Arc 1 – A Very Long Prologue
Disclaimer: âge, Sega, and Games Workshop owns Muv-Luv, Sakura Taisen, and Warhammer 40k Franchises and their characters respectively.
Chapter 4 – Blooming Flowers
(2001/10/28) (Imperial Royal Palace, Tokyo)
"Hmm, an intruder that got past the Imperial Guards and even left the perimeter unscathed... am I hearing this right? Ikaruga?" said a man sitting behind an oaken desk.
He was of age about late twenties. With long violet hair bunched to the side of his face with green circlets and black eyes, wearing a Japanese Imperial Army officer's uniform with a blue shawl over his shoulders. He was sitting on a lavish European chair, which offers a stark contrast to the Japanese room with the sliding shoji doors and tatami floor. The contrast can also be seen with all the European furniture he had in the room: from catholic religious paintings to German beer mugs.
"Yes, Kyogoku-sama. With unknown methods, the said intruder managed to get past the gates and entered the palace. 1st Lt. Tsukuyomi managed to confront the intruder in a way, but then the invader evaded her, somehow."
The man known as Keigo Kyogoku, the son of the current Emperor of Japan and the one next line for the throne, began to tap his desk, curiosity on his face, while the man, Takatsugu Ikaruga, stood in front of him.
"Ikaruga, did this Tsukuyomi managed to identify the intruder?" Kyogoku said, raising an eyebrow at the man in front of him.
"No sir. Basing from 1st Lt. Tsukuyomi's report, the intruder moved fast, thus she couldn't manage to identify the intruder. She only managed to know the intruder's gender, which was male."
"Hooo, thus this mean that the Imperial Guards are incompetent? How can they protect the Shogun, much more the emperor if one man could get past them? Especially this Tsukuyomi… hmmm?" the man behind the desk said to the black-haired man in front of him, smiling a condescending smile.
Ikaruga suddenly did a seiza, bowing his head and hitting the tatami floor with his forehead. "If it pleases you, Kyogoku-sama, then his Excellency can take this humble servant's head as an apology from this indiscretion from the Imperial Guards."
The man just stared down at the bowing man behind his desk, not changing his expression. "Rise, Ikaruga Takatsugu, such a thing is undeserving of your stature. Do not worry; this incident is of no consequence since no harm was actually done."
Ikaruga then stood up while lowering his head in subservience. "I am thankful, Kyogoku-sama; the Imperial Guards will not disappoint you again."
Keigo Kyogoku nodded in reply and waved his hand to gesture the man in front of him to take his leave. As Ikaruga was walking towards the shoji to exit the room, the next in line to the throne said, "Make sure you do, Ikaruga, especially when I am on the throne."
"Yes, Kyogoku-sama." Ikaruga replied as he closed the shoji.
Kyogoku then stood up and went to a cupboard to his right. Getting a bottle of red wine, he poured himself a glass.
"Lying bastard, that Ikaruga scion…. and an intruder eh… no matter. Sooner or later I will have this country in my hands for me to mold into my liking, not like that sorry excuse of a political tool for a father, returning it to its glory days."
He then took a sip of the fine drink, making his lips red and spilling some to the side, giving him an eerie look as though he just drank blood.
"And if Alternative V succeeds… I can always make a new country for myself. U fu fu… to my Japan."
-000-
(2001/10/28) (Yokohama Base Barracks – Takeru's Quarters)
"That was surprising." Takeru touched his right cheek, the place Mikoto kissed. It was sudden. He never really expected something like that from her. A cute and girly Mikoto… A surge of memories then began flashing in his head. Ugh… these memories… I see… He then concluded that it was actually natural for her to act like that. He almost forgot that they were…
"Together."
He shook his head deciding that he should forgo such a thought for next time. Now, he needed sleep.
As he entered his room, he halted, his legs stopping their forward motion.
He was in awe, stuttering, his body shaking, and his sleepiness gone, as he saw one of the most gorgeous things he had seen in his life.
"Welcome back, Takeru."
A sensual voice echoed throughout the small quarters, reverberating throughout his being, making the hairs on his nape stand in a very good way.
White skin, so obviously supple and soft, with curves accenting femininity, not too large but not small either, perfect, ready to entice those that had the honor to behold it. Black lingerie, lacy with flowery design for the upper and the lower, skimpy enough to awaken the man inside him, covered her being. Lips as red as roses and devilish eyes enough to enrapture any lesser man, he was almost speechless.
"Y-yuuko-sensei!?"
"U fu fu, do you like what you see?"
Yuuko Kouzuki, the woman who's in the forefront of Alternative IV and the battle against BETA, the woman who guided him, manipulated him, and thought him, the woman who can sacrifice almost anything for humanity, was sitting on his bed, wearing a black lingerie under her open lab coat, her feet over the other, drinking wine sensually, welcoming him.
"W-what are you doing here!?"
"Oh, can't a woman welcome her lover, or are you already forgetting that you just gave me memories, hmmm?"
"B-but… I t-thought."
"Oh? Are you spurning me now?"
"But the way you acted, I thought…"
"Hmmph! Still dense as ever. Did you not learn anything from your past iterations or are you just that stupid."
"Hey!"
Yuuko took a sip from her glass of wine. "Why don't you sit? I'm sure you're tired from your journey."
"Where?"
Yuuko gestured to an empty space on the bed, beside her.
"B-but."
"Oh don't be stickler. Sit…. Or do you want me t—"
"Y-yes, ma'am." Takeru rushed to her side, nervous, and then sat beside her, near enough that he could feel the warmth of her body.
"Better. So, wanna do it."
Takeru choked, panicking at the sudden proposal from the mature and very sexy woman. "N-not right now, Yuuko…. Still busy…. And were in my quarters, what if someone sees."
"Don't you know that Eishi's had freedom in sex and relationships as an incentive due to their high mortality rates?"
"B-but…."
"Sheesh, then how about a massage, just like how we used to…."
A sudden flash of an image, a fragment of a memory from another world, came to him, a scene of Yuuko massaging him after a hard day's work in a lab.
"Okay…."
Her hands were soft, that he was sure, but he was not ready to how stimulating her hands were after she took the upper half of his clothes off. Skillful movements that relaxed his muscles, but at the same time was making his body hot, it was such a dangerous technique that if he didn't divert his attention from such an amazing practice from the woman, he would've have taken her, then and there. Thus, he asked, "Aren't you interested how the dealing with those guys in America went?"
Yuuko noticed his goal for asking, basing from the disappointed look on her face; still she humored him. "So how did it go?"
"Alright…. I managed to negotiate with them to rebuild Nebula by merging the companies. Though I did I have to kill someone to accomplish it."
"It's unavoidable; we're in a war right now."
"I know…. But it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth."
"Don't worry, at least now you're learning."
"How do you do it, Yuuko?"
The movement of her hands stopped for a second, but then she continued her massage in a rougher manner. "Hmm…?"
"How can you still be you when you had sacrificed much?"
"I'm not…. I'm human too. Every sacrifice I made—my friends, my family—all killed me inside, chipping away my morality, my soul. But in the end, my being is a small price to pay to save humanity."
"You really selfless."
"No, I'm selfish."
I'm greedy, for I want the world to recognize me, Yuuko said.
She then stopped her massage and took the glass that she used to drink wine earlier, filled it up to its brim, and offered it to him. As he took a sip, she too did the same, their face close to each other, looking at each other's eyes, looking at each other's soul.
Yuuko.
It was several moments later that they moved from their static positions, the wine inside the glass barely touched as Yuuko placed it on his desk. "By the way, I'm really curious about this telepathy and memory transference of yours, any problems with it yet?"
"None so far, though I find it convenient that I don't hear everybody's voice every time around me, or when I transfer memories, it's always those the memories where I have the most influence to the one I'm using the ability to. I suspect that somehow, since I'm the medium of the memory transfer, only the memories from their alternate selves that had been close to me are being transferred."
"Hmm, that is convenient, though in a sense, also makes sense. As for the telepathy thing, your fortunate, Takeru, I heard and seen some cases where those that had the ability had gone crazy from hearing the inside voices of everyone around them, though you should still be careful. Don't worry; I'll try researching some of my files about Alternative III to try circumventing such an outcome."
"Thank you, Yuuko."
Yuuko lifted her feet to lie on his bed. She then took his blanket and covered her lower half with it. "Say, Takeru, what do you think will happen tomorrow?"
"I don't really know. I just hope that they would take the memory transfer well."
"Heeh."
