Hey guys! I'm done trying to figure out a posting schedule, and I don't think I can figure one out anytime soon. I apologize for this, but I'd rather be honest with you guys. If you have any questions pertaining to the story, feel free to send me a private message.
Mikumo's Room
Mikumo, Freyja, Mirage, and Kaname are looking around Mikumo's room, looking for anything that might be out of place. It didn't take long for them for them to find that Mikumo's clothes were missing. Although, according to Mikumo, there wasn't much to steal, as she only had five or so outfits. That, and Mikumo's room was, unbeknownst to Delta Platoon and Walkure, identical to Shiro's, except for Shiro's mobile armory and Mikumo's wardrobe. Aside from the missing clothes, there wasn't anything of interest, not to any of the girls, anyway. After fifteen or so minutes of searching, they decide to take a break. Kaname turns to Mikumo, who is sitting on her bed, staring off into space.
"Well Mikumo, it looks like we'll have to take you clothes shopping."
"Why can't we just get her old clothes back?" Mirage asks.
"I'd much rather not have to fight with them just to get back a set of clothes that can be easily replaced." Kaname sighs, rubbing her temples.
"I guess this is a good opportunity to go shopping with Mikumo-san. Mirage-san, you could use some clothes too." Freyja chimes.
Mirage stutters for a moment before responding. "I think I'll pass. I'm a pilot, I don't need any more clothes than what's necessary. Besides, I already have a few outfits."
Kaname looks at Mikumo. "Does this not bother you at all, Mikumo?"
Mikumo looks between the three girls before saying her thoughts. "I only got those clothes because Makina and Reina insisted I get some backup clothes, which is strange, considering they just stole them, so, no, this doesn't really bother me. Also, I don't really have a taste in fashion, so I'll need you girls to help me pick clothes. When do we leave?"
"I think we can leave as soon as the guys wrap things up in Shiro's room. I hope they didn't mess with Shiro too. I'm not sure I want to see Shiro angry." Kaname notes.
"Shiro doesn't get upset very easily." Mikumo adds, thinking aloud. "I've only seen him upset once, and that was during the attack three weeks ago."
"What upset him?" Mirage asks.
"I went ahead when he told me to stay put and I almost got choked by one of the attackers." Mikumo states blankly.
"That's not all, is it?" Kaname guesses.
"I also questioned whether he was protecting me because he wanted to or for the money. He was the former."
The three girls look at Mikumo before looking at each other with looks that said, "figures," when someone knocks on the door to the room.
"Are you ladies almost done in there?" Arad's voice sounds through the door.
"We're done here." Kaname responds as she opens the door. The three males walk inside. "It looks like the two decided to steal Mikumo's clothes."
"We don't know why they took her clothes, they didn't leave us a note or anything." Freyja adds.
Shiro picks up a piece of paper off the ground. "I beg to differ, actually."
"Where did that come from?" Kaname asks.
"Did you not see it on the floor when you walked in? It was on the floor in front of the door."
"That wasn't there when we walked in..." Kaname trails off as she looks up to see a small open box on the ceiling.
Everyone else's eyes follow Kaname's trail until they see the box on the ceiling. Upon closer inspection, they find that there is an array of wires and a transparent plate connected to the box. Shiro reaches up and takes the arrangement off the ceiling. The group stares at the mess in Shiro's hand for a minute before Arad speaks up.
"They rigged a system to drop a note after sensing movement through the door twice." Arad states calmly.
"They really put a lot of effort into this." Hayate notes.
"Do they do this often?" Shiro asks, tone betraying neither annoyance nor anger.
"They usually like to play around with us, but they've never done something this...extreme...before." Freyja says.
"They do like to play relationship maker, at least from what I can tell by the last time they did something like this." Mirage adds, remembering the time when the two made her go along with Hayate to get a birthday present for Freyja.
"They're probably trying to get you and Mikumo together." Kaname concludes.
"What does the note say, Shiro?" Arad asks.
"If you're reading this, Shiro, congratulations. You get to go shopping with Kumo-Kumo. Think of this as the favor that you owe us, so get Kumo-Kumo some extra cute clothes. And you can't refuse, because we're working on your Siegfried. So unless you want a hard time with your fighter, you better go get Kumo-Kumo cute clothes." Shiro reads off the note verbatim. He exhales softly.
"Shiro, would this 'favor' be-?"
