The next morning, Akira woke up earlier than usual, showered, dressed, and then headed out into the early morning mist. He walked aimlessly for a while, lost in thought. After the song had ended, he and Yoshika had gone for a walk together, just talking, arms still around each other. They'd finally headed back to their rooms much later, and he had promptly fallen asleep. His dreams had been a confused tangle. He woke up less rested than he should have been. The truth was, he wasn't really sure how he felt about Yoshika. He'd never really had time to think about women like that in general; he'd been too busy trying to survive.
He had to admit he had enjoyed it immensely. Having her arms around him, snuggled against his side had felt...right. He'd learned so much about her, he hopes and dreams, things she was interested in, what her family was like. In return, he'd told her about his training, his friends among the warlocks, his teachers...and his father. When she told him about her father, he'd felt something loosen inside him, and it let him open up to her in a way he never had before. She now knew more about him than anyone else he'd ever been friends with.
In a way, that scared him a little. He'd never been a position like this before. It made him feel, well, vulnerable. He wasn't used to feeling this way, all open and exposed, and really had no clue how to deal with it. The breakfast bell started to ring, so he turned and headed back the way he'd come. As he passed the entrance of the dorms, Yoshika came sailing out and nearly collided with him. He caught her out of reflex as she stumbled, then froze for half a second. What should he do? Then he shrugged mentally. What the hell did he have to lose?
Yoshika giggled and righted herself. "Oops! Sorry about that, Akira!" she said, wrapping her arm around his. "Did you sleep well?"
He nodded, grinning at her bouncy exuberance. "Yes, I did, thank you. What about you?"
"I sleep like a rock," she said, smiling and resting her cheek against his shoulder. She took another whiff of him like she had last night. He still smelled wonderful to her.
He chuckled suddenly. "It's my magic."
She looked up at him, confused. "What?"
"What you're smelling," he explained, grinning at the look on her face. "Smells like juniper and mint, right?" She nodded in bewilderment, and he chuckled again. "Yeah, that's what my magic smells like. The fact that you can smell it is actually kind of surprising. Normally only warlocks can detect the scent of a person's magic."
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" said Charlotte's voice from behind them, causing them both to turn. Charlotte, Francesca, and Lynette all walked up to them together. Charlotte took Akira's wrist and tugged him off to the side. "Akira, can you and I talk for a moment, please? There's something I need to discuss with you." Francesca and Lynette both grabbed one of Yoshika's arms and hustled her along to the dinning hall before she could protest. Once she was out of sight, Charlotte turned to him, arms folded, a smug grin on her face. "So?"
"Soooo what?" Akira asked, looking at her.
"So are you going to tell me what happened last night?" she asked, her eyes glittering mischievously.
On the inside, Akira grinned. Two could play this game. He folded his arms and regarded her cooly. "Why should that matter to you?"
She chuckled and pushed him playfully. "Don't tease, you jerk! I want details!"
Akira grinned. "Sorry, I couldn't resist messing with you. But as for what happened, well, nothing much. We went for a walk, talked for a while, and then went to bed."
"Well, what do you think?"
"What do you mean?"
She pushed him again. "Of Yoshika, silly! What do you think about her? How does she make you feel?"
Akira thought about that for a long moment. "She makes me feel...happy. We have a lot in common. We both lost our fathers, we're both considered very powerful magic users. We both have a lot to live up to. I feel like I can talk to her about anything at all, and she will understand where I'm coming from."
"So, you like her then?" she asked, prompting him.
"Well, yeah, I guess I do," he said, blushing a little.
"Good," she said, and folded her arms again and turned to walk away. She turned back to look at him. "Oh, and Akira?"
"Yeah?"
"Yoshika is one of my closest friends."
"Okay? What's your point, Shirley?"
The smile she gave him was all teeth and didn't reach her eyes. "My point is, if you hurt her, I will hunt you down and skin you like a deer, then use your hide for toilet paper, understand?"
He chuckled and mock saluted her. "Yes, ma'am, understood!"
She grinned, her normal friendly self back in place. "Good then. Now, let's go get breakfast, I'm starving!"