"So…. Aren't you going to leave?"
She then lied on his small bed, covering herself more with the blanket up to her nose, with her devilish eyes looking expectantly at him. "U fu fu, do you really think such a thing will happen."
"A-ah."
"At least let me sleep beside you for the night, Takeru."
With no other choice, Takeru did the same, lying on his small bed, their bodies close, her warmth enveloping him much better than his blanket, still, it was two hours later that he finally managed to sleep.
-000-
(Kasumi – The Lotus) (2001/10/29) (Yokohama Base Barracks – Takeru's Quarters)
Kasumi was angry.
No.
Kasumi was pissed.
And the same could be said with her red-haired companion, Sumika.
Right in front of them was Takeru, sleeping, with an idiotic smile on his face. No, there was nothing wrong about that, for it was the usual thing that she would always see every morning when she wakes him up. The problem was, he was naked, though only his top as his pants were still on. The much more problematic and anger inducing was that he was sleeping on Yuuko's… bosom, his head buried on her cleavage, as the vice-commander of Yokohama Base was only in her underwear and lab coat sleeping beside him.
Kasumi decided to take out her weapon of choice, her thick, hardbound, daily diary.
"Ta-ke-ru…." Sumika growled beside her as they approached the sleeping young man. "Wake up!"
"Not yet Sumika, still need sleep…."
"Grrr… Well then! Drill…!"
Takeru suddenly opened his eyes, clearly in panic.
"Milky…!"
Sumika cocked her hand back, as she poured all her strength into it.
"Way…!"
Takeru stood up, but he was too late.
"Punch…!"
Sumika punched him on his jaw, launching him off his bed. However, it was still not enough to curb their anger, so Kasumi spun, "Ei," and hit him in the face with her thick, hardbound, daily diary, changing his course of flight to the wall near the door.
"O-ow…," he groaned in pain as he slid down on the wall.
Yuuko then woke up from all the noise and the shouting, scratching her head. "What's all the racket? It's still early in the morning."
"How could you, sensei?"
"How could you."
"Oh, if it's not the psychic duo." Yuuko then took the blanket and covered herself up. "U fu fu, you two are too late, he's already mine."
"W-wha—"
"Waaaa—"
"We didn't do anything! Look, do I look like I did the deed to you?"
"Oh, how cruel, denying the beautiful experience that we had last night as though it was nothing!"
"Takeru!"
"She lying!" he said, but as he noticed that his excuse wasn't working, he prostrated before Kasumi and Sumika and begged. "Please have mercy on me!"
"U fu fu, you really are funny, Takeru." Yuuko then removed then blanket covering her and stood up, not even embarrassed that she was only wearing a lab coat and her lingerie, proudly exposing her body, which made her and Sumika a bit conscious of their in adequacy compared to the vice-commander. "Don't worry; the prince is not sullied, yet." She then showed her devilish grin as though she was issuing a challenge. "Well then, I think it's time for me to take my leave, I still have preparations to do for our trip." Yuuko then sauntered towards the door, winking at the still prostrating young man before she left.
"Kasumi!"
"Yes."
"Let's do our best."
"Yes."
"Umm… can I stand now?"
"No!"
"Then, can I ask you two why you're here?"
"Have you already forgotten, Takeru-chan? We're supposed to wake you up!"
"Wake up."
"But that witch was beside you. Did she drug you, Takeru-chan?"
"Hypnotism."
"What hell is this sudden switch!? You just attacked me!"
"They're just minor detail, Takeru-chan."
"Details."
"I almost lost consciousness there, you know." Takeru then stood up. Somehow, Kasumi couldn't help but ogle at his toned body, though the reason was unknown to her.
"Kasumi?" Sumika nudged her, waking her up from her stupor.
"Ah."
"Are you alright?"
"Fine."
"Okay…"
"Umm, can you too wait for me outside; I still have to take a bath. Or maybe you want to watch?"
Kasumi and Sumika blushed as images of him came flashing on their minds.
"Takeru, you idiot!"
"Idiot."
Both of them then ran outside, exiting the room.
"I knew it already, but Takeru-chan's really sexy."
She didn't know what Sumika meant; still she felt that she should agree. "Yes."
Several minutes later, Takeru came out, wearing the UN cadet uniform and his white gloves.
"Well then, good luck to me."
"Don't worry; it will all turn out alright."
"No problem."
"Thanks."
-000-
(Meiya – The Lily) (Yokohama Base Airfields)
"Tsukuyomi-san?" Meiya said as she saw a green-haired woman approaching with the three familiar girls following behind. What are the Imperial Guards doing here?
It was beautiful morning, notwithstanding the ruins visible outside the base, with the morning sun above their heads, giving off light to the desolate wasteland. The group consisted of Meiya, Kei, Chizuru, Miki, and Mikoto accompanied by their instructor, Sergeant Jinguuji, and the Vice-commander. All of them were waiting for the young man and the two new members of the squad so that they could start their trip. They all had surprised look on their faces as they saw the Imperial Guards walking towards them in a disciplined manner expected of their status.
"Good morning to you, Meiya-sama," the green haired woman said as she bowed towards her, which was followed in turn by the three girls saying, "A good day to you, Meiya-sama," also bowing respectfully.
"Why are you here Tsukuyomi-san? Is there any problem in the palace as to merit your presence in the base?"
"No, Meiya-sama. A young man named Shirogane Takeru asked us to come today at this time, which I may ask, where is he?" Tsukuyomi replied, looking suspiciously at the people behind the blue-haired girl.
"Ah, when? Moreover, if he did ask you, why come? Isn't he only a cadet? Yes, he is talented, and you might have notice if you have met him, he had an air to him that demands respect, but he does not have enough influence as to garner the attention of people such as yourselves, Tsukuyomi-san."
"But that is where you are wrong, Meiya-sama. That young man is influential, very much so that he managed garner the interest of Ikaruga-sama," Tsukuyomi replied, answering Meiya's question.
The revelation made the blue haired girl's eyes widen.
"Ikaruga? W-what…? How?"
Tsukuyomi narrowed her eyes and said, "So that conniving young man had not told you anything.… Very well, I will reveal to you what we found out later, Meiya-sama, but—"
"But!"
A voice suddenly interrupted Tsukuyomi, garnering the group's attention, placing their gazes towards the three new comers walking towards them.
"Ah, Tsukuyomi-san, sorry for interrupting you, but I will tell you all the truth when we get to the designated place for the evaluation, alright? No worries," the young man in the middle of the approaching group said nonchalantly as though talking about the weather, flanked by the two girls, Sumika with her cheery smile on his right and Kasumi with her stoic face on his left.
The group had confused looks on their faces at his sudden interruption, except for Tsukuyomi and her group as they tightened their grips on their katana.
"What are you planning, you monster?" the green-haired woman asked the approaching young man, who stopped at her accusation, her voice low and threatening.
Monster? Meiya thought.
"Monster…? Maybe? I don't really know anymore…," he replied solemnly, making the girls of Squad 207 look at him in shock.
This prompted the Sumika and Kasumi to go in front of him, arms wide, as though protecting him from Tsukuyomi.
"Takeru-chan is not a monster! Take back what you said, Tsukuyomi-san!" Sumika shouted with a determined expression on her face, glaring at Tsukuyomi.
"Who are you little girl? How do know my name? What is he to you? Or the more correct question would be; what are you to him? His plaything?" The barrage of questions laced with insult intensified the glare Sumika was giving while Kasumi besides her was also now having the same expression of rage.
The air around them suddenly changed, as an ominous feeling surrounded them.
"Do not test us woman!" both of the girls said in the same time in a loud, eerie, and threatening monotone.
What is happening?
Meiya could see Tsukuyomi widen her eyes, same with the three girls with her.
"Sumika! Kasumi! Stop!" the young man ordered, making the two girls in front of him to turn their heads to him.
"Takeru-chan?" the both of them said at the same time, sweetly, changing their demeanor fast like flip of a coin.
"It's alright, Tsukuyomi-san just a made mistake, it won't happen, okay?" he said, trying to calm the girls as he gave the woman a glare.
Tsukuyomi nodded, calming the enraged girls. Dropping their arms, they returned to Takeru's side.
"Alright! With that done, we should all enter the plane to start this exciting trip!" Takeru said, changing the mood around the group.
The declaration made them nod as they began to enter the plane.
"You too, Tsukuyomi-san, and the three in the back, you are all invited to come too. You are also a part of this you see. Don't worry; didn't Ikaruga-san give his word of confidence on me?"
