Prologue 2 - Tagged...
Beep! Beep! Beep!
"Shut up..."
A hand slammed down on the digital clock, pressing the snooze button forcefully as its owner groggily sat up. Tired green eyes peered out from heavy eyelids as the teen exited his bed. Sighing, he stumbled his way to the door, opening it and letting the smell of breakfast motivate him.
"Rough night?"
The green-eyed teen looked over his shoulder to see one of his roommates, still somewhat sleepy if the half-lidded gray eyes had anything to say about it. The dark bruise around the right eye caught his attention briefly, but he knew better than to ask.
"Jetlagged, dumbass." He grumbled, jerking his head to pop the neck joints. "And since both of you forgot to leave a spare key in a dead drop, I had to pick the lock to get in, which was significantly hard considering I had zero sleep throughout the flight."
His roommate grimaced, wincing afterward as he raised a hand to gingerly touch the black eye and bruised cheek. "Sorry, I got hit with a Dempsey Roll last night so I might have been a bit out of it. Er... Welcome back, by the way…" The steel orbs wrinkled in mirth and sheepish shame as he trudged past him toward the smell of food.
"Just be lucky that you don't have to go out of the country every now and then. You actually would've kicked the door down."
They walked together to the living space portion of their 3LDK Apartment, where the sounds of cooking were dying down. In the kitchen was their third roommate, cleaning up the eggshells and dirty plates. Despite having his own eye bags, the blonde teen seemed far more energetic than both of them combined. Purple eyes glanced over to them, and he chuckled as he carried all three dishes on one arm, his experiences, and job as a waiter coming in handy in times like this.
"Welcome back to the waking world, Ryo, Davion. Ready to suffer through work again?" His lips curled into a smug smirk, enjoying the sluggish movements of his friends. "I know I am."
Ryo stared into space while his other table companion groaned as they sat down at the dining table, the gray-eyed teen simply resting his head on the surface while the delivery boy propped his head up with his hand. A hot cup of coffee was next to him, while a plate full of buttered toast was by Davion as he turned his head to glare at the one in the kitchen.
The blonde was already in his work attire, a white dress shirt underneath a dark green waistcoat and dark slacks that matched his derby shoes. Over that was a fluffy pink apron that they had bought for him as a joke, one that he started wearing unironically lately as if to spite them.
"You're such a smug prick, you know that?" The bruised teen groused, sitting up and taking a piece of toast from the plate. "Always so overachieving… We get it." Davion scowled at the blonde, whose smirk eased into a bemused smile. "You're the most dedicated wage slave out of the three of us, big whoop."
"Alright, alright, I'll lay off. Sorry, I'm still riding off the high from last night." Ephraim's smile turned lecherous as he gave them an eyebrow flash and then laughed as Ryo audibly sighed.
"Nope, nothing like that on the table, please. I do not have the energy to be the straight man today."
Davion grimaced as he fixed a dirty, if a bit pitying, look at the blonde. "I still don't understand why you sell yourself out like that."
Said the blonde merely shrugged, a strained smile on his lips as the brunette froze at the look of warning the delivery boy gave him. The playful atmosphere disappeared almost immediately and was replaced with cold pressure.
"Er…sorry." The gray-eyed teen apologized, ducking his head slightly to avoid looking into the sparking purples of his friend.
With a quiet sigh, Ephraim removed his apron and shook his head. "Look, you don't have to be worried on my behalf. I don't value myself like that, and that's fine. I enjoy pleasing women, and if I get paid for it? The better for the three of us."
"It's not, though," Ryo clearly called him out, fixing a hard stare at the purple-eyed teen. "You're ruining yourself and a lot of other things. The quicker you realize that, the better."
The blonde barked a harsh laugh, an odd mix of mirth and apathy. "I am the most paradoxical idiot out there. I have so low self-esteem that it loops back to being a prideful idiot. I'm not 'ruining myself'."
"And point proven, dumbass."
