Disclaimer: I don't own Muv-Luv Alternative or any of the characters. All rights belong to âge.

Thanks for the long reviews! I'll answer some of the questions here I suppose, feel free to skip if you want to avoid spoilers (not that there will be many).

Hayase's rivalry will act up the moment she figures out who it is~ Poor Takeru is trying his best to hide from her like always. The coup will be a very important plot line so I will be spending a lot of time planning it out, look forward to it~ As for Ikaruga, I'm still doing some planning regarding his role in the story, thanks for the advice though!
The girl's will start gaining more memories now that TSF training has started, as most of their past experiences involve TSFs after all.

Hope you all had a great July 4th!

November 4, 2001

*Slides*

Quickly after waking up, I walk into Yuuko's office to discuss some serious matters. Kasumi didn't wake me up today like usual, it must be that she was still tired from all the excitement yesterday.

"I'm assuming you're here to talk about testing the prototypes." Yuuko sits up and faces me.

"Yes, I plan on having the squad start using them in the afternoon after TSF training. Since there's only 5 of them now, I'll have the girls use them first. I want to build up their skills as quickly as possible." I notify her. "If possible I would like the engineers to keep pushing out as many copies as possible."

"I'll see what I can do, then again since we have some experience now, it should go smoother." She answers my request.

"I also plan on using my rank starting today, I have no more qualms in holding back now that we're training in TSFs, the faster we can get them up to snuff, the more time we can have planning. I would like to request for Marimo-chan to join the squad as my second in command." I inform her.

"I can understand exposing your rank, but why bring in Marimo? Shouldn't you be enough to teach them?" She questions.

"Normally yes, but this relates to the main reason as to why I'm here so early." I begin my explanation. "Since I plan on doing something important for a bit, I need someone to take my spot for a bit. It's best to have Marimo-chan join the squad for these practices so that way she can get better as well as understand the process better. After all, the best way to understand something is doing it yourself."

"What is this… 'important thing' you plan on doing?" She gives me a serious look.

"I'm here to trade you 15 pages of the theory in return for a favor."

"That's a very hefty favor then, tell me what it is first before I decide." She demands.

"BETA from Sadogashima are going to invade the mainland." I inform her.

"That was… sudden." She responds while being caught off guard.

"This is the first big incident that is going to happen."

"Oh one of those… so BETA from Sadogashima will invade mainland Japan?" She confirms.

"Yes, on November 11th. There will be an emergency summons during lunch, and we will all end up in the briefing room."

"So the 11th… Sunday?"

"Yes, I've confirmed that date from both loops. Nothing major has happened so far internationally, so it should be the same date."

"Can you tell me the details? As much as you remember of course."

"Let's see… The Imperial Army engaged the BETA after they surfaced, but some of the enemy broke through and were temporarily lost." I think more deeply. "The scattered BETA regrouped and broke through the Secondary Defense Line. Then the BETA moved South along the Northern Kantou Final Defense Line, and I'm pretty sure they changed course at the border between Nagano, Gunma and Niigata. The Imperial Army fought hard to keep them from breaking the Final Defense Line… but I think the odds were against them. Reinforcements were sent from a nearby Imperial Army base, but it seemed unlikely they'd make it in time either."

Yuuko stays silent, I can tell she's absorbing and analyzing the information. Anyway, I continue on. "By the way, the UN support units deployed from Atsugi base were near Maebashi in Gunma, but they were also late. When the BETA broke through the Imperial units, they came close to crossing the line. It was determined that this was their objective… Yokohama Base."

"...I see. And after that?"

"In the end, the Imperial Army managed to destroy the BETA somehow, so nothing terrible happened."

"I see… from Sadogashima… So, what do you want me to do about it?"

"I already know what your plans are, and this is why I'm here to make a deal."

"Hmm…? What do you think I plan on doing?" She smirks, testing my knowledge.

"You're planning on using the Valkyries to capture live BETA samples for future use, you did this last loop and it led to irreparable consequences. This is why this time I will be joining that operation."

"You do realize how important you are right? First of all, not only do you hold the rest of the theory, you also hold too many secrets that can be important. What makes you think I will let you risk your life like this?"

"You've already seen my skill, you can use this operation as a test for the XM3. If I end up in any trouble, I will write down where I hid the rest of the theory. Before I die, I will let someone in the Valkyries know how to tell you where to find it. I can guarantee you adding me into the squad for this mission will make the success rate higher."

"First, let me know where exactly they surfaced."

"I know for sure it was in Niigata, I am not sure about exactly where though…"

"I'll station the Valkyries a bit further behind Niigata then. If you plan on joining the operation, you're going to need a call sign. I also plan on having an image cover and voice changer over your comms. Any suggestions on your hidden call sign?"

"I think Shade is probably a good enough call sign, not like we will be using it for a long time anyways."

"Very well, but before I approve of you joining the operation, I need you to do some test piloting for the XM3, come later tonight to the simulator room to start working on that." She orders me. "I swear you give me so many problems, sometimes I wonder if you're even worth it…" She rubs her temples.

"Thanks Yuuko, I promise this will pay off. I need to talk to Marimo-chan now." I tell her as I leave the room.

*Slides*

*Knock* *Knock*

Knocking on Marimo-chan's office door, I quickly hear her respond with a "Come in." Walking in, I see her working on documents, probably for our squad concerning our change to TSF training,

She quickly turns to face me and upon spotting me she salutes. "1st Lieutenant Shirogane! What do you need from me today sir?" She asks.

"No need to be so formal, I call you Marimo-chan all the time after all."

"Even after I told you to stop so many times…" She pouted.

"Anyway, to serious business. I need you to join us in TSF training, not as an Instructor but as a Sergeant. I plan on including you into our squad of pilots as my second in command."

She widens her eyes. "But I haven't been in a squad for years! Plus, I am an Instructor, I can't join any specific squad. That would lead to unprofessionalism." She tried to argue.

"There's no use in arguing, I already discussed this with Yuuko. I believe I can help you improve as well, plus I need someone to cover me when I go on operations."

"You're leaving?" She sends me a shocked look.

"It's just for short periods of time, there's certain important problems I need to deal with. How about this, if you manage to break off any part of my TSF today in training, I will stop pestering you to join the squad." I offer her.

"Seems like you are underestimating me." She narrows her eyes.

"We'll have to see about that when we start." I give off a short laugh. "I will see you when the aptitude test starts Marimo-chan." I wave while quickly leaving the office, not wanting to face her wrath.

Walking into the classroom, right before lunch, I see all of the girls super tense. They must've just finished the morning TSF lecture. Meiya was the first one to notice me enter the classroom. "Takeru, where were you this morning? You missed an important lecture." She scolded me.

"Yeah, we missed you a lot today, Takeru-san." Tama added on.

"Ahaha, the reason I skipped today's lecture is related to a secret later today. I don't want to spoil it so you'll have to look forward to it." I scratch my head.

"Very suspicious, but I'll let it go this time." Class Rep crosses her arms.

"Hey, do you think we'll have to memorize everything from the manual?" Mikoto whined while holding the manual. Oh boy, when the XM3 is released it's going to be even worse.

"Just looking at it makes me sleepy." Tama agreed with Mikoto.

"Well let's focus on getting some food. Shall we go to the PX?" Class Rep asks. I can see a slight glint from her glasses. Oh, she's trying to pull off the tradition on me again.

"Yeah we should." Mikoto agreed while smiling. Tama smiles along innocently while Kei has a small smirk on her face.

"I still think you are being too mean to him." Meiya states with a conflicted face.

The good old Eishi school tradition. Stuff one member in the cadet squad so much food that they won't be able to handle it during the aptitude test. Since it has no effect on me, who should I punish for trying to force this onto me… One who plans on pranking someone must be prepared to be pranked in return!

I walk behind Class Rep and put my hands on her shoulders. Class Rep looks behind and let's out an "Eh?" sound.

