Infinite Stratos: Hidden Trump

by Blackshadow999

My life was going the way I wanted, then the Bunny called me, to get her kicks by messing with my life again! Now, I'm going to the IS Academy, all my classmates are my age and females... This'll be some of the hardest challenge I've faced! That Rabbit will pay for making my life HELL and that's a promise I'll KEEP! No Ichika in this story. OC main.

1. Unexpected and Unwanted Changes

A/n

I have gone through and done revisions. Sai is a tad different, will swear somewhat now and more detail in the story in general. He is also 16 instead of 15, still in the same age range of first year high school students would be. Timeline with this story has been expanded a bit more for the events that will come later. I do not own any of the Infinite Stratos Characters or anything else in the series. The fictional characters are mine and if they resemble someone else it is a fluke.

Chapter 1

Unexpected and Unwanted Changes

Hello one and all, my name is Sai Taichi and I am sixteen years old as of last September. My birthday is on September 17th; so I've been sixteen for closing in on three months as it's the beginning of January now. I stand at five foot and four inches when I was last measured, that was two months ago, so I could possibly be a little taller. My figure is lean, yet fit; ever since I took a fascination in martial arts… well, the workouts keep me in shape and give me a great physique! The hair I have is a thick mop of black, grows in many straight spike like follicles that go out away from the center of my head. It has an average length of five inches in the front and seven and a half in the back. There is a bit of a wave to the right with my hair, it's natural as far as I have seen. Then there is a part of my hair that goes down between my eyes, though it doesn't cover them in any way. My eyes are a dark reddish color with a tint of brown in them; some people can be unsettled by the color, but I just ignore the reaction. My facial features were streamlined, with high cheekbones and a small nose; so yeah, I have good looks by what most say.

Nonetheless, so that you understand, I ain't like any normal sixteen-year-old you've likely met. You would expect a teenager my age would be entering into high school… as a freshman as my birthday falls past the cutoff date for school attendance, meaning I would have been on the older end of my peers were I with them. You'd be wrong, I'm not going to that kind of place, nor am I around my peers who are the same age as me, why? Cause technically, I've already graduated from high school and have no intention any time in the near future. Granted, I'm aware with me being sixteen, people would say I'm too young to graduate from high school. To them I say, shut it; I did it, accept that and leave me be. I'm really smart, the reason I was able to complete high school by the time I was eleven. Should any not believe me, they can see my high school diploma and get over it.

In short, it can be said that I'm a really smart kid and it's true; doctors have given me tests and my IQ… its high to put it mildly. Smart as I am though, I still wish to see how far I can go with my intelligence and so, currently for my life, I'm going to college as a sophomore. It seems strange I know, no need to remind me. When everyone around you, is more than five years older in age than you and most are taller… I'm reminded of the gap frequently. But I have gotten used to it now after the years of there being a sizable age gap between those around me and myself.

My school of choice, is one you may have heard of; Cornell University which is in Ithaca, New York. I chose this college as it specializes in and is famous for its degree programs that relate to my interests and dream. That dream involves, what I consider a life's work that's still unfinished and so is what I work on in my spare time when I'm not in school. But I'll get to describing of the project as my story goes on… trying to not get ahead of myself in my story too much. Now where was I… oh yes, I'm currently a sophomore. After I finish two more classes, which I should in around two months, I'll be a junior with the number of credits I'll have. So, nice position to be in, I would doubt that anyone would have a problem with the kind of life I am living right now.

Yet… when everything is going so good and well for you… that's when 'someone' or 'something' makes things take a turn… usually for the worse… Murphy's Law and all of that, so it was for me! It all started with a phone call… from someone I had a strong dislike for and don't want to talk to! One who gets you into situations that are either just plain, nerve gratingly painful, or are just evil and wrong to do to someone, sucks either way I tell you! … But it will be easier if I just dive into this, so here I go.

-Present Time-

ring ring

ring ring

Picking up the phone to answer it, I didn't look at the caller ID as I was concentrating on looking over my list of supplies I would need for school this semester. "Hello, this is Sai, how can I…" I began.

I was unable to finish the greeting, as I was interrupted by a feminine voice, "SAI-TAN!"

Instantly, I held the phone at arm's length as if it was an extremely poisonous snake! The voice gave away who it was on the other end of the call… and I have grown to detest the woman a great deal and I'm very ticked at her! Almost every time… she's come into my life… things go careening downhill. The knack and a habit that she has for making my life hell, whenever she finds me, would be nothing short of astounding… if it wasn't the problem it causes. Case and point, the last time I had to unfortunately talk to her, which was a year and a half ago; I had ended out with getting into a really bad chain of events that had just been a 'hell in a hand basket' kind of situation by the finish… got close to ending out in prison! Because of that, I wanted nothing to do with the woman; no talking to her or having anything to do with her at all! Yet still… how does this woman manage to somehow find me?! It was so tempting… to hang up the phone and pretend that the call had never happened. … But I knew better, her persistence is stronger than the enjoyment that the Devil would have with the job of torturing. The woman would just keep calling until she said what she wanted…

"If you're hoping for a 'hello, it's nice to hear from you d**n metal eared bunny, no way in hell it's happening! You really have a lot of nerve calling me at all, with the sh*t that you got me into the last time you popped into my life! Now, I haven't the faintest clue how the heck you got my number… again, nor do I really care. I thought I made it clear the times before; whatever it is you are calling about… don't! I'm not a way to get your f**king kicks!" I managed to say in a marginally controlled tone of voice.

"Aww, now don't be that way Sai-tan! I have just a teeny tiny thing to ask of you."

It took a moment and a couple of inhales and exhales to keep myself from blowing up sighed and losing it. Tabane Shinonono… The bunny or other variations of rabbit as I refer to her as; most commonly would be, the metal eared bunny. This particular woman, I have had the unfortunate fate of meeting and getting to know at a young age. The word eccentric, doesn't describe her enough; she's weird and at times, freaky… Hell I could accuse her of molestation! The bunny also, is very good at making my life miserable and end out being a living hell… don't judge me with me saying that. With the things she's done to me, that's what it feels like. The last 'teeny tiny' favor she asked did get me nearly sentenced with… a punishment that I didn't earn or want at any time during my life! Why does she do this to me?! I just want to be left alone… Is that too much to ask?

"Funny stupid bunny, as I recall, the last so called teeny tiny thing you asked of me; I agreed to do if you would leave me alone. Yet here you are calling me, not leaving me alone like you promised you would! Don't even get me started on what that favor brought into my lap to deal with… was a huge mess… which I was force to clean up! Do you have any idea what I had to go through because of what you pulled?! … Not that it matters, honestly; I'm getting ready to start school for goodness sakes! So, shove that selfish attitude of yours, up your a**, keep your word for once and leave me alone! I don't have the time or patience, to deal with sh*t from you." I stated with contained anger.

"Don't say that Sai-tan. And what I'm talking about has to do with school!"

… has to do with School?! She better the f**k not! My life is my business and not someone else's entertainment.

"No Rabbit! Don't you dare! I've already arranged school for myself and you won't…" I hissed, but it was no use.

"You'll be going to the IS Academy this year! Isn't that great Sai-tan!"

…She's doing it again! I HATE THIS WOMAN!

"No, you D**n bunny! You never ever listen to me, you soon to be hasenpfeffer! I have my schooling arranged and planned out! You won't do sh*t to interfere in that if you know what's good for you! Besides, the IS Academy in Japan is at the high school level, I'm beyond that level of education and have no intention of returning to that prison…" I growled with hatred and anger.

"If you don't go, I'll post pictures and videos of you with Alice and me all over the internet… Oh you were so cute! I'm going to have to watch one of the videos after this!"

I felt horror and rage at what the metal eared bunny had just threatened she would do should I not agree to what she wanted. The only pictures that involved the bunny and the other woman named Alice Masta or doll as I call her… were pictures and yes, even videos, which I never wanted to see the light of day! The things that those two did to me… and then for them to record evidence of their actions… it's just plain evil and wrong! In fact, I thought I destroyed all the copies… physical and digital of those pictures and videos of those times; I was sure of it! Apparently, the woman somehow hid some from me… the d**n bunny still does things dirty and unfair…! My control over my emotions was starting to slip fast, I needed to finish this up quick.

"I would say that you wouldn't, yet I know you would bi**h… for the record, I hate you! You're so selfish, that I doubt you would or have ever care about what others think about you! No, you just always go full f**king steam ahead and make things harder for others and don't give a crap!" I said in a measured tone, before ending the call.

I took a moment to set my cell phone down and make sure the door was closed and locked. Then my fist slammed into the desk in the room, "D**N IT! THAT METAL EARED BI**H IS A D**N PAIN IN MY A**!" I screamed in fury at the turn of events.

