This Means War!

by Erosdeath

Ichika Orimura's High School life is overwhelming, as the girls try to make him notice them. Then a new face appears, which Ichika believes to be his saviour from being the only guy in the Academy. Except this person's past seems to hide a dark secret. Observe the life of Ichika and his new friend as they tackle the future together as the only male IS pilots in the world.

14. Memories of a Fateful Summer

"Talking"

Thoughts

---

Memories of a Fateful Summer

---

Ichika wakes up to see a blue sky dotted with white clouds drifting along it, and the branches of a dead tree hanging above him. The branches looked familiar to him, but he couldn't exactly recall where from. The next moment, scenes flash before Ichika; there's a dark sky, and the silhouette of an IS flying across it. He then sees Rin charge after the unknown IS with her Souten Gagetsu, whilst the IS was firing at Cecilia and Charlotte, who were both trying to fire back at it. Another scene flashes before him, and this time it's Houki crying, as if sitting, hovering over him, "No! Ichika!" She cries. She was glowing bright, like when she replenished his shield energy back when the Gospel incident happened. Before he can make sense of the visions, he's looking at the blue sky once again; this time with a giant broad sword stuck in the water. He's then brought back to the fight happening with the unknown IS and sees Laura fire her railgun from the shore to try and shoot down their target, but the said target dodged them with ease.

As the target is dodging Laura's railgun it soon comes face to face with Ichika. He's startled to see himself be apart of the fight, but draws his weapon and brandishes it against the unknown opponent, who does the same. Whilst he watched himself charge at the mysterious opponent, Ichika's hand twitches as if out of fear. The two clash for a while as they dance around in the sky. The boy doesn't make any progress in defeating the IS, and when they're in a deadlock between blades; the unknown target pulls an underhanded tactic and shoots Ichika out of the sky with their ranged weapon in their off hand. Before the vision continues on any longer, Ichika is brought back to the blue sky dotted with white clouds, and notices someone is standing in the distance.

He gets up from the water and looks at the person, realizing it's an IS pilot in their IS, with their broad sword in the water beside them. The Shirokishi, he thought. Ichika stands face to face with the pilot for some time before he tries reaching out to them, "Chifuyu?..." But as soon as he utters his sister's name, the surrounding area starts turning a dark and foreboding colour, as does the IS and it's pilot. Ichika steps back, scared of what's happening when the pilot grasps Ichika's neck and starts choking him. He struggles to break free of her grasp, but her hand wouldn't budge as he it gradually kept getting tighter and tighter, "I will kill you." The pilot, who Ichika believed to be his sister, said with a spiteful tone. Her grip tightened even more, causing Ichika to squirm in pain and fear as he watched his sister choke the life out of him, "I will kill you, Ichika Orimura!" She said one more time in a more clear tone, before Ichika passed out.

The sun was shining it's bright rays through the blinds as Ichika opened his eyes, confused for moment before he realized what he had saw was just a dream as he looked at his dorm room ceiling. The next moment a leg kicked him in the face, and he tried pushing the leg aside before it kicked him again. The boy got up and saw someone in his bed, covered in his sheets. He gave a depressed moan before Laura lifted her head up with her eyes still closed, sighing, "Is it morning already?" She asked.

"Laura?! You again!" Ichika said in a surprised and unhappy tone.

The girl was giggling as she got up, still covered in the sheets, "But today.." Laura paused briefly as she unraveled the covers around her, revealing her body. Ichika covered his eyes, before peeking a little to see Laura without the covers, "I am not naked!" The girl announced proudly as she was shown wearing the school's swimsuit.

Ichika was baffled as to why she was wearing such an article in bed, "What the heck are you wearing?"

Laura dropped the sheets and put her hands to her hips, "A brilliant assistant instructor's recommendation."

"If I were you, I think I'd fire that assistant instructor," Ichika said bluntly.

Laura ignored the comment and went straight to the point, "There is a special reason why I was waiting here for you to wake up... Read this." She took out a flyer from her chest area, and handed it to Ichika.

"What is this? Let's see here. Come to the end of the summer festival for your dating pleasure?" Ichika read it aloud, sounding confused, "Hey! Is this at that big swanky water park that just opened up? I've been really wanting to check this place out." He said excitedly.

Laura sat down near Ichika on his bed with an excited and hopeful look plastered on her face, "Is that right? You want to go?"

"Look, it even says here that you can rent a Yukata at the festival square!" Ichika exclaimed.

Laura coiled up in embarrassment as she squirmed, "I would like to wear a Yukata together with you, Ichika."

Ichika, having Laura's feelings and true intent go completely over his head, shoots his head up with excitement, "Then why don't we take everyone there?!"

Right after suggesting such an idea, Laura promptly throws one of her combat knives near the boy's head and impales the wall beside it. She then let out an upset sigh as she leaves the dorm room, slamming the door shut behind her.

The divider between the two beds was closed by Scott who was on the other side with his eyes still half closed. He looked at the knife in the wall and realized what had happened just from speculation. He got up from his bed and walked over to his closet, rubbing his eyes, "You know, you should really try to understand how the girls feel towards you."

"What do you mean?" Ichika asked, clueless.

Scott just shook his head as he took a set of clothes out, "Was it Laura again?" He inquired, ignoring Ichika's question, knowing it'll go over his head.

Ichika nodded his head.

"What did she want this time?"

The blue haired boy held out the flyer, and Scott took it, reading over it, "A summer festival... I see."

Scott turned back to Ichika, "So, what are you going to do?"

"Invite everyone. I think it'll be fun," Ichika explained.

"Ah, so that's why she left in a sour mood. Don't worry about Cecilia, I can ask her myself," Scott said as he entered the shower room. "And I'll be taking the first shower if you don't mind. I'd like to get out of the dorm early if that's the case," he said from inside the other room.

---

Elsewhere in the U.S, Bryce was busy doing paperwork at night after sending the girls to bed. He stretched his arms out to wake up a little when the entire building shook, and then the lights went out. He opened up his drawer and felt around for his emergency flashlight and took it out, turning it on. Bryce got up and left his office, and saw that the facility's emergency lights were on and the breach alarm was blaring, indicating the building was under attack.

Bryce opened a voice comm and called Sasha, who answered immediately, "Sasha, round up the girls and make your way to me via GPS. I'll be checking to see what's going on," He ordered.

"Why are we under attack?" Sasha inquired.

"Whoever it is, their goal is most likely the research facility," Bryce answered. "But forget that for now, just make your way to me once you've got everyone. We need to deal with the threat."

"Understood."

Bryce then cut the comm and entered the closest stairway, and started making his way up to the research floor. Once he got to it, he opened up the door to the blaring alarms and was met with blood and gore everywhere. There was dead bodies littered all over the floor, both scientists and security guards alike. Slash marks and bullet holes were on their lifeless corpses. The sight sickened him.

"Oh? I thought I killed everyone on this floor already," A voice came from Bryce's right side.

The man turned to see who it was, and saw a teenage boy of Japanese ethnicity with long silver hair tied in a high ponytail. He was covered in blood from head to toe, but had no expression. The boy seemed to be unfazed as he stared back at Bryce. The boy's brown eyes pierced him, causing Bryce to take a step back before he turned around and ran to a case along one of the walls, opening it and putting in a key. The next moment large six inch titanium doors all started closing off sections of the hallway, one of which was in between Bryce and the teenage boy. Once the door was down, Bryce gave a small sigh of relief before he heard the door get cut down as the boy entered. He had a partial IS deployment and held a giant scythe before sheathing the weapon.

"How? How are you able to use an IS?" Bryce inquired.

"Does it matter?" The boy countered, his expression still unchanging.

"My, my, Bryce, you've come a long way from just being a private," David said from within shadows, before revealing himself.

Bryce's eyes widened in fear as he realized who it was, "First Liuetenant Arnell?" Bryce asked in disbelief.

David shook his finger, "I don't go by that name anymore." He walked closer as a grin crossed the man's face, "To think you'd hold the same title I once did. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the government has lowered their standards since my termination." David then held a hand out, the grin still on his face, "Work with me, and you could become more than just a pet the government uses until they no longer need you. I'll gladly take you into my family, and make you stronger, better than you've ever been. Teach you how to survive this cruel, and unforgiving world we live in! What do you say?"

Bryce swatted David's hand away, and backs away from both David and the boy, "You're crazy to think I'd ever follow you. You slaughtered dozens of your comrades and superiors when they terminated your service. What makes you think I'm anything I'm like you? What makes you think any of this is right?!"

David shook his head in disappointment as he sighed. The boy turned to him and asked, "May I?" And David nodded his head.

The boy then materialized his scythe and walked towards Bryce with his piercing gaze as his eyes flashed an azure blue. Bryce backed away before tripping over a dead body and continued crawling backwards until he hit the titanium door behind him. Just as the boy was about to slash Bryce, a portion of the titanium door beside both of them blasted open and eight girls quickly pass through it, causing the boy to jump back in front of David and sheathe his weapon.

"Things have just become interesting," David commented as he watched Sasha help Bryce up and shield him.

"Commander, who is he?" Sasha inquired.