They caught up with the other three just as they reached the door to the dinning hall, and they all went in together. They sat down at the table, Yoshika sitting next to Akira. He started a little as he felt her take his hand and twine their fingers together under the table. He glanced around the table in time to catch a wink pass between Eila and Barkhorn. He froze for a moment, then set down his fork and looked around.
"Okay, do any of you not know?" he said, looking from one of them to the other, grinning a bit inspite of his irritation. They all blushed a little, but most of them nodded. "Well, if that's the case, then I don't see why we have to be subtle, since you all know and none of you seem to care." He reached down and grabbed Yoshika's chair, pulling her up next to him. She squeaked in surprise, then laughed. The others laughed and cheered as he put his arm around her shoulders, picked up his fork and resumed eating.
Yoshika blushed furiously, then they all froze as Major Sakamoto came into the room. She looked at them all, her uncovered eye lingering on Yoshika and Akira. Akira looked up at her, but kept eating.
"Sergeant Osaragi, what are you and Ensign Miyafuji doing sitting like that?" she asked, her gaze unwavering. Yoshika tried to stand up, but Akira tightened his arm and held her down. He swallowed his food and looked up at the major, his expression unreadable.
"Well, we're having breakfast together, ma'am," he said quietly. "After which I thought we would go for a walk, maybe get some training done in the process. Is there something else you'd like me to do for you?" He held her gaze unflinchingly, even though he was sweating bullets on the inside. Suddenly, she blinked, and he could have sworn there was the tiniest bit of a smile on the major's face.
"Very good, sergeant, carry on then," she said, then sat down and filled her plate and began eating. Afterwards, as he and Yoshika we walking along the outer path of the base hand in hand, she punched him in the shoulder.
"I can't believe you did that!" she cried, glaring at him. "You scared me half to death! We could have gotten in serious trouble if the major had disliked what we were doing!"
"But she had no problem with it," he said, then had to bite back a laugh at the expression on her face.
"What?" she asked, completely perplexed.
He tapped his nose. "Her scent told me. She approves of it. She was just messing with me was all."
She gaped at him, and this time he did laugh out loud. "It's FINE, Yoshika, trust me. I know what I'm talking about," he said, and squeezed her hand. "Now, what do you say we go back to the-"
He was interrupted as the raid siren went off.
"What, now?!" Yoshika yelped as the two of them turned and started to run back to the base. "But I thought the attack wasn't supposed to be for another two days at least!"
"So did everyone else," Akira said, grimly. "The Neuroi must have stepped up their time table for some reason. Come on, let's get in the air."
Five minutes later they were soaring through the clouds rapidly closing on the contact the radar had picked up. They split up into two groups. Yoshika, Akira, Eila, and Barkhorn made up the first group, while the second was comprised of Sakamoto, Charlotte, Francesca, and Hartmann made up the second. Lynette, Perrine, and Sanya had stayed back near the base to handle any that might get through the others.
"What the hell is that?" Barkhorn cried in alarm as the Neuroi came into view. It was unlike anything they had ever seen before. It was a perfect sphere, slipping from side to side as the girls opened fire on it, dodging the bullets with ease.
"Duratus!" Akira said, and razor sharp spears of ice flashed from his hands, but the Neuroi twitched sideways and they sailed harmlessly by. Then it did something unexpected. It changed form. It became like the humanoid one Yoshika had encountered so long ago. A blade of red energy appeared from the end of its arm and it lunged forward, slashing at Eila, who dodged hastily with a startled oath.
"Voco gladius!" Akira said, and a curved sword with an iridescent blade materialized in his hand. The Neuroi swung around and halted in front of him. Akira chuckled and twirled the sword in a figure eight pattern. "Well? Come on then, we don't have all day." The Neuroi dashed in, and their blades rang loudly as they clashed. Their movements were a blur, a constant stream of slices and parries, thrusts and slashes. The Neuroi scored a shallow cut down Akira's left arm, but he gashed it's right leg in response. They continued to fight for another three minutes until Akira suddenly noticed a gap in the Neuroi's fighting style. He didn't hesitate, but lunged forward, impaling the alien through the chest. It writhed on the blade, then immolated, turning to ash in a matter of moments.