I sunk into the chair at the desk in my room after that. Originally, with the arrangements that I had managed to make for myself this school year, I had put aside set time to put in on my project that was my life's work. Yet, still take the general courses that would give me the credits to be a junior in a little less than two months. It had been an ideal arrangement for me and now it was to go down the drain. Been looking forward to getting more time than I have before to work on my project that I've been working on off and on over the last few years. In fact, now that I take the time to think about it; that's probably what the d**n hasenpfeffer wants from me, to see my work and is the reason is blackmailing me with the crap she is.

The change in my standing and situations due to the outside interference; spelled out the rest of the day and a few that followed, those being used for talking and begging to my professors for their understanding and patients. Most of the professors and the university administration were willing to work with me as I'm one of their 'star students'. When I had gone to the administration office, to drop the extra courses that I had intended to take to be a junior in a short period of time, was not a happy experience for me at all. Imagined that I would have to drop most if not all my college classes, and I was dreading that would be what I would have to do. Thankfully for me, after doing some research; I found out that the IS Academy had the tech that would enable me to attend lectures and not actually be physically present. So, I wouldn't be force to completely give up my college studies completely… If that had been the case, then I would be planning how I would hunt down the Woman responsible and make her regret ever thinking about messing with me! …The end result of that… would be a very high possibility of a third world war starting with the war path I would be carving to get a shot at the bi**h! It would be the last straw if I had to give up my studies and work on my project. Still, I'll be planning my revenge against the woman, and do so carefully so that I wouldn't fail!

The next three weeks passed by quickly and after saying my farewells to those I was leaving for a while. And so, I was flying towards Japan and the IS Academy; sulked and brooded during the whole flight! I hate being forced into a situation and circumstances that I didn't choose to be. With me being blackmailed into this sh*t by a woman that was once, believe it or not… my friend! It just made all of this… (sigh) My life can just suck when she comes into it! But things didn't stop there; I was to learn that the situation I was now in is only beginning. I have just started seeing the sh*t hit the fan! There is more to come.

When I got to Japan, getting through customs and security was pretty routine, kept my visa and passport current just in case I need to use them. Although me getting here was easy, having my project here is turning out to be a bit of a nightmare I was finding out. My life's work could get here without much trouble, at least that's what I had thought, with going to the private company that I normally did for shipping things would cause the least amount of issues. But the US government, who I have assisted a few times before now, is having a beef with me as I haven't told them what it is I'm shipping. Were I to tell them, there is a good chance that the government won't let my project, which is my IS unit, to leave the country… and that would complicate things for me.

The first few things on my growing list of woes I was getting shoved onto to me. The next would be the school itself and those who attend… Where crap really started spraying off the fan. Those who attended… were all female, meaning I was the one and only guy in the whole school. You might as well call the place an all-girls' academy! There are some guys that were fellow students back at the university that were jealous of me when I told them. They haven't a f**king d**n clue what trouble and problems there are going to be with me… especially, when I have the fairly good looks that I do.

Before I elaborate, let me state for the record, I have nothing against girls or anything. I've actually gone on a number of dates, but those were with college aged women, not high school aged teenagers! I'll admit that my difficulties come from the lack of time that I have spent with my same aged peer group, but that's how my life has gone. Back to my 'peers' that I would be joining soon. The girls I'm about to be thrown among, will be hormonally affected females that have just got out of, or are at the end of puberty. And with me being the only readily available male… I can't be the only one that sees a problem with this upcoming development. I don't do or take flirting well… due to the actions of a certain perverted bunny and sisterly doll having fun at my expense and did things to my mind in the end.

Well, after landing in Japan and making my way with my stuff to the school; I took the time to find someone and ask for directions to the academy's head office. When I got there and met with the headmistress of the place, I spent the next hour and a half explaining my standing academic dilemma. I may be here against my free will, but that doesn't mean I can't make this at least a bit better circumstances to work with. Thank God the one in charge of running this school was more than happy to accommodate my requests, which made things marginally easier. Plus, as I was working on a college level of education right now, I was excused from having to do the basic high school courses a second time. All I had to attend, were the classes that dealt with the subject of Infinite Stratos or IS. I already knew all about them, but that's not common knowledge… and who says no to an easy A!

Then… my opinion changed a little when I saw the uniform that I would be required to wear during the school day. I can understand the white dress shirt, even if I don't like it… but, this uniform has much to be improved as it looked like trash to me! … I think it should be burned, but I doubt I'll get to do that. It consisted of a kind of blazer that was to be worn over the dress shirt and… yes, I would have to wear a neck tie… d**n! Back to the blazer, it had two triangle creases folded down to expose the tie for the world to see; so, there was little way I could hide whether I'm wearing a tie or not… double f**king d**n it. The blazer had long sleeves and had a built or woven in belt around the waist. The pants were white dress style pants like the rest of this horrible set of clothing that would be force upon me… f**k this d**n sh*t! I'll look like an idiotic butler or servant in this uniform! I'm trying to avoid humiliating myself whenever the possibility comes around, not as easy as it sounds! The female gender has a low enough opinion of males as it is without me dressing in something that adds to the view!

So, with all the preliminary stuff settled… some of it begrudgingly. … Cue the sarcasm to start now, you would think that starting high school for the second time, would have somethings to be happy about wouldn't you? Relive the golden years of your life they say, feel what it is to be young again they say! They can take that malarkey and cram it up their a**! Hell, I'll be more than happy to assist them in doing so. Yet, I can't complain about everything being all bad, for it isn't. I'm going to be surrounded by girls and get experience around people my age and that's something I need to do. Although, I may have no interest in an intimate relationship right now, I wouldn't say no to some new friends for company. With the academy being as well-known as it is, a portion of the students are from different places around the world. That was how it was at Cornell and I found the idea very nice. So, what other problems are there here for me? My biggest beef, is lots and lots of girls demanding my attention for most if not all hours of the day. I'm not interested in having a harem in any way, yet I'm being force to be in a position to have a huge one unwillingly!

It was on Monday of the following week that the truth of my position fully sunk in! To think, I thought college life would be tough because of the difference in age between the other students and myself along with sheer population of the university. This situation was worse in a completely different way due to the ratio of gender. Finding my homeroom was fairly simple as I had used the remainder of the week that I had before the semester started to get the layout of the school and the city down enough that I could get around. I had stayed in a visitor room the academy had as they were arranging a room for me in the dorms. This school was large, no denying that, but the university campus is bigger, so it wasn't too much of a change. The funny thing is, I have yet to see anything resembling a map of the place. The University had a map mostly for new students, but still had a map.

When I arrived at my homeroom, things went from okay as the day started at, to me seriously thinking about leaving this place and opening rabbit season early, going on the hunt for one of the metal eared kind and take her down some notches! It took a few seconds to take in the room that was filled with thirty girls, who were all currently staring at me with a variety of expressions. I've become used to being stared at and I had expected to be here; had gotten plenty of gawking when I first started at the university. However, that had faded as the students got use to the one young teen that was studying with them. Nonetheless, the magnitude of the attention I was receiving and the metaphorical spotlight I was under now, didn't feel pleasant at all!

After taking a seat in the only available one, which happened to be in the front row and the center of the row in the grid of desks and waited for class to start. As the staring from the teenagers continued, I couldn't help but think of how much I hate to be the center of attention like this. If being the only guy didn't give me the label of going on center stage, the stares that I could feel on me from all the girls certainly did make this harder for me. Granted, I can understand the fascination of a new student and everything, more so since I am a guy in a girls' academy and don't fault them for it. Still, I feel like I'm about to be assaulted or smother in the near future… (shiver) better keep up my guard if I want to keep my virtue intact throughout this semester! … Prepare yourself for my wrath bunny bi**h, I vow and swear that it will come!

"Why did this …" I was keeping my breathing even, trying to calm down.

To Outside observers, it may look like I'm nervous, that's not the case. I'm going back and forth between frustration, the wish to strangle the woman responsible for this and keeping my cool and calm demeanor. My right eye began to twitch a little as this whole situation was getting to be stressful to me, a result of habit. Yet, I managed to keep in control of my emotions, "This is going to be one of the longest semesters I have done in a while." I said quietly to myself.

Why does my life have to be so complicated? Can't I have a normal, non-world altering life? My solace currently, was thinking about what I'm going to do to that metal eared bunny when I track down where her hole is! The atmosphere didn't really change when the teacher, or at least I assume that the woman was the teacher; walked into the room and stopped at the desk at the front of the room.

The woman looked to be in her late teens to maybe her early twenties, she had a height of five foot and almost an inch by my estimation. Her hair was kind of loud, because of all colors, it was green and went down to her neck. Interestingly, her eyes were the same color as her hair and I could clearly see that even through her silver rimmed glasses. She was wearing a yellow dress with black sleeve frills and black frill at the bottom of the skirt portion of the dress. The dress dipped down in an oval shape in the middle of her… upper… chest area? … My God! How can a young adult have that kind of size?! … (ahem) My apologies, continuing on; she had a pink shirt cover her chest area so that she was decent. This woman also was wearing knee length boots as was seen as she walked into the room.

"Congratulations for making it to this school I'm your first year sub homeroom teacher, Miss Maya Yamada" She said.

… Does she want us to stand, bow and say hello or something? I don't know what's traditional here in Japan, even with the Japanese heritage I get from my mom… … Why won't these girls stop staring at me?! I'm not that interesting! I just want to be left alone. But by the way these girls were acting, you would think that they have never seen a guy properly before now. I kept my calm air about me, even if I didn't completely feel calm and collected right now. The sub- homeroom teacher was obviously nervous as well from the atmosphere of the room as the slight stammering she let out implied.

"Um… Starting today you are all now students of the IS Academy. As you know this is a boarding school students are together during and after school hours, so I hope you get along and help each other, making the next three years enjoyable." Continued Miss Yamada nervously.

… Three years… of this Sh*t?! Not if I have any say whatsoever about it! This may not be as bad as what the bunny did the last time, but it isn't much better! She'll so pay for this; I'll find a way to make you experience the emotions I am right now! Consider rabbit hunting season officially open!

Boarding at this school, just screams misunderstanding and wrongfully being blamed for things. Don't think that I don't see a huge plus of having girls around; I'm not gay after all. But females in these numbers… it's bordering on insane; at least it's more than one sane guy can handle in my opinion! Then the other big point in this, these girls having raging hormones with the age they are right now as do I somewhat… I more used to dealing with those who have decent self-control. My experience, comes from having gone out with some female colleagues at the university and the outings were enjoyable. In fact, the ladies say I'm quite the gentleman, which I take as a compliment. The picture of me getting mobbed at some point of being here, doesn't appeal to me in the slightest! Should I be forced to endure this for three years, let's just say I'm not looking forward to this… sheer torture!

Miss Yamada continued still in a nervous manner, "Now, … Moving on to self-introductions um, let's go by numerical order on the class roll."

While I was having my internal struggle, attempting to think of things that could assist me in this circumstance, yet I was having little success. It might not help my situation to ask the teacher anyway, they're not always going to be around if I need a bailout. Well then… it is once again, up to me to make certain of my own continuing survival like it has been for years now, thank goodness I have a gift for tactics, I would need that!

"Hello, Sai Taichi."

The sound of the teacher, Miss Yamada, snapped me back to my senses and I responded without thinking, "Yeah, I'm here."

Looking up and seeing Miss Yamada was right in front of my desk and leaning over it putting her… WHAT THE HELL WOMAN?! Is she trying to get my libido to wake up or something with her rack about a foot from my face?! I jerked back a bit in response; hasn't this woman heard of personal space? As a gentleman I wish she wasn't so close; I'm getting a view that's… amazing, but dangerous as it could mess with my mind. The green haired woman put her hands together and spoke again, "I do apologize for being so loud just then, but we started with the A's and now gotten all the way to the T's, so would you mind introducing yourself now, pretty please."

… Hmm, can't say I have ever had a teacher quite like this one. I exhaled heavily before I gave my reply, "You really don't need to be so apologetic ma'am." I said.

I rose to my feet smoothly; females or not, must give a good first impression, "Sai Taichi ladies, it's nice to meet you all."

Instantly feeling the stares of the girl return with more force than before; I looked left and right, all the girls looked like they had some sort of gleam in their eyes. … What is this? Some kind of school comedy?! It felt demeaning to be gazed at like this; I couldn't tell if they were going to mug me or kill me or both. In my mind the thought came, 'Okay… awkward, perhaps I should say something more or they may think I'm really depressing or something stupid like that. I just hope I don't end up regretting this.' I took a deep breath and gulped again and all the girls paid even closer attention to me.

"May we have… fun learning together." *Bam* the girls hit either their desks or the floor. 'Apparently that line wasn't received well. Great.' was my thought in my brain.

The next thing I knew, my instincts developed from martial arts blared at me to move and so, I did. A fist made contact with my desk and would have hit my head had I not moved. Ah, proof that taking up martial arts was a wise decision! The question of the moment is, who is out to hit me and why? I look up to see the culprit whose fist had damage my desk, only to see another woman… one that I knew and hadn't seen in around three years. "Oh… hey, Chifuyu… it has been a while since our paths intersected, hasn't it?" was the only thing I could come up with to say.

Chifuyu Orimura, a woman I had known since I was an older kid. A tall woman that stood at a little over five foot four; with long black hair, which splits into parts so that her face isn't obscured at all. Currently she was wearing a black business suit coat over a white dress shirt, along with the matching black skirt that goes midway down to her knees. Chifuyu had a green tie and by the sound of it, was in high heels, which could be very dangerous with this woman! Chifuyu still appeared to carry herself in an almost regal manner you would expect from someone of high-borne status.

I respect Chifuyu Orimura for a couple of reasons, the major one, was she very often saved me from the clutches of… the hasenpfeffer and the porcelain life sized doll. The metal eared bunny may be known to the world as the genius that created the IS, but that's not completely true. The doll did a share of the work as did I as well. Yet, the life size doll nor I wanted or took the credit of the achievement, so the dumb bunny got all the credit for creating Infinite Stratos. Well, when those two girls met me… they took a real shine to me… and I mean a REAL shine… (shiver); there were times that I seriously thought they would smother me to death, it had been that bad! Thanks to Chifuyu, I was saved from such terrible things; also got to know her younger brother who was my age… but that's a hard subject between us… more so after his death. In fact, it had been at his funeral that Chifuyu and I had last seen each other and that was three years ago.

Back to the present, the expression of Chifuyu Orimura's face didn't spell good things for me at all. Chifuyu, upon missing me struck again and I caught her punch with both hands. … Admittedly, I think the monster of a woman has somehow gotten stronger than she was the last time we were in the same room… I would be interested, but at this time, my standing doesn't allow me to take this lightly. I got my answer in the form of Chifuyu's other fist connecting with my midsection. All the air left my body and I sunk to the chair at my desk, breathing with effort. My gaze met the older woman's glare and I matched hers so that Chifuyu would know that I would fight back if she kept going.

"Nice to… see you too… Chifuyu" I managed to gasp out a greeting before Chifuyu backed up a bit and gave me her infamous cold glare.

"You will call me Miss Orimura at school" was Chifuyu reply to me; I simply nodded for now.

"Oh you're back, does that mean that the meeting is over already," asked Miss Yamada.

"That's right Miss Yamada, I'm sorry about having to make you welcome my class for me." Chifuyu said in a much nicer tone.

Well what do you know, to the other teacher; Chifuyu is nice and well mannered. Yet to me, a friend, even family to an extent, she just hits me! If this is somehow what the bunny wanted… I will be less nice in the payback I'll deliver… And I wasn't going to be nice to begin with! …. Actually no, Chifuyu feels like I do when it comes to the metal eared bunny, she wouldn't help her knowingly. Although, I have got to say, never would have expected Chifuyu Orimura of all people to get a teaching job, it's just not her normal style. Wonder what it was to get her to take this job?

Chifuyu spun to face the class, "Alright class, I'm your homeroom teacher Miss Chifuyu Orimura, it's my job to train you well enough to stand on your feet in one year."

This… just keeps getting better and better, now IS training will be done by the 'drill sergeant from hell'… The line that comes to mind, 'and there was much rejoicing, yea'! Perhaps there will be some interesting scenes to see, who knows? The girls in the class, which was pretty much all excluding myself and one other girl that kind of reminded me of someone, just can't put my finger on who though. Then there was also, one other in the classroom that reacted differently from the others, it was a girl who had long blonde hair with curls at the ends and blue eyes. The rest of the females in the room screamed, in I would guess excitement. It was likely that they didn't know what Chifuyu could be like if you got her mad. I have seen that only once and that was more than enough to know; if you're the one who caused Chifuyu to be mad… run run as fast as you can!

"Oh its lady Chifuyu, that's really lady Chifuyu" said one girl.

"The one who inspired me to come to this school from Kita Kyushu! I'd die for you!" said another.

Chifuyu just sighed, "It's amazing how many nut jobs come to this school every year. Do they put all the loonies in my class on purpose?" Commented Chifuyu

You are certainly not alone in that Chifuyu. I'm more surprised that you tolerate this kind of thing… Never would have before that I knew of. The girls upon hearing this, just screamed some more.

"Lady Chifuyu, scold us more! Cuss us out!" said a girl.

"Train us so we don't misbehave." Another girl said.

