Chapter 35 – Having a blast
About two weeks have passed since Toshiro's and Minna's trip. The former was training intensively, with Kye training his girls, with focus on their Final Arts. For Eila and Minna, special training was required under her or Toshiro's, when he was there, supervision, since they couldn't use their abilities on humans. Minna herself also started practicing violin and piano again, much to the enjoyment of the rest of the 501st. Command was silent, but the IFN gave word that a shipment was to be delivered soon. Also, Toshiro received the memoirs of his father from Ichiro, giving him and Yoshika quite some insight on their fathers common past.
On November 29, Toshiro got a call just before supper from his Uncle. He relayed it to the girls afterwards.
"Ladies, I have news," he said with a wry grin.
"The world became flat?" Mio asked.
"Naaaaaaah… There have been developments… Political ones…"
"Oh come on, tell us!" Trude shouted.
"Well then… As of today, the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, as well as any other witch unit in the world is now part of the International Anti Neuroi Contingent, under the guise of the United Nations, irrelevant of the countries affiliation to said organization. After a raging speech of my Uncle, the Karlslander was unanimously voted as the leaders of this military unit."
"Wait, so Karlsland is basically the military leader of the world?" Minna asked.
"Kind of."
"Woohoo!" Trude cheered. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
"Trude, be more serious, please…" Mio silenced her. "This is a historical moment…"
"For the first time in recorded military history, all the armies of the entire world are united…" Minna gasped. "Oh my… Toshiro, are there any further implications?"
"Country affiliation is now irrelevant. Every witch is treated as an expatriate, and their rank is equal to equivalents in other armies. For example, now, I can literally tell the 31st JFS in Africa to come here and give me a blowjob."
"Less graphic examples, please…" Perrine muttered with red cheeks.
"How is this even possible?" Erica asked.
"The Neuroi were the common goal in this war all along, but my Uncle finally wrapped everything in a nice ribbon and presented in before a sizable body of world leaders. It's kinda embarrassing, but he used me and our reclaiming of most of Karlsland as leverage, heheh…"
"Incredible…" Yoshika said. "Oh, let's eat, the food will get cold!"
Toshiro woke up on a Friday, November 30, and after the warning from Livy, he got teleported off. After returning, he saw a silver glint in the dark hangar, before which he found himself.
Ehhhh…
He ran inside the hangar and flipped the light switch. The metal halide lamps slowly lit it up, revealing Kye pondering before the rack with the cannons.
"And what great news do you bear today, Kye?"
"Remember the magic infused 128 you had in the simulation?"
"The Agneyastra? Sure, but why are you asking?"
"Agneyastra? When did you start calling it that way, huh?"
"Always? Blastwave Cannon sounded a tad pretentious…"
"Well, whatever. You can call yours your way; I'll call mine my way."
"Sounds okay…"
"Anyway, I think I could finally teach you how to make one here, now that you've mastered your Sacred Flame and Celestial Aura."
"Sure. So are we doing it now?"
"Yup, get me some tools and we're disassembling this gun."
Toshiro returned with a box of tools and he began to disassemble the cannon. After a few minutes, the barrel, the muzzle brake, the disassembled breech, frame, and firing mechanism were on the ground before them.
"Now, Toshiro, let's start with the infusing. You have to take each part, superheat it, and pump it full of magic."
"Any help with that?"
"Yes, I'll be monitoring the temperature and level of magic infusion for you."
"Isn't that something Yuki could do?"
"Of course she could, but I have much more experience."
"As you wish…"
Toshiro flared up with the Flame of Kōjin and grabbed the muzzle brake. He started heating it up until it was white hot.
"Okay, now start pumping the magic. More… More… Slow down… Slower… Okay, done! Now dump it into a rift, Kaylie was notified."
"Sure thing."
Toshiro summoned his sword, created a small rift, and threw the muzzle brake inside.
"Now the rest…"
Sometime later, Toshiro was pooped from all the heating and magic pumping.
"Are we there yet?"
"The guns still has to be assembled, but now, we have to do the ammo."
"Oh great…"
"Don't worry, this won't be very tiresome. Pull yourself together, this is the final straight."
"Yeaaaaah…"
Toshiro went and took a projectile and cartridge from the stack near the rack.
"Now what?"
"You have to remove the powder charges from the casing, infuse each one separately, put them back and seal the cartridge. And be sure to be careful around the primer."
"I guess I should do it in gloves, huh?"
