Hello everyone! :D

I hope you all are doing well! I FINALLY managed to pop out another chapter! Don't worry, I'm also working on my other stories as well! Things have been a bit slow, but I'm trying to pick up the slack and get back to writing! Soooo without further delay, here we go with chapter 1! :D

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: IRON-BLOODED ORPHANS OR ANY REAL WORLD REFERENCES IN THIS STORY!

Ch1 - One Step Closer

456 P.D. New Edminton, Earth, Grand Earth Federation

The sun shone down upon the streets of New Edmonton, the buildings glistening from its rays. A winter breeze blew through the streets as vehicles and people bustled about. With the morning breeze came the students of a certain highschool. The town of New Edmonton was home to one of the most prestigious military academies in the entire Grand Earth Federation. The gates and walls surrounding the campus were made out of a pristine metal that reflected the sun's brilliance. In one of the corners of the campus, a great colosseum.

Inside, a match was being held as cheers could be heard ringing throughout the bleachers. Two mobile suits clashed the blunt clubs they used for weapons.

"You little shit!" One of the mobile suit pilots grunted, as he raised his weapon. "Take this!" He slammed the club against the body of the other suit, the sound of metal clashing with metal rang again throughout the stadium.

The pilot in the second suit grunted by steadied himself and swung up with his club, making contact with his opponent, successfully knocking him backwards. He chuckled to himself as the referee called the match. The pilot in the fallen mobile threw out a slew of curses as they both went back to the bay doors on opposite sides of the stadium. As the doors shut behind the victorious pilot, he took off his helmet and strained his short, white hair, hIs green eyes fixed on the ceiling of his cockpit.

"That's one step closer…" He murmured to himself. He turned the mobile suit around to face the closed doors as arms extended from the walls around him, taking his weapon and straightening the mobile suit out before locking it into the back wall. Flashing red lights and the blaring alarms reminded him of a past life as the floor began to lower into the ground. After a while, his suit stopped descending and a new set of doors opened in front of him. The mobile suit was slowly wheeled out on a track on the floor.

From his cockpit's visuals, he could see other students and workers performing maintenance on the other mobile suits in a massive underground chamber. As well as the suit he had just beaten being wheeled in on the far side of the chamber. Each mobile suit had its own section embedded in the side walls of the chamber. His mobile suit stopped next to an empty section before the track turned the mobile suit facing the opposite wall. It was slowly backed up until it locked in place, completing the docking sequence.

"This is third-year Yukine Asano. EB-08 Reginlaze VII, Unit Number 12, Docking complete." he said

He began the disembarkment sequence and stood up to get out. He waited patiently as a catwalk lowered down in front of the mobile suit's chest cavity that wrapped around to a walkway behind the back wall. As he stepped out, he stretched and took a deep breath. This facility was referred to as the Dome. All things mobile suit related happened in this facility, besides a few minor things.

"Hey! Yukine!" A voice behind him called. He turned around and gave a small chuckle. Two of his classmates walked up to him. The first, a male student a little taller than him with brown hair and eyes smirked.

"Cutting it a little close today, aren't we?" The student said, jabbing his elbow at Yukine's arm. "I thought you said it wouldn't be a problem?"

The white-haired pilot just sighed. "Listen, Shawn." He said, annoyed at his friend's remark. "Things happen. How did I know he was going to change his tactics like that?"

"That sounds like excuses, Mr. Tough guy" Said the other student with a giggle. "How can you expect to pilot the Barbatos in the future if you can't even give him a true run for his money in this bucket of bolts?" she said, gesturing to the Reginlaze.

"I just need more practice, Leia. And you should be more focused on your studying." He shot back with a frown. "Your grades have been dropping, haven't they?"

"Hey! That's a cheap shot!" She said with a pout.

"He's got a point." Shawn said with a shrug, earning a glare from both Yukine and Leia.

