Hey guys! I apologize for being way off schedule. I may have to extend my posting schedule to at least 25 days. I don't know what took me so long to post this chapter. Anyways, I am not even close to being finished with this story, so I hope you like long stories, and stay tuned!

The skies around the Elysion

The sound of paint rounds being fired echo through the skies, accompanied by the scream of engines. Shiro's Nightmare dives through a cloud bank, followed by the Siegfrieds of Delta Platoon. Hayate is the closest and most aggressive pursuer out of the three pilots chasing Shiro. Every turn that Shiro makes, Hayate is not far behind, copying the latter's movements almost exactly, except the latter's movements are much smoother. Mirage is tailing Hayate, ready to break off at the drop of the hat in case Shiro manages to outmaneuver Hayate. Chuck is following the dogfight at a considerable distance, monitoring Shiro's movements and giving information to Hayate and Mirage. Every time one of the two fires at Shiro, he/she barely manages to graze Shiro's fighter, as the latter always dodges the shots. Shiro, however, rarely returned fire as he was always dodging Hayate and/or Mirage's shots.

"This isn't going anywhere. Suggestions, anyone?" Hayate asks as his shots fail to nick Shiro's wings.

"I don't." Mirage responds, frustrated. "We've been at this for fifteen minutes now, and we can't land a clean hit on this guy."

They notice Shiro's Nightmare suddenly enter Battroid mode, then switch to Gerwalk mode as it spins off to the side.

"Geez, what are the odds that Shiro doesn't have the slightest clue what he's doing?" Chuck asks as he monitors the still spinning fighter.

"I think you're right, Chuck. But what are we supposed to take down a pilot who has no idea what he's doing?" Hayate asks as he observes Shiro's fighter bounce between all three modes.

"Let's think about it this way," Mirage says, "what would we do if we were suddenly tossed into a war machine that we didn't have the slightest clue how to use?"

"Not get in it in the first place?" Chuck answers.

"I need a real answer here, Chuck." Mirage replies, not amused.

"That was a real answer." Chuck retorts.

"Well, we wouldn't have a choice, nor did Shiro, so it really wasn't." Hayate adds. "I think I spent most of my training time memorizing what action in the cockpit results in the fighter's corresponding action."

"Well," Mirage says, "I think that's what Shiro's trying to do-"

She barely manages to dodge a spinning Nightmare in Gerwalk mode that would have collided with her if she didn't roll out of the way.

The three pilots turn to see Shiro's Nightmare plummeting towards the surface of the water as it bounces between the three modes twice each before transforming into fighter mode and turning vertically straight up towards them.

"I think he figured it out." Hayate concludes.

"You don't say. Come on, he's still a newbie when it comes to flying, we can beat him." Chuck sparks, trying not to be intimidated by the man who learned how to fly a Variable Fighter in twenty minutes.

The three Siegfried pilots dodge the volley of paint rounds fired by Shiro, only to be kept on their toes when Shiro positions himself in between the three of them, firing at all three of them. None of them could really consider Shiro's actions and movements as those of a rookie anymore. Every action executed was so smooth, it was like fighting the Aerial Knights. They still couldn't get past the fact that Shiro learned to pilot a fighter at an unprecedented rate. They almost paid for it, as Shiro capitalized on their being distracted. He rolled over them, attacking the three from behind. He targeted Chuck, shooting the latter, who was in Gerwalk mode, enough times to cover the dish on the back of his Siegfried. Chuck getting taken out snaps the remaining two pilots out of their daze.

"Hayate! Formation, Halman!"

"Yes ma'am!"

The two pilots execute their maneuver, forcing Shiro to go on the defensive. Hayate charges Shiro head-on, while Mirage attacks from the side. Shiro dodges the shots by an inch, diving near vertically. Every time Hayate and Mirage attempted to corner Shiro, the latter would dodge and weave past them, but every time Shiro tried to counterattack, the duo would defend one another back to back, making an attack impossible to execute without getting hit. The two sides alternate on attack on defense, the dogfight devolving into an endless loop.

Finally, after twenty minutes, a voice comes on through the comms of the three remaining fighters.

"Alright, that's enough. All members of Delta Platoon return to the Aether for debrief." Arad orders.

