He decided he won't forget it.
It was a relatively warm day in the summer, the breeze strongly blew, entrenched the memories in his mind. His first, real encounter with unknown world, by a girl he never met before.
Her body was short and slender, for her hazel-colored horse looks absolutely gigantic; her armor looks so thin and streamlined alongside her beautiful curves. Turquoise plates intertwined with polished steel only enhance her larger than life presence.
A strong female, just like that of his sisters.
"Orimura Ichika-kun... yes?" her voice, it was soft and gentle, and yet, the pressure he felt inside his chest can't possibly be fake. "I'm surprised to meet Japanese here, let alone the fact that he's the previous champion. Though this was my first time joining, myself."
"Ah..."
Another Japanese?
She pulled her helmet, piercing red eyes, even more radiant than his own, gazed upon him like a cat cornered its prey. Her silvery blue hair shone under the sun, almost blindingly beautiful.
"Sarashiki Tatenashi, though I'm registered as Russian currently, I was born and raised a Japanese myself..." she smirked, again, reminded him of a playful cat."Let's be friendly with each other, shall we?"
"Yes. Sarashiki….-san."
Ichika just nodded silently as he jumped unto his horse, both are clad in Japanese-styled dull white armor, he's ready for the most intense battle. As a champion of 2014 Young Knights Summer Tournament, it'll be a shame for him not to give any decent showing.
"Shirogane, don't be too hasty." He whispered.
His horse just snorted in response.
Unfortunate for him, the difference was far greater than he expected.
Her lance shattered upon impact, an attack so fast he barely can see, let alone react. To wield a spear at such speed would require skill and experience that of a veteran, and he had no chance. Even the commentator noticed and more than surprised, they're absolutely shocked.
"[WHAT A SHOCKING REVEAL! OUR CHAMPION HAD BEEN BLINDSIDED! WE HAVE SEEN THIS YOUNG FEMALE KNIGHT IN ACTION BEFORE, BUT NONETHELESS, SHE KEEPS DELIVERING ANOTHER SURPRISE!]"
She absolutely dominated him even in second round, remains untouched by his attacks. She dodged his relentless assault with such grace that made most young knights ashamed, where he barely managed to evade with all of his strength. Nevertheless, he decided not to give up. He will fight to the end, whether it ended up in victory or honorable defeat.
It was when he slammed his lance upon her chest and thrown her off her horse that his spirit fired up even more.
For the first time in this tournament, the mysterious girl had been hit. No one else until their match managed to touch her during the course of the tournament. Ichika managed to, and the audience cheered on his glorious comeback.
"[WHAT A POWERFUL COUNTERATTACK, SIR ORIMURA WON THE SECOND ROUND HANDILY!]"
And despite her sudden spike of performance, he gained another point from striking her shoulder. It was a match so tightly paced that it was like the entire world stopped revolving. Twice they scored a tie; their lance clashed against each other and breaks equally without touching each other.
"[ANOTHER TIE! WE GOT THIS KIND OF HEATED FIGHT IN THE THIRD MATCH?!]"
When they both strolled back to their position, they stopped in the middle to have a short chat.
"Wow, I'm a bit reckless" she moaned a bit as she held her heavily armored chest to calm her breath. "But this is a really fun match."
"Same here" he told her, "Told you the truth; I think my chance to win is way too slim."
Tatenashi looked at him with mild surprise and excitement, "Ufufufu, if you know you're going to lose, what are you fighting for then?"
"Unlike in war where losing means your lives are ended forever," he smiled, "Here in arena, my failure would forge a path to victory."
"I see…" she nudged her legs to signal her horse to walk forth again, but after they're about five meters apart, she stopped and called him, "Orimura-kun, if you can win this fight, I'll tell you something interesting. So try not to give up."
No one going to give up today, not in this match. Ichika clenched his hand, feeling the lance's handle thoroughly to pick the best position to handle it.
