Chapter 68:
Dancing in the Masquerade
Some minutes before.
[Takeru]
"Come to Papa, you pair of pickles!"
One good yanking of the controls sends the Gekishin to the air, drawing an arc above the buildings as if launched by a trebuchet. With a quick flicker of the button, an erratic volley aims at the ground. Both Zuikakus have to jump away to avoid the barrage, to not have their legs disabled. Short of stopping, more yanking of the controls and stomping on the pedals sends my Geki after the escaping duo, shooting non-stop.
Chizuru's face still is in a corner of my sight, she groans as her brows tense down. "06, stay low! The Takemikazuchi is-"
"Distract it and take it to Meiya. I'll try and keep these two out of your hair, so keep it pinned down for as long as you can." I say giving her a short nod, a firm gaze, Chizuru was about to protest, going by how her lips twisted, but she gives a tense nod and cuts the connection.
Her dot approaches Tsukuyomi-san's, delaying its movements for a little while, but in the end she's taken out as well. Thankfully, Meiya is already close enough to engage. Now then, what to do?
I could just lose on purpose, but Sensei told me to keep it real. Good scores are something I'm gonna need to justify my inclusion into the Valkyries after the CCSE fiasco, and my defeat against Chizuru and Kei the other day. We're using similar models, so we might be evenly matched in an individual perspective.
A small sidestep behind a building, a lightpost gets tumbled by a paint downpour. Crouching, doing half a tilt on the joystick, my unit peeks from behind the wall, sending a minimal barrage with just a tender press of the button. Paint, paint everywhere. You know, sometimes I wonder how the hell do we clean the mess we leave behind in the city. It ain't as if we were doing some minimal ammo challenge or anything, we're soaking the concrete as if there were a typhoon of paint closing into the bay.
Sliding the tip of my heels on the pedals, simple and unidirectional boosts through the street followed by sidesteps in erratic patterns, we play cat and mouse in between the rubble. Unlike our encounter in the island, I've more than enough ammo to take care of both of you if it comes to that. And even if you try to overpower me-
One of them moves towards my right, shooting through the buildings, forcing me to crouch and slide into another street. As I did, a small shadow blocks the light from my visor. One of 'em thought it'd be a good idea to try and jump over me, to move past me, perhaps to go fight Meiya, perhaps to pincer me.
However.
Paint arrows fly off towards the sun, forcing the crane to evade and change the direction of the jump. As it lands to my Six, my finger keeps button mashing the trigger. The gun that's on my back keeps on firing at random intervals, my bullets wanting to do a close up inspection of their craft. So, retreat is all they can do, again. If they don't come out and face me head on, I can keep 'em at bay with my suppression.
"I learned from Mikoto and Tama how to do this best, after all. You're not getting past me so easily. Heh… You could say the Pickles are in quite the pickle. Pfft…" I'm such an idiot, to laugh with what's at stake.
A minute beeping makes me flinch, a message appears on my sight, in neon red and blue. Huh… So the pickles want to talk in a private line? Seems like you were right, Sensei. So, what do I do? Is this bait to distract me or are they for real? There must be a reason why you sent Cpt Isumi as the overseer today, Sensei. I bet these two already know of how I reacted during yesterday's meeting, and going by what little I saw of Shura's Dance then-
Ugh! Khhg… Fuck, no. Screwdrivers rotate inside my ears, an acid knot constricts my stomach. "Haa… Haa… Deep breaths, man. Calm down. I gotta do what I gotta do."
Sensei needs more time to fix the equations and find a way to mend the ripples, without exhausting herself or ruining her health. I dunno what they want to talk about, but they haven't attacked yet. Here goes nothing, I suppose. With a few taps on my chin mic and the arm controls, the recording settings start up, so that I can later inform Sensei of this, and with a large sigh I accept the connection. A few windows pop up, registering the frequency, before the ID of both of them appears on my sight, Blood 5 and 6.
Not a second passes that 5's ID bumps up, Mion's voice reaches my ears. "Aren't you confident, Cadet Shirogane? To come face us all on your own." The same cold, shaving voice of the CCSE.
"I just wanna try myself against real pilots. And my squadmate needs the cover, since she wants to face off against the 1st Lieutenant," I say, shrugging and taking another deep breath with my nose.
"So you're being considerate towards Meiya-sama?" She asks, the blizzard still kicking in.
"Just returning the favors she's done to me, is all. So, what did you need?"
"Why, are you inconvenienced by having to speak with us?"
I feel like we've been here before, have we been here before? "We're in the middle of a battle so, what is the matter?"
"Quite formal, are you not?" Shion comments, a short echo of a strong exhalation coming up a sec later. "It is impressive you've actually succeeded in restraining our movements. One would think," then, she giggles dryly, "you truly are a commissioned pilot."
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm just a cadet."
"Oh, is that so? Could it be not because of your training thus far?"
"Huh?" What is she on about now?
