Disclaimer: I don't own Muv-Luv Alternative or any of the characters. All rights belong to âge.
October 26, 2001
Standing under the cover of the Sakura blossom trees, we face each other with our swords out. I hold the exact stance as my opponent, except that my stance is less refined. "Hah!" I let out a shout and leaped forward for a downwards swing. It gets parried and immediately a sideways swing aims right for my shoulder. I narrowly dodge the swing and raise my sword with an underhanded slash. My opponent quickly spins and hits my blade from under, knocking it out of my grip and ending our spar. "Thank you for the spar." I bow and thank my opponent.
I watch my opponent release her stance and turn around, showing her tied up green hair into a bun. She gracefully walks over to pick up my fallen sword. "Your skills have improved once again Takeru-sama." Mana passes me the sword.
"Sensei's teachings are very effective… A bit effective if I might say…" I scratch my head and reply.
"Maya is just doing her best. After all, your safety is her top priority. If you get stronger you can also help protect Meiya-sama when you both go out." Mana explains.
My current teacher is Tsukuyomi Maya. She became my teacher once I married Meiya and we both had to return to the Shogunate to help protect the Shogun as the Mitsurugi Royal House. When Yuuhi claimed Meiya's status as her twin sister, Maya-sensei was assigned to teach me the Mugen Kidou. Apparently all members for the Royal Guard had to learn this style and Maya-sensei was the closest master to the Shogun. Tsukuyomi-san was assigned to Meiya and she has been helping me spar whenever she has time.
"Meiya-sama should be back soon." Mana tells me while serving me some tea.
"It's fine, she should honestly take longer." I reply to her. It's rare that Yuuhi ever has free time, for Meiya to be able to spend time with her is probably the best thing for her. Of course, Maya-sensei is guarding them both.
The training ever since I've arrived in the Royal guard has really been different than what I've been used to. Especially these clothes that I have to wear are really a pain to put on. Ever since I came here, one person has been giving me a really bad feeling. Every time he appears, something in my gut tells me that he's dangerous. Especially his status, being so high up in the ladder, he holds a lot of decision making power. His name is…
*Shake* *Shake*
"Wait just a moment Kasumi…" I groan out.
*Shake* *Shake*
I fully wake up after that. I was so close to hearing the name in the dream. I have a feeling that name is probably really important for some reason… "Good morning Kasumi." I greet her.
"...Good morning…" "See you later…" I just blankly watch her slowly walk out of my room. My brain hasn't fully processed what was going on. At least she seems to like the Santa rabbit carving, having it hang from her uniform at her side.
I take a look at the clock… it displays 7:45 am… "Oh crap I'm gonna be late!" I shout out.
After grabbing a small snack from the PX, courtesy of oba-chan, I run right for the track field while chomping down on my breakfast. I barely made it to the field one minute early while out of breath. Marimo-chan shoots me a quick glare but it looks like I won't get punished.
"Today we are starting out with hand-to-hand combat! Pair up and start practice! We will rotate pairings as we go!" Marimo-chan orders.
I ended up pairing with Mikoto first. Our session mostly consisted of me guiding her through the spar and fixing some of her mistakes. Actually, all of the other sessions ended up going the same way except for Meiya's. With my current experience, not even Meiya was able to challenge me in hand-to-hand combat.
"Shirogane! Pair up with Ayamine next!" Marimo-chan orders. Finally, the partner I have anticipated the most is here. As my teacher in hand-to-hand combat, I really want to drag out Kei's potential and I really miss sparring with her.
We start out our spar simply trading blows and attempting soft grapples. After 10 minutes not making any progress, Key gets impatient and she grabs my arm. I can tell she's attempting to use the patented Ayamine Tornado Throw on me. Too bad for you Kei, I already know the way to counter your special move! As she starts to spin and twist my arm while throwing me, I move my body as close as possible to her, almost to the point of hugging her. With such close proximity, she is unable to exert much force, nor can she execute the spin needed for her special move. I twist my body so that I can grab ahold of her and return the favor by locking her into a hold. She shows a shocked face as I pin her into the ground. "Will you give up or do you still want to continue?" I ask her. She struggled fiercely, so I let her go and we continued our session for the remaining 20 minutes. The rest of the session mainly involved me countering her ATT and continually countering her attacks.
After Marimo-chan ended our morning session, I could tell Kei was really mad at me… I was then ignored for the rest of the day…
After our usual lunch break in the PX, our afternoon session consisted of sword combat practice. I could tell Meiya was very excited and she kept shooting me glances.
"Takeru, since you've shown such prowess in all the fields of training we've done so far, are you any good with a sword?" She excitedly asks me.
