Sorry for the long wait, everyone! Have had a lot of busy things going on lately. Anyways thanks for the follows and reviews you've given me so far! I should be able to have chapter 9 uploaded within a week as well so expect a lot more to happen from here on. So now I give you chapter 8: The Chosen Girl!
Chapter 8: The Chosen Girl
Arthur lessened his speed as he approached the sharp turn with Tina's IS catching up close behind him. Like hell I'm gonna let you beat me in a race he thought to himself with a confident grin before using Ignition Boost at the end of the turn. She fired her shoulder cannons at him to try to throw him off course. Arthur responded by blocking with his shield while struggling to keep up his speed due to it's weight. He decided to try firing back on her with his SMG. Tina was too fast however, and had caught up with her own Ignition Boost by using the shells as a diversion. The two each pulled a knife off their hips then swung hard at each other with a loud "CLANG!". Tina then used it to her advantage by swinging hard to her right to knock Arthur's knife out of his hand, forcing him to back off. It's been only a few days since I got this thing back, but I'm still too sluggish. Seems to me she's taking full advantage of that... he thought disappointingly. Arthur swirled back around to face forward followed by him trying to speed up. Tina came along beside him, grinning back at him all the while. "Let's be fair on this last stretch. Don't wanna hurt you now" she teased. "Ohoho, You're gonna regret those words" Arthur replied as he set his Striker to full speed. He could see the white finish line, picturing himself crossing it first. Let's show em what we can do Gabriel. Tina struggled to keep up, until she jettisoned off all unnecessary weight to catch up with him. He could picture it from the stands almost like the horse races he used to watch with his father back home. "They're on the last stretch , Hamilton and Stone are neck-in-neck. Even I can't tell from up here who could win this one folks!" is probably what that announcer guy would be saying. Arthur threw away his shield to also increase his speed, the two of them nearly horizontally aligned together.
Together, they both did one last Ignition Boost, their shield's energy both dropping below 50 as all anyone could see was two blue lights zoom forward before seeing them skid on the ground in a cloud of dust. Once the dust cleared, Arthur let out a deep breath before de-materializing his IS and falling flat on his back to the ground. "Well... that was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be" he panted.
Tina walked over to him, hands on her hips, while staring down with a smug grin. "Awwwww, is the Blue Flash going soft on me?"
"Hey, hey now... I'm just getting the hang of things again," he got up slowly once she offered her hand to him. Arthur looked over the entire track, the place almost looking like a place racecar fan's would go ecstatic for. "So this is the Cannonball Fast arena huh? I think cars would do better here than IS'."
"I somewhat agree, though I'm still trying to figure out why they named it that." They both looked at each other for a few seconds before letting out small laughs. Tina then clasped her hands together behind her back while looking at Arthur with a cute smile. Arthur looked over at her for a second before lightly smirking.
"All right, what is it? You always take that pose when you've got news to tell."
"Well... Rin was gonna go with me to pick out a dress for our dinner date in a couple days. Do you... wanna come along by any chance?" she looked up at him with her face she knew he couldn't resist.
I swear it's like she's a poor puppy lost on the streets... "O-Oh, uhm, well..." he stammered out while backing up. It was to no avail though, as Tina edged herself closer and closer going, "Hm? Hmmmmm?"
Gotta get out of this one quick... I hate clothes shopping. "Well... wouldn't you want... to surprise me though?"
"Hm?" Tina's head tilted slightly, her face full of curiosity.
"Y-yea wouldn't you want to surprise me with it, instead of one I've seen already? Would probably make the night better, would it not?"
Tina grinned before she lightly poked his nose. "Silly, I knew you wouldn't wanna go. I was just wanting to see how you'd respond."
Arthur twitched for a few seconds before finally regaining his ability to talk fluently. "R-right ok. Any other bits of news I should know?"
Tina turned around and took a few steps before stopping. "Well you see, my father's coming in a couple of weeks to visit to see how I'm doing and all. I know you two get along well, so I just thought you would wanna know. Maybe... maybe he could help get you clearance back into the U.S.-"
"I'd never ask that of him." Arthur's interrupted words made Tina's head sink slightly, but she knew why he felt that way. "Your father's the Speaker of the House, and with that he has to have some degree of fairness. It won't look good letting a fugitive back into the country, even if only a few know that I am as such."
"I- I know that but-" her words were stopped by Arthur holding her arm.
"Look, I know you want to help me. But trust me... some wounds just need time to heal. If you heal them too quickly, your body won't stay balanced and will overcompensate as a result. For now, we just need to let things be," He pulled her close so he could hug her tightly, "I'm okay, alright? You don't need to go out of your way to try and make me happy... you already do that just by being here."
Tina looked up at him with a soft smile, before she buried her face in his chest. "If that's how you feel... then okay, I'm fine with it. Promise me though... that you'll get help."
"Hm?"
"You're traumatized by something... I can tell that much. The only time you've been calm was during the fight with Cecilia. Ever since that morning you freaked out, you've been really edgy with your eyes looking everywhere, as if you're waiting for someone."