"Class Rep says she wants to be completely stuffed after today's meal to be ready for training!" I grin evilly. "Meiya, let's escort Class Rep to the PX together. Ayamine, please bring Class Rep's food over. Remember to ask for an extra large portion! Now, Mikoto, Tama, don't just stand there. Help me out a bit." I call out to the rest of them.

Class Rep looks around and started sweating a bit. "Umm… Everyone, this is a joke right?"

"Of course not! We're doing this for your sake, don't trample over our feelings!" I laugh in response.

Kei narrows her eyes. "Shirogane… do you…"

Mikoto's eyes widened. "He knows!"

The group flinches in response while Class Rep starts struggling trying to break free from my grip. Of course I don't let her go so easily. "What could you possibly mean? Let's go everyone~!" I cheerfully say.

Class Rep starts shaking in my arms. "Everyone! Open your eyes! Save me…"

I quickly glance at everyone's eyes, silently sending them a message to betray Class Rep. The group realized the new plan and decided to join me as I was a more formidable opponent.

"Well, it is an Eishi school tradition after all… we must honor it by continuing it." Meiya tries to justify our behavior.

"Good to see our squad is so understanding." I grin in response.

"Noooo~~! Let me gooo!" Class Rep manages to slip out my grasp and tries to escape. Sadly, Kei was there to follow me up and quickly caught her before she managed to escape.

"Shirogane… how large is an extra large portion?" Kei slowly asks.

"At least double a large." I sent her an evil grin.

Kei grins back at me. "...That would be great… Alright…" She passes Class Rep back to me as she started heading to the PX.

"Don't worry." Meiya tries to reassure Class Rep. "It'll only hurt at first." It was a good attempt at least.

"Sorry Sakaki-san, I don't like this either… but I think it would be better off resigning yourself." Tama tells Class Rep. With all the squad against Class Rep, we walk off towards the PX.

Standing while waiting for the girls to finish changing, I can feel the anxiety flowing through. As the girls started walking out, I can tell they were very embarrassed. I don't blame them as the cadet versions of the exoskeleton suits had near transparent front chest and back parts. It was purposely designed this way so that people would not be distracted by little things like revealing skin during a life and death battle. This squad was different simply because we all had separate rooms right off the bat, so there wasn't the type of closeness the other squads that had to live together would have. Once they graduate, the suits would become black and the soft part of the suit would be less transparent. For example, my suit was black with purple highlights, courtesy of the official exoskeleton suit instead of the cadet one. My excuse is that there were no cadet suits for males since there were barely any left currently.

Meiya and Class Rep were covering their chest by crossing their arms while Mikoto and Tama were hiding behind Kei. Kei seemed to be comfortable with the suit, or she didn't care. Knowing her, both possibilities were equally likely. We stayed pretty silent while waiting for Marimo-chan.

"We're going to start evaluating your TSF aptitudes now." I decided to join in even though I didn't need to since there is no data on my aptitude yet in this world. "Sakaki and Mitsurugi, enter the first two simulators. The rest of you stay here and wait for your turn."

I can see them both shaking as they enter the pod, Class Rep even more so. I walk over to secretly tell Marimo-chan to have someone ready to clean Class Rep's pod after she's out. She nods in response, probably already guessing that she was the victim of the tradition.

While the two were taking their test, the entrance door opens and Yuuko walks in. "Sorry to intrude~" She waves cheerfully. "Oh, you all just started the aptitude test." She observed.

"Ma'am!" The rest of the squad and Marimo-chan all salute except for me.

"There's no need to be formal around me, you know. Just look at Shirogane, be more relaxed." She smiles. Everyone else just glares at me in response. Hey, if she doesn't need me to be formal, there's no reason for me to trouble myself.

"Vice-commander! What are you here for today?" Marimo-chan asks with a serious face.

"I'm just here to enjoy the festivities~~!" Yuuko cheerfully taunts.

"Yuu- Vice commander!" Marimo-chan complains. "If you aren't being serious can you leave us in peace?" She nearly begs.

"Well, I'm mostly here for the stuff after the test, you know what I'm talking about." Yuuko explains.

"Understood. I will get back to the tests." Marimo-chan salutes and walks off.

