Chapter 10: Peerless Domination
"I see them up ahead. Let's rock 'n' roll." Ichika commanded the rest of the team in a dramatic flair that the school had become accustomed to, at least in the presence of his wayward roommate.
Team Peerless wore form fitting outfits that were customized from their normal IS suits. Ichika work a red and black battle suit and green combat pants. A white sleeveless vest covered the battle suit and connected to red shoulder pads.
Minato wore a full body red body suit with white accents, Charlotte wore yellow and Pyrrha blue. All in the likeness of a certain group of space faring animals led by a celestial vulpine.
The group stopped when they saw Rin making her way towards them. Ichika walked ahead of the group in a confident stride.
"I hope you're ready to take a beating. Better start writing up your apology. I can smell the humble pie from here." Rin was, at this point, began poking him in the chest, smirking smugly.
"Hush Rin. You're disturbing the peace. As one of three male students, I have an image to uphold." Minato added.
"I don't want to hear that bull from you! You're a walking disturbance!" Rin screamed out in anger.
"You're making me blush, stop it." Minato said coyly.
"It wasn't a compliment!"
"Did you know? Team Peerless is absolutely flawless."
"Don't take the conversation wherever the hell you want and don't make such a dated song reference!"
"To see through my tactics so quickly, is this the power of the Chinese representative candidate? Sorry, I was arrogant."
"You're apologizing for all the wrong reasons!"
A look of utter defeat and horror morphed unto the male Shinonono's face.
Rin's temper was reaching new heights, "It isn't that big of a deal!"
Ichika thought she looked a bit like an angered kitten. Not to be outdone, he returned fire, "I'll do my best. You won't have your way with me!"
Rin stammered abashed, "What are you talking about? W-Way with you, ridiculous." She then lowered her voice, "Not that I would mind too much."
"What?"
"Nothing! Going back on topic, my team is going to crush yours." With a huff she turned and strutted back to her teammates, leaving Ichika in confusion about the cause of her blushing and shyness.
"Look at an oblivious male in his natural environment. Notice how he enthralls the female of his species with no sign of recollection. Truly it's a frightening beast." Minato droned on as he watched the conversation between Ichika and Rin.
With a playfully scolding tone, Pyrrha returned, "Not everyone can be blessed with your oh so great insight. Besides I think it's adorable. Right, Charles?" She turned to the cross-dresser of the team. Startled, said girl just stammered.
"Now now, Hotspot don't embarrass Charles. Matters of the hearts can be so trying. What a devious girl I've come to know. "
His old friend merely rolled her eyes, "I learned everything I know from the best. And keep trying with the names, I'm sure you'll find one."
Now Minato seemed indignant, defensive he replied, "That's a perfectly good nickname! Give me a break, even my creativity has limits."
The two girls couldn't help but share a laugh at Minato's expense. Then an almost evil smile adorned Charlotte usually beautiful face. Through her mind, all the abuse and exercises that Minato forced her to do replayed. Was it petty? Yes. But she would take what she could get. She made a refreshed smile and needled, "Doesn't Pyrrha look amazing in that suit, you must have put A LOT of effort. It compliments here figure nicely, especially the chest."
"Don't be silly." Despite what he claimed verbally, inwardly he couldn't deny her statement. The suit middle region was a dark blue color, while the chest pieces were a lighter shade, thus drawing attention to them. Now that his mind was on them, his eyes began to wander.
"Oh? Do I look that poorly to you, Minmin." Pyrrha was pouting cutely.
"Not at all, Pyrrha, I just stopping her indulgent train of thoughts. Charles is a bit of a pervert.", Minato defended himself.
"I don't know, Pyrrha's pretty cute. You sure you don't just enjoy her company a little too much? Is she your type?" Charlotte was really getting into it.
But Minato was ever cool, "Now, now there's no need to bully me. Pyrrha's really good company." The male pilot didn't appreciate the two tag teaming him. Hopefully this would be the end.
Unsurprisingly, it wasn't, his childhood friend grabbed him by the arms and leaned into him. He could feel his arms pressing against her chest. With a shy expression she asked, "Am I being a bother to you? Just a hindrance." She gave him her best big eyed look.
"I know what you two are doing and it isn't going to work. My very heart is stone, and my nerves are-"
:: And I know how she like it, I'mma psychic
I eat it then I go back to sleep, that's that itis
And she be by herself, she a loner
TRUKFIT, I'm the owner
I make her moan, call her Mona
I have a threesome if they clone her
And me, I'm purple Kush forever
I'm purple drank forever
That di-::
"OK! Moving on, we have a competition to win." Minato rushed ahead before the song could get any more obscene. The two girls were left behind, both laughing at the retreating male, though a deep blush covered the redhead's face.
"That was horrible Charles." Pyrrha giggled.
"Well you can't complain, you went with it."
"I couldn't help it, the BG2M is too good to not take advantage of. But I'm going to have to bribe him with a lot food before he lets this go."
Nodding the two picked up their pace.
...
The initial participants lined up in the beginning of the course. The highlight were the representative candidates' units, most specifically, Ichika's unit. Some were stunned, others fearful, but all were awed.
"He shifted again."
"As expected of Ms. Orimura's little brother."
"Do we have a chance?"
"Yes despair, weep, surrender. Our units run on the ashes of destroyed hopes and dreams." Minato cackled heartedly. He was rubbing his hands together as he wore a Cheshire smile, shadows covered all but his shinning eyes and mouth. A perpetual aura of dark mist began to surround him and blot out the sun.
A tired Charlotte merely sighed in resignation, "My boss is a maniac. Remember he's the lesser of two evils."
With little facial expression, he turned towards his complaining assistant, "Silence, I give you your paychecks, you can't judge me."
From above the sign went from red to green and sounded an alarm. As one, all units fired off. Heat, wind, and dust was left behind from the thrusters.
Pushing to the forefront, Ichika made satisfactory room for himself. The large Blue Tear like bits provided him additional boost as his unit sheltered him from all the force. The first stretch of the course was a singular path and was unadulterated speed.
But it was not his goal to outdo everyone at this point. He kept his eyes focused on the divergent pathways. Earlier they were given a map of the course. For this event, there wasn't any 'official' path. There were split paths and curves all for the taking. One merely had to get to their teammates without flying above the path.
And one was coming up. From above him, Rin caught up and passed him. To rub it in, she did a dramatic drop in and burst out. Undeterred by the taunt, he accelerated and took the middle path. According to Minato, the center path would cut into the innermost lane, but it was the thinnest and most constricted pathway.
Perfect.
Looking behind, he saw the masses splitting to other sides with only a few following behind him. Attention diverted, Ichika collided with an acute angled wall. The protective field prevented physical harm, but the edges of his units grinded on the wall and sparks flew.
An image of Minato appeared on his visuals. "Keep your head in the game Ichika. A bad start may lower morale for the rest of the team." Though light, his tone was firm.
And Ichika understood why. It was for the final prize of the competition, a one on one battle with anyone of the winner's choosing. This was a good chance for Pyrrha to get some real experience. Ichika was merely piloting due to circumstance, Minato due to his mother's request, and Charles because her father was lousy. But it was Pyrrha's passion to succeed, so he nodded resolutely.
Blasting his boosters to the max, he raced to reach the rest of the center route group. The expanse was still pretty distinct, but he had a trump card.
Double Ignition Boost.
His boosters roared with greater intensity and his formed flickered out of view for a second. Before any of the other competitors were aware, they were thrown to the side as he swiftly flew through them.
Coming to view was a prepared Pyrrha, lowering his velocity, he turned into his group's station and signaled for her to go. Her traversal brought her into the masses. Opposed to her male teammate, she was able to maintain high acceleration with mobility and maneuver her way through all the other racers.
Unlike Ichika, she chose not to pass the entire group. Her strategy was slow and steady integration. Zooming right by her, a fair number of her classmates took the change to improve their position. A bubble of excitement rose in the girl as she felt the competitive spirit all around her.
With a smile, she began to weave and bob in between the others and caused a fair number of them to either slow down or crash into those nearby. With a disregard for the risk, she slammed her unit onto the outer wall of the course and avoided an annoying congestion that the route was dealing with.
From several meters away, she saw a series of loops that could further shortened the path. Grinning she boosted further and broke away from the straight line she had been riding. She zoomed through the entrance of the loop and endured the sheer speed of the take off and the momentary pull of gravity to tear her straight down the loop. Others that had followed her hadn't adjusted the speed and acceleration as well as she and had fallen.
Good, that was less struggle for the front. Therein lied her goal. Ichika had been awe inspiring to bring a sense of power for the group. Pyrrha wouldn't be doing as much showboating, but she would eliminate more competition, within the rules of course.
Wearing a confident smile, Pyrrha made her way down a slope as her unit silently charged the boosters and rocketed off. Just ahead was a prepping Charles. She cut across the lane and entered her team's zone and left the rest of the race in her teammate's hand.
Charlotte's unit, Rafale Revive Custom II, had been put under major modifications. All of which were her employer's idea. The orange plates of the fins and body were now a deep blue. Attached to the back were thrusters magnitudes larger than her previous set. Yellow plates covered her hands and mask covered the lower half of her face. It was similar to what air forces were required to wear.
Getting into position, the thrusters spread wide and the metal darkened due to the sheer heat and power being expended. Already she could feel the unnerving shaking occurring.
"Behold my fellow teammates. I call this mode Revive Jager! This challenge is in the bag." A delighted Minato presented.
"I still have some concerns about this Minato. Our tests weren't very comforting about this course of action."
"Nonsense Charles, those are just the jitters."
"Can we at least not call it Jager? It's not exactly good publicity."
"For the last time, NO. It's a German name, get over it. Who do you think you are, a personification for the nation and history of France?"
"Charles don't mind him. He just likes to be contrary. Just think of it as a test run and focus on that." Pyrrha helpfully added in.
With a despondent sigh, Charlotte continued her preparations. It made little good to fight with one as stubborn as a Shinonono. She was starting to think it was a family trait. Minato, Tabane, and even Houki would get downright frustrating when they wanted to get their way.
"Launch when ready."
"Understood. Heading off in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!" Her unit fired off. The results were beyond her expectations. While IS units typically had decent levels of protection that shielded the pilots from the forces of their speed and aerial stunts, the new boosters were simply too much. If not for the mask, she felt that she would have lost consciousness long ago.
The course took the majority of the abuse. Tracks were burned, pillars blasted, and glass displays burst. Onlookers stared in awe of the sheer destructiveness of the Jager's drive. In under a minute, Charlotte had caught up to the majority of the racers and they all moved in fear of damage. A display windows came to life in Charlotte's unit and she saw the amused face of her employer.
"Quick do a barrel roll!"
"But it's-"
"No excuses do a barrel roll!"
An image of Ichika popped up beside Minato's. "Come on! You know you want to. It's a barrel roll~!"
"It's not even a barrel roll." Charlotte muttered fruitlessly. She activated the barrel roll and her unit's wing expanded and tripled output. She then completed a horizontal roll and the results were such.
All those around her were blasted off course, forming a pileup. Her forward motion took on the form of a spiral and blitzed through the rest of the course. Just before she crashed, she stopped abruptly, a shockwave exploded around her and decimated all glass and weak structures.
From the depths of the teacher booth, Chifuyu marched angrily towards them. Noticing her advance, the Idiot Duo leapt into action.
To flee.
"Me thinks that your sister is most upset with us."
"I do believe you're right."
"I agree with your agreement. "
Like lightning Ms. Orimura's clipboard struck. Using all his years of training and fighting for his life, Minato jumped and shifted his weight to avoid the clipboard that had lower drastically and had almost clashed into his back. Ichika gritted his teeth and flung to the side in desperation. Not feeling any pain, he yelled in triumph.
In his arrogance, the boy did not see the weapon change course yet again! It rotated with malicious intent and sought out his destruction. His tears of joy turned into those of anguish as the board struck him in the chest and had him flying.
"ICHIKA!" Minato yelled and jumped, hands outstretched. He caught his falling comrade. "Speak to me Ichika!"
"I knew this would be my faith."
"Silence fool. You need help."
"I-I did it. For just one moment we were invincible Minato. It was worth it, despite the loss, it was worth it."
"Save your strength. We can still save you. If-"
Before he could finish his speech, Chifuyu caught up to them and slammed her fist into both their heads. "You two always go two steps too far. Look at all the property damage. You'll be dealing with this understood?"
"Yes Ms. Orimura." The two answered in synch.
...
Pyrrha dominated the shoot out. Not a single target was missed. It was a glorious sight that had many of her peers gasp in awe. Her fellow candidates took fervent note of her accuracy. None of the fake outs, tricks, or false targets caught her off guard.
It also helped that their team engineer had over-clocked the processor of the guns and somehow avoided overheating. A Gatling gun of such potential had never before been seen. It went without saying that Team Peerless won first place, while Cecilia gained second.
She wasn't too happy at the prospect.
"I feel like we're cheating." Charlotte said lightly and with good reason. On the scoreboard, Team Peerless had outdone the closet team by a thousand or so points. Engineering points were a killing. With Minato's sheer unfair experience with IS' they were making waves. None were more shocked than the instructors. The son of the genius Tabane Shinonono had went in and thrown a lot of IS convention out of the window.
The team however weren't too affected. Minato appeared to have lost interest after the scolding from Ms. Orimura. Ichika was still sore from the clipboard incident. As for Pyrrha, she was content as always.
Smiling to walked up to the IS expert of the group. She patted him cheerfully on the back."How are you feeling Minmin? You're next for the endurance round." She pointed out.
Minato shrugged his shoulders in indifference. He wasn't too concerned, "with my IS, we're the most likely winners."
The redhead smiled gently, and place a single hand on his shoulder, making him turn to her. "Thank you Minato. You were an integral part of our success. I really appreciate the effort. I know you aren't into these sorts of events. So thank you for taking it as seriously as you did."
"It's fine. This is important for you, so I am required to be invested. Don't worry about me. This is your stage. You've dealt with a lot of my behavior, how could I leave you now?"He replied sincerely.
:: I don't want another pretty face
I don't want just anyone to hold
I don't want my love to go to waste
I want you and your beautiful soul
I know that you are something special
To you I'd be always faithful
I want to be what you always needed
Then I hope you'll see the heart in me
You might need time to think it over
But I'm just fine moving forward
I'll ease your mind
If you give me the chance
I will never make you cry c`mon let's try
Am I crazy for wanting you?
Maybe do you think you could want me too?
I don't wanna waste your time
Do you see things the way I do?
