A/N This is my first fic, hope you guys like it. It's probably going to be somewhat of a crossover with the Gundam 00 Celestial Being added in as the opposites of Phantom Task. It'll be just rewriting the plot for now as I think of new stuff. Thanks for reading this.

I'm surrounded by girls. There's 29 girls sitting behind me. Welcome to my high school, the Infinite Stratos Academy, and I'm the only bloody guy here, the rest of the students are girls. Why? Well because only females can pilot the Infinite Stratos, and I'm apparently the only male that can. I'm not sure if I should take that meaning I'm unique, or if I'm girly enough for the machine. But whatever the reason, I'm sent here so they can collect data about me, as well as letting me learn and pilot the IS itself.

"Orimura Ichika? Orimura-san? ORIMURA?"

"Eh?" Why's this teacher yelling at me?

"Oh sorry, but we're doing self introductions now, so if you don't mind, but it's your turn now, so pretty please?"

I slowly stand up, turning around, and I see 28 stares. The lone girl is staring out of the window, clearly not paying attention. She's none other than Houki Shinonono, my friend whom I haven't seen in 6 years. Unfortunately she seems to be mad at me, so I'm not getting any help from there. Guess I have to do this on my own. I can feel the stares piercing into me, this is not good, I better say something before they all think I'm embarrassing.

I take a deep breath, "Hi, I'm Ichika Orimura, nice to meet you all!" I bow, and turn around halfway before seeing all the expectant looks directed at me. Do they expect more out of that? They're like saying "what else?"

Hey, Houki, aren't you going to give me a hand as my childhood friend? Nope, she's ignoring me again. So heartless. How about a touching reunion scene? Yeah, like that would ever happen.

This is bad. If I don't say something quick, I'll end up being branded "boring" or worse. I took a deep breath and held it, fixed a determined look on my face, and said,

"That's all!"

CRASH! Several girls collapsed onto the floor. What were they expecting from me - a gripping tale of my life of adventure? Well too bad I didn't have a life of adventure.

"That, that's..." Behind me, Yamada-sensei started crying. What? Not good enough? I understand being the only boy in a school is going to cause certain…issues, but still…

"Hey it's the first day of school, gimme a rest" I said to Yamada-sensei.

A fist impacted me on the back of my head. Hard, and it feels really familiar, as if somebody has done it a lot of times before.

I turn around slowly, dreading what I'm expecting. Black business suit, tall, with a face that looks like mine. It's my sister from hell.

"WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU HERE CHIFUYU-NEE?"

PANG! Another fist hit my head.

"That's for not calling me Orimura-sensei."

BOOM!

"And that's for swearing in class."

So that's why my sister disappears, coming back home only once or twice a month. She never told me about this job either, not even when I was accepted into the IS Academy.

"Oh, Orimura-sensei, is the meeting over already?"

"Sorry I had to let you start my class without me Yamada-sensei"

Woah. Since when did Chifuyu start using the word "sorry"? I never thought she knew the meaning of the word. Damn I have to know my sister better.

"It's nothing, as assistant homeroom teacher I'm expected to do that."

"Everyone, my name is Chifuyu Orimura, and my duty for the next year is to train you in the operation and controls of an IS. Everything I teach, you have to remember and understand. To those who don't understand, I'll teach them till they can. My job is to thoroughly train you during your first year in the academy, until you turn 16. You don't have to like me, but you DO have to respect and obey me! Understood?"

Was that a declaration of war? No mistake - this is definitely my older sister, Chifuyu Orimura.

Despite her harsh tone of voice, there weren't any fearful cries. Rather, the room erupted in shrieks of elation.

"EEEEEK! It's Chifuyu-sama! It's Chifuyu-sama herself in real life!"

"I've always been your fan!"

"You inspired me to come to this school all the way from North Kyushu, onee-sama!"

"I came all the way from southern Hokkaido!"

"I'm so happy Chifuyu-sama is my teacher!"

"I'll gladly die for you, Chifuyu-sama!"

Chifuyu-nee stared at the chattering girls, and her face fell. "I'm amazed how many nut-jobs come to this school every year. Do they put all the loonys in my class on purpose?"

"Chifuyu-nee you should be proud of how famous you are, and not be disappointed that they actually adore you."

Another fist hit me on my head.

"I believe I told you to call me Orimura-sensei about 2 minutes ago. Do I need to repeat myself?" Shit.

