Infinite Stratos: Recollections
A/N: New chapter again, sorry for the late updates. Aside from my persisting school work I have to help my family in our business this summer vacation. But rest assure once all this calms down, I'll be back to updating faster.
This chapter may seem a little weird because the Orimura clan will be showcasing odd behavior. I won't blab about it here, just read on. Also due to the request of many, I will put more scenes for Izanagi here and also more Izanami and Ichika moments. Another thing I will be increasing here is fluff and not battle because yet again I received PMs to focus more on the family relations and second only the action. I might balance the two out, because if I make it all fluff then I would find it a bit stale.
That's all for now!
Disclaimer: I don't own Infinite Stratos (except my OCs), it belongs to Izuru Yumizuru.
Through the eyes of a young boy: part 6
"Well? What going on with my son now?" Izanagi asked the question again when his three wives started looking away and showed no signs of answering his question.
"Well he is alright. His been very active lately." Shiori smiled and of course told Izanagi only the narrow parts of what is really going on.
"That's great!" Izanagi was overjoyed to hear the (made-up) good news.
"Anyway, you should rest up Izanagi." Shizuka and Minazuki helped Izanagi lay down on his futon, they then draped the thick blanket over him.
"I'm really now that tired." Izanagi wanted to stay awake for a little longer. But the three cannot be bargained with now.
"Now, now, you should follow your medical program. We don't want to see you suffer anymore."
Three women developed solemn and worried faces when they said that. Izanagi was forced to obeyed because he doesn't want to make his wives worried.
"Alright, I guess I'll turn in early." Izanagi closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift to sleep.
Shizuka, Minazuki and Shiori did not leave Izanagi's side even though he has finally fallen to a deep sleep.
"You know, he still looks like a kid." Shizuka happily smiled when she looked at Izanagi's sleeping face.
"Yeah, he doesn't change."
The three women around him smiled when they got reminded of some memories of their childhood.
"You know, Izanagi's position before has been inherited by his son Ichika." Shiori whispered her words.
"You mean serve as the off-switch for violent women like us?" Shizuka drowsily asked.
"Exactly. Hopefully Ichika doesn't experience the same hardships as his father did when he was trying to change us."
The three women showed regretful faces when their past mistakes were dug up from the depths of their mind.
"Actually he is doing a good job. Chigusa and Chifuyu are very attached to him. My daughters Chisaya and Saya are very clingy to him and both Yuuko and Misaki are very much doting on him too. With Ichika here, the moments when those six try to mutilate each other lessened greatly." Minazuki grinned as she spoke.
"Kinda reminds me of us when we were young. But we were a thousand times worse." Shiori made a depressing face when she remembered their past selves.
"But unfortunately, Ichika has caused quite the ruckus at the mansion. He just went into the city without Izanami knowing." Shiori worriedly said. Though this should be an event of great worry, Shizuka and Minazuki smiled, finding that this will turn into something interesting.
"I'm sure Izanami would throw the tantrum of the century. Her possessiveness over her son is as strong as her possessiveness over Izanagi." Shizuka giggled that out.
"I just hope she won't, we decided to keep a low profile now and we can't have ourselves causing trouble that would turn the world against us again." Shiori reprimanded her sister.
"Even if they did it would still end with our win. Remember the last time nations tried hunting us down, it ended with the Kremlin in Moscow burning, Madison square Garden blowing up, London Eye being permanently out of order by dropping itself right into the river, Tokyo sustaining 4 bombings, Sydney Opera House becoming a giant bonfire. And after all that they didn't even know that it was us that did that." Shizuka repressed her laughing fit once she remembered the times when they are still causing trouble for everyone in the world.
"Well we can't do that anymore. We promised Izanagi."
When Shiori brought that up, Shizuka and Minazuki lost their nasty grins and sighed.
"Anyway, shouldn't we check up Nee-san to make sure that she doesn't cause trouble." Shiori stood up and walked out the room but before she got to the door, a ring from her phone stopped her. Shiori took out her phone and answered it.
After that call ended, Shiori dropped her phone. She just stood by the door without moving.
"What was that? Did someone get killed by our attendants again." Shizuka asked while she played with her hair by curling them.
"No…." Shiori answered with a dazed voice. It was really obvious that she is greatly shocked about that called she received.
