Chapter 7: Beginning of His Strife
(Sadogashima.)
[Takeru]
The sun was starting to retreat, the afterglow beginning to appear on the winter skies. As the shadows of our machines fell onto the bloodied soil, as we continued to tear them down, the mobs of BETA kept coming, one after the other.
"Lupine 3, did you finish resupplying? I can't deal with all the Grapplers myself!" I ask Mikoto as I do a forward dash, follow it with a boost jump, and slash one in half as I slid past its pincers.
"Almost done!" She was hurrying with it, but we couldn't lose any second right now.
Tama shoots a canister shell, crippling four of them and dealing with the smaller strains as well. It looks like Ayamine and Class Rep finished dealing with the Tanks that swarmed us from the left.
I do a double boost jump and deplete all my remaining 36mm ammo on the Grapplers standing nearby. Drawing out my sword before they can regain their footing, I slice the closer ones in half. Doing a short hop to return to my element, firing the last 120mm round I had to stop a straggler Grappler that got too close after I landed, I mow down the last two that were near me as Tama snipes the rest safely from a distance.
As I took a second to rest and clean the sweat on my forehead, a message appears on my sight. A mission update?
"Lupine 1 to all units! Another herd is coming this way, ETA three minutes. Finish resupplying ASAP! We still have to hold out for half an hour, according to HQ!" I inform the squad of the situation with the intel I received through my data link. This is harsher than I thought it would be, just how many BETA are here?!
"Lupine 3, all done! Squad Leader, it's your turn." Mikoto's Gekishin jumps away from the crate, taking its position near a cliff.
Damn, my hands are all sweaty. We've been fighting for over two hours already, and the mission has been going on for around four since the initial bombardment started. HQ said the objective is to draw out most of the BETA to make sure the latter Hive infiltration can be performed without any losses after they drop the G-Bombs. I quickly change my swords and recharge my guns. This is the last supply crate we have, we gotta make it last until the end of the mission!
"One to all, I'm all done! Who's next for resupplying?"
"Lupine 4 here, I'm on the way." Ayamine's Gekishin is jumping towards the crate.
"Two, take your position by Three's side. The BETA will arrive soon enough." I said, connecting to Class Rep's mech.
"Yes, on the way." She sounds extremely tense, not allowing her face to display any emotion despite the noticeable delay in between words.
We all knew this was a suicide mission, but living through it is giving us all an unexpected shock. We all thought we could die if it were for our mission, to save someone's life down the line. But in this situation all I can feel is an overwhelming sense of despair, as if everything was crumbling apart.
No, it's more… deep than despair. How was the word? Futile? Pointless? No matter how many of them we kill, more pop up like in those wack-a-mole games I played when I was little. But our friendlies keep dying and we're getting almost no support. All the newbies on the squad died already, as if this wasn't hard enough on us.
HQ said this would be a different world by night, that today will mark the start of our counter-offensive against the BETA. Yet, I can't see how we could win in such a situation.
The radar beeps, approximately three hundred Destroyers were coming our way, behind them at the least five hundred Grapplers and Tanks. This is the last stand, if we make it out of here then we survived this mission.
"One to all units! Enemy has been sighted, prepare to engage! Guys, one last push before going home. Let's give them hell!" I shout to motivate them, we can't lose now. We won't lose now!
"Roger!" All girls shout in unison. C'mon Lupine Squad, let's survive!
We spread before the Destroyers arrive, boost jumping over them. Tama and Class Rep fire the canister shells on top of them while the rest of us boost jump in position.
I land and start shooting again from the sidelines. Shooting at the first Destroyer's legs, we manage to slow them down enough for the ones behind to crash into them, and, like in a car crash on a highway, the herd rams into itself as we rain fire on them.
Uranium shells pierce through the BETA, painting the wasteland in their blood. Some stray ones survived the onslaught.
"Kill the stray ones before the rest of the herd arrives! Charge!"
"Four to Leader, what formation should be use?"
"Four, you're with me on the vanguard, Two and Three remain behind us to cover us, Five same as before. We stay between this cliffs, to reduce the enemy's range. The Grapplers won't be able to surround us so easily this way. Be careful with the Tanks at all times!"
"Understood!" All of them say in unison as the wrinkles also spawn in their faces.
The BETA become visible on the horizon. They advance forward without hesitation, trampling all over their fellows' corpses. It almost feels as if they were not alive.
On my mark, me and Ayamine dashed towards the BETA. I boost jump, and sick my guns on them from the air, land on the dying corpse of a Grappler and jump off it towards another one. Switching to my sword I slash downwards, ripping the head-like thing from its body. Upon landing, I quickly switch to my guns and open fire as I pull back, dismembering who knows how many Tanks in a few seconds.
As we pull back, hell rains on the BETA. The others start firing on the herd, shaving their numbers. But the bastards don't stop coming at us.
"Four, on me!"
"Roger!"
We charge again, I circle around some Grapplers and slash at them. I forward dash and slice two more, then I open fire against the Tanks that were coming towards me.
Then, a scream reaches my ears. A Grappler damaged Ayamine's thrusters as it jumped into it. Her Gekishin, now grounded, is being surrounded by Tanks.
"Two, cover Four!"
"Don't! I'm already out of ammo, this is the end for me." Ayamine retorts not a second later.
"Shut up! I'm the squad leader, don't give me this bullshit!" I dash towards her, slashing and kicking all the BETA in front of me. Get out of the way, damn you! I'm not letting anyone else die!
Then, Ayamine's Gekishin starts dashing deeper into the herd as more and more Tanks jump onto it.
"Ayamine, retreat this instant! What do you think you're doing?!"
"The only thing… a dying soldier can do."
And as she said those words, a bright flash followed by a loud explosion filled the battlefield. She used her S-11, right in the middle of the herd.
DAMN IT! Ayamine, why didn't you… Why do you still refuse to retreat?! You didn't have to die today, we were right here besides you! You idiot!
Releasing my frustration upon the few that remained near me, soon enough there's no BETA standing in sight.
Haa… Haa… Goddammit, Ayamine… You didn't have to do that… I was right there…
Then, a beep on my radar catches my attention. Another herd is coming our way?! These readings…
"One to all units! Another herd is approaching, I read at least two Fort Class in it."
"What?! Fort Class?!" Mikoto sounded terrified. We can't deal with many of those tall bastards while fighting the rest.
Soon enough, the rumbling made itself apparent on the floor and just a few seconds later their outstretched shadows fell upon us as they rushed in like mindless beasts. Two Destroyers that were ahead of the rest came towards me, I jump backwards to avoid them.
"Squad, move to the side and shoot their legs!"
"Roger!"
I keep dashing away while crippling all BETA that get close with what little ammo I have left. The rest cover me and manage to hold out near the cliffs we were stationed at. Damn, we really should have more ammo. I don't think they don't make enough of it, it's more like there's more BETA than all the ammo in the world could take care of.
What should I… What orders would get us out of here alive? What can I do for my squad?!
More Destroyers got close, we had to sick all remaining canister shells on them. It still wasn't enough to stop them all.
"Everyone listen up, I'll charge ahead while you give me some cover. I'll leave my guns here, make each shot count!"
"Shirogane, that's reckless! You can't fight those numbers with only one sword!" Class Rep, I thought that orders were absolute for you?
"We don't have enough ammo as it is, we need to hold out until HQ gives the signal to retreat! It's an order from the Squad Leader, so you can't refute it! Over and Out!" I charge towards the aliens despite the squad's shouts asking me to stop.
I slash at a Grappler after dodging its claw. Forward dash, boost jump to the right and I spin as I swing my sword, tearing apart all the Tanks that were trying to get on top of me. Sorry BETAs, but there's only one person that's allowed to do that.
I sidestep to get better footing and slash at a Destroyer that tried to charge me despite its damaged legs preventing it from gaining any speed. My radar shows two Grapplers behind me, I do a boost backflip and drive my sword through the head of one of them from above. Then I slash at the other's legs before it can turn around.
I start to pull back, slashing at the BETA that get on the way. The synchronized shots from the squad tear down the stray ones that I didn't get and finish the beetles that still were alive. The Forts are getting closer, this is the turning point in the fight.
"One to all units! Give me a report!"
"Two here, we have each around 300 36mm ammo left. Me and Three gave our rifles that still had 120mm to Five. She only has four shells left of it." This is bad. Very bad, if there's more than two Forts we won't be able to hold out.
"Three here, I got a reading on the Forts!"
Let's see… One, two, four? Wait… Holy shit, there's eight of them.
"Squad, we stick together from now on! Cover each other's blind spots from Tanks while staying clear of the Forts." I bark my order, but I hear no answer. Can't blame them. Our survival odds look as bleak as they could ever get.
The BETA rush at us, we deal with the Grapplers and Tanks somewhat without suffering much damage. But then the Forts appeared, all of them at the same time. I can barely dodge their stingers in the Gekishin while being in between these cliffs, I can't even get close to attack them.
Left with no choice, I move forward to distract them while the rest deals with the middle strains. We have to pull back to the end of the cliffs to make a bottleneck and stop the Forts dead in their tracks. If we tumble them down here, then we can retreat so long as we kill all the Tanks and Grapplers.
Relaying my orders, we take our positions and I boost forward as a few Grapplers are sniped to give me space to dodge a coming sting. Hopping and being mindful of the space between me and the tall monsters, I dance around the stingers while slashing at a few Tanks, slicing and kicking, tearing and bashing, continuing to perform carnage's dance right besides the Forts.
Then, while I was busy dodging a stinger, a Grappler got past me, rushing through the corpses of the Tanks. Coming at it from its blind spot, it toppled Mikoto's Gekishin before I could warn her of the danger as I was busy with the dodging. We all could only see as the Grappler began to tear the machine down with its claws in a matter of seconds, hitting the engine and making it explode.
Huh?
Mikoto… Mikoto is… The explosion dies down and nothing is left of the Gekishin or the aliens that were close to it. Nothing is left…
"God… GODDAMMIT!" I dodge a stinger, slashing it apart.
Landing on top of a Tank in my rage, crushing its head with the heels of the Gekishin, I take out a dagger and begin to retaliate, but the numbers are too much to deal with. I have to keep taking more and more steps back now that we lost Mikoto's covering fire.
"Anyone, help! The Tanks… My Gekishin won't accept any command I input! I can't even trigger the S-11!" Tama's Gekishin was on the ground surrounded by Tanks, they were tearing it apart. When did they get so close?!
"Leader, I'll help her! We have to retreat, there's nothing else we can do here!"
"Class Rep, wait! Don't jump! They'll-" And before I could finish, the stinger of a Fort flew towards Class Rep's TSF.
She barely managed to dodge it, but it teared part of its front off, splashing acid onto it. And since the cockpit had been teared apart, the acid… fell right onto Class Rep.
"T-Takeru-san! Somebody! Help! I can't move!" Tama's scream on my left ear.
"Aaaugh! It burns! It buuuurns! Uuugaaahh! Make it stop! Hyaaauugghh!" Class Rep's on my right.
I slash at the Grapplers that are around me and get below the closest Fort. I jump as I prepare my slash, tearing its stinger and part of its lower body.
I grab Class Rep's machinegun and shoot at the Tanks that were surrounding Tama, I couldn't kill them all. Shit! Out of ammo!
"Shi-Shirogane… Augh! Please, kill me! I can't… Hyaagh… Please, let this end. Kill… me… Uuugraaaghhh!" Class Rep, what are you-
"Aaahh! They're tearing my cockpit apart! No, I don't wanna be eaten! No! NOOOO!" Tama! I have… I have to do something! I have-
A Grappler crashes onto me, I manage to block its pincers with my blade but my Gekishin got sent flying towards the cliff.
And for the next few seconds, all I could hear were the sound of the Tanks devouring Tama and the shrieks of Class Rep as the Fort's acid took her life.
…This has got to be a joke.
Is everyone really dead?
There's no allied signals on my radar. My hands start shaking, my eyes can't stop crying. Everyone…
BETA, you sons of an eldritch bitch. Screw the mission, screw my duty, screw everything! There's another sword near me, who is it from? Matters not.
How dare you kill them! How dare you monsters, I'm gonna… I'm gonna…
"KILL EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!"
I charge with one sword in each hand towards the BETA. I should be hearing the sounds of their bodies being torn apart, but all I can hear are the last words of my friends. Tama was devoured, Class Rep probably melted from inside, and Ayamine and Mikoto got blown up. What kind of mission is this? What did they sacrifice themselves for?
"That's the nature of the military." The words of the CO of Yokohama Base return to me.
Fuck the UN, the Royal Guards, all of this world. I reject this reality! I reject all of it! I won't accept an ending like this!
"Give me back my world!" I rush towards the sea of true red, splashing gore into the skies.
…
How long have I been fighting? How many have I killed? I'm in the middle of the wasteland surrounded by BETA corpses and TSF remains. There's still some BETA around chasing some soldiers that got scattered.
If there's still BETA around, I have to kill them. That's… all I can do. My eyes feel heavy, I can't… fall here… I must…
…
…?
I open my eyes and find myself in my room. It's really cold for some reason.
After blinking a few times I realize I was having another nightmare as usual. I'm again drenched in sweat, and I'm shivering all over.
That was when I first came to this world, our first real operation under Alternative V. Operation Iceberg, the offensive of Sadogashima.
So even after coming back I'm still being haunted by these. Dammit… I rub my eyes strongly as I exhale, leaving my mouth open. After a short while, I managed to stop the tears and calm my breath, even though I'm still shivering like a bird caught under the rain.