"It would be advised, heh…"
Toshiro created a pair of gloves and proceeded with dismantling and infusing everything.
"Now the projectile…"
"Do it like you normally do with your bullets, just this time, you'll be holding it in your hands."
"Just stop me before it explodes in my hands, heh…"
"Don't worry, I will."
Toshiro poured in his magic into the projectile. It just soaked in magic like a sponge, with the end nowhere to be seen.
"Stop," Kye commanded and Toshiro stopped. "Yuki, did you note how much magic Toshiro poured into the projectile?"
"Yup, I did. Should I use it as a benchmark?" Yuki asked.
"More or less, but use some common sense. This projectile is filled to the brim with Toshiro's magic, so it will make quite a bang…"
"Heheh…" Yuki laughed.
"Heheh indeed," Toshiro said. "I so want to test it now…"
"Oh, you don't want to…"
"Hmmm?"
"Remember how much noise that shit makes?"
"Ah, pardon, I forgot…"
"Make some late evening fireworks," Kye winked.
"Ohohohohoooooh…"
"Just don't shoot at the Mother Hive…"
"Kay. I'll shoot somewhere… to the east."
"Good choice. Well anyway, time to reassemble the cannon, and I'll be going."
Toshiro positioned himself before the rift and yelled, "Kaylie, go!"
The parts were falling out of the rift and Toshiro was gently placing them on the ground.
"Thanks!" he shouted after putting down the last piece.
Kaylie popped out of the rift and pointed at her cheek.
"Oh you little…" Toshiro said and gave her a smooch.
"Heehee…" she giggled.
"No lollygagging, Toshiro," Kye said while shaking her head.
He reassembled the cannon and placed it on the rack.
"Thanks for everything, Kye."
"Twas' a pleasure."
"Although I think that my Livygun is kinda better than this…"
"It's true, Livy has an enormous potential, but I just taught you a new skill, be grateful,"
"I am…" Toshiro pouted. "I guess I can't make a boom like with the cannon using Livy?"
"Experiment, Toshiro, experiment…" Kye winked and disappeared.
I guess I'm out of time for a nap… I'll do it later.
He went to the dining room, where almost everyone was present.
"Oh, Toshiro, I wanted to call you in!" Yoshika shouted.
"Sorry, Yoshika, I was fine tuning my cannon."
"Well, whatever works… Sit down, only a few minutes left."
"So, what did you do precisely?" Trude asked.
"You'll see after supper, my dear Trudy."
"Ugh, always the waiting…"
"Oh shush, it's worth it."
After breakfast, Toshiro went to his room with Yoshika, lied down beside her and fell asleep. Or at least he tried. Feeling a small hand crawling down his stomach, he woke up.
"Yoshikaaaa… Don't you tease me… Not when you have your days… And I'm sleeeepy…"
"Heh… I couldn't resist…"
"Well duh, I'm irresistible!"
"That's debatable but… I wonder if the shipment will arrive soon… It should be time, right?"
"Yeah, I think so. I wonder what they're sending…"
"Maybe… Oh, maybe Daddy made a new Striker for me?!"
"Yeah, he said he would do it… But that would be mindfuckingly fast…"
"Well, Dad is a genius too… I bet if you'd study everything behind Strikers, you could be his right hand."
"Or I could even work independently… Good thinking, Yoshika…"
"By the way… Maybe we finally should tell everyone about our little soul convergence thingy?"
"Why should we bother? It's a very personal matter, and doesn't actually affect anyone around us," Toshiro replied
"But I feel a bit weird not telling about it…"
"We'll ponder about it later… I have to take a quick nap."
"Kay, kay… You sure are tired…"
"I was toying around with Kye… She helped me redo Agneyastra."
"That… That was the super cannon you had, right?"
"Yup."
"I wanna see that fire live!"
"Patience, Yoshika. I'll do some fireworks in the evening."
"Oh, good idea!" she cheered. "Now, sleep."
"Yeeeaaaaaah…" he yawned and closed his eyes.
He was awakened by an unexpected person.
"Minna?" he asked with a sleepy voice.
"Heh, nice change, huh?"
"Verily, it is."
"Sure, fire away, what do you want?"
"Will you be evaluating me, Heidi, Eila or Sanya today?"
"And I should or shouldn't why?"
"Because I think you did it already the past two days?"
"You sneaky devil… Yeah, I did. You all have defensive or indirectly offensive abilities that have to be tested on Neuroi. Why are you asking?"
