Interlude 7 (d) - Thursday Tinkering


The unlocking of the Mirage Colloid tech brought with it schematics upon schematics that were affiliated with the concept.

The namesake Mirage Colloid Stealth System.

The Geschmeidig Panzer Energy Deflection Armor.

The Gold Frame's Maga no Ikutachi Energy Absorption Claws, unlocked by the pilot's little sister the day before.

But what he was most excited about was the unintended discovery of another technological boon while he had been sifting through the Red Frame's black box now that the Mirage Colloid firewall was breached.

Voiture Lumiere.

If what he had read in the blueprints themselves were correct, the Voiture Lumiere was meant for space travel via the use of a converting energy into light pressure that would be used as a propelling force.

It was technology meant for peaceful exploration of the cosmos, much like the Infinite Stratos that Tabane had made.

But much like it, at this point in time, that peaceful use would have to be put aside. There was an inevitable fight in the near horizon, and he needed to arm both himself and his friends so that they wouldn't be simply brushed aside and killed.

And so, he modified…


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Chifuyu took a slow sip of her coffee as Maya talked to the class about the upcoming beach trip. Already, there was excitement in the body language of the students, save for a select few. Ryo and her assistant were calm as can be, if a bit annoyed at the muttering and whispering of the girls around them. She already knew that they knew, and it still irked her as to how they could anticipate things such as this.

She took another sip of her coffee, momentarily locking eyes with Ephraim as she shifted her sight to the empty rear seat and then back at him with a raised brow. He broached the topic to her while he delivered her dinner, that Guele was going to skip class for today because they had had a breakthrough when it came to suit upgrades.

Of course, the blonde had been rather secretive on what exactly the upgrades were, but he assured her multiple times that it was a defensive measure that would protect their lives.

Right.

Still, he had been behaving himself ever since the Golem incident, and he's kept his grades up in the higher percentage so she approved of his request.

On one condition.

Most recently, Tabane had messaged her about updates of her boys and that she had found out about the upcoming beach trip. It was only a matter of time before she caught wind of it anyway, especially when her younger sister and the Neo-Types were coming with. She reckoned that she could hit two birds with one stone in satisfying both her and her friend's curiosity…

Thus, she told him what she wanted in exchange for his own.

A series of duels between IS and Astrays. The trio haven't fought against an IS ever since the Class League Match, and she could tell that many within the student body were wanting to see more of the Astrays in action.

So, what better way to satisfy everyone than a fight?

Her condition had struck him quiet, she recalled with mirth. It took him a good dozen seconds to eventually agree and the blonde looked like he bit into an especially unripe lemon when he did so.

"Anything you want to add, Orimura-sensei?" Maya turned to her with a smile, having just finished explaining the beach trip to the excitable little gremlins.

Chifuyu blinked and set her mug aside, clearing her throat as she crossed her arms. "If you all remember, Sahaku, Guele, and Murakumo are the Professor's test pilots for Project: Astray." She caught the slight grimace of Houki in the corner of her eyes and fought the urge to frown. "That means, being test pilots of prototype suits, that they need to report on their progress back to their sponsor."

Ryo's eyes widened a fraction as he turned his head to his roommate, who had an indifferent line on his lips.

"The reason why I'm talking about this is that the Professor has requested an update on the performance of the suits and of her test pilots." The teacher continued and the class listened, with Ichika looking over his shoulder to check on his friends' reactions. "After talking about this with my assistant the night prior, we settled on a plan of action."

Everyone looked at her with bated breath, with only Ephraim looking quite resigned amidst the pointed stares of his roommate, Laura, and Houki.

"Tomorrow, instead of a class, we shall have a series of matches between select teams composed of an IS and an Astray." Flipping a page over her clipboard, she looked down at the names she and her assistant had agreed upon would be paired up. "The first match will be between…"

The room was still, plenty of wide eyes locked on to her…

"Alcott and Sahaku," Cecilia visibly jolted at her name. "Against Orimura and Shinonono."

"What?!" Ichika was the first to react, his face paling as he turned to look at his opponents. Both blondes have devious looks on their faces, with Ephraim's being a tad bit more malicious than his partner's. "Me and Houki against the top two of our class?!"

"Deal with it." Chifuyu huffed as the whispers began. She glanced at Houki, checking to see what her reaction was at the news.

The girl's blues were absolutely blazing in fury as she glared at the male blonde.

"After that," She cleared her throat once more to stop what was going to be a snowball of noise. "Will be a match between Dunois and Murakumo," Ryo shared a look with an excited Charlotte. "Against Bodewig and Class 1-2's Huang." This time, the courier's brows shot up, as well as many of the class' as a few turned to look at the shocked albino.