"He's an old superior of mine before the government terminated his service," Bryce explained. "His name is James Arnell; A psychotic man."

"An old superior?" Sasha repeated to herself as she looked at the man. "I've never heard of him."

"You were never suppose to. The government covered up the incident he caused eight years ago, and never spoke of him again," Bryce answered. "I wasn't there when it happened luckily. But I heard rumours from fellow soldiers that a man went crazy after being told his service was being terminated as a dishonourable discharge and stripped of his status and wasn't to receive a veteran pension... The man went on a rampage and killed dozens of officers and superiors with the team he had been in command of for two years, before they disappeared off the face of the earth, like they were ghosts. They gained the name 'spectres.'"

David gave a maniacal laugh, "I've never forgot the screams of my superiors who ordered the termination as I killed them."

Sasha grit her teeth in disgust, "What do you want with this facility?"

"I came here to claim something that should be mine," David answered. "An IS, and your precious research facility has plenty."

Sasha got into a fighting stance as she glared at David and the boy, "You'll have to get through us before you can get one." The girls with her also got ready to fight.

The boy then looked to David for an answer, who grinned and nodded his head. "It's all you, Ryota."

Ryota obliged as he also took a fighting stance before charging at Sasha who was at the forefront of the group of girls. Their fists collided with each other for a brief moment before Sasha jumped back, and two more girls leaped forward and tried attacking him. One tried to round-house kick him in the head, while the other slid forward and tried punching his gut. But he jumped in the air and swung his leg to kick the girl below him in the face, while he simultaneously put up his arm to block the other girl's kick before he quickly took hold of it and pulled her in and punched the girl a couple of times. He then threw her aside and looks at the rest of the girls with his expressionless face, which the girls took as a condescending look.

Three more girls charge at him, angered. The first one tackled him in an attempt to pin him down, but he gripped her back and flipped them over, so he was on top and punched her twice in the gut before he got up and did a reverse somersault, dodging a right hook from the second girl that was quickly followed by an ax kick from the third, which hits the first girl on the floor. Sasha started trading blows with Ryota for a few seconds, though none of hers were landing before Ryota did a low kick to trip her, and gripped her right leg and punched her in the quadriceps to briefly incapacitate her. He then dodged a punch that nearly connects with his face, but is then caught off guard as the last girl manages to trip him, but he quickly regains his balance and backs up to reassess the situation as the girls do the same.

The boy sees that most of the girls were still standing, except for two who were unconscious, leaving six left. They all partial deployed their IS weapons, Sasha held an AR in her hands, while the girl who managed to trip Ryota held two scimitars in hand. Two had lancers while one had a shotgun and another had a sniper. Ryota obliged and partial deployed his scythe, causing David to grin in amusement as he saw the boy's eyes started to glow the same azure blue when he first met the kid. He's never seen the boy fight other IS users yet, and a six to one situation made things interesting. David couldn't help but get excited to see the boy's mysterious power in action.

Ryota beckons the girls to come at him with his left hand. The two girls with lancers comply as they charge at him with support from the sniper as large caliber rounds flew past Ryota. He was dodging the snipers shots as he was fighting the lancers, blocking and parrying all of their strikes with ease, before he sliced one of the bullets that was targeted at David, and slipped passed the girls he was fighting, striking them down. He gracefully spins around to block the scimitars that would've sliced his arms off. Ryota and the girl were in a deadlock before the former relieved some of his pressure and then using his opponents momentum, swiftly slid his scythe's blade upwards to knock the scimitars out of her hands. She then lunges her left IS hand at him, extending it's claws out to try and shred him. But he parries and hit her using the hilt of his scythe to send her flying into the wall, cracking it. Just as he sent the girl flying, the girl with the shotgun saw an opening and fired a slug at him, but he brought his blade up to absorb the shot. He turns to look at the remaining three with his piercing blue eyes, and scares the two girls with Sasha.

"Sasha, we should retreat for now," The girl with the sniper suggests in an anxious voice.

The blonde girl looks at her surroundings and sees all the dead bodies, and a feeling of unease starts to creep it's way in her. Sasha couldn't believe a male IS pilot infiltrated the facility and caused so much death and destruction. She then looks at Ryota, who still had an expressionless face, with his azure blue eyes watching her every move. A part of her wanted to wipe that look off his face, but she knew that they wouldn't be able, so she sheathes her AR, "Alright, we're leaving. We can't fight him by ourselves." The other two girls also sheathe their weapons and retreat with Sasha and Bryce.

David then walks up to Ryota as the boy puts his scythe away and wraps an arm around his neck, "You didn't have to frighten the poor girls you know."

Ryota then turns to David as his eyes revert to the brown colour they are, still with the same look, "There is no place in this world for the weak."

The man gave a sinister grin, "You and I will get along just fine then." David then turns around and starts walking, "The others should be finished by now, so we should meet up with them and leave before more trouble arrives."

As they're leaving, one of the girls who were knocked unconscious earlier suddenly gets up and charges at Ryota as she deploys her IS weapon, ready to kill him while his back was turned. But she's unexpectedly stabbed in the gut by his scythe as he swiftly turned around and attacked her. She stood there shocked as he drives the blade in further, piercing her completely and lifted her up in the air. The girl was gripping the blade of the scythe as tears streamed down her face, realizing she made a grave mistake that she couldn't take back. She started coughing up blood as she choked on it. Ryota looked at her with his unchanging expression, "I thought you girls understood your rightful place... grovelling in the dirt." He then dematerialized his scythe, causing the girl to hit the floor as she died while he turned around to leave with David.

The girl with the scimitars watched the entire encounter from her spot, her eyes still half closed, and knew she couldn't do anything; yet all the same, rage was building up inside her. She couldn't believe that the boy was treating them like that. She couldn't stand his attitude, or forgive him for killing a friend of hers as tears welled up in her eyes. Then a voice spoke to her in a low, sinister tone, Do you desire power? Power to avenge your friend? Power to kill that boy? It asked.

"Yes," the girl mumbled.

David and Ryota both felt a sudden murderous intent behind them and looked to see who it was. They saw the girl Ryota had knocked into the wall stand up with a blood red aura around her. As she stood up, her IS engulfed her and took the form of a black wolf with glowing red eyes. She was on all four limbs with the dark red aura still around her. It was like a lone wolf, stray from the pack, with nothing left to lose. David's eyes lit up with amusement as he turned to Ryota who materialized his scythe and got ready to attack, but the wolf-like IS gave a sonic screech that sounded like a howl causing David and Ryota to fall to their knees in pain. It disorientated their vision and hearing. Both held their ears in pain as blood trickled from them. Ryota looked at the IS in front of him as his vision swayed from side to side, before he looked to the ground, still holding his ears. The next moment he felt a presence right in front of him causing him to look up and see the wolf lunged itself at him. It latched it's mouth to his shoulder, as he yelled in pain, wide-eyed as the wolf glared at him. Ryota then heard the sound of a gun going off, and the next moment the wolf IS was against the wall, off of him and the girl inside was screaming in pain as ESD launchers were used to disable her IS' movements. An ESD harpoon was shot, and attached to the girl's IS and was disrupting the systems, keeping her from being able to move. (A/N: Fun Fact; ESD stands for electrostatic discharge, which is the sudden flow of electricity caused by two electrically charged objects coming in contact with each other, which in turn causes an electronic device that has that has been hit by it to be disabled as long as both electrically charged objects stay in contact with each other, and remain charged).

Corey and Jacob ran up to David and Ryota, helping them up respectively.

"Sir, we've successfully managed to retrieve the IS for you," Corey stated as he helped David up.

Jacob on the other hand was looking over Ryota's wound and saw it went deep, "James, we're going to need to get him to a suitable place for me to patch this wound. I'll only be able to reduce his blood loss for now."

"Just try to stop the bleeding for now, and we can carry him to one of the SUVs. Corey..." David paused briefly as he lost his balance, still affected by the howl from the girl, "Can find us a temporary location to treat him once we've gained enough distance and are out of satellite view."

Corey was intrigued by the wolf IS as he stared at it in awe, wondering what it was, "What is it?"

"I don't know. It's an experimental IS I would assume. Stay away from it, okay," David answered as he started walking towards the door to the stairway. Corey nodded and went to help Jacob carry Ryota out of the facility.

---

It was still early in the morning as Scott yawned while leaning against the main Academy building, waiting outside. "Sir, there she is," Phoenix advised Scott, who looked in the distance, and saw Cecilia walking towards the Academy. The next moment Scott disappeared from his spot.

"Welcome back," Scott said as he smiled at Cecilia, who was surprised to see him appear out of nowhere.

"Oh my, you scared me," The British girl replied as she went back to walking.

"My bad. It wasn't my intention," Scott chuckled embarrassingly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Did lots of work back in England?"

"Yes, of course. My family's business is a lot of work... Thankfully my government has helped relieve some of that stress when I'm not around," Cecilia answered.

"Sounds rough. I was never involved in any work revolving around my father and mother," Scott pointed to the scar on his cheek, "As you can clearly tell." He then gave a downhearted laugh, "No, I was just left to my own devices after my mother died... Like my father felt guilty for our loss, and didn't know how to tell me, or express his feelings to mend our relationship."

