Fourth floor, to the far left… ah, I think that's it. Makoto approached the room door with a large white insignia of a machine gun plastered on it, the words 'WEAPONS CENTER' labeled beneath it. He decided to wait outside the room until Mukuro arrived.

A few minutes passed before he saw her exit the elevator, now wearing a dark green tactical vest over her vault jumpsuit. The vest came equipped with several pockets and items. He noticed that Mukuro was in a bit of a rush, holding onto a large bag with her left hand.

"Ah, there you are, Mukuro."

"Sorry for being late, Naegi. I had to bring proper protective gear."

"It's no problem, Mukuro." Makoto noticed a wall clock that read out 18:30, about the exact time she asked to set this up. Huh, she's not late at all. "Actually, it looks like you're exactly on time."

Mukuro nodded sideways. "No. I arrived twenty-seven seconds late. I counted."

"...You weren't that late." The lucky student felt like that was odd. I don't remember my teachers back in Blackroot being that strict. It shouldn't be a big deal.

Mukuro had a moment of inner reflection. "Sorry. Force of habit. Fenrir's instructors took punctual timing very seriously." She recalled the unforgiving training she underwent as a mercenary under Fenrir. "They made sure to make an example of you if you were late."

"Geez… that sounds a bit too harsh…"

"Being on time shows that you give a shit about your job, respect the time of your superiors, and that you have some level of discipline." Mukuro's tone was very blunt, almost like she repeated those same words several times before. "Not being ready can compromise missions."

Makoto silently nodded.

Both of the Ultimates entered the Weapons Center shortly after. Makoto noticed a camera with a blinking red dot monitoring the room. Makes sense; it'd be pretty stupid not to keep this under watch, else anyone could waltz in and grab a weapon for themselves. I wonder if Celeste is watching me from here.

The lucky student took a look around the room, seeing various armory racks holstering firearms big and small, and other racks holstering melee weapons such as naginatas, ninjatos, yari spears, among others. He swore he saw something that looked like a rocket launcher at the top of one of the gun walls amidst the collection. On the far right of the room were shelves that seemed to contain abnormally large bombs, or rockets, by the pointy cone-shaped red top of them, along with boxes of ammunition labeled accordingly, and another weapon rack sporting what looked like… shotguns? Makoto wasn't really sure. He wasn't an expert on firearms. In the middle of the room was a customization workbench.

"Say, has Celeste made you take the G.O.A.T yet?", Mukuro asked out of nowhere.

Huh? Why does she want to know that? "Yes. Why?"

"What was your perception score?"

"Uh…" Somewhere average, I think. Five, probably. Yeah. Makoto shrugged. "I think it was… five maybe?"

Mukuro seemed slightly pleased. "Hmpf. That's acceptable. For a rookie, anyway." A brief pause between the two followed, until Mukuro got uncomfortably close to the lucky student. "I don't think this needs to be said, but do. Not. Touch anything unless I tell you to. Got it?" Her stern voice emphasized the importance of that order.

Makoto bowed almost immediately. "Y-Yes, ma'am!" Geez, she can be pretty scary when she's serious.

The soldier's tone got softer. "Good. Guns aren't toys. Messing around with them is a sure-fire way to kill or injure yourself and others. So you have to be responsible with them."

Makoto could see the shooting range behind the weapons center through the thick gray-tinted windows. "Are you sure it's safe to test out guns in there?"

"This room is soundproof, so no one will be bothered," Mukuro replied. "That glass is bulletproof. There's no need to worry about anything, as long you follow my instructions." The soldier then handed the bag she was carrying over to Makoto. "Now put on this stuff before we start anything."

Makoto briefly looked inside of the bag. "What's all this for?"

"Your safety," she replied bluntly, as if the point was glaringly obvious. "Unlike what the movies show you, gunshots are loud. REALLY loud. At a decibel that could lead to hearing damage if you're not careful."

"Decibel?"

"That's a unit of sound."

"Ah…" The lucky student first noticed the pair of safety ear muffs in the bag. "I guess that's for my ears…What about the rest?"

"I'll explain that in the range. Just put them on for now. Hold onto those muffs until we start shooting."

Makoto did as she asked and put on the items in the bag. First he put on the plastic glasses, followed by combat gloves, and a beige tactical vest that surprisingly didn't feel oversized. Mukuro also put on glasses, already wearing the black gloves.

