Author's note: I don't own Infinite Stratos.

And before you review please visit and read the notes in my profile page.

This is a one-shot experiment, to see how a gender bended version of IS would be received. I might write more if it's well liked.

Asakust Presents:

Infinite Stratos: White Expressions

I looked at Byakushiki's time display, an unnecessary though welcome customization of my IS accessory, and gauged that the mission against Silver Gospel was about to begin.

My heart was pounding like crazy… and I knew why. Honestly I was excited. If the five young first years from IS academy failed… I was going to be allowed to fly Byakushiki outside the confines of a Professor Tabane's Test Area. Yet at the same time… I was afraid that I myself would fail or stay long enough for them to get enough of my biological data through the IS' passive scan to find out that I'm a girl and currently the first female ever to pilot a IS unit.

It was a role that made me smile most times. These boys and men that have the opportunity to boast as being the chosen few… Well, I was the chosen one. Oh! Damn it… bad girl, Ichika! Bad girl!... It won't do for brother's image if you were too haughty! Some pride would be fine, but don't ever let it get into your head! You are after all… a voluntary test subject.

A prisoner of this exclusive power called Infinite Stratos. I unstrapped my seat belt, stood and unzipped my bag. Wasting no time, I changed into the almost full body suit that Professor Tabane had especially designed and customized for me. It was more like a portable scanning device that fed his computer all of my biometric data, which was embarrassing the first few times, but I had gotten accustomed to the thought of having my body constantly scanned and I almost never blush at whatever lewd look or comment that the professor might throw my way.

A knock rapped the plane's compartment door, the door that separated the pilot and passenger section of this 'borrowed' military aircraft. There were only two people on board this plane. I would have said including the pilot, but the pilot was just another of the professor's weird inventions.

The door opened, revealing Professor Shinonono Tabane with a disappointed look on his face. I imagined that he timed himself to walk into the room while I was still changing and was upset that he was too late… of course I wouldn't tell him just how close he was.

"Ichika-chan, for the duration of this mission I'm assigning you the call sign 'Shirokishi' in case you need one. Is that alright with you?"

I nodded. 'Shirokishi' or White Knight was the name that still resonated with much mystery in the world of Infinite Stratos. It mostly had something to do with an incident ten years ago, where a single man in an IS had shot down 2,341 missiles that had been hacked and fired at Japan. It probably wouldn't have blown into such an awe inspiring romantic story if the pilot had revealed his identity. Of course I had no illusions that I could possibly out do what he had done as I am now. For now I should at least be capable of taking out a partially drained and possibly damaged, if the assigned personal machine holders do somewhat well against it, berserk IS.

"I've locked the voice scrambler and audio only plug-in into your communication tools, for your identity's protection."

I nodded again. Keeping my identity a secret allowed me to return to my normal life at anytime. I just wasn't ready to enter the world of IS entirely. And I know my brother wouldn't be happy if he learned that I had made such a heavy decision without discussing it with him.

My brother, Orimura Chifuyu, is without a doubt the greatest IS pilot ever. And I would bet almost anything that he was the White Knight. I bet Tabane knowns, but he seems to turn white whenever I bring it up. If it is my brother, he probably promise to give him a fate worse than death- locking him in a room with only an abacus is my current number one idea for that.

But I'm more than thankful toward him. I found myself looking at my legs then smiling, who would believe that only half a year ago that I had been stuck in a wheel chair for nearly ten years. This is why I can stand here and take being groped, although I would slap him silly if he got carried away.

Fortunately he's a bit serious today and had only gone as far as pretending to massage my shoulders. And I soon found out why. It turned out that Houki, his little brother and my childhood friend, is participating in this mission. I can only imagine how the professor must feel. After all, the professor had just given him the working fourth generation IS model Akatsubaki. Then suddenly the higher ups decide to send out personal machine holders not even done with their first year in the academy on a mission, which included one who had barely had time to practice with his unit and learn its abilities or quirks.

I wondered if he would be fine. Houki was pretty straight forward as warrior and as a boy back when we were kids. He would always brag about his victories in spars to me and would throw a tantrum whenever I won, which was always. He was really honest then. But my accident changed him. He became someone who would easily take back what he had just said even when unnecessary. He and his family had taken care of me while my brother had been away; Houki especially acted more like my personal caregiver. He was pitiful, more so than I was for being stuck in a wheel chair for more than half of my life. That's why I pushed him to pursue a career involving the IS in hopes to change him for the better. I just didn't expect that something would be required of him so soon.