Arthur sighed deeply before letting go of Tina, his hands going to hips. "I won't lie to you, I am haunted by something... then again I could say the same for my whole life since I started using these IS. The only thing that matters now is that I don't lose what I still have. That's my only and most important concern." He then pulled a wallet from his pocket. Inside it was his military-issued ID along with a picture of an old man. "You know who this is, don't you?"
Tina backed up before looking down at the picture, her eyes narrowing alongside a regretful face. "It's your grandfather right?"
He nodded silently and stared at the picture for a minute, before putting the wallet back in his pocket. "He never stopped smiling... even on his deathbed, he was still happy everyday they went in to see him. I idolized him naturally, always wanted to be like him. He was the father I wish I could've had..." Arthur's face contorted as he tried to hold back old tears of anguish. "It's been 8 years, yet I still can't even-"
Tina interrupted him by placing her finger over his lips. "You don't have to say anymore. That's the only problem with you... you like to repeat yourself too much," she joked with a caring face.
"Why don't we go get some lunch? I'm sure that whole race worked up your appetite right?" He looked back down to his watch that showed '1:25' on it's screen. His face flushed red slightly however when his stomach growled loudly. "Yea... let's do that." Tina smiled before tugging him towards the locker room.
"W-wait Tina, you're supposed to change BEFORE I go in there!"
"But that would be no fun!" she giggled as she kept tugging him along.
Cecilia kept looking around throughout the cafeteria as she made her way to the booth Ichika and everyone else were in. Strange... I would've thought he would be here for sure. "You looking for something, Cecilia?" Ichika's voice broke her out of her curious trance while she sat down. "Oh, no it's nothing Ichika dear," she finished as she kept looking about while starting to eat.
"So how's it feel to bite off more than you can chew?" Rin snickered while Houki grew a small confident smile at the sight of Cecilia.
"Just what are you implying Rin?!" Cecilia replied loudly.
"What she's 'implying' is how you got your ass kicked because you ran before you could even walk," Houki commented while giving Rin a sly nod of agreement.
"One should always observe the enemy as well as their tactics before engaging," Laura added in calmly.
"N-now everyone, let us all settle down. We do not need to make a scene, agreed?" Charlotte interrupted nervously.
Cecilia let it end there, but felt agitated nonetheless at their mocking of her. I never got the chance to ask him what he meant. But at least I had something close to alone time with Ichika... A soft smile came to her face, but soon disappeared when she remembered that the others would always barge in and crowd the hospital room she had been in the last couple of days while Ichika would help her out. These rivals of mine are just so relentless... if he's really planning on helping me out, he should give me a situation where it's guaranteed we'll be alone... she thought to herself while looking around at the other 4 girls surrounding Ichika.
"Oh, by the way Ichika, have you decided who you are taking with you?" Charlotte asked out of nowhere. The others voices fell silent the moment Ichika's face grew nervous from the question.
"Something you want to tell us Ichika?" Houki growled with what Ichika called her 'Scary Face'.
"Yea, I'd really like to know..." Rin joined in, her eyes glowing red like a demon's at Ichika. Laura however, remained unchanged which made Cecilia think either she didn't understand the situation, or felt no need to bother with it.
"W-Well, you see uh... thanks to Arthur and Tina winning, apparently... I'm to bring someone with me along with the both of them to a 5 star restaurant in town; To which Cecilia is agreeing to pay for." Even the tables around them fell silent while Ichika finished his explanation of the situation.
"Did I just hear that right?"
"A date to a restaurant with Orimura?"
"It's almost too good to be true!"
Suddenly, a large mob of girls blocked the ends of the booth, the faces on all of them full of determination. Cecilia felt smothered in the tense atmosphere as they all prepared to speak, until a voice from behind the girls made everyone freeze still. "If you have time to stand around, then you have time to be productive! Unless you're not done getting your lunch finished, I'd like to see you practicing and honing your skills as much as possible!" Chifuyu declared. The crowd slowly fell apart, with most returning to their tables groaning while only a few left the cafeteria altogether.
Ichika took a large sigh of relief until Chifuyu came up to them. "Orimura, quit causing a ruckus! It's a wonder how you ever get out of bed in the morning without making a mess."
"Actually, he's quite tidy," a chuckling voice from behind her added in. When Cecilia looked around her, Arthur and Tina stood there with their lunch trays in hand before sitting down at a table near them. "It's okay Miss Orimura, in truth you could say I'm the source of the 'ruckus'. So if you need to dish out a punishment, I'll take it for him," he commented with a happy smirk.
Tina let out a sigh while looking over at him. "Was this all because of that bet you made? It's almost like you're wanting to stress Ichika out, Arthur."
"Wouldn't dream of it," he retorted in a relaxed tone as he sipped some water. Cecilia leered over in Arthur's direction, to which he stared back as well. "Something bothering you, Princess?" She only scoffed while turning away.
