Gundam Build Fighters A
Chapter 21
A Maid and Hand Pain
Time that Emika and Alex were supposed to spend on the Gundam Age-2 Sword Shroud's shakedown run was suddenly redirected into an unexpected challenge issued by none other than the famous Italian Dandy… Ricardo Fellini and his gunpla the Wing Gundam Fenice.
"Emika, can I use the Sword Shroud's glider mode?" Alex asks of Emika through their shared com-link as the Sword Shroud speeds towards the Fenice.
"No….. this child is only ready for a MS form shakedown run." Emika answered as she reluctantly shakes her head, "The internal frame is still mostly that of a 1/144 scale Age-2 MG. It still needs to be tweaked to handle the change in the Sword Shroud's transformation process."
"Understood….. any suggestions on how to fight the Italian Dandy?" Alex asked as he quickly decided to change the subject.
"He seems more interested in seeing what we can do rather than defeating us, so it is unlikely he'll try to destroy the Sword Shroud outright." Emika pointed out, "But don't forget you're still piloting a gunpla in testing phase, so you shouldn't get cocky either."
"Understood….. normal opening hand it is." Alex said before closing his shared com-link.
The Age-2 Sword Shroud increased its altitude to just half its body length above the Fenice as the former approached the latter with its beam saber drawn, of which the Italian Dandy responded by drawing his own beam rapier as he prepared himself for whatever angle Alex may decide to approach from.
"It's an honor to be able to exchange pointers with one of the world's best!" Alex yelled as he raised his beam saber over his gunpla's head.
The Sword Shroud unleashed a downwards slash from left to right at a slight angle while taking advantage of its thrusters to increase its cutting power.
"Not fast enough!" Ricardo thought as he instantly raised his beam rapier horizontally overhead.
Such a defensive step on the Italian Dandy's part proved to be unnecessary as shockingly enough…. the Sword Shroud's beam saber missed its mark as it was only an inch or two from making contact with the former's beam rapier as well as the rest of his gunpla.
"He missed?" Emika mumbled aloud.
"A feint?!" Ricardo thought as he immediately prepared to put some distance between himself and his young opponent, but he would likely face palm himself were he to know his opponent's thoughts.
"Wha…. if he just dodged that would be one thing, but did I just seriously undershoot that attack? How could I make such a mistake?" Alex thought as his eyes go wide from the shock caused by this occurrence.
Not wanting to take the chance of Ricardo using his momentary state of mind as a chance to launch a counterattack, Alex has the Sword Shroud spin clockwise, back up a few feet, and draw its Hyper DODS rifle that Emika had personally customized.
"Take this!" Alex yelled as he repeatedly pulled the trigger of his beam rifle.
The Fenice hadn't actually gotten that far away when the Age-2 Sword Shroud fired off its first shot; however it was still easy for someone of Ricardo Fellini's skill level to dodge that attack despite the short distance. That momentarily shocked Alex though he still continued to fire shot after shot as the Fenice both dodged and put even greater distance between the two of them.
"His aim's not bad for using a new gunpla… maybe it's time I start treating this kid a little more seriously." Ricardo thought as he has the Fenice whip out its custom buster rifle.
"What the….. granted it's expected a world class fighter could dodge my measly attacks, but I'm certain I'm aiming for where the cockpit would be in a real mobile suit." Alex thought as he carefully dodges Ricardo's attempts to return the favor with his own rifle, "So why are my shots veering slightly in random directions as I fire?"
As the person who created this gunpla, Emika quickly noticed the same issues with aiming that Alex did and focused her attention on the various data filled monitors before her in order to attempt to figure out the problem.
"Weight distribution isn't a problem, no damage to the internal frame, the rifle's recoil is within the margin of safety, and I almost religiously programmed the OS around Alex's battle style so that can't be it either." Emika though as her hands fly across the keyboard, "Could it be a minor stack flow error caused by the Sword Shroud having a higher performance output than predicted? I mean it's not like Alex is doing this on…. wait… could it be."
The next thing Emika does is bring up the Age-2 Sword Shroud's command input log, of which is not referring to the OS Emika created for it but rather it's a detailed log of the various motions Alex is making to control the Sword Shroud along with a corresponding timestamp.
"Here…. here…. and here…. I see, so that's the cause." Emika thought as she reviewed the information on her monitor, "These off and or momentarily lag movements are being caused by Alex after all. For some reason when he occasionally moves the control orbs in a certain direction….. his hands suddenly twitch slightly in the opposite way causing these issues….. I must have set the sensitivity of the controls too high."
