-2300 HRS. Hangar, Day 78-
It was the dead of night. The hallways were alight as always. No one was there except for one student. She was testing the IS that stood there for its movements and specs. Its appearance is much like of a heavily-modified Uchigane, clad in white, and a bit of parts were in black and gold. Its arms moved for further testing. The girl sighed in dismay as she sees the result.
"The movement response... it's drive responses too. It's not good."
"The core's aptitude isn't improving either... What's going on?"
The girl keeps on analyzing the results. Her blue hair stood out amongst the light along with the long triangular hairpins fastened on top of it. She adjusts her glasses as she views what was on the screen.
That girl was no other than Kanzashi Sarashiki.
"Isn't this good for the job?" She muttered to herself. She contemplated the whole thing. She would think of her sister and how good she was. It cringed her in disappointment and shook off the feeling as she calls it a night and puts the computers on sleep mode before walking out the automatic doors.
"I may as well go back and watch Anime or something..." She muttered as she walks away towards the dormitories. Little did she know that someone was watching her. It was Her sister. She sighed as she sees her toil another night away in the hangar.
"Now you see what I deal here?" She said as she looks on the other side to see the officer doing his rounds again. He adjusts his duty belt as he approached the girl.
"I can see why." Alex started out. "Looks as if your sister's been doing this for a while."
"It's been almost months now. She won't stop toiling around with her IS." Tatenashi pointed out.
"I know how you feel."
"You do?"
"In a way of speaking. Come on, Surely you've heard Chifuyu lecture me at some point in time." Alex snorted, rolling his eyes.
Tatenashi could only giggle a bit as she heard it herself from time to time. "So I've heard, Alex."
"Hey, I'm not gonna lie to you. Everytime I patrol here, I see that girl coming out of the hangar, working on that thing." Alex pointed out.
"Were you seen?"
"Nope. Even if I get noticed, she won't even bat an eye. Weird thing about it is that it kinda felt either... I don't exist to her or she's avoiding me for some odd reason." He started to explain. Even Tatenashi was Intrigued by this. It's unusual to see her in that behavior.
"Alex... Think you should get her attention?" She suggested, making him contemplate in return.
"I don't know what benefit will it give. So why?"
"Figures she'd..." She stopped midway before giving out a reason.
"She'd what?"
"Never mind... Forget I said anything. Still, mind striking a conversation with her?"
"I suppose it's not that hard, but I'll see what I can do. Fingers crossed." Alex half-assured. "Oh yeah. I was actually looking for you."
"What for?"
"Well, I was supposed to give Chifuyu a copy of the recent reports. But her and the brass back home told me to give it to you for now." Alex said.
"Huh? I understand if it's Orimura-Sensei, but... why me? I'm just a student council president!" She protested.
"Not only that. If Chifuyu's not around or if she's busy with something, someone has to keep watch. And since from the looks of it, Of all the students here in the school... Well, besides Ichika, so to speak... She trusts you."
"I took the student council for good reasons... but I didn't expect this." She stuttered.
He blinked in response. "I'm surprised you'd be too modest about this. Either way, I'm just following what they told. Besides, she told me that it'll be good someone's on watch if she ain't around."
"She said that?"
"You'll be fine, Kid. Do I think I'm lying to you? Come on, I thought you're the smart one." He snorted. In response, she lightly punched him in the arm.
"Seriously, dude?! That's so uncalled for!" She snarked as she gave a light chuckle.
"Oh, I know. But I'm serious this time. She trusts you."
She could only sigh as she knew that it came from Chifuyu. "If she's doing this, something tells me that she's preparing for something."
"It's the tournament. That's for sure, but... You'll never know."
"Right... Anyway, can you put your report on my desk tomorrow morning?"
"Sure. I'll do the same with Chifuyu so that it'll be in one swipe."
"It better be on my desk or I'll have you turn in your badge!" She joked.
"Har, har. Very funny."
"Oh! One more thing!" She called, making his head turn. "You might want to check something at the maintenance bay!"
"Yeah. Gonna do that if it helps you sleep at night."
And so he did. Just as if everything was normal. Everything was in place, except one. He looked at the unfinished IS standing there, waiting for it to fly. He walked towards it and looked at the sight of it.
"You're really making efforts of this alone, are you? Pushing yourself like this..." He muttered as he looked at the unit. He could only imagine the girl toiling and typing around her unit throughout the night after class. He could only sigh at the thought of it.
