Yo guys, it's been a while. Sorry about that. The Division 2 is a blast of a game.
I have received a couple of harsh words from someone cause I called her out. And I was too late to block her so she could leave a few harsh words on my fic.
Harpylips, if you read this and I hope you do. I had written half a page about you. But I can summarize it.
You're a bitch. If I look at your vocabulary.
And you're a coward. You can spout harsh words but you can't receive flack as you blocked me before I could answer you.
So I'll do it via this chapter.
If you can do better, go ahead. Write your own fic. And we'll see for later.
Time for me to deal with the chapter. The fight between Cecilia and Ichika. What I can tell you that is there are more battles.
Also, I heard that there's going to be a Volume 14 in the coming summer of Masou Gakuen HxH. If you're not hyped, don't worry, I am.
Cecilia and Ichika's fight aren't the only ones in this fic.
You can be sure that there are going to be a few more.
Kizuna was sitting next to Mattheus as the fights have been settled with Ichika and Cecilia. There have been a few more.
Turned out there were a lot more fights. Amaterasu was a couple of battle maniacs. Luckily for the IS pilots, they only would have to fight the winner of that fight.
Or Kizuna for that matter as he had only to wait to fight.
Mattheus grinned as Joel was happily hacking away in his lap. Joel had some nice ideas to work out. The handgun that he used proved to be the basis of a new weapon. A rifle. One that could do some serious damage.
Now we sing for you, departed pawns of war.
Mattheus sang and Kizuna wasn't sure about the whole thing here. But even so, the guys were ready to fight and make a hell out of it.
"Don't expect me to go easy on you," Kizuna said and Mattheus looked over to him with a grin. That proved how much the Hunter looked forward to it.
"Hey, I don't mind it. I'm going to do the same shit to you."
It would be an elimination process.
Ichika vs Cecilia.
Kizuna vs Mattheus.
Hayuru vs Yurishia.
The winner of that last fight would go against Aine. From that point, the winners would compete against each other. And it would go on like that.
Mattheus and Kizuna both chose to fight to knock Cecilia down a couple of notches. But for the most part, if Ichika did that in their stead, they wouldn't complain.
Speaking about Ichika, he had been talking with Houki to help him out.
Chifuyu had pulled him asides and told Ichika what sort of unit he would get. She couldn't spoil the details but it would be close range and he'd use a sword. Now, Ichika had learned some things back from with Houki when they were kids and Chifuyu had sometimes spared with him when she was home.
Which wasn't that often? But hey, it could pass.
So it was agreed that Ichika could learn from Houki while Kizuna had to look after the girls. Even despite the days going by, he hadn't found it really easy to talk to them.
It wasn't that abnormal if you considered all things. Humans were creatures that wouldn't go out of their comfort zone. Kizuna had a nice time talking to Ichika and Mattheus and Houki.
But alas, he couldn't and Mattheus saw how he was pulled out his seat by one busty blond. She had blue eyes but her eyes were not in drills. There was a part of Mattheus being jealous before his logic took over.
Yurishia Farandole. American's ace. Used the core, Kuros. Great from long range attacks. She wore the Ataraxia uniform but even so, it was hard to hide the boobs she had underneath her clothes. It was also Kizuna's arm that was pressed underneath those sweater muffins.
"Neh, Hida-kun. I am just wondering. Why did you partake in this? Wouldn't it be easier to let us take care of it?" The entire class looked at Kizuna in contempt. It was weird to see how it went down like this. It was a godsend there were no men around him.
It hadn't taken long before Yurishia's popularity skyrocketed in the days they were here. It wasn't hard to understand.
With her big sis aura, her track record as one of the world's strongest aces, her beauty, and her attitude, Yurishia was seen as a princess. But hey, that wasn't a concern for Mattheus.
When you went through high school once, you know how it works.
Kizuna gulped. "Well, it's just because Adjzof and Orimura partake, I couldn't be left out." Yurishia turned him around so he faced her.
"Is that so? Well, I hope that we can have a fight. Oh, and I hope that I use all my energy in the fight as I would really like to partake in a Heart Hybrid."
"How can you see that in public? That is a breach of the public morals." A loud voice said and this was when Hayuru Himekawa bumped in. Kizuna's problem of talking to those girls was now solved. The ice was broken and he could talk to two of the girls in Amaterasu.
In some cases, you would say that Hayuru was a tsundere. If you were in those types.
Joel was not one of those people so he went with pain in the ass. The punk had looked up from his computer and looked at the chaos ensuing over the place. Aine had also joined in and she was interested.
"If someone can do Heart Hybrid, it should be. I am the world's ace after all." And that ensued in pulling Kizuna's arm between Aine's breasts and Yurishia's breasts while Hayuru looked like she was in an existential crisis.
She turned to Mattheus and Joel who were grinning like fools. They found it funny. And had no reason to be jealous. Ichika snorted and Houki counted herself lucky that she wasn't included in Amaterasu yet.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" Hayuru asked the two. Joel for some reason found the screen to be more interesting to look at while Mattheus shook his head.
"Miss Himekawa. I learned that when the business doesn't involve you, you don't get yourself involved. Something you should keep in mind." Hayuru glared at Mattheus now.
"This is going against public morals." She shouted and Mattheus for some reason had an idea he heard that line before.
"Hate to break it to you but the only way your machines are going to work for a longer period is if that guy goes at third base at one of you women. So I think that public morals can go out the window for fighting efficiency. Hope that it sticks with the two of you. There are plenty of pilots out there who want to try Kizuna out."
Ichika and Houki shared a look and went back to their conversation. "What a punk," Ichika muttered and Houki nodded.
It stopped Kizuna's pull of war and the four looked at Joel. Kizuna turned to Mattheus. His eyes spoke. 'He's not wrong.'
'I hate to admit that.' Mattheus got as a reply.
"What makes you say that?" Aine said as it was now clear that the group had found a way to talk. The silverette had her arms crossed. It emphasized her bust. She turned to Joel who shrugged on it.
"HHG hadn't found a decent way to get charged fast right during the course of ten years. The natural charge takes ages. It explains why Infinite Stratos is often seen as superior machines despite being inferior in the fighting. Now here's a solution how immoral it may be."
Yurishia had an idea of taking Joel's chin but felt four fingers around her wrist. The beauty read in the eyes of Mattheus' one thing.
'Hurt him and you're not going to like it.'
"Neh, Pearce-chan. You seem to know so much about this. Why don't you then explain it to onee-san." Joel turned to her with a look that just screamed fear.
"First of all. Never call me Pearce-chan again. Pearce, Joel, whatever you want. And don't call yourself onee-san. The only one that I'll allow himself to speak me like that is Mattheus. And that's bro. Not onii-san."
"Didn't know you knew Japanese. Or terms like third base." Joel shrugged on it and Mattheus knew that he didn't really care.
"There's a lot of it, bro. And I don't know everything from you." Mattheus had to admit that Joel was right.
"So what is it you wanted to say, Joel?" Kizuna asked and Joel sighed.
"Kizuna. Sorry to say this but your love machine is the way to charge the Heart Hybrid. I don't get the nitty gritty of every detail but the energy Eros releases are caught on the machine of your partner. And the way now is third base. Wonder how long it will take before you go fourth base. Do yourself one favor and looked over the things you have in mind. And get condoms. The only way to avoid knocking up those girls."
When the class broke down, in several ways for that matter, Mattheus was happy he had an Infinite Stratos. You had male Heart Hybrid Pilots but those were few and far between.
If he looked at Kizuna. Taking care of hot women as most pilots, no matter what they had, could pass for supermodels, that was something okay. But from what he picked up, like Mattheus and Ichika, they went for girls, not guys.