Both entered the main building and were walking down the corridors, "Anyways, I didn't come to talk about my past. I came here to ask if you would like to come to the summer festival with me?... and Ichika, and possibly the others.." Scott stated.

"What do you mean by, 'possibly the others?'"

"What I mean, is that Ichika would like to invite everyone to the summer festival being held at the new water park they just opened up," The boy explained. "I just happened to tell him, that I'd personally ask you, myself."

Cecilia thought about what he was saying before her eyes lit up, "Are you asking me out?"

Scott's face went a little pink as he turned his head away, "I mean, if that's what you'd like it to be; then it's fine with me."

He glanced back at the blonde girl walking beside him, who was looking back, "I never would've taken you as a shy person. You're always so forward about everything," She grinned slyly. "No matter, I Cecilia Alcott, will agree to go on a date with you and make all the necessary preparations."

Scott nervously laughed, "Haha, great. Tomorrow, eight in the morning. Got it?"

"Yup," Cecilia said gleefully before running off ahead.

"Sir, I'd like to remind you, that I'm able to see your thoughts when you're physically connected me..." Phoenix commented.

"Oh yeah, like you could ever feel an emotion like love or happiness," Scott quipped.

"No, I believe that's impossible. I don't have a heartbeat; I act with logic and reason, so please try to contain your emotions."

---

Elsewhere in the Academy's cafeteria Laura and Charlotte were having breakfast together. Laura was eating steak, potatoes, green beans and carrots while Charlotte was eating a pasta salad containing pasta, tomatoes, red onions and cucumbers all on top of a couple slices of lettuce.

"Verdammt, he must become more aware of his duties as my bride!" Laura cursed as she was cutting her steak.

"It seems like something is bothering you," Charlotte commented as she looked at Laura, who had a frustrated look on her face.

The German girl stopped cutting briefly as she looked back at Charlotte, "Huh? Oh no, it's nothing," She replied before going back to cutting her food.

Charlotte's eyes lit up, "I know. Why don't we go do a little clothes shopping if you have time?"

"What for? The military supplies all my clothing-" Laura tried shutting down her friend before being interrupted by said friend.

"That is a military uniform. And if you wore that out in public; your fellow Germans might not be too happy about that, right?" The French girl countered with a friendly smile. "Come on, the summer break is almost over. Let's go," she continued.

Laura sighed in defeat, "Well I guess you have a point."

Charlotte leaned in closer, "So, can you be ready to leave around ten?"

Laura was somewhat surprised, but gave in once more, "Yeah, that is fine."

Later on, at ten in the morning...

Laura entered the monorail station where Charlotte was waiting for her and walked up, "I've changed! Here is my going-out attire." She stated proudly, wearing the Academy's school uniform.

"But you're still wearing a uniform," Charlotte commented.

Three girls gathered around one of the benches in the waiting station started talking, catching the attention of Charlotte and Laura, who eavesdropped on them.

"Hey guys, did you hear about the rumour about the special crepes at seaside park?" One of the girls inquired to the other two.

The second girl was excitedly jumping up and down, "Oh yeah, I have. Supposedly, if you eat mixed berry crepes with the person you like, you'll find true love."

"That's right, but I've heard that they're always sold out of them," The first girl replied.

Find true love with mixed berry crepes? Charlotte repeated in her head, curious of the rumour.

---

Rin was lying in her room wearing short shorts and a bra as she dangled her her leg in the air, eating an ice pop. It was nearly noon and she was brooding over her situation as she sighed, "Tomorrow will be the last day of the summer break. It'd be nice to make some memories with Ichika.. Because of him, I chose to stay here instead of going back home, so you'd think that he could've ask me out at least once."

A knock was heard from her door, and Ichika spoke from the other side, "Hey Rin.."

Rin freaked out as she bolted up from her bed after realizing what she was wearing and tried running to her door, "I'm coming in," Ichika called out as she did.

"A-Ah! Uh, just a second!" Rin shouted back as she got to her door, but it was too late as Ichika had already opened it and tried entering before he saw Rin standing in front of him. He got a good look of what she was wearing, and left little imagination for him, which made Rin feel embarrassed and uncomfortable. She partial deployed her right IS hand and hit Ichika out of her room, causing the boy to hit the wall behind him face first before sliding to the floor, hurt and whimpering in fear. The flyer Ichika was holding floated down into Rin's view and she took hold of it and read the paper, realizing why he came to see her; making her feel bad.

---

"So Laura, which do you prefer; skirts or pants?" Charlotte inquired as the two girls entered the shopping mall.

"Mmm, either one-"

"And don't say, 'Either one is fine with me.' Actually, when you say that sort of thing, you sound just like Ichika," Charlotte cut in.

"Well, it is good for married couples to have similar tastes," Laura countered, causing Charlotte to sigh, "Anyways, this fall fashion is-"

"Nein! I have no need of fall clothing," Laura stated.

Charlotte was confused, "Huh?! Why not?"

"Because it is now summer. We should not purchase fall clothing until the fall," Laura explained.

"Um, the thing is; girls usually buy their clothes before the season starts," The french girl replied.

"Is that so? Tactics dictate that soldiers must equip themselves for battle before fighting has begun. Is this the same principal?" Laura inquired.

"Uh, I guess. Let's just go check out some stores, no?" Charlotte said as they got off an escalator that lead to the upper floor.

Both girls entered a clothing store called, 'Third Surface' and were greeted by a store employee, "Welcome ladies." The woman bowed and when she looked up she was astonished to see two beauties has entered the store. "Oh, a platinum and a blonde!" She blurted out in awe at the two, before she regained her composure, "Um, I meant to say, 'How would you ladies like to try on some items from our latest collection? Hmm.'"

Laura and Charlotte examined the mannequin the employee pointed at, "Um, it's so sheer that what's underneath will be...What do you think Laura?" Charlotte inquired, turning to her friend.

Laura felt a little uncomfortable being put on the spot as she turned her head and closed her eyes, "Uh- um, it is very white.. That is not bad, bu-but as you can see; I am already wearing white." She turned back to see that both Charlotte and the store employee both got the same articles that the mannequin was wearing.

"Well, why don't you try it on anyway?" The french poodle asked with a smile.

Laura's face went pink as she turned her head away once more, "N-no, it is too much-"

"Oh, it is not to much.. bother," Charlotte cut in, leaving Laura with no choice but to try it on, who puffed her cheeks out.

A little while later, in the changing room... Laura finished trying on the outfit, and put it back on the hanger in the little room then turned to the mirror with just her under garments on; imitating a pose of the model in the magazine page up on the wall near the mirror, "Perhaps I am mistaken about this..."

She let out a sigh, "But, maybe I am simply not attractive to the opposite sex." Laura sighed once more before she started putting her uniform back on with a pique feeling.

"This is absurd... But, maybe I should have been wearing garments that are much cuter than this," the girl was having second thoughts, "Yeah, I am sure Ichika would commend me for that." Laura then proceeded to imagine Ichika complimenting her.

The two were alone at night, a little ways away from the city as the city lights were in the background, and Ichika was looking at Laura with an endearing smile, "Laura, your clothes are super cute."

Laura turned away from Ichika, upset, "Only my clothing?!" She inquired.

Ichika then leaned forward so his head was beside hers and he spoke quietly into her, startling the girl and making her blush, "The person wearing them is the cutest of all."

Laura brought her head up and looked forward, elation in her eyes, "You foolish boy."

The German girls fantasy was interrupted by Charlotte who called out from outside the change room, "So, did you try it on Laura?"

"What is this? You're still in your uniform," Charlotte said as Laura peeked out of the change room.

"Uh, actually-" Laura was interrupted by the French blonde.

"I see. I guess you did not find that one to your taste," Charlotte assumed.

"No, it is not that I did not like it.. Actually, I want something cuter," Laura admitted.

Charlotte's eyes lit up as she leaned in closer to her friend, "Oui! You want something cute, right. Tell me what kind you'd like?"

"Well, one that's a little more revealing would be nice."

The blonde gave a risqué laugh, "Leave it to me."

A short while later, Laura opened the curtain completely and was in a white strapless dress that went below her hips, just enough to tease a man's thoughts, and over-top she was wearing a purple dress that was smaller in length, showing the white dress underneath and had a cut pattern at the bottom seams to make it look like feathers of a swan. At her waist was a belt that was tightened just enough to show her slim figure and a V cut in the purple dress that starts from her waist with each side of the cut acting as the straps that go over her shoulders to the back. This also revealed the part of the dress that covered her chest. The girl was slightly embarrassed as she opened the curtains because a lot of the girls in the store were surrounding her changing room as they stared at her in awe, commenting on how beautiful she looked.

Charlotte walked up to Laura with an opened shoe box, "And the icing on the cake."

Laura saw the shoes were purple heels with straps, "You brought some shoes too? You thought of everything."

The blonde gave a prideful laugh, her accent more prominent this time, "Ah, but of course!"