The green-haired woman and the three girls gave him a piercing look but then deferred to his request as they began to enter the aircraft.
The young man sighed and said, "I hope this doesn't blow over me…"
"What are you talking about, Takeru?" Meiya asked.
"Don't worry; it's nothing."
I hope so.
As the door closed, the engine growled as the propellers began to spin, making the plane move on the tracks and soon flew towards a certain southern island.
-000-
(A certain southern island)
The plane smoothly landed on a pathway, stopping at a small terminal. It was a small airport, newly built if one could notice the details.
Those guys really did a number on this island.
Even though he already knew the capabilities of Nebula, the sight still awed him. Then again, when he thought about it, if the Mitsurugi Zaibatsu can terraform a school in the middle of a city into a jungle in a few hours for a silly paint ball war game, then Nebula terraforming a whole island into something like a vacation resort was to be expected.
Nearby the small terminal was Meiya's chauffeur back in the old world, Takahashi Ichimonji, waiting. He was with several people who were working under Nebula and a limo, to serve as the groups ride.
However, he noticed something about his current thought process, When did I start calling my original world the old world…?
As the group got off from the aircraft, Takahashi greeted them. "Takeru-sama, everyone, welcome; I hope that your group had a good flight." He had a butler outfit like the one he always wore back in the old world and Takeru noticed that the limo was also of the same model….
The limo was impossibly long….
"Welcome, President Shirogane."
The people behind him also greeted him with bows, which in turn he nodded back in reply, recognizing their presence.
"Hello, Takahashi-san, is everything fine, are there problems on building this place?"
He asked in all but formality. Gruss and Tezla are very competent with what they do and organizing the construction of this place might just be too easy for them, therefore he already knew that everything went perfect.
I almost forgot.
Takeru then turned back and saw the group of females with him staring wide eyed at the place, especially the extreme changes from the last time they were here. Near the small airfield was a paved road leading to a large gate emblazoned with the stylized letter N for each side, which then directly leads to a western mansion. Given that it was not a big island, he could describe it from his position. The jungle was still intact on the side of the road and outside the gates of the mansion, which gives the place a unique and tropical atmosphere.
Still, those guys got overboard. Even though he said to build cottage that could fit a large group, they made a mansion instead in, the middle of a tropical island.
"W-w-what the hell!" Chizuru seemed unable to contain her surprise, shouting out in disbelief. Even her glasses where tilting on one side.
"So this is the power of Nebula. To change the once inhospitable jungle into something like this… Ho ho ho…, though I already expected it, I'm still impressed. Good job, Takeru." Yuuko- said, her gaze hovering over him up and down.
Is she checking me out? Seriously, this is…. Wait, it is possible… Damn you memories for not letting me make act dense. What happened last night was also another factor.
Yuuko then sauntered towards him and then whispered to his ear. "Want to continue what we're supposed to do last night? Ta-ke-ru."
Takeru's body stiffened at provocative act from Yuuko.
"Yuuko! What are you doing!? And Cadet Shirogane! Explain this!"
Thankfully, Marimo was there as a buffer against Yuuko.
"Muu, Marimo… oh well"
Yuuko then stepped back, but not before she licked his ear. She then gave him a seductive wink and a devilish smile.
Yuuko… you're killing me….
Takeru then shook himself from his stupor and began his explanation. "Well, I asked some friendly people to build this place for us to stay for a couple of days, but it seemed that they got overboard a bit.…"
"A bit? A bit!? Look at this place! It's not a freaking bit!" Chizuru seemed emotional today, which might prove to be a problem for Takeru later.
Thankfully, there's Takahashi-san to save the moment.
"Ah, humble as always, Takeru-sama, why not leave the explanations for later after we get inside the mansion."
Takahashi-san then opened the door to the limo and gently urged the group to enter, which they complied, even the Imperial Guards, entering the vehicle one by one. Not surprisingly, the group managed to fit in nicely.
I hope that he won't do his high-speed drifting…
They arrived at the mansion after several minutes. It was a short ride as he could even walk from the small airport to the mansion without him even breaking a sweat, but formalities and such things was the major SOP for such situations, and it would be insulting to the servants not to oblige on their services.
However, Takeru did not recruit Takahashi-san just for this measly role. Maybe he asked those guys to be the one to facilitate us here…
As they arrived in the mansion, getting off the absurdly long vehicle, they entered the large structure through a huge wooden double door with intricate flower designs.
"Follow me," Takahashi said making the group follow him.
The girls were staring at the place, turning their heads from time to time. Inside was what one would see on a stereotypical mansion, a big hall with two large curving stairs in each side leading up to the second floor with another wooden double door with an intricate flower design below, with red walls and red carpeting that leads to the mentioned door to the main door. There was also a tasteful chandelier at the very high ceiling offering light, and some ingeniously placed decorations from china jars to some exquisite paintings.
After some walking, climbing up the stairs, and walking through some more halls in the second floor, with several doors leading to their respective rooms, they arrived at a particular room that one might not expect from such a cliché setting.
"Here we are, the Cottage room," Takahashi-san said professionally.
The room, as the name implied, was a cottage, with wooden planks as the walls and floor and some sofas and chairs to sit around a nice table. There was also a single large window for a good view of the island as they stuck a fireplace leading to a chimney on one corner.
The room was the only cottagey part of the mansion… and cottagey is not even a word….
What a way to bypass some minor technicalities. In a way, it impressed Takeru.
The group then sat to where they were comfortable.
"Lunch will be served after a while so sit tight and enjoy. Hopefully, you would have a meaningful discussion."
Takahashi-san then left, closing the door.
One might get curious as to where all of the stuff inside the Mansion came from; the answer would be America, Australia, and especially Africa. Given that these countries still have not been overrun by the BETA, their economy was still somewhat stable and most of their resources intact. The two companies under Nebula didn't only manufacture TSF's as it would be stupid to limit themselves on a single market and he knows that those guys can deliver, even if they can get overboard sometimes.
"Takeru, what is this place? Why does that man call you like that?" Meiya was fidgeting when she asked.
It was ironic. It was as though their places were interchanged. This time Takeru was the one who was absurdly rich, while Meiya was in his position back in the original world, overwhelmed by everything around her, and given her situation as the supposedly cursed twin of the Shogun, such frivolities were denied to her.
To deny a girl a good life just because of an old superstition and to dump to the other such overwhelming responsibility.
Disgusting.
"Yeah! What's all of this? The mansion, that small airport, even that plane we were on… and what is this Nebula Vice-commander spoke of? Who are you?" Chizuru said, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
The rest of the original members of the squad nodded in support to the girl's questions, confusion clear on their faces, while the rest were silent, well, except for Yuuko, since she was grinning, enjoying the show, Kasumi, who was looking as stoic as always, and Sumika, who was smiling, encouraging him. As for the Imperial Guards, they were standing near the door, with unreadable looks on their faces.
Takeru was sitting on a chair where everyone could see him. Clamping his hands in front of him as rested his elbows to the arms of the chair he was sitting on. He then began.
"Let's see… First, I would like to explain how this island became like this and the Nebula bit that Yuuko-sensei said. Hmm, do you girls remember my short trip to America last Saturday?"
"I remember! You said you were on an errand by the Vice-commander!"
He nodded at Mikoto, who was still obliviously cheerful.
"Right you are, Mikoto."
"E he he…." Mikoto blushed from his praise.
"You see, when I was there, I managed to get in touch with my two aids, namely Mr. Tezla and Mr. Gruss, and managed to acquire two companies, Lockweed Mardin and Northrock Grunnan, for a merger creating Nebula, which became official last night."
"Lockweed Mardin and Northrock Grunnan, aren't those major TSF manufacturers and developers in America?"
Marimo-chan seemed to know their significance to the war effort, which made the others look incredulously at him, except for Tsukuyomi-san, Kasumi, Sumika, and Yuuko, who still had the same expressions on their face.
"Yes they are, Marimo-chan, with the Raptor and Black Widow II as their latest projects respectively. As of now, the Raptor would be the next main stay for the armed forces of the United States of America. Both of these TSF's are comparable with the Takemikazuchi—"
"Nonsense, nothing can compare with the Takemikazuchi!" Kamiyo, the violet-haired girl on Tsukuyomi's right, boasted, interrupting him, puffing her chest with her so-called Japanese pride.
"Your foolish Japanese pride will kill you someday, Kamiyo… in very horrible ways."
"What!? You!"