Alex and the Italian Dandy's battle was as still as vigorous as ever while Emika was preoccupied with reviewing the Sword Shroud's data. These two continue to exchange a volley with one another as they maneuver in between the very few things they can use as obstacles in this battlefield within the stars; however the Sword Shroud's movement discrepancies continue to plague Alex. The most noticeable would be the Sword Shroud's legs bumping against a piece of debris causing Alex to end up spinning around like a shuriken.
"Hmrphh…. forget this." Alex thought as he re-ignites one of his shared gunpla's beam sabers whilst holding in the desire to vomit, "It's time to get back to what I do best!"
At that moment Alex has the Sword Shroud proceed towards the Fenice at its maximum possible speed.
"Is that so? Well don't worry the Italian Dandy isn't going anywhere!" Ricardo declared as he and his gunpla braced himself for Alex's charge.
Alex once again raised his beam saber overhead as the Sword Shroud was only a few inches away from the Fenice. He then swung his beam saber down with the intention of aiming where the Fenice's cockpit would be in a real mobile suit; however at the last possible second Alex's attack veers to the right seemingly with the intention of dismembering the Fenice's unarmed left hand.
"Another feint?" Ricardo thought as he sends his partner full speed in reverse for a short burst.
"Why…. why… is the Sword Shroud veering off like this? From the way it feels…. it can't be something Emika did? Which means it has to be… me?" Alex thought shortly before vigorously shaking his head, "No…. you're still in the middle of a battle….. the most disrespectable thing I could do to Emika right now is to lose this fight because I was distracted."
This time Around Alex has the Sword Shroud spin counterclockwise towards the Fenice's right, then switches his beam saber from his right hand to the left, and finally swings the weapon with a near-perfect horizontal slash aiming just under the Fenice's right shoulder armor.
"My partner isn't that easy to deal with." Ricardo thought as he quickly cycled through the Fenice's equipment list.
Just when one might have expected to see the bright orange of plastic being bisected with intense heat; Alex's beam saber much to his surprise is blocked by the cloth-like beam mantle of the Fenice.
"Damn…. I completely forgot it could do that!" Alex thought as he mentally slapped himself for making such a careless mistake.
Someone of Ricardo's skill level easily spots the opening created by Alex's state of surprise, of who then takes advantage of it by punching the Sword Shroud in the face knocking it back a few feet and then launches a successful kick aimed at the same opposing gunpla's right arm. This ends up having the effect of knocking Alex's beam saber out of his hand, of which in turn leaves him wide open for a potentially game-ending attack.
"It's over!" Ricardo declared as he thrusts his beam rapier towards where the cockpit would be if the Sword Shroud were a real mobile suit.
"It's my own fault for getting careless there, but amazing….. to think this is what one of the strongest world-class fighters are capable of. It's clear his skills are far above mine." Alex thought as he too cycles through the Sword Shroud's equipment list, "But so what? I'm not going to give up on this fight that easily."
A small protrusion shoots up from the top of one of the Sword Shroud's wings as Alex confirmed his equipment choice, of who quickly grabs onto it revealing this protrusion to be a hilt. Alex then pulls upon this hilt as hard as possible causing the wing in question to detach from the main body of his gunpla, and he does so with just enough time to barely block the Fenice's beam rapier.
"Ohh…. so your little lady friend modified each of your gunpla's wings to act as a functioning sword." Ricardo said in an impressed tone of voice as his face pops up in Alex's virtual cockpit, "I guess that's why you two call it the Sword Shroud huh?"
"How did you know that? I don't recall introducing our gunpla's name to you." Alex points out as he attempts to push back the Italian Dandy and his gunpla.
"Ha ha sorry." Ricardo laughed with a twinge of guilt in his voice, "I kind have been watching you two just before you started your little test, so I kind of heard it then."
"But still…. this is an impressive sword. To think you'd take the GN Blades from multiple 1/100 scale MG Exia kits, take them apart, reinforce them, whittle them down, and repaint them to something similar in appearance to the Age-2 Gundam's original wings." Alex thought, "Truly… you are an amazing builder Emika. Even if that accident never happened to me…. I still wouldn't be as good a builder as you are now."