I just wanna know that you feel it too
There is nothing left to hide::
The music died down after whispering the last words. Pyrrha found her smiling softly at the sound. She decided not to embarrass him further considering how shocked he looked, despite his stoic appearance. With a gentle squeeze, she wished him good luck and gave him some space.
Ichika nodded as though he was some sage dispensing great knowledge, "so this is the oblivious playboy type that is whispered in male legend. For all his insight, he's so blind to the romantics happenings taking place in front of him."
"You're one to talk." Charlotte muttered darkly.
"What?"
"Nothing."
...
Once again Team Peerless struck the competition down. As intimidating as the firepower and other such implements, Minato had little cause for concern. His unit's shielding threshold was so far passed everyone, he could afford to simply stay still and take the blows head on.
Some of the more disgruntled competitors cried foul, but had little room for complaint. In response, Minato jeered at them in contempt as he took the first place position.
A playful swat to the shoulders ceased his arrogant display.
"Really Minmin do you have to be such a poor winner? There was no need to rub salt in the wound." His ever thoughtful friend lectured.
...
It was midday and Team Peerless were in the middle of lunch.
"Our team did pretty well. With this pace, we can shoot right to the winning slot." Ichika said while grinning, "I'm actually kind of excited for the battle portion of the contest. It still a man's romance to fight in robot suits."
Minato moved his attention away from his laptop and lowered his earphones to respond, "It's not that big of a deal. The only good thing about this tournament is that we don't have to take formal classes. Those really eat through the day. I supposed social interaction is important factor for our age group."
Charlotte couldn't let that slide, "You don't interact, you experiment. Honestly, I don't know how you haven't been kicked out yet, Shinonono are not."
Minato shrugged showing just how little he cared about the subject.
Ichika added his own opinion, "You know you should learn some empathy. Ignoring social signs can cause misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and all sorts of problems. It can be difficult, but you have to keep your mind and spirit sharp." This was all said in pride as though he had given some great wisdom of the ages.
His two roommates could only eye him with almost pity. The sheer irony and hypocrisy made them want to scream. "Do you know how silly you sound?" Minato dulled out, "You're the clueless one."
"Name one thing I'm clueless about." Ichika argued back.
Just as the blue haired teen could rebut, Rin interjected, "Are you ready for this, Ichika?"
"You know it, Rin." Ichika said smugly.
Losing interest, Minato went back to his own devices, and the rest of lunch was eaten in relative peace.
...
The last portion of the competition was the most awaited. The combatant round. Each round would be taken by a single member of the team. Should they lose, the team would be eliminated. It went without saying that each fighter had a fair amount of pressure on them. No one wanted to be the cause of a team's failure. But those were the rules.
Team Peerless was in their cockpit, prepping up. This round would be fought by Pyrrha. Her opponent was Houki Shinonono. After wishing her good luck, the team backed away and allowed the redhead to lift off to the stadium.
The Academy's stadium was still a wonder. Shielded, the audience were seated above the ground level to observe every move of the combatants.
With all the grace of a bird of prey, the representative candidate touched ground. Her smile never fell off.
Across from her, Houki had walked, in unit, to the field. An angry frown marring her face. She took some experimental swings of her blade. Lacking a personal unit, she had one of the school sets.
"I hope we have a good fight." The foreign teen said easily. It was her hope to lighten the expression on her classmate's fate. Opponents they may be, but it didn't need to be hostile.
"Hn." The kendo practitioner grunted, disappointing the friendly teen.
Pyrrha eventually just sighed, "Well there's no need to be so grumpy."
With her piece said, the two got into position. Not long after, a buzzer rang and the two set off. Houki raised her might blade for a vertical swing. It was parried easily enough by the redhead. She took the opening for all its worth. Changing her blade into spear mode, she pierced Houki right in the chest and took her out of the running. All of this happened in the first minute of the battle.
When the two removed their units, Houki marched angrily passed Pyrrha. Despite her overwhelming victory, Pyrrha was a little downtrodden that she wasn't able to bond over the battlefield with her fellow pilot.
Minato came up to the depressed girl and patted her on the shoulder. "Good job. You totally crushed her spirits and made her look incompetent in front of the whole school. " Each of his words wounded her heart.
"Why are you getting upset for?"
Ichika added in helpfully, "Maybe she's concerned that this fight would make her look worse in the eyes of Minato's mom."
That seemed to be the final blow to Pyrrha's depression. Charlotte nudged him in the side and warned him to keep quiet. Ichika clicked his mouth shut.
Minato smiled kindly to Pyrrha, "Come on let's get some ice cream, Ichika's treat. "
"What!?" The poor sap cried.
"Good idea, boss." Charlotte added oh so helpfully.
Pyrrha smiled thankfully and they all left for an ice cream parlor.
...
Charlotte was the next representative for Team Peerless. She was up against Ruby. Unlike Houki before her, Ruby was far more excited for the upcoming match.