I get up and wash my face on the sink, I need to get ready before the Instructor comes to pick me up. I can't meet her being this messed up. After all, everyone is alive here. Yes, no depressing myself. That won't happen again.
I showered, got changed and waited for awhile. I noticed that my body feels different as I stretched a bit. When I looked in the mirror I saw that I was a bit… younger? It's like I returned to my body of two years ago. However, I still have some scars from the terrorist attack on the school. How does this even work?
I did got up earlier than expected, should I eat something? I still got some rice balls from the other side…
Just as I finished eating, there's a knock on my door.
"Cadet Shirogane, open the door!" I stand up and go to answer. Marimo-chan is in her formal UN dress, arms folded waiting for me.
"Good morning, Instructor!" I salute her as I opened the door. She return the gesture before speaking.
"Good morning, Cadet. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Sergeant Marimo Jinguuji. I'm going to be your Instructor during your stay here, but I suppose you already knew that." She starts looking at me, sizing me up. Something in her eyes is… sharper than before. Though, that may seem like that to me because I came from my home world this time. "I gotta say, it's surprising to have a male recruit now of all times but even more to be recommended by the Professor herself. I can see that she wasn't lying when she said you came from a very strict unit." Right, she came up with that to explain my knowledge and aptitude. "Regardless, I'll have you know we expect great things from you! Now, are you ready to take your vow? Or would you prefer to have some breakfast before?" As kindhearted as always, Marimo-chan.
"Do not worry, I already ate a light breakfast. I'm ready to take the vow."
"You already ate? But the PX doesn't open until a few minutes."
"I had some light food prepared yesterday, to not waste time."
"…I see. Then let us be on our way."
She takes me to the gym, where the usual ceremony happened again. How many times did I do this already?
"…I swear never to shy away from danger, to risk my life in accomplishing my duty, and to fulfill my responsibility to humanity!"
"We of Yokohama Base bid you welcome, and congratulate you."
I then salute the officers, who return the gesture. Then, they give me the run down on which squad I was joining, confirming what I signed yesterday with Sensei. Marimo-chan comes up to me once that is done and places my Cadet badge on my uniform, giving me a handshake.
Alright, that was done faster than before. I'm already with the squad on the 23rd instead of the 25th. That's two more days, it might not seem like much but every second counts here. I follow the Instructor out of the gym after the ceremony is over and done, we return inside the base.
"Shirogane, do you know your way around the base?"
"Yes, Instructor. Professor Kouzuki already showed me around."
"I see. Breakfast time is almost over, so go back to your room and change into your fatigues. Wait for me to pick you up, I'll introduce you to your squad just before the morning exercises."
I do as I was told. Now's the time when things start for real, I'm not holding back this time so I should try to be less of a bother than usual. I'll stop calling Chizuru Class Rep for one, and when Mikoto comes back I'll treat her normally. I should be careful in how I give them advice, though. Don't want them to take it the wrong way and think I'm a jerk.
Get ready Squad 207, because Shirogane is gonna rock you like a hu- …I mean, like a tornado! Phew… Dodged that copyright strike, close one.
There's a knock on my door. The Instructor is here, this time in fatigues. We make our way to the courtyard, walking into the ground floor where a lot of sun came pouring in, a chilly wind entering through the windows. I had forgotten this world was a tad bit colder than my home world.
"Shirogane, today you'll be running on the track field and then doing some combat with your squad. Then, after lunch, you have lectures. I was told by the Professor that there was no need to adapt the curriculum for you, but will you be alright?" Marimo-chan, you're always such a good teacher. Even if you're more scary here than back home, except for that one time she got drunk on the hot springs.
"Yes, I'll be fine. I also had a very rigorous training in my last unit."
"I see. Then let me tell you about your squad." Then she goes about how they're all women, how they're supposed to be a very good team, to not underestimate them, yada yada yada.
"I'll take your advice to heart, Instructor."
"Good answer. We're here, wait by the door until I call for you." She opens the door, goes into the field, and blows her whistle. "SQUAD! ASSEMBLE!"
I can hear the girls approaching. I clench my hands, that were already sweaty. Deep breaths, feel the air coming in and then slowly let it out. Fresh start, no one dies here. I inhale slowly again, trying to calm myself down, only to flinch and feel a void in my chest as a voice reached my ears.
"Salute! Squad 207 is ready for today's training!" Chizuru's voice.
She sounds so alive, so strong. Nothing like… back then. That's not happening again, hell no. And she's not detonating her S-11 either. No one will!
I sigh, stopping to clench my jaw, grit my teeth, and lick over my lips. Leaning on the wall for a sec, I take in a deep breath, listening in the conversation.
"Good. Today I have an announcement to make." Marimo-chan speaks in a super serious tone. I think I heard the girls gasping, what could be going on in their heads now? "Today a new recruit will be joining your squad."
"Eh?! A new recruit? At this time of the year?!" Chizuru sounds just like me when Meiya came to school for the first time.
Man, what an ordeal that day was. To think she'd call all those chefs just for lunch, I can't help but grin remembering those crazy noisy days.
"Yes, and that's not the only surprising thing here. Shirogane! Come over here!" I go towards them walking not too fast, so that I could see their faces.
Tama's eyes opened wide as she tilted her head, Chizuru raised both brows as her mouth remained half open, and Kei… is being Kei, just silently gazing at me with a hand on her chin, unassumingly returning my gaze. Meiya is the only one who isn't surprised, obviously.
For a second, I felt my heart shrink. They're here, right there. Alive and well, breathing and unharmed. I slowly released my breath through my nose, almost unable to meet their gazes.
I gulp, stopping right behind the Instructor, giving them all a good look. And finally, I managed to smile. Because they're right there, and this is no dream.
"He's a special recruit, recommended by Professor Kouzuki herself. He was trained on a special squad, but due to an accident he couldn't finish his training. The Professor scouted him herself, so his skills are supposed to be top notch." She gives me a nod to introduce myself.
"I'm Cadet Takeru Shirogane, it's a pleasure to be here!" Standing in attention, I give them a salute.
"Likewise. I'm the Leader of this squad, Chizuru Sakaki." Chizuru salutes me with a serious look, as expected. I return a nod with a slight smile.
"I'm Miki Tamase. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Shirogane-san." I forgot they speak so formally here. Gonna have to change that, at least for you Tama.
"Kei Ayamine." Kei, dear, could you at least look at me when you speak? I know you don't mince many words but-
"Ayamine! You're being rude to Shirogane. Why don't you do a proper introduction?" Already fighting?! Chizuru don't do it, the Instructor is right-
"I did." Kei! Stop that, Marimo-chan will-
"No, you didn't." Chizuru narrows her brows, Meiya sighs and shakes her head.
"I said my name, should be enough." Kei shrugs, Tama's lips quiver as she switches gazes from her to Chizuru.
"That's not the point. What impression of our squad are you even trying to give him?"
"So noisy from the get go today, huh."
"What was that?!"
"All right, that's enough you two!" Marimo-chan yells at them, making them look to the ground. "What am I gonna do with you today? Perhaps I should make you run double the distance? Hmm, how would you like that?"
"I apologize for my behavior, Instructor." Chizuru bows deeply, Kei soon follows.
"Sorry, Instructor. It won't happen again."
"Oh, really? I've lost count of how many times you've said that. Shirogane, if you see these two fighting, call for me immediately."
"Yes, Ma'am." Marimo-chan's glare is scarier this time around, what did you guys do to anger her this much?
"Mitsurugi, you're the last one."
"I'm Meiya Mitsurugi. It'll be a pleasure to train alongside you, Shirogane." I give her a nod, which she answers with a confident smile.
"Now that we got the introductions out of the way, go stretching so that we can start with the exercises."
She gives the orders, taking some distance from us, and we go to stretch.
"Shirogane, can I ask you some questions?" Chizuru comes to my side as I lean down, trying to reach for my boots.
"Sure, ask away." She also does the same and steals a glance at me while we remain in position.
"How much training did you have in your previous squad?"
"You could say they drilled me to the ground, but due to some… problems I couldn't take the CCSE with my squad." I return myself upwards after counting to ten.
"I see." Chizuru also straightens herself, tapping her glasses as she looks at me. "And from then on, you trained by yourself I suppose."
"I had some people helping me in my daily routines. But it obviously wasn't the same as formal training." It was even worse. Maya-sensei truly did not hold back on me. She slashed me in half more times than I could keep count of.
"Is that so? Allow me to be blunt, can we expect much from you? Will your skills be a good addition to the squad?"
"That depends on how much difference there's between us. But I'm not planning to be dead weight. You can expect me to do my best at all times, Sakaki." She smiles upon hearing my answer, and my heart suffered some lag there for a sec.
"That's good. It's nice to know we have another serious person on the team. By the way, the squad has another member. Her name is Mikoto Yoroi, but she injured herself and won't be training with us for awhile."
"Oh, was it serious?" I know it's not, but gotta play my part here.
"No, but it'll take some time for her to join us again. A week perhaps."
"I see. How is she? As a person, I mean."
"She's… quirky." Look at those arching brows. We both kept stretching, with Chizuru pondering for a second what to say. "Yoroi's survival skills are top notch, and her medical knowledge is also very good. She does tend to… have a short attention span, however." No changes there. Mikoto is still Mikoto.
"Shirogane-san, might I ask what is your strong point?" Tama gets closer as she joins in the warm up. Though, I have to make her stop calling me that. It's making me sad.
"I'm kind of an all rounder type. I can do pretty much anything with the same ease. I do prefer close combat, though."
"I see, that's really impressive. If you can do many things, you must be very skilled." You're making me blush internally, Tama. Your sincere praises are really endearing.
"Or he just sucks at everything." I can't help but smile upon hearing Kei's teasing, seeing her smirk grow as she throws a side glance at me. I'm so glad to be back, to once more be able to hear them alive and well.
"Ayamine, you're being rude towards Shirogane again. Why don't you apologize?" Oh God, here we go again.
"About what?"
"You just insulted him."
"Did I?"
"I didn't feel particularly insulted, I think she was just teasing me. It's alright, really." I try to calm things down, but… Here thar be dragons.
"No, Shirogane. Ayamine is always doing what she pleases without any consideration towards the team." Maybe I should do something before they start again.
"Um, Sakaki? If you fight again and the Instructor hears you…" I left the sentence hanging in the air on purpose, trying to copy the tone Sensei uses when she speaks seriously with me. Chizuru closes her eyes, then shoots a glare towards Kei.
"You're right, I shouldn't be doing this." She then looks away and continues to stretch.
Kei simply looks away and takes some distance from us. Tama doesn't know what to say, she seems really nervous as she takes glances towards both of them.
"That was good, Shirogane. You stopped them before they even began." Meiya gives me a small smile as she came over to us.
"I don't think I'd say that. They were already at each other's throats."
"No, you stopped them before they raised their voices. You even interjected before warning them about the Instructor. I always find it difficult to stop them before."
"That's just because Ayamine is always in her own world. I never know what she'll say to me, and I end up losing my temper." Chizuru says, sounding like a deflated balloon and sighing what little air she had in her away.
"Um, I don't… think it's so bad. Her words mean Ayamine-san is expecting something from you Shirogane-san."
"Expecting something?"
"You did say you prefer close combat, so she might be interested in that. I, too, am quite curious of your skill in CQC." Meiya tells me with a smile. Right, these two also prefer CQC.
"Well, I don't resent her or anything. I just hope we can get along." The girls smile upon my answer.
Alright, let's hope you can keep up with me. From this point forward… I'll forge and temper you into the best Valkyries I can. I won't twiddle my thumbs here.
"Alright, Squad! Take your positions on the track field!" Marimo-chan barks the order, and we all take one line of the track field.
I do some short hops, moving my shoulders up and down. I let the air enter into me as I gaze at the clouds, remembering that last walk towards the U's Reactor. Everything starts from this point forward. My first objective, to unite the girls to pass the CCSE and make them better than they were last loop. Let's take the first step towards that flag.
"You'll be doing ten klicks today, then you'll do five with half gear." Marimo-chan informs us as she stands to a side near the starting line. "Now, ready… set… GO!" She blows her whistle and the training starts.
Or so I'd say if I could take this seriously. I just started jogging lightly to warm up, but I'm still going along the rest just fine. They seem to be putting some effort in their stride, so they're not taking this lightly like me.
Chizuru is on the lead, followed closely by Ayamine. Then me and Meiya are around the same place, with Tama a bit behind us. They started sweating a bit after the first lap, so no doubt they're doing this seriously. The gap… is larger than I thought. I know stamina isn't that much of a concern when riding TSFs, hell, Tama's CQC wasn't nothing to laugh at when she was in a cockpit and she held out during the Kashgar Raid really well despite not being able to run as much as the rest. But, if I want them to take me seriously despite my relaxed way of being, I have to push forward and be a beacon for them.
"What's the matter, Shirogane? Is that all you have today?" Meiya taunts me, being a bit ahead of me.
"Says the one who couldn't even finish her training yesterday." Oh, that hit a nerve. She narrowed her brows for a second, but then she returned a grin towards me.
"Oho, I wonder about that. All I can see is that I've been in front of you for two laps already."
"Heh, okay. I'll start taking this seriously if you want me to, Meiya."
"You're still referring to me in that way?"
"That way? Oh, sorry."
"How did you manage to keep that habit during your training? Surely you're not going to try to call the Instructor by her name as well, do you?"
"I might." I don't know if I see shock, fear, awe or all of them in her face.
