from the Sanshōo's feet. It drove around in all four directions before stopping near where a massive assault rifle was hung, "Check. Juvia, gimme a target." The pinkette said as he grabbed the assault rifle and drove to the Mech test-firing range.
"Targets coming right up!" The blue-haired woman announced happily as she fiddled with her computer. Soon after multiple targets appeared in Natsu's targeting system and he fired. One target appeared; headshot. Then another and another followed the same fate. Soon after a dozen more appeared, making Natsu grin. He aimed and fired from the mech's hip, skillfully shooting a bullet through each target's head.
The targets stopped after three rounds of all out headshots,"Targeting system's working at a hundred percent." Natsu said before an image popped up in his retinas.
"Targets killed: thirty out of thirty. Accuracy: 98 percent." Juvia whistled, "You're getting better." She said.
"Not good enough." Natsu's voice echoed through the red giant's speakers, "Ammo capacity?" He asked and a panel on his mech's right appendage opened, showing a selection of ten clips.
"Each one has the capacity of a hundred rounds." Juvia said, making the pinkette grin. More than enough, "In any case, let's check your defensive systems." She said as she initiated a mimic lock on warning to Natsu's suit. Red letters blared in his vision with the words 'LOCK ON' beeping in his face.
"Turn it off, it's annoying." Natsu growled, making the blue-haired woman chuckle.
"Because it's supposed to be." She said before fiddling with her computer some more.
"Close quarters combat?" Natsu asked, making Juvia smile confidently at his direction. She pressed a few more buttons on her computer before another panel opened where the assault rifle once was. Instead of another rifle there was a slightly curved sword, its guard curved even more, almost making look like a rapier's handle. The blade's length was almost as long as the robot itself and it's width was about three meters. The giant robot picked the sword up and tried swinging it a few times before nodding to himself.
Before he could even ask, a metallic pillar like structure erected near him and he nodded to Juvia with his mech gratefully. Getting in position by placing the blade slightly backwards, he slashed at the pillar and it split into two halves. The Sanshōo's head snapped to the side and glanced at the blue-haired woman who was grinning.
"A new model. It has a new micro weave design at the blade's edge, enabling you to cut through steel like butter." She said and Natsu's grin grew even wider.
This was perfect.
"Thanks again, Juves." He said and she nodded in return as the red giant moved to strap the blade to its backside.
"Okay, initial tests are complete, all that's left is for you to test it out in combat." The blue-haired woman concluded and glanced at the direction of the proudly standing mechanical robot.
"That being said," Natsu said and grinned as he turned back and saw the three other black mechs standing proudly and staring at him with their robotic eyes, "Let's go!" Natsu said and his mech started moving towards the lift off panel. Inside the mech, he opened up the holographic touchscreen and fiddled with some buttons. He pressed something that looked like an arrow pointing right before a holographic wheel appeared. Volume control. He grabbed it and turned it to the side. Extremely loud rock music started blaring through the Sanshōo's speakers and Juvia had to suppress a groan. This happened every single time.
As the four mechanoids drove to the launch platform and one by one took off, they failed to notice a dark-purple haired woman standing near the door to the hangar. She watched the four robots fly away and a smile crossed her features as she heard the music Natsu played. NJ Legion Iced Tea. Chuckling quietly, she felt a sting in her heart and a shiver ran down her spine.
She had a bad feeling as she looked at the Sanshōo's retreating form. Whenever she had a bad feeling bad things tended to happen. She shook her head to get those negative thoughts out of her head before sighing. She hoped, with all her being, that Natsu would return. Even if it was just so she could kick his face in for being so immature. Ultear rubbed her temples before turning around and walking away. 'I really am an idiot for seeing something in that brat.' She thought to herself with a smile.