"Alright Charles, this is going to be fun match. Today is the day that my baby makes her debut." Ruby exclaimed.
"I agree with you, Ruby. Let the best pilot win."
Pyrrha bitterly grumbled, "How come they can get along? I was just as nice."
"It just wasn't meant to be Pyrrha, my dear." Minato was as unhelpful as usual.
The two suited up and faced off in the center of the arena. Ruby was in the same basic model as Houki, but she had done some custom painting. It was mainly black with dashes of red. There were even rose accents.
Chifuyu's voice rang through the stadium, "Team Remnant has illegally modified their units. Each of the units will be clean post battle."
Ruby and the rest of her team grimaced.
Chifuyu wasn't done, "After the tournament Team Remnant shall clean all used units of every team. Understood?"
Ruby was now in tears. "My team is going to lose so much time after this. It isn't fair. It's just a small paint job."
"Silence." Chifuyu commanded.
Ruby was now whimpering.
"For what it's worth I'm sorry." Charlotte called out.
Tears renewed in Ruby eyes as she nodded gratefully, "You're so kind."
Their banter finished, Ruby pulled out a scythe of all things and twirled it around. She sped right towards Charlotte.
In response, the cross dresser summoned a gun and aimed. She found it foolish for Ruby to come right at her in such an obvious manner. Such tactics had failed Houki yesterday.
Just as she fired, Ruby used the scythe to bounce off the ground. Then from the end of the scythe she fired rounds and boosted herself. She got right behind Charlotte and attempted to lay a good bit of damage.
When the scythe was inches away from its intended target, Charlotte barely maneuvered out the way.
Instead of disappointment, Ruby was all smiles, "That amazing. You were able to dodge with so little margin for error."
Charlotte chuckled, "You're aren't too bad yourself."
The two nodded and continued their friendly match. Charlotte pulled two assault rifles from her armory and bombarded Ruby's unit. Said girl's shield received heavy damage, but her determined expression remained. Taking the blow head on, she pulled out her scythe and targeted her opponents center, knocking the air from Charlotte as she was sent flying.
"I'm not finished yet." Charlotte roared. She shot a retractor wire towards Ruby and imbedded it into her unit's arms. Pulling, she brought the scythe wielder towards her own unit and used a shield piercer. Said piercer was a pilebunker type weapon that needed really close combat to be functional.
Once Ruby was in range, she struck and destroyed the remaining shield energy surrounding Ruby's body.
Ruby pouted about her loss.
Charlotte was a gracious winner, "That was a good effort." The two shared a smile. Pyrrha grew green with envy.
As Charlotte returned to her team, she was smacked on the back by her employer. "That's what Peerless is all about."
"Ruby has a lot of potential."
"You're correct, Charles. But she uses most of it for sports. She's a much more capable human fighter than Stratos pilot. If you two had to fight face to face, she would have devastated you."
"You seemed pleased about that", Pyrrha said, entering the conversation.
"Overreliance on machinery is too risky. Quite a few of the students would be useless if something happened to the IS. If the governments get too complacent, then taking over nations might not be too hard."
Ichika shivered and reprimanded the male Shinonono, "Don't even joke around like that. Hearing the child of Tabane say stuff like that sends chills down my spine."
Minato only snickered.
...
At last, it was Ichika's turn to step onto the stage. He took calming breaths to get into the appropriate mindset. Gripping a nonexistent blade, he looked out across the field to see his second childhood friend battle ready.
He was ready for this. On this day he would surpass Rin's skill. When was the last them they truly competed against one another? Too long. This feeling was what truly cemented their relationship in his youth. Rin was fiery and gave just as much as she received. For a petite girl, she had one big attitude.
Ichika relished that. She was one of the guys and wasn't afraid to say what she wanted and how she felt. That was why this whole affair was so confusing to him. Why did she feel that she couldn't speak to him freely like before. He wouldn't have judged her. Why else did one have friends to begin with?
Though it wasn't like she didn't have her own burdens to bare. Ichika always felt he was a simple person, matters of the heart seemed to allude him. But he couldn't ignore this and would use what was necessary to have her speak to him.
"Finally here, Ichika? By the end of this fight, you'll know how superior I am." Rin huffed and mocked him verbally. Her nose was lifted in the hair as though to suggest he wasn't worth the time.
How this heated his Japanese blood to a boil. Ichika could feel his veins filling with burning passion. Just like in the past, he would give it his all to outdo her. Nothing had changed, just the field and tools. With narrowed eyes, he responded in suit, "You know me, Rin. Taunts won't stop me. You're not my sister, so words alone won't conquer me. To take over this fort, you're going to have to get your hands dirty."
"Simple as always. Well let's get this done!" She screamed.
"Right!"
At that moment, the two in their units got into battle stance. Ichika's unit brought about the marvel of the audience. Then again his unit was of the newest generation that the public couldn't hope to have access to right now. The other fourth generation belonged to Minato and that alone was worrisome.
