Chapter 2-Unmasqued
Hiroki Mori was by no means a happy man this weekend. Scratch that, he was not happy at all in the past three months. Having your paramour admit to looking into greener pastures, a near-death experience or two, and being saddled with the world's latest iteration of the ready-made apocalypse can do that to a person. He can only sigh at the absurdity of the situation on the school's rooftop.
'Damnit, how many times again I've nearly met my maker?' he wondered, as he continue to partake in the rooftop's fresh air. He then looked at the reason for his current predicament, the crimson-pink bracer that wrapped itself on his right arm.
The crimson-pink bracer contained the IS Unit 'Spectra', the current problem maker for its owner, and the very thing that let its owner escape from the jaws of death and capture. It came with a composite weapon 'Strike Veil' on his left shoulder that can morph between a grappling claw, a shield, and a cape for all-around defense. It also gave him an arm-mounted gunblade that can morph from his forearm armor, giving him a near-all-melee approach in combat.
' I cannot fault the machine that much if it has saved my life for many times'. Hiroki mused, but not forgetting the fact that for some reason he was able to be running incognito, even with his efforts, mayhaps because he was in some sort of a truce zone, or the fact that anyone connected to him was not harmed. ' and besides, those whole lots were clamoring to kill me for this bracer'
His musings on the roof were interrupted by the arrival of a woman. She was of his age, was dressed in another school's uniform, and looking at him intensely, as if wanting something from him.
" What do you want with me, er.." he asked
" Katsuragi, my name is Katsuragi" she introduced herself
She seemed rather intense so to say, it made Hiroki somewhat nervous. He can't exactly say he's any good at reading people with any confidence, but the way she eyed his bracer sent an unsettling image to him.
" Okay, Ms. Katsuragi, what do you want from me?"
" I want to inform you regarding a very grave matter, Mr. regarding your life, and your IS strapped to your right hand. And depending of your answer we can get you a favorable situation" she answered him and sitting next to him. She then steadied herself, trying to find her composure. " You hold with you a great power, that can upend the world's military might in a single sortie. How exactly did you come around that thing?"
" I came around with ' this thing' when I was out fishing. The rest of it came with me being hunted by some sort of terrorist group for this" he motioned to the bracer. "Do you know about ISes specifically, Hiroki?" Katsuragi asked, clearly testing him.
" I've heard about it, something about 467 units of powered armor made by one Shinono Tabane right?"
" Yes, you're exactly on the mark.100 points for you." Katsuragi answered with a smile, a smile that probably hid so, so much more. " But did you know that there are 33 more of those units being produced, of the books?"
" Wait, there's more of them?" Hiroki was surprised at the fact. He didn't know anything about those 33 extra units. He always assumed that Spectra was one of the 467 units that are active.
" Yes, and your unit, Spectra, was it, is one of those special 33 units made by Tabane herself. They were the most special units, Tabane herself poured her everything into those cores before Ichika Orimura killed her in cold blood" She continued, " My point is, why don't we join forces under these circumstances, considering that our lives are in danger either way?"
" I know of the 'our lives are in danger part' very well, but i don't exactly know why are you so laser-focused on getting me on your side? Don't they have the folks in the authority that deals with that stuff?" Hiroki asked incredulously.
" You know the problem very well, Hiroki-san, no one in the IS board will give a damn to a nobody like you, not even when you show them 'Spectra'"
What she speaks of holds some truth, ever since the IS was unveiled, us boys were relegated into second-class citizens at best. Even with Ichika Orimura was revealed to be able to use and pilot the things, the treatment never changed, it's just like a celebrity being celebrated, with the others spent their life being shunned for being born with the wrong groin.
" So I raise you a proposal, Hiroki, join us with Angelus, we can cleanse you of your wrongdoing in this life" She proclaimed to him, with full conviction
Hiroki, however, was puzzled
Angelus?
Where did I hear that name?
That name sounded very familiar
Very Familiar
" Tell me, I know it's a bit sudden, but what is Angelus exactly?"
This conversation felt really uncomfortable at a sudden
" Busted, eh, Mr. Hiroki? You're sharp as a tack, truly as sharp as they say."
" We at Angelus, at the organization that has been hounding you, want to enlist you in our ranks. You see, you've killed a respectable number of our ranks, the pilots are replaceable mooks, but you have shown great skill in piloting the unit, it's such a waste seeing that skill being used like that. We even avoided your family for your sake, so how's it gonna be, kid, you game to join us, or are you game being a puddle of blood?"
Angelus, the name clicked just now, they are the guys that are all about taking over the world by force, or so they claim. The recent terrorist attacks i heard on the news attributed those attacks to Angelus after they spotted findings that they are responsible, putting every nation on high alert.
" Please tell, , what does Angelus aim for exactly, you cannot exactly achieve anything by attacking at random"
" Good grief, you still asking at this moment? Fine, we aim for world domination, a world where our orders and wishes are made absolute, A world of unity, so to speak, under the wishes of Shinonono. Is this what you want to hear? Do you want to join us, or do you want those words to be your last? Hell, I'll throw in a harem of women for you, considering you just got dumped recently"
I don't exactly know who was, but considering the fact that she nearly plunged the world into chaos. I cannot say in good faith that it will do me any good. But a harem of women seems so nice though…
"No"
"Come again?"
"No" Hiroki affirmed "Not even when you offer a harem of girls, will you get a favorable answer from me, ."
"A shame, then" Katsuragi sighed, her right arm forming an IS-issue cannon " If you won't join us, then I'll gouge Spectra right from your COLD DEAD HANDS!"
