Chapter 3: A New Challenger Approaches!
Author's Note Part 1: Well, here's the third chapter to this story, and the second one that I'm starting today. Once again, at the moment that I'm writing this, Fanfiction won't allow me to log on, so I have no idea what you guys are gonna think of the past two chapters. But once again, I'm hoping that you guys like this, despite the obvious OP-ness that Alex has at his disposal.
Anyways, in this chapter, I decided to go along with canon for a bit longer, and I'm now writing out the fifth episode. For those of you looking forwards to more Original Chapters, well, you can expect at least one over the month long time skip that appears later on in the series, since I feel like that's a good point for them. Although, I might also do a couple here and there where our star couple goes on dates…
But anyways, about this chapter. So, as you guys saw in the last chapter, Alex and Ryuko are together officially, and at the time that this episode starts, in my head-canon at least, it's been about a week since the last episode. In fact, that's probably around the time that's between each "episode" in my mind, since it would make sense in this universe.
(Because if it was in ours, then I'd say that the time between episodes is weeks or months since in each episode, the courtyard for the Academy is as perfect as it was in the last one.)
But anyways, I think that's about all I have to say for this Author's Note. So I'll let you guys get to reading the actual chapter.
3rd Person POV:
"Ryuko you're the best!" Mako exclaims as she grabs onto her friend's neck and spins around, before bringing them both to the ground. At the sight, Alex laughs as he walks over to his friends.
"So you're able to bring down legions of One-stars like it's nothing, but your friend can bring you down to the ground with just a little bit of her weight and momentum." He says, making Ryuko give him a smile as she stands up with Mako, and the three make their way over to a large chain a few feet away, sitting on it with Mako on Ryuko's left, while Alex is on her right.
"Yeah, cause I'm not on guard around you guys." She tells him, getting a nod of acknowledgment from her boyfriend in response. As he nods, Ryuko raises her Scissor, and Mako and Alex watch as it folds in on itself impossibly. Then again, Alex was used to that kind of thing. Mako, however, was not.
"Ooo… Wow. When'd you learn how to shrink your Scissor down? That's so cool!" Mako exclaims. Ryuko simply closes her eyes as she leans back in response.
"Yeah, well, it's not that big a deal." She says, making Alex frown, though it disappears when she turns to face him. "Bet those sunglasses of yours can't do that." She says with a grin. In response, Alex shakes his head as he takes the glasses in question of his head.
"No… My Sangurasu are different." He says with a smirk, before flicking his glasses. In response, they suddenly grow in size to become as large as Ryuko's Scissor in its normal form in an instant. At the sight, the two girl's mouths drop open in shock.
"Whoa! Alex can do what you can do Ryuko!" Mako exclaims, the teen in question giving his girlfriend a smug smirk as she grumbles at the sight of her boyfriend being able to do something similar as he shrinks them back down to their normal size, and places them over his eyes once again.
~Sigh~ You're blood's been quite salty lately. Senketsu tells Ryuko, making her look down at him in confusion. It explains your cocky attitude. He continues, making her narrow her eyes at him.
"You can tell stuff like that from how my blood tastes?" She asks, Alex looking at her with a raised eyebrow as he realizes that she's talking to Senketsu.
Yes. I can spot any change in your physiology. Everything from your weight to your BMI. He tells her, making her recoil in shock as a slight blush appears on her cheeks from what he's saying.
"My BMI's none of your business!" She exclaims, glaring down at her Kamui.
You should still cut back on the croquets. Senketsu tells her, completely ignoring what she said.
"I'm gonna eat whatever I damn well want, damn it! Look, I need to keep up my energy if I'm fighting all these dorks don't I?!" She yells, Mako watching her with a smile on her face, while Alex simply scoffs from his place next to them as he realizes what the Kamui was talking about that got Ryuko to act like this.
Throwing tantrums is bad for you… As is greasy food. Senketsu tells her with a small amount of smugness in his tone.
"God! Would you shut up! And wipe that smug look off your face!" She exclaims, and said smug look gets a slight bit smugger.