"Indeed, while your shooting skills truly would seem polished… elsewhere, your CQC stance and patterns truly do belong to our Imperial traditions."
I shake my head, sighing, seeing their dots were not moving one bit. "This again? I am Japanese, you know."
"Oh, my cousin was not referring to that," Mion says, a small ember within the dry ice. "If your movements do resemble ours, then it would mean you received some training in the Empire. It is most odd, that you can fend off two commissioned pilots of the Guard on your own."
"Sigh… Look, I already told all I could to your sister. I don't know anything else about my past, so there's nothing I can tell you. Got it?" I again sigh, giving the controls a slow squeeze.
"Then, why would you not try and visit the Capital? I am certain you could find many answers to your queries."
…Again with this? I'm pretty sure we had this same conversation a few chapters ago, Pickles. And Tsukuyomi-san wasn't entirely pleased when she arrived back then. And, jokes aside, I don't think I'd receive any pleasant answers. All that awaits for me in the Capital is disdain and dejection, after all.
"My personal matters are none of your concern. Could you kindly leave this rest already? We're in the middle of a battle, for fuck's sake."
"And why would you not want to rectify your situation?" Mion presses, one dot starts moving in the radar. "Certainly, dispelling this uncertainty is in your best interests?"
"…Again, this is a personal matter, 2nd Lt Tsukuyomi," Forcing the reply out, air fills my lungs as I grip the controls, feel some sweat trickling down my forehead.
A beep in my ears, a stomp to my pedals, a burst of paint where I was a second ago, and the recoil coming through my legs and up as I retaliate. A blur of buildings and beepings after, my Gekishin is crouch dashing through the street to meet the cousins' aggro, firing off a 120mm before backboosting, then zap to the other way while showering the 36mm muffins in an upward arc. Yet, it only scratches the antenna of the Zuikakus at most, nothing but a gentle headpat. And doing zigzags again, we share a few volleys and shots.
"Would you truly not reconsider?" Mion asks, her voice almost drowned by all the beeping and jet noises as I power slide behind a collapsed building, what few windows remained breaking apart.
"Is this all you're gonna say? I already told your sister all I could. What else do you want?!"
"One could reach the wrong assumption should you refuse to visit the Capital or answer some simple questions, cadet," Shion says, as what I presume is her unit rushes through the jungle of concrete and ruin, thrashing against the vines and wilderness, breaking the a few steel trunks as her slash meets nothingness when I pull back. "Furthermore, we could grant you both support and protection should you choose to accept our offer."
Deja Vu! I've just been in this place before!
Higher on the street, on an elevation, my shots force her to retreat as she rises a shield. Now I know it's my time to go! Hitting the ground with the heels of my machine while my boosters gain heat, my Geki then shoots off, its speed straight into the Red Zone, as I raise my sword. Parried by the shield, my strike forces Shion backwards, descending on the small hill under my pressure. Now I gotta aim my other arm to her legs and she's as good as-
A flicker on the edge of my view, a circle of my controls lets me side step at the last second, avoiding the blade that wanted to cuddle my head visor. More muffins I send their way as I retreat on a street, dashing backwards. Unable to give chase immediately, the Pickles have to remain stationary and I can sigh for a sec.
So, I wipe the sweat off my forehead as I leave my machine walking backwards on auto. "Standing on my feet, it's so hard when I try to be me."
"Hm? What did you say?" Mion asks, losing the cold as she unlocks the shock.
Fuck, I forgot the private line was still on. Well, I rather them hear one of my dumb jokes or songs instead of having to actually deal with their words. Your obnoxious insistence is getting on my nerves, Pickles. Can't you take a fucking hint and see that I'm in no mood to talk?
"…You seemed to be singing, cadet," Mion softly says, the warning of the radar coming up right after. "Do you not deem us as a threat, perhaps?"
"…I'm doing all I can as of now." To keep you both away from Meiya and Tsukuyomi-san, to make a decent enough impression, to not snap despite the acid raising in my throat and the needles falling right on top.
"Looks like that, indeed," Shion then chuckles, and groans a sec later as my shots embrace her shield. "Your sidesteps look quite nimble and precise, cadet. May I ask where you learned such a maneuver?"
Crouching and diving away, a kick I send to Mion's unit, tumbling it down, before I jump away from Shion's paint hose. "I just move as I think it's best, is all. What, is there something you have against my piloting?" If they did find a difference with his and my way of moving, that'll only work to blow my cover, dammit.
Both focus their fire on me, leaving a sticky mess that resembles a murky bog more than a street. Yet, instead of doing so in a straight line, they sway and spray their shots, as if the road were full of small curves. Inhaling sharply, retracting my tongue, once more I stomp the pedals and start to spin and rebound. Erratic zigzags on the ground, I draw sharp triangles with my jumps, firing off one of my few remaining 120mm shells before taking the next street In-In-In, taking shelter behind a few skyscrapers. Thank God Chizuru left the location of the central district marked in our radars, if I can take them there I should be able to at least take one down without showing off too much.