Ichika slid down his visor shortly before told his horse galloped at full speed again.
He was the first to deliver an attack, which she dodged easily. Unfortunate for her, the first attack was nothing but a feint, and he delivered a powerful jab to her torso. Wood splinters splatter off her armor.
And that's when she turned the table by stabbing the feathers on his helmet away, effectively ended the match with guaranteed victory. An attack much faster than anything he saw in his history of jousting, an attack that he thought would be beyond that of a mortal girl.
"[F-FEATHER FLY!]" The announcer yelled, "[IT'S A FEATHER FLY! LIKE A COMET, SARASHIKI TATENASHI DEFEATED THE PREVIOUS CHAMPION!]"
Her horse stood up emphatically as she raised her intact lance, a sign of victory.
She's a demon.
...no, that's not what he meant. She is human, she's just abnormal.
"Could it be... she's a…"
"Little brother of Orimura Chifuyu-sensei sure is interesting." she laughed merrily, "Too bad I can't hang out here for too long. Please tell her I said hello."
Chifuyu-sensei... there's no mistake then.
Is this the real difference of ordinary male and female pilot of the revered Infinite Stratos? That even the greatest champion will be taken in less than 3 hours?
Summer 2015 marked his fall from the throne, defeated by a true dark horse, an enigma revealed to be I.S. representative of Mother Russia, Sarashiki Tatenashi.
"You lost at the third match eh? That's unfortunate… but not entirely unexpected."
Her unmistakably noble blonde drills-err, ringlets waved alongside the sympathetic wind as the girl approached him leisurely. The Britain girl's arrogant smile never changed in the three years knowing and living with her.
"Say the girl who rarely managed to score a win against her peer opponent." he deliver the haughtiest grin he could muster, much to her ire.
"W-what?!" she balked and raised her fist, "At least I'm not losing to a newcomer after being hailed as the strongest of Britain. A-anyway, I came to the final during Class representative match and individual tournament just as well. I've defeated a lot of the so called my equals."
"Newcomer, right…" He chuckled as she clenched her teeth, "Okay you won this one, Cecilia." He gently nodded, "Still… by any chance, do you know her?"
Cecilia Alcott's expression turned more solemn and serious, "All too well, unfortunately." She said in neutral voice, "She's the strongest student in I.S. Academy history, the Student Council President Sarashiki Tatenashi. Very famous, she's respected by friends and foe alike. Even amongst us pilots, she's truly special, one of a kind."
She followed him back from the stables into preparation room, turned her gaze away as he removed his armor pieces and changed into regular, way too modest clothes.
"But with my skill and unit, beating her might be some kind of pipe dream."
This is the side she rarely shown anyone but people she deemed precious. Despite her outwardly confident and fearless appearance, Cecilia always have some kind of inferiority complex, thinking she always need to be recognized and approved for everything she did, because she fear that doing decently is not enough, she need to be the best, no ifs and buts.
"The factory still refused to comply with your request?" he asked earnestly, "What kind of paranoid wreck our bureaucracy is? If this goes on, they're just asking for guaranteed failure in IGNITION PLAN."
"I always said the same thing." Her eyes sharpened as the student council president scored another flawless victory. "I told them showing incomplete product whilst boasting flawless potential is waste of time, but they insist on blaming me, somehow. Even Chifuyu-san began to lose patience."
He patted her back slightly without applying much pressure or impact, "Well cheer up." He chuckled, "If you don't lose confidence, your sync rate will stay on the top, and they can't bear to replace you."
"…why is that you're the one who cheering me up," her face turned crimson as she shoved away his hand, "You're the one lost today, loser."
Indeed, it was hypocritical for him to say that, considering what just happened. And his state of mind before Cecilia came to his side.
Still, no matter how many times he lost that hope, he will stay tall and proud; will not surrender to his 'fate'. Never again he wanted to experience that despair and hopelessness.