How can I look smug if I don't even have a face? Senketsu asks in fake innocence, knowing that at times, he does gain a face… That, and his eye can convey his emotions.
"That's it! You're coming off, smart ass!" She exclaims, attempting to take Senketsu off. At the sight, Alex lets off a louder-than-necessary fake gasp.
"But Ryuko, I thought that I was the only one who got to see you in your underwear?" He asks with fake hurt, making the black haired girl pause as she turns to look at him with a smirk.
"Of course not. So does Senketsu." She replies, getting a similar smirk in response from her boyfriend.
"True, but I was talking about humans. We're at school after all, and for all we know, the president of the photography club could be around the corner trying to draw you out so that he can battle you next." He says, making Ryuko shudder at the thought.
"Don't even joke about something like that Alex." She tells him, making him raise his hands in surrender.
"Hey, we get into witty banter and it's practically anything goes… Practically. Now I know not to bring that up anymore." He tells her, getting a nod from his girlfriend in response. After they finish, Mako spoke up from her place beside Ryuko.
"Well, thanks for saving me Ryuko. It would have sucked if they cut my tummy open cause then if I ate my lunch, it would've spilled out. And then I would've had to eat everything all over again!" The brunette exclaims as she takes the lunch in question out of her shirt, once again defying logic, and opens it to reveal that it's filled with croquets.
"Your lunch is the last thing people want to worry about. If you don't watch your back you're gonna get-" However, Ryuko cuts herself off when she turns back to facing Mako, and sees the brunette falling back off the chain with what looks like a needle sticking out of her forehead. Her eyes widen at the sight, before hundreds of other needles stick into places all over her body.
"~Gasp!~ Mako!" She exclaims at the sight of her friend falling to the ground, before quickly turning towards Alex, scared that her boyfriend had received a similar fate. However, the sight that greets her is multiple needles sticking out of the chain where he was previously sitting, making her look around for him, and see that he's setting Mako down on the ground gently. When she sees this, she jumps down from the chain and kneels next to her friend.
"Hey Mako, come on say something!" Ryuko exclaims, her face filled with worry at the sight of her friend lying there as still as a statue, while Alex glared at where the needles came from, before they both hear a new voice that they didn't recognize, making them turn to see a guy that they'd never seen before making his way towards them.
"Don't worry, your friend's okay. The effects of the needles are therapeutic. They'll cure her of any fatigue she has, any illness, and when she wakes up she'll feel refreshed and energized." The guy tells the two.
"Oh, uh, thanks a lot I guess?" Ryuko asks, slightly confused. However, that confusion disappears when the guy raises a hand holding what looked like a sewing machine that had been modified to act like a gun.
"But your uniform will get no mercy! And neither shall yours!" He exclaims, looking at the two that are still awake.
Get out of here! Senketsu yells at Ryuko.
"Run." She mutters to her boyfriend, just before the man fires the gun. As he does this, the two leap away from the chain, and start to run along a wall. However, just as Ryuko gets ready to activate Senketsu, one of the needles manages to hit her foot, and she becomes paralyzed. She gasps at the sudden sensation, watching as the man leaps towards her.
However, before he has a chance to grab her, he's blindsided by Alex, and knocked to the ground a few feet away. As he stands up, he finds the teen in question standing across from him with his Sangurasu in its weapon form. "I'm gonna quote an old friend of mine here." He says, swinging his Sangurasu and knocking the needle out of Ryuko's foot, the guy narrowing his eyes at the sight.
"There are two things you need to know. First, this girl here, Ryuko Matoi, is my girlfriend. Second, if you so much as lay a finger on her, I will personally see to your burial." He says as he narrows his eyes, his outfit taking on a light green glow in the process, which then extends to his Sangurasu. In response to his words, the man narrows his eyes. However, just as he gets ready to raise his gun again, he feels something prick his knuckle.
Looking down, he sees a needle with a blue ribbon sticking out of it, and lets a frown make its way onto his face. "Fine, I'll let you be for today. But tomorrow, I'll be back to strip you both." He says, turning around to walk away. As he does, Ryuko finally takes a step forwards and speak up.