Kamiyo tried to charge at him, ready to unsheathe her katana, but Tsukuyomi managed to stop her. "Let him speak." She then glared at him. "Do not overstep your bounds, Shirogane."
Takeru glared back. "Same to you…"
Tsukuyomi flinched and then returned to their position.
He then turned his attention back to the group and continued with the current topic of discussion.
"As I was saying, Nebula has two new units that are comparable to the Takemikazuchi, Russia's Berkut, Europe's Typhoon, and its French counterpart, Rafale, and lately, the TSF Boening with three other companies of Japanese of origin, namely Fugaku, Mitsuhishi, and Kawazaki, had just finished, with the help of UN's Project PROMINENCE, the Shiranui Second. Anyway, enough of this talk about TSF's, just know that I own Nebula which would only continue to grow with its future acquisitions."
Most of the girls of the original Squad 207 were now giving him wary glances and while others were in disbelief.
I'm sorry….
"Second would be why we are here."
"Evaluation…," Kei stoically said.
"No there will be no evaluations."
"What!?" Some were now looking at him in shock while Chizuru was glaring at him… She's sharp; I'll give her that.
"On what authority, Cadet Shirogane!?" Marimo shouted, angry at what she perceived as insubordination.
"On his authority as a captain, Marimo. He was directly promoted to the rank last Saturday by General Radhabinod himself before his short trip to America. As for the reason, it's classified information." Yuuko replied for him, making the woman look incredulously at her, somehow forgetting her rage. She then sat back on her chair with a difficult to read expression on her face.
"Did... did you lie to us, T-Takeru-san? Was everything you said to us a lie?" Miki asked him with a brokenhearted look on her innocent face, teary eyed.
I'm sorry…. "…Yes... but—"
"You bastard! Did you enjoy it!? Huh!?" Chizuru stood up and pointed at him, accusing him, as she interrupted before he could give an excuse, her anger bursting out from his revelations. "Did you enjoy us being played by your insufferable plans like the naive girls we are!? Did you enjoy us stumbling around, laughing at us behind our backs? Did you!?" She was now hysterical, emotions now overflowing from her, shouting at him, tears flowing from her moist eyes behind her glasses. "We trusted you Takeru…. I trusted you… But this… This is too much… I… I'm…" Chizuru then slumped back on her chair, covering her face with her hands, crying.
I'm sorry….
The rest of the original members of the squad were in the same state.
Meiya was in shock, staring at nothing, her eyes glazed, as tears fell from her eyes.
I'm sorry….
Miki and Mikoto were in Chizuru's side trying to comfort her, as tears were also in their eyes, sometimes looking at him, glaring at him.
I'm sorry….
Ayamine just sat on her chair unmoving, a stoic look still on her face, but sometimes she would flinch as though she was holding something back.
I'm sorry….
The rest of the group were somehow still acting the same, with Marimo and the Imperial guards in their unreadable expressions, Yuuko-sensei still grinning as though she was enjoying the drama, and Kasumi with her usual stoic expression. Sumika, on the other hand, had a concerned look on her face.
I'm sorry... "No, I did not enjoy it nor relish it. However, it was all necessary."
Chizuru raised her head from her hands, tears still flowing from her bleary eyes, her face now red from crying. "Huh? Necessary? Are you kidding me? What now? What now!? Was it all part of a grandiose plan? Huh? …. Next thing you would… say is that it was all part of a plan to save the wo—"
"It is… It was all a part of the plan to save this world from BETA," he answered before Chizuru finished.
"Stop lying to us!"
I'm sorry….
"Takeru-chan is not lying. Do you think that if he said these things at the start, you would believe him? Would you trust him? No. It was necessary. It hurts him, not telling you all the truth. He was always smiling, but I know that he is not, inside. He was angry with himself, hating himself. It hurts Kasumi, and me, but we cannot do a thing.…"
Thanks for defending me, Sumika, but….
"He is doing this for all—"
"That is enough, Sumika."
Sumika turned her heads towards him with a pleading look on her eyes, but she then sat back down to her chair.
"What I said is not a lie, you could even refer to some people like Ikaruga Takatsugu, Sakon Yoroi, UN Undersecretary General Genjousai Tamase, Prime Minister Kurechika Sakaki, General Paul Radhabinod, and even Yuuko-sensei over there," Takeru said as he pointed at the grinning woman after he mentioned her name.
The girls seemed surprised with some the names…. Good.
"He's right. Even though it's a funny thought and quite absurd if you ask me. He really does want to save this world," Yuuko said, grinning even more, sitting on the chair as if she owns the place. "And he does have the resources, the mindset, and the skill and talent to make it, in a way, a reality." She then waved her hands nonchalantly.
"He does have amazing capabilities, almost superhuman," Tsukuyomi added while the three girls behind her nodded.
He did a nod as thanks to them and continued his explanation.
"The third point would be on who I really am. As you already know, my name is Takeru Shirogane, but if you had read my records before I came to the base, it would say that I died from a BETA invasion back in 1998."
It was true... He really died back then… and he remembers every single detail of it. The thousands of iterations, in every gruesome way possible… devoured, smashed, dismembered, skinned, violated, he could remember everything.
Damn, I should not think of stuff like this, especially now, he said to himself trying to stop his hands from shaking, and his teeth from clattering.
"Yes, the records did say that someone named Shirogane Takeru died back then, but then who are you? What are you?" Tsukuyomi confirmed what he said, narrowing her eyes.
"As I already said, I am Takeru Shirogane… from a parallel world."
"Parallel world?" the group all disbelievingly asked at the same time, except those who already in the know, forgetting their anger at the seeming betrayal for a moment.
"Yes, from a parallel world that is different from this world... a world without BETA."
"Without Beta…?"
"Yes, without BETA, but you would know about it later. The important thing is that somehow, I was transported in this world."
Sumika flinched with a sad look on her eyes.
"I was really shocked and excited when I first came here… especially with the ruins and the mecha. It was as if I was in those anime that I watched back in the old world... I thought I was in a dream... a dream of me becoming a hero… a dream of me saving the world…. However, it turned out to be a nightmare.… Don't misunderstand… I still want to save this world, but I realized that I couldn't do it alone. Stumbling on my own actions and being naive… it took me a thousand… no… I really can't remember how many times I repeated this hell… but it took so much time for me to reach this position and mindset… to learn things... though I think that it was only luck that I manage to become like this now."
"Repeated? Do you mean looping? As in, time loops?" Marimo asked for the listening group, turning to look at Yuuko for confirmation, which the grinning woman gave with a single nod.
"Ah yes, I just didn't jumped parallel worlds, I am also stuck in a time loop. Every time I die, I come back to my room inside the ruins of my house near Yokohama Base. I come back every time on October 22, 2001. But back then I don't really remember my past loops until…." Takeru shook his head. "Regardless, since I was stuck in a loop, I died countless deaths, I saw my friends die again and again in many different and horrifying ways, the world ending a thousand times, humanities extinction by BETA or in their own hands, slowly forging my body and mind into what you see right now."
I see… I realize now, the merging was just the start. Slowly, I will change into something… I hope that I am still Takeru Shirogane then….
"Remembering every loop was a painstaking experience that almost made me crazy, and maybe, I already am."
Still, he can't tell them the whole truth, about what he realized what's really happening to him.
"Parallel worlds? Time loops? How can you say all of this with a straight face?" It seemed that there were still doubts in Marimo…. I could not blame her.
"Then I'll ask you, are aliens real? Is BETA real? Probably back in the 40's, you would think that such things are not real, and if you asked me that back in the old world, I would have thought that you have gone all loopy. But don't worry, you all will believe me soon."
It seemed that argument satisfied her for now, as she never gave a counter argument.
"Continuing on…. You see, Yuuko-sensei had a theory about a pipeline between worlds that allows the exchange of causality information between them, not limited to events and memories, a Causality Conductor."
Yuuko-sensei nodded with her ever-present devilish grin.
"I am that Causality Conductor, an existence that should have not existed."
But I did... I did exist….
"This is a lot to take… still, one last question, why are we here?" Marimo asked.
Ah… almost forgot.
"We never did finish the second point of discussion, very well. As I said, there will be no evaluations. I brought all of you here to give you your memories from past loops and other worlds, which would in turn give you the experience, knowledge, and skills of you counterparts."
"Memories… Is this related to the flashes of images and those strange dreams...?" Kei's comment seemed to perk the attention of the girls, except for Chizuru and Meiya who were still... oblivious to everything that was happening around them.
I'm sorry….
