Hello readers of Infinite Madness. Welcome to the second chapter of my story. For those of you wondering about Asuka, please note that she is not the same exact character as she is in Neon Genesis Evangelion. That said she will be very similar, basically an adult version of her that is not completely mentally screwed up. So there's that. Also you should be warned that this is not the exact same universe as the show, as several things will be changed in the backstory to make a little more sense, (destroying 2000+ missiles in one IS is just ridiculous, no matter how badass you are). So if that turns you off somewhat, I'm sorry, but please give it a try anyway and be sure to tell me your thoughts on the changes. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

The History of Things to Come

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME HE WAS A GUY!?"

Chifuyu remained silent for a moment, allowing her direct subordinate some time to calm down. Despite knowing her for more than 5 years now, the older woman was sometimes shocked at just how frightening Asuka could be when she got angry. The old joke about fiery red-heads only just barely applied to this German pilot. She was less like a fire and more like a volcano, calm one moment and erupting the next. Still, the younger woman did have very good control of her temper most of the time. When she did lose it though, she made damn sure you knew about it.

When Asuka showed that she wasn't anywhere close to calming down and was continuing on her rant, Chifuyu continued to let her mind wander.

Come to think of it, it was rather odd that she has such a close friendship with a woman like Asuka anyway. They were practically opposites in a lot of ways. Asuka was loud, outgoing, energetic and openly confident in her abilities. She loved to fight and was extremely tactical in combat, making use of every strength and weakness on both sides of the fight. Chifuyu, by contrast, was very reserved, quiet, focused and silently intimidating. Asuka had to convince others she wasn't to be messed with. Chifuyu could say it louder by her mere presence.

The differences mattered little though, or maybe they were the thing that really mattered after all. The two of them complimented each other so well. Teacher and student. Quiet samurai and boisterous ace pilot. Whatever it was, Asuka was easily her best student, and the one she had always been closest to. It was this closeness that allowed Chifuyu to weather Asuka's rages with seemingly no effort. They were still very frustrating though. "If you're done running your mouth then perhaps I can get a chance to speak?"

Asuka halted her rant, scowling as she asked, "You didn't listen to anything I was just saying did you?" Chifuyu's only answer was a slight smile. "Oh God damnit Chifuyu! You could at least pretend that I have a right to be angry right now. You went behind my back and left me in the dark about who I was fighting. You never do that!"

The older woman let out a slight sigh. Her tone was remorseful as she said. "I know Asuka. Normally I would have informed you beforehand, especially since you're still on vacation."

Asuka let herself slump back and crossed her arms, her anger mollified for the moment. Chifuyu apologizing was a rare thing, almost as rare as her making a mistake, so Asuka knew she was sorry about it. Too bad. It's not often I get an excuse to yell at Chifuyu. It's always so much fun. The German girl huffed and said, "So what's different about this time? Aside from the obvious of course."

Chifuyu's smile returned. Asuka usually forgave very easily, and the ebony-haired woman was glad her friend wasn't holding a grudge. Those were very rare and always ended nastily for those who'd provoked her ire. "The decision to keep Ichika's identity from you was a collective one on the part of the Board. We couldn't let his instructor know that he was a male; otherwise the test would not be properly administered. We'd all agreed on that before you were chosen as the tester." Chifuyu threw a quick glance out the window to where Ichika was lying on the grass, his two assigned bodyguards standing a short distance away. "Ichika also thought it would be funny, so there's that."

Asuka glared at the boy for a moment, irritated that he had gotten a laugh out of her for something her bosses had decided on. It felt like cheating. "Of course he did. Story of my day. Anyway, how did you know that you needed me to test him? You only call me in for pilots who've already proven themselves."

Chifuyu was curious about that day comment, but shrugged it off for later. "I was going to call in Miss Yamada to handle it - you know how good she is with new students - but then I saw him running in the IS after two minutes of handling it. If we hadn't limited him to level 2 limiters he may very well have flown out of the stadium on his own. Plus he's been taking martial arts classes, as you obviously figured out, so he already knows how to fight."

Asuka mulled the news over in her mind and found that she wasn't really surprised. Some people just instinctively knew how to fly an IS, and it would make sense that Chifuyu's brother shared some of her natural talent. "About that. When did you find time to train him in that? I haven't seen you taking any extra time off lately."

Chifuyu closed her eyes, rapidly fabricating a cover for herself. "I didn't train him. He went and found a trainer for himself."

"What? No way! Ichika's never been that proactive before. Why would he do that?"

Sighing, Chifuyu turned away from her friend and again looked out the window and down at her new brother. He was still lying there on the grass and was talking to the two guards, looking like he didn't have a care in the world. "He's changed. And I don't just mean the memory loss. He was different even before that. I don't really know what happened, but it started while I was gone in Germany for that training job. Being on his own for a year must have really affected him. By the time I got back he'd already learned enough to reasonably defend himself from most threats. Worse than that, he was practically grown up." Down on the lawn Ichika laughed at something one of the guards said, then stood and actually did a standing flip. "I mean he's still mostly a kid. Hell he may be even more of a kid than before. He lost a lot of his naiveté but seems to have replaced it with a strange sense of humor. Along with a weird love of pranks."