Shaking my head at the stupid actions of 'my classmates'; I sighed, missing those I'm used to studying with around now! 'These girls really need to have a reality check! The person they're idolizing isn't like they think she is. Not to say Chifuyu isn't nice from time to time, but when she snaps… I ain't going to be around to watch!' Well, I get a teacher that will make her students work for their grade; not new, I have had some professors like that, so it will be fine. "This will be interesting to have you as a teacher Chifuyu."

Chifuyu turned to face me, flexing her hand together a very bad sign which caused me to stiffen a bit and get my guard up.

"So have the instruction regarding addressing your instructor not taken yet?" She demanded.

Sighing at the inquiry I answered, "Well Chifuyu, it's not like formality has ever been a huge thing between us…"

I didn't finish as Chifuyu's right hand came at me and I once again grabbed it to prevent it from doing harm to me.

"You're… stronger than before… I like… means more of a challenge Chifuyu." I whispered so that only Chifuyu would hear me.

"That's Miss Orimura right?" said Chifuyu in the threatening tone she used when she was getting a point across. The force from her hand doubled and I buckled a bit under her strength.

Maybe this won't be as bad as I originally thought it would be; "Sure, Miss Orimura …" I grunted out. Still, I didn't back down to Chifuyu at all; making sure she knew I wouldn't be a push over.

The girls gasped at that, "What? You mean that Taichi knows lady Chifuyu on a friendly basis?", asked one.

"I wonder if that has something to do with the fact that he is the only male in the world who can control an IS." said another.

That's a question that I don't intend to answer for anyone. Have had enough interrogation done to me by various agencies of the US government to last me a lifetime! All because the metal eared bi**h set me up to take the fall for crap she pulled.

"That's enough." called Chifuyu, her way of getting order hasn't changed I see.

Everyone went quiet at that and listened to Chifuyu and she went on, "Your syllabus for the next six months begins with memorizing all data concerning the IS. After that practical training, where you'll have two weeks to master the basic maneuvers. So, have you got that? Even if you don't; say yes ma'am."

The girls answer her of course by saying, "Yes Ma'am."

Like I thought and expected when I looked into this, an easy A for me. I know more than is written in the manual… actually wrote a bit of it as well, under an alias of course.

Miss Yamada then went on and started the lesson, "Now, as I'm sure you're all aware, IS actually stands for Infinite Stratos. It's a multi-form suit originally developed in Japan." Began Miss Yamada.

Believe that most kids know what IS means, though technically, it wasn't exactly developed in Japan as history says it was. The bunny, doll and I did the work on an island to the south of Japan that's in Japanese territory. The location of the island is classified and so no one actually knows where it is… other than those who have been there, which isn't a large number. So, to save face with the general public, it's just said that the IS was developed in Japan.

"When it was first conceived eight years ago it was originally designed to be used in outer space. However, those ideas are currently on hold." Our sub-homeroom teacher continued.

Yeah… I wanted to go along the path of space application, but I kind of got out voted by the Rabbit and the Sister doll. They said there were far more interesting uses and… well yeah, that was the end of that.

Our teacher kept going, "Due to the Alaska Treaty the IS is also prohibited from being used by the military. Therefore, it's used solely for competitions and sporting events, and our IS Academy is the only educational institution in the world established with the objective of training IS pilots."

It's a good thing that the Alaska Treaty was written up and instated, I wouldn't want to see the development war that the IS would have gone through. Let's just say it would be far worse than the competition that goes on with companies that do IS development. Although, I don't think that the competitions are much better or different from a 'war', really the only difference is that there are more set rules with the competition than you would have with military development and application.

"Students from all around the world come to this school where young people from a multitude of different countries get to live, work and study side by side everyday as they hone and perfect their piloting skills. So, starting today let's all study hard over the next three years." Finished Miss Yamada.

Though I'm kind of worried about doing this for three years or more… if I get my way, I'll be out of here before the end of the semester. We'll see how things play out for the time being.

"Yes Ma'am." Said the girls in the class collectively.

So to recap, absolutely nothing I don't already know. Like I said before, an easy A class and I do so love those, let's me catch up on other things. And as I have class work for other classes that are for the college degree I'm working for, I'll need the time. Perhaps this won't be as horrible as I originally thought it was going to be when I was first forced into this.

-Scene change-

The first class had ended… boring as hell if you ask me, but then most easy A classes have a tendency to be. My mood didn't change much. The only real complaint I could make, I was having trouble not falling asleep and not just doing something else that would occupy my time. Then, there were still some girls staring at me rather than paying attention to the lesson and I could feel them doing so. Wonder how long it will be before I'll get dragged off by a girl and not come back from the one who dragged me off and having lost some things that I would rather not lose, with how things are going. 'This is going to be a very long semester!' As I wasn't deaf, I could clearly hear the girls and what they had been saying about me everywhere.

"Look that's him he is the only guy in the world that can use an IS." Said a female voice.

It took effort to not turn around and tell them to mind their own d**n business, but I resisted. Being one of the two secret test pilots for the Infinite Stratos as well as one of the three creators, has never been easy and revealing such a fact would be a serious mistake. It would ruin the 'normal' life I have worked Hard for… Well, as normal as I get. I saw in my peripheral vision that there are girls plastered to the glass windows between the classroom and the hallway and all were staring at yours truly. This is one of the reasons I don't go into the subject of IS outside of class at the university; questions are asked I would rather not answer, tend to come up. Can't I get some slack cut for me here. 'Do I have to be the subject of everyone's discussion?'

"I heard that he operated an IS during his entrance exam." Said one.

Please… no! Don't bring up that fiasco to the table of gossip d**n it! You see, before I left the good old US of A; I had been required to go through by government officials… more a formality, to do an 'entrance exam' as I would be coming to this academy with the United States' backing. With the exam… if you can call it that, was short at least. Felt sorry and a tad guilty for the woman that had been my proctor… I really do. Seriously, I didn't mean to beat her as efficiently as I did… Anyway, was sitting in my seat trying to ignore what the girls were saying, not an easy task let me tell you. It's understandable that girls talk about everything, seen it at the university, 'Do the girls have to talk about me when I am in the room, as if I am not here?' I thought.

"Yeah it was big international news." Said another girl.

'Yeah don't remind me of the d**n press, haven't left me in peace, until I talked to the campus security and members of the administration and they were escorted off the campus!' Having been on news was horrible in itself; would make me late for things and then I would have to apologize for that. Reporters and journalist showing up day and night to ask questions I had no intention to answer. Had to get a restraining order for one or two of them to get them to go away! Now this, why is the Bunny doing this to me? If it is to see my project, then she will be patient and wait until I'm f**king good and ready … that woman irks me so!

"So he did come to this school after all?" Said yet another girl.

Not by choice, rest assured! If I wasn't being threatened by something extremely embarrassing by one of the select few who actually have material to do such low and wrong things; then I would be at Cornell University studying far more interesting things. This is more of a reminder of I faced back in high school; stressful and very bored.

"You should go talk to him." A fourth girl suggested.

No thanks at the moment, let those teenage hormones settle down and then I might consider it. Answer is still probably going to be no, but I'll think about it at least a little. "Maybe I should." Said the third voice.

"Wait a minute! Are you trying to get ahead of us?" Said the second voice.

… Teenage girls are weird creatures and I don't think I'll ever understand them; this is getting stupid! Not only do I detest gossip and am the subject of it in this instance; now things are heading in a direction that I become less gentlemanly with. I'm not some kind of playboy and have no intention to be one in the future, I have no interest. Hell, would bet that the females here don't see me as an equal… Maybe not even having the same standing as a human being. 'Well then, when you want something done, then do it yourself, as the phrase goes.' I decided. Putting my supplies and books into my bag, I stood up, planning to leave the classroom and make myself scares for a while to relax. Yet, I was stopped before I could do so, by one of my classmates coming up to me.

The girl's height was approximately five foot three. She had long hair that was colored a dark purple that had a tint of brown. Her hair went down past her waist and was tied into a ponytail with a green ribbon and her hair seemed to naturally split into two separate tails. My gaze halted for a moment on her chest and can anyone really blame me? This 'classmate' of mine, was well-endowed when it came to her bust… I estimate the size to be around a Healthy D… actually, I'm leaning more towards an E… they weren't small, let's just leave it at that. The clothing this girl was sporting was the standard academy's uniform, which was made up of a white top blazer similar to what I'm required to wear, that had embroidery that was red. The blazer was more like a trench coat that stops at her mid-thighs than a blazer the longer I look at it. The cuffs at the end of the sleeves of the coat, begin at the wrists and are red and have three inch slits on the outsides. There was a 'belt' or whatever you want to call it, sat at the waist. The coat ended at her mid-thighs and had a black inch thick stripe at the bottom. She was wearing thigh high socks and mid-calf length boots. To top this all off, the dress shirt she had under the coat had a blue ribbon tied around the neck instead of a tie like I'm forced to wear, but serves the same purpose. However, the most notable feature right now, would be her dark blue eyes, which were staring at me.