Takeru nodded at Kei."Yes, Ayamine, it is related."
Kei then stood up and approached him. She then stopped in front of him and said, "Then let me be the first.…"
This somehow did not surprise Takeru, given how sharp she was on such things. However, those that were paying attention seemed to be in shock.
"Wait! Ayamine!"
Marimo tried to stop Kei. However, Yuuko, held her back, shaking her head at her.
Takeru looked up to the black-haired girl in front of him, and then he stood. He then took the glove off on one of his hands and gently tapped her forehead. Her eyes then glazed, seemingly trying to process the amount of information entering her. He could only thank someone out there that this process is not the same as he had experienced during the Merging. She wobbled a bit but he managed to steady her by holding her waist.
"Takeru…?" she said, slowly getting off from his embrace, steadying herself.
"Ayamine…?" He asked curious as to what she will say.
Takeru then receive an ear-popping slap from the seemingly stoic girl.
….
….
He could only look at her in surprise as he touched his stinging cheek.
"You really are stupid… Takeru… and call me Kei…." She then strode back towards her seat confidently after she said that little bit at him. She then sat on her chair, a radiant smile now on her usually stoic face, giving a single nod at Sumika and Kasumi who also wore the same expression on their faces.
Those that were not in shock seemed confused at the action, their attention turning to Kei.
"How does it feel Kei-chan?" Mikoto asked, still comforting Chizuru who was still crying, with Miki by her side.
"Great… Mikoto…."
The blue-haired girl seemed confused at that since Kei never called her by name before.
"Well, as you can see, there are no adverse effects." Takeru said as the stinging pain on his cheek subsided. "So are you all ready?"
There seemed to be doubts basing from their expressions and most likely, Meiya and Chizuru can't even hear him. However, it seemed Kei's voluntary demonstrations seemed to be working. He really should thank her in the near future. Still, in the end, they nodded.
First was Miki, who seemed to be fine by now, though her face was still red from crying. She gave no protest as he gave her her memories. After the process, she gave him a cute pouting look. "Kei-chan is right, Takeru, you really are stupid." She then pinched his arms to show how displeased she was.
Takeru then did the same to Mikoto who was also in the same state as Miki before the process. She gave him a heart broken look but never did anything to hinder him. After giving her her memories, she did a sigh and gave him her usual cheerful smile. "E he he, Takeru, you need to drink more milk, you're becoming more of an idiot."
I don't even know how milk can help with preventing and minimizing idiocy.
Then next was Chizuru. He tapped her in the shoulder to get her to look up to him. "Chizuru, do you want me to give you your memories?"
She looked up to him as tears were still flowing from her eyes. "I don' really have a choice… anyway… Go ahead and do it… I don't care anymore.…"
Takeru nodded and tapped her forehead gently. With a glazed look on her eyes, her expression changed from heartbroken, to a beautiful smile, and then to a face full of righteous anger.
Then she punched him hard on the face.
"You idiot! I never knew you would be this stupid! Did your mother dropped you in the head while you were still a baby!?"
Even though she just insulted and yelled at him, he felt great. No, he was not a masochist. It's just that Chizuru was back to normal now. Back to her usual tsundere self. However, he really needs to ask for her forgiveness in the future.
Then he turned towards Meiya.
He felt guilty just by looking at her.
She was still staring at nothing as tears were falling from her blue eyes, hurting, in pain, by his lies.
As he neared her, Tsukuyomi, and the three girls with her, blocked his path.
"I won't hurt her, Tsukuyomi-san."
"Then give me my memories first, Shirogane Takeru."
"Tsukuyomi-sama!" Tsukuyomi's decision surprised the three girls.
"This is my duty, do not hinder me."
"Then us too!"
Well then, Tsukuyomi and the three girls first before Meiya.
He nodded and then gave them each of their respective memories. They were strong, as they did not even flinch from the experience, as expected from the members of the Imperial Guards. Still, he noticed that their expression somewhat softened, seemingly more carefree and relaxed, especially the three girls.
"Waa! It's the crappy commoner!"
It was quite funny, their usual seemingly idiotic behaviors back in the old world in their Imperial Guards uniform. It was quite a surreal site. He could not help but smile of the return of the three idiots.
"Takeru-sama"
Hmm, Tsukuyomi-san? He saw her bowing her head at him, which the three idiots followed. They then moved away from his path.
"Do what you must, Takeru-sama," Tsukuyomi-san said urging him to go to Meiya with a smile on her face.
He gave a nod again and neared Meiya.
"I am sorry Meiya."
He then gave her her memories.
After several moments, she looked up at him, tears still falling from her eyes. "Takeru? Is it really you? Is this not a dream?"
"This is no dream, Meiya." He gave her a smile.
Suddenly, she tackled him to the floor, now clinging to his chest as he lay face up, saying his name repeatedly. Takeru patted her head gently. "It's alright now, Meiya, everything's alright; it's not a dream… Shhh… please don't cry anymore…"
She then looked at him, raising her head from his chest, eyes still red from crying, smiling a beautiful and radiant smile.
"Oh my, Meiya-sama, you already learned much do you?" Tsukuyomi suddenly said looking down on them from the side with the three idiots, a knowing smile on her face.
"Congratulations, Meiya-sama!" the three girls followed.
He then realized that he and Meiya were in a very compromising position.
He then frantically looked around and saw some of the squad were blushing while the others were glaring at him. Sumika was also fuming, readying her secret technique to be used on him if he doesn't get up fast. At that, he then urged Meiya to stand, which she did so, albeit slowly and reluctantly.
Yes, this is how it supposed to be.… This is how things should have been….
"Ahem! What about Marimo, Takeru?" Yuuko said, calling his attention, waving her hands towards Marimo.
"Sorry about that."
He then walked towards Marimo to give her her memories.
After a few moments…
"Hooh… wasn't it quite an experience, right, Marimo? I know I do when he did it to me."
Marimo-chan only nodded at Yuuko's remark.
Hmm, strange…
"What's wrong, Marimo-chan?"
"Nothing! Takeru…" She shook her head frantically.
"Heeh… close to the young man aren't we Marimo… I might get jealous, you know?" Yuuko said as she leered at Marimo mischievously with a grin on her face.
"Shut up, Yuuko…" Marimo replied, giving Yuuko a glare.
As if on cue, Takahashi-san entered the room.
"Ah, it seems the talks have been finished, is it not?"
"Not yet, Takahashi-san, but everything's fine now."
"Ah, then why don't you have lunch first before continuing, and I think the ladies needed a break."
Takeru nodded at him as some of the group began to proceed to the dining room while the others went to ask where the bathroom was so that they could fix themselves from the emotional roller coaster they had just experienced.
-000-
(The Mansion – Cottage Room)
After an extravagant lunch, Takeru and the group came back to the room to continue their discussion and for him to answer more of their questions.
"So what are we going to do now…, oh great Takeru?" Yuuko asked snidely with her ever-present devilish grin.
"Well, some of you, if you wish, could stay in the island for about a day or two to acclimate yourselves with your memories and the new skills you have, especially the squad."
"But what about the evaluations Takeru? Or should it be Captain Shirogane now?" Chizuru asked, seemingly fully recovered. The same could be said with Meiya.
"Takeru would be fine, Class Rep, as for the evaluations, I did say that it would not happen. Doing it right now would just be repetitive and with your memories, it would just be too easy. Just train yourselves in any way you think would be right and I'll do the rest. You could also reintroduce yourselves in TSF piloting with the simulators we have here, but given the accumulated experience, I think it wouldn't be any problem."
Chizuru shook her head. "Very well, but I doubt we could catch up with you." The comment from her prompted the rest to nod their heads in agreement.
"What about the XM3 Takeru, it is not made yet? This could prove a problem with our piloting." Meiya said.
"Ho ho ho, don't worry, Mitsurugi, the XM3 is already developed and now at a hundred percent, due to our boy-wonder here," Yuuko-sensei answered for him a bit haughtily, laughing, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.
"That is good news."
"It's already developed!"
"As expected…"
" Takeru's amazing!"
"Cool, Takeru."
Meiya, Class Rep, Kei, Tama, and Mikoto said respectively, giving their own expressions of amazement at the good news.
"Ah, it was nothing really. I only managed to recreate it with Yuuko-sensei here."
"But what about graduation, Takeru-san?" Tama asked sweetly.
"It will happen as soon as we come back to the base, I'll just contact them to get ready."
"Okay!" Tama cutely nodded.