His orders are met with the responses of the three.

"Yes sir."

"Yes sir."

"Understood."

Shiro didn't know what his objective was, although he was reluctant to ask. He surmised that the whole situation was to assess his abilities as a pilot, although it wasn't very convienent for him to learn how to fly a Variable Fighter in the time he was allotted. Hayate and Mirage, on the other hand, knew exactly what Shiro's objective was because he didn't really have one. They had expected him to be shot down easily, and in the event he put up a fight, they'd use their numbers and skill advantage to put him down. Obviously, that didn't go according to plan. As they flew back to the Aether, Hayate and Mirage reflected on the events of the past thirty minutes. The biggest question among them that they unknowingly shared with the people present on the bridge: Who was this man?

The bridge of the Elysion

The members of Walkure watch with a mix of curiosity and awe at the events that had transpired. They had expected Shiro to get slaughtered by their comrades, and instead he took out one of them and basically fought the other two to a draw. As Freyja, Makina, and Reina turned to discuss among themselves, Kaname walks over to Mikumo, who is deep in thought.

"Mikumo."

The violet haired singer snaps out of her trance and focuses her crimson eyes on Walkure's manager.

"Yes, Kaname?" Her voice is monotone, but Kaname has spent enough time to know that Mikumo was slightly annoyed at her, for whatever reason.

"What do you think about him?"

She answers after a few moments. "He's very interesting, if not somewhat suspicious."

Kaname pauses for a second. "I said, what do you think about him? Don't give me the company line, Mikumo."

Mikumo tilts her head ever so slightly. "Does my opinion really matter? I'm still stuck with him, aren't I?"

Kaname sighs before answering. "Yes, you will be, given your...habits...I just want to know how you feel about him as a person, as a bodyguard, or in general."

Mikumo looks off into the distance as she goes into deep thought. What did she think of him? They had known each other for about two and a half weeks now, but they were still complete strangers, although that was partly in her fault. She didn't really talk to him, and when she did, it was out of necessity, like where he would and wouldn't follow her. He also didn't really talk much, a fact not helped by his near constant blank expression. He reminded her of Messer, they were both quiet, calm, and reserved; although even Messer talked more than Shiro did. Now that she thought about it, Messer was in to Kaname, from what she heard from the other girls, and Kaname was a close friend of Messer's, so that was probably why. Back to Shiro, he was interesting to her in more ways than one. It seemed that he was used to being alone, yet here he was, applying for a position that would involve a considerable amount of social interaction. He was a very skilled fighter, but it seemed that there was more to him than he had revealed. On top of that, he worked as bodyguard for other important people and/or their children, when his primary skill set seemed to be nothing but offensive. She couldn't wrap her head around him, and it both bothered her and interested her to no end.

While she became lost in her thoughts, Chuck, Hayate, Mirage, and Shiro returned the bridge. Arad and Kaname turn to meet them, while Freyja walks over to Hayate. The three Delta Platoon pilots salute Arad, and Shiro mimics the action.

"There's no need for you to do that, Shiro." Arad says. "While you technically don't have a rank, your position as Mikumo's bodyguard, in addition to your impressive skills and abilities, you might as well be a Lieutenant, if not, a Captain."

"Is that really how it works?" Hayate asks, somewhat skeptical.

"No, but Captain Ernest and I were discussing it, and while we don't think it will be a problem, we'd prefer if Shiro wasn't a lower rank than you guys just so that officially, he doesn't need your consent to act on his own."

"If that's the case, then why does Mikumo act on her own?" Mirage asks, glancing at the violet haired singer, who is still lost in thought.

"Well, for one thing," Arad starts, "Walkure is its own entity, separate from the military section of Chaos, so we can't actually order them to do anything. It just so happens that their abilities and goals coincide with ours. Furthermore, I don't really think anyone can control Mikumo, not completely, anyway."

"Does she go off on her own that often?" Shiro calmly asks. "Based on the way she behaved around me for the past two weeks, she's never left my sight, or I've always known where she is and I kept a close tab on her. I haven't really had to do anything extra to keep up with her. She just wanders about most of the time, it's not as though she was actively trying to lose me. Unless what I'm describing is new, it seems that Mikumo likes to roam about."

