[01/01] Three Reasons Why (But the First Two Don't count)
TITLE: Three Reasons Why (But the First Two Don't count)
AUTHOR: jaricchi
PAIRING: None, but Yama crept in
RATING: PG - 13
GENRE: Angst / Tragedy / Sci-Fi
TYPE: One Shot
SUMMARY: To be a Mecha pilot was suicide. Mecha Pilots don't get to have a happy ending. But Sakurai Sho had 3 reasons why, except, the first two were excuses.
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Three Reasons Why (But the First Two Don't count)
To be a Mecha pilot was suicide. You live long enough for the next battle. The next battle could be your last. Sho knew that. He knew what it meant to become one. It didn't matter to him. With the prestige his name gave, he could've lived secure. Perhaps use his talents in other fields and be safe. But he didn't want that. He didn't want to be safe. He didn't want to live knowing others are dying to keep him safe. That.
That, and.
.
.
.
It wasn't important. The second reason wasn't important. But, the third was. Sho was scouted. Everyone knew of the high scores Sho produced when matched with a Mecha. His scores were one of the highest as The Brain. And that was only in middle school. He was a freshman. It should've set his path. But it didn't. He was a Sakurai. His clan name protected him from that future. But it didn't stop him from learning. Going to all classes necessary to be a pilot. Learning all he can, despite being assured he didn't need to sign up. He was a Sakurai after all.
But in his first year of high school, they approached him. That was all the push he needed. Sho was a now a Mecha Pilot. His fate set.
He was quickly paired with Satoshi. One of the highest scores as The Muscle. The debuted together when he was 17 and Satoshi was 18. They've been one of the strongest pairs that existed. Together, they were the Yama Pilot.
But Mecha Pilots don't have happy endings.
+
"-ai! ...-ku-...! Sakurai! Oi! Sho-san!" an insistent voice kept nagging at the back of his head. Sho just wanted to go back to sleep. "Sho-chan! Please respond! Come, Sho-chan, this isn't funny!" He blinked away the sleep and felt himself coughing out blood. Sho coughed out some more, trying to get rid of the blood in his mouth. A difficult job for sure, as he had managed to bite his tongue in his sleep.
Wait, sleep? He wouldn't feel this heavy and in pain if he was asleep. He raised his head some more and realized where he was. "Sho-kun! Respond damn it!" The same insistent voice called out again. Sho looked up to check his partner and had to bite out his distressed sound. There, where his partner sat, Satoshi sat immobile. The holograms were blinking red as they reported his status. It wasn't good, and it took someone calling his name to get him to focus. "Sho-chan, you idiot!" a familiar voice called out again, taking over the comms so that the other two could focus on the fight. With Nino able to comm him, that simply meant the base was close by. It broke his shock enough for him to focus.
Sho breathed through his nose and exhaled through his mouth. He could hear the noise around him. the world was coming into clearer focus. He opened his eyes, not even knowing he had closed them. It was then he responded. "Sakurai of Yama responding," he finally spoke, as his eyes moved towards all the holographic screens placed strategically around him, "Sorry, guys. I took a quick nap it seems. Won't happen again."
As the Brain of the pair, he was supposed to connect to the system and worry about all the important details like where the opponent was, power levels, shields, and the minute details like what angle to fire the cannon, how fast did they need to dodge, while Satoshi as the Muscle was concerned with moving, attacking, dodging, which one to attach first.
A Mecha, in theory, needed two (-or more) Pilots to move, but originally, the initial Pilots only had one. But those who piloted one tend to die sooner, if not immediately. Something about the brain unable to handle doing so many things at once.
Sho took a look at his partner, his vitals were steady, but they were red. Forcing Satoshi to sync in would ultimately kill him, there was no doubt of that. "Sho, you IDIOT! " Yama and Kaze's shared mechanic spoke again, "Get your Mecha back to base! You're in the way (Jama da)!" Sho smirked as he closed his eyes in realization. He clenched his fists tightly. He breathed out. "That's a little impossible, Nino," Sho replied, sensing a calm in him that he didn't have earlier.
