Please read: As of 9/10/2020, all existing chapters have been rewritten into a revised/slight reimagining of the established story. I highly suggest you read this fanfiction from chapter one if you have already started reading before the aforementioned date. Thank you for reading this story and I appreciate your support.
"So we have a deal?" Ichika prompted, stuffing a glock 17 into the nightstand drawer adjacent to his bed.
"If you put in a good word for me to your sister then yes, I will fail to notice your blatant smuggling of contraband," Laura stated, eyeing her roommate's open dufflebag cautiously.
The boy nodded in satisfaction before unlatching the hinges to a rifle case and taking the weapon out to look for deficiencies.
Laura looked over his shoulder curiously. "An HK model, you have good taste in rifles."
Ichika shouldered the HK416 and looked down its sight. He pursed his lips before lowering the carbine. Fishing through the gun's case, he retrieved a reflex sight and attached it on top. Shouldering it once more, Ichika felt much more satisfied.
"May I?" Laura asked, gesturing towards the rifle in his hands.
Ichika shrugged, handing the gun over to his roommate who similarly brought it up to her shoulder and stared down the sight with her one eye. He narrowed his eyes as he closely watched the girl cycle through a few shooting stances. They weren't too different from what he was taught in FOXHOUND.
"It has been some time since I have used this particular model. The Bundeswehr provides me with plenty of knives, but they aren't allowed to send me firearms whilst I attend the academy," Laura informed the boy, handing the rifle back.
Ichika tucked the rifle back into its case before sliding it under his bed. He'd hidden the body armour in the depths of his closet. The rifles and sidearms would be safest under his bed except a lone glock in the nightstand for emergencies. Everything else stayed in the duffle bags which would also go under the bed. He supposed he wouldn't have to stash the combat knives if Laura was pretty much allowed to get new knives in the mail.
"Where did you even get all these weapons?" Laura asked offhandedly.
"In the mountains," Ichika replied vaguely.
Laura narrowed her eye. "I see."
The girl soon brushed off the cryptic answer however, it wasn't like she was expecting a serious response. "By the way Ichika."
"Hm?"
"I encountered Cecillia Alcott again today. She wanted me to relay to you that she challenges you to a duel. Something about wanting to prove that she outmatches you. Perhaps she is upset that you denied her so quikly, she is a stupid and prideful girl after all."
Ichika frowned. "Tell her that I'm not interested."
"Ichika, she will never back down now that you have hurt her pride," Laura affirmed, crossing her arms.
"The last thing I want is to start getting into fights with the student body. You seem to have experience with her, what would you have me do?" Ichika asked.
"Do as I have done, crush anybody that challenges your power. They won't bother you if they fear you. You have seen it for yourself, those schoolgirls are too afraid to even stand in my presence," Laura stated with a nod.
Would that really work? If he couldn't just kill his problems, maybe psychological manipulation would work. He was taught how to destroy his enemies not only physically, but mentally after all.
"What's her IS like?" Ichika asked.
"How about you figure that out yourself, It will be interesting to see how you fight for real. You only managed to catch me off guard back at that warehouse," Laura huffed.
"So be it," Ichika sighed. Fighting third generation IS was difficult because of how personalized they usually were. Pilots were a dangerous enemy without prior intelligence. Not to mention the duel would probably take place in one of the academy's arenas. Clear and open airspaces were far from ideal for his stealth orientated IS. He might have to make some adjustments for the future.
Though he supposed if Laura defeated the girl then he could as well. From what little he witnessed of her IS, he knew it was somewhat similar to fukurō's close to mid range loadout. If Cecillia's IS was also close or mid ranged, then the fight would surely be in his favour. The problem was if she was a long range specialist.
He'd only gotten in a handful of dogfights and he had the least experience against snipers. Back then he could rely on his team to support him with covering fire, but now he was alone in a school that was filled with pilots in possession of several unknown third generation IS.
For the rest of the night Ichika ran through potential scenarios in his head. In hindsight, losing was still an acceptable outcome. However, he wanted to be left alone and if that meant running the gauntlet on his first week, then so be it. At Least Fukurō would probably be happy to fight another IS so soon.
The Next Day
"Ichika Orimura! I, Cecilia Alcott, cordially challenge you to a duel. I do believe you wildly underestimated my piloting prowess yesterday so I am here to reclaim my dignity," the blonde girl stated, standing imperiously above Ichika's desk.
Ichika took a deep breath. "I heard from Laura that you wanted to fight me. I'm a little surprised you waited until classes ended though. When would you like to go through with it?"
"So you accept? Perfect, I'm sure you know that there is no time like the present. I will be awaiting you at the arena," Cecilia finished, already striding out of the classroom.
Ichika rose from his seat with a sigh. If he couldn't decisively win the fight then there was no point. Displaying the skill disparity between the two would hopefully deter her from challenging him again.
"I'll be watching," Laura remarked as Ichika made his way for the door.
He looked back at his roommate. He'd come to accept that hiding his IS from the public eye was futile. The school curriculum already demanded that he employed Fukurō in practice exercises. That didn't mean it still didn't feel wrong for people, especially people like Laura, to freely analyze him.
The boy walked through the halls towards the large arena meant for practice battles or sporting events. Sporting events, Ichika scoffed at the very thought of such activities that he would eventually be a part of.
Ichika however suddenly tensed up as a hand came down on his shoulder. Who would?
"Wait Orimura," Chifuyu commanded.
Ichika allowed the tension to drain from his posture. His sister was capable of not only pounding him into the dirt effortlessly but casually sneaking up on him as well. He always knew his sister was powerful, but how did he still feel so outclassed even as a FOXHOUND operator.
"Ch- Ms. Chifuyu?" Ichika prompted, turning to face his sister.
"I heard you and Alcott are having a practice match."
Ichika nodded. "Yeah, she challenged me."
"Listen Ichika, once the shield depletes, you stop. Those are the rules here at the academy. I don't know what the Americans taught you, but don't hurt the girl," Chifuyu said evenly.
"Ofcourse, I wouldn't seriously injure her on purpose. I only want her to stop bothering me," Ichika insisted with a nod.
Chifuyu gave a small sigh of relief, stepping back. "That's good to hear. I'll still be monitoring the match as an instructor though."
Ichika nodded, turning his back to his sister and proceeding to the arena. It wasn't long until he was in the contestant staging room. The room was spacious with a mini airstrip leading to the arena.
He looked up to see his sister and the homeroom teacher, Ms. Yamada, in some sort of control room. Would the government be watching? All students had sovereign protections at the academy, but surely governments had their eyes and ears everywhere.
However what irritated him the most was the skin tight flight suit he was forced to wear. It was like wearing a latex swimsuit. If he felt naked in his school uniform, how he felt wearing this abomination was practically indescribable. What he'd do for his old tactical gear...
Wordlessly, he activated Fukurō. The comfortable embrace of her cold metal was a small mercy for him. He'd lost his friends and his home. But he supposed as long as Fukurō was with him, he could still fight.
Ignoring the assisted launch pad, he soared into the arena. A blue IS greeted him, hovering in the center of the arena, Cecilia Alcott smirking down at him.
"I see you have finally arrived Ichika Orimura. Prepