A/N: It's funny, I keep saying the next chapter won't come out as soon and yet every time I finish one I immediately begin on the next. I'm totally neglecting my other fics.
Ok, anyways, I had to put this chapter out as soon as possible after watching the finale.
I knew it was gonna be rushed, didn't really like it honestly. Haruto dies, (what's with all these immortals dying) we still don't know anything about the prince, and there was no real resolution with the love triangle they've been throwing in our faces since the beginning. I don't even want a season 3 anymore since Haruto's dead and won't be in it.
Although that moments where L-elf calls Haruto his friend and starts crying (I can just see the influx of yaoi stories now) was pretty deep. Really he's just a big softy on the inside. He reminds me of Itachi, a genius who really is a gentle person but has to play the role of emotionless soldier because of the life fate dealt him.
So, with the season finale in mind, I'm gonna say a few things I'm NOT going to do with this fic just to ease you readers.
1) I'm not killing any of the pilots off, except MAYBE Marie we'll see how that goes. I do wanna keep the drama of them dying though. I kinda have to, how weird would it be if a pilot gets attacked in battle and the other pilots are all like meh, they'll be fine. Obviously that would be bad, so I'll keep the possibility of them dying without actually killing them.
2)No entire memory loss for Haruto. I'm gonna figure out a way for Haruto's memory loss to be slowed down, so instead of them just disappearing they'll slowly get fuzzier and fuzzier. And I want the slowing down process to be related to Saki having her own attacks. The reason for her having attacks is because she's connected to Haruto and thus connected to the spirit. Although, her attacks won't be the same as Haruto's. While his are more like a "you have what I want and I'm gonna take it" mode Saki's will be like "you have what I want and I'm gonna make you want to give it to me". What I'm saying is while Haruto loses all control during an attack, Saki's attack will just change her personality (temporarily of course) into a more seductive one.
Again the goal is still the same, it's just Saki is connected to the spirit through a middleman, Haruto, so its influence isn't as strong. And while they're both satisfying their space vampire "urges" when they do that, I also want to have them exchanging bodily fluids when they do that. And what I'm thinking of having in the fluids are duplicate runes. What I want them to do is act like flashdrives basically, so when their memories start getting eaten the duplicate runes will do their best to copy them. Again it's not perfect so when they do copy the memories they get fuzzier everytime. So, that will be one of the reasons for the attacks, inject duplicate runes into the other so they won't lose their memories as quickly. And I know I actually haven't had Haruto eat Runes yet in this fic but it will come.
3)No space aliens in this fic. If I did ever decide to work in aliens it would be in the sequel where Haruto and the group have already taken over the whole solar system (yes, it won't be just earth they're going for it all) and it would be like the ELS from the Gundam 00 movie. Never anything like the aliens we've seen at the end of the season finale will appear in this fic.
That was just stupid.
I will say about the season finale it did give me a Haruto x Saki fic idea. Basically Haruto doesn't die, he survives but only thing he remembers is Saki and the promise he made with her so she's, besides L-elf, is the only one he trusts, so she ends up taking care of him. It'll be a hurt and comfort type of fic.
I'm putting that idea out there for anyone to use, I have no idea when I'll get to that idea so go nuts with it.
Oh yeah, so Zidana123 put out the second Haruto x Saki fic so you people might wanna try it out. And I agree with her when she says that Akira x Raizo would make a good couple, I'm gonna put them together in this fic too, later on.
"Thunder punch!" the mighty fist of Nobu Lightning slammed right into an enemy Waffe, crushing it with its superior strength.
"Haha! Did he really just say that?"
A pair of Spindle Knuckles curved in from both sides forcing two other Waffes to go back to back to block the attacks. Unfortunately for the pilots of the Waffes, Haruto and Saki were a good, and quickly turning into a great, duo. That was proven when Haruto swooped in from above and cut through the two units with his Z-Edge katanas while they were busy holding off Saki's attack.
"Shut up, idol girl!" Raizo yelled as he used his Chain Saucer to blast through another pair of Waffes.
"Shouldn't you two be more focused on fighting the enemy instead of each other?" Kyuma questioned as he fired his Bolt Phalanx. Green lasers flew out in a wide arc from the crossbow like weapons that were mounted on his Valvrave's forearms, striking and denoting on impact with half a dozen Waffes. The Waffes shields were all but destroyed leaving them completely vulnerable for another volley of his Bolt Phalanx.
"Kyuma's right. You two shouldn't be fighting each other now, or ever really." Haruto stated as he flew to the side dodging a volley of missiles from an approaching Annihilator.
Seeing the Annihilator still closing in on him, Haruto decided to do the same seeing as his machine outclassed the other in close range combat. Closing in on the enemy, Haruto equipped his Strike Brace and shielded himself from the oncoming beam fire. Once within range, Haruto cocked his Valvrave's fist back, the one that was wielding the Strike Brace, and punched forward, piercing the Annihilator with the weapon's spikes.
'That's strange.' Saki thought as she used Carmilla's Multi-leg Spine propulsion system to accelerate in multiple directions, dodging multiple laser attacks. She had been keeping an eye on Haruto, something she always did during battle, and couldn't help but think how odd it was for that Annihilator to close in on Haruto.
It should be be well-known to the Dorssia Military that close-quarters-combat was Haruto's advantage and that an Annihilator stood no chance in a close range fight with him.
'So, why woul-' Saki's thoughts were cut short when the Annihilator wrapped its arms around Haruto's Valvrave restricting its movement. "Haruto, get away from th-"
Just as Saki feared the Annihilator exploded at point-blank range.
"Haruto?! Haruto!?" fear welled up within Saki when the explosion engulfed Haruto, making it impossible to see the damage it had done to him.
Her mind jumped to worst case scenario.
"Calm down, Saki Rukino." L-elf's steady voice telling her to calm down did nothing but anger her.
"Calm down? Calm down?!" Saki shouted in rage as she threw a Spindle Knuckle equipped punch that tore through another Annihilator that tried to snuck up on her.
"Don't underestimate the Valvrave's durability. It'll take more than that to destroy them." L-elf explained with that mechanical voice that pissed Saki off to no end. "Don't let your overprotective tendencies for that boy rattle your emotions."
"Screw yo-"
"That hurt." Haruto's groan cut Saki's angry retort short and quickly drew her attention.
"Haruto, are you ok?!" Saki wasted no time zooming towards his Valvrave to check up on him.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Haruto replied with a shake of his head to try to rid himself of the ringing in his ears. 'Idiot, I should've been paying more attention.' he was doing so good in the battle that he really stopped thinking, keeping him from noticing how suspicious it was for the Annihilator to close in on him when they tended to keep a distance.
"Are you sure?" Saki's concern stopped him from scolding himself further and drew a small smile from him.
"You're doing it again."
"Doing what again?"
"Mother hen mode."
"But-"
"Thunder punch!" coming to the rescue, Raizo leveled another Annihilator as they snuck up behind Saki, who was too busy worrying about Haruto to notice. "Ha! I just saved your ass, idol girl!"