Well, enough screwing around. We're at almost half the first part, so let's start to take this seriously. If I want to be a lighthouse for them, I need to do my best. I already know how holding back went after all. And hitting the ground hard with my heels, I speed up.
I learned that placing your heels first while you run allows you to conserve stamina and give you a little boost forward when you do it. It took a while to get used to consciously take each step with the back of my feet, but now that I can I know how much of a difference it makes. I start properly running, and pass both Kei and Chizuru in a flash.
One lap, two laps, three laps. I finished the remaining five klicks, while everybody still has two laps left to take. I wipe the little sweat that had formed as I moved away from the track. I see Marimo-chan plucking her lips at me while she has her arms crossed, tapping one with a finger. Once I got closer, she took her usual pose and rose her chin while furrowing her brows.
"Shirogane! I don't know why you chose to show off like that, but if you can't finish the exercise-"
"I'm used to this. This training is too light for me." I think someone almost tripped after hearing me.
"Oh? It's too light? Then, what would you like to do?"
"Can I do a full gear march?"
"Full gear? Fine, take the backpack and the rifle with you too. Let's see how you handle those five klicks."
"Um, I was thinking of running until everyone else finished. These short distances are no problem for-" She raises an eyebrow. Oh. My. God. What have I done?!
"SHIROGANE! Don't you get cocky on me! You think that just because you're 'special' you can be so arrogant?! Huh?!" It's just like when she got drunk! Help! "What's the matter, boy? Cat got your tongue or something?! Speak up!"
"Um, Instructor… P-Professor Kouzuki ordered me to not hold back in the training. To give you an accurate idea of my current skills." Sorry, Sensei. But I feel like she'll kill me if I don't use your name here.
"The Professor did? Gosh, what am I gonna do with her?! Fine, do your thing. But if you cannot keep running until everyone finishes, I'll have you do a hundred squats after the afternoon lectures. Now, go already!" She waves a hand towards where the gear is, slicing the air in half with much violence. What has got her this angry? Sensei, what did you do this time?
I get in gear and return to the track. But this is still fine, I don't feel tired or anything. I did went jogging for, like, almost two hours during the last month. Eventually, everyone got in half gear and started running along. They all seemed to be putting some more effort in their stride compared to what little I remember of our past trainings. In time, Tama was the last one to finish. How many klicks did I end up running?
"Alright, that's enough! Take off your gear, I'll bring some weapons for the following exercise. You can refresh yourself with the nearby water taps."
Boy, that was nice. Not as nice as running with some chill wind in a park, but still not as bad as I expected. I really improved my stamina from last time.
"Shirogane-san, that was amazing! What kind of training did you used to do?" Tama's eyes reflect the sunshine at me, impressed with my performance.
"Something like this? Minus the full gear, I used to run for almost two hours every morning."
"Every morning? You didn't get a day to rest?" Chizuru looks dumbfounded as she raises one brow.
"Yes, I did. But I still went to run, it didn't feel right to start the day without jogging."
"By the way, you and Mitsurugi-san were talking before you started sprinting, what did she ask you?" Tama was right behind us so she must have seen our little exchange.
"She taunted me, to see if I could do better. I don't know whether I met her expectations or not."
"You fool, there was no need to go as far as to confront the Instructor! If you cannot complete the following exercise, it's your own fault." Meiya sounds somewhat disappointed. "But even so, you surpassed all my expectations. To keep running at such speed until all of us finished, your stamina is on a different level than ours."
"Shirogane, you're not tired right? Think you can do the combat exercise?"
"Don't worry, Sakaki. I'm still full of energy. So, are we doing hand-to-hand combat or sword practice?"
"Both." Meiya answers as she interlocks her fingers and raises both hands upwards. "We usually do short fights against each other, two fights in hand-to-hand and two fights with either knives or swords." This is definitely different from before, why is Marimo-chan giving you this training?
"Shirogane, you said close combat is your strong point. What weapon do you prefer?"
"The sword, with the knives as a close second. I'm not bad at hand-to-hand combat but it's definitely not my strong point."
"Oho? Iiiiinteresting." Kei remarks from afar. I know what you're thinking girl, you wanna send me to another planet with an STA, don't you?
"So the sword is your favorite. Just like me, I hope we get to spar today." Meiya's eyes have little purple flares coming out of them.
Last time I totally dominated her due to the difference in stamina, I wonder how things will go now that I learned the Mugen Kidou.
"Squad! Here are the weapons." Marimo-chan returns with a box, laying it nearby. "I'll announce the pairings, Tamase and Sakaki on HTH, Ayamine and Mitsurugi with weapons of your choice. Shirogane, you're out for the first round."
What the hell?! I mean, we are an uneven number right now. Oh, well. I take my distance as the others prepare to spar. This will be a nice chance to see how good they are as of now, though.
"Shirogane, might I have a word with you?" Marimo-chan gets closer and speaks in a calm tone, but one of her hands is coiled real tight. Off to the detention barracks, perhaps? "You… Are you not tired?"
"Huh? No, I'm holding up fine."
"I see. So, I suppose you're used to a harsher training regime. Could you tell me what to expect from you? I tried asking the Professor just now, but she didn't exactly reveal much." I see, so that's why she's pissed.
I tell her what I said to my squad, with a bit more detail on my skills, while keeping an eye on the bouts of the girls.
"…And, while I'm confident in my current level, I wouldn't call myself a decent sniper yet."
"So you got trained in all types of combat? I know that pilots are supposed to adapt to any position on the field, but… I'm afraid your skills have suffered from being trained as a generalist. While your stamina is definitely better, I don't know if it'll be enough to compensate the gap in skill that dedicated training brings out."
"Then I'll just have to pick a style and perfect it along the way, I guess."
"That's true. Well, it seems they're finishing their duels. Let's see…" The girls return from their battles, awaiting the next set of orders. "Sakaki and Shirogane with weapons of your choice, Tamase and Ayamine in HTH."
"Shirogane, would you mind if we used combat knives?" She asks as I got closer to the crate.
"No, that's fine by me."
We both grab a wooden knife and go further into the courtyard, feeling the wind briskly ruffling around us. Chizuru takes a standard stance, while I put my left leg forward while grabbing he handle and pointing the blade behind me with my right hand. We stay in position, just sizing the other for some time.
Chizuru takes a step forward, swinging her knife to my right. Shifting my weight backwards, I dodge to my left with ease. I parry her next strike and throw a punch at her with my left. She takes a step back just in time to dodge it.
I start pressuring her with a flow of strikes. First a downward strike, then I try to hit her left side. Changing the place where I attack to force her to move faster, she can't counter me. Her footwork is very nice, she's keeping her defense against me very nicely even if she can only parry or try to keep some distance.