"Then what is it?" Minazuki asked again.
Shiori slowly turned around and faced her two sisters.
"Izanami-neesama has gone out to Kyoto bringing her attendants and prodigies." Shiori's expression is really grim; she can only see one end game to this, bloodshed like no other.
But contrast to her troubled and terrified expression, her two sisters, Minazuki and Shizuka, are wearing dull expression saying that they don't really care.
"Tell some of the attendants to record to carnage." Shizuka made a request in a childish manner.
Shiori could only face-palm at the apathy of her own sister.
(Scene Change)
City of Kyoto.
Out of a sudden, women dressed in black military attires began to swarm the streets of Kyoto. Oddly enough all of them have identical facial features and their hairstyle is also the same. Any person can say that these women are clones made from one person, but no one would say that, no one even dared to approach them because of the scary aura they give off. People are terrified of them for some reason.
A top a building, the perpetrator of this event is grinning as she looked at the confusion and fear of those below. Alongside her are six teenagers who seem to be anxious of something.
"Look at them; they are all scared just because of the auras of my attendants." The perpetrator who is none other than the matriarch of the Orimura clan, Izanami Orimura, revealed a nasty grin whilst she looked down.
"Mother aren't we supposed to be looking for Ichika?" Chifuyu asked her mother with a careful tone.
Izanami turned towards her daughter, the amused expression on her face did not vanish and this relieved Chifuyu because it would mean that she won't get hit.
"Don't worry I know exactly where my son is now. The moment I set foot here I immediately located his presence and I sent twenty of my attendants there to keep watch over him." Izanami answered her daughter in a carefree manner.
"But anyway my son is more important so I guess we should go to him now. I had enough fun on watching the humans."
Chigusa, Chifuyu, Yuuko, Saya, Chisaya and Misaki made eager expression, they probably have been itching to go Ichika since they arrived here but they can't because of Izanami's order to not separate from her.
Izanami leaped from the rooftop of one building to the next. The distance between the buildings are quite far and some of the building are not even in height but it wasn't even hard for Izanami to clear the distance and land gracefully on the rooftop of the next building. Of course, Chigusa, Chifuyu, Yuuko, Saya, Chisaya and Misaki followed Izanami and pulled off the same impossible feat like Izanami and tailed the matriarch on her leaping from rooftop to rooftop.
(Scene Change)
Back to the To-ji Temple.
After eating lunch, Ichika together with Sora and his three attendants went back to the temple to watch normal families interact with each other.
"There seems to be party of sorts. There is banquet set." Sora mumbled.
"Should we join?" One of the attendants asked.
"This might benefit Ichika-sama's endeavor to research about human family interactions."
"But it is really okay for us to expose Ichika-sama to all this?"
Sora and the three attendants began to discuss about what they should do. But while they talked, their responsibility, Ichika, began to wander towards the mass of people. The little boy was very curious about these people he barely knew so he wandered off from his attendants, unknowingly throwing them to worry later.
"Come on, here take this to your brother."
Ichika saw a family with three children, two daughters and one son. They interact with each other without any hidden venom in their actions, Ichika can sense no malice but just the warm loving feeling a family has.
"How come mom and my nee-chans don't act like this?" Ichika sadly mumbled as he looked at the family. Minutes later, he walked on and watched more families in the banquet.
"How come my family doesn't love each other?" Tears threatened to fall from Ichika's eyes as he stood in the middle of these mass of people, he looked like a pitiful lost child.
"Hey, little boy are you lost?"
Ichika was approached by a group of teenage girls. All were very worried when they saw his sad expression. One knelt down and wiped the tears from his eyes.
"There, there. Are you lost?"
The girl ruffled Ichika's hair.
"He must've wandered off from his parents." One of the girls said.
"Let's take him to mom first, let's ask her where the staff in this place is so that we can find this boy's parents."
"Ummm…"
Ichika tugged the girl's skirt and looked at her with his innocent stare.
All the girls blushed when they saw Ichika's adorable expression.
"Ummm, I'm not lost…. I'm just watching the people here and how they interact with each other." Ichika's cute voice together with his irresistibly adorable expression, made the girls in front of him gush more and more.
"But your parents must be worried sick of looking for you. We should find them first and then you can walk around here together with them." The girl insisted and then he took Ichika's hand and ushered him to where her family is.