Shiro rubs the back of his neck before turning to them. "Yes, it is."
"So that's what they're talking about." Kaname says.
"Even so, how did you manage to learn to fly a Valkyrie so quickly?" Mirage asks.
"Yeah, I'd like to know as well. You learned a lot faster than I did, and according to Arad, I learned pretty quickly." Hayate adds.
"That can be answered in due time. For now, I'll just say that I can absorb information very quickly if I'm under enough pressure." Shiro calmly answers.
"Were you really under that much pressure, Shiro?" Mirage asks.
"To be honest, I wasn't, but given my circumstances, I reasoned that my performance might have affected how much training I would have to undergo. In addition to that, I wanted to see how well I would perform in a Variable Fighter dogfight with the odds against my favor."
The three pilots look at each other, then back to Shiro with varying expressions, ranging from interest to increased curiosity to disbelief. Freyja and Kaname look at him with similar expressions of disbelief and curiosity, respectively.
"There's something else that we'd like to know." Mirage says.
"And that is?" Shiro responds.
"The Valkyrie that you flew is considerably lower-spec than the ones we flew. How were you keeping pace with us? Even if you learned that quickly, the fighter shouldn't have been able to keep up."
"I simply flew at the highest possible speed the fighter was capable of. Did you not do the same?"
"Most people aren't able to handle the pressures that come with that high speeds. One of the biggest differences between the Valkyrie that you flew and the ones we flew is that your fighter's cockpit can handle less pressure than ours at high speeds. Did you not feel any pressure during the engagement?"
"Was I supposed to?"
The pilots gape at him while the singers look between him and the pilots, not quite understanding what they were talking about.
"Now then," Arad clears his throat. "There's another thing we'd like to discuss with you ladies about the assault on the Elysion three days ago, except you, Mirage, since you were in the air with us."
Mirage nods, already knowing what Arad had in mind.
"You guys filed a report about the events that took place during the attack, but Captain Ernest and I didn't get a chance to read it, and neither did the rest of Delta Platoon. I hope you guys don't mind recalling all of the events that took place, as there's something we want to clear up with Shiro."
"Like what? The fact that he took out a Destroid with his pistol?" Kaname sarcastically remarks.
"Or the fact that he can deflect bullets with his sword? Freyja adds in a similar tone.
The pilots all turn to Shiro with inquisitive looks while the members of Walkure present simply look at him, obviously wanting him to explain himself. Shiro looks between all of them before exhaling softly.
"Before I say anything, I'd like to know why you all waited to ask me to clarify about my actions during the attack three weeks ago."
"We didn't really have time, given the current state of the Elysion and our financial straits. Also, we were still trying to acquire some intel on the leaders that organized the attack, so after-action reports weren't exactly our top priority. Not to mention, Captain Ernest and I were evaluating the individual that you brought in from Mikumo's operation. I apologize for that, but I think I've made it clear that I want an assessment of your abilities."
"Fair enough, Captain. So far, what Kaname and Freyja have said is true, but I would like to clarify the part about me taking out an artillery unit with my sidearm. First of all, it was already heavily damaged, so it was easier to identify a weak spot that would cause its destruction or disable it. Not to mention, out of the four cannons mounted on it, it was obvious that only one of them was operational, so that made it my immediate target. Also, my sidearm fires high-velocity .50 caliber rounds, which are easily capable of detonating explosive ordnance if it scores a direct hit. In addition to all that, I don't normally attack heavily armored artillery units with just a sidearm, it just so happened that the life of the person I'm supposed to be protecting depended on it, on top of the members of Walkure, the captain of the ship, and myself." Shiro explains, not leaving out the details of his thought process on the matter.
"In that order?" Mikumo asks.
"What do you mean?"
"Who were you thinking about at that moment, Shiro?"
"Is that really important, Mikumo?"
"I'd just like to know."
"Well, to be honest, everyone present on the bridge was on my mind. Which includes you and myself. Does that satisfy you, Mikumo?" Shiro looks at Mikumo.
Mikumo tilts her head slightly before looking away.
"Then what's this about you being able to deflect bullets with your sword? No one we've ever come across has had that ability before." Arad questions.
"The Aerial Knights we fought could dodge one or two shooters at a time, but that was all that we could see them do." Mirage adds.