"Akira, look out!" Yoshika cried, and threw herself forward, between Akira and the second, much larger Neuroi that none of them had seen coming. It smashed her aside, and she plummeted out of the air. With a cry, Akira dove after her and caught her just above the ground. She was unconscious and bleeding from a bad cut on her forehead, but she seemed to be okay. The others surrounded them, while above them the Neuroi simply hovered and seemed to be watching. Then it began to make a peculiar noise. It took them all a moment to realize it was laughing.
"Barkhorn, Eila, take Yoshika please," Akira said, quivering with barely contained rage. As soon as she was securely held in the other girls arms, Akira shot upwards, stopping to hover before the gigantic Neuroi. He glared at the creature for a long moment. "I can tell you're no foot soldier," he said, crossing his arms. "If I had to guess, I'd say you're some kind of leader, aren't you?" The alien nodded, and Akira gritted his teeth. "Well then, that'll make destroying you all the more satisfying. Lumen!" A brilliant beam of light lashed out from Akira's palm, but the Neuroi simply swatted it aside like a bothersome fly. Then it dashed forward and smashed Akira backwards with a huge backhanded slap. He recovered and lunged forward again, attacking with a renewed ferocity. But no matter how hard he tried, the Neuroi simply dodged or blocked his every attack.
"Well...you're...certainly a...tough bastard...aren't you?" he said slowly, panting hard. "Seems that...my normal tactics...aren't gonna work." He straightened up and wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. "Well, that's fine. I'll just have to step it up." He made a complicated gesture with both hands, and two huge magic circles appeared on either side of him. He turned slightly to look at the girls. "I want you all to stay back. I have no idea what is going to happen here, so I want you to stay out of the way, alright?"
He turned back to the Neuroi. "You just opened a whole can of worms that you're gonna wish you'd left closed." He closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, then after a moment, began to speak. The voice was not his own, deep and resonating, and the words seemed to spring into his mind as though from somewhere else. "Attendite nunc hue me fortis fpiritu! Salvum me fac, ut potentia ad vastandum quos charissimos qui nocet! Ira tua, veniat ut simo flatu nostri erroremque hostibus illum! Veni inquit, anima proelium, Quixos autem Ferrum Draco!"
There was a brilliant flash of light, which made the girls shield their eyes and turn away. When their vision cleared, they gasped in shock. Where Akira had been was a creature unlike anything they had ever seen before. I was huge, at least ten feet tall, and it's body rippled with muscle. It's fingers were tipped with six inch claws, and three curved, razor edged bone spurs sprouted from the outsides of it's forearms and calves. There were also two more jutting from each of the creatures shoulders. It had two short horns on its forehead, and its eyes were slit pupils and an acidic yellow with flecks of orange and red. Its ears were long and pointed, and its mouth was filled with a double row of shark teeth. It also had a long, flexible, whip-like tail, and two gigantic wings flapped slowly, keeping the being aloft. Its entire body was covered with blood red and burnt orange scales.
"What...what?" whispered Yoshika, having recovered. She was confused. "What just happened? What is that thing?"
"That is his anima proelium, his 'battle soul'," said Sakamoto, staring at the creature that had take Akira's place. "It's an ability unique to warlocks. They can transform into powerful beings from other planes of reality. That one...that one is arguably the most powerful of them all, and hasn't been seen in more than two thousand years. His name is Quixos the Blade Dragon. We need to get further away so we don't get caught in the middle of this fight. Let's move!"
"That won't be needful, Major Sakamoto." Quixos turned to face them. His voice was like tectonic plates grinding together, rumbling up from deep within his chest.
"A-Akira?" Yoshika said hesitantly.
The mighty creature before them shook his head. "No, Yoshika Miyafuji, I am not the warlock you know as Akira Orasagi. Fear not, he is perfectly safe." He turned back to the Neuroi. "Now then, as for you, Dark One, you have no place here. Begone." He snapped his fingers and there was a tremendous explosion, the sky seeming to tear itself apart around the Neuroi. Quixos turned away and started to move towards the girls when a beam of energy lanced out from the cloud of smoke. He sidestepped and the beam sliced past him harmlessly. He turned; the smoke cleared, revealing the Neuroi still hovering where it had been before.