"Hey! Where do you think-"
~Clang!~
However, she's cut off as the man launches something at her, which Alex bats away with his Sangurasu with a glare on his face. "…Be glad that wasn't actually aimed at her, or I'd be following through on my promise." He tells the man, who grunts as he continues to walk away. As he does this, Ryuko stares at the two men in shock.
I… I didn't even see him shoot… She thinks to herself as the man finally disappears into the shadows, and Alex lowers his guard as he returns his Sangurasu back to normal. But... Alex did. Just what has he been through that allowed him to do that? She questions within her mind, still knowing no more than what he'd told her a week ago in terms of their eight years of separation.
After a few seconds of staring into the darkness the man walked into in order to double check and make sure he wasn't going to return, Alex turned back to Ryuko. "Hey… Ryuko!" He exclaims, making her snap out of her shock as she looks at her boyfriend.
"Huh… What?" She asks, and his eyes soften as he looks at her. Already seeing the signs…
"Ryuko, I want you to listen to me, and listen hard." He says in a stern voice, surprising her as she nods. "You have not been through what I have, so do not think for one second that you are weak. There is always someone that is stronger than us. And that means that all we need to do is get stronger to defeat them. Whether it takes years, months, days, or even a second." He explains, placing his hands on her shoulders.
He's right Ryuko. So don't think down on yourself. Senketsu tells his wearer.
"Now, let's go check up on Mako. I'd hate for what I was saying about the photography club earlier to turn out to be true, and they've now taken her as another hostage situation." Alex says with a small smirk, trying to release any tension in the air. He succeeds as Ryuko chokes on spit, before giving him a light glare, which soon turns into a softer look.
"Yeah… And thanks." She says, getting a grin in response.
"No problem, after all that's what good boyfriends are for isn't it?" He asks, making her chuckle as they head back towards Mako.
"No, good boyfriends are supposed to be at a girl's every beck and call." She jokes, making him laugh, and getting her to smile due to the sound. However, that smile is stopped when her lips are captured by his, and he pulls away after a few seconds.
"Yes, yes. Of course it is." He says. "However, I do believe that's only in the bedroom, Ryuko." He whispers with a teasing smirk, getting her to blush. At this point, they'd only gone so far as to make out, they hadn't gone any further than that.
And now your blood pressure has risen more than normal. Was it something that he said, Ryuko? Or was it that you were thinking about what he said? Senketsu asks her in a fake innocent tone, and in response, Ryuko looks down at him with a glare.
"Shut the hell up, stupid piece of clothing." She mutters, though she could swear that she heard him give a chuckle, before she raises her head to see Alex giving her a smug grin.
"I take it that Senketsu is teasing you about this, just like I am?" He asks her, and her huff of annoyance is enough of an answer as they arrive back at the place Mako had been to find her still on the ground with needles sticking out of her. "Well, I would poke him in the eye to get him to shut up, but I'm afraid that's in a certain place that I won't be touching until you tell me I can." He says, succeeding in making her blush as she realizes that he was referring to how Senketsu's eye was situated right over her breast.
"Shut up!" She exclaims, making him laugh once again, before it's cut off as she grabs his shirt and stares into his eyes. "Shut up… And kiss me already." She continues, pulling him into the kiss in question, which he gladly returns, before they separate a few minutes later, Ryuko now pushed against the wall with Alex almost pressed against her as he has his hands against the wall on either side of her head, and both are panting a bit with their faces flushed.
Giving his girlfriend one more peck on the lips, he pulls away, and walks over to pick up Mako bridal style. As he walks away, Ryuko feels a little disappointed, and Senketsu decides to speak up again. Well, now you're thinking about what he said about poking "me". He says, the cheeky tone clear in his voice, and it makes Ryuko's face regain the blush that she'd lost moments ago.
"Sh-shut up Senketsu!" She exclaims, the clothing chuckling audibly, for her, this time around as she starts to curse him… Even as she does think about what her boyfriend said in the back of her mind, which keeps her blush on her face, along with how her clothes continue to tease her about it.
