Really that's the name?
Red…
His eyes stared down at the machine's crimson glare as it looked up at him emotionlessly, his foot laying heavy on its round head.
They were red…
It wasn't really something he had given much thought to, what with this whole mess of a situation he had gotten into, but now that he saw it… it made his skin crawl.
Their eyes, they turned…
They shone brighter for just a second.
Perhaps on mere instinct, but...
He brought more weight to his leg crushing it as if it was made of paper, sending a wave of sparkles through the air as its contents spilled onto the floor blackening the flowery field as oil spilled as if blood.
His chest heaved air filling his lungs as he pushed his foot off the machine's head. He stared down once more now at the blank circles that were once colored in almost regret, before shaking it off as a pair of steps filled the rather silent battle zone.
Well other than the whimpering from one frightened android that hadn't noticed he was safe once more.
"You were supposed to wait for us…" Popola muttered a frown sat upon her face as she surveyed the surroundings noticeably ignoring the resistance member still frightened in the corner.
They were on the edge of the ruined city the path towards the desert visible from the road in front of them the broken down buildings running parallel to the road shadowing it from the sun, this visage wasn't exactly what was on her mind though.
Her eyes affixed themselves to the precious being in front of her, as they often did.
As always he looked normal as if this was nothing more than a walk in the park, no wounds not even a hair out of place. His enemies ended much the same, it was wrong to actually call it a battle, one clean cut was always enough to cut through whatever defenses they had.
That was always good of course, she and Devola hadn't given up on trying to reign him in but it was good that he found these machines easy enough. Of course, they had yet to meet any of the bigger machines as they simply focused on exploring the city the resistance had often dealt with any of the more dangerous beasts running around.
It was probably the safest place right now which was why they made sure to remain here, even if they had to encounter many of the more unsavory androids that badmouthed them.
At least it was… machine activity seemed to be rising up by the day, it had only been a month since they started this little group, and more and more they had seen other androids being attacked at random.
Popola shook her head at her wandering thoughts, taking instead notice of the one machine nearest the human.
It was the first she had seen him killing a machine any other way than with his blades.
What had made him so angry?
Her mouth opened the question clearly in her lips… before she stopped herself. It wasn't her job to ask questions, all she had to do was keep him safe.
Easier said than done…
"You can't keep leaving us behind each time you see enemies." Devola seemed to growl out of anger almost baring her teeth at him her frustration kept pilling up.
Frustration that he kept running away from them trying to find danger as if his life depended on it.
Shirou sighed as he heard the duo berate him…
It had only been a few weeks since this whole partnership had started and he could safely say he didn't understand them. Their objective seemed twofold from what he was able to figure out…
Keep him locked up in a box in which no danger could befall him.
And keep him away from other androids in an almost jealous fashion.
He had passed through others of their ilk as they traveled through the ruined city, and each time he tried to strike up a conversation with any wonderer they seemed to stop him immediately and try to take over, it had happened so often that he simply gave up on the whole affair and let them do as they wished.
They kept water and fresh food for him, his clothes clean, his sleeping hours set… it had gotten quite a bit cumbersome, especially to someone who had been independent his whole life.
The only thing that had stopped him from speaking up were their eyes.
They seemed… overwhelmingly content with doing every little thing they saw as making his life easier, so much so that he had allowed them to do as they wished. The one thing that they couldn't stop him from…
Was this.
His eyes turned towards the trembling form of an android wearing the garments of the resistance.
"You're safe now, no need to worry." Shirou spoke softly and kindly as the humanoid lifeform tried to catch his bearings.
He reached out to him with his hand, and he shakily took it as he looked around nervously afraid that any machine would spring up.
"Y-yeah thanks man, a second longer and I…" his voice trailed off as his eyes widened seemingly overtaken by the situation and how close he was to an untimely death.
"You don't seem injured."Devola said as she stepped forward, her eyes clinically scanning him up and down "You should probably leave before more of them come."
The man nodded rapidly before almost running away in the direction of the resistance base.
Shirou watched him go with a frown before grunting as Devola nudged him slightly with her elbow.
"Don't worry we killed all the machines from this side, he'll reach the base safe and sound." She smirked up at him as she said this, her earlier anger vanishing now that they were alone.