Those brows still and firm, her gaze has a certain determination behind it. She's planning something. As I rush at her with a frontal strike, she quickly moves aside and in a single motion tries to strike at my hands. Nice plan, if I say so myself. Sadly for you Chizuru, my reflexes are on whole 'nother level.
As if I were trying to fit on a tight train, I coil to my right barely dodging her attack. She was going for a serious attack, and now that she's lost her balance I have a clear hit waiting for me. I put some weight into my swing as I hit her back, sending her to give a nice smooch to the ground.
"Whew, looks like this is my win." I give her a hand as she stands up.
"That was truly amazing. Shirogane, I expect you to share the secrets of how you reached this level of dexterity." She shakes my hand before we went towards the group.
Everyone else seemed to have been watching us, they seemed impressed.
"Shirogane-san, that was awesome! Especially that fast dodge at the end!"
"Thanks, but that was really luck on my side."
"Good job flooring the Leader." Kei, why must you? She's even smirking at Chizuru.
"Alright! Next pairings will be Tamase and Mitsurugi with weapons and Ayamine with Shirogane in HTH."
We go back into the field. No words were said, Kei looked as inexpressive as she usually did. Only that since I've been with her for who knows how long I can tell the small signs she makes. Her eyes are slightly veering left, she now knows I'm right handed so she's probably thinking of going for my left side. However, by her stance, she'll do a feint and try to land a hit on me before she goes for a throw.
I go at her with a right punch, she takes a step back and dodges it. I continue to throw some punches, and she keeps dodging. If there's one thing I never managed to do, is to best Kei in this type of combat.
She sends a kick, I dodge to my right and block a punch she threw at me. And here it comes, she grabs my arm and tries to make a lock, but I throw myself onto her and grab her other arm before she can throw me.
Then I put my left leg forward and tense up my back with my heels firmly in place. Now you can't throw me, but neither can I throw you. We struggle to make the other lose balance, we move our legs to try to trip each other off but neither gives an inch.
She's doing this will all her might, her eyes are oozing a fiery intensity upon me. Wait, eyes? Ohoho, so I had that card left…
I slightly pull myself backwards, Kei thinks I'm trying to throw her and starts resisting my pull by getting closer to keep me quiet. And then, I throw a headbutt at her. After hitting her face clearly her grip on me loosens, and I seize my chance to grab her shoulder and waist. I throw her to the floor and restrain her. She starts kicking about, trying to break free.
"This is my win, too. Hey Ayamine, stop struggling! The match is-"
"Never."
"Don't be so stubborn, you're already-"
"Never!" Her thrashing intensifies.
"Fine, if you want to play that game." I bend her arm a bit more behind her back, and start exerting more force upon her shoulder with my palm.
"Ugh! Never…"
"The match is over! Shirogane, you win. Ayamine, you need to know when to give up." Marimo-chan admonishes us from afar. I let Kei go but she remains on the floor, unmoving.
"Ayamine, you okay?"
"Fine."
"Then, why don't you get up?"
"My problem."
"Fine, suit yourself. Nice fight, by the way. It's the first time I have to restrain someone to win at close combat." Man, I just beat Kei for the first time ever. I mean, she is still inexperienced compared to her full potential but a win's a win.
"AYAMINE! Get your ass here this instant, unless you wanna do squats until dinner!" Marimo-chan is really strict this time around. It's like she has an aura around her, as if she were on a leash. The Mad Dog is out for some reason.
Kei slowly gets up and comes over the group. She looks absolutely livid even if she has her usual poker face, going by how her mouth is nothing but a small, tense line and how she's looking straight at the ground.
"Next pairings are Ayamine with Sakaki, and Mitsurugi with Shirogane with weapons." So it's up against Meiya now.
"Shirogane, what say you of using swords? Do you feel in proper form for a spar?" She folds her arms, giving me a small smile.
Look at you, taunting me. You may have gave me multiple bumps in the head and slashed me in half during my first loop, but last time I totally dominated you, and today I'm gonna do with you whatever I want!
That… came out wrong, dammit. But now that I had intensive training with Maya-sensei, you'll be the one being slashed in half!
"Fine by me, just hope you don't regret it."
"It's one thing to be confident, but another entirely to be arrogant. Shirogane, I am hoping to show you the difference between them in our bout."
"Sorry, but I can't lose in a sword fight. My Sensei would kill me if I lost." Not even kidding right now, Maya-sensei taught me under the motto that using the Mugen Kidou was to become invincible. I think she went too far, but I'll let the results speak for themselves.
"You must be proud of your teacher to say so. But the same goes for me, the sword is my specialty. You already dispatched two of us without breaking a sweat, and apparently the sword is your strength. I can only shiver in anticipation of our duel, but I'm not going to fall to you!"
She takes her stance. It's not the Mugen Kidou, it's a more generic one simply holding the sword forward with both hands. Going easy on her I think I could still beat her due to my stamina, but I want to be serious against her. She's the only other Mugen Kidou user I can fight with, so I need to know how good I'm with it now. In this world of war, Tsukuyomi-san must have taught you a more deadly technique than what I learned in my world, so let's see how I hold up. If you don't want to use the Mugen Kidou, I'll force you to use it!
I take the stance Maya-sensei taught me with a slightly arched back, sword in both hands pointing downwards just above my shoulders, knees just a bit behind the end my feet. I'm ready to pounce at her any second. She seems to recognize my pose as her wide eyes gaze upon me. Her eyes stop wavering and turn fierce, I can only wonder what she thinks of this.
She starts the fight with a fast opening from my right, I parry easily and follow with a downwards slash towards her face. She blocks just in time, I step left and try to strike her stomach but she manages to block me again.
I speed up and go for relentless attacks. Maya-sensei taught me that Iaido and Kendo can be further combined by treating every slash like both a first attack that must be dealt swiftly and a follow up to another movement. This forms a fast flow of attacks that can throw most opponents off balance. The key point is the step back one must take after some time, to recover balance and occasionally throw off the enemy. She called it the 'Unending Waterfall' style, that differed from Mana's style in that this one was much more aggressive, as opposed to keep a more slow pace to attack separating the Iaido and Kendo 'phases' to call them something.
So, instead of only using Iaido's fast approach when unsheathing the blade and then proceeding to use Kendo, you do both things at the same time from the start. It's really complicated, but once I learned the correct stance and pace it came naturally to keep the flow of attacks going, especially once I got used to taking that crucial step back.
Meiya can't counter me, I can tell she's also being serious as she tries to force an opening but my attacks keep her from getting too close. I bend my knees and go for an upwards slash aimed at her left shoulder, she moves to the right and tries to strike me but I manage to parry. While our swords were still clashing, I take a step back. This makes Meiya fall forward, since she was putting force into her sword. I aim at her hands but missed by a hair, she ducked away nimbly before falling over.
I keep up the pressure. She could only barely stand up again as I was once more attacking. I take my chance and quickly move to a side to strike a blind spot, but she dodges and tries to imitate me.