Later that night in the Mankanshoku family's dining room, everyone can be seen eating the croquets with smiles on their faces. "Wow sis! You're really chowing down!" Matarou exclaims in response to seeing his sister eat faster than Guts was, who had been punted into the wall each time he attempted to get food from Alex.
"I know, I'm starving! I feel great though! My fatigue's gone, I don't feel sick, I feel all refreshed and energized!" She exclaims as she hands her mother her bowl, and gets it filled with more rice even as she shovels more croquets into her mouth.
"Here you go! Celebrating something special?" Sukuyo asks even as she eats her own dinner.
"Nope! I just felt good when I woke up. Good and hungry! I went to the butcher's, and the grocer's and the sea food market!" She exclaims, picking up some meat, bread and fish as she says this. Before shoving it all into her mouth at once. "I bought all they had!" She exclaims as she continues to shovel more rice and croquets into her mouth.
"Where'd you get the money to pay for all this?" Barazou asks his daughter as he eats the rice in his own bowl, shoving croquets into it every few seconds as well.
"What money? I put it on your tab!" Mako exclaims, making her father turn grey in shock as Alex stops eating to sigh and pat him on the back.
"Relax sir, I'll just do a few more random jobs after school tomorrow to get you the money you'll need." He says, making the color return to Barazou's face as the man lets off a relieved sigh.
"Thanks a bunch Alex!" He exclaims as he goes right back to eating as if nothing had happened. Alex chuckles at this, before looking over at Ryuko to see her eating her food normally, with a small smile on her face at the family's antics.
Good, she's not down about what happened earlier. Guess I actually managed to get through to her with that speech of mine. Good thing too, cause I'm not sure what else I'd say if she didn't… Then again, I'd probably think up something on the spot. After all, that's the way the members of Team Dai-Gurren roll! He exclaims in his head with a wide mental smirk, before he goes back to eating with the others.
The next morning, Ryuko, Alex and Mako can be seen standing in front of the No-star lift station. After a few seconds, Ryuko speaks up to the other two. "You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up later." She says, Mako turning to look at her, before giving a wide smile and nodding.
"Alright, I'll see you at the Academy Ryuko!" She exclaims, jumping onto the lift. A few seconds later, it starts ascending the mountain and making its way towards the Academy. At the sight of it going with only two passengers, one of which was on when it arrived at their stop, Ryuko turns to her left to find Alex standing there with a smirk.
"You didn't honestly think I'd listen to you on a matter like this, did you?" He asks her, before he becomes serious. "Not when that guy is gonna show up again. You might not be able to beat him right now, and I'm gonna be there to back you up." He tells her, before the cocky smirk returns to his face. "Who knows, maybe this guy will actually cause me to transform. Although, I doubt that anyone here except one of the Elite Four, or perhaps that chick Satsuki, could get me to go all out…" He admits.
In response, Ryuko simply gives a small sigh in the form of a laugh, before leaning forwards and kissing him, pulling back a few seconds later. "And that's one of the many reasons I love you. Cause you're just as hard headed as me." She admits, getting a laugh out of Alex in agreement.
"Your damn right. Now, I believe that we have quite the walk in front of us." He says, gesturing to the path that went up beside the lift, and getting a nod from Ryuko as the two hold hands, and start making their way up towards the Academy.
About an hour later, they make it to the top and Ryuko draws her Scissor, while Alex places Sangurasu on his face, the two of them facing the entrance to the school. As they continue to wait there, Ryuko starts to shake a bit, and Senketsu speaks up.
He scares you… Doesn't he? He asks Ryuko.
"Shut, up." She tells him, but before anything else can be said between the two, Alex places his hand on his girlfriend's shoulder, making her turn to look at him, while Senketsu looks at the teen out of the corner of his eye.
"Ryuko, I can make a pretty good guess as to what Senketsu's saying right now, and all I have to say is, don't deny it. Instead, embrace your fears, admit to them, and instead of cowering beneath them, use that fear as strength to fight against just what you're afraid of." He tells his girlfriend, making her shaking stop as she takes a few deep breathes, before nodding to her boyfriend, who turns to look at the entrance to the Academy.
