Chapter 3: Flight

Three months has passed since that time. As I stroke the scar across my eyebrow I fondly remember how my life was turned upside down that day.

"You've got guts kid, I'll give you that." The man laughed out as he holstered his gun.

Warm liquid began trickling down the left side of my face. There was a sharp area of pain above my eye. It seems the bullet cut me.

"Wow! Blonde-kun's so brave! Hohoho~ you might be more interesting than I thought~!" The Professor compliments.

I didn't actually understand what was going on. I actually thought I should have died already.

"We'll begin your training immediately." The man instructed as he stood in front of the monitor.

"For what?"

At my question, a smirk grew across the face of everyone in the room.

"To pilot our experimental IS, Beelzebub."

For three months thereafter I was locked away in a new cage within the confines of an Italian military base in the mountains. Well, at least the scenery was nice and the air was fresh. Every day would be spent not only learning the theory behind IS, but also intense Japanese classes, physical training that seemed like it was designed to kill me and combat training that made me want to leap off the nearest cliff.

I was not fat by any means but I was not fit either. My stamina was horrendous since all I ever did was play instruments and study. My physical strength was nothing to be proud of. My combat skills weren't very impressive either.

However, I am lucky to be a fast learner or "one with potential" as one instructor once told me when I was having a hard time coping.

The days during that time passed painfully slow like long measures played at adagissimo. I enjoyed reading and learning about IS, but the physical aspects soon became disgustingly hard. The bruises and injuries from combat training made the physical training seem impossible. You'd expect them to go easy on a former musician like me right? Some sympathy for a lad who's done nothing but play pieces of wood with strings attached, one would assume. No. Not even a sliver of pity.

Sometimes, when I laid on my bed all battered from the pounding some military girl, that's right a girl, had given me, I wonder if I had just been better off studying how to wave a stick in front of people rather than chasing this dream of mine. It was my logical approach and one I had most often followed through life. However, this time, I decided to follow my emotions instead. The brain doesn't always know best, one of the representative candidates always told me that.

After the second month, time began flowing more quickly as I adapted to my new life and was exhibiting traits that didn't make me a pathetic excuse for a Representative Cadet. When the time to leave finally came, bags packed, paper work was sorted, training complete and all, I looked at myself in the mirror one last time.

The frail looking musician was replaced by a much more toned military figure. My bangs now reached past my eyes and covered both my scar and a part of my eye; my old braided tail, too, was much longer and went down to the small of my back. Once weak limbs now proudly displayed lines of hard muscle and my former, flat expression was replaced by lips curved into a small grin, or more like smirk it seemed to me and bright eyes illuminated with various emotions. I was finally going to go forth and venture off towards the famous IS Academy.

Though I initially expected to be dressed in an Italian military uniform, I was instead instructed to wear one of my suits. It was easy to pick because, well, all of them are exactly the same; black shirt, black vest, black coat, black pants, black shoes, and a shiny red tie. Please don't tell me you can't tell what my favorite colors are – I would be concerned for your mental health if you couldn't.

After getting dressed and giving my formal farewells to the instructors and people who trained me, I quickly hopped into the Humvee to be driven off to the airport.

Through the long ride I was briefed on what to do once I got to Japan, my goals in the Academy:

Perfect the use of Beelzebub

Attain competitive battle prowess

Believe when I say (no, I'm not going to say "that I want it that way") this is a lot harder than it sounds.

I was also informed that I was Italy's official Representative Cadet due to my status as the second male IS pilot and test pilot of the Beelzebub. This mantle was extremely heavy as I bore the reputation of a country that won the Mondo Grosso upon my shoulders. It was both a joy and a…well, a pain in the ass. Why, you ask? Well, if I do not excel beyond the other students, I'll simply be deported and sent back home to learn classical music again for the rest of my life. I did not want to go back to that – not ever again.

