Frustrated with his son, Soichi grumbled and crossed his arms. Although, now that he thought about it, Haruto wasn't entirely to blame. With the secret of the Valvraves, even the head scientist's son wasn't allowed to know the whole truth.

"When you were a child, I brought you to the lab with me often. I had to stop in order to keep the ruse of Module 77, but it's about time for you to start visiting him again."

Him...Haruto had vague memories of a person he used to talk to often as a child. His father wasn't the best conversation partner and he didn't always get to see Shoko. There had been someone else in his life. He remembered being a little scared of the research facility and all the adults doing serious work. And of how often he had to be tested, including blood tests.

Those were the worst.

But sometimes all he had to do was sit in a room with a strange orb. He always felt a strange energy from it and a voice that would call out to him. They would talk about a lot of things. The kinds of games they liked to play, favorite colors, whatever Haruto ate that day (Plue's answer was always runes).

'Haruto, do you know what I am?'

At five years old, Haruto's imagination was as wild as any child's and his answers ranged from doctor to gardener to ghost.

'You're not afraid of ghosts?'

'I'm not afraid of you', Haruto had answered honestly. He put his hand against the orb, his father called it the core. It felt warm and there was a faint pulse. Haruto saw the image of a young man appear from the core. It was transparent, like a ghost. Haruto smiled. And Plue smiled back.

"Plue...", Haruto said, more to himself than anyone else, not noticing the look L-elf gave him. "But wait, why did you say I'm spoken for?"

"Because Plue is part of a super advanced race, along with his sister Pino", Soichi said. "And with him you shall breed a hybrid superior to both humans and magius."

Haruto knew his father could be eccentric but this was all sounding insane. Magius? Hybrids? He knew who Pino was, at least he mostly did. She was the AI of Unit I. But he'd never thought of her as a real person. But if she was Plue sister then...

"Wouldn't it make more sense to make this hybrid with Pino?" Haruto had his doubts about breeding with entities that didn't exist on the physical plane, but he needed to know his father's exact thought process before he did anything crazy.

"You don't need a female body with the power of runes", Soichi said as if it were obvious. "You'll see soon, my son. Until then, I'll not have you wasting your time with inferior specimens." He turned a less than approving look to L-elf.

"L-elf isn't inferior! He's amazing!", Haruto shouted.

"For all intents and purposes, you are engaged to Plue. Good day."

The video call ended and Haruto's cheeks were red. His father was weirder than most but he certainly did his parental duty of embarrassing him. L-elf didn't say anything and walked away to lie in his bed.

"Don't take anything he said too seriously! I'm too young to be engaged! And anyways I...I..."

"You have feelings for Sashinami Shoko", L-elf said, his back to Haruto as he faced the wall.

"How did you-!?"

L-elf didn't reply, his mind working quick. When Haruto fell asleep, L-elf quietly exited and met up with the other members of his team. They gathered in an unlit classroom.

"These mechs are hiding something not of this world", L-elf began. He told them everything he had learned from the conversation between Haruto and his father. But there was still much to learn.

"We could try to get some intel from the other pilots", H-neun suggested.

"They're just students who showed better potential than the rest of the masses", A-drei said. "I doubt they know anything."

"The best target is Tokishima Haruto", L-elf decided.

"What more can you do? You're already bunking with him", Q-vier pointed out. "Are you gonna torture it out of him?"

L-elf shook his head. "I have a method in mind that will be more effective than pain. The prime minister of JIOR will be visiting tomorrow."

He told his team the plan, of which there was really only one step and it was all on L-elf but he made sure they all knew his intentions. With that done, they returned to the dorms they shared with the pilots.

The next morning, all the students were awake bright and early to prepare for the prime minister's arrival. He would be coming to personally show his gratitude for their efforts and accomplishments. And of course to visit his daughter. Shoko was practically buzzing as she helped Haruto get ready for the day. She was brushing his hair, trying to tame it for the presentation.

The pilots would parade their Valvraves down main street before meeting with the prime minister. L-elf leaned against the wall behind them, dressed in a reserve regalia. He and the other Dorssians had been wearing the school's uniform but as this was an official event, had to be seen in JIOR's colors. It would further solidify their status as traitors to Dorssia.

They wouldn't be part of the parade, but would still present themselves to the prime minister along with the pilots. L-elf would've laughed at the idea of bringing enemy assassins in front of a world leader, but his team had no plans to kill anyone today.

Shoko finished the best she could with Haruto's hair, which hardly did anything at all and left to go to her station. L-elf walked side by side with Haruto to see him off to Unit I.

"You and Sashinami are very close. It is a shame it can never be."

"What? Why are you saying that?", Haruto asked.

"How can you allow yourself to be with someone when you might attack them from missing a single meal?", L-elf asked.

Haruto didn't have an answer to that. He'd never thought of his condition as something dangerous but now that he thought about it, he did attack L-elf before. He would never want to do that to Shoko. But there was a chance he would do it again. Missing a rune application just by a little bit had turned him into a monster. Haruto continued to dwell on it throughout the day.

Even when he took his Valvrave through the streets, he was thinking about how Shoko and all the other students would be safer keeping their distance from him. Maybe he could only truly make a connection with someone who didn't have a physical body.

"Today we honor those who have fought for our country valiantly and have risked their lives doing so", the prime minister began his speech. Haruto was only half listening, having to be nudged by Inuzuka when he was prompted to speak. He stepped forward as the leader of the pilots.

"We thank you for your kind words and the support from our families and the people of JIOR. And I want to formally welcome our Dorssian guests", he said, gesturing to L-elf and co. L-elf stepped forward as Haruto continued his address.

"We also welcome any others who wish to seek refuge from Dorssia." With that, Haruto smiled and turned his attention to L-elf, who was meant to say some words himself. He'd been given a script meant to show how grateful he was to JIOR for taking him in and how they'd work together to defeat Dorssia. He decided to ad-lib just a little.

"My squad and I couldn't be more thankful for the hospitality shown to us. I am especially indebted to the compassion, honesty, and love that was given to me."

L-elf took Haruto's hand in his and then, before a physical and online audience of thousands, kissed Haruto's cheek, sending everyone in an uproar.