If the Yama unit went back in, they'd live (maybe, a hard maybe), but the monsters they battled would for certain kill a whole number of them. Not to be vain or narcissistic, but without the Yama unit, the Kaze Unit wouldn't be the powerhouse that they were. Yama fit perfectly as Kaze's decoy and shield, without Yama, they were left with half a squad newbies that were probably at wits end. If Nino wasn't back in base, had synced with Kaze with the other two, they may stand a chance, but without Nino as their Brain and having two Muscle to pilot the Mecha, this SS-class Monster would obliterate them and everyone in Tokyo, before moving to the other cities close by.
"What do you mean impossible? You're only 25 kilometers away from base! Solo-Sync wouldn't damage you too badly." Nino called back, frustration laced in his words. Sho smiled as he continue to breath, slowly coming to terms what he was going to do. "Yeah..." Sho answered, opening his eyes. The sheer determination could be seen clearly in his red eyes. No one knows why the eye colour changes when you entered the Mecha. It's not hurting the Pilots so no one has gone into full study about it. Perhaps when they've won, they would, but for now, it's just one thing that makes you different from non-Pilots.
"Yama, authorization: Sakurai Sho, reactivation pass code: R-A-S-S-0-0-2," Sho called out to the Mecha Unit currently in stasis.
Yama Unit, re-activated. The blinking red lights that indicated stasis or warning blinked out, followed by a gentle hum and wash of white light, before going black, leaving the hub illuminated by nothing but the holographic screens.
Welcome back, Sho. The Unit A.I. greeted. Sho smiled. The Yama unit was one of the first Mecha units to use the Brain-Muscle Pilot system. In fact, in their base, they're the only ones still left operational. Sho gave a wry smirk. After this, there would no longer be a 2 Pilot Unit in their base.
"Sorry, Yama-chan," Sho said as he gently patted his chair seat, "This is going to be our last." He wasn't in sync yet, but he could feel the A.I.'s confusion. He gave a chuckle and groaned when he jostled his abdomen. "Oi, Sho! Hurry up, you'll get trampled on if you stay there much longer!" Nino's screechy voice roared again. Sho winced at Nino's voice. "Sorry, Nino, but have I ever told you your voice is screechy when you shout?" Sho whined to the mechanic. "What?!" Nino yelled back, clearly nearing his wits end. Sho chuckled, disregarding the pain that caused and focused. "Ne, Kazu..." he started, "Take care of Satoshi, okay?"
"What? Sho, what are you planning? Don't you dare --"
Sho took focus, turning his radio off. "Yama, disengage Pilot Captain Ohno Satoshi, emergency stasis retrieval pod activate for O-S-0-0-1. Authorization Code: E-S-S-0-0-2."
Authorized. Sho turned around to see Satoshi's seat being cocooned by the white material that held the walls. Sho wasn't sure what it was made of (-Nino or Aiba probably could), but he knew it was strong. It had to be, to avoid getting vivisected by the monsters they were sent out to kill. Sho hated that his last memory of Satoshi was this slack, broken down, bleeding version of him. But he would take what he could get. Ready to deploy escape pod, Sho.
"Deploy. Location: Tokyo Unit Base." Sho ordered, and the walls around him shrunk to accommodate the fact there was only one pilot left, and to release the escape pod. He gave a wry smile. Satoshi was safe.
"Yama, solo-sync authorization: Sakurai Sho," Sho stated. Solo-Sync activated. Vitals are at 89% Sho hummed, so he wasn't as hurt as he thought. That was good.
"Initiate"
Initiating.
The wires that connected to the back of his spine doubled in number as Satoshi's Muscle wire connected to him. The moment it connected, indescribable pain was all he felt. The feeling of being stretched out, turned inside out, and being stuffed into a place that was too small was all he could feel, it was difficult to explain. He couldn't help but s c r e a m .