The other twin unlike her sister quietly came up to him with an almost shy expression "Are you okay Shirou?" Popola asked worry clear in her eyes as she fidgeted with a bag in her hands.
He turned towards her "I'm fine Popola, they didn't even touch me."
His smile seemed to be enough to calm her down though as she returned it with a slight blush.
"The big log is fine Popola, I just checked him." Devola explained cheekily as she hugged her sister out of nowhere making her sputter the pretty blush from before now encompassing her whole face "But still you should really wait for us next time Shirou." her eyes narrowed as she ignored her struggling sister.
The man simply looked on with amusement for a second before staring off to the horizon away from the city.
The sisters noticing this stopped playing around.
"There's only desert that way Shirou." Devola cautiously stated her eyes narrowed as she tried to make out his intentions.
"Perhaps, still I wouldn't mind checking it out for myself." he shrugged he had been thinking about exploring the outskirts for a while the only thing stopping him were the various androids that needed help "There's these really long machines that stick around just before the desert been meaning to see what they do, besides people have been complaining about them a lot."
Popola's eyebrow rose as she looked towards the male "Is that something you think about a lot?"
"Know your enemy..." he muttered absentmindedly as if it were routine to say it "The way they differ from each other or I guess… evolve is the better wording is quite fascinating."
"So you want to battle them?" Devola asked carefully her worries bubbling up as she feared what he was about to ask them next.
Those fears came through reality as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"I'd rather do it alone if you don't mind."
Their eyes widened and they took a step back stunned.
Mouths opened ready for yelling…
"WAIT!."
Before he stopped them in their tracks his hands up in surrender.
He sighed "Look if I'm any danger you girls can step in alright? I'll be in view at all times I promise. Just trust me for a bit okay?"
Their eyes wavered and their righteous anger vanished.
Trust him huh…
Damn it how could they possibly refuse anything when he asked something from them so earnestly.
(Outskirts base)
Ugh, she really hated the sound.
Metal against metal truly grating to the ears androids had to fight them and she had to listen, if only she weren't so close to it all, her experiments needed silence to work, seriously did they only think about themselves. Couldn't they just go off somewhere else away from here she had been so close to making a breakthrough...
The sounds simply got louder as the ground shook slightly making the woman stumble and wobble a bit.
Her hands met the table with a snarl nearly breaking it.
Enough was enough…
Turning around with heavy steps the only thing in her mind was how best to clobber whoever decided to ruin her day.
She wasn't exactly surprised to see the twins when she got close to the fighting zone, they were usually sent to the worst locales though seeing them sit around and doing nothing was particularly new, one would think they'd be the ones down there fighting… curious...
Well, nothing a bit of interaction wouldn't fix.
"Is something the matter to you two?" she asked but wasn't even given a modicum of notice as the duo continued to stare off into the distance, they didn't even bother to give her a look. Actually, it didn't even seem like they noticed her at all with how nervous they appeared.
Continuing to be ignored she simply decided to look at what the duo seemed so worried about...
"Well, well, well isn't that something"
Machines a dozen, though that wasn't particularly noteworthy they usually camped right outside the city doing nothing but guarding the entrance to the desert. No that wasn't anything special, the man weaving and dancing around them, now that was special. They didn't even touch him as he sliced and diced them without a hint of difficulty.
"You two really aren't going to answer me are ya." she said not taking her eyes away from the spectacle, oooh the weapons magnetized to each other that's something she never saw before what a wonderful ability.
"Huh?" Devola asked finally taking notice of the new viewer though her eyes remained on the battlefield "Oh Jackass didn't see you there."
Jackass snorted "Well clearly though I can't lie even I'm impressed with what's happening in front of me," Jackass said as she turned back to the fight "I have to say is that a new unit? Never seen one this fast before."
The sisters looked at each other contemplating what to say or not to say "Uuuuuh… new unit, huh. I mean I guess you could say he's something we've never seen before."
Jackass hmmed at that "If you say so, I guess I'll just have to find out myself. He seems to be about done."
They watched as the man dodged the spinning maneuver of one of the machines and cut through its head, before turning to them waving a hand in the hair. Devola met his wave with enthusiasm now breathing a sigh of relief now that she saw he was safe Popola, on the other hand, looked ready to bolt towards him in a second, thankfully she didn't need to as the man walked calmly back.