"Then why does she ditch me every time we've been paired together on a mission?" Mirage asks, exasperated by Shiro's nonchalant attitude.

"Perhaps your personalities don't sync quite right?" Shiro's expression is blank.

"If only it was that simple, Shiro." Mirage shoots back, her ear twitching.

Kaname, Arad, Hayate, and Freyja watch with amusement at Shiro unwittingly pissing off Mirage when Mikumo walks over to the former.

"Shiro?" Mikumo's voice has a curious tone to it.

Shiro turns towards the singer with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Yes, Mikumo?"

The members of Delta Platoon, Walkure, and Shiro notice that Mikumo has pinkish tint on her cheeks, which surprises all of them to no end.

"Umm..." she pauses, unsure how to continue. "Are we going to be sleeping in the same room, all by ourselves?"

The pilots' jaws drop and the singers' eyes bulge at this. Shiro visibly stiffens.

"Where did that come from?" Shiro asks, his voice dripping with tension.

"Makina and Reina were told by Captain Ernest that the personnel block that our rooms are in need repairs badly enough that we and a few others need to be 'relocated,' and that due to a lack of housing, we'll be together in a room for the foreseeable future."

Shiro suddenly remembers the "favor" the two mentioned girls wanted from him when they helped him start flying thirty minutes ago.

By the time she finished, Arad and Mirage were staring at the two of them, while Freyja and Hayate were gaping at Shiro specifically. Shiro glances around the bridge, only to see that the two girls that brought this information were missing, and the captain of the ship was gone as well, although Shiro saw him leave while they were talking about his rank. Shiro sighs and inwardly curses the awkward situation those two girls put him into.

"Mikumo, I had no prior knowledge of this, so at this point, you probably know more than I do. Also, why does it bother you so much that we'll be sharing the same room? I had to sleep in your room for the first week or so when I first arrived here."

Mikumo fidgets before responding. "Makina and Reina told me that you might use this as an opportunity to do...things...to me."

Shiro's eye twitches, a movement noticed only by Mikumo. "I really hope I'm wrong in my assumptions, but what did you think I would do to you?"

Mikumo shifts awkwardly. "They said that you would...ravage me...while no one was around after you tied me up."

"And why do you believe that they would be correct about me?"

Mikumo visibly calms down before answering. "They seem to know a lot more about guys than I do, and they haven't lied to me before."

"Well, they obviously did now." Shiro replies, "and if anyone of these girls here knows about guys, it's either your manager, or the only girl in your group that's dating right now."

Freyja and Kaname look at each other, then back at Mikumo. Freyja is the first to speak.

"Mikumo-san, I don't really know a lot about guys, but I can tell their character after being around them for a while. I'm certain that Shiro-san is a good person, not the way that Makina-san and Reina-san described him. They're probably just teasing you."

"Mikumo, I don't want to weaken your trust in Makina and Reina, but you shouldn't believe everything that they say. Especially when the topic is more...sensitive... Anyway, why don't we go and resolve the issue with the Captain?"

"Speaking of him, do any of you know where Captain Ernest went?" Shiro interjects.

"I think he's got a meeting with the scientist we picked up." Arad says.

"So what do we do until then?" Kaname asks.

"I'm going to figure what the situation is with my and Mikumo's quarters. If we really do have to relocate, I'd rather not wait until dark to start moving."

"So you're not going to do lewd things to me?" Mikumo asks, not quite over Makina's and Reina's words to her.

"You really need to stop hanging around those two." Kaname, Freyja, Hayate, and Arad say in sync.

One of the meeting rooms in the Elysion.

Toland is sitting at the end of the circular table, facing the door. In front of him are the data chips that were recovered off of the bodies. He taps the data pad that was granted to him while he stayed in the Elysion. He looks over the information, ensuring that his eyes don't deceive him. Ernest walks in, glancing at Toland before walking over to one of the seats across from him and sitting down.

"What have you found, Mr. Stein?" Ernest's voice is strictly professional, although there is an underlying question in his tone.

"I don't know where to start, I have so much information, I haven't even processed all of it yet." Toland says, exasperated.

"If you haven't processed all of the information yet, then what you have processed must be very important." Ernest replies.

Toland takes a deep breath before responding. "That's the thing. It relates to the both of us very, very strongly."