"Somebody has to keep tabs on the phone when you're evaluating the rest, right?"
"Just that?" he asked.
"Ummm…"
"Well, if you want to keep something a secret from me… But I also have a small secret prepared for the evening."
"Then that makes two of us with something prepared for the evening. If you could stay away with the girls for at least one hour after you leave…" Minna mused, smiling mysteriously.
"Doable. But I hope it will be worth it."
"It will, Toshiro. A woman's surprise is always worth it…" she said and quickly ruffled up his hair.
"Hey, what was that for?"
"You're younger than me, remember? I have some rights!"
"Technically, I am only a month younger, so shush."
"You're eighteen in the papers, and that's what counts for a True Soldier of Karlsland, heehee…"
"Trude gave up that shtick, and now you're going at it…" Toshiro sighed. "Okay, time to rally up the girls…"
Toshiro approached the PA panel and said, "Girls, its evaluation time. Gather in the dining room. You have five minutes."
"Thanks," Minna said. "I'll be going now."
"Where's Yoshika actually?" he looked around.
"In the can."
"Forget I asked…"
After the designated period, he went out of his room, and to the dining room. While standing at the top of the stairs he asked, "Everyone ready to be evaluated?"
"Yeah!" the girls shouted.
"But how will it look like?" Trude asked. "Are we going to look for some trouble up north?"
"No, no. It will be stationary, so to speak. I have come up with some trials for all of you, except for Heidi, Eila, Sanya, and Minna; they were evaluated during the two days prior to today."
"Oh? When was that?" Heidemarie asked.
"Remember that late evening walk I asked you to do with me in the forest?"
"Ah, that one. So that's why you told me to find flags scattered around the forest in complete darkness?"
"Uhum."
"My, my… I really just thought you were trying to piss me off…" she chuckled.
"Heh, sorry. But anyway, you've passed with flying colors."
"So that battle with the Neuroi the day before yesterday was my trial?" Eila asked.
"And Minna's," he said. "You two had to have Neuroi targets. And you've both impressed me by that clusterfuck you've caused."
"Heheh, I was shitting TWO Neuroi's at a time!" Eila said proudly.
"And so was I, heehee…" Minna giggled.
"And you both caused thirty enemies to be destroyed… I'm proud of you two."
"Hey, hey, but what did Sanya do then?" Eila asked.
"I wanted to listen to a local radio station from Buenos Aires…" Toshiro smiled mysteriously.
"And she tuned in into it?! Shiiiiiiit… My Sanya! Heehee…" Eila almost melted under the table while embracing herself.
"I really wonder what you have in store for us…" Erica pondered.
"Okay gals, let's go!" he cheered and led everyone to the hangar.
"Well then, first we'll do Mio."
"You'd wish!" she yelled back.
"And whose the incurable pervert now…" he mumbled.
"Oh… Shit…" Mio scratched her head. "Use less ambiguous wording, damn it!"
"Yeah, yeah. Okay, Mio, stand in the center of the hangar and face the main doors to the hangar."
"Okay."
Mio moved to her position and asked, "What now?"
"Now, you stay there. Rest of you, you'll all stand in an arc a fifty meters behind Mio. That would be about where the Launch Units are. Don't spread too much though."
The girls moved to their designated positions.
"Now, I'll move go close the hangar door and kill the lights. Girls, you just show things with your hands to Mio, and Mio, you guess what they are showing while facing me."
The girls tilted their heads in wonder.
"Trust me; I know what I'm doing."
He closed shut the main doors and killed the lights. Then, he went in front of Mio through the pitch dark hangar.
"Okay, Mio, fire up."
Two violet eyes sparkled in the darkness.
"Girls, start your part of the test."
After a few seconds, Toshiro said, "Go, Mio."
Mio concentrated a bit, while fixing herself on Toshiro's eyes, which were glowing slightly in the complete darkness.
"Trude is throwing a fit, Perrine is squirming around, and unable to pick a hand sign, Shirley, fuck you too. Yoshika is showing a victory sign, Lynne is giving a thumbs up, Francesca is grinning while waving both her hands, Erica is showing me her tongue and Shizuka is saluting, straight like a pole."
"Damn straight…" Toshiro said. "Surround vision and night vision capabilities confirmed. Very good execution. I approve. Turn your Magic Eye off."