"M-Me?" Laura asked, pointing to herself numbly as she did so. Her reaction was understandable, of course, as she was still suspended from any IS Activity.

"I'd rather not waste potential." Ephraim sighed, ever so slightly looking over his shoulder at her. "You've shown nothing but good behavior these past few days, so think of this as a chance to get back into the feel of things." The royal purples narrowed into a leer. "Or are you saying that you would rather not get back into the Schwarzer Regen?"

The German jolted before her cheeks flushed, a growing grin on her lips. "N-No! I won't squander this chance! Vielen Dank!" She bowed her head stiffly, almost banging it against her table.

"Hmph. I expect much from you." The blonde looked back forward, closing his eyes as Ryo sent him a meaningful stare.

"And the last," Chifuyu cut through the chatter with a click of her tongue. She glanced at the empty seat at the back before looking back down at her clipboard. "Will be a one-on-one between Guele and Class 1-4's Sarashiki-san."

"Eh? Wait, didn't he help with her suit?"

"Yeah, they're dating…right? Why would they fight?"

"No! I don't believe that, they aren't dating!"

"Where is Guele-kun, anyway?"

"Beats me…"

With a sigh, the teacher set her clipboard back on the desk. Sharing a look with Maya, they let the class simmer and chatter before waiting for the bell to ring.

Riiiiing..!


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"How goes the modifications to Alpha-207?"

"Slow. His body is rejecting most of the implants. Someone tell those morons at the gene labs to fix the Alpha series' immune systems so that they wouldn't flag the damn hormone injectors as hostile."

"You said 'most of the implants'. What's in 207 that isn't reacting too negatively?"

"The three Spikes are in and that's pretty much it."

"...Seriously, are you still trying to weaponize the Alpha-series? You know that they're pretty much made to be tinkers."

"Engineers still need to be able to defend themselves! Besides, I'm not having that smug motherfucker parade around the Facility with his blonde murder machines, who we both know he's fucking all of them!"

"Easy, easy…Iznario still has some pull with the other Departments, don't want anything to reach him from here…oh yeah, speaking of the Sigma series, have you heard of the new VIP?"

"The one from the Far East? Ordered for a custom batch of Sigma series dolls, right?"

"Yeah, the one who ordered a custom batch of Sigma series units all those years ago. The 6th batch, the one Dr. Hibiki was personally involved in their creation back then. Apparently, they're due to arrive in a few hours and wish to collect the products."

"Fucking Dr. Alen Hibiki… Ugh, he's got his damn fingers in almost every Department. First, he has the sole survivor of that one Delta batch as his personal bootlicker, then he gene-spliced something into 207 here, and now you're telling me that he oversaw that batch of the Sigma series…"

"At least it wasn't Iznario, huh?"

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Huh?! Shit! Hey, get the sedatives! The body's rejecting the 4th Spike!"

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"-vion…"

"Damn it! If we lose Alpha-207, it'll be hell on our heads!"

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Davion…"

"Less talk, more doing you idiot!"

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Davion..!"


Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Davion-kun!"

"Hng?!"

Kanzashi jumped back as the mechanic jolted up, his grey eyes rapidly darting around before they locked on to her concerned rubies. For a moment, she swore that she saw a crimson glint in his pupils, but when she blinked they were gone. Shaking her head, she reached out and gently squeezed his shoulder, noting the eyebags and bloodshot scleras of the Astray pilot.

"How long did you sleep?" The bluenette frowned as she looked over his disheveled appearance. "Have you had breakfast, even?"

Growl…

"No…" Davion muttered as he blinked repeatedly, leaning back in his chair as his back made a few cringe-worthy cracks. "Was too busy with manufacturing and upgrading…" His hand rose to feel the back of his neck, tracing his spine as he slipped it inside his collar and began scratching.

Gritting her teeth, she put her foot down, literally. "Damn it, Davion! I told you last night to take it easy!"

"I can't!" The boy snarled, making her flinch at the sheer amount of mania in his words. "I just…I can't, okay?!" His hands curled into trembling fists as he closed his eyes and took deep, calming breaths. "I-I've been trying to unlock the damn firewall for weeks! I'm not wasting any more time on implementing the tech!"

Kanzashi looked at the scattered parts of what looked like a weapon before him, an odd contraption that looked like a mishmash between a gun and a sword. It had a form of hilt that seemed to indicate that things were supposed to be attached to it.

For now, it looked more like a gun with a variable handle, and there was a half-finished blade lying beside it. The blade itself had holes and notches that told her that this was a component of the gunblade. An even odder device, which looked akin to a green orb-like gem, was connected to a couple of oxygen tanks.

"...What's that?" She couldn't help her curiosity getting the better of her, even as she was quite upset at his lack of self-care at the moment. "Don't tell me that you spent all night building that?"