"Thanks." Saki mumbled reluctantly.
"Huh? I couldn't hear you, speak up." Raizo replied as he fired his Armstronger Cannon at a wave of Waffes, either destroying them or forcing them to break formation, allowing Kyuma to pick them off with his Bolt Phalanx.
"Thanks for the save, thunder." Saki managed to grind out through her clenched teeth.
"You two act like you're brother and sister."
"The hell we do!" Haruto's remark earned a simultaneous reaction from the two. "Stop copying me!"
"See?" Haruto chuckled before the fact that they were in a battle focused his thoughts. "What was that, L-elf? I didn't think the Dorssia Military would use suicide attacks." everyone's attention was drawn towards the former Dorssia soldier as they waited for their own curiosity to be sated.
After all, in all of the attacks they hadn't once done such a thing as a suicide attack. The thought of just sacrificing their own soldiers didn't sit well for everyone even if they were the enemy. While they didn't particularly care for the fate of enemy soldiers their superiors should have. It was just common human decency to care for your own people.
"Saki Rukino?" L-elf decided to direct the question towards the girl who he planned on being a strategic and tactical second in command. It was vital for the next phase in his plan that she fulfilled that role. With that in mind, L-elf decided on giving her a small test. He wanted to test how much her ability to discern the enemies tactics had grown due to her studies. On top of that he also wanted to see how quickly could she reign her emotions in and think with a clear and calm mind.
He would've preferred if she didn't get emotional during a battle in the first place, but that would come with time. Although, he doubted the girl would ever get her emotions completely in check when it came to Haruto.
He was her weakness.
Just like sh-
" . . . . I doubt that unit was manned." Saki answered after she pulled her Valvrave back and allowed the other three to cover for her, giving her time to think without being disturbed. "It wouldn't make sense for them to sacrifice their men when they could use unmanned units instead."
"But couldn't they just use a Waffe instead of an Annihilator?" Haruto questioned as he fired his Volc Arm, his Valvrave's best range weapon, to keep a number of Annihilators at bay.
He wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.
"Haruto's right, wouldn't it make more sense for them to sacrifice a Waffe? The Annihilators are their best units." Satomi interjected causing Saki to scrunch her eyebrows in thought.
" . . . . Maybe not. It seemed to take a few seconds for it to detonate, so maybe they were worried about the Waffes not being strong enough to hold onto their target before they broke free."
'But still,' Saki took off her helmet and bit the end of her thumb, 'throwing away your best units like that doesn't make sense. Especially, if that bastard Cain is having trouble getting reinforcements like that other bastard L-elf said. But, its been months since their last attack . . . . Could that mean they got more reinforcements? But even if he did, to throw away their best units like that could only mean-'
"What the hell is that?!" Saki was brought out of her musings when Yusuke's voice rang out. A few seconds later Yusuke zoomed in on the image that caught his attention and sent the feed to the Valvraves.
"Those look like Waffes." Kyuma muttered.
"Waffes that got an upgrade."
What Haruto said was true.
What they were seeing on their screens looked like Waffes except they had humanoid like bodies similar to the Valvraves. Arms, legs, and a torso were accompanied by the original Waffes shield (but it wasn't split in two like they usually were) on one wrist and what seemed to be different long-range weapons built into the front of the shields; the other hand were equipped with a long, white, double-edged sword.
It seemed that the Waffes and Annihilators were going to take up support role from that point seeing as they fell back, allowing the Valvrave pilots some time to converse.
"That explains why they were willing to sacrifice their Annihilators." L-elf stated. "It looks like the Dorssia Military found a new toy to place its pride in."
"Those look dangerous." Shoko muttered fearing for Haruto and the others safety. "Will they be ok?" L-elf spared the concerned girl a glance.
She did that quite often.
Her concern for others was one of the main traits L-elf noted about the girl.
It was almost like . . . .
"Haruto."
He had no time to think about such things.
"Yeah?"
"The Dorssia Military takes pride in their weapons, especially newly made ones."
"Ok." Haruto didn't really see what he was getting at, but he was sure he would know soon.
"Deal a blow to their pride."
"Right" Haruto responded before he launched his Valvrave forward towards the oncoming enemy.
"Right behind you, Haruto." Saki followed close by and was soon trailed by Kyuma and Raizo. "There are eight of them so each one of us gets two."
"Heh. These units don't mean nothing. They're just fancier asses to kick." Raizo stated earning a sigh from the rest of the pilots due to his cockiness.
"Kyuma, can you look after that idiot?"
"Yeah, I got his back, don't worry."
"Don't treat me like a fucking kid! And it's thunder!"
Closing in on the upgraded Waffes, Haruto pulled out his Volc Arm and began exchanging fire with the two leading units. Dodging the first wave of laser fire by shifting to the left, Haruto then performed an aileron roll to the right, dodging another wave, and accelerated with his Z-Edges in hand. His two katanas met the upgrade Waffes double-edged blades causing sparks to fly when they pushed against each other.
As the two upgraded Waffes continued to try overpower Haruto, two others flanked from the side only to be forced to raise their shields to protect themselves from Saki's Spindle Knuckles. Pushing the Spindle Knuckles away, the two mechs charged at Saki with their swords poised to strike forcing her to accelerate jump multiple times to flank behind them. As she raised her Hand Ray's to fire, Saki had to jump back to dodge a sword strike from above when a third enemy arrived.
"Damn, you guys are gonna be a pain in the ass aren't you?"
"These new Waffes a pretty strong." Haruto muttered as they continued their stalemate.
A stalemate he quickly ended when he kicked both enemy mechs in the torso, sending them flying backwards. Taking the opening, Haruto dashed towards the one on the left only for his eyes to widened when the front plate of its chest slid open revealing a Beam Cannon. The Beam Cannon fired and Haruto was just able to rotate his Valvrave to the left just quick enough to dodge the beam by feet. As he was performing the rotation, Haruto lashed out his Valvrave's right hand in an attempt cut the mech's head off with the katana it wielded, only for his attack to be blocked by the mech's sword.
While the upgraded Waffes were more powerful than their predecessors it still needed both arms to hold up against the Valvraves one arm. Luckily for Haruto that he only needed one arm to hold that one upgraded Waffe back, as he needed the left one to keep the other mech at bay by firing his Hand Ray.
"Haruto, behind you!" Saki's warning caused his eyes to shift one of the many smaller screens on his console that showed him his surroundings. Even though the cockpits allowed them three hundred and sixty degrees of vision he couldn't simply look behind him while engaging an enemy.
That would be stupid.
Looking at the screen that covered the rear, Haruto saw what Saki was warning him of. Two Annihilators were coming in from behind and he was pretty sure they had every intention to blowing themselves like the one earlier. He himself had no intention of being caught up in it again.
Raising his Valvrave's knee up, Haruto attempted to kick the upgraded Waffe he was caught in a stalemate in like he did a few minutes prior, but was blocked when the mech raised its knee up.
