Chapter 2-Making new friends

I feel like I most definitely need to apologize. I don't write, and therefore upload, on anything near a regular basis, I write when I feel like it and when I get ideas. However, that means I tend to spend a long time writing each chapter. Though the waits should be longer (at least until late April) because I'm just done with my GCSE mocks, so I'll endeavour to speed up my uploads, as much as I can at least.

Ryuu's P.O.V.

I woke up early the next morning, around half six. Immediately, I hopped out of bed and stretched out, readying myself for a morning of training. I pondered for a second waking up Mei, but it occurred to me that: a) She would be beat from training yesterday; and b) She wouldn't get up even if she wasn't tired. Sighing, I quickly brushed my teeth and dressed myself in my t-shirt, jeans and combat boots, and grabbed my niuweidao before heading out of the door. When I turned the corner, I suddenly had a few thoughts. This was a military base, and I suspected we'd probably recruited once the top brass got wind of me and Mei. And when would High Command want to see us? Questions with no answers I guess.

"Hey, Ryuu!" I turned around to see Major Sakamoto holding her katana, seemingly having the same idea as me.

"Hello Sakamoto, going out for some training?" I asked, earning a chuckle in response.

"Why yes, the sword isn't just for show after all." Taking her words in, I smirked.

"Want a challenge?" I asked her. She glared at me intensely.

"Whilst to anyone else I would say yes, what you and your sister were capable of yesterday was crazy. I'd have to be completely off my rocker to even suggest a spar against you." I huffed at her response.

"No fun are you… Well, never mind, want to train with me? I could help you learn some more advanced techniques," I replied. Mio's eyes literally gleamed at my offer.

"Of course! When do we start?" she eagerly replied. I thought for a second, before something occurred to me.

"Uhh, I'll have to come back to you on that. But I need to ask you a question first."

"Shoot."

"Is there a Lei Jie Rui in the human forces?" I asked. Mio pondered this for a second before responding.

"Yes, relatively recently Lei Jie Rui was promoted to Lieutenant General of the Song Empire, a country just west of Fuso on the mainland. No-one pays attention to it, even though it took a big hit from the Neuroi though…" I thought about that. Oh, poor China…

"Well, that answers a question. Want to know who he is?"

"Who?" I smiled fondly.

"My mentor, and the commander of the 12 dragons." Mio's brain took a few seconds to process this, and she suddenly ground to a halt where she stood.

"Whoa, whoa. There are 12 of you! And you aren't even the strongest?!" I sighed at her response.

"1) Yes, there are 12 of us. 2) I am the strongest, he is the best commander." Mio took this in, then appeared to notice something.

"Will any more of you appear?" she asked.

"Maybe, though I can't promise anything." I decided to ask Terra.

Got any news on that Terra?

Well, I can tell you that they're all coming, and at the same time. When-your guess is as good as mine.

Well, that helps I guess. And the fact Sensei is here explains his disappearance a year ago.

Doesn't it? As I ended my mental dialogue with Terra, I began walking again, prompting Mio to walk after me.

"No news on that front, other than they'll all come at once Mio," I told her.

"Mio? A little chummy don't you think?" she asked, clearly somewhat irritated.

"Oh lighten up. I'll call you Sakamoto if I become part of the armed forces. Speaking of which, do you know when the top brass will want to meet us?" I asked.

"Well, Generalleutnant Adolfine Galland and Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring are already here, along with that bastard Air Chief Marshall Trevor Maloney."

"A-grade bastard?"

"A* if ever there was one. You'll see. Anyways, when High Command last phoned-yesterday-they informed us the meeting would probably be in a couple of weeks, when: Air Chief Marshal Katherine V. Litvyak and her husband Field Marshal Dmitri Petrenko arrive from the Eastern front; Brigadier General Amiruddin Arif Bin Sulaiman and his wife Major Cecilia G. Miles arrive from North Africa and Lieutenant General Lei Jie Rui arrives from the Far-East." I whistled at the impressive list.

"Seems like our arrival shook things up."

"Understatement~. Also, I have a feeling your mentor probably knows about the other dragons coming, and probably tried to push a meeting for a close as possible to their arrival."