He gave her a tired grin as his hands attached multiple pieces of white and red metal to the naked blade. "Nah, I had the pieces pre-made ages ago. The scattering device was the only component left that needed building." The mechanic gestured to the green orb as he mindlessly assembled the weapon.

"Then why does it look like you were up all night, again?"

"Upgrading." Davion shrugged, closing his eyes in an effort to reduce the strain. "Hacking. Modifying. Coding-"

"Wait wait," Kanzashi blinked as she warily looked around, the hangar having looked like a tornado had gone through it. "Hacking? Davion-kun, what were you thinking?! Where were you hacking in the first place?"

A small chuckle escaped his lips as he placed a palm on his face. "Those Americans never knew what hit them…"

"Why would you do that?!" The bluenette nearly screeched in shock, face paling at the implications of him having hacked Japan's steadfast ally. "If they find out that you hacked them-!"

" 'zashi, calm down…" Groaned the mechanic. "They attempted to hack into the hangar systems the day we had our date. Again. Roundabout's fair play, isn't it?"

Cheek flushing at his mention of their date, she pouted and huffed. "W-Well…did you at least cover your tracks?"

Moving his hand ever so slightly to peer at her with a grey pupil, he chuckled. "Who do you think I am?"

"An idiot?" She sniped, though light-heartedly and with a grin.

"Ouch."

They shared a brief laugh before he removed his hand from his face, turning his head ever so slightly to look at her with a fond smile.

"I'm your idiot, though."

Kanzashi's face erupted in red.

'F-Forward!' She thought as she glared at him, though it was ruined by the embarrassment clear on his face. 'Too forward this early!'

"Don't use flattery to get out of this, mister!" The bluenette scolded him with a wagging finger. "I'm willing to keep quiet about this, but don't do it again, okay?!"

The brunette groaned again as he sat up straight, rubbing his eyes. "Alright alright. I won't hack the Americans' servers anytime soon. I was just checking on their reasons as to why they hacked us."

"...And that was?"

"Surprisingly, the modular nature of the Astray Packs was what they were seeking." Davion got up from his seat and leaned on the desk before him. "Not the Frames themselves, but the external connectors that allowed the Astray to be able to switch backpacks on the fly."

Before Kanzashi could ask why, there was a series of knocks on the hangar doors. The mechanic glanced at the open laptop in the corner of his desk before he brought it before him. "Barbatos, activate cameras 3 through 6, I want to see who's outside."

The bluenette turned to him in question, wondering just what he was talking about before the laptop activated by itself and displayed four screens that had a live feed of the hallway outside. Standing just before the closed doors was a certain albino and a familiar blonde, with the latter holding a bento box as he fiddled with the intercom.

"Oi, Davion!" Ephraim called out as the royal purple eyes locked on to a camera. "I brought breakfast for you! If you're awake, open the door, I got news!"

"...Sahaku-san, what if he's not awake?" Laura asked the taller blonde, who merely grumbled as he crossed his arms.

"Lords below, I hope not. Ryo and I haven't gotten around to asking him for copies of the keypad's code, we've been pretty distracted…"

Releasing a quiet sigh, the mechanic shook his head. "Barbatos, unseal the doors and let them in. After that, activate Security Measure '4th Circle'."

"Davion-kun," Kanzashi whispered, her wide eyes staring at the laptop's screen as some sort of seal overlapped the plain background. "Is that an AI..?"

Hiss...

"A dumb AI." The mechanic clarified as the doors opened and the two Germans walked inside. "Nothing too dangerous just yet."

"Well, good to see you're up and about." Ephraim huffed before his small smile turned into a frown at the sight of his eyebags. "I'm sorry for asking this of you, by the way."

"It's fine." Davion waved the apology away, closing his eyes as he retrained a sigh from escaping his lips. "The Gold Frame's been lagging behind on upgrades, I can tell that it's been eating you. Besides, this upgrade wasn't exclusive to you." The grey-eyed teen smirked as he gestured to the weapon on the table before him.

"The Caledfwlch, huh?" The blonde muttered, placing the bento on the table once he stepped near. He glanced over to the green orb and at the empty slot in the weapon. "Didn't expect you to have made the colloid already."

"I told you back then, I already unlocked the methods on how to make the Colloid." The other Astray pilot grunted. "It was only yesterday that your sister unlocked the tech that would use said colloid. I've made a dozen tanks full of 'em over the last few weeks."

"What about the Gold Frame?" Ephraim pressed with a somewhat manic tone, brows furrowed as an irritated glint flashed across his eyes. "Have you upgraded it yet?"

Davion frowned as he nodded at the far end of the hangar, where a few machines were still active. One in particular, a cylindrical machine that hummed quietly, seemed to have something glowing inside, evident by said glow coming from the small viewport.

