The thing that Chifuyu-san told me yesterday, to be honest, it's still bothering me. Shinkiro is a much faster and refined version of Ignition Boost, whatever that is; but if I'm not careful, it would backfire against me without any mercy. From everything that she explained to me yesterday, I conclude that Shinkiro is somewhat a more advanced version of this Ignition Boost thing and because of that I have to be able to perform Ignition Boost properly first before able to use Shinkiro.
But still... the more I think about it, it doesn't explain why my whole body trembled and my sight blurred yesterday after using it. I don't think crashing into the wall would cause something like that, because I'm pretty much sure that Seiryuu's Absolute Defense system would do something to decrease the damage. In the end, I could only conclude that Shinkiro gave a huge strain to my body because I could feel a great exhaustion right after that, but it doesn't explain my sight was blurring as well. It feels like I've been hit by something really hard in the head that it caused my whole body to shake violently before returning back to normal after a split second. It's not a pleasant feeling, to be honest.
After school, I decided to give Ichika a visit in his class (after telling Rin that I would ask him to train me, of course. It took quite some time to make her finally talk to me and took even more time to convince her that I'd be really training with Ichika today. Well, if Ichika turned out to be unable to help me today, I figured that I'd train by myself after school. Besides, if possible, I'd like to avoid her for a few days first considering what happened yesterday. It wouldn't be nice having a training while knowing that your trainer's willing to kill you anytime at the same time), to ask him if he mind giving me a little training in using IS.
Given the fact that he's more experienced than me, I bet he should know some tips or tricks on how to ride an IS properly. And properly as in not losing control in the middle of riding it and not crashing into something while attempting to ride it.
If you're going to think about why I didn't just ask Rin about something like that given the fact that we're studying in the same class... well, considering what happened between the two of us, I don't think she'd give something like that to me easily. And besides, I'm already aware that it would be better if I avoid her for a few days first considering what happened yesterday.
Oh, putting that aside, I heard most of the other Representative Cadets are placed in his class too. From what I heard from the girls in class, the Representative Cadets from England, the Representative Cadet from France, and the Representative Cadet from Germany are all placed in his class. I'm not really sure, but judging from all the gossips around the school about him and the other Representative Cadets, I suppose Ichika have his days around the school rough too.
When I come out of the class, I saw him making his way back to the dormitory and so I took no time to go after him, "Ichika!"
Ichika stopped on his way and turned around. I saw one of his eyebrows arched when turning around, probably wondering who called him, but his expression turned back to normal when he saw me, I think, "Oh, Suou. Been a while, right? What is it?"
"Ichika, do you have some free time today?"
"Free time? Well, I think I do... why is it?"
"I want you to train me in using IS. You're the First Representative Cadet of Japan, isn't it? You should be far more experienced in me, so I think it should be a piece of cake if you're the one teaching me."
"You might be exaggerating about that really, Suou," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, "But instead of me being the one training you, how about we just train together? It would be good if the two of us give our best in this thing, right?"
Well, it's not a bad suggestion to be honest. And so I gave a nod, "I don't really mind if it's like that."
The two of us made our way to the training ground after agreeing to that point, taking our time to change our school uniform into the IS practice uniform in the Arena's changing room before heading to the school ground where I practiced with Rin yesterday. Much to our surprise, we found Chifuyu-san already there, seemed to be searching for something before she noticed us.
"Orimura and Hazuki? What are the two of you doing here?"
"Oh, Chifuyu-nee, we're just-"
I instinctively moved to the side the moment Chifuyu-san smacked the top of Ichika's head with her first, actually narrowing her eyes as she stated: "That's Orimura-Sensei for you. Don't forget about that."
"Go-Gomenasai... Orimura-Sensei..."
"How many times do I have to remind you about that, Orimura?"
What a creep. That was really scary. Even though Ichika is her own brother, she's not even hesitating in using violence? Even though they're siblings, I can see for myself that their personalities are really in contrast with each other. My left eye gave a twitch along the way. Are they seriously like that? I always thought that Chifuyu-san would go easy on Ichika because he's her younger brother, but it turned out that doesn't seem to be the case. But now I know why most of the people here in this IS Academy avoid having a problem with her. Not only that she's a strict person by nature, the fact that she's also the former Mondo Grosso champion makes her seemed almost invincible.
