As compensation for my long absence, I've written a very long chapter for you. It's a very important chapter, and I hope that all of you enjoy it. Without furthur ado, here it is

Chapter 10: The Challenge

The next day, Richard and Ichika walked into class and made the normal rounds. Ichika and Houki had their own special greeting, but Richard's morning run was unusual. Yes, Rin, Laura and Houki all gave a cheery reply, but Charlotte still gave him the cold shoulder. In stark contrast to that was his greeting to Cecilia. When Richard smiled at her in greeting, Cecilia jumped out of her seat, and hugged him closely. Richard was totally caught off guard by her reaction, and awkwardly hugged her back.

Cecilia whispered into his ear, "Thank you for listening yesterday".

Richard awkwardly responded, "Uh, no problem".

They released each other, and Richard looked to see Charlotte's upset face staring at him for a moment before facing the front of the class.

Ms. Yamada was calling the class to order, and everyone quickly settled into their seats. Richard immediatly began exchanging thoughts with Angel.

So I think I've accidentally made Charlotte jealous, Richard told him.

Oh really, Angel replied sarcastically, What makes you think that? Could it have possibly been the death glare she gave you?

Yeah I get it, Richard replied, I guess having semi-romantic relationships with her roommate and one other girl wasn't a good idea, but how can I make it up to her?

Talk to her about it, Angel said, Explain everything to her, and just hope she understands.

And you think that will work?, Richard asked.

If it doesn't, we'll think of something else, Angel assured him.

Richard wasn't fully satisfied with the plan, but he decided that it was best to start focusing on class again...

When class ended, Richard tried to hurry over to Charlotte, but she gave him an angry look before quickly leaving the room. Richard was left by her desk with an arm extended towards the door. He had a worried expression on his face when he felt a finger tap his shoulder, and he turned to see a very bouncy Cecilia.

"Hello, Richard" she said smiling widely.

"Hey Cecilia" Richard replied, trying to shake off his melancholy.

"Are you ready for your lesson?" Cecilia asked.

"Yeah, sure" he replied, "Let's get going"...

Richard and Cecilia made their way to the arena, but Richard was in a funk the whole time. No matter how bright and bubbly Cecilia was, and no matter how much she tried to cheer him up, Richard felt terrible about his standing with Charlotte. The only thing that brought him out of his trance was an accidental run-in with Luke Lincoln. While Richard was moping, and Cecilia was chatting next to him, Luke passed them on his way from the arena. He grabbed Richard's attention immediately.

He had a very odd intensity about him. He made Richard very curious and very wary at the same time. He was sure that they would get to know each other in the future, but he didn't see it happening anytime soon. There was too much stuff occupying his time. All the rest of the way to the changing rooms, Richard was thinking about Luke, and even when he was waiting for Cecilia, his thoughts were on the strange, new boy. Only when Cecilia bounced out of the changing rooms did he snap out of his stupor.

"Are you prepared for our battle?" she asked.

"Oh yeah" Richard replied with fire in his eyes, "Let's go"...

After a few minutes of pre-fight preparations, Richard and Cecilia were ready to battle, and the stands were once more filling up. Richard smirked as he got into his stance, and again wondered whether the attention was attributed to his ability or his gender. Angel flashed an alert on the visor letting Richard know that all systems were green, and Richard looked across to his opponent. Cecilia was as bouncy and confident as ever, and she looked ready to go.

The two stared each other down for a few more seconds.

All of a sudden, Richard winked at Cecilia.

She was so surprised by the gesture that she started to blush, and didn't notice that Richard had suddenly appeared behind her.

He slashed a her multiple times as she tried to regain her composure, and he finally kicked her away.

My goodness, Cecilia thought, How clever of him.

He knew I would be distracted, and took full advantage.

It was a big mistake letting me get distance, though. Now he's mine.

Her thoughts on "having" him wandered somewhere else, and she started blushing as she readied her cannons to fire.

Meanwhile, Richard was readying himself for her onslaught. He checked his sword's energy supply, and got ready as her cannons fired.

The beams closed in on him rapidly, and he lifted his sword to block them. When he did, the sword's reflective abilities allowed him to deflect them right back at Cecilia in the blink of an eye.

As the lasers drained the last of her shields, Cecilia smiled at the idea of being outwitted in such a charming way...