"Maybe I should tell her to relax... Tch... I'm the one to talk." He snorted to himself. He looked at her seat to see that there were the same hairclips that he found weeks ago.
"...and this again." He sighed as he picked up the hairclips from the seat of the work panels, carefully as to not touch anything that may mess her work. "I thought Ichika was supposed to give this. Fine... I should give this in the morning after."
With that, he exited the maintenance bay. And he was alone this time as he finishes his rounds.
-0015 HRS. Room 1027, Alex's Room, Day 79-
Done for the day, the officer makes his way to his room to call it in. As he took off his shirt and belt, his phone rang from his pocket. He could only sigh on the name as he knew who she was.
"Fairs." He deadpanned.
"Hello to you too, Alex."
"Sent in the report already. Received it yet?" He asked.
"It'll take a while since you've sent in quite some big files along with it. What were those for?" She asked.
"Those files were video transcripts of the conversation with the rest of the representatives."
Natasha could only sigh at what she perceives an unnecessary act. "An Audio Recording would've been enough, you know."
"Not this time. It's the IS Academy. Don't want them assuming that the evidence is fabricated."
"Makes sense."
"Besides, I've got something that might help with something." He said as he grabs a can of diet soda from the fridge.
"All right, do tell." She said, her attention now on him after pausing for a few moments.
Alex started out. "Ichika handed out some intel that could help you guys with the search on all records. Supposedly, He couldn't shake off the thought of his supposed-to-be murderer several weeks ago."
"It's... kinda surprising that he spoke to you about this now."
"Must be the mental trauma... Can't blame him to spill the beans for a while." He muttered under his breath. "Anyway, I've managed to get good recordings from the security footage during the conversations with them." This caused Natasha to perk up in complete shock.
"You were able to access the security footage from the academy?! How?!"
"I asked Chifuyu." He deadpanned. There was a long pause before Natasha spoke again, her eye twitching in disbelief.
"You were able to get records of the security footage... just by ASKING Chifuyu...?"
"I'm not kidding. And to save you the trouble, No. I wasn't allowed to download the files from their systems. They kinda considered it as security breach in the academy." Alex explained as he beats Fairs through the punch.
"Not surprising since they prioritize security in that place. But they allowed you to record it on a camera?"
"That's the only thing that they allowed me to do. And of course, I Had to file in on their copy as well. Believe me or not, Either way. I'm not joking. Not even a bit." Alex continued.
"It's not that I don't believe you, personally. I can't believe that You of all people can get THE Chifuyu Ori-Freakin-mura, to do something that you asked. Even I couldn't do that when I was a damn student there!" Natasha groaned.
"Chickened out most of the time back in the day?"
"Way to hit below the belt, man. Screw you." Natasha huffed. He could only snicker over the phone, much to her surprise. She never heard Alex snicker for a long time.
"Huh... Never thought I'd hear that again."
"What?"
"You. Snickering."
Alex sighed as he returns to his normal stoic self again. "I... I don't know what's wrong with me, Nat. Seriously... I don't know."
"It's only normal, Alex. But I have to admit... It's been...god knows how many years since I've heard that. You don't even do that anymore since you came home before. You need to do that more often, you know." Natasha drifted off.
"I shouldn't... there's nothing to laugh at these days."
"Besides the joke at my expense... Did the IS Academy do something to you?" She asked, the response she got was a long pause.
"Alex? You still there."
"Yeah... Still breathing."
"Here you are again with the 'Still Breathing' comment. Seriously, what will it take for you to get that off your head? You act as if you're gonna die in any minute. It's gonna be unbecoming of you." She sighed.
"Old habits die hard, I guess." He told to her. "Any luck searching for those two I asked?"
"Still finding. Criminal Records aren't this hard to track, even finding one of the Top Ten's Most Wanted was a piece of cake. I've barely got bits and pieces about Autumn from LAPD's records, but that's it. But this Madoka person... She's different."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Seemed as if that their records became off the grid... As if they never existed."
"Keep trying. The footage included may be helpful."
"If you say so."
"And Natasha?"
"Yeah?"
"Sorry if you had to put up with me. I know it's not easy getting pulled out just to babysit."
Natasha was surprised on all this. He didn't expect Alex to be remorseful about it. Natasha was called by the higher-ups just to be re-assigned to Alex in LA.