Not that he really cared about that whole thing. If a guy was into guys, that was his choice. Hell, an old friend of him was and that didn't change a single thing.
Still, for Mattheus, he was twenty so he wasn't interested in getting a girl underage. Or an underaged boy for that matter.
He had Joel and that was rumor enough.
So far, Mattheus hadn't been too interested in looking for love. He had been living without a woman in his life and for Mattheus, that was just fine.
"So you're saying that doing indecent things are going to be needed." Joel shrugged and nodded when he looked at Hayuru's outrage. He didn't think too much of sexual intercourse. It was just what humans did. Hell, it was what brought them all in this world.
"In the long term yes. You can't put in a charger like the Infinite Stratos and you only have natural comeback which is very slow. I don't get every bit but that's about it. It's also linked to your own emotions but even so, you, Kizuna, can begin that sort of thing. But hey, that ain't my problem. Which means that going beyond base three is going to be needed."
"Base three?" Aine asked.
"Touching private parts. Having the girl give the guy a handjob or the guy fingers her. And sexual intercourse is base four," Joel said with a disinterested tone.
The class looked flabbergasted as the kid had just said that and Mattheus raised an eyebrow. He was the one who saw Joel learned it. Normally, a twelve-year-old doesn't learn slang. But then again, if you're twelve and you can salvage and rebuild an IS, you're not a normal twelve years old.
"You're saying that I will need to have sex with those girls?" Kizuna had an idea of yelling but kept that down. Joel just shrugged when he looked at the boy.
"I am not saying that. You need to look for things. From what I know, the HHG is closely linked to the user. And like I said, you need to look for those things. It's your problem." Kizuna sighed. His unit has always been weak and he had compared it with others. Now, he had looked up where it came from and who those girls were. They had a long track record, all of them.
"Are you saying that we should do those indecent things?"
"If you want that HHG can be on equal footing, yes. Unlike an IS, an HHG is linked to one user and can't be removed. Or not removed with keeping the user is alive. And despite the massive firepower, it is hampered by the slow charge. And that's a big issue. It's also why Infinite Stratos has seen more usage and why they are further developed. So I say that's a big issue. But then again, I wonder why they'd make a team, consisting of HHG and IS. Like that's not going to blow up in our faces."
"The mysteries of life," Mattheus said and Houki and Ichika found it now as good as any time to leave. They had a good idea what would happen so they didn't want to be around. If one paid attention, they walked closer to each other.
"You're saying that they need to have a good reason?" Aine asked while Joel turned to her and nodded.
"Yes. No matter how strong you are, you can always use the help."
"I'm the strongest user of the HHG. There's no one who can even compete." Aine's voice was laced by confidence and it was true. She was the strongest user of the HHG in recent years. Even Mattheus had learned from her.
"Is that true? Did you challenge Orimura-sensei fight? If you did, what was the outcome?" Mattheus asked and a flinch came over the HHG users. Chifuyu Orimura was one of the few if not only Infinite Stratos pilot who could hold her own against an HHG.
If you put an HHG or at least, one strong one, against an IS, the chances were that the HHG would win. Chifuyu had fought and won against several users of an HHG. That was years ago before she retired. But even so, she had only been victorious.
"Orimura-sensei is retired so she doesn't count."
"Okay, did you defeat Hackers? And I'm not talking about some normal soldiers. No, I'm talking about the hardcore guys. Like Kerlongsj Orlejov." And for that, Aine remained silent. Ichika had heard the comment and he looked over his shoulder when he entered the classroom.
Kizuna caught his glance and nodded. Same with Chifuyu who got in the class as the lessons were about to commence. The Eros pilot looked at his teacher and back to Ichika. They knew a thing and that was the name that was said. Kerlongsj Orlejov. Mattheus grew up under the Hackers and he had seen to what things could come. Kerlongsj was about five years older than he was.
He was ten when a fifteen-year-old boy had slaughtered the entire Belgian government and took effective control of the country.
And there were few who would say that when he took over, things got better. A lot better.
One could argue that he became a dictator and that was not completely false but if you looked to the neighboring countries, there weren't that many who'd trade a life anywhere else.
But even so, in this place, his name was something people looked at in fear. It wasn't like He Who Must Not Be Named but the name could invoke a lot of fear in the hearts of many people.
For Mattheus, he hadn't feared the Hackers. They weren't complete mobsters or monsters. If you left them alone and that was the thing that in Belgium worked, you lived your life happily.
Kerlongsj was the man who ran Belgium and for Mattheus, that was enough. Although some could be angry at what he did years ago.
But for the matter of the thoughts, the class started and he was happy that he had Joel's brain with him.
Because the class was brutal.
In the evening.
"So you're going to train with Houki?" Mattheus asked and Ichika nodded.
"Yup. Houki and I practiced before so I can use that. What're you going to do?" The older man looked to the punk who had come up with a design.
"Listening to what this crazy punk have thought up," Mattheus answered and Joel glared at them. "But before that, I wonder where Kizuna is."
"He was called away by the principal. I don't know why but something tells me that we should stay away from it." Houki had her bag in her arms and looked at the door.
"I second the notion," Ichika said.
"Ditto." Joel was to pop in. "But let's get dinner first." The group had agreed on it and walked away. Joel's ideas were working in but now, they were starving.
And the cooks had to work their buts off as the three boys did a number on their food supply. Mattheus and Joel went for the firing range. Houki and Ichika to the dojo.
With Kizuna, he wondered when he would wake up out the nightmare. Turns out that his sis wasn't joking and that Joel wasn't too far from the ideas.
His sis had spent billions of yen on a machine that would allow him to create scenes with the girls. Great work, big sis.
If this world was overtaken and humanity had been pushed to the brink and the Heart Hybrid Gear was a last ditch effort to save the planet, okay, he could follow that. But now, he couldn't.
So he stopped caring and would wait for later.
"So what else is the thing you want me to talk about, big sis?"
"Have you carried out any acts with the ladies? You should work on that." Kizuna felt a weight on his shoulders.
"No. Neechan. Farandole looks like she is a bit too interested, Chidorigafuchi is too strained and Himekawa blows a gasket. Wasn't there a better idea to introduce? You know. Without killing my social life." He answered.
"You should carry out a Heart Hybrid. Their energy is low with the last tests and with the upcoming battle, it is better they would do so." His sister spoke and the boy sighed. "And why did you take it up you to fight? Eros isn't a fighter unit."
"So I should just sit and let a woman berate me. Hell no."
"Kizuna, we both know that women are the dominant genders in Heart Hybrid Gears and Infinite Stratos. So you should know your place. You are a guy, you always going to be weakest."
"If you wanted me to stand down, you shouldn't have called me here. I'm going to fight. Besides, my first fight is against Mattheus. So I'm fighting an Infinite Stratos pilot. If you want that I perform a Heart Hybrid, give those girls the order. Cause I'm not going out my way. Sorry, neechan." And with that, he left.
Reiri sighed. It was something she should see coming. Damn, she would love to ask advice but there was something that kept her from doing. In the long end, Kizuna was right. Just because he was a guy didn't mean that he was going to stand down.
She was about to leave as she saw the door opening.
Now, if there was one thing with Reiri, she demanded respect from what she did. If her mother was mistaken on one thing, it was that she was not an idiot. And you couldn't just enter her office without knocking.
But if you were Chifuyu Orimura, you could.
"Hello, Chifuyu," Reiri said and she relaxed. The tension rolled off her as her even knee walked in her office.
"Passed Kizuna when I walked here. He looked like he was having issues. Something didn't go well." Reiri sighed and Chifuyu walked up to her and sat on her desk. She looked at her and smiled at that pretty face.
