StrikerS: Pursuit of Perfection 24.5

The Quivering Stoic

"Levantine!" Signum slid to the side, whipping out her blade.

"Schlagenform." The sword broke apart, its snake-like pieces hurling towards the black-haired teen in the upgraded barrier jacket.

"Garyu Zwei." The blade extended in his right hand. Soran parried the pieces that swung close to him. "Hnh." The air rippled around his ankles before he leapt into the air.

"You think that will keep you safe?!" Signum looked up and the tip of her sword lanced for him.

His fin fliers tilted him around so he was in perfect position to clash with it, their weapons both ringing loudly. Twirling his blade around, he hooked two pieces of Levantine around Garyu and pulled it tight, reaching out with his left arm. "Rainbow Zwei!" The staff appeared at his side and immediately fell to the floor. "Huh?" He blinked, remembering that he had no left arm to work with. "Aw, shit."

"You're done!" Signum yanked Levantine back as hard as she could, swinging him to the padded wall. He hit it with a painful crunch, cringing as he stayed indented before falling to the floor.

"Simulation over. Winner: Signum." The morphing field deactivated around them.

Soran pushed himself up, shaking his head. "Well that one stung."

Signum held her hand out to him and pulled him up when he grasped it. "You need to reverse that automatic fighting style. I was right to ask for a sparring match."

"You're right, Signum-budaichou. Ever since Fate-san…." He fingered his missing appendage, now also missing the shoulder. "The new arm needs constant recalibration."

She nodded as they headed back to the main building. "She did that to save you, you realize."

"Yeah, I know. She figured out how to beat the trick of the Curse Field. By cutting off my arm up to the stab wound and slicing an X into my back. Some part of me thinks she actually enjoyed that though." Soran shook the thought out of his head. "Anyway, with the Scaglietti Twelve all in jail cells, he's out of the question for getting a new prototype arm. And since none of our techies know as much about the science as he, I've got to get used to this whole armless thing all over again. So thank you, Signum."

She nodded. "Although I didn't do it for your sake alone, Soran." She stopped in her tracks, her fist balled.

"Unh?" Soran stopped a couple of steps away and turned around.

"Lately I've felt anxious… distracted…. I had hoped my spar with you would rid me of that."

"Did it work?"

"Only temporarily, as you can see." She lifted her shaking fist.

"You want to talk about it? Let's head to the mess hall, get some lunch, and have a sit down."

She bit her lip. "Not there. Too many ears. Soran, come to my quarters, please."

Soran raised his eyebrow. "Okay… weird request there. This had better not be a love confessional, because after Caro…." She shot him a glare that burned a dot onto his forehead. "Right, silly me."

Signum put down a plate of sashimi in front of him, and placed one in front of her setting on the low table. Soran stopped surveying the room once she sat down across from him. The place was sparse, very dim in its lighting, meditative in nature. "Please eat." Signum picked up a piece of taka and spread some wasabi on it before gulping it down.

"Um… okay…." He swallowed, not sure what to expect from this homemade lunch. He picked up a slice of eel. "Here goes…." His eyes went wide as he chomped down. "Woah, that was better than I thought it would." She glared at him again. "Sorry."

She sighed. "Well I suppose it's not normal for the warrior who knows only battle to be expected to be culinarily inclined. However a true warrior knows that the blade has many uses outside of taking your enemy's life. It is a side that not many see."

"I'm honored you would trust me enough to show me that side."

She nodded. After finishing her meal, she placed her chopsticks down and stared at Soran. "The Casters are the cause of my uneasiness."

Soran had just taken a bite of inari as she said it, the rest dangling out of his mouth. He pulled it off and swallowed the rest quickly. "Continue."

"You would not remember this, as you were in stasis at the time, but after the final battle, we were forced to issue a public statement on the recent events and the lives that were lost. That included a sparse mention of the Casters."

Soran balled his fist. "So all the dimensions know about them…."

"Ever since then, there have been signs of discord in the allied governments. Some are claiming that TSAB was guilty of war crimes in the Presean War to cover up the weapon."

"Bushfire…."

"Others are accusing them of attempting to obtain the weapon without their knowledge, in an attempt to overthrow everyone."

"Something which they can't completely deny either…." Soran shook his head.

"Since then, there's been internal discord. And even though its research is outlawed, there are signs that other governments are seeking out singularity-based weaponry again. Soran, we're in the midst of a Cold War." Signum closed her eyes and turned away.

Soran pinched the bridge of his nose. "How close are they? How close are they to making a Caster?"

"No one in the next few hundred generations will come close to making a Caster, Soran. You know that. What we're up against now will be something far less controlled, and far more destructive. It will make the neutron bomb look like a mosquito bite." Soran's eyes went wide. "It could happen at any time. No one knows exactly how close they are. But when they do…."

"The powder kegs will be set off, and another interdimensional war will begin." Soran gritted his teeth. "Just like Perseus… no, it's our duty to make sure that travesty never happens again. It's our duty as survivors of that war… and my duty as Caster Guardian."

"Now you know why I am not at ease, and why I asked you to come here instead of the mess hall."

Soran nodded. "My sister… um… Nanoha-san, how much of this does she know?"

"She knows enough that she can't toy with the recruits anymore. They need to be battle ready at any time."

"As do we." Soran stood up and bowed. "Signum-san, any time you want to spar again, please feel free to call. I'm going to see Shari about my arm. Thank you for the meal."

"And thank you, Soran." She bowed before the door closed.

Soran tromped down the hall, the Dark Trinity in his hand. 'War…. Another war…. I'm finally in a position to do something. To make sure that another Presean Slaughter doesn't occur… to make sure that the Casters stay where they belong…. I must be ready… need to be ready.' He stopped at a window and stared at the sunset. 'It's coming… this Lyrical Magical War.'

To be continued...