"True." We walked outside and before long we reached the beach.

"Want to train today?" Mio asked me.

"Yeah sure, why not? Tell you what, why don't we just do some light sparring, after all they do say practice makes perfect." Mio eyed me cautiously.

"I thought I said anyone of sane mind wouldn't fight with you?" I rolled my eyes at her response.

"I'm not fighting you or challenging you to a duel, so you don't have to worry about your health you know." Even if I was, I wouldn't maim or kill her just in a duel. I'm not some psychopath, geez…

"Okay then, what do you propose?" Mio asked, still eyeing me somewhat cautiously.

"Simple," I responded, "You have to land a hit on my body." Mio looked somewhat taken aback by my request.

"Are you sure?" she asked me.

"Certain." Looking at me as if I were insane, Mio took a sideways swing at my body. I promptly jumped over the swing. She swung at me again, this time I ducked under the swing. Getting frustrated at me, she began to swing at my body over and over, and yet each time I bounded out of the way.

"What the hell?!" She kept swinging, her hands a blur and the sword wooshing past me but try as she might, she couldn't land a hit. I sighed.

"Use your magic."

It's magic eye, just so you know Ryuu.

Thanks Terra, was just about to ask.

"It's bloody MAGIC EYE Ryuu, do you know what that does?" asked Mio, angrily.

"Of course," I replied, dodging her continued swings. "It's perception-class magic that allows the user to see clearer and farther and also see Neuroi cores, peculiarly enough. Unfortunately, it doesn't see through clouds for some reason."

"Exactly, so-"

"In its advanced stage, it can also detect magic flow, most forms of energy, a short distance into the future or through a distinct amount of anything, depending on the user's choice," I finished. Mio looked at me stunned.

"Advanced stage? What is that?" she asked, stopping her swings. I stood up straight and brushed myself down.

"Basically, all magic has at least two levels. Magic Eye just happens to have three-basic, advanced and master. Anyways, all magic has another level, but that's a story for another day. Anyways, basic level magic is accessible to anybody with magic and is usually quite weak and in-versatile, just like your Magic Eye's basic form. Now, advanced level magic is usually more versatile than basic level, but not always stronger. It also has one drawback, for magic with three levels, people who only learn the second level can only use it in one form at a time," I explained to her.

"So basically, my magic has two stronger levels?" she asked.

"Yup, and level 3 is powerful, especially for Magic Eye. Magic Eye turns to Eye of Ruination or Eye of Construction depending on the person, and it packs an awfully great punch," I began to explain. "Eye of Ruination allows you to decompose whatever you see on the atomic level, whereas Eye of Construction allows you to make temporary constructs of whatever." I suddenly realised that our original purpose had been lost whilst we were chatting out here, and that the sun was beginning to rise over the base.

"We should probably head back in now," commented Mio. I nodded in response.

"Yeah, before anybody gets worried or curious about where we are," I responded. The two of us walked back into the castle together as the sun rose above the horizon.

When we got back into the base, I got into my standard routine for the morning. After breakfast, I went out for another bout of magic training, intending to do some solo training. However, fate seemed to have other plans.

"Ryuu!" called out Erica, heading towards me. I sighed slightly, wondering how she managed to figure out where I was. I distinctly told no-one of where I was in an attempt to get some solo training done.

"Hey there Erica, what're you looking for?" I asked her. She gave me a sly grin.

"Magic practice." Oh no, you did not just ask me to fight you.

'Hey Ryuu.'

'What is it Terrra?'

'Give it a try Ryuu, this might actually surprise you.' I put a finger on my chin, mulling the thought over. Which did not go unnoticed by Erica.

"Sooo~?" she asked, dragging it out.

"Deal," I replied, "Whenever you're ready." I assumed a combat stance as Erica assumed hers.

"Sturm!" Erica catapulted herself towards me, wreathed in roaring winds and moving at breakneck speed. I dodged to the side, drawing my blade as I did so. I blunted the blade heavily as I swung it, using the heavy weight of the tip of the blade (like a machete) to twist my body around as well. After I had completed a full revolution, I brought the blade crashing down on Erica. Or rather where she was.