Solo-sync rate at 100%. Flight ability at 74%. Shields are at 83%. Blasters are operational. Swords are operational. All systems are green. Vitals are at 88%. Battle located 5 kilometres away. It is steadily approaching.
That brought Sho back to the present. No wonder solo-sync was no longer a thing. It was draining. It's already taking all he can to keep focused, never mind fighting. Breathing in deeply, he looked up at the screen on his farthest left. His vitals weren't rapidly decreasing. It meant he could last longer. He could do this. "I can keep my promise, Satoshi." Sho whispered as he moved his Mecha forward towards the battle. "Let's go assist Kaze, Yama." The entire pod he was in glowed a soft blue, but it left as quick as it came. Sho smiled like his devil-may-care smile. "Let's go do our jobs."
+
There was a steady stream of breathing in the otherwise empty room. Beside the bed, a monitor to follow the heartbeat steadily sounded. It helped remove the deafening silence. But it was still too quiet. The door opened and someone sat on the couch beside the bed heavily, like it took all his energy to just get to that point. The figure leaned forward as if to grab something before chosing to move back and grab the person on the bed's hand. He gave a heavy sigh and he held it, like an anchor to reality.
"You're such an idiot," the voice whispered, "I didn't want you to keep your promise when I couldn't keep mine, Sho.
I promised we'd get away from all this together, all of us. But I knew you'd find a way to be all responsible." Satoshi scolded, his body curling over the hand he held tightly. Unshed tears stubbornly refusing to fall. "Jun's refusing to retire from Pilot service, that brat. He's actively going to other bases around Japan to help exterminate the nests. Aiba's gone with him, thank God. Maybe, between the two of them, they can keep each other safe. Who am I kidding. You kept us safe." He bit back a choke as he chuckled, recalling the instances Aiba had stupidly did something that nearly hurt them all. "Nino's staying close-by, he's stating he's on babysitting duty till you get back. Sho, he doesn't need to babysit me. I'm a grown man, I just turned 40. What did you even tell him? But can you believe it? Nino's doing your job of nagging everyone and being all adult-like. It's creepy."
Like usual, the figure on the bed stayed quiet. Locking his chin to prevent a sob, Satoshi held the hand in between his tighter. "Sho, come on. Wake up." We need you. He didn't say.
'What's normal, when we, five, aren't all together?'
+
There were three reasons why Sho became a Mecha Pilot. One, He didn't want to live safely, while knowing others are dying to keep them (-him-) safe. Two, he was scouted. He was a good, no, a great fit to be a Pilot.
And three, these were all just excuses.
.
.
.
The third real reason was most important. When Sho was in middle school, he knew someone who was drafted immediately into service because of his high scores as a possible Muscle Pilot. They were friends. This person didn't have the luxury of a name as prestigious as his. So, he wasn't safe. He wasn't safe like Sho was. They could even be something more, romantically, platonic, that doesn't matter.
What matters was that the reason real reason why Sho became a Mecha Pilot was because, even though it was suicide, despite the fact he couldn't -- wouldn't get a happy ending, was because he made a promise. Sho made a promise to a friend that didn't have a luxury of a name, who was scouted and drafted immediately, who would be fighting out there, risking his life to keep them (-him-) safe. Sho made a promise. So, he became a Mecha Pilot.
'I promise you'll get to experience a normal life, Satoshi! I'll make it come true. Just you watch me!'
But Satoshi just wept.
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-END ?-
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Author's Notes: Completely un-beta-ed, so sorry for all the misses. Also, hey! I'm Alive. And, I'm back again with a new story for you guys! HEY, HEY, HEY! Will there be a possibility of a sequel, let's see where my runaway muse takes me. haha But I'm very proud to have written this in under 3 hours (with multiple breaks in between), and happy that I got write again. I needed to get this off my chest, I read the news last night and you know what, I made a promise to finish all my Arashi wips before 2020. (and it's quite a lot) So here's my first wip done. Hopefully, this means I'll be more active. So talk to me people! Let's chat! Let me hear what you think!