'Shouldn't be surprised,' Haruto mentally mumbled to himself, 'these are actual soldiers.' he couldn't take them likely. Before they had more of an advantage because their Valvraves were superior, but it seemed that Dorssia was slowly closing in the gap. That coupled with pilots who more than likely had better piloting skills then themselves (Haruto and the others only had a handful battles under their belt) meant that they had to be on top of their game from this point on.
To live up to that point Haruto wasn't deterred by his kick being blocked, instead, he used it to his advantage. Pushing off the upgraded Waffe's knee, sending it in the other direction while flipping forward due to the force he used to push off, Haruto turned around while using the momentum of his push off. Closing in on the Annihilator, Haruto swung an arm causing an arc of Hard Afterglow to fly towards it. The Annihilator flew above the arc just as Haruto flew under it, allowing him to snuck up behind it and blast it with his Hand Ray's.
Haruto had no time to relax as two Waffes came barreling towards him from his sides with their shields together forcing him to dive down. The reason dove instead of attacked was because the two Waffes were acting as shields for the two upgraded Waffes he was dealing with a few moments ago. It didn't take long for the upgraded Waffes to start firing their Shield Lasers from behind the original Waffes, and of course Haruto pulled out his Volc Arm and began exchanging fire.
'I wonder how the others are doing.'
'I hope Haruto's alright.' Saki thought as she ducked under a horizontal swung of an upgraded Waffe before throwing a Spindle Knuckle equipped uppercut that was blocked with by the mechs shield. Sparks flew as Saki tried to power through the shield, but she had to perform an accelerated jump to avoid the other upgraded Waffe that tried to stab her from the side.
She was right, these new Waffes were a real pain in the ass.
'Their shields are a lot stronger than they used to be.' Saki sent a Spindle Knuckle at a Waffe and swooped in from the other side and quickly punched it with the other. After defeating the Waffe Saki quickly dove into the smoke of the explosion that was left to hide herself from the two upgraded Waffes that were closing in. She may not have been as experienced as the enemy, but she knew that they would hang back and fire their Shield Lasers instead of engaging an enemy they couldn't see.
That split second they took preparing to fire their Shield Lasers was enough for Saki to launch her Spindle Knuckles. The speed of the Spindle Knuckles and the fact that she was hiding in smoke helped Saki catch the two mechs off guard, and while the two were quick enough to raise their shields to hold off the attack, they were forced to use their other hands to reinforce their shield arms. Having no hands free was exactly what Saki was hoping for (although she would've preferred destroying them all together but she knew it wouldn't be that easy) that gave her a perfect opening.
Accelerating out of the smoke using Carmilla's Multi-leg Spine propulsion system, Saki closed in on the preoccupied upgraded Waffes in an instant. Using her momentum, Saki gripped the enemy mechs heads and continued to move forward. A few seconds later Saki was smashing the two mechs into an Annihilator who was smashed into a Waffe.
While the Annihilator and Waffe were smashed completely in the upgraded Waffes showed their durability by only taking minimum damage and remaining functioning. That was made evident when they gripped onto her Valvrave keeping her from moving.
'Don't tell me there's-' Saki's fears were proven true when she felt something smash into the back of Carmilla. Looking over her shoulder, Saki saw what she expected in an Annihilator gripping onto her Valvrave. "Son of-"
"Thunder punch!" a yellow blur passed by as the sound of metal crunching rang out before being followed a few seconds later by an explosion. "Ha! Saved your ass again!"
"Damn it!" true to his boast, Raizo saved Saki by punching the Annihilator away a few seconds before it exploded.
Pulling out her two Fold Sickles, Saki quickly raised them and cut into the shoulders of the two upgraded Waffes forcing them to let her go and back away. But not before Saki dug the two Fold Sickles deeper and pulled on them roughly, tearing gashes of metal and wires out which were followed by flying sparks.
"Saki, you ok?" Haruto questioned as he continued his high-speed chase (he was the one being chased) shoot out. While Haruto knew he should be more focused on his battle, he couldn't help but be concerned for Saki's well-being.
"She is because of me."
"Why couldn't you have saved me, Haruto?" now she owed that idiot twice. She would've much rather have had Haruto swoop in and save her like a knight in shining armor. Just the thought of it would've made her giddy like a school girl if they weren't in the middle of a battle.
"Kinda busy right now." was his response as he located a pretty big asteroid floating aimlessly through space not too far away. "Give me a minute." Haruto stated causing Saki to pout.
Closing in on the asteroid with the two upgraded Waffes who were using the original Waffes as shields on his tail, Haruto quickly flipped his Valvrave and planted its feet on the asteroid before pushing off and heading towards the pursuing Dorssia mech. His maneuver caught them off guard and didn't give them time to react as he pulled out his Z-Edges and cut into the top of the Waffes heads as he passed just above them, destroying them. Not wanting to give the upgraded Waffes time to recover, Haruto quickly started firing both Hand Ray's along with the Variable Vulcan into the smoke the Waffes left behind when they exploded.
He would've continued until he was sure the two mechs were destroyed but he had to pull back when a number of Waffes and Annihilators fired upon him. They didn't pursue him instead they formed a defensive perimeter around the beaten up, yet still functioning upgraded Waffes, prompting him to regroup with Saki and Raizo.
"Where's Kyuma?" Haruto questioned as he grouped up with the two.
"I'll be there in a minute." Kyuma replied as he barreled towards the two upgraded Waffes with his IMP Shield placed in front of him.
The upgraded Waffes fired at the Valvrave but couldn't do damage due to the shield. As it came closer they tried to pierce the shield with their swords but to no avail. Instead, they got completely steamrolled as Kyuma rammed them aside before turning around in mid-flight and firing his Bolt Phalanx. His attack didn't do enough to destroy them but it definitely did damage.
"What I miss?" Kyuma asked as he regrouped with the other pilots.
"I saved Haruto's girlfriend again." boosted Raizo with a grin on his face.
"Shut up, idiot!" Saki couldn't help scream while a blush covered her face. While the idea of that idiot saving her twice irked her, hearing him call her Haruto's girlfriend made her blush and react in a tsundere-like manner, not that she was trying to react in such a way.
"You were right, Haruto, they do act like brother and sister." Kyuma stated earning yells of denial from the two.
"I know right."
"Haruto!" Saki whined with a pout on her face.
"Well, it's true."
"You're mean." she muttered to herself still pouting.
"So, what's the plan, Saki?" Haruto questioned causing her to drop her pout and replace it with a smile.
She loved how completely trusting he sounded in her abilities.
She would hate to disappoint him.
So she wouldn't.
"Give me a minute." Saki replied as she eyed the enemy.
The Annihilators were in the back of the formation with the Waffes placed in front of them as shields; it was the same formation they took in the last battle. At the front of the formation was of course the upgraded Waffes, looking beat up but still functional.
She couldn't help the smirk that made its way on her face when she seen two of the new models shoulders spark from the damage she inflicted. The smirk fell and her face became serious when she began to think of a plan, putting the books she's read to good use.
.
.
.
.
.
"Alright, this what we're gonna do." Saki stated earning her fellow pilots attention. "Kyuma, Haruto, and Raizo-"
"It's thunder! I saved your ass you owe me!"