"Goddamit! Sunaarashi!" I raised a raging sandstorm around me as a shield, pushing Erica back.

"You're pretty good Ryuu!" Erica darted upwards, legs still shrouded in the winds that once covered her entire body.

"You're not bad either Erica, but…" I decided to kick things up a notch. I engaged my level 2 abilities.

'This is seriously overkill Ryuu.'

'Hey, no pain no gain right?' I heard Terra mentally facepalm as I grinned, feeling one of my magic dampeners deactivate. Immediately, a brown aura flared up around my feet and wrists, giving the impression of something like a blaziken. I opened my eyes to see Erica musing at my current form.

"So, what do you think?" I asked her, looking for her response.

"Looks like fun!" I was surprised by her response, wondering why she said that. Then she made it obvious.

"Oh hell…" As quickly as I had reached my second level, Erica decided that now would be a nice time to reveal hers. Instead of her aura flaring out of her wrists and feet, hers instead caused a grey-ish field to envelop her entire body, more fitting of an aura.

"Let's go! Groβer Sturm!" As soon as she had finished, she sprang forwards at me with her right hand balled up into a fist, intent obvious.

"Jishin!" I slammed my fist into hers, but she recoiled back whilst I stood firm due to the nature of my power.

"Heh, still pretty good!" Erica exclaimed. I grinned back at her.

"You haven't seen anything yet."

"Reaaaally? Show me!" I brought my blade up above my head, looking her directly in the eyes.

"Jishin-kai!" I leapt forwards with all my might, arcing my blade over my head. As I sought to bring it down on Erica, she did something completely unexpected.

"Sturm guard!" She raised both her arms in an X shape, creating a block with them. As my blade resonated and glowed a dull brown, her arms became wreathed in raging winds that whipped and snapped at my blade as it descended. As the two made contact, an enormous explosion engulfed the area we were sparring in, flattening it entirely.

'Whoa.'

'Told you she might be stronger than you think.' As I listened to Terra chide me about my overconfidence, someone else decided to join in.

"Erica! What the hell was that, you said that you were going out for some light training!" As I looked over at Erica, she looked away from me sheepishly before responding to Minna through the transponders.

"Sorry Minna, I got a little carried away sparring with Ryuu."

"A little?! And what do you mean by sparring?!" I could practically hear her fuming on the other side of the line, so I attempted to put in a good word for Erica.

"Sorry about that Minna, the two of us just got carried away. But-"

"If the two of you were training I have no qualms. Just let me know if you are planning to level an acre of British forest next time!" I cringed at her voice before continuing.

"Erica is on another level, I'd like to know if there is anyone else about her standard on the base," I asked of Minna.

"Well, apart from Erica… hmmm… I guess the only other real pros on base are myself and Captain Barkhorn. But…" I understood her apprehension.

"She doesn't really seem to be a big fan of me, does she?" I asked.

"No, she really doesn't. I suppose Erica has told you?"

"Yes." Erica visibly grimaced when I mentioned that to Minna.

"Okay then. Normally I'd make a ruckus about breach of privacy but I'll let it slide this time. Anyways, I want the two of you back in, Mio was looking to have Ryuu help train the girls."

"Okay Minna."

"'Kay." After hearing our responses I heard a little crackle over the transponder, signalling Minna's tuning out. I turned to face Erica.

"Shall we?"

"We better, I think I ticked off Minna one too many times this week." I nodded in response, understanding what she meant. Whilst Minna doesn't look like a harsh commander, I get the vibe that she knows just how to make people listen and follow.

After entering the base, I watched as Erica ran off to go and find Minna. Meanwhile, I waked over to the hangar, knowing that Mio was just done with running and would probably be moving over to sharpshooting, sparring or tactics. I got it right first time.

"Hey there Ryuu!" I waved back at her as my sister, Lynne and Yoshika turned around to see me.

"Onii-san!"

"Sato-kun!"

"Ryuu!" Three different responses from three different people. Interesting.

"So, I heard you wanted help with training the girls Mio?" I asked her. Mio waved me over to a rifle Lynne was prone next to.

"Here, a 14mm Boys AP rifle. There," she gestured to a target way down range, "A target."