"I would say I'm better with a sword than I was with knives the other day." I answer her honestly.
"I look forward to our session then." She happily exclaims.
Surprisingly, the moment we start our session, Marimo-chan instantly pairs me up with Meiya, perhaps she expects me to be good with a sword as well since I was breezing through the other practices.
Meiya takes up her position across the field from me. A distance of 10m stands between us. As she gets settled into her stance, holding her katana with both her hands, I end up mirroring her stance. Our stances look identical, for some reason this stance feels the most natural to me as well. I know that Meiya was my teacher during the previous loop for sword practice, perhaps that is why my stance is so similar to her. She gave me a shocked look when she saw my stance and started to get a bit angry as well.
"Are you underestimating me?" She questions me with a bit of anger.
"I am not, this is just what is most comfortable to me." I honestly reply, she doesn't seem to buy into my explanation.
The moment Marimo-chan signals for us to start, Meiya arrives in front of me in an instant and lets loose a diagonal swing of her blade. Her movement was smooth like flowing water, her skill with a blade is amazing as always. I manage to block the swing, barely managing to keep our blades in deadlock. As I was dealing with her aggression, my mind clears and I let my body autopilot. I pivot towards the left, letting Meiya's blade slide along my own katana as I knock her back with the pommel of my katana. She takes a step back from my unexpected strike and hurriedly brings her blade back to defend against my upwards swing. Instead of forcing the strike, I decide to use the knockback of our katanas to help provide the force for my movement. After my blade bounces back after colliding with hers, I take a step back with my right foot and push forward to arrive behind her. Once behind her, I feint a diagonal strike that she tries to parry and instead use rapid feet movement to backstep and duck for a flat-ended strike to her gut. The attack strikes her and she quickly backs away, yielding me the round. After our first round, we had 3 more rounds which involved me outmaneuvering Meiya everytime.
After our spar, Meiya walks up to me with serious eyes. "How do you know the Mugen Kidou." She asks right off the bat.
"The Mugen Kidou…? I've never heard of that term, I don't know what you mean." I lie to her.
"The sword style you are using, it's similar if not identical to the style that the Royal Guards use. It is also the sword style I use." She explains.
"So that is what it is called…" I breathe out.
"May I know who it was that taught you?" She must be thinking I have ties to the Royal Guard.
"It was someone when I was younger, they taught me how to use a sword, I'm sorry I can't tell you who they are. They aren't in this world anymore…" I tell her a partial truth. The Meiya who taught me her style is truly no longer alive after all…
"Oh… I'm sorry…" She apologizes while looking down.
"It's fine, I have gotten over it." I truthfully tell her. Our conversation quickly dies down afterwards as Marimo-chan dismisses us after our training.
We ended up our night pretty early, grabbing dinner from the PX and making some small talk. Everyone must be really wanting to get to their own personal business. I don't mind this change of pace, since I still have a mountain of things I need to prepare and work on…
October 27, 2001
(Mana POV)
Just getting out of my TSF cockpit, I realize it was already late in the afternoon when I arrived back at the Tokyo base. The mission for the Royal Guard took longer than expected. I walk back into my room to get some rest after reporting in my mission. I wonder how Meiya-sama is doing, they're having a second chance at the CCSE but at their current pace her squad will most likely fail. Even though it is better for her situation if she fails, I personally wish she can pass. Even if I lose my position at her side, I earnestly wish for her success. While I was contemplating this problem, I hear a knock on my door.
"Come in!" I shout out. Kamiyo, Ebisu, and Tomoe walk in and quickly salute.
"Ma'am! We heard you just arrived onto base and we have urgent news we need to report!" They notify me.
"It is good to see you three again. What could it be that would be urgent enough for you to report to me instantly?" I question.
"Mana-sama, while you were away on your mission, a new recruit was added to Meiya-sama's squad." Kamiyo explains.
"Which girl is unlucky enough to be put into that political hostage squad?" I nonchalantly ask.
"Here's the problem… Mana-sama, the new recruit is a man." Tomoe states.
"What!" I instantly sit up and turn to her. "What is that fox up to!? To put a man into Meiya-sama's squad." I angrily let out. I instantly check the database on squad 207B and I find the new recruit. Let's see, Shirogane Takeru is his name… his information and background is too clean and plain. It's much too plain to belong to the highly political 207B squad, there's something suspicious going on.
Ebisu catches my attention. "Mana-sama. We thought that this man's profile is much too simple, so we did some searching and we found something suspicious. Apparently, the name Shirogane Takeru is in our database as well."