"I do not know of these 'Aerial Knights,' but I can confirm that I have the ability to deflect bullets with a blade. For now, that is all that I will say." Shiro states. "Is there anything else you'd like to ask me?"
"How do you like your job so far?" Arad asks.
"It's rather similar to my past three years of work as a bodyguard. I haven't really done anything of interest, aside from combat. I do have to admit, you all are much easier to work with than my previous clients. I'm just surprised Walkure hasn't performed yet."
"Why? Were you hoping to see us perform?" Freyja asks.
"It's just a bit curious for a group as popular and famous as you guys to not perform at all in three weeks."
"We've got a concert tomorrow, actually. Didn't Mikumo tell you?" Kaname asks.
Shiro looks at Mikumo with a blank stare, which Mikumo returns. "I was not aware of this," he says, not breaking eye contact with her, "but I'll be sure to keep myself informed, somehow."
"Well," Arad interjects, "you two can finish this later, the girls should go with Mikumo and get her some clothes. I'll take Mirage, since Captain Ernest is calling for us specifically, we don't need you two to be present. Shiro, you and Hayate go with Mikumo and the girls. We don't normally have anyone from Delta Platoon accompany them, aside from Hayate, but you never be too careful."
Shiro nods and Hayate replies with a simple "Yes sir." With that, the group split up; the girls, with Hayate and Shiro in tow, made plans to go down to some of the local clothing stores, while Arad and Mirage went to meet with Ernest.
The Elysion's debrief room
Ernest and Toland are sitting in the room when Kaname and Arad walk in. Mirage looks at Toland for a moment before turning and sitting next to Arad, who is close to Ernest. The two pilots look at Toland, who meets their eyes for a few seconds before turning his attention to the data pad in front of him. He types quickly for a few minutes while Ernest turns to the two Arad and Mirage, both of whom obviously have questions for their Zentradi captain.
"Captain, what's he doing here?" Arad asks.
Ernest looks at the two. "I don't think you've been properly introduced to this man." Toland looks up at the pilot and the manager. "This is Toland Stein, a bio-engineer and a knowledgeable man about Fold Bacteria. Starting today, he will be working with our research and development branch. I'm only telling you this because I don't want an incident between him and anyone else." Ernest hints.
Mirage takes the hint. "In that case, welcome to Chaos, Mr. Stein."
Arad stays silent but nods at Toland. The latter then taps on the data pad, bringing up multiple files and photos on the large holographic display in the center of the room. One of the photos is of a short man with shaggy blonde hair. The individual is standing next to multiple large crates with the NUNS insignia on them. There are tan-khaki Nightmares in the background, all lined up like they would be on an airstrip.
"I've already explained most of what I've figured out about this man to the Captain, but since you two haven't been briefed, I'll try to include all you need to know. This man, Ob Neghaus, is an arms dealer who somehow has access to military-grade weapons and, as of three weeks ago, Valkyries. I haven't found his source, but it turns out that this man is incredibly powerful, both in influence and manpower. The NUNS either doesn't what to spend the time and effort to deal with him, or he's got contacts within NUNS. Personally, I'm more inclined to believe the latter, but you can believe either one."
"Pardon me for asking, but why are you so intent on helping us with this?" Mirage asks.
Toland takes a deep breath, adjusting his glasses. "I've already contracted with Chaos to work beyond however long it takes to resolve this issue, but this is something I personally want a part in. You see, I used to have a family, and by this man's command, I am the only one that remains."
Mirage didn't push the topic any further.
"I take it that he also ordered the attack on the Elysion a while back?" Arad questions.
Toland nods. "His actions make it extremely plausible that he's in contact with NUNS. There is most likely a political agenda behind his actions. He is familiar with the workings of underground dealings, and he had incredible influence even before he got a hold of these weapons. NUNS needed a man to do their dirty work, and they are easily capable of supplying them with the weapons and ordnance that he now has. So, having said all that, what are your thoughts?"
Arad and Mirage look at each other, then back at Toland. "My thoughts are that we have a lead on the matter. However, unless you know where this guy is, or where he frequents, there's not much we can do other than prepare our defenses. The Elysion's still out of commission, especially with that attack a while back." Arad says.
"The Elysion won't be at combat capacity for another 2 months, at best. Our biggest problem is that the arm unit that connects to the Herrera was completely destroyed during the Battle of Ragna, and we need a shipyard to repair it. Not to mention, a Destroid crashed into the bridge during the attack a while back, so the stage level of the bridge is badly damaged."