Asuka looked down at Ichika as well, recognizing for the first time just how different he seemed. Despite being Chifuyu's best friend for several years, Asuka rarely saw her younger brother aside from the occasional visit to her friend's home. When she was there the boy she'd seen was kind and demure, a distinct separation from his older sibling. Now he was a completely different person, joking and laughing with two people he had barely met. "Must be strange, coming back home to see someone new living with you."

Chifuyu nodded, glad that her story had worked but also slightly upset that she had to lie to her best friend. It was necessary though to secure Ichika's safety. Even if he wasn't Ichika anymore… NO! It doesn't matter that someone else is in there. He's still my brother. And I WILL defend him.

"So, when will he be starting in my class?"

Chifuyu cocked an eyebrow at her friend. "Oh? And what makes you think he's qualified to be in your class?"

"Uh, were we even at the same match just now? That kid is a potential goldmine. The amount of skill he showed in piloting the IS after only ten minutes of practice is insane. Not to mention his mastery of close-quarters combat. Hell, even with all the changes he's gone through he still has to be your brother if he's this talented. He is in my class. End of discussion."

Chifuyu knew that the Board would agree with her, as did Chifuyu herself, but Asuka didn't need to know that. "I don't know. Miss Yamada has done quite a bit of good work recently. Perhaps she should teach him."

Asuka rolled her eyes and said, "Ha ha, nice try Chifuyu. No. He's with me. That's that."

A slight smile appeared on the older woman's face. Oh well. It was worth a shot. "Alright fine. You're twisted my arm. I guess he'll be in your class." She continued on while Asuka was pumping her fist with glee. "He'll be placed in class 1-1 as a Rank 3 when the semester starts. Until then he's coming back home with me. Hopefully I can knock some memories back into that thick skull of his."

Asuka nodded somberly, reminded of the cost that Ichika had to pay for being the first male IS driver. Poor guy. What must it be like to not remember anything about your old life? He must be devastated

"This is the most awesome day of my life," Frank whispered to himself as he fell back onto the grass. He lay there motionless, loving the smooth and tingly feeling of the small green stems on his neck.

It had taken 5 minutes and the efforts of two other IS's to pull him out of the ground he was stuck in, which was both hilarious and frustrating, particularly because he needed to visit the bathroom. After that was done he'd been dragged off to meet more of the Administrative Board, who all shook his hand and praised his performance in the match. They'd eventually sent him off with some final glowing remarks, reminding him that he would have a lot of eyes on him throughout the year.

Chifuyu then showed up with his opponent from the arena, whose name was apparently Asuka. Thankfully they started moving immediately afterward, or else Frank might have laughed his ass off with the recognition of who she was. He spent the rest of the walk bouncing around in his head celebrating his tie with the red-haired German. Normally he would have been pissed about tying a match, especially if it was just by the skin of his teeth. But to have fought against someone who had such a badass reputation and managing to hold his own against her was more than enough for him.

His smiles were probably a bit too broad for his own good, because he appeared to be freaking out the poor guards who were being forced to escort them. Not that he noticed. He was just too absorbed in his happiness to care. When Chifuyu and Asuka told him to wait outside while they discussed his future at the Academy he merely nodded his head and returned to his daydreaming.

Just what was he daydreaming about? Well the IS of course. Frank didn't watch all that much anime back in his home… universe? Dimension? Point is, while he knew many of the common memes and trivia surrounding the more popular animes, he'd never actually watched many of them. Because of this, he'd had no idea of what to expect of piloting a mech. Now though, he could hardly imagine doing anything else that would even be close to the feeling he'd had today.

Being in the IS had given him a sense of power beyond anything he'd ever imagined. He'd had a raw strength capable of throwing tanks with ease and speed that could match that of a fighter jet. It was the most exhilarating experience in his life. And I'm going to learn how to drive those for a living!

Frank was so busy salivating that he didn't notice the two guards approaching him until one tapped him on the shoulder. He instinctively threw up a guard (stance, not actually throwing one of the guards), but relaxed when he saw it was Ramina and Tamicha. Chifuyu had explained that they would be his bodyguards while they waited for school to start and had introduced them to their charge. Neither guard had appeared thrilled at the assignment, which Frank did not help by immediately racing out of the stadium ahead of everyone else. Still, perhaps he should try to make nice with these two. After all they were here to protect him. "Oh, hi there. Didn't see you. What's up?"

Ramina answered him first, saying, "Mr. Orimura, as you know it is our duty to protect you. However, we heard from Miss Orimura that you have some knowledge of self defense. We are curious to see what you already know."