With a roll of his eyes, he placed their breakfast before them; a platter of inarizushi for Davion, a simple set of sandwiches for Ryo, and a light American-style breakfast of bacon, egg, and franks for himself. He then set down a pitcher of water alongside three empty glasses in the middle. Sitting down in his chair, he placed a napkin over his lap. The other two sat up straight and then all three of them did a single clap.
"Itadakimasu!"
Digging into their meals, they ate diligently and quietly. The TV, tuned into the news, blared out white noise and the latest noteworthy events.
"In other news, there seems to have been another 'decisive battle' on top of Kabukicho's Millennium Tower, marking it the 8th duel since the tower has had it's overhaul. Police have apprehended the culprits and have charged them with disorderly conduct and aggravated assault. This is the first 'decisive battle' of the month, and the staff in Millennium Tower are more than prepared for another one to happen sometime later on."
Davion paused his eating of the rice-stuffed tofu pouches to laugh heartily. "Those madmen actually did it. They actually had a duel on top of the tower!"
"Dare I ask how you know them?" Ephraim asked as he took a sip of his water, his lips quirked in a slight smirk.
"Just some buddies of mine from Purgatory. There was a current betting pool on whether or not those two dudes, who had beef with each other, would actually go to the top of Millennium for their duel. Looks like I'm 50,000 yen richer!"
"But why on top of the tower, exactly?" Ryo wondered as he finished his sandwiches. Both he and his blonde roommate were more than aware of the brunette's tendency to mingle with questionable individuals, but they were confident in his ability to handle himself. "There could have been better places to fight where they wouldn't have been caught by the police so easily."
"Come on, it's the perfect place to fight in! A wide, almost all-encompassing view of the city, strong winds to cool down the heated body, and the ever-present risk of falling off or being thrown off by your opponent if you two were murderous enough to each other!"
"...Okay, that does make sense." The blonde acquiesced with a wry smile and the delivery boy could only roll his eyes at the excited gleam in his royal purples. "It's a great stage for a final duel or a boss fight or something."
"Isn't it?!"
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
Ryo finished his glass of water as he pulled out his phone. "Just got back and already got a request… Shower time." He stood up and rolled his shoulders. "You cleared out your toiletries, right? I don't want either of you complaining again that I accidentally used one of yours."
"Of course, I did, dumbass." Ephraim rolled his eyes, though his words had little to no bite to them, before pointing at a trio of bentos on the kitchen counter, filled with a standard spread of rice, meat, vegetables, and a sweet treat. They were in three colors; black, green, and gray. "Take the green bento with you when you're heading out."
"Always the mother." Davion cheekily remarked from the side.
"Fuck off." With huff, he stood up and collected the empty plates before putting them in the sink. "Davion, think you can wash the dishes? I gotta do some last-minute grocery shopping before I head to work."
"Sure thing. Buy some instant noodles in the style of mie goreng, will you?"
"Yeah yeah…" The blonde muttered as he disposed of the napkins and tied up the apron around himself again. Grabbing his wallet, he stuffed it in his back pocket as he made his way out. "I'm off!"
Ryo waited a few seconds before shaking his head when he heard his friend greet their next-door apartment neighbor.
"Oh, Good morning Hoshino-san! Oh! And hello little Aqua, little Ruby! Eh? The apron? Well, I'm gonna do a quick grocery run before I head to work…Oh, you're bringing the kids you're babysitting to the supermarket? Ah, why don't we go together? I've got a bunch of coupons…"
Davion, who was also listening in at the ever-distant voices, merely huffed in amusement. "He still hasn't noticed? Have you, by chance, now also realized…"
"Nope." Ryo huffed as he started to walk toward the bathroom. "And let's leave it that way. I think it's best for both parties that we don't know what you're talking about. Something tells both of us that we DON'T want to remember."
"Uh… yeah, let's go with that."
Shaded brown eyes watched as 'Tinker' opened up the hood of the pickup. He was in a garage, servicing both heavy-duty trucks and civilian vehicles in the near-noon light.
He had grown up, no doubt about it. No longer was the gray-eyed Neo-Type scrawny and lithe, now, he was muscular and built. Even through the mechanic's jumpsuit, she could tell that his arms were more developed than the rest of his body.