Laura took the heels and put them on, then stood up to see how they felt before she quickly lost balance due to never having worn heels before. She stumbled forward before Charlotte caught her and knelt down to hold her up, as Laura stood back up, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I am sorry," Laura apologized as Charlotte held the girls hands in hers.

"It's no problem," Charlotte replied.

The girls surrounding them started squealing in excitement as they watched the two stay in that position and started taking pictures of them. Charlotte was on one knee and held Laura's hands in her own as she looked up at the platinum girl, like she was a knight who just saved a princess from danger and knelt to show their respect to said princess. While Laura was the beautiful princess who was just saved a chivalrous knight.

Both were caught in the moment and were staring at each other, but were interrupted by the sounds of cameras going off and flashes in their faces, causing both to look at the crowd of girls in awe of the two as Charlotte stood back up. Laura and Charlotte were both embarrassed of the situation.

---

Houki was in her kendo outfit, in the kendo club dojo standing still, ready to strike. She then swiftly draws her blade and strikes the air in a poised manner, expected from one who has disciplined themselves since childhood. I know not the way to triumph over others... I know the way to triumph over myself.

The samurai sheathes her katana and closes her eyes, I want to protect the one who is important to me. Houki then opens her eyes and swiftly strikes with her blade again.

Later on after her practice, Houki goes into the kendo club's shower room and undresses and enters, turning on the facet. As she's cleaning herself, she looks down at her bosom and examines it before she give a distressful sigh, I don't believe it. I think my boobs got bigger again!

"Houki, are you in there?" Ichika calls out from outside the kendo dojo, startling the girl.

"U-uh, Ichika? What do you want?" Houki answers as she turns off the facet.

"I've been looking for you Houki. Can we talk?" The boy replies as he continues to wait for his friend to open the kendo club's door.

Houki grabs her shirt and underwear, putting them on as she runs over to the door, stumbling while she does, "Uh, uh.. Yeah ok, just give me a second." She then makes it to the door, with the clothes she put on in a hurry, and opens it, using one hand to hold her shirt and cover her breasts, "Uh, what do you want?" Houki asked a little nervous.

Ichika looks down to see she's soaked, and her hair is completely wet. But what catches his attention is her breasts, which she's covering for the most part, albeit a small part of her cleavage is showing, causing the boy to turn a little pink as he averts his gaze, "I'm sorry, I guess you were in the shower.."

"Yeah, I was. So what did you want to talk about?" Houki asked in a slightly irritated tone.

Ichika hands her the flyer, "Would you like to go to this with me?"

Houki takes the flyer with the hand that was holding the shirt to cover her chest, meaning her cleavage was in full view which Ichika caught a glimpse of before he sheepishly looked away, "What's this?" Houki asked.

"O-oh, uh, I know it's kinda last minute so you don't have to go," Ichika stated, still avoiding eye contact with Houki.

"Sure, I'm easy!" Houki replied in an excited tone, giggling as she looked at Ichika, who looked back at her when she said yes.

---

At the same time in a cafe called, 'Cafe Cruise', Laura and Charlotte were sitting at a table for two as their orders came.

A waitress came up and placed the girls orders in front of them, "Thank you for waiting," she said before bowing and leaving.

Laura gave an exhausted sigh, "I am so tired."

"I really think you should've kept the dress on Laura," Charlotte commented to her friend. Unbeknownst to the girls, there was someone eavesdropping on their conversation from across the room at a different table.

"Mmm, I didn't want to, because I didn't want to get it dirty," Laura replied as she started eating her food.

Charlotte had a mischievous and knowing look cross her face as she leaned in a little, "Mhm, or do you just want Ichika to be the first person to see it?"

Laura, embarrassed by the correct accusation gets up from the table and slams her hands down on it, "Nein! That is totally untrue!"

A woman in a suit appears at the table the girls were eating at and interrupts their petty argument, catching their attention, "Excuse me ladies.. Want a job?" (A/N: Can I just say that in the dubbed version, the manager of the cafe, even if she's a woman; seriously sounds like some creepy person in a white van trying to lure little kids into it with the promise of "candy," with the way she offered the job to them).

A couple hours later after some breifing of how the job works and getting their work uniforms on, Laura and Charlotte begin their new job. Though for Charlotte, she was a little unhappy of her situation, "Uh, Madam I was wondering, why did you want me dressed up as a butler?" She was wearing a butler suit with the tail jacket and held an empty tray she was holding at her side.

The manager, who was in a maid outfit turned around and thought about it for a moment, "Um, because you're better looking and more stylish than most of the guys around here."

"Is that so?.." Charlotte replied, looking over at Laura who was in the same maid outfit as the manager and serving customers already. "But I wanted to wear that kind of outfit... I guess this is just inevitable for me."

"Don't worry toots, it really suits you," The manager reassured.

"Yeah, so I've been told," Charlotte gave an uneasy laugh before the door to the cafe opened, and the manager greeted the newcomer.

Charlotte then got to work as she brought a tray of tea and cups over to a waiting table, "Thank you for waiting ladies, which one of you ordered tea?" She inquired with a smile. She was a couple hours into the shift and was starting to get the hang of it.

She struck the hearts of the two girls as they looked at Charlotte in awe. One of the girls spoke up as she continued to look at Charlotte, "Oh, I had the tea."

Charlotte then made the girls tea as she elegantly poured sugar and cream into the tea and mixed it before handing it to the girl, "Very well then, just let me know you require anything else ladies. Please enjoy," she said as she bowed, then left.

She then walked up to a new customer who had just entered and been seated by one of the staff, "And what would you like to order sir?" Charlotte inquired without looking at the customer as she took out her pad and pen.

The boy looked up from his menu, "I'd like to have a latt- Charlotte?"

The French girl looked from her pad and saw it was Scott, "Wait, what are you doing in a cafe like this?"

Scott shrugged, "Cecilia said she came here once and said the food and drinks were good. Thought I'd come check it out." He noticed she was the only female staff member wearing a butler outfit, "But tell me, how come you're wearing a male uniform?"

Charlotte nervously laughed, "Believe me, I asked the same thing. It seems to everyone that I'm more attractive this way." She ended up snapping the pen she was holding by the time she finished her statement, with a smile on her face.

Scott was a little frightened of her angelic anger, "I see. I think you look good in it, but I personally would've liked seeing you in a maid outfit," he commented honestly.

Charlotte saw he examined her from top to bottom before commenting about her, which made her blush slightly, "A-Anyways, you wanted a latte, and what else?"

Scott briefly looked back at the menu again, "I wanted a latte, and a piece of their red velvet cake."

"Is that everything, sir?" Charlotte inquired.

"Yes."

Five or so minutes later Charlotte came back and placed Scott's order in front of him, "Thank you for waiting, sir." She then sat down with him, "So, how have things been?"

Scott took a sip of his latte before he spoke, "Mmm, this is pretty good."

"I made it myself," the girl commented.

Scott raised an eyebrow, "You must work in the kitchen often."

Charlotte laughed, "There's no need to flatter me over a latte. I helped out my mother since I was a little child, so she taught me a lot of things."

The brown haired boy then sat back in his seat as he looked at his friend, "Anyways, to answer your question; things are fine. My father is in a coma, and there's not much I can do but hope he wakes up soon. As for me, I'm doing better now and I have Cecilia to thank for that."

Charlotte had the same knowing look from earlier cross her face again, "Oh, you two have become quite close, haven't you?"

Scott scratched his neck, "Yeah, I guess we have become pretty close friends... She's actually quite a nice girl behind that prideful attitude of hers. But, aren't you suppose to be working?"

The blonde girl shook her head, "I asked if I could go on break after giving you your order. It's only a four hour shift, so I have a fifteen minute break."

"Oh, and how long have you been working here for?"

"Laura and I both just started today when the manager of the cafe came and offered us the job," Charlotte replied.

"Laura's working here too? Is she wearing a maid outfit?" Scott asked out of curiosity.

"... Yes, I'm a little envious."

Scott laughed, "I'd like to see this. I've only ever seen her wear pants."

Charlotte rested her head on one of her hands as she looked at Scott, "She's actually pretty cute in dresses."

"I wouldn't doubt it, she was cute during our training field trip when she wore a bikini at the beach," Scott commented as he ate a piece of the velvet cake. "Anyways, how's your summer break been?"

Charlotte sighed, "Uneventful for the most part, but today I managed to get Laura out of the Academy and we went shopping earlier. It was fun."

It was Scott's turn to give a knowing look, "Uneventful due to patiently waiting for a certain someone to make a move?"

Charlotte blushed a little in response as Scott continued with a small grin, "It's blatantly obvious you all like him... Though it'll take more than just sitting and waiting for him to do something. That guy will take everything at face-value, he doesn't read between the lines."

Charlotte sighed in response, "I understand that, but it's hard to make a move when he doesn't understand our feelings to start with."

"Maybe you should try to be more bold, that could get his attention," Scott suggested as he continued to eat his cake.

The next moment the door to the café burst open, "Hello, welcome to-" one of the employee's tried welcoming the newcomers but they were three men wearing jerseys, pants and all had masks on with menacing looks as one of them raised their handgun in the air and fired a warning shot, "Alright, nobody move!" He ordered.