Some would say it was stupid but Reiri loved the fact that she and Chifuyu could relate.
On more than one matter.
Like how you should take care of your brother.
Or how you have to deal with the world.
So Reiri didn't mind if the arms of Chifuyu were draped around her, hugging her close.
"I really messed up." Reiri sighed as she felt the hug that Chifuyu gave her.
"You can say that again. I get that you don't want dangers around him but was it the best idea to do it like that? So far, he hasn't made a single attempt on those girls." Reiri sighed and touched the arms. They were strong. Warm.
"If Ichika wasn't around, perhaps. I don't blame you for that, Chifu." Taking note she used the nickname Kerlongsj came up with, the Brunhilde listened.
"Kizuna had never been around friends for that long. Ichika is one of the few and I can see why he likes to hang around. It's human nature." Both women knew that.
"It didn't help that Mattheus blended in that easily. Not that we have to fear anything. I have seen the lists of pilots that are coming this way. Headaches galore." There was the tiniest smile on Reiri's face.
"That bad?"
"That bad. And we don't have someone to call us to help us out." That brought the frown back and got the smile off.
"You couldn't catch him either. I wonder what is wrong with him." The principal sighed when she heard that.
"You know him. When there's stuff demanding his attention, you can see he forgets the world. One thing I envy him for. But we can't complain. Can you imagine navigating this mess without his heads-up? God, the issues alone."
"Don't forget that he gives us help in more ways. But I think we can teach him a few things about leaving us in the dark."
"You got your link open?"
"Ready when you are, sister." The term had been used before and they were sisters at some degree.
In Belgium.
Kerlongsj woke up, his senses wild open. It was now the middle of the night and he could feel the arousal creeping in his body.
"Wel, dat is een ding opgelost. Die twee zijn niet blij. [Well, that is one thing solved. Looks like they aren't happy.]
That was one thing he felt in his body and despite the things he were, Kerlongsj was still something of a human. He looked down and saw his member full of attention by the signals sent by Reiri and Chifuyu.
Most Hackers made links with the women they loved. Or significant other.
When you had a romantic link, it was often with one woman. Of course, a Hacker could sever the link.
Like with most cases, Kerlongsj managed the impossible. Linking with two women.
It played in his luck that Reiri and Chifuyu weren't too different.
But that was his misfortune as he was nearly driven mad by the arousal. There was only one thing you could do.
Giving the women payback.
In the dojo.
Houki was pleasantly surprised to see how Ichika could fight back. He lacked refinement and technique but he had the strength to make up for that.
"You certainly haven't been slacking off." They had taken a break as Ichika drank greedily the water.
"Chifuyu-nee and I sparred every so often. Not that we had a lot of it but even so. I also did a part-time job in a storehouse. Great for physical labor. It also gave me strength. So any pointers, Houki?"
The kendo champion sighed and there was a part that wondered about her outfit. Ichika kept his eyes upon her face but both were drenched in sweat. And it certainly made for some hormones coming to lose.
"Well, I can say that you haven't lost your touch. So some training should work out. We got a week to prepare." Ichika nodded and they went at it again.
Besides sword training, they also fought barehanded and both would not admit it was a great way to feel them up.
As for the others? Aine trained on her own. Despite having overwhelming strength, she was looking for more. But when does hunger become greed?
Hayuru was busy setting up a moral guidance committee and found it surprisingly difficult to do so. Like someone was fighting back.
And Yurishia. She enjoyed her popularity like some idol. So only one was prepared for the upcoming fight.
The other guy was in the shooting range. Mattheus changed his sweater and was now wearing jeans.
"So Joel. What did your pretty little head cook up?" The boy smiled as he pulled out his laptop.
On the screen, there was a rifle shown. Mattheus was interested in the thing.
"Mattheus. I present to you, Chasseur. It's a bolt action anti-material rifle. You can think of it as an upgraded version of your pistol. It took me longer to work with a feeding mechanism and linking. Your pistol is linked the same way, hence why reloading isn't an issue. Now, I can link it and get the different ammo in it. Your handgun fires a lower round than this one. Unlike the amount of fire you have with the handgun, this one is stronger"
"Cartridge?"
"14.5×114mm."
"You use that? Not that I want to be a killjoy but aren't there more powerful rounds on the market?" Joel shook his head.
"Sorry. I can work with cartridges that are experimental but try to get more of them. Not easy. I heard the Hackers work on things but you know we can't ask them. And for larger bullets, you won't be able to fit them in a rifle anymore. Lavathenian isn't really made for bulky and you can't fight like that. So instead of shouting Get some, we better focus on precision. So try to get started. And you don't have to worry about it. Those bullets can cause a lot of damage. Even on an Infinite Stratos or a Heart Hybrid Gear, this is going to cause boom. I also did some improvements on it so you can make this work just fine."
Mattheus sighed and let Joel work on it. The kid was the smartest of the two so the man was just fine with the ideas of letting him take control of it.
"I downloaded the weapon on it but you need to come here." That was the part Mattheus hated on the unit. Sitting down, Joel took his gear and with a bit of work, a new hole was made underneath his chin. It was filled up by a new ring. It always stung like a bitch to get a new piercing but it was the only way that Mattheus could get his weapons.
At least, it was one by one. Joel once proposed to get several rings and fill them up but Mattheus shot him down. No reason to have a perforated cheek when it was not needed. And 42 rings on his cheek. That was overkill. And Mattheus rarely went for overkill.
So Mattheus opened his arms and deployed the rifle. Unlike most partial deployments, the rifle was just that. The rifle.
"Don't I need to a full one to get the feeding started?" Joel shook his head when Mattheus took it up. Despite being a heavy rifle, it felt comfortable to carry.
The entire piece was made out of wood. Or it looked like it. But Mattheus could feel the rifle consisting out fine stuff like metal as well. It was more like an oversized Mosin-Nagant.
"So how do I do this?" Joel smiled and told Mattheus to go lie prone when he would use it. But before that, Mattheus went for protection. Ear protectors, eye protectors, the works. Mattheus also got a pair of gloves Joel had come up with.
Those hypersensitive things could tell Joel a lot when his older brother would fight.
That was Joel. Always looking for ways to get the data he was hunting for.
So when they were done, Mattheus was ready to fire. Gently squeezing the trigger, Mattheus pulled the trigger.
One hell of a loud bang went off. And that was not just loud. Mattheus was sure that bang was heard outside the firing range. He felt the kickback on his shoulder and damn. That was harsh. He knew that rifles had recoil but fuck. He was sure that gun had balked against his shoulder and nearly fucking throw it off.
"Damn it, Joel."
"Quit your yapping, ya big baby. Get again to your gunfire." Mattheus glared at Joel as he pulled the trigger again. But he saw no bullet coming out. He turned to Joel who shrugged on it.
"Action cycling." Grumbling, Mattheus knew what he meant. So the man went for the bolt and pulled it straight. The empty casing and Mattheus gulped to see how big the bullet was. Aiming again, Mattheus pulled the trigger.
A second loud bang came out and Mattheus had an idea star went behind his eyes as the recoil was horrible on his shoulder. He turned to Joel and glared at the boy who seemed to ignore him.
"Joel."
No reaction.
"Joel." A bit louder and still no reaction.
"Motherfucker."
"What?"
"Joel, I'm not pulling this trigger again. My shoulder gets fucking torn off. Can't you have something?"
The punk sighed and walked over to Mattheus. With his phone, Mattheus got shoulder protection coming out his IS.
"Happy?"
"If I had it before I would shoot, yes," Mattheus answered. He wasn't happy with his shoulder killing him.
When he cycled the action, Mattheus pulled the trigger again. This time, the recoil he felt wasn't as high as normal and the shoulder plate protected him.
