Author's Notes:
Well Chapter 2 is here...a little late...but I'll try to update at least once a week...
At least i know people are reading...but i wonder if i am doing a good enough job...this chapter is a little "meh" to me right now...how about leaving a review if you like this?
Chapter 2: Crash Course
Be-be-beep, be-be-beep, be-be-beep, be-be-beep!
"ARGH!!"
I awake to the most annoying sound a person can ever hear in the mornings…an alarm clock…what the hell is such a thing doing on an inter-dimensional space ship?
I look over at Kobayashi…what the…she's already doing her hair?
"Good morning," she said when she noticed I was awake.
"Good morning...yeah right! What the hell are you doing setting an alarm for…" I glance at my cell phone and let out another yell. "5 AM!?"
"Sorry, I wake up at five every day, so I guess I forgot that I set the alarm," she explained.
I let out a huge sigh as I stretched my arms out. Man am I stiff…guess I'm can't sleep very well on any bed other than my own.
Growl
Man…I'm hungry…wonder where the cafeteria on this place is. I slipped my shoes and headed to the door.
"Where are you going?" Kobayashi asked.
"I'm gonna look for something to eat. Wanna come with?"
"I guess…"
She slipped her shoes on and we exited the room.
-
"…"
"…"
"Hey…"
"Don't say it…"
"But…"
"Don't say it!"
"Just ask for directions already…"
"I know what I'm doing…"
"Seriously! What's with men and asking directions?!"
Sigh…this place seemed so much smaller yesterday…probably because we had a guide. The two of us have been walking around this blasted ship for about two hours already…I'm getting pissed off.
"What are you two doing here?"
I turned around to see Chrono coming out of a door.
"We were trying to find a place to eat, but this idiot got us lost!"
"OW!"
Kobayashi explained while smacking me in the face.
"Hahaha, don't worry, I'll be happy to show you to the cafeteria."
"Really? Thank you very much!" Kobayashi grabbed my by the back of my head and forced me into a bow as she bowed as well.
"Don't worry about it. The two of you are guests."
I feel a little bit more than pissed at my uselessness at this moment…
Over breakfast we were explained what is going to happen over the next couple of weeks.
"The truth about the two of you will have to remain a secret from people outside this ship. Therefore you will receive aliases and we will have to treat your Ärms as regular intelligent devices."
I shoved a fried egg into my mouth and washed it down with some coffee as I listened to the Admiral.
"So we can't tell anyone about these gloves…and these birds?" I asked looking at my hand and then at the crow…that seems to be pecking at my eggs…wait…wouldn't that make it a cannibal? Hang on are these even birds at all?
"Correct, the Ärms are high class confidential information within the TSAB, therefore no one else is allowed to know of its existence." Chrono said sipping on his own coffee.
"Um…why would our names me classified as well?" Kobayashi asked holding a fork in her mouth.
"As I said last night, the Devil Ärms are extremely dangerous, we have to take every security precaution possible to keep them and you safe. People might try to locate your family on earth if they knew who you are."
"I see…"
A crewman walked over and handed Chrono some documents, which he laid down in front of us.
"These are your 'official' military papers. Your names and history have been altered so please memorize as much as you can in the case that someone will ask about you."
I picked up "my papers" and read through it carefully. I am now Ensign Kurosawa Kuro…how fitting I guess…to my black and green armor that I wore last night…although it sounds a bit unrealistic…
I am from earth and have been part of the TSAB Naval forces for a year and was promoted to ensign early on in my career and hold the status of a B rank mage. My family is currently missing and I claimed to have joined the TSAB in search of any clues…well I guess that would keep people from knowing who I really am…
I peeked over Kobayashi's shoulder to see what her new name was at least.
"Hashimoto Hikari?" I read out loud causing her to shriek and slam her elbow into my cheek.
"GAH!" the force knocked me backwards and off of my chair.
"Ah! Are you okay?" Kobayashi asked as she pulled me up.
"Yeah…that was totally my bad…"
As I pulled my own chair up and sat back down at the table, Chrono was smiling at us.
"You two have a very nice relationship," he said.
"That's because we've been friends since forever," Kobayashi said as she sat back down.
Ah…friends…always have and always will be. I don't think we'll ever be anything more than that. But that is fine with me.
BweanBweanBwean
The lights in the room started to flash red as an alarm sounded throughout the entire ship.
"What's going on?" Chrono shouted through the comm. on the wall.
"We have multiple unknowns approaching the ship at high speed! Total count: 40!"
"Put a visual in the cafeteria monitor!"
"Yes, sir!"
A huge screen just popped up at the edge of the table and I saw a whole mess of something that resembled small jet fighters.
"Gadget drones," Chrono muttered as he turned to the two of us.
"Ensigns Kurosawa and Hashimoto! I am placing the two of you under my direct command for the time being. I was hoping to let you get used to your new powers in a few simulation battles first but we are just going to have to dive into it at this point!"
I turned to look at Kobayashi…uh…I mean "Hashimoto"...ah screw it, I'll call her Hashimoto when we're in public and Kobayashi when its just the two of us.…who was looking back at me. The two of us nodded, stood up and saluted Chrono.
"Understood Admiral! We will follow your orders!" we said with a firm resolve. There is no going back for us now.