"Fine." Saki begrudgingly conceded since he did save her after all. "Kyuma, Haruto, and thunder, you three are gonna charge towards the enemy in that order. Kyuma, you'll shield them and once within striking range, Haruto, you're going to pass over Kyuma from above and attack the upgraded Waffes. At the same time thunder is to dive below the enemy formation. Haruto, your goal in attacking isn't to destroy."
"Then why am I attacking?" while he had complete faith in her abilities he couldn't understand the reason for attacking when the goal wasn't to destroy the enemy.
"You're attacking to draw the attention of the upgraded Waffes towards yourself. When they converge to counterattack you pull back. While Haruto's pulling back thunder," my goodness did she hate calling him that, "is going to bombard them using his Armstronger Cannon."
That was a dumb name for a weapon in her opinion.
The three pilots took in what Saki said and couldn't help but be impressed, Haruto more than the others. He almost found it hard to believe that this was the same girl that would whine for him to let her ride on his back and tease him almost endlessly. He thought it before and he would think it again; Saki Rukino was amazing.
"What about the Annihilators and Waffes?" Kyuma question once he realized her plan didn't account for them.
"I'll deal with them, and actually, once thunder begins his attack, I want you to pull back and defend the module just in case the Dorssians try something." Saki firmly responded. "Now go!"
"Right."
Just like Saki explained, the three flew forward with Kyuma in the lead, his IMP Shield held firmly at the forefront. The Dorssia forces rained laser after laser on them only for Kyuma's shield to intercept them, the only real effect the lasers had was in slowing down his speed.
"Damn." Kyuma cursed. "All these attacks are slowing me down."
"We're right behind you, don't worry about it." Haruto reassured as he pushed Kyuma's Valvrave from behind only for Raizo to do the same to his.
"Thanks."
"You three get ready to move in . . . three, two, one, now!" wasting no time, Haruto pulled out his Z-Edge katanas and surged past Kyuma from above.
Closing in on the enemy, Haruto's twin katanas met a pair of double edge blades. Not wanting to get caught in a stalemate again, Haruto slipped in between them and kicked another upgraded Waffe in the face before spinning around and letting lose a volley of shots from both his Hand Rays at the others. A moment later Haruto had to spin around to block a downwards slash from above. Receiving a kick to the chest from the upgraded Waffe that attacked him, Haruto had move to the side, barely dodging the sword that was poised to pierce him through. As the mech passed him, Haruto swung his sword and cut the upgraded Waffe in the back.
"Haruto, get out of there!" listening to Saki, Haruto sent a wave of Hard Afterglow at the closing in mechs. The crystal like structure didn't last long as all the upgraded Waffes stabbed their swords into the barrier. As it broke into pieces, Haruto shot out through the crumbling structure flying by two of the mechs.
The two upgraded Waffes that he passed by turned to fire at him only to receive fire themselves from Kyuma's Hand Rays. The two upgraded Waffes prepared to retaliate but they never got the chance as Raizo began his assault from below, destroying the two mechs before they could even get a chance to raise their shields. The other six upgraded Waffes were lucky enough to bring up their shields to protect themselves. Of course, Raizo didn't stop his bombardment and continued raining laser fire on them restricting most of their movement.
The Waffes and Annihilators that were behind the formation attempted to flank under Raizo, only for a pair of Spindle Knuckles to tear into them, destroying some and forcing the others to focus on her. They never saw her coming since she used her Multi-leg Spine propulsion system to boost all the way off to the side of the battlefield before flanking the long way around. The distance she went to sneak up behind them was too far for the other Valvraves to take and make it on the scene in time to make a difference, which was why she had to be the one to take the role.
It had nothing to do with the fact she was put into position to save Raizo.
"Now who's saving who?" nothing at all.
Throwing a right hook that was backed with a Spindle Knuckle, Saki was able to hit the side of a Waffe's shield causing it to turn to the side due to the force and angle of the blow. Using the momentum of the punch, Saki spun around and landed a heel kick to the back of Waffe. As the Waffe was knocked away from the kick, Saki performed an accelerated jump and punched it in the back once again with a Spindle Knuckle. Said weapon tore apart the Waffe to say the least.
With the remaining Waffes and Annihilators completely focused on her, Saki began to lead them away from Raizo who was still blasting away at the upgraded Waffes. She couldn't help but be impressed with the mechs shield strength and the fact that they were able to group together and place their shields next to each other. To be able withstand Raizo's stupidly named Armstronger Cannon for so long was not easy. That being said, they wouldn't last much longer.
Neither would the mechs that were chasing her.
It was time to put the last phase of her plan into action.
"~Haruto, I need your help~."
She would get her knight in shining armor.
"I'm coming." Haruto stated as he flew below Raizo, as to not get caught up in his bombardment, and took off after Saki and her pursuers. Closing in on the them a thought struck Haruto. "Saki?"
"Yeah?"
"Did you intentionally make your plan ending with you saving Raizo as payback and me saving you?" he wouldn't put it past her, she was a crafty girl.
". . . I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I thought so." Haruto sighed as he shook his head with a smile.
"Just hurry up and save me, idiot!"
"Yes, ma'am." Haruto couldn't help but roll his eyes.
It was actually pretty impressive.
In such a short time not only was she able to come up with a great plan to take out the enemy but she was able to incorporate two small personal desires into the plan without putting it in danger. Haruto could understand why she wanted to even things out with Raizo. Haruto was pretty sure that Raizo would rub in the fact that he saved Saki seeing as, yes he truly believed it, they had a sibling rivalry-like relationship. But Haruto knew that Saki was actually truly grateful and wanted to pay him back, she was just too stubborn to admit it.
'She could be so childish.' he found that endearing about her.
Although, he didn't really understand why she wanted him to save her. Not that he minded, in fact, he wanted to be the one to save her. That being said, Haruto would rather not have her in a situation where she needed to be saved, but he knew that they needed her out on the battlefield. And honestly, there wasn't anyone more that he would want watching his back than Saki.
Closing in on the Annihilators and Waffes that were too preoccupied with exchanging fire with Saki, Haruto swung two arcs of Hard Afterglow destroying two mechs on the far sides. Not wanting to give the other Dorssia units time to react, Haruto quickly threw his two Z-Edges at two more Waffes piercing them in the back before drawing his spare Z-Edges and stabbed the remaining two Annihilators in the back as well.
Pulling back as the mechs exploded, Haruto looked at his map to see where the two Z-Edges had gone after the mechs they were impaled in exploded. Luckily, all his weapons had tracking devices for him to use to track them down if he lost them. It didn't take him long to retrieve them and when he turned around to meet up with Saki he was met with the sight of Carmilla floating in front of him with its arms crossed.
Haruto opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when he heard loud explosions from behind him. Whipping around expecting an attack, Haruto was relieved when he saw smoke where the upgraded Waffes were being attacked by Raizo. He could hardly believe they lasted that long taking on Raizo's assault but they were eventually destroyed as he would expect them to.