"And so, what are you doing here, Orimura, Hazuki?"
"We, We're thinking of doing a small practice in using IS," I said to her, "Given the fact that Ichika is the First Representative Cadet of Japan and the only male other than me who's capable of using IS, I think it would be easier for me to understand the whole concept of IS completely. He might've some tricks that might be able to help me to understand Seiryuu to the core as well."
"Oh, so the name of your IS is Seiryuu, huh?" I shifted my attention to Ichika after hearing him saying that, "That sounds cool."
"What's the name of your IS?" I asked him back in return out of curiosity.
"My IS? It's called Byakushiki," he replied to me with a rather carefree smile as he chuckled, "It's modeled after the IS that was used by Chifuyu-ne - I mean, Orimura-Sensei during the Mondo Grosso International Fighting Tournament."
Well, I could say that he switched saying "Chifuyu-nee" into "Orimura-Sensei" because of the fact that Chifuyu-san's glaring behind him. I could really say that he realized that suddenly dangerous situation so he switched from saying "Chifuyu-nee" into saying "Orimura-Sensei" instead. But I won't really blame him for doing that, really. Her glare gives me the creeps along the way so I decided to say nothing. Commenting about something like that might result to Chifuyu-san smacking the top of my head like what she did to Ichika earlier.
"How about yourself? What are you doing here after school like this, Orimura-Sensei?" I asked her back in return out of curiosity.
"Me? I'm making sure that the damage that was caused to the training wall by a certain student yesterday has been fixed."
I hung my head in shame that instant. Chifuyu-san could be really frank about something like that... she would really say something like that without any mercy...
Putting that aside, Ichika's IS is called Byakushiki, huh? And the fact that his Byakushiki is modeled after Chifuyu-san's IS that she used to become the Mondo Gross International Fighting Tournament, that only give more proof that considering all of the Representative Cadets studying in this IS Academy, Ichika might be the strongest and obviously, I'm the weakest.
Somehow, I feel depressed after knowing about that fact but it can't be helped. During the combat practice with Rin (where it's to determine whether I'm worthy enough or not to develop my potentials in IS piloting), having her cornered in itself was really hard, if not impossible that is. In return, she gained almost perfect advantage during our fight because of her Dragon Cannon - implying that her IS, ShenLong, was designed for close-to-middle range combat, while my Seiryuu was designed solely for the sake of close-range combat.
During the fight with Cecilia, I could really say that it's a crushing defeat. Knowing the fact that her Blue Tears gained perfect advantage because it's designed for middle-to-long range combat didn't help even the slightest bit; her Blue Tears is a kind of IS that could be considered as the natural enemy of my Seiryuu that once again, designed solely for the sake of close-range combat. Unlike the combat practice where my enemy was Rin, I didn't even manage to get close to her; let alone putting a scratch to her Blue Tears. It's a perfectly crushing defeat. As much as I want to win against her during that time, if I still don't know what trick that I could use against an IS like her Blue Tears, there's only little to no chance for me to accomplish that goal.
And considering what I concluded earlier too, the fact that Byakushiki was made with the IS Chifuyu-san used to win the Mondo Grosso International Fighting Tournament must mean that it's hella strong - and the fact that Ichika is the younger brother of the Mondo Gross Champion must mean that he's hella strong as well. Well, I haven't seen him in IS combat practice for real, but I get the feeling that he must be the strongest Representative Cadet in this whole IS Academy. Even though the two of us are boys, I suppose I could say that our abilities are in contrast - with him being the strongest (I think) and myself being the weakest.
I gave a long, deep, defeated sigh. Even though I'm the only other male than Ichika who's capable of using IS, maybe I'm just not the right person to do it. There must be some other males other than me and Ichika capable of using IS, even though I'm not really sure if it's true or not. But hopefully, it would be the case.
