Chapter 3: Introduction

Hola! How're my readers doing? Good, I hope. Hehe, "hope". Anyways, here's Chapter 3!

Did you notice my new cover? I spent around 2 hours making that on Google Drawings. Do you guys like it? Some of it was cut off, but most of it is visible, at least. Completely original, so don't steal it. It's supposed to look like Lupus's weapons (shield, sword, and battle claws, which are mostly cut off).

dtha77: Thanks! I'm glad you like it.

Nimblefire: Yeah… funny how that works, huh. Hehe ^.^ Thanks!

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Guest: Thanks!...? Does not bad mean good? Or is it more of a meh?

Thanks for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Danball Senki. I can dream, though.

Chapter 3: Introduction

Jin was skeptical. He was in contact with some of the most advanced LBX scientists, including the man who created them in the first place, yet he hasn't heard about what the girl in front of him was saying.

"Seeing through your LBX? I'm sorry, but I don't see how I'm supposed to believe that."

"Don't have to believe if you don't wanna. I'm not here to convince the unfaithful."

"This has nothing to do with faith. It's more along the lines of me not trusting a stranger." She just shrugged, which only succeeded in further aggravating the operator of Triton. Not that he showed that, of course.

"Are you going to continue staring at me like an idiot, or do you actually have something you want?" Deciding to let the subject of belief slide for the moment, Jin decided to try gathering information.

"Have you noticed anything different from the time my friends and I arrived until now? Odd behaviors, disappearances, or anything unusual would suffice."

She stopped working long enough to scratch her invisible beard before going back to work. Just as Jin was about to lose his cool, not that he'd admit to it, she began to speak.

"Other than the fact that the number of crazy fans have increased, LBX has grown more popular, and it's gotten both more quiet and loud at the same time, then nothing." Jin discreetly raised his eyebrow at the last part and asked her to evaluate further. "More people have come to the island, but not many people in town are talking anymore. That's all."

This could be a potential lead, but he needed more information. First, he needed to gain the trust of this girl, because she seemed to know more than she was letting on.

"You obviously know me, so may I know your name?" he asked politely.

"What?" she gasped sarcastically. "I'm not famous enough to be known by the ultra-fighter, Jin Kaidou?"

Jin met her gaze, or where it would have been, squarely.

"Kamui Daimon. That's Suzaku Daimon, my cousin. We run this shop, since his dad is off in Country A. Also, on a side note, you don't have to act nice. Honesty is a pretty darn good policy," she advised. "Before you ask, I can tell that your tone is more formal than what you would typically speak, as you have already spoken casually to me."

Though his face remained his typical stoic mask, he was internally surprised. Not many are able to see through a carefully molded facade that has been developed over most of a lifetime. Especially one who's blind.

"You're quite an interesting person, Miss Daimon."

"I hope that ain't an insult. Plus, call me Kami. Not 'cause we're friends or anything, but more along the lines of me being used to that. Miss Daimon sounds so freaking fancy."

"I can assure you, it isn't an insult, Kami," he added her name as an afterthought.

"In that case, you're quite interesting yourself, Jin." They both smiled at each other, Jin's being slight while Kami's was a full blown grin.

"Anything else?" Suzaku suddenly cut in. The redhead hasn't stopped glaring at Jin since he had noticed him.

"I had assumed the two of you were siblings, as the crowd made that clear," Jin pointed out. Kami smiled.

"Actually, my parents his mom died in an accident. His dad, my uncle, decided to take me in as part of the family. Everybody just says we're siblings because of how close we are. We were raised together, after all."

"Mr. Kaidou, if I may talk to you outside," Suzaku asked with fake politeness. Jin raised an eyebrow, but followed him anyways. Kami went back to working on Orion, Lupus staying faithfully by her side as usual.

"I don't like how you're asking so many questions," Suzaku said bluntly after leading Jin to a safe distance from the shop. They were currently in a cafe, sitting in a booth. "Ever heard of privacy?"