"Indeed I am, but I'm not going to quit jousting because I'm losing to a nameless newbie. You're Chifuyu-nee's special protégé, so don't give up just because someone is blessed by God more than you did."
"Nameless newbie." She can't help but laugh, that's a poorly attempted joke, if anything. Still… it cheered her up at least. She might not know it, but her mere presence also raised his morale and confidence.
In the end, the so called dark horse wiped out the tournament and won, no one aside Ichika managed to give so much as occasional counters. Despite his defeat, or perhaps because of, he could felt a sense of accomplishment. Being able to do something meaningful against an enemy this strong is nothing to scoff at.
Is this what they call glory of the defeated?
"It's decided then, I'll treat you. Clean up and get a suit, because we're going to eat premium dinner outside today!" she dragged him on his sleeve outside.
"…I don't think that's a good idea." Ichika absolutely loathes wealthy restaurant, sure he adores their food, but Ichika wasn't really in for the table manners and overall atmosphere. "Nope, no expensive restaurant."
"Oh come on, it's my treat!" she pouted.
"Look, if I was to eat there and eat YOUR cooking, I still have to consider which and which is better choice."
"Does that mean…" Cecilia was taken aback, her face bent red like the skin of a tomato, "You like… my cooking?"
"As long as you didn't mess with the recipe again, it was fine." Whenever she did, the result is rarely edible, let alone delicious.
"Leave it to me."
"NO MESSING WITH THE RECIPE!"
"I promise, I promise!"
She yanked him again, this time though, her slender but well toned arm coiled around his muscular one. He sighed, "I smell of sweat you know… Milady Alcott…"
She flicked his forehead and frowned, "Don't call me that."
"Idiot." she softly muttered as they continue to walk, "You're my butler, so stay by my side…"
"But I'm NOT a butler…" he said in protest. Despite that, he didn't push her away.
Though he probably doesn't know it, it's nothing but an excuse...
INFINITE STRATOS
Glory of the Loser
By
ZeroXSEED
Chapter 01: It all begin with one conversation
Over three years ago, it was a mild summer season in Japan. The second Mondo Grosso, the most prestigious world tournament to showcase a country's most advanced Infinite Stratos, under the control of their strongest, most skilled representative. Ichika is walking all but alone toward his home, since his friends decided to call it early, what with the searing heat of the summer and all.
Just a bit over 11 years old, he's just another Japanese kid known only because of his more prominent sibling. Chifuyu Orimura, the first winner of Mondo Grosso, is a Japanese representative. Her first debut result in flying colors, and it's said that she had more than good chance of winning the second one as well.
Tonight is the final match, and Ichika wanted to make sure he could watch it. The sister he always rely on, the only closest person he could consider a parental figure.
And then, it happened, fast.
A group of men in suit ambushed him before he could react. Ichika never lost a fight in his entire life, and he tired to resist. But not only those adults are stronger, there's so many of them that he couldn't do anything before he got a good serving of high voltage shock.
Hours passed, he was bound and gagged, had his ears plugged, and even his eyes were covered with thick cloth so he could only feel nothing but unwelcomed motion. It was nauseating, and sense of deprivation caught him fast. It was frightening, he couldn't even scream for help.
There's nothing but vast void and lonesome.
He couldn't even cry for his misery.
First, a car, then, maybe some kind of aircraft? Or maybe a boat? He wasn't sure, only faint noise can bleed inside. It wasn't exactly a short trip either.
Over 8 hours had passed, if his biological clock was right, when his kidnappers let him feel the world once again. It was a dark room he barely could see around and there's nothing much he could do to determine his location, but being able to see, hear and speak is a God's blessing.
Those men force fed him if only to keep him alive and intact, and he decided not to struggle. He will save his strength when it's needed.
As he succumbed into helplessness and despair, help finally came. Sounds of gunfire and people screaming echoed from outside of the room, and then there's only eerie silence.
