Chapter 4

Black and white

"You too have known loss, and that loss torments you still. You hope hatred might someday replace the pain but it never goes away. It makes a man hideous, inside and out. Wouldn't you agree? We both are demons. Our humanity won't return. You. Me. We've no place to run, nowhere to hide. And that's why I'll show you my demon."

―Skull Face, Metal Gear Solid 5

XXX

It was midnight, the commander of Arzenal was having a meeting with the other higher associates, namely Emma, Maggie, Mei and Jasmine.

The old merchant said in amusement, "Well, it seems that old dragon chose its pilot…"

Jill nodded, "Yeah, Mei, did you look at that bow?" The bow that held by the Overlord wasn't used by the mech or being produced at all or any other para-mail.

The head engineer nodded, "Yes, and I found several interesting things about it."

Jill nodded as Mei continued, "Well, the bow itself is made of some kind of alloy, I have never seen anything like it. I compared the materials to everything we have in the database, nothing matches."

Emma then asked, "So, we have no idea what its made of?"

Mei nodded, "Yes, if you wanna compare it to something fictional, I'd say its similar to the Super Alloy Z from that show Mazinger Z. The bow is also powered by solar energy."

The group stared at the girl and asked in unison, "Solar energy?"

The mechanic nodded, "Yes, its powered by sunlight. Say, we leave the bow under the sun, it will recharge itself and can fire energy arrows, if we draw the bow and hold it in a drawn position it can even charge up energy in the arrows, though the maximum charge duration is 3 minutes and we're currently working to reduce that time."

Jill nodded, "Anything else?"

Mei nodded, "The bow can be charged under moonlight as well, though it won't be as effective as sunlight, and the edges of the bow can be used as blades."

Jill pondered that statement, "So, a weapon that can be used for both long ranged battles and close combat. Have you asked Kaito about it?"

Mei shook her head, "No, but he seemed familiar with it, like he's seen and used the weapon before."

Emma asked, "Do you want to interrogate him?"

Jill shook her head, "No, at least not now, just leave him be. Doing so will just cause us to lose his trust. Mei, continue to examine that weapon, you said you're trying to reduce the time to charge up the arrows right?"

Mei nodded, "Yes, we can learn about the bow and improve it we might even mass produce it."

Jill nodded, "Very well, I don't think we have anything else to discuss, so you're all dismissed."

It has been a week, nothing much had changed. Kaito would launch with Squad one, along with Ange to fight the DRAGONs. Apparently, the Overlord was a Para-mail (coughRagnamailcough) that was hidden under the island. The reason was that no one could activate the machine, not even those with royal blood in them.

So to everyone on the island, or at least the ones who knew of the Overlord's existence, found it to be surprising for the old Ragna-mail to allow Kaito to pilot it. The machine was a long forgotten prototype that was abandoned and forgotten until it's awaken.

Jill looked at Kaito training from a window. Truthfully she was impressed with the man. She had looked at his records and his piloting skills and fighting styles were off the charts.

He also took his position as second in command of Squad one quite seriously, Salia, being the leader occasionally followed his suggestions. Vivian and Ersha followed his orders most of the time, while Hilda, Rosalie and Chris did as they pleased. As for Ange, she followed Kaito's orders once in a while, ignoring them most of the time, not that Kaito always gave her orders, the man left the girl to her own devices most of the time, knowing she could do well on her own.

Speaking of Ange, the commander sighed inwardly, the girl didn't bother to listen to Salia's orders. The former princess was skilled, yes, but when it came to teamwork, it went to hell. The only ones she would even bother to cooperate with are Vivian, Ersha and Kaito. Though Ange rarely cooperated with the man, as they always competed to see who got the most kills.

Now, Jill was looking at Kaito's status reports. The woman asked the technician, "So, how is his progress?"

The girl replied, "He's doing excellent. His vitals are perfect, his physical capabilities are excellent and he shows next to no flaws."

The monitor showed Kaito cutting down another DRAGON as he continued to fight. Jill chuckled to herself, 'Hmm, the perfect pilot and fighter, this is just too convenient.'

The commander turned to leave as she said, "Good job, keep me updated with his status."

The girl nodded as she continued to do her job, "Yes ma'am."

Meanwhile, Kaito was sitting at his usual spot in the cafeteria. The man was having lunch, eating a Japanese-style curry chicken rice. But there was one big difference, instead of sitting alone like he usually did, the man was sitting with two females, both with pink hair.

Kaito sighed as he swallowed the rice, "So, why are you two sitting here?"

Ersha smiled, "Well, we just thought you'd want some company."

Vivian beamed, "Yeah! You always looked so moody!"

Kaito sighed and continued eating, not bothering to chase them off. Though frankly he didn't really care if they wanted to sit with him or not.

Then something caught his attention, the former Overlord turned to see Ange covered with the food she was holding, Hilda and her two lackies laughing as they walked away from her.

Ersha sighed, "There they go again, I feel sorry for Ange. But she never liked people to help her."

