SOMEWHERE SHE BELONGS
Infinite Stratos AU-verse
30.9.2016
One-shot
Complete
Un-beta-ed
Disclaimer: No, don't own the characters of Infinite Stratos. Inspiration - Somewhere I Belong, by Linkin Park.
Synopsis: In an attempt to sabotage Orimura Enjou, the dissidents kidnap his little sister, Ichiko. But while this day was a day of Enjou's triumph at Grosso Mondo, it was also his biggest failure that came back to haunt him.
Notes: This is not a complete story, not by a long shot, it's more like a short one-shot that could be expanded on at a later date. I am not willing to go deeper into the IS universe, and this was more or less an experiment that was hiding between all my other projects for the three years or so. The main premise is complete gender-bending - so, Ichika as a girl, and his/her harem of girls as guys. Because Orimura Enjou decided to win the Mondo Grosso, Ichika was forced to save herself. But that came at a high price - she is now distrustful of males to a great degree, which is just too bad, because much to her horrified dismay, upon her accidentally activating an IS, she is forced to attend the IS Academy. She trusts only her IS, the mysterious Kiritsugu which is unique even among his brethren and certainly dislikes her big brother. Anyway, if anyone would want to expound on the story, they are welcome to it, just tell me in advance. More details at the bottom.
They never thought that there would be the day they would have seen somebody oppose the Ice King himself, Orimura Enjou.
"You don't have any rights to demand her back." A cold voice that rebuked the tall man could be termed emotionless, if not for a hint of something that implied danger for the tall and handsome brown-eyed IS champion with short black hair.
The situation was strange… a girl, covered in blood, was lying unconsciously in the arms of the metal behemoth that glared at the man in white and blue uniform coldly, his pupil-less blue optic colder than the coldest tundra.
"I have every right. She is my pupil and my sister and she's hurt." The man responded just as coldly, with the hint of steel underneath his voice.
"And I should have cared, why?"
The IS suit cocked its helm inquiringly, before it glowed and much to the shock of the onlookers, compressed itself into a humanoid shape still holding the unconscious girl in a bridal carry.
When the glow faded, they could see a black-haired male with ice blue eyes, a little taller than Enjou, clad in black trousers and boots with black leather coat with silver edgings.
"You betrayed her - winning the Mondo Grosso instead of saving her, pressing her into coming to the ISA and failing to protect her from Makoto." The behemoths's voice was now smoother, more likened to a human one, but that only added to the severity of his accusations, making the crowd murmur between themselves with confusion. Those were some very heavy accusations, after all.
"She is weak. " Enjou kept his calm. "Her piloting the IS was just a fluke, a stroke of luck."
The man/IS hybrid snorted. "Her piloting skills may have been obtained a little differently than your lot, but they are real. She may have been weak, but now she's one of the strongest ones. That still doesn't excuse you from failing to protect her. You are just a despicable person. You demand of her to call you Nii-sama or Orimura-sensei, yet you do nothing to be really worthy of those titles."
Enjou bristled. The crowd murmured, scandalized and questioning gazes zeroed on him, demanding the answers that wouldn't be forthcoming. Not from him, at any rate.
"How pitiful. The great Enjou-sama is speechless. The truth hurts, doesn't it?" The humanized IS taunted him, an infuriating smirk on his face when he watched Enjou becoming more and more angered.
"You relinquished your right to those titles the moment you decided your participation in Mondo Grosso was more important to you than your sister. " The strange IS glanced at the fragile burden in his arms.
"The moment she entered me, she became mine, body, mind and soul. " Ice blue eyes warmed slightly, before becoming even colder as he looked back at the angry Champion. "Not yours. Mine, and mine alone."
"You are still only an IS, and I could've destroyed you easily." Enjou growled out, his brown eyes flashing with irritation and… jealously?
The IS snorted. "You, destroy me?" He chuckled with derision. "You couldn't even pilot me, what makes you even think you could do me any harm?"
The people shifted, now wary of the strange apparition. Enjou's dark brown eyes widened with apprehension and a tiny bit of fear.
"… Kiritsugu." Enjou spat out, making the crowd recoil away from the now maliciously smirking IS.
"Finally got it, didn't you?" The IS purred out.
Kiritsugu was a famous name among the circles of IS pilots and experts. This one IS unit was supposed to be unstoppable. Even it's creator, dr. Nonono admitted that even he didn't know all of its capabilities, despite Kiritsugu being his personal brainchild – or more correctly, troubled child.
