Update: Even more grammar horrors fixed. Thanks again to Dash9 for pointing out some mistakes here and there.
Chapter 31: The String that Connects Us
November 30th. 7:24 PM (PX)
[Takeru]
We were all sitting on our usual table. Kyozuka-san brought dinner for us. Or almost, because obviously all I got was a scowl as if she were smelling rotten food.
Tama wanted to explain to us her situation, and asked us to hear her out. And so, here we are.
"U-Um... So, about me and my family. You all know how the ranks work right? Well, the Tamase family was always one linked to archery. We had our own dojo and all back in Osaka. Due to how things turned out after the return to the Imperial rule, due to us staying neutral we were given the Tozama rank, and every generation we had to redeem ourselves to keep our status."
We all waited for her to gather her thoughts, and after a short while she spoke up again.
"My family was close to the Koubuin House, due to our same values about how one should fight and maintain the lineage's honor. Even when guns became the norm, archery was preserved as a symbol of our traditions, and as such my family was one of the few that was directly assigned under the command of the Koubuin family, despite being of Tozama rank. So we were kinda like an anomaly, I think? When I was little and I went with my parents to pay a visit to the Koubuin's Main House, we were looked very badly by some of the other servants. Papa was never a warrior, he always preferred to settle things with words, so I could hear some people calling him a coward behind our backs." Tama's voice creaked as she remembered that, her gaze trailed off the table, her figure clearly distraught with the memory she had recalled.
"...Such improper behavior. Tamase, you shouldn't feel ashamed of your origins." Meiya firmly stared at Tama, who gave her a small smile and nodded.
"Well, things weren't so good with the last Head of the Koubuin House, since he wanted to be part of the vanguard in the war against the BETA, from what I heard from Papa. When the capital was attacked by terrorists on the 97, we had just gone to visit them and..." Tama paused for a while, breathing deep through her nose as she closed her eyes. "Well, Papa got into an argument with the Head, and he ended up taking me back home in a hurry. I learned later that he resigned his title and decided to go work for the UN and the Parliament."
"Huh? B-But why would he..." Chizuru hugged herself with one hand as she looked at Tama.
"After that... Most of our friends started calling us traitors, saying that we should be exiled... Since then I... Well, many of my friends started shunning me out, and the ones who remained close were also secluded during school. That's why I don't really like seeing you fight, the ones who tried to defend me ended up being punished by the Director and teachers, for being disruptive to the class. I'm used to being ignored by now, and I know I'm not that smart either, that's why I always do my best and try to stay positive! Because that's... that's all I'm good for." Kei pet her head, causing her to look up. Her quivering eyes soon relax as she sees us.
"Tamase, you're no burden. And nobody here thinks you're a traitor, your Father is still working for the good of the Empire, just as we're doing now." Chizuru spoke softly, looking tenderly at her. I mean, she may relate to it, since she's still trying to do her part while being on the UN, and while her Father is the Prime Minister.
"R-Really? You don't think I'm... dead weight? That I'm in the way?" Her downcast eyes looked at us, like a stray puppy looking for a house. All of us smiled at her, making a sliver of tears appear.
"Miki-san, you're really good for so many more things you don't even notice! I mean, outside of your gun skills, you're always the one who notices when we forget something in the changing room or when we're moving wrong in the sim." Mikoto joined her hands and did little jumps in her seat, which made Tama laugh a bit.
"Yoroi speaks the truth. Your attention to those little details is a most remarkable trait. And your positivity is a very good thing to have, you're the one who always keeps the peace between Sakaki and Ayamine after all."
"Yup, without you these two would be at each other's throat all the time." Kei and Chizuru both narrow their eyes at me in perfect synchrony.
"T-That's not true..." Tama looked down again. And as if in sync...
"Pure slander."
"I wouldn't go causing us problems so often. While it's true that Tamase helps in keeping Ayamine in check, I am not so childish to-"
"Sassaki."
"What was that?!"
"See?" Kei smirks at her, Tama and Mikoto's eyes become white little dots as they exchange glances. So harshly thoughtful as always.
"Grrr..."
"Sakaki, Ayamine. Please do not start again. Tamase, none of us see you as a traitor or a burden. You're our precious comrade, so please do not be so down."
"Hauuu... Thank you all. R-Really, I'll do my best to not get so depressed from now on." He quivered a little, but she rubbed her eyes and returned a bright gaze to us. "W-Well, that's the reason why I joined the UN. I didn't feel welcome were I was. I felt that trying to reclaim my title would be the same as leaving Papa alone, and anyways most people there hated me. So I decided that I would try to help him, even if I couldn't do much."
"Good girl, you're really brave." Kei started petting her again, but more softly this time.
"Man, you had it rough. You should be more proud of yourself, Tama. It takes a lot of guts to turn your back and do what you think is right in a situation like that." I smile at her, but she drops her gaze again.
"I didn't really have a choice. I mean, not matter what I did everyone kept calling me a traitor and pushing me away." Meiya and Chizuru's eyes tense up, they can't meet at Tama's gaze. Holding part of their uniforms roughly, moving their closed lips around, what's up with them?
"But really, that shot was awesome! You're really something else, so don't get all down. You're a crucial part of the team!" Mikoto beamed again as she dove into her food.
"Truly marvelous. It honestly is a bit shocking to think we have to fight against you now." Meiya folded her arms solemnly nodding to herself.
"D-Don't say that, please. I'm just doing... I will try to not overdo it." Tama's eyes got mired by a dark mist as she grabbed her ribbon and slowly pulled from side to side.
"Ahaha, relax Tama. Meiya didn't mean anything bad, she's just being her usual competitive self." She nods at my words with a smirk.
"Indeed. I relish the challenge of such a fierce opponent. I will find a way to rush past your sniping, so do not hold back on me Tamase. It is an honor to be able to spar against someone as skilled as you." Meiya's wide smile melted away Tama's stiffness as she also returned to her usual happy look.
"And it's not like we haven't got a weirdo in the team. At least someone can shoot down Takeru now."
"Watch it Mikoto. I won't cover you next time we fight." I fake a pout and look away. Everybody starts to laugh, except Kei.
"Well, all of us hold no ill will towards you Tamase. In fact, I can relate to what you've gone through." Chizuru must have gotten harassed by some nationalistic prick, since she's the Prime Minister's daughter. "So, don't worry. We're all your friends here. We are the ones that have to apologize actually, for what we did to you during the CCSE. To you too, Yoroi. I shouldn't have said what I did to either of you, you didn't deserve that. I'm sorry, truly." Chizuru, Meiya and Kei give Tama and Mikoto a small bow, but Tama's eyes grow wide and white again, whereas Mikoto starts waving both arms in front of her.
"N-No, don't apologize. I didn't... I didn't speak up. While it did hurt me, I don't hold it against you. I mean, if Shirogane-san forgave you, I have no reason to be mad at you three. S-So let's leave that behind, and let's start looking forward as a team, yes?" She truly is what brings this squad together when things go south. Her cheerful and honest smile melts the ice that had made it's way into the three's eyes, leaving nothing but a warm light within.
"That's right. In the end, Kei-san protected us from the soldiers, and you two helped Takeru finish the CCSE. And it's not like you haven't changed your attitude, I can see you three are trying your best to mend that stuff. So no more bringing that up!" Mikoto points a finger at them, and they let out a little chuckle. Glad to see they're still on good terms.
"Well, if we can leave that behind us, then let's do so. Just to be clear, nobody here thinks you're a bother or a traitor. So don't be afraid of speaking up when you feel you have to." Tama gives a nod to Chizuru, leaving the traces of shadow behind.
"Thank you, everybody. Let's do our best in the mock battles, and let's get commissioned as fast as possible!" Tama said with small flames in her eyes. Shame she doesn't know the 'FWOOOH!' here, she could use a battle cry to pump herself up.
"Yeah!" Mikoto raised her hand and both did a high five. Kei smiled at them, while the other two drank some water.
"Good to see you've cheered up, Tama. Well guys, I can't really stay here, so I'm back to my cell. Good night." I stand and wave at them.
"Ah! S-Shirogane-san!"
"Hm? What's up, Tama?" Her eyes swayed, and without looking at me she spoke.
"F-Forgive me for hitting and screaming at you. You were just trying to cheer me up and I... I..."
"It's cool, I was kinda pushy back there. I'm the one that should apologize." Tama looks at me and gives me a smile. Glad to see she didn't got all negative with how I pushed her. I mean, with all the shit she's gone through I'm lucky she doesn't hate my guts. You're too sweet to be true, Tama.
"Takeru, what did you do?" Meiya looked at me, scanning my face with her deep eyes.
"Nothing much, I was just being my usual obnoxious self." I shrug, but Tama jumps in, protesting against my words.