Dark brown hair framed his face, just a step shy away from being bedraggled. Strangely enough, he had a black eye and several medical patches plastered on several places. He was careful not to let anything touch his abdomen and walked with a very subtle limp.
'Did he get into an accident..?'
Those same eyes saw the latch holding up the hood slip. As if the world slowed down, they watched as the metal cover slammed down on top of his head with a resonating—
Bang!
"O-Oi! Guele-san, are you okay?!"
"Davion Guele..." Chifuyu whispered, a brow raised as she lowered her sunglasses. "Otherwise known as Alpha-207..."
Two other mechanics, both older than the teen, hovered around him in worry. The rest of the garage looked over at the source of the noise, a fair few of them wincing before they resumed their own work.
The teacher flipped a page on the magazine she was reading, glancing around momentarily to check if anyone else was watching her. The café she was in was pretty quiet, with few customers present due to the time of day. It was the perfect stakeout location, as it was lowkey and provided her a location to spy on the garage further down the street.
"I'm fine, I'm fine..." Davion waved them off, rubbing the top of his head as he stood back up. He grimaced, pausing to hold a hand over the right part of his abdomen. "Can someone hold the hood while I check the engine? The owner said that it would overheat very quickly, right?"
"I'll do it. And yeah, you're right. Chief said that we need to fix this by noon. The owner paid a premium because he wanted to move some furniture to a new place." Another mechanic walked over, this one near the age of 'Tinker'. The Neo-Type grinned as he popped his knuckles through the gloves.
"Well, time to work some magic."
She caught movement from the corner of her eyes and looked over to see a street surveillance camera nod at her. The listening devices she hid in the garage itself then malfunctioned, turning to static as they were hacked.
'Tabane...'
Hiding the scowl behind her magazine, the dark-haired woman stood up from her seat at the outside table. She placed the exact amount of money on the tray beside the emptied cup of coffee and put her baseball cap on. She feigned, tucking her hair into the hat, removing the earbuds from her ears before pocketing them in the cheap hoodie that was part of her disguise.
"A little heads up would have been nice," Chifuyu growled to herself as she walked away.
Davion would feel watched, turning only to see a college student with sunglasses walking away from the café. He scanned the street for a few more seconds before shrugging, mentally noting the location of the surveillance camera with a decent view of the garage.
As the sun began to set, a green-haired woman nervously waited on the bench, glancing at her phone every now and again. People passed by her, enjoying their time as they walked and talked. She smiled at the occasional child that looked at her, and the cute little tikes would return it with a bright smile of their own. Her cheeks warmed at the appraising glances of the young men that walked past her, becoming increasingly self-conscious of her wardrobe.
She didn't know why, but Chifuyu had asked her to order something from NinjaCarriage and set the delivery point at the center of Shiba Park. Apparently, one of their workers was a 'person of importance' to the intimidating instructor. That just brought up the question of who exactly this person was and why he worked for a courier company.
Bzzz!
Her phone vibrated in her hand, almost causing her to jump up from her seat. Looking at the app, she saw the tracker get closer to her position. Warily looking around, she tried to spot the black and red jackets of the delivery service workers amidst all the parkgoers.
'There.'
A young man with dark tousled hair and green eyes approached her. With a steel gray helmet under his arm, he easily carried the shoebox-sized package with the other hand. He was taller than her, that's for sure, and had the exact features her colleague had told her to watch out for. But...
'Why would a young man, a courier at that, be of importance to Orimura-sensei?'
"Yamada-san?" He asked with a calm smile on his lips, his tone professional and curt. The teacher found herself relaxing at the sight of it as she nodded, standing up from the bench.
"Yes, that's me."
"Here is your package." The man that her fellow teacher described as 'Songbird' handed the wrapped box over. "Careful though. It's somewhat heavy." He warned her with a playful smile, the gloved hand brushing against hers. She noted the difference in size, and her mind briefly went on a tangent about the connection between men's size and that of their 'packages'—
'STOP!'