"Hey Tina, which one of you won the race?" Rin curiously asked as she scooted out to walk over to the two of them. Arthur and Tina both looked at each other again before smiling. "We tied," they replied almost in unison.
"Though when you've got two IS' of the same basic frame, when you put it all down to that, it's hard for either of us to be 'faster' than the other," Arthur mentioned as he leaned back slightly in his chair.
"Oh? That would explain the resemblance between them," Ichika pondered.
"Yea, I'd like to say they're America's response to the very well crafted Raphael Revive series of France, though in retrospect they've still got a few bugs left to fix," Arthur replied while looking up at the ceiling.
"You seem to show an affinity for the Dunois Corporation's prized design," Charlotte commented.
"I just love versatility is all. The one who wins battles is the one who adapts the most, who keeps the enemy on their toes to where they never get a moment to relax. Combat, I hate to admit, can actually be two extremes. You can either have it flow like the waters of a river, or it can be as jagged as a mountain range."
"You're partially right," Chifuyu noted. "Your comparison of how crazy it can become though could use a touch. 'As jagged as a mountain range' isn't the analogy I would use."
"Then what would yours be?"
Chifuyu closed her eyes for a moment while letting out a deep breath. "As sudden as an earthquake or monsoon are among some that come to mind."
"Eh, doesn't sound much different but oh well," he shrugged in response. A thought seemed to come to him though, after he had paused for a few moments. "By the way, Cecilia..."
"Hm? What do you want?"
"You feeling a lot better now? Ichika said you appeared to recover pretty quick, but I'd rather hear from the patient herself."
"Hmph. Well if you were that curious you could've just come to see for yourself, you know?"
"Yes, well-" He peered over to Tina with a sincere smile, "I was... pre-occupied you could say."
Tina giggled for a second until she tried to start eating as well. Arthur's stomach growled as well, prompting him to do the same. Everyone else resumed, while Chifuyu walked off stating she had prior business to attend to.
Rin kept walking ahead as she could hear Tina lagging behind her. "Rin, do I really have to do this? I just finished lunch so why can't I go take a nap or something? Or better yet work on my IS with Arthur?"
"Because I'd like to practice with you today, it's not everyday the roommate you have finally shows her potential she's apparently been hiding."
"W-well, I just never had the need to use it arise that's all."
Rin laughed at her excuse while she continued forward. "Whatever you say, besides lately you've been going everywhere with Arthur. Don't you think a little time with someone of the same sex would help balance it out?"
She heard Tina stop, which made her think she was trying to comprehend what she just said. "You're the first girl I've ever had tell me that..."
"Really? Then you must not have had many friends," Rin said in a joking manner before continuing on. She noticed Tina trudged along behind her in a slightly sad manner, so Rin grabbed her hand and pulled her along. "C'mon, if we don't hurry we might not beat the mid-afternoon crowd."
Tina looked up at her with a weak smile. "Right, I'm sorry," she softly chuckled as they picked up their pace.
"You know, you've really put me in a very bad situation," Ichika groaned as he tried to keep up, "Now, people are going to be like they were in the lunchroom before..."
"Then just make a choice already and they'll leave you alone," Arthur lazily replied with a wave of his hand, "The only way to get out of what you call a 'problem' is to use the solution you know is available to you, wouldn't you agree?"
"I guess so... by the way, where are you going exactly?"
"Well, I need to do some work on my IS, so the maintenance hangar will be my destination for today. If you want, we could take a look at your Byakushiki as well."
"Huh? Doesn't your country take care of your IS' maintenance for you?"
"I prefer a more personalized touch," he smirked while pulling open the door to the hangar.
When they both entered though, they could tell they were interrupting several projects that looked quite important. Several groups of girls were working on various things ranging from IS equipment to a few Uchigane units themselves. Arthur took in a big whiff before walking towards an empty stand. "Ahhhh, I love the smell of arc welders in the morning."
"But it's the afternoon..." Ichika interjected.
Arthur only sighed. "Details, details... anyways, you wanna go up first?"
"Um, sure I guess I could." Ichika summoned Byakushiki before walking up into the stand and letting the clamps grab the arm and leg pieces of his IS.
"Alright, you can hop off now. The machine will keep it standing." Ichika released his arms and legs out of the IS while Arthur helped him down. The other groups working however, began to notice their presence and slowly but surely started crowding around the two of them.
"Thanks, man," Ichika said as he touched the ground.
"No problem, now let's take a look at your IS, shall we?" Arthur walked over to the main interface for the machine itself, the data on it's screen showing the lay-out on the Byakushiki as well as it's power output in the different systems. "By the way Ichika, don't worry about the confidentiality issue if it's bugging you at all, I'm not one to share secrets you won't want me to."
"Well, actually that wasn't bothering me, but now that you mention it, it's good to know I suppose."
Arthur made a silent acknowledgment with a grunt as he scanned through the various data that kept popping up. "You've got quite an interesting machine here. You ever have any problems with it?"
"Well, everyone does with their own at some point I'm sure, why do you ask?"