"It's in the process. You're lucky that I had enough materials leftover to actually create a full set of armor for the Gold Frame. It's a bit thin, though, but I think that'll be an advantage for you either way."

"A full set of armor?" The blonde looked at his friend with a raised brow. "What do you mean by that?"

The mechanic pursed his lips, idly glancing at the quiet Kanzashi and Laura who were watching them converse. "TPS to PS, the schematic said so." He stated with a nonchalant shrug.

Royal purple widened as he looked at the machine and then back at the brunette. "PS?! That's..!" Biting his lip, the taller boy tapped his foot irritably before he shook his head. "Ah, never mind. I shouldn't get distracted." Clearing his throat, he turned to Kanzashi and nodded at her.

"Right, break time's nearing its end and I wanted to come here to relay some news." The blonde shared a look with Laura who made a zipping motion to her lips. "Tomorrow, instead of a regular class for the 1st years, there will be a series of duels between IS and Astrays."

"Wait what?!" Davion, understandably, jolted as whatever sleepiness in his eyes was dashed away. "Tomorrow?! Damn it, you're breaking my back here man!"

"It's what Orimura-sensei wanted in exchange for letting you skip class." Ephraim grumbled before he shook his head. "Anyway, it'll be pair duels for me and Ryo, but for you and Sarashiki-san." He fixed a look at the shocked bluenette. "You two will have a good old fashioned one on one duel. Apparently, Ta-" Catching himself, he tensed his jaw before resuming. "Apparently, the Professor wanted an update on our suits and Sensei decided that the best way would be to have a mock tournament."

Immediately, the grey eyes of the mechanic sharpened as his expression turned serious. "Well that's…grand." He pursed his lips before glancing at his laptop. "Right, anything else? I have my own news to give."

"Beach trip'll be on Monday, destination: Kanucha Resort in Nago." A hint of pride and smugness seeped into his words. "It's within Sahaku Clan territory, so if I ask the staff for something, they'll do it with zero questions. Get ready to pack for multiple nights."

"Nice." The two shared a boyish grin and a fist bump as Davion then nudged the blonde's side. "Think I can get a free drink or two?"

"Bet."

Kanzashi rolled her eyes.

'Men.'

Laura blinked.

'What.'

"So," Ephraim's grin lessened as he crossed his arms. "Your news?"

"Ah, right." Davion then frowned as he scratched the back of his head. "The investment we had in that silver mine in the States ended up with nothing. The proper documents didn't show up. I think we got scammed." He shrugged nonchalantly, but there was a bit of tenseness in his movements.

The blonde was understandably angry as his expression twisted into one of extreme dissatisfaction. "Damn it…we'll have to use the fallback funds then." His words were tinged with bitterness and resignation as he nodded. "Alright, thanks. Bodewig, let's head back to class."

"But I'm supposed to help him toda-" At his stern look, Laura straightened as her boots clicked together. "Yes, sir!"

"Don't call me that."

The mechanic and the bluenette watched the two leave before the latter turned to the boy. "I'll be heading back to class as well. You better get some rest when I come back, or else!" She stomped forward and poked his chest hard, a worried frown on her lips as she spoke. There was clear concern in those rubies of hers and that softened the gunmetal greys of the taller pilot.

"Okay, okay… I'll take a power nap after you leave." Davion grinned ever so slightly as he bent down, pressing his forehead against hers softly. "Promise."

Kanzashi flushed before she inched forward and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. "You better…" She mumbled before she pulled away, quickly walking away with a stiff gait. Once she was at the threshold of the doors, she turned back towards him.

"I…I'll beat you tomorrow, Davion!" The bluenette had a determined frown on her lips despite the flushed cheeks. "And then once I do, you better take me out on another date!"

His eyes widened as his own cheeks warmed, a hand rubbing the back of his neck bashfully as he hunched over ever so slightly. "A-Ah…sure… But!" He stood straight and fixed her one of his signature boyish grins. "When I beat you, then you'll go with me to Akihabara!"

"If, you mean~?" She stuck her tongue out before she dashed away, stunning the mechanic with her cheeky tease.

The door then closed with a muted hiss, leaving him in the messy hangar. The only sounds were those of the faint ventilation and the industrial humming of the machines in the far side of the room.

"That girl…" Davion gave a tired chuckle as he lightly touched where her lips had been. "Damn, I fell hard."

Turning back, he reached out for the scattering device before pausing. Looking over at the tarped over Astrays and then at the weapon, he sighed and walked over to his room.

"Barbatos, seal the hangar and run Security Measure '6th Circle'. I'm going to take a shower and then a power nap."

The screen of his laptop momentarily flashed with a seal before fading back into its plain background.