Quixos raised a scaly eyebrow. "Oh? That's quite impressive. There aren't many creatures that are capable of surviving that attack." He suddenly cocked his head to one side and sniffed the air. "Oho? What's this? The ability to nullify magical attacks? Well well well, that's most impressive indeed. But fear not, I have more than just my magic."
Quixos vanished, only to reappear behind the Neuroi. The creature spun around just in time to block the attack with one of the blades of energy from its arm. Quixos grinned, the bone blades on his arm locked tight with the Neuroi's blade. "Well, your reflexes are most impressive. Not that it will help you much." In the space of a few seconds, they trade more than eighty blows, faster than the eye could follow. Quixos started to laugh; it caused a shiver to pass down the girls spines.
"Is this really the best you can do?" he said, still laughing. "If this is the strength of the Neuroi, you have no hope of ever winning against even Akira Orasagi, my warlock partner, much less me. I have had enough sport. It is time to end this. Get out of my sight!" With two savage movements, he knocked the Neuroi's blades aside, and slashed the Neuroi across its "chest". He then turned and smashed his hand forwards. His hand pierced the Neuroi's body, and they hovered there for a long moment. Then the Neuroi immolated, burning away from the inside out. When the last of the ashes had drifted away, Quixos turned to the girls and made another sweeping gesture. There was a brilliant flash of light, and when the girls opened their eyes, they looked around in amazement to see that they were all back at the base.
Sakamoto rounded on Quixos. "What the hell did you do? How are we back at base?"
Quixos raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Peace, Mio Sakamoto. It was nothing more than a simple teleportation spell, that is all." He turned to Yoshika. "Now then, as for you, little one, I have a little something to tell you that I think you will find important. Please, come with me." He turned and walked out of the hangar. After looking at the others for a moment, Yoshika followed him out. After walking a short distance away, he turned to her and knelt down in front of her. Even kneeling, he was still more than a head taller than her.
"Do you know anything about the bond that is shared between a warlock and his anima proelium?" he asked after a moment. Yoshika shook her head, so he went on. "Well then, let me tell you this. I know what he is thinking and feeling at any given moment. I know his entire past, every little thing that has ever happened to him, even the things he himself has forgotten."
He gently put a hand the size of her head on her shoulder. "Believe me, he needs someone like you more than you could possibly know. He has been through so much, lost so much, and yet has never given up. Ever. He has never let the pain of his past and the losses he has suffered show to others." He looked away for a moment. When he turned to look at her, his expression was almost pleading. "Promise me that you will be there for him when he needs you most. You are the anchor he needs to keep him in this reality."
"What do you mean?" she asked, confused. "Keep him in this reality?"
"Every time a warlock uses the power of the anima proelium, they run the risk of something called a 'mind breach' occurring, where the anima's personality completely takes over his. There is also another problem. Using this power also erodes some of the warlocks personality. In other words, the more he uses this power, the more he forgets who he is."
Yoshika gasped. "Really?"
He nodded sadly. "And the fact is it happens even faster with me because I am so much more powerful than any other anima. However, having those around who care for him will help him retain his sense of self. So please, promise me you will stay by his side and be there for him."
"We all will."
They turned to see all the others walking up to them. Charlotte folded her arms and grinned at Quixos. "We will all help him. He's our friend, after all. What else are friends for?"
Quixos smiled and nodded. "True. If that is the case, then I am content. I have seen it happen to every warlock I have ever been bonded with. I don't want to see it happen again." He stood up. "Well, my time is done for now. Remember, please, take care of him for me. Redde me locum esse." There was a blinding flash of light and a rush of air, and when their vision cleared, Akira stood before them. He looked at them for a moment before speaking.
"Well...Quixos the Blade Dragon, huh? Not what I expected, and yet not at all disappointed," he said, then his eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed sideways. Yoshika caught him before he hit the ground, cradling his head in her lap.
"Akira! Akira, are you okay?" she said worriedly, shaking him gently. "Akira, wake up! Akira!"
Sakamoto held a hand against his forehead and checked his breathing. "Don't worry, he's fine. He just passed out from magic drain. Give him a good nights rest and he'll be just fine. Come on, let's get inside. We could all use some rest after a day like the one we've had." With Barkhorn and Hartmann carrying Akira between them, and Lynette supporting Yoshika, they all turned and headed inside.