So this is the rewrite of Infinite Stratos: Rival. I changed lots of things that is not obvious at first but well, I honestly prefer this version more… even if it is because it is more structured plot-wise and not just me getting an idea, a character, and piss everyone else. Yeah, experience is good stuff. Anyway, here is IS: Infinite Warfare
Disclaimer: I do not own Infinite Stratos and if I did, there will be more action and probably some dead girls in Ichika's harem instead of a harem with combination worse than anything I've ever seen… then again, I've been hanging around DxD too much that my harem standard is very high.
Chapter 1: The Chaotic World
"Finally done!"
"Nee-san?"
"Ahh, Makoto-kun? Look, I finally created my own IS core!"
Shijou Yuki in her excitement shows her little brother the white IS core she herself created.
Shijou Yuki, friend and rival to Shinonono Tabane finally managed to complete on that day her very own core. This is a competition of the two of them, project Infinite Stratos. A long thought out plan where they agree that the first to finish will be recognized as the winner and gain the right to the name of inventor of IS and the right to present it to the whole world. Sadly, Shinonono Tabane won by twenty hours difference and the right fell to Tabane. Even so, Shijou Yuki did not stop immediately but continue her project till the very end for the sake of her own dream. At least now she doesn't have to prepare for a presentation and things like that and went straight to application. Shijou Yuki can actually finish faster than Tabane but what made the difference is that Yuki also built the IS frame at the same time as the core while Tabane focus on the core first while dealing with the frame later. The complexity of the frame is also what made Yuki lose. While Tabane made White Knight that will become the first recognized IS as a combat-type IS that has little amount of physical armor, Shijou Yuki made her first IS, Aoki Senkou, as a pure exploration-type IS with more armor and booster. Her IS has a more complicated frame with its emphasis on protection and speed along with equipments that can be used for exploration which results in her consuming more time, thus losing the competition.
Even so, Shijou Yuki is very happy. She forgoes sleep just to finish this project and now she has the time to immediately test the unit, the [Aoki Senkou]. She put all she has into her creation. All her blood and sweat, her hopes and dreams, everything. Unlike Tabane who made the White Knight for her friend, Aoki Senkou is her own IS, made by her for her. Project IS is another step towards the realization of her dream.
"Congratulation, nee-san!"
Her little brother, Shijou Makoto, is genuinely happy for his sister.
"Too bad that nee-san lose."
"Maa, it doesn't matter, Makoto-kun. What matters is that I give my creation everything I got."
It is only now that Yuki finished encasing the core in its container and add the amplifier. At least she knows that her core is superior although somewhat more complicated. Compared to Tabane's Yuki's core has higher output and has high restoration speed although the materials she uses are even rarer than Tabane's which is also another reason why she loses.
Shijou Yuki then put the core into Aoki Senkou. The IS has a full body armor and a helmet for a full protection should the absolute barrier fail. Yuki did not forget of that possibility as exploration means seeking the unknown and it is better safe than sorry. Due to its focus on defense and speed, Aoki Senkou is lightly armed. It's only offensive weapon is a pair of katana named Ame-no-Murakumo and Ame-no-Habakiri. Most of its energy is used to power its boosters and absolute barrier along with other equipments meant more to help in exploration than battle. Aoki Senkou's primary color is blue and its design is based on Hi-Nu Gundam, Shijou Yuki's favorite Gundam. Thankfully she didn't name it Hi-nu Gundam or she could be sued for copyright infringement. At least she could become an MS girl. Aoki Senkou has eleven boosters with four on its wing-like appendage and a large one on its back and another one for each leg. Truly she prepares everything needed for an exploration unit… unless her lack of sleep made her forget something.
"Anyway, I'll be going for a test flight. I might not return tonight or maybe anytime soon. I'll try to go to Mars, no, Neptune! Ohh, what the hell, I'll go beyond the galaxy if I can! Anyway, don't wait for me but I'll definitely return."
Shijou Makoto watch as his sister got into her IS and activate it. He can only sighs as it really made her look like an MS girl, very different from Shinonono Tabane's design.
"See ya later! To infinity and beyond!"
It is not until years later that Makoto reunite with his sister again.
-The White Knight Incident-
"No… what have you done!"
Shijou Makoto look horrified as she watch the tv showing a machine that he is familiar with. No, not exactly familiar as he had never seen the unit itself but he knows what kind of machine it is. How can he not? He had helped creating such a machine with his own two hands.
2341 missiles were shot from all over the world towards japan. Makoto's sharp mind knew that there is only one crazy bastard that would do something like that and the appearance of that machine just support his suspicion. He had known about the dismissal of the IS project and this… this is a retaliation, a temper tantrum by the creator of that machine.
"Dammit Tabane, if the Infinite Stratos is revealed in such a way… it will be nothing more than a weapon!"
Makoto grit his teeth as his blood boils in anger. He is young but he is smart and he knows that their dream had now been shattered. The moment the IS unit swung its sword and fire its particle cannon, Shijou Makoto broke down in tears.