Yet, their dots don't have any hurry in chasing after me. A small chuckle reaches my ears, amused for real. "You truly are very skilled, cadet," Mion says, normal and without anything covering her words. "Almost as if you were trained by true elites, one could say."
"…Thanks, I guess." And I was trained by some of the best soldiers one could find, many times over.
Taking cover in between the buildings, I scan the radar and sonars. Yet, they're barely emitting a sound. From the looks of it, they're walking really slow. As if they had no hurry… as if…
As if their goal was to get me away from the rest, I see. Yeah, just as I thought. They should have more accurate data of Tsukuyomi-san's position, she must still be dealing with Meiya. So, they're playing along with my 'diversion'. Should I take the chance and get shot down? No, they'll just be free to do whatever they want with me until Tsukuyomi-san ends the fight with Meiya. They might try to open my cockpit and have a close and personal talk. I can't simply expect them to play by the rules anymore, there's no guarantee that they won't do something drastic now. I think Tsukuyomi-san was bothered by my answers during the meeting, but I can't deny that they might choose to do something crazy to see whether I'm him or not.
"It would be a crying shame if you were to be placed in court over this error in the databases," Mion says, slow and tender, as careful as if she were sewing.
"Indeed, cousin of mine," Shion replies immediately, low and sober as she does. "Would you truly not welcome our offer, cadet? Regardless of these issues, you might be able to find what was of your relatives during your absence."
"I'd have to agree," The other retorts. "It would be most unfortunate if you were convicted over this contrarian attitude you're endowing. All it takes are a few days, and you could perhaps find some of your relatives still live."
…
In my ears zooms in the static, a rock is cracking. The edges of my eyes hurt, as if something were sinking them into my skull. For even if I know I should not react, I still find my knuckles bending, my teeth tensing. My skin crawls, shaving against a wall, the paint over the steel fading to the crudity that rests below. Rolling over and over, letting out quite the smoke like a tire kept in place, merely sigh and repine within is all I should do. However, I don't feel like staying silent anymore.
"…What do you even know of my family?"
"Huh?"
All that happened in my world, having failed to protect them, not even knowing if mom and dad are safe back there. How she died in this world, how dad was probably forced to keep slaving at the Guard just to keep him safe, how he died and you nobles threw little me away without any care…
"While I can understand your duty as public servants to survey the error in my data banks, you two are crossing a line you should not even be tapping. You know jack shit about my life, you don't even know me, you've no right to say anything about my family, my decisions, or my future. So, if this is all you wanna say, kindly fuck off and shut up."
"Excuse me, well," Mion coughs, dispelling the shock and stutter that almost surfaced, "we meant no offense, cadet. However, employing such hostility shan't give you no boons. I wonder, why are you showing such aggressiveness towards us?"
"You were rather welcoming during our talk in the track field, after all," Shion complains, sour and low.
"Because I already told you enough, yet you keep on pushing. You're not related to me, so if you don't mind…"
Pushing the controls forward, once the boosters regained their fire I blast away into the sky, using a roof as trampoline. In just a few seconds, their frames enter my view and radar, and like moth towards a fire do my bullets chase the Zuikakus.
"I rather continue the battle." So just drop it. I already talked enough, I already asked you to stop.
One of them stands its ground, and with a quick step forward it reflects my aggro back at me. Deactivating a jump unit, I spin away from the Zuikaku, which slams its shield against a poor buildings. The windows sink in, the steel glued to the concrete as all the paint exploded into the deserted offices. Yet, the Zuikaku quickly procures its blade and once more charges at me like a bull seeing red, forcing a parry, starting another dance.
"Quite rude of you, cadet," Shion says, I can practically see the frown through her voice, dry as if she only had lemonade to drink all day long. "We are only extending a fair helping hand towards you."
"And I already asked you to leave it be."
"It is only right for us to do so," she insists as she tumbles a few lightposts, crushes a few cars when chasing after me. "Perhaps, could we teach you how to juggle all these issues you're dealing with?"
Hopping against a crumbled TSF, I evade her slash. Opening fire on her, all I manage to do is fill the torn cockpit with paint. "I'm very good at juggling my own problems, thank you very much." A beep in the radar, a crouch and a dash, the broken remains are filled with more paint while I retaliate with the rifle mounted on my pylon.
Which forces Mion to jump away, circling my surrounding area as she closes the distance. "Why must you refuse us so strongly? It isn't as if we were going to place a voodoo curse on you."
And while I rush out of the street, Shion tails my steps as if it were part of my shadow. Her ID again bumping in my vision, a small chuckle fades in slowly, "You truly would benefit much from listening to us. It's for the greater good that you mend the data banks as soon as possible, otherwise your efforts thus far shall be pointless if you're taken to court."