Frank laughed and said, "Okay you asked for it." He then flipped backwards and started going through numerous marital exercises showing off his strength and flexibility. It wasn't as easy for him to do everything in this body, seeing as the original owner had not exercised very much. It would take him time to both adjust to Ichika's body and to rebuild all the muscles that he'd originally had, but what he had now was still enough to put looks of awe on the faces of his two bodyguards.

Tamicha recovered first, managing to pull her jaw off the ground to be able to say, "That… that is very impressive Mr. Orimura. As skilled as you are though, it would not be worth much against anyone who truly wished you harm."

"Please call me Ichika. And yeah I figured that. That's why I have you guys, isn't it?"

"Yes. Should you come under assault, we would protect you until help can arrive." Ramina held her wrist significantly, twisting at a bracelet she wore for some reason.

Frank noticed this then asked, "So would you be protecting us with IS's? If so where would we store them?"

Ramina smiled then held out her bracelet, explaining, "We keep our personal IS's here on our wrists. We call on them when they are needed and they will instantly appear, ready for battle."

Incredulous, Frank looked closer at the bracelet, which sat there innocently staring back at him. "How the hell does an entire mech armor fit inside that tiny little wrist decoration?"

Tamicha and Ramina looked at each other, shrugged and said together, "We don't know."

When Frank complained about them not knowing how their own mechs worked, they explained that no one actually knew how they worked except for the original inventor, Tabane Shinonono. There were even some rumors that even Ms. Shinonono didn't know everything about them, particularly amongst men who wish to be IS pilots but were unable. Others said that it was a conspiracy on Tabane's part to phase men out of their dominant place in society, though most laughed this off as ludicrous.

Somewhat annoyed at the concept of the entire world using a battle mech no one actually understood, Frank decided to switch topics and asked Ramina and Tamicha about themselves.

As it turned out the two women were sisters, just barely a year apart in age, though they were even closer than some twins from what Frank gathered. They had both grown up here in Japan and enrolled in the IS Academy as teenagers. After graduating a few years ago they had tried to join the Japanese IS team but were rejected for lack of experience. Unable to place as instructors RT (as Frank started calling them in his head) were instead hired as guards for the school, ensuring that no terrorist groups or rouge attacks harmed the students.

"How often does that happen?"

Ramina smiled and said, "Almost never. The only attack in the school's history was immediately after its opening. Some nations weren't happy with the limitations the Alaska Treaty placed on them and tried to go after the Treaty Board, the one which also manages the Academy."

Tamicha continued for her sister. "They didn't get very far though. Back then the White Knight had not yet disappeared, and she defended the school with a vengeance. Ever since then it's always been too dangerous to attack the Academy and we have remained untouched ever since. We are proud to protect and serve our sister pilots from whatever evil monsters are out there."

Frank was a bit puzzled about both the Alaska Treaty and the White Knight but did not have a chance to inquire further when Asuka and Chifuyu walked out of the building behind him.

The two women talked at length about what the IS Academy was like and what his schedule would be. He would be put into class 1-1 with several of the other rank 3s and several rank 2s with Asuka as his instructor. He was glad to hear this, because few in his mind could be a better teacher then the ex-German representative. Frank learned that students lived in small apartments on campus with a single roommate, though who he would be rooming with had yet to be determined. Until school started he would be staying in Ichika and Chifuyu's house, where he was to remain inside unless escorted by RT.

With the day growing late and nothing more needing to be said the two Orimura's prepared to leave, the two twin bodyguards in tow. Frank bade farewell to Asuka, with the promise that their next match would be even more exciting than the first. It was clear from his instructor's face that she could hardly wait.

They left the Academy soon after in Chifuyu's car, Ramina and Tamicha sitting in the back after Frank called dibs on shotgun, (they were both confused at that one). As they drove off Frank took the time to look around at the city he now lived in. Tall, bright office buildings filled the city center, towering above the clean streets and busy sidewalks. Further out the houses looked far more familiar, though still much more stylized than he was used to. The whole area felt like it belonged several decades in the future but he was so fascinated with the landscape that he didn't care.

One thing that he noticed was weird was just how spread out everything was. The descriptions he'd heard of Japan in the past suggested that being able to hold your arms out to your sides a major achievement. But this city seemed to have heard that stereotype and slashed it to pieces. San Francisco was far worse in its suburbs than any part of downtown, and this city's suburbs had bloody lawns!

When he asked about the city's history, Chifuyu said it had been built very recently, only 10 years ago for the main city center, and it was still growing on the outskirts.

They soon arrived at the house; a medium sized two-story building with a well-manicured lawn in an upscale neighborhood. The place looked very comfortable to Frank's eye, and was nicer than any house he'd ever lived in previously. Sweet.

As they walked in Chifuyu lead them all around the house, pointing out Ichika's bedroom and the guest room where RT would be staying. When the two sisters gave no objection to the single bed in the room Frank gave Chifuyu a look, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively. The ebony haired woman paid him no heed, sending him off to make dinner.