"I was merely curious," Jin defended smoothly. "You did ask me if I wanted something, and all I want is information."

"Our life story has nothing to do with you, though, so stay out of it. I don't like strangers taking interest in my sister. I'd like to request that you leave now."

Jin's eyes narrowed.

"Who said that I had taken interest in your cousin?" he asked, stressing the last word. This served to further aggravate Suzaku. "And I don't see why you dislike me so much."

"You're Jin Kaidou, correct? It may not seem it, but news from the mainland travels here too, you know. You and your posse are bad news, with unfavorable things following your every step. I don't want my remaining family to be caught up with your crap. So leave us alone."

Jin didn't say anything, but knew that he was correct, bad luck seemed to follow him and his friends many places.

One example would be right now.

But he couldn't back down now, not after he had finally gotten some kind of lead.

For Ban's sake.

"I understand your concerns, I do, but that doesn't change the fact that I still have business here." Suzaku slammed his fists on the table in a huff. He would have stood up, had they not been seated in a booth. His green eyes glinted for a second before turning back to Jin.

"How about a battle? I win, you leave. You win, you can stay and ask all the questions you want. I'll answer them myself, to the best of my ability."

Jin turned this over in his mind for a second before agreeing. This could be a double-edged blade. The two of them set off towards the shop once more. They ignored the sour looks from the workers at the cafe, having left without ordering a single item.

The bell tinkled once more.

"Welcome back, you two. What was that about, eh? Boyish secrets?" was how they were welcomed back.

"Be quiet, Kami. Is Orion ready for battle?" Suzaku asked without skipping a beat.

"Sheesh. Show some appreciation once in awhile, dude," she pouted. She wordlessly handed him the unit.

"We're using one of the battle-boxes."

"Fine, fine. Don't break your LBXs too much. I'm the one stuck fixing them, after all," Kami muttered.

The two boys stood at opposite ends of the battle-box, staring each other down. Lupus hopped over to watch, or more likely, to let Kami watch.

Jin pulled out Triton, his partner that he'd been using for a while. Seeing it again made memories of the past resurface from where he had been attempting to lock them up. At least until they were able to return Ban back to normal.

Suzaku was still holding his recently repaired Orion, eyes full of fire.

BATTLE START

"Hunt them down, Orion!"

"Triton!"

The setting of the battle was the castle format. Good, Jin was used to this.

The two units paused for a moment before engaging in rapid close combat. Triton used his large anchor-like trident/club to fend off Orion's heavy sword. The two's strength was equally matched, causing them to be stuck in a deadlock.

Suddenly, Orion forced Triton's weapon to hook onto his sword and activated his flight capability. They began to soar high in the air, Triton holding on helplessly.

ATTACK FUNCTION: OCEAN BLAST

The LBX king of the seas forced Orion to a stop by encircling the hunter in a giant pocket of water. Manipulating it to swirl in a whirlpool fashion, Triton freed himself and landed squarely on one of the castle walls.

Suzaku gritted his teeth in annoyance. After pushing a few buttons, Orion let the flow take him before blasting away in one engine thrust.

He then moved to dive bomb the opponent below him.

As Triton moved to dodge, the heavy sword came flying out, catching him off guard. The weapon had enough force to push the LBX off the wall, causing it to land hardly on the ground below.

From the dust cloud that had formed above, Orion came rushing out without a single scratch. Triton, on the other hand, had a few deep gashes and some minor dents. Orion had picked his sword up once again and prepared for another dive bomb.

CRASH!

Specks of dirt floated through the area, an after effect of the collision. Out of the cloud came a heavy sword, dispelling the visual obstruction.

The sight cleared to show Orion standing alone in a crater. Triton was nowhere to be seen. The hunter looked around to find his enemy before spotting the club that quickly disappeared behind a wall. Weary of a trap, Orion, approached cautiously. Spotting movement to his side, he immediately took to the sky with his wings.

From his aerial view, he saw Triton swinging his club in a circle, spinning himself in a circle. Abruptly letting it go, it sailed quickly towards the flight-ridden hunter.