It seems there will be no more questions. With that, the group began to leave. Still, there was something he really wanted to ask for a very long time now, so he called Mikoto, which garnered the attention of the other girls, but thankfully, they did not probe him much about it.
"So what do you want to talk to me about, Takeru?" She cocked her head to the side.
"Well, I want to ask you something?" Takeru was nervous.
"What is it Takeru?"
"Umm… back in the old world; were you a boy or a girl?"
…
…..
….
"Huh?" There was now a confused look on her face.
"Were you a boy or a girl back in the old world?" Takeru reiterated the question.
Mikoto widened her eyes then smiled. "Well…"
"Well?"
"Well.…"
"Well?"
He leaned towards her, their faces an inch from touching each other. Seriously, this question is bugging me for a very long time.
"It's a secret!" she said with a smile, finger in the side of her lips and closing both of her eyes.
Did she just….
"A ha ha, you look funny Takeru, well see ya!" she said, and then ran to catch up with the others
Takeru sighed. What turns around comes around or something like that.
Regardless, he should give them space and talk to them tomorrow.
-000-
(Chizuru – The Narcissus) (2002/10/30) (The Mansion – Armory)
Everything's becoming so strange, Chizuru thought as she continued to tinker with a bulky conglomeration of metal.
"It's really weird when just yesterday I don't even know a quarter of what I'm doing now…," she murmured to herself as she checked another box full metal parts, picking one of the unaccountable identical pieces and placing it to what she's assembling.
Chizuru was on the mansion's armory, assembling different parts from different guns and such so that she could create her own weapon, her face full of dirt and some black machinery oil on her cheeks, as she held a monkey wrench, surrounded by the crates of bullets of different calibers and metallic parts of unknown purposes.
It feels calming when I'm doing this….
The place, if one could describe it, was a big underground warehouse full of weaponry and armaments, from simple knives to M242 Bushmasters just lying around, some on top of wooden crates, which contained spare parts. For what purpose this particular part of the mansion existed, she never really cared. Right now though, it was a mess. A disassembled GShG-7.62 machine gun here and some parts of an old M61 Vulcan bullet there. This was far from the ordered state when she first arrived.
Memories huh… and I was so angry with…. Geh!
She then threw a random part away, angry.
I cried so much yesterday… that was so embarrassing. She blushed, stopping for a moment.
"That stupid Takeru… making me angry…. He could have just told us the first time we met."
She shook her head.
Not that I would've believed him.
She then returned to her work, getting a random part from another crate full of random parts.
"And these memories of him and me… Argh!" she said, messing her own hair from frustration. "I never thought I could do something like that!" She then threw away another random metal piece, face red, and not caring if it would break or not. This only made the mess in the armory much worse.
She then heard the irregular tapping of footsteps, which made her narrow her eyes.
"Class Rep?"
A voice called her, prompting Chizuru to take action, lifting the huge weapon she was assembling with one hand, and pulling a long ammunition belt with another, feeding it to the huge weapon and pointing it towards the source of the voice.
"Stop or I'll blow you to pieces!"
"Whoa there, Class Rep; don't point that thing at me!" The young man in front of her said, frantically waving his hands and comically shielding himself from the very intense pain she might dish out, which was useless given that if she fired, he would be torn to pieces.
The weapon she was carrying was something akin to a smaller version of GAU-8 rotary cannon of an A-10 Thunderbolt II, but due to its somewhat incomplete state, which was mostly aesthetics, it looked similar to those sci-fi Gatling guns that soldiers carry on their shoulders on a post-apocalyptic world, giving it an intimidating look.
Chizuru sighed.
"You shouldn't surprise people with a sudden entrance, Takeru, especially someone who is working on this baby," she said, waving the ominous looking rotary gun.
"He he… noted… So, are you okay now, Class Rep? You were pretty distraught yesterday."
"It's not really all bad, Takeru." She removed the ammunition belt from the huge gun, casually throwing it away, and then dropped the huge weapon haphazardly. "It's just that, things are happening so fast… and these memories just confuse me sometimes. N-not that I hate it… It's just.…"
Takeru nodded. "I understand, Class Rep, you just need more time… At least I know you're alright." He then turned around and walked away, evading several cluttered pieces of firearms and such.
"Wait!" Chizuru yelled stopping Takeru on his tracks, making him turn around.
"Is there something more you need to tell me, Class Rep?"
"I-I-I'm sorry I accused you of such things, Takeru." she stuttered, bowing her head in apology.
"No, Class Rep, you were right, I did lie to you girls and hurt you in the process. I should be the one apologizing to you."
"No! It was not right! You helped us! You gave us a second chance! I won't let you take all the blame for yourself!"
"Ah…. But I already did, Class Rep… I'm just happy that you girls are now here to support me."
He then turned and left.
She tried to stop him, reaching out her hand to call out to him, but there was no voice, no words would come out of her mouth. She then brought her hand down and sat on the floor, returning to what she was doing before he came, now with new vigor in her eyes.
"I won't let you, Takeru… this time… this time.…"
-000-
(Mikoto – The Coreopsis) (A Certain Southern Island)
"Say Miki-san," Mikoto said while throwing a dagger at her partner, but the pink-haired girl evaded it. "What do you think of things right now?" Her opponent shot her, but she dodged it by hairs breath. "Especially the memories." Her opponent's bullet and her dagger clashed creating sparks, as she deflected the bullet away.
"Well…" Miki fired again from her two guns as she answered, but hitting only air as Mikoto dodged it deftly. "It's not bad, that I'm sure of."
Mikoto then threw two daggers at Miki, but the dual wielding girl managed to dodge them by bending her back backwards, the dagger only hitting the tree behind, as she did a barrel roll to another position to get a good shot.
"But some memories are well… you know…" Miki blushed, as she kicked away another dagger Mikoto threw at her and fired again at the green-haired girl, whom she was discussing important things as though they were not in the middle of a heated battle.
"Ha!" Mikoto shouted as she did a back flip then a cart wheel to dodge the bullets that were sent her way, then jumped and kicked a trunk of a tree to give her a boost as she launched herself towards Miki, a dagger on each hand to stab her, which the gun wielding girl blocked with her two handguns. "Geh! Yeah, some of these memories are just…"
Both Mikoto and Miki blushed as they tried force each other away from their respective weapons.
Suddenly they heard a rustle from the bushes nearby, which made Mikoto throw a couple of daggers while Miki fired twice towards the direction of the noise.
"Woah!" they heard, as Takeru jumped out from the bushes, unharmed, but clearly sweating.
"Takeru!" Mikoto and Miki said, stopping their extreme sparring match to greet the young man.
"Umm... You should be careful where you point those things girls. If it wasn't me, you would've killed someone by now."
This prompted the girls to lower their heads a bit, scratching the back of their heads.
"E he he, sorry about that, Takeru."
"Sorry…"
Mikoto and Miki said respectively.
Takeru sighed and patted both of their heads, ruffling their hair a bit.
"So you were sparring with live weapons? Isn't that a bit dangerous?" Takeru raised an eyebrow as he asked.
"A ha ha, we're not really trying to off each other, Takeru," Mikoto said, waving the dagger in her right hand dangerously.
"Yup, were not seriously fighting!" Miki added, waving both of her hands, still holding her loaded handguns.
Mikoto saw Takeru's eye twitch, confusing her. Huh?
"Well… if you say so… It seems you're both fine, but, if one of you gets hurt because of this then I'll never let you do something like this again, okay?"
"Yes, Takeru!" both of them said, nodding.
Takeru then backed away, making way for them to continue their sparing match.
"Return to the mansion for lunch alright?"
"Of course, Takeru!" the girls both sweetly said as they begun another session.
He shook his head and then left.
"Hey, Miki-san." Mikoto threw again another dagger that only hit a tree as Miki evaded it, picking up another seemingly from out of nowhere "What do you think of Takeru?" She then jumped and kicked another tree for a boost, doing a back flip over her pink-haired opponent, throwing a couple of daggers, which then Miki blocked by her guns, clashing and creating sparks in the process.
"I like him Mikoto-san. What about you? Yah!" Miki then gave Mikoto a roundhouse kick, which was blocked by a same kick by Mikoto after she landed.
"He he, I like him too!"
Mikoto then backed away and so was Miki, smiling innocently to each other.
They then both launched towards each other, Mikoto throwing unaccountable daggers and Miki guns blazing, dodging each other's attacks adroitly, until they were a hairs breath from each other, a dagger on Miki's neck and a gun on Mikoto's head.