Apparently Chifuyu had Ichika do all of the cooking and cleaning around the house due her long hours at the Academy. Thankfully for Frank he had plenty of experience with both subjects and was able to make some quick and easy ramen for everyone. Looks like I'm going to have to get some Japanese cook books very soon.

Frank didn't mind though. Cooking was one of the few chores he'd ever actually enjoyed, and this house was so clean and orderly anyway that it would be an cinch to maintain.

Dinner was a quiet affair, broken only by the occasional question from the two guards about the neighborhood and possible defensive options. Frank just let his thoughts wander around, alternatively replaying his match with Asuka and daydreaming about future battles.

When everyone finished Frank cleared up the plates and loaded the dishwasher while the three women discoursed in the living room. While he was washing he took a moment to appreciate the house. It was very nice, probably less than a few years old and had everything a bachelor would need to relax. A massive hot tub in the master bedroom, a large home theater and an entire, well-stocked bar in the kitchen. The fact that the bachelor was a barely into her twenties woman and her younger brother was kept around to maintain it all did not detract a wit from the value of the house in Frank's eyes. Besides, he would be able to use those same amenities for himself when Chifuyu was at school. He nearly rubbed his hands in glee in anticipation.

After he was done with his dishwashing Frank wandered into the living room in time to hear RT announce that they were going on a trip around the neighborhood to search for anything (or anyone) suspicious. It would take them several hours so they told the siblings to go ahead and sleep if they wanted. Frank privately wondered if he'd ever be able to fall asleep again after how exciting this day had been.

Once they'd left, Chifuyu turned to Frank and said, "I don't suppose you'll be falling asleep anytime soon will you?" He shook his head. "Well then let's talk."

Frank rested back against his part of the couch and let his sister speak.

"Over the course of the next few days I will be educating you on Ichika's past and personality in the guise of trying to bring back your memories. While we do this you must be constantly aware of what you say in front of Ramina and Tamicha. To blow your secret now would add a thousand complications we don't currently need. Now that they're gone for the moment we can get a head start."

Frank leaned back up for a moment while he said, "Yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that. If they're here to keep us safe, then why would they leave us alone at night with the expectation that we would be going to sleep?"

Chifuyu sighed and shook her head, muttering under her breath, "Baka." In a stronger tone she explained, "I talked with them earlier about this and they agreed to give me a chance to speak to you alone, 'sibling to sibling'. It is actually very unlikely that you will be attacked here at home because no one knows about your IS ability yet. Ramina and Tamicha are here just as much to keep you here, and out of trouble, as much as to defend you. The Board mandated they be here on the very minor chance of an attack, and I agreed, but they left final discretion of how much you have to be guarded to me."

"Oh," was all Frank could say in response.

After that Chifuyu started telling the story of Ichika's past. The Orimura's had lost their parents as kids, forcing Chifuyu to grow up and protect her brother to the best of her ability. Ichika apparently didn't even remember his parents at all. The only things he knew about family came from his sister. Poor guy.

Chifuyu did her job well. Almost too well now that she was looking back on it. Ichika was all but sheltered from everything negative the world had to offer. Somewhere along the way Ichika must have realized the hardships she was going through and wanted to help her, not knowing that her suffering was meant to protect him. The boy must have been so confused about what to do. Ichika became very closed off and quiet, preferring his own company or that of sister to other people. Then, when Ichika turned 8, everything changed.

Before Chifuyu could expand upon that the doorbell rang, forcing her to pause in her storytelling and answer the door. Frank was left to brood on what she had said, and wonder just what the hell had changed on Ichika's 8th birthday. Damn cliffhangers. Always hated them so much.

Once she came back with RT, Chifuyu sent him off to bed. It was going to be a busy day for her tomorrow so he needed to be ready to help her be ready to help her in the morning. Frank threw an affirmative salute and marched off to his room. As soon as he entered he found himself growing extremely tired, as if every exertion he'd made that day hit him all at the same time. Exhaustion creped into his limbs as Frank shakily made it to the bed and conked out instantly.

The next morning was a flurry of activity as Ichika rushed around the house to help Chifuyu get ready for work. He did everything from setting out her clothes, hanging up her towel, making breakfast, cleaning the dishes, fetching the newspaper and finally delivering her suitcase to her just outside the door. He ran the whole gamut. By the time his sister had left his head was spinning like a top.

Thankfully though with her gone he was able to relax a while and start on the unofficial homework Chifuyu had given him. The book, entitled 'The Short but Powerful History of the Infinite Stratos', had been written only a year before and was a world best seller, so Chifuyu was hoping it would help to jump start his education before the school year started.

While reading the introduction he was astounded at all the different ways the IS could be used aside from combat. The designs had proven their value in everything from aiding astronauts on space walks, emergency rescue work, deep seas exploration, weather prediction, energy production and international sport.