For what seemed like several minutes these fighters back off, dash forward, and clash with their blades again and again. To an observer watching this battle from the outside….. it would look as though a green and blue streaks of light were constantly playing tag with one another. Still despite this simulation of zero-gravity making it easier, both Emika and Alex quickly take notice of the latter's severe lack of familiarity when it comes to swinging around a solid sword rather than a beam saber. In fact the Italian Dandy would have long since been able to end the fight thanks to Alex's unfamiliarity (in addition to several other opportunities) were he interested in doing more than help out with a shakedown run. Unfortunately Alex and the Sword Shroud continued to be plagued by these sudden movement issues, of which Ricardo himself starts to take notice of as well though with a different interpretation.
"Damn….. if this were a real fight the Sword Shroud would have been destroyed several times over. Just what is it that I'm doing wrong? I swear… the back of my hands are starting to hurt." Alex thought as he takes a momentary lull in the fighting to shake off the stress in his hands, "Wait…. the back of my hands are starting to hurt?!"
At that moment Alex couldn't help but direct his gaze towards the gloves on his hands as if he could see through them to the scars on the back of his hand as well.
"I remember…. a bit after having to stay in that hospital for the surgery on my hands as well the physical therapy…. my first gunpla battle." Alex thought as he couldn't help but think about the past despite being in the thick of battle, "I got my backside handed to me by the computer thanks to the pain in my hands making it hard if not impossible to maneuver the gunpla I was using my normal way."
Alex thought of the several times he couldn't charge forward or swing his sword thanks to the pain he felt in his hands, of which caused him to fall into a pit of depression thinking he'd never be able to have another gunpla battle again. He also once again internally thanks Brandon for getting him out of such a state of mind.
"Even if I no longer feel it….. my body remembers the pain and depression it felt. After I got out of physical therapy I must have subconsciously started to avoid making the maneuvers that would remind me of that pain. DAMNIT, SO THESE PROBLEMS ARE BECAUSE OF MY OWN WEAKNESS!" Alex thought as he was angered by what he perceived to be his own powerlessness, "Still Emika…. to think you'd be able to make a gunpla so compatible with me that I'd fall into the habits I wanted to avoid without realizing it… you really are amazing. For the sake of being worthy of you as your partner…. I will overcome that weakness starting today!"
If Emika heard Alex's thoughts she'd definitely start blushing due to misunderstanding them especially since the latter is only referring to being her partner in battle. That aside…. Alex has the Sword Shroud draw another of these temporarily named GN Wing Blades, and resumes his melee assault on the Fenice with greater ferocity.
"You're getting too worked up causing you to leave openings." Ricardo pointed out as he dodges or deflects Alex's strikes, "Still…. I'll have to be going soon, so it looks like I'll have to end this fight now."
"If you can…. go right ahead!" Alex yelled as he and the Sword Shroud once again charged at the Fenice.
Ricardo and the Fenice have to be more careful with the increased ferocity of Alex's assault with these two wing blades, however the latter still ends up creating more gaps in his defense due to the sudden wielding of two solid weapons when Alex had yet to practice with just the one.
"It's my fault… his performance is absolutely my fault." Emika quietly mumbled as her mind was racked with guilt once she realized that Alex was thinking about his accident, "If only my mother and I never walked down the street that day, but….. thinking about that makes me feel bad too because I don't want to forget about Alex. Even though I managed to convince my mother to arrange for that surgery, I'll… I'll only be able to wash away that guilt by helping you reclaim everything you lost no matter what you might think of me afterwards."
"I'm the Italian Dandy…. Ricardo Fellini, so yes I'm sure I can end this fight!" Ricardo declared as he once again reignited the Fenice's beam mantle.
Ricardo works quickly as he has the Fenice's beam mantle extend to its maximum possible length, and then he ties it together to form a small lasso of all things. Such a decision is so unexpected that one might think the Italian Dandy was actually planning to catch some kind of robot space bull.
"It's over!" Alex yelled as he thrusts the Sword Shoud's GN Wing Saber in his right hand towards the center of the Fenice's upper body.
Alex actually thought for a moment that the famed Italian Dandy was more interested in playing with his proverbial rope than facing his opponent, but little did he know that Ricardo made such a motion to make Alex think about only that.
"You fell for it!" Ricardo yelled as he has the Fenice make a quick sidestep dash to the right.