"No….ma'am."

DING-DONG I'm saved by the bell

Arghhh I can't stand this. I'm sitting there in my seat, being stared at like a lion in a zoo, with even predatory looks coming my way from the numerous girls dotted around the class in groups chatting obviously about me. But I've got nothing else to do. I don't know anybody other than Houki.

"Can we talk?"

Eh? Did somebody get the courage to talk to me before anybody else did?

"Hey"

Oh, it's Houki. I guess she still remembers me.

"Yeah sure, I guess, but where?"

"We can get up to the rooftop."

She led me towards the staircase, walking ahead of me, with her long ponytail swinging around in my face as we silently climbed the staircase. She always had this hairstyle that never changed, waist length hair that's tied with a green ribbon into a ponytail, and it's kinda cute, in a way.

We get up to the rooftop, and it's relatively empty compared to the corridors below, which is good because otherwise we'll be pierced to death by stares.

"So….." I try to initiate conversation as Houki was glaring at me.

"…" She doesn't say anything even though she was the one that dragged me here.

"I saw that you won the international Kendo Championship last year right? Congratulations, you deserve it." I say the first thing that comes to mind to avoid a really awkward situation.

Her face turns into confusion, "Huh?" Then it turns completely red. "How'd you know about that?"

"Oh uh uhm….. it was in the newspaper." Truth is, I was trying to find any information I could find about her, and first thing I could find was that she won.

Somehow she goes back to glaring at me. "And why the hell were you reading that?"

"Uh…"

"Hey, even after six years, I still recognized you immediately" I quickly change the topic.

"What?" That was blunt, but typical of Houki's warrior style, if not for her blushing face, I guess she took it as a compliment.

"Yeah, you still have that same hairstyle, still that ponytail with a ribbon" I said while looking at her up and down. She had the same hairstyle, but her body changed a lot. She's now taller, just a bit shorter than me, and she has a really feminine figure. Damn she's actually quite sexy.

"Sto-stop staring at me like that!" Whoops somebody caught me staring. I look at her face, and she's shyly looking down at the ground with a faint blush on her face. Scratch sexy, she's also cute.

She looks up at me with a fire in her eyes, "I know what you're thinking you know"

"Oh really? What am I thinking exactly Houki?"

She stays silent with a scowl on her face, glaring at me. I guess she didn't really know what I'm thinking after all. But then why'd she say she does? I don't understand girls sometimes.

"It's been twenty minutes, let's get back to the classroom before my sister kills my brain cells again." I try to end the conversation as it was getting awkward.

"Sure…" Now she's got an unhappy look on her face, what's with her today anyways? This isn't the happy reunion two friends that's been apart for 6 years should have, but I guess it's just Houki, the stubborn, unyielding girl that always follows through on her decisions.

"Class, we're now going to elect our class representative. Can we have some nominations, and then we'll have a vote." My sister's talking again, oh how boring.

"I nominate Orimura-kun"

WAIT. WHAT? WHY ME?

"I agree, he should be the perfect candidate." And now more people are agreeing with whoever the hell nominated me? What madness is this?

"Hey don't I get a say in this?" I try to object.

"Shut up Orimura. If nobody else is nominated, then Orimura will be the class representative. Any objections?"

"I believe I am a more suitable candidate than this Japanese monkey, Orimura-sensei. I cannot allow a man to represent me, and certainly not a man of this low-tier country" A blonde girl stood up with a stance that screamed ROYALTY in your face, and with such an arrogant voice I just wanted to slap her.

"Oh so you're insulting Japan? Tell me, has Britain done anything really interesting recently other than drink tea and talk about your own history?" I know she's from Britain just by her accent. She sounds absolutely horrible at her own language as well.

"….my country doesn't matter! I'm the only one to defeat the instructor in the entrance exam as well, so that also proves my skills as an IS pilot! That's what matters right?"

"Yeah bad news, I defeated the instructor as well."

"…WHAT! I WAS TOLD I WAS THE ONLY ONE!"

"So you want to fight it out then? To test our skills as an IS pilot?"

"So you're challenging me? I am a Representative Candidate, after all, and that also means I have my own personal IS, so you're just asking for an overwhelming defeat."

"I don't even care if you have your own personal army. I'm not going to let you trashtalk me and get away with it. Do you want a handicap? It doesn't feel right you know, fighting a girl seriously."