Putting in the code to open his room, the mechanic let out a quiet chuckle as he shrugged his work vest off.

"Ah right, set up an alarm to wake me up in 30 minutes or so. I still have so much to do…"


"Went off to visit your boyfriend, hmm~?"

"S-Shut up, Emiya-san!" Kanzashi hissed as she sat down at her seat, ignoring the way her cheeks burned. "H-He's not-! I mean, we did go on a date and-!"

Haku giggled, resting her cheek on her hand as she leaned on her desk. "And you kissed his cheek in front of so many girls that were after him!" The redhead's lips curled into a fox-like grin. "You practically claimed him right then and there, Kanzashi-chan! Nice!"

The bluenette's cheeks puffed up. "It was-!" She shook her head as she glared at the smug girl. "Well, what about you and your rival, huh? You're always going on and on about beating Sahaku-san and it's starting to look like you're obsessed!"

'There! That should put her on the backfoot-!'

"Hmm?" The girl blinked, confusion clear in her golden orbs. "I don't have a crush on him or anything, Kanzashi-chan. I know my types and Sahaku-san isn't one of them. We're strictly platonic rivals."

"Guh!" Kanzashi nearly face-faulted at her failed attempt.

Haku smirked as she tapped her chin. "Besides, I think dad said something about arrogant blondes nearly costing him an arm… or whatever, half the things he says don't make sense to me. Like the time he said that mom nearly killed him at school…"

"Geez, what is up with your parents, Emiya-san..?"

"Dunno!" The girl shrugged with a happy grin. "But they're family and I love them anyway."


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Related to the Voiture Lumiere, the Armure-Lumiere was a tricky piece of tech to work with. Never mind the fact that tuning the lightwave was a pain in the ass to begin with, building the emitters was another problem altogether. The 'Okitsu no Kagami' Offensive Beam Shield System was going to take a while to build, that he was sure of.

The materials needed for the sensitive lenses were out of his reach at the moment, which would require him to contact Kazama-san again to see if he can procure the goods. The thought alone made him frown, as he was running out of favors to exchange.

"Tch…"

Pushing away from the table that held the half-completed weapon, his chair brought him to another table which held a different mechanism.

The 'Magashira no Hoko' Shot Lancer was a discreet weapon system that blended well with the Maga no Ikutachi Energy Absorption Blade. It was what primarily drove him to upgrade the Gold Frame's Trans-Phase Shift Armor into full Phase Shift, as taxing as it was to the batteries of its new backpack. The tips of the lancers were made out of Phase Shift metal, able to harden themselves and vibrate at a frequency equal to or greater than most High-Frequency blades, allowing the weapon to cut through almost anything like a knife through butter.

He would need to instruct his friend to be careful with his energy levels, as the PS armor reserved about 25% of the total power output of the three Ultracompact Batteries within said backpack. And this was all without accounting for the power drain of the Shot Lancers, the Armure-Lumiere, the Power Cylinders, and the Mirage Colloid Stealth System.

Grey eyes looked up at the Gold Frame, lips curling at the new silhouette of its armor before he shook his head. He needed to focus right now on finishing the little gimmicks on the lustrous suit. He had already finished with finishing up the Tactical Arms II and its modified Voiture Lumiere system, all that's left was Ephraim's suit.

Click!

Releasing a tired sigh, he placed the completed Shot Lancer down on the table next to the other finished unit. He can install them in a bit, he needed a bit of a break after basically going overdrive on the upgrades. Standing up from his seat, the mechanic stretched all of his limbs and each gave off a series of satisfying pops.

"Aaah, fuck..." He grumbled as he quickly stretched his right leg, having felt the creeping sensation of a cramp. "I should really take a break, damn it..."

Glancing over to his laptop and then back at the Astrays, he walked over to the door. "Barbatos, secure the suits and run the standard protective measures." He sighed as he arced his back, grinning at the popping vertebrae. "I'm gonna go out for a quick snack."

The seal of the Ars Goetian demon flashed on the screen before fading back and the three Astrays began to descend into their underground holding chambers.

"Right..." Davion yawned as he stepped up to the doors. "Time to grab me some lunch..."

Hiss...


Clack!

"I hope you know that Guele still has a demerit for skipping morning class."

Clack!

"I know. But his upgrades can potentially save our lives in case of another incident. The Golem affair is still fresh in our minds despite being all those months ago-!"

Clack! Clack! Clack!

"-and we came close to death a few times in that fight. It's actually the closest we've been to dying lately, sensei. "

Clack!

"'Lately'? You seem awfully nonchalant about death."

Clack!

"I'm not afraid to die."

Chifuyu frowned as she spun, her leg extending in a sweep which saw her combat assistant take a step back. The two had been sparring for nearly a good 10 minutes now, the idea having been brought up by her assistant once she had her lunch. She didn't want to admit it, but she had been quite curious on where he was in his martial skill now.

