BOOM!

Doing a flip, I narrowly avoided the bullet. Running towards my opponent, I did a power slide to avoid the nest shot. As the bullet whizzed overhead, I sprang up and continued my charge. As the gun discharged again, I did a roll to one side. As more bullets came in a short period, I was forced to break my attack and go on the defensive.

Shit! This is bad, I can't get in close without getting torn apart by those bullets. And I've only managed to land one hit on her, and that really pissed her off. Fuck! Can't pull the same move again, this will be really hard. It's going to be hard trying to take her down. Hard, but not impossible.

Readying my stance, I positioned myself in a charging position. Running up to her again, the gun discharged more rounds. Putting more effort into my reflexes, I zipped through the bullets rather than jump over and do fancy flips. As more rounds were fired at me, I waited for the bullets to spread apart. All this would happen in mere seconds however, thus being impossible to tell by the human eye alone. As my moment came, the distance between the next set of bullet's were marginally wide. Still, enough for me to slip through. Using my charge ability, I went right through as expected and appeared right behind her. Giving her no time to react, I immediately drew my axe pistols and began blazing away. Fortunately for her, she anticipated such moves and we both engaged in close range combat.

Closing in, I didn't want to widen the distance between us or else that would give her the opportunity to use her gunblade's gun. Hacking away ferociously, I kept oppressing her with brute force. The battle had completely changed I not my favour. Miscalculating however, she jumped back at my killing blow and landed a few feet away. As she pointed her gunblade at me, I raised my blades to block the bullets. Firing, I sliced the bullets up like cheese. Fortunately, this distraction gave her time to close in and land a blow on me. Stumbling back for bit, I raised a hand to my right cheek. As my finger touched the spot where the blow was landed, it gave of a very nasty sting. Making a painful look, I looked at my fingers to find blood on it.

Looking at my opponent, she had a somewhat triumphant and stunned look on her face. Taking advantage of this, I used my charge ability and appeared right in front of her. Grabbing her wrist, I immobilized her gunblade. Restraining her other hand, I threw her to the ground. Pointing my pistols at her, she had a pained look and raised her hands in defeat.

"..."

"I'm sorry" Blake apologized.

"Nah, I should be the one apologizing. I pissed you off remember?"

"Yeah, but look at what I did. Hold still for a bit" she said while cleaning the cut on my cheek.

"Well, now I know not to get on your bad side"

"Same here, I'm guessing you weren't happy with what I did?"

"No, not really. But then again, this is small. I got a claw mark from a bear you know"

"You what?! Where did it hit you?"

"Relax, I got it on my face. But it's gone. See?"

"That's dangerous you know"

"Blake, I'm a spirit. What can a bear do?"

"Still, don't go scaring me like that"

"Nah, I won't"

"There done" she said, moving away from the spot.

"Thanks, now give me your arm. Gonna do the same"

As she moved her right arm closer, I grabbed the disinfectant alcohol and began rousing it over cotton balls. Cleaning the cut, she let out a hiss at the pain. Cleaning it thoroughly, I finished up and kept the medical stuff. Standing up, I felt like I was about to die. We had been training since 4 this morning. Current time check is 9:37. Deciding to head to bed, I tiredly let the bridge without saying a word. Entering my quarters, I didn't bother to close the door. Instead, I went straight to my bed and collapsed on it.

As my eyelids slowly closed, I saw figure climbing into the bed with me just before sleep consumed me. Too lazy to even figure out who the figure was, I simply let my problems be.

*a few hours later

Groping something soft, I continued to fondle the object since it was so good. For some odd reason I felt pleasure doing it. Opening my eyes to see what soft things I was holding. I quickly reeled back my hand as I realised what I was holding. Turns out I was fondling Blake's breast. Feeling a huge sense of embarrassment, the memory kept replaying in my head. Luckily, she wasn't awake, or so I thought.

"Why'd you stop? I was enjoying it you know" Blake said in a seductive tone.

"Schieber!" I yelled in German and rolled off the bed.

"Hahahahahaha!"

"Blake?! What the hell are you doing in here?"

"Why not? You left your door open so I decided to bunk down with you. I must say, you certainly are great at fondling them"

Feeling my face go red, I hid my embarrassment by looking at the floor.

"Still, what the hell are you doing in my room? And in my bed to be exact?"

"Why not? I wanted to snuggle up in your warmth. Besides, you're also great at hugging"

"Seriously, this is beyond me you know"

"You're no fun" she pouted.

"Jeez, what time is it anyway?"

"About quarter past two"

"Oh great, at least that was nice sleep"

"Yes, yes it was. Oh and by the way, Evie requested you"

"Well, better go see what she wants then" standing up from my spot.