"Well, the frame looks to be in good condition, but the boosters could use some repair. Someone hit ya too hard?" he asked in a serious tone.
"Seems like everyone always does since I apparently have a knack for saying the wrong thing."
"I-I could help with that," a random voice in the crowd behind them uttered. A girl in heavy overalls came through, though they both recognized the strange hairpins she had on. "Honne?" they both asked.
"Y-Yea," she replied with an embarrassed smile. "Is it okay if I help?" she asked while looking up at both of them with puppy-dog eyes.
"Sure," Arthur confirmed with a happy smile as he petted her head, to which Honne made a soothing smile. "Anyone else wanna join in?" Everyone else looked around for a few seconds until several others reluctantly stepped forward nodding their heads. "Alright then, Ichika you mind if we move the Byakushiki over to where the tools are? It'll be easier there."
"Y-yea sure," he replied while he got in the Byakushiki to move it. Once he got out, Arthur slapped his hands together.
"My turn now..." he whispered to himself as he summoned Gabriel Striker.
Cecilia kept trying to bombard the right area while she flew around, but she just couldn't get it right. This is aggravating... why can't I ever just hit the target? She released the bits once more while a holographic target in a flat diamond-like shape appeared down near the ground of the arena. Cecilia narrowed her eyes at the center of the target, then pictured in her mind a single drop of water, followed by a splash of it. The bits suddenly leaped into action as they zoomed forward until they surrounded the target and lit it up with overwhelming amounts of beam fire. Cecilia finally cleared her mind while calling the bits back. The hexagonal shapes making up the target, were mostly missing around the center, which made her feel slightly more confident.
Alright now, let's try this again... A picture of a pyramid pointing forward made Blue Tears take off while she angled it into a turn. She tried to maintain the pyramid in her mind, while imagining the drop of water again. The bits released once more, this time however, their movements were more hap-hazardous. They moved around erratically, while maintaining somewhat of a circular formation as they zoomed in on the target once again. Once they began firing though, she could tell the shots were going nowhere near where she wanted them to, so she called them back in frustration as she landed on the ground with her head hung in disappointment.
"What's this? Never thought I'd see you giving up," she heard Rin snicker while she flew over to her in her IS Shenlong.
"Contrary to your assumptions, I'm just taking a small breather is all," Cecilia replied in her usual confident tone.
"That's not what I would call it," Tina interrupted as she floated over beside the two of them.
Cecilia, having only just gotten out of the hospital, leered over in Tina's direction before turning around to walk away. "Something the matter?" Tina asked out of the blue.
"It's none of your concern," Cecilia replied with an annoyed voice as she took off into the sky to practice once more.
What was that all about? Tina pondered to herself as she looked at Rin, who only shrugged in response. She decided to shrug it off as well for now as well. "Soooo... what's the plan for today, Rin?"
Rin materialized two large and ornately designed Scimitar blades then quickly linked them together before slamming the bottom blade in the ground. "First, we fight!" she declared and lunged at Tina.
"W-Wait, what?!" Tina stammered out as she ducked underneath Rin's first swing and dashed backwards. "You think you could warn me first Rin?!"
"I can't hear you!" Rin retorted as she charged the 'Ryuhou' Impact cannons that floated over her shoulders.
Tina stared at the yellow glow in the cannons before taking off to her right as the shots kept hitting right behind her. This is not how I wanted to spend my afternoon... she groaned to herself and ascended while aiming then firing her Gatling gun at Rin.
Rin however, had different plans and spun her joined blades in front of her IS to block the incoming fire, the empty bullet casings littering the ground everywhere. "What is it your country says Tina? 'Be green and clean'?" she smirked as she charged once more towards Tina with her cannons barraging around her.
"Aww, did you come up with that all by yourself, Rin? I'm so proud of you," she joked as she de-materialized her Gatling gun to pull out her 'Scylla' Rifle. Her shots were dead-on, as Rin was forced to back off to try and come from a different angle. As the two of them kept circling around however, their concentration was cut short by Cecilia's bits shooting all throughout the middle of the two of them towards the target from earlier.
"If you two don't mind, I'm still here practicing. It's hard enough trying to concentrate without you two making all this noise, so go somewhere else if you don't mind," she complained to both of them.
Rin wanted to say something, but Tina shook her head 'no' as she descended back down to the ground. "It's not worth it Rin, let her work out her own problems. I already told you I was tired anyway."
"Yea I know, I just hate letting her have her way like that," Rin replied. "Sometimes she lets it go to her head and then we all pay the price for that."
"I can still hear you two, you know," Cecilia loudly interjected as they both started walking back to the lockers.
Tina could tell Rin was furious, but put her hand on her shoulder to calm her down. "It's fine, with those weapons she really does need mostly peace and quiet to get anything done with them."
"How do you figure that?" Rin looked over to her curiously.