At the start of the round, Ichika drew both of his blades and was upon Rin in an instant. Such speeds came as a shock to his opponent, but she caught herself and reacted just in time.
Souten Gagetsu was her means of retaliation. It was a pair of mighty Chinese scimitar blades, sharp, sleek and all the more deadly.
The two locked blades. For a while the match was even. Every blow from the one was blocked by the other. The smallest opening was capitalized and then countered. Sparks could be seen from the intensity of the combat. Both fighters gritted their teeth in anticipation, awaiting for their foe to slip up.
But there was a clear difference of skills when it came to swordsmanship. As talented and trained Rin was, Ichika had faced worse when he had trained under his elder sibling. If Rin was pushed to the ground, Ichika was launched there and grinded into the soil. After facing such trials, how could he afford to falter in his best field?
And it showed, as Ichika not only saw through but obliterated her guard. Soon her left blade and been blown right out of her unit's hand. Dual wielding had become second nature for him. His very form was more adaptable and durable. Seeing an opportunity, he took a swing at her shields, weakening them.
Unwilling to take further risk, Rin back peddled to where her blade landed. She took it up and connected with her other blade. "Don't get too cocky. It was a lucky blow." she taunted.
unmoved, he launched right by into rhythm with his attacks. The sheer power and repetition soundly prevented the Chinese girl from making good use of her weapon. The battle was far too close range to take advantage of her combined scimitars. They were as good as dead weight at the moment.
Still, she was a representative candidate for a reason. She stubbornly held her ground and grit her teeth. Withstanding the onslaught, she waited and attempted a counterattack. The horizontal swipe succeeded in knocking him off his feet, but he was ready for such a situation.
Grasping the rod of her weapon and spun around it to prevent her use of it. Just as he closed in for the final blow, he was shot right out of the air!
"Don't think I'll let you set the pace for the whole battle, Ichika!"
Smirking, Ichika replied, "I expect nothing less from you! I fight on!" Despite his brash words, Ichika actually took the moment to internally ponder. He knew what the shot was, Minato had informed it during the multiple strategy meetings his group held. How he could his hands on the information he didn't know, but it was helpful. The blast had originated from her Dragon Cannon. Taking a good look at the field, he came to a decision.
He couldn't waste a moment in his plan, his weapons simply took too much power for repeated attacks. Steeling himself, he broke into a speedy dash. Baiting her, he took aim and threw both of his blades at the representative candidate.
As they raced towards her, she used the cannon to fire them down. Although lacking visual information on the blast, he now had a relatively good idea about the range. Best of all, he was already meters away. Never stopping , he continued on his path until he reached her and entered her scope and she opened fire. All incoming fire barraged his field and lower his shields, but he preserved. Digging within, he activated his energy shield and rammed right into her. With the wide width, the shield was able to shield him from the cannons.
"Get off of me!" Rin yelled as she tried to shake him off.
"No way", was his elegant response. He then slammed her right into the side of the stadium. Before she could hope to regain her bearings, he took her down with multiple unmerciful strikes of his energy claw. Her shields just couldn't contain the damage being released. It lost its last bit of energy and dispersed.
She sighed despondently, "I've lost."
...
Back on the sidelines, Rin grumbled out, "Cheap, stupid fourth generation garbage." She now had no choice but to follow Ichika's orders. Her pride was too great to pull out now. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the condescending Shinonono coming up.
"You know Ichika, you should probably demand her to explain to you why she was so prickly about the promise." Minato suggested lightly.
Pyrrha showed up and pulled him by the wrist away from the pair, "Minmin, you have to stop this verbal abuse thing you're doing."
Reluctantly, Charlotte left with her other two teammates, leaving Ichika alone with Rin.
"For my command, I order you to forgive me." Ichika stated.
Shocked colored her face. Seeing this, Ichika simply sighed, "I never meant to hurt your feelings. You're important to me. It was my mistake. I truly believed that the promise was about food."
"Does that mean?"
"I still don't understand what you wanted. But I've heard about what happened to your folks. I'm sorry about that."
Rin huffed and looked away, "It's not that big of a deal."
Now Ichika was frowning, "Of course it is. They were your family! You loved uncle and auntie. You were the happiest when you were in the restaurant with them. It's fine to be upset."
She gritted her teeth, "I'm not upset. So what if they don't love each other anymore! So what if all the years were a joke. Who cares if they can't stand the sight of each other anymore. It has nothing to do with me." Her voice was already breaking, tears building up, "There's was nothing I could've done."
With a click his choker came to life.
::Well I couldn't tell you why she felt that way,
She felt it everyday.
And I couldn't help her,
I just watched her make the same mistakes again.
What's wrong, what's wrong now?
Too many, too many problems.
Don't know where she belongs, where she belongs.
She wants to go home, but nobody's home.
It's where she lies, broken inside.
With no place to go, no place to go to dry her eyes.