Exiting my quarters, my hair was messy as Fuck and I looked like some prehistoric cave man trying to fit into modern society. My voice was tired as ever which gave off a deep tone than usual. Stepping onto the bridge, I sluggishly walked over to my chair and sat down.

"So, what did you call me for?"

"Ah, Sir I need you to go down into the hangar bay. There seems to be a problem with one of the moving platforms. I can't seem to pry the object loose with my robots since their hands are too big"

"Oh, well alright. Give me a second, I'll get there"

Standing up from my seat, I exited the bridge hastily. Going down the corridors and stairs, I opened the door leading to the hangar. As I entered the hangar bay, the place was simply filled with activity as Jets were being parked or being repaired. Ammunition was being transported to here and there and so were spare parts. Hearing Evie's voice come home her the P.A she said.

"Move over to platform fifteen Sir. Just a few meters ahead"

Reading the numbers painted on the floor, Platform fifteen came into view very soon. It was also easy to tell what was out of place since the platform holding the EA-18G was out of place. Moving over to the cables underneath, I bent down to take a peek. Finding the problem, a wrench was somehow wedged inside stopping the cables from moving. Slipping my hand in easily, I dislodged the wrench and pulled it out. Stepping onto the platform, it jerked forward and slowly parked the plane.

"Well, I got the wrench. Next time, try not to be too careless"

"Understood sir, won't happen again. I hope"

Handing the wrench over to one of the maintenance bots, I started for the door. Stopping in my tracks, a shiny looking thing caught my eye. Moving over to what seemed to be a odd shaped barrel, it had wires dangling around the thing and it had lights and various buttons on it. Hearing the bay doors open, the wind gushed in rapidly deafening every other sound. Ignoring it, I analysed the odd machinery.

Seems to be some sort of cannon, but in early stages. Hang on, the design looks to be that of the railguns mounted on the Phalanx cannons. Could it be a new design? Doesn't seems an awful lot like a gun though.

Moving over to the barrel, I peered inside the small hole. Greeted by emptiness, I assumed it was empty. Seeing a button however, I wondered what sort of thing it did. Regretting it immediately, the cannon itself wasn't firing projectile rounds, rather, a powerful laser beam. Raising my hands to block the blast, I was instead blow back by the powerful force. Feeling my shoulder pop, I knew it wasn't good. Before I knew it, I was flying through the clouds and the carrier shrunk within seconds. Landing in the cold ocean, I really regretted doing that.

*40 cold minutes later

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Blake yelled.

"What? I just pressed a button that's all"

"A button?! I saw you flying out of the ship for Christ sake!"

"I knew I shouldn't have placed such a dangerous weapon there" Evie said in regret.

"Well, I'm back on the ship now am I?"

"You…..arghhhh!" she clenched her fist in anger.

As she stomped off into the lounge room to cool down, I shook my head. Apparently I was fetched out of the water by her. I should thank her since my dislocated arm was a pain in the ass to fix. When she found out I dislocated my arm, she flipped like she was on drugs. Oh boy, the yelling I got. Almost like a mother, all she does is worry about me. Even though I have sustained greater damage, this is still something new for her to comprehend.

Moving my right arm, I still felt a bit of numbness since I last put it back into place. Standing up, I decided to cheer her up. Stopping at the lounge doorway, I peeked in to find Blake leaning on the counter with her back against me. Silently tiptoing in, I creeper up to her and wrapped my arms around her giving a nice hug. As I gently rocked her, she placed a hand on my arm.

"Sorry if I worried you too much".I whispered.

"That's okay, I know you've been through worst. But still, I care for you, you know? Even though you can come back from the dead, I still treasure your life like it's your last"

"There's no need to worry alright. I need to worry about you more. You're precious to me too you know? Your irreplaceable and I don't want to lose you. Ever"

"Awww, really?"

"Yes really, I love you dearly. And nothing can change that"

As she turned around, she pulled me in for a kiss. Feeling satisfied with today, that kiss alone was enough to send me into a very good mood. As we separated, this time I pulled her in and we kissed again. Her soft lips against mine was like drugs to me. In a good sense. Separating, her cheeks turned a slight shade of red. Hiding her embarrassment, I simply chuckled at her.

"I love you" she whispered.

"Love you too" patting her head.

Letting go, I moved over to the coffee machine and made myself an espresso. After waiting for about 3 minutes, I was now holding a nice hot drink in my hand. Taking a sip of the coffee, I realised that today was the day Shidou's plan to transform Natsumi would take place. Finishing my drink, I threw the plastic cup away. Going up to Blake, I tapped her shoulder to get her attention.

"Hey, I'm gonna go out for a bit. Be back soon"

"Oh, okay, take care then"

Giving her a quick peck on the lips, I stood back and activated my very rarely used ability. Teleporting straight to the uh ndergro uh nd facility, I ended up in a random room. Slipping my gloves on, I engaged my cloak and began roaming around. Deciding to head straight for the quarantine room, I entered the password that Kotori inputted last time and the door open. Stepping in, Shidou, Kotori and Reine were all looking at the doorway.