"...You don't have to Apologize, you know. When I found out that it was you who piloted that IS back in Los Angeles, I took the assignment without any second thoughts when the brass talked to me. Listen, Alex. Get some rest for now. We've got a hell of a time ahead of us."
"...Right."
The call ended and Alex changed into a simple shirt and sweat pants and went to bed.
-06:40 HRS. Room 1-1-
Alex was already up in the morning, typing down on the keypad and writing down notes from the previous lectures. There were a few students, including Laura and Charlotte to keep the company, and a cup of coffee at his side as always to keep him up every morning. When footsteps were heard on the doorway, he makes a glance as to see who it was, barely making out the appearance as his eyes are mostly glued to the screen.
"Morning, Alex." He stopped for a bit and glanced at the person who greeted him. It was no other than Houki. Cecilia and Rin were behind her as well.
"Morning, Houki. Had a good night's sleep?"
"Yeah. We did. You?" Houki asked.
"Wasn't that good. But it'll do." He sighed as he takes another sip of coffee.
"We've heard what happened that night, Alex." Cecilia spoke, causing Alex to stop completely.
"Been through worse. It's just a terrible migraine, Cecilia. I'll be fine." Alex assured her as if nothing happened.
"Alex, come on. It's not really something to Ignore. Have you gone through the clinic to check that out?" Rin asked.
"Yup. Just handed a few more Painkillers, that's all. I have to admit, I've always felt like hell. But last night... that was something worse."
"You'd better lay off the coffee from time to time. As I've said before, Fields. Too much coffee isn't healthy." Laura noted.
Alex scoffed humorlessly as he stood up to throw away the now-empty cup on the nearest trash can. "I won't guzzle down that much, squirt. Sure, I love a good coffee when I see one, but damn. I'd kill myself if I had one too many."
"That's exactly the point Laura was talking about." Cecilia added.
"Hearing that from you makes it a bit disturbing, Alex." Laura shuddered.
"That's hurtful." He deadpanned at Laura while raising an eyebrow. "Say, did anyone of you decided on a partner for the upcoming Tournament?" He asked.
"Not yet. But We're hoping." Houki smiled while the rest followed. Alex could only roll his eyes as the scene unfolds.
"Poor girls." He sighed as he thought to himself. He felt a little bit of pity for these girls considering what he found out with Tatenashi.
"Well... Give him some time, I suppose. Class is gonna start soon. You guys might want to prep up for the day. Same with you, Rin. You don't want to have Chifuyu knuckle you again."
"R-Right... See you guys." Rin stammered, gulping. Right on cue, Ichika entered the room as he waved hello to some of the girls. "Hey, Alex!"
"Yo." He waved as he had his eyes on the holographic screen again before closing it. "Have any decision on who's your partner?" He asked, before getting a long pause first before answering.
"I think so." He said. Unfortunately, Laura was there within earshot as she sprang up.
"Whatever you say, Hot-shot. Just don't get yourself killed." Alex shrugged before looking at Laura, with a smug grin on his face.
"I assume you're going to pair up with me for the tag-team tournament, right?" Laura asked.
Ichika could only stammer. "W-Well... I..."
Before he could muster up the courage to make his words, Laura showed a piece of paper. "This is an entry form. I want you to put your signature on it now."
"I'm sorry, Laura. Like I've said to Alex. I've already made a decision to who I'm pairing up with." Ichika mustered up. The rest of the representatives heard it had their attention on them now.
Laura on the other hand, gritted her teeth in a fit of anger after what Ichika told. "What?! You're my bride and you paired up with someone else?!" She snarled before raising her arm, materializing a part of her IS and flicking an energy blade.
"Son of a-" Alex jumped out of his seat, tackling Ichika to save him from having his torso shish-kebabed but as they turned around, they only saw Laura, ready to swing her blade with the intent to kill. Ichika panicked as they assume the worst.
"OH SHI-"
Before the strike landed, someone already stopped her from committing the deed, the two boys could only see a suited figure holding Laura by the wrist.
"The only place I want to smell burning flesh is in a damn Barbecue restaurant!" Chifuyu yelled, tossing Laura away from the two. Laura backflipped to a landing and looked at the three.
"Chifuyu-Nee?!"
"Instructor! Please stay away from this! This is a matter between Husband and Wife! Same goes for you, Fields!" She barked.