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AUTHOR: jaricchi
PAIRING: None, but Yama crept in
RATING: PG - 13
GENRE: Angst / Tragedy / Sci-Fi
TYPE: One Shot
SUMMARY: To be a Mecha pilot was suicide. Mecha Pilots don't get to have a happy ending. But Sakurai Sho had 3 reasons why, except, the first two were excuses.
+
Three Reasons Why (But the First Two Don't count)
To be a Mecha pilot was suicide. You live long enough for the next battle. The next battle could be your last. Sho knew that. He knew what it meant to become one. It didn't matter to him. With the prestige his name gave, he could've lived secure. Perhaps use his talents in other fields and be safe. But he didn't want that. He didn't want to be safe. He didn't want to live knowing others are dying to keep him safe. That.
That, and.
.
.
.
It wasn't important. The second reason wasn't important. But, the third was. Sho was scouted. Everyone knew of the high scores Sho produced when matched with a Mecha. His scores were one of the highest as The Brain. And that was only in middle school. He was a freshman. It should've set his path. But it didn't. He was a Sakurai. His clan name protected him from that future. But it didn't stop him from learning. Going to all classes necessary to be a pilot. Learning all he can, despite being assured he didn't need to sign up. He was a Sakurai after all.
But in his first year of high school, they approached him. That was all the push he needed. Sho was a now a Mecha Pilot. His fate set.
He was quickly paired with Satoshi. One of the highest scores as The Muscle. The debuted together when he was 17 and Satoshi was 18. They've been one of the strongest pairs that existed. Together, they were the Yama Pilot.
But Mecha Pilots don't have happy endings.
+
"-ai! ...-ku-...! Sakurai! Oi! Sho-san!" an insistent voice kept nagging at the back of his head. Sho just wanted to go back to sleep. "Sho-chan! Please respond! Come, Sho-chan, this isn't funny!" He blinked away the sleep and felt himself coughing out blood. Sho coughed out some more, trying to get rid of the blood in his mouth. A difficult job for sure, as he had managed to bite his tongue in his sleep.
Wait, sleep? He wouldn't feel this heavy and in pain if he was asleep. He raised his head some more and realized where he was. "Sho-kun! Respond damn it!" The same insistent voice called out again. Sho looked up to check his partner and had to bite out his distressed sound. There, where his partner sat, Satoshi sat immobile. The holograms were blinking red as they reported his status. It wasn't good, and it took someone calling his name to get him to focus. "Sho-chan, you idiot!" a familiar voice called out again, taking over the comms so that the other two could focus on the fight. With Nino able to comm him, that simply meant the base was close by. It broke his shock enough for him to focus.
Sho breathed through his nose and exhaled through his mouth. He could hear the noise around him. the world was coming into clearer focus. He opened his eyes, not even knowing he had closed them. It was then he responded. "Sakurai of Yama responding," he finally spoke, as his eyes moved towards all the holographic screens placed strategically around him, "Sorry, guys. I took a quick nap it seems. Won't happen again."
As the Brain of the pair, he was supposed to connect to the system and worry about all the important details like where the opponent was, power levels, shields, and the minute details like what angle to fire the cannon, how fast did they need to dodge, while Satoshi as the Muscle was concerned with moving, attacking, dodging, which one to attach first.
A Mecha, in theory, needed two (-or more) Pilots to move, but originally, the initial Pilots only had one. But those who piloted one tend to die sooner, if not immediately. Something about the brain unable to handle doing so many things at once.
Sho took a look at his partner, his vitals were steady, but they were red. Forcing Satoshi to sync in would ultimately kill him, there was no doubt of that. "Sho, you IDIOT! " Yama and Kaze's shared mechanic spoke again, "Get your Mecha back to base! You're in the way (Jama da)!" Sho smirked as he closed his eyes in realization. He clenched his fists tightly. He breathed out. "That's a little impossible, Nino," Sho replied, sensing a calm in him that he didn't have earlier.