"That's not true. He was just trying to get me out of myself. I ended up screaming at him when he only was trying to give me courage." Tama looks down as some clouds appear on her face.
"Don't be so down. You ended up rising up on your own, that's what matters. You saved us today Tama, there's nothing to forgive. So stop being so mopey and give us a smile!"
"Huh, so Shirogane-kun can be kind when he wants to." Chizuru gestured towards me, as if she had seen some surreal thing happen in front of her.
"Hey!"
"The end is near." Kei, you're lucky you're so endearing.
"It is a relief to hear you can be considerate, Takeru. You truly seem to be able to do anything." Sigh... Meiya, stop with the praise.
"You're making it sound as if you thought I was some kind of brute."
"You are quite harsh with us in our training after all." Meiya, you're the one who keeps asking me to not hold back.
"Yes, that's true. Shirogane-kun is always bossing us around, telling us when to move and all. Imagine if he were the Squad Leader." Chizuru joked along, smiling at me.
"May that day never come." Are these three trying to cheer Tama up? I'm all up for that, but don't use me as fodder.
"Awhawhawha... D-Don't say that! Shirogane-san is really kind you know, he didn't get angry, and he remained calm, a-and... and he kept encouraging me. Don't say bad things about him please." Tama's soft and polite, but firm, tone made the other three drop their teasing smiles and giggle at her.
"So guys, how are we gonna fight in our mock battles?" Mikoto always marching to her own beat to the rescue.
"How? The Instructor is the one that will decide that." Chizuru replied as she started to eat.
"I hope I get to spar against you Takeru." Meiya says with glee. Look at you, you think you can beat me. How cute.
"Someone wants to keep losing it seems." I return a tease, and she purses her lips at me.
"I will not lose! I'll make you kiss the ground this time." Her eyes returned to those determined, blazing eyes of hers that I'm so used to seeing.
"We'll see. I gotta go, later guys."
It's nice to see that Tama got out of that gloom mood she was in. And it's also nice to see that we've left behind that disastrous CCSE. Hopefully we can keep the peace for a little while longer.
Same Day. 8:26 PM.
(Yuuko's Office)
[Yuuko]
"Of course this didn't happen before. The only time I've seen an actual G-Bomb was during Operation Iceberg when we couldn't complete Alt. IV, and you can also count the XG exploding in Sadogashima, I guess." Shirogane sighs, then takes his cup and drinks again.
"I see. This will be a real pain for us. Even if the Americans are willing to trade the Hi-MAERF Project for the XM3, the Empire might pressure the UN somehow to stop the deal. And that's being reasonable, some people might want the UN out of here in a flash once this reaches their ears."
The bad news might arrive tomorrow, with a formal request from the Shogunate to explain what happened. It might work in our favor that a former noble protected the Empire from 'the American toy', but since we are seen as America's puppet things may go very wrong very quickly.
"I mean, can't we keep this under tabs?"
"Shirogane, do you think the people stationed at the First Defense Line near Sadogashima didn't see the explosion in the sky?" He can be so dumb sometimes, I swear.
"Oh, right. Well, we may be able to keep the Empire on our side once we roll out the Kagerou's new parts and the Shin too. Once it's made know we gave the Empire a stealth system, I'm sure many important people will stop being so adamant about wanting us gone." He says, not a hint of doubt in his voice or in his shiny eyes.
Of course that they'll be happy. But I still gave them the toned down versions of the radars and sensors. I'm keeping the real deal for my use exclusively, no way in hell I'll hand the Empire this work of art.
"At this point we can only hope for the best, since this is completely out of our control. How was Tamase? Did she have a breakdown or something?" He smiles at me as he chuckles.
"She almost had one, truth be told. But honestly, I'm glad she could do it on her own. I think she will improve a lot from now on." I'm glad my little bet worked out.
Marimo was really worried about both of them. Now that she also suffered it herself, she sympathizes with the Undersecretary's plight. To be scorned and treated as a traitor just for joining the UN, even if you're still devoted to your nation. And since she wanted to let them have a happy reunion, I gave the OK for them to fool around a bit. Considering Tamase's display and the effect this will have on her performance going forward, it was a small price to pay. And it's not like I care about formalities anyways. To think such a simple thing could have such a drastic effect on someone's mind, Tamase wouldn't have taken the shot if she hadn't spent some time with her Father. She would have frozen up for sure.
"That's a relief to hear. And about Tamase's background, don't worry about it. I knew beforehand she and her Father used to be nobles, I thought you knew as well."
"Sigh... This world gets weirder every day. For them to be a Tozama family that served the Koubuin's... Do you think Tama's Dad knew about me?" He crosses his arms as he leans back into the sofa.
"I mean, he didn't seem to recognize you, so I don't think so. It's not like each servant of the Shogun knows about every other servant in the House. I mean, they were the lowest rank of nobles, and going by that memory, this world's you was quite close to the Shogun growing up. I don't think Tamase ever got to meet the Shogun when she was little."
"I see. Alright, I'm sure you have a lot to do, so I'll go back to Hangar 90."
"Wait, Shirogane. Do you know where is Yashiro?" He freezes as he gets up, furrowing his brows at me.
"What do you mean? Isn't she in Sumika's room?"
"No, I sent her along Marimo to greet the Undersecretary, but she never came back. I thought she was with you, but she hasn't returned yet."
"Wait, so where is she then?" It seems like he doesn't know, but wasn't she with them when the alarm rang?
"That's what I want to know. You don't know where she is?"
"How could I... Ah." He opens his eyes wide as a thunderbolt appears on them.
One trip to the bathrooms later...
"Seriously, why do you always agree to that?" Shirogane questioned Yashiro as she ate her dinner. He looked really conflicted for some reason.
"She looked like she wanted to impress her Dad. So I helped." She smiles at him causing him to sigh.
"Shirogane, did Yashiro do this before?" I move my bangs out of my eyes as he looks upwards, moving his head.
"All the time. I haven't seen her refuse that order even once." He raises both hands to the air as he sits on his sofa.
"Well, let's get back on track. Shirogane, I have a mission for you this Sunday."
"A mission?" He sits up straight, his eyes become focused on me.
"I want you to start training Yashiro to pilot."
"Wait, what? You want Kasumi to pilot?" He seemed surprised, he took a look at her and she gave him a smile.
"Yes. She does have a personal TSF that only she can use to it's full extent, and I know no better pilot to teach her than you. Not like she'll listen to anyone else." Yashiro nods. Shirogane scratches his head, closing his eyes tightly.
"That's another difference to the list. So, why can't we have her ride a Type-00 or a modified Kagerou?"
"Because that TSF has many special sensors that were made especially for it. Even if we can't use it for it's original purpose, I belive that it would prove useful during a Hive infiltration or during a crowded fight." I did remember we had it when he asked me to put sensors on the swords. Even if it's specs are outdated, it's nothing we can't improve with our current developments.
"And why can't we make new versions of those things for the Kagerou? Or for the Shin Kagerou?" Making new versions? Wait, he's right. I do have new tech now, thanks to him. And we need a test pilot for the Shin, and Yashiro's previous numbers are actually decent... It would require some modifications to the Shin's frame... But I could definitely...
...
"Sensei!" Shirogane apparently got fed up with me keeping quiet and raised his voice. He just can't sit still for a minute.
"You're right. But we would have to modify the Shin Kagerou for it to work properly. For the time being, Yashiro will keep using the Mindseeker until we confirm whether we can replicate the ESP sensors."
"The Mindseeker?"
"It's my machine. I was supposed to pilot it with... my sister. But since Alt. III was scrapped, we never got deployed." Yashiro looks downwards as her eyes tremble a bit.
"Okay, hold up. Kasumi has a sister?"
"Shirogane, you didn't knew that? I thought you knew of Alt. III, going by your explanation." He groans as he takes another sip of his coffee.
"I knew Kasumi was involved in Alt. III, but I didn't knew she had a sister. I suppose she's another ESPer, right?" He looks at her and she nods, staring at him. She doesn't seem troubled, which means Shirogane doesn't think of them as witches or anything. It is a relief to have someone that Yashiro can open up to.
"Yes, she's also an ESPer. I heard we are twins, I was told her name was Inia."
"Huh. So, this Mindseeker can be piloted by two people at the same time?" He seems really interested in that.
"Yes, it's a variant of the F-14. I acquired one when Alt. IV started, when Yashiro was assigned under me. We're keeping it under wraps on Hangar 78, on B22F. If you accept, I'll transfer it to Hangar 90 under your care, Chief." I smile at him, causing him to blush. It's so fun to see him get all bashful.
"Stop calling me Chief. Well, if Kasumi is alright with it, I'll do it. I mean, she's been exhausted these days, with the memory thing and all." He really over worries about just everything. That's because she's also helping me with some programming for the 00 Unit.