"Hmm? Where did you find it?" I ask her. I don't remember any Royal Guards with that name. Maybe he used to serve in the IJN and was transferred to the Shogunate to help out?
"He was in the deceased member list in the area of Yokohama when we did a compiled list after Operation Lucifer. His status at the time was 'civilian.'" Ebisu states.
A dead man… why did that fox vice commander place someone who is supposed to be dead near Meiya-sama? I wish I can rush instantly to the Yokohama base and deal with this threat, but my hands are tied…
"According to our sources, there has been some movement in the island that the CCSE is usually held." Tomoe informs me. "Most likely Meiya-sama's squad will be taking the evaluation in the next few days."
That is both good and worrying news. If she passes the evaluation, that means I can use this opportunity to station at Yokohama base to guard the Takemikazuchi that Yuuhi-sama will gift to Meiya-sama. The CCSE being pushed this far ahead of schedule is worrying, will Meiya-sama be ready to take it… I am worried about her safety.
"Let us pray for Meiya-sama's success. That way we can deal with this new threat when Meiya-sama receives her TSF." I tell the three of them.
"Yes! Understood!" The three salute and leave my room.
I can only hope I can make it and protect you in time Meiya-sama…
October 29, 2001
Marimo POV
Working in the office today, dealing with the reports that I need to do, I need to get prepared for the squad's CCSE tomorrow. I think back on the past week and all the chaos that happened. Ever since Monday, everything has been hectic.
When Yuuko first notified me about a new recruit into the squad, I was skeptical. I wanted to protest adding someone into the group this late, let alone the squad's unique circumstances. But Yuuko said that he was special and I can't really oppose her decisions, so I decided to see what was so 'special' about him.
Shirogane came in and he gave me a weird impression right off the bat, instead of saluting, he bowed to me right off the bat. He then gave me a secret note identifying him as a First Lieutenant. I was confused why such a high ranking official would be in the squad, it doesn't help that Yuuko doesn't explain anything. He then told me that he was here to improve the squad so that way they would become a usable force earlier.
After witnessing his performance, I can see why he is a First Lieutenant at such a young age. It's as if he has no weaknesses. He was perfect in both shooting and CQC combat. His stamina was also incomparable. Even when I tried to test his limits, it felt like I couldn't find any. Out of curiosity, I decided to look at his profile. His profile was barebones, super clean as if there was no information about him at all. It seems like there's no way I can figure out his secrets so easily. Yuuko definitely won't tell me, so I will have to keep a closer eye on him on my own. For now, I can only hope the girls can make it through the CCSE safely, even with his help they're still doing the evaluation way too early. I really hope I don't have to see anymore of my students have to suffer in this harsh world…
October 30, 2001
Chizuru POV
I feel like the biggest idiot right now. When I woke up this morning, I was still being excited about the trip. Yesterday after training, Instructor told us we were getting a well earned break for all the increase in training we were going through. It had made sense in my head, after all our training had increased by more than double the past week since Shirogane had joined. The "tropical vacation" should have tipped me off…
The moment we gathered together, ready to board our ride, is when I realized I had mistaken our "vacation." After all, the transportation we were getting into was a submarine. It was at that moment that I realized, I fucked up… it was the CCSE.
After we got launched onto the island through our pods, I instantly reported to the Instructor to grab our mission objective. Most of the stuff we brought was useless, but Shirogane had some really practical items. Did he know about this beforehand or did he make a lucky guess? I determined that the mission was best done in three split teams, so I asked the rest of the squad if they had any good pairing suggestions. Shirogane then pointed out that he was best paired with Yoroi. He stated that since he had no previous experience with the traps in evaluation, Yoroi was best paired with him since she was best at survival and trap detection. I found no flaws in his logic, the next problem is what the other two pairings should be. Shirogane was adamant that I paired with Ayamine to settle our problems, but I outright refused. There's no way I would ever work well with her, she wouldn't ever take my orders. He then suggested for me to pair with Mitsurugi, since it would be ideal to have a close-combat specialist paired with a long-range specialist. I agreed and we left in our separate directions to complete the mission.
Takeru POV
After arriving on the island, the first thing I realized is that Yuuko isn't here this time around. I guess it makes sense, last time she was here because she was still stuck and wasn't making much progress in the theory. This time she has a lot more on her hands and she is busy. Now that she isn't here, I truly realized how much I missed that view… Wait, focus focus, stop thinking about that, we have a CCSE to finish. I managed to keep most of the evaluation the same as the previous loop. Managing to pair up with Mikoto, we made good progress towards our objective. With Mikoto going in front of me clearing traps, I point out the ones she missed with my past experience. With record pace, we make it the objective on the night of the first day.