Another one with a mini smg pointed his weapon at the crowd, and yelled, "Shut up, you!"

Two of the crooks had a duffle bag each that was loaded with cash, indicating that the café was just a temporary holdout they could use with the hostages they had to get what they wanted from the police.

Moments later, police sirens were heard outside the café, "Attention! You've been completely surrounded. Give up and turn yourselves in peacefully. I repeat!-"

One of the windows of the café was broken interrupting the cop, "If you want the hostages to be released unharmed; bring us a car! And don't even think about putting some kind of tracking device in it, or trying to follow us!" One of the robbers demanded right before another turned around and unloaded a magazine of his smg into the ground and one of the police cruisers as a scare tactic.

The two crooks by the window who demanded the getaway car both laughed with each other, "They looked pretty scared," one of them said.

"Hey blondie! Yeah, you over there! I'm thirsty, bring me a menu!" A robber demanded to Laura.

She turned around to look at the robbers with a stern look as she gave a "hmph."

Laura then walked up to the robber who demanded a menu, holding a tray of glasses full of water and ice.

Two of the robber looked at the tray, unhappy, "What the hell is this?!"

"It's water," Laura answered, with the same look as before.

"Huh? Water?!"

"Go ahead and drink it... If you can, that is!" Laura said with a grin before throwing the tray into the air causing the water and ice to spill everywhere. She then jumped into the air and used her fingers as pistols by flicking the ice at their faces to disorientate them and disarm them of their weapons, before she did a round-house kick to the gut of one of the robbers with a duffle bag of cash.

The last crook was the one with the handgun and cocked it, pointing the gun at Laura with fear as he fired his entire clip, missing all of the shots, "Don't mess with us you little brat! Get away from me! I'll murderize ya!" He said before he finished reloading.

He was gonna start shooting again until he saw another person run up and charge at him before he could do anything, "Unfortunately for you, there's more than one of us!" She claimed as she did a high round-house kick to the robbers face, knocking him into one of the tables and chairs, rendering him unable to continue.

"Target number two, neutralized. And you Mon ami?"

"No problem. Target number three, also neutralized," Laura replied.

The last robber crawled to his handgun, picked it up and pointed it at Laura and Charlotte as he got up, "This is a bunch of crap! How did we let these kids do this to us?!" He yelled in anger, firing a shot each at the girls, who both managed to dodge the bullet by a hair.

Charlotte then kicked the tray that was right beside the handgun of the robber she took out, which hit it and caused the pistol to fly into the air. Laura caught it and pointed the handgun at the remaining robber's head, before he turned around, "You're so slow. Now die!" She said before pistol whipping the robber in the head, knocking him out.

"All targets neutralized," Laura relayed to everyone, mainly Charlotte.

The civilians who were all cowering behind objects and tables, crawled out from their cover as they praised the two girls, "They saved us!"

"Thank you for saving our lives, maid and butler."

Laura and Charlotte walked over to the window that was broken and looked down a the police still on standby, "Um Laura, it might be a problem if they find out were representative contenders. We should get out of here, now!"

"Hey, good point. We should probably leave," Laura agreed.

One of the unconscious robbers woke up once more, and managed to get up on his knees, "I didn't come this far to get caught and spend the rest of my life in jail. I'd rather blow this whole place to hell!" He shouted in frustration as he stood up and revealed the c4 suicide bombs planted in his jersey and Kevlar vest.

Scott ran up from behind the robber with the c4, grabbed the closest chair, and swung it at their head, knocking them out. Scott then knelt down and touched the c4 bombs, "Phoenix, are you able to disarm them?"

"Of course! Just need some physical contact and voila," The AI stated as the red lights of the receivers for the c4 went out.

---

Later, at Seaside Park in the evening. Laura and Charlotte were at the rumoured crepe stand where one may find true love if they eat the mixed berry crepes with the one they love.

"Excusez-moi, two crepes please, with mixed berries," Charlotte ordered.

The crepe guy (yes, crepe guy), closed his eyes with a light-hearted smile as he leaned back, "Aw, bummer ladies. I'm afraid there's no more mixed berries today."

"What? You're sold out," Charlotte inquired in a disappointed tone.

Laura on the other hand had noticed something as her eyes lit up, "So, do you still want one?" Charlotte asked the German super soldier.

The girl turned and nodded her head, "Hm, yeah. I want one with strawberries and blueberries, now."

Her order caused the crepe guy to open his eyes as he looked at her before smiling, "Straw and blue, no problemo."

A little while later after there crepes were made, Laura and Charlotte were sitting together at a bench by the sea as they ate their crepes and watched the sun set, enjoying their snacks.

"Mm, this is really good," Charlotte commented.

"Yeah, this is my very first time to eat a real crepe. Und I'm finding it to be quite tasty."

Charlotte took another bite of her strawberry crepe before she looked out at the horizon and thought, I'm going to come here with Ichika next time. It'd be so nice if they have the mixed berry crepes.

Laura then slide closer to the French girl, "Mmm, Charlotte?"

Charlotte was a little embarrassed how close Laura was as she hesitantly answered back, "Uh, oui?"

Laura then started leaning to Charlotte's face as she closed her eyes and opened her mouth a little, giving Charlotte the wrong idea as she leaned in to lick some strawberry sauce off of her face, causing Charlotte to blush wildly.

"What was that about?!" Charlotte asked, embarrassed.

"There was sauce on your cheek," Laura answered nonchalantly.

"U-Uh, I understand but still-"

"Both of my hands were engaged. However, if you're going to be upset; I will offer you a bite of my crepe as a peace offering."

Charlotte thought about it for a moment before brushing off the issue, "Eh, merci beaucoup Laura." She said before she took a bite of Laura's blueberry crepe.

(A/N: God, writing and watching them eat crepes, makes me want to try out crepes. Mmmmm they actually look so good *starts drooling*)

"By the way, about ze crepe shop; they do not have mixed berry crepes. It was not even on the menu, furthermore I did not see any sauce on the shelf labelled for that purpose," Laura explained.

"Oh, is that right? You are so observant."

Laura closed her eyes and smiled, "But you still got to eat the mixed berry crepe, ja?"

It took Charlotte a moment before she realized Laura's intent, "Oh?! Strawberries and blueberries!"

"Mhm, together."

Charlotte looked at her crepe in awe, finally understanding the meaning of the rumour, "Sacre bleu. Now I understand the real reason why they are always sold out of mixed berry crepes."

"It'd be so nice to eat mixed berries here with a boyfriend someday, N'est-ce Pas?"

---

Later in the evening back at the Academy in Laura and Charlotte's dorm room.

"What is this bizarre contraption?!" Laura inquired in mortification. The German girl was currently wearing a black cat onesie against her own will. "Are you sure these are pajamas?"

(A/N: Can I also say that my French is complete trash. I know half of the phrases Charlotte says, but can't spell them correctly without looking it up. And the ones I don't know, I can never google them no matter how hard I try because French spell things weird.)

"Very much so, and you look so good in them!" Charlotte answered excitedly before she pounced on Laura in her white cat onesie.

"Ah! Do not hold me that way! Oh, I cannot move!"

"Hehe, now behave. You're a little kitty cat, so you need to sit still on my lap.. Can you say, 'Meow!'? That's a good kitty."

Laura, still mortified of what she's being forced to wear and do, yells, "I will not comply! Why would I ever want to do something so embarrassing?"

"Why would you? Because it's so cute!" Charlotte answered, still ecstatic as ever. She then took hold of Laura's hands and put them in a cat pose, "Come on now, say it with me: Meow!"

Charlotte's meow was right beside Laura's ear and sent shivers throughout the poor girls body. It was now Laura's turn to 'Meow!' as she put one paw up while the other was on her lap, "M-Meow!"

"Tres adorable!" Charlotte commented as she continued to smother Laura with Feline love before a knock on their door was heard.

"Oui, who is there?" Charlotte asked as the door was opened, and Ichika entered. "How's it going?" He said cheerfully, before he noticed their attire.

"Well, those are unusual outfits. Black cat and a white cat, huh? I don't keep up with the latest fashions, but that's are- they are so cute!" (A/N: See, he gets it xD kill me)

His comment about them being cute caused both girls faces to turn red with embarrassment, "We're- They are cute?!" ?They said in unison.

"You think so?" Charlotte giggled happily. "He said we are cute!"

"Alright! If that is your opinion then, perhaps I will not object.. Und maybe wear it on special occasion." Laura commented in return.

"Oh! Nearly forgot about tomorrow," Ichika said as pulls out the flyer and hands it to Charlotte, causing Laura to growl in anger like a cat.

---

Somewhere at night in an unknown military base, breach alarms were blaring along the long, large corridors of the base as an announcer spoke over the speakers.

"Intruder detected in Area sixteen; all units move to intercept. I repeat, intruder detected in area sixteen, intercept at once!"

A teenage girl was walking along the corridor as the alarms blared. She was the same one earlier that escorted David to Squall when he completed his mission on retrieving Hugh's tech. She still wore the stilettos along with the shawl from before. A voice comm appeared by her left ear and Squall spoke through it, "M, do you read me? Let me make this clear; Your body has been implanted with nanodevices that monitor your every action, therefore you will carry out your mission as ordered."