Broken inside. ::
"Turn that stupid thing off. I don't have any problems and there isn't anything to fix. I like the way things are. I don't have to deal with their whining anymore. "
"You can't believe that at all. I know you must miss your dad. It's alright to be sad!" Ichika urged.
Rin was trembling now.
::Open your eyes and look outside, find the reasons why.
You've been rejected, and now you can't find what you left behind.
Be strong, be strong now.
Too many, too many problems.
Don't know where she belongs, where she belongs.
She wants to go home, but nobody's home.
It's where she lies, broken inside.
With no place to go, no place to go to dry her eyes.
Broken inside.::
"I told you to shut THAT OFF!" She screamed and lunged at him. But her size was just too small and he easily pulled her into an emotional hug. A hug which she fervently resisted.
::Her feelings she hides.
Her dreams she can't find.
She's losing her mind.
She's fallen behind.
She can't find her place.
She's losing her faith.
She's fallen from grace.
She's all over the place.
Yeah,oh
She wants to go home, but nobody's home.
It's where she lies, broken inside.
With no place to go, no place to go to dry her eyes.
Broken inside.
She's lost inside, lost inside...oh oh yeah
She's lost inside, lost inside...oh oh yeah::
"Didn't their promises mean anything? What went wrong? And why couldn't you mind your own business?" At this point, Rin's tears had stained her face and his clothing. She couldn't stop sobbing and mumbling her words.
Through all this, Ichika's face was tender and supporting. "It's okay to cry. I'm here now, I'll support you until you're better." He said softly as he caressed her hair. She finally returned the hug and held him tightly.
"Is this way you were so upset about the promise? No matter what I said, I won't abandon you willingly."
She just nodded in acceptance. He wasn't the brightest, but even he knew there was some intricate detail he was missing. But for now, he would comfort her in her weakness.
...
Chifuyu stood on the stadium once more and spoke calmly into the microphone, "Results have come in and the winners are Team Peerless. As a reward to the members, they may each select a member of the staff to battle against. This is an ample opportunity to gain experience, tips, and even insight into the style of professional IS pilots. What are your choices?"
Minato, Ichika, and Charlotte looked at each other and nodded in agreement, they rose their hands and spoke, "We relinquish the rights."
The male Shinonono nodded encouragingly to his long time friend. She smiled in return and stood in front of her team, "Ms. Orimura I select you as my opponent."
Her fellow classmates broke out in whispers. This was not without merit. Chifuyu Orimura was one the greatest pilots, if not the best, in history. She had dominated most of her competition, and they were Representatives. While Pyrrha was a skilled candidate, her experience and skills were surely swamped by Ichika's sister.
An almost predatory smirk formed on their teacher's face. "Challenge accepted, child. There's no turning back."
"Of course not, Ms. Orimura." Pyrrha smiled brightly.
...
That night, Pyrrha couldn't rest. Challenging Chifuyu was a dream many pilots aspired to. There was no way that she wasn't nervous. After her big announcement, she had went right into training to the ground. Of course her teammates had readily helped her. Even as the hours passed, they waited in support.
The former Arisato spent a lot of his time with her Infinite Stratos' maintenance. It had taken quite a bit effort to actually get her out of her custom unit. Thankfully, the academy had allowed her to borrow a spare unit.
At this point, Minato believed enough was enough, "Pyrrha step out of the unit."
Frowning, she accepted his demand. He didn't seem in the mood for negotiations, "What's wrong Minmin? I felt that I was in the middle of a breakthrough."
He merely stared at her in awkwardness. She slumped and sighed, "Alright was in a funk."
"Go to bed. You're tired and at this point you won't improve... please." His voice was laced with an unusual amount of concern. Seeing the pleading look, Pyrrha eventually relented. As she was about to walk away, the blue haired teen stopped her. "Don't be upset, I'm just worried. How about I take you to a meal tomorrow. I heard Dan's family runs a pretty could cafe. It'll be just the two of us, my treat."
"Minmin, are you asking me out on a date?"
He shrugged lightly, "Yes. If you don't mind."
She smiled softly, "I would appreciate that. If that's the reward, I have to win now."
"That's incorrect. Your performance tomorrow is irrelevant. My company isn't conditional."
Her smile grew broader, "Alright Minmin. Until tomorrow."
Pyrrha left with a little more spring to her step. Minato stared fondly at her form.
::I die each time you look away
My heart, my life, will never be the same
This love will take my everything
One breath, one touch, will be the end of me
You could be the final straw that brings me back to earth
Ever-waiting airports full of the love that you deserve
Wishing I could find a way to wash away the past
Knowing that my heart will break, but at least the pain will last
I die each time you look away
My heart, my life, will never be the same
This love will take my everything
One breath, one touch, will be the end of me::
Charlotte walked up to him with a charming smile, "That was sweet of you Minato. You probably made her day. You really do care."
He smiled slightly, "You make me sound like some uncaring machine."
"That's not what I meant. I didn't mean to offend."