What he didn't expect was for a number of rectangular shaped metal pods to come flying out of the smoke. The exact same number of upgraded Waffes that were destroyed.
"Are those ejector pods?!" pulling out his Volc Arm, Haruto quickly raised his weapon to fire only to stop himself short.
Should he fire?
They were the enemy so he shouldn't hesitate right?
But, they weren't even in any mechs, they were completely helpless. It would be so easy to take them out, all he had to do was pull a trigger, but that's what made him hesitate. It just felt so wrong to use his Valvrave, a giant weapon that probably looked like a monster to some, to kill helpless people. Even if those people were enemy soldiers.
He couldn't make a choice.
"L-elf!" Haruto called out, desperate for an answer. "What do I do?! Do I fire or-"
"Don't fire." everyone, including Haruto, were completely caught off guard by L-elf's reply. They never thought L-elf of all people would give up an opportunity to hurt the enemies forces. After getting over his surprise, Haruto let out a sigh of relief for having the decision taken out of his hands. "It appears the enemy is retreating. You four pull back and return to the module."
Unlike Haruto, Saki couldn't have more than disagreed with L-elf's decision. Putting your best pilots in your best mechs was a cardinal rule in war, something she read from her time studying up on warfare. So, it only made sense to kill their better pilots when given the chance. L-elf should know that better than anyone.
So, why the hell would he let them go?
She couldn't understand it.
'Not that it matters anymore.' Saki thought with a sigh as she docked Carmilla.
What's done was done, she might as well continue with what she had planned before Haruto's attention was drawn towards the exploding upgraded Waffes.
They had to come up with a better name for them.
She should probably make a list of things they needed to rename.
They were really starting to pileup.
Back to the point, she was planning on pretending to be mad at Haruto for not checking to see if she was ok after he destroyed the Waffe and Annihilators that were chasing her. That's why she decided to wait in her Valvrave until he came to check on her.
So, she waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And wai-
"Where is he?!" she couldn't take it anymore.
How dare he keep a lady waiting.
'When I find him I'm gonna pinch his cheeks so hard.' floating out of her cockpit with her helmet tucked under her arm, Saki quickly noticed Yusuke and Mr. Kibukawa through the windows of the Hangar Control Room going over most likely the Valvrave's battle data. Using the booster on the back of her pilot suit to float towards the Hangar Control Room, Saki tapped on the window catching their attention.
"Have you seen Haruto?!" Saki shouted through the glass.
"No," Yusuke answered, "he hasn't come out of his Valvrave yet!"
"He hasn't?" a shake of his head answered her question. "I'll go check up on him."
In an instant of hearing that Haruto was still in his Valvrave her irritation of him not checking up on her was gone and quickly replaced with worry. She couldn't think of a reason for him to stay in there, except that maybe he was hurt during the battle and was waiting for his injuries to heal. But, Haruto didn't sound like he was hurt when he last spoke. The only other reason she could think of . . . was he having one of his "episodes"?
That would explain why he didn't come out of his Valvrave.
He would be too afraid of attacking someone.
Increasing the speed of her pilot suit's booster Saki quickly made her way to Haruto's Valvrave. As she approached the machine, the cockpit opened up allowing her to quickly slip in before it closed behind her.
While Saki didn't expect to see what she saw she couldn't help but be relieved as well as a bit confused. Haruto wasn't struggling with his curse like she thought he might be, instead, he was sitting with his head tilted back while pinching the bridge of his nose with an irritated look on his face.
"Haruto?" a surprised look appeared on his face as his eyes shot open only to see Saki's face a few inches from his as she floated upside down just above.
"Saki? How'd you get in here?"
That was a silly question in her opinion.
He was the one that let her in wasn't he?
Whatever it didn't matter.
What mattered was what was bothering him.
"What's wrong? Why are you still in here? You're not having one of your attacks are you?"
"What?" Haruto's eyebrows furrowed before his eyes grew wide. "Oh no, nothing like that! I'm just irritated with myself."
"Oh, that's good. Not you being irritated with yourself, just the not having an 'episode' part!" she quickly supplied after realizing how insensitive she sounded.
"It's fine." Haruto sighed before a guilty look took over his face. "Sorry for making you worry." he apologized as he averted his gaze to the side.
"Don't be like that." Saki softly scolded as she repositioned her body so she was floating crossed legged in front of him. "Tell me what's wrong. Why are you irritated with yourself?"
Haruto thought about saying nothing, tell her that it was stupid, but he knew she would push until he gave in. He wanted to feel irritated about her persistent nature but couldn't, knowing that she was just concerned about him and wanted to help. He couldn't help but smile at the thought. When Haruto decided to let her shoulder his curse he figured that she would do just that and nothing more. He never expected Saki to stay so loyally by his side for about pretty much everything.
Thinking about all of that, Haruto found himself wanting to tell Saki about his problem, wanting to know what she thought. So, he decided he would do just that.
"It's just . . ." Haruto's voice was quiet and filled with disappointment, so much so that Saki had to resist the urge to coddle him. " . . . I thought grew up in these last few months. I thought I wasn't the same weak-minded, hesitant boy I used to be. I guess I was wrong."
Where did this come from?
Saki had no idea.
What she did know was that she needed to comfort him.
"You have grown, Haruto." Saki reassured and continued when she saw the denying look in Haruto's eyes. "I've been with you this entire time, Haruto, believe me, you've grown. What would make you think hadn't?"
"I froze up." Haruto answered. "The enemy was right in front of me and I couldn't fire. And when L-elf told me to not fire, I felt relieved. I haven't grown at all." Haruto finished with his head hanging low.
He stayed like that for a few moments before he saw Saki's hand enter his field of vision. Looking up with a confused look on his face, Haruto saw that she wanted to him to take her hand, prompting him to do just that. A second later Saki was floating onto his lap before curling up on it and laying her head against his chest.
"You're so silly." she softly stated before looking up at his face. "You have grown, I have no doubt about that."
"Then why couldn't I shoot?"
"I don't know, why couldn't you shoot?"
"I don't kno-"
"Yes, you do." Saki cut him off before he could finish. "Tell me, what were you feeling when you were about to fire? How did the idea of firing at those escape pods feel?"
"It . . . it felt wrong." Haruto finally managed to find the words. "I know they were the enemy but it just didn't feel right to attack them when they were so helpless. It felt like I was bullying them."
"You wanna know why you felt that way?" Saki questioned as she placed a hand on his cheek and gave him a warm smile. "That's because despite how much you've grown, you're still my Haruto." his eyes widened and cheeks reddened as a warm feeling welled up in his stomach.
"The Haruto I know would never attack the weak and helpless despite them being Dorssia soldiers. That's why you couldn't fire. They couldn't fight back anymore and were completely helpless, my Haruto could never bring himself to kill the defenseless. Your hearts just too big. That's what makes Haruto, Haruto."
His heart was so big and so caring.
That's what made her fall in love with him, all those years ago.
"And you have grown stronger." she continued. "I can see it in your eyes. There's so much resolve and strength in your eyes that it makes me stronger. I know that you'll fight to protect everyone here until your last breath. So, don't ever think you're weak because you're not."