"What are you talking about, you idiot? I wouldn't accept a sister-in-law who has no manners like you." Chifuyu spat out, causing Laura to recoil in utter pain and shock. She could only curl up into a ball and sulk after Chifuyu cutting her pride like a hot knife through butter.
"Instructor hates me... Instructor hates me... Instructor hates me..." Laura sulked as she kept repeating herself.
"Ouch... Hell of a burn there, Sensei. I think you broke Laura." Alex retorted, feeling Laura's pain as he cringed for a bit.
"Maybe. Do one of you two idiots mind doing me a favor by carrying Bodewig to her desk?" Chifuyu spat out.
"I got it." Alex shrugged.
"No, Alex. Let me. You shouldn't trouble yourself." Ichika stepped in, only to be stopped by the officer.
"Like I said. Don't get yourself killed. Sit your ass down." Alex gestured him to take a seat as he carried Bodewig to her seat. "Come on, Squirt. Sensei ain't gonna like it if you sit down from there."
"But instructor hates me now..." Laura muttered.
"She doesn't. Come on, pull yourself together. Don't want you to end up being nuttier than candy bar crap." Alex rolled his eyes over as he muttered to Laura.
-12:05 HRS. Room 1-1-
Alex sighed as he watched the rest of the class leave to the cafeteria, leaving him and the two teachers. He was bound to leave as well but he was stopped.
"Fields." Chifuyu called making his head turn.
"How'd your interrogation with Shinonono go?"
"It ain't an interrogation if someone's more than willing to talk." Alex retorted. "I've got all I need to know from Houki so far."
"So I've heard. Got everything you need to know?"
"Still missing a few pieces. Need to ask a few more people before making any move. Thanks for the access, by the way." Alex said before handing a few papers back to Chifuyu. "Anyone know where to find the owner of these?" He asked, pulling out the hairclips from one of his pouches. The two looked at the hairclips and immediately recognized who owned them.
"This is... This is Miss Sarashiki's Hairclips! Where did you find these?" Maya asked.
"Hallway. Out of the Maintenance." He answered.
"Kanzashi Sarashiki. She's at Class 1-4. It's on the end of the hall, then take a right." Chifuyu told him, pointing her thumb to the direction where he needs to go.
"That's all I need to know for now. Thanks." Alex thanked the two before walking outside. He stopped the moment Chifuyu called him once more.
"Hey!"
"What?"
"Remember what I've told you, Fields." Chifuyu stressed to him. He could slowly nod in response.
"Yeah... Fingers crossed." Alex muttered before leaving the classroom. Chifuyu stared at the doorway where Alex left and led her into contemplating.
"Orimura-Sensei?" Maya called her attention.
"Shinonono and Dunois said that he wasn't himself that night... or he didn't look normal." Chifuyu muttered.
"Do you think we should've told him?" Maya asked.
"No... I have a bad feeling that would make matters worse if we did that now. I... I should talk to his handler sooner or later." Chifuyu shook her head.
"Who? Lt. Barnes, you mean?"
"No, Maya. It's Natasha Fairs. I need to know some things from her..."
-12:11 HRS. Room 1-4-
Alex was outside the room when a few girls noticed his presence. It wasn't surprising now when a few girls flocked at him.
"Is that Alex Fields?"
"From Class 1-1?"
"Officer Fields! How are you?"
"Do you need someone from Class 4?"
Alex stopped at the last question before turning to the girl who asked. "Uh... yeah. I'm looking for a Kanzashi Sarashiki. Is she here?" The girls went silent for a bit as one of them pointed at the desk where the bluenette was typing through. "Thanks." He patted the girl on the shoulder as he approached her.
"Excuse me, um... Kanzashi Sarashiki?" Alex asked. She stopped typing as she glanced for a bit and nodded.
"Officer Alex Fields. LAPD. Glad to meet you." He introduced himself.
"I know... I've seen you around patrolling here." She deadpanned. "To save you the trouble, Officer. No. I... I'm not pairing up with you for the upcoming tournament."
Alex blinked for a moment as she presumed what he intends to ask. "Wait... what? Why would I ask that?"
"Ah! Orimura-kun came here a few minutes ago!" One of the girls stepped in.
Alex turned at the girl. "Did he?" The girl nodded.
"Yeah! He was asking Sarashiki-chan to be his partner for the tournament. She said no, but he was pretty persistent."
"Well... what happened?"
"She threatened to punch him." She answered, Alex blinked in surprise as he heard that answer. "Did she?" He asked, only to receive a nod.