He said and turned on the lights after diluting time. While the lights were slowly warming up, he said, "Shirley, come to me."
"Kay!" she shouted and ran to him. "What's up?"
"You have five seconds to get me a monkey wrench."
"Whaa…"
"Four…"
Shirley ran off so fast that the dust in the hangar reacted only after about two seconds, and before it completely raised from the ground, Shirley was back with a monkey wrench.
"Yuki, time?"
"Four seconds zero five," she said aloud.
"Not bad," Toshiro nodded. "If you reacted like you should have, it would be three seconds dead."
"You surprised me…" she said with a sour face.
"The enemy won't wait for your readiness, Shirley. But you did well anyway."
"Thanks, I suppose…"
"Heh… Okay, go open the door for me. Lynne, take your rifle and a transponder, and go out with the rest to the runway, I'll be your target."
"Oh, but I can't just shoot you, Toshiro…"
"Don't worry, Lynnie, you won't hit me."
"Ah, okay… I think I know what you want to do…" Lynne smiled a bit uncertainly.
"Then let's go. There's nothing else needed beside yourselves, girls, so just go out of the hangar. But nobody can go away until this all is finished."
"But why?" Shirley asked.
"Cuz I say so, simple."
"Whatever…"
With the hangar door open, Toshiro flew out into the air. He looked at the runway and saw that the girls are were more or less in position.
"Lynne, ready?"
"Ready, I think…"
"Your job is to follow me with your rifles bullet. The tighter you follow me, the bigger praise at the end, heheh…"
"Heehee… I thought so. Okay, I'm firing!"
Both Lynne and her rifle glowed intensively and Toshiro saw the bird-shaped projectile going fast towards him. He dove immediately escaping it, but it turned sharply after him. He flew off forward at over Mach One.
So the projectile can travel so fast… Hmmm… I won't be a dick... At least in terms of speed, heheh…
It took him two minutes of daring maneuvers, and finally the bullet just dropped down towards the ground, just like Lynne. Toshiro landed and taxied towards her.
"Good job, Lynne," he said with a soft voice and patted her on the head. "Two minutes of controlling a bullet… Very good."
"Heh… Thank you…"
Toshiro took her rifle from her and said, "Let's go to the next point. Perrine, this will be your trial."
"What about your Striker?" she asked.
"Already disposing of it."
He diluted time and ran to the hangar, still with the XF-1 on his legs. He stowed it away, as well as Lynne's rifle and returned.
"Yeah, I'm back. Perrine, did you find anything… peculiar in the forest lately?"
"Hummmm… I saw some rods with small flags attached to them on the edge of the forest…"
"And that's where we're going to. Come on, everyone."
The whole group went to the spot about which Toshiro was talking about. They saw many rods with blue or red flags attached to them, spread evenly across the meadow.
"Perrine, your job is to zap the rods in such a pattern with ONE lightning attack," he explained and unfolded a piece of paper before Perrine.
She looked at it with the rest of the girls and said, "Hmmm… This is truly a complicated pattern, but I will succeed, because my dear Ma… Lieutenant Colonel is watching me!"
"Yeah, yeah…" Mio muttered.
"Okay, Perrine, prepare yourself."
"Roger."
Her hair started fluttering, and electricity began discharging from her body. Toshiro jumped up a hundred meters into the air and shouted, "GO!"
"Éclair!" Perrine shouted and her lightning attack started jumping from rod to rod in the way it was supposed to be each jump was only 50 milliseconds long, so the whole of the pattern was completed in two and a half seconds.
Toshiro landed on the ground just as Perrine started maintaining her hair.
"How are you feeling, Perrine?" he asked.
"A bit spent, but proud! No mistakes?"
"Nope, not a single one. Very good job," he said and looked at Mio and nodded her in toward Perrine.
She cleared her throat and said, "Um, good job, Perrine."
Mio patted Perrine on the head, to which the latter almost collapsed on the ground in bliss.
"Erica, Trudy, do you see those two boulders there?" Toshiro said and pointed out to the enormous rocks to the west.
"Yeah," Erica said. "And?"
"The two will be your targets, but don't jump the gun just yet. Trudy, move over yonder," he pointed out to the north.
"Will do."
As Trude moved her way, Toshiro went to one of the few thousand kilogram boulders. He flared up with all his magic and lifted it with one hand.
"Trudy! Your task will be to make do with this boulder."
"Okay!" she yelled and a magic film surrounded her.