"Back when Arthur and I were testing these things, we had various load-outs grafted onto them. One of them had similar weapons to those, and believe me..." her face then showed an expression of utter exhaustion from the memories of it. "I've never had so many migraines in such a short time..." she groaned while putting her hand to her forehead instinctively.
"That bad huh?"
"Oh, you have no idea... I wish you could've been there to see Arthur's reaction to them though. It was so hilarious."
Rin's eyes narrowed alongside an expression of doubt as they put their IS' in stand-by mode to enter the locker room. "What'd he do exactly...?"
"Well, for me you see, I could slightly control them to do what I want. Arthur's however, did everything except that. I remember during one testing session of them, they chased HIM around for several minutes until his energy finally hit zero. Of course, we were worried about him, but we couldn't help but share a laugh at the spectacle." Tina started laughing to herself hard enough that she had to put a hand on the wall to hold her up for a few seconds.
She finally calmed down while catching her breath enough that she could walk over to her locker near Rin's. As she was changing though, she looked over at Rin from time to time, noticing that her face seemed flustered, yet puzzled at the same time. "Rin, is something bothering you?"
"W-what? N-no, no, everything's fine," she laughed nervously. Tina decided to narrow her eyes at Rin while also getting ever closer to her while she put her hands on her waist.
"T-Tina... you're scaring me," Rin whimpered.
"Tell me what's wrong," Tina commanded with a disappointing frown.
"W-well, it's just a... how do I put it exactly?" Rin questioned to herself while pushing her fingers together repeatedly. She then took a deep gulp of air as her face changed to one full of determination. "I- I want you to help get Ichika to choose me for the double date!" she finally spat out, catching her breath with a cherry red face once her secret desire had been flushed out.
Tina could only giggle as she hugged Rin tightly. "Of course I'll help you! That's what roommates like us are for right?"
Upon finishing, she felt Rin's body relax more as she let out a deep sigh of relief. "Th-thanks," Rin stuttered while looking away with a red face.
Tina then let go as she finished getting her Academy uniform back on. While she fluffed her hair up, she grew a smile on her face. "You know, I'm sure Arthur would like it if you came along too," she chuckled.
"W-What makes you say that?"
"Just a hunch," she winked as she closed her locker and grabbed Rin's hand. "Now, why don't we go see the boys?"
"W-wait! Right now?! B-But I'm not even fully.."
"Prepared?" Tina interrupted before sighing at Rin. "If there's one thing I'm going to teach you Rin, it's that romance is impromptu at it's core, and nothing else," she grumbled while tugging the nervous Rin along.
Arthur wiped the sweat off his forehead as he finally managed to switch out the barrel on his SMG. Note to self...omit claws from future designs...
"Something wrong, Arthur?" Ichika's voice asked suddenly.
"Huh? Oh, uh, no I'm fine," he chuckled.
"Um, ok...is there a reason you're doing all your maintenance on your weapons with your IS out?"
"Well, the larger hands make it easier to put them back together for me," he grinned while he re-attached the weapon to the underside of his right arm with a 'click'.
"You know, that's pretty convenient," Ichika commented with a laid-back smile.
"What do you mean?" Arthur asked as he gave Ichika a curious look.
"Well, I mean like how you've got it just right there, ready to switch in."
"Your Yukihira blade is the same isn't it?"
"Well, not exactly." Ichika chuckled as Honne tapped him on the shoulder from behind.
"Hey, hey Orimu, we got your IS ready," she smiled and assumed a 'TA-DA!' stance while the girls working on Byakushiki backed away from it.
"That was fast," Ichika muttered as he walked over to it, "So what was the problem exactly?"
"Just some minor tinkering is all. Anything else you need?" she asked with a bright smile.
"Well, I guess for me I'm good, what about you Arthur?"
Arthur had been staring at a small blue screen on his HUD for several minutes until he noticed Ichika and several others were staring at him, so he minimized it with a frown. "I'm good," he replied while he put the Gabriel in stand-by mode.
Once his feet touched the ground, he started slipping back on his uniform.
"I'm still surprised you kept your flight-suit on all day."
"Thought it might be come in handy," Arthur smirked once he finished getting dressed.
"H-hey Arthur?" Honne interrupted shyly.
"Yea Honne, what's wrong?"
"Well, um... where did you get that small scar on your chest?" she asked while pointing at a small 'X' shaped mark on the right side of his lower chest.
"Actually I've been meaning to ask that too since Chifuyu made you run those laps outside a few days back," Ichika added.
"L-Let's just say I had an accident awhile back," he chuckled nervously. Yea...an accident he thought to himself with a frown.
"Oh, Arthur!" everyone heard Tina's voice ring graciously throughout the hangar. When Arthur turned to see her, he noticed she was tugging along a rather embarrassed Rin with her.
"Hey, you two finished already?" he replied back.
"Yea... we got interrupted," she replied with a silly smile before pulling Rin right beside her. "Anyways... Ichika, someone has a question for you," Tina grinned while she lightly pushed Rin forward.