Cheeks flushing, she held it close against her chest. Mentally cursing herself, she focused on the physical package in her hands rather than the alternate—
"Thank you, um..." Her mouth decided to save the day from awkward silence and even more awkward thoughts.
"Murakumo Ryo." He chuckled as he tapped on his phone, finalizing the delivery process. "And you're welcome. You're actually the last client I have for today, so thank you for making the delivery a bit easier by having the park as the drop-off point." The courier sent her a dazzling smile, one that nearly stunned her into silence.
'Ikemen...'
"My pleasure." Maya giggled as she looked up at the taller man, barely stopping herself from stuttering.
'His eyes are almost the same shade as mine...' She noted before her phone buzzed again. Glancing down at it, her eyes momentarily widened at the time before she quickly pocketed it. Time was running out and she needed to get back to the Academy...
The Faculty Meeting was about to start!
"I uh...have to go now. Thank you!" She bowed a few more times with a nervous lilt to her voice. The taller man smiled and nodded at her. "Have a safe trip, Yamada-san. Thank you for using NinjaCarriage!" He gave her another one of his dazzling smiles and she felt her cheeks flush again.
"I will, Murakumo-kun. Have a safe night!"
The InterContinental Hotel was one of the more luxurious businesses in Minato-ku. It had everything for tourists and high-class clients. An outdoor pool, a fitness center, a spa, and of course, a cocktail lounge for those who wish to top off their night with a buzz.
Top-rated and notably visited by several celebrities over the years, the staff there were highly trained and respected. As such, any prospective employee must undergo rigorous screening before being considered.
"A Sidecar and Martini, please."
"Coming right up, Sir."
In the fancy cocktail lounge, a purple-eyed blonde expertly mixed the two drinks. With a bit of flair and showmanship, flipping the shakers into the air simultaneously as he prepared the glasses, ice, and garnish already included. Snatching the two silver implements from the air while locking eyes with the smiling customer, he poured the drinks with his own proud smirk.
"Enjoy, Sir Moriarty."
His customer, an older gentleman with an exquisite mustache, chuckled. "Lad, if only I could bring you with me back to the UK, I would have made you my personal bartender."
The blonde smiled as he cleaned a shot glass, a genuine smile that reflected in his royal purple eyes. "I am quite flattered. I actually just came from Bristol, left around a month ago. Worked as a waiter and chef for a few cafes around the country for half of the year I stayed there. Now I'm using my mixing talents here."
"Is that so? What a hard-working young man you are. Try not to stress yourself tonight, would you kindly?"
"I shall endeavor to do that, Sir Moriarty."
With a jovial chuckle, the older gentleman left, taking his drinks with him as he exited the lounge. The bartender waved his farewell, the smile on his lips easing into the practiced curl once the doors closed. Once more, he donned the persona of the professional bartender. Drying his hands on a paper towel, he wiped away any stray water droplets that got on his workstation.
"Ugh, look at him. Back straight and rigid, as if anyone would buy that."
Underneath the polite smile, however, he cursed the enhanced senses that he and his friends woke up with. He could hear the veiled insults coming from a group of drunken women on the far side of the lounge, barely keeping their voices down in their inebriated state. They were the typical rich snobs, heavy on perfume and even heavier on makeup.
"I know, right? And not to mention those unsightly scars of his. Utterly horrible."
"I'm betting that the manager hired him for cheap, or it's probably nepotism! Hmph!"
"That choker of his, though? Solid gold? It's probably fake or, worse, stolen. Ugh, men."
His brow twitched, his hands shaking as they nearly crushed the shaker in his grip. The rampant misandry in this world was aggravating, to say the least. It all came with the advent of the Infinite Stratos and only grew more and more evident as the years went by. The pilots were rocketed up into the position of celebrities, gaining enormous social and political sway just from their ability and high compatibility to handle the intricacies of an IS.
'Gain a female-exclusive commodity of the highest level, and suddenly you're treated like a second-class citizen.'