Meiya shakily walks out of her pod, looking slightly pale. Class Rep on the other hand looks like she lost half of her life. Pale as a ghost, she could barely walk. Someone quickly cleaned the pod she was in and after they were done complained about the "stupid Eishi tradition." Seeing the two girls' condition after the test, the rest of the squad quickly paled.

"Ayamine and Tamase, you two are next. Enter the two simulators quickly!" Marimo-chan orders. The two shakily walk in. When the both of them came out, Tama had the same look as Meiya while Kei looked fine on the outside, but I could tell she was unnerved on the inside. "Yoroi and Shirogane, you two are up!" It was finally our turn and we can finish the tests.

Sitting in the TSF Simulator, I quickly got comfortable. The test is quite simple after all, it just involved sitting in the pod while the simulation was going on. Your aptitude is measured depending on your vitals and reaction towards the shaking and movement of the simulator. I was broken out of my daydream when Marimo-chan told me that the test was over. Once we walked back towards the squad, we were told we did great on our tests. Though the results were never told to us.

"Now that you all are done with the aptitude tests, I'm going to need to borrow Shirogane and your instructor~!" Yuuko cheerfully grabs us and walks off.

(Yuuko POV)

After depositing Shirogane and Marimo into their respective pods for their duel, I walk over to call the rest of the squad to witness it. To be honest, I was going to have Marimo join their squad after they had graduated so that they would join the Valkyries together. What Shirogane doesn't know is that I have figured out a good portion of his power. After all, I had a lot of free time after dealing with the consoles and the programming for the XM3 was mostly done by Yashiro. After doing a lot of research and theory crafting, what I can understand of this 'Love Nucleus' is that it is similar to being a Causality Conductor. It's just that it's about ten times more complicated, but at the same time more simple. Being one of the affected targets of his power, I have been receiving fragments of memories that involve the two of us. I don't just receive any memories though, I only seem to receive one's where I have a good impression of him or where he sparks my interest. Basically in layman terms, its memories where signs of love would be involved. Thankfully they don't affect me very much since I don't have any interest in men younger than me, but I do have to say I am very interested in the effects that might happen to other people he interacts with.

From what I can understand, whenever he has a moment of emotional bond with another person who he has been intimate or emotional with in any parallel world, the nucleus will then attract the information floating within the multiverse to both participants. If I am guessing correctly, the people who are receiving the information should be getting them through strong visions or images, or during their dreams. Whereas a Causality Conductor would cause worlds to exchange information and further morph worlds to achieve balance, his power would instead attempt to achieve equilibrium through people. In a sense, placing him in squad 207B was the right choice, as the more they interact with them, their skills should be raised due to the nucleus altering them in order to achieve equilibrium with the parallel worlds. The scary part is that the people will never realize this on their own, as the alterations will be so natural that it is impossible to notice. Furthermore, the memories that they are getting will be written off as dreams. The only reason I was able to realize it was simply because he warned me beforehand.

The main reason why I preferred to have Marimo join the squad was because of the glimpses I had caught about the future. When he had come back from his other world and changed his mindset, it was then I realized something bad must have happened. People normally do not change that drastically after all. When he had guessed that I was going to capture live BETA, I had already guessed that something must have gone wrong when I released them for a certain reason. So if Marimo can get stronger and protect herself for that certain event, I will try my best to keep her safe.

After gathering the rest of the squad to watch the duel, I explain the situation. "In order for all of you to get your first taste of TSF combat, here you have Shirogane and Sergeant Jinguuji Marimo to demonstrate it." They look towards the screen with wide eyes. "Now before you ask any questions, watch first and I will answer them after. The TSF that they are both outfitted in is the Type-97 Fubuki, currently the best training unit TSF that we have in the UN. This is also what you all are going to be piloting as your first TSFs."

"But I thought that pilots in training always would use the Gekishin." Yoroi asked.