Mattheus had fired his own handgun before and he had felt the power. He knew this rifle had a higher payoff. But fuck, it hurt. So he breathed again and he sighed.
The pull of the cycle came again and he could feel something growing in his body. Again, the pull of the trigger and the bullet came out. Joel sat back at his computer and didn't make a move. So Mattheus sighed and did what he always did.
Continuing.
So he pulled the trigger again and continued.
"Pull my trigger." He muttered as he continued. He had seen the places where he should aim at and he did so. But he wasn't a sniper that had years of training in the army. He was a regular man, a civilian if one wanted it to call it like that.
But he continued and instead of just pulling the trigger, he aimed and fired the gun again. The targets weren't too far off so he was okay with that.
"Joel, not that I complain but wasn't this rifle built for, I don't know, extremely long sidelines?" The answer came after the cycle. It was clear Mattheus had stopped.
"I made it with that in mind."
"But."
"Given the fact you can't just lay down and fight as a normal sniper. You know long sidelines, cover, not knowing where you are. We'll have to do this differently. Instead of a sniper, you are more a sharpshooter."
"Wouldn't a rifle that did not have bolt action be better suited for that?" Mattheus asked and Joel glared at him.
"Well, I thought that but given that Lavathenian isn't made for long fights, hitting hard is your best shot. The common distance meter isn't that much but I'd advise you to aim before you shoot. Don't worry about dropping. Unless you fire the gun as partial deployment, the gun is linked to you. And something tells me you're never going to do that."
Mattheus glared at Joel but he relented. Joel knew best.
"Okay. But what if I fight close range. I'm not always going to have the luxury of long sidelines. I need something for close quarters. A shotgun or a melee weapon." Mattheus spoke and Joel nodded.
"Been working on something nice."
"You know I hate it when you say it like that. What'd you got in mind? I'm not going to take kendo classes. Or any sword."
"I made a Goedendag." That got a raised eyebrow out of Mattheus.
"Didn't know you studied Flemish. What is it really?"
"A spear with a club attached to it by chains. Should work nicely in tandem with your handgun. I don't know how but damn. Your hands are good." Joel meant what he dubbed Mattheus' half ambidexterity.
But besides that, Joel told Mattheus to sit down and continue to fire. The punk had an idea he liked bullying his older brother. And Mattheus just sighed and fired.
Even with his protection, it hurt like hell. And when he got back, his shoulder limped to it. Joel was smiling, seemingly ignoring the glare he from the man.
"You're so lucky you're twelve," Mattheus said as he crashed in his room. Slumping on the bed, he sat down. Fuck. That stung like a bitch.
Joel smiled and ignored it as he went to the desk and worked on the computer.
Ichika entered and Mattheus could smell him first before he saw him. Despite being a bit smelly and bruised, he looked happy. Some would even dare say content.
"You don't smell so good. Houki wiped the floor with you." The jest would be normal from a friend but Ichika just gave him a glare.
"She didn't. We just had a long spar and tried to work out things. What about you? You don't look so good."
"A punk decided it was a good idea to let me train with a rifle that kicked back like a mule on steroids. Hence, I had a right shoulder." Mattheus said when he took off his clothes. He winced as he stretched out too far and a second wince came when he took his sweater off too fast.
The shoulder looked horrible as bruises had come over it. "You're lucky that you got no broken bones."
"I make my own luck. And I didn't make enough to get over this." The shoulder looked pretty bad and Ichika was feeling a bit sorry for him.
"You know, I can massage you?" Mattheus raised an eyebrow as Ichika said that and Joel turned to the two.
"You know massages?"
"My sister taught me. And I have gotten pretty good at it. So if you don't want, I understand but…"
The younger one was cut off as Mattheus nodded at him. "I'll take everything. So what do you suggest?"
"It's just your shoulder, right? I can sit behind you and do it from behind. If you're up for that." Mattheus had been a bit surprised of accepting a stranger (or a guy he'd only know for a few weeks) to touch him but his shoulder was telling him that logic could go fuck itself.
"Okay, I leave it to you," Mattheus said and Ichika nodded.
Can you sit on the floor, please? I need to sit somewhere." Not protesting, Mattheus sat down and Ichika got on the bed. The legs were beside the body and Ichika wrapped his hands together. Mattheus heard the hands moving. It reminded him off some flick his father insisted seeing a couple of years ago.
It was made in the eighties or something like that. But even so, the hands went over the shoulders and besides the first pain, Mattheus bit through it and it slowly relaxed as Ichika made sure the pain went away. Despite the things he felt, Mattheus sighed in contention.
"You sis taught you a good trick by doing this? Damn. I can say that I can use it given how much it hurt." Ichika shrugged on it.
"She made me do it and I took it up. Even so, the things I learned from her were more than just this." The boy admitted and the man just felt the pain going away. Damn, this felt way too good. Groaning, Mattheus felt the pain going away and his shoulder became normal again.
It lasted a couple of minutes before Ichika released his hands and Mattheus moved his shoulder.
"As good as new. Thanks, Ichika."
"You're welcome." The shoulder went back to normal and Ichika moved back to his bed. Mattheus flipped over his and took his tablet. Working on the crummy, old thing, he looked over videos and read some new stuff. Recently, he had found a good site on the Internet and damn, he loved reading about those stories.
Although a bit too much of them were yaoi. What the fuck is wrong with teenage girls? Not that he read it. Girls often tended to forget how the reproductive organs of the male species work. Even after avoiding it, the summaries would leave him wanting to avoid it all.
So when he fell asleep, Joel had joined him.
He forgot the world and fell asleep.
The next day.
A shower was the world's greatest invention. You didn't have to waste as much water as when you took a bath, you could greatly reduce your time and. You could do more.
Like taking a piss.
The idiot who made the rooms in the Infinite Ataraxia Academy forgot to add toilets to it. That's really smart.
But what someone didn't know, didn't hurt. So when Mattheus and Ichika walked to breakfast, both of the men had worked up an appetite. Mattheus wondered if it really was healthy to drink soup for breakfast but Ichika found it astonishing that one man could eat four eggs and eight slices of bread. Not to speak about the amount of beacon Mattheus put away.
But even so, Kizuna joined him. He was remarkably quiet about the whole things after yesterday. When the two tried, he remained quiet. So they gave up. Houki joined them and despite looking tired, it was like she was the happiest the four guys seen here.
'I wonder what it will be the morning after.' Mattheus pondered but wisely held his mouth. There was enough sexual tension in the air as it was now. His comebacks weren't a good idea now. And it would be creepy as well.
Their peaceful breakfast ended when Chifuyu stormed in and demanded breakfast was over in ten minutes, otherwise, they would have to run forty laps around the school.
It caused the girls to eat in a frenzy while Mattheus and Joel had one thing in their minds. 'I'd like to see you try.' They ate and continued on. They were done in ten minutes but when Joel dropped his legs around Mattheus' shoulders, he leveled a glare at Chifuyu.
In the end, the group moved to the class. Cecilia glared at them. Which wouldn't be abnormal? But for some reason, Yurishia looked at Kizuna in a weird fashion. And the same could be said about Hayuru and Aine.
Kizuna had no real idea in how he should get to please those girls.
The lesson continued on and it was focused on the HHG and like always, it was a surprise that Chifuyu Orimura knew so much about the other machine. Not that it mattered a lot as her classes were as brutal as ever.
It was noted a lot of them paid attention to it.
To save what was left of his dignity, she didn't mention Kizuna's extra attributes.
The hours flew by and in the midday, Mattheus went back for lunch while Kizuna, Ichika and Houki ate on the roof. They talked about their training and it came as a surprise that Houki invited Kizuna to train which he greatly accepted. He could use some bits of help in this training.