Before he could continue to stew in increasingly malicious thoughts, the opening doors caught his attention. Setting the shaker down, he prepared to welcome the new customer with a smile and—
!
His heart raced as a stern-faced Chifuyu Orimura stepped in. Or at least, he knew her as Chifuyu Orimura. Her hair was down, smoothing the rebellious spikes into a silky river that reached her lower back. Wearing a rather conservative dark cocktail dress, she made her way toward the bar in purposeful strides.
Carmine eyes locked on to his purple.
He blinked.
"Old Fashioned." She ordered, sitting down at the bar counter. Now that she was close, he could see the subtle layer of makeup that directed one's attention to the contact lenses that she wore. Her lipstick was a faint cherry, and he wondered just how soft they were—
'She is a customer.' His training reminded him.
"Uh...oh, um, coming right up, Ma'am." He stuttered, inwardly cursing at his slip-up before he turned around to prepare her to drink. It was fairly easy to mix, the cocktail lounge having every ingredient imaginable for nearly all recipes. Grabbing Bourbon whisky and bitters, he poured both into the specific Old Fashioned glass.
"...I don't mean to be rude, but those scars of yours..." Chifuyu noted from behind him, and he nearly squished the cherry between his fingers. A hand nearly came up to cover the faint burns that edged out from his choker, but he kept it down and subtle. Chuckling slightly to alleviate some of the nervousness, he placed the fruit in the drink as garnish. "Everyone always asks about them sooner or later."
It wasn't as if they were horrifyingly disfiguring. They were faded ice burn wounds, oddly pale, that circled his neck. His golden choker hid most of it, but a few of the longer streaks peeked out.
Turning back around, he nearly flinched at the rather piercing stare but kept his cool as he slid her drink over. "They're the consequences of a mistake in my youth." The bartender sighed, wiping his hands dry from condensation.
'The mistake of mouthing off to the wrong people...'
Taking a sip of the cocktail, she raised a brow. "Oh, and how old are you exactly?"
"I just turned 22 last month." He shrugged, running a hand through his semi-formal styled dirty blonde hair. A half-truth is better than nothing, after all.
'If we weren't back in our younger bodies, I would have been 22.'
Chifuyu hummed as she continued to stare at him, then down at the golden choker and cufflinks that were definitely not part of the bartender's uniform. "...It's not often the InterContinental would hire someone with...as vibrant a head of hair like yours."
While the world may have globalized, Japan still held on to that stubborn xenophobia behind the welcoming demeanor. It didn't help that the world he was in was somewhat Japan-centric due to the IS and the location of the IS Academy just off of Sagami Bay.
"Ah, I was actually recommended by a friend of the branch manager when he was vacationing back in the UK, where I was moonlighting as a nightclub bartender." He explained, glancing off to the side to feebly escape her inquisitive gaze. His heart was pounding in his chest, the feeling of being both equally scared and aroused surging through him.
Women like Chifuyu Orimura were definitely at the top of his list of types, the domineering and confident ones that he would love to be challenged by.
"So, you're British then?"
The bartender blinked, and then he chuckled, shaking his head. "No, half-German, actually." He extended a hand with a friendly smile. "Ephraim Aznable. Or Aznable Ephraim in Japanese nomenclature. A pleasure to meet you, miss..."
Chifuyu looked at his hand and then at the empty glass, snorting softly as she pushed it forward in a silent demand for another round.
"...Orimura Madoka."
Ephraim's lips curled up a bit more in a genuine smile.
"Let me get you another round on the house."
.
.
.
"Report."
Maya pushed her glasses up and recounted her brief encounter with 'Songbird'.
"As the company records indicate, his name is Murakumo Ryo, age 21, and apparently has been home-schooled. He has several previous records of working with and for courier companies in the US, various member states of the EU, and France and being hired by plenty of fast food chains as a delivery boy. Aside from the official records, he had also worked as a lounge singer, a host, and-"
"Okay, that's enough... though Murakumo is an odd name to have." Chifuyu mumbled as she skimmed over the reports. "He's supposed to be Songbird. Why name himself after a sword..?"