Walking into the objective area, everything looks the same as before. There was the Humvee that had it's engine taken out, thanks to the accursed incident. Speaking of which, I really miss Haruka-senpai, she was the nicest Valkyrie to me. This time, I brought a canister to carry the oil, so we won't miss out on it. After scavenging the old base, we decided to get some sleep and bomb the objective once the sun starts rising.
"You're amazing Takeru! The base blew up like how you described it would!" Mikoto excitedly says while we were traversing the rocky cliffside to arrive at the rendezvous point.
"It's just basic explosives, nothing too impressive. Rather than that pay attention to where you're walking, it's dangerous up here." I warn her.
Right after warning her, I grab the snake that showed up and quickly defanged it. Time to keep it this time to bring back to Kyozuka-oba-chan. Maybe she can make a meal out of it, it's fresh ingredients after all. Seems like Mikoto was still not comfortable with snakes despite being a survival expert. We made it to the rendezvous point during the second night and we quickly made a makeshift camp.
On the third night, Kei and Tama show up to our camp. Their condition isn't too bad, just a bit worse for wear. "How long have you two been here?" Tama asks.
"We've been camping here since last night." I honestly reply.
"Typical 'Special-kun', so much faster…" Kei comments.
Not long after, Class Rep and Meiya also show up and we distribute our shifts for the night.
When morning came, we decided to move towards the west to the newly found objective. With Mikoto leading the way, we made good progress, reaching the ravine within half a day. We used the rope and had Kei cross over. Once we had all crossed, we retrieved the rope and made our way towards the objective once again. I remember there should be rain happening soon, but we made it past the ravine early.
We reached the helipad on our fourth day, I volunteered to light the flares and wave them. After all, I know that we were going to get fired upon so I had the highest chance of surviving. After avoiding the bullets, we contacted Marimo-chan and she told us our new objective is further into the island. Thus, we made our way further into the jungle.
I spotted the radar that controlled the gun battery and pointed it out to the squad. They suggested that I shoot it with the sniper rifle that Tama had found. Right as I was about to make some excuse, the rain happened at the perfect time. I told them that I wasn't confident shooting in the rain and that I would most likely miss. Using this opportunity, I had Tama shoot, which led to an increase in her confidence as she made a shot that I had refused to attempt. Once the gun battery was disabled, we quickly reached the old wooden bridge. Securing the bridge with the rope, we managed to save a lot of time crossing that way and we decided to get some rest. Since we had the oil this time around, I suggested that we take the boat to cross the water at nighttime. The rest of the squad agreed with my suggestion. Once we reached the objective, we saw Marimo-chan standing waiting for us. With a smile on her face, she told us we had passed with high marks and we could have the next day off as our reward.
Waking up this morning, I got up feeling very excited. After all, this time I didn't forget to bring my swim trunks! I can finally enjoy playing in the water with the girls! Walking towards the beach, the first thing I noticed was Yuuko lying on a beach chair under a parasol with her swimsuit. Next to her sat Kasumi, playing with the sand wearing something like a school swimsuit. "Oh, I thought you weren't going to show up." I walk towards her.
"We managed to get five prototypes done of the consoles and games, so I'm here to take a break after hearing that you passed the evaluation. I also brought Yashiro since it seemed like she was missing you." She notices my eyes roam over her body. "Liking what you see~?" She teases me.
Since I was in a good mood, I decide to tease her back this time. "Well you aren't the most beautiful woman in the base for nothing, I have to take advantage of what you're offering."
"Oh my, what a charmer~!" She fakes a surprised look, but I can see her smirk. "Oh, as a reward for you, I brought Marimo's swimsuit with me. It's up to you to convince her to wear it though~" she informs me.
Shortly after, Marimo-chan walks over to us, wanting to know why the XO was here. Under the coordination between Yuuko and I, Marimo-chan's defenses crumbled like weak paper. It wasn't very hard to "convince" her to change into a swimsuit under an order for her to enjoy the free day in the water and bond with the squad.
The rest of the day turned into one of the most memorable days of my life. We all just forgot about the threat of the BETA and had fun playing in the water with each other. We acted like regular people for once, and I even got to teach Kasumi how to swim. As a souvenir, I found her a seashell like I did last loop. As we left the island to go back to the base, I'm sure this day will remain a treasured memory of the squad…
AN: Sorry if this chapter seemed a bit quick/condensed/rushed. Since you guys seemed bored of the "training arc" and wanted to see the end of the CCSE, I kind of generalized most of it since it was similar to canon. Next chapter we will see the start of TSF training! Be aware, there will be a twist, look forward to it~