Deep breaths, stay cool. Zig to the right, zag to the left, crouch and try to stand up immediately after, keep on swaying, keep on running. So long as my machine keeps on wobbling so slightly, they won't be able to lock onto it. I just gotta drag the fight out until Meiya gets shot down, so that the CP takes over once I'm down.
Giving the controls a light rest from the choking and yanking, I sigh and breath with my mouth open. Feeling my heartbeats as I do, feeling the cold shiver on my head, my feet remain set on their rhythm, my Gekishin keeps changing lanes and streets, taking some sharp corners and trading paint with the walls as I manage to keep the Pickles at bay for the moment.
A dot starts to close the distance, another takes a different street. A choke point, huh. Let's take a shot!
Moving my feet up causes the boosters to gradually stop, and with a hop on the ground my unit circles on itself before going back the way I came. Shortly after, the Zuikaku enters my sight, having little time to avoid the blade aimed at its head, sparks flying off when steel meets steel.
"Bold of you to face me head on," Shion grunts, her unit bends its knees for a low strike, which I evade. Her boosters ignite and my own slash meets a building, she chuckles again. "Sadly for you cadet, I doubt you're a fair match for me," She keeps on chuckling as our small strikes keep on missing their target in the cramped space of the ruins.
Dust and pieces of concrete gently fall on the broken street as sparks fly off when we parry each other again. And I suppose she must be as low on ammo as me, if she isn't using her guns now.
"I dunno, I'm keeping up well enough against you two here."
"And that is worth quite the praise. But, you see…" her voice slows down, fades down as her unit remains still, before taking the Mugen stance of Maya-sensei's style, "someone once told me I was awesome with a blade, and I endeavor to be worthy of those words. Do you think you can best me now, Takeru?"
Charging like a rhino, the quick stream of slashes blur in my sight, yet the recoil and shaking runs all over my TSF when I parry. It's like a whirlwind, paired with the polished control of her boosters she's keeping me on my toes well enough, not letting me escape her lock. Pulling the lever and inputting the command, my pylon bends under my arm to rain pain on her. Yet, Shion had ample time to boost jump away from my firing line.
Guh… Closing an eye, I can feel the air seep through my teeth. For a second I almost dozed out of it, a small dojo coming into view. And a small and super pissed Shion also was in sight, pushing me back for some reason. I see… I guess that's how you were when you met him. As I run away from her paint, small images and distorted sounds come into my ears. A pair of hands raising, offering a pouting Shion a slice of strawberry cake. She and Mion laughing at a rather desolate shogi board on his end. And then, as he was drawing a graph in a page, both Pickles were bickering over something in the table.
And then, when I blink, the gray skies extend, looming over me. The smell of gunpowder, the sirens blaring nonstop, the agitation clanging on my chest. And both of them, frowning my way with those lightless, cruel eyes they endowed during the CCSE.
"It is a waste of resources, they shall perish either way. It is more beneficial for the IRG, and the Empire, that the available supplies are used to tend to those who can still make themselves useful." Mion states, with a brush of her hair she then glares at me, eyes blazing.
"…Have some empathy? Do you think these people can protect others? They cannot even tend to themselves as it is. We are only safeguarding the supplies and the correct defense lines to protect those who still would offer flesh and blood for our nation. It is all for the greater good, for the future of our Empire." Shion asserts, slicing the air with the finger which she raises, her lips and cheeks contorting backwards as if smelling rot she were.
Cold, uncaring, dismissive, grayed out. Lightless, ruthless, echoing the same words over and over. Are they even alive anymore?
…
They're not who I once saw them as, I already should know that. Lying and backstabbing those who they don't deem valuable is not beyond them. Why am I even giving heed to their words, again?
I want to build a decent future. I want to hear laughter echo through me, feel the smell of the gardens rush into me. A life of only servitude sucks, there's no happiness to be found there. To discard others when you deem them unusable, to forsake their potential when you yourselves are who send them to the wolves…
Why am I holding back again? Why am I being patient with these two?
I already had to deal with quite the issues regarding my identity in my first loops. If I could make myself useful, invaluable back then without Sensei, then there's little to fear now. I ain't snapping, but I also won't simply let them make fun of me, and him.
Breathing in, moving my controls as I do, my Gekishin jumps sky high. And crashing onto a building, I rebound off it and fire away at the Zuikaku that was tailing me. Shion has next to no time to step back, and my feet come down hard onto the ground in front of her. Never letting the pedals go, using the momentum and weight to my advantage, my slash buries her gun onto a building.
"Aren't you really nimble?" Shion says, grunting again when she retaliates and I met the parry. "I wonder, did you also have an awesome role model to follow after in your sword lessons?"
"I'm done with your questions, 2nd Lieutenant."
"Oh? What is it?" She asks, some delay in her words. "I'm merely curious about-"
"Take a fucking hint already. If this is all you'll say, I'll drop the connection." Taking a step back, I threaten to use my gun, which causes her to jump. Heh, fell for it.