"Davion Guele." Tabane hummed wistfully, tilting her head left and right to the beat of some unheard tune. "No prior records of existence other than CV's and Resumes. We can assume that both are fabricated, with lots of bribes and potential favors exchanged for underground contacts. This may extend to the other two as well~!"
"Guele? So his name means...'Beloved Mouth'? Or 'Beloved by word of mouth'? Or..." Maya postulated, distracting herself with the naming convention.
"And Ephraim Aznable." Chifuyu frowned, glancing at the large holographic screen which displayed all notes they had of the three runaway super soldiers. "Apparently has been working in the culinary scene since last year, with records showing that he traveled the world in a little under 5 months gathering recipes and learning under local chefs. Claims to be half-German, though that last name..."
"Obviously, a cover. It's likely a corruption of the surname Aznavour and while that would make for a good cover name, Aznable in itself is too obvious. He was trying to hide in plain sight or something." The Professor hummed, typing away on her keyboard in a rapid staccato of key clacks. "Just lemme run his face through the records aaaand...aha! He's a...huh?" She raised a fist in victory, lowering it after as her expression grew curious. "Sahaku? Hmm, last I know is that the clan's head died almost half a decade ago in 2027." Tabane mused, the feed showing her turning around as she read off something on a separate screen.
"Based in Okinawa, the Sahaku family was once a Ryukyu Royal Cadet Branch. WW2 had nearly killed all of the members, especially when Okinawa was invaded, with a fraction of the main house surviving. Apparently, they were noted to have had eye colors that ranged from vibrant imperial red to exotic royal purple. They used to be a part of a big zaibatsu, but now they're just a shell of their former selves."
"A Sahaku..." The elder Orimura narrowed her eyes, searching her own memory about the Okinawan family. "Tabane, any clue as to how they've been able to take down the criminals and insurgents with military-grade weaponry?"
"They have suits~!"
Maya's eyebrows rose.
'Suits?'
Tabane grinned shamelessly. "My exo-suits, of course~! Mhmm, mine and mine alone! A secret project of mine that I neeever told anyone about!"
The green-eyed teacher looked at her friend, who was silently staring at Tabane, before she stiffly nodded, obviously not buying it. "Right. Then it's paramount that we...reacquire these suits."
"Apapapap!" The rabbit-eared Professor waved her hands, a comically exaggerated frown on her lips. "We acquire both them and the suits!"
"Are you crazy?!" Chifuyu snarled, stomping her foot on the metal flooring with a loud clang. "If the world comes to know that men are piloting suits that...that you 'made', think of the chaos that will ensue!"
"Exactly!" The mad rabbit grinned, a malicious glint in her plum eyes. "And watching the three of them struggle will be hilarious~!"
Maya paled, understandably.
'Were the three of these men test pilots of sorts? Secret test pilots?'
"Well, I gotta go~! I've things to do, plans to come to fruition, all of that hubbub! When I get my hands on them, I'm going to give those three an earful about taking property that's not rightfully theirs for a joyride! Wahahahaha~!"
Chifuyu merely growled, glaring at Tabane as her screen winked out.
"Um...Orimura-sensei..." Maya whispered, mind somewhat overwhelmed at all the implications in the conversation. "What did she mean..?"
The dark-haired teacher rubbed her eyes with a tired grumble.
"Knowing her? Nothing good."
AN:
[Rewrite Date 6/04/23]
*apparates into existence*
Future Cipher here, just cleaning things up and adding a few flavor plots.
Vacation update: I have visited the holy site of Gundam Base Yokohama and witnessed the real scale Gundam move.
Now, I must go.
*metal pipe falling sfx*
And so the names are revealed! The Outworlders chose the names of the Astray pilots as a form of homage to the suits they are using.
Davion Guele from Lowe Guele
Ryo Murakumo from Gai Murakumo
And apparently, rather than being Aznable, Ephraim got Sahaku.
What does that entail for the blonde and his friends? Find out in the next episode of Dragon Ba—
...
ahem.
I'll leave that to you guys.
Cipher out.