When both of them had finished changing, Cecilia put her arm in Richard's and said, "So, my knight in shiny black armor, shall we have dinner together again?"

"I'd love to" Richard replied, "But there's some stuff I have to do"

"Oh" Cecilia said pouting, "Well maybe some other time?"

"Sure" he replied with a smile.

The two again bid each other goodbye before Cecilia went off to get supper, and Richard went off to straighten things out...

Richard stood in front of the door he'd seen almost as much as his own. He hesitated for a few minutes before finally raising his hand and knocking on the door.

"One moment s'il vous plait" said a voice from inside.

The door opened a crack, and a cute face peeked out. After realizing who had knocked, the face pouted.

"Oh" Charlotte said, "It is you".

"Yeah" Richard said with an awkward smile.

"Did you come here to see Laura" Charlotte said spitefully, "She's not here".

Richard felt like he had been punched in the gut.

"No" he said, "I was hoping to talk to you".

"What about?" Charlotte asked.

Richard could feel his confidence fading quickly.

Come on, Angel urged him, Just tell her you want to set things straight.

"I just wanted to set things straight" Richard said as he started fidgeting, "You know... With us...".

"What do you mean "us"?" Charlotte asked.

"Well" Richard answered, "I just wanted to know, like, where we stand"

"Oui" she said, "I do too".

"Well then why don't we go up to the roof and talk about it?" Richard replied.

Charlotte stared at him for a few seconds, questioning whether or not she should go.

After a few more seconds, she said, "Let me get dressed", and disappeared back into the room...

The door to the roof opened, and Richard and Charlotte stepped out into the golden rays of sunset. They both took a few minutes to bask in the beauty before making their way over to the rail that had brought them together.

"So" Richard said, "You've probably heard about the interaction I've had with Laura and Cecilia".

"Laura was ecstatic" Charlotte said scornfully, "And Cecilia was all over you today in class".

"Yeah" Richard replied with an awkward laugh, "That wasn't anything I was expecting either".

"Well what does zat mean?" She asked, "What about what happened between us? Was zat a lie?"

"No" Richard quickly replied, "That was absolutely real".

"Well zen what about zem?" Charlotte asked.

"Listen" Richard grabbed Charlotte and looked her straight in the eyes, "All of the stuff with them I would happily give up if it meant I could be with you".

Charlotte was shocked by his boldness, and Richard was shocked that he had said it.

"Sorry" Richard muttered as he released his hold on her. He was freaking out inside, sure that he had said too much.

Hey, calm down, Angel said, It's not the worst thing you could have said.

It was in the top 5, Richard shot back.

Meanwhile, Charlotte was processing Richard's confession.

Did he really just say zat?

Did he mean it?

Maybe he really means it, but how I can sure?

After a minute that felt like an eternity, Charlotte broke the silence by asking, "Do you mean zat?"

Richard was shocked that she hadn't run away.

See, Angel said, Honesty is the best policy.

Richard slowly straightened himself up, and looked at her.

"Y-Yeah".

"Prove it to me" She said.

"H-How?" He asked.

"Zare is an intraschool tournament next Saturday" Charlotte started, "If you can win, I will go out with you".

Richard was in disbelief. He was mainly surprised that she hadn't just flat out rejected him. To compound his confusion was the fact that the challenge was so unusual. He felt confident of his chances if that was it.

"I'll do it" he said with a big smile.

Charlotte couldn't help but smile back, and things seemed right once again.

The sun had set with Richard's answer, and they decided it was time to leave...

After Richard had walked Charlotte to her room and said goodnight, he starting happily walking to his room.

Did you hear that, Angel?, He asked his partner, All I have to do is win the tournament, and she'll go out with me.

I wouldn't be so confident if I were you, Angel responded, Don't forget that Ichika is in it too.

Richard stopped in his tracks.

Damn it. He is isn't he, he said.

Yeah he is, Angel replied, And you're going to have to train a lot if you're going to beat him because right now, you can't.

There's also the wild card, Richard said, Neither of us knows what Luke is capable of, but you can bet that he has his own IS.

My thoughts exactly, Angel said.

Well, I guess we'll just train our asses off, and see how far it takes us, Richard decided.

I guess so, Angel replied.

Richard and Angel walked the rest of the way in silence.

Richard got ready for bed, and cast one last look at his sleeping rival before settling into his bed.

He thought one last time about what Luke could be capable of before drifting off to sleep...