"Well... I somehow regret opening that door."
He could only contemplate that action. Tatenashi said so herself that she's moody. But threats were not expected in his briefing with her.
"Are you gonna do the same as well?" She asked. He looked at Kanzashi for a moment which caused her to recoil for a bit. Her hands shook slightly as she was trying not to make eye contact with the officer.
"No. I'm not here to asked that." Alex shook his head.
"Then why are you here?" Kanzashi stuttered, trying to maintain her composure.
He opened one of his pouches to pick something. "I um... found these at the hallway during one of my patrols a few nights ago." He said as he showed her the hairpins. "I've been finding the owner since."
Kanzashi's eyes widen as she recognized her own hairpins. She pointed at them while her hand shook. "Where... Where did you find this?" She asked.
"It was just around the hallway. Near the maintenance bays, I think." Alex answered as he held out the hairpins. "They seem to be yours since you're wearing a spare set right now."
"I... I thought I had found them a week ago."
Alex leaned over a bit as he hands them over. "Here, I-"
"GAH!" She squeaked as she jolted from her seat, she was shaking, covering her head as if someone was bound to hurt her.
"Whoa! Hey! Take it easy!" Alex recoiled as he tried to calm her down.
"D-Don't hurt me... Please..."
"Easy, Kanzashi... I'm not gonna hurt you. I just came here to give this back... Okay?" He assured.
"Go on, Sarashiki-chan! It's okay!" A girl cheered through while some encouraged her.
"Alex is a policeman! He won't hurt you!"
"It's okay, kid... just take it." He assures her as he calms her down. She slowly reached for her hairpins and quickly took them from her hands.
"There... I told you it's okay, kid."
She slowly nods as she responds with a few blinks. "I... I should keep working on this." She muttered as her hands shook still.
"Uh... All right then. Sorry to bother you, Miss Sarashiki. I shoud be going. Nice meeting you though!" Alex waved off as he exits the room.
"Man... I'm so jealous, Kanzashi-chan! First, Orimura-kun! Now, it's Alex-san! You're so lucky!" The girl moaned in jealousy.
"Y-Yeah..." She drifted off as she glanced at the hairclips again before typing."
-12:25 HRS. Cafeteria-
Alex was about to eat at the same spot under the tree, but he changed his mind afterwards. He came to the cafeteria to get the day's specials for lunch. Pork katsudon, and Miso soup to go. The girl who worked there poured in a cup of Cafe Mocha.
"On the house, chief!" The lady called. Alex could only smug himself and thanked the lady. It wasn't hard to find an open table. What's more unusuay yet borderline unsurprising, is that Ichika was all alone. The only thing he could do is to approach Ichika casually.
"Ichika." Alex called.
"Oh, hey..." He replied. Alex looked around as if something... or someone was missing. Normally the girls would accompany him by now, but he's already got the feeling that won't happen for now.
"Where is everyone?" Alex asked.
"They didn't sat with me this time." Ichika answered. Alex shrugged for a moment as he sits down with him to have lunch.
"So... how's your first impression with your so-called partner?" Alex asked before he takes a bite.
"Not good. Tatenashi was right. She's moody." Ichika replied sighing, only to receive a snort from the officer.
"Jeez, I can't believe you'd just noticed by now." Alex replied sarcastically. "I've heard from 1-4 about what happened, boy. About you and Kanzashi."
"Huh?"
He deadpanned as he asked Ichika straightforward. "She threatened to hit you... Did she?" Ichika could only jolt in surprise.
"Sh-she did, yeah... but in the end she didn't go through with it."
"Why?"
"She said that it'll be too tiresome. I don't think she can be that kind of person." Ichika replied.
"How would you know? You barely met the girl." Alex retorted, hoping whatever logic from his words could pierce him. "And knowing her history from her older sister so far, I don't think she's gonna open up to you that easy."
"And what about you? Have you seen her already?" Ichika asked. receiving a nod from the officer.
"Yeah... you're right about her being moody. She could barely look at me." Alex described. "That isn't the half of it."
"What else happened?"
"She looked afraid... of me." Alex drifted.
"What?! She's scared of you?"
"I was just gonna give her hairpins that I found in the maintenance bay last night-Which you were supposed to do, by the way- and she just jolted off her seat as if I'm gonna hurt her." He described further.
"Even Tatenashi didn't say this." Ichika commented, receiving an agreement from Alex.