"I can do it." She moves her bunny ears up and down a few times, locking her eyes with him. He then gives a nod.
"Alright. Then I'll train you. But who is she going to pilot with? You did say the Mindseeker was a two-pilot TSF."
"You, of course."
"Huh? Oh, so I'll tag along with her to show her my movements on action. I get it." Thank God I have someone who understands without having to explain every little detail.
"You'll be under the Viking callsign again. You're Viking 1 and she's Viking 2. I'll have you spar against the Valkyries this time. I already installed the XM3 onto the Mindseeker, so don't worry about it."
"Pfft..." He holds his mouth as he laughs. Yashiro pouts at him, then she starts lightly chopping his shoulder.
"Shirogane, what's the problem?"
"S-Sorry, I just imagined Kasumi wearing a viking helmet and waving an axe around. I couldn't contain myself, sorry about that." He chuckles a bit as Yashiro keeps chopping his shoulder.
"Sigh... You're awfully relaxed, as always. Well, in any case, I'll have to see if Yashiro can eventually pilot by herself. If she does, I'll start making a second Shin Kagerou for her. You two can rest for today, the base is in quite an uproar thanks to the G-Bomb."
"Yeah, I know. Tomorrow I do start with the mock battles. I left a report on how things are going on the usual folder. See you tomorrow, you two." With his usual smile he waves at us at the door before leaving.
"Bye bye." Yashiro waves at him back and he exits the office.
"Isn't it nice to have a partner again, Yashiro?"
"I just wanted to help. Thanks for letting me pilot again."
"Oh come on, I wanted you to pilot since a while ago, and you refused. I wouldn't say no to such a prime chance to test this things. That being said... Yashiro, keep it under control. Don't force a link if either of you can't endure it." She nods at me, her cerulean crystals shining firmly within.
"Yes, I know. I don't like it either." She returns her attention to her plate.
It's not like I enjoy seeing Yashiro turning into that silent puppet, but I was curious the first times. The sheer power of the Mindseeker when she activated a psychic link was unmatched, I can't even begin to understand what could be achieved if she could go into Prafka. However, no pilot could withstand the pressure of the link. And no one could become a stable trigger for her either. I belive Shirogane might be able to endure the strain from the link, even if he isn't an ESPer. Of course, it would have been better if we could have gotten Yashiro's sister with her too. Even so, she'll be a good addition to our forces if she can copy Shirogane's style, and on the off chance that he can withstand the effects of the psychic link we could have an unstoppable duo. But that's only if Shirogane can successfully link with Yashiro, and honestly I don't want to risk any damage to his psyche to test that out.
"Glad to hear that. You just focus on piloting normally for the time being, don't use your powers at all. Focus on Shirogane's mind and try to learn as much as you can from him. Keep the ESP sensors working at a stable rate, but do not try to pass that data directly to him, use the data link to show it to him."
"Yes, I'll do my best." She moves her bunny ears again, then she stands up and takes her empty plate with her. She's so diligent.
Though it's surprising I forgot about the Mindseeker. I can't keep everything in my head all the time, but I suppose letting Shirogane oversee Yashiro's training, and the possible second prototype of the Shin Kagerou, is the right choice. Now, I'll get to test those Type-00C the Valkyries have been training with this week and Yashiro's abilities. It's a shame the Shin Kagerou isn't ready yet, but we'll get there eventually.
December 1st. 5:43 PM.
(Mana's Room)
[Mana]
We remained seated in silence. Nobody dared to speak up. Yesterday's report was enough to anger Daizaburou-sama to the point he locked both Mion and Shion on their room. He vehemently scolded them, saying there was no way Takeru could be alive, that it was a spy trying to deceive us. Shion insisted that it was Takeru, going by the faces he made and the description of his childhood friends, even if he mentioned a girl they didn't know about.
Daizaburou-sama was also very harsh with me when I presented him Takeru's Minaru Kamui. I almost broke down that day, to see his joyful face as he described his favorite food, then he changed it to that classic sad look with his cheeks slightly puffed that he always made when he was hungry. His tone, his eyes, everything was the same. And yet, Yuuhi-sama was clear. Takeru is dead.
However, yesterday's report brought us a great deal of chaos. He said he had amnesia, that he woke up in Alaska without much knowledge of his past. His records got erased when Yuuhi-sama assumed he had died during the bombardment of the Yokohama Hive with G-Bombs, and yet...
"...I belive we must test this man, to ascertain whether he speaks the truth or not." Daizaburou-sama thus spoke. Our orders were clear now, we had to act.
Today we saw his 'first' mock battle, and frankly it was like seeing through a window to the past. His movements were so precise, so gallant, and yet so less rushed, so much more polished. Meiya-sama couldn't measure up to him, he and his partners maintained a good pace and throughly defeated Meiya-sama's team. And he did it so carefully too, he didn't arise suspicions and did many subtle shots to aid his partners without being given the credit he deserved. He has grown so much, I'm so happy to see him be so calm again. And yet, it might not be him, and that tears up my heart. If he is indeed an impostor, I myself will give him the torture most cruel we have on the Empire.
"Um... General, what exactly are we to do?" Mion timidly spoke up, barely lifting her gaze from the floor.
"We will ask the XO to allow us to spar against them, on the excuse that we are testing Meiya-sama. You three, focus on him. Force him to show us his true strength. If it's truly him, he will remember our fights and his training. And if he isn't... You're allowed to make an unfortunate miss." He somberly declared. "Of course, if it is him indeed... Then the UN will have to give us a good explanation for this."
We all nod in complete agreement. Why is he here, under the UN's flag? How did they rescue him? And why didn't they sent him back? Of course, once the data got deleted they had no way to know who he was, but he should still have been wearing his red exosuit of the Royal Guard. Why didn't they ask the Empire about him? I cannot belive someone asked and we didn't notice, unless some idiot simply checked the databases, told the UN off and didn't even write that down.
It doesn't matter how this is resolved, our relations with the UN will suffer. If he isn't, we will have to take legal actions against them for this offense against the Empire. And if he is... I don't see Yuuhi-sama forgiving them. I don't think any explanation will suffice, they kept him from us for two years, and if it weren't for the XO, he may have remained in America forever. Did they intend to use him as a hostage, perhaps?
"Mana, Shion, Mion. You three and Kamiyo, Tomoe and Ebisu will fight against them. After that, I myself will notify Her Highness of the matter. I will not mention your doubts if he turns out to be an American, I know how much you loved him, I cannot blame you for believing he was still alive." He grabs his cup and drinks.
"Yes, Daizaburou-sama." We all reply in unison.
"That is all. I'll go request this to the XO in some moments, you six go check your Takemikazuchis."
We stand and bow to him before leaving.
"Kamiyo, Tomoe, Ebisu. Follow us, we have to go check our Takemikazuchis." They stand upright and nod. We all go towards the Hangar were our TSFs were stationed.
To think we will use three Type-00F and Type-00A to spar with some Fubukis and a Gekishin. Tis nothing more than a sad joke.
"Um, Mana-sama, why are we tuning up our TSFs? I thought we were authorized to stay until next month?" Kamiyo asked me minding her distance and tone, not able to meet my gaze.
"It's an order from the General. Once we have gotten confirmation from him, I'll brief you on the details. By the way, during this brief task, both 2nd Lieutenants here will work along us. Mion will be Blood 5, while Shion will be Blood 6. Now, let us focus on our task at hand."
"U-Um... Mana-sama." Ebisu raised her hand slowly, she was trembling very subtly. I understand them being nervous with the General here, but this is too much.
"What is it, Ebisu?"
"Well, we noticed a few weird things about Cadet Shirogane when we were following him just after you left."
"Weird things?"
"Yes. Well, he seemed to be singing to himself some sort of song. We clearly heard him sing in English." Tomoe steps forward and lowers her head a bit, asking for permission to speak. I give her a nod, signaling them to continue on.
"We also noticed him meeting up with that Yashiro girl before he returned to the lower floors." Yashiro... The foreigner that for some reason bears a Japanese name. Another one of the many mysteries of this base. Kamiyo is the last one to speak up.
"And lastly... We noticed that... Meiya-sama was referring to him by his name."
"Eh?! She was?!" Mion and Shion replied in unison before me.
We did ask Meiya-sama about what he knew about him, and told her that he might be a spy using a fake identity... Or one of our fellows in service of the Koubuin House. She told us he said he had amnesia, and tried defending him when she thought we were judging him for being a foreigner. I've never seen Meiya-sama like that, so openly aggressive. Well they are twins, so I suppose it wouldn't be weird for her to fall for him too. Of course, she became really anxious when we told her he might be a spy, and that the possibility of him being the person he claimed to be was very slim. But if she's openly calling him by his name and acting amicably with him... Is she being blinded by her feelings? Or is she trying to deceive him?