She bursts out in laughter. "The thinking that 'men are stronger than women' is seriously outdated. Do you want a handicap instead?"

"No. A man never goes back on his words." I stand resolute.

And so in the first day of school, I find out my sister's actually my teacher, and I've already managed to get into a duel to fight over something I didn't want in the first place. I think I'm going to enjoy this school year.

The IS Academy is a boarding school, meaning I'll have to live here for the rest of the year. I actually didn't think of it earlier, but since this is supposed to be an all-girls school, I never thought about how I'm going to board, but I've been given a room, so I'm either going to be sharing a room with a girl, or living on my own. I guess the former isn't that bad, although it's really going to be awkward.

I reach my room, number 1025, and open the door. I look inside, and it seems pretty empty, so I walk in. In the room, I see 2 massive beds side by side, and a desk with 2 computers on it. I put my luggage on the ground, and immediately jump on the bed. I then notice two bags beside me, between the beds. Oh shit. I guess I really have to share a room. But where is my roommate? Then I realize, there's somebody showering in the bathroom.

"Oh hey, if you're my roommate, nice to meet you."

The voice sounds kind of deep, but familiar, muffled by the doors and walls. I hear the shower stop running.

"Sorry, but I just took a shower, I'll come out right now" I freeze. My brain trying to make the connection between "just took a shower" and "the girl coming out right now". The door opens, and I see a pair of really nice legs walk out. I'm already staring.

"Hey, my name in Houki Shinonono…" OH WHY OUT OF ALL THE GIRLS IT HAD TO BE HER!?

She's wearing just a towel around her body, with her hair hanging down her back, not in the usual ponytail. The towel doesn't really cover much, with her legs fully naked, water dripping down. Her skin looks really smooth. Meanwhile above the towel, her breasts are halfway covered, with the towel struggling to actually hold them in, they're definitely an improvement from what she had 6 years ago. My eyes travelling upwards, I see more soft white skin, and then I reach her face, and see the most shocked look I've even seen on her face.

"Wha…wha….WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" She's mad. Seriously mad.

"Um, this is my room…?" I lamely hold up the paper that shows my room number, without taking my eyes off her body.

"STOP STARING AT ME" She blushes red and turns away from me.

"I'M SORRY I DIDN'T KNOW OKAY FORGIVE ME" I'm not sorry. No teenage boy is sorry after seeing that body.

With her back to me, she said, "Are you….my roommate?" She actually sounds kind of happy, weirdly.

"I guess so?" This might be better than I imagined, with Houki as my roommate, since then I won't have to share a room with a complete stranger.

"You….. You planned this didn't you? You planned this!" She screamed, and grabbed the first thing she saw, a wooden training sword, and swung at me.

"HEY CALM DOWN!" I dodge the swing, and grab the sword, inadvertently pulling her towards me. She gasps, loses her balance, and falls on top of me, on my bed. This is bad. Really bad.

She's staring at me, her face red, our faces inches apart. She's really pretty right now, and add to the fact her barely covered body is on top of me? I can't think straight, and I can't stop staring at her.

"I…I…Ichika….?" She whispers.

"…" I still can't think.

"C…can you let me go?" Houki mumbles, and I just realized my hands were around her waist, holding her.

"Arghhh I'm sorry!" I release my hands, and she gets off me immediately, blushing red.

"YOU IDIOT!" She yells at me. I brace myself for the screaming that's to follow, but instead, she grabs the sword again and tries to attack me.

I see another one of those weapons, near her bag, so I lean down, grab it and block her swing in one fluid motion. Don't underestimate me Houki, I still did my Kendo training even when you're gone.

The sword feels really unbalanced, as though there was a weight on the end of it. It's not like Houki to use imperfect weapons, so I take a glance at the end of the sword, which is where Houki is also staring at.

There's something attached to the end of it, but before I take a look, she grabs it with amazing speed, and her face turns from furious to even more furious while blushing.

I look at her hands. A strange triangle attached to another triangle with 2 straps. It's a bra, and it looks as if it's pretty expensive as well. I like her tastes.

"Oh. So you wear bras now. You've got some great taste in your selection." I comment casually. I am so dead.

She hits me with the hilt of the sword so hard that I black out.

I wake up to Houki looking down at me, while I'm lying down on the bed. She's changed into some sort of Kendo training robe now, and she seems to have a look in her eyes that I never really associate with Houki, where she actually looks kinda guilty and worried.