No idea why this classmate is approaching me, never met her before… Yet there is somehow an element of familiarity with this female. I can't place the feeling of slight déjà vu I was getting; 100% certain that I've never met the girl. Deciding to break the ice with a greeting, that's exactly what I did. "Hello Miss, is there something you wanted?" I asked.

"Can we talk for a minute?" She asked in returned.

I blinked at the question; it's not that I haven't talked to girls or anything, just didn't think that any of the girls here would be this forward on day one. So, to this classmate, I applaud her courage… or I would if I wasn't so stressed as I am right now. It's been so long since I've spent time around my same aged peers… I haven't been able to predict behavior with the teenage females here, like I normally can with other people. I think… I'm missing something with this girl, but I'm not entirely sure. Well… I suppose as a gentleman, I should humor this girl since she put forth the effort to request a chat. In response, I nodded and gestured for her to lead the way to wherever she had in mind to have our talk. I just hope it isn't in a locked room, I would be doing what was needed for me to escape!

This Teenage female, whose name I still haven't gotten or heard, led us to the roof. Likely this was in the hopes to have some private conversation without a gaggle of girls listening in, to which I agree. Nevertheless, on the roof, she just leaned up against the rails that lined the roof of this building, whereas I stood in the middle of the roof. There was an awkward silence in the air, which I broke first, "So, still haven't gotten your name miss, care to inform me?"

"Umm." She mumbled.

Waiting in the hope that the single sound wasn't the only thing I would get as a reply, yet, nothing is what I got for this teenage girl. Guess that leaves getting this conversation going up to me then. Thankfully, I have acquired my experience during my near two years at Cornell University, of how to have a conversation with members of the opposite gender. Many of the female students knew of me, or had heard of me; after all, I was years younger from the rest of the student body and so was a subject of conversation among fellow students there.

"As you probably heard, my name is Sai Taichi, and you would be?" I stated leaving the question open for her to supply her name.

She looked at me with, … was the shyness! That was kind of surprising, this girl hadn't seemed the shy type, mainly as she approached me by her own free will. She sighed and looked away from me. This is just getting more awkward by the second… still she reminds me of… someone that I just can't think of the name for at the moment… maybe the hair color? Purple isn't common… it's nothing against her, I just detest the color purple… it's all the bunny's fault I hate the color purple! … Wait… Didn't the hasenpfeffer mention a few times that she had… No, no that's just ridiculous. This girl can't possibly… Okay, maybe she could, but it's unlikely that she's family of the Rabbit. Such were the thoughts I was having right now as I waited to hear the name of this girl.

"My name is… Houki Shinonono." She answered me.

… D**n! That doesn't help in proving me right of her not being related to the hasenpfeffer that's such a pain in my a**! Please… please, for once, let this be a coincidence! Don't let her be related to that woman who destroyed my plans for schooling and made my life more difficult! … Oh who am I kidding? The purple hair may be darker, but it still has purple like the d**n hasenpfeffer! No… control… must not lose control… calm down… Ah, there we go, confirm fact before accepting it as truth.

"Uh… I'm sorry, did you say Shinonono? Like as in… possibly being related to… Tabane Shinonono that… scientist who created Infinite Stratos?" I asked in a flat tone, biting my tongue a bit when I spoke the bunny's actual name.

Years ago, I had stopped calling the bunny by her name that she had from birth. To me, she didn't deserve to be addressed by an individually identifying name, with all the things she's done. So, I had called her, bunny, rabbit and the other derogatory terms that insult the metal bunny ears she always wears. It's similar with the life sized doll, with some of the crap both of them have pulled, more with the rabbit, I rarely call her or refer to her by her given name anymore. Granted, the porcelain doll… No, Alice; has better standing with me than the hasenpfeffer does. The doll hasn't popped up and messed things up for me and then disappears, leaving me to clean up the mess that was created.

But, enough about the two women that shook up my life, Houki looked at me in slight shame and annoyance, and nodded. I was right then, great… That raises the query, did the bunny blackmail me and blow my school plans to smithereens, for the sole purpose that she wanted me to meet her little sister or something like that! … If that's the truth, I'll add it to the tab I'll be collecting from her in the near future when I hunt her down like I should've done when I got off the phone with the bi**h! The only reason that I haven't done just that… is that bi**h is very good at making her hiddie hole hard to find! Plus, as I have already paid for the semester… it would be a waste to not use it to test out my IS unit. I have been looking for an opportunity to test it. So, I'll bide my time and wait for the optimal time to get my vengeance, the bunny will learn that payback is a vicious bi**h!

Although I felt unkind to the rabbit, my interest was piqued by the expression on Miss Shinonono's face, she isn't too happy with her foolish and meddlesome metal eared bunny she has as a sister either. I completely understand the feeling and now I feel pretty guilty that I made my assumption based upon her sister that has screwed me from time to time. She doesn't deserve to be judge her by what her sister has done, it wouldn't be fair as the hasenpfeffer doesn't care about anyone but herself. "My condolences for having… her as a sister; it's gotta be rough."

She appeared shocked at the mention of the idiotic bunny. "Wait you know my sister Tabane?" Miss Shinonono demanded.

If only she knew… The things that d**n bunny has put me through… Heck just some of the things the hasenpfeffer had done alone, the world doesn't know and would throw her in prison without hesitation. That woman has all but destroyed the… relationship we once had! Whenever the bunny pops back up in my life, chaos and trouble ensues! I don't want to recall them anymore as they only get worse the more recent the time. And, if I go by how the rabbit acts and translate it into intent, she doesn't even see what she does as bad or harmful… or doesn't care! … Of course, I can't tell her the truth. To say that I once worked with that sister of hers and am one of the three that actually created the IS; add to that, the metal eared bunny just took all the credit. Can't say the doll nor I really had interest in fame and glory like the bunny seemed to, but that's complicated.

"We've met… so, I know your sister in a way." I said hesitantly.

"Do you know where she is?!" demanded Miss Shinonono.

Not happy at all with her sister, don't blame her in the slightest! I wish I knew where the dumb bunny is… if I did, then I wouldn't be standing here! Would be chasing her down and delivering her just desserts! "No, can't say that I do know where your sister is…" I muttered the rest of what I was thinking, "wish I did. I have things to discuss with her, but that's a different matter." I was holding back the anger I felt towards the metal eared bunny right now.

Miss Shinonono didn't appear to hear my muttered threat against the rabbit, she bowed to me before she spoke again, "My apologies, please let me introduce myself again. My name is Houki Shinonono, I look forward to being able to study alongside you."

I returned the gesture, "The same to you Miss Shinonono."

"Please, just call me Houki." Said Miss Shinonono, I noted that her cheeks were showing a tint of pink now.

"If you want then, Houki." Was my reply.

She smiled at me when I called her by her name. Admittedly from a second look, her height, though a little taller than average for the girls our age around here, fits her somehow. Houki is fit, perhaps does some kind of sport and then her bust… well, I have seen her size on some college aged girls, but not on those my age! She has quite an amount of potential, that's for sure. Unlike my original assumptions before getting, not all the girls are going to be a threat to me as females. She seems to be a nice enough girl, nice to know there are some of those kind of girls here too. Houki looked at me as if she wants to say more to me. I looked expectantly back at her giving her my attention, but she turned away. The wind blew making her hair sway; made Houki look quite pretty to be honest. The bell rang then for the late morning class.

"Well, school bell is a calling." I said nonchalantly.

I started towards the door and Houki followed behind me. I hope that I have made at least a possible new friend, or at least someone to talk to.

-Scene change-

"Okay does anyone have any question so far?"

'Oh teacher… teacher, I have one! Why am I being tortured with sheer boredom? Is it cool with you if I take a snooze until lunch? I won't disturb the class, I promise.' I should curtail my thoughts, but that's what I think of the material thus far. I'm just smart enough not to say it out loud with Chifuyu here, would have consequences to pay if I say stuff like that. As much as I love a good workout; I still have two lectures this afternoon to attend. Everything Miss Yamada had said, was information that I knew like the back of my hand and then some. Heck, at the University, I'm working with advanced theories that are still not close to ready for application with an IS. So the basics of an IS is remedial review and is really boring!

With the work I did with designing and inventing the Infinite Stratos, the things I know about it isn't small. I got to watch and discuss at times the Hyper Sensor with the doll as she did a major portion of the designing of that system. I admit, the bunny could probably out do me in knowledge of the Passive Inertia Control. However, on the energy shield, neither the doll or the bunny know the ins and outs like I do. I came up with the principles of how they work and design, doing a lot of the fine tuning on the prototypes. … Could be doing college class work and use my time more effectively… or planning what work I could do on my project… But no, I get to sit in this seat and listen to information that I could teach better than the teacher at the front of the class!