"You're going to throw the rock at Trude? That's insane!" Shirley shouted.
"Pff…" Toshiro shrugged. "Okay, ready?!"
"Ready!" Trude yelled.
Toshiro threw the boulder at Trude, but at the same time, he diluted time and moved himself in an appropriate place beside her. She retracted her arm, preparing herself for a mighty straight punch.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaa!" she shouted and threw the punch just as the boulder was two meters before her.
The boulder stopped midair just before her fist hit it, and then it shattered into fine dust, but Toshiro preemptively moved both of them before it would cover them all.
"How was it?" she asked.
"Perfect. Exactly what I expected, maybe a bit more."
"Hah! Just don't pat me!"
"Bahahaha! Okay, I won't. Erica, your turn!"
"I won't play bedrock volleyball with you!"
"Destroy the boulder with your Blitzkrieg, dumbass!"
"Oh! Should I start already?"
"Sure!"
Erica prepared the two magic orbs immediately. She combined them with incredible speed, but instead of rushing at the boulder with it, she just threw it. The ball of magic lightning had a small line of magic behind it. And as it impacted, the boulder as well as some of the ground under it got vaporized.
"Surprised, Bro?" Erica asked with a sly smile.
"Well, shit… I didn't expect that… Did Kye teach you that?"
"Haha! Yup! So, did I do good?"
"You did well," Toshiro smirked. "Franny, see that mound over there?" he asked while pointing a ten meter high dirt mound.
"Yup!"
"Blast it away."
"Kay!" Francesca cheered.
She stepped forward as particles of light surrounded her.
"Boom!" she screamed and a beam shot of her right hand.
The mound had a circular hole inside of it, and upon closer inspection, a tunnel of unknown length made at a small incline.
"How is it?" Francesca grinned happily.
"A-Okay!" Toshiro threw a thumb up. "Now, Yoshika…"
"Wha?!"
"…won't be evaluated. But Shizuka should get her share so…" Toshiro summoned Aganaimaru.
"Um, Toshiro?" Shizuka asked.
Toshiro threw the sword hilt down into the ground and simply pierced his left hand. After quickly dispelling the sword he said, "Damn thing is so sharp you don't feel the pain, as the neurons are cut on molecular level…"
The girls paled seeing what Toshiro did. Blood started gushing out of his wound from both sides.
"Shizuka, if Yoshika starts healing me, my Celestial Order starts healing me, or I pass out due to blood loss, you'll fail…"
Shizuka immediately ran up to Toshiro and took his hand.
"Ouch, it does smart after all…"
Shizuka concentrated herself and a blue orb of magic appeared, enveloping his hand.
"Good, the bleeding stopped…" she said.
The wound started slowly getting smaller and smaller with each passing second, but Shizuka's breathing was getting slower. Just as the wound closed itself entirely, Shizuka fell on her knees.
"Wheeeeew… So tired…"
"Heh, good job…" he said and patted her with the same hand she healed.
"P-P-Please, Toshiro, d-don't…" she protested futilely with a red face.
"You still haven't taken up on my proposition, my dear club member."
"Oh… Oh right… Then I agree…" she said with a smile.
Yoshika approached him and gave him a solid conk on the head.
"Ow!"
"Stupid, reckless Toshiro…" she mumbled.
"Yeah, sorry… But that's how I envisioned the trial," he shrugged. "Now then, everyone has made big progress! Maybe we do stand a chance against the Neuroi Matriarch… But time will tell… Okay, now, Mio, I bet you want to train the girls, right?"
"As if you're reading my mind…" she smiled wryly.
"Just don't overdo it, okay?"
"I'm not stupid. Come on, girls, time to go."
"Okay…" Mio's trainees mumbled and followed her.
Toshiro fired up his transponder and asked, "Minna, need some time?"
"Five minute maybe?"
"We'll be returning for five minutes."
"Okay, thanks!"
"So, the rest of you… You heard it, we're walking slowly back to the base."
"What's the secret?" Francesca asked.
"Dunno, but Minna is doing something," he shrugged. "So let's respect her little wish. And of course you don't know ANYTHING…"
"Do you know anything?" Shirley asked.
"Nothing beside the fact that SOMETHING will happen."
"Then we should shush," Trude said.
The rest nodded, and they slowly strolled back to the main building.
"I'll go to the office and so some paperwork," Toshiro said.
"Okay, Toshiro," Trude said and they split up.