Her cannon roared to life, From its mouth belched great fire and explosives.
Hiroki quickly drew his 'Strike Veil' forming a shield in an attempt to mitigate the damage.
-BOOM-
The damage was not insignificant, but non-life-threatening. The blast forced the school's occupant to quickly evacuate the premises and flung Hiroki from the rooftop into the ground below.
Meanwhile, Ichika Orimura was looking for this mysterious IS Pilot, can only sigh, the clue that the pilot left with his look and general characteristics had been a near dud since there were many people with blond hair and masculine-lithe build. But only one area of interest that still might be a good lead.
Ichika was very tempted to just grab the kid using his Byakushiki and hightail it already, but it was constituted as kidnapping, so he didn't try to entertain the errant thought. Arresting your own organizational chief for embezzling your funds or committing a literal crime was understandable enough cases. Jaywalking and general high-speed related issues were not exactly a good look for the corps, especially when they are nearly short-staffed enough as it is, with rumors of Angelus activities spiking in certain areas, all of it near a famous landmark, or famous districts.
From far away aided with a hearing boost from his IS' super senses, roared the loudest boom since literal TNTs. He knew that this explosion could lead him to the correct trail, or if lucky, lead him straight to the john doe himself.
He summoned the Byakushiki to intercept the disturbance, hoping that the assault did not take any lives that could be well lived. After he is done dealing with the current Phantom Task remnants that are on his way!
The fall did not hurt Hiroki as much as he imagined. Summoning Spectra at the nick of time did guard him against the initial blast from the cannon and allowed him to land on his feet. The damage to the IS' physical shield, and shield energy stocks, however, was fairly significant.
'700 remaining out of the maximum of 3000' He monitored
Such values were normal in the sport-use ISes, and some military ISes can hold such figures, or higher, depending on their value on the pilot of the unit. Any unit with illegal modifications was likely to hold numbers up to 9000 units of shield energy. It was noted that when the unit attain damage up to 80%, the beginnings of the Absolute Barrier began to seep in, covering any holes in the remaining defense as a last-ditch attempt to defend the pilot's life.
' That attack nearly drew out the absolute barrier, and nearly rendered the Strike Veil nearly inert'
"I'm surprised you survived that, Hiroki. Rumors of your skill were not exaggerated" Katsuragi proclaimed as she descends the building with her IS fully summoned
Katsuragi's IS 'Meltfire' was an illegally modded Rafale with parts added and removed according to her tastes, making it difficult to know which IS was the donor from the outsider's view. She then made her move by firing the cannon straight at her opponent, denying him the opportunity to react in time.
Her opponent, clad in Spectra's fully summoned unit chose to charge straight at her, deflecting the cannon shot and denying his opponent further access of firing the cannon without taking her out with him.
If cannon shot won't do the trick then! The cannon's mouth burned even brighter, its flames concentrated on a blade-like shape, coming down on Hiroki's torso like a guillotine. Her pods at her back also detached themselves from racks, with each cannon's mouth forming a blade of beam ready to cut the offending obstacle into tiny pieces.
While the action continued, Hiroki's classmates can only look with surprise. Considering the fact that Hiroki can use an IS while the damn thing was a female-only instrument was shocking, sure, the fact that he can at least match the presumed IS pro somewhat with merit was something that will never be a mystery to them.
The cannon and the pods made full-on close-range combat a rather challenging prospect. And thus, Hiroki opted to play bushwhacker with her, opening fire from his blade, occasionally defending from her pods with quick blocks. Then came the collateral damage, she began using blocks of the building that were shorn off from her attacks as projectiles, while her opponent used the wreckage as hiding spots while commanding any stragglers to run away as far from the combat zone.
Whatever damages they've dealt to each other, it took them all they had to not be the unlucky end of a series of counter-movements. In effect, the battle to the onlookers felt like a rather tense session of flamenco. One, if attentive could see a streak of white dashing to the battlefield dealing with the debris caused by the battles, and coordinating the escape of those caught in the crossfire.
" Look, It's Byakushiki!" one of the onlookers cheered
From one such cheer, many others felt relieved that at least from these two rampaging monsters, at least they have someone on their side. Ichika then commanded the others that arrived to continue coordinating the escape plan and went to the scene of battle.
Sensing Ichika's presence, Katsuragi began changing the objective of battle into escaping with the intel gathered. But…
" You won't escape me….." Hiroki whispered, aiming his blade cannon at the fleeing Meltfire. His aim was shaky at best, damages incurred while battling his opponent drew a lot of his stamina away, and his blade cannon was giving out near-inaccurate targeting solutions due to the swinging of his arm. He then took the shot, praying to whatever deity available to make sure the damn thing hits her back, especially when her shield energy was at an all-time low!
But he nearly missed her, the damage, while not small, did not deactivate her IS.
"DAMMIT!"
" Hiroki, that was a good tango" Katsuragi heaved " However, I can assure you, you will regret defying Lord Angelus! I'LL BE BACK FOR YOUR HEAD! KEEP IT CLEAN!" she shouted as she made her getaway.
Byakushiki Shinkai arrived at the schoolyard, where the battle had raged on, surrounded by debris of the buildings around it, and in the middle of it lay a young man, with skin white as porcelain, and dyed blond hair strewn by the aftershocks of damage.
To Hiroki, all he can perceive now is a figure in white coming to him, to take him where he doesn't know. All he knew is, the stamina drain of near-nonstop nocturnal combat made him start to hallucinate many things and threw him off his game. He can only wish he woke up in a somewhat reasonable place.