The two of us stood on the inside of the ship's airlock all geared up and ready to go. Since the two of us have swords as weapons, the only way to destroy those things was to get in close and personal…I wonder if I can fly despite only having one wing, even Kobayashi is looking uneasy about it. Well there's only one thing to do…
"Ready?" I asked.
"Yeah…"
The door opened and we jumped out of the ship into the wind. I thought I was going to go plummeting but I was able to glide along side the ship.
The vast blue sky flying over a large green land, it was a beautiful scene if I wasn't about to go risk my life saving this ship…
"Kurosawa! Hashimoto! Get to the front of the ship and prepare to defend against the gadgets! Watch out for fire coming from our land base mages firing from a top the Claudia." Chrono ordered from the Claudia's bridge
"Roger!"
We maneuvered our way through the cross fire, slashing down any of the gadgets we could reach. But they're way too fast and even if I could hit them, most of the time the blade gets reflected by some kind of field. By the time I we arrived at the front, I only managed to take out three of them…and Kobayashi got only one.
"Darn it! I can't hit anything with this bulky sword!" she said as she missed another gadget. "I need a bow or something!"
"Oh right, you were in the archery club weren't you?" I asked as we landed on top of the Claudia to take cover from incoming fire.
"Yeah…and its hard to break though that field using just brute force…"
She's right…I need something that I can use at a distance…I don't care if it's a something like a bow or not, just something that I can THROW would be good as well.
"Yes, My Lord!"
My right hand began to glow as I heard Shinken speak again.
The sword in my hand slowly split into hundreds of tiny blocks and rearranged itself, and as they reconnected it took the shape of a large spear.
"The long blade of wind! Shinken! Spear form!"
"H…I mean Kuro! How did you do that?" Kobayashi asked completely bewildered.
"I don't know…I just kinda…wished for it?" I said shrugging my shoulders.
"I am Shinken my lord. The true blade that takes no single form. The sword of the devil that reflects the heart of its master."
"And I am Rho Aias, the ultimate shield to defend my master. My form shall reflect your heart's desires!"
"I see…well then!"
The sleek silver sword that she was holding shrunk in length and width to about 30 cm. Then two blades of light shot out from her gloves and formed into a solid sheet of metal. She then held the blade along side her arm between the metal sheets and turned her arm sideways.
"The sonic cross! Rho Aias! Arrow form!"
She pulled back the arrow and shot it straight into the mass of fighters. What happened next completely blew my mind away…more than it was when I realized I had a freaking nuke on my hand…
The clouds split like the red sea did in those old religious tales, leaving a blazing trail of light and heat in its path.
"First shot, Sonic Flare."
What the hell? It suddenly feels like a desert up here! I could see my sweat drip down from my cheek and then immediately evaporate as it hit the ship's hull. Even the fighters were blowing up in mid air…she took half of them out in one shot!
"All TSAB forces! Return inside the ship! The temperature is too dangerous to continue!" A retreat order from Chrono…
"Sorry, Admiral! But we need just a few more minutes out here!"
I grabbed my new Shinken and flew towards the gadgets. The weight of the spear is considerably less than the sword as it is more spread out…however the mass remains the same!
"Blade Impulse!"
With the new speed, I was able to get right up to the gadgets and break their barriers with no problem at all. The heat has died down as well as all the gadgets.
"Enemy signals neutralized! The Claudia is safe! Changing from code red to code yellow."
"Great work you two," Chrono said as I slumped down on top of the ship.
"Agh…I'm burning up…" My sweat was dripping out like I came out of a bath. "Damn it…Hashimoto…give a warning…before you…want to…fry people…"
I noticed I wasn't the only one. A lot of the other mages were gasping for their breath as well.
"Sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't really know what I was doing!" She said as she bowed down repeatedly.
"Haha…anyways all forces return to the ship."
-
"It's not fair that you didn't feel that heat wave…it was a sauna out there…"
"I'm sorry…but…"
She was walking quite a distance away from me…
"Is it MY fault I'm sweating like a pig?! Was I the one who decided to mess with the climate?"
"No…but you do…smell…like…you've been playing in the sewer…look like it too…"
"I hate you…"
"I love you too."
Sigh…I can never win against her in these arguments…
We were led to the bridge, where Chrono was. He was clapping his hands when we entered the room.
"Congratulations on your first battle," he said. "Although I am a bit confused at how the Ärms suddenly changed in the middle of the attack like that…"
"They said that they took on whatever form we wanted them to…so I guess they could really end up looking like anything," I replied.
"But there are probably limits to it…nothing is without weaknesses."
Chrono thought for a minute before sighing. "Anyway, for the time being we are going to put the two of you to practical use."
"Beats sitting in a lab and being observed…I guess," I said scratching the back of my head.
"Yeah…but not by much," Kobayashi said.
"Don't worry, the people we are sending you to are friends of mine. They'll take care of you and teach you how to use your devices better than we can. But remember, you can't let them know anything."
"Yes, sir!"
"Good. Now…uh…Kuro?"
"Yes?"
"Why don't you…uh…hit the shower?"
"GOD DAMN IT!! IT ISN'T MY FAULT!!"
Author's Notes:
Hahahaha I love making fun of "Kuro" wonder what his real name is...I wanted to see how far i could go without ever naming him but as i planned it out further, it would prove way too hard. So i'll pull a haruhi and just give him a nickname that starts with "K" X3
Remember leave a review or at least put this on alert to let me know i'm doing a good or bad job...sigh...