Haruto opened his mouth to respond but found himself unable to form any words. Saki's words were so heartfelt yet firm that he couldn't bring himself to refute them, and honestly he didn't want to. He wanted to believe her words and more than anything, he knew he could. Not only did he know that Saki wouldn't lie to him but Haruto knew that she was the type of girl to give him what he needed not what he wanted when the time called for it.
If he needed consoling words she would give him those words.
If he needed a kick in the butt she would give him that as well.
She proved that in the Dorssia attack a few months ago when he was having a panic attack shortly after he had his "episode" and now as she gently consoled him.
"Thank you, Saki. I needed to hear that." more importantly, he needed to hear it from her.
"Anything for my, little Haruto." she flashed him a bright smile.
Despite the smile, Saki wasn't happy on the inside. She was too busy cursing herself for her slip up. She was the one that put the responsibility of protecting Haruto's innocence on her own shoulders. She knew he would grow and change as time went on but she was determined to protect just a small part of that innocence. And yet, if Haruto asked her what to do when he had those escape pods in his sights she would've told him to fire. She would've been the one that helped tear away that innocence from him. All because of how she was feeling towards the enemy.
She couldn't let something like that happen again.
She couldn't let her emotions overshadow protecting Haruto's innocence.
That was her first priority.
Of course, Saki kept those feelings to herself and didn't let them show. It wouldn't do to have him worry over her because of her almost screw up.
With her resolve reaffirmed she pushed off the seat and began floating towards the cockpit's hatch, only to stop when she felt Haruto's hand wrap around her wrist. Turning to face him with a curious look, Saki was a little taken aback when she saw how serious his face looked.
"What is it?"
He didn't notice how she was really feeling did he?
"For you too."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"I'm not just fighting to protect everyone else, I'm fighting to protect you too." a blush immediately covered her face forcing her to turn away from him; as much as she could seeing as Haruto was still holding her wrist.
"I don't need you protecting me, idiot! I can protect myself!" Haruto couldn't help but smile at her reaction.
It was too cute.
Saki herself was happy beyond comprehension, despite her reaction, when she heard Haruto's words. That was something she wanted to hear for a long time. To know that Haruto wanted to protect her. Not just her included with everyone else but her specifically. As she began to calm herself down and lose the redness on her cheeks, she was tugged by her arm. Before a word could escape Saki's lips, she found them sealed by Haruto's own.
Just like the first time they've done that act, when Saki was the one kissing Haruto, she found her eyes widening in surprise like Haruto's did when they found the other Valvraves. It took a few second for the shock of Haruto's forward actions to leave her body before it was filled with blissful joy.
Closing her eyes, Saki returned his kiss, her lips melded with his own as the rest of her body floated weightlessly with euphoria. The kiss didn't last long enough in Saki's opinion, but eventually, unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end. She just never thought it would end due to her eyes snapping open at the sound of an animalistic growl. Her violet eyes met with a pair of blood-red eyes before she pulled back to see Haruto's cute face turned into an angry glare with glowing markings covering it.
"Now of all times?"
Saki wanted to pull her freaking hair out.
She didn't mind letting Haruto have his way with her when he was having one of his attacks, but this was the second time he had an one when they were getting a little something, something going on.
Horrible timing.
Saki was also worried about someone overhearing them. She didn't know if the Valvrave's cockpit were sound proof or not. Just to be safe she would have to stifle her moans. The next thing Saki knew, she was feeling two small sharp stabbing pains in the side of her neck, causing her to gasp due to pain and surprise.
"H-Haruto? W-What are you d-doing?" this had never happened before.
What was going on?
Was he body jacking her?
Why would he do that?
That thought process died when a green light start emanating from the point where Haruto was biting her, but the glowing, green light wasn't the only strange occurrence. As the intensity of the light increased Saki's eyes turned blood-red and a growl similar to Haruto's escaped her gnashing, sharp teeth.
Then suddenly it all died down.
The glowing green light dissipated.
The eerie red marking disappeared.
Two pairs of blood-red eyes faded to their original color before they blinked owlishly trying to recover their senses.
"Saki?" Haruto began as shook his head trying to shake away the cobwebs. "Did I do it again?"
"N-Not exactly." Saki stuttered as she placed her hand on her neck.
Her stutter wasn't due to fear, it was due to confusion.
Why did he bite her instead of doing that?
And what was that green light?
Or better yet, why did things get hazy when he was biting her?
She thought the haziness might be because Haruto had actually been drinking her blood, that would be taking the space vampire thing too seriously, but when she probed her neck (the wounds still hadn't healed yet) she felt no blood.
"What do you mean not exactly? . . . Did I . . bite you?"
"Huh? How did you know that?" from what he told her, Haruto would black out when he lost control.
"I . . . did that once to L-elf. It was the first time I lost control." he decided to leave the part about L-elf stabbing him in the heart out. He had a feeling that wouldn't go well with her.
"Ohhhhh?" Saki's eyes were half lidded and her face went blank.
In short, she was scaring the hell out of Haruto.
"So, you had your lips on L-elf's neck, huh?"
"D-Don't say it like that! It sounds wrong! And it's not like I did it out of my own freewill!" Haruto hotly denied before his face took on a guilty look knowing that this wasn't something she agreed to. "Sorry, I didn't mean-"
"Don't apologize." Saki stated as she cut him short by placing a finger on his lips. "If this is part of your curse than I'll happily shoulder it. I won't let anyone else take this from me. This is our burden to bear, no one else gets the right to get in the way. Ok?"
". . . . Ok." Haruto answered after a few seconds of stunned disbelief. It almost sounded like she was honored to carry part of his curse.
But that couldn't be true, right?
It was one thing to willingly help carry his burden but to be honored by it, he didn't think it was possible.
"Now that, that's done I can go back to being mad at you."
"Yeah, you can- Wait, what?" Haruto questioned as he gave her an incredulous look. "Why are you mad at me? What did I do?"
"You didn't check to see if I was ok after you destroyed those Waffes and Annihilators!"
"Why wouldn't you be ok?"
"They exploded!" she exclaimed as she threw her hands into the air to emphasize her words. "You never know what could've happened to little Ole me."
"Little ole- It's not like you can die anyways." Haruto reasoned only for Saki to cross her arms and turn away from him with a "hmph" causing Haruto to sigh in defeat. There was no point arguing with her when she got like that. "Fine, I was wrong, I should've checked up on you. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"
"Hmmm." tapping her finger against her chin, Saki began to think before she snapped her fingers when she got an idea. Shifting her wait forward so she float towards Haruto, Saki stopped until she was right in his face with a bright smile on hers. "You can take me on a date!"
"A date?"
"Yup. My very first date."
"Your . . first? How's that possible? You're an idol." Haruto found it hard to believe someone like Saki couldn't find a date, even if one set the fact that she was an idol aside.
Who wouldn't want to date her?
"Well, I was too young to go on dates before I became an idol and even when I became one I never had the time to." Saki tilted her head as she answered.
