GAGASGUMILANG208 - Thank you for reading! As for his IS, I kind of got inspiration from both Accel World and Gundam, I guess it's kind of a mix of both.

1995HZQ - Hehe thank you :)

3

"Kouta, do you wanna have lunch with us on the roof today?" Lia asked, snapping Koutaro out of his sleep that he peacefully received in class. "Everyone made delicious meals so I thought we could all enjoy them together."

A cold chill went down Kouta's spine. "Did you…by any chance, make anything?" He gulped.

Lia tilted her head. "Of course I did, but for some reason Houki wouldn't let me make anything too extravagant so I ended making your favorite sandwiches. I remembered you liked them when we were younger."

Koutaro raised an eyebrow. "Why did you make my favorite? Shouldn't you have you have made what you like?"

Lia's face went beet red. "Did I say your favorite? I meant my favorite! Yeah…that's what I meant…that's exactly what I meant."

Kouta smiled. "I'd be happy to join you guys."

The roof was actually a pretty nice place. It was an open flat area with a few benches scattered around, but the main attraction was a flat piece of grassy area in the middle. Koutaro and Lia joined Ichika and the girls, looks like none of them had started eating.

"Koutaro! Happy you could make it." Ichika smiled.

"Yeah, this seemed kinda fun." He sat down besides his roommate, across from all the girls.

"By the way, did you happen to use my towel this morning in the shower?" Ichika asked. "It was wet when I went to take mine."

"Oh, did I? My bad man, I must have grabbed yours by mistake." Koutaro smiled. "But I hope you don't mind, I kind of used your shampoo and conditioner too. I haven't had the chance to go into town and by many things so…"

"Nah, it's okay don't worry about it."

Koutaro was suddenly aware of the death glares coming at the two from the girls across from them.

"Ichika? You two seem a little…too chummy, don't you think?" Houki asked.

"Yeah, almost like a married couple," Rin crossed her arms.

"What's the meaning of this!" Lia pouted.

"We're roommates," Ichika said. "I haven't had a guy roommate since coming here, well not an actual guy anyway."

The blonde French girl, Charlotte, suddenly became red.

"By the way, Yatogami-Kun," Houki Shinonono said. "Do you think we can ask you about your IS?"

"Just Koutaro is fine," He said. "And as for Getsuga…" He looked to the armored ring on his left hand. "It was sent to me a couple of years ago, after my mom-" But he caught himself before he could finish the sentence.

Ichika chimed in. "Koutaro? You okay?"

He didn't know what to do. Should he tell them? But it seemed too personal and he barely knew them. But now that he was here…What should he do? His heart began to race and his hands got clammy all of a sudden. He felt like running back to his room and never leaving again.

Lia's hand reached out and clasped his. "It's okay, Kouta. You can trust them."

Lia's approval gave him a bit of a courage boost anyway. He took a deep breath and looked at everyone. "The truth is…my mom went missing around four years ago. She left for work in the morning and never came back. I found out that she never even made it into work. It was like she was kidnapped, or abandoned me, or…"

"Koutaro…" Ichika said with the look of pity that almost everyone gave him around the time.

"Two months after she went missing, I received a letter and a package," Koutaro explained. "The letter told me to become the number one pilot in the world or else…" He reached for his pendant. "Inside the package was this pendant that my mom always wore. It's like an heirloom in our family, so I knew they weren't messing around. And it also came with Getsuga. And for some reason, it reacted to me when I touched it. I spent the next couple of days configuring and personalizing the Getsuga's settings."

"You did?" Houki asked, shocked. "Configuring an IS is incredibly hard, I only know a handful of teachers and students who are capable of doing it without guidance from the technology department."

"Learning always came easy to me," Koutaro smiled. "But there is another thing. Around the time I entered in the first Junior Mondo Grosso and won, my body started changing…"

"Okay, we don't need to know that," Ichika blushed.

"Not like that you idiot," Koutaro sighed. He pointed to his eyes. "It's not really something I keep a secret, but I have heterochromia, it's a-"

"A condition where you have different colored irises," The small silver haired girl finished. She lifted up her eyepatch and smiled. "You're not alone."

Koutaro smiled. That made him feel a bit better. "Well, whenever I'm in combat, it's like my eye takes over. Time slows to a standstill and every piece of information in my surroundings is suddenly plopped into my head. It feels like my brains working like a super computer, but it doesn't feel overwhelming. In fact it feels as though I can see everything…almost…predict the future even."

There was a stunned silence from all of them. Koutaro was afraid of telling this story to anyone because it made him seem like a freak, even more so than his appearance told them. He balled his fists out of frustration.