If the Yama unit went back in, they'd live (maybe, a hard maybe), but the monsters they battled would for certain kill a whole number of them. Not to be vain or narcissistic, but without the Yama unit, the Kaze Unit wouldn't be the powerhouse that they were. Yama fit perfectly as Kaze's decoy and shield, without Yama, they were left with half a squad newbies that were probably at wits end. If Nino wasn't back in base, had synced with Kaze with the other two, they may stand a chance, but without Nino as their Brain and having two Muscle to pilot the Mecha, this SS-class Monster would obliterate them and everyone in Tokyo, before moving to the other cities close by.
"What do you mean impossible? You're only 25 kilometers away from base! Solo-Sync wouldn't damage you too badly." Nino called back, frustration laced in his words. Sho smiled as he continue to breath, slowly coming to terms what he was going to do. "Yeah..." Sho answered, opening his eyes. The sheer determination could be seen clearly in his red eyes. No one knows why the eye colour changes when you entered the Mecha. It's not hurting the Pilots so no one has gone into full study about it. Perhaps when they've won, they would, but for now, it's just one thing that makes you different from non-Pilots.
"Yama, authorization: Sakurai Sho, reactivation pass code: R-A-S-S-0-0-2," Sho called out to the Mecha Unit currently in stasis.
Yama Unit, re-activated. The blinking red lights that indicated stasis or warning blinked out, followed by a gentle hum and wash of white light, before going black, leaving the hub illuminated by nothing but the holographic screens.
Welcome back, Sho. The Unit A.I. greeted. Sho smiled. The Yama unit was one of the first Mecha units to use the Brain-Muscle Pilot system. In fact, in their base, they're the only ones still left operational. Sho gave a wry smirk. After this, there would no longer be a 2 Pilot Unit in their base.
"Sorry, Yama-chan," Sho said as he gently patted his chair seat, "This is going to be our last." He wasn't in sync yet, but he could feel the A.I.'s confusion. He gave a chuckle and groaned when he jostled his abdomen. "Oi, Sho! Hurry up, you'll get trampled on if you stay there much longer!" Nino's screechy voice roared again. Sho winced at Nino's voice. "Sorry, Nino, but have I ever told you your voice is screechy when you shout?" Sho whined to the mechanic. "What?!" Nino yelled back, clearly nearing his wits end. Sho chuckled, disregarding the pain that caused and focused. "Ne, Kazu..." he started, "Take care of Satoshi, okay?"
"What? Sho, what are you planning? Don't you dare --"
Sho took focus, turning his radio off. "Yama, disengage Pilot Captain Ohno Satoshi, emergency stasis retrieval pod activate for O-S-0-0-1. Authorization Code: E-S-S-0-0-2."
Authorized. Sho turned around to see Satoshi's seat being cocooned by the white material that held the walls. Sho wasn't sure what it was made of (-Nino or Aiba probably could), but he knew it was strong. It had to be, to avoid getting vivisected by the monsters they were sent out to kill. Sho hated that his last memory of Satoshi was this slack, broken down, bleeding version of him. But he would take what he could get. Ready to deploy escape pod, Sho.
"Deploy. Location: Tokyo Unit Base." Sho ordered, and the walls around him shrunk to accommodate the fact there was only one pilot left, and to release the escape pod. He gave a wry smile. Satoshi was safe.
"Yama, solo-sync authorization: Sakurai Sho," Sho stated. Solo-Sync activated. Vitals are at 89% Sho hummed, so he wasn't as hurt as he thought. That was good.
"Initiate"
Initiating.
The wires that connected to the back of his spine doubled in number as Satoshi's Muscle wire connected to him. The moment it connected, indescribable pain was all he felt. The feeling of being stretched out, turned inside out, and being stuffed into a place that was too small was all he could feel, it was difficult to explain. He couldn't help but s c r e a m .