"Well, here he comes… Think that Satsuki is gonna be pissed at us for tearing up her courtyard?" Alex asks his girlfriend with a smirk, getting a similar one from her in response.
"Probably, but who gives a shit?" She asks as she turns back to face the entrance. The two wait for a few more seconds, before four rockets suddenly come shooting towards them. However, Ryuko lifts her blade and slices two down the middle, while Alex changes Sangurasu into its weapon form, and slices down the other two, creating a smokescreen to hide them from view as the man comes running into the courtyard.
"Life Fiber Synchronize! Kamui Senketsu!" Ryuko exclaims, causing all the smoke to be blown away by the transformation. When this happens, the man gets rid of his rocket launcher, and takes out the same gun from the day before, shooting needles at the two as he runs around them. As the needles impact Ryuko, she gives a smirk at the sight of them either bouncing off, or breaking against Senketsu.
"Heh, I thought you weren't gonna let me transform?!" She exclaims as she runs towards him, her Scissor in her hand and ready to use. "Hope you got a plan B!" She exclaims as she pulls back her Scissor for a downwards swing, which the man blocks with his gun, causing a ringing noise to echo throughout the courtyard.
"Here's a piece of advice. It takes a lot more than strength to win a fight." He says, pressing down on a detonator in his hand, and causing the rocket launcher to lock onto Ryuko, before firing. However, to the man's surprise, Alex comes running in, and slices all nine rockets in half, causing them to explode around them.
"Yeah, well here's another piece of advice. Never underestimate a member of Team Dai-Gurren!" He yells, before turning to Ryuko. "Like I said, I got your back!" He exclaims, getting a smile in response.
"Thanks!" Ryuko exclaims. However that one moment of distraction was all the man needed as he kicks away from her, and runs a few yards away before turning around and loading his gun with a large clip of bullets, doing the same with a second one a few seconds later as he starts to fire at the two teens.
"That didn't work a minute ago, so how come you're-" However, Ryuko cuts herself off as she feels herself lose her balance, causing her to look at the few needles sticking out of her exposed skin, as well as the skintight parts of her suit. "Crap." She mutters, before looking over at Alex… Only to find that he wasn't in the same spot as before.
"You need to learn not to be so cocky as well." She hears him mutter from her side, and turns to look at him just as he helps her onto her feet. "You can't go thinking your invincible Ryuko. You should know by now that Senketsu doesn't cover your entire body, and thus leaves skin completely exposed to be hit." He tells her, before his eyes catch a glint of light from the other side of the courtyard, and he grits his teeth as he leaps away.
He does this just in time as a shuriken suddenly impacts the ground where him and Ryuko were moments before, followed by several fans, which had been sharpened. "Damn it." He mutters as he sees multiple clubs appear. "And just when I thought that maybe mystery guy would be all we had to deal with. No, today some clubs decided to team up and try to take you both on." He says, before sighing.
"Alright, I was hoping that it would take longer, but with that other guy here, I guess I'm gonna have to actually get involved." He says, letting Ryuko stand on her own two feet as he steps forwards, making Ryuko look at him in confusion.
"Alex?" She asks, making him look over his shoulder at her with a smirk on his face.
"Well, you wanted to see Gurren Lagann in action Ryuko… So, here you go!" He exclaims as he turns around to face the rest of the courtyard with a serious facial expression just before he's covered in a bright green glow that comes from his clothes, which causes everyone's attention to be directed at him, including the two Elite Four's watching from the tower.
Speaking of said Elite Fours, Houka Inumuta and Nonon Jakuzure stare down at the peculiar sight below them in the courtyard with wide eyes, before the former's eyes are drawn to his tablet, which is letting off loud beeps and buzzers. "Impossible!" He exclaims, making Nonon turn her attention to him.
"What is it Four Eyes?" She asks him, before turning back to the bright light as it appears to grow larger, as well as shine brighter.
"According to these readings, that thing isn't A Goku Uniform, a Kamui, or anything else made of Life Fibers… And yet it's putting off over ten times the power!" He exclaims, making Nonon refocus on him with wide eyes.
"What?!" She shrieks as Houka turns his attention to the teen standing in the courtyard below.