"Not at all. You shouldn't be afraid to tell me how you feel. But I can see where you're coming from. You might not believe me, but I was once an extremely apathetic person. Even when I learned to appreciate life, I wasn't all that eccentric. I guess my mother had more influence than one would think."
"It's weird to think of a completely stoic Minato. Even if he look so serious, you always seem to have fun doing what you want at your own pace. Although, you only act gentle with Pyrrha."
"Of course he does. He's a slave to his heart." Ichika said.
Minato leaned against the wall of the building and replied, "You know, I used to have many sincere bonds."
Charlotte found his statement odd, "Used to? What happened to them?"
" I lost them all. None of them are among the living any longer."
Saddened Ichika placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry about that. "
"Don't be. I heard that their final days were happy." When he smiled gladly, his two roommates shared relieved smiles. Neither was sure how they would've comforted a morose Minato. But the three felt just a bit closer for having the conversation.
...
The next day, a well rested Pyrrha stood in front of her teacher. Even before the battle began, she was submerged under the sheer atmosphere of the Chifuyu. Before her stood the former Japanese Representative.
Alarm went off and Chifuyu disappeared from the redhead's sight. She reappeared right in front of her and slammed her foot right in the center of the traditional shield Pyrrha brought up. Recoiling, she was pushed back but it was well within expectations. One did not challenge Chifuyu without preparation.
Bring out her sword, Pyrrha was just in time to receive her teachers own sword strike. Opposed to every other opponent she faced, Chifuyu's blade was both heavy and fierce.
The teen twisted her body around and shot a kick right at the former champion's side. A kick was grabbed easily. Not a second later, Pyrrha was spun around. In this Pyrrha saw a chance, she shifted her blade into rifle mode and began to fire almost point blank.
Chifuyu allowed the hits to continue her assault. Not a second later, Pyrrha found herself being slammed over and over and over again against the ground. The whole experience was jarring for the representative candidate.
At this rate, she was more likely to get a concussion before her shields gave out. Twisting her body, she lunged for another kick. Chifuyu allowed her to escape her grasp. Taking her shield, she flung it in an arc trajectory just behind the elder Orimura. Before any contact was made, Pyrrha flew straight to her opponent. The two traded blow for blow. From a distance, one may assume that they were evenly matched, but this couldn't have been further from the truth. Pyrrha was being backed into a corner.
Shifting her weapon once again, she made the blade into a spear and lunged again. Chifuyu waited until the weapon was inches from her shield and dodged expertly. She swiped the blade right at Pyrrha's head.
Despite the reversal, the challenger smirked. At that moment, her wayward shield came back and blocked the blow. One time wasn't enough to differ Chifuyu as she made another, faster strike. But to her slight surprise, the shield returned.
It was Pyrrha's magnetic field controller. The researchers had created it for her to take advantage of magnetic forces and manipulating metal items. Weaving her hands around, she had the shield bash Chifuyu a bit away.
With that opening, she pulled of a triple ignition boost and Chifuyu was quick to follow suit. Gasps rang out in the audience as the witnessed the speed and skill of both competitors. Chifuyu was of course the favorite to win but they were impressed all the same.
The sound of explosions rang as blurs collided. From the clashing blurs, Pyrrha was shot out. Grimacing, Pyrrha used her magnetic system to repulse Chifuyu away. The sheer acceleration shocked even the experienced pilot.
She smirked this student of hers was quite... adequate. Chifuyu spun and changed her direction right back toward the redhead. The younger pilot magnetized her shield and sword and shot them at the older pilot. Unfortunately, Chifuyu stole the shield and blocked the sword. Her maneuver done, she tossed the shield aside and appeared just before the shocked redhead.
Pyrrha attempted to catch the blade, but Chifuyu's strength was superior and she still damaged her shield and continued to do so. Things were looking bad for Pyrrha. She was confident in multitasking while fighting such a superior foe. Magnetizing her blade and shield would have been advantageous, but the unrelenting Chifuyu wasn't having any of that.
Desperately she magnetized Chifuyu's unit and whipped her aside. She aimed her controller at Chifuyu's blade and wasn't too surprised to see it fail. Personalized weapons had a tendency to repel the controllers machinations. She quickly changed her target to her own blade and renewed her long ranged combat against the former champion.
Unconcerned, Chifuyu bobbed and weaved around all her shots with little to no effort. Shifting her weapon again, she lunged the spear right as Chifuyu dodged a recent shot to the leg. A smirk formed on the elder Orimura's face as she accelerated just as the spear was thrown. With the spear incoming, it was little work for Chifuyu to not only dodge the projectile, but to also double ignition boost directly in front of the now open Pyrrha. Before the redhead could register the happenings, Chifuyu shattered her shields.
Pyrrha had lost. She looked fairly petulant but she accepted the truth.
"You have much more to work on."
"Yes, Ms. Orimura."
And so the final day of the competition came to the end. Team Peerless had devastated the other teams. Although in the end, Pyrrha was unable to come out victorious. But she swore to avenge her lose some day in the future.