This was frustrating, I could nap and not miss a thing… I would do just that, if it weren't for the black haired hawk watching in the front corner of the room! There would be no peaceful snoozing with Chifuyu on watch…d**n it! Don't mistake this for fear of Chifuyu; it's not. I would rather not have to have a full out fight with her right now and then still have to attend a two-hour lecture and then an hour and a half lecture following afterwards. It wouldn't go well for me!

"Do you have any questions Taichi?" Asked Miss Yamada.

I was brought out of thoughts and I looked up to see Miss Yamada. My homeroom teacher is a nice lady and everything, I can't deny that; even cares about her students enough to ask specific ones if they understand the material. Which, just makes it all that much harder to tell her the truth of what I think of her lesson… "Not a one ma'am; understand the subject matter completely." I replied evenly.

It cases like this, best to just be nice and not say what you really think. "Well if you do have any question just ask me okay, I am your teacher after all." The green haired woman returned to me.

I thought that was the end of that, yet, I was very wrong. "Taichi!" Came a bark.

Shifting my glance over to Miss Orimura I gave my answer, "Yes… Miss Orimura?"

Oh, did I get a cold glare for the tone in which I replied in. … Me thinks, I'm about to do something I'm going to face a consequence for. Past experience say so, that's usually a good judge of what could happen with my 'big sister'.

"As you seem to understand the class material so well; then answer a question for me." Said Chifuyu.

… Chifuyu is well aware that I know more about the IS than anyone in this room if not this school, as I worked on the IS… So, she's daring me to be an idiot and humiliate myself in front of the class then? Why does she insist on doing such things to some people, and to me no less, her 'little brother'? You would think she'd be nice… but no, not really; Chifuyu is all about not showing favoritism to anyone. "Go right head Miss Orimura, fire away." I replied calmly.

The room was so silent you could have heard a pin drop clearly. This silence isn't helping me feel comfort at this time… quite the opposite actually. My said Professor started walking towards me… I don't like her advancing towards me… Chifuyu hits always hurt bad and I don't want to find out if she's stronger than last time. When will the fun ever stop for me?!

"Taichi, name the four components to an IS, and their basic functions." Stated Chifuyu.

… That's it?! And here I thought it would be a hard question, but then, there aren't many 'hard' question for me when it comes to the subject of the IS. "As you wish, Miss Orimura." I cleared my throat before I began my answer, "The first component to an IS is the core, or as it's also referred to as, the black box as no one knows how it actually makes an IS able to function. But the core is what makes the unit work as it does. Second component is the energy barrier or shield, which protects the pilot's life and will stay active as long as it has power. Third, the Mandatory unlock, that comes into play when an IS reaches a heavy level of damage and then the mandatory unlock deactivates the IS unit, therefore protecting the pilot. And fourth, the Preset, which is the standard equipment that an IS unit has. Is that enough ma'am or would you like more detail? Or perhaps I answered incorrectly?" I answered as if I was quoting a textbook.

WHACK!

A sharp pain spread from where an object hit the back of my head. Ow… that one hurt! I had answered the question as she stated it, so why did Chifuyu throw her teacher's binder at me?! And what did she have lining that binder anyway? Steel sheets?! 'What kind of woman who is supposed to be a teacher would chuck a possibly dangerous object at one of her own students?' I was rubbing my throbbing head as I glared back at Chifuyu, "Is this part of a new reward system for answering questions correctly ma'am? If so, it doesn't inspire motivation to answer questions right Miss Orimura." I kept the spite out of my voice as I said this.

"No, that was being tempted to nod off during class." Said Chifuyu.

How did she…? … Shrewd as ever, that's Chifuyu for you. Okay, point taken, no snoozing in class. "Yeah, I got it; no napping during class, yes ma'am." I mumbled back.

And so, class continued like it had a few minutes ago.

"Well then let's continue with class. Please turn to page 12 in your textbooks."

Like I said before, it's going to be a long semester!

-Scene change-

Man this day was just turning into one of the more grueling days I've had in quite a while… to think that this is only the first day of the school year here… Sighing before taking out my textbook for my calculus II course, I began looking over the introduction and table of contents as the math course is the subject for my second lecture this afternoon. Distracting the mind off the current situation I was consigned to, would hopefully help relieve the elevated stress levels that I had gained today. Plus, it's a habit of being proactive for me with college work to look over a textbook at the beginning. I sat in my seat fiddling with my pencil absentmindedly for the study time there was still left in this class period. Lunch is after class, thank God! A much needed break before my afternoon lectures. Doing school like this is going to be a challenge, but I'm up for it!

"May I have a moment?" said a female voice.

Brought out of studying my textbook by being addressed, I glanced up and over to who had just spoken to me. And found myself looking at the blond girl in my class I had noticed before when the girls had been screaming over Chifuyu. Standing at five foot one, she had long hair that was solid blonde, which is rather rare here in Japan. Her hairstyle was unlike any other that I had seen, straight and long with weird curls that were like metal springs at the ends. … Wonder if that's natural or if she styles her hair that way… Don't know why you would, but to each their own. On her forehead was a blue headband that acted as a parting tool for the left and right side of her hair. Her bust was impossible to miss... And I thought Houki's bust was hard to imagine being natural, this blonde's chest was bigger! Hell, makes you wonder where she got the genes for getting that size of chest… more out of just casual scientific interest from my standpoint.

The girl's uniform was a bit of a variation for the normal girl's uniform. Like Houki, had the same white medium length trench like coat with the embroidery that was red. The coat had more increased space in the chest area for her bust I would assume than Houki's. The skirt portion, was longer than the other girls' uniforms as it went down to her knees, and there was some kind of black lace that was visible from a bit beyond the skirt itself. The young lady has tights or pantyhose that went beyond the bottom of her skirt rather than the thigh high socks that most of the other girls had. The blonde also had the blue ribbon tied around her neck. And her voice had a bit of an accent too, likely a foreigner.

"Well, that depends, if it doesn't cut into lunch time; then yes, you can have a moment." I answered curtly.

The look on her face didn't bode well for me, as it said that my reply apparently insulted her in some way. Something tells me that lunch will be shorter than average today… the afternoon's first lecture is going to be a hard one… Quantum Physics… love the subject, but it's a challenging one due to the work it requires.

"What sort of a response it that? You should be honored that I bothered speaking to you in the first place. Don't you think you should behave in an appropriate manner?" she shot back at me.

Oh no… please… please Lord, say it ain't so! She isn't one of those type of people, is she? She isn't an arrogant, aristocratic noble type?! I have never gotten along with them and some got close to fighting me. Perhaps it's the past that gives me the hind sight, to tell me that women for whatever it is about me, like to control and dominate me. I don't let them do so to me, doesn't stop them from trying though. Well might as well begin by getting her name and get this over with, as quick as possible.

"Look Miss, it's my first day, why any would expect me to know the names of anyone here without meeting them, I haven't the faintest clue. So then, what's your name?" I said frankly.

The expression of shock and horror was somewhat amusing to see on this blonde's face, can't deny that without lying through my teeth.

"You don't know who I am? I'm Cecilia Alcott, England's representative contender. The one who scored highest on the …" she began rambling.

Yep, I pegged her correctly. Clearly… she likes to hear herself talk and expects others to feel the same about her talking. The phrase that comes to mind is, "Tooting their own horn". Granted, with men not being able to pilot ISs, then I suppose some women might start to have a streak of pride so to speak. However, this I would say it's more the hormones running rampant for the case of Cecilia Alcott. Her being from England explains the accent and a Representative Contender to boot just adds to the pride and ego. I interrupted her, "Don't take this as rude…" I lowered my voice to a mutter, "Though I don't doubt you will somehow." I raised my voice back to normal volume, "But do you have a point that doesn't somehow say how great you supposedly are?"

"Of course there is a point, simpleton. And as it is the responsibility of nobles to answer queries from the lower classes…" She continued.

Miss Alcott kept going on in her rambling explanation that was as I had asked her not to do, saying how she is so great. You would think that this girl wouldn't know what humility is, if it slapped her in the face. This girl's pride is from what I could tell, inbred and taught to her as she grew up; the result, it's miles long by her blustering. From the way she acted to the way she talked, felt like she was flaunting that she was better than others. It was annoying and getting more so the longer I was forced to listen. I once again interrupted and cut in on her. "Apparently, you missed the last statement I said, is there anything that you have to say that DOESN'T inflate your pride and ego? If not, then would you please keep it to yourself." I asked, trying to make it sound nice.

There was dead silence in the room at my question. Miss Alcott was shaking at my question.