There was nothing wrong with keeping up. And because his machine wasn't great to fight in, he would do something to keep up with it.
For the others, Mattheus was out there and looking for things to work on. His shoulder was hurting and it looked like that wasn't going to change. But for now, he had some other ideas.
For some reason, Yurishia was surrounded by girls as she was talking. With Aine, she was alone. It was even worse than with Kizuna who had at least four friends. And with Hayuru, she had an idea of instilling a public morals committee.
In his experience, it was stupid to get this off the ground. From what is out there of males (who made up a quarter of the population) and females. You couldn't prevent those things went out.
It was stupid but the best thing you could do was talk about it. That was better than to prevent it all. The good part was that he could advise his two younger friends.
The oldest guy wasn't looking for love.
Not that there were a lot of women were looking for a guy with a child.
Ah, high school. The shit you go through. So after the class, the group left. For some reason, Mattheus stayed behind and he looked at the three girls.
They haven't been talking to Kizuna after this.
Mattheus sighed. There was no imminent threat like some invasion from another world so a real push wasn't there. A part of him didn't deny Kizuna wasn't lucky. It was just a stupid weapon run. But his life was on the line here as well.
But he moved out with Joel in his neck. If this Chasseur hurt, he had no clue about the White Death.
In the dojo, the guys trained and Houki admired the fight of the two boys. Kizuna had a difficulty keeping track of Ichika but he didn't give up. But so far, those guys did an admirable job. She liked that about those guys.
They were good men.
With Mattheus, he laid down with the rifle. He had the rifle deployed. This time, with shoulder protection, build in and this could work for him.
He turned up a song he knew his father liked. As the bottle runs dry. It helped him to concentrate when he listened to music. For some reason, this was a good song.
Standing on the shore with this maiden in my arms
A pull of the trigger.
A bottle of wine there's ships floating by
The gun barked.
And behind my back, all the sailors are singing
The bolt was pulled straight.
About Amsterdam or some other bloody town
The trigger was pulled again.
Where they've been last year or many years ago
The gun barked its loud sound again.
Where the ships indicates where we glimpsed through
The bolt was pulled straight. And a huge bullet came out.
And though the maidens were plenty and horny as hell
The trigger got its pull.
And the wine was so much that nobody could tell
The gun delivered a new bullet of lead.
And we all sang as the boat was sinking
The bolt was pulled straight.
Bring us more women, bring us more wine
Mattheus reached for the trigger.
We'll become violent as the bottle runs dry
Again, he felt the recoil as the bullet left out.
Bring us more women bring us more wine
The bolt was pulled straight.
We'll become violent as the bottle runs dry
The man triggered again.
Lying on the beach with this maiden in my hand
The gun barked.
An empty bottle there deep in the sand
And again, Mattheus pulled the bolt straight.
And behind my back, all the sailors are sleeping
Mattheus' hand went to the trigger, just a second slower than the last one.
Dreaming 'bout tropical islands in the sun
He pulled that trigger.
Where they've been last year or many years ago
And with the shoulder, he could feel the gun against his shoulder.
Where the ships indicates where we glimpsed through
He pulled the bolt straight as he had waited for a bit.
And though the maidens were plenty and horny as hell
He went back to the trigger. Joel noticed he was slower.
And the wine was so much that nobody could tell
The gun barked again.
And we all sang as the boat was sinking
Mattheus went back to the bolt.
There was a musical break and Mattheus massaged his shoulder. He had felt the large caliber bullets pressing against his gun and the recoil it gave.
While he had played games where they had recoil. Feeling the recoil against your shoulder, it didn't stop it from hurting. And he was glad that it was just bolt action. If this gun was semi-automatic which meant that the fire rate was as fast as his trigger finger, he would feel a lot more pain. Because high caliber bullets in quick succession, that could be a real pain.
For some reason, he thought back to the gun he'd use in an earlier video game of his. It was set around Nepal. One of the last guns, he didn't remember what the name was. It was bullpup and it had a large magazine.
It was slightly lower in damage than the real kicker but at least, it could fit a silencer. Maybe something that he could ask Joel to look at. Cause this was just loud.
Bring us more women, bring us more wine
He went back to the trigger and fired again.
We'll become violent as the bottle runs dry
The gun barked its lead.
Bring us more women bring us more wine
The soft metallic cycle was music to his ears.
We'll become violent as the bottle runs dry
Mattheus pulled the trigger again.
Bring us more women, bring us more wine
Chasseur did what it asked and the bullet came out.
We'll become violent as the bottle runs dry
The bolt was cycled.
Bring us more women bring us more wine
The trigger was pulled for the last time.
We'll become violent as the bottle runs dry
Mattheus heard the bark and went for the bolt. In so, he looked at Joel who had nodded. He was glad that his shoulder could get some rest of it.
"So now what? Any complaints." When he wanted to mouth Joel a new one, the kid smiled at him. "New complaints." The cheeky little…
"Yes. The sound of this thing destroys my ears. Do something about that will ya. And can you find a way my shoulder doesn't get torn apart?"
"A silencer. That won't make the gun silent you know. And what do you want me to do about the recoil?" Joel asked Mattheus who just sighed.
"You're the technical worker. You can figure it out. And for the silencer. It doesn't have to be completely silent but it takes away a huge part of the noise, I'd prefer that it doesn't destroy my hearing. Or find something to help me to deal with the sound."
"You do realize that it can take away bits of the damage." Mattheus glared at Joel when he said that and the boy rolled with his eyes.
"If this thing doesn't destroy my shoulder, I'd be happy with that. And Joel. Look at the firing range." In most situations, the board to aim at were just shot through. Mattheus had aimed for the body instead of the head.
You know commons sense instead of video games. Also, when you had no scope, it was easier to aim at a bigger target.
The bullets hadn't sawn off the boards, they had destroyed them. They had destroyed the things that were the boards. Mattheus then realized how much power this gun had.
And what he can do with that. He touched the rifle and sighed.
"Joel."
A question with that name. A request to know what this weapon was.
"Yes."
The boy answered.
"I hope that this thing can do more than what you intended it to do."
Mattheus asked and the boy sighed.
"You know what I want. And you do too." Joel closed his laptop and shrugged.
"I can't argue you with you there. But Joel. What makes you say that we have a shot of finding them? In that case, what chance do we have in taking them out?" Mattheus cracked his knuckles and laid the rifle on his shoulders.
"We have to. We both own that to our dead." Joel walked to him with a grin. Yet, it held no humor.
"Can't argue with you there, Joel. I just hope that when I find them, I'd have more than to take the shot."
"Yeah, and your unit will change soon. After all, why do you think I called it Chasseur? I know what it means." Joel walked up to him and punched Mattheus on the upper leg.
"Hunter," Mattheus answered. He felt the punch. It didn't hurt Mattheus because the power behind it wasn't hard. It was more just a thing of letting you know. I am here. I care for you. And I'm not going anywhere. We are one team.
"Indeed. Hunter. And you wanna know why?" Mattheus raised an eyebrow but he took up Joel so the boy could look the man in the eye.
"Go ahead."
"Cause there is something I found back in Dad's notes. Something about a Knight and an Overlord. And those who serve him. Many women. And now, I wanted something that would be out of it. Something free. A Hunter." Mattheus wondered what Jack Pearce all was.
But even so, he took Joel up.
"You don't need to have much fantasy to figure that one out. Hunter is good. Cause we're going to do that."
"Hunt every last Phantom Task agent down. And kill them." Mattheus nodded and he put Joel in his neck. They left the shooting range. And they were sure no one heard them.
The week went by just like that. Breakfast, class, training, sleep.