"Yes, but your squad is an exception, once again I will explain after the demonstration." I get back to the two getting ready for their duel. "Okay you both, the field will be the abandoned Yokohama town. You both have the same gear sets, outfitted with a Type-87 Assault Cannon, Support Assault Cannon, a Type-74 and a Type-65 PB Knife. The Missile system will be disabled as this is a one on one match. Are you both ready?" I ask both of them.

"Affirmative." "I'm ready."

"Then… Begin!" I start them off. Instead of charging in and aiming to finish quickly, Shirogane unexpectedly dashes backwards and hides behind some buildings. Marimo cautiously proceeds and keeps her gun out. After reaching the point where Shirogane disappeared, Marimo cautiously looks around, trying to find her target. Right after, Shirogane appears behind her by using a building as a launch pad to boost jump off of. Quickly showing her prowess, Marimo turns back and pulls out her knife to parry off the melee attack. However, she was still pushed back and took some damage from the bullets that Shirogane shot at her right after. Quickly hiding behind some cover to avoid taking any more damage, she pulled out her gun and returned fire. Shirogane quickly avoids the bullets by utilizing dashing in zig-zags. Right as Marimo was about to lock-on and manage to hit him, he performs a boosted jump to sail over her head. Not to be outmaneuvered, she quickly moves her TSF to circle around to Shirogane's back. Upon realizing Marimo's plan, Shirogane immediately rushes towards the two closest buildings. He jumps towards the first building, looking to do a surface jump off of it. Instead of a simple surface jump, it seems like he plans on finishing the duel. He kicks off the first building to land on the second one. Where did the third building come from? I didn't even spot it! He performs an Allbright Turn, shocking all of us and using that momentum quickly catches Marimo off guard to cleave apart her TSF with his knives.

"Well there it is~" I clap my hands once to wake everyone from their stupor. As the two of them are exiting their simulators, I introduce them once again. "Let me introduce you to your new squad leader 1st Lieutenant Shirogane and his second in command Sergeant Jinguuji!" I quickly take a quick photo of their dumbfounded faces with a camera. Just their reaction made this whole farce worth it.

I decide to let Shirogane explain, seeing that has such a guilty face. "First off, I would like to apologize to all of you girls. The reason why I hid my rank to join your squad was because I saw high combat potential in all of you and I firmly believe you all will become important in saving the world."

The girls seemed somewhat mad still and Mitsurugi quickly asked him a question. "How do you plan on dealing with the fact that you completed the CCSE with us despite being a high ranked official?"

"During the CCSE, the leader of the squad was still cadet Sakaki Chizuru. Thus, even if I am high ranked, I cannot disobey the orders of my superior. In the end, it was under the excellent leadership of said cadet that lead to all of us passing the CCSE." He explained. That loophole technically does work, he's more shrewd than I expected.

I decide to bail him out. "Shirogane here has the highest aptitude ever recorded for a TSF, and he personally offered to guide you all in your TSF training. That's how much he believes in you all, are you sure you don't want to take advantage of that?"

The most level headed of them, the one who looks like a cat, and Yoroi seem to accept my explanation. The other two still seem deep in thought. "Shirogane! I'm going to head back now. I left the room open so you can take them there. Don't be late tonight." I inform him as I leave the simulator room.

(Takeru POV)

Taking the girls to the now dubbed console room, I could tell that Meiya and Kei are still deep in thought. Meiya will probably come around in time, but Kei is the hard case. I know that my betrayal towards her trust hits deep because of what she's been through. I will have to take my time and earn it back.

"As an apology, I'm bringing you all to experience the first ever prototypes of our new training systems!" I excitedly tell them. "You guys can have free access to the room anytime you want to after practice. Since we decided to make you five full time testers for them." They shoot me shocked looks. Before they can respond I enter the room and ask Marimo-chan to help me set up the consoles real quick. Instead of having the Game Guy used normally as a handheld device, we set them up with monitors so it's easier for the girls to keep track.

"You managed to get access to American technology?" Class Rep asked with widened eyes, fiddling with the devices.

"Nope, these were made right here in this base, you can feel free to ask the engineers when you run into them. We have dubbed these as Handheld Training Consoles, in short HTCs. We're going to go through all five training courses today. In some of them you can face each other , so make use of that competitive spirit." I explain.