The moment the first shot of its particle cannon is fired, the boy knew that the world changed, and it is not in the way his sister or himself desired.
It was an ordinary day… well, maybe not so ordinary since it is the final of Mondo Grosso tournament. It was the final and the two contestants are fighting intensely. Chifuyu is of course still not going all out.
Orimura Chifuyu once again controls the competition as she advance in great pace, making it almost like a one woman show featuring only herself. Competitions after competitions she cut down with her superior skill armed only with a single sword. She was about to deal her opponent the finishing blow.
But then it happens.
A blue light crashed through the shield of the tournament arena and into the ground. When the dust settled, everyone is surprised of course but none more so than Orimura Chifuyu herself. Although there are improvements like thinner but wider wings and more sleek and metallic design, she recognized the IS that had just crashed into the arena. She became absolutely sure when the IS drew a familiar katana, one she only saw in design but very distinct as it is different from all other IS weaponry currently in existence.
Ame-no-Murakumo.
"SHINONONO TABANE! HOW DARE YOU TURN OUR DREAM INTO THIS ABOMINABLE THING!"
The pilot screamed in fury.
The two contestants who had been fighting turn their attention to the new arrival. The first to react was of course Orimura Chifuyu who is now sure that the IS unit she's seeing belongs to no other than her old friend, the genius who possess the same level of intellect as Tabane but much more reasonable.
And that genius is currently pissed beyond her imagination.
Their eyes met and Chifuyu could see murder in her eyes. Shijou Yuki is beyond pissed, she's absolutely outraged. The blue IS, Aoki Senkou, charged at the two competing IS. Chifuyu braced herself and position her Yukihira with its one-off ability activated in a defensive stance.
But it is useless.
The pilot activated her IS' one-off ability 'Senkou'. Her IS disappear and reappear at the other side of the field.
And both Chifuyu and her opponent was down with their IS sliced and destroyed with no hope of being repaired.
Moments later, the world network was hacked and Aoki Senkou appear on every TV and phone screen all over the world.
"Tabane, I don't know where you are right now and you better hope it stays that way forever because if I do find you… I will make sure you die."
That day marks a new page on the history of IS.
Although it won't happen for a few more years, this is the beginning of IS war. A war fought by many but revolves only around two people. But that day was not just about the return of Shijou Yuki and her declaration of war. Far away from the arena in a place unknown, a tragedy happened.
"Makoto! Oi, Makoto!"
Ichika can't believe what his friend just did.
He, Orimura Ichika, had been kidnapped by a group of people who wanted Chifuyu to lose the Mondo Grosso tournament. It is a good plan, except for one small problem. That small problem is Ichika's best friend who is like a brother to him, Shijou Makoto.
He came crashing in with his own self-built IS, surprising the kidnappers who consists of a group of men and a women in an IS. The sight of a boy piloting an IS is enough to catch them off guard, enough time for Makoto to disarm the men and take the enemy IS by surprise.
Unfortunately, Makoto's IS is not a true IS. It was based on whatever schematic was left by his sister and he had not managed to fully replicate the core. The result is a single-use core for limited operation time. When Makoto struck the final blow, his shield had been depleted fully, forcing him to fight the IS on foot. Even if the enemy IS had suffered major damage, it is still a suicidal act. But Makoto had a few tricks up his sleeve, including using his pseudo IS' weapon to strike the killing blow.
But Makoto did not get out of the encounter unharmed.
Ichika is now kneeling beside Makoto's body crying.
"It's all my fault. If only I had not gotten myself kidnapped then…"
"Don't worry Ichika… I don't blame you."
Makoto told him, his head bleeding profusely from an impact he received from the enemy IS' high-caliber rifle. He was both lucky and unlucky. He was lucky since his IS' shield was still active long enough to save him from being killed instantly but was unlucky that the power ran out before the bullet was fully deflected.
"Nee-san…"
Shijou Makoto fell unconscious surrounded by fire and death that he caused.
A year after Yuki's return, two hundred thirty IS cores was destroyed by her personally with the pilots of the IS usually killed in combat. She was hailed as the strongest pilot piloting the ultimate IS as not even ten IS units piloted by the best pilots the world had to offer could best her, not even Orimura Chifuyu who was one of the few survivors from an encounter with her could match her skill or her IS.
How she possess a weapon that could destroy an IS core is a mystery and that's what makes her dangerous. Her IS' operation time is also vastly superior from how long she could fight against pilots chasing her. By now, her infamy had reached the point that she has become a more wanted person than Shinonono Tabane herself.
After the destruction of the 230th core though, Shijou Yuki disappeared from radar just like Shinonono Tabane. Some said that someone finally took her down or that she's tired of fighting and many other speculations. But Orimura Chifuyu denied every notion of her stopping. As someone who knew her before her reappearance, she understands what she's doing.
The real war begins now.
A year after that, the world was shook by the appearance of 200 more IS cores complete with Shijou Yuki's signature. What shook the world the most is that the fact that all those 200 cores… can be piloted by males too. In a single swift move, Shijou Yuki had overturned the logic of the world once more.