"Let me guess. Hit it."

"Congratulations! Do you want a gold medal?" I chuckled a little at her response.

"No offense but I really didn't take you as a stickler for sarcasm Mio." She seemed to give me a look as I said that.

"I'd tell you not to call me Mio but what the hell. And even I can throw some sarcasm in once in a while." I shrugged before turning back to the rifle.

"Not my call." I lay down and picked it up, sighting up. "Perfect." Then I activated my magic. Not an awful lot, just a helping hand.

'And I've been relegated to helping hand. Thanks.'

'You're welcome.' I heard Terra groan before my familiar features popped out. One long, scaly, club-ended tail and two scaly ridges on my head later, and…

"Oh my God!" a surprised Yoshika. I grinned slightly, before I heard Mei's footsteps behind me, causing me to sweat.

'Haha, gonna get yo ass whooped.'

'Can it Terra, I already know that.' I gulped as I sighted the target up and steadied my aim with Terra's assistance.

BOOM!

The rifle jolted back into my shoulder, but I felt nothing more than a slight tap thanks to my enhancements.

'And here it comes!' Suddenly, my sister whipped out her pistol, a Browning 1911, and shot twice, bulls-eyeing the target once and then sending the second shot straight through the exact hole the first had gone through. I sighed as I stood up to see my sister giving me an evil smirk.

"Got you again bro!" she taunted. I groaned at how she acted.

"Yeah, yeah, we've already established that you're the markswoman, now can you stop showing me up. Unless you want me to do the same for you?" I asked her, my tone obviously irritated. Pretending to be scared, she ran around the back of Mio, causing Mio to facepalm at her childishness.

"Good grief, two picture perfect shots and there you go, tail between your legs, running to hide behind me to escape your brother like a child!" Mio sighed in disbelief before turning to me. She looked more than a little irritated.

"And you, could you please at least try to hide your irritation whilst you are here? I want to do some training rather than have to play peacemaker." She put a finger on her chin in thought. "Actually, the two of you go to Minna, I believe she might have readied a tactics and formations briefing for the two of you."

"Oh Sakamoto-san, can I-" Yoshika was quickly cut off by Mio's arm swinging down in front of her, blocking her.

"NO! You still have to do PT Yoshika, and you too Lynne. You guys need to be in tip top shape if a Neuroi attacks!" Sakamoto yelled at them. I watched them shrink a little in fear, poor girls…

"Well, we'll-be-taking-our-leave-bye-now!" rattled off my sister, dragging me by my arm. I stumbled a little, having my arm pulled like that.

"Wha-wait! You don't even know where you're going yet!" Mio yelled after us.

"We'll find out, don't worry!" my sister replied. Sighing at her eagerness, or maybe desperation to get away from Mio, I went with her, despairingly waving goodbye to Sakamoto, Yoshika and Lynette.

"So, you refused Major Sakamoto's help, dragged me into the base and went on a wild goose chase with me in a vicegrip only to turn up empty?" I crossed my arms and glared at my sister, causing her to shrink a bit.

"Well, eheh, you see, umm…"

"Go on?" I prompted.

"Sorry?" A tick mark appeared on my forehead as I felt my magic begin to run rampant, a small sandstorm forming around me.

"Eheheh… Oh…" Mei suddenly noticed the sandstorm getting slowly more intense, and thickening to the point where I was almost invisible inside.

"Oh, hi R-r-ryuu?" Erica walked in on me about to give Mei a 'little' pounding. I instantly dispelled the sandstorm to take a look at her, and her head was tilted 90ᵒ to the right, giving her the uncanny appearance of a curious owl.

"Hey there Erica," I sighed in response. "You wouldn't happen to know where Minna is, would you?" I asked her. She giggle slightly at the fact Mei was cowering in a little ball up against the wall, and the fact that my hands were now stuffed in my pockets.

"Yeah, I was on my way right now!" She then turned to my sister, giggling again. "You can stop you know." My sister suddenly uncurled herself, looking at me suspiciously.

"You know you have no reason to blame me for what I said right?" I asked her. She sighed in defeat.