Moments later, a squad of military soldier fully armed turned around the corner at the end of the corridor M had reached, "There she is!" The lead one shouted to the rest who initially took cover behind the corner.

They all started firing at the teenage girl, but none of their shots were hitting the target as she was swift with her movements, dodging the bullets.

"Vile pests," M murmured in annoyance. She then jumped forward and pulled out two handguns and fired at the two soldiers at the forefront of the formation and took them out by shooting them in the knees and shoulders, incapacitating them. M Jumped up into the air to avoid being shot by the remaining three as their bullets trailed her movements, unable to catch up and hit her. As she was coming back down from the air she did a somersault, and shot one of the guards feet causing him to collapse to the ground in pain. When M touched the ground she did a high-kick to the face to the guard to her right then swiftly turned around and round-house kicked the other guard in the gut.

"Good girl, M. Let's see more," Squall complimented before cutting the comm, acknowledging the girls prowess.

Right after the comm was cut, M heard loud clanging approach her. She turned to see four basic military grade IS users in their machines, holding M at gunpoint with their weapons. "This is a restricted area!" One of them warned.

Hearing the woman say that caused M to sneer. She put out her arms as light started to emit from her palms.

"Is she going to fight us bare-handed?" One of the pilots inquired as they all got ready to fire.

"There's a special IS sealed up on this base. A special Infinite Stratos, it's mine!" M declared

"Huh? It's what?!"

"Deploy!" M yelled as she was engulfed by the light in her palms, blinding the IS pilots targeting her. Once the light died down, M was revealed to be in an IS herself, which resembled a butterfly.

"That's Silent Zephyrs!" Exclaimed the first pilot who spoke to M.

M locked on to all four IS pilots, and soon outstretched her arm and point it at them as if it were a weapon, materializing her Star Breaker rifle.

"It can't be.. Phantom Task!" Another one of the IS pilots noted.

M only grinned in return to the pilots' realization of who they were up against, before the teenage girl swiftly made quick work of her opponents.

---

The next morning Houki was walking along a walkway outside the Academy buildings towards the main entrance. Houki was wearing a royal blue mini skirt and light turquoise blouse with red lining, and black thigh highs as she carried her purse with her. She was giggling, happy about something, "I can't believe this. Ichika was so direct about asking, but I never imagined he would be so nervous when he finally got up the nerve to ask me out on a date, but here we are and-"

Her train of thought was stopped abruptly as she was able to see around the corner and noticed a line of girls patiently waiting for someone to arrive. Houki ran over to them, having a good idea of who they might be, and wanted to confirm her suspicions. When she stopped in front of them all, she indeed was correct. It was all her friends/rivals. Charlotte was wearing a yellow short sleeved blouse with a white tank top overtop, and a frilly yellow skirt. Rin had a plain red tank top on, with blue short shorts. Cecilia was wearing a turquoise sundress, and Laura was wearing the purple dress that Charlotte had picked out for her at Third Surface.

All of them had irritated looks, realizing they all got their hopes up. The only one who seemed happy was Cecilia, who in fact was standing with her date, Scott, who was wearing a grey dress shirt with blue jeans, and had a pair of black shades resting on top of his brown hair. All of them were waiting for the man of the hour.

"Hey there! Good morning! Sorry I kept you waiting, everyone," Ichika shouted an apology as he ran to them. Once he got there he stopped to explain, "I invited Dan and some other people, but they all said they couldn't make it today." After he was done talking, the three girls lined up with Cecilia and Scott glared at Ichika.

Charlotte, Rin and Laura surrounded the boy and complained to him.

"You idiot!" Rin said.

"Oui, toying with girls hearts is a terrible thing!" Charlotte concurred.

"You have failed as a bride!" Laura stated.

All the while they were voicing they're unhappy opinions of Ichika, Houki was in the back talking to herself, repeating, "I should've known."

A short while later, the girls were over it for the most part but still didn't want to talk to Ichika, so they went ahead of him; leaving him behind.

"Jeez, what are they so mad about?" Ichika mumbled to himself.

Scott and Cecilia walked up to Ichika and stood beside him, "As to how you can manage to piss all of them off every time and still have a decent relationship with each one baffles me," Scott commented.

Cecilia elbowed her date in response to his comment, "Even though your comment is valid, it's still rude!" She scolded.

---

At the water park, Scott was waiting by a giant stone octopus that the entire gang agreed upon meeting at before going on the rides. He was wearing white swim shorts and had his shades on as he looked up to the sky, dotted with white clouds before he heard footsteps approaching him, like the person was running. He turned to see Cecilia running towards him, wearing a light purple bikini set that was enticing to the eyes.

"What's the hurry?" Scott asked while she stopped to catch her breath after reaching him.

"I couldn't wait to get this date started so I changed as fast as I could," Cecilia explained, which caused Scott's face to turn a little red at the sentiment.

"I take it we're not waiting for the others then," Scott stated as he started walking towards the pools and waterslides.

Cecilia followed suit as she wrapped her arms around one of Scott's, "That is correct. Today is a day of fun for the two of us! I don't want any interruptions."

So the two went off to go on their date. Not long after they left and were out of sight; the rest of the girls had arrived at the meeting place, confused as to why nobody was waiting at it already. Houki was in a red bikini that accentuated her bust, while Charlotte was in a blue bikini that did that same with hers. Rin was in an orange checkered bikini, while Laura wore a white one piece swim suit.

"Where are those three?" Houki inquired to the others.

"Maybe they got tired of waiting and went on without us," Rin suggested.

"That is a possibility, but I don't think Ichika would abandon the meeting spot in favour of getting more time to try all the rides," Laura countered.

Charlotte sighed, "That is true, but Scott is his friend, and he's more than capable of persuading that boy to join him if he wanted."

"I say we split up into teams, and look for them. We'll meet back here in half an hour whether or not we found them," Rin suggested, and the others nodded before Charlotte and Houki ran in one direction and Rin and Laura ran in the opposite direction.

Five minutes later, Ichika arrived at the meeting spot, "I swear they would've been here by now," He said to himself as he looked around from his spot.

---

Scott was pushing Cecilia along one of the pools as she laid back in a tube, enjoying the sun and the moment, "It's so true. There's nothing like spending a hot summer day at the pool, don't you think?"

An idea crossed Scott's mind as he grinned, "You're absolutely right Cecilia. So much so that I think you should join me in the pool."

The British girl was caught off guard as Scott wrapped his arms around her waist and started tickling her, causing her to laugh and scream until she lost her balance on the tube and fell in the water, like the boy had planned. Except, she landed on top of him, and his face was sandwiched in between her cleavage for a brief moment before she picked herself up, "That was uncalled for!"

Scott also picked himself up and wiped his hair to the sides, "Which part? Me tickling you, or you falling on top of me?"

Cecilia wasn't too happy, and was about to answer before she let it go. Instead she thought of getting payback and splashed water in Scott's face. And so a water fight ensued for a few minutes, before they heard a familiar voice call out to them.

"Ahoy mateys! I see Stalker and Alcott over there!" Honne yelled, "Yo, ho, ho!" She was on the other side of the stone meridian with 3 other girls and were all a banana boat.

"Oh, Nohohon! Nice to see you here!" Scott replied back as he waved.

Nohohon was looking through her binoculars, "Ooo, Captain; I spy Cecilia wearing a raunchy swim suit!"

"Really raunchy," the girl behind Nohohon said.

"Wet and raunchy," The girl at the back said.

"Cecilia's the raunchiest!" All four girls teased the blonde girl.

Feeling a little self-conscious, Cecilia put her arms around her chest, closed her eyes and yelled, "I am not the raunchiest!"

Before anything else was said, a loud buzzer went off, causing Scott and Cecilia to look in the direction it came from to see the flood gate behind them had opened, releasing a huge wave that came crashing towards them. Both of them had looks of horror as they watched the giant wave of water come towards them before they were swept up from it and washed away.

"Bye-bye, Stalker!" Nohohon shouted to the boy as she waved.

---

Ichika was found by Houki and Charlotte who had returned to the meeting point, where he was waiting. "Hey, where were you guys? I've been waiting here for almost half an hour." Ichika inquired as he walked up to the girls.

"We thought you had gone off with Scott and Cecilia, so we went around looking for you," Houki answered as she took Ichika's arm and started pulling him.

Charlotte followed the two, "Oui, but it seems those two just decided to go off on their own."

Ichika was confused, "Why? Don't they want to hang out with us?"

Houki shook her head in disappointment as she sighed, "No. I thought you knew that those two were on a date today. I guess they just tagged along until we got here."

The boy's world was turned upside down, "What! Scott and Cecilia are on a date?!"

Charlotte facepalmed, trying to contain her frustration with Ichika's inability to take hints, "Ichika, you live in the same dorm room as Scott, one would assume that you're the most informed of his relationship with Cecilia since his AWOL mission to rescue his father, N'est-ce Pas?. Cecilia has been hanging out with him ever since then, keeping tabs on his well-being and getting to know him better. At this point, it's clearly obvious something made her fall for him..."