"No Kidding. I've gotta take it easy this time if I'm speaking to Kanzashi if I got the time. Handling people like her on the case... you have to be really careful."
"Same. I wanted to be her partner for the tournament anyway. I really do."
Alex sighed in frustration. "God... Ichika, are you listening to yourself? Be lucky it's only a threat that wasn't backed up. Just because her sister described how would she normally act, doesn't mean you should be cocky."
"I have to try, at least! I should at least make up for it knowing that they left her IS without any help." Ichika persuaded.
Alex paused and blinked for a moment before taking a short pause. From the tone of Ichika's voice, he can already tell that he's set to do this. "Fine. If you're really set about this, I guess there's no stopping you. Just don't get cocky."
"Right..."
Alex went silent as he ate his lunch with him. A few minutes later, he could see the representatives walking along as they leave the cafeteria. He waved at them as he strikes a greeting.
"Hey there!" Alex greeted to some, but he wasn't prepared for the response. The girls coldly glared at the two, but mostly it was focused on Ichika. Alex slightly jumped from his seat and felt a pang of dread down his spine. They eased up their stares when they say the officer.
"See you later, Alex." Cecilia replied back, the warmth of her tone was for Alex instead.
"Oh boy..." Alex thought to himself, having that dreadful feeling again. "Uh... Ichika. What's with them?"
"What do you mean?"
Alex's eye twitched when he was asked back. "The girls. You don't see them act lke that everyday."
"Hmmm... Oh! Maybe they're just focused on the tournament that will come in a few months." Ichika guessed. Evidently Alex didn't bought it.
"I got a bad feeling it's not about the tournament..." He thought to himself once more before calling Ichika's attention. "Er... One more thing, Ichika."
"What?"
"Don't do anything stupid."
-17:15 HRS. Maintenance Bay-
There she was again, toiling at her IS once more. She took off early after class just to have it sorted through. Her ruby eyes stared intently on the statistics and progress of her unit.
"Come on... Come on..."
Her efforts came to a stop when it showed an error message. She could only slam her fits on the panel out of frustration. "Darn it! If it weren't for Byakushiki... I would've caught up by now." She sighed and buried her head in her hands. She went out of the bay to call it a day.
Only for someone to show up on the doorway.
"Hey!" Ichika greeted.
She replied back with a glare and a pout as she turned away to the hall.
"Um... About the upcoming Tag-team Tournament... Please team up with me!"
-17:18 HRS. Hallway-
"No." Kanzashi coldly tersed.
Ichika was still adamant about it. "Kanzashi-san!" He called.
"Don't call me by my first name." She deadpanned.
"Sarashiki-san!"
"Not by my last name either."
"Well... you! The girl over there!"
This caused Kanzashi to stop in annoyance, even turned around to show that she was evidently annoyed. "What... was... that?"
"Well... you told me not to call you by your name... Either first or last name." Ichika retorted, making sense of the reason.
"I'd rather be called by my name than that." She spat.
"All right! I'll stick with Kanzashi-" Ichika called but he was given a squint from her eyes. "...san..."
Seeing no other reason, Kanzashi contemplated for a while as to why did Ichika pick her. Of all people, and of all the other girls flocking over him... Why her?
"Why do you want to team up with me with the first place? You know there's a lot of girls that you could've asked. I don't see why you would team up with me, of all people." Kanzashi asked him.
"Well I..." Ichika was about to say that her sister wanted her to team up with her, but remembering what she warned...
"Don't mention my name to her..."
...he took a few moments to take out an answer. "Oh yeah! I wanted to check out your Personal IS-"
*SMACK*
He was met with a slap from Kanzashi herself. The moment she heard him talk about checking her IS, She was extremely offended by it to the point that she slapped him in the face. Both of them were completely shocked by what happened either way.
The one thing she could do is to walk away without looking back.
-17:30 HRS. Arena 3-
"Son of a bitch, Tatenashi. That's some good shooting." Alex whistled as he checks out the targets, most shots were close to the bull's eye.
"Better than the last time, yeah?" Tatenashi asked.
"Gotta admit. It's better than the last time." He noted. Tatenashi handed his pistol back to him, making sure that she hands it to him, uncocked and on safe. "Nice to see all that training kicked in."
"What can I say. We learned from the best. And I'm talking about you." She complemented.