He entered the office and saw Minna sitting at her desk.
"As inconspicuous as you can get," Minna smiled.
"Heh… Did you do everything you wanted?"
"More or less, don't worry."
"So, how much paperwork today?"
"I guess you'll want to write a report on your eval today?"
"I guess…"
"And of course the usual stuff."
"Yeah… Okaaaaay, time to delve into this crap…"
An hour later, he received a transmission.
"501st, this is Kuruma-5, come in."
"Yes, Kuruma-5, this is the 501st."
"Permission to land, General."
"You are the transport from the IFN?"
"Yes sir."
"Permission granted."
"Thank you, sir."
"Do my ears deceive me, or are we receiving that transport today?" Minna asked.
"Verily, Minna. I guess we should move our butts and receive the shipment. Oh and… sorry, but I'll probably won't be able to finish the paperwork. Livy will probably call me in any time soon."
"Don't sweat it, Toshiro. After you explained everything in detail to me, I'm fine with this."
"Thanks… I don't deserve such a good subordinate…"
The two of them went to the hangar and out outside. Unsurprisingly, Shirley was already waiting for them.
"My speed senses are tingling, Toshiro!"
"You think there's something fast onboard the plane that just landed?"
"Yup!"
"There is a chance," Toshiro winked and the trio went to the plane. A man in the ranks of sergeant pushed out a big, rectangular crate on a trolley down the loading ramp. He pushed the crate towards Toshiro and company. Toshiro now saw that he had some kind of package with him
"Good morning!" he saluted. "This package is for you, sir."
"Thanks," Toshiro replied and took the package. "The trolley should be returned?"
"No need, sir. We still have our trolley budget in check!"
"Hahaha! Good one! Okay, dismissed, Sergeant."
"Good bye, sir!" he saluted again and ran back into the plane, which was already increasing revs.
"Ooooooooooh booooooooooooooy! This must be a Striker! Most positively!" Shirley squealed.
"Might just be some miscellaneous equipment, Shirley…" Minna sighed.
"Only one way to find out!" Shirley grabbed the handle of the trolley, but Toshiro interrupted her.
"Stop right there! Slowly, Shirley… Slowly… And I call dibs on opening it."
"Aw shit, I forgot that you run this joint… Well, at least let me push the trolley."
"Yeah, yeah…"
The three went back into the hangar, and Toshiro placed the trolley before Yoshika's Launch Unit.
"Open it! Open it! Open it!" Shirley repeated excited.
"Get your tits in a bundle, sheesh…"
He ripped off the lid, and the three of them whistled in admiration. A black painted striker with an orange flame motif was tucked away safely in foam, along with a control device.
"Mother of God… If I know something for sure, it's that that flames make everything faster!" Shirley shouted.
"Toshiro, open the package, I want to know what we're dealing with," Minna said while still eyeing the Striker.
Toshiro ripped the parcel open and quickly skimmed through the papers.
"The Nakajima Ki-201… Yoshika? Hah! I guess SOMEBODY pulled his weight!"
Toshiro felt an envelope amongst the papers, but he decided not to show them.
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh! I so want to fly thiiiiiiiis! But I guess it's for Yoshika… Toshiro, lid it, and stow it away."
"You've matured, Shirley," Minna snickered.
"I'll mature you! Wait until our next whateversome!"
"Heehee… Oh I'm waiting…" Minna said alluringly.
"Creeps…" Toshiro mumbled. "Well anyway, I'll go and stash this Striker away."
"Hey, Shirley, what's a whateversome?" Francesca asked suddenly from over their heads.
Toshiro diluted time, stowed away the new Striker in the storage room and ran away quickly to his room.
"Whew… That could be awkward… Now let's see that letter…"
Toshiro took the envelope, ripped it apart and unfolded the letter.
Dear Toshiro,
First of all, I have to tell you not to show this letter to anybody else. You can decide if you want to show it to Yoshika however.
Reading this letter, you should have also received the new Striker for Yoshika, the Ki-201. It was supposed to be named Karyū, however, there was no way I could let that pass. Well, the flame motif stayed, since it was painted on earlier. I have implemented the latest achievements of Striker building, courtesy of our common friend Ursula Hartmann. That means that the Ki-201 has an afterburner, and is also capable of traveling at Mach Three or faster, depending on the user.