The two of them entered the shooting range, a lot spacier than Makoto expected. Another large gun wall was present, assorting various weapons big and small. Before the firing safety region, there were several circular and human cut-out targets, as well as some Vault-Boy cutouts with painted circle targets for fun. How does this vault have this many weapons?

"Woah… how did you guys get all these guns, anyway?", he asked her. I mean, I'm pretty sure she'd have some idea why. She's a soldier.

Mukuro glanced at him. "Some were given to the vault from the USFJ and the Japanese government. That's how we have most of the heavier hitters, like the M199 assault rifle."

"The USFJ?" Makoto felt like that acronym felt familiar, but couldn't remember what it meant. Weird. I've been having a lot of memory problems lately. Maybe it might be cryo-amnesia? I wonder if the others have the same problems, too.

"United States Forces Japan. Got a lot more prominent once the Yangtze and Gobi campaigns took place." Mukuro seemed to be lost in thought for a few moments, remembering key details. "A select few were stationed here to defend our country in the event of a Chinese invasion. Most, from what I heard, were stationed for training and/or deployment to mainland China or the Philippines. After what happened in South Korea and Taiwan, the US wasn't going to take any chances with Japan falling to the communists."

"Oh yeah…I think I remember now…" His memory kicked in again. Makoto could briefly recall hearing on the news about the increasing presence of the USFJ in Okinawa, Kyushu, even in a small part of Tokyo. Some demonstrations were made against it… but that seemed to be all he could recall right now. Hold on… Japan wasn't directly involved in the Sino-American War. At least, not to my knowledge. "But wait, if United States forces were being sent to China through Japan, and some stayed here… wouldn't China have tried to put a stop to that?"

The soldier pondered over what she knew of the conflict momentarily. "Japan is a lot harder to invade than most countries. Our mountains, combined with several thousand islands, make it difficult to launch a proper invasion. It's a lot easier to perform a land invasion, especially when you have the population needed to overwhelm your opponents. From what I know, China was more concerned with getting oil from Alaska than dealing with Japan. That, added with the Yangtze campaign, not to mention the skirmish going on in the Bohol Sea, made invading Japan more trouble than it's worth. If they were desperate enough, though…"

"Ah… I see…" That does make sense… though there's still something I don't understand. "...but why would the army give the vault weapons?"

Mukuro shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe Hope's Peak or Viosan requested them personally because of my talent. I wouldn't be too surprised if they had connections before the war. And Hope's Peak wouldn't want their hope for the future to dull their talents, or be left defenseless."

"I guess that makes sense…"

Mukuro decided to switch the topic, and searched the gun wall for the weapon she had in mind. "Let's start with a gun even a child could use." She selected what looked like an old-school rifle at first glance, but on second glance, appeared a bit short for a rifle. "This is a ball bearing gun. Or BB gun for short. Believe it or not, Mondo found this in the storage room a while back. Took us a good two weeks to find the parts to get it working again."

"A BB gun? Oh, so it's not a real gun." Now the odd appearance made sense . "So will this be my-"

"Practice before you handle a proper firearm," Mukuro interrupted. She handed the BB gun to the lucky student. "This one's isn't very loud, so you don't need your earmuffs yet." She briefly considered something else. "...Still, you should put on those gloves and glasses before we get started."

"What are the glasses for, though?" I've been wondering about that for a while now, come to think of it.

"So you don't shoot your eye out." Mukuro's response was blunt, yet chuckled at the reference she made. However, it seemed all it did was make Makoto nervous, his eyes widening upon hearing that. A part of her seemed to regret making the joke, and went back to soldier mode. "In seriousness, bits of stuff could get in your eyes after firing. Better safe than sorry. And remember; just because this isn't a real gun doesn't mean you can't hurt someone with it."

Makoto silently nodded again. The Ultimate Soldier then showed him over to the firing range and the shooting stalls. In front of his stall was a circular bullseye target several feet away from him. Mukuro stood right next to him.

"Before we get started, let's get the ground rules out of the way." She tapped the boy's shoulder to get his attention. "One, always treat your gun as if it's loaded. Two, keep your gun pointed in a safe direction, and never aim it at someone you don't intend to kill. Three, keep your finger off of the trigger until you are prepared to fire. I can't count the number of times I've seen newbies make that mistake."