"Understood. We will keep watching over them, if you notice anything else notify me or the General as soon as you can."
"Yes, Mana-sama!"
December 2nd. 6:46 AM.
(Takeru's room)
[Takeru]
Zzz...
"Takeru-san."
A pair of tiny hands shake me so tenderly it's almost like a massage.
"Mmmgghhh..."
"Takeru-san."
The shaking gets a bit faster.
So cold. Five more minutes.
"No. Get up."
...
"Kasumi, give me my blanket back." I open my eyes and am greeted by her smiling face as she moves back with my blanket in her hands.
"Good morning."
"Yawn... Good morning."
"It's almost seven in the morning. Get ready, we have the training at eight." She gives me back my blanket and slowly pats my head.
"I know, I know. I'll go take a shower and get changed, just wait a while." Man, I need some more sleep. How am I even supposed to take on the Valkyries like this?
...
I watch the Mindseeker as the engineers are making the last checks to it. It looks nice honestly. I can see why it was nicknamed the Rock Owl, with a head like that.
Hangar 78 is much more smaller than the other hangars, it only has space for up to five TSFs but it's outfitted with all kinds of machinery that I've never seen.
"So Shirogane, what do you think?"
"Looks nice. What will Kasumi do exactly here?" Sensei moved closer and pointed to the shoulders of the Mindseeker.
"She will control the extra sensors it has on it's shoulders. I know you told me you've never piloted a Carrier-based TSF, so I'll explain how this thing is supposed to operate. The one sitting up front is the one who controls the weapons, while the one in the back is in charge of maneuvering. For this test, I want you to focus on moving the TSF as you usually do and let Yashiro be the one that decides when to attack. Due to her ESP powers and the sensors, she should have no problems spotting and taking down your adversaries."
So it's the opposite of when we rode the XG, I fired the weapons and gave the commands that moved the thing while Kasumi connected me to Sumika to actually move.
"Got it. So, you didn't paint it in ARP. Are the Valkyries going to be using the stealth protocol?" Sensei shakes her head as she almost closes her eyes.
"No, we still haven't even started to make diagrams for the modifications to the Takemikazuchis. We will hold some test against stealth units, since the Shogunate will have access to stealth tech. Do be ready for that too." Sigh... It's hard being a test pilot.
"So who will we fighting against today?"
"You'll have to fight against five opponents today. Hayase, Takahara, Isumi, Munakata and Asakura. Your comms will be distorted again, so don't worry about them finding out who you are. All of them in their new Takemikazuchis with the XM3 installed, of course." She says happily that last part. She must be happy about their results with it.
"Okay, I'll do my best. I see you did change the Jump Units though."
"Oh, yeah. I honestly thought of this just a few days ago, so it's not like I can just fit in one of our new engines in the thing and expect it to work. The sensors should be on par with what we have with Yashiro on board, so I only changed the Jump Units of the thing. You'll have one dagger in each knee, a sword on your hand and two rifles in your back, since we can't mount stuff on the shoulders thanks to it's sensors."
"Wait, so you're sending me against five Takemikazuchis, that are focused on CQC, with only one sword?" She chuckles at me. Uuuggh...
"We can't help it, it's just how things are, it's joints are not fit for swinging the sword around, I did improve them when I ordered the thing to be fixed after we reallocated here, but it still isn't as good as what you're used to. This time I outfitted your knee blocks with as many magazines as they could hold. Since the Mindseeker is supposed to be a High Performance Hive Infiltrator, it's knee blocks and tanks are larger than the rest of the other 2nd Gen. TSFs of it's time. You have four magazines of 36mm on the left knee and six of 120mm on the right one, along your two daggers. I know you prefer to fight in CQC, but let me see how you hold up as a ranged fighter against a team that has the clear edge over you in CQC."
"I can tell that this will give us nice data, but you really like to give me tough missions." I scratch my head again as she chuckles lightly.
"I do this only because I know that you can somehow pull this off. Your data against Takamura was better than I expected, though I did think you would win. I'm basically testing where your limits lie, and you did say that maneuvering is your biggest strength, so go out there and show me what you have." Her eyes locked onto mine, unwavering. No longer smiling, she simply stared at me.
"Roger. I'll drive this thing to it's limits. I do have a question about it, though."
"What is it?"
"Are the pods on it's side used for something?"
"Yes, they have extra sensors that will give you clearer data to move and attack. They should extend your effective range for you to shoot precisely from far away without missing, and to allow you to move much more nimbly in crowded spaces."
"Alright. I don't know how this will turn out, but I'll do my best." Sensei nods and smiles.
"That's what I wanted to hear. I'll be monitoring everything in the CP, so go all out." As Sensei finished saying that, Kasumi walked into the Hangar in her exosuit.
"Are you ready, Kasumi?" Giving me a small nod she got to my side.
"Well, you two get in there. Go and check everything is working properly and get ready to fight." Sensei crossed her arms and went her way out of the hangar.
"Roger. Let's go Kasumi."
"Yes."
We both grab the wire and get onto the cockpit. It looks just like our usual cockpit but with two seats instead of one. I take my place on the back seat as Kasumi sits on front.
"Say Kasumi, have you ever piloted before?" I am worried she might pass out from the G-force of my movements, but she looks back at me and gives me a wide smile.
"Yes, I do have some experience. Don't worry about me." Her small voice was firm as steel, and her cerulean crystals showed no shadows of doubt as they stared back at me.
"Alright then, just do your best. I know it might be a bit hard to aim with how fast I move, but just do your best."
"Yes, you can count on me."
We bolt ourselves to our seats, and after checking everything is in working order I connect to the Command Post.
"Here Viking 1, all systems green. Ready to launch whenever." Sensei's face appears on my view as the data link is formed.
"CP, roger that. Yashiro, how are you?"
"Viking 2, all green." Sensei curves her lips upwards, as the lion in her appears in her eyes.
"Good to hear. Vikings, proceed to the launch pad."
We get on the launch pad. We're raised to the surface, and after we get the OK from the crew we blast off towards the ruins.
"How're you feeling, Kasumi?"
"Fine." She gives me a thumbs up.
Okay then, let's speed up a lil' bit. We reach our destination on the eastern side of the ruins.
"Vikings, your adversaries are already in place. The exercise will begin in one minute. The winning condition is total annihilation of the opposite team. That is all." Sensei leaves us as a timer appears on my view.
"Well, time to play. Kasumi, how do you prefer to fight?" She looks back with her usual blank stare, moving her bunny ears.
"I don't really have a preference. Just fight as you normally would." She's really calm about this.
Maybe it's because I never piloted a TSF along someone in a fight, but I'm kinda nervous. I mean, the only experience I have is when we struck down that rock to save that old lady and the XG. But this time I have to actually put some effort in moving in a way to allow Kasumi to do her thing.
The clock ticks down closer and closer to zero.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
Five Takemikazuchis. I had trouble trying to take one down. And with the upgraded Kagerou, no less. No stealth to help me this time too. I guess I'll have to go serious against them, without being too fast either. Like my world's Mikoto said, more speed is not the same as more mobility. Let's use the XM3's liberties to it's fullest, like when I took on all those Forts.
The timer reaches zero and I start dashing along the street.
However, as soon as I moved a bit into the city, a bleep appeared in my radar. Wow, this thing is something else, they're so far away and-
"Hayase-san and Takahara-san are coming after us." Kasumi informs me.
"Huh? You can tell which is which?"
"Yes. The sensors make it so that I can feel what's around our TSF. I can tell who is coming, at what speed and with what weapons. They're coming at us with one sword and a rifle, Takeru-san, can you get into a sniping position?"
"Sure, is between those buildings fine?"
"Yes."
I boost towards two big buildings and position myself right between them and crouch, I switch my sword with one of the guns on my back and take my pose. A small figure appears on my vision, Kasumi was right. The Mindseeker's arms move and Kasumi is aligning her shot, her aim is... Yeah, a bit off. She should aim a bit lower, the auto-lock will do most of the corrections anyways.
Then she lowers her aim, and shoots. She hit the arm it had a sword on, causing the Takemikazuchi to drop it's sword.
"Nice one, Kasumi."
"...I wanted to hit it's cockpit." She sounds slightly upset at herself.
"Don't worry. So, do you want to keep shooting or do we go face them?"
"The others are already closing in, let me take that one out." She quickly starts sending more shots, the Takemikazuchi starts moving on the air, doing some side dodges, but it's no match for Kasumi's sniping.
After missing two shots, Kasumi took out one of it's legs, and later got a direct hit at it's cockpit. I can't belive they aren't doing barrel rolls, or diving under the buildings, or something! Do they think that just because the XM3 lets them move faster they can just speed up and dodge the fire?
"Kasumi, the other one is closing in. Let's go."
"Roger."
She takes out the other rifle as I boost forward, towards the charging Type-00C.