They then smiled to each other and said, "Then let's do our best for him!"
-000-
(Kei – The Edelweiss) (A Certain Southern Island)
Broken pieces of rocks and wood littered the area, as Kei was doing a martial arts kata. Swift and gentle but harsh and brutal, a combination of punches and kicks, seemingly simple, but the power behind them was undeniable.
"You shouldn't peek at girls…, Takeru…," she suddenly said, still on her routine as the man she addressed came out behind a large boulder.
"A ha ha, sorry about that, Ayamine."
"Kei…"
"Huh?"
Kei suddenly unleashed a powerful punch towards the young man, missing his face just by an inch head and hitting the boulder, making a hole with spider webs of a crack on it and chipping off some of it.
"Call me, Kei," she repeated, looking stoically at him.
"O-of course… Kei," he stuttered, nodding at her.
Kei then pulled her hand back and continued her kata.
"What are you doing here…, Takeru?"
"Umm… I was just checking if you're alright, especially with what happened yesterday. But it seems that my worries are unwarranted."
She only nodded.
"Oh and come back for lunch, we don't want you to get famished aren't we?"
Kei's reply was a sudden powerful ax kick, which he caught by one hand.
"Why did you do that, Kei?" Takeru asked, cocking his head, still holding her leg.
"You are still stronger…"
He then released her leg.
"I did say I'm not normal."
Kei nodded.
"Spar.… Next time.…"
The young man in front of her smiled and said, "I promise."
He then turned back, leaving Kei standing in her place, unmoving.
Her gaze then fell to her right hand, raising it and making a fist. "I have to get stronger…."
-000-
(Meiya – The Lily) (A Certain Southern Island)
The river nearby was flowing serenely, the water clear with a plethora of fishes visibly swimming about. It was a peaceful scenery with the nearby jungle surrounding her, blocking most of the sunlight and giving off a comfortable feeling to those that were there.
There, Meiya was familiarizing herself with her improved skill on sword wielding, specifically the katana. A blade on each hand and their sheaths on each side of her hips, she was fluidly swinging them with a high-level of skill that was expected from a master of the art, a deadly dance of blades.
Then, she heard as sound from the nearby jungle, which made her rush towards the source, quickly slashing at the figure that came out with her two blades.
"Hiie!" However, her attempt ended up as a failure as the young man that came out dived to his right, scurrying away until his back hit the trunk of a nearby tree.
Giving the scared and sweating young man a beautiful smile, she said "Welcome, Takeru, what is the reason for this eventful visit?"
"H-hello Meiya, I just wanted to check if you were fine," he said between ragged breaths as he tried to calm himself.
Meiya then sheathed her blades deftly. "I am fine, Takeru, thank you. It fills my heart with happiness that you are concerned for my well-being. However, what about the others?"
She cocked her head to the side.
"I already met up with Class Rep, Kei, Mikoto, and Tama."
"What about the rest?"
"Marimo-chan and Yuuko-sensei left for the base early in the morning. They said they have things to do there, but no worries, given that all of you are already acclimated with your respective memories, I think we will meet up with them a couple of days from now for the graduation. Concerning Kasumi and Sumika, they are at the mansion with Takahashi-san and I'm confident that they are alright. As for Tsukuyomi and the three idiots, they already left to inform Yuuhi about what happened here and about our plans and goals. In addition, given that they are still members of the Imperial Guards, they still have to report to their posts or it would become suspicious and might attract unwanted attention. Do not worry, Meiya; they will protect your sister."
She nodded in understanding, already knowing what happened to her sister.
"And before I forget, you should come back to the mansion for lunch. It's not good for a beautiful girl such as yourself to skip a meal you know."
Beautiful? Her cheeks reddened. She felt good from his praise, making her blush. However, she had to ask. "I promise… umm… Takeru?" Meiya said, fidgeting a bit.
"What is it, Meiya?"
"Do you… remember what I said…."
"About?"
"My last moments…." Meiya remembered the crawling sense of pain as the Superior violated her, its tentacles overtaking her. She remembered his anguished cries as she gave her final request, as she revealed herself to him, her emotions, and her feelings. Even if he did not choose her, she had decided to devote her life to him, and only him, to the man that she loved the most. That is happiness for her, that is enough. However, this time….
"A-ah…. Meiya…" She saw Takeru widen his eyes, as realization came forth to him.
Ah, he does….
"I—"
"Knowing that you remember is enough for me…. Just know that what I said is true, forever."
For eternity….
Takeru was speechless, lowering his head. Seeing this, Meiya decided to change to topic. "Could we have a friendly spar next time…? I want to test my skills against you."
Takeru perked up. "Of course, Meiya, anytime."
She then gave him a radiant smile, making the young man in front of her blush.
"I'll remember that, Takeru"
The young man nodded and said, "See you…," then left.
"See you, Takeru.…"
After a few moments, Meiya was still on her spot, looking at the direction the young man left.
This time….
"At last… my feelings have finally reached you… my love."
-000-
(The Mansion – Dining Room)
The dining room was grandiose, a very long table in the middle of the room made of expensive wood with several comfortable chairs, paintings of different scenery from every season, and a large chandelier as the source of light.
Takeru returned to the mansion before lunch to check up on Kasumi and Sumika and as he entered the dining room, he saw them chatting with some of the helpers and chefs. These helpers and chefs then nodded at him in recognition as soon as they noticed him walking towards them and left to do their own work. The girls also turned their attention towards him.
"Hey, Takeru-chan!"
"Hello."
Sumika and Kasumi said respectively towards the young man.
"Hello, Sumika, Kasumi." Takeru greeted back.
"So how are they, Takeru-chan?" the red-haired girl asked.
"Oh, them? They are fine. Right now, they are familiarizing themselves with their new skills. Still, I'm a bit worried, they were really emotional yesterday."
Takeru then sat on a chair next to the girls, massaging his temples, seemingly stressed. Seeing this, the white-haired girl stood up and began to pat his head gently, a stoic look still on her face, which made him look up at her and smile in appreciation.
"Do not worry."
Sumika then raised her right hand in gesture and said, "Kasumi is right, Takeru-chan. They were not angry with you, they were just surprised, that's all," giving the young man an encouragement.
Takeru smiled at their antics.
"Thank you Sumika, Kasumi."
Sumika smiled in reply while Kasumi was still patting his head, then, the red-haired girl tilted her head, seemingly confused. "By the way Takeru-chan, when will we be going back to the base?"
The question from Sumika prompted Kasumi to stop her patting, as the young man looked at them and said, "This Thursday, from call from Yuuko, the graduation, and formalities will happen as soon as we arrived, as for the briefing and the uniforms, we will have them in America right after, specifically the headquarters of the conglomerate."
"Ehh… We're pretty stacked up in our schedule aren't we, Takeru-chan?"
"Time waits for no one."
The young man nodded and said, "It is as Kasumi said, Sumika, time will not wait for us and so is the BETA."
"Right!"
Sumika eagerly nodded while Kasumi gave a single nod as they waited for the rest of the squad to come back.
-000-
(Sumika – The Carnation) (The Mansion)
"Geh! What are you doing here, Meiya-san?"
"What are you doing."
It was late at night, and there in front of her was Meiya with a plain blue kimono used for sleeping.
"Oh, if it's not Sumika and Kasumi; It's a pleasant night isn't?"
Kasumi and Sumika were in pajamas, with hers being pink while Kasumi's were black.
"Don't dodge a question with pleasantries!"
"Don't dodge."
"I am to do my duty as I always did; I am to sleep by his side. Is it not why you two here?"
"A-ah…. What if we are?"
"Yes."
"Kasumi!"
"Question…. answer…."
Mikoto and Miki then came out of a corner, with Mikoto wearing a large green shirt and black shorts while Miki was wearing a yellow, frilly, and childish sleepwear.
"Nya ha, you guys are also here."
"E he he, we were too late, Miki."
Then Kei and Chizuru came out from the side where she and Kasumi came from, Kei wearing a red tank top and white shorts while Chizuru was in a green tracksuit.
"Hey! What are you doing here late at night, it's improper!"
"Then why are you carrying a pillow…?"
Chizuru choked up as she hid her blushing face behind her pillow.
"Hmm…. It seemed that we all wish to sleep by his side," Meiya concluded, nodding to herself.
"Mou…. And here I thought I'll be alone with him tonight."
"I'm here."
"Ah, sorry, Kasumi; can't help myself."
"So, who's going…?"
"How about we have a competition to decide?" Mikoto proposed, answering Kei's question.
