NA: Wow you guys are amazing, already at 70 reviews, thank you so much!
Chapter 8: The Gotanda Eatery
"HELLO? HELLO? ORIMURA-KUN, CAN YOU HEAR ME? JASON-SAN!? Yamada-sensei must be especially anxious. She forgot that there's no need to shout into the I.S. comm. The people around her must think she's just weird.
"They said they can handle it, didn't they? I say we let them go for it!"
"W-WHAT? ORIMURA-SENSEI, HOW CAN YOU SAY SUCH A THING!?"
"Calm down and have some coffee." Chifuyu said as she walked over to the coffee table and poured herself a cup, "You're only stressing out because your blood sugar's getting low."
"...erm, Sensei? That's the salt..." Yamada-sensei said as she pointed to the spoon of salt Chifuyu was holding.
"What's salt doing in a coffee tray?"
"Who knows?" Yamada-sensei shrugged, "But it is clearly labeled. I can even read it from here."
"..."
"Ah, so you're worried about your brother? I can understand why you'd make a mistake like that."
"..."
An irritating silence fell. The silence pressed in ominously on Maya Yamada, so she tried to start a conversation.
"Oh, you know..."
"Yamada-sensei, please have some coffee."
"Huh? I-Is-isn't that the one you poured salt in..."
"Here!"
Maya was quite sure she was being offered the salty coffee, but she felt that defying Chifuyu at that moment could be even worse. She sniffled sadly as she accepted. "I-I'll take it then..."
"The coffee is hot so just gulp it down in a single swallow."
Chifuyu tapped on one of the displays and intel filled the screen: data on the 2nd arena.
"The barriers are set at level 4... and the doors are all locked? Did the unknown I.S. do that?" Yamada-sensei asked.
"It sure looks that way. Since we're in complete lockdown, we can neither evacuate nor send support." Chifuyu deduced as her eyes were filled with worry, even if Ichika and Jason were piloting amazing machines she still can't help it. Though Chifuyu's voice was calm, her hands were trembling as she tapped at the screen.
She feared she was going to lose him a second time.
Houki who remained silent the entire, simply rocked little Chifuyu to sleep, but inside her she prayed that everything will be alright.
~oOo~
Bullets poured onto the black IS as it shielded itself from the attacks with a powerful barrier.
"Damn!" Ichika cursed, "That thing's got a powerful barrier, it isn't even PA!"
"Just keep firing!" Jason roared as his machine pulled the triggers, "Would be nice if we could use AA right now."
"Too dangerous." Ichika told him, "AA will tear this entire building apart. It's meant to be used in open areas. Cecilia, just keep your distance and keep firing, we'll handle it at this range!"
"R-Right!" the Englishwoman just acknowledged and kept firing her rifle. Rin also begun using her impact cannons as she believed that these two AC pilots knew what they were doing, they certainly brought an aura that felt like they were war veterans or something.
"Firing missiles!" Ichika informed them as his shoulder weapons opened and fired a torrent of missiles, after all the missiles hit, everything went silent. As the smoke cleared the black IS was on the ground as it tried to move, the torrent of lead, lasers, and explosives had finally done it.
The Supplice walked over and pointed its assault rifle directly to the head and pulled the trigger, the sound of the gun echoing through the entire stadium. The fact that he pulled the trigger shocked the two IS pilots in the stadium, that was just absolutely merciless of him.
~oOo~
"Command, this is Berlioz…" Ichika reported in, "Enemy neutralized, craft seems to be unmanned, I see no blood."
"R-Roger that Berlioz, good work." Yamada-sensei stammered as she was shaken by the fact that Ichika did something like that. After she deactivated the radio she turned to Chifuyu with a shocked look, "That was a bit shocking to see."
Chifuyu nodded, it was a side of her brother she did not want to see, a merciless side. Whatever wars he fought, it changed him completely, "Berlioz this is Orimura…" she activated the radio once more, "Bring that IS in for analysis."
"Copy that, Berlioz out."
His voice was certainly soldier-like, that made Houki worry, she knew he was a military man but to be a wife of a soldier certainly made her worry. But at least the crisis was over.
~oOo~
Houki placed little Chifuyu in the crib of their room, Ichika told her he had business with Chifuyu to attend to, most likely about the unmanned IS.
~oOo~
Fifty metres below the school grounds where only the people with the highest access can get through, Chifuyu, Maya, Jason and Ichika were in some sort of lab analyzing the unmanned IS that attacked them.
"I've completed analysis of the rogue IS." Maya said as she looked at the computer screen.
All over the world, countries and organizations are continually experimenting to push IS technology forward. Remote control and autonomous movement were two popular technologies for research, and one of those was almost certainly used to control the rogue IS. Just how far the world had progressed with that technology was something members of the IS Academy were ordered to keep quiet.
"We don't know how the IS was controlled. Orimura-kun's last attack burned out the core, and it's unlikely that we can repair it."
"...and the core?" Ichika was the next one to ask.
"...not registered."
"Is that so?" Chifuyu said, then muttered, "As I expected."
Maya shot her a startled look. "Do you know something?"
"No, nothing. Not yet."
Jason walked over to the machine and examined its weapons, "These weapons are illegal as well. No way any regulated IS would have something like this, these things are designed to cut through barriers."
"So we're most likely looking at a shady organization."
"Again?" Jaso whined, "We already have to deal with that at the 'other side'. Now we have to deal with one here?"
"What was this organization?" Chifuyu asked them.
"The type that enjoys building WMDs as if they were nothing but toys." Ichika scoffed, "They call themselves The Foundation, that's all we know. On the bright side they don't use nukes."
"That's very comforting." Jason retorted and then turned to the black IS, "So it uses an unregistered IS core, this proves that someone was able to reverse engineer it. If whoever made it spreads this kind of news, this could smell bad news."
"So for now we keep our eyes peeled." Chifuyu said, she then looked back at the console screens with steel in her gaze – a look more appropriate for a warrior than a teacher – a look that left no doubt she was once a legendary pilot who stood above all others.
~oOo~
"I'm back."
"Welcome back." Houki walked up to him and greeted him with a kiss, as if they were married. "So any news."
"You're not gonna like it."
"Well then tell me."
After closing the door he walked over to his daughter who was peacefully asleep and then sat down on the bed with Houki, "The core of the black IS dubbed the Golem was unregistered."
Houki's eyes went wide at the news, "That's not possible."
"Well it is now."
Houki sat there beside her boyfriend dumbfounded and horrified, this was certainly not what she was expecting. "What are you going to do about it?"
"We don't have any leads so for now we're keeping our eyes peeled."
~oOo~
Few days later
Sunday
Ichika, Houki and little Chifuyu were over at the Gotanda residence for the weekend. Dan Gotanda, who hand't seen his childhood friend in a long time was shocked to see him with a daughter, and his girlfriend was taking the role as mother since the original mother passed away half a year ago.
"Go missing for a couple of years, come back as a father… you never cease to amaze me." Dan Gotanda who is also Lingyin Huang's boyfriend said, "And you're also my girlfriend's schoolmate."
"Rin is certainly an interesting character." Ichika commented.
"And you must be Houki, I remember you a bit but not much."
Houki just smiled while little Chifuyu played with her stuffed toy on the young woman's lap.
"How's your sister by the way?"
"Oh she's doing great." Dan told him, "She's a third year in middle school now. So by next year she plans on attending the IS Academy."
Onii, hurry up and come eat already. Lunch is ready-" Kicking the door down and walking in is Dan's little sister-Gotanda Ran.
"Ah, hi, long time no see. Sorry for disturbing you here." Ichika waved at the red haired girl
"I-Ichika-san!?" Ran's shoulder-length hair is tied back with only a hair clip holding it from behind, and she's wearing shorts and a sleeveless vest. It's really a get-up that focuses on functionality.
Houki glared at the girl who was wearing such a skimpy getup, then again she didn't expect company… but still.
"O-Oh wow, y-you're really back."
Houki could realize that this girl likes him, unfortunately Ichika doesn't as he is already in a relationship with her.
Ran, you could at least knock, right? You'll be considered a shameless woman—"
Ran instantly shot her older brother a glare, "...Why didn't you tell me that he would be here..."
"Oh, wait, I didn't tell you?" Dan gave her an apologetic look, "Sorry, my bad. Ah hahahaha..."
Ran got fidgety and looked at Ichika, completely ignoring Houki and the baby, "If, well, if it's alright, please join us for lunch, Ichika-san! You aren't leaving yet, right?"
"Oh, sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks. Houki and I will be right down then."
"It, it's alright..." she then shot a glare at Houki whom she returned easily.
*BAM!*
After Ran slammed the door shut, silence then filled the air.
~oOo~
The pseudo-family then went downstairs with Dan and got their meals, Ran who suddenly decided to change her outfit into a more nice looking light blue dress and let her hair down walked up to them. "I'm Ran Gotanda, nice to meet you."
"Houki Shinonono, Ichika's girlfriend."
Ichika mentally sighed, Houki was being possessive again, which worries him as it usually means she's going to start a fight.
"I see…" Ran just smiled sweetly at Houki, too sweetly. "Very nice to meet you."
"Likewise."
Ichika shot his girlfriend a glare before feeding his daughter some babyfood.
"Oh she's so cute, she looks your sister, is she your niece? I never knew Chifuyu-san had a daughter."
"She's not my sister's daughter." Ichika said, "She's mine."
Ran just stared at the baby before looking at Ichika and then back at the baby, "Eh?"
"She's my daughter."
"Eh?"
"And Houki is the adoptive mother."
"Eh?"
"We're sort of a family."
"Not sort of." Houki interjected as she pointed her chopsticks at her boyfriend, "We ARE a family."
The next thing that happened, Ran was huddled into the corner of the Gotanda Eatery with a downcast look as she started drawing imaginary circles with her finger.
"Did I do something wrong?" Ichika whispered to his girlfriend. "I mean I know she likes me but…"
"It's fine, she'll get over it."
"...I've decided." Ran immediately got over her stupor. "I'm taking the IS Academy entrance exam next year."
"Good for you." Houki said with sarcasm while feeding her daughter some more baby food.
Ran seemed unfazed by the sarcasm but inwardly she was seething that she was Ichika's girlfriend instead of her. And now she had just found out Ichika has a daughter, whether Houki was the real mother or not didn't matter.
"Danny Boo!" Lingyin Huang nicknamed Rin walked in to the eatery with a bright smile. "Oh Danny Boo, your super sexy girlfriend is here!"
Dan slammed his face onto the table as his face went red like the color of his hair.
Ichika looked at his old friend with an amused look, "Danny Boo?"
"Don't ask…" Dan comically wept, "for the love of God don't ask."
NA: Well Houki was being extra possessive this, and maybe she was being a bit bitchy, oh well… and Danny Boo… hehehe… Danny Boo.
Tune in next time!
CIAO!