"I take it most shipyards are under NUNS control?" Toland asks.
"We don't know which shipyards belong to the sub-factions within NUNS. The Elysion is incredibly vulnerable right now, and we need to get her repaired to combat capacity as soon as possible. We're also short on funding. Normally, we get contracts, and that makes up a large chunk of our budget. Our latest contract to protect the globular cluster has technically ended, so we won't have any revenue after next week, aside from Walkure's concerts."
"Well, as far as I know, Walkure's concerts are immensely popular, so they should raise a significant amount of money. You could also ask for donations towards Chaos, but I don't know how well that would go." Toland suggests.
"I don't think that would go terribly wrong." Kaname says. "With the end of Windermere's war on the NUNS, Chaos has been recognized as the primary force that ended the conflict. The Ragnans are familiar with Chaos, as they have been stationed here for some time now. In addition to that, a lot of our members are well known amongst the locals, so I doubt that they will have any problems donating a small sum of money."
"That's true, not to mention that the Voldorian government was allied with us for the duration of the war, so I think we expect some revenue from them." Arad adds.
"Which leaves us with the problem of repairing the Elysion as soon as possible." Ernest finishes.
"The carrier ships are still operational, correct?" Toland asks.
"The Herrera is only operational for launching fighters within the bounds of Ragna, it took a hit to the bridge during the Battle of Ragna. The Aether is fully operational for any kind of operation. Why do you ask?" Ernest asks.
"I've finished pulling the retrievable data from the chips that were found on my wife's body. It's incomplete, but I know that there's definitely more at my home in Al-Shahal. I need to go back there."
"What was on the chips?" Arad asks.
"Aside from information on the various factions in NUNS, and some personal messages to me from my family, there was an encoded message to me from my wife hinting that there was more information in some form that the cleanup team wouldn't be able to find. I'm certain of it."
"Why would you need the Aether for that?" Ernest asks.
"Don't VFs need a platform to launch off of? As far as I know, the Siegfried and Kairos VFs don't have fold jump capabilities. The shuttles do, but if my suspicions are correct, we're gonna need those fighters."
"What makes you say that?" Arad asks, bothered by his indirect manner of speech.
Toland pauses for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "It turns out that my wife was the lead developer for a fighter with fold-synchronization systems in it, and before she was killed she had deleted all other copies of the schematics, leaving our home with the only remaining schematic. And NUNS really wants it back."
"Why did she delete all of the other plans for the fighter?" Ernest asks.
"She must've thought that they were going to abuse it somehow, or at the very least, she didn't want it in their hands."
"How much data did you get for this fighter?" Arad asks.
"Not much. Just the designation and a few basic specs. Just off of what I've managed to pull out, and comparing its most prominent statistics to every other fighters, this fighter would outclass every fighter in production right now.
"Sounds like NUNS was developing a super-fighter from the sound of it. What can you tell us about it?"
"The project designation is 'X-32,' but it doesn't resemble the VF-22, or the VF-31 at all. In fact, it appears to be of its own design." He displays a projection of a long, sleek fighter with back swept wings, horizontal forward swept tail fins, and identically-shaped vertical tail fins that are angled outward from the tail. The wings are angled downward, while the tail fins form an X-shape from the front view. There are two engines, arranged similarly to the VF-31s, but are significantly larger than the latter's. The cockpit appears to be heavily armored, as the glass canopy is surrounded with what appears to be segmented armor plates. As Toland rotates the 3-D projection of the fighter, it appears that the fighter has a large empty space under the fuselage. However, the gun mounts on the arms of the fighter are noticeably different. The gun pods are completely different from the NUNS gun pod; instead of being rather wide, the gun pods mounted are slim, and noticeably longer.
"Can you bring up a visual comparison to this fighter and ours?" Ernest asks, his eyes scanning the Valkyrie.
As Toland brings up a second 3-D projection of a Siegfried, the size difference between the two fighters becomes obvious; the latter fighter is roughly 2/3 the size of the new fighter in terms of length, and the new fighter is visibly wider in terms of wingspan.
"What kind of firepower can this bird carry?" Arad asks.