"Whatever that suit is that Alexander Kirigaya is wearing… It completely outranks everything that we have…" He reveals, before the light suddenly dims, and allows everyone to see the sudden transformation that takes place.
Back in the courtyard, everyone watches with wide eyes as the light dims, and the suit begins to change. The combat boots change so that they only cover the top of his foot and the front of his legs up to his knees, and gain a yellow strip along the ankle as they change to look more like armor. When this happens, the red jeans cover the rest of his legs and foot, while black and yellow parts extend on his hips, these also changing to look more like armor.
After this happens, the sleeves on his jacket become more armor-like, while his fingerless gloves extend to cover the top part of his forearms, and the black padding on his shoulders extends so that they're entire shoulder guards, and get filled with yellow, before the design that had been on his jacket the day before appears, but with black triangular sunglasses instead of white.
After this, the front of the jacket suddenly loses its zipper, before the mouth opens, and then snaps shut as it lets off a more menacing grin, while the eyes glint, before he places the red sunglasses over them, causing them to change to the color black. For the final part, a helmet is suddenly ejected from the back of the suit and covers his head. Its main color is red, with a black top, and a yellow crest in the front that had the top and part of the right side broken, giving it a more stylized look.
"Gunman Activation: Gurren Lagann!" He exclaims, clenching his hands into fists as he crouches slightly, and the green glow disappears after exploding outwards one last time. Everyone in the courtyard can only stare at the sight in surprise, before a large shockwave suddenly explodes outwards as a large crater is created in the ground.
Everyone could tell that it was created by Alex's willpower alone, but for the people who had been there during the fight between Ryuko and Satsuki, they couldn't help but notice it was just as large as, if not slightly larger than, the one the two females had created together. Holy fuck! Ryuko thinks to herself in shock at the damage that her boyfriend had caused by simply transforming.
No kidding! I can already sense that he's more powerful than me Ryuko! And he hasn't even put his full power into that "Gunman" of his either! Senketsu exclaims, and Ryuko remembers what he'd told her earlier that day.
"Who knows, maybe this guy will actually cause me to transform? Although, I doubt that anyone here except one of the Elite Four, or perhaps that chick Satsuki, could get me to go all out…"
At the memory of what he'd told her only a mere hour beforehand, her eyes widen, before she hears his voice. "Ryuko! You go ahead and face off against our mystery man! I'll take care of the cannon fodder!" He exclaims, making Ryuko snap out of her shock, and give him a nod.
"Right!" She exclaims, before rushing towards the man that had been attacking her, making him turn his attention away from Alex and towards her with gritted teeth and a glare, before he went running off towards the Academy. "Hey! Come back here!" Ryuko exclaims, running after him and leaving Alex with the clubs.
"Well, I did tell her that she could have the shark, which left me stuck with the minnows." He sighs, before looking at all the clubs that were staring at him with wide eyes filled with shock, awe, and fear. In response, he gives a smirk. "Well, I'm waiting…" He says into the silent courtyard. And just like that it was as if an invisible switch had been thrown, since all the clubs immediately attacked him at once.
Cards, fans, and random gardening tools were all thrown at him, and he simply smirked in response. "Heh, at least give me a challenge." He says as the projectiles close in, allowing him to spot something that he didn't when the projectiles were further away… They all had a lit fuse.
~Ka-Booooom!~
The explosions rock the courtyard, and fill the area that Alex had been standing on with smoke. When they see this, the members of all the clubs smirk, before a familiar voice speaks up from within the smoke. "Well… That was better at least." They hear the voice say, before the smoke was suddenly blown away, revealing Alex, who didn't even appear to have been marked by the attack. "But still not a challenge." He tells them with a smirk.
In response, the members of the different clubs can only stare at him with wide eyes as he brings back his fists, allowing drills to suddenly extend on either side of them, before they start spinning. "So, I'll only have to go Level 1 on you cannon fodder!" He exclaims, running towards the clubs, and snapping them out of their shocked gazes, before they all start attacking once again.