As the Takemikazuchi on the air was getting closer, it dove to the ground and did a boost jump towards me, sword at the ready to slash at me. I jump and spin on the air to avoid it's slash, Kasumi opens fire against it just as I started to spin, sending a shower of paint in a circular pattern at the Takemikazuchi. However, it just dashes backwards and takes aim at us.
"Don't think you'll get me so easily, Eight!" Ugh, Hayase.
Her cocky tone was clearly full of glee as she side stepped away from our shots, firing back at us. We play with each other, going back and forth in between some buildings. Kasumi's shots were badly timed with my jumps and dashes, but she slowly began to time them more precisely.
"Takeru-san, the other ones are in an inverted arrowhead just in front of us. They will shoot at us soon."
"Thanks for the warning. I'm going to-"
"Go full boost past Hayase, and deal with them, right?" She moves her bunny ears at me. Alright, that makes things easier. Get ready Kasumi, after we dodge that next barrage, we're moving!
"Yes."
Hayase kept boost dashing on the ground, shooting at us, trying to lure us to the middle of the others' aim. However, I kept canceling my dashes and doing back-boosts, while Kasumi fired just as I cancelled my dashes, making it hard for her to get close. So long as we keep her at bay she won't be able to get in CQC range, and she'll get upset and charge at us. I know Hayase's boner for close combat, I know she won't be able to keep it-
"What's up, Viking?! Too scared to come closer?!" Yep, she did. You know, it's kinda cute how she gets upset at these little things.
"All I can hear is the tears of someone who can't even graze me." I hear her groaning on the common channel. C'mon Hayase, charge at us.
"Viking 1, is this what you call a noob?" Oh God, Kasumi is the last person I thought would go around spewing insults.
"Yep, she's a noob through and through. Can't hit anything outside close range."
"What was that?! I'll make you two eat those words!" She takes a step back and comes at me in full boost.
I start retreating, and as she gets closer I do a boost backflip, arching our TSF above hers. However, she cancels her boost, comes to a complete halt and shoots at us. Dammit!
Kasumi reacted in a split second and opened fire as well while I did a roll to dodge the shots. Shit, we got hit. It's not heavy damage, but any more hits will leave our hands out of commission.
"Hehehe! Looks like you can't escape anymore!" Hayase seemed pleased with herself.
"Takeru-san! Behind us!
"I know!"
I did look at the radar as I landed, I double boost jump to my left. Just as I did, the spot I was on was covered in paint.
Hayase was tailing us, she kept shooting at us as she started to close the distance between us. Kasumi threw both arms backwards and started shooting at her, however she side stepped, did one jump cancel and boost dashed in the opposite direction.
"Damn, we can't lose her like this." I've been using the tall buildings as cover from the fire of the other three, that are still rather far.
"Takeru-san, let's go after them. Don't be afraid to do your best because I'm here." Kasumi's usual calm tone was firm, but she's not the only reason I'm being careful.
"Once we get to the main avenue, I'm charging at them at top speed. Just do your best, okay?"
"Charge at the one on the right, if the Captain falls they'll be demoralized." I think Hayase is still going to come after us, but whatever.
I keep canceling my jumps and doing my zigzags, I'm somehow managing to get away from Hayase as Kasumi keeps spraying paint behind us. She's actually managed to graze Hayase's Takemikazuchi despite it's greater speed and quick maneuvering. You're amazing Kasumi.
I dash to my right as a canister of paint explodes from above. Hayase used my brief stop to full boost in front of us. I took a step back to dodge the swing of her sword. I crouch and dash forward, moving one leg to kick at her. As if I were a defender tackling a forward in a soccer game, I make Hayase fall to the ground. Canceling both the dash and the crouch, I quickly stand up and boost dash into the avenue, while Hayase is still getting up. I jump and stepping with one foot I change my direction to move along the street. We gotta get some distance between us while she's grounded.
"Get ready, Kasumi!" I go into full boost as I dash towards the others. Fire opens up on us, but thanks to the updated info on the radar I have more than enough time to dodge them.
"Takeru-san, jump in ten."
"Okay!"
As Kasumi asked I cancel my dash and go into a sudden full boost jump, leaving the chasing Hayase right in front of the others' shots. She had to cancel her rush and back-boost to avoid getting painted in orange.
Now on the air, Kasumi takes aim at the rest of them and locks on. I start dashing on the air towards them, doing one barrel roll to avoid their incoming fire, getting closer to the ground. Kasumi opens fire, and unlike them, some of our shots hit.
The Captain lost her left arm. We land with a loud crash and dash behind some buildings. I should take some distance, bait them again and whittle them down little by little.
"Takeru-san, let me go into melee. The one in the back shouldn't be a problem." Kasumi, I'm glad you're trying so hard. So, if you're sure this will work, let's go for it!
I dash backwards, as the Captain and Munakata open fire from both of my sides. Asakura tried to snipe me, but thanks to the sensors I could easily read her, and boost jumped out of the way. Kasumi show me a path on the radar, all right let's do this.
As the Captain and Munakata cancelled their attacks and went for a boost dash towards me, pulling out their swords, I took a step back and upon contact with the ground exploded into a full boost dash again. The Mindseeker rushed past both Takemikazuchis, straight through the open space in between them. I take my Mugen stance as I dash and do some more zigzags to avoid the paintballs that are coming from behind and in front.
Kasumi bends our left arm backwards and shoots what is left of our 120mm ammo, forcing the Captain and Munakata to put some space by back-boosting away.
Asakura comes into view as she keeps boost jumping sideways. That's a nice technique, she's canceling the jump as soon as she does it, and she keeps doing consecutive jumps as she practically glides on the ground. Her aim, however, is far from perfect. After giving some time for Kasumi to change the magazines in our guns, I boost jump above a building, landing on it's roof to do another double boost jump, I cancel it in midair, and take my Mugen stance again. Moving the boosters backwards, I go into full dash towards Asakura, completely avoiding the Captain and Munakata's attempts to stop me. Kasumi draws an arc in the sky as we descend upon the Type-00C at top speed, Asakura only tried to back-boost away, but Kasumi's slash hit her hands, making her drop her rifles. I move to do the follow-up, and Kasumi nimbly does a wide side slash, hitting the cockpit. The Takemikazuchi falls back, unmoving.
No time to rest, I retreat away as the other three's rain is closing in on my position.
"Takeru-san, do you have an idea of how to take them down?" Kasumi seemed a bit tense as she reloaded her rifles.
"Yeah, I'm going to charge at them and try to use the XM3's full power. You just focus on shooting them down."
"Yes."
Alright, they're closing in. We are slower than them, only by getting them by surprise we can do this. And I know how!
I rush forward and jump. I use the Variable Wings to spin myself, and as I crash into the building I boost. I keep rebounding on the buildings in a zigzag patter, just like I did during the tournament. We have the range, we have the speed, and we have the ammo.
I'll rush through you as Kasumi pours her paint all over you. Kasumi locks onto them, in perfect sync with my jumps. I take one last hard breath as I strengthen my grip on the controls, and do one last full boost as I hit another building.
Paint flies from our spiraling frame as we dive towards the three Takemikazuchis. Since we have more range thanks to Kasumi and the special sensors, and also thanks to the patterns she displays in my radar to help me coordinate my cancels and spins with her aim, we avoid their first barrage.
I keep boosting while dashing in mid air upwards, then I cancel a dash, and then go full boost diving towards them. Kasumi starts firing just as I start the dive.
They start retreating away, as Hayase takes out her sword and dashes to a side. I cancel the boost and align the thrusters to soften my landing. I end up hovering on a street parallel to the one the Captain and Munakata were on, and without wasting a second they open fire on me. Like I'll let this chance slip me by!
Almost in perfect sync, Kasumi docked one of our guns on our back and took out a dagger. Crouch, cancel, and a forward dash! The Mindseeker avoided all the shots aimed at it's body with the crouch and was now positioned under a Takemikazuchi, dagger rising at it's cockpit. In a swift instant, another Type-00C fell to the ground.
However, my feeling of triumph was short, as I had to run away as Hayase came boosting towards me, and the other one almost got me at point blank. I quickly dash into another street and keep taking turns when I get the chance, but I can't lose them.
"Kasumi, I'll do some consecutive jumps to get away from them!"
"Be careful, they're too close." Don't worry, this will end up just fine.
Getting both guns back out, Kasumi starts shooting the 120mm to keep our distance. I speed up a bit, doing some more cancels and jumps as I try to get away. They're not doing any flashy movements as they chase me, I can't lose them so if they went for some triple boost jumps they could get me in trouble.
Munakata circles to my right, I double boost jump to my left, only to have to cancel it immediately.
"Come and face me already!" Hayase full boosted through a building, landing right in front of me.