My thoughts were broken when I finally felt that Tabane was licking my neck. So of course I did the only reasonable thing to do… I shoved two fingers into his nostrils.

"Ahhh! Ouwww!" he moaned with a nasal quality in his voice… which almost made me crack into a smile. "How mean, Ichika! First you ignore me, and then you injured my sensitive nose!"

I just sighed. There was no point in arguing with him or defending myself as it would only waste a lot of our time, time that would be better spent on checking up on the target's battle data.

Opening a few of the recent data files that had been illegally uploaded into our computer, via a hacking program created by the professor, I skimmed through the Target's data. I learned that unlike my personal machine the target, nicknamed 'Gospel', a unit that specialized in as a sniper made for a wide area assault, while I was stuck with close range and only one weapon. The target was nearly as fast as my unit, but given that it was a controlled by an A.I. it could probably out maneuver me if I do not focus. Its wings, that have now undergone second shift, are its main armaments and are capable of slashing a target at close range, capturing and immobilizing an enemy, and finally shooting burst of energy towards its enemies from any direction. What a troublesome machine.

The video of the battle continued to play in the small holographic screen, while I just watched absorbedly at it and tried to ingrain as much of the machine's movement as possible. I tried to remember its attack patterns and evasive reactions… even the estimated number of shots it will fire in bursts.

It was then that an alarm rang and flashed a note on the screen.

[Akatsubaki – Energy Reserves - 15%]

The professor must have programmed that alarm, because no later than a few seconds after he read the message he pushed me towards the plane's rear hatch.

"It's up to you now, Ichika-chan." He said with a surprisingly proud and carefree smile. "I don't mind if you destroy the whole IS. Actually… on second thought, destroy it! That ought to teach them all not to use A.I. to control my creations."

I smiled at that, considering that he treated all the cores as his children like any inventory would, it must actually be pretty hard on him to give me that order. But for everyone's safety, he had clearly chosen its swift destruction, which is a good thing for me and Byakushiki.

The hatch opened and I walked over to the edge. It was a rush just feeling the wind all over my body. It was an exhilarating feeling that does not even compare to flying in Byakushiki at full speed inside a test area. My brother would probably go bald, if he learned that I had stood on a plane with its hatch open without a parachute or survival gears.

I composed myself and took a breath. Extending my arm to raise Byakushiki's accessory form, a plain white plastic-like bracelet two inches wide (with a time display), and concentrated. A link between my mind and Byakushiki's core was established, which always gave me a nostalgic and comfortable feeling. I then prompted it to deploy and equip itself onto me. Within a second my flight suit and I were encased in the technological protection of Byakushiki's battle frame. I quickly gave all the internal status reports a once over ensuring everything was working properly or if something wasn't then I at least knew about it before hand.

[Shield Energy – 600/600 – 100%]

I stared at that message for a moment; it had dawned to me again that I would forever be at a disadvantage. The Professor had explained to me that the single digit cores only have barely more than half of the energy storage capacity when compared to most other cores. And out of all of them only my Byakushiki's core dares reduce it further by converting it into attack power. However, I had always been taught that weakness can become a weapon.

"We are approximately fifteen kilometers outside their radar detection. Let me remind you that, they'll detect you the moment you enter the combat air space." The professor explained, or rather reminded me. I just nodded to him, not really sure of how to respond within the protocols.

"Well don't worry too much. Fly in. Destroy it. Ignore all attempts of communication from their part. Fly back here. That simple! Right?"

I couldn't help but give him an awkward smile. Even with his brother's life in possible peril, he's still acting like his old self. Is it because he trusts him to survive even against such an opponent? Or is it because he trusts me to properly deal with it? I can't really tell. He's a man whose only consistency is his genius and his inconsistency. Like a storm, which humanity has tried to predict for centuries yet cannot.

I turned toward the exit and walked out of the plane. I allowed myself to descend a few meters before engaging Byakushiki's aerial stabilizers and aligned myself horizontally with the earth. The sight of the almost clear blue sky and deep blue ocean would have been breath taking if this were a relaxing flight. But right now, my mind was serious and set on one thing- my mission. I imagined way points straight ahead as circles or hoops I must pass through; each of them one smaller than the one before it, which meant that I wanted Byakushiki to accelerate.