"You're doing worse." They both reminded him. These times in his life, Yukine really appreciated where he was at. The fact of the matter was that he actually hated the Federation. Yet here he was, learning to pilot mobile suits for their army. It was quite the contradiction.

But with this, He thought to himself, I'm one step closer to my goal.

Some people dream of fame and fortune, and others dream of love or even peace. In a way, Yukine dreamt of peace, but he only envisioned it one way: the destruction of the Grand Earth Federation Government. And he was willing to do whatever it took to reach that goal. Even if it meant becoming a part of that structure. If he could become someone with the power to change the tide of battle, and to take down anyone who would stand in his way, it wouldn't matter how long it took. He clenched his fists. His determination and frustration with his predicament seeped to his facial expressions.

"Hey, Yu?" Leia questioned, snapping the green-eyed boy back to reality. "What's wrong?"

"Uh, n-nothing." Yukine said before clearing his throat. "I'll meet you guys in the dining hall after I change." They waved goodbye and headed off. In the locker room, he got undressed and decided to take a quick shower. He loved the feeling of the cold water slowly warming up as it fell upon his tan skin. The only places he didn't feel the water were the four metal protrusions on his back. He ran his hands through his hair and gazed at the ceiling. In his mind, memories flew by, as well as thoughts about a certain mobile suit.

"Hey, you white-haired douchebag!" A familiar voice yelled. "I know you're in here! Show yourself!" This caused the teen to grimace. He turned off the water and grunted before wrapping a towel around his waist.

Great, now I have to deal with this idiot. Yukine thought to himself. He exited the shower area to find a teen a little older than him staring him down. He was an upperclassman, and one of the highest ranked pilots in the academy. His head was covered in buzzed blonde hair, and his blue eyes were as cold as ice. Known to pick on those of lower status or rank, and especially any lucky "Space Rats" who got into their school, they had become enemies quickly. Yukine clearly was shorter and had less mass than the guy, but this wasn't they're first dispute. He knew this guy's personality and the way he operated like the back of his hand.

"Who do you think you are walking off like you're better than me, huh?" He growled.

"I won fairly, and I don't act like I'm better than you, Ross. " Yukine replied. His blue eyes glaring at him. This duel marked they're forty-seventh battle, most of which had ended in a loss for him. However, he had begun to turn things around and eventually stopped losing to the muscle-head.

"Screw that!" The hulking upperclassmen growled, pushing Yukine against one of the walls. "I know for a fact that you are cheating!"

"If you want, you can check the mobile suit I used today for an Alaya-Vijnana System again." He shot back with a glare, knowing what would come out of his mouth next.

"You Space Rats should all just up and die!" Ross howled before slamming his fist into the side of Yukine's face. His head hit the wall as he fell to the floor. His fists clenched and he bared his teeth. He shakily stood up, trying to not lose his cool.

"Call me what you will." Yukine growled back, resisting the urge to let loose. "But my win was legit. And if you really want, I can flaunt my wins over you."

"WHY Y-"

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU TOO THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" Yelled a man's voice. Both of them froze. At the exit of the locker room stood a man in an officer's uniform. The man had no hair on his head, and some made comments about this and his height, but his eyes were always the same. One look and you stopped whatever you were doing. Same thing with his voice. Both stopped you dead in your tracks when he had enough. They both stopped what they were doing and turned to face the officer. They both saluted as he marched over to them.

"Cadet Asano! Cadet Crowler! What the hell is going on here!?"

"Nothing sir!" They both responded standing at attention and with straight faces.

"Sure! And I'm Santa Claus!" The officer grunted sarcastically. "You two are driving me insane with your bullshit! Cut it out, or I'll make sure you both will be cut from the pilot program! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!?"

"Yes Lieutenant Kramer!" They responded.

The Lieutenant sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You kids really are a pain." He grumbled. "Now, Crowler, come with me. As for you, Asano…" The cadet noticed the man's eyes drift to his back. "Get dressed and carry on with your day. And don't let me hear anything about you both getting into trouble. Understood?"