Once at the airport, I was quickly sent off, put on the plane and before I knew it, I was leaving Italy on my way to my dream. And on that note, I quickly fell asleep with thoughts about IS, the academy, and people I wanted to meet cycling around in my head. On the top of my list was my idol, none other than the first Mondo Grosso winner Orimura Chifuyu. From the videos I saw of her she is not only the single most beautiful woman I've ever seen, she is the best pilot the world's known to date. I don't think even Tempest from our country could hold a candle to her. Second was her brother, the first male IS pilot. I heard that he and his childhood friend, Professor Shinonono's little sister currently held the world's most powerful IS units. It would most definitely be interesting to meet them all.

After the flight

Oh god…my butt feels so numb I'm finding it hard to move around a bit. The trip from Italy to Japan, a direct one with no stop over, was horrible. To put it simply, it was offering my butt to be sacrificed to the seat. Now, as Italy's Representative Candidate, one would assume I'd be seated in a business class seat. No, I was booked a regular ticket in economy cause the General, the man responsible for my scar, said "don't be full of yourself, boy". Oh well, what's done is done and I'm starting to feel blood coming back into my butt again anyway so…all is well I suppose.

After clearing all the necessary procedures, I claimed my luggage and headed to arrivals to meet the person picking me up. All this time, I was given strange looks by everyone. Is it because I'm the second male IS pilot? No, first assumption wrong again. It's because the General ordered me to wear this giant pair of sunglasses to prevent people from recognizing me. My face hasn't been shown on TV or anything. Who in the world would recognize me?

More like, people thought I was either blind or retarded cause I was indoors. To those who offered to help me when they thought I was blind, thank you. To those who called me various names, please proceed to the nearest cliff and jump off – just joking.

Exiting the automatic doors, I looked around the crowd of card holders to see if one of them had my name on it. Sure enough, a lady in a suit held a sign with my name written in katakana – "Aruto Barre Di Korode". It's quite interesting how my name turns out in a foreign country's language.

"Corode-san welcome to Japan. Please, follow me."

"Thank you."

A car soon pulled up and a driver hurried out to take my bags and place them neatly into the trunk. What nice service they have here. I opened the door only to have my heart cease beating. The person sitting there with her legs neatly folded and arms crossed under her breasts was none other than the legendary Orimura Chifuyu.

"How long are you going to keep standing there? Hurry up."

I obeyed, not wanting to keep her waiting.

"Alto Valle Di Corode, correct? I'm Orimura. I'll be your homeroom teacher. Make sure to work hard."

God, can I say I love you?

"I will do my best, Sensei. I will not disappoint you."

"Is that so? Good then."

Even with such a faint smile, she could make any man bow before her. Most of the ride was spent in silence as Orimura-sensei was busy reading some sort of document. At one point I took a quick glance at it and saw my picture on a sheet. I suppose it was my profile sent from Italy. If it was, I was truly curious as the instructors have never even told me things like my IS compatibility and such. Then again, if I found out I was D-rank or something I would probably leap out of the car so it might be best to leave that information in the dark.

After the ride, the school grounds came into view. I was in awe at how beautiful the place actually looked in real life. The pictures were truly doing justice to such an amazing facility – I feel quite lucky. Really I do. Far away, I could see the faint silhouettes of people flying in the sky and colliding at times; a battle perhaps?

"Excited, aren't you?"

Perhaps I am. To answer, I reply with a curt nod.

"Good then. We'll proceed straight to class, Alto. The staff will attend to your luggage."

No break for me after that long flight? Oh well, no matter. I dismissed my fatigue through will like I had many a time in the mountains.

After exiting the car, I could see people begin to rush to the windows and press their faces upon the glass to look. I suppose news of a new transfer student had already been circulated around the student body. Many girls of various nationalities were all looking eagerly to try and catch a good glimpse at my face. Unfortunately for them, I still have my massive pair of sunglasses on. However, I could see shock spread over their faces as they realized I was not a girl. Seems like it'll be a fun time here.