"Hey" I say softly, "I'm awake you know. Just so you can stop staring."

Her face visibly softens, "Sorry for hitting you like that"

Did I hear that wrong? Is that….Houki actually apologizing? She then blushed, saying, "Are you okay?"

"You've really changed you know, you never apologize to people after hitting them before."

She looks away, it strikes me as really weird, since she never backs away from an argument. Is this really her? Did she get some mental illness after she left?

"Houki? Look at me." She turns around with a slight tinge on her face, asking, "Why?"

"What's this really all about? I mean, you're blushing quite a lot." I asked with my eyebrows raised.

"Ichika…..what do you really think, about….about me?" Oh goddamnit I hate it when girls ask these type of questions, there's never a straightforward and correct answer that won't get my head chopped off.

"Uh well, you're magnitudes sexier than the last time I saw you?" Upon hearing that, she raised her arms, covering her chest while looking down at the floor embarrassed.

"But you're still the same girl inside, still stubborn, unwilling to accept defeat, and always trying hard to be the best." It's true really, she never gives up.

"I….I guess. But then, what do you think about us?" She said that really rushed, like she was forcing herself to say it. Oh damn. This is a hard one. Back when we were childhood friends, I really didn't think much of her as a girlfriend, simply because I already had Chifuyu-nee and I had to deal with all the household chores, and the fact that I was 9 at the time, there wasn't really any feelings.

"Is this where you confess your eternal love to me?" Honestly I don't know how to reply, so I'm just going to bounce a question at her.

"…" Her furiously blushing face pretty much betrayed her and she scrambled to actually use her mouth to speak.

"Houki."

"Y..Y-Yes?"

"Do you love me?"

"Y….yeah."

"Why?" The more I think about it, since meeting her today, I've been pretty much non-stop thinking about her. Maybe I should take advantage of this.

"You're the kindest person I've ever known Ichika. You've always tried to help people, and you've always tried to protect me, even when you didn't know me. Like the time you protected me against those bullies, even though I never needed your help in the first place."

"…" I'm speechless. She's looking at me expectantly, as if she's waiting for a response. I never thought I would have that much of an effect on people, I was just…doing what felt like was right.

"Houki?" "Yes?" "Let me…have a think about this."

"But you'll consider it right? You'll think about us being together right? Then I'll be waiting for your answer then, I've waited for 6 years, I can wait a little bit longer." She sounds really happy.

Just then, my phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hi this is the super genius Tabane~! Ikkun, I've got a present for you~"

"Oh, hi Tabane." Hearing that, Houki immediately looked over and narrowed her eyes. "So what do you have for me then?"

"Your very own personal IS! I heard that you were going to duel somebody, so I'll have it delivered to you just in time for it." Knowing Tabane, this IS is going to be something special, and it's also probably going to cause me a lot of trouble.

"Also, have fun with Houki, I bet you two are going to have a lot of fun being in the same room! I can't wait to be an Aunt."

"WOAH CALM DOWN THERE WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" Screw it it's Tabane I don't need to know what she's talking about.

"Nothing~ Bye Ik-kun~" With that she cut the connection.

"What'd my sister want?" Hey what happened to the happy Houki 5 minutes ago?

"Uh nothing much she just wanted to give me my IS."

"Oh you must be really happy huh? Being given an IS by my own sister, when I don't even have one yet?" Oh shoot she's really angry now.

"Yeah I am." Better be honest.

"Tch." She just slumps on her bed and went to sleep.

I wake up slowly to the sun shining on my eyes. I look at the clock, it's 6:27 AM. Better get up since I can't go back to sleep with this little time anyways. I look over, Houki's still sleeping. Weirdly enough, she's hugging her pillow instead of actually sleeping on it. She looks pretty cute.

I get up from my bed, changing into my clothes. I think about what I should do since there's still 2 hours until classes start. I guess I should go take a run around the school grounds.

As I run, I contemplate what happened yesterday. Although I had suspected that Houki had a crush on me before, I never thought she would have feelings for me even after years of being apart. I honestly don't know what to think, on one hand, she's really pretty, but on the other she's way too violent, but that's part of her charm, the undefeatable warrior vibe she has.

But why did Tabane suddenly decide to give me an IS? That'll even be completed so quick that it'll be ready for my duel? Personal IS development usually take around 3-5 years, sometimes even a decade. But knowing her, she probably has a few tricks up her sleeve, after all, she is the inventor of the IS, so I should underestimate her.