Yet, when I rush forward with a crouch to dice at her legs, the boosters extend their impulse and she lands further away. Instead, my low stance ends up countering an avalanche of a strike as we again dance in between collapsed buildings.
"You're being quite rude, Takeru."
"Sigh. Is that all?"
"Look, we're only trying to help you out, is all. What will you do if you are taken to court? Don't you see how much danger you're in?!" She lashes out, both voice and strikes.
"I know, but that ain't gonna stop me. I'll despair after I'm dead."
"Huh? What did you…" She freezes in her tracks, sword in midair.
"What you heard. No matter what comes my way, I'll face it head on as best as I can. And you're no exception!" Swinging my blade repeatedly at her, I take my Mugen rhythm. Shion's movements are starting to become unfocused the more she parries my swings.
"W-Wait a second, Takeru! We're not your enemies!"
"Yeah, right. Check the radar and give it another go."
"Mmgh… You know what I'm talking about!"
"Can't say I do, no. I'm lost as a penguin in a desert, to be honest."
Her voice chokes on itself, as if water had gone into her lungs, while the parries regain their sturdiness, while I can't press her unit to retreat anymore.
"Aren't you a little too confident. Maybe you need a few hit to that head of yours, to remember who you're dealing with!" She screams, some of her hits grazing my shoulders and outer leg armor. I parry her attacks, also hitting the end of her shoulders, then force her blade to descend. Yet, before I could raise my gun at her cockpit, she boosts away.
Fuck, I thought I'd be able to finish her off by now. I don't wanna risk any of my aerial charges, if I miss my timing I either break my Gekishin or end up skewering them in half. It'd be easy if I bait her and boost backflip behind her unit, but the Gekishin is too heavy. I don't know if I can pull that off on the move well enough. Also, Mion is getting closer again. I have to finish this quickly.
Yet, she's using the Mugen Kidou as well, and a similar style to mine at that, so I can't find an opening in her flow despite me being somewhat serious right now. I'm sure Shion finished her training with Maya-san, so I'm not sure I can actually overpower her in CQC either. I may have some good experience with the Gekishin, but if I keep on duking it out for real my cover will be blown to bits. Sigh… If only I was allowed to use a small grenade…
A high guard she takes, then Shion once more comes towards me. "Is this your limit, Takeru?! At this rate you're gonna bite the dust!"
"Says the one who can't beat a mere Cadet." I roll my eyes, rechecking the map and the sonar. Huh, Meiya's still going at it? Wow.
"Oho? Look at you, being all brave," Shion then chuckles a bit. "Do you really think you can stop my unending waterfall of attacks?" She says as she dashes backwards, raising her blade above her shoulder.
Recalling those days in the dojo, I can only sigh and hunch over.
"Hm? What is it?" She asks, not coming after me.
Inhaling sharply, a small grasp and circling on the controls makes my Gekishin endow my own stance. Shion gasps, but her Zuikaku seems to lower its stance further, as if preparing to counter. Feeling the shiver on the back of my head, I don't bite it down now. Let me see how she fights, lend me your strength.
…
Slowly letting the air go with my nose, slowly pushing the pedals, everything but the Zuikaku in front of me blurs away. My lips move, counting, waiting, and my hands remain quiet even when her machine starts approaching me. Meeting the blade, a step back to repel the follow up, force into the counter to freeze her advance. And now, she should take her step back. And once she does-
The impulse molds my back to the seat, my jump units igniting both modes straight into the overload warning. Carnage and dust fall upon the buildings nearby as my sword runs through them, before hitting the Zuikaku right on the side of the cockpit.
The machine falls down on the ground, one arm then also crumbling in defeat as the rest of the body causes cracks on the street. Dust and pieces of glass shower down the area, and a bit of concrete falls off the top of the poor building I eviscerated, hitting the Zuikaku's horn and bouncing off it.
Sigh… I won.
"Ugh…" Shion grunts, as if running her tongue in between her teeth. "How on Heavens did you… Ugh. Damn it all…" A small sound reaches my ears, she seems to have just hit the controls quite hard.
"Well, I guess this is my win. Thanks for the fight, 2nd Lt," I say, low, as I turn around and start closing off the connection with her unit.
"Wait a moment! How did you anticipate my movement just now?"
"I just read your patterns, is all. Not my fault you always attack in the same way, you dumb pickle."
"Huh? W-What… What did you-"
Hm? Why is she stuttering now? Oh, shit. Right, I'm not supposed to call them like that. Guess using his knowledge now had a bit of a side effect. Eh, not much to worry about, I guess.
"Hey Takeru! What did you call me just now?!" Shion sounds agitated, and she's again hitting her cockpit.
"You lost, Shion Tsukuyomi. So you should remain quiet. Dead people don't talk." Except me, I guess.
"Screw that! Why did you call me-
"Because your hair is all green and long, and you sound a bit bitter. That's why, you're a pickle."
"What… But…"
"And I guess you could say your cousin is now in quite the pickle, too."