Kaito put down his spoon and shook his head, "It was her fault to begin with."

Ersha and Vivian looked at him in surprise, the younger girl asked, "What do you mean?"

The man started, "Remember how Ange caused three of your comrades to die? It was all because of Ange's pride of being a princess. Plus, Ange always treated Norma like shit, its better to let her be on that end for a while."

Ersha studied Kaito before she asked in a motherly voice, "You know how she feels, don't you?"

Kaito nodded, "Yeah, just drop it, please." Kaito remembering his childhood how to had to grow up to survive casting the so called child innocence.

The two girls nodded and stopped pushing the matter, continuing their meal in silence. Kaito hated to see Ange being bullied. If it was because Ange was too weak to fight back, then Kaito didn't care. But Ange was being bullied because Hilda and the two other girls wanted revenge in a childish manner. In his opinion, that was despicable, if they wanted revenge, they could have challenged Ange to a duel or something.

As for Ange herself, she didn't really care about being bullied. The former princess had her clothes torn, her underwear stolen and many other things, but she just continued to ignore them

Kaito would sometimes study her. Once, when she went to get a new uniform, he had stood some distance from her, but close enough to hear her conversation with Jasmine. The last thing he needs to be called a pervert seeing her half naked form.

As Ange asked for a new set of uniforms, the merchant chuckled, "You sure you don't want to ask for help? I mean if you did, you'd probably have it easier."

Ange shook her head, "I'm fine by myself. Just give me the uniform."

Jasmine nodded and handed her the clothes as the blonde left the mall. As he watched her retreating figure, Kaito couldn't help but feel like he was looking at his younger self, back when Yggdrasil took his father's factory away.

Meanwhile, in another room, the other members of Squad one were having a discussion about Ange. Salia, Ersha and Vivian were indifferent about the former princess, in fact they wanted to befriend her, Kaito as well. As for Hilda, Chris and Rosalie, the three were hostile towards the blonde, though they didn't mind Kaito.

Their discussion escalated into an argument when Ersha and Vivian tried to reason with the three other girls, who all responded with violence. And just as they pulled out their guns, they heard a knock on the door, and in came the squad's second in command.

Kaito stared at the scene, not knowing what was going on. He had originally came to ask Salia about adding some colour to his Overlord, just so no one would bitch about it calling it dull.

The man asked awkwardly, "Umm, am I interrupting something?"

"No, what can I do for you, Kaito?" asked Salia as the girls slowly lowered their weapons.

Kaito looked at the bluenette, "Nothing much, I just wanted permission to add some décor to my Para-mail, in case anyone asks questions about it, it's a bit dull." He wanted to add the Team Baron symbol.

Salia nodded, "Sure, just talk to the mechanics about that."

Kaito nodded, "Thanks, I'll leave now."

As Kaito turned to leave, Hilda voiced out, "Hey Kaito, what do you think of Ange?"

Kaito turned and saw that all of the girls were staring at him expectedly. The man replied, "She's a pain in the ass."

He turned as the girls continued staring at him. The former Overlord took a step before he finished, "But she certainly has potential, given time, the correct training, she'll be a badass."

With that, he walked away. As he did, the girls couldn't help but think of what he said.

Later, as night fell, Kaito was eating alone in the cafeteria. Kaito always loved some peace and quiet, regardless of his hobbies in dancing and so on. The man knew that those things contradicted, but hey, who gives a fuck.

Kaito's thoughts drifted to the girls in his squad. They all had potential, but they had their faults. Salia was too arrogant, hesitant and did not know how to lead. Ersha was too soft and lacked training. Vivian was too brash and reckless. Ange, Hilda, Chris and Rosalie all had the same problem, they were too bitchy, arrogant and never cooperated with others.

Frankly Squad One was a rough diamond, they needed their edges polished. The girls had the potential, they had the skills, but they lacked discipline. As for Kaito himself, he just needed to train, train and train. Until the squad got their shit together, he could only do so much.

The man's thoughts then drifted to his old life. If they knew what his life was now, most of Team Baron, like Peko and Zack, would probably cry in envy, since Kaito was basically surrounded by beautiful women, regardless of their personalities. Heck, even Hideyasu would cry in jealousy.

Kazuraba would probably congratulate him and encourage him to work hard and protect the people. As for Mai, she would most likely threaten him to protect those girls since it was a gentleman's job.

Takatora wouldn't care much, Oren would probably tell him to enjoy his new life… as for Mitsuzane, Kaito didn't give a fuck about what he thought.

Then, the man was broken from his thoughts as Ange sat down in front of him with a tray of food. Kaito groaned inwardly, the cafeteria was practically empty, and of all the places she chose, she chose to sit in front of him.

After a moment of awkward silence, Ange asked, "Who was that you talked to that other night?"

Kaito knew who she was talking about, and he cursed himself for being so stupid with getting caught. The man decided to play dumb, "What are you talking about?"