"How so?"

"The Ragna division of Chaos was attacked approximately two weeks ago, correct?"

Ernest raises an eyebrow. "That is correct. What of it?"

"Were the attackers using NUNS aircraft?"

"They were. What does this have to do with you?"

"Ob Neghaus," Toland shows Ernest a picture of a short man with blonde shaggy hair. "ordered the hit on my family, AND is a known supplier of illegally obtained armaments, which are include but are not limited to: military grade firearms, explosives of all sorts, and last but not least, variable fighters of varying quality."

Ernest pauses for a moment before continuing. "Why did he order the hit on your family?"

Toland takes a deep breath. "I mentioned before that I am a bio-engineer, right?"

Ernest nods.

"Well, my specific area of expertise is micro technological integration with the human body. I've been tasked with learning what kinds of technology we can put into a human body, and how far we can push said technology before there are negative side effects that are beyond the allowed margin of error." Seeing Ernest's blank expression, he continued. "In this sense, it's very close to modifying a human body with technological enhancements. That's why I was present during the operation on Ms. Guynemer. With the sharp increase of people who have fold bacteria within their bodies, there is considerable interest in the possibility of augmenting a person with fold bacteria beyond the capacity of a person without fold bacteria."

"And is it possible?" Ernest asks, dreading the answer.

"It is, under certain circumstances. Having said this, I need to know: Do all the members of Walkure have fold bacteria within them?"

"Yes, they do."

"And that is the source of their ability to cure people afflicted with Var Syndrome?"

"That is correct."

"Then I suggest that you listen to what I'm about to say, very, very carefully. While it is fairly common knowledge that the number of people possessing fold bacteria is increasing steadily, it is also common that said people do not know how to control and/or utilize their fold bacteria, which makes individuals like the members of Walkure very rare. However, now that it has become clear that Ms. Guynemer has the ability to manipulate and essentially infinite number of people's minds with her voice, it's highly likely that she and Walkure will become high priority targets of various governments. And before you tell me that NUNS will act otherwise, I have evidence that strongly suggests that NUNS is falling apart from the inside out."

"How do you obtain this evidence, and how can it be trusted?" Ernest asks, his voice icy.

"I used to be highly ranked in my branch, and because of that, I was permitted to attend meetings with some of the leaders within NUNS. If you don't believe me still, pull aside the green-haired IT specialist. I'm sure she can pull out my old records as a NUNS engineer." He paused for a moment. "Or delete them. Either way, what I've told you is correct, at least from the information that I've collected."

Ignoring the fact that Toland possibly knew the members of Walkure and their specific skills, Ernest continued. "What do you think they're going to do?"

Toland shrugs. "It's hard to say. There are at least three different distinct entities within NUNS as of right now. There's the group that wants to seize all known fold bacteria-possessing individuals and experiment on them, there's the group that wants to do nothing for now and see how things turn out, and then there's the group that wants to utilize people like the members of Walkure in specialized operations groups. They're not quite clear on how they'll organize all of that, but it's clear that their mindset is to not wait and do nothing, while not being irrational like the first group."

"Can you not give specific group names or a list of high-ranking persons associated with their respective groups?"

"I could, but I can't guarantee it'll all be 100% accurate. The lines are still blurry and people are still moving back and forth."

Ernest stops and thinks for a minute. "What do you want to do, Mr. Stein?"

Toland looks at Ernest for a moment before tapping on his data pad absentmindedly. "To be honest, I doubt that my opinion will influence your decisions. However, if I were in a position to do something or not, I would gather as much information as possible on the matter whilst trying to avoid any negative repercussions."

"Well, Mr. Stein, since you've been rather helpful and cooperative, I would like to propose an agreement."

"And that is?"

"Would you be interested in a position here, at Chaos?"

Toland responds almost immediately. "I would be. However, I would like to know some things."

"Such as?"

"Will I be employed according to my skill sets?"

"Yes, you will be."

"Will I be able to work with Walkure?"

"You don't plan on doing anything that would cause harm to them?"

"No, I'm just very interested in them."

"Then, as long as you don't interfere with their schedules, you can."

"I would also like to see what kind of equipment you currently have, as it would make my job easier knowing what I have to work with."