The military side of its capabilities was a whole 'nother can of worms though. On the eve of launching her new product, the super genius (and slightly wacky) inventor of the IS declared that her mech designs would make all modern military tech completely obsolete. Experts all over the world scoffed at that, saying that an ungainly suit designed for space, (as the IS was originally supposed to be) would be utterly inoperable on the surface due to weight problems, not to mention the disconnected forms of most of the designs.

Sadly for many, those experts were about to eat their own words. A militant terrorist group, Gaia's Fist, had proclaimed Japan as the worst offender in global deforestation and destruction of habitat to make way for human cities, which held some unfortunate grains of the truth. In retaliation for the perceived evils, Gaia's Fist hired a large group of hackers in the US to take control of twelve nuclear tipped ICBMs and launch them at Japan. Only two missiles were actually launched, but by then it was too late. Japan had mere minutes before the destruction of two cities and the deaths of millions. The Land of the Rising Sun's darkest hour had returned.

The world watched with baited breath as the two rockets continued their journey of devastation. Cheers echoed for a moment when one missile lost control of itself in flight and fell into the ocean without harm. There was still one rocket though, and this one had just been maintained the day before. It would not falter in its mission. It would strike its target.

The people of Tokyo were gathered together in the streets, holding hands and awaiting the end, knowing that nothing could save them now. Then just as the bloom of the rocket's exhaust became visible, it disappeared behind a massive wall of flame. The world was dazed, unsure if what they had seen was true. Silence reigned until a military fighter jet approached the place of the explosion. There, hovering still in the air was a pale metal angel armed with a sword made out of pure light. The machine, the white knight, turned to the approaching jet and held up its weapon in salute. Their savior then turned and flew off, faster than the jet could pursue. The pilot's video log was immediately uploaded to the Internet for the world to see.

Over the next few weeks Japan praised their savior, calling it a gift of mercy from the gods above. The rest of the world was in awe of what had occurred. Experts later determined that the IS had flown straight at the ICBM with a speed in excess of Mach 4, meaning that the closing speed of the two objects was approaching thirty times the speed of sound. Upon the very instant the two had met, the IS, dubbed by the world press 'The White Knight', had slashed its plasma sword straight through the hardened heat-resistant reentry cone without any problem. When the super heated plasma of the blade had hit the remaining fuel, it had detonated. Even with the small amount left after its long trip there was still enough fuel to explode with the same force as several tons of TNT. Yet when the jet had flown by it mere moments afterward, the IS had been completely unscathed, shining as if it had just dropped down from heaven.

And just like that the world changed.

Frank paused here at the end of the chapter, absolutely astounded by what he had read. Not only had the events described in the book startled him with their horrible realism, but also his brain had practically exploded at what the book had implied. Japan had been struck by nuclear weapons before. This could be my own world.

That thought was burned into Frank's mind as he ran up the stairs to Chifuyu's office and booted up the computer. Chifuyu had told him to use the guest account if he needed to access the computer as it was hers and she occasionally used it to manage her finances. Once it was up he quickly found the web browser (called Web Surf of all things) and searched for 'Japanese Modern History'. After a quick scan of the results he was surprised to see an entry from a website called Web Tropes. Curious he clicked on it and was greeted by the sight of his old friend TV Tropes with a new look and name. He then searched for 'Infinite Stratos', eager to see what his favorite snarking web nerds had to say on the subject. The link carried him to a page called 'Rise of the Powered Armor.' It gave further details of about the IS, especially on the near disaster of the ICBM launch. All of the usual dry wit and overblown emotion that Frank loved was there, as well as numerous repeats of the phrase 'Mechs are real! Blessed be Japan!"

The event had happened a bare 10 years ago, in 2034. Two decades after I left. If the entry on the wiki was right, Frank had been pulled nearly 30 years into the future.

Oh this is perfect. I am at the exact best time to be experiencing this new world. If I had to be here as an adult, with a job, spouse, and some loud and bouncy kids, I wouldn't be able to appreciate this anywhere near as much. Thank God for contrived coincidence.

Frank spent the rest of the day wandering around the Internet searching for more info on IS history. While he did he picked up a few interesting tidbits about the changes the world had gone through.

In 2020 the UN officially recognized English as the first world language, and many countries introduced measures to implement it into official channels. Oddly enough the two primary English speaking countries, the US and UK, were both unaware of the move towards this measure until very late in the game, and as such were unable to take advantage of it until sometime afterward. In 2022, a massive party was held on the winter solstice to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the world not ending in 2012. Roland Emmerich was called in for a special screening of his 2009 disaster movie set in the Mayan disaster, and much fun was had by all.

A much darker footnote was the very short Second Korean War that happened three years after the unveiling of the IS. After China withdrew its support for North Korea as part of its effort to improve world relations during the run up to the Alaska Treaty covering IS usage, the northern part of the peninsula fell into an even deeper darkness than before. Out of pure desperation more than anything else, Kim Jung Un declared war with the South in a last ditch attempt to reunite the peninsula under one banner. His forces bombarded emplacements all along the DMZ and pushed forward despite heavy opposition on every front.