The door creaked and then crumpled like tin can, it wasn't by any mean thin, it's a metal door easily as thick as the palm of his hand. And yet, a pair of black steel arms ripped them to shred like it doesn't matter.
He could see the silhouette of a woman, a woman he held dearest. It was none other than his sister. Orimura Chifuyu.
"Chifuyu-nee…." He muttered weakly as the light from outside blinded his eyes.
And he smiled. Or rather, forced the appearance of a smile.
"Did you… win the final?"
"…I did, I did it as fast as I could…" her voice was hoarse, rather unusual for him to hear her sounds beaten and ragged down like that. "I won, for that worthless pile of turd country that couldn't even keep my brother safe."
He could only cry afterward when his sister wasn't looking, in the end, he's a weakling that always became a burden to her.
Less than two weeks later, Ichika found himself stepped on a foreign land of Great Britain. Supposedly, Chifuyu decide to switch her nationality in response to government's inability to keep a close watch on him. But there's more to that…
Chifuyu was to train a young girl named Cecilia Alcott, Britain's latest cadet representative. Cadet Rep, as the name implies, is a candidate for next Infinite Stratos representative for a country. There are many cadet reps; but only one will be chosen as representative at a time. As such, training begun at very young age of 12 until they became 15 and sent to Japan to attend Infinite Stratos Academy, to ensure they can live up to their name.
A Cadet rep and representative is the embodiment of a country's military strength and National pride. For Japan to lose Chifuyu to England… it was beyond embarrassment, it was a complete and utter humilation.
Infinite Stratos… eh, he felt like his fate always tied to those machines.
It's not that Ichika an ultranational racist, in fact, he felt the opposite. However, struck alone as the only 'different guy' made him understand what Lingyin felt all the time in Japan. It was very awkward, and his English wasn't even good enough for everyday use. So he became rather passive when a Britain officer approached him and initiate conversation.
"Don't worry, you will be safe here." He assured Ichika.
Considering what happened when Japan failed to fulfill their promise… they decidedly don't want to know if they caused another blunder.
When he first met Cecilia, he could only see empty shell of a girl who lost everything. Her blue eyes look so dim, as if she lost all of her will to life.
He heard her parents died in a train crash, and that she's left all but alone with the rest of her servant. In this mansion, he couldn't feel anything but lonesome and suffering. It was uncomfortable.
"Starting now, this brat here will be freeloading. Don't be afraid to punish him if he made a clear mistake, he can be stupid and immature at times but I assure you he's hard working and reliable. Also, he can do any chores, ask him anything."
As always, his sister can be hilariously cruel and blunt, no nonsense indeed. That's how he was introduced to the inhabitant of Alcott mansion.
Was he supposed to be a servant here?
The first one to greet him was an old man; he guessed, about late fifties of early sixties. His smile, it was so warm. It reminded him of his friends' father. In his entire life, Ichika never understood how they always felt, for he never knew anything about his parents.
"My name is Alberto Blackett, the head butler of this house." He introduced himself, "If there's anything to ask, feel free to do so."
"Nice to meet you." Ichika bowed a little, Japanese style. "Please take care of me."
"Come here, Chelsea."
A girl few years older than him bowed, her red hair was the first thing the boy noticed. It was a rare sight in Japan, though he heard here in Europe, especially in certain country, it was very common.
She smiled at him softly, "My name is Chelsea Blackett, maid-in-training."
Chifuyu inspected the young teen intently, "Dedicated to this job at such young age… that's somewhat admirable… try to learn from her, Ichika."
Did Chifuyu just give a bold praise? That's… surprising, actually.
"I understand."
Another one was a blond girl about his age, her piercing blue eyes, they drip of repressed contempt. He kind of wondered why she looked at him like that.
"My name is Cecilia Alcott; Welcome to Alcott's summer mansion."