"So you came to the IS Academy, in the hopes of finding your mom?" Charlotte asked.

Koutaro nodded. "I doubt she's dead, or else whoever took her wouldn't have bothered sending me the letter and Getsuga."

"I see," Laura crossed her arms. "Kidnapping and extortion isn't an uncommon tactic in war, but to think they'd drag it out for this long…have you received anything from them since?"

Koutaro shook his head. "All I ever got was that letter. But I feel like they're watching me, or else how would they know if I become number one."

"That does make sense," Ichika said.

Koutaro could feel the tension rising. He made a mistake in talking about this now. "W-Well anyways, why don't we eat? I'm sure we'll have more opportunities to talk about this."

Everybody shared whatever they had made, except for Ichika and Koutaro. Though he did feel bad, his stomach was certainly in heaven. Rin made some killer sweet and sour pork and Houki's karaage was to die for. Even Lia's sandwiches weren't half bad…maybe she was actually improving as a cook.

"H-Hey, Kouta," Lia scooted herself closer to him as everyone ate and talked. "I'm sorry about your mom, but I know we'll find her."

"W-We?"

"Yeah, idiot," Lia smiled. "You have friends here, it's not like you're on your own."

Koutaro smiled and ruffled her hair. "Thanks, Lia. It means the world to me."

Lia hid her face. "K-Kouta…you know, for a long time now, since we were kids….I…I…I've…"

"Hey Koutaro," Ichika said. Lia's face had turned as bright as a tomato and she scooted back all the way to Charlotte, who just awkwardly smiled. "You wanna join us for morning IS training? I'm sure we could use your help, and Houki's pretty strong too so you won't be bored."

"Akatsubaki huh?" Koutaro smirked. "I hope it doesn't end out like the practice match."

Houki grinned. "Fight me one on one then, I'll show you how powerful Akatsubaki really is."

The two locked eyes in an intense staring contest, before they both broke character and into laughter.

Lunch had just about ended and everyone began for their class. As they walked in the hallway, Koutaro caught a glimpse of a girl with short blue hair and red eyes. Tatenashi?

"Uh, you guys go on ahead. I'll be there later."

He quickly ran off and towards Tatenashi. As he got closer however, he could tell that it wasn't her. Tatenashi had an aura about her that seemed powerful and welcoming, why did this girl have such a closed off aura.

"Um…" Koutaro said, getting her attention. "Do you need any help with that?" She was carrying stacks of books and walking towards the Student Council Office.

"N-No, I'm okay…" She said, barely looking him in the eye. She wore glasses and had softer eyes than Tatenashi.

"It's really no bother," Koutaro smiled.

"Well…if you insist," She lowered her arms for him to take some of the books.

They walked in silence. Koutaro couldn't help but feel as if there were things she wanted to say, but chose to not say them. There were people like that after all, he guessed.

"Um…I'm Yatogami Koutaro. Just Koutaro is fine, it's nice to meet you…uh,"

"Kanzashi. Kanzashi Sarashki."

Sarashki? So she's related to Tatenashi. That explains why the similar appearance, but the two couldn't be any more different.

"We're here," She said in a soft voice.

So it was the Student Council Office after all. Koutaro knocked on the door. "Um, excuse me is anyone in right now?" Koutaro asked.

"Come on in," A voice replied.

Koutaro opened the door, only to be metaphorically hit in the face. Behind the far desk with her feet pried up was Tatenashi. She looked genuinely shocked to see Koutaro here, or was it because he was here with her sister.

"Kanzashi! Koutaro! My, my, what a surprise. I never would have thought you two would come here together." Tatenashi said in a teasing tone.

Kanzashi slammed the books on Tatenashi's desk then turned for the door. "I'm leaving then."

Tatenashi smiled awkwardly as the door closed again. The two were left in silence, until Koutaro sighed. "So, what was that all about? And why are you in here? Please don't tell me you're-"

"That's right," She jumped on the table and posed. "It is I, Tatenashi Sarashki, Student Council President of the IS Academy. Aren't I amazing?"

"Yes, yes, amazing," Koutaro sighed. "What's up with Kanzashi? Do you two not get along?"

Tatenashi seemed hesitant. "Well…I guess you can call it that." She got down her desk and back into her seat. "I've never really been able to…talk to her, I guess. I don't know it's just hard to, I'm guessing you've seen how different our personalities are."

"Yeah," Koutaro sighed. "But you know, you two aren't really that different."

Tatenashi raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

Koutaro sighed even louder, sarcastically, and walked for the door. "I don't know madam president, maybe you'll figure it out by yourself."