Solo-sync rate at 100%. Flight ability at 74%. Shields are at 83%. Blasters are operational. Swords are operational. All systems are green. Vitals are at 88%. Battle located 5 kilometres away. It is steadily approaching.
That brought Sho back to the present. No wonder solo-sync was no longer a thing. It was draining. It's already taking all he can to keep focused, never mind fighting. Breathing in deeply, he looked up at the screen on his farthest left. His vitals weren't rapidly decreasing. It meant he could last longer. He could do this. "I can keep my promise, Satoshi." Sho whispered as he moved his Mecha forward towards the battle. "Let's go assist Kaze, Yama." The entire pod he was in glowed a soft blue, but it left as quick as it came. Sho smiled like his devil-may-care smile. "Let's go do our jobs."
+
There was a steady stream of breathing in the otherwise empty room. Beside the bed, a monitor to follow the heartbeat steadily sounded. It helped remove the deafening silence. But it was still too quiet. The door opened and someone sat on the couch beside the bed heavily, like it took all his energy to just get to that point. The figure leaned forward as if to grab something before chosing to move back and grab the person on the bed's hand. He gave a heavy sigh and he held it, like an anchor to reality.
"You're such an idiot," the voice whispered, "I didn't want you to keep your promise when I couldn't keep mine, Sho.
I promised we'd get away from all this together, all of us. But I knew you'd find a way to be all responsible." Satoshi scolded, his body curling over the hand he held tightly. Unshed tears stubbornly refusing to fall. "Jun's refusing to retire from Pilot service, that brat. He's actively going to other bases around Japan to help exterminate the nests. Aiba's gone with him, thank God. Maybe, between the two of them, they can keep each other safe. Who am I kidding. You kept us safe." He bit back a choke as he chuckled, recalling the instances Aiba had stupidly did something that nearly hurt them all. "Nino's staying close-by, he's stating he's on babysitting duty till you get back. Sho, he doesn't need to babysit me. I'm a grown man, I just turned 40. What did you even tell him? But can you believe it? Nino's doing your job of nagging everyone and being all adult-like. It's creepy."
Like usual, the figure on the bed stayed quiet. Locking his chin to prevent a sob, Satoshi held the hand in between his tighter. "Sho, come on. Wake up." We need you. He didn't say.
'What's normal, when we, five, aren't all together?'
+
There were three reasons why Sho became a Mecha Pilot. One, He didn't want to live safely, while knowing others are dying to keep them (-him-) safe. Two, he was scouted. He was a good, no, a great fit to be a Pilot.
And three, these were all just excuses.
.
.
.
The third real reason was most important. When Sho was in middle school, he knew someone who was drafted immediately into service because of his high scores as a possible Muscle Pilot. They were friends. This person didn't have the luxury of a name as prestigious as his. So, he wasn't safe. He wasn't safe like Sho was. They could even be something more, romantically, platonic, that doesn't matter.
What matters was that the reason real reason why Sho became a Mecha Pilot was because, even though it was suicide, despite the fact he couldn't -- wouldn't get a happy ending, was because he made a promise. Sho made a promise to a friend that didn't have a luxury of a name, who was scouted and drafted immediately, who would be fighting out there, risking his life to keep them (-him-) safe. Sho made a promise. So, he became a Mecha Pilot.
'I promise you'll get to experience a normal life, Satoshi! I'll make it come true. Just you watch me!'
But Satoshi just wept.
+
-END ?-
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Author's Notes: Completely un-beta-ed, so sorry for all the misses. Also, hey! I'm Alive. And, I'm back again with a new story for you guys! HEY, HEY, HEY! Will there be a possibility of a sequel, let's see where my runaway muse takes me. haha But I'm very proud to have written this in under 3 hours (with multiple breaks in between), and happy that I got write again. I needed to get this off my chest, I read the news last night and you know what, I made a promise to finish all my Arashi wips before 2020. (and it's quite a lot) So here's my first wip done. Hopefully, this means I'll be more active. So talk to me people! Let's chat! Let me hear what you think!
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