Time Traveling Hero

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was how bright it was, way too bright for my liking. I ġrȯȧnėd in protest, moving my arm to cover my eyes.

"Oh, Master is awake now."

"That was quick, even for a hero. Is he fully healed?"

I let out another groan, realizing what had happened. I sat up, finally opening my eyes.

I was back at the TRTF's base, inside what was probably a room in the medical section of our organization. Anna, Beatrice, and Roberto were there, sitting at a nearby table, looking towards me.

"I passed out? Ugh, that wasn't exactly cool of me, this sucks." I scratched my head, remembering what had occured. "If I had to take a guess, I was there for too long or something?"

"Yep, that's right!" Beatrice said, grinning at me. "Since it was your first time and all, you pushed yourself way too hard, causing you to pass out. I guess it's kinda our own fault though for not warning you beforehand."

That would make sense, all things considering. It can't be healthy to stay there for extended periods of time. "But if that's the case, then what about you all?"

"Oh, we've been there plenty of times, so we've naturally built up a tolerance, unlike you. At best you'll be able to stay there for 4 hours if you don't do anything too strenuous, but it's more like 2 for now," Robert said, sighing to himself. "Our squad can stay there for at least half a day, and the Models are immune to the environment, so they can stay there indefinitely. As Beatrice said, it is our fault for forgetting, and it didn't help we got our ȧsses handed to us by that A Grade Model."

"No, I was doing fine actually," I said, stretching my aching body, and it was then I noticed what was in my ŀȧp.

"Master Hiro would not let it go no matter how hard we tried, so we ȧssumed it was important," Anna said, noticing my reaction.

Was this really so important that I refused to let go? The hell was I thinking? I frowned as I examined it, giving it a quick glance over. The jacket had seen some serious use by now, the sleeves starting to fray and the color starting to fade. There was one thing to note though, and that was a name on it.

"Who the hell is Blake?" I muttered aloud, scowling at the name.

"That's a TRTF jacket for the record," Roberto said, and I glanced up at him. "And if it looks like that, it probably belonged to a squadron leader."

I frowned as I looked at his. They clearly weren't the same by any means; the jacket I had in my hands being a faded emerald color, while Roberto's was a brilliant ruby.

"Squadron leaders have their own colored jackets, with different colors representing a variety of things. Green usually means they often did field missions and reconnaissance, while red means the squad is more suited towards fighting. The shades represent the rank between the squadron leaders; the darker the shade, the lower the rank. And since I know you're about to ask, white means they're the highest rank, suited for any mission. Grey is for the normal soldiers, and Models wear their own specially made uniform."

"But what about-!"

"What about black?" Roberto said, finishing my sentence. "Well, black is complicated, and then there's combo colors as well, but I can't be bothered to explain this right now, so I'll explain later."

Beatrice frowned, blowing a bubble before popping it. "I think this is more the author not wanting to use the brainpower to come up with it now more than anything."

"Hey, stop breaking the fourth wall damnit," I said, looking back at the jacket. It's not like I needed the full breakdown anyway, nor did I really want to know it, since, you know, I'm the second highest authority around here. Perks of being so high up means you only gotta listen to one guy and give orders to the others.

"The guy was probably around my rank, the brilliant jewels," Roberto continued, ignoring us breaking the fourth wall. "I don't know why she would have this though, considering she betrayed us and everything." .

I was starting to get confused now, and not because of the half-assed explanation the author gave. It's the model's, the Miku Rip-Off, motivations that are bugging me. This is what happens when you don't read the mission details Hiro.

"I'm going home," I said, hopping down from, wait, what was I in?

I turned back to see a white capsule; holographic screens popped up around the outside. There was no clear cover to close it, meaning it was probably made from some energy field or something. I still didn't have a clear enough of an understanding of the technology, much to my disappointment, mostly because I was stuck training with Mars the majority of the time I was here.

Anyway, I hopped out of the capsule, slinging the jacket over my shoulder. "Let's go home Anna, unless you have something you gotta do."

Anna shook her head. "Negative, Anna does not have any need or dėsɨrė to stay here. Let us blow this popsicle stand."

"I swear, how do you know so many cheesy lines?"

"Anna's special friend told me this was all the culture Anna needed," she said, giving me a thumbs up along with that deadpan voice.

"Oi kid, same time tomorrow, yeah!?" Roberto yelled out as we left the room, and I waved my hand.

"Yeah, I know, I'll be there." I yawned, attracting the attention of my partner.

"By the way Master, in the healing capsule, it said you were suffering from slight sleep deprivation."

"It probably said that because I passed out or something. Being unconscious and sleeping are different things." I glanced at Anna, who narrowed her gaze, her yellow eyes focusing in on me. "I get more than enough sleep, don't worry."