Ange narrowed her eyes at him, "Don't be stupid, I saw you talking to a guy in nomad clothes. Who was that? You sounded like you knew him."

Kaito sighed inwardly, he didn't want to deal with this. The man replied, "Its none of your concern."

Ange glared at him, "I can tell Jill, you know that right?"

Kaito chuckled, "If you're trying to blackmail me, you're wasting your time. But I guess I can tell you. That man's name is Sagara, yes, I know him. That bastard is somewhat a thorn in my life."

Ange continued to ask, "How did he get on this island?"

Kaito shrugged, "Hell if I know. He's an enigma to me, he can appear anytime, anywhere. I doubt the cameras caught him. Comparing him to a shadow wouldn't be wrong, you can never find him. He's the one who finds you."

Ange stared at him sceptically. Then Kaito decided to change the subject, "You know, you're letting your anger get to you. You don't trust anyone… no, its more like you're afraid of letting others in."

Ange's eyes widened, "Stop…"

Kaito ignored her, "You've been hurt once. So you're afraid if you let anyone else in, they might hurt you again, probably worse."

Ange snapped, "Shut up! What do you know about me?!"

The man stared at the girl, "I know enough. I know that you're a spoiled princess who ended up in this hell hole. I know you're a spoiled brat who refused to accept reality. I know you're a bitch who pushed away the two little girls who wanted to bond with you and died because of that. Unlike you, I accept everything as it is. That is why you're weaker than me."

"Shut up!" Ange yelled as she stood up and shove the food to the side, spilling them onto the floor. But it didn't matter, they were the only ones in the café.

Kaito stood up, standing face to face with her. The man stared down at the girl, "You're still too much of a brat, Hime." Which is why you can't handle the truth of being a Norma".

Then without warning, he grabbed her and kissed her passionately. Ange's eyes widened as she tried to fight back, but Kaito had an iron grip, so she did the next best thing. She bit down on his lips hard, but the man didn't budge one bit. Due to being half Overlord, Kaito's body was twice as sturdy compared to normal humans, that included his lips and tongue.

Kaito released her and spat some blood from his mouth, his lips already healing from the bite. Kaito chuckled, "Is that the best you got? Its like I said before, kissing you doesn't make me feel good at all."

Rage burned in Ange's eyes as she swung a fist at him. But Kaito blocked the punch easily, "Not a bad punch, but you're still a naïve spoiled brat."

The girl growled in frustration and just left for her room. As soon as the blonde left, Kaito sighed, "You can come out now."

Ersha walked out from the shadows, frowning at the man, "You could have been a bit gentler with her you know."

Kaito sighed, not bothering to look at the pinkette, "If I did that, she would have just brushed it aside and continue that bitchy attitude. Sometimes you have to be rough with them, it's better that way."

Kaito looked at the spilt food a brief moment before he walked back to his room, his mood having ruined by that little skirmish just now.

Meanwhile, unknown to anyone, a certain redhead was tweaking with not one, but two machines in the hanger. The girl grinned deviously as she admired her handiwork.

The next day, the squad launched as usual when the alarm sounded. The squad launched in their Para-mails as Kaito rode his Overlord into battle. As usual, Salia would bark out orders, Hilda, Chris and Rosalie would heed them when they wanted to while Ange charged in disregarding the commands.

As for Kaito, he just did what he could. The man slashed down as many DRAGONs as he could with his Sonic Arrow before he drew the bow and aimed at a Galleon class DRAGON. The creature seemingly felt the killing intent and quickly disregarded Vivian's Razor and sent a blast of energy at the Overlord.

Unfortunately for the DRAGON, it was futile as Kaito unleashed a fully charged energy arrow that ripped the beam to shreds and pierced through the DRAGON's forehead, killing it instantly as it fell to the ocean.

Then just as everything seemed to go well, the Vilkiss suddenly started showing errors and stumbled in the air. A Schooner class saw it as an opening and charged the white Ragna-mail, crashing into it as the Vilkiss and the DRAGON fell to the sea.

"What are you doing?! Pull up!" Salia shouted as the blue haired girl pushed away a Schooner class.

Ange managed to change the Vilkiss into its Assault form. But it was too late as the both of them crashed into the water. As Ange wrestled with the pink dragon, Hilda flew close to the girl and smirked, "Need help?"

Ange growled as she pushed the DRAGON away, "Fuck off!"

Hilda laughed and flew away. Kaito cursed, "Tch, Salia, I'm going in to help her."

Salia nodded, "Got it. Leave the rest to us."

Kaito drew his Sonic Arrow and blasted a Brigg class DRAGON in the face before he dived towards Ange. Then suddenly, the monitors showed error signs as the Overlord stumbled.

Kaito cursed, "Shit."

And with that, the Overlord slammed into the Vilkiss and the pink DRAGON. A wave just so happened to rise and pulled all three of them down into the ocean. Then everything went black for the man.

I wrote this chapter since I was in a good mood, though it's a shorter chapter. Review please.