"Really? Was being an idol that hard?" he of course wouldn't know but he figured she would have plenty of time to do whatever she wanted.
Judging by her puffed cheeks and pouting lips he was wrong.
"Don't underestimate us idols! It's not as easy as it looks, it takes a lot of work!"
"Sorry, sorry." Haruto apologized in a lazy manner.
That just made her cross her arms and turn away from him again. Shaking his head with a smile on his face, Haruto wrapped his arms around her midsection and pulled her onto his lap. He didn't know exactly why he did that, all he knew was that he wanted Saki close to him.
"So," Haruto began as he sheepishly scratched his cheek, "you wanna go on a date?"
"Y-Yeah." Saki shyly replied as a blush adorned her face. Just like the kiss earlier, Saki didn't expect Haruto to be so forward. She was usually the one that instigated any kind of intimate interaction between the two.
Not that she was complaining.
She was just not ready for it.
"I . . actually never been on a date either." Haruto admitted earning a giggle from Saki.
"Well, duh. I already knew that." Saki responded as she titled her head back to get a look at his face.
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
Was she trying to say that the idea of him getting a date was impossible?
He didn't want to hear that.
Sure, he wasn't a playboy but he would at least like to think the idea of him getting a date was plausible.
"What I mean is you couldn't have gone on a date before, because if you did then we wouldn't be able to go on our first dates together. And it's not just your first date that I'm going to take," turning around on his lap so that she was straddling him, Saki leaned down next to his ear and spoke in a seductive tone, "I plan on taking your first everything." Haruto gulped at her words as a heavy blush exploded on his face.
The look she was giving him didn't help either.
She looked like a predator that found its prey.
"Now, let's get going!" in an instant, seductive Saki was replaced with child-like Saki.
It was like she flipped a freaking switch.
She was good.
"What? Now?"
"Of course now. I don't think L-elf will make us train today and I doubt he'll give us a day off anytime soon, so we have to take advantage." Saki explained as she pushed off the seat and floated towards the cockpit hatch.
"That makes sense." Haruto agreed as got up from his seat as well. "Although, I wouldn't be surprised if he did make us train today."
"That bastard can take his training session and shove it up his a-"
"Saki!"
"What?"
"Don't talk like that."
"Don't be such a prude, Haruto. I'm not training today and that's final. I'm going on a date and L-elf can shove his training sessions up his-"
"Saki, stop!"
"Never! He can shove it up his-"
"Don't say it!"
"Shove it up-"
"No!"
"Shove it-"
"Stop!"
"Shove-"
"You're not acting very idol-like."
"Fine . . . . Shoveituphisass!"
(Sigh)
"Why do I even try? Let's just go."
"Ok!"
"What are you doing on my back?"
"Mush!"
"Really? Again?"
"Mush!"
"You know I'm not your persona-"
"Less talking more mushing!"
Shoko never liked when Haruto went out to battle.
She knew he had no choice of course, if he didn't go out along with the others then who knows what would happen.
That didn't change the fact that she didn't like it.
She was always worried about him dy-. . . . no it was too horrible of a thought. She was of course worried about the others, but Haruto was always the one she feared for the most. She did feel bad for worrying about him more than the others, she was Prime Minister after all. It was her duty to think of all of the students equally, but Haruto was her childhood friend.
It was ok for her to think about him more than the other at least a little bit, right?
The point was she feared for his safety.
But, she noticed something in this battle today.
Shoko noticed that she wasn't the only one that feared for Haruto's safety.
Saki too feared for him.
Shoko knew Saki was a far kinder person than the cold front she put up showed, she had evidence after all.
When L-elf took the classroom hostage it was Saki that stepped in front of her bearing a knife in hand to protect her. She, along with Raizo who climbed through a window like a gorilla, stood no chance against the former Dorssia soldier, but the fact that she was willing to put herself in danger to protect her remained.
If that wasn't enough Aina befriending Saki was.
The point of it all was, Saki was a kind and caring person.
But, Shoko had a feeling that her concern for Haruto's safety was more than just her normal hidden kindness. Shoko could still remember the fear in Saki's voice when that Annihilator exploded on him. It was the same fear she felt at the time.
The two must've gotten closer since they started their training. It made sense, for them to bond after spending so much time together. From what Haruto said earlier, they spent pretty much the entire day with each other. It would be almost impossible for bonds not to be made. Like Saki and Raizo, they acted just like how Haruto said they were acting; like brother and sister.
But, yet again, Shoko was sure that Haruto and Saki bonded more so then the others. Like when Saki was launching out of the hangars and called Haruto "tiger". It was obviously an affectionate name that Saki more than likely used quite often seeing as Haruto didn't react like Shoko thought he would.
Of course, that wasn't all that showed how close the two had become. There was also the time when Saki complained about Haruto not saving her when Raizo was the one who did. And if what Haruto said was true, Saki actually designed a plan to successfully fight the Dorssians and ended with having Haruto save her.
It was actually really impressive.
Shoko could never do something like that.
Oh, she couldn't forget when Raizo called Saki, Haruto's girlfriend.
What was that about?
Or better yet, why didn't either one of them deny it?
It was possible that they were just too surprised.
All those thoughts ran through Shoko's mind until she realized that everyone else had left the Command Room shortly after the battle was over. That left only herself and L-elf who was busy looking over . . . something.
She couldn't tell.
But, she was interested.
More so in L-elf than what he was doing.
He put up a robotic front but she could tell there was more to him than he tried to show. She couldn't help the desire to want to know what he was really like under that facade of his. She knew it was a facade, she could feel it. She could feel that the real L-elf was hiding underneath it all.
"That was nice of you." Shoko commented, hoping to start a conversation with him.
"I don't know what you're talking about." he responded coolly not taking his eyes from the monitor that he was using.
"I'm talking about when you stopped Haruto from firing at those escape pods." Shoko responded before she decided to voice her curiosity. "Why'd you do it anyways?"
L-elf contemplated the thought of simply ignoring the girl but decided that she would most likely not leave him alone until she was satisfied.
"Simple rule of etiquette."
"Rule of etiquette?"
"Yes, even soldiers have rules amongst each other, albeit very few ones." much to Shoko's delight, L-elf drew his attention away from his work and towards her. "One of them is to not fire upon an escape pod."
"Oh." Shoko's mouth made an "o" shape as she took in what he said. "Well, that's nice to see that even soldiers can show compassion for one another. Although, I think you would've done the same thing even if there wasn't any rules."
The girls response was something L-elf expected her to say.
It was naïve and based off her feelings, no logical thought process.
Just like-
"What are you looking at?" in the short moment L-elf was lost in thought, the girl who was beginning to remind him of her made her way behind him to look over his shoulder. Quickly L-elf sent what was on his screen on to the main monitor. He didn't like having people so close behind him. It set off his instincts as a soldier despite knowing the girl was no threat.
"Do you ever stop working?" Shoko questioned as she saw what was on the monitor.
It was the battle that had just taken place not too long ago, and it seemed to be focused on the new upgraded Waffes.