Cecilia don't talk much, she was always been haughty and passive. She followed each and every instruction Chifuyu told her, failing again and again, and get scolded.
Cecilia and Ichika never been too close, though it's mostly because Cecilia incapable of being less awkward, what with the sheer difference in status, and her memories of her inept father kept projected over him.
He always been formal and distant around her as result, and it pissed her off.
Still, Cecilia doesn't want to shift the blame.
Meanwhile, Cecilia began to notice… something grew between him and Chelsea, Cecilia rather hesitant to call it romance, but it's obvious that they took a lot of liking to each other, or at least, Chelsea did felt something for the much younger boy. Cecilia was sure at it…
Until now, Chelsea's the only young person Cecilia always been close, to, and Cecilia was afraid that her taking interest on the boy will drift them apart.
But even so, she couldn't bear to say that… at heart, she was lonely. She doesn't have much company around her age beside him and Chelsea, and she wasn't exactly close with her schoolmates either…
Her pride as Alcott always gets in the way.
And her living relatives, Cecilia hated them all. They don't care about Cecilia as a person, why should she care about them?
In the end, Chifuyu was the only one capable of being honest at her, disregarding Cecilia's wealth and status. Chifuyu saw her as a student she needed to take care of, Chifuyu can overlook everything and only focus on that.
Chifuyu was the only one capable of seeing Cecilia as Cecilia the person, not as orphaned inheritor of the Alcott family.
Ichika looked from the window, watched as Cecilia ran around the field under the supervision of Chifuyu. He felt nothing but shame, Chelsea and Cecilia both strive to grow up as better person, but he… he just stay here, did nothing.
And Alberto noticed that.
"Boy, what's with the sad face?"
"I…"
"…would you like to go with me taking care of the horse?"
Alcott mansion was not particularly huge, but it's located on a massive plot of private land with a lot of meadow and even small forest. Amongst the facility, there's a small horse barn and sizeable tracks for the horse to run around.
It was said that the former mistress loved horse, despite never outward about it. Since her death, few of the horses had been sold, now there are only three of them now.
In his lonesome, Alberto spent his free time taking care of them. Contrary to their wild appearance, pet horses are utterly spoiled creature and require much care.
"They look so huge" Ichika muttered.
"First time seeing them?"
"Up close, yes." Ichika was… excited, those beasts look so vicious and strong, and yet, they gently nudged him around playfully. "I've seen few in Japan, none of them are this huge."
"It's odd that Emperor took a liking to a person for the first time." Alberto chuckled, "You might even have a knack for it."
Ichika looked at the massive black horse, "Emperor?"
"My former Mistress has very strange sense of naming, I know." Alberto shrugged.
The black horse literally sneered at the boy, "Ah…" Ichika nodded, "Can you… teach me about horses?"
Few days had passed, and Ichika spent much of the summer vacation learning about how to take care of them. He's a surprisingly fast learner, much to Alberto's delight.
After two weeks, Ichika already capable of riding a horse on his own without worry, across the field on the back of male warhorse at full speed no longer made him afraid.
"Grandpa." Chelsea approached the old butler, "Lunch will come soon."
"He's a real natural, don't you think?" Alberto patted his redheaded granddaughter gently as he watched Ichika rode the Emperor with pride emanated from his eyes.
"Yeah…" the red headed maid's face flushed, "Looks cool…"
The black horse stopped near them as Ichika softly loosen his stature and shifted the center of his weight, and jumped down. "Afternoon, Chelsea."
"It's about an hour until lunch time; I suppose I should tell you early."
"Alright, let's take the horse in, let's go!"
Chelsea and Ichika walked side by side as the boy happily talked her about how much fun it was and how he would take her with a ride. Chelsea smacked his shoulder and said there's no way she would dare to ride with him with that kind of pace.
Unknown to the two teenagers, Cecilia is watching from a far. Her eyes, it was full of sadness… and longing.