But that's not the main purpose of this letter. Right now, I should be in Neue Karlsland, probably in Rosario. Your compatriots gave me an offer I couldn't refuse after THAT occurrence. I will be participating in a super-secret project that could save our world. And I promise you that if it happens to have any connection to Neuroi tech, I'll abandon it immediately, or even deliberately sabotage it.
Now, I hope you've gotten the memoirs? I hope it was a good read. I got really mushy when I was writing it, so I somehow think that you'll be the same in this regard.
Keep caring about Yoshika, and about yourself!
Sincerely,
Ichiro Miyafuji
"Hell… I guess he doesn't want Yoshika to know that he's already working on another project away from home…" he said quietly to himself.
Toshiro folded the letter and pocketed it. Minna came in with a red face.
"You cheater you…"
"What?" Toshiro asked innocently while avoiding eye contact.
"We were sweating like pigs while explaining that to Francesca!"
"I would only make it worse…" he shrugged. "And now pardon me, I have to go rest. That little wound I inflicted upon myself is taking a delayed toll on me."
"That really was reckless, you know? I would plant my fist on your head myself, but who knows if you wouldn't drag that out when the time came…"
"Yes, yes… But I guess some people need appropriate motivation, and frankly, I didn't bother thinking up how to test her healing abilities. And a fracture would be more painful, believe me."
"Well, okay, I guess you're right… Okay then, I guess your training ride will come any second now?"
"Yeah."
And after two minutes, Toshiro was spirited away.
Upon returning, Toshiro entered the dining room.
"Hungry!" he roared.
"Yes, wait for it!" Yoshika shouted back.
"I have a surprise for you after dinner, unless Shirley or Minna didn't blurt it out…" he looked at the two, but they shook their heads violently.
"Ah, then I'm waiting for it with impatience!"
During dinner, Shirley shook from emotions as if she was in fever, and the moment Toshiro said, "Everyone, let's go into the hangar for a little… surprise," she shot out of the common room like a rocket.
"Geez…" Minna sighed.
When they arrived at the hangar, the Ki-201 was already mounted in Yoshika's Launch Unit. A gasp of admiration passed amongst the gathered.
"Wooooow… Toshiro, that's the surprise?" Yoshika asked.
"Yup, you're very own Striker that's comparable to mine."
"Weeeeee! Can I check it?!"
"Does the bear shit in the woods? Of course!"
"Yoshika, catch!" Shirley shouted and threw the control panel to Yoshika, who quickly strapped it on.
Toshiro immediately mounted his own Striker, just as Yoshika started warming up the twin Ne-230-Kai engines. Yoshika waited until the engines of Toshiro's Striker warmed up, and after exchanging nods, they kicked off with blinding speed.
"Waaaahaaaaaaa!" Yoshika screamed. "So faaaaaaaaaaast!"
"Hahaha! Come on, Yoshika, punch it! You have an afterburner!"
"Really?! I'm so doing it!"
Yoshika dabbled with her control panel and she shot forward with an even greater speed than Toshiro anticipated.
Holy fuck! So fast!
Toshiro turned on his afterburner and caught up to her.
"I've never thought you could fly so fast!" Yoshika cheered. "Hey, Toshiro…"
"Wha?"
"Did you try beating your top speed record after you've acquired the Celestial Aura?"
"No… Saaaaay…"
"Do it! I'll be returning to the base."
"Sure!"
Toshiro flew about twenty kilometers forward, made a sharp turn, and enabled Celestial Aura.
Let's fucking do it!
He pushed all the magic reserves he had, and as he was passing the base, he reached the velocity of five thousand two hundred and five kilometers per hour, before he had to slow down not to damage the Striker.
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrgh!" Shirley shouted through the transponder.
"Hahahahahaha! Ask Yoshika to let you fly her Striker, maybe she'll give you a go!"
"Oh, right!"
Before Toshiro could land after doing a wide roundabout, Shirley already started.
"She sure is eager…" he sighed once he was docking his Striker.
"Tell me about it…" Trude mumbled.
"So, Yoshika, how do you feel about the Ki-201?" Toshiro asked.
"Mind blowing! And the magic consumption is really low!"
"Or you got stronger, heheh…"
"Heehee, that too. So, Sanya, do you still have some lessons left with Yoshika?"
"Yes, but we're finishing the post-advanced level book already."
"I'll help you two, since now I'm an expert, heheh…"
After supper, Minna asked, "Toshiro, mind if I go first?"
"Is it an indoor activity?"
"Yes."
"Okay, go first, cuz my surprise is very much outdoors."