"So the two of you decided to have a practice together? Well, I don't particularly mind the two of you doing that. It wouldn't be bad for Orimura to intensify his ability in using IS. As for you, Hazuki, this would be a good chance for you too to learn because your ability to use IS has been considered as extremely lacking."
I feel like something really sharp pierced through my innocent heart. Maybe saying innocent might exaggerating, but nonetheless it feels like that. Chifuyu-san, I would really appreciate it if you would be more considerate with your words, really. I know that saying something directly to the point is good, but to say something like that so frankly like that... you're making me feel like I wanna cry.
"What are the two of you waiting for? Get ready with your IS, I will stay here to supervise you."
"I thought you usually head back to the Teacher's Dormitory once the lesson's all done, Chifuyu-ne - I mean, Orimura-Sensei!"
"Let's just say that I need to keep an eye on Hazuki as well because he caused quite a lot of trouble yesterday," Chifuyu-san's words pierced through me like a spear; it's not like I can help it about what happened yesterday, "It's the duty of a teacher to watch over their troublesome students and make sure that they will behave according to the rules and manners."
Spare me, please, Chifuyu-san.
And so, both myself and Ichika made our way to the center of the school ground before equipping ourselves with our IS, Ichika equipping himself with Byakushiki while I'm equipping myself with Seiryuu. The two of us took no time to hover up higher into the air before preparing our weapons; I'm actually a bit surprised to know that he's using a katana just like me - well, Ichika seemed to be surprised at that fact too.
"Oh, it's a surprise, you're using a katana for the armament of your IS too, Suou?"
"Yeah, I figured that my IS was solely designed for the sake of close range combat, so I'm not really surprised to know that Seiryuu's only armed with this. The sword's called Futagoryuu."
"Your Seiryuu's almost similar to my Byakushiki, huh? Byakushiki's armed with Yukihira Type-Two, it's the sole weapon that Chifu- eh, Orimura-Sensei used to win the Mondo Grosso International Fighting Tournament."
Even the weapon's perfectly the same... judging from the appearance it's more like a more advanced and upgraded version of Seiryuu's Futagoryuu. But considering the fact Byakushiki's modeled after the IS that Chifuyu-san used to win the Mondo Gross International Fighting Tournament, I shouldn't be surprised at that fact - actually, I should consider that it's normal. But that doesn't help this depressed feeling even the slightest bit.
"Alright, are the two of you, ready?"
"Anytime."
"Start it whenever you want, Orimura-Sensei."
"Alright then... start!"
Much to my own surprise, the two of us used the same movement, dashing back as if suspecting that either of us would charge forward for the first strike. But thinking about something like that won't help me getting better in using Seiryuu, let alone knowing what Ignition Boost is, how to use it, and how to perform Shinkiro correctly. I dashed to the side for a split second before accelerating forward, attempting to give the first strike of this practice; only to widen my eyes when he dashed to the side to avoid it with little to no effort.
"You can do better than that, Suou!"
I almost instantly dashed downward, avoiding his Yukihira just in time before dashing forward and preparing Futagoryuu to strike him in a wide arc; only to clench my teeth when he parried it with his Yukihira.
"You're good... Ichika..." I said to him with a small grin, somehow feeling excited for no reason.
"You too... Suou."
The two of us forces each other back with little to no effort; the collision between my Futagoryuu and his Yukihira must've caused enough energy collision that caused the two of us to be able to push each other back with little to no effort.
"Alright, now let's get serious."
Suddenly, the blade of his Yukihira split and an energy blade came out of it, making it more like a light saber instead of just a metallic sword infused with IS energy. So there's a trick in that, huh? Now I think I get why it's being called Yukihira Type Two. It must be because the first type of Yukihira unable to change into a light saber like that, I think. It kinda gives me the feeling that I'm watching a crossover between humanoid robot age and Star Wars, but nonetheless, I smiled.
Moving on, the two of us took no time to chase after each other, attempting to get the status of 'the one who placed the first strike' during the match... probably. I don't know if he's thinking like that too, but judging from how he reacted, that seemed to be the case, hopefully.
"You might be right, it's time to get serious," I said to him. Hopefully, this time I'm not just big mouthing but at least be able to pull something off, "Seiryuu, Equipment Selection."