"Are you sure we can use these devices before all the other experienced pilots?" Tama timidly asks.

"Yes, I told you all already. I am placing very high value on all of you. With the help of these devices, I will lead you all to the level of the vice commander's Special Task Force before the year ends." They once again look at me with widened eyes. "Okay, let me explain the courses. We have a strategy course, reaction course, stealth course, puzzle course, and a TSF simulation course."

"Why do we have two different TSF simulations?" Mikoto asks, looking confused.

"This current simulation has adaptations to the new OS system that we're currently developing. Certain examples are the ability to combo and cancel, which you will see once you start getting into it." I try to explain without giving too much away. "The courses where you can compete against each other in is the TSF simulation, reaction course, and the puzzle course." I look at the time and realize I need to head out before I'm late. "Anyway, I need to leave early. Make sure to let Marimo-chan have a turn!" I let them know as I leave the room.

(Haruka POV)

The XO gathered all of us late at night in the simulator room, most of us were still unsure why we were all gathered here. We didn't have to wait too long, as the professor walked in with Yashiro. It's pretty rare for us to see Yashiro around, as she usually stays out of sight.

"Ma'am! May I ask why we are all gathered here tonight?" Michiru asks.

"I need your help with testing a prototype OS~" The professor cheerfully explains.

"Which operation will we be simulating? I will go set it up." I ask her.

"None of you are going to be the test pilot. Instead I want you all to be facing the test pilot with the entire squad." She explains. We all widen our eyes. No matter how skilled the test pilot may be, to face our entire squad while being alone is impossible.

"Is it the pilot who completed the A-5 solo!?" Mitsuki quickly asks, I can see her nearly hyperventilating in excitement.

"I'm not going to ask how you know of that, but the answer is yes." She reveals.

As I realize the rest of the squad doesn't know what Mitsuki is talking about, I quickly explain to them. They all looked surprised but also understood Mitsuki's reaction. Quickly heading to the control tower to set up our comms and formation, I realize the simulation is based in an abandoned town with lots of cover. Our formation was the same as always, with Mitsuki and Fujisawa-san as our Storm Vanguards. Our Gun Interceptors are Captain Michiru and Misae-san. The other members of our squadron quickly get into formation as we prepare to face the mysterious test pilot.

As the mysterious pilot's TSF loads in, it seems like it is using a Storm Vanguard loadout and all of us are using Shiranui's. The professor quickly walks over to talk to the mysterious pilot. "The mission objective is to defeat all enemy forces." I can only watch over the squad as there is not much I can do. Since the opponent will definitely use a stealth approach since we outnumber them so significantly, there isn't much data I can call out.

Once the fight starts, the opponent quickly vanishes off the map. They must have turned off the IFF and went into hiding. Mitsuki quickly charges forward to try to find them, with Fujisawa-san not far behind. Even our captain has a hard time controlling these two, I really feel bad for her. While the rest of the squad slowly follows behind, our Impact Guards quickly set up their guns, ready to snipe. They quickly spot a shadow approaching them and fire at the shadow. Using a surface jump, the shadow quickly avoids the shots and cleaves through Haruko and Takahara's TSFs with it's blade. The rest of the squad fired at the shadow in frustration but were barely able to scratch it before it went into hiding once again. "What is this maneuverability and speed?" I hear Misae-san complaining through the comms.

From behind me, the two that were already out of combat approached to continue watching the battle. "Man, I got completely wiped. I couldn't even react in time hehe." Haruko scratched her head while saying. "How is the rest of the squad doing?" She asks me.

"It's honestly not looking very good." I reply honestly. Since our squad is stretched apart due to Mitsuki's hotheadedness, our formation has thinned out a bit. In order to get her one on one duel, she's even been ignoring the captain's order. The very next moment, a shadow appears jumping down from above. Narrowly avoiding a slash from Akane, it performs aerial acrobatics by kicking off the side of a building. Through that maneuver it managed to dodge Tsukiji-san's shots as well. In retaliation, it slashed down Tsukiji-san's TSF. Using the downed TSF as a shield, it blocked all the bullets from the squad and fired at Akane, taking her out of the battle as well. Doing a boosted jump, it disappeared behind another building, causing all of us to look track of the TSF again. Already down 4 members, we are left with 8. I can start to see why the professor is having our entire squad against them.