"That's quite a claim, Sahaku." The teacher clicked her tongue as they began to circle one another, inwardly pleased his impassive expression. Whereas before, his tells and obvious battle-lust were clear in his expressions, now he seemed to have reined it in. Sure, there was still the few moments where his opportunistic strikes reeked of his excitement in fighting, but overall he had improved from way back when.

"I've long accepted that I'd die someday, no point in being scared of the inevitable." Ephraim shrugged, his stance purposefully full of openings as he and the older woman stared at each other in the empty dojo. "What matters to me more are the actions I'd do before the end. It would suck if I died and the world had nothing to remember me by."

"I'll be sure to miss your cooking, dear." She grinned as she darted forward, her bokken thrusting past empty air as her assistant ducked away from the strike. She pivoted, a leg rising before he tilted his bo staff to block the strike. His purple eyes seemed to spark before his hands and his weapon became a flurry of blows.

Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!

It was only thanks to her own enhanced senses that she could deflect most of them. A few struck her torso and limbs, causing her eyes to widen in surprise before they narrowed in focus. The world slowed down for her, and even then his blows were almost a blur. Parrying the incoming strikes to her arms and wrists, she took a quick step back to give them a bit of space.

Her grip on her bokken tightened briefly, as she gathered what she saw during his attack.

'There...there wasn't even an opening in that flurry.' The older super soldier looked over her younger opponent with a new light. 'That was both a shield and a vector of attack, to swing a polearm so fast that- Wait! It's what he did last time to deflect the Blue Pierce!'

"So you'll miss my cooking more than me?" Despite the grin on his lips, there was a light flushing on his cheeks as he shouldered his weapon. "Well, that's quite something."

Cracking her neck, the teacher placed a grin on her lips. "Then try to beat me this time, Sahaku. Maybe I'll reminisce about the shameful moment my assistant laid me out on my ass sometime in the future."

Spinning his staff from his shoulder to his hands in a display of acrobatic skill, the blonde gripped his weapon firmly. "Oh, I'll be sure to do that."


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Laura wasn't sure on what to do.

It was clear that her blonde brother did not like her hanging around the mechanic. Whether it was maybe that he noticed her inquiring eyes while she was in the hangar the day before, or perhaps that he knew she was probably probing them for information about themselves. She wanted to respect his wishes and keep a distance, but it went against her orders both from High Command and from her mentor.

So what should she do..?

'You are still a soldier of the Bundeswehr, Leutnant!' A part of her mind roared, masculine and steel-like in its inflections. 'Good soldiers follow orders!'

'You're not just a soldier, Laura!' Another part of her argued, one that was soft and weak. 'You're your own person! You can decide for yourself!'

Her hands shook.

'Those who disobey orders are worst than traitors!'

'Better to think for yourself than to be a cog in the machine!'

She leaned on the nearest object, a tree, as her breath became shallow.

'Orders are orders!'

'Think for yourself!'

"Laura?"

Her sole red eye looked up into concerned greys.

"Bruder..."


'Well...didn't expect this to happen.'

He had just wanted a small break from building and upgrading, maybe have a quick walk around after lunch, but now...

'She looked quite troubled so...'

Tossing the bottle of milk tea from hand to hand, he leaned forward and looked to his side, where a sullen Laura had her tightly clenched fists on her lap. Her eyelid was twitching but she kept her overall expression indifferent.

It was obvious, however, that she had a problem.

Let it be known that Davion Guele wasn't as well-versed in the matters of people as Ryo, or putting on airs and masks like Ephraim. The brunette wore his heart on his sleeve, and he wasn't one for false platitudes and empty promises. If he saw something that he didn't like, he would say that he didn't like it. If he felt like someone needed help, he would help them as much as he can.

And the albino felt like she needed a helping hand.

"So," The mechanic started with a small huff, leaning back on the bench they sat on. "Penny for your thoughts?"

The girl was silent for a good minute or two, but Davion at least knew better than to press. Instead, he let her gather her thoughts as he opened his bottle and took sips of the milk tea.

...

"Bruder...what...what is something that you like to do?"

He stopped himself from taking another sip, glancing at the frowning albino before he pulled the bottle away from his lips. "Something that I like doing?" He repeated the question with a calm tone. "Well, I like making doujinshi."

Laura looked at him in confusion, unfamiliar with the term. "'Doujinshi'..? What's that?"

"Basically fan-created manga of established IP's." The mechanic smiled slightly. "Doujinshi artists often sell their wares during conventions, as well as publish them online for the internet to see."

"And you have made some..?" The haze of negativity was getting pushed away by curiosity in that sole red of hers, and he might as well help speed up the process.