Though Chifuyu knew it and told her not to be stupid and hold it in, Cecilia simply don't have the courage to ask.
"Lady Cecilia."
"Alberto." She gasped a bit, failed to notice the presence of the old butler.
"Aren't you going to join us?"
That sounds like a total mockery, despite his utter honesty; Cecilia was incapable of doing the same. And so, she stared at him with anger and disgust.
"I don't see why I, Cecilia Alcott, should lump myself with them."
She expected the old man to look dejected, or at least, stop smiling. Instead, it grew even wider than normal. And guilty conscience tormented her mind even more.
"I suppose I shall apologize for my insolence," he nodded as he left, "But you're free to change your mind anytime."
Enter the barn; Ichika just finished drying the wet skin of the horse, courtesy of the cold, humid air. The Emperor surely is a spoiled pet.
"Chelsea… Ichika… come here a bit." Alberto called them.
Lunch time came, and Cecilia decided to invite her instructor for a lunch. When the dishes are served, it caught the young lady off guard.
"Omelets?" Cecilia raised her eyebrow, "Who… made this atrocity of a cooking?"
"Ichika did." Alberto smiled, "You don't eat much this morning, I figure you could eat something different than usual."
"Such insolence, I never told you to do anything like that. Alberto."
"What's with the ruckus?" Chifuyu snorted and began take a slice with her spoon, "Are you incapable of eating anything other than first class cuisine? Military life is hard you know."
"But…"
"You can punish them as you wish, I won't interfere. But as an instructor, it's my job to insure you don't miss anything required." Chifuyu's glare began to rip Cecilia's soul piece by piece, "Now eat, today's training will be harder than usual."
Cecilia swallowed the food along with her pride, if Chifuyu said so; she had no strength to speak.
It's…
The sensations bathe upon her tongue, slowly spread thorough her throat toward her stomach, subtle but intense aroma filled her sense of smell. The soft texture of the eggs and the perfectly balanced composition of garlic and leeks made her stomach growl harder. Also, what the… are these fried rice inside the omelet?
Alberto was right; she didn't eat much during breakfast.
"What is… this…?" Cecilia's hands were shaken, to the point that she almost dropped her spoon. "This can't possibly made by an amateur! Is he our newest cook in training?!"
"…I have neither parents nor living relatives, I live with Ichika since he was a little brat, and no one else. Raising him was hard, money don't flow in regularly until I graduated high school. Just to fill the annual property tax is difficult, and that's why our family always lived modestly."
Ah…
So that's why he skillfully managed to cook such a delicious dish from very low grade ingredients.
"But he, he never once complain. Why I don't have parents like everyone else? How about pocket money? Why are we eating this again? I don't like how people looked down on us! Not a single complaint ever came off his mouth."
"On his own, he dealt with the chores when I went to work after school, he doesn't have much time to play around, and he had very few close friends… even after I became representative, Ichika still tried to be an independent boy."
"Never once he complained about his suffering, he kept everything for himself. Instead… he always tried to please everyone, he don't want to disappoint anyone. That became his greatest weakness; he had no aim, no ambition, and no purpose to enjoy his own life. And it made me concerned sometimes…"
"…I wonder sometimes, if I accept a certain adoption offering -or rather, request-, would Ichika turned out to be better person or not? As a mother figure, I felt like I failed to raise him properly."
What a sad looking smile…
So even Chifuyu have a soft side like this, who could have thought? She loved her brother so much, it made Cecilia envious.
"That's… not true…" Cecilia put the spoon down, "Instructor made a good father figure for him; I wish my father could be like you."
Chifuyu blinked a bit before chuckled.
Cecilia's memories about him… weren't exactly something to be proud of. For her parents to die together sounds like some kind of cosmic joke…
"Indeed, it's within human nature to be jealous and feel dissatisfied." Chifuyu continued, "But the greatest virtue is to cherish the precious things around you, because you won't recognize their value until you lost them."