She's now fighting with everything she has, but she's not fast enough. Maya-sensei told me that it wasn't necessary to put much force into my swing, since the blade will deal lethal damage when aimed at a blind spot, but I start to push harder with each swing I take at her. This catches Meiya off guard, since she was used to the strength I was displaying moments ago. I force her to go completely into a defensive stance as I keep my fast strikes coming at her. A little dash to the left, I slash downwards towards her leg. Blocked, I quickly bring my sword up and go for a frontal slash putting more force into it. Our swords get locked in a struggle. Meiya is doing all she can to avoid being overpowered, she stands stiff while locking her eyes onto me.
I take a step back and return to my initial stance as I breath a sigh. Meiya does the same, sweat pouring all over her.
"To think… you'd be this good. I haven't been pushed to my limits by no one other than my teacher."
"What's up with that defeatist tone? You wanna give up on me?" Ohoho, how nice you look when you're angry, my dear Meiya.
"Never! Surrendering is not an option, I yield to no one!" She lashes out, this time taking her Mugen Kidou stance.
I slightly alter my stance preparing for what is to come, Meiya's true strength lies in her quickness to draw her blade. It was obvious I would win against her in a Kendo style fight, but when it comes to Iaido I don't think I'll ever get as fast as her. Sure, now I can do it all the time with my current style, but even then I'm not as fast as Meiya got during the last loop. She's not there yet, but I shouldn't underestimate her. I don't want more bumps on my head, and I rather not get slashed in half again.
"You look as if you could predict my every move, Shirogane."
"You're just too straightforward, Meiya. It's too easy to bait and take advantage of your style."
"Mmgh! Don't get cocky just because I haven't landed a hit yet! I'm going to take you seriously from now on!"
"Weren't you fighting seriously until now? Then, why are you sweating like a fountain?"
Learning to be calm in the face of teasing is a skill you need to learn, Meiya. This is coming from someone who couldn't help to react at the first poke he received. However, it looks like she has totally lost it.
"Shirogane! Prepare yourself!" And, as an imaginary red bandanna wrapped itself around Meiya's forehead, she charged at me.
Barely parrying her strike, she moves to my left and tries to outspeed me. You should know that my Jolly nature will always allow me to outspeed you, Adamant samurai. I keep parrying her attacks despite their speed, and over time I start putting more strength into each parry. Eventually the roles shifted as I started to push her again with many consecutive attacks.
Towards her shoulder, then I shift to strike at her stomach. I take a step back and attack her right shoulder again but it's only a feint to attack her left side. She almost falls for it, barely moving out of the way. Her footing got unstable, I dash after Meiya catching her by surprise. I lower my sword and slash upwards aiming at her hands, sending her sword flying just like Maya-sensei did to me every time that I lost my balance.
Meiya laid on the ground after the impact made her fall backwards. She looked up at me as her eyes widened, unblinking and focused.
"Nice duel, Meiya." I offer a hand for her to stand up, but she just keeps looking at me as if in a daze. "…Meiya? Are you hurt?"
"Eh?"
"You alright? You've been sitting on the ground for awhile, totally silent. Did I harm you?" I didn't go overboard, right? If I ended up hurting her our relationship may take an awful turn.
"No, I'm fine. It's just…" She slowly stands up by herself, not meeting my eye. "No one has ever bested me so soundly, not even my teacher. This is the first time I… thought I was facing someone I couldn't defeat."
"I see. But it's not like I had it easy, you made me get serious halfway."
"That's not true. You were holding back, weren't you?" Back up straight, she gives me a gaze right in the eye, her face completely sobered up. "Your attacks became stronger and faster at the end, and you didn't try to hit my stomach or face, instead you went for my sword. I can't even muster any semblance of anger after being so throughly defeated." Her shoulders drop as does her gaze and brows, her lips' edges twisting inwards.
"Everyone faces this kind of defeat sometimes, you know? Don't be so down, Meiya. There was a time when I got my head handed to me by someone much better in a similar way." That was you, and you were just beating the shit out of me to raise your 'warrior spirit' or something. "Just use today's defeat as a motivator to drive you to new heights. People can accomplish great things when they have a driving purpose, after all."
"You were defeated in this manner? I can't even begin to imagine what savage opponent you must have faced." A certain blue haired samurai girl with an apparently unending list of philosophical quotes in her head. "But you're right, so long as people have an purpose that motivates them, they can achieve any objective they set for themselves. Wise words indeed, it seems you're skilled outside of the battlefield as well." She regains a small smile, nodding slowly as she again folds her arms.
"Don't praise me too much or I'll grow arrogant."
"There's no need to be humble. I can already see what makes you special, Shirogane. I only ask of you to not hold back on me when we get to spar. Besting you is now another objective I have set for myself."
"Sure thing Meiya, if you want me to beat you to a pulp I'm happy to oblige." I say in a cocky tone, smirking. Teasing her is too much fun.
"Ugh, next time will be different! And, you still insist on calling me by my name."
"If it bothers you I'll try to stop." Last thing I want is to burn my bridges with any of you.
"I do not mind, it is merely surprising to see such a skilled cadet being so relaxed. Didn't your Instructors do something about it?"
"Old habits die hard, I guess."
"Haha, that is true. That's why they're habits in the first place. However…" Her tone changes to one of worry.
"What is it?"
"Those two are still going at it. I hope nothing happens this time." I follow Meiya's worried gaze to the other pair.
Chizuru and Kei were still fighting, keeping each other at a safe distance while trying to hit the other with kicks. They're being much more fierce than in my past loops.
"Are they always like that?"
"Sadly, yes. It isn't odd for one to end up in the medical bay with serious scratches or a bruise. I think that you defeating them has done nothing but invigorate the flames in their hearts. Both are very dedicated to the trainings, so they don't take losing very well."
That isn't unlike them, but it still seems odd. Well, I did steamroll everyone this time. They surely didn't like being shown up by the newbie.
They kept fighting for three more minutes, until Marimo-chan interrupted them. My last fight was against Tama in HTH, I tried going easy on her but even that was too much. Seeing her get real down, I decided to give her some pointers based on my experiences when we got together in my first loops. Maybe she'll be able to at least begin to put up a fight against Chizuru and Kei without taking this so hard.
Now it's time for lunch, and I can expect a lot of questions coming from them. Chizuru is gazing at me sharply, who knows what questions she has for me. And Meiya too, she hasn't let me out of her sight since our duel.
Well, let's make the most out of this. Let's try to get them to speak a little less formally with me, too. The battle to make us into a real squad starts right now!
Same day. A few minutes later.
(Mana's room.)
[Mana]
Sitting in the small desk in the officer quarters I've been sleeping in this year during my stay on this base, I review the reports from the mechanics working on our Takemikazuchis.