Faced with the endless will of a nation with nothing to lose, South Korea was forced to call upon its allies for help. In response, two teams of American and Japanese IS's were deployed to push back the communist aggressors and finally bring down the North's corrupt leadership. Less than 48 hours later the entire communist army was forced to surrender after seeing every major offensive it launched wiped out in minutes by the invincible flying death-dealers. Tanks, APCs, AA guns, SAMs, everything was hopeless to cause harm to the IS's protective shield, let alone hit their target. Whole divisions threw down their arms the instant they heard the distinctive roar of the IS's soaring overhead.

With the attacks stopped and the army effectively neutralized, the victorious IS drivers turned their attention to Pyongyang, home of Kim Jong Un and his supporting generals. It was here that they faced their first real challenge. Not from what had previously been called the worlds most in depth anti-air defense network. No, the things that threatened them were the small portions of the North Korean air force that remained operational. Before China had finally withdrawn support from their aggressive neighbors there were some sales of mildly advanced jets, including four of the extremely capable Su-35 Super Flanker design. When these jets met with the IS's in combat, the results stunned the world.

Initially confident, the American mechs easily shot down the outdated Vietnam era aircraft which raced out to meet them head on, many of the inexperienced pilots unable to even get a shot off. When they reached the city center though, things changed. It was later discovered that the squadron the Americans faced was made of up the few aces Korea could actually lay claim to, all of them well experienced from shooting down the armed Russian drones that periodically challenged the border. In the following dogfight all of the Flankers were shot down, but at the cost of three heavily damaged IS's and one dead pilot, who had unluckily caught four different missiles in the face at the same time. Flight data gathered later showed that the enemy aces had managed to hold out against twice as many IS's for nearly ten minutes, whilst still being able to coordinate with each other and time their attacks to strike the same target repeatedly.

Though the remaining mechs completed their mission and captured the North Korean government not long afterward, the battle served as a sign that the IS was not invulnerable, and that a skilled jet fighter pilot could match them in the skies. This prompted another arms race as 1st world nations restarted aircraft development and prioritized pilot training and drone production. IS drivers soon became direct rivals with pilots in their nation's air forces, the single gender of the one group eclipsed by the much more mixed make-up of the other.

In all the short conflict showed much about how the nature of war had changed with the introduction of the Infinite Stratos. Ground forces and tanks became mere placeholders in combat, meant to hold the line until the mechs could arrive and dominate the battlefield. Naval fleets were still a danger to IS's, particularly the anti-missile ships like the American Aegis, while carriers changed to carry a mix of aircraft and mechs. Nations came to measure military power in the form of how many squadrons of mechs and planes they had, and later on the models they had in stock.

Though the Alaska treaty has held, and no major nation has engaged with another IS user in open warfare, concern over the possibility is rampant throughout the industrialized world. Frank discovered that this was the exact reason the IS Academy was created. The school was meant to bring potential pilots together from all nations and to create a sense of unity and sisterhood amongst them. How well it worked was up to debate, but no wars had broken out yet, so Frank could hope that peace would remain.

Frank was busy reading another chapter of his book when the doorbell rang downstairs. When he got down to the front door Ramina had already opened it and let Chifuyu in. The instant his sister saw him she tossed her coat at him and asked, "So, how far did you get Ichika?"

Frank wrestled the coat out of his face and said, "A few chapters in. I kinda stopped after I read something interesting and needed to do some research. You'll never believe what I found out. Come on!" With that he grabbed Chifuyu's hand and dragged her upstairs, unaware of the shocked expression on her face.

Some time later, after Frank had shown her all his research proving where and when he was from, Chifuyu was sitting on the on the bed contemplating while Frank was putting away some laundry he'd cleaned earlier. "So you're actually from the past. This is very interesting."

"I know right," Frank said while hanging up a shirt. "It means everything I used on the Internet before I left is still there. I just have to look for it."

Chifuyu snorted, causing Frank to laugh at how much more open she was when here at home. "I was thinking more along the lines of finding your family. If only to make it easier to understand you."

A loud clattering came from the closet as Frank turned around inside. "You're not serious are you? Please tell me you're not really thinking about that."

Chifuyu was genuinely shocked at this. This was the first time she'd heard Frank be afraid of something. His terror was heartrending. Concerned, the older woman asked in a light tone, "Why don't you want to see your family? What are you afraid of?"

Frank's face tightened for a moment as he said, "Let's just say me and my father didn't exactly see eye to eye." He turned around and continued sorting out clothes, whispering quietly, "Not every family is a good one, sis. Sometimes it's better to be on your own."

Chifuyu looked at her brother, wondering what his father could have done to him to make them both hate each other so much. She jolted when she realized that Frank's skill with cooking and cleaning might not be a wholly good thing. Keeping her voice steady wasn't easy, but she had a lot of practice at it. "Were household chores one of the things you 'disagreed' on?"