"Let's see: two 25mm gun pods, one for each arm. The head unit has two short-ranged beam blasters. Eight cluster missile launchers, four on the main fuselage, four attached to the leg units. It also has space for either two 40mm gun pods, or two railgun pods. Based on how other fighters have been modified with drone attachments, or in your case, super packs, it looks like this fighter is compatible with some super packs as well. It's a bit different than the VF-31s you guys have, though." He pulls up a projection of the various mountable equipment for the fighter, which greatly resembles the super packs of the VF-25 Messiah.
Arad whistles. "That fighter's packing quite the punch."
"If you have this much data on the fighter, what are we missing?" Mirage asks.
"We're missing the data on the fold-synchronization systems, the reactor's output capabilities, testing data, along with AI data." Toland lists out.
"Is there something particularly important about the fighter's AI?" Mirage asks.
"I would assume so, given that information about it is classified beyond my former clearance."
"Ok, so we've established that this Valkyrie is incredibly powerful, and dangerous under the shadow of NUNS. Can we get more information about this fighter or how to acquire it?" Ernest asks.
"We might be able to do both. I just don't know what else is hidden. I have to go back to Al-Shahal; you guys need information about this, and I need a little closure. Does that sound fair?" Toland reasons.
Ernest, Arad, and Mirage all nod.
"We'll make plans to go three days after Walkure's concert tomorrow. We'll get Reina to work with you on this, see if she can pull any more data from those chips, in case we missed something."
"Very well then. If you find her before I do, please send her over to me."
With that settled, they concluded their meeting. For now, all they would do was plan.
Local shopping district, Ragnan market
Hayate, in his usual azure clothing, is standing by the entrance to the local market. He looks up the moment he feels her presence. He ponders about when he became adept at noticing Freyja before gazing at her clothing. She is wearing a pink mini dress and pink shoes. He had seen her wear this outfit before, but in light of recent events, he found himself both liking and paying attention to whatever his girlfriend wore. He apparently stared a little too long at her, because he suddenly found himself staring into her big emerald eyes.
"What's wrong, Hayate?" Freyja leans forward.
Hayate blinks a couple times, mainly to stop himself from staring at her anymore to the point where she would become uncomfortable. "Uh, nothing, Freyja. You guys just took longer than to get hear than I expected, so I spaced out a bit."
Freyja leans in closer to Hayate. "Are you sure? I didn't think you'd be this eager to go clothes shopping with us." She raises an eyebrow as she put a hand on her hip. "Or is it that you want to see me change clothes?"
"Hoh," Hayate responds, a grin coming onto his face, "What if I do?" He wraps an arm around her and pulls her close, their faces centimeters apart. "Would there be a problem with that?"
Freyja's rune twinkles, a blush coming onto her face. She recovers quickly, wrapping her arms around Hayate's neck. "Well, this isn't quite the right time to do that, not with so many witnesses. Maybe when we're alone, however, I'd be glad to." She gives him her signature grin.
"What would you be glad to do when you're alone with him, Fre-Fre?" The voice of a familiar bubbly mechanic sounds from behind the couple.
Hayate tenses and Freyja yelps and jumps slightly at the same time, causing her head to collide with Hayate's. They both pull away slightly, rubbing their heads before turning to look at Makina. The busty pink-haired singer is wearing a sleeveless pink top, a matching skirt that hovers around her knees, along with a pair of pink sandals.
"I didn't realize you two were planning to do such lewd things behind our backs. You should give Mikumo tips on how to get men like that." Reina, dressed in a black and white striped long shirt, jean shorts, and tennis shoes, appears from behind Makina. "Assuming that Shiro's even straight."
"I neither understand the terminology that you're using, nor do I understand why you're forcing me to go through this." Shiro's stoic voice sounds from behind the four, accompanied by Mikumo and Kaname. The former is wearing her Chaos uniform, the latter is wearing a white sleeveless blouse, black pants, matching flats, and a similarly colored fedora.
"Aw, don't be like that, Shiro." Makina chimes. "Hmm, we should get you some clothes too. You look like a uptight soldier who's off duty but can't relax."
"I would like to point out that I technically am a soldier who happens to be off duty. I also must note that I cannot fully relax because of my role as Mikumo's bodyguard. In addition to all that, purchasing extra clothes for me when we are here to get clothes for Mikumo is a waste of time and resources. You all are just very carefree." Shiro calmly remarks.