I jog around the IS arena deep in thought, but a sudden flash of green light catches my attention. I look up to the sky where the sun is just rising, I spot nothing. Just as I'm about to think it's just some sort of reflection, I see a green light drawing a circle in the sky. It disappears for a moment, then a really bright flash appears and a horizontal line of green appears, fading into the morning sky. What was that?

As I jog back to my room, I see students just starting to wake up, and nobody seemed to have noticed it. I put it out of my mind as I've got more important stuff, such as the upcoming IS duel when I don't even know how to use an IS. Maybe I should just ask somebody for help.

It's 8:04, and I just finished showering. As I walk out of the door, I notice Houki still asleep. I walk up next to her bed, tapping her lightly on the face. "Hey Houki, wake up, you're gonna be late." She doesn't react, so I tap her harder "YO HOUKI, WAKE THE HELL UP, YOU'RE DROOLING"

She instantly rockets up, smashing my head in the process. Hey that's no way to repay me for waking you up.

"Ow." I feel like my head's been hit by a rock.

Houki glares at me as though she heard me. Hey since when can she see through my mind?

"IDIOT WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP SOONER?!" She grabs her bokken, lifting it up.

"HEY AT LEAST THANK ME…" My voice trails off as I'm already gone, running through the door as fast as I can. Word of advice, never be in the same room as an angry Houki with a wooden stick.

Day of the duel. IS hangar.

My supposed personal IS is nowhere to be seen, and Chifuyu-nee don't seem to even know I have one. Guess relying on Tabane was a bad idea.

"So Orimura, you have three choices. The older first-generation Revive, the second generation Raphael Revive, or the Japanese Mass Production Unit, the Uchigane. I would recommend the Raphael Revive as it has various weapon choices as well as the powerful Gray Scale. The Uchigane on the other hand is limited to a Vibration Katana, and it is also a ground based IS, which means it is not capable of flight for long durations. The older Revive is simply out-specced by the newer units."

"Um…" Crap how do I tell her I have a personal IS?

"Quickly choose, we don't have much time to use the arena."

"Actually…My personal IS is supposed to be here today."

"What? You have a personal IS? Since when? Who gave it to you?"

If on cue, a massive carrot appeared right in the middle of the hangar, splitting open to reveal a gleaming grey IS.

"I should've known. Well hurry up and suit up. I need to call Tabane right now." I watch her walk away, one hand taking out her phone, muttering about crazy rabbits and carrots. I wonder if she wants a rabbit with carrot stew for dinner.

I walk up to the IS, placing my hand on the front panel armor. Instantly, data flooded my mind. Thruster output, calibration settings, atmospheric pressure, even the room temperature.

"Hey Houki?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going."

"Don't die. Come back a winner."

"I will."

And with that, I step on the launching pad. "Byakushiki, engaging the enemy!"

As I flew up to meet Cecilia, I felt as if the armor was fusing with me, like it was joining to me, being part of my body. My vision was getting clearer, and it was also expanding.

"System engage. Byakushiki performing setup." A metallic voice rang in my head.

"Oh so you didn't run away. This is your last chance….." I zone her out as I study her IS. According the Byakushiki, her IS is a Third-Generation prototype, called Blue Tears. It has 2 wing like formations on either side of the main body, as well as heavily armored legs. She's carrying a marksman rifle with a scope, the [Starlight Mk. III]. By the looks of it, it's pretty darn powerful.

*Warning, enemy pilot locking on*

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?"

"Uh? What'd you say? Sorry I wasn't listening." I smirk, knowing that'll piss her off.

"PREPARE TO DIE!" She raised her right arm, using the scope to aim at me.

*Danger, enemy IS attack imminent.*

No shit, Byakushiki, and I thought an IS had hyper sensors. I fly quickly to my left, just as she fires. A blue beam tears through the sky, clipping me on my right hip.

"Right torso armor damaged. Shield energy remaining : Unknown. Damage assessment : Low."

I'm flying left and right, trying to evade all her shots. "Byakushiki, weapons?"

*Error. Weapon list unavailable. System has not yet completed setup.*

What?! I have no weapons? Who the hell had this brilliant idea?

"Left shoulder armor destroyed. Shield energy remaining : Unknown. Damage assessment : Medium."

I guess I'll just have to survive until Byakushiki has finished setup. Until then, I can always engage in some hand to hand combat.