Byakushiki accelerated to its top speed just barely supersonic. I linked with one of Tabane's secret satellites and established temporary link with the computer on board the plane that I had just left. It forwarded the live coordinates of the target as it moved so that I could make course adjustments as needed without losing speed and time.

[5062 meters]

As the distance counter lowered ever so quickly, I steeled myself to make a potentially deadly decision. Against such a target, I needed as much speed, power and reach as possible. One hit was all I needed to do to achieve victory. But for that to happen I must hit it before it detects me and dodges. It was a battle that could be decided by a single second. Could I beat a computer? No… I had to.

"Byakushiki! System Override. Disable Absolute Defense system."

[WARNING: Overriding the A.D. system will put the pilot's life in jeopardy. The pilot will also lose protection against the increase the gravimetric stress due to acceleration. Do you wish to continue, Yes/No?]

I decided without a second thought. "Yes. Reconfigure the energy allotment to Yukihira and the deployment of Reiraku Byakuya."

[4019 meters]

The distance counter increased a little once in a while, but it still continued counting down. I hoped that it only meant that the target was busy fighting against the first wave of enemies and hopefully wasn't expecting me to interfere.

[3578 meters]

It was almost painful to watch the counter go down. Then again it could have been the G-forces that were threatening to sever me from my torso.

[2000 meters]

This was it. All combatants would have surely detected my IS signature by now. I deployed Byakushiki's only weapon, a dual form sword, Yukihira-Nigata.

[1500 meters]

I stared at the counter with anticipation. I dared not to activate the beam blade that Yukihira becomes yet, as it would serve no purpose other as a waste of energy that I had a very limited supply of and as a beacon that I was coming.

[1200 meters]

One of the IS pilots, a young man with a throaty German accent, seemed to have noticed me, opened a channel and demanded that I identified myself to them. But I had my instructions, communicate only on an as needed basis. In other words, I basically ignored any attempts of communications from both sides.

[500 meters]

This was really it. I was already dodging random cover fire from both sides. Yet I still asked Byakushiki to accelerate.

"Initialize Reiraku Byakuya."

Byakushiki and I slowly started to emit a faint sun yellow light, which it was actually a field that nullified the absolute defense system. It sound like the perfect weapon against an IS, but it was a double edged sword as it nullified my own. This was why I disabled the absolute defense system.

[100 meters]

By now, the target, Gospel, has noticed me coming at it at high speed. It moved to flee instead of dodging. It had probably calculated that I could still change course and still hit it if it dodged me too soon. It began leaving cover fire directly aimed at me, but with the Absolute Defense system offline one direct hit could prove fatal. I relied on the special training that the professor had put me through, and called upon all the teachings and experiences I had with the sword, no matter how long ago it had been, and in a split of a second decided that I was going to dodge and parry within the smallest margin. I gambled on Byakushiki's high processing power, which I trust with my life, and allowed it to decide for me, which projectiles to dodge and which ones to parry with my sword.

[50 meters]

"Ignition Boost!" I screamed in my mind. We accelerated even further as I held on to staying conscious. The simple and unspoken command 'activate' initiated the activation of the energy beam that was Yukihira's true from. With the rerouting of energy the blade grew to nearly three times its normal and twice it's normal intensity.

'I could win.' I thought to myself. I had to stay positive enough, yet at the same time I did not allow myself to get ahead of myself and declare that I would surely be victorious.

[25 meters]

Time seemed to slow. The target's movements became sluggish and panicky… almost human like.

It was then that I heard a voice.

/-Help me!-/

For some reason, the request and what I must do to fulfill it was clear. 108, Silverio Gospel's core, was calling out to me asking that I save it from the A.I. that had gone berserk.

With the professor's destruction order I had fully intended to slash the IS into two vertically, which would surely stop it completely before I proceed to hack it several hundreds of pieces until it would be beyond repair and recovery. But for reasons beyond my understanding and hence explanation, I wished to save the core. It was a victim here and essentially an innocent caught in this battle field.

So instead of slashing it, an attack that I have been become quite one with, I moved the sword closer to my body, lunge forward with my whole form and thrust my sword at Gospel's head. With Reiraku Byakuya at more than 100% power its barrier was instantly nullified and my beam sword pierced right through its head.