The Fenice disappears from Alex's monitors leaving only the opening in the center of the impromptu beam mantle turned lasso, of which is exactly what the thrust of the Sword Shroud's blade is aiming for. Alex realized he's too committed to his attack to move his weapon away, and this improvised lasso starts to tighten the moment the GN Wing Blade is partway through it. The Sword Shroud wants to pull it free, but Ricardo has the Fenice yank on the improvised lasso in turn hard enough to pull the blade out of the Sword Shroud's hand while badly messing up its posture in the process.
"Not yet…. it's not over yet!" Alex thought as he reaches for the Sword Shroud's third GN Wing Blade while turning around to face the Fenice once again.
Alex was able to turn his and Emika's gunpla around, however he was barely able to draw his third GN Wing Blade out of its proverbial sheath before he finds himself looking down the barrel of the Fenice's custom buster rifle.
"Damn." Alex thought as he once again admonishes himself for not reacting fast enough.
"That's a really nice gunpla and I really wanted to help you two kids by testing it in a fight, but don't force me to pull the trigger." Ricardo declared as his face appeared in Alex's holographic cockpit.
Alex continued to curse his bad luck a thousand times within the confines of his own mind as he slowly raises the Sword Shroud's hands over its shoulders
"Battle ended!" the battle system's auto-tone voice declared.
The Fenice and the Sword Shout slowly hovered down to rest their feed on the top of the battle system while simultaneously maintaining this hostage situation pose.
"Young lady, your gunpla was as impressive as you are charming." Ricardo said in a complimentary tone to Emika as he collected the Fenice.
"Oh thank you." Emika responded as she found herself affected by the magnetism of the Italian Dandy even though he was purely being nice.
"What are you doing flirting with someone that's probably half your age? You might have beaten me, but that doesn't give you the right to flirt with my partner." Alex grumbled within his own mind as he unknowingly started to emit intense feelings of hostility, "Strange…. why do I feel oddly jealous? I don't see Emika that way."
"Ha ha….. well I better get going or I might not make it out of this room." Ricardo politely chuckled as he's the only one in the room to pick up on Alex's hostility.
Ricardo quickly walked towards the exit of this room as he typed something into his phone (presumably a text message to a friend), however all of a sudden he stops before Alex and turns to face him which ends up surprising the latter.
"As for you….. I could see why you won the first American tournament all of those years ago, and it looks like you've long since surpassed the "You" before your accident." Ricardo pointed out.
"Really? I know it's been several years since that day, but it still feels like I haven't reached that point. No…. me saying that is just an excuse to wallow in the past… something I thought Himiko was able to beat out of me. Well this time I'll make it stick." Alex thought as he takes a couple seconds to deeply contemplate the words spoken to him.
"But with your current control skills as they stand… you won't be able to use that gunpla to its full potential let alone make it to the world tournament." Ricardo said as he pointed to the Sword Shroud while gazing at Alex with a serious look.
Alex strongly clenches his fist out of irritation as his flaws are once again pointed out to him, and he'd likely have some words to say about such criticisms if the "him" before he met Emika were the one standing here. Thankfully Alex did end up running into Emika as he relaxes his grip and decides to accept the words of the Italian Dandy as something he needs to hear.
"I know….. both in this battle and another that that I lost….. I realized that there are a lot of things that I lacked as a gunpla fighter. To be worthy of being Emika's partner as well as to payback those losses…. I'll take an objective look at what it is I lack, and do what I have to in order to obtain those things." Alex declared as he stared at the Italian Dandy with a determined look in his eyes.
"Ha ha…. those are some good words." Ricardo heartily laughed as he seemed satisfied with Alex's response, "But you had better be a bit more careful with your words or you'll have that young miss of yours wrapped around your finger before you're ready."
The reason the Italian Dandy said as such was because he saw Emika blushing as Alex said "Worthy of being Emika's partner" and put 2+2 together.
"Why would I want some girl wrapped around my finger?" Alex asked with a confused look.
"You're an idiot." both Ricardo and Emika thought simultaneously in response to Alex's low EQ.
"I really do have to get going now, but if you're really determined to pay back this loss then I'll see you two on the world stage." Ricardo declared.
With that the famous Italian Dandy leaves the young pair alone in their rented space to their own devices.
"No matter what anyone else says… I still think you're a strong fighter." Emika said as she takes not of the somewhat melancholy look that appeared on Alex's face after Ricardo left.