"Yes onii-chan…" I patted her head, causing her to look up.

"Well, looks like Erica just saved your ass, could you lead us there please?" I asked Erica

"Sure thing Ryuu!" She skipped off happily, leaving me and Mei to follow after her. It didn't take us long to reach the briefing room. I facepalmed and Mei took it a step further, facefaulting.

"Well, it's not like this was obvious huh?" I groaned.

"Yeah, wow, can't believe we didn't think about the briefing room," responded Mei. Erica's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Wow, I'd expect Mei to go airheaded on us, but you too Ryuu?" teased Erica. I flared up at that.

"Hey, I didn't vicegrip someone and drag them around a military base without any knowledge on where I was going!" I countered. Her sly smile told me I wasn't getting out of this easily.

"But you did go rage mode on your sister when the location was kind of obvious~" she sang.

"Yeah bro-" I shut her up instantly with a glare.

"Well, looks like nearly everyone is here then." I whipped around to find Minna standing in the corridor, with Eila grinning in the background. "And you already know you can't surprise me Eila." She jumped slightly at Minna's response causing me to chuckle a little at her response.

"Your foresight can't tell you everything huh?" I joked. She simply stuck her tongue out at me in response.

"Okay then, settle down. We're here to do a tactics briefing with Mei and Ryuu. I already got a demonstration from Ryuu about how well he performs," she paused for a second, before turning to Mei. "But I haven't really seen you fight yet Mei."

"Oh! Does that mean I have to duel someone then?" she asked. Minna nodded in response.

"Yup, uhh…"

"I'll do it Minna," volunteered Eila. I raised an eyebrow at her decision.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, you can see the future right?" I asked her.

"Yeah, but doing something about it is completely different. The Neuroi and other people using tech from this era are easy enough to deal with but you guys are on a completely different level. It should be fine. Oh, and we'll be doing paint shell training, not any of that super risky live duelling I know Karslanders love," finished Eila.

"Fine by me but can we go already! I want to duel!" complained my sister. Grinning, Eila dragged her off.

"I'll give you a tactical analysis when we're back Minna!" Eila yelled back at us. Minna sighed in response before turning to me and Erica.

"How much do you already know?" she asked me. I put on a finger on my chin whilst thinking.

"Hmmm, 1944 means that… Ah! Two people in a rotte, two rottes in a schwarm and four schwarms in a gruppe, right?" I asked.

"Precisely! Anything else?" I proceeded to explain my knowledge of V-formations, wedges, echelons and other formations, along with aerial manoeuvre knowledge from some textbooks, like Immelmans, Split-Ss and Tailslides.

"Well, it does seem like you know a lot about aerial combat already so this shouldn't be hard. You and Mei are going to form a reserve rotte, kind of like an emergency element that flies separate from the main squadron," explained Minna.

"So if anything goes tits-up we can respond, right?" I asked.

"I'd prefer you not explain like that, but yes, in essence." I realised my mistake and instantly apologized, garnering an honest giggle from Minna.

"Wha-"

"No, no, it was just funny to see you scramble to correct yourself." I gaped at what she had said, earning another giggle from Erica and Minna.

"Well then…" Minna turned slightly serious again, though still smiling.

"No, the reason you guys are flying separately is not only your speed, but also advanced radar."

"OH! So staying ahead and above of the group…"

"Precisely, you can scout and relay information. Also, your missiles provide excellent long-range capabilities."

"Yeah, but there is a limit." I frowned slightly.

"Oh, do tell?" asked Minna.

"Whilst we can rebuild them with magic, it takes a good few minutes to do so, and it requires a bit of focus."

"So basically in battle they're one shot wonders unless it goes on for a long time." I nodded and Erica seemed to realise what I was hinting at.

"So we shouldn't use them unless necessary?" asked Erica.

"That's right. It could be a problem if it turns out we need them later on in a fight and don't have them," I clarified.

"That could indeed be a problem…" Minna contemplated it for a while. "Oh well, so since you and Mei have the advanced strikers you have, the plan for you guys is to be the vanguard of our formation, then once we've made contact with the enemy to slip to the back where Miyafuji and Lynne will most likely be."