[ FUTAGORYUU - DUAL MODE ]
In no time, the blade of Futagoryuu split into two thinner energy blades and I prepared myself with those. Much to my own surprise, Ichika actually chuckled after I split the blade of Futagoryuu into two.
"It seemed that you have something up your sleeves too, Suou."
"I suppose I could say the same thing to you, Ichika."
The two of us charged forward and now parrying each other's blades with all of our might before pushing each other back with a rather tremendous force. When I took my time to balance my footing, the holographic screen that suddenly visualizes in front of me caused me to dash to the side; avoiding the strike from Ichika's Yukihira. A few milliseconds of late responding, I'd be down in the ground because of that strike.
That being said, I took no time to charge towards Ichika, only to have him dodging most of my attacks with ease. I clenched my teeth, even though both of our IS has been designed for close-range combat, does that mean something like this happening because of my lack of ability? Because I cannot catch up with him? Because I cannot use Seiryuu properly?
Eventually, the two of us stopped chasing each other and now hovering high in the air above the school ground; looking at each other with a small grin placed to our lips. But much to my own surprise, a split second after I blinked, Ichika already vanished from my sight; only to widen my eyes in surprise when he suddenly appeared on my left side with his Yukihira ready to strike. Unable to catch up with Seiryuu's response because of the surprise, I was struck down - but able to regain my senses and prevent Seiryuu from crashing into the ground just in time.
"What... was that just now?" I asked, mostly to myself in confusion. How did he manage to vanish from my sight just after I blink and then re-appearing beside me and struck me down?
"That was Ignition Boost, it's a move that was taught to me by Chifu- Orimura-Sensei not too long ago. It proves to come in handy in battles like this."
That was Ignition Boost? How did he... how did it even work? I should really think about it, to figure how it works. He was in front of me for a moment but then I blinked and the next time I realize it, he's already beside me striking me down. The only way possible to do something like this is to boost to the side with an incredible speed before changing direction and striking the enemy down. But how...
Wait a minute. Chifuyu-san mentioned that the boosters of my IS has been modified for enhanced maneuverability, so it should actually be possible for me to do something like that. But how to do it properly... I won't know unless someone explain it to me. I shouldn't be focusing on being able to perform that Ignition Boost just like Ichika, but I suppose I should be more focusing on how to overcome that Ignition Boost of his. If I don't find any trick to overcome it sooner or later, it would be pointless to have a training like this. I want to be better in using Seiryuu.
"Are you alright, Suou? Do you want to stop here for now?"
"I thank you for your consideration, Ichika," I said to him, shaking my head along the way in the process, "But I'm fine. Let's continue this."
As I said that to Ichika, I saw nothing but a smile upon his expression. It seemed that he's relieved that I'm fine, but at the same time, I'm actually wondering of why just one strike from Yukihira drained quite an amount of shield energy - even more than receiving the impact from Rin's Dragon Cannon and Cecilia's sniper rifle. Well, no use thinking about that right now. I shook my head once before gazing at Ichika and gave him a nod, a gesture that it'd be alright to continue the practice for now.
The two of us took our stances before once again dashing at each other and having our energy blades colliding; taking a split second before pushing each other back and starting to chase each other every now and then.
If I want to at least gain a slight advantage while facing him while managing to overcome his Ignition Boost at the same time, I need to go faster than his normal boost and also his Ignition Boost. This is a chance where I might be able to use Shinkiro properly. And so I started performing sudden boosts, one after another; knowing very well that Ichika's chasing right behind me. Before long, I lost sight of him and once again everything starting to pass through me in an incredible speed.
The moment I was reminded about Chifuyu-san telling me that I should be able to change direction while moving at an incredible speed like this, I widened my eyes in surprise. It feels like that my sight and internal organs were shaken forcefully and that very moment I could see everything that was passing me with an incredible speed slowly turning back to normal and in an instant, my whole body was numb. My vision was blurring and that very moment I realized I lost control of my body. Both myself and Seiryuu are falling.