What was weird that Ichika, Kizuna, and Mattheus trained in this while the others didn't. It came to the attention of the lads when they were in the dinner.
Friday was always a long time for students to unwind after a long week so the four boys decided to take a break.
Houki being impressed with their work wasn't bothered by it and joined in the four boys. It didn't escape Mattheus, Kizuna, and Joel and everyone who paid a bit attention that the two others were really touchy. Not to the point, it was beyond a line but with Ichika's arm around her while she sat next to him, made the three chuckle.
"Hey, I wonder what the other girls were up to?" Kizuna asked and Joel shrugged.
"They didn't train. They believed that because they have superior machines or training they can win."
Joel answered as he was nearly gone in his fight to stay awake as well. He sat in Mattheus' lap who himself looked like a damned zombie.
"Well, they're in for a rude surprise," Ichika said and they all agreed. But it was late and they all could use some sleep. So they went up for the beds. Houki was carried by Ichika in bridal style, Mattheus took Joel in his neck and half carried Kizuna.
They would all sleep till the afternoon the next day. Given their days, no one could really blame them.
Ichika woke up the next morning and saw that Mattheus and Joel were both asleep as well. He saw how Joel clung to Mattheus' neck.
Ichika had no real idea but he guessed this was a father did to his kid. He wished he had an idea. It was beyond noon now.
With nothing else to do, he went out and dropped by at Houki's room. Opening the door was one sleepy samurai kendo girl.
She blushed and Ichika could have foreseen what most girls would have done. He walked in and closed the door.
He pressed his fingers on her lips. "Ssh. Sorry, I didn't want to startle you." He let her go and she blushed again. With her current getup, it was damn adorable to see.
His smile was infectious as she did the same.
"Thank you, Ichika. What are you doing here?"
"I thought I dropped by for a hangout. Mattheus and Joel are both asleep so I thought why not? You looked like you slept well." She nodded. The training was harsh on her but two young men in the age of fifteen. It was exhausting.
"I did. I was beaten. You guys are exhausting."
"Let's get some food, I'm starving." Houki nodded but she first looked to his attire. Ichika got the memo and he walked outside. She smiled and changed in the empty room. When she was dressed, the two went out for some food.
Kizuna, on the other hand, was thinking about the machine and how he should take down Mattheus. It wasn't going to be an easy fight.
Later that day, Mattheus woke up and he carried Joel with him in his neck. Both of them were tired and they wanted nothing more to do than sleep. But hunger won out so they went to get some food.
Sunday, Ichika had been training with Kizuna and both boys were clearly in shape as the fight lasted for half an hour. Mattheus who was done with his own fight went in the place. Keeping quiet, he glanced over to Houki who nodded at him.
He walked over to her after he removed his shoes and Joel's legs bungled over Mattheus. His face made a cheeky smile to the girl. And they saw the group fight. It had been a long week and even with the fight, Mattheus could see how much the muscles of the boys ached. The same went for his.
And with a blow, Ichika won. Houki lifted her hand. "Winner, Ichika." The boys smiled and gave each other a fist bump. And for Mattheus, it proved that those boys had won a line of respect. A warrior's code.
And he knew that whoever would win, there'd be no hard feelings. The boys looked and waved at him. He gave them a nod and even without speaking, the boys got the idea. He was just here to see them.
And they felt as ready as they could be for their fight.
On Monday.
If there was one thing that could be said, it was that a few had what one could call the jitters. Ichika and Kizuna were sitting in the same room. Ichika had gotten his Infinite Stratos.
Byakushiki, inspired by the White Knight. It had the same ability as his big sisters current IS, Kurazakura. Like his big sister, it had the same ability to use his own shield points as an extra powerup. It was advised for him to use that only as a last-ditch resort.
Unlike his big sis, he couldn't finish the fight too soon. He had to be in the clear.
At one point, the announcer which was Maya rang off.
"Good day everyone. This is the fight for the Class Representative for class 1.1. We have looked over the matches and those are the ones who will participate."
The signs were shown on a giant tv screen.
First match. Ichika Orimura vs Cecilia Alcott.
Second match. Kizuna Hida vs Mattheus Adjzof.
Third match. Hayuru Himekawa vs Yurishia Farandole.
"The winners of the first and second match will face each other while the winner of the third match will be facing Aine Chidorigafuchi. After the semi-finals, there will be one more match. The winner of that match will be the Class Representative. Of keeping matters fair, it will only be one Heart Hybrid Gear fighting against an Infinite Stratos. May the best one win."
Kizuna had half a mind of quitting. "Did they forget that my machine is a Heart Hybrid Gear?" They both knew the answer. Compared to the machines or even an Infinite Stratos, Kizuna's gear wasn't flashy or powerful.
They put him against Mattheus because there wasn't that much known of the machine.
"I suppose we both know the answer for that one. But hey, I hope to fight you in the next match." Ichika told the Eros Pilot who shook his head.
"I hope so too but Mattheus ain't going to let that work. But hey, we'll see where we get. But for that."
"I gotta beat Cecilia."
Ichika said and he activated his machine. Ready to win.
For Mattheus, he sat in another room. He had to wait until he got the signal. Kizuna was allowed with Ichika as they had their match. Not that the older man cared. He likes to be left in peace and quiet.
If he had wished for such a thing, he shouldn't have become a Pilot.
Joel had finished the last touches on his rifle.
"So ready to rock?" Joel asked as he sat next to the boy and Mattheus pondered about that for a second.
"I don't know Joel. I am not sure if I really can use this thing. I don't actually want to kill Kizuna."
Joel sighed on that matter and Mattheus wasn't joking. Relying on the improved firepower, Mattheus' now coming Chasseur Rifle could kill Pilots.
"Just rely on your pistol and your spear. It should be fine."
"Little late to ask for extras, right boy?"
"Right. But in any case, we'll just see this match. I hope that Ichika will wipe the floor with the Brit."
The vindictive tone didn't hide the bloodlust Joel had. And Mattheus didn't blame him. Joel had a few matters to settle. And the Queen was one of them. But they sat down and waited till Ichika entered the arena.
They looked at the two who were ready to rip their opponents a new one.
"So you didn't run away?" Cecilia spoke in her conceding tone.
It made the skin crawl of the boys.
"No."
"Well, I can be generous and give you one last chance. Surrender to me and I might let you walk away. Grovel before me and beg me for forgiveness."
Houki was next to Chifuyu. Her homeroom teacher sat in the office with Maya and to the surprise of no one, Reiri.
Houki was allowed to be there with the training and help.
"Promise me, Chifuyu-san." She spoke to her teacher like the old friend and mentor that Chifuyu was for her.
"That if I ever talk to Ichika like that, you help me commit seppuku."
"Don't worry about it, Houki. If it ever comes that far, which I very much doubt, I'll kill you myself." Chifuyu answered. Reiri smiled at the interaction despite the heavy words that were spoken here.
"Looks like you haven't changed one bit. Which is a good thing, Houki-san." She nodded to Reiri who relaxed and looked over to Chifuyu.
"You think Ichika can win."
"We'll just wait and see." The answer was playful but it turned serious. "The match can begin." And with that, the fighters launched themselves at each other. Ichika avoided the shots. Joel had told him that the machine that he'd be facing would be relying on long range and that his own machine was more for close range so closing the gap between shots should be his first priority.
Due to the training of Houki, he had been used to fighting again and it became clear how fast he could avoid the things coming his way.
Cecilia, on the other hand, grew frustrated as none of her shots connected with her target.
Was this really the first time Ichika ever put up on an Infinite Stratos. He smiled as this wasn't just his idea.
When he had been close enough, he deployed Yukihira and instead of going to the body, he activated Reiraku Byakuya for just a bit.