Answering this, Shinonono Tabane release another hundred cores followed by Yuki releasing sixty more. Random missile also launches seemingly targeting nowhere in particular from all around the world. Ballistics, nuclear, drones, everything that can be hacked regardless of security was unleashed.
Orimura Chifuyu can only sigh. The world has become a battlefield of a war between two geniuses, each possibly possessing enough power to annihilate a country. The only thing keeping each other in check is each other.
-IS Academy, years later-
Orimura Ichika felt his head being smacked by a book. He quickly jump from his seat in surprise, forgetting that he had just dozed off… forgetting where he is right now.
"Orimura, you just made an excellent first impression by dozing off in class even after the bell rang."
"Ugh, but I didn't sleep at all yesterday Mako—"
The teacher smacked Ichika on the head once again. Ichika rubbed his temple that had just been on the receiving end of the only male teacher in IS academy's book. He has medium length ash grey hair and stood only two inches taller than Ichika himself. The teacher wore square-rimmed glasses and has green eyes with a small scar running down his left eye.
"It's sensei you dimwit."
The teacher sighs in exasperation.
"Just introduce yourself."
He ordered. Ichika turn to the class and gulped. Everyone else except him and the teacher are female. He just remembered that he is in IS academy and is currently the only male student here. Even if males could pilot IS now, there are still not that many of them around and most of them are military personnel. Plus every male could pilot IS. Only those with B-rank and above could sufficiently pilot an IS while C-rank pilots could barely maneuver their units. Male-use IS is different in that regard.
And so far of all the males who apply for IS academy this semester, only Orimura Ichika has high enough rank to become a pilot and the only male accepted for this year's batch. This makes him the first and currently only male student in IS academy. Yes, it is a shocking coincidence. Then again, Ichika had learned about IS a lot and trained with pseudo IS a few times so it's not surprising. Once knowledge about IS and training simulators for males become more widespread the number of male pilots would increase.
"Uhh… I'm Orimura Ichika. I don't know how it happens but apparently I'm the only male pilot who passed the test so… please go easy on me."
"Hmph, good introduction Orimura. Okay, next."
The introduction continue until everyone in the class have introduced themselves. After the last student to introduce herself sat down, the teacher went back to his table and sat on it.
"Alright girls… and boy, now it's my turn to introduce myself. I'm Yuuki Makoto and I'm your homeroom teacher. You can call me just sensei or Yuuki sensei."
There was silence after Makoto introduced himself. The teacher sighs as he had expected what's about to happen. He mentally do a countdown from 3… 2… 1…
"Kyaa! It's Makoto-sama himself!"
"Makoto-sama! I came here after hearing that you became a teacher!"
"Makoto-sama, make me pregnant!"
At that last one, Makoto took a rubber eraser and flicked it to the head of the girl who said it in annoyance. The velocity in which the eraser flies is high enough to cause the girl to fall from her chair. He rubbed his temple and asks himself once more why he accepted being the homeroom teacher of first year students, especially this class.
"Umm, Yuuki sensei, should I take over for you?"
A gentle voice became his salvation when he finally remember that he's not the only teacher in the class. Sitting beside his table on a proper chair is a young woman wearing glasses with short green hair. She has a voluptuous figure and Makoto could see her cleavage from his position sitting on his table. He immediately avert his attention and decide that it's better to forget what he saw and introduce her to the class.
"Stupid things aside, this is Yamada Maya sensei, the assistant homeroom teacher. She'll mostly teach theory while I handle practical. The only theory I'm handling is engineering so anyone taking that course will see me… but if you enter engineering just to see me, I'll kick you out. Anyway, any quest… you know what, let's not do that. I've had enough with last year's batch. Maya, you take over."
"Yes, Yuuki sensei. Alright everyone, like what Yuuki sensei said, my name is Yamada Maya…"
With Maya taking over, Makoto let himself relax as he sat on the chair previously occupied by Maya. Seeing that Maya could handle things well enough, Makoto began to work on his tablet. His newest project just need some minor calibration and it will be done. On the screen of his tablet is an Infinite Stratos unit and not just any unit but one he built personally by himself.
It is Orimura Ichika's future unit, the 4th generation Infinite Stratos, Astrea.
So there it is. Ichika got a new unit, some reaction from Makoto, the guy use Yuuki as his new name (reference) to hide his real identity, and he's a teacher and engineer in IS academy. I figure I'd get straight to the point this time. Don't worry, Chifuyu is not dead or bashed or anything. She's in Huang's class and Makoto's relationship with Chifuyu… can be seen next chapter.
I rarely see a male teacher story in IS fic so I decided to do it this way. Anyway, I am also repairing Ichika's character so he won't be a dense idiot anymore and my idea for that is to make him be more like another character voiced by Kouki Uchiyama, his seiyuu.
Anyway, another reason why I'm posting the rewrite now is… because I'm behind schedule for my special DxD Christmas story which would've allowed me to write more Xenovia but well, can't have it all.