With not enough time to dodge, Orion braced himself using his arms as shields.

There was a small explosion at the point of contact, causing a momentary cloud of smoke.

Before it cleared, Orion came hurtling from where he had been hovering moments before. The club had taken out one of his wings, causing his involuntary descent.

Another crash later revealed Orion with several cracks and gashes. Sparks of electricity danced along the injuries. He was now in far worse shape compared to Triton. But one factor remained that gave him an advantage.

He had lost his flight, had many injuries, and yet he still had an advantage.

Orion had a weapon, and Triton did not.

He carefully leveled his sword at the water-manipulator, preparing himself for his final attack to finish his opponent off.

ATTACK FUNCTION: NORTH ARROW (This is my own idea)

The edges of the sword swung out, forming something akin to the shape of a crossbow. Pouring the last bits of power into this final shot, the weapon took on a blue glow. It began sparking with yellow threads of power, not unlike the ones that were currently leaking out of his wounds.

Not backing down, Triton prepared his own attack.

ATTACK FUNCTION: RIVER RAGE (I made it up ^-^)

From Triton's right arm came a steady flow of powerful water. The two attacks were fired and met head on, becoming a stalemate for a short while. Both parties began to pour even more power into each individual attack, causing a massive explosion to occur.

A blinding light engulfed the entire shop, causing the few occupants to freeze in their own actions to look over at the intense climax. Jin and Suzaku were forced to shield their eyes from the sudden burst.

Kami wasn't affected in the least, except for the fact that her jaw was left hanging wide open.

When the glare faded, both units were revealed to have broken over.

"What… was that?" Kami asked, breathless. Neither of the operators knew the answer. The silence was deafening, white noise clouding their ears. In such a suffocating atmosphere, one person spoke.

"What happens when there's a tie?" Suzaku asked, breaking the daze.

Yuuya paced the lounge in frustration. First their leader goes off his rocker, then his best friend is forced to leave, and now he is by default in charge of the group. Hiro had volunteered, but was too inexperienced. Not to mention he was still upset about his hero.

So Yuuya had taken up the job, as per Jin's request. He sighed.

I swear, I'll be getting gray hairs well beyond my years.

Jin would've been a much better temporary leader.

He ran a hand through his long hair, trying to let some of his stress go. Recent events gave him an excruciating headache. Ban had taken to locking himself up in his room, only unlocking it to accept food that had been prepared for him. They didn't want him to starve. Crazy or not, he was still their friend.

He wanted to have something to report to Jin, while at the same time not. He wanted to help his friend, but didn't want Ban's condition to worsen. The balance has already been tipped, and now chaos was ready to rage.

And once it's out, it'll be difficult to contain.

Ban, meanwhile, was sitting in the dark room. Bags were under his eyes, showing how little sleep he gets these days. (If you were wondering, a few days have passed since Jin and Suzaku's battle.)

All he could do was stare at the wall or ceiling, depending on his position.

It wasn't unlike what had happened after Yuusuke Uzaki's death. That thought only served to remind him of his friend that had left.

Back during that time, it had been Jin that had gotten Ban back onto his feet. He had all but abandoned his previous mission and dedication, yet Jin brought him back. Sharing his own background and encouraging him, Jin was truly a great friend and had only gotten better as time went on. Until recent events, that is.

Ban screwed his eyes shut, placing his head in his arms and leaned on his knees. He didn't want to hurt anymore of his friends, not like he had Jin.

If only time could be turned back, perhaps he could stop himself.

But could he really?

To Be Continued…

I told you that the poll decided priority! Thanks to whoever voted, this chapter is dedicated to you! Thanks for reading!

Any questions? Ask if you're confused.

Was the action scene good? This was my first real battle scene (Chapter 2 doesn't count, it was too short). I just tried to describe whatever appeared in my mind, so I hope it turned out okay.

Feel free to do the normal things (Fav, Follow, Review, PM, etc.), and have a good day/night!

~Hope