"That can wait. It would be wise to introduce you to the rest of Walkure and Delta Platoon, just so that they don't get extra suspicious of you."

"This proposal was made without their knowledge, I presume?"

"Yes, although I doubt that they will hold arguments against it. You have proven that you have no interest in returning to NUNS, and that you have no plans that would otherwise be detrimental to the organization."

"You can tell all of that just by speaking with me?"

"I'm a very good judge of character, Mr. Stein. Now, we should start getting you up to speed here. We can discuss your pay later, hopefully."

"That won't be necessary, Captain. I have no interest in money, with the exception of funding my research and/or purchasing new equipment. Consider what I don't use free range for the company to use how it sees fit."

Ernest grins. "Well then, Mr. Stein, that makes things much easier for the both of us, doesn't it?"

The crew block of the Elysion

Mikumo and Shiro, followed by Arad, Kaname, Mirage, Hayate and Freyja are towards the two rooms that Shiro and Mikumo are currently staying in. Upon arrival, they see that nothing appears out of the ordinary.

Arad looks at the group. "I suggest we split up and inspect the rooms. I'll take the guys and look around Shiro's room. Kaname, you take the girls and inspect Mikumo's room. Sound good?"

"Which one's Shiro's and which one's Mikumo's?" Kaname asks.

"My room is the one on the left. Mikumo's is on the right." Shiro responds.

With that, the two groups go into their respective rooms. Shiro, Arad, and Hayate go into the former's room. The room is pretty much empty, save for a bed, a small nightstand with an alarm clock and a lamp on it, all of which are standard for a room on the Elysion. The only thing that stands out is a fairly large black box with orange circuit-like lines on it sitting in the corner of the room next to the bathroom.

"Geez, Shiro, you don't have any personal belongings?" Hayate asks.

"I do. My clothes are in the nightstand, and I have my equipment in the mobile armory in the corner." Shiro responds blankly. He checks the nightstand's drawers, seeing nothing out of place. He then goes over to the black box in the corner, opening the various different racks of weapons and utilities before closing it.

"Anything seem out of the ordinary?" Arad asks.

"Not that I can tell. The room is more or less identical to the way I left it this morning. I'm certain that Makina and Reina were just teasing me and Mikumo."

"That doesn't seem like them." Hayate notes.

"What do you mean?" Shiro looks at Hayate.

"Normally, when they pull pranks, they mean business." Hayate says, remembering how they "convinced" him and Freyja to come down after the battle of Ragna.

"Hayate's got a point, Shiro." Arad adds. "If they didn't do anything to your room, there's a pretty good chance that they did something to Mikumo's room."

"Well, I think the girls can handle it. Mirage's with them, so they should be fine. If they run into any problems, we'd probably be able to hear it." Hayate says, sitting on the bed.

"I agree. I'll give it a few minutes before we go check on them." Arad adds.

"You two seem rather laid back about this whole situation. Do Makina and Reina do this often?" Shiro questions.

"You have no idea." The two pilots respond simultaneously.

"Since we have a bit of time, is there anything we need to discuss, Captain?" Shiro asks.

"You can drop the formalities, Shiro. I apologize if I didn't make it clear earlier, but my rank is just a formality. You don't have to be so stiff."

"Very well, then. Anything that you need to tell me, or ask me?"

"I have something I'd like to ask you, Shiro." Hayate asks.

"Go ahead."

Hayate glances at the box in the corner of the room. "What's in that box over there? You called it a mobile armory earlier, but it doesn't really look like one."

"There's a variety of weapons in there, as well as some tools and equipment."

"What kinds of weapons?" Arad asks.

"Is there a reason that you need to know? Forgive my rudeness, but I don't give that information freely. It might be used against me or the people around me."

"That's perfectly fine. I just want to know what kinds of weapons you have in there, as it represents your combat method and mentality." Arad reasons.

Shiro thinks for a minute before responding. "Ok, but I need you and Hayate to keep this information confidential. Sound fair?"

"Understood. Hayate?"

"Yeah. To be honest, I doubt I'll remember most, if not, all of it."

"Very well then. I'll show you what I use most often, and go from there." He walks over to the black box, tapping it on the surface. The black box's lines glow orange briefly before various racks appear from the box, holding various weapons. Shiro walks over to the rack holding his swords. He picks one of the largest ones and holds it for Arad and Hayate to see.

