Chapter 21: Chapter 021
[Twenty-Eight Days Later]
"How is it? Can you move...?" asked a young woman with fair, slightly tanned skin, dark blue eyes that glistened with intelligence, and long blonde hair currently fixed into a ponytail that reached the small of her back. She also wore a red bandana on her head and, because she was a mechanic, a black tube top, thick leather gloves, and a pale purple boiler suit whose upper half was tied around her waist.
"I can try..." replied Leon, raising his right, completely mechanical arm and the silvery-white, blue-tinted armor covering it.
"Incredible..." muttered Leon, flexing his fingers as he remarked, "I really lucked out when I summoned you, Winry. It could never substitute a flesh and blood body, but at least now I'll be able to move around and speak to people without surprising or having them stare off into space..."
Removing her bandana and using it to wipe the sweat from her forehead, Winry adopted a broad smile and replied, "While I appreciate it, you don't need to thank me, Leon. I'm just upholding my end of our deal."
"Don't worry," said Leon, rising to a seated position and rolling his analog for a head as he appended, "I doubt anyone can keep those two out of trouble, but if push comes to shove, you can be sure I'll use this body to protect everyone, not just Ed and Al."
Smacking Leon's armor with her wrench, creating a loud metallic clang, Winry said, "Just make sure that if you wreck it, you salvage as much of the endoskeletal materials as possible. We barely had enough material to produce this one, so take care of it. In the meantime, I'll start working on a simplified model you can occupy when this one's undergoing repairs or receiving routine maintenance."
"I'll be sure to-"
Before Leon could finish speaking, a light knock sounded at the entrance of the garage-like room as a fairly handsome young man with dark brown hair, sharp brown eyes, and a perpetual smile that never quite reached his eyes entered, stating, "Pardon my intrusion, but I heard that today is the day Lord Leon would be receiving his faux body. I had hoped I might bear witness to such a historic event."
Turning to face the newcomer, who was wearing the same white blazer and blue pants as the one Shouichi was summoned in, Leon adopted a smile that wasn't reflected on his featureless face as he remarked, "I had a feeling you would show up around this time, Yamato. I'm guessing you'd like to accompany me on my rounds...?"
"Only if your Lordship permits it," replied the youth, none other than the leading protagonist of the Majikoi series of games, Yamato Naoe. Leon hadn't recognized him initially, but the gears began to click into place as he summoned others from the same verse.
"Sounds good," replied Leon, taking care as he stepped off the mount for his armored automail body. Its range of motion was functionally identical to a live human's, but Leon noticed a slight 'latency' when he tried moving multiple parts simultaneously.
Noticing Leon's somewhat robotic movements, Winry remarked, "Don't worry. Like how a baby learns to walk or a martial artist hones their skill, automail adapts to the user's inputs, similar to muscle memory. The more you walk and move around, the smoother your movements will become."
"Then that's what I'll do," replied Leon, half-turning to meet Winry's gaze as he appended, "Thanks again, Winry. I may need you if something goes wrong, but feel free to take the rest of the day and tomorrow off. I'll let Ed and Al know when I see them."
Blushing at the mention of her two childhood friends, Winry reached up to massage her cheeks as she protested, "I keep telling you...the three of us aren't like that..."
Shrugging, Leon teased, "Even so, I'll let them know. It's up to you if you want to send them away."
Without waiting for Winry's response, Leon strode toward and past the slightly bowing Yamato, enjoying the feeling of being roughly 2m tall as the armor Wil had designed, with considerable input from Morded, was made to be as intimidating as it was kingly. The helmet was even formed into the visage of a lion with a white mane, reminding Leon of the lion king armor worn by the Lancer version of Artoria but tailored to a man's height and build.
Stepping out of Winry's workshop, detached from his increasingly castle-like abode but near enough that people would associate them, Leon was unsurprised to find a short, pale-skinned woman with medium-length blue hair and amethyst eyes waiting for him and Yamato outside, adorned in a Maid outfit.
"Good morning, Lord Leon," said the girl, closing her eyes and bowing respectfully with her hands folded over her lap.
"And good morning to you too, Miyako. Would you like to accompany us on our walk...?"
"It would be an honor and a pleasure, sir," replied Miyako, falling into step a short distance behind Leon and Yamato, noticeably gravitating toward the latter. She was one of ten people who had been summoned from the world of Majikoi over the past few weeks and, at Yamato's behest, served as a Maid within Leon's estate.
"So, how goes it?" asked Leon. "I know it's only been a day, but any new news to report...?"
"None worthy of mention," replied Yamato. "The expansion of the eastern port is going smoothly, and our first ship should be ready within the week. But, as we're still short on manpower, please forgive us if we're a few days behind my original estimates."
"Don't worry," said Leon, smiling as he added, "I'm not going to up your interest rates if you're a few days or even weeks behind schedule. You're good people, and our bookkeeping isn't that stringent just yet."
"I'm sensing a 'but' coming along," mused Yamato.