Indeed…
Cecilia thought… she's lucky she knew about her parents, to be born into Alcott family. There are more people in this world suffered more than she did, like Ichika, and it… made her glad, somewhat.
Cecilia didn't realize how even her disappointment of a father still held a very special place inside her heart until he died.
"Alright then…" Cecilia smiled and began to savor the dish without any single drop left on the plate, "Let's go back to training, Instructor."
If ichika don't have something he wanted to do for his own sake, then Cecilia promised herself she will help him find it.
Ichika was surprised when the Chef approached him, per Cecilia's request that Ichika's to be trained as young cook of the house. Finding that he has nothing to do, the boy eagerly accepted the offer. Focusing on learning the way of a chef means he's freed from other responsibilities.
It wasn't certainly smooth, as the Chef and Ichika has very different view on cuisine standard.
Even so, the Chef admit that he does have the minimum talent, and told him that if he wanted to stay, is that he should keep working hard to hone it.
Summer almost came to an end and the vacation surely did. Ichika and Cecilia went to different school, but they still able to meet with each other in the afternoon. Usually when Chifuyu's too busy and had him and Chelsea had to supervise Cecilia's daily training.
Training as cadet rep is incredibly taxing to a person's body, let alone someone barely over 12, even so, their body had been adjusted by the machines to cope with the amount of physical burden that could wreck any normal teen with ease. It wasn't much a stretch to say that an experienced I.S. pilot is pretty much superhuman.
Ichika pushed Cecilia's back to train her flexibility, though the girl was more than capable of reaching her toes on her own, the regular exercise surely helps a lot. Chelsea was nowhere to be seen, as she's busy with the chores indoor (despite Cecilia's insistence to join), and in this… private situation, Cecilia managed to gather enough courage to speak. "Ichika."
"Yes?"
"Did you already decide where you will go?" Cecilia asked, "Just in case you forgot, here in England we start a new school year in September where in Japan, school year start in April."
To be honest, he doesn't really have specific interest. Anything that can ensure decent job with good pay would be fine. Besides, he might even end up at culinary school later…
"I don't know … the nearest middle school, perhaps."
"Meh, what a boring choice…" Cecilia waved her fingers, "Go with me to Windford Junior High, instead."
But it's the school for the wealthy elites, how could Ichika can-
"Don't worry, just study a lot and get high grades on the entrance exam, I'll deal with the paperwork. Besides, Chelsea also went there, and will be our senpai." Cecilia proudly raised her chest, "Just accept it as gratitude from me for taking care of my mother's precious horses and doing the chores every day."
"But Alcott, it'll be problematic-"
"And stop calling me with family name."
"But-"
"It's decided then."
"OY! What's with you all of sudden?!" Ichika stood up, confused, "Pardon my rudeness but that's freaky, please stop."
"Then you can just refuse it like a man, don't be indecisive wimp." Cecilia poked his chest and stared at him angrily, "I won't allow a weak man like that living here in Alcott mansion. If you want to stay here, grow up and be a fine gentleman. Decide what you want to do, and aim high. Don't say something like 'perhaps' or 'maybe', I personally won't allow that."
Ichika gave up and threw his hands aside, "Windford it is…Milady Alcott."
"That's Lady CECILIA for you." Cecilia screamed as both teenagers passed upon the young maid just few step out of the door, caused Chelsea to burst out laughing when Ichika decided to call her Alcott again out of spite, caused Cecilia to punch him on his back.
"Pardon me, you hit like a little girl… Milady Alcott"
"I AM A LITTLE GIRL! SO LET ME PUNCH YOU AGAIN, YOU IMBECILE."
From the other side of the field, away from the sight of the running teenagers, Chifuyu smiled.
I don't know what I am doing O.O
Anyway, yes, it's IchikaxCecilia story, there's not much in the way of planning besides that it will be rather short.
(I really need to deal with commitment issues, damn it)