"We do not have time," Meiya said, rejecting it.
"Then why don't we all just go…. I don't mind…."
"I for one, agree, Ayamine-san."
"Not proper! Not proper at all!" Chizuru suddenly interceded with a red face, just like she always do.
"Then don't come… we'll leave you behind…."
"Kiii! I'll go, but it's not like I want to. It's just so that there will be no illicit stuff happening."
"E he he, tsundere!"
"Nya ha, tsundere!"
"Shut up! Mikoto, Miki."
"We don't have a choice, Kasumi-chan."
"Agree."
They then opened the door, each of then slowly approaching the large bed where Takeru was sleeping. A battle would have begun for the prize positions near Takeru, but doing so would just be cruel to the sleep deprived him. Thus, all of them nodded to each other lying down to their preferred positions beside him.
"So what are we going to do?" Sumika asked.
"I propose time-sharing…," Kei answered, nodding like a know-it-all sage.
"Time-sharing?"
"Assign times for each of us to be alone with him…."
"That would be impossible, with all the things that we must do."
"There are seven of us; I don't think that would be productive," Sumika agreed with Meiya's reasoning.
"I guess.…"
"Then how about assigning days, a day for each of us. Perfect right? Since there are seven of us." Mikoto gave her own proposal for the situation.
"Then what about Marimo-sensei, and Yuuko-sensei?" Miki asked.
"What about them?"
"I'm sure they are the same as us. Also, I saw Yuuko waking up beside him yesterday morning," Sumika answered.
"Keh, beaten to a punch by a mature woman," Chizuru shook her head as she cursed.
"Complicated."
"Then why don't we just do what we are currently doing, I see no problem with it." Sumika and the girls nodded at the conclusion Meiya gave. "And we should not worry him. He had enough problems already."
"Yes."
"Agreed…."
"Humph! Of course."
"Yay, a slumber party."
"E he he, this is a unique experience."
"Let's stay by his side and support him for all that we can," Sumika said. For a second, she saw Takeru open his eyes and smiled, minutely nodding to himself.
-000-
(2001/11/01) (Yokohama Base – Auditorium)
It was the squad's graduation, where everything truly begins.
The girls were sitting in front of him, on their foldable metal chairs, with Meiya to the far right followed by Kei, Chizuru, Sumika, Mikoto, Miki, and Kasumi. It was quite a novel sight, seeing Sumika so disciplined with Kasumi, sitting with the squad. As for Takeru, he was with Marimo, sitting right next to her on their respective chairs on the right side of the auditorium, near the stage and in front of the girls. Also, on the left side parallel to his position were Undersecretary-general Tamase, Prime Minister Sakaki, Sakon Yoroi, Tsukuyomi with the three idiots, and Yuuko.
Their presence made some of the girls fidgety, as the adults were looking at them.
With Chizuru, he saw her glancing from time to time towards her father, who was looking at her with an unreadable expression on his face.
As for Miki, her face had a full-blown blush, as her dad was constantly taking pictures of her without care, an excited look on his face, saying, "Tama-chan is so cute and all grown up now! A father could never be so proud! A ha ha ha!" while tears of happiness flowing from his eyes.
With Mikoto, she had her ever-present cheerful smile, but still fidgety with a hint of red on her face, stealing glances towards his grinning father from time to time.
Lastly was Meiya with her noble demeanor, unfazed by those around her, as Tsukuyomi was proudly looking at her with the three idiots. Still, every now and then, a flash would come from Tsukuyomi's direction, but every time he looked at her, she would just be back on her usual strict expression, no camera on hand. In addition, the three idiots, when they think that no one was looking, would make funny faces at him. Takeru can't help but smile at their antics. It's like I'm really back in the old world.
As for the others, they were sitting in attention; except for Sumika who was looking at him with a smile on her face every time his gaze fell on to her.
However, all of this came to a halt when General Radhabinod and a man with a captain rank walked up towards the stage.
Marimo-chan then stood up. "Attention!" she ordered as the girls stood up. "Salute, General Radhabinod!"
The girls then gave a salute as the general nodded.
"At ease."
The girls then dropped their right hands and sat back on their chairs, same with Marimo, as the general began his speech.
"Today we have a wonderful occasion as new cadets will graduate and take up the mantle to protect mankind from its enemies, cadets who will become humanities shield and sword and will serve with the utmost of their abilities."
That's a different speech…
Then again, it was expected, for they are graduating much earlier than the past loop. Also, the coup d'état didn't happen... yet.
"Especially with these very talented youngsters, who I'm sure will do great things in the near future. But the honor of giving these cadets their new ranks will not be on my hands as it would only be proper that their soon to be commander to be the one to give what is due to them."
Here goes nothing.
"I hereby call Captain Takeru Shirogane to be the one to do the honors."
He stood up, gave the general a salute which he nodded in reply, and then walked up to the stage, taking the general's place. "I'll be honest with you; I don't know what to say…. I am not good with giving speeches nor rising up your spirits for in truth, I am just like you, only a cadet, only but a fresh graduate…. However, after this moment, you… we… will be official Eishi's, to be deployed in the front lines to face the menace that is the BETA. Things will not be easy, nor it would be glorious, for we will bleed, we will cry, and we will despair. However, know this. With every drop of sweat, with every drop of tear from our eyes, and with every drop of blood that we will shed, you, we, each and one of us will give humanity a chance, a chance for a better life, a chance for a better world, and a chance for a better future…. Remember, you are fighting for every man, woman, and child in this god-forsaken earth, regardless of race, religion, and origin, but more importantly, you will fight for yourselves, for your friends, for your family, and for your love ones." He raised his right hand and clenched it to a fist. "Etch these words into you very souls, for they will be your pride and joy, your guide trough these dark times, as you go on through this bloody journey. With strength and determination, with love and courage, we will forge a golden path as we march on towards our goals." The girls were staring at him with eyes full of trust, smiling, as the others listened. He then took a breath of air and lowered his hand. "Today is a good day for all of humanity as new heroes are born, heroes that will pave a path of light through the darkness that enshrouds us all. Heroes that will give hope to the future that was once thought to be full of despair. Heroes that will be the symbol of a new age, and lead humanity as whole towards a brighter future for humankind… that I am sure of." He then closed my eyes to compose himself. "I and the UN hereby acknowledge these cadets as new graduates and fully fledged Eishi's. That is all." He then nodded at Marimo who nodded back and stood up.
"Attention!" she ordered again as the girls stood up. "Salute, Captain Shirogane!"
After the girls gave him a salute, the captain beside him spoke, "We will now present you with your rank insignias." He and the other captain then called each of the girl's names to give them their second lieutenant insignias.
"Now I will inform you that you all will be joining a newly created UN military division independent from higher command, and as of today Sergeant Marimo Jinguuji will be given a new rank, which whom will also join us in the said division. Congratulations first lieutenant." Takeru then tossed the first lieutenant insignia at Marimo-chan, which she clumsily caught, staring at him disbelievingly. "The details of this new division will be given in the briefing the will be held later."
"But what is the name of the new division, Ta-Captain Shirogane?" Marimo asked.
"The UN Flower Squadron."
-000-
(Author's Notes)
Hello readers, thank you to those that reviewed, followed and favorited this fic and kudos to those that are reading this section.
To those that might think that by nerfing Takeru, his enemies will also be nerfed. Nope, not going to happen. Muv-Luv is about overcoming despair, and badassery, so nerfing the enemies would be counterproductive for the story. The BETA and his human enemies will be increasing their threat level, making the battles more exciting, well; I hope it would be more exciting. Though don't expect it so soon... Basically, the threat that Takeru poses will make ripples that would make his enemies much stronger, much more threatening. You see, I'm more like, earn your happy ending kind of person, so Takeru curb stomping everything would be boring, for me and for the readers.
To those that think that Ikaruga had become a pussy, well, more like easily convince. Sorry if he may seem to be like that. My reasoning would be that with Kyogoku, that character from Sakura Taisen, being the son of the Emperor, Ikaruga's power and influence is pretty much cut in half, if not, lower, making him a bit desperate to oust the walking cancer. Also, it is easy to say yes, but actually giving his support to Takeru is still up in the clouds, that's the reason Takeru would be rushing things, which would be much clearer in the next arc. Still, I won't downplay Ikaruga's role since he's too much of an awesome character.
For now, that would be all. Remember; I'm open to some ideas, reviews, and criticism from, you, readers, for me to improve this story. Again, thank you for reading and good day.