"Thanks Emika. I know you're trying to make me feel better, but no… no I'm not strong. Compared to gunpla fighters like Brandon's brother Jason, Ricardo Fellini, and the current world champ….. the truth is I'm very weak." Alex retorts as he starts to clench his fist again, "Practicing my usual way won't be enough to figure out what I lack, but damn it….. I just don't know how to go about it."
"Don't worry….. we'll figure it out together." Emika declared in a soothing tone as she places her hands on Alex's clenched fist to calm him down.
But all of a sudden Emika's eyes go wide with shock as if she had recalled some important detail.
"I was supposed to meet Himiko so she could help me study for a test at school. I've been so worried about the Sword Shroud's shakedown run…. I completely forgot." Emika declared with a frantic expression.
"Yeah…. Himiko certainly looks like she could be really…. helpful." Alex noted as the rough vestiges of an idea started to form in his mind.
"Yeah she's strict, but she really is. I never told you this before, but even though she doesn't like me calling her that now….. I used to constantly call her nee-chan because to me…. she was like the older sister I never had." Emika said with a smile as she recalls a few fond moments with her loyal servant.
But Emika is suddenly shaken from her trip down memory lane when Alex grabs both of her shoulders and forces her to face him.
"Wha…. what is it?" Emika asked as she was caught off guard by Alex's sudden aggressive behavior.
"Listen Emika, I need you to take me back to your place right now!" Alex declared as he had a somewhat frantic look in his eye.
"What far… I mean what for?" Emika asked as she still hasn't recovered from her earlier shock.
"I have a very important question….. no…. a very important favor I absolutely have to ask right now!" Alex explained.
"Oh Alex…. I know my mom approved of us fighting together, but we're simply too young for you to consider asking her that. We should at least wait until we graduate from college and have a career ahead of us before you consider something like that." Emika retorts as she instantly jumped to conclusions regarding Alex's intentions.
"I sure as hell can't wait until after college, and…. does something like this really require getting your mom's permission?" Alex asked as he let go of Emika's shoulders and forced himself to calm down.
"Of course…. she's my mother after all, so if you're going to ask that…. then you should definitely deal with my mother first." Emika explained.
"Now that you point it out….. it might be a good idea to get her permission first seeing as how long such a favor will take." Alex mumbled as he found himself agreeing with his partner's logic.
"I still think it's premature to be requesting such a favor from my mother, but you should still ask since this is something that concerns the rest of our lives." Emika said.
"Wait…. what does this have to do with you?" Alex asked as a confused expression once again appeared on his face, "I just wanted to ask your "nee-chan" Himiko for a favor."
"What?" Emika asked in a sudden deadpan tone as a proverbial baseball is thrown through a window in the back of her mind.
"I said I just wanted to ask Himiko for a favor about something gunpla rela.. ouch!" Alex was in the process of explaining when Emika suddenly stomped on his foot, "What the heck was that for?"
"Alex….. you…. you…. you….. BAKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Emika screamed at the top of her lungs.
With the conclusion of the Age-2 Sword Shroud's shakedown run and its unexpected first battle shortly thereafter, Emika still grants the unexpected request of Alex by taking him to her large residence despite her earlier misunderstanding.
"Sorry for coming home a bit later than I said I would." Emika declared as she opened the door to her huge bedroom, "The Sword Shroud's shakedown run had… an unexpected surprise tossed in….. causing things to take longer than expected."
"And I'm sorry for imposing, but I came along as well." Alex sighed with a light chuckle as he followed Emika into her room shortly thereafter.
Himiko was indeed inside Emika's bedroom wearing one of her maid uniforms; however there was someone else in the room with her though Alex and Emika still have yet to notice him.
"It's quite alright Emika-sama….. the chefs are saying dinner will take a little longer than expected, but we'll still resume your nightly studies after it is ready so you have a little extra time to play around." Himiko explained in her usual professional yet stoic tone, "Ahh…. I see you're here as well young master Alex. I'd like to apologize for the way I reacted the last time you had honored us with a visit, but my emotions concerning the wellbeing of the ojou-san got the better of me."
The "last time" Himiko is referring to for those of you who don't recall is when she along with Brandon looked as though they were about to murder Alex after Emika accidentally implied her gunpla battle partner tried something fresh with her.
"It's alright… misunderstandings happen all of the time." Alex retorts as he recalled the sensation of imminent death he felt during that incident.
But at that moment Alex's mind finally registers the first few words Himiko had directed towards him.
"Wait… young master?" Alex asked with a confused look.