Damn! A side step to my left, one step backwards, crouch, cancel, back-boost!
"Think that will be enough?!" She opens fire, bending her pylons forward and pointing both guns at me.
Shit, I boost jump away from her. I do a barrel roll to dodge Munakata's shots, but one hit my left arm, disabling it. I back-boost to give us some space, but we are getting worn down.
"Kasumi, seems like it's the end of the line. Wanna go out with a blast?"
"Yes, let's do it." She moves her bunny ears, smiling at me. Her eyes, however, were as clear as water. She took out the sword, ready to follow up on our final attack.
I rush out of my cover and do a crouch dash to avoid Munakata's fire. While remaining like that, I do a boost jump as I veer to my right.
"That's how I like it!" Hayase shouted over the common channel, stopping her guns and taking a fighting pose with her sword facing at us. She boost dashes towards us, ready to trade strikes with us.
Now, let me see if his technique works with mine. You gotta slowly arch the knees, move the torso a little bit to the right... As we got closer and closer, I tried to envision Maya-san's training again. The XM3's most vital strength is not it's super speed, is it's ability to make more precise movements in closed spaces! I'm gonna flow into you Hayase, with the might of an unending waterfall!
I cancel the boost, ground myself, positioning the Mindseeker for the attack. Kasumi must have read my mind, as she pointed the tip of our sword back and as I moved forward, swinging the torso from the right to the left, her slash paired up with my timing perfectly.
Our blades clash, we keep struggling against each other for a few seconds. I take a step back, and dash backwards into a building. Using it as a trampoline, I boost jump to my left, and then do a double boost jump as soon as I hit the ground, sending me upwards in an arch above Hayase.
She apparently couldn't keep up with the sudden movements, and as we were landing Kasumi slashed at her. She did manage to avoid a hit to her engine, but lost her right hand.
"Tch, don't think you can just take all of us out!" Munakata started firing at me from behind, forcing me to take cover.
"Munakata, don't get in the way!" Hayase yelled at the top of her lungs, showing her fangs through her voice.
"What are you saying? We have to coordinate our attacks to-"
"Munakata, do I have to spell it for you? He. Is. Mine. Get it?" I can't see her face, but going by her bloodthirsty tone I can tell she is pissed.
"Takeru-san, she seems really happy for some reason." Kasumi arched her shoulders as her bunny ears dropped. Her confusion was apparent. Well, Hayase does have a boner for fighting.
Munakata boost away, and Hayase faces us with her sword ready again.
Once more I boost forward, but Hayase's movements become more fierce and fast. She keeps canceling her slashes, moving to our left side, trying to overpower us. Kasumi is having trouble keeping up with the speed that I have to make to drive her swings off. Mostly thanks to my footing, I am able to slip past her charges, and get some breathing room in between her onslaught. This won't end well for us.
"Kasumi, get ready to pick up a dagger."
"Huh? A dag... Takeru-san, that plan is too risky."
"Hey, it's just a mock battle. Let me see how good your reflexes are."
"Hmm... If you want to do this, I'll follow you. But I might miss the timing." Hey, don't sound so sad. Hayase is the weird one here. "Takeru-san, you can keep up and avoid her attacks." Oi, are you saying I'm weirder? Don't give me that smile!
"Whatever. Get ready, she's coming!" Hayase's yells roar over the common channel as she rushes at us.
We parry her strike, moving to our right. I boost away from her, cancel the boost, and come at her again. Kasumi takes a downwards slash at her, she stops in her tracks and parries our hit, and as she does she starts boosting. We're being pushed back, unable to meet the force of the Takemikazuchi.
Damn, I just need to find an opening. Wait... Kasumi immediately catches onto my thought, moving her sword backwards and making Hayase fall forward, freeing us from her rush. I back-boost with all I've got, as I ready the thrusters.
Hayase chases after us, she's too close for her own good. I boost jump, making us spin in the air. And just like in that memory I saw, Kasumi throws the sword at the charging Hayase, who has to stop and jump to avoid getting a sword to the cockpit.
"Now, Kasumi!"
Kasumi makes both daggers come out. Using the last of the momentum from the spin, she throws one towards Hayase, who didn't see it coming. Her Takemikazuchi's head got struck by the dagger, I think it should have been disabled.
I land and go into full boost towards the Takemikazuchi. Moving so that our right hand is facing forward we close on Hayase, Kasumi throws the hand back, and after I do a crouch cancel she aims it at the cockpit.
Hayase, however, did not want to give up. She activated the Retractable Dagger on it's hand, and dashed forward swinging it downwards.
Both of our TSFs clash into each other, driving it's daggers into the other's cockpit. The impact shocks us left and right, as Hayase's Type-00C collapses on top of our Mindseeker.
...Ugh.
Man... That was rough... I can feel my heart on my neck, the sweat on my forehead, and I can't stop gripping the controls. Phew...
"CO to all units. The exercise is finished. Return to your respective Hangars, that is all." Hayase slowly moves her Takemikazuchi and gets off of us.
"Ugh, that was more shaky than I expected. How are you feeling, Kasumi?" She rubbed her head a bit in circles very slowly.
"My head hurts a bit. These last few minutes were too intense."
"Hey, you did great. You're better than I thought!" She blushes a bit, but returns her usual calm look at me.
"That's only because your thoughts are simple. I can follow your ideas very easily, since you think in simple terms. Instead of thinking on how to do a certain movement, it's a sequence of 'Move-Cancel-Move-Direction'. It's very easy to get a hang of that pattern."
"Huh, neat. Glad you found it easy. Maybe we could practice with the Stallion from now on? Can we still use that?"
"I think we should. Anyways, thanks a lot for this Takeru-san." Aww, she looks so cute when she's beaming like that. And now she's embarrassed. Hahaha!
"Hey! Don't hit me, I'm just messing with you Kasumi."
"Don't tease me." You look even cuter when you pout.
"Well, let's go back. By the way, how is the Mindseeker holding... Ooh..."
"Oh indeed. Everything is red." Kasumi let out a few surprised yelps at the state of our TSF.
I have crashed my fair amount of TSFs in my loops, but aside from that time on Mt. Tengen and when I literally destroyed my Fubuki during the XM3 trials, I have never left a TSF in such bad condition. Everything is on red numbers. The joints, the legs, the arms, the hip block. I literally almost broke it.
"Let's be kind to it on our trip back." She moves her bunny ears, and I can see her reflection on the panel, she looks worried at the numbers.
I slowly boost upwards, taking off towards the launch pad that'll take us to Hangar 78.
"Hey, Eight." Hayase connects to the common channel as her unit comes closer.
"Viking 1 here, what is it?"
"Say, you're the XO's bodyguard, right?" I think Sensei told them that I was her personal guardian or something along those lines, and considering our state of affairs that isn't wrong.
"Yes, something like that. What about it?"
"So, like, when are you joining the Valkyries?" Huh? Is she seriously asking me this? Her tone was clear and serious, so she is curious. Well, duh, I just forced her to a draw with a super inferior TSF, of course she'll be curious.
"That is for the Professor to decide. As you can see, I'm helping her test many things within the base, so I cannot join the A-01 Wing in their missions just yet."
"Oh, I see. But you will join us at some point?" Oh shit, she's got me on her sights. I can already hear her petitions for a rematch.
"I may or may not. Depends on the Professor entirely."
"Huh. Well, I will be looking forward to it. Don't think I'll let you off like this, I am going to make you kiss the ground someday!" First she sounded terribly disappointed, now she's all fiercely motivated. She can swing her mood faster than her sword.
"Hayase, just be honest with him. You've been asking about him since we worked together in Niigata." Munakata, you just can't help yourself.
"Munakata! Shut it! I am just happy to have someone decent to spar against."
"Yeah, sure. To spar in the bedroom, perhaps?" She's on fire today. Maybe she's angry that Hayase told her off during our fight. I can see Kasumi trembling a bit on her seat.
"S-Shut up! That's insubordination, I'm the second-in-command here, you can't diss me like that! A hundred squats for you!" Ouch, she's really angry. I never thought I'd get to hear an embarrassed Hayase.
"Mitsuki, you need to be more honest with yourself. There's nothing wrong with getting interested in someone." Haruka too?!
"Haruka! You're betraying me?!"
"Oh no, I'm just doing you a favor. Since you were so happy when we were told we could spar against him, I thought that you should seize the chance to-"
"A-Aaah! No more! Shut up! V-Viking, these two are just messing with me, it's all just a big teasing, okay?!" I would have laughed along, if not for the blades coming from Hayase's tone.
"Of course. In any case, it was a pleasure to cross strikes with all of you." Kasumi nods too.
"Uuuggh... I couldn't do a thing. Why did you take me out so fast?!" A voice I don't recognize, a feisty and energetic one, speaks to me as another Takemikazuchi gets closer.