"Takeru, do you-"
"Guess you were no match for my sickle."
"Wait, did you just-"
"Shion, remain silent," Mion joins in, her dot now visible in my radar. "You're no longer part of the exercise, so you cannot talk any further."
"But Mion, those words… Takeru, explain yourself!" She sounds absolutely livid. I better get outta here.
"I refuse."
"What?!"
"I already said all I wanted to."
"Wait, I'm-" Her voice cuts off as I drop the connection.
Simply by moving my head visor, I could distinguish the frame closing in on me. I shoot at Mion, she moves to the left and retreats into a street, then returns the pleasantry of paint from afar. Well, if it's a chase you want, a chase you shall get!
We play chase for a while, trying to get an opening, to disable the other's hands. I try to catch her off-guard with my zigzags, but she managed to avoid most of my shots. Her paint sticks to the edges of my Gekishin as her rounds explode close, too close, as I zigzag and backboost at random. My own ammo is running low, so she can be more aggressive with her long range assaults. So, I dash towards the spot Chizuru had mentioned, using the skyscrapers and apartment buildings as shelter from the paint downpour.
So, after a few seconds of chasing each other in this part of the city, Mion opens the private channel again and her calm and cold voice reaches my ears.
"Your maneuvering is very good, cadet. You have my respect for your dexterity," she does sound commanding like Tsukuyomi-san, but she lacks that… edge? Depth? I dunno, but she's still not at Tsukuyomi-san's level.
"Thanks. Everyone seems to think I'm too reckless, though."
Doing another boost jump, a spiral of paint rushes behind me, yet her Zuikaku merely stops out of range, taking aim and trying to snipe me. A single feet dives into the concrete, the bullet misses me by a hair, as the shaking lets me know. Heh, looks like this pickle has quite the sickle in her hands.
"Hmm, perhaps they are correct," Mion notes, still slow and tranquil. "And what of your technique with a sword? I cannot believe you've bested my cousin, truth be told."
"I think I told you I'm done doing the answering." She rushes forward and so I do, yet I again spin, breaking more windows and lunging for the head.
Crouching, she avoids the hit. Boosting, she evades the follow up. Standing up, she parries the downwards slash. "And why would you hoist such animosity towards us? If this is about the CCSE, I apologize for my behavior then."
"Oh, for trying to make me disappear on the mud, you mean?"
"Uh, well… I was only concerned of an unknown being near the one we watch over. I don't hold any desire to antagonize you, cadet."
"…Yet, you guys keep on bringing up how I could be taken to court. Despite how I already did all I could and asked you to back off."
"There is a clear risk for you with the error in the databases! I know I am reiterating myself, yet I insist you visit the Capital."
"Sigh… You really can't just let this go? Didn't your sister tell you? I'm dealing with this on my own terms, if you guards start mingling in my affairs it'll only bring me trouble later."
"I do not believe that is true," Mion says, losing the coolness and turning acidic, as her machine stops the strikes, takes a few steps back and merely remains in position. "We of the Royal Guard only act to safeguard our fellows, all we do is for the greater good of the Empire."
"…All you do is justified, huh."
"Eh?
Is abandoning a little kid also for the greater good? Exploiting his trust just to have his father keep serving you until his death? Leaving him without dinner, trapped with no choice but to either be erased or become your servant? Were those memories of Shura's Dance also for the greater good?
For the new world that would rise by dawn? For the sake of humanity? It's so easy to justify yourself when you use noble causes to explain your actions. You're not sending your soldiers towards endless BETA hordes with less than optimal supplies while refusing to deploy the G-Bombs, you're safeguarding humanity's victory. You didn't use them as meat shield, they made a valiant sacrifice for the future. You didn't release the aliens in the middle of a training exercise when they had no weapons, you only put the base to the test so that they gained the proper mindset for the battles that would come. It was for the greater good, there was abso-fucking-lutely no other way forward, was it now?
"It must be nice, to have a monopoly on the moral high ground."
"Excuse me?"
"I can understand you being suspicious of someone who comes from out of nowhere, someone with odd intel in his profiles. I get that, and it's reasonable. But the moment you demand to arrange and take control of my private matters, that's when you cross a line you never should be tapping, Royal Guard."
"Uh, ah… I was only expressing my concern towards your situation, and extending a hand if-"
"What's next, then? If I say no again, what comes afterwards? You're gonna call me a dead man? You're gonna threaten to have me die again?"
"Wait a moment, please. I never said anything of the sort!"
"Do you think I'm dumb, Tsukuyomi? You people seem to know who I was, going by how much you're insisting. Yet," I take a breath slowly, trying and failing to douse the heartbeats, the drill that keeps on pounding my neck and head, "instead of accepting my answers, you grow more and more incisive. And ever since I came back to the Empire, you people have been treating me like shit. Calling me names behind my back, spitting on my face despite my best efforts to try to fit in, looking at me as if I were a criminal. You Royal Guards in particular have been real dicks with me, both in the CCSE and back at the base, too. You all act nice and proper in front of the common folk, but you're all nothing but hypocrites who prefer to do things by force!"