Frank chuckled at the question. "No. That was something my mother taught me. She knew my dad was absolutely hopeless at housework, so she taught me to do it instead. Good thing too, or else…" His voice trailed off as he held a light blue suit, one that Chifuyu hadn't worn in a long time. "Or else we would have been truly lost without her."

Chifuyu recognized the phrasing that he used. "I'm sorry."

Frank's smile returned as he put the last shirt on its hanger and said, "It's okay. It happened years ago and I'm over it now. I still sometimes miss her, but I know better than to dwell on it. Just gotta keep moving forward after all."

The rest of the night was spent going over more of Ichika's childhood with Chifuyu, thankfully with RT watching a movie in the other room.

As it turned out Ichika's 8th birthday was the exact day of the unveiling of the IS, as well as the terrifying events that followed. Thanks to the White Knight's intervention they all survived and Chifuyu immediately wanted to become an IS pilot so that she could protect Ichika. Luckily she was actually best friends with the designer in school and…

A loud thumping noise interrupted the woman. Chifuyu paused in her story telling to help Frank up off the floor. "She was your best friend?! But you were 14! I checked the dates earlier today. That would have to mean that…"

"Yes," Chifuyu said in a deadpan. "Tabane was the same age as me when she invented the IS." Chifuyu didn't bother to help her brother off the floor this time and opted to continue with her story.

Anyway, Tabane was more than happy enough to give her best friend an IS and tricked her out with one of the very best. The Byakushiki was a lightning fast demon of a mech wielding an epically powerful plasma sword. Problem was that was its only armament, and when it often went up against other IS's which had everything from machine guns to plasma cannons it could be rather difficult to work with. At least, it would have been for another pilot. Chifuyu seemed to handle it just fine. Turns out having a but-ton of kendo and martial arts training combined with a natural talent at IS piloting makes one a bit of a badass. So Chifuyu spent the next few years learning how to fly an IS to the best of her ability, making sure that Ichika safely started school and did his best at learning. Frank silently gave her props for not only becoming a master pilot in so little time but also taking care of her brother at the same time.

Once Chifuyu proved herself to be one of the most talented pilots in the world, Japan asked her to go on the international circuit in the new set of IS sports that had taken the world by storm. She agreed, but only if the government would pay her enough to take care of herself and her brother. For the next few years, life calmed down somewhat for the two siblings. Chifuyu would go traveling for the IS sports season to make money while Ichika went to school and took care of the house. By the time her third season had rolled around Chifuyu was a household name among IS fans and was in the running for the world championships. At the end of the fourth season she was invited to the tournament at the end of the year and swept her way through the early rounds. Just as she was about to fight in her title match though, disaster struck.

Ichika had been watching the tournament back at home and was taken hostage by a terrorist group hoping to co-opt his sister into working for them. Very big mistake. Even though leaving before the match would result in her being disqualified, Chifuyu immediately abandoned the arena and found the terrorist headquarters in a matter of hours. Once she did the group ceased to exist and Ichika was freed without harm.

The reigning champ later expressed regret that she could not have her match with Chifuyu. She had been the first opponent she had that had represented a challenge. Sadly the tournament rules were very specific and there was no overruling them. Worse than that though was the fact that Chifuyu was now obligated to visit Germany to help train some potential pilots they had due to the fact that they had provided her with the terrorists' location. That next year had been very stressful for Chifuyu as she learned how to be a teacher to a group of young girls while at the same time trying her best to keep sending messages back to Ichika, who had been forced into hiding for his own safety. Frank could easily see how her story about his personality change could fit into the circumstances, so much so that he wondered how Ichika had not changed in that time at least somewhat.

Not everything was bad about the trip though. Chifuyu met Asuka there, later bringing her to the Academy for more training, as well as learning how to be a teacher. Now that her time on the professional circuit was brought to a premature end due to the controversy surrounding her saving of Ichika, the IS Academy Board decided to bring her on as a teacher. Unfortunately she was no longer allowed to pilot her IS anymore due to pressures from other countries. They had heard ominous rumors of her, (that Chifuyu refused to expand upon), and refused to allow her to continue piloting.

"Were you pissed about that?"

Chifuyu was silent for a moment as she thought about her answer. "At first, yes. Had I been impulsive about it I probably would have told them where to stuff their concerns and go right on piloting. But I thought it through and realized it was the best option. Teaching at the school meant a stable income and constant access to you, not to mention I actually enjoyed it a lot. Plus being a pilot for me wasn't as fun as it was for other people. I could never convince myself to just enjoy it. It was always a means to an end, either getting enough money to take care of us or just to protect Ichika. I never really had a chance to play around in the IS as much as I probably should. Maybe in a few years, after everyone forgets about me and the past is a little more distant, I'll get another shot at the big time. Maybe I'll even be able to have a little fun with it. Until then though, I am perfectly happy with being a teacher. Heck, I get to teach my own little brother. What's not to like about that?"