Everyone in the group stared at him for a moment before Hayate cleared his throat. Everyone looked at each other, sans Shiro, who didn't have the slightest clue what was wrong with what he had said.
"Shiro, may I ask you something?" Kaname cautiously asks.
"Is there something that I did that bothers you?"
"No, but there's something I have to ask you: Do you know someone named Messer Ihelfield?"
"I do not. Why do you ask?"
"You strongly resemble him."
The group sat in silence for a few moments before Makina chimed in, saying, "Come on guys, there's a sale at one of the nearby stores. We should check it out."
Kaname dropped the subject, putting on a professional smile. "Well, we don't have much time left. We should try to enjoy it."
"We were trying to, but Makina and Reina showed up and ruined our fun." Hayate complains.
"Hmm, and what were you two planning to do when we're not around, Haya-Haya? Makina leans forward, giving the pilot a generous view of her cleavage. Hayate clears his throat and turns off to the side, avoiding direct eye contact with the mechanic.
Freyja notices the interaction between the two and she narrows her eyes slightly, her rune turning a deeper shade of pink. "Makina-san, don't try to seduce Hayate."
"What? I would never do such a thing, Fre-Fre." Makina leans back, her bust bouncing visibly, which was greatly emphasized by her form-fitting top.
Freyja pouts before being grabbed by her boyfriend.
"Don't worry, Freyja. It'll take a lot more than a big rack and a couple flirts to get me away from you." He grins at her.
She returns the grin. "Oh, and why did you avoid looking at her, then?"
He looks at her evenly. "I didn't want you to think I was enjoying the view."
"Were you?"
"No."
Makina, Reina, and Kaname all laugh at the exchange while Mikumo and Shiro stand there, confused as to why the other singers were laughing at them.
"Oh, get a room, you two." Makina giggles.
"Save all that for when you two get married." Reina softly remarks.
"You know, Hayate, you're technically the underage one in the relationship. Although if Freyja gives her consent, I guess it's okay. Just don't have a kid yet." Kaname gives a sly grin to the couple, who are not amused by the teasing.
"Not you too, Kaname-san." Freyja groans as Hayate tucks her into his arms.
"As amusing as this is, I suggest we give Mikumo time to pick out some clothes; it is already two o' clock" Shiro calmly states.
"Alright, alright, we'll get going. Are you going to come with us, Shiro?" Makina happily chimes.
"I will accompany you to the stores of your choosing, but I do not think I will be needed inside."
"Fair enough. Well, let's go." Makina says.
They traveled a short distance to the market, as the clothing stores were closest to the entrance. The girls shopped for a couple hours, and it was rather uneventful. With the exception of a few instances where the girls asked for Hayate's and Shiro's opinions on clothing, the guys didn't do much. Mikumo didn't really pick out her own clothes, as she didn't have much of a fashion sense, opting to let Freyja, Makina, Reina, and Kaname pick her clothes. Kaname made sure that the mechanic and hacker duo didn't steer Mikumo to any of the more suggestive clothing stores, and Freyja helped Mikumo pick out clothes that suited her the best. Hayate followed Freyja around and actually gave her his opinion on her choice of clothing. Shiro stayed a bit further from Mikumo, but was well within speaking distance of her. As soon as they finished, they stopped by a coffee shop to take a break.
"Whew, that didn't take long at all." Makina stretches her arms, leaning back in her chair, unaware of the jaw-dropping effect it had on some of the cafe's male patrons.
"I'd like to go back sometime when Kaname isn't here. You didn't let us have much fun." Reina softly remarks.
"We really need to educate Mikumo about some of the things in life she should avoid, namely anything you two suggest." Kaname sighs.
"Well, we did get a bunch of clothes for Mikumo-san, hopefully you two won't prank her anymore." Freyja agrees.
"What did you two even do with her old clothes?" Hayate questions, an eyebrow raised.
"Oh, all we did was move it to Kaname's room." Reina responds, a smug grin on her face.
Kaname, Freyja, and Hayate shoot Reina and Makina looks that suggested they were less than amused, while Mikumo and Shiro gave the two blank stares.
"So, I assume that we're even?" Shiro looks at Makina and Reina.
"I guess so, for now." Reina responds.
"Good. I'd rather not have to do that again, especially seeing that we didn't even need to. Also, please refrain from forcing me into these kinds of situations." Shiro stoically remarks.