"Takahara, you got careless again. You're too confident in our speed that don't factor in the other's accuracy. Look at Asakura, who's not as fast as you. She still managed to keep up decently." The Captain scolds this Takahara, making her groan loudly.
"It was a surprise when you did that sudden dive. I almost couldn't react, I didn't think the XM3 could allow us to do that." Another voice, more calm and sweet, speaks this time. This is Asakura, I guess.
"Yes, as I showed you today, there are many combinations of moves you can do with it. You should try to break through the usual conventions and patterns, there is a vast ocean of possibilities yet unknown waiting to be made a reality with this OS." The Captain hums in agreement and speaks up.
"Viking 1 and 2, I thank you for your assistance in our training today. I was told you have very tight schedules, so you have my utmost gratitude for giving us this chance to spar with both of you. I await the day you can become a part of our squad, I'm sure the new recruits will benefit a lot from your skills." The Captain takes the reins of the conversation, probably to stop Munakata from teasing Hayase further.
"No, the pleasure was ours. And I hope we can work together in the future too."
"Yes, it was a nice experience." So Kasumi enjoyed herself? She nods twice.
"Likewise. We did think we would have the clear advantage with our new units, but it's clear we still haven't mastered them yet. Again, thanks for your cooperation today. Best of luck in your endeavors. Valkyrie 1, out." The rest of the Valkyries send us their parting words and close their channels.
We ride the launch pad and return to Hangar 78.
...
We get down slowly, I can see the mechanics' troubled faces as they see the state of the Mindseeker on their computers after connecting some cables to it.
The door to the hangar opens and Sensei comes in, carrying a bag.
"Good work you two. Here, have something to eat."
"Thanks Sensei. So, how were the numbers?" She smirks widely as she laughs without parting her lips.
"Better than I expected. You did abuse the poor Mindseeker, yes, but your performance was splendid. I am in awe at how good you synchronized with Yashiro, and at how you managed to keep up with the Takemikazuchis. Though it's to be expected, even with them they still can't match your skill with the XM3. I thought Hayase could have gone toe to toe with you and take you down, but you managed to defeat her."
"Hey, it was a close match. And half of it is thanks to Kasumi's marksmanship. While I wouldn't say she's as good as Tama, she is definitely better than me. I wouldn't have been able to take down Takahara from that far away, even with the radar's help, and much less to aim at the Captain from that distance while barrel rolling on mid air. My stunts work on the BETA because I can spray them and I'll hit most of my shots, since they're so many. But no way in hell I'll be able to snipe a TSF from so far away at that speed." Kasumi blushes a bit as she takes a bite of a sandwich.
"Well, glad to see you worked so well together. In any case, I think I will have to make a Shin Kagerou for her, going by how much you bent this poor guy today. Yashiro, how did you feel?"
"Fine. I could understand most of Takeru-san's tactics, and the sensors worked fine. I could sense them and their intentions, but we moved a bit too fast. I couldn't act as well as I thought." She drops her bunny ears as her lips curve downwards. I go to her side and pet her head softly.
"Don't say that. You did absolutely fantastic, you did make things really easier displaying their patterns in the radar. Thanks to that, I could prepare to dodge and counter even before they got close." She smiles at me, recovering the shine on her eyes and lifting her shoulders.
"So the sensors worked perfectly, huh? Well, you two deserve some rest. Let's go back to the office." Sensei crosses her arms and moves towards the door. Humming to herself, she walks in front of us until we reach the changing room nearby.
As I get out, Sensei was absentmindedly playing with her bangs as she looked at a PDA.
"Sensei? What's up?" I approach her and she gives me a bored look.
"Oh, nothing. Just reading a mail. It seems the HSST was hijacked, America sent a footage of the moment when the pilots were murdered by a sleeper agent in the crew. They already sent a formal, but secret, apology to both the UN and the Empire. I don't think this will calm the waters, but it's something." She shrugs as she sighs.
"Huh. We can only hope things don't escalate anymore. By the by, how are the preparations for the eruption coming along?"
"Oh, just fine. I already double checked the vehicles and supplies we would need. I do have bad news for you though." Sensei stops playing with her hair as she faces me, sounding both preoccupied and alert. "The Royal Guards stationed here requested to do a mock battle with your squad tomorrow, under the pretense that they wish to test Mitsurugi. I can't refuse their request without getting into an unnecessary argument with them, so you will have to fight them. I authorize you to activate the full stealth protocol if you need it, it won't be so useful in CQC as your battle with Takamura proved, but it should help you a bit. Of course, there's only so much you can do in the Shin Gekishin." Sensei looks to a side, her eyes distraught and sour.
"If you couldn't help it, that's that. Keep a close eye on them, to see if they try to make an accident happen. At this point, we can only pray." She nods, ruffling her hair.
"Exactly, which is why this is so bothersome. Be on your guard, and don't hesitate to get in front of a gun if it helps you get out of the mock battle early."
"Roger. So, how is the 00 Unit?"
"Oh, it should be done in one or two days. Use this evening to talk with Kagami as much as you can, I know you and Yashiro are tired but we need to get her as stable as possible. Do try to see if you can get any more memories from his time in the Guard." Sensei straightens her lab coat and puts her PDA in one of her pockets.
"Of course. After helping Takamura and checking on the stuff at Hangar 90 I'll go there."
Kasumi comes out and slowly approaches us, she seems more calm now than how she was when we had just came back. We than all go towards the office to have a small break and review the data of today's fight.
Sensei seemed pleased with the results and praised Kasumi for being able to keep up with me, not without sending a jab at me about how I'm so weirdly good. Kasumi did mention that she was able to clearly understand my thought process and Sensei was very intent on hearing my and Kasumi's thoughts about how we felt during the mock battle. I didn't feel particularly different, as I'm used to that small trembling feeling in the back of my head when Kasumi reads my mind for long periods of time by now, after our memory recovery sessions. It's like it's a natural thing by now. Kasumi also said she had no problem focusing on my thoughts and on the sensors. Sensei seems to be plotting something here, something more than just teaching Kasumi my piloting style. Kasumi didn't mind though, and said she'll gladly keep practicing with me. The bunny is too good for this world.
Regardless, today's mock battle was a success. We also helped the Valkyries realize how far the ceiling is, so that's another plus, even if we left the Mindseeker in tatters.
After Sensei was done reviewing the data, she dismissed me. Let's go help Takamura, I think we should be close to actually start putting the thing together by now, so I'm sure she needs the extra hands.
And I can keep my mind busy, to avoid overworrying about this battle with the Royal Guards.
My relation with the Empire will be decided during it.
Will they belive I'm this world's Takeru and stop chasing after me?
Or will they confirm their suspicions and try to take my life?
I can only wonder how would the squad react to such a thing. In any case, I've done a lot more than last time. Let's just do what I can for now.
For those who have fallen before, and for those that will come after me, I won't screw up. To bring forth that peace I want, and to see it with my own eyes.
To mend my mistakes. To fix this ruin that follows me anywhere I go.
I'll take you on, Royal Guards.
Like hell I'll give up now, when we're so close to awakening the 00 Unit.
I won't let you ruin my efforts. I won't let another loop go to the trash can. No more pointless deaths, no more needless sacrifices.
I don't care if it comes back to bite my head off after I've finished my mission, I will deceive you and Yuuhi.
Ain't nobody gonna take this Shirogane down.
...Though I do wonder what they will do if they confirm I'm the Takeru they knew. Imagine them trying to bring me back to the Guard, or putting me in a call with Yuuhi.
Hah! Imagine if she came to the base and hugged me like she hugged him when they were kids! Just thinking of Meiya's face is enough to make me laugh. What would she say if she knew who I'm supposed to be? Man, that is gonna be fun if it happens.
Anyways, let's go at it with a positive approach. Though it still worries me a bit. What will Yuuhi do to me if they belive me?
Well, let's not worry! Worst case I activate Unlimited Bullshit Works and work something out.
Jokes aside, I do wish to protect this feeble peace I have now, even if only for some days more. I haven't felt so happy since the tournament, even if that ended terribly.
So, now that I know that the Valkyries don't think of me badly, I gotta protect my bonds with the girls.
No one is getting between us. No one is making them turn against me again.
And I don't care if I have to break Yuuhi's or the Tsukuyomi's hearts. I will keep my promise. I will stop this causal leaks from screwing things up even more.
And it all becomes clear tomorrow, within the heat of the battle. Now that I think about it... It's the first time I'll face Tsukuyomi-san. Let's hope I don't end up like Sagiri.
November 13th. 5:24 AM.
(Near Komoro Base.)
[Akira]
"Saber 6, nothing here sir." I report to the Captain as I boarded my Gekishin.
"Roger that. Move to the next settlement to the west, it's one of the last ones. If you find anything, let us know immediately."