"This is unbelievable! I can only hope that every Japanese man is not this utterly devoid of knowledge. I mean it's nothing more than common sense, honestly." Said Miss Alcott in rather a disparaging tone.

Common sense? She knows what that is and/or has any? Haven't seen any yet, so I have my doubts. Her comment struck me close to home though. I may live in America, but Japan is the land that I feel kinship with and had heritage in and so I feel it is still my home land! Time to set the record straight… and put this blonde in her place!

"Listen up Miss Alcott, first of all, I'm an American and proud of it. Second, Japan is a wonderful place, clearly you haven't taken the time to experience the culture. Third, I have Japanese heritage so don't dis the country… that is, unless you're prepare to receive the same to your own country, Miss Blonde." I said with a tone that implied a dare.

The female teenager took umbrage to my reply, "You wouldn't dare!"

Oh… wouldn't I? I smirked a bit, "Try me, if you want and see."

For a second, it looked like she would take me up on my challenge. But she took deep breaths and calmed down. "An American you are indeed; it certainly fits one rude as you. I, who am a representative of Britain am one of the chosen elite, selected by their countries to represent them as IS pilots. And you are…" She said.

Oh ho, she sets herself up for retorts? Excellent, I'm starting to enjoy this a bit. This is why I'm rarely around others that are the same age as me, I don't play nicely with them for very long before I start treating them like children. Admittedly, I find amusement in teasing others that have egos and are arrogant… probably get it from Chifuyu. Plus, I have learned how to do vocal battling fairly well, learning the skill from college age people I'm around. "The representative contender for the United States of America." I stated as fact to make sure she didn't misunderstand what I said.

Blondie paused for a moment at my statement, "…That may be, but you are still a male and so, being a representative does not matter. I am one of the elite. It is a true miracle and your good fortune to get to be in the same homeroom with someone like me. Oh what an incredibly lucky boy you are. Did that get through that thick skull of yours, hmm?"

Really? Even though we have equal rank, just because I'm a guy, I'm less than her. (Sigh) Stroke your own ego much girl? This is just irking me in every way and I had more than enough by this point! The way she says miracle and good fortune; it would be better to pronounce it as, tragedy and misfortune to be in the same Homeroom as her and that I'm truly an unlucky boy. Now, to get her to go away and leave me alone… agree with her and not really pay attention. "Sure if you say so, I guess I'm lucky in a way." I said the line in a dismissive tone.

Let her just go away… this is a waste of time and I could be eating lunch. It's no longer worth humoring her and being nice any more. "Wait are you making fun of me now?" Miss. Alcott asked in slight irritation.

Well… she's a bit smarter than she looks, kind of distorts my picture of a dumb blonde… bet she'll restore it soon. "As I believe you just said, I'm lucky to have you talk to me. Now, please leave me alone and let me go get lunch." I tried to make this the final word, but alas… it isn't to be.

"No, this conversation is not done!" She said to me, raising her voice.

I held in a groan, with difficulty. This isn't a conversation, it's an ode to Cecilia Alcott and an insult to me. Still Miss Alcott continued in her tirade, "First of all, I would like to know how you managed to enter this school? Some nobody, from the United States, I heard that you're the only male who can control an IS, but you've been such a terrible disappointment!"

Ah ha, and so she restores the picture of a dumb blonde. If only I could say that I didn't even plan or want to come to this academy in the first place. I'm being blackmailed into being here by a woman who doesn't care about what happens to others due to her actions. As for being a nobody, the things I know about the IS… governments can only dream about knowing! Since the bunny nor doll won't tell them any details about the IS core, I see no reason to do so either. And a disappointment? Alcott is a first year in high school, I'm almost considered a third year in college by credit count, yet we're approximately the same age… enough said at this time! I interlocked my fingers, rested my elbows on the desk and rest my chin on my fingers.

"Since, I'm a gentleman Miss Alcott; I'll ignore your blatant insult aimed at me. I'll say this for you though, how unlady like of you to insult another and look down upon them." I said the comment in an emotionless tone.

Miss Alcott paused for a moment, "… In any case, since I'm so remarkable, I can still find it in my heart to be considerate towards people such as yourself. So, it you do have questions, I wouldn't mind answering them for you if you were to plead with tears in your eyes." I yawned as Blondie rambled, which she glared at me for, "… After all, I did defeat an instructor during the entrance exam, which means I am an elite among the elites."

I bit back the question of her having a heart, for she doesn't show it at all. Surprising that blondie knows what compassion is by the way she talks to others. Then defeating an instructor? I did so as well… and in a little over ten seconds too. "You done yet? Listening to you go on about how supposedly great you say you are, is grating on my patience and will put me to sleep given time. You say you defeated an Instructor? What did you do, bore them out perhaps like you're attempting to do to me? Don't be so high and mighty just because you did something that doesn't occur often. For your information, I defeated the exam instructor that I had as an opponent, in less than a minute. So, dismount that high horse that your pride and ego have been providing you and accept that you're not as exceptional as you think you are." I finished in the hopes that it will shush the Alcott so that I can go get lunch! I'm getting really hungry!

"Wait… what?!" She stuttered.

The female teenager moved to prevent me from leaving once more. NO! What is with this blonde girl?! I kept my expressionless face though I felt frustration was growing within me, "Yes, you heard right, I won against an instructor; now for the last time, move! I want to go have lunch and you are preventing me from doing so." I stated firmly.

This conversation is getting old and grating; I want no more part of it. This girl can keep rambling for all I care, I won't be around to have to listen to her do so!

"But … but I heard that I was the only one?" commented Miss Alcott.

I grumbled in frustration, at the continuing obstacle blocking my path to food! "Look, I've been more than generous with this talk and have given you much more than a moment, Miss Alcott. I bid you good day to you and take my leave." I stated this, and then moved the blonde aside and made my way out of the classroom.

I managed to get to the cafeteria, grabbed some lunch and found a booth that was empty. Although, it didn't last long, but it wasn't who I had escaped from; no, it was Houki Shinonono. Also during lunch, a member of the student council came up to the table and gave me a key card so that I could use one of the pieces of equipment here for school. Houki did give me a weird look when the student council member delivered the keycard, but she didn't ask me about it. There was a room here that could generate images and transmit them to a different location somewhere else in the world. For me specifically, the room will allow me to attend my lectures while I am here in Japan.

-Scene change-

Finally, at 4:30 in the afternoon my second and last lecture of the day ended. The first was quantum physics, a class I enjoyed and I like the professor. The other lecture was my calculus II course. I'll have two lectures every afternoon, just different subjects alternating days; for me, the school day was over. It may be a little early, but I headed back to the cafeteria and saw that the afternoon classes the girls in the school have weren't done yet, so I had the whole room to myself! Peace and quiet, even if for a brief moment; I'll take it! I grabbed dinner and chose a booth to sit at, taking my time to enjoy the quiet and peace I was getting at this time to the fullest. At the same time, going over the notes that I had taken in my physics lecture, a habit I developed during my first year in college, reviewing class notes especially for the more work involved classes. When the sound of multitudes of voices and looking up to the door, observed the female students pouring into the room. I just returned to reviewing and planning out time to do homework for my college courses based on what kind of work I had from my first two classes and manage everything I would need to do.

When I finish dinner, I discreetly left the cafeteria so that I wasn't noticed by the girls. The current task for me was to find my room that I was assigned. I glanced at the note I was given earlier today by Miss Yamada, which on it was the room number that I will be staying in while I was here. The next possible issue that I'm now coming to face, comes from the fact that rooms here aren't designed for single occupant use, but two. With me being the singular male… I can only have a female roommate. With the two of us being fifteen or sixteen-year-old teenagers with active hormones… this clearly will be a very risky venture. I just hope that whichever girl I will have as a roommate, will be one that won't cause more problems. While I may pride myself on having control over my libido… weak as it is, even I have limits to how much I can ignore it. I see no need to give the opportunity to a girl to get me into the sack and jump my bones because her hormones are out of control and she can't restrain herself being in the same room without being supervised! After going down a few hallways in the dorm building, I spotted the room number that I was looking for, room 1025.

I stood in front of the door for a moment, giving a silent prayer, "Please God, let me finally get some peace and quiet and not have girls attempting to flirt and more with me the majority of the day. … (Sigh) well, the moment of truth is here." I whispered to myself.

Reaching into my pants pocket with the room key in it, which I had been given with the note that had the room's number and I unlocked the door. Stepping into the dorm room cautiously, I scanned the room, taking it in. The room wasn't small per say; though college dorms are bigger, but the one I had been in had been meant to be shared with three people. There were two beds on the left side in the room with what appeared to be a pull out wood separator between them. That is good to have if or rather when the need of privacy arises, there will be a way to provide that. A large desk with two seats was against the right wall… workspace to use, yes, thank you! On either side of the desk, were dressers and space to the side of them between them and the wall; one for me and the other for I would think my roommate. Looking at the opposite side of the room, I saw that on the far side there was a glass door that I think led out to a balcony, a possible escape route should the need arise. All in all, a very nice room I must say, better than I had expected.