Alex scoffed humorlessly and rolls his eyes over. "Ah shut up, kid. Flattery won't get you anywhere that long." He muttered and holstered his piece. "Y'know, you didn't need to join me today. I thought you were busy."
"Not really. Student council meeting ended up early today." Tatenashi shook her head.
"With the tournament, I'd be surprised you guys ended this early. Say, I wanted to talk to you about something. It's about your sister... If you don't mind me bringing it up."
"Go on. Do tell."
"You sure you're okay if Ichika asks your sister to be her partner?"
Tatenashi blinked for a moment from his questions. "Don't you trust Ichika?"
Alex shook his head. "No. It's not I don't trust him. It's how he'll act towards your sister. I've heard what happened from Kanzashi's classmates this morning and warned him already not to do anything stupid."
She could only chuckle about his remark. "You know you shouldn't worry too much about this. It's gonna make you crazy."
"Crazy ain't the half of it. Just make sure you keep an eye on him." Alex told as he reloads a new clip on to his sidearm.
"Still going on patrol after this?"
"Yeah. Still on duty, kid."
-20:00 HRS. Room 1025-Ichika's room.-
"Mayuzumi Kauroko... Honne Nohotoke..."
Ichika was tinkering around with his computer, looking for some files or at lease a couple of profiles from the Academy's database. So far he found a handful of what he needed to find. While rummaging through the database, someone's head peeped over his shoulder, startling the boy.
"Hey." Tatenashi called.
"Wha?! When did you?!"
"Did you need the maintenance team's help with something?" She asked.
"Oh. It's not for me. I was thinking if I'd ask them to help with Kanzashi's personal IS." Ichika answered. She pauses for a moment before sitting down on the bed.
"I don't think it'll be that easy. It's not just developing her IS alone. She's putting it all together on her own." She pondered.
"What?"
"That's what I did. So she must've felt so pressured to live up with that. She's making things harder for herself." She continued.
"You put your unit together yourself?"
She nodded. "Yeah. However, with advice from students in the Maintenance teams like Kauroko-chan." Another thought struck her head.
"I've heard what happened from Kanzashi's classmates this morning and warned him already not to do anything stupid."
"Right, Alex... I should check." Tatenashi thought to herself, remembering Alex's warning.
"Oh yeah! What did Kanzashi-chan say?" She asked him, expecting a good answer.
Ichika could only sigh in defeat as he gives an answer himself. "Well... She hit me. And it was really hard too."
This caused Tatenashi to spring up in surprise. "What?! She rarely uses her energy to anything pointless like that!"
Ichika could sigh at the thought. Tatenashi could only ask the reason behind it. "What even did you do? Try to cop a feel or something?"
"No, Of course not." He deadpanned, causing him to giggle.
"Come on! Just messing with you! But wow, I did not expect Kanzashi-chan to react that way. All right, Ichika. I'm serious this time. What did you do?" She leaned forward.
"She asked me why did I want to be her partner in the first place..."
"And?"
"I... told that I wanted to check her Personal IS?"
Tatenashi blinked for a moment and twitched her eye. "Wow... Dumb move. Did you even listen to what I told earlier?"
"I sorta had to say something."
"Oh man... He's not going to be happy if he hears this." Tatenashi sighed under her breath. "Still, You've got guts telling that. I'll give you that much. I think you still have a chance."
"...right."
-23:00 HRS. Room 1047, Kanzashi's room-
Kanzashi lied on the bed, fully covered with a blanket as she spent the rest of the night as she watched Anime. The scene unfolds as the hero saves the damsel in distress from its mechanical villain.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes..."
"Thank goodness."
A small smile formed on her face as she sees the scene unfold. It didn't last long as the episode ended.
"I... I hit him... Why did I do that?" She asked herself as she prepares to sleep. "And the other one... He was just doing his job. Why do I feel so scared of him?" She whimpered and pulled out something around her neck off her pajamas.
A necklace. Its ball-chain was a mix of black to grey. Yet the pendants stood the most of it. One of it was an old dog tag, Its engravings were covered to the point that it was oddly difficult to remove the stains, while the other was a small rifle cartridge. .223 Remington. No powder, No primer. What stood out the most is that the whole casing of the cartridge was navy blue. It had a short black stripe in the middle of the casing.
To her, she could barely remember who gave her the necklace. Nor she was able to remove the stain from the tag. But however, she felt great importance to it. Whoever gave her the necklace must have been very important to her. She felt relieved when she saw it.
"...What should I even do?"