Today's maintenance shouldn't take much time. There was nothing of importance to report yesterday, even though some people around the base were a bit too suspicious. Something happened yesterday, and many people were rather alarmed by it.
However, so long as it doesn't concern Meiya-sama's wellbeing it is no problem of mine. The UN's affairs are of no interest to me. I open the drawer and grab what was inside. I reread the papers of Meiya-sama's activities, to arrange our afternoon vigilance.
As I was close to finishing, two knocks on my door in an odd rhythm sounded. It's their signal.
"Enter." Upon hearing my command, my three subordinates entered my personal room.
"Mana-sama, we have an urgent report for you!"
"What is it, Kamiyo? Were we contacted by HQ?" All three of them look most positively alarmed, what has happened?
"No, Ma'am. It's about Meiya-sama, a new recruit has been added to her squad this morning."
"What did you say?! I have heard nothing of this!"
"Neither did we, Mana-sama. We were surprised as well during our morning vigilance."
"Who's this new recruit?" Tomoe steps up and bows before speaking.
"We don't know his name, but he seems to be a young boy. Perhaps nineteen at most, he's both agile and strong. His stamina was truly impressing, and he held his ground against his squadmates during the morning fights, defeating them without much problems." She proceeds to give me a summary of what they saw in detail.
I forgot they don't have authorization to access the UN's databases, so they wouldn't know his name. However, a male recruit? On this day and age, at this point in the year? On this base, placed on the 207th Squad no less? Could this be what caused yesterday's fuss?
"That's not all, however." Ebisu added as Tomoe finishes, but her expression grew tense as her gaze lost itself into the floor.
"What is it? What else did you see?"
"He… He defeated Meiya-sama in a duel with swords, with rather ease if I might add. It looked as if he were holding back the entire fight."
"What?! But that's…" I frown, making them tense up. I close my eyes and run a hand over my hair, slowly breathing in.
I trained Meiya-sama personally since I was assigned as her retainer. Her skills with the sword can still improve much, but she's by no means an easy adversary. Who is this person? There's no way a cadet could be so skilled, more so than Meiya-sama.
"And… Um… There's one more thing we…" Kamiyo's voice trails off, she's also very stiff.
"Now, what is it?"
"We heard he was someone special, that he got scouted by the Vice Commander herself."
"So that's how it is. I suppose he's a star cadet from a foreign unit that got recruited for the frontlines."
It's not surprising, there are quite a few foreigners in this base. More than I would like. But for the UN to have made such a move without warning… Who is this man? What business does he have here to be placed on Meiya-sama's squad so suddenly?
"Mana-sama, the man in question… is Japanese." She continues, arms tightly clasped onto her sides.
"Japanese? Could he be the son of one of those bastards that ran away when China fell?" A nikkei bastard, whose blood and soul got tainted by foreign culture. We can't call them Japanese, they believe in completely different values than us. "I suppose they should be having lunch now. Let's go see this new recruit for ourselves."
"Should we ready ourselves to take action?"
"No, that would only put Meiya-sama in a difficult position. We will just watch, until we can confirm whether he is a threat or not. I'll check his personal information later." The UN should know better, this is a most strange turn of events.
Is this man an infiltrator? Is the UN working with him? To be placed on the 207th Squad so suddenly and without warning despite who its members are, who is this man supposed to be?
We make our way to the third PX, where Meiya-sama's squad takes its meals. As always at this hour it is bustling with sounds of chatter and cluttering of trays. I stand barely outside, watching from the door towards the usual table. Light pouring into the large room, I easily locate the azure shape of Meiya-sama's hair. She seems unhurt, eating without a hint of apprehension. That's a relief, now where is he seated? Is that…
…!
W-What is this? Are my eyes playing tricks on me?!
I rub my eyes and take a moment of pause before looking again, but the sight does not change. The chestnut colored hair, that well defined physique, that face. Someone who's better with a blade than Meiya-sama, despite being so young. Why is he here? No, was he still alive? I thought for sure he was dead.
No, being a shinobi, if he was thought to be dead it would only make his missions easier on him. But then, why is he here? Perhaps I'm overstepping my boundaries right now. No, how do I know it is him? He should be dead, after all.
"Mana-sama? What should we-" I cut Tomoe's question without looking away from the boy.
"You will keep watching over Meiya-sama as you have been doing so far. Report everything he does to me, take any measures you need to take in order to ensure you don't miss a movement he makes. However, do not approach him unless it's absolutely necessary."
"Yes, Mana-sama!" All three of them answer in unison.
"I'll go check the databases and try to ask around with the higher ups. That's all."
They salute me and take their positions watching over Meiya-sama.
I go towards the computers on the library. The place is usually deserted at this hour, only the attendant was here. Rows of shelves full of books, the scent of lingering dust, and pale gray desks with the computers were all one could see. The basic chair wasn't exactly comfortable, however it shall suffice.
Taking a moment to bring the machine out of hibernation, I quickly input my rank and ID, in the screen the message of permission to search appears. I only have S2 level of clearance here and my permission to see documents is limited to what surrounds Meiya-sama's activities, but it should be enough. Now, Cadet Squad 207…
Six members, huh? Last update was yesterday night. So he was the cause of yesterday's fuss. Now, let's see what name are you registered as.
Heh, I knew it. There's no way I would forget you. However, a spy might be borrowing his identity. Now, let's see what your report says, Shirogane.
A sound notifying an error played in the small speakers, a gray box with a large message filled the CRT screen.
[ACCESS DENIED - S5 LEVEL OF CLEARANCE REQUIRED]
"Ahaha… Ahahaha… So it is you!" I hold my mouth shut, crossing a leg over the other as I lean forward.
Nobody else could get this kind of security lock while passing to be a mere Cadet! This would only raise suspicions, especially since you were put in Meiya-sama's squad. That fox wouldn't make such an obvious miss, not with us watching over her. The UN wouldn't put a spy near the members of the 207th Squad with this level of security knowing who would inquire about the matter.
"…So you were alive, after all."
I relax onto the seat despite its square shape not being entirely pleasant, pondering what this means for a moment, running a hand over my hair as I stare at the message on the screen. I cannot help but to smile at this turn of events.
Why were you sent here? Someone of your skill, passing as a cadet… Perhaps it's because of your skillset that you are required here. Did you deceive the UN? No, no one could deceive that fox of a Vice Commander. Then, was there some sort of accord made with her? I should ask around to see what I can glean, any kind of reaction will be enough to give me an idea of your standing in this place. The last thing I want is to obstruct your mission in any way.
"Regardless of the circumstances that brought you here, it is a blessing to know you're still alive." I would have liked our meeting to be in a proper place with the honors you deserve as a member of the Royal Guard, but just knowing you're safe and sound is enough for me. I should not tell the others of your origins, they might slip up when around you.
However, if she sent you of all people, despite we all assuming you were dead… then something unexpected might have happened. I should contact HQ for an update, just in case.