"Yes….. you two seemed to have gotten much closer since you were last here, and your mother has approved of your relationship so I may as well start referring to you by your possible future title." Himiko explained as her naturally stoic expression makes it impossible to tell whether or not she's joking.
"I don't deserve that kind of relationship after what I've done!" Alex and Emika yelled at the same time as they both started to blush like school girls.
Meanwhile, Brandon is suddenly feeing an unexpected and unexplained sensation of jealousy.
"Relax you two; I was only joking about the title thing." Himiko said even though she didn't look like she was laughing at all.
"That's not funny at all Himiko-ne…. I mean Himiko-san." Emika declared as her cheeks puffed up out of annoyance while Alex nods in agreement.
Note how Alex and Emika fail to notice that Himiko's words imply everything she said before "Young Master" to not be a joke at all, but I digress.
"Ahem…. I don't mean to interrupt your little bout of flirting, but I'm here for a rather serious matter." said the man who has chosen to remain silent up to this point.
"Oh sorry about tha…. Wha…. what are you doing here?!" Emika asked as she turned to face this unseen third party only to discover he recognizes him.
The reason Alex….. and Emika for that matter recognizes this figure is because it's none other than Brandon's twin brother and top class fighter Jason, however this time he's wearing a different outfit. It consists of a pair of black leather jacket, black pants, a dark brown t-shirt, matching shoes, and a dog-tag like necklace around his neck.
"I guess that explains why your sister said that you weren't home." Alex notes.
"I'm not obligated to report every little thing I do to my sister, and I'm not obligated to do the same for you either." Jason retorts in a blunt fashion.
"Then since it's my house, do you mind if I ask why you're here?" Emika interjected.
"Technically it's your mother's house not yours." Jason countered.
"He broke in." Himiko said in her own brand of being bluntly stoic.
She also chose to chime in at that moment in order to prevent Alex and Emika from being further annoyed by Jason's flippant attitude.
"I didn't break in." Jason retorts as he glances at Himiko with an annoyed expression, "I snuck in again like last time."
"Because clearly that's a much better social stigma to be stuck with." Himiko countered, "Before I address my lady's needs….. answer her question before I decide to call the proper authorities."
"I… I came….. here to ask you something." Jason answered as he showed that he was clearly reluctant in doing so.
"Hang on… there was something I wanted to ask you too." Alex interjects before Jason can say anything else assuming he was going to at all.
"Hmph….. if you're going to come into my room to ask a question… it should at least be directed towards me with a shiny diamond imbedded in it." Emika quietly pouts as she suddenly recalled her earlier misunderstanding of Alex's request.
"What was that?" Alex asked.
"Nothing…. Nothing!" Emika said as she turned a bright red at the thought of her little statement being heard.
"Yes well….. putting aside the brother of your mutual friend Alex and Emika….. committing another misdemeanor, what do the two of you want to ask me?" Himiko asked as she pushed up her glasses.
Alex and Jason both take a deep breath as if to signify that it is hard for them to say whatever it is they want to ask, but they still end up finding the courage to say those necessary words.
"I want you to train me!" Alex and Jason declare simultaneously.
"Wha….?" Alex mumbled once he registered what Jason said.
"Huh…?" Jason mumbled as he in turned realized what Alex had said.
"Eh?" Himiko said as she drops her stoic façade due to the combination of the confusion and shock caused by this simultaneous request.
Himiko then tried to force herself to return to her usual stoic expression while hiding her face behind one of her hands; however that in itself only serves to prove how much she was caught off guard by this unexpected request.
"Yes well…. putting aside whether or not I'll agree for a moment…." Himiko said as she found herself rubbing her forehead, "Why exactly are the two of you so intent on making this request of me?"
"For a time I was referred to as a genius gunplay fighter comparable to that one." Jason explained as he nodded his head towards Alex, "But after Ansel defeated me in the World Tournament a couple of years ago I started to notice that my skills weren't improving at all. I tried learning new techniques both building and battling related….. and yet nothing seemed to change for me. This complacency being brought about an unbreakable cocoon made me thing I reached my limit as a gunplay fighter, of which is why I momentarily retired."
At first Jason's words were filled with their usual stoic nature, but they slowly became emotional as he continued to speak. No….. that's not right….. Jason's words slowly became filled with anger as he continued to speak.