And with Yukihira, he destroyed the rifle of Cecilia. Chifuyu raised an eyebrow but had to admit it was a good idea.
Not that everyone would agree with that.
"How dare you take out my rifle?" Cecilia shouted while Ichika just grinned at her. He knew that Cecilia had more weapons but she wasn't used to closing quarters combat. He was.
And he was right to see how Cecilia activated a knife. It was more an oversized energy sword. He wondered why those machines backup weapons were so big.
But he wasn't going to complain as he blocked her attack. Houki's lessons taught him back time. Despite the fact, he was a couple of meters in the sky and he was working with a machine worth millions of yen, he wasn't fighting much different than normal. So he could do this.
He was pushing her back with the weapons he had under his command and he fought back at her. Cecilia was trying her hardest but with the advantage of being faster than him and her main weapon out of commission plus her drones unable to be launched, Ichika could fight against her.
Cecilia found an opening as the Brit pushed him back. She launched her drones after him. Ichika had an idea that would happen so he did the one thing he could do.
Again he activated Reiraku Byakuya. The heavy light just shined all over the place and some had to shield their eyes as Ichika raced to her.
Chifuyu just dropped her mouth.
"That is the Second Shift. Ichika got it unlocked pretty damn fast." Houki smiled at her childhood friend beating her.
Cecilia had tried ways to avoid him, hoping his energy would burn out but Ichika had other plans. Using the high speed, he came from underneath Cecilia and she had no chance to avoid him.
With one slash, he had beaten her. Turning off the double-edged sword, he looked over his shield points.
There were forty left. Way too close a call for his comfort. But when he turned his back, Cecilia was ready to fall down and he wasn't going to let that happen. Racing to her, he captured her in a bridal style.
The Blue Tears pilot was unconscious and Ichika was more than happy for that as he carried her on the ground.
A medical team took her away and he flew to the hangover where Chifuyu and Houki were gathered. Closing up his machine, Houki ran up to him.
The fact that was covered in sweat didn't hamper the hug one bit as she gave him one. Gently returning it, he smiled at her.
"You did. You won." Her voice was heavenly to his ears.
"Guess I did. Thank you for the help, Houki." She said and she let him go. Chifuyu smiled at him and she ruffled his hair. A very different way of showing affection to her younger brother compared to the notebook he felt on her.
"Good job, Ichika. It was short, I'll admit but still. You did well. Why did you go after her rifle?" He smiled at his big sister. The fact she used his given name didn't go unnoticed.
"Well, because that was the only way to get her down. With her rifle out, she had to rely on close fighting which is mine IS the strongest point. And the rest well, I have watched your fights, Chifuyu-nee."
"So you're settled for the next round. Take a breath while we charge up your machine." Ichika nodded and he handed over the closed up unit of Byakushiki. With Houki, he made his way to the stands. Sitting down, Houki wasn't too close which was great given the hot weather.
"So who do you think is going to win in this fight?"
Ichika had no real clue as he wasn't sure who was the strongest.
Kizuna had an HHG which would be seen as a superior machine but that didn't beat the fact his machine wasn't one of the strongest.
Mattheus relied on an Infinite Stratos. That in itself didn't change too much but the machine he used was all secret like. And the fact that Joel worked on it.
Two weeks living with Joel made it clear that Tabane wasn't the only smart one around.
But they had to wait and see.
Mattheus was at the entrance. Joel had been in the waiting room and he was giving Mattheus information via an extra earpiece.
It wasn't that Mattheus didn't trust Chifuyu or Reiri but when you relied on each other for so long, Mattheus had grown to only rely on Joel when stakes ran high.
"Joel." The name could mean a lot.
"Ready to rock, brother. Although go easy. So far I can see. No real things you need to be worried about. Just go in and kick his ass." Mattheus nodded and he looked over to Chifuyu who gave him the nod.
He released his IS. Unlike others who wore the pilot suit, Mattheus clothes were closer resembling a World War 2 fighter pilot as he wore clothes that were more meant to protect him.
Upgraded cargo pants meant for extremely cold weather and heavy sweaters while shirts underneath.
Unbelievable what you all could buy on metal festivals.
He raced outside and he felt the speed. He had no weapons out just yet but he wasn't sure what he should do.
He had never a real fight with this machine.
So he stood outside and looked at the opponent. Kizuna's machine didn't look so heavily armed compared to most of the HHG out there.
"This is the second match between Kizuna Hida and Mattheus Adjzof. The winner of this fight will proceed to the semifinals. Are both fighters ready?"
"Ready when you are," Mattheus said.
"Yes," Kizuna answered.
"Begin."
Immediately, Mattheus builds up some distance with his IS as he saw Kizuna rushing to him.
The thing that struck Mattheus as odd was the fact there were no weapons deployed.
He was expecting something but there was nothing.
"Joel."
"Well, this is stupid. Bro. Turns out that this guy has no weapons in his slot. The basic stuff like shield yeah but there's not too much that he can use." Joel spoke while Mattheus avoided Kizuna. It was more like baiting or playing tag as Mattheus raced around.
Lavathenian's speed was a big attribute.
"Nothing."
"Nope. Turns out Eros got a lot of advantages but they can only work when he does a Heart Hybrid with others. In the basic form, the things are worthless."
Joel had never used soft terms when addressing bullshit.
"So any plans?"
"Yeah, just get him down."
"I want to do that without completely humiliating him. So a bit more, lazy fuck."
Mattheus said as he avoided the attacks of the boy who became exasperated.
"He can summon a bit of weapon. A basic sword and shield protection. But that's it. So my guess is just making it quick with the handgun and the spear." Mattheus nodded as he deployed the weapons.
Lifting one spear to his back, Mattheus fired his handgun. The bullets flew towards Kizuna who had a hard time avoiding them.
So he took it up with the shield. Mattheus grimaced as he could understand it.
While his unit sacrificed defense for speed, the IS packed a punch. And that was what Kizuna lacked. Mattheus got closer to the man, closing the gap and making sure that he kept his fire up.
Kizuna tried to make his escape as he turned back. The shot was easy enough to make, even with the handgun.
But Mattheus refused as he raced to the pilot. Kizuna turned around, trying to avoid the Infinite Stratos but a Hunter rarely gives up his prey. So he did the best thing he could do and getting closer to him. Kizuna glared at him as the spear came closer.
The one thing that surprised him was that Kizuna grabbed the spear and blasted his way underneath him.
"Fuck." The shout was more of pain instead of a feeling of getting captured. Because he lacked weapons, Kizuna used the energy in his HHG to blast Mattheus out of the way.
But when the Eros pilot looked up, he had a certain idea he should not have done that.
The spear and handgun went away as Mattheus deployed his rifle. Pulling on the actions, Joel felt a part of him grow cold.
"Bro. Did you just pulled Chasseur out?"
"Yep." And Joel had been a lot but the way Mattheus said that made it very clear someone was going to get very hurt. And nothing would stop Joel from avoiding being that person.
So Mattheus pulled the trigger. With the heavy bullet, Kizuna had one bit avoiding it but he could feel the metal growing by.
On the ground, it was clearly a huge crack was formed. Kizuna slowly turned his head to Mattheus who cycled the action.
"Run, forest, run," Mattheus said and Kizuna had never been that scared in his life.
And someone could wonder if Kizuna could run but he flew away trying to avoid Mattheus long rifle.
Now, when a person would use an LMG, SMG or assault rifle, you could just pull the trigger and follow him up until the bullets hit their mark.
It didn't matter if you attached that to an overpowered machine, the basic principle remained the same.
So if Mattheus had a fully automatic rifle, he could just spew bullets. But because he didn't, he just followed Kizuna's flying route. He aimed ahead and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew out the rifle and Kizuna had no time to really dodge.