"Sure, just need to fetch something."
"What, two surprises at a time?" Yoshika asked.
"Yup. We both don't know what the other has in stock."
"Heh, that's what a surprise should look like…"
Oh and I have a big surprise for all of you tomorrow…
Minna returned to them quickly with a violin in her hands.
"I see…" Toshiro muttered.
"You see nothing, Toshiro," Minna smiled wryly. "Sanya?"
"Roger," the Orussian answered.
"Now this is getting intriguing…"
Sanya sat at the piano and Minna stood beside her.
"Three... Two… One… Go." Minna counted down slowly and they both started playing.
They played a romantic but sorrowful melody. Yoshika embraced Toshiro as they listened to the small concerto.
Once the last tune was played, everyone rose from their seats and showered the performers with a hurricane applause. The two were bowing while blushing wildly.
Once everything calmed down, Toshiro said, "Okay now, now it's my turn! Dress up girls, we're going outside. I'll go ahead and prepare, and you all can assemble before the entrance to the main building."
Toshiro headed towards the hangar and saw his least favorite goddess at times.
"And what do you want at this time and hour?"
"The redheads and I agreed for Christmas."
"Oh? That's nice. So will they be participating tomorrow too?"
"Yup, pretty much."
"And you appeared here just to tell me that?"
"Uhum."
"Well, thanks. Staying for the fireworks, or does your nigh omniscience suffice you?"
Kye shrugged and disappeared.
He took the cannon and loaded it with the infused projectile and casing.
I have to be extra fucking careful now. This shit has the yield of a few hundred kilotons of TNT after all…
Toshiro slowly walked outside of the hangar and to the middle of the runway. The girls started coming out and formed a line before the entrance.
"Okay now! Cover your ears; this shit is louder than hell!"
The girls listened to him, and Toshiro concentrated on projecting miniature shields in his ears. He flared up with magic, pointed the cannon up to the starry sky, and pressed the trigger.
The recoil force almost drove him into the runway, but he stood tall, thanks to his aura. The projectile left a faint orange trace in the air.
One… Two… Three… Four…
He checked if the girls were looking at the projectile, pointed with his finger at it, and just flipped a mental switch.
The projectile exploded with the intensity of a supernova ten kilometers above ground. The ball of magic fire expanded violently in its orange-red glory. The girls were looking at it with their jaws wide opened, with the exception of Yoshika, who had a wry smile on her face.
"Brace yourselves, the shockwave is coming!" he shouted.
The girls huddled together as the shockwave came down on them, like a fierce wind.
Toshiro was counting in his mind, and when the count went to twenty-five, he shouted, "Cover your ears again!"
The girls did what they were told hastily, just as the sound of the explosion came to them. It was a sharp thud that could destroy an unshielded ear.
The fireball now faded into nothingness and Toshiro approached the girls.
"Not bad, huh?"
"You really learned some nice shit lately…" Mio said.
"More!" Francesca cheered.
"Hah, I wouldn't be able to withstand the recoil if I made another one! And it's too damn time consuming anyway. Dismissed girls, and good night!"
"Good night!" they all responded cheerfully.
Yoshika followed him to the hangar as he stowed away the cannon.
"Woooow, Toshiro… You're slowly coming to an energy level you had in that world…"
"Maybe I could regain my strength from that world, but that will have to be paid with sweat and blood… But let's not talk about such heavy topics this late."
"Yeah… Come on, Toshiro, let's go to sleep."
"You really want to sleep?"
"Oh… I forgot you probably need to tend to your needs…" Yoshika made a sour face. "Are you sure you're not humping Livy behind my back during training? That's an awful lot of time you have to your disposal…"
Livy appeared besides her and said, "I promise that our exploits during training have no sexual background, Mistress."
"If you say so…" Yoshika sighed. "Okay Livy, Toshiro is yours."
"Thank you, Mistress," Livy smiled. "Won't you be joining?"
"Actually… Hell, you live only once!"
"Excluding rebirths…" Toshiro mumbled.
The Ki-201 was supposed to be named Karyu - Flaming Dragon. Just saying.
If you feel like it, please leave a review. However, I have only one request – if you want to leave something the size of a short story, please consider discussing your points over PM. If you want to leave an anonymous review, I respect your decision to do so, but if you sign in, I can actually discuss anything with you, dear reader. Thanks for reading, and I hope the next chapter will also garner your attention!