"I came back when I realized there was still more for me to do in the world of gunpla, however it still doesn't change the fact that it felt as though my progress was being chained down in the deepest depths of hell. It was absolute torture for me to see everyone I considered blow me, equal to me, and above me in strength continue to grow strong over the past two years!" Jason loudly declared as he was angered by his own lack of progress, "But after I felt your skills in battle with my own gunpla….. I didn't believe it was possible for a mere straight build gunpla to move with such grace and strike with overwhelming power. It wouldn't be wrong to say that I fell in love with your skills."
"Lo…. I….. I see." Himiko said as she was still caught off guard despite knowing exactly how Jason meant those words, "Go…. go on…. it doesn't seem like you're done."
In fact Himiko was so caught off guard that she was momentarily unable to look directly at Jason, of which she probably blames upon the events of her own upbringing.
"I believe from the depths of my soul as a fighter that by learning from you…. I'll finally be able to break through the sealed cage of my limits, and descend once more onto the battlefield with even greater strength!" Jason loudly declared.
"I see….. well…. people often forget that one needs strength and will working in tandem to change anything." Himiko sighed as her expression has finally returned to her normal stoic demeanor, "As for you Alex, why do you want me to teach you?"
"You told me when we fought that a gunpla fighter seeks greater strength and not strength one used to have. I didn't realize until today… until after I was soundly defeated by the Italian Dandy, and that he pointed out I wasn't as strong as I believed myself… I started to acknowledge your lesson, but refused to accept it completely."
"Wait…. you ran into and fought Ricardo Fellini?!" Jason asked as he had a rare expression of absolute shock on his face.
"Yeah….. thanks to him I was forced to face the fact that I couldn't use the battle-style I've honed over the past decade to its full potential….. it frustrates me just as much as Jason that I was stuck in this kind of complacency." Alex explained, "Trying to complete the movements of my battle-style…. no… what is from now own my old battle style reminded me both physically and mentally of the day I had that accident. I could force my hands to make those movements if need be, but either way…. this reminder dulled my reactions leaving me wide open."
How did such a thing come to occur?" Himiko asked as unlike with Jason she was curious about how such a situation occurred.
"As you know Himiko ne… Himiko-san….. most gunpla use the same standardized operating system, but top class professional fighters tweak their own to maximize their custom gunpla's performance. I modified our new gunpla's OS after Alex's battle style so well such that it was incredibly easy for him to make these complete motions whether or not he wants to." Emika explained.
"She's exactly right… so in order to use our new gunpla to its full potential as well to become someone worthy of standing….. no that's not right either…. Only for the sake of becoming someone worthy of standing next to Emika…" Alex explained as he suddenly started to bow to Himiko to the point where is upper boddy reached a 30 degree angle, "Please teach me a new way of fighting that suits the me standing before you now! I need to learn a completely new way of controlling gunpla for her sake as well as my own."
"Me as well." Jason said as he matches Alex's movement so as not to be outdone.
"Oh Alex….. if you knew what I did to you…. the truth is I'm not worthy of standing next to you, but….. to hear you willing to go to such lengths…. it makes me happy." Emika thought as no one noticed her red cheeks or the smile on her face.
"Sighh….. I'm already busy enough as it is taking care of young mistress Emika, helping ou…. her mother, and as well as my own personal affairs. Because of this it's not as though I'll be available for hours on end to offer you directions of study, of which at best it will only be a couple hours out of the day assuming I'm able to find spare time within the 7 days of the week at all" Himiko sighed as she momentarily paused her words as if contemplating whether or not she should actually continue, "Despite all this….. are you sure I'm the one you want to teach you new ways of fighting?"
"Yes!" Jason and Alex said in unison.
"Very well….. I need to spend some time to get permission from the mother of the young mistress as well prepare a lesson plan, so we'll begin tomorrow." Himiko informed as she agreed to offer some pointers to Alex and Jason, "As for when specifically… I will let you to know."
"Eh ehhh ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Emika yelled aloud as she was understandable the most shocked due to the fact that she never believed Himiko would actually agree to train them despite how emotionally moving the last few lines were.
To Be Continued
Himiko: Well… I don't know what to make of this request.
Emika: You're telling me!
Brandon: I absolutely won't allow Jason or especially Alex to hang around that voluptuous minx of a maid!
Athrun: It's not as though you have a say in the matter.
Alex: Next time on Gundam Build Fighters A "Plastic Tempering"
Jason: Just what could you possibly gain from seeking her out?