"Yes, Captain!" I close the comms and let out a sigh.
Who does he think I am? I'm an Eishi! I'm not a kid anymore. It's true that this is one of my first sorties, but still... It makes me so mad to be treated like a kid, even after getting commissioned. What's up with this mission too? Why were we asked to search this area? There's no one living here, I'm sure the alarm must have malfunctioned or something. To send all eight of us so early, in search of the source of this rescue signal. Ugh, this is the worst!
I boost towards my next and last location, the remnants of some sort of rural town. I can't wait to go back to Komoro Base and get a nice breakfast. This is their fault, if they had decent equipment we could have pinpointed their location instantly. Or better yet, they could have followed the Shogun's orders and retreated to a shelter.
I close in the place, I heard this towns were inhabited by people that refused to leave when Saionji-sama, may he rest in peace, ordered the people to retreat towards the east, even after all connection to the rest of the Empire was lost. I can't even imagine how people kept living here in such a situation.
"This is the IJA's 138th Squad, we are here to answer to a rescue alarm. Please come out of your homes." I speak to the wind as I went down.
This place looks deserted, there is no sign of... Wait... My eyes wander to a pole to my left. There were some clothes hanging from it. They weren't old or tarnished by the weather, so someone must have placed them here not so long ago. Finally found them. I get close to the house in question and knock on the door three times strongly.
After knocking and shouting some more, I simply opt to open the door. However, there is no one inside. The room was made a mess, a kettle was on the floor along some books. What the hell?
"Saber 6 to Saber 1, do you copy?"
"Saber 1, loud and clear."
"Captain, I found some clothes hanging from a pole, they looked to have been put there recently. However, the house they were near is made a mess. I will check further into the town, can someone come along just in case?" I hear him snickering.
"What is it? You scared, pup? It's the normal stuff, the winds do that sometimes. Check everything throughly instead of freaking out. Saber 1, out."
Aargghhh! I hate him, why does he have to tease me all the time?! What if this is something serious?! Whatever, let's do this.
I go towards the other houses nearby, and all of them are in the same state of disarray. As if the people ran away in a hurry, tumbling stuff down as they made their escape. Maybe I'm overreacting, since this is just my third sortie.
Some houses are almost falling down, their walls have this giant holes on them. Weird thing is, the stuff inside doesn't seem that old. It's doesn't look like this place was abandoned for that long. Look, there's even some food on that table over there.
As I got closer to the center I could see some weird marks on the ground. What is this? Did a vehicle do this? And what of this marks? They might be from some machine, I'm sure. Maybe someone else answered the rescue call before we left the base? Ugh, that better not be the case! This is one of the few times I get to prove my worth in the IJA.
"What's that smell?" The more I move, the more I sense this weird smell in the air. It's not that strong, but it definitely isn't nice. "Hello? Is anybody here?"
The wind answers me, rumbling through the seemingly abandoned rural town. All this silence is making me more nervous than I should be. Back before the BETA came, hearing animals was such a normal thing I didn't give a second thought to. But now I often find myself trying to remember how it was to hear birds chirping on the mornings or bugs buzzing during summer. It's not like they're all gone, but there's very few of them in the mainland.
I check the houses nearby. A door creaks behind me, making me jump. I close in slowly, gulping as I grasp my gun again. Peeking through the small opening, I see the usual sight. A table upside down, some broken cups on the floor, and... Hey, there's someone in there!
The inside of the house was very dark, since it's windows weren't open, so I couldn't see it well, but that right there was a person no doubt! But why is he or she sleeping on the floor?
"Hey, are you alright? I'm a soldier from the IJA and-"
It was dark. So I didn't notice.
I was so happy to have found someone. So I didn't notice.
I wanted some answers so badly. So I didn't notice.
But when I entered, opening the door widely, showering the dim light of dawn break into the house, I saw it. And along the realization, my senses sprung into action. My nose was assaulted, my stomach turned within, a whistle rang in my ears, my vision slowly became hazy and unfocused. But I couldn't look away.
Blood was splashed onto the floor. It wasn't dry, it still was rather liquid. And along the pool of blood...
...laid the torn remains of someone. I hold my mouth tightly, to prevent me from puking. I couldn't tell that it wasn't a living person as I walked in here, and now that I'm so near, a smell I've never felt before assaults my senses. Some flies were happily dancing atop the limbs and torso on the ground.
"S-Saber 6 to Saber 1!"
"What's up, Isumi? Need someone to-"
"I-I found a corpse, sir! Or maybe it's two, I dunno. There's some torn limbs a-and... Urk." I try to close my throat. I step outside in a hurry, knocking the door away.
"Saber 6! Are you alright?!"
"Y-Yes, sir. I'm fine." My knees are shaking and I have trouble breathing. Gotta calm down, Akira.
"We'll be going to your position shortly, stay put and wait for me. Or better yet, return to your Gekishin. But do so slowly, and in silence."
"Y-Yes, sir. Saber 6, out."
Oh my God... I slowly move further and further away from the pool of carnage. Ugh, I'm so pathetic. My knees are shaking... I'm sure Marika-chan and Michiru-chan could keep their act together in a situation like this.
As I move away from that house, I notice something in the walls of a nearby building. Bullet marks. Someone fought here, and that caused that... But who could have done such a thing?
...
The silence eats at me, and I can only gaze upwards, praying for the Captain to come while tightly holding my gun, shivering in place, looking from time to time at my surroundings. After what felt like an eternity, I see a Gekishin land nearby, and soon after the Captain and another one of my partners came along.
"Isumi, are you alright?" As he sees me he rushes to my side, clearly worried.
"Y-Yes, sir. Nothing happened while I waited."
"I see. Where is the..." I point to the house, I couldn't move very far away, as if I were chained here. The Captain goes towards the half open door slowly. "Let's see, what is... Oh my God." The Captain couldn't keep his shock and disgust at the abominable sight.
"Holy shit... What the hell happened here?" Yagami couldn't hide her repulsion either.
"You two, on me. We'll investigate this town, throughly. The rest are already on the way. Let's go."
We follow the Captain closely. On the rest of the town, we found more pools of blood, more corpses and torn bodies. Some houses were damaged, others destroyed.
"Who did this? Why would anyone..." I can't understand, why would anyone do this?
"Girls. Stay calm and listen to me. This wasn't done by a person. Look there, under those boulders. Can you see it?" The Captain points to his left, where some houses had collapsed.
"Under the... Eh? Why is... N-No!" The remains of a Warrior-Class BETA could be seen, despite part of it being under some rocks.
"Seems like the town was attacked by the BETA during the night, and that's when they sent the rescue signal. If they had sent someone immediately..." The Captain punches a nearby pillar.
"The BETA? But this isn't... We're so far from the First Defense Line, there are no Hives nearby!"
"Isumi, Yagami. Let me tell you something, part of the BETA that surfaced during the Niigata Invasion broke from their formation, we lost sight of them, and later they regrouped and attacked again, and almost pierced the Third Defense Line. It's possible that... some infantry types remained hidden within the mountains or underground and avoided detection until now."
Eh? The BETA are... within the mainland?! This has got to be a joke! T-There's no way... The BETA don't use tactics!
"Anyways, let's keep searching. There might be some survivors around." I gulp loudly and follow closely behind the Captain.
...
In the end, we found no one left alive. We found most of the people living there dead, torn apart by the BETA. We also found a few corpses of Soldier and Warrior-Class scattered around what looked to be like a shelter. It seems the people put up a fight with what little guns they had on them. As the one who found them first I was tasked to make the report. And, aside from the sickening visage, I found something to point out.
All the human corpses that we found were torn apart brutally. As in, their limbs were separated from their bodies.
However, none of them had their heads, and we couldn't find a single one in the whole town. The mental image of the BETA tearing someone apart and then leaving carrying their head... I couldn't put any food in me for the rest of the day.
This discovery was to remain as a Top Secret matter, and only me, Yagami and the Captain know about it. We were told the best men in the IJA would go scout the area for any possible threats, but that doesn't make me feel better, I needed answers and I received nothing but cold stares and silence.
The BETA are here in the mainland, they could be hiding anywhere in the mountains or even underground. Are they planning to build a Hive under our nose? What is the IJA and the Royal Guard gonna do about it? We were told we had to go to the Ueda Base of the Royal Guard to report this too.
A shiver colder than anything I ever felt before embraced me and refused to let go, as the image of the dismembered bodies kept ingraining itself in my mind. The BETA are here, they could be right about to attack. What if the next place is our base? What if when we return from Ueda, the base is destroyed, and everybody's remains are left headless in an ocean of blood?
Maybe it's because I'm a rookie, maybe I'm too green and this has happened in the past with the other invasions that happen every week. But my stomach is still turning and turning...
...I don't think I'll be able to sleep today.