Makina shoots Shiro a flirty smile. "Are you sure you don't want to be alone with just us girls?"
Shiro's expression remains dead-panned. "Yes, I'm sure." He checks his phone, given to him by Arad. "Besides, there's something Walkure and Delta Platoon gets to do in half an hour."
"What's that?" Hayate asks.
Shiro looks at the group, his next words giving all of them chills. "You all have hand-to-hand sparring practice with me."
Everyone freezes.
Mikumo is the first to recover. "You mean, we'll have to fight you?"
Shiro looks at her evenly. "Calm down, this first session is only to gauge how well you can defend yourselves against a potential kidnapper, and for Delta Platoon, how well they can handle themselves in a close quarters engagement. Captain Arad already laid out what I can and can't do to you girls, as well as what I should be training you for. The worst you'll walk away with is a bruise and a headache. Well, Walkure, anyway." He looks at Hayate, who is still absorbing his words. "You, on the other hand, along with Mirage and Chuck, are going to have a very rough time."
Hayate breaks into a cold sweat at Shiro's next words. "I haven't repaid you for the little flight training incident. I am well aware that Mirage planned it out, but you didn't seem to have any objections to throwing me head first into an aerial engagement. I would expect anything less than ruptured organs." Shiro states.
Hayate takes a deep breath and looks Shiro straight into the eyes. "Do you have any intention to injure Freyja at all?"
"I would be more concerned about yourself and your fellow pilots."
Hayate's tone becomes more serious. "Answer me."
Shiro remains silent for a moment before doing something unexpected. He smiles slightly at Hayate, an eyebrow raised. "Well, you already exceeded my expectations. You're fiery, yet you don't seem to worry about yourself nearly as much as you do her." He glances at Freyja who is staring between the two males. "To answer your question; No, I do not have any intention to hurt Freyja in the sense of seriously harming her. You should take that determination with you when you spar with me. I'd much like to see how far that determination will take you."
Hayate's tension dissipates at hearing this. "All this time, you've been evaluating us, haven't you? To see our character, the way we work with each other, our motivation, our objectives. You act like you haven't been doing anything for the past couple weeks, yet you're able to understand us well enough as though you've been with us for months."
The girls all look between Hayate, who they didn't realize could be this perceptive, and Shiro, who they still had various doubts about. Shiro, for the most part was actually impressed with the young pilot. He didn't let it show, but he was looking forward to testing him.
"Well, you're quite perceptive. I admit, I did want to know what kind of people I was working with; I was hoping you wouldn't be as undisciplined as I originally thought you were. If only you weren't so carefree and lazy." Shiro stoically remarks.
The mood completely lost all of its tension at this.
"Pfftt, jeez Shiro, you're so harsh!" Freyja barely manages as she laughs.
Hayate frowns and exhales. "Wow, you totally killed the mood there, Shiro."
"Shiro, you don't need to act like we don't take our job seriously." Makina and Reina giggle simultaneously.
"You really resemble him, Shiro." Kaname softly remarks, a small smile on her face, her expression reminiscent.
Mikumo looks at Shiro evenly, her expression unreadable. Shiro looks back at her, their eyes meeting. They stare at each other for a moment before a buzzing sound grabs Kaname's attention. Turning to her purse, she pulls out her communicator.
"Kaname, are you and the girls finished shopping?" Mirage's voice sounds through the device.
"We are. Is there something important?"
"Well, we need Walkure and Delta Platoon to report back to the Elysion by 4:45." Mirage responds, her tone akin to Hayate's a minute ago.
"What's wrong, Mirage? You sound distressed."
There is a pause before Mirage responds. "I hope you're ready for a beat down, because we all have a sparring session with Shiro."
Kaname looks at the group, their gazes flickering to Shiro before back at Kaname. "We were made aware of this. We'll be on our way back now."
"Don't worry about it too much," Arad's voice coming through the communicator, "I already have the medical personnel on standby near the sparring area, and Shiro promised he would limit the broken bones to just Delta Platoon."
The call ended there, leaving the group looking at each other with any shred of confidence they had gone with the evening wind.
Sorry for the long delay in posting, things have just come up and took up my otherwise free time. Also, this chapter was a bit longer than all the others, so I hope that's some kind of consolation. Anyways, I appreciate all of you who followed the story, and even more so those who leave comments and criticism. See you all later!