Nodding, Leon added, "Your group makes up nearly a third of our total. Miyako and Azumi might be a part of my personnel, but we both know where their respective loyalties lay. I know you're eager to reunite with your friends and family, but there's an order to everything..."
Though he anticipated Leon's response, Yamato briefly closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose. He wanted to point out that their Kazama Agency was the ally of the recently inaugurated House Asheford, but he knew it was a moot point since Mordred didn't trust them. The only thing he could do to change that was demonstrate his value and earn her trust with results, but such things, unfortunately, took time...
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After passing through the central plaza and making their way along the dirt path that previously led to Presea's cabin, Leon, Yamato, and Miyako found themselves at the entrance of a small, traditional, Japanese-style dojo with white plaster walls and a sloped, blue-tiled roof. There wasn't a gate to prevent people from wandering in, so the trio made their way to a large, open-air arena where seven people, five boys and two girls, sparred under the supervision of a remarkably tall and muscular man with golden hair that extended past his shoulders, bushy eyebrows, a mustache, and a beard that could make Santa envious. Despite wearing a thick, olive green gi, his muscles, reminiscent of a Greek statue, were fully visible. Yet, even though he looked like he could tear the head off a bear while laughing, he exuded a calm and peaceful aura.
Noticing the trio's approach, the man, Hayato Furinji, aka the 'Invincible Superman' from the animated series History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi, adopted a grandfatherly smile, caressing his beard as he said, "Well if it isn't Yamato and Ms. Miyako. Then I take it this gentleman in the armor is our esteemed Lord and benefactor, Master Asheford?"
"How goes the training...?" asked Leon, passing his gaze over the six who were sparring and the person standing off to the side, staring back at him with a weary and bored look. The boys included Shoji Sato, Takumi Aldini, and Isami Aldini from the world of Shokugeki no Soma, a Sukuna-less Yuji Itadori from Jujutsu Kaisen, and the weary-looking Yoji Itami from Gate - Thus the JSDF Fought There!. As for the girls, the one bouncing around in a skintight purple bodysuit with glossy golden hair and blue eyes was Hayato's grandaughter, Miu Furinji, while the other was the person that keyed Leon in on the origin of Shouichi and the others, an amber-eyed girl with long auburn hair fixed into a ponytail, Kazuko Kawakami, aka 'Wanko' from the world of Majikoi.
Crossing his arms, Hayato issued a thoughtful hum before responding, "Some are advancing faster than others, but everyone is doing their best, considering the circumstances. It's a shame Akisame isn't here. He would have these young ones whipped into shape in no time...!"
Distracted by Hayato's outburst and the arrival of two of her 'family' members, Wanko suffered a powerful gut kick from Miu but managed to endure it, launching a flying kick as a counter while Hayato, Yamato, and Leon observed the exchange with varying expressions.
Reacting quickly, Miu intercepted Wanko's kick with one of her own, the two briefly freezing in place as if gravity had temporarily lost its sway on them. Leon's and Yamato's eyes couldn't help but wander to two distinct areas of Miu's body, but since her leotard-like training outfit left virtually nothing to the imagination, especially when she exerted herself, it wasn't entirely their fault...
As the two girls separated and created distance from one another after their exchange, Leon gave a curt nod before asking, "If it's not too much trouble, I would like to join in on these sessions on the days I don't enter the Tower. This body of mine might not be able to grow stronger through training, but polishing my skills shouldn't be an issue."
While continuing to stroke his beard, Hayato replied, "This place is open to all who seek self-improvement. Though, before I allow you to spar with my other students, I would be remiss not to see what you and that body of yours are capable of personally."
"Sure, though, not today," replied Leon, feeling his joints tense as Hayato raised one of his bushy brows and gazed at him with a grin. His stats were actually higher than Hayato's, as the man refused to kill the monsters who called the Tower home, but the gap in their technique and experience was like heaven and earth. Hayato possessed the [Legendary Master] Skill at Rank 7 and could easily 'humor' the much stronger and faster Mordred, so Leon knew he was in for a serious wake-up call if he presumed his higher stats gave him even a slight edge.
"Ah, I take it you're going around to acquaint everyone with your armored form...?" asked Hayato, reining in his excitement.
"That's right," replied Leon, raising his hand and quickly adding, "Though, you don't need to call them over. Most of them have had a chance to look over, so you can just tell them it was me once they're done training."
"I'll do just that," affirmed Hayato. Then, as Leon didn't want to remain a distraction, he excused himself from the training ground, followed closely by Yamato and Miyako. Their departure was briefly delayed when Wanko called out to Yamato and came rushing over to ask if he was leaving, but Leon didn't particularly mind, even if he felt slightly envious. It had been years since he played Majikoi, but Wanko had left an impression on him as hers was the first 'route' he completed. Unfortunately, while their current policies permitted polygamy, he had never been fond of harems and was content knowing he would one day be able to go to town on Mordred and vice-versa...
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(A/N: Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukka, Joyous Kwanzaa, and a merry holiday season to all who celebrate it~!)
Weekly Power Status
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