Kiritsugu was ridiculously powerful… but only if he was in right hands. And sadly for the mad scientist, the number 013 was very picky about its pilot. Not many of them knew, but Enjou had been offered to pilot that particular IS, as befitting the winner of Mondo Grosso – only to find out that he was wholly incompatible with the suit, to the point of being unceremoniously ejected out of the cockpit five seconds within initiating the first contact with it. This was both the source of shame and frustration for the prideful Champion, doubly so now when he found out that this unruly suit which dared to reject him was now a lapdog of his sister.
When the world found out about the first and only female IS pilot, the good doctor decided to do the impossible and certainly irresponsible. Under the guise of delivering Ichiko's personalized unit, he had snuck into the IS Academy Kiritsugu under his fake name of Shiro Hoshi (White Star) to see if the little girl could pilot the stubborn IS.
And pilot it - him, she did. In fact, the doctor was shocked at the high synchro rares between the two of them - of course, the beginning wasn't exactly stellar, but for a girl who – before the accident - didn't even know what IS was, the results were impressive nonetheless.
If dr. Nono had any doubts still, they were banished when the no. 013 practically glued itself to the girl, never leaving her alone and even going as far as to create hologram to interact with her. However, even he didn't expect the IS's next claim.
"You kill me, you kill her." Kiritsugu told Enjou coldly, his voice flat. "We are linked."
"Then we will undo the link."
'Oh, Enjou, you foolish, foolish boy.' Dr. Nono thought to the champion pityingly.
"You can't. Kiri-kun speaks the truth. " He interrupted the glare-off between the two males.
"How?" Charles asked, as he nibbled his lower lip worryingly, his blue eyes troubled. It was obvious that the young man was concerned for the fragile girl, but right now, he couldn't do anything. Dr. Nono shook his head. "Their synchro rates are off the chart. It's… 100%, even more. Kiri-kun wasn't kidding when he told you that they are linked."
But the link is usually disengaged when not piloting the IS – " Enjou was interrupted by the good doctor once again.
"Usually, yes, that happens. But not with Icchan. She is linked with Kiri-kun 24/7. For once, dr. Nono was serious, no mention of his childish persona anywhere. "Even if the link was weak at first, it had been strengthened through time. And I wouldn't recommend separating them anyway." He sniffled, as he glared at Enjou. "Kiritsugu is her shield and sword, her protector and shelter, and she is the one that stabilized him. Try to separate them, Champion, and I guarantee you that the world will burn."
The End.
Details - these are main points I was considering when thinking up the story in a greater length.
Ichiko accidentally activates IS, maybe because she is freaked out by the sudden attack when she was visiting the museum. Ite IS may or may not be Kiritsugu, but I thought she had activated an ordinary IS drone, so to speak.
Relocation to IS Academy, among the... boys.
She gets her own suit, she doesn't trust men, but she does trust to her IS, even if he had to earn her trust through dreams (A little bit on a Bleach side, the interaction between the rider and the IS unit, so to speak. I am of an opinion the IS units do have enough of artificial intelligence to be considered as persons, but usually, they don't come to forefront like Kiritsugu does, mainly because the bond and trust with their 'owners' is too weak for the manifestation, so to speak).
Kiritsugu, number 013: Power suit. Black with silver edges, he's a power suit with excellent maneuverability. Not many could keep with it because of its insane acceleration rates, be that on the battlefield or mentally through the mind link (principle similar to the nerve connection in Pacific Rim, only without the need of two people to man the machine.), extreme mental fortitude required. While Ichiko can deliver, it's very taxing on her, even with her high synchro rates with her IS unit.
She is very behind in theoretical knowledge in comparison to her male peers; her advantage lies in an instinctual grasp of the workings of an IS unit and total abandonment of her safety. She is kind of a kamikaze, if you will. Personality: Shy, borderline cold and really block-headed that her male colleagues want her as their girlfriend. She has her cute moments, but she still laughs very rarely. The alternate form of her IS is a choker with black and silver lotus with seven petals on the middle.
Charles Dunoit – entered ISA as Charlotte Dunois as to get closer to Ichiko, but after the scandal, he was entered as a male.
Alcott - hot-headed, extremely proud Brit.
Ren – Ichiko's childhood friend, good at kendo. Has a crush on her.
Orimura Makoto – Ichiko's other brother, a middle child. Temperamental, occasionally cruel. Somewhat obsessed with Ichiko. (Maybe wants her as his bride?)
Orimura Enjou – The winner of the fourth Grosso Mondo. Nicknamed Ice King. Sacrificed Ichiko for winning the tournament.
Andono-sensei – the classroom teacher of Ichiko's class. Shy, occasionally stutters, and blushes around Ichiko, much to her confusion and her admirers' irritation.
Nonono-sensei - the crazy genius who invented IS. Adores rabbits and IS, wears the headband with mechanical rabbit ears. Disapproves of Enjou's interactions with Ichiko