I watched as the IS instantly shut down, which was easily obvious when its wings, that were beams weapons solidified by the core's processing power, suddenly faded after the machine lost all ability to calculate and move.

Without sparing a thought to the legalities, I plunged my free hand or rather byakushiki's free hand into IS frame and took out a sphere like object. Yet again for some reason beyond my understanding I knew exactly where and what it was- the IS' core.

/-Thank you.-/

I smiled as I looked at it. I then ordered Byakushiki to quantum convert the core for safety without at all thinking of the consequences. Then I proceeded to destroy the remains of the now coreless IS frame, letting the hacked pieces fall into the open sea below.

"Cease and desist!" I heard a familiar voice called out for me to stop what I was doing.

I dared not turn around. Even with Byakushiki's altered head frame that had been redesigned to protect both my eyes and my identity, I didn't know how well my childhood friend knows my face and form. Worse case was that he already knew who I am or that he could recognize some of my facial features the instant I turn to face him.

I stopped as requested, but only because I think I had destroyed the frame enough to. They weren't about to attack me without provocation on my part, nor would they readily attack me simply because I too had the Absolute Defense system. Oh! That reminded me…

"Byakushiki restore Absolute Defense system settings." I ordered my IS mentally.

[A.D. system restored.]

It was almost surprising that it didn't ask for confirmation.

[Shield Energy – 150/600 – 25%]

It then reported that I had more than enough energy to flee from the site. However, one thing stood in my way. I opened a file displaying Akatsubaki's data. Spec wise, its speed easily exceed my own. Energy wise, I was still at an advantage. Stamina wise, I had barely fought, but the physical stress of high g's flight had taken a toll.

"Identify yourself and your affiliation!"

I would have answered. But I was struck with inspiration. I sent byakushiki and myself into a swift dive into the sea. The pilot of the black artillery type IS must have realized my plan and attempted to capture me with its beam whip. To counter his attack I disabled Yukihira's beam form reverting it into a solid sword, which would work better if I desired to parry rather than destroy. With little wasted movement I deflected the head of each whip and increased my speed, which allowed me to make contact with the water without slowing down. The moment my radar lost the five units I quickly plotted a course towards the professor's plane. I was almost surprised that it worked. Or maybe, the professor had done something to ensure that they wouldn't pursue me.

The return trip was done in the air, after I felt sure that they weren't tracking me. It gave me time to reflect on the mission. Mostly, I felt thankful to be safe and uninjured. The view was beautiful too; a setting sun, the golden encrusted sky, the water bathed in orange and the sign of the first star in the waking of the about to be night sky.

"I love it… Infinite Stratos." I said to no one in particular.

"I hear you, Ichika-chan!"

"Wah!" I blurt out in surprise as I saw the professor's face suddenly pop up in the holo-screen.

"Hmm! Hmm! I know right! My daughters are so cool right? But it's no fun to be cooped up in my lab right?" he said almost sarcastically as if trying to get me to say the wrong thing, which I'm not exactly sure what.

"Uh… no… it's fine with me really."

"OH? Really?" He looked at me with a hint of regret and as if he believed me. Then he cheerfully said, "Oh well… too bad, too late. I already processed your transfer to IS Academy."

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?" I seemingly yelled out to the sunset.

Two weeks later. I found myself in a class filled with young men. "I'm Orimura Ichika. It seems that I'm the first female to pilot an IS. I hope we can get along." I introduced myself and politely bowed toward the surprised and mouth agape class.

I then noticed a familiar face in the front left corner. He almost jumped off his chair when I smiled at him. "Have you been well Houki?"

In hindsight, I might have made for him a whole year level of enemies.

End

Final Author's notes: I've made Ichika do a little bit better than the original, modeling her with some of Chifuyu's composure and intelligence but keeping Ichika's bubbly and kind personality. I chose not to redo entering the academy like a regular student route; simply because I thought it'd be cooler this way. Some details add to a drama I would want to have in a full length version. Mostly the reason for the gender bend is the utter distaste for the "I'll kill him if he ends up with someone other than me" thing that keeps happening. Names would be changed correspondingly, but since Ichika, Chifuyu, Houki and Tabane sounds like names that can used by both genders I saw no reason to confuse anyone yet.