"Uh-huh." Makoto made sure to listen to her words carefully, keeping the BB gun barrel facing the ground. She can be really scary when serious.

"Four, make sure your gun barrel is clean before shooting. But never look directly down the gun barrel. Luckily, you don't have to do that today. Five, always keep track of your surroundings before shooting. The last thing anyone wants is to lose their balance and accidentally shoot someone because of it. There are more, but I think that's good for now… Okay, now for aiming!"

Mukuro got close to the boy, instructing him to get into the right position and posture. Makoto could not help but get a little nervous with how close she was. Thankfully, Mukuro's iron mask hid her feelings of nervousness, too.

"Keep the rear end of the gun in your shoulder," she told him. "That way, the barrel will be facing straight. It also helps deal with recoil. That's the backward force created after firing a gun." Makoto feels her snugly helping her out.

"Oh, like this?" Makoto raised the BB gun, one hand on the grip and the other underneath the barrel.

"Yes, Naegi, like that. But first, lemme just…" She helped him move into a more effective grip. "Next, keep one hand on the forend underneath the barrel, and the other on the grip. You've got that right so far. Keep in mind: your trigger hand should not be supporting the weight of the gun. That's how you screw up your shot."

"Now, you probably don't know, but this is a lever-action type gun," she continued. "Do you know what that means?"

"...No?" I figured you just pull the trigger and fire. I didn't think gun safety would be this complicated.

"It means you have to pull back the lever after firing a shot, so that the empty chamber is ejected and the next round is loaded. You see that part at the bottom?" The soldier pointed it out for him. "Crank that back to cock the gun."

Makoto pulls back the lever until it makes a clank sound. "Like that?"

Mukuro smiled. "Exactly like that. Then push it back into place. You're almost ready." She turned his attention to the target. "The last thing is to line up your shot with the rear sight. That little part right there? It helps you aim better."

Makoto takes a moment to look through the sight, getting used to it, and reminds himself of all the instructions he previously learned.

"Oh, and turn off the safety before firing… Actually, let me load this with ammo first." The soldier took the BB gun momentarily, went back into the weapons center for proper ammunition, and returned to Makoto shortly. "Now let's see if you can hit the target."

Makoto makes sure to get himself into position, keeping both hands on the gun and avoiding the trigger until he was confident enough to shoot. Okay… let's see here… can I make this shot? He pulled the trigger, firing the first shot and causing the gun to move back into his shoulder. Huh, this thing is quieter than I expected. No hole was present in the target. "Darn it… I missed…"

Mukuro tried to keep his hopes up. "Hey, it's all good. You're a beginner. You still have a few rounds left. Make them count."

Makoto pulled the lever back and aimed again. He barely managed to hit the target on the second try on the far outer circle. It wasn't much, but it was enough to get Makoto to smile. I hit something! He kept trying a few more times, striking the target and getting slightly better with each attempt. By the fifth shot, he managed to get a somewhat acceptable shot.

"There you go! You're getting it now!"

Makoto kept practicing with the BB gun until Mukuro deemed it was enough.

"Okay, you can stop now. Since you've gotten used to the BB gun, I think it's time for you to test out the real thing. But - let's start small with a pistol." The soldier goes over to the gun wall and selects a small K-Frame revolver with a brown handle and a two-inch long barrel.

"This is a New Nambu M60 single-action revolver. Its design was based on the Smith & Wesson revolvers made in the US. It can hold five rounds and uses 0.38 caliber bullets."

"Caliber?", Makoto asked.

"That's for the diameter of the bullet. This gun isn't really a heavy hitter, but better to have it than nothing. They were used by Pre-War Japanese police. Now, I'm going to give you a demonstration of how to reload, so pay attention."

Mukuro pushed back on the cylinder release, causing the revolver cylinder to open. "This is the cylinder release. It's how you open up the cylinder, so you can load the bullets into the chambers. Try putting them in." She handed Makoto the revolver, and five bullets she pulled out of her ammo vest.

"Okay then… let's see…" He carefully inserted the bullets into the chambers, one by one. When he was finished, he closed the cylinder and heard a click.