Never fly in a straight line. That was normally taught to others but it was time for Kizuna to learn that as he felt the bullet hit the mark. His defense was cut through and the machine fell down.
The good thing for him was that he was flying just a few meters above the ground so he landed on it.
The bad thing that came from it was that he got buried in the sand.
Mattheus dissolved the rifle and raced to Kizuna. Pulling him out from underneath the sand, it was clear that Kizuna had got a bad hit but his Life Saver Shields (the term of it being very fitting) had protected him. Mattheus pulled him from underneath the sand and when his IS got out, he saw that Kizuna was breathing.
"Cough." Okay, he was alive.
"I think that pulling that stunt wasn't the greatest idea," Kizuna said with a raspy voice.
"Indeed. You didn't and I would have left it at that but now, you did. So sorry but things are what they are."
Kizuna rolled his eyes to the sky. "I'm beaten."
"No doubt. Now, I'm off. You should look for better gear." And with that, Mattheus left as the medical team took him away.
Kizuna was fine. He only had felt the impact and he hoped he would never be on the receiving end of that rifle anytime soon.
Mattheus made his way to the room. He passed Chifuyu and Reiri, the later glaring at him. "What was that?"
"Chasseur. Joel made that weapon. And so far, if your brother didn't try to pull that stunt, I wouldn't have used it."
"Could he have died?" She asked and Mattheus thought about it. "If he didn't have that Life Saver, yes. He is lucky he had it."
"What would you do if he had died?" Mattheus shrugged as he looked at Reiri.
"He didn't. So what's the point?"
"The fact you nearly killed him," Reiri answered to him and it was something harsh in the air.
"He didn't so no harm I guess. And for now, we'll see what happens next." Reiri took a deep breath.
"Adjzof. I hope that you will take responsibility if anyone dies when you use that rife." He glared at her and something made it clear that this was not a normal guy.
"Don't worry. I'm prepared for that." He said and with that, he had enough. He went to his room to pick up Joel.
The punk was happy to see his older brother had calmed down. "I guess you won."
"I did indeed. Now, let's go. We don't have to fight for a bit." Joel jumped in the neck and the two went to the stands. Everyone gave Mattheus one wide berth and that wasn't such a bad thing. He saw Houki and Ichika who both gulped as he took a seat next to them.
"What?" That came out harsh but they weren't going to argue.
"Remind me to never make you angry," Houki said and Ichika nodded with him.
"Well, don't pull something as Kizuna did and you'll be fine. I don't mind a good fight but when you play dirty, you get dirty."
"I'll take those words at value." A voice said and the four heads turned to the source.
"Should you be walking already? Taking a bullet from Chasseur is something harsh. And you're back on your feet." Kizuna shrugged at the words of Joel who had some incredulity in it as he sat next to Mattheus, for some reason not at all bothered by the fact that the man next to him, nearly bore him in the ground.
"The meds said my unit took the most hits. My body is fine although I'm not going to use my machine for a bit." Kizuna answered and Joel took those words at value.
"Your machine also charges when you go down on those girls." Kizuna nodded and he looked at the sky.
"There's not too much known about Eros but that's supposed to be the theory. We don't know how it will go. But I'll need to do it first."
"Tough luck," Mattheus said and Kizuna glared at him.
"Why did you do that?" Mattheus looked back at him. "If you didn't play that dirty, you wouldn't have ended up like that. I was willing to give you a shot."
Kizuna sighed and he looked back over it. "I guess you're right."
"Hey, at least, you didn't end up humiliated. That's one good thing. And maybe I can help you out." Joel said and Kizuna turned to the youngest in the company.
"I have worked on an IS before. Maybe I can work on your machine as well."
"I'd appreciate that. But first, we will need to see how this match goes."
And indeed, in the stadium. Yurishia and Hayuru had ended up there.
"Wow."
"What are those machines?" Ichika asked, amazed by their power.
"Kuros is Farandole's machine and Neros is Himekawa. Kuros is for long range attacks." Which was evident by the large number of attacks that Hayuru could avoid.
Mattheus had covered Joel's eyes as soon he saw those two outfits. While Hayuru had some modesty in her outfit, Yurishia could have worn a bathing suit and not make a difference. Scratch that, a swimsuit was more modest.
"Neros is for close quarters."
"I hope Himekawa wins in that case," Mattheus said.
"Ditto." Ichika was second.
They saw how Hayuru avoided the number of attacks. Ichika shuddered on that many rockets launched at him. He hoped that wouldn't happen too soon to him.
For Yurishia, she had to keep Hayuru at bay which wasn't that difficult but she couldn't land hits. Which made it all more annoying.
Meanwhile, Hayuru came closer to her. While she had multiple rockets coming her way, she had no issues avoiding those.
The speed that was between those two machines was amazing, to say the least, and Mattheus could say that it wouldn't be easy to fight against those machines if he could be honest.
Kizuna was in wonder and a bit of jealousy. His machine wasn't as flashy as theirs. And that began to sting.
Ichika wasn't sure for who to root and with Houki next to him, he didn't want to open his mouth. The two went on like that.
It was a spectacle in some way as both fought with their machines. And for the audience in the Infinite Stratos, it became clear that the amount of firepower compared to the Infinite Stratos also was something.
Joel didn't like it. Kuros looked strong, no doubt but there was no refinement in it.
It was just shooting as much as you could in the hope to hit something. That was just stupid. And it was clear that Hayuru was planning something. And the boy looked up and saw what she had been doing.
It just took a few more minutes before that the blades that Hayuru subtly had spread out were released at Yurishia striking from different angles and restricting her.
Instead of cutting her down like he would have guessed, Hayuru pushed the blade under the throat of the American Ace. "Yield."
It became clear Yurishia didn't like the idea but she knew when she had lost "Very well. I lose."
"The battle is over. Yurishia Farandole has given up. Hayuru Himekawa will go to the semifinals against Aine Chidorigafuchi."
Suddenly, the well-endowed blond wasn't that unhappy anymore. They landed and Ichika shared a look with Mattheus.
They both had to fight each other in the semifinals.
"The semifinals will take place in one hour when the machines are ready. The students are now allowed to leave the place or stay here. If one of the fighters don't show up, you will be disqualified." Reiri's voice went over the speakers.
"Well, that leaves up for one hour. Anyone hungry?" Mattheus asked and the five just looked at each other.
"I can use a bite," Ichika said.
"Me too. I'm starving." Kizuna said.
"Guess we'll have to go." With that, the five left, in a chatty manner. It was nearly forgotten that Mattheus and Ichika would have to face each other soon but that was for later. For now, they had a meal to fill their bellies.
As for the others, Hayuru was now in her own room, thinking on how to fight Aine.
Yurishia was surrounded by her fans who brought her all she needed. She was sad that she lost but hey, at least, she could watch the fights now.
But there was no sign of Aine who had hidden away. She looked over to the group, hiding behind the pillars. She looked at Kizuna as her only target.
This boy, he would prove the key to the things she longed for. And nothing would stop her from getting those.
And the semifinals are for next.
Now, I know it's a bitch to end on a cliffhanger but with the number of words that I got on this chapter, I think it's better I do.
Started this a good while ago and it took me longer than I would have guessed to finish it.
And I got some bad news recently.
One of my biggest inspirations, I 'mherepresent, passed away. Not just recently, but over two and a half years ago. On the twenty-first of December, 2016.
I only found out recently after I read the review on his fic, Truth be Told, where the news was cold
I didn't chat that much with him to call him one of my friends but even so, he was an inspiration to me and I'm sad to read the news about his passing.
So this chapter, man, this one was for you.
Rest in peace, buddy.
Saluut.