"Stupid Koutaro!" She threw a book at him, but he had closed the door shut before she could.

Koutaro smirked as he walked back to class to join the others.

…

Cecilia decided to take a bath to calm her new sudden feelings. Houki, thankfully, was with Ichika doing after school practice so she had the room all to herself.

She leaned back on the tub and propped a foot up in the air. She thought back to those days when she was a child, when she first met Kouta. He was so shy and closed up, not to mention a bit on the chubbier side. It was so hard to come to terms with the kind of man he's become. She never would have thought the boy back then would be able to control an IS let alone turn out so…so…

"AGH WHAT AM I THINKING!?"

Her faced had completely turned red, and it was definitely not from the hot water. She stooped down and pulled her legs up to her chest. Was it wrong to feel like this?

When she saw him again yesterday in class, it was as if someone had smacked her in the back of the head. She never thought she'd see him again. Her father was always so excited to go see Kouta and his mom. It was the only thing she looked forward to in those private schools her father attended her in.

When she came to the IS Academy, her feelings for Ichika had replaced those of Kouta. But now that he's here…it was like her heart was being pulled two ways and she didn't know which way to go. She blushed at the thought of dating either of them, but with Kouta, it felt more like a family relationship.

Cecilia found herself smiling at the memories of when the two of them took baths together. He was always so clumsy and would slip and fall, and she would have to help him up and wash his back. She also remembered the time Kouta's mother showed them her IS. Cecilia had never seen such a beautiful IS before.

His mom…Kouta had to suffer through the loss of his mom, all on his own. Cecilia cursed herself for not being there, she knew she should have at least given him her phone number or email address, but she never had to chance.

The front door suddenly opened. "Cecilia? I'm back." It was Houki.

"I'm in the shower Houki," Cecilia alerted her.

"Alright well hurry, I'm really sweaty from all the beatings I gave Ichika," Houki sighed.

Cecilia smiled as she got out the shower. After wrapping a towel around herself, she stepped outside to see Houki sitting by her bed. She looked to Cecilia with a concerned face.

"I'm sorry, Cecilia," Houki said. "I didn't realize that you were in such a predicament."

"Predicament? How so?"

"Well…I know how you feel about Ichika, but then Koutaro-Kun came back out of nowhere and…" She said. "Do you…wanna talk about it?"

Houki Shinonono, ever caring sister that Cecilia was glad to have as her roommate. Cecilia went over and sat beside her. "Well…to be completely honest, I don't really know what to do, or feel. Kouta was…my first love. Even back then when I didn't know what the concept was, being with him and thinking about him made my chest feel caved in and I found myself wanting more of it. After I left, I thought I'd never see him again so I figured I'd start over again. I thought Ichika would be…but…"

Houki wrapped her arms around her and rested her head on Cecilia's shoulder. "You know what the right thing to do is, don't you?"

Cecilia giggled. "You're not just saying that so you can get rid of me to have Ichika all to yourself, are you?"

Houki shook her head. "It's because you're my friend, Cecilia. I just want what's best for you, that's all."

Cecilia didn't know why but her eyes were starting to water. She hugged Houki back and began to cry. "Thank you, so much Houki."

…

Koutaro stood a few feet away from Ichika, both in their IS and prepared for a fight. They had gotten permission to use the stadium from Miss Orimura for combat practice, but somehow they had already drawn a crowd even though it was just supposed to be practice. Ichika was adamant about having another match, and Koutaro couldn't refuse a look of such passion.

"I'm not holding back, Ichika," Koutaro said. "Heaven's Wheel is a technique I designed so, you'd better figure out how to counter it."

"I got it," Ichika smirked.

Koutaro raised his sword. "Heaven's Wheel: Flying Thunder God." His wings began to crumble as the blades circled him. They then shot out in every direction, floating at multiple locations around the battlefield.

Ichika charged at him with tremendous speed. Koutaro figured he'd try to match the speed of the Flying Thunder God, but he had never told Ichika how the technique worked so he was probably going at it by sheer luck.

Koutaro teleported to a sword above Ichika, only to have him follow. It went on like this for about a minute or so. Finally, Koutaro stopped at where Ichika had originally been. "Try and dodge this, Ichika."

"W-What?"

"Heaven's Wheel," Koutaro raised his sword. "Grand Chariot!"

All the scattered blades pointed at Ichika. "Oh…crap…" With a swing of his sword, Koutaro sent every single blade directly to Ichika. For a second there, Koutaro thought Ichika might actually be able to deflect all of them, but the problem with Grand Chariot wasn't in it's attack. Each blade themselves didn't do that much damage to the shield, but when they're all coming at you from every direction, small amounts of damage can add up when it's being done from multiple sources.