"T-T-Tina!" Rin groaned with the same red face she came in with. Arthur could tell it was something important since Rin couldn't bring herself to look up at Ichika, her body shaking very nervously as well while she tried to spit out the words.
"W-well... it's...just that, I...um"
"You okay, Rin?" Ichika asked out of concern. "You seem like... you're having a nervous breakdown."
"Well... in truth I..."
"Lemme stop you right there," Arthur interrupted as he knelt down in front of Rin with his hands on her shoulders. "Remember Rin, it's just a question... and last time I checked the one who gave me that footprint on my face a few days back wouldn't be scared of something as small as a question," he consoled her with a smile.
"Idiot..." Rin silently commented while darting her eyes left and right.
"L-look, I had a stuttering problem back in the day, so the best advice I can give you when you're nervous like this... just breathe slowly and deeply. It's easy after that."
After doing this several times, Rin finally summoned up enough courage to look up at Ichika, even though her face still stayed a bright cherry red. Arthur got up and stood beside Tina arms folded as Rin began to try to speak.
"I-It's just that... I thought... maybe you'd want to..." she stammered out while she kept twisting and turning one of her legs on the ground shyly.
"Maybe I'd want to...what?"
"Well, maybe you would want to...let me go with you three... to the restaurant?" she quickly cringed when she finally finished, awaiting the answer she feared wouldn't be what she wanted to hear.
"Y-You want to go... with us?"
"Well yea, you see I, uh..."
"She thought it would be a nice chance to hang out with her roommate," Tina happily interjected as she hugged Rin from behind and squeezed tightly, "Isn't that right, Rin? All of us here are your friends after all."
"Y-Yea! That's right, I just thought it would be a nice chance to spend time with friends is all!" she laughed nervously.
Ichika looked over to Arthur who only shrugged with a small smile. "Yea, sure why not?"
All of the other girls gasped when Ichika answered. "R-Really? You mean it?" Rin asked with an excited face.
"Yea, I mean, it's better than some awkward meal with someone I don't know that well," he happily replied.
"Y-Yea, that's true," she shyly replied.
"Well... if that's all done, I'm gonna get going," Arthur declared out of the blue while slapping his hands together and turned to walk out of the hangar.
"W-Wait for me! Arthur!" Tina groaned as she ran after him, leaving Ichika and Rin alone in an awkward silence.
"Those two..." Ichika muttered to himself. "They really are something else, aren't they?"
"Yea...You can really tell they enjoy each others company," Rin commented while she watched Tina wrap her arms around one of Arthur's as they walked out together. "I'm starting to think she came along just so she could be near him," she lightly chuckled.
"Maybe so..." Ichika replied before he started walking out himself. "You want to go to the cafe Rin? I'm kind of thirsty."
"Huh?" Rin replied with a shockingly flustered face. Ichika's... wanting me to go? A small smile came to her face as she nodded and followed quickly after him.
"Tina... you're squeezing my arm a little too hard," Arthur groaned while he tried to keep his pace.
Tina only ignored him though while she held onto him. "Not my fault you're comfortable," she grinned. "So, what's the rest of your plans for today?"
He only sighed at her usual habit of quickly changing the subject. "Probably just... take a shower, then nap I guess. I'm not really feeling it today for doing IS- related stuff any longer."
That piqued her curiosity a bit as she perked her head up. "That's unusual... everything okay?"
"Of course, it's just like I told you earlier... everything's fine. I'd just like some rest every once in awhile. I am human, believe it or not."
"Really? I'd have never thought so," she giggled while she tightened her grip on him.
"Okay seriously, are you trying to make it to where I can't feel my arm?" he whined after a few minutes.
"Maybe," she teased as she gave him a wink. "Besides, I know you love the attention anyway."
"I love the attention huh? You've got a funny way of looking at things," he tried to mutter silently to himself. "Honestly, the last thing I'd want to do at this point is draw attention to myself."
"Why would you say that?"
"Because I never know who's watching," he finished. "It's only by a miracle that I'm even standing here and you know it. I know for a fact they're still watching me, even here. So I'd rather not get others drawn into it."
"Is that why you've been mostly distant to everyone but me these last few days?"
"Well, mostly yes. I just need to figure out who I can and cannot trust."
"Well... you do trust me, right?" she looked his direction with a somberly concerned face. He only smiled while he freed his arm from her grip and put it around her. "Of course I do. If I could trust anyone in this world, you know you would be the first." This of course brought a smile to Tina's face once more while she leaned her head near his shoulder.
"Why don't we go sit somewhere for awhile? I'm kinda tired of walking all over the place."
"All right, if you're THAT tired," He then quickly swept her off her feet to where he was carrying her like a princess.
"H-Hey! What happened to not attracting attention?!"
"Well... you said you were tired of walking," he retorted with a puzzled face. "So, wouldn't this be more beneficial to your apparently tired feet?"
She only narrowed her eyes at him with a pouting scowl. "You're being sarcastic aren't you..."
"What gave it away?" he replied grinning as he carried her off.