"… That is not what Anna is worried about," she murmured, looking towards the ground. "Anna simply wishes Master to not push himself too hard."

If I didn't do at least this much, how the hell else am I meant to meet her expectations. I coughed, deciding to change the subject.

"So, what time is it exactly? If I'm sleep deprived, I'd rather not go to bed late today. Plus, I wanna hurry home to have Luna's wonderful food. Ah, just thinking about it makes me hungry."

As if right on cue, there was a loud growl that erupted from a stomach; not mine though.

I glanced over at Anna's stomach and frowned. "I didn't realize your-!"

"Anna would never do such a thing."

Huh? "Uh, but it was totally yo-!"

"Anna, would do no such thing," Anna said, and I tensed up, sensing the shift in mood. "Master is mistaken."

"A, ah, you're right, must be hearing things. Maybe a side effect of being in the future too long, ahahahaha…"

Anna nodded, and I watched her walk ahead as her silver hair swished like a pendulum.

I guess even someone like her can act like a pure hearted maiden…

-----------------------

"Welcome home big bro!"

I was met with the usual cuteness of my sister, Luna, as she rushed over to tackle hug me.

"Oof! Did you miss me that much?" I patted her head as she buried her head into my ċhėst. "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head, but clung to me even tighter. I could feel her slightly trembling, and in response I clutched her tight back, stroking her head.

"There, there, it'll be alright, don't worry," I murmured, both of us sinking to our knees as I continued to soothe her.

It had been a while since this had happened, but it wasn't exactly an uncommon occurrence. The only way for her to recover was to sleep, but she wouldn't be able to unless I was right there next to her. I still hadn't figured out what the triggers were for when this occurred (since by the time I get home she would already be like this), and she always forgot what caused it by the time she wakes up. The only odd thing about this time is that it normally doesn't happen while someone else is here.

Did Caelestis go off somewhere? I picked her up gingerly, as she wrapped her entire body around me, like a little kid about to be put to bed by a parent.

Well, not that it matters where Lesty is. I already know what I gotta do.

I walked up the stairs and went towards her room, the room right next to mine. Opening it showed a variety of cute stuffed animals littered around the room, and although it was dark, I could bȧrėly make out the light pink aesthetic that she had chosen out herself. I closed the door shut with my legs, the green nightlight turning on as I gently put her into bed.

"Bi-big bro…" She murmured, her right hand gripping onto my shirt, and I watched as her hazy eyes looked at me.

"P-please don't go…"

I gave her a warm smile, nodding. "I'm not going anywhere, promise. From the time you fall asleep to the time you wake up, I'll be here, okay?" I clutched her hand tightly, and she let out a small smile.

"Th-thank you…" I watched her lay down on her side, facing towards me, and I held her hand to my ċhėst, sitting in the nightlight filled room.

I watched as her expression relaxed, her breathing eventually occurring at regular intervals. I waited about 20 more minutes after that before pulling out Nymphy with my free hand, it turning to dark mode instantly, and the AI silently pulled up what I had been wanting to look for all day, the mission details.

Now, let's see what it is we're trying to achieve. Now that I think about it, the Director did say he gave Anna and I something top-secret. I wonder what it is?

I quickly scanned through the details, and was only left with a scowl to show for it.

As I thought, her motivations make no sense. According to the details, she had betrayed her squad and left them to die before joining with the ATF, but if she were really that coldhearted, then why the hell didn't she kill Roberto's squad? This isn't a shounen after all, plus she seemed to be holding back in our fight till the very end, before I revealed I figured out her ability and she ran.

But if that really were the case, then the background for the mission doesn't make any sense either. Why would she betray her squad, resulting in them getting annihilated, only for her to spare us? And then there's the jacket she had been wearing. I don't know how long she had been there, but it was long enough for that jacket to become frayed and faded. No way anyone who would let their own squad get killed would wear that very same squad leader's jacket.

I gazed back at Luna's adorable face, sleeping soundly without a care in the world. Once all this craziness is done and things settle down, maybe I'll finally be able to start making progress on that promise I had made her.

I looked back at Nymphy and noticed something else attached to my mission details.

An audio file? It was unnamed, and the sender was unknown as well, although I have to ȧssume it was the director. I would listen to it now, but…

"If you want to listen to it without others listening, we have a feature where we direct the audio directly towards your ears, so only you can hear it!"

I frowned as I read the message Nymphy sent. I think I read an article about something similar recently, although Nymphy's capabilities where far beyond the scope of what the article was talking about.

I nodded, and my ears were filled with static, loud static that seemed to overpower everything, until I heard the voice.

And when it was done, I turned Nymphy off and sighed.

Well, that would indeed explain it. And if everything I heard was true, then I really have to bring her back alive, no matter what.

Because that'll be my Triumph, no matter what.