Ichika knelt down. "That skill…is completely…broken…" He said gasping for air. He did surprisingly well. Koutaro hadn't expected him to deflect so many blades, almost all of them were on the ground.

"You did well," Koutaro smiled. "There's really been only two people who's survived a solo Grand Chariot before."

"Really? Wow I should be proud of myself," He said sarcastically with a smile.

"But," Koutaro smirked. "It's over, Ichika." Koutaro stabbed his sword into the ground and pressed it down harder. "Heaven's Wheel: Prism."

All the blades that Ichika had deflected flew back up, circling him and trapped him in a sphere of blades, with each pointed at him. And just like that, it was over once again.

"Aw man, Orimura lost!"

"Yatogami is just way too strong."

"He's kind of hot isn't he?"

Koutaro unequipped his IS and walked over to Ichika to give him a hand. "Okay, you're telling me what that technique is, right now."

"Of course," Koutaro smiled. "But why don't we do it in private? It's still something I don't want many people to know about."

"Kouta! Ichika!" Koutaro looked to the stands to see Cecilia and the girls waving at them.

They all met up back at the locker room.

"Ichika, you're still lacking. Maybe I should up our morning drills." Houki crossed her arms.

"N-No, please…I might actually die," Ichika sighed.

"It'd do you some good," Rin scoffed.

Charlotte handed Koutaro a bottle of water. "Here, drink up. You must be tired."

Kouta smiled. "Thank you, Charlotte."

Cecilia pouted. "What exactly is…Heaven's Wheel anyway? I've never seen anything like it before."

Koutaro sighed. "Alright, but you guys can't tell anyone else alright?" They all nodded. "Heaven's Wheel is a technique that my mom created, back when she was America's representative contender. You guys know that Getsuga's main ability is the power to absorb and redirect energy and light based attacks right? Well my mom applied the concept to Heaven's Wheel. By redirecting my shield energy into each of those blades, and since it's still connected to Getsuga, I can teleport to any of those blades as long as my shield energy is above 10%."

"Your mother came up with this technique?" Cecilia asked. "I never realized she was so amazing."

"Yeah, aside from Miss Orimura, she's probably the strongest IS pilot in the world," Koutaro smiled. "But the Flying Thunder God was the only technique she passed down to me. Everything else, Grand Chariot and Prism, were techniques that I created using the same concept. I spent a few months configuring Getsuga so I'm well versed in it's capabilities."

"You're…pretty amazing, you know that?" Ichika asked.

Koutaro blushed. "I don't wanna hear that from a guy, you idiot."

Ichika laughed. "But still, creating your own techniques, that's something I'd never be able to do."

Koutaro suddenly became aware of how much he missed his mom. "I hope you guys get to meet her one day. She always went on and on about how I'd make lifelong friends and how she'd make us all food if we ever came to hang out at my house."

"Of course we will," Ichika said.

"Why do you sound like you'll never see her again?" Houki asked.

"We'll find her, Kouta," Cecilia took his hand.

Koutaro smiled. "Yeah, one day."

"Oh yeah," Rin clapped her hands. "Why don't we all go into town tomorrow since it's Saturday. We can show Koutaro around and get his shopping done."

"That's a brilliant idea Rin," Cecilia shined like a light.

Why did Koutaro have a feeling this was more then just shopping. He sighed, but smiled at the prospect of having friends again…it's been so long.

…

Tatenashi stood outside the locker room, peering in to watch Koutaro. Her legs felt squirmy and jelly, as if she'd fall over if she stepped in there. She wanted to go in there and talk to him, but why was she feeling like this? She'd never experienced anything like this before. What the hell was wrong with her?

"Oh? This is a first for me," Miss Orimura appeared behind her.

Tatenashi stiffened. "M-Miss Orimura!"

"I've never seen you so giddy and nervous before," Miss Orimura smirked. "It's a good change of pace."

"W-W-W-What…"

"Go in there and talk to him, idiot."

"I can't…" She said. "Whenever I think about him, my heart starts racing a million beats a minute. My face gets red and my hands start sweating, I feel like I'm going to fall over." She laughed.

"Oh man, you've got it bad." She sighed. "Listen, a little advice? She who strikes first wins the war, and it seems as though Cecilia has you beat, student council president."

Tatenashi pouted. "Okay…I get it…"

"Then I'll take my leave," Miss Orimura smirked before walking away.

Tatenashi looked back in. His smile…why did it make her so happy to see him smile. She grabbed at her chest and sighed.

"Stupid Koutaro."