"No." his quick reply made her puff out her cheeks.
Would it kill him to try to keep the conversation going?
"You know you're gonna burn yourself out if you keep working so hard."
"What happens to me is none of your concern."
"Of course it is!" Shoko responded vehemently. "It's my job as Prime Minster to look after all my people."
"Oh?" L-elf couldn't help it, the similarities were just too similar; Shoko Sashinami had earned his curiosity. "You see me as one of your own? Despite knowing I'm a former Dorssia soldier? One of the very soldiers that infiltrated this school and led Dorssia into attacking."
She knew what he was doing, trying to remind her of his past actions so she might change her mind. So she might come to dislike him and possibly hate him. He was trying to push her, everyone really, away from him and keep things professional. She didn't know why he was trying to keep bonds from forming but she wouldn't be deterred so easily.
"Yes!"
Only a handful of times had L-elf had the urge to laugh. When A-Drei told him about his desire to start a revelation, that was the last time L-elf had an urge to laugh, an urge he didn't hold back. This time he held back that urge, but that didn't change the fact that he still had that urge. The girl's response was instant and without any doubt, so much so that it was ridiculous.
"If it wasn't for you we would never be able defend ourselves against Dorssia."
"It's the Valvrave pilots that fight against Dorssia's forces."
He felt like a child.
If he was acting normally he would've just let her come to her own opinion, not caring what she thought of him or his actions. Yet, he found himself wanting to see how hard would she defend this image she had of him, so that's why he continued to deny that image.
"That may be true but without your planning they wouldn't be enough." even she knew that much. "They're the muscles and you're the brains."
"Very astute." L-elf complemented as he turned back towards the screen, missing the beaming smile she gave at his praise.
"So," Shoko began drawing out the "o", "what are you looking for by watching this."
". . . . You're not going to leave anytime soon are you?"
"Nope." Shoko smiled once again while making the "p" pop.
He thought as much.
"Knowing the enemy is key in battle. That includes their weapons." L-elf replied before taking a different approach to his explanation. "Knowing that, what would you believe I would be looking for?" while he had plans to grow the girl, seeing as she was Prime Minister, in the future, he wouldn't pass up an opportunity to expand the girl's thought process. He needed to get it out of her school girl world and into the real one.
Shoko, hearing his inquiry, couldn't help but give a surprised look. She didn't expect him to ask her opinion (an opinion she knew he didn't need) so it caught her off guard, but she quickly recovered and tilted her head in thought.
"Hmmmm . . . . I guess you would want to see what those knew Waffes could do."
"Be specific."
"Fine, fine" it couldn't be that hard right? Mecha manga and anime talked about this stuff all the time. " . . . Speed . . weapons . . durability?"
"That's a start." L-elf gave a nod as he changed to a different clip. "There's also accuracy and agility to take into account."
"That makes sense, but isn't this Mr. Kibukawa and Yusuke's job?"
"Old habits die hard."
"You should learn to trust people more."
"You should learn to trust people less."
" . . . Agree to disagree?"
" . . Very well."
After that they fell into a relative, perhaps even content, silence. Only speaking when L-elf would throw out another question and she would do her best to answer.
There was no one else in the Command Room.
It was just them.
A teenage Prime Minister to an infant nation, and a former Dorssia soldier who wanted to crush his former nation.
Crush it and save her, Lieselotte.
A girl who somehow did the impossible.
A girl who warmed his heart.
A girl who he couldn't help but be reminded of when he spoke to the one beside him.
Despite the peaceful moment, trouble was always brewing around the corner for the young nation of New JIOR and that trouble had taken the form of a Dorssia spy sneaking into the module during the middle of battle. The only evidence was a high speed, stealth jet, capable of transiting from space to Earth's atmosphere and vise versa, that was magnetized to the bottom of the module.
Module 77 was once again infiltrated.
A/N: This chapter was suppose to have Haruto and Saki's date but again I wanted to put this chapter out after that finale. I'm hoping this will be a pick me up for those who were disappointed. The date will be in the next chapter, and the good news is since I cut the date out of this chapter and put it into the next, I'm already 3,000 words into the next chapter.
I kind of felt like I made L-elf to talkative but season 2 really showed his human side and I'm gonna slowly bring that side out. On top of that Shoko's gonna remind him of Lieselotte due to her being naive and caring, traits he saw in Lieselotte. For Shoko I wanted that last scene to have her thinking about Haruto at the start but switching to L-elf at the end.
For the battle scene, well, I kept it short because I want to build up to longer and better battles as the story goes on. Also I was iffy on how much the pilots should've grown because of their training. Called training making better pilots didn't I, L-elf proved it. Back to the point, while the pilots have gotten better I didn't want to do too much.
For one, I wanted the upgraded Waffes (if anyone has a better name please let me know) to make their debut and I couldn't have them completely destroyed without putting up a fight, probably not the best but they'll get tweaked and come back better as time goes on. I also have to take into account that this fic will go a couple of 100,000 words at least and I want the pilots growing throughout the story, so I have to do it slowly. And I want their skill to grow more when they get the pilot simulators, then they'll get practice in. Teamwork, aim, and individual skills will grow more so when they get those.
But back to that finale.
When Haruto died I almost cried and I'm both disappointed and happy that we didn't see Shoko and Saki's reaction of his death. The reason I'm happy is because seeing Saki breakdown and cry would probably be too much for me. I did see him dying coming. Mainly because how Saki looked during those timeskips. She looked wiser and more mature but she also looked sad. Like she was burdened with a sadness that wouldn't go away but she was used to it.
I'm thinking it was Haruto's death.
And looking back at it, the promise she was talking about in episode 7, the first timeskip, was the pinky promise she made with Haruto right? That just makes it even sadder.
I think that's all I have to rant about, now to respond to a few reviews.
KnightScales: I'm glad you like my story, you're one of the writers that got me into writing, specifically your Naza stories. And no I don't plan on killing any of the pilots and Shoko will grow as a character. I look forward to your Haruto/Saki fic. I can't wait until you update your Naza fics. And a Yukino/Hachiman fic? I would love to catch a glimpse. And what's this? MaouXEmi as well? You really are one of my favorite writers. So much pairings I love.
You know, I was gonna answer more review, but it's almost midnight and I'm tired. So if anyone still has questions just ask them again and I'll try to answer them next time.
Sorry.
Just to finish things off, Haruto x Saki fans step up.
IzanagiMikoto, you say you have some ideas?
Well, not having time is one thing but if you need help forming your ideas or something, I'm willing to help.
And for anyone who wants to write but can't come up with an idea here's one. It's a highschool one so probably easier to write then the type me and Zidana123 are writing.
Here's the short version.
Haruto's in love with Saki, the only problem is, Saki's his teacher.
Take it from there.
Oh, here's another one, could be a highschool fic or a spinoff from canon.
Haruto get's Saki pregnant.
Could be after the rape scene or a highschool fic where they struggle through the ups and downs of being teen parents.
Need help don't be afraid to message me.
But not for yaoi or Haruto x Shoko, just Haruto x Saki.
Peace.