"Good. You kept the barrel facing the ground when reloading." Mukuro nodded. "Aiming this gun requires a far different posture. Keep both your elbows nice and straight when aiming. Use your good hand to hold onto the grip for a better shot, and use your other as a support. That will help deal with the recoil. Now, to load the bullet into the barrel, pull the hammer down until you hear the second click. That's how you'll know the round is in the barrel. But put those ear muffs on before you fire. This is going to get loud."

The soldier and the lucky student put on their ear muffs. Mukuro started yelling like a drill sergeant so Makoto could hear her.

"Pull back the hammer using your thumb. Remember, this is a single action revolver. That means you have to push the hammer back every time before you fire. I think that's good enough… just remember the other tips I gave you. Are you ready?"

"Uhh…" A moment of uncertainty was followed by a sudden surge of confidence. "Yes, I'm ready." The soldier then brought him over to another shooting stall, this one having a Vault Boy cutout for a target. He could try aiming for the head, or for the torso. Naturally, he thought the torso would be easier for a newbie such as himself.

The lucky student got into the right posture, keeping his elbows straight and his index finger on the trigger guard, looking through the rear sight to see his target.

"Ready, aim… FIRE!"

Makoto's finger pulled the trigger upon hearing the soldier's command. He felt the recoil force push back against him, noticeably stronger than the BB gun's. The sound it made was already loud, even with ear muffs on. Geez, Mukuro wasn't kidding. I wonder how soldiers didn't go completely deaf in battles . A moment of pride and happiness rushed through the lucky boy. "I just used a real gun for the first time!"

This was followed by the realization that the shot barely struck the cutout figure outside of the chest range. "Darn it…"

"You made the shot. That has to count for something, Naegi," Mukuro chipped in. "Remember, focus. Control your breathing. Hold your breath right before you squeeze the trigger."

Makoto repeats the process, listening to the soldier's suggestions. He pushed the hammer back, waited for the second click, aimed, checked posture, fired. The next two bullets got better, striking the outer circle. The fourth managed to strike the line between the outer and mid circle target. It was the final shot that went straight through the red chest center. Neither Makoto nor Mukuro could believe it.

"I got a bullseye?!"

"Okay, that last one was pure luck." Mukuro looked again to make sure she saw that right. She turned back to Makoto, slightly smirking."I guess your talent came in handy."

"Yeah…" For once, it really did… "I never really felt… tremendously lucky, though. Sure, I got the acceptance letter… but that was after a particularly bad day." Memories of that day went through Makoto's head. I dropped a bag of groceries, which were scarce at the time, got held at knifepoint by a thief, and saw a freaking explosion… It was not a good day.

"Hmph - regardless, that was good for a beginner. You should feel proud of yourself, Naegi." The soldier briefly touched his shoulder, then looked down at the gun. An idea sparked in her head. "W-Would you like to see me do it?"

Makoto' mood almost instantly brightened up, smiling again. "Oh sure, absolutely!"

To hide her slight blushing, she tried to quickly take the revolver from him. "I'll need that revolver first."

Makoto handed the gun over to her, while the soldier took a moment to regain composure. Then, she quickly emptied the empty shells, and loaded five more rounds. She went over to another shooting stall, this one having a Vault Boy target positioned a lot farther back than Makoto's was. Mukuro rapidly pulled back on the hammer and made four shots dead in the center, while the final went right between the Vault Boy's eye. It looked like she barely broke a sweat. The two took off their ear muffs shortly afterwards.

"Wow… that was awesome, Mukuro!"

"It was nothing, really. Quite basic for my talent."

Makoto wasn't going to let her deflect his compliment like that. "Hey, I meant it. I'm impressed. That was some serious Western flick kind of shooting right there."

"Oh… thank you, Naegi…" The soldier couldn't help but smile a little, unable to come up with a proper response. She had only known this boy for a few days, yet he seemed quick to accept her. Far quicker than most of the other Ultimates. "Say, you wouldn't mind doing this again, would you?"

"Of course not. I'd love to practice some more later."

"Really?" The soldier was positively surprised.

"Yeah. I figure I should try to get to know my classmates here. I know I still have yet to speak with everyone, but I'd like to get to know you more. If we're going to be staying here, then it's best to make some friends.

"F-Friend?" Friend. This harmless looking boy wanted to be friends with her. The soldier's nervous tone was followed by a brief moment of silence. "I-I think I'd like that."

To be continued...