"Why is it I have to be the teacher of the class with the most personal users..." Chifuyu could hear Maya groan with a heavy sigh as she sipped some coffee. The two of them were in the faculty office room to go over test results, though it seemed Chifuyu was letting Maya do most of the work.
"Where did that come from?" she asked.
"Well its just, you know... you can't exactly say our class isn't somewhat more troublesome to handle because of it."
"Well, if it didn't keep you busy you wouldn't have anything better to do anyway," Chifuyu laxly replied a with a rare grin.
"That hurts you know, it's not my fault I haven't found true love yet," Maya replied giving Chifuyu an annoyed scowl.
"Keep blaming everyone else like that, and you may never find it," Chifuyu murmured while taking another sip. Out of nowhere though, a strange ring-tone started blaring in the office. Chifuyu stared down angrily while she quickly answered the phone, with Maya only smirking confidently back at her. Act all tough, and yet you have a ring-tone like that... Maya smiled to herself, knowing she had won that conversation. She tried to focus back on her work, though she couldn't help but slightly listen in on Chifuyu's conversation since the voice coming from the phone sounded loud and obnoxious, yet childish at the same time. Who in the world could she be talking to?
"Already? That was quicker than I expected," she heard Chifuyu mutter. "Tonight?" she narrowed her eyes. "Right, got it," and with that she hung up.
"Who was that?" Maya asked while she resumed her work quickly.
"Nobody important," Chifuyu regained her usual scowl while crossing her arms.
Yea right... didn't sound unimportant Maya thought with a sigh. "You think you could help me out here? I'd greatly appreciate it."
"And here I thought I was just a combat instructor..." Chifuyu shrugged before sitting by Maya. "Alright," she stretched, "Let's get this done quickly."
"A-Arthur... everyone's watching..." Tina moaned after awhile with a cherry, red face from all of the stares directed towards them. He had been walking with her like this for almost 20 minutes, yet she had no idea where he was trying to go. Though her concern faded when Arthur suddenly stopped. "A-Arthur, what's wrong?" She could feel his hands tighten slightly. "Um, hey, you're starting to hurt me a little bit..." Arthur didn't respond as he kept staring off in the distance with narrowed eyes and a stern face.
Tina turned her head to try and see what had upset him, but saw nothing return her gaze. "Hey, how do you think Kelley and the others are doing?" he suddenly asked out of the blue as if nothing had just happened, his grip lessening as well.
"Uh, they're fine I'm sure. Why do you ask now of all times?"
"No reason..." he replied quickly, leaving an awkward silence between the two before he started walking off again.
After a few more minutes had passed, Arthur had begun walking towards the stream that ran through the Academy, but halted once more when Tina kept poking him. "D-Do you think you can put me down now? It's kinda embarrassing, you holding me like this..."
"Heh, says the person who's always holding onto me regardless. Alright fine," he sighed while he set her feet back on the ground. She could tell by his expression his arms were probably feeling better now, though it made her think maybe she needed to lose some weight. I shouldn't be that heavy should I? Maybe those midnight snacks with Rin are finally catching up with me... "Hey Tina."
Her concentration broken, she could only stutter back a reply. "Y-Yes?"
"What do you think about this whole situation anyway? I've never quite gotten your take on it," he said while staring off to where the stream disappeared from view.
"Y-You mean the mess you're in? You already know how I feel about it."
"No, all I know is what I can guess you're thinking. I'd rather hear your true opinion out loud."
"O-Oh... um, well I..."
"Ah, just the person I was looking for," a heavily German voice interrupted.
The two of them turned to see Laura as well as Charlotte coming down the sidewalk to them.
"Ah, hey there you two. You need something?" Arthur greeted with a relaxed smile.
"W-Well actually, do you know where Ichika is by any chance?" Charlotte asked with a slightly blushed expression.
"Speaking of which..." Laura interrupted as she walked up to Arthur then forcefully grabbed his shirt's collar to pull him down to her height. "I would kindly appreciate it if you wouldn't put my bride on the spotlight like that. I already have enough trouble keeping him faithful as it is," she threatened with a dark voice. Arthur only showed a confused expression in response. Charlotte got in between the two to ease the situation while she whispered in Arthur's ear.
"She refers to Ichika as her bride... it's just a misunderstanding you're just going to have to get used to." A few moments of silence then passed before Arthur suddenly burst out laughing as he fell to the ground backwards.
"Oh my god, you've got to kidding me!" he bellowed while he wiped a couple of tears from his eyes. "Ohhhhh, that is just too rich..."
"You know, it's impolite to laugh at others short-comings," Charlotte scolded him.
"I'm sorry, I've just never heard such a misunderstanding before... forgive me. Actually I'm curious as to why you two are walking together. I thought all of you guys in the group didn't get along with each other that much."
"W-Well, we're roommates now, you see... so it's either we get along or everyday becomes miserable," Charlotte chuckled while she pulled Laura in front of her, "Besides, she's not that bad at all."