However, for every projectile that was shot, it was simply ripped to shreds by the drills on either side of his fists. Then, he ran into the gardening club. When this happened, they attempted to take him head on, only for it to end worse than when they tried attacking him from a ranged position. Goku uniforms were shredded to pieces by the drills, along with any tools that they had on them, while the students were left uncurious in the dirt as he continued to make his way through them.
When he reached the club president, the Two-star attempted to use his plants to attack, only for Alex to drill straight through them without a problem, and then drill straight through the uniform as well, leaving the club president lying on the ground as he continued through the rest of the clubs. It went like this for the next three minutes, Alex shredding through all the clothes and defenses that the clubs had set up, before he ended up in the middle of the courtyard once again, surrounded by knocked out club members.
"~Sigh~ Next time I should just leave these guys to Ryuko, she'd probably have more fun than I would being able to constantly battle weaker enemies." He mutters, before a particularly loud explosion echoed across the courtyard, and drew his attention to the Academy, just in time to see a shadowed figure swing through one of the windows, causing his eyes to widen. "Shit! He got her!" He exclaims as he runs towards the Academy.
And I forgot to wear my cloak today as well! Damn it, this isn't good! He yells in his mind as Gurren Lagann deactivated, and he ran through the halls in an attempt to get to the area that he'd seen the man crash through. After almost four minutes of running up stairs, he reached the floor that he'd seen the man crash through. And the broken glass proved it as he followed the trajectory, and ran into the room…
To find the man talking to himself as he stood over Ryuko's form. "Wait.. It… Talks…? Are these two… Friends?" He mutters, and Alex walks over to stand beside him, noticing Mako cleaning the stalls out of the corner of his eyes as he gets closer.
"Of course they are." He answers, making the man gasp as he looks to his right to see Alex standing there. "After all, besides me and Mako, the girl cleaning the stalls, Senketsu is the only other friend that Ryuko has." He says, before looking out of the corner of his eyes at the man. "And from the way that you said that, I'd say that you didn't believe it was possible. Heh, you remind me of a certain blond, you know that?" He asks the man rhetorically.
However, before anything else could be said between them, the sounds of drums being beaten was heard, and the two turn around to find Nonon standing in the doorway with the school's band. "You're battle with the Kamui was, in a word, magnificent." She says, stepping towards the man with her eyes closed for some reason. "Unfortunately the melody you're playing has gotten pretty boring. Be a doll and hand 'em over." She suggests, her eyes still closed with a smile on her face.
At her words, the two males in the room glance at one another, before sending dual glares at her. "Just give you the Kamui, huh?" The man asks, making Nonon nod in response.
"Yup. And yourself too, if you don't mind." Nonon continues, and the two men share another glance.
"Woman, there are two things you need to know. One, I'll never let you people catch me." He says, before Alex speaks up.
"Two." She starts, making Nonon's eyes fly open in shock to see him standing there, since she was still remembering what she'd seen him do to her clubs. "If you think that I'm just gonna let you take Ryuko's Kamui, then you are sorely mistaken. And it seems this mystery man here agrees with me." He tells her with a glare, just as the clothes on said mystery man started to expand, before exploding into smoke.
When this happens, Alex picks up Ryuko and Senketsu, before turning to face the mystery man, and nodding his head. The man nods in return, before the two use the smoke as a distraction to exit the building via the hole that had just been blown open in the wall by the man's last grenade.
A few hours later, Ryuko woke up to find herself lying on a couch in a random room, before shooting up as she realized something. "Senketsu!" She exclaims, another voice answering her a few seconds later.
"Relax Ryuko, we got you both back here in one piece." At the sound of the familiar voice, Ryuko turns to find Alex sitting in a chair by her side, and then looks down to find her outfit already on her body, making her sigh.
"Thank God." She says, falling back onto the couch.
Actually, you should thank Alex and that mystery man. They got us back here safely. Though it seems that mystery man is still very much a mystery to the both of you. Senketsu tells her, making her groan in annoyance.
"Dammit! I got my ass totally handed to me!" She exclaims, Alex chuckling off to the side.