I extended my hand forward as I could feel myself falling, attempting to grab into something... anything... that might be able to prevent me from falling down even further. I can't see anything. I can't breathe. The last thing I heard was the sound of something mechanical flying in high speed near me.
"Suou! Suou!"
I opened my eyes ever so slowly after hearing that voice, forcing myself to breath normally at the same time. I can't see the one in front of me very clearly even though I can pretty much tell that from the voice, the one who called me was Ichika and the one standing beside him must be Chifuyu-san. I closed my eyes again, shaking my head lightly before placing a hand against my forehead - before moving it down slightly to cover my eyes. I opened my eyes again after a moment and I noticed that my sight's slowly shifting back to normal.
"How are you feeling, Hazuki?"
I narrowed my eyes.
"I don't... really know what to say... Orimura-Sensei..."
"Were you attempting to perform Shinkiro earlier?"
"Yes, I-"
"This might be a little rash to say something like this, considering the fact that you learned about the fact that Seiryuu is capable of performing Shinkiro just yesterday. But after seeing something like this, I figured that I should be telling you this now. Give up on learning Shinkiro."
What...? Why...?
"What is Shinkiro, Chifuyu-ne - I mean, Orimura-Sensei?"
"Shinkiro is an ability similar to Ignition Boost, but much faster and like a refined version of it and only Hazuki's Seiryuu capable of performing it."
I winced. It's like something trying to split my head into two, "Why... would you suggest something like me giving up on learning Shinkiro... Orimura-Sensei?"
"Before I answer that, tell me, Hazuki. How many times have you tried to perform Shinkiro?"
If I should count the fail attempt to perform Shinkiro while facing Cecilia... and the one while practicing with Rin yesterday...
"... this would be the third time... I suppose..."
"Have you succeeded just even once?"
"No, but-"
"I figured as much. The reason of why you cannot perform Shinkiro properly, I deduced that it's not because you cannot perform the Ignition Boost or because you're still lacking in your ability to ride an IS. It's because you're unable to catch up with the speed of all the responses provided by Seiryuu, that you ended up losing balance and failing on your attempt to perform Shinkiro."
I closed my eyes. The pain on my head almost preventing me to listening to her fully, but nonetheless I tried my best to listen to her explanation.
"From my observation, it seemed like the movement Shinkiro is similar to the principle of sonic boom. It's just similar to applying the principle of air resistance. When something move, the air in front of it is pushed away and at the same time, the air also moves in proportion to the object's speed. However, when something goes past the speed of sound, the air wouldn't be able to avoid the object anymore and in return, the air resistance would suddenly become huge and when it breaks open it would make a shockwave known as the sonic boom."
I gazed down when I could feel Chifuyu-san's sight upon me; as if trying to pierce through me.
"While the movement of Shinkiro in itself is not as fast as the speed of sound and it's obviously unable to leave a sonic boom, I would categorize it as moving in an incredible speed as it's actually capable of leaving an after image. When a person's forced to move at an incredible speed, unlike when moving at a normal speed, the person would be forced to process everything it saw almost at the same time. Knowing the fact that things that are moving at an incredible speed could be considered as highly difficult to control without proper abilities or skills, the person would also be forced to think of a way to not crash into something when moving at the said incredible speed. In this case, however, we could consider Seiryuu to be the one giving advices and directions in order not to crash. That in itself, however, would only give more strain to the brain or in the other words, it would cause the brain to be overwhelmed.
When moving at an incredible speed, the person's body would also be forced to adapt to such extreme situation. However, it would be highly impossible as the air resistance could be considered moving at an incredible speed at the same time and leaving little to no oxygen for the person to breathe on. The lack of air and oxygen would cause a problem in breathing, just like what you experienced, Hazuki.
To put it shortly, your body and brain cannot keep up with all of the output given by Seiryuu while performing Shinkiro and as a result, it gave a huge strain to those areas. And judging from what have happened, it seemed that it's true that Shinkiro gave a huge burden to both your vision and your breathing. You took quite some time to look and recognize us after being caught by Orimura, not to mention that while you're out cold, you seemed to have a problem to breathe normally."