"W-wait a minute... so I got you kicked out of Ichika's room... and into a room with...that?" he asked while pointing at Laura.
"W-Well, yes actually."
In an instant Arthur was on his knees in front of Charlotte with both of his hands cradling one of hers while he hung his head in shame. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..." he kept muttering over and over until Tina bashed him across the head. Charlotte gasped at the spectacle before trying to make sure he was okay.
"Have some dignity please, I'd rather not be seen with an apologetic man like that..." Tina said with a disapproving face.
"I am not understanding this, what is so bad about me?" Laura questioned out of the blue.
"N-Nothing at all Laura," Charlotte replied while consoling her with a light slap on the shoulders. "Anyways, we would really appreciate it if you would help us find Ichika."
"Well, if it's to see if he'll take you along to the restaurant... you're kinda too late now," he laxly replied while he got back up on his feet.
"I... I beg your pardon?" Charlotte slightly twitched in disbelief as the words left her lips.
"Well, you see..-" Arthur tried to break the news as carefully as possible, "It seems that... he's already agreed... to another." The both of their heads instantly slumped downward while an aura of depression engrossed the two of them.
"Um, hey it's okay Miss Dunois..." Tina tried to reassure her. "B-Better luck next time, right?"
"If there is one..." she muttered dejectedly.
"This is your fault!" Laura declared as she pulled out a knife and pointed it Arthur's neck. "You shall pay for your interference!"
"Whoa whoa whoa! I told you it wasn't my-" his words were cut short when he saw Tina materialize her assault rifle at Laura with an angry scowl.
"I would kindly appreciate it if you didn't threaten my partner, as I'm sure you're well aware of both our capabilities." Laura silently growled at Tina, but backed off when she noticed Arthur had his SMG at her chest as well. "Never take your eyes off an opponent, especially when you're the one who starts the fight," he grinned with a condescending tone.
Charlotte however, was nervous from the whole situation so she tried to keep Laura near her. "S-sorry for my roommate's 'special' way of venting," she chuckled silently. "Anyways, Arthur... I'm going to need you to come with me."
"Hm? What for?"
"Oh nothing it's just um... I need to talk to you about something in private. You do not mind if I borrow him for a bit, do you Miss Tina?"
"Uh, sure I guess it wouldn't hurt... may I ask what for?"
"Like I said it's just... something private is all," she chuckled nervously while she gave Laura a hand-signal behind her back. Laura nodded before materializing her IS' right arm.
"Located... en route," she muttered as she started running off in a random direction. Charlotte then grabbed Arthur's hand firmly and ran off with him.
"O-ouch! Think you can grip any harder?!" Tina heard him yelp while he was dragged off. Though a small green light flashed slightly on the side of her watch. She partially deployed the HUD to see Arthur had sent a message saying "Rin might get caught up in something... make sure she's okay." She shook her head while she could see from afar Arthur giving her a two- finger salute as he got pulled further and further away.
"So... H-How's the drink, Ichika?" Rin asked. Seriously?! I'm with him by myself for once and that's the first thing I say?! Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!
"It's great! Thanks for asking," Ichika replied happily as he took another sip, "Ahhhh, I've been needing that for awhile now."
Phew... bullet dodged! She thought happily to herself. "What made you so thirsty all of a sudden anyway?"
"Well... being near all of that heavy machinery and smoke from the welding machines I suppose just dries my mouth up or something, I dunno. How's yours anyway?"
"Mine, oh it's... fine I suppose," she replied in a coy manner. "So, uh... do you know where it is... we're all going exactly?"
"Hm? Actually, I'm not too sure... Arthur hasn't told me anything yet." Just as he finished though, the door to the cafe swung open hard, with everyone turning to see what looked to be a very annoyed Laura. Everyone watched as she marched over towards Ichika then forcefully grab his hand.
"As my bride, you have a lot of explaining to do," she said in a demonic tone while narrowing her eye at him.
"H-Hey!" Rin yelled as she slammed her hands on the table. "Don't think you can just take him as you please!" She was stopped however by a partial deployment of Laura's AIC. Damn! Can't...move! She struggled and struggled to try to deploy her IS, but to no avail as the device held her firmly in place.
Laura, having gotten her way, smiled before turning it off, letting Rin falter down to the floor. "Do not think for an instant that you and I are on the same level, little girl."
"H-Hey now ladies, why...don't we all just relax and have some cake, okay? I'm sure it'll make everything better..." Ichika murmured nervously.
"No time!" Laura declared, and just like that, they were gone out the door in a flash.
Damn that Laura... she won't win! Not this time! Rin barreled out the door, only to crash into Tina. "Ow! Rin, what have I told you about watching where you're going?"
"What do you mean? You've never mentioned anything like that..." she shook her head as quickly got back up.
"Well then consider this the start of a long scolding," Tina groaned as she got back up while rubbing her forehead.
"Save it for later! I'm in a hurry!" She took off, but was caught by Tina quickly.
"Did she come here Rin? Where's Ichika?"
"That's what I'm about to find out!"