"Yes sir." They both responded. Yukine watched the both of them exit the locker room, leaving him by himself. He gritted his teeth recalling the Lieutenant's gaze falling on his Alaya-Vijnana. He reached back and felt the metal against his fingertips. In all honesty, he was torn about it. He remembered each operation vividly. The pain was immense and he couldn't stand it. Especially the first one. He never wanted them to begin with, yet he made the choice later on to have it done three more times. Why?

If he was able to, then why can't I?

That thought stuck with him the rest of his life. His reason for becoming a mobile suit pilot in the first place was to be like…

"Mikazuki Augus." Yukine muttered to himself. "If I can be as strong as he was, then maybe…" He shook his head, putting those thoughts away for the time being. In order to fulfill his goals, he needed to graduate and become the best pilot in the entire Federation, as well as the Union. He finished cleaning up before putting on his uniform and leaving.

In the mess hall, he found his friends waiting for him. Leia gave him a lecture on not giving Ross the time of day, while Shawn laughed it up about the encounter before getting an earful himself. After that, they were back in classes. But eventually, the day came to an end. They walked together for a bit, one-by-one they split off to each head to their dorms. Yukine pulled out his key card and unlocked the door. "I'm home." He called into the unit.

Each one was built to hold three cadets, separate rooms for each one. But only two people lived in his. The cadet walked in and noticed someone at the table. It was a young pale girl who had just started middle school. She had short blonde hair and as she turned around, he was reminded how her green eyes definitely gave off a warmer feeling than his. She had a smile on her face that brightened up the partially lit room.

"Welcome home, Yukine!" She said, getting up to greet him with a hug.

"Huh, I didn't expect you to be home yet, Eris." He said with surprise.

"Got out of school early!" She replied happily. "My friends and I went and got new earrings!" She said, showing off the pieces of metal pinned to her ears. They were made in the shapes of intertwined hearts. He gazed at them and gave her a soft smile.

"What do you think?" She asked.

He chuckled. "They look great on you." He responded, earning a giggle from her as she went back to the table to continue her homework.

They may not have been related by blood, but he always had a soft spot for her. And she was the only one who treated him like family. Yukine unpacked his bag and went to change into more comfortable clothes. After he was settled in, he made them both dinner and before he knew it, it was lights out.

However, he couldn't fall asleep. He got up from his bed and checked on Eris, who was fast asleep to his relief. After gently closing her door again, he wandered into the main living space. He gazed out at the city skyline, wondering why things were the way they were. He reached back over his shoulder and touched the first whisker. The memories were always haunting him. Especially the memories of what happened to the unlucky ones in which it didn't take.

Why did it work on me? He wondered. He hated it. Even though a more humane and safer version of the system had been designed to eliminate the lethal effects of the surgery, he hated it. The system was first devised over four hundred years ago, to help humans surpass their limits and end what is known as the Calamity War. It was used to give pilots spatial awareness while piloting mobile suits. Basically, nano machines were implanted into the spine of the pilot. It was done at a young age since they would fuse with the growing body of the pilot. Otherwise, it resulted in paralysis or worse. Nothing could change the fact that he had it now, so he willingly chose to have the surgery done three more times. It is said that you can increase the effectiveness of the interface with more nano machines.

Mikazuki Augus. A mobile suit pilot known for his aggressive nature on the battlefield. He became known as the "Devil of Tekkadan" because of this fact. As an orphan in the city of Chryse on Mars, he joined the Chryse Guard Security as a child soldier. There, he was essentially forced to get the Alaya-Vijnana surgery. However, after his initial surgery, he got it two more times. And that was what made Yukine decide to go a step further. The stories he heard about Mikazuki and his strength left him in awe, and he figured he'd be able to do anything at that point.

And here he was, going to school to become a Federation mobile suit pilot. He was slowly getting closer. The twist was that once he became the strongest pilot in the Federation, he would immediately be faced with one of the biggest challenges of his life: to destroy the Federation itself.