"What… did you-"
"My data was wiped clean from your databases while I wasn't here, and you all are accusing me of being some sort of criminal. And despite my best efforts at explaining my situation to your sister, you're still gunning at me to do what you want me to do. Ain't that a bit suspicious?"
"Wait, cadet! Please don't misunderstand our intentions. I do relent that we acted out of place during the CCSE, and that your situation is very delicate, but precisely because of that we are offering you our hand. I apologize for my attitude then," Mion lowers her blade, both the real one and the one in her words, "however, let me clarify something. We are not after your life nor is there any ploy regarding the missing data. We of the Royal Guard are merely suspicious of you due to the state of your profiles, which was only caused by an unfortunate error. If you could come to the Capital to deal with this matter, no further inquiries would be needed."
"The Guard isn't the government, and I already explained to your General what I wish to do. Why do you keep insisting so much on this, to the point of using a private frequency?"
"Your standing should be clarified, Cadet Shirogane. If you refuse us so firmly, we could reach the conclusion that you are hiding something. If you have nothing to hide and wish to mend this error, why not accept our aid? Do you not wish to know who you were before you lost your memories?" She asks, and while Mion's tone is still as imposing as a mountain, now there's also a slight soft undertone in them. Slowly spoken, as if concerned, like a teacher or a friend giving true advice.
And yet, her words only burn my ears, cause my stomach to turn as the small girl choking on cake and the ruthless soldier overlay in my mind's eye. Sighing, I shake my head and lick my lips. "I already told your sister what I plan to do if it comes to that, and I think I'll be fine. Can you all really not simply accept I wanna, I dunno, have a clean slate?"
"…It would be unproper of a Royal Guard to look away when a fellow would require aid."
"Then, if you insist so much, tell me, Tsukuyomi. What do you know about me that makes you insist so much?"
"It's only natural for a Royal Guard such as me."
"Really? Why did you refer to me as 'fellow' right now, though?"
"...I do not know what you're talking about." She's clamping up, freezing over again. "All I know is, you should refrain from making any hasty decisions before seeing what data might remain in the Capital's data banks. So, I once again suggest you pay a visit to Tokyo when you can."
"Then there is no reason for us to talk."
I go at her with my blade and we start to trade blows, destroying some of the buildings to our sides. Dust and cars fly away, I cannot break the ice of her defense.
"You're truly good. I didn't knew Americans were so adept in the use of a blade." She says in a slow, soft tone.
"Sorry to inform you, but I'm Japanese."
"I was not implying anything foul, cadet," She repines, fuming a bit. Our swords locked again in a struggle, two opposite currents crashing against one another. "I was only complimenting your dexterity, and mentioning how it is clear you must have received some tutoring while on the Empire to possess such skill with a blade," Mion says, again soft and slow, composed, as her machine gives me some respite, taking a low guard stance.
Wait, that stance… Right, Tsukuyomi-san's own stance. Think, how can I best her? No, shouldn't I just end this battle here?
"And I can see you have indeed learned in this nation of ours," she says, firmly.
"Why?"
"Your patterns, and your targets. Dazzling and fast, flickering as a candle's fire, yet focused and restrained. I concur that many might deem you reckless, yet I believe you resemble… a chained fire blast, a reveling flare in protection."
"…Huh?"
"You do not fight with killing intent, you haven't truly tried to aim at my cockpit or engines nor have resorted to foul play. And during the early stages of the fight, you safeguarded your comrades instead of chasing after possible vantage points," she tells, softly and rousing, as if she were smiling. "After all, we fight not to further our own interests, but to protect the powerless."
Nibbling at my bottom lip, an image of Meiya, my Meiya, appears in a dojo. When she taught that odd stance on the mountain, before she announced our engagement to the rest of the Group in an official manner. And it was the same for the other, the one from my loops, that still tried to remain with me despite the troubles it must have given her. Yet, his memories tell a different story. You and Shion didn't even spare a gaze his way, didn't even care about the state of that madness so long as you got your way.
Are they guilty now? Is that why they insist so much on having me go to the Capital? But then, what's this void that fills my chest now? This stab on my heart as if I were out of breath, as if I had literal threads of steel going down my throat?
"So, lets us end this duel in a fitting manner," Mion says, firm and sturdy, bringing me back to Earth. And her Zuikaku was again employing the Mugen stance.
…If I refuse, she'll assume I really have something against them. It's either they thinking I'm not him or that Yuuko is influencing me. But, if this is how she chooses to do things… Taking a deep breath, placing a hand over my chest, feeling my heartbeats again, the cold hands again poke my sides. And behind all that mess, behind the gray skies and the war… there's one simple wish, the one wish that I suppose is what we share, what allows me to remember his memories. The one thing we have in common, despite our lives being so different.