"Is something wrong with the door?" Shidou

"I don't know. It seems to be fine. I'll get the maintenance crew to check it later" Reine said.

"Weird, first time I've seen doors opening by themselves" Shidou mumbled.

"Anyway. Maybe we forced her too much as expected. I didn't think she would hate it that much…"

"…..no, it seems that isn't the case"

"Eh?" When Shidou tilted his head, Reine who was sitting beside Kotori, showed the screen near her hands.

There were several numbers displayed including Natsumi's face.

"…..Mental state, mood, affection level…..all of it has left the worst situation. Of course, it's not in the level where sealing is possible"

"I-is that so?" "….aah. She, by all means does not hate her transformation. Well, it seems her discomposure and bewilderment was big"

"Ah-….." Hearing Reine's words, Shidou nodded.

"….most likely, she is not used to being praised in her untransformed state. The thought of her not being bothered by others unless she transforms is the reason for calling herself useless. Deep inside her heart, despite wanting [Herself] to be accepted, she does not have the confidence for that" Reine continued on while making one finger stand.

"….from the interview and analysis, it seems compared to the other spirits, we found out that the number of Natsumi's silent coming to this world is extremely high. She must be a spirit with a high curiosity. She is also acquainted with this world's knowledge too. It's not an admirable method but, since she was able to forge money using Haniel, it seems shopping wasn't a problem to her"

"I see…but, if that was the case then, why doesn't she have confidence in herself like that"

"…no, isn't that the reason why" Reine groaned difficulty. After listening to that, Shidou recalled back Natsumi's recalled back Natsumi's word.

"Now that I think back, she said no one would bother about her if [Natsumi] remains as [Natsumi] in this world"

"…..Mostly likely, those accumulated experience has probably distorted Natsumi's value view. Since she changed the appearance thoughtlessly at her will, it seems it has gradually started to make her deny her normal self…the important factor is not about personal appearance but rather, it is whether we can make her think that someone would accept her"

"That's suffering" Kotori sighed while shrugging her shoulders.

"But well, since there is an acknowledged desire then, there is a chance for the capture. We just have to make her have confidence in herself right? If we do that then, she would probably take in words honestly. It would probably soften her attitude too"

"It'll be nice if it would go that well…"

"Nothing will start if we become pessimistic. Anyway, let's try this. We will immediately begin Natsumi's rehabilitation tomorrow"

"Rehabilitation…huh. What are we going to do specifically" When Shidou asked, Kotori groaned as if she was immersing in thoughts.

"Well let's see…anyway, we just have to make her believe that [She herself is cute] so, a direct evaluation to her from a 3rd person might be good"

"No, but no matter how many times we called her cute…."

"Like I said, a third person. Shidou and the spirits were related to Natsumi's [Transform] so it's going to be hard. Even though we planned to give her a legitimate evaluation, it will be meaningless if we make her think that we were looking at her through a tinted glass. -I could prepare people from Ratatoskr but, I would hope for someone that has no relations with our motives if possible. Shidou, do you have anyone you can think of?"

"Eh? Let's see…" After Shidou scratched his cheeks, and [ah] he let out his voice.

Hearing who he was bringing along, I pinched the bridge of my nose. One can tell this would go south really quickly. As the trio left to make preparations, I too decided to leave. Entering an empty room, I activated my teleportation and reappeared back on the ship. Instead of appearing on the bridge, I somehow ended up in the hangar bay, which at this time was filled with activity. As the sound of jet engines deafened my ears, I quickly ran all the way to the exit. Shutting the door to the place, my ears kept ringing like hell.

Stumbling onto the bridge, I knocked my head several times in hopes of making the deafness go away. As my hearing came back to me after 30 minutes or so, I calmed down a bit.

"Silly Tatsuya, how you can get into such troubles I do not know" Blake giggled.

"Eh, even I don't know how I get into such trouble"

"Hahaha" she laughed.

"Evie, what's the percentage on the new ship?"

"Sir I haven't even left orbit yet. I'm still building the rocket sir"

"Alright, get as much work done. This new ship must be done soon. I fear we may need it soon"

"Yes sir, I will try my best"

"Build what now?" Blake asked.

"Oh, something to change the game when in desperate times. Maybe to make the enemy think twice"

"Eh, is that so? Good luck Evie"

"I appreciate the support Miss Osborn"

"Gladly" she bowed gracefully.