"Yup. Wanna see some sketches?" He pulled out his phone, navigating to his album apps and showing her his work. "I mainly draw mecha action but Ryo suggests that I could try reaching out into fantasy. Most of my doujinshi are of the GunGirl franchise and cater to the male demographic, much to the ah..." The mechanic let out a smug chuckle. "Ire of many women who detest the blatant male power display."

Laura scanned the numerous sketches of mecha of varying designs, from the organic to the hard industrial. There was also a sense of fantasy in his drawings, such as the use of primarily melee weapons in most of them. Even for someone with a not lick of artistic skill, she could not help but be amazed by what her brother could do.

"Impressive...I assume that this drawing inclination of yours stems from you being a mechanic?"

"Sort of." Davion shrugged. "They're mainly ideas born from being near the Astrays."

"And you labeled most of these mechs as 'Gundams'... What does that mean, anyway?" The albino rose a brow as she passed him his phone back. "The Professor used the term in the released files of Project: Astray but refused to elaborate about it."

"As expected of her." He grumbled before he leaned back on the bench. "Well, it's the acronym for the OS of our suits." He glanced at her for a moment, and she nearly flinched at the sharpness in those gunmetal greys. "It stands for 'General Unilateral Neuro-Link Dispersive Automatic Maneuver' or G.U.N.D.A.M. for short. Though, if you want to be real iffy, you can add 'System' at the end, but it doesn't join the acronym."

The shorter super soldier looked at him with furrowed brows, somewhat confused at the rather...unorthodox words strung together. But before she could open her mouth to ask exactly why said words were chosen, or what the OS' deeper mechanics were, a voice interrupted her.

"Davion-kun?"

Both heads turned to see a familiar bluenette approach, a folder under her arm as her rubies stared at them questioningly. Those same rubies glanced at Laura with a hint of suspicion before she stepped closer to them. "What were you two doing?"

The mechanic grinned at her as he patted the empty space next to him on the bench. "Taking a break like you told me to."

Kanzashi sat down next to him and frowned at his eyebags. She raised a hand to cup his cheek, using her thumb to gingerly trace the lines of said eyebags. "Well, at least you did take some form of break. Have you had lunch yet?"

"Yeah, just finished eating earlier. I was going to take a quick stroll around the island to loosen the muscles since I almost got a cramp from all the sitting down."

"That's good..."

Laura observed the two with raised brows. The bluenette was fretting over the grey-eyed teen and the latter kept his grin as she did so. The girl was being so gentle that...

'...Hm! Wait, Clarissa showed me..!'

Clearing her throat to catch the two's attention, the albino kept her blank stare as she looked between them. "I've seen this before in documents..."

Davion rose a brow at her words as Kanzashi frowned minutely.

"...Are you two...what did Clarissa's book call it," Laura worked her jaw for a moment before looking back up at them. "Dating?"

Immediately, both teens' cheeks burned red.

"N-No!"

"Yeah, I guess."

They both turned to each other with raised brows.

"'I guess'?"

"'No'?"

Again, the two's cheek's flared red as they turned to her with conflicted expressions.

"Y-Yes."

"It's complicated?"

Once more, the two looked at each other with incredulity in their eyes.

""Huh?""

Laura merely stared as they began to talk in hushed tones, their hands moving in an embarrassed manner before the bluenette stood up suddenly.

"I-I have to give this to the Student Council!" Kanzashi squeaked as she held the folder between her and the mechanic. "Bye!"

"Wait, Kanzashi-!"

But the girl was already walking away, leaving the brunette to reach out towards her uselessly.

"Damn it."

"...So, you two are 'dating'..?"

Davion facepalmed.


AN:

Phew, I had trouble writing this chapter. Mainly on the lack of proper interaction between Laura and Davion.

Let me be clear, Davion does not have any enmity towards Laura, he had beaten his dislike of her out back when they sparred and he nearly caved her face in. It's the fact that, as the mechanic of the Astrays, he's always looking out for any attempts from others to get the secret of Astray technology out of him. This isn't helped by Ephraim's hammering of the 'Us vs The World' mentality in their early weeks after waking up in the IS World.

So yeah, he sees himself as the last wall against the people and Governments he believes would use the technology of a powered suit roughly equal to that of the IS', technology that is able to be mass-produced, for nothing but war and conflict. He's the last guardian of a potentially world-ending device, you could say.

Kanzashi is special because they have had a year-long friendship and she showed an open dislike towards her own government that culminated in her little acts of rebellion, such as refusing to give out her data. Laura is new, and Davion had been reminded that she was a soldier who had orders and superior officers during their little memory exchange. It's easy to suspect that she would be tasked in gathering as much info about them or of the Astrays.