I raise my fists, smiling at Cecilia. With that, I fly directly at her, using my fists and my Shield Barrier to block her shots.

"Oh, engaging me without any weapons, while I'm in my long range IS, that's perfectly designed to take out short ranged opponents? I thought you were dumb, but not that dumb."

"Well then, dance. Dance to the waltz Cecilia Alcott and my Blue Tears are playing!"

The "wings" on either side of her IS suddenly detached, revealing 4 fin like mobile weapons. The bits flew around me, as she rained shot after shot down at me, I realized this is futile. Even if her shots don't get me, the BTs would surely hit me. I watched them fly closer, as I try to dodge her rifle shots, combined with the beams the bits are now shooting out.

In a last ditch attempt, I push myself towards Cecilia, trying to at least get close. As I fly closer, she laughs, and reveals two barrels on her hips, swiveling to the sides.

"Say goodbye!"

4 missiles are launched at me. I immediately fly backwards, trying to dodge them, but they're relentless.

BOOM!

White fire covers my vision.

"ICHIKA"

Huh? I'm not dead? Then how'd I just hear Houki's voice….

*System setup and formatting complete. Byakushiki Setsura now ready for combat.*

Huh, Setsura? What's that? But that means I'll get my weapons, right?

"Byakushiki, weapon list."

*Yukihira Niigata. Close ranged IS sword. Setsura, System AI.*

Oh wow, that's it? I select the sword, while saying "Setsura, what can you do?"

The sword looks more like a Katana, and I remember Chifuyu-nee's weapon being called "Yukihira". Guess I got the second version of it.

The smoke from the explosion clears. I see Cecilia, standing with her rifle by her side, hand on her hips, looking at me surpirsed.

"What? First shift? To think that you endured 27 minutes of fighting with just your IS in the default settings…"

Byakushiki seemed to have evolved more than just first shift. But now, it feels complete. It feels like as if it's an extension to my body. It has changed shape as well, with thrusters forming on my shoulders, but weirdly, it instead has green particles streaming slowly from it.

"Chifuyu, this battle will be dedicated to you. I truly have the best big sister in the world."

I burst forward in a sudden move, cutting through one of Cecilia's Bits.

"Setsura, give me ideas on how to combat the remaining bits and get close to Blue Tears."

"I can give you our ace in the hole, or do you want strategy?"

"Strategy first, then if that fails, whatever our ace in the hole is."

"If you've noticed, Blue Tears itself cannot move while the pilot is commanding her bits. It creates an opening, as well as time to strike down the bits itself while Cecilia is busy dodging."

I smile, thanking Tabane silently from my heart. I clench my right hand, my sword glowing bright, until it split open, revealing a blade of green light. I know how to use this. I've seen Chifuyu-nee use it in her Mondo Grosso matches before.

Cecilia launches her bits, 4 of them flying at me. It's a multi angle attack, with 4 of them trying to catch me off guard. However, with Setsura giving me information, I fly fast towards the first one, immediately cutting it in half. I sense another coming from right above me, so I dodge to the left, slicing upwards.

Boom. Two down, two left to go.

The remaining two flies back, as Cecilia calls them back in a state of panic, trying to save her bits. Too late, as I see one flying by, I slash at that one as well. I ride the shockwave of the explosion, with Yukihira leading the charge.

"AARRGHHHHHHHH" I yell. But then, Setsura gave me a warning.

"Master, in your state of elation, it seems that you've forgotten about her missile launchers."

I blink, as the realization hits me. I try to stop my charge, but it's too late. This time, 8 missiles launch from her side skirts, tracking me down. I slash two in mid-air, but I can't possibly lose them all. They converge on me.

BOOM.

I open my eyes.

"You are not dead simply because I saved you by launching the Shields. Please refrain from being stupid later on this battle, or I'll have to think of new ways to save your ass."

Why is she so goddamn rude? I mean, I literally own her.

"I can also read your thoughts. We are one. So no, you don't 'own' me."

There goes my privacy. I look around the explosion. 12 rectangular shields half the size of Cecilia's bits are hovering around me. I look at my HUD. My shield points are at 591, I guess the explosion nicked me a bit, but hey thanks Setsura.

"You're welcome. You don't even need to order them around, I'll do it myself, since you seem to be rather incompetent, I won't burden you with such a heavy mental task. Meantime, I'll just busy myself with developing new weapons for you, as this battle seems to be rather boring."