With the layout now taken in, the only thing left to be determined, was the identity of my roommate. As I haven't seen her, she is either not here at the moment, or there could be more to this dorm room than I have already seen and my new roommate is in a part I don't know about. Speaking of, I turned on the spot upon hearing the sound of running water cease with a squeak of a handle from behind me in the room I assume was the bathroom. … Fate is trying to bite my a** again! I do believe my roommate had been taking a shower when I entered the room and now is finished… this could get messy or just awkward.

"Is someone out there?" said a female voice.

Umm… that voice sounds kind of familiar, something to be determined later, more pressing things to keep in mind. I had the wisdom to turn back around, if a girl is coming out of the bathroom expecting another female; then she'll likely only have a towel wrapped around herself, that's if she had anything at all. I don't want to present the wrong impression of me being a pervert; for I'm not one! The d**n frisk rabbit and the overly sisterly doll had unintentionally made sure that I wouldn't have perverted tendencies.

"Oh hey, you must be my roommate. I look forward to having your company this year. Sorry I'm meeting you like this, but I just got out of the shower." Said the girl.

To say I felt a little uneasy would be untrue, as this is far from the ideal set of circumstances for a guy and a girl to meet. … Wait, hold the phone; that voice sounds more than just familiar… ah ha, so it's her then. Well, I can't say I feel good or bad about this, more neutral would be my view, at least I know her a bit before now. If she was my roommate for the moment, I think it would work out… Maybe. Let's hope she's not against this.

"My name is Houki Shino… nono…" Houki trailed off as I wouldn't doubt she took in who she was talking to even if I'm not facing her. Her gasping made that clear.

"Yes... I know your name Houki; you did tell me it earlier today. Please for goodness sakes, before you think about doing something that's meant to be harmful to me for being here, take note of some things. First, I'm being the respectful gentleman and not facing you so, I'm not staring at you with either a towel wrapped around your body or you in your birthday suit. Second, I had nothing to do with this arrangement, but seriously; no matter what, I would have a female roommate at this school being the only guy. Third… should you attack me; I'll be fighting back to defend myself… just so that you're forewarned. So the choice is yours Houki." I explained, in hopes that this wouldn't turn into something ugly.

Waiting to see how Houki would react to my presence and explanation; I stayed where I was for the moment. The silence deepened and the anticipation mounted as neither I, nor Houki moved from where we had frozen. Unable to stand the silence anymore, I sidestep and moved to the nearest bed to the door and face the wall so that I couldn't see the rest of the room, "Houki, now would be a good time to go get clothes on. You're pretty and everything, but… this is just awkward for both of us." I said flatly.

I heard a rush of movement behind me that was a mixture of footfalls and the faint rubbing of cloth… so then, I guess Houki was in a towel. Easy to know that Houki had rushed to the dresser to get something to put on. Waiting for her to get dress, I shut out the sounds of clothes rubbing against skin. I held the reins of the urges that were my libido and kept them from having their way. I needed none of it and would have none of it!

"Okay… I'm dressed now…" Houki said.

Turning around slowly to face Houki, I was relieved to see that she was decent, I exhaled heavily to ease my mood. Houki was now wearing a light weight yukata that was colored magenta and had a pink sash tied between her waist and hips. Making my way over to the desk, I pulled out the chair and sat down. "Did you somehow request this?" asked Houki softly as she kept staring at me.

Sighing, before looking away from the girl in the room before giving my reply, "I believe I said that I had nothing to do with this arrangement, Houki. Nor do I have nothing particularly against this arrangement; nevertheless, should you have a problem, then I will seek out the dorm manager and tell her that I'll need to switch rooms, whomever she is."

Half expected to hear Houki saying something along the lines of, start hauling my rear out of this room and never come back, the other half I have no idea. But as the lack of sound went on, I was beginning to get curious on Houki's reaction. I glance over at her and was put off and unnerved, she was blushing and noticeably red now and she wasn't looking at me. "Um… Houki, do you or do you not have a problem with sharing a room with me?" I couldn't help but ask her.

I've gotten girls to blush by my words and actions, so that's not new. But Houki was once again acting shy, and it wasn't just that, she was also showing signs of being fond of me even though we had met earlier today and that was unexpected to me. I mean sure, there have been some girls that I had gone on dates with that had been very taken with me, but none had exactly done all the things Houki Shinonono had thus far. "I…" the sound came out of Houki's mouth, but that was all that I heard.

I waited patiently for the purple haired female to say what she was trying to say. "I… I have… no problem w-with sharing a room… with you." She stuttered out.

I smiled in response to her admittance. Things may not be the most ideal or easiest for me here at the IS academy, but perhaps they could be manageable enough that I can get through this and still be okay afterwards. "That's good, it's been a hectic day and I was hoping for it to come to a close in a quiet manner." I said taking a breath before continuing, "So, since you're the lady, which bed would you prefer? I'll give you first choice."

Houki pointed to the bed closest to the window and I nodded. Taking the time to unpack my things that had already been brought to the room, taking care to bring out my personal computer terminal that I built with a friend at Cornell. It's what I used for school and most of all, it was the system I used in the design and programing of my life's work, which happens to be my custom IS unit… should have mentioned it earlier I guess. By the text message I got during dinner, my machine had finally gotten through customs and was on the way here; hopefully be here by the weekend so that I could finish the programing. The need for me to have it operating is coming and I'm running low on time I feel. Once I finished unpacking, I took a set of clothes and headed into the bathroom to change for bed. I spotted on my way a bag on Houki's side of the room. In that bag was kendo equipment, such as a shinai and bokutō along with I assume the armor pieces used in kendo. Interesting… I have a respect for those who practice an art of combat. I myself, practice martial arts like Chinese Hung Fut and Japanese Jujutsu, plus a little Karate. I smiled slightly as I went into the bathroom to change.

When I had changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, I exited the bathroom and came to sit on my bed. Out of the corner of my eye, I still noted that Houki was still blushing to an extent, even if she was trying to hide it. As we now have the time… I think we need to establish rules of the room that we are sharing. "So Houki, as long as we're sharing the same room; I think that it would be a wise idea for us to have some ground rules, wouldn't you agree?" I asked with a bit of a smile.

"Ground rules?" was the reply that came from Houki.

Well, that led to a small discussion and establishment of ground rules. Some rules were common sense I would think and I had no issues with them. Rules like, not changing our clothes in front of each other or, not going through one another's things without permission. Then there were others that weren't as sensible; for instance, the was the rule on time of using the shower. Houki said that she wanted to use it from 7 to 8 in the evening, leaving me to have use from 8 to 9. The reasoning she gave was that she didn't feel relaxed in the kendo clubroom and so she wanted to use our room's shower. However, that put me in a bit of a pickle, the room's toilet was the only one that wasn't labeled as a woman's room available to me, so yeah…

Actually at that point in the discussion, I believe Houki got the wrong idea and thought I liked and wanted the opportunity of going into a female's restroom with girls possibly being inside, which I wasn't. Still, I managed to put my guard up when Houki went for her bokutō. I leapt off my bed and shifted into a defensive stance I would use in jujutsu. Gave me excellent footing to be able to twist out of the path of the wooden sword's swings. After five swings from Houki, I shifting to a Hung Fut stance and moving forward sent my left palm into Houki's midsection causing her to stop ever so briefly. That time was all that I needed, and so I rushed forward and grabbed her right arm with both hands. Switching over to jujutsu martial art style, I leaned forward, lifted Houki and flipped her over my shoulder and onto her bed. Spinning around and following her path I ended out pinning her to the bed. "I did tell you that I would fight back should you attack me. As it happens, I know a few forms of martial arts… if the techniques I just did, don't prove that." I informed Houki, before I let her up from pinning her down.

"I'm sorry I…" she said.

I cut off Houki to stop her from apologizing for something she doesn't need to, "Houki, there is no need for you to apologize. However, in my defense; I'm not a pervert and don't plan to become one anytime in the future. Rest assured of that, such acts with the intent that instigates them, sicken me, for a couple of reasons."

I walked over to my bed and plopped down onto it, settling down into the blankets. The lights were turned off and Houki and I settled in to sleep for the night. "Good night Houki" I said into the dark.

"Good night, Sai" was the answer I heard.

A/N

Okay, so if you didn't notice Ichika isn't in this story. He's dead and that won't change. So my character, Sai Taichi is the main protagonist. Please write a review and tell me what you think of this story idea.