The captain had the rest of the squad group together, leaving Mitsuki as the only vanguard left hunting to avoid being picked off. Unexpectedly, a sword came flying in and Asakura-san blocked it in time. However, while everyone was distracted from the sword, a hail of bullets came flying in from a different direction, nailing Takemiya-san's TSF in vital spots. The squad couldn't catch the pilot before he went into hiding once again. Deciding to look for a more open space so they wouldn't be so disadvantaged, the squad moved out while on high guard. The opponent should only have their guns and a knife left after using the sword. However, it seems like we underestimated them, as they picked up a sword from a fallen TSF. Since another sword came flying and nailing the head of Miura-san's TSF, effectively disabling her vision. Losing her vision, she was practically useless in combat. With only 6 of us left, the squad definitely started to feel pressured.

Managing to make it to the more open field, the squad definitely started feeling a bit more confident. However, the pilot came charging in with two guns in hand and rapidly firing at the captain's TSF. Returning fire, the squad was actually unable to hit him. Like an acrobat, the TSF dodged the bullets using boosted jumps and zig-zag dashes. It quickly took out both Captain Michiru and Misae-san while we could only disable it's guns. However, instead of leaving like usual, it stayed to contest in close combat with Fujisawa-san. Seeing this situation, Mitsuki quickly started heading back to join the fight. Seeing the two engaging in high speed combat, the remaining 2 members were unable to fire without risking friendly fire. Showing ridiculous close combat technique, the pilot made quick work of Fujisawa-san, disabling her TSF while only suffering a slash to the shoulder. Realizing that Fujisawa-san had lost, Asakura-san and Touko quickly fired at the pilot. The opponent used the same tactic as before, having the fallen TSF as a shield, it quickly advanced onto the two and made quick work of them. Especially since the two were not the best at close combat.

The only remaining members on the field were Mitsuki and the mysterious pilot. "Finally I can face you properly! Don't disappoint me!" Mitsuki shouts as she charges in with her sword. It seems like they're planning on properly facing Mitsuki. They both show tremendous skill in close combat. Mitsuki's wild and unpredictable combat style against the pilot's acrobatic and smooth flow. Whenever Mitsuki would strike, the pilot would parry. Whenever the pilot would strike, Mitsuki would block. It felt like an unending sword dance between the two. But alas, all things must come to an end. After revealing an opening, Mitsuki quickly capitalized upon it by aiming a diagonal swing up towards the cockpit of the opponent TSF. Unexpectedly, it was a well-planned trap as they used their arm to tightly clamp onto Mitsuki's sword. Even though she managed to slice off the TSF's arm in the end, it was too late as the opponent's blade came slashing in. The slash perfectly cut from the left shoulder into Mitsuki's cockpit, ending our testing session.

"Well done everyone!" The professor clapped her hands. "Thanks for helping out my testing, you all provided valuable data~!" She cheerfully informs us. "Let me tell you some good news so you all don't feel too down. You will all be able to move like that soon once the OS is completed."

Most of us don't really believe her as some of those moves were out of our depth. However, it does give us some form of compensation after being crushed. In the end, we had underestimated our opponent at the start and we got punished for it. Not letting us see the identity of the pilot, the professor quickly dismisses us out of the room. All of us gathered in the PX in order to review today's session and revise our mistakes.

AN: We finally get into the start of TSF training. Takeru is going to be mega-speeding up the process of this phase. We got Marimo-chan on board as well. The Valkyries make a reappearance here. We get a partial explanation of the power as well. Next chapter we'll be going into the start of Niigata.

Just a warning, I may not be posting a chapter this upcoming week. I have to put down my last dog next week, so I would prefer some time off. So I just want to give you all a heads up if I don't post a chapter. (I've been posting these chapters the moment I finish them)