"I thought something was odd with how often Scott was absent from our dorm room. I thought he was just in a maintenance bay all the time," Ichika mumbled to himself.

"Oh!" Charlotte said aloud.

"What is it?" Ichika asked.

"Look over there. It's a waterslide for couples," Charlotte replied, pointing to a trio of windy waterslides in the distance.

"Oh, that's wonderful," Ichika said hesitantly.

Houki feigned an exhausted sigh, "I suppose I don't have a choice. I wouldn't object to doing it with you," she stated, directing the message to Ichika, despite him not understanding her intent.

"Hey! No fair! Let's decide with rock-paper-scissors," Charlotte complained, not wanting Houki to get ahead of her.

"Oh yeah? Then without your fingers on three!" Houki suggested.

Once they were at the top, where people get on the slides; both girls got ready and counted to three in unison before the winner was decided, which happened to be Charlotte. She chose paper, while Houki picked rock. The latter was upset with losing as she turned around and put up her fist in anger, while the former had leaned back a bit in a triumphant, taunting manner as she held her hand up and smiled at Houki.

"Alright then, let me explain how to use the couple's slide. First, the dude gets in and sits right here," The female lifeguard explained, as she pointed to a spot in the middle of the still water.

"Uh, sure." Ichika said as he followed her orders.

"And then the lady gets in and sits in between the dude's legs," The lifeguard continued.

Charlotte did as she was told, and sat in between Ichika's legs, albeit not touching him, as she was embarrassed, "Like this?"

"Yeah, that's just awesome," The lifeguard replied in a bored tone. "Now dude, I want you to reach around the lady tightly from behind like an Anaconda."

Meanwhile the lifeguard was explaining the rules; Houki was minding her own business, until she heard the last part, to which she became envious of Charlotte.

"Ok, well Charl; do you mind?" Ichika asked nervously.

"Ah! N-No, it's fine," She replied back, just as nervous.

Ichika tried putting his hands around the girls waist until she flinched from his touch, causing him to remove his hands and turn his head away, "I'm sorry." He said.

"No, I'm-I'm good," she insisted in a meek voice.

All the while Houki was in the background ready to blow a fuse from watching their interaction.

"Nope. You gotta get closer together, it's safety regulations, okay. Here," the lifeguard explained as she got down into the water with them and pulled the two closer together, wrapping Ichika's arms around Charlotte before pushing them down the slide, "Alright, you guys have fun!"

As they were going down the waterslide, they gained speed quickly as lots of water was hitting their faces. Both were screaming in fear and excitement, until somewhere along the ride a large amount of water hit them. When that happened, Ichika's hands managed to shift from Charlotte's stomach to her chest.

"Ichika!" Charlotte exclaimed.

"I can't help it!" Ichika yelled back, before both fell into the pool at the end of the slide.

Once Ichika's head was above water level he saw Charlotte had moved away from him, holding her chest as she glared at him, "I-I'm sorry." He said sheepishly.

"You're such a pervert," She accused.

"Huh?! It's not my fault! That was just water and gravity! I mean, jeez!" Ichika protested.

"Oh yeah, blame gravity."

The next moment they heard a familiar voice, "Say cheese!" Scott said as he took a picture when Charlotte and Ichika both turned to look in his direction. Cecilia was right behind the boy and looked over his shoulder to look at the picture he took on his phone. Charlotte was closer to the camera and showed her covering her chest in embarrassment, while Ichika still had his desperate expression across his face when he looked towards the camera.

"Charlotte is quite flustered in that photo," Cecilia commented.

"I know.." Scott was trying to hold in his laughter, "And we both know why."

Charlotte's face turned even more red from embarrassment, but it was also paired with anger this time as she started walking towards Scott, "You delete that picture now! I don't want to see it anywhere!"

Scott put his hands up above his head with his phone still in hand and broke out laughing, "I don't plan on sharing it with anyone else. Cecilia will be the only one to see it, I swear you have nothing to worry about."

The French girl didn't believe him as she tried pulling his arm down to take the phone away, but her attempts were in vain, "What about Phoenix, he saw them didn't he?!"

"Well of course he did. He sees whatever I see, we're a package as long as I'm connected to my IS," Scott explained.

Charlotte didn't like hearing that, so she pulled Scott's pendant off his neck and held it away from him, "Fine. If you want Phoenix back, you have to promise that you will not share the photo if you won't delete it. That includes Phoenix!"

Scott outstretched a hand to try and grab his pendant, but Charlotte moved it further out of his reach, waiting for his answer.

"Fine," He said in a long sigh. "I promise on mine and Phoenix's behalf that we will not share it."

Charlotte then placed the pendant back in Scott 's hand as she walked away, still upset, "Good. I'll take your word on that."

"Hurry up Ichika! What are you doing?! It's my turn!" Houki shouted from the top of the slides.

Shortly after the four of them got back up to the top where Houki was waiting, the lifeguard seemed amused as she repeated the same instructions as before, albeit at a faster pace this time, "Okay, how to use the couple's slide; first, hotshot here gets in and sits down right here. Then the new girl gets in and sits in between his legs while the man hugs her tightly from behind."

Ichika turned around while already sitting down, "Say, Houki. Would you mind getting in behind me instead?"

"Uh, you mean like straddling you?" Houki inquired, confused by the suggestion.

Ichika had a look of horror on his face as he thought of a way to convince his friend to agree to it, knowing what the consequences would be if she were to sit in front of him and the same incident happened again, "Y-Yeah, well the water pressure is pretty intense so, uh- I think it'd be better if you had my back shielding your face."

Houki nodded her head, understanding his reasoning, "Ok, let's go." She answered as she sat down behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, "Like this?"

Ichika could feel her breasts pressing against his back, causing his face to turn red and his body to shake a little. He wasn't able to answer her due to his flustered state of mind.

"Uh-uh, scoot in closer kids. Safety you know," the lifeguard said as she leaned in closer a bit, smiling out of amusement. This caused Ichika to turn his head towards her, and give a short glare.

"Ok then, how's this?" Houki inquired again, this time pressing her chest against Ichika's back even more, which she was self-conscious of, making her blush too.

"- Fine..." Ichika said in a bashful voice.

Finally, the two were pushed down the slide as the lifeguard said farewell once more. And the screams of excitement and fear between the new pair occurred once more.

At the end of the ride when both were in the pool, Ichika emerged from the water and wiped his face, "See! It really was fast, huh!"

Houki was away from Ichika, her back turned on him and agreed in a bashful voice, "Uh-huh."

"Uh, what is it? Did you hurt yourself?" Ichika asked in a worried tone, unaware of her reasoning for being so quiet.

"I'm fine. But- But you're back's gotten a whole lot muscular than I expected," Houki replied.

"Huh? What'd you say about my back?" Ichika inquired, not hearing the second half of her statement.

The next moment, the pair heard a loud splash behind them coupled with screams of joy. When they both turned around to see who it was, they saw Cecilia and Scott both emerge from the water.

"Well, that was a load of fun!" Scott said as both him and Cecilia walked up to Ichika and Houki.

"Ichika! Come on, hurry up!" Rin shouted at the blue-haired boy from the top of the couples slide.

"How many times do I have to do this?!" Ichika shouted in frustration.

Scott laughed a little, "As many times as the girls want. You're the only other male here to go on the couples slide with."

Ichika didn't like hearing that coming from his friend, but the boy couldn't argue with Scott's logic.

Cecilia pulled on Scott's arm as she started walking towards the stairs to reach the slide again, "Come on, let's go another round too."

While Cecilia was pulling on him, he caught a glimpse of Chifuyu and Maya over at the lawn chairs in their bikinis, to which he stopped, causing Cecilia to look at him, "Uh, you go on ahead, I'll catch up with you soon; I just need to do something beforehand."

"O-Okay."

Meanwhile... Chifuyu spotted the kids and instantly became irritated, "You've got to be kidding me. I can't believe that group of idiots decided to come here as well."

"Excuse me, Miss Orimura, but aren't you gonna go over and say hello to Ichika? He is your brother," Maya asked.

Chifuyu was dumbfounded by her question, "Having any involvement with that bunch of crazies would completely ruin my last day off!" She stated as she looked back over at the gang, watching them climb up the stairs to the slide. This only made Maya giggle as she took a sip of her drink.

"Ahem," Scott cleared his throat, startling the two women as they looked behind their seats. "Glad to know you think I'm crazy. I'll keep that in mind from now on," he commented.

"What are you doing here Scott? I thought you were hanging out with the others," Maya inquired as she put her drink down.

"I am. I just stopped by to say hello to my teachers, who seem to dislike my presence," Scott answered, directing the second half of the statement to Chifuyu as he turned his head to her with a smile.

"I- uh, oh forget it," Chifuyu fumbled to find a valid argument.

"Anyways, I have someone waiting for me at the top of the slide, so I'll cut to the chase.." Scott stated as he picked up Chifuyu's drink and mixed it with the straw, "I was wondering if you confirmed with the Japanese Government that my father's hospital room is under protection?"