"This is my extended combat sword, and it has a second identical replica. I use the set mainly when I know I'm going to be in combat or when I think I'm going to be in combat for a long period of time. It's longer and slightly wider than my other two pairs, and it can be combined into a double bladed sword."

He returns it to its place on the rack before picking up a sword that's nearly identical in design, but is somewhat shorter and thinner than the previous. "This is my primary sword, and like the others, it comes in a pair. It's the balanced version of my swords, and I use it pretty much whenever I need a weapon. It can be combined to form an enlarged, two-handed sword."

He then repeats the previous action, picking up a sword that's considerably shorter than the other two swords. "This is my compact sword. Because it is shorter and thinner than my both my primary and extended combat swords, I can hide them in places most people don't expect. They fold and compress like so." He twists the hilt, resulting in an audible clanking action. The blade splits down the middle, the longer blunt side of the blade sliding over the shorter sharpened side. The hilt opens up just enough to allow the sandwiched blades to slide in to about halfway on the hilt before closing. Shiro twists the handle in the opposite direction, causing the process to reverse before he places them back on the racks. "To be honest though, I think they're really big knives, but they're technically swords due to the fact that they're longer than my forearm."

"Umm," Hayate interjects, "why do you have three different sets of swords? It seems like overkill to me."

Shiro exhales softly. "Other than the reasons mentioned before, it helps me stay versatile. Similar to the firearms that I have, having different sets of swords helps me adjust to using different weapons on the battlefield."

Arad chuckles. "Damn, Shiro. You're really serious about those swords. I think the Aerial Knights might've gotten it from you."

"Who?"

"It's not important, not now anyway. You said you had firearms in there?"

"Yes, I have two handguns and two sub-machine guns-"

"Are there any weapons you don't have two of?" Hayate asks, not expecting the answer.

"I don't have two machine guns, and I rarely, if ever dual-wield my sniper rifles."

Arad and Hayate stare at him with shocked expressions. Arad is the first to recover.

"So let me get this straight. You have two of every firearm in your arsenal, except for machine guns, you dual wield your handheld firearms consistently, and you dual-wield your sniper rifles occasionally?"

Shiro looks at him normally. "That is correct."

"Why?" Arad and Hayate ask at the same time, albeit with vastly different tones.

"I'm ambidextrous, and it bothers me when I only use one hand more than the other in battle."

Arad and Hayate look at each other with looks that said, "Well that makes a lot of sense," while Shiro places the weapons back in the black box and closes it.

After a minute or so, Arad looks at Shiro. "I thought you stated that you were a close combat specialist? Assuming that you have the training to effectively use the firearms within your arsenal, you'd technically be an elite assault specialist."

"That would be by your classifications, Arad. To me, I've trained myself to use these firearms with enough proficiency to meet certain standards. But like every individual, I have a set of skills that stands out high above the rest. For you, you've trained to be moderately proficient with firearms, and if needed, be placed in the role of a soldier. But, your skills as a pilot are far better than your firearm skills. Therefore, you are considered a pilot. It's the same way for me; I've trained to use firearms because it is necessary in this day and age, but my skills in hand-to-hand combat and sword-wielding are considerably better than my other skills." Shiro explains.

"I guess that makes sense, though I can't help but wonder: if you're proficient enough with firearms to be able to dual-wield snipers as effectively as you claim, how good are you with your swords?" Hayate asks.

Shiro gives a small smile. "I could tell you some of the things I've done, but I think I demonstrated my abilities rather well in front of the members of Walkure during the attack on the Elysion. If they haven't already told you, you should go talk to them. I'm sure they remember."

"You're one hell of a dangerous man, Shiro Okumura. Glad to have you on our side." Arad chuckles softly.

"Will that be all, sir?"

"Yes. I think we've spent enough time discussing this. We should check on the girls now."

"Agreed."

Again, sorry about the delay. Also, this chapter was a bit longer than my longest chapter in the story, so I hope no one minded. If you did, leave it in your reviews please and thank you. Like I said in the previous author's notes, I do not have a concrete posting schedule nor do I have a concrete chapter length. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed and leave a review.