Remembering what happened to my world, the feelings I felt when seeing your memories, letting the anger seep out, drain off me. I gulp, grabbing once more the joysticks tightly. Holding my breath, I then point my blade at the Zuikaku.
"Fine. But let me make something clear to you," I say while taking my Mugen stance, prepping up the jump units.
"What are you talking about?" I can feel the nervousness in her, the edge in her voice.
Let's drive the last nail into you, Mion. If you truly were a friend of him, if you truly are as concerned as you claim to be, then you should react to these words. Maybe this will let you believe I'm not a faker, or if you're the enemy it'll only cause me more problems. Still, if I am to stay here, I do plan on keeping my word, on following after that desperate wish I heard during the CCSE.
Because when I cried out for help after light's out, no one was there. So I shall shoulder this task on my own, I'll be the spark they need me to be.
So, taking a deep breath, letting go of the act, and allowing me to be honest for just a second, the fire of those days, those days before Iceberg, those hours before Ouka, and that moment by the reactor right before the transfer.
"Hear me well, Tsukuyomi. I fight not because of some greater goal or some vain motive. To give a smile to our future, to put a stop to all this suffering is all I really want."
"Huh?"
"I am Takeru Shirogane, and what want the most is to have my fucking peace back!" Pushing, crushing the buttons, my jump units flare up and slowly turn into a pair of flamethrowers, ready to send me to high five the sky.
"Cadet Shirogane, please wait! I was just-"
Heel on the pedals, a quick push of the stick, I charge at her. "And if you get in my way," raising my blade, letting it ride the gale that will guide it to Mion's cockpit, I endure the sudden boost and push onward, "I'm going to crush your fangs!"
Mion didn't try to block or dodge, even as I grew closer and closer. Biting my lips, I have to let go of the controls at the last second to not crash into her frozen machine. The sudden shaking tosses me around for a second, yet my training sword still hits her Zuikaku on the head, sending it to crash against the ground, making concrete fly off and dust to spread around. Unable to simply stop, my Gekishin starts to fall over, so I yank the controls in a panic to stop it. So, I end up using my sword to support my weight.
…And the dummy blade ends up resting on the Zuikaku's cockpit, the signal from Mion vanishing from my radar. Did I just defeat her? Wait, is she alright? I suppose she should, since I did avoid a direct hit at full speed. Sigh… Why did she got so tilted? Maybe Maya-san also wrote a poem for her style in this world? Hmm… I didn't think of that in the heat of moment. Did… I fuck this up?
"Tsukuyomi, can you hear me?"
"Yes," Mion spoke up with a hushed, timid tone. Quiet, like a child trying to not wake up its parents. "I suppose this is your victory, cadet."
"I guess…" So much for getting shot down before things got bad. "I'll be on my way."
Hopefully, they'll lay off for a while. I'm real tired of having to be on my guard all the time. Sometimes, I can't help but feel this is all pointless, sometimes I find myself thinking on how to go to the other world in the Betaverse, to the people I know are my friends. But then, I see Kasumi doing her best to carry all those babel towers of papers, I see Yuuko braving her exhaustion, I see the captain trying all she can to train the Valkyries despite the constant losses of her unit.
And then I dream of my world, like I did today. So I know I can only move forward, but it gets tiring. Especially when his sadness creeps up, like during my fights with you two pickles, and it also spurs the echos if Iceberg in the distance. Sigh…
"Wait, cadet! Where did you hear that last phrase? How do you-"
"I'm done here. Farewell, 2nd Lieutenant," I cut the connection and block her ID, exiting the private frequency they had linked.
I guess Yuuhi must not have taken my words very well. I'd like to think she wouldn't try and erase me, but his memories point elsewhere. Yuuko did say she thought you and her were in good terms somehow, and if you remained in the IRG there must have been something worth protecting there. Maybe Yuuhi and the Pickles changed after the invasion, maybe he had something to do with that. Maybe his death fucked them up real bad, and that's why they're insisting so much.
But that might be only wishful thinking on my end. They kept on pressuring me about the risk of me getting called to court, so that's their biggest concern. That his existence is exposed. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't mind to go to the Capital and deal with this stuff myself. But my life isn't solely mine anymore, my world is on the line too. Until the ripples are stabilized, I can't take any chances. So, I can only hope and wait, see if my words do their job or end up raising more fire my way.
Now, let's check the radar… Meiya's signal is gone. Tsukuyomi-san is the only one remaining on the field, and she's getting closer. And quick at that. Thankfully, it seems we're gonna cross path right where Chizuru wanted to ambush them. Maybe with the narrow space we'll have I could actually try and fake a fight before getting shot down on purpose.
Running a hand over my face, I move my neck in circles and roll my shoulders up and down. Entwining my fingers and extending my arms forward, I do the same with my legs. Once the stiffness leaves me, I slowly start walking forward.
"Sigh… No use in standing around or running away. Let's go finish this."