That was when she got a good look at him.
Her notion of him being a part of Yorha was thrown to the side immediately, god knows that bunch wasn't exactly the most colorful, and the man in front of her was anything but.
Red hair with piercing golden-like eyes the hair being kept away by a bandanna of the same color, the armor though was like nothing she had seen before a lot of red all around with a black body armor that outlined his muscles.
"Seems we're done…" before he could finish Popola stood up and quickly made her way to him.
"Shirou you okay right?" she stopped near his face going up on her toes getting way too close "No injuries?"
He put his hands on her shoulders settling her down "I'm fine."
Devola sighed at the scene the two were making "I'm glad to see you safe Shirou." she said as she walked closer to the two grabbing his arm "Don't ask to do things alone again though." she said as she poked his chest with her finger giving him a pout.
Jackass stood there fully confused now, she had never seen those two like that, did they get reprogrammed. She watched as the man calmly patted both of their heads finally being able to stop the two fussy androids from further questioning. They looked surprised for a second before their eyes dropped to the ground and they started to lean into his hands blushing, again she had no idea what was happening.
Tired of her presence being ignored she coughed to get their attention, the man stopping and turning around to look at her with an apologetic smile.
"Sorry about that." he said as he scratched the back of his head, she would've said something about it were it not for how hard Devola was now glaring at her.
"That was some nice fightin you did there." she said after things calmed down.
"Thanks."
She surveyed the zone before her "Really nice." she seemed to be in deep thinking for a few seconds "Why were you here anyway."
"Some resistance members have been complaining about these machines, one of them got nearly done in by a few of them, decided to check it out to make sure it's fine." He said giving her a slight smile.
Jackass chuckled "So a good Samaritan, does white know what you're doing."
Before Shirou could question her statement, Devola decided to speak up "Yeh, he's here to learn about the world we're supposed to be helping him, it was a mission from the higher-ups." she said as she gave him a look to make sure he kept quiet.
At this jackass raised an eyebrow "Really you two? Can't really believe they would trust you with that, but whatever not my problem. Since you're here you wouldn't mind helping me would ya."
"Help you?"
"There's a machine in the desert that's causing me some issues, well more like it's causing issues to my underling but regardless with it there I can't get some of the materials I need." That wasn't a lie not fully at least but honestly what she wanted the most was more data of him fighting.
Devola hearing this started walking towards Jackass a glare setting in on her face again "Hey I don't like you sending Shirou into danger, you hear." she grabbed her by the shoulders shaking her slightly
"I… stop!..."Jackass really didn't understand whatever relationship these two had with the powerful android "Never mind, doesn't matter, will you do it or not."
"Hey, I'm talkin…" Devola started going again before she was interrupted.
"I'll do it." Shirou said calmly.
"Are you sure about this Shirou?" Popola asked with a nervous look on her face.
"It'll be fine Popola, you two will be there to protect me if I do anything stupid right."
Devola sighed in frustration "Fine." she started walking back to her sister grabbing his left arm.
"Alright, then I'll send you the details of the machine in question, happy hunting." She saw him nod as they started walking towards the desert. Now all she had to do was get to a good vantage point.
(Desert)
"We could be walking through the forest, picking some flowers, singing or something but instead we're getting our shoes filled with sand, seriously Shirou you gotta learn how to say no." Devola said with a bit of frustration.
Popola looked at her sister with a deadpan look "Getting your shoes filled with sand huh, you're saying that when you're riding on his back."
Devola simply gave her a superior smirk as she hugged Shirou closer "You're just mad you didn't think of this first."
Popola pouted at her before looking at him "You know you can just drop her down."
"I honestly don't mind, it's fine." he said calmly as she simply pouted harder "Anyway do you know the location of this machine?"
Sighing Popola brought up her map "Should be close, seriously Jackass giving us such a dangerous mission."
"I know you don't like it but no need to call her names."
Devola giggled behind him "Ah you're adorable Shirou, we're not calling her names that is heeeeeeeEEE…" before she could finish they were attacked from below, Shirou jumping immediately as a drill-looking arm came out sending sand all over the place.
"You two okay?" she said taking a stance as the life form fully revealed itself, a huge monster of a machine appeared quite easily above ten meters tall each arm was huge with drills for hands, she could see why he was giving trouble to jackass but to them…
This shouldn't even take a minute.