Yukine knew it was impossible now, and even when he got to that point of no return, he could never do it on his own. But he would cross that bridge when he came to it. He also knew that he wasn't the only person within the Federation that could recognize its true nature. However, when it came to Leia and Shawn, he couldn't help but feel torn. Even with his quest to take down the Federation, he was constantly thinking about their well-being.

Eris already knew of his feelings towards the Federation. And even as young as she was, she understood and felt the same. They were both from situations that caused them to gather strong negative feelings about the G.E.F. and she was committed to helping him whenever she was able, even if now she couldn't do much. And he admired her for that, though he wanted nothing more than for her to have an easy life. For an eighteen year old, this was a lot to have on one's mind. But it was already too late for him to have a peaceful life.

"Yukine?" He heard Eris call his name from behind him. He had been staring out the window for some time now. He turned and noticed the worried look on her face. "Were you…" He nodded, knowing what she was going to say.

"Yeah. It's really all that goes through my mind these days." The teen replied. "Over and over. These thoughts replay through my head on repeat, regardless of the time of day or what I happen to be doing."

He felt her grip his arm. Her eyes locked on his. "Just promise you won't leave me too." She whispered as she buried her face into his arm. He gave her a hug and rubbed her head.

"Never." He said assuringly. "I'll always be there. I'll always protect you."

Early the next morning; when Yukine, Leia, and Shawn got up for they're morning training; they noticed something different. Though, Yukine had a guess as to why. He glanced around while they stood in formation, and finally laid his eyes on a familiar face. A man with short black hair underneath his uniform cover. His familiar brown eyes reminded him of hazelnuts.

Is that… His eyes widened in recognition.

"Alright cadets, listen up!" Their commanding officer shouted. "Today we have a special guest with us. Colonel Kent Wicherton, Commanding Officer of the Earth Forces 5th Mobile Suit Brigade is here to oversee today's activities."

As they all stood at attention, the Col. began walking over. He noticed Col. Wicherton's eyes make contact with his, giving a small smile before addressing the entirety of the cadets.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen." He said. "As your CO stated, I will be overseeing all of today's training and activities. Now, I know that you all are in your dress uniforms as you were told, however we will start off with some training like usual." This earned surprised looks from all of the cadets, as well as the other officers.

"If I may, Col. I-" The CO stated.

"Lieutenant Colonel, I am aware you all informed them to wear they're dress uniforms." Witcherton said, a smile on his face. "However, there are some rather specific things I am particularly looking for over the course of today's exercises. Not only for the top brass, but for myself as well." He stated, turning back to address the cadets.

"You all have forty-five minutes to go to your dorms, change into your PT uniforms, and be at the Dome. You are dismissed." He said before turning around and walking towards the main building.

What is he up to? Yukine wondered. All the cadets returned to they're quarters to change, and eventually met up in formation at the Dome. Each of them were clearly anxious about what the Colonel was up to. He then appeared with the other officers, all of which were in they're pilot uniforms. The cadets murmured around, confused.

"Why are they in they're pilot uniforms?" One whispered, "And why are we in our PT uniforms?"

"You all must be wondering as to why we are in pilot uniforms, while you all are dressed for physical training." The Colonel finally said, earning everyone's attention. "That's because were going to play a little game I like to refer as 'Avoid the Mobile Suit.'" No one spoke a word, and Yukine could feel the uneasiness inside him rising.

I have a bad feeling about this. He thought.

"So, everyone will be split into groups, and you will have thirty minutes each to avoid getting caught or shot by a mobile suit! Trust me, it will be loads of fun." He said with a grin. "Okay! Try not to die!"

Hope you all enjoyed! Please, please, pleaaaase let me know your thought! I love to see and hear what people think about my writing(because i know it needs work lol XD)

Thank you for reading!

~Mike

AS ALWAYS, FEEL FREE TO LEAVE A REVIEW OR A QUESTION IN EITHER THE REVIEW SECTION OR IN A PM, AND THANKS FOR READING! :D