I tighten my grip around Yukihira, charging towards Blue Tears, with my shields in front, automatically intercepting all her shots. They're pretty damn cool actually, and unless I get hit by something strong, I don't even think it can be pierced through.

"SAY HELLO TO THE NEW CLASS REP!" I yell as I swing my sword from right to left. She blocks it with her Starlight Mk. III, but Yukihira slices through it easily. She drops it, and flies backwards quickly. I follow immediately with a left to right reverse swing, impacting her shield barrier. We're so close I can see the fear in her eyes. She tries to call back her remaining BT bit, but because of that action she had to stand still, which gave me an opening to strike.

Just as I'm about to deal the finishing blow, a pink beam pierced through the arena's shield, shattering the energy barrier. It hits Blue Tears directly on it's chest, activating Absolute Defense, immediately dematerializing it. Bad thing, considering she's about 50 meters in the air.

It felt like as if time slowed down. My Hyper Sensor zoomed in on her, and Byakushiki accelerated forwards. I reached my hands out and caught her, just as another pink beam shot at me and impacted 3 of my Shields, destroying them instantly. "Setsura, is she alive?" "Yes. But she's unconscious for now."

"Chifuyu-nee, what's going on?"

"Level-D alert. 2 unknown IS signatures coming in, core number unknown, and our scanners aren't doing much. It appears that there's a particle generator of some sorts, jamming the signals. Pull back, and get back into the hangar with Alcott. The teachers can deal with this."

"But nee-san, the energy beam shattered the arena's barrier in one shot! There's no way the teachers in their mass production units will be able to even sustain one hit, let alone fight them head on."

"Do you think you can seriously help? You have Alcott to worry about, not to mention that your IS energy levels are probably quite low after the beating you took."

"Actually, I still have 591 out of 600 shield points remaining."

"….just get back to the hangar Ichika. We don't know who they are, and it's your first time in an IS. Don't get cocky."

I sigh, turning back towards the hangar's hatch, feeling Byakushiki accelerate. I can't go too fast, otherwise the G-forces will hurt Cecilia. As I get to the door, it doesn't open.

"Why isn't the door open?"

"We're in total lockdown right now, the door's locked. Give me a few minutes while I unlock it."

I turn around, looking at the sky. The IS Academy teachers were fighting the two IS, although it was a 5 on 2 battle, they were still losing. The enemy IS are really powerful, and they had extreme mobility. Argh, I can't just stand around waiting while my teachers fight on like this!

I gently lay Cecilia down next to the door, so that when Chifuyu opens the door she'll find her and hopefully carry her back instead of yelling at me. I then turn around, and speed towards the battle.

"You could have shot the door down and put Cecilia inside, you know." Setsura made another snide remark.

"Can you give me some information on the enemy? Rather than judging me on every action?"

"Based on visuals, they seem to be a sniper-based IS coupled with a melee combat oriented unit. They seem advanced, but their generation is unknown, although I would say they exceed our current prototypes by at least 2-3 generations. The power output of the sniper rifle is insane, while the mobility of the melee unit is unmatched. However, they both seem to only have one weapon each, so if you can isolate one of them, then their weaknesses will be more prominent."

Just as Setsura finished her analysis, a massive beam of energy from the sniper unit pierced through a teacher's Raphael Revive, causing the entire unit to crash onto the ground of the arena.

I draw Yukihira, before flying towards the melee unit to meet her head on. My first slash is completely blocked by a massive blade mounted on the unit's right wrist. I then get pushed back, and the enemy disappears from my sight, only to be replaced by the sight of the sniper unit shooting at me.

BOOM!

I get hit by the laser.

"Yo Setsura what happened to the Shield Bits? I thought they were our 'ace in the hole'?"

"They got destroyed in one shot. That output is unfathomably high."

I check my shield levels. They've dropped from 591 to 328 in one shot. If I get hit one more time, I'm so dead.

"Ichika are you okay?" Huh that's Chifuyu? Since when does she ever use a caring tone in her voice?

"…yeah, although that one shot took away a lot of my shields."

I scan my surroundings, but I don't see the two unknown IS around.

"They've retreated, I don't know why. With that power they could have destroyed the entire academy."

I spot two green trails of light flying through the sky, that must be them. Strange…they look exactly the same as the light I saw while jogging a few days ago….

A/N The fight with Laura is probably coming next chapter, as well as the Charles incident.