"Now then, for tomorrow, I plan to watch Shidou's plan unfold into a disaster"

*tomorrow

"Well, nice looking place we got here"

"Yes indeed, quite the stylish lounge room. Although nice acts and disguises"

"Yes, indeed. Anyway, look who arrived"

Looking at the entryway, Tonomachi and Shidou both entered right on queue. Looking around, I found Natsumi sitting in a chair on one side in her untransformed state as expected. Eavesdropping in on their conversation, I decided to see where this would go.

"I think this is impossible but, Itsuka…is that girl"

"Ehh?"

Looking at that Tonomachi's gaze who looks like he saw through everything, Shidou twitched his shoulders. Tonomachi has no idea about Spirits but, he had probably gotten suspicious as expected. It's bad if he has a preconception of Natsumi before even meeting her. Shidou looked like he was thinking hard for an explanation.

"Don't tell me, she is an Ojou-sama from a very rich family!?"

"Heh…?"

Hearing Tonomachi saying that in an excited manner, Shidou replied back with a hysteric voice.

"A sick young woman that is not often outdoors…..she got really excited from the school picture my friend (Itsuka) showed her and….one day, she saw one boy inside the picture…aah, she wants to meet this gentleman…! The girl then mustered her courage and requested the friend to call that particular boy…..! it's about that right!?"

"O-ou, well…right about there I guess"

Facepalming myself, I let go of the stupidity.

"The youth of my world is here! Thank you Itsuka! I'll still be your friend even though I become a gold-digger…!"

"A-aah….."

Tonomachi shook his hands. It was somehow conscious but, it hurts. But, Tonomachi did not notice Shidou's manner and looked around.

"So? Where is my sweetheart?"

"Aah….over there" After saying that, he pointed to a seat. Over there, wearing cute clothes and with beautiful make up-a very unhappy Natsumi was sitting there.

"….."

"Hello, nice to meet you!" An unusually happy voice echoed from the front and Natsumi twitched her body. When she looked over, she found out there is one young man there. She has seen that face somewhere before.

"…..To-Tonomachi Hiroto….why are you here?"

Without looking at him, when Natsumi said that suspiciously, Tonomachi opened his eyes wide in surprise.

"Yo-you know my name!? Tohka-chan and Kaguya-chan won't remember it no matter how long passes"

After saying that, he choked in tears of gratitude. It somehow felt disgusting, so Natsumi pulled the chair a little. But, Tonomachi did not notice Natsumi's actions and sat on the opposite seat with that high tension still present.

"How do you do! What is your name called!?"

"…I-its….Natsumi"

"Natsumi-chan! That is a wonderful name!"

"…."

Natsumi looked at him suspiciously at Tonomachi's over-familiar words. "

No-, I didn't think you would be this cute. I seriously have to thank Itsuka"

Tonomachi continued bouncing his words in fun. Natsumi snorted.

"…how much"

"Eh?"

"How much were you bribed for this request. It must be a good sum of money"

"…..? What are you saying?"

Tonomachi wrung his neck. He looked as if he was not hit with a bulls-eye.

"…."

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I just wondered what sort of dense motherfucker of a brain this child had. Of all things, just what the Fuck? You're being praised, complimented, feel good about it, no fucking slap the guy who said it. Dumb brat, putting her to sleep seems more of the likely case. This is fucking ridiculous.

And, after Natsumi's eyes started to swim around, Tonomachi hit his forehead with his head while continuing his words.

"No, I am seriously surprised. You really are cute. I got dizzy unintentionally seriously!"

"….!"

Natsumi suddenly stiffened her face, at Tonomachi's words.

I got dizzy.

To get dizzy….Meaning: Close to collapsing from dizziness.

I am about to collapse from dizziness by looking at you.

I feel sick just by looking at you, ugly.

"I knewwwwwwwww ittttttt!" Natsumi raised a loud shout before flipping the table.

"U-uwah!? Wha-what's wrong Natsumi-chan!"

"Don't what's wrong me! Screwing with me, screwing with me! Even I don't like to become this!" When she started rampaging while shouting, the staffs in the surroundings jumped in and restrained Natsumi.

"Cal-calm down, miss…!"

"An-anyway, time to withdraw! We will take her like this!"

"U-understood….!" "

What are you doing bastard! Let gooooooo!" Natsumi was then pulled deep into the lounge just like that.

Shaking my head, I swear I had a migraine by seeing such stupidity. Either Natsumi was that dense and just hates herself, or she just hates guys. But seriously, the girl can't hold a fucking compliment. A fucking small compliment. For fucks sake, grow up! Oh wait, you're an uneducated Fuck that's why.

"*sigh* Do you ever hear something so fucking stupid come out of someone's mouth that you just feel bad for their brain?"

"Yes, yes I do. Makes me want to end their misery you know"

"Agreed. I wanna go now, this stuff is giving me a headache"

"Yes, maybe a cup of coffee would do?"

"I don't say why not"