"Lynne because she's a sniper, but Miyafuji?" I asked.

"She needs some more experience," clarified Erica. I nodded to show I understood.

"Ok then, makes sense. Other than that, what else?"

"We change formations on a regular basis, but usually Mio flies solo, doing her observation. Sanya's a night patroller, I think you know that by now. Other than that, everyone basically rotates around different roles," Minna finished. I nodded in agreement.

"Okay then, is that it?" I asked.

"Yep, you're free for the rest of the day now." I turned around and left the room promptly, pondering what to do with the rest of my day.

Turned out that was decided for me.

"Hey! Ryuu!" I heard the loud voice of a certain Liberion witch ring out from down the hallway. I turned around to see Shirley running towards me, her, ummm, how do I put it? Oh hell, her breasts bouncing like a kangaroo on a pogo stick.

"Well hello Captain Yeager, I see the Liberion Rockies are in motion?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her. She looked questioningly at me for a moment, before grinning.

"Yup, you'd have to be deaf and blind to not notice these things!" she replied slyly. I was taken a little aback at her teasing reactions before smirking back.

"Well, well, looks like your used to this," I shot back at her. She giggled a little at our small back-and-forth.

"Touché," she responded. I shrugged a little before getting back to the point.

"So what did you want me for?" I asked her. She shuffled her feet nervously and looked down.

"Is there a way…? I could… have-a-go-in-your-striker!?" she nervously yelled out. I chuckled a little at the way she asked me. She looked at me curiously.

"Go right ahead! But do be warned, that thing'll suck up magic like a bitch, and the wingpack can take some getting used to," I cautioned her. She giggled and jumped like a little girl on Christmas Day.

"Sure thing! Thanks!" And as quick as that, she dashed off, leaving a small dust cloud in her wake. I chuckled to myself again. The antics of this unit are starting to rub off on me.

I ended up doing not much until dinner time. Did a bit of training, looked around the base, and chased Erica for half an hour for no apparent reason. Hmmm… seems like the atmosphere of this unit really is rubbing off on me. Anyways…

"Dinner time onii-chan!" came the yell from the corridor. I already knew of course because of a little voice inside of my head.

'Oi you faggot, I'm not that small!' Ok then, not so small voice in my head.

'Speaking of which Terra, can't you manifest a physical body whilst I'm not using my powers?' I asked her.

'Yeah, I figured we'll give them a few days to get used to us being here before I do that. Familiars taking on physical form isn't exactly the norm around here, in case you haven't noticed.' I guess that's as good a point as any. I sprung off my bed before opening my door and walking down towards the dining room. I whistled a small tune whilst going down, and by the sounds of thing everyone was already in the dining hall.

'If you want me to help, just ask. Geez.' I passively used my magic to see who was in there. Hmmm… no Eila or Sanya. Interesting…

"Hey there Ryuu! Dinner time right!" I whipped my head around to see Eila and, surprisingly, a fully awake Sanya.

"Hey there girls, fully awake are we Sanya?" I asked. She nodded gingerly at me.

"Yes, sorry about yesterday, I was a little out of it from everyone arriving." I waved her off with my hand.

"Don't worry about it, it wasn't your fault after all." Sanya smiled back at me, whilst Eila pouted. Eila walked away a little grumpily and opened the door to the dining hall, prompting the two of us to enter. I took my place at the table next to Mei and Erica and looked at the vast table of food out in front of us. All kinds of Japa-, sorry, Fusoan and Britannian cuisine laid out in front of us. Hmmm, this seems kind of extravagant for a military meal.

"Hey, Minna?" I called for her attention.

"Yes?"

"Why are we so well stocked and supplied?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, if you're talking about this base in general, we aren't very far off supply lines to the various allied ports near us. If you're talking about this unit," she gestured to this room, "Witch units tend to get the better end of the stick, because of our unique capabilities against the Neuroi." Hmm, I guess that makes sense.

"Ok then, not that I'm complaining of course! I could do this every day!" I commented, earning giggles and laughs from the table.

The rest of dinner progressed, for the most part, without incident. I was able to go to sleep without any trouble, and fell asleep before long, ready for what tomorrow might herald.