Also, a bunch of references inserted here and there in this chapter.

To the review!

KnightOfZaku: I entertained the thought of Laura confronting Kazahana about being 'best imouto', but decided against it, as funny as it could have been. The action would have just brought more headaches to the blonde Astray pilot, since he would have to explain to Kazahana and Lath as to what Laura meant. Still, that doesn't mean a more opportune moment won't reveal itself at a later date.

On another point, we've broken past 110 follows! We're nearing 100 Faves and damn, do I feel honored!

This is a very thankful Cipher, signing off!

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[Edit 3/12/22]

Oh and if you missed it a few chapter back, a friend of mine (the controller behind Davion Guele) made art of Gone Astray! Check it out at my imgur through the link:

imgur dot com [slash] a [slash] xWg35XE

He made a new piece featuring his character!


Omake: One for the history books!

Whoosh!

Chifuyu ducked away from a lightning-fast jab before countering with an uppercut, only to click her tongue as her opponent tilted his upper torso back into a backflip. She tilted her own head back to avoid being clipped by the foot strike before a yellow blur crashed against her torso. Wheezing slightly at the impact, she was sent on her back, impacting the training mat with a muted thud before she raised her arms to protect her face from the flurry of punches that rained soon after.

Brown glared past the gaps between her arms into royal purple as she squirmed and weaved between the strikes, gritting her teeth as her own defenses buckled underneath his attacks. His hammer blows were damn powerful, she would admit at least that!

Seeing an incoming punch, she let it strike her forearms before she suddenly opened them, unbalancing the blonde on top of her as his fist was still in contact with her arm. Her other arm darted forward, grabbing the collar of his gi before dragging him down as her torso rose.

Crack!

Their heads impacted with a resounding noise and she followed it up with an elbow to his face, twisting her body as she did so.

Crunch!

His head snapped to the side, blood splattering out of his now broken nose as he tilted over. The teacher sent another blow to his side that was intercepted but she had enough leverage to switch their positions.

"Fucking— ghrk!" Ephraim snarl was cut off when she pressed her arm against his throat. Her other arm held his right arm down, leaving only his left free to try and free him. She tensed her torso as a barrage of blows aimed towards her liver and kidney came, and she merely grinned despite the sharp pain-!

Squish!

She stilled.

Chifuyu looked down to see his hand on her right tit before she glared death into his eyes-!

Squeeze!

"My fucking tit!" She roared in pain as he twisted her breast, his fingers pinching her god damn nipple! "Why, you damn pervert-!"

Removing her hands from where they were, she used them to throttle her perverted bastard of an assistant. In the back of her mind, she knew that what he was doing was warranted, they had resorted to a no-holds-bared brawl once their weapons broke earlier, but the sheer idiotic balls of her assistant to grope her had pushed any line of reason away momentarily.

"H-Ha...gahk!"

"The fuck was that, Sahaku?" She hissed, ignoring how his hands tightened around her own wrists. "You want to tap out and fucking grovel like the perverted shit you are?"

"Ha...harder..!"

...

Releasing his throat, she took a deep breath and palmed her face. Leaning back on her heels, she ignored the poking sensation in her inner thighs as she reined in the sheer incredulity of what he had just said.

"Why..." Chifuyu growled as she tried to calm her shaking fists, cheeks ablaze when she glared at the smug sparks in her assistant's eyes. "The fuck would you say something like that?"

"Throws off...opponent..." He rasped between coughs, a hand massaging his reddened throat as he propped himself up by an elbow. "Opens chance to strike back..."

"You're a damn weirdo, you know that?" She sighed as she got off of him, a hand hovering over her right tit as it throbbed in pain. "Almost gave me a damn purple nurple..."

"Hey, whatever works, yeah?" Ephraim muttered as he spat some blood out, pushing himself up so he could hold his broken nose. Blood dribbled freely from the wound, staining his white gi top and bottoms as well as the training mat beneath him. "You didn't hesitate in kneeing my balls earlier."

"Okay, I'll admit that I may have..." She glanced at his sorry state with a small frown. "Gotten a bit carried away earlier, but I wanted to see if you've improved since last time."

"At weapons or with fighting in general?"

"The latter." The teacher turned and gave him her hand. "And I admit, you've improved by bounds and leaps. You actually lasted nearly 20 minutes as opposed to your previous 7."

Grabbing her hand, the blonde pulled himself up with a slight wobble. "...So...remember this..?"

She sent him a flat look, looking at his bloody nose, the gash on his brow, and at the bruises visible through his ripped gi. "What?"

The blonde merely grinned, displaying blood-stained teeth as his eyes lit up with mirth. "I got you on your back earlier, right? You'll remember me then, yeah?"

"I'll remember you as the pervert who groped me during a spar."

"Close enough."