"I suppose you did, if the scene that I walked in on was any indication. What with you holding onto Senketsu as a lifeline, and the guy questioning the fact that Senketsu could talk and that you two were friends." He says, before sighing as he leans back in his chair.
"As for me, it's likely that you're not gonna be the only target at Honnouji Academy anymore, what with the amount of power I displayed today. I knew I should have just held back." He sighs, making Ryuko push herself up on the couch, wincing a bit as she does so. "Hey, don't go pushing yourself Ryuko. You're still injured, and so is Senketsu." He tells her, making her give a chuckle in response.
"There you go, worrying more about me than you again." She says as he gets up and sits beside her, taking her hand in his own.
"Hey, it's been like that since we were young, and after being apart from you for eight years, I'm gonna make sure that it stays that way." He tells her with a smile, getting one in response before she plants a kiss on his lips, Alex returning it. After they separate, Ryuko leans her head on her boyfriend's shoulder, before speaking up.
"Hey Alex…" She starts, making him turn his head slightly to look at her. "…How is it that you had so much willpower?" She asks, making him give a light chuckle.
"Nice try Ryuko, but I'm still not ready." He tells her, making her frown in response. "However…" He continues, making her lift her head to look at him, and see the frown that he has on his own face. "I will say this. To get through what I did… Well, the willpower that you saw today was nothing compared to that… And absolutely miniscule to my older brothers' willpowers." He tells her with a small smile, making her eyes widen.
"No way…" She mutters in shock, Senketsu's eye widening at the information as well. "Alex." She says in her normal tone of voice, making him turn to her with a "Hm?" as she looks at him with complete seriousness. "I need to get stronger. Somehow, someway. Can you help?" She asks him. He's silent for a few seconds, before a grin appears on his face as he pulls her into another kiss, separating a few seconds later.
"Of course I can. Just who the hell do you think I am?" He asks her with a confident glint in his eyes.
Author's Note Part 2: Well guys, that's this chapter done. So how did I do in terms of Gurren Lagann being worn instead of being a mech? I thought I did fairly well, though it probably could have gone better. And for those of you who know why he was upset about leaving his cloak behind… Good job!
Alright, so for the changes in canon here. Since Alex is present during this, I've made it so that he was there to help Ryuko out through this, and after what he's been through, I think it makes sense that he would immediately try to talk some sense into her before she ended up going into a depressed state. Which means you can look forwards to the episode where Ryuko doesn't want to do anything, since Alex will be there to change a few things around.
Now, in terms of the two bantering, and Alex teasing Ryuko. I think you can all guess where Alex learned that, and in the series we all know that Ryuko is a bit "innocent". By that I mean that she gets everything that's like that when it's said, but she doesn't react in the way that you would expect her to after seeing her personality, and instead blushes like crazy. However, let's just say that while being around Alex that might change a bit…
For those of you that were confused about why Alex didn't just attack Tsumugu as soon as he walked into the bathroom and saw him, just think for a bit about the line he said right before Nonon showed up. "You remind me of a certain blond." For those of you who have watched Gurren Lagann, you should know who I'm talking about. Especially since Tsumugu has a similar quote to him.
Anyways, I think that's about all I have to say for this chapter. So thanks for taking the time out of your day to read this, and I hope to see you all next time!
P.s. Well, now that I've let the second chapter sit for a few hours, I've gone back and checked for reviews. So, here's my response to what I've received!
Anime PJ:
Yes, yes it did. As for imagining the face, yeah, that made me laugh when I first thought of it. As for Wipeout, I'm a fan of it as well (as you can tell from it being added in here), and I actually didn't know about how there was a different one for different countries. So that's something new that I now know.
As for Senketsu's mouth dropping open, I thought of it as I was writing it out, and thought that it would be funny. I'm glad to see that you agree. As for him saying things without thinking about how it might sound… Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's happened to all males at least once in their life… Anyways, I'm glad to see that you liked last chapter, and I hope that this one was just as good!
(Also, another suggestion just like what we talked about in our PM, I really think you'd be able to do a good job with this anime if you added an OC of your own. Just something to think about, since I know for a fact that I'd read your story, whether it's a crossover or regular Kill La Kill.)