I narrowed my eyes in shame. Chifuyu-san could tell all that just from one observation...
"Unless you're a robotic being or a super human, Id's say that it'd be impossible for you to be able to perform Shinkiro correctly - and correctly as in not injuring yourself in the process. Judging from how you reacted and how you failed on all of your attempts to perform Shinkiro, I believe that you're already aware that it's impossible to catch up with Seiryuu's response during the process of performing it. If you're going to claim it's possible, I'd ask you how you end up crashing during the first and second time trying it and how did you end up losing the control of your own IS, not to mention fainted as well this time. I think Tabane already figured that this must be the major flaw in Shinkiro and I suppose that's why even though Shinkiro is a much faster and refined version of Ignition Boost, she decided not to equip that ability to the next IS she invented."
"But Orimura-Sensei," I tried to reason with her, "I'm still able to-"
"In the worst case scenario, forcing yourself to perform Shinkiro might cause Seiryuu to incapacitate you permanently and if your vision cannot hold on anymore, it will diminish and there's no doubt that you'll suffer from it. As a teacher with the duty to take care of her students, starting from today, I shall say that you're banned from performing Shinkiro. If you value yourself, you'd listen to me."
"Bu-But, Chifuyu-nee... how did something like this happen? I thought all of the IS pilots are being protected by the Absolute Defense system?"
"Indeed, Absolute Defense system does protect all of the people capable of riding IS. But let me remind you that Absolute Defense system was activated by the IS, not the pilot. If the attack is deemed by the IS as not life-threatening to cause serious injury to its pilot, IS would not activate the Absolute Defense system, even if it results in minor until moderate injury to its pilot."
"T-That doesn't explain how something like this could happen-"
"Orimura. The Absolute Defense system protects the pilot from the attacks coming from the outside of the IS, not from the inside. Put it like this, if someone who's sick decided to ride an IS, do you think she would be able to ride it normally? If the pilot's the one unable to control the IS, despite the fact that the IS has been equipped with the Absolute Defense system, do you think it would do something when it turns out that the problem is the pilot itself?"
I gazed down in defeat. The third time I tried to perform Shinkiro, I failed. And even though this is not really a combat practice, this is still my loss to Ichika - the third loss in IS combat practice. I don't really believe in the phrase "Three times a charm" anymore now...
"But Orimura-Sensei, I'm still-"
"Hazuki, if you still insist on performing Shinkiro, then find a method where it wouldn't strain your brain and your body while performing it. Until then, you're banned from using it."
I tried to reason with her for the last time... but it failed. I know that there's the possibility of Seiryuu incapacitating me while using Shinkiro and that I might suffer from diminished sight if my vision cannot hold on anymore, but just this one time... just this one time... if only I could find about something that might let me use Shinkiro without injuring myself... if only I could find something that would let me become better than my present self now...
"Orimura, take him back to the Boys Dormitory. Go to the matron and ask her to give Hazuki a brief health check."
"Ha-Haii, Chifuyu-nee!"
Just like that, Chifuyu-san left me with Ichika. When Ichika un-equipped Byakushiki from his body, that's when I realize that I'm not equipped with Seiryuu anymore. It seemed that Seiryuu went to inactive mode when I was out cold. And so, I just remained silent when Ichika helped me up and placed a hand of mine over his shoulder. If possible, I'd like to walk on my own feet - but even though my sight has been restored to normal, I still have a slight problem in breathing and I still could feel all of my internal organs as if trembling as well.
"Let's get back to the dormitory, Suou."
"Sure..."
When I think about it now... I think it's not fair. Just for a moment, after fighting Cecilia, I managed to discover something that might be able to help me being at least in the same position with the other Representative Cadets, not being the weakest among them. But right now, after Chifuyu-san told me something like this - that if I value myself, it'd be better for me to stop learning about Shinkiro, it seemed as if I have little to no hope in having special characteristics like the other Representative Cadets - Rin with her Dragon Cannon, Cecilia with her sniping ability, and Ichika with his Yukihira and Ignition Boost. Getting better in using IS and becoming stronger without using Shinkiro, that's probably the best thing that I could do once I'm recovered.