Chifuyu's eyebrow twitched as she watched Scott casually sip out of her drink like it was his, "Yes. In fact they have a series of cameras set up in and around his room, along with policemen and undercover government bodyguards watching over him twenty-four-seven. Now, if you'll excuse me; I need to go get a new drink now." She then took the drink out of Scott's hands before her phone rang. Chifuyu picked up her phone and answered, "Yeah, what?... Understood, I'm on my way." The brunhilde then hung up and got up from her lawn chair.

"What's wrong? Did something come up?" Maya inquired.

Chifuyu took her sunglasses off and sighed, "Yeah.." She then started walking away, towards the entrance of the park.

Maya put her drink down, got up from her seat and ran after Chifuyu, leaving Scott alone.

"Does that mean I can finish both cocktails?" Scott shouted at Chifuyu before they were out of earshot, but he wasn't given an answer. "I'll take that as a yes," he muttered to himself as he picked their drinks up and walked away with them.

---

It was dusk, and the festival square was packed full of people, bustling around the many stalls set up around the area. Families, couples, elderly, young kids and teenagers were all gathered. As for the stalls, they ranged from mini-games, food and merchant stands selling wears or jewelry. Scott and Ichika were both waiting in a small open area. They both were wearing Yukatas; the former was wearing a royal blue one with fiery red designs of a bird all over it, while the latter wore a plain black one.

"I could really go for some frozen yogurt," Ichika states while waving a fan at his face.

"Mmm, that sounds good, or maybe some shaved ice," Scott commented in return. The boy then felt someone tap his shoulder, so Scott turned around to see Cecilia standing behind him in a beautiful blue Yukata, similar in colour to his own, except there was no red. He then saw the other girls all standing behind her in Yukatas as well. Charlotte was wearing a light blue one with designs of blue circles with stars in them, while Laura was in a purple Yukata with pink lines across it, and a pink flower design on the chest. Rin was wearing a yellow Yukata with white streaks all over it, dotted with orange flower designs. And finally, Houki was wearing a pink Yukata with designs of red flowers across it.

Cecilia put up a finger to her mouth indicating Scott to stay quiet. "Ichika!" The other girls called out in unison, causing the blue-haired boy to turn around, only to be amazed by their beauty.

The gang they started walking around the festival square, looking for their first stall to play at for games when they came across a gold fish catching mini game.

"What are these?" Charlotte inquired, intrigued by the trough full of gold fish.

"Huh? You've never seen them before?" Houki inquired as she also watched the gold fish swim.

"These are for gold fish catching; it's really fun," Ichika explained as he leaned in.

Rin took a paper net from the stall, and knelt down beside the trough of gold fish, "You take one of these nets, and scoop up the fish."

"Ooo, that looks like fun! Will you teach me how Ichika?" Charlotte asked.

"Huh? Okay," the boy replied as he also took a paper net and proceeded to crouch beside the pool of fish. "It's real simple; you do it just like this." Ichika said as he scooped up a fish before the net broke and the fish fell back into the water. "And when that happens, it's game over."

"Oh, I understand now," Charlotte said as she tried.

Meanwhile the blonde was trying to catch one of the gold fish, Laura was staring at the gold fish in awe, captivated by them, "Wunderbar…"

After they all played a couple rounds of the goldfish catching game with no luck, they moved onto a food stall that was serving octopus balls.

Houki held up one to Charlotte, who put up her hands, "Uh, no no no. Nothing with tentacles for me."

"A-Are we going to eat octopus?" Cecilia inquired, hesitant at the thought.

Scott had a serving of his own that he was eating out of, "Mmm, I was skeptical at first, but this is delicious. You've got to try it Cecilia!"

Houki giggled at the two girls, "Oh come on, it's a traditional Japanese food."

After Houki's remark, the British representative took a bite out of Scott's, "Mmm, it's delicious! Try it Laura."

"Mm, ja this is pretty good," Laura commented with her mouth full.

After eating their octopus balls, the gang then moved onto a stall that was selling cotton candy. Cecilia was eating small portions of hers, along with Laura and Rin who were also eating from her cotton candy, "This is delectable!" Cecilia commented with joy.

"It's my turn to feed you Houki. close your eyes and say 'aw,'" Charlotte said as she held her cotton candy to Houki.

"Say what?!"

As their last food stall to visit, they all went and got some shaved ice and happily ate it before moving back onto the games. Once they finished, the group decided to play at a shooting gallery to try and win stuffed animals for prizes.

"As you know, sniping is my specialty," Cecilia boasted as she got ready to fire at one of the prizes.

"You do realize that's a toy gun, right?" Ichika inquired, not convinced she could win, right before she took her shot and knocked down a blue penguin.

"Wow! Very nicely done!" the boy then said, surprised he was proven wrong.

Charlotte had propped her gun against the counter and aimed for a toy she wanted, "I think I'm pretty good at this, no?" She stated before knocking down her target.

"Yeah, well, I've had sniper training in the military too you know," Rin boasted, not wanting to be outdone as she knocked down a little plushie bear.

Meanwhile Houki was in the back, watching the rest of the girls all win prizes easily, envious.

"Hey, Houki?" Ichika inquired, catching the girls attention.

"Uh-huh?" She answered, turning to the boy.

"How are your sniping skills these days?" He asked.

"Mine? What about yours?" She countered, clearly irritated.

Ichika then looked to the prizes with an embarrassed look, "Mm, close-quarter combat is more my thing."

"Mhm, same for me," Houki agreed.

"Good thing there's more to this than just shooting," The boy said, causing Houki to agree. "What about you Scott? The girls taught you how to use a sniper."

Scott then picked up one of the toy guns and got ready to fire, "I don't know. Pretty sure I can win a prize, but I'm still not as good of a shot as Charlotte or Cecilia." He then knocked down a fox plushie after.

Laura growled in annoyance, "Verdammt!"

The rest of the gang looked over at Laura and saw she was trying to take out the largest prize the mini-game had to offer, which was a large white cat standing upright with a hand in the air another gripping a coin.

"And then there are those that are just unstoppable," Ichika commented towards the prize Laura had her eyes on.

"I will defeat him. I must!" Laura exclaimed as she took a shot at the prize, only for it to bounce off, angering the German super soldier more.

Charlotte then stepped up, "Don't worry, we're behind you."

"If you'll accept foreign aid," Cecilia commented with a friendly smile.

"Yeah, just this once," Rin added.

"Eh, why the hell not?" Scott said as he also aimed his gun at the prize.

"Right! All for one, and one for all!" Houki said with determination to the rest of the group as she even joined in.

The entire gang except for Ichika was aiming at the main prize and waiting for Laura's order to fire.

"Ready. Aim. On my mark, fire!" Laura shouted as they all fired their guns at the prize, finally knocking it down to Laura's delight.

"Victory!" They all shouted.

The stall owner then handed Laura her prize, and offered to take a picture of her holding it, to which she agreed. The others who helped her win were also included in the picture, and all of them had joyous looks as they celebrated.

---

Back at the Academy, Maya and Chifuyu were in a private maintenance bay on a computer looking over data that was sent to them. On the screen it showed footage of a destroyed military base, and besides a hologram of the target that had caused it, Silent Zephyrs. The data concluded it was a robbery of an IS that was sealed away on the base.

This didn't sit too well with Chifuyu, knowing if that was the case, then it's only a matter of time before their next target is the Academy as it holds three unique IS.

---

To finish off their final summer day at the festival, the entire gang bought sparklers. They all moved to a quiet, secluded area and light them all, and just watched the sparklers burn. Nobody spoke a word as they all reminisced of their summer break, until the sparklers went out.

"And another summer, gone." Ichika said in a content voice as the light created from the sparklers went out.

Scott truly felt at peace in the moment as he turned to look at Cecilia who looked back at him and smiled. But then the boy got a chill down his spine, causing him to turn around and look in the distance, but the feeling disappeared as soon as he turned around to check.

"What's wrong?" Cecilia inquired.

"Hm? Nothing," Scott answered as the gang stood up and started walking back to the monorail, ready to go to bed.

Meanwhile in the distance, a silver haired boy in a plain black Yukata was watching them, blending in with the crowd as he did.

"That is my target?" He inquired.

"Mhm," A voice replied over a voice comm. "He may not look it, but the boy is no slouch."

"Shall I pursue them?" The silver haired boy asked.

"Negative. Return to base. For now, we're just going to observe the target, and wait for the right moment to confront him."

The boy stopped trailing the gang as he turned around, "Understood. Heading back now." He then cut the voice comm and started walking out of sight. But he felt a pain reemerge, causing him to stop and hold his shoulder. When he took his hand off it, his hand was shown to be covered in fresh blood. "I see, my wound has reopened," He commented in a nonchalant tone, unfazed by it. He then continued walking.

A little later that same night, atop the IS Academy, there was a girl with blue hair and red eyes, "It looks like it's game time for me; Team leader, Tatenashi Sarashiki." She then gave an amused grunt.

---

Oh boy, man that was uh.. A little longer than expected, sorry for the wait. I've just got irl to deal with, and it ain't fun to say the least. So here's the first of 12+ chapters X.X

I've got a lot of work ahead of me, please send help xD

As always, fav, follow review if you wish. Peace!