Frank smiled then walked over and gave his sister a hug. He could feel her tense up at the unexpected contact, but relaxed a bit when he said, "It's good to have someone to look out for you. Just don't forget to take care of yourself too."

Chifuyu remained still for a moment while Frank hugged her, and then eventually returned the gestured with a few light taps. She tried not to look relieved when the contact ended, and instead smiled slightly then sent him off to bed, though not before smacking him a bit for catching her off guard like that.

Chuckling at the reaction, Frank made his way to bed, reflecting on how nice it was to have a real family member after so long on his own.

The rest of the week passed surprisingly quickly for Frank. He finished the book on the second day and switched to Internet sources for more information. Everything he found just made him more excited for school to start in a few days. While he did he kept on managing the house and getting lessons from Chifuyu on 'his' past.

Ichika had not been entirely on his own for all the years Chifuyu had been busy taking care of him. He had first made friends with Tabane's younger sister Houki in kendo class. They had been best friends for several years when the IS was revealed and suddenly every criminal and their mother was after Tabane to get their own IS. Because of this the two sisters were forced to go into hiding, and Ichika lost one of his best friends for many years. Chifuyu warned that Houki would be in his class at school, so he'd better be sure and explain about the memory loss story or there would be trouble.

After that Chifuyu talked about his other friend Rin, who was a Chinese immigrant who had lived with her grandparents in a local restaurant. Rin basically took over the spot that Houki used to fill, though Rin never actually knew that while she'd lived here. She stayed for several years but moved away after her father had to go back to China for wok. She too would be at the IS Academy, as the Chinese representative no less. Thankfully she would be in another class, though Chifuyu mentioned that that might not be enough to fully dissuade Rin from searching him out. Frank became somewhat nervous at that, but held his peace. He'd watched his friends deal with crazy obsessed girls before. How hard could it be?

After that there was a bunch of stuff about Japanese etiquette that he had to listen to, though he doubted he would use just about any of it. Learning how to use chopsticks was helpful though, especially now that he was making proper Japanese meals for dinner. Chifuyu actually applauded his efforts, saying that he was just as good as he was before, if not better now that he officially learned the recipes.

On the last day before class Chifuyu gave him a manual that detailed how to pilot and maintain his IS. He was only expected to learn the first few chapters, as the rest required some more information as a base that he would learn in class, but it would still give him a competitive edge on his classmates. Reportedly it had been Asuka's idea and Frank loudly thanked her in such a way that RT would be sure to tell her about it.

He managed to convince Chifuyu to bring him to school so he could watch some of the placement tests by the other students. He had to disguise himself somewhat for the journey and sit up in the observation box with the Board members, but it was worth it to see the fights. Most of the students could only just manage to run their machines around for a few minutes before the instructors pummeled them into the ground, but a few fought back.

The first that caught his attention was a girl with waist length jet-black hair and a look that just dared anyone to question her. When she got into her IS it took only a few seconds for her to adjust, proving that the girl had been in an IS before. The instructor must have noticed this as well, as she immediately started the fight portion of the test. The trainee really held her own for a while, use a simple sword that the standard IS's had, (that he had not be aware of, Gagh!), to great effect blocking and reflecting her attacker's hits. It wasn't enough though as the green haired instructor eventually stopped holding back and disarmed her in an instant. He applauded the girl heartily with the rest of the board, impressed with what he had seen.

The next pilot to catch his eye was a small girl with brown hair tied up with twin yellow ribbons that walked out onto the field on her own. He was surprised, because every other girl had used a practice IS that was already on the field. He swiftly figured it out though when he spied the metal bracelet on her wrist, showing that she had a personal IS to use. This must be one of the national representatives. I wonder where she's from.

After her instructor walked out on the field, once again the green haired woman with the large… tracts of land, the girl summoned her IS with a swish of her arm. The IS was small and sharp-looking, sporting a black and magenta color scheme and multiple spikey growths. The battle that followed was the best of the day, as the instructor used her speed and range to stay away from the close quarters optimized IS used by the trainee. Frank was practically jumping up and down in his seat as the magenta IS tried multiple times to blast her enemy at point blank range, but the instructor was just too quick. In the end the match was a loss for the trainee, though most of the Board members around him took special note of the girl's tenacity and strength.

The rest of the day was rather dull as the remaining students tried and failed to make any headway against their opponents. Frank tried to look for Asuka, but his red-haired teacher was nowhere in sight. Once all of the students had finished their try-outs Chifuyu came and picked him up for the car drive home. On the way back he asked about the two girls whose fights had interested him and found out that they were his two childhood friends, Houki and Rin. Surprised, but oddly pleased, he talked with Chifuyu about the fights, arguing on the good decisions and costly mistakes both had made in combat.

That night Frank had a hard time sleeping for a while, mind racing as he continued to review the fights from earlier that day. Just before consciousness left him, he heard the door open and caught a glimpse of Chifuyu quietly checking in on him. He smiled and settled down at last, comforted that he had someone looking out for him. Thanks for everything Chifuyu. You're a good sister.