"Oh, who's that cute boy with you Kiyoko?" A woman in her who looked to be in her thirties approached.
"Mom, I saw this boy who was lost there in the banquet." The girl who was revealed to be named Kiyoko told the woman who approached them who is also her mother.
"Oh you poor little thing, your parents must be worried sick. We should contact the staff of the temple maybe they can help us locate your parents."
"Ummm, but…"
"Don't worry we'll find them."
Ichika was not given the chance to speak by the persons around him.
Meanwhile, finally noticing that their ward has wandered off, Sora and the three attendants frantically charged into the group of people looking for Ichika.
"Damn, I took my eyes off of Ichika-sama. How more of a failure I can be?" Sora mumbled her self-blaming words.
But what she failed to notice again is that she is being followed and before she knew it she felt just felt a tip of a kodachi touching her spine.
"!"
Sora froze, she looked to her right, left and in front, she saw the three attendants accompanying her and Ichika also captured…. By the attendants of the matriarch.
Sora froze in fear.
"Move and you will die." The one who captured her whispered the gentle threat to Sora's ear.
"Kuh…" Of course Sora had no choice but to concede.
(We were discovered rather too quickly….)
Sora couldn't have felt more disappointed of herself right now. But Sora's self-loathing was blown away when an exceedingly malicious presence invaded the whole chamber where the banquet is happening. Only one person could make such a terrifying entrance and unfortunately, this confirmed Sora's greatest fear. But seconds later, similar but lesser powerful aura entered. The following auras are lesser when placed beside the first aura that entered but they certainly carry a serious overwhelming effect.
"!"
From the corner of Sora's sight, she saw a tall figure standing at least near six feet. Sora recognized who it is right away.
"Izanami-sama…"
A lot of people stared at the tall woman elegantly walking in the middle of this crowd. Her presence commanded all in front of her to make way. Many showed awe to her god-like beauty but however their minds are quickly silenced by her overwhelming presence. Her attire is robe that shines like it was made of gold. Everyone taught that she is a goddess that descended from the heavens.
Though they seem to be out-shined by the one in front of them but still Chigusa, Chifuyu, Yuuko, Saya, Chisaya and Misaki who are following the tall beauty fro behind still caught the attention of many. Striking resemblance can be seen from the girls following and the woman leading, many can say that they are related to each other.
"…."
But despite all the stares she is getting, Izanami strode on without even showing notice to her surroundings. To her, she is surrounded by insects that don't need to be noticed. She is more focused towards the fount of gentle presence right in front of her.
"He looks like a little prince."
"Yeah and his attire really makes him cute and very royal-like."
"Hey maybe his parents are Japanese royalty."
Ichika is sitting at the table surrounded by young adolescent girls who are gushing over his cuteness.
"….." Ichika was a little depressed so he didn't smile that much towards the young girls fawning all over him.
But Ichika's expression changed when he saw a familiar face approaching, then Ichika revealed a wide smile and he sprang up from the chair and ran towards the tall woman walking towards him.
"Mom!" Ichika clung to her and affectionately called her mother.
Everyone was dumbstruck when realized the relation of the boy and woman. They looked like a queen and her son reuniting.
"You made worry." Izanami lifted up Ichika and affectionately cuddled him in her arms.
Chigusa, Chifuyu, Yuuko, Saya, Chisaya and Misaki who silently follow behind Izanami all stepped forward to have a look at their beloved young Ichika.
"Why did you go out of the territory without permission?"
"We are worried sick about you!"
"Ichika is being naughty again."
"Perhaps this is his way of trying to get our attention."
"I'm glad that you're safe."
"Thank goodness nothing happened to him."
Chigusa, Chifuyu, Yuuko, Saya, Chisaya and Misaki all expressed their worry for Ichika.
"Now, now, don't push him. He is really tired." Izanami silenced the girls but then she turned her attention to the person who Ichika was with.
Izanami had two thoughts in her mind right now, one is to leave this place without harming a soul and the second one is to kill all that is present.
(Hmmmm….. There are at least 234 hundred people here. My attendants have this place surrounded and they can take care of all witness within a minute and no one will even notice…..)
Izanami silently pondered and seconds later she reached a decision.
(Then I guess I….)