"Yeh, good work Popola." Shirou set Devola down she quickly joined her sister neither of them joking around, putting themselves in front of him.
His hand started gripping something that wasn't quite there, the weapons only appearing a bit later one white and one black. Devola and Popola went on the offensive dodging a downward attack from its right arm causing the sisters to get some distance from each other as they dodged in different directions. The machine started pulling its arm back before it was cut into ribbons Shirou appeared in the middle though not staying there long as he jumped in the air easily going above even the machine.
At the same time, the sisters attacked the legs expertly cutting them, making the large being drop down to its knees they looked above seeing Shirou turn around and drop his twin blades instead bringing out a large black bow drawing the string the arrows appearing in the empty space, magically glowing red. Placing three well shots on the large life form, easily killing it.
"Well, that was rather easy." Devola said placing her weapon back in its sheath.
Popola huffed at her sister "Are you really complaining, besides it's the three of us what else did you think was going to happen."
Shirou kept quiet simply looking at the corpse of the machine "Isn't it weird how many variants of this thing exist, they are rather simple but the ability to evolve is quite frightening."
The sisters shared a look, they had never really worried about the life form just content in living out their lives with the little they had but now… well they didn't want to fail again.
"Maybe, It's not something we should think about for now." Popola said giving him a reassuring smile.
Still, Shirou frowned at the body "Alright shall we go back then? Mission complete."
Devola grinned at that "Shiiiiiiiiiiirou I'm tired can you give me a ride again."
Popola looked aghast at her sister "Devola, he must be tired too." before looking at him with a smile "It's been three hours and forty-eight minutes since you drank some water, it's not good for you, do you want some." grabbing her bag she brought up a bottle.
Shirou just looked at both girls smiling at him, one wanting something the other trying to take care of him forcefully. Seriously these two were too much.
(Outskirts Base)
Well, well, well this day became a lot more productive than she thought, seriously using a bow in this day and age. It was already a surpassed weapon back when humans walked around but this one was clearly something different not only was it powerful enough to pierce the machine's armor but it was able to kill it quite easily.
She needed to make notes, she had so much research to do now… ugh she needed more missions for the guy, she needed to see what he was fully capable of, this was way too easy for him. For now, she will need to hmmm… direct him? Yeh direct him towards helping her again.
Well here they come now, better look presentable, maybe pitiable would be better he seemed easy to work around if someone needed help, welp time to give the waterworks a try and try to not let them know she was spying on them until now.
"Good to see you three back and safe." she said as she kept her eyes firmly on her notebook not even looking up at the approaching footsteps.
"There shouldn't be a problem now, still if you need any more help I wouldn't mind doing so."
This made her close her book and look up at the smiling face of the male. This guy was way too nice to be a combat unit really most of those had their emotions muted was this really a yorha bot. It didn't matter in the end her curiosity got way too big to stop and she didn't want to fuck something up by calling out the scouts, so she'll let them walk around until she knows every little secret in his metal body.
She watched as the sisters sighed "He really doesn't know how to say no…"
"Well don't mind if I do at some point, as long as you're willing to do some combat."
"That's fine I prefer doing that over someone getting hurt."
Devola gave him a questioning look "Really Shirou, you know she's trying to manipulate you right, she worked just fine until now."
"It's not manipulation if I know it and I'm still willing to do it."
"THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS." Devola raged before calming herself down.
Popola on her left giggled "You should know by now how much of a blockhead Shirou is."
Jackass raised an eyebrow at their relationship, but decided not to comment on it "Anyway don't you three have something to do, I have a few things to research after all."
"That's fine we were just leaving anyway."
Shirou and the sisters started walking away though not before the researcher said one last thing.
"Oh and before you go the name's Jackass."
Shirou stopped for a second turning his head slightly to the woman before starting to walk again into the ruined city with only one thing on his mind.
"Really, that's the name?"
And that's chapter 3 done not much changed as while i don't think this is the best chapter I've done as it's kinda fillerish, it doesn't really have any particular problems i guess. Besides jackass does things in the future of the fic so i kinda need her there and introduced, anyway hope you've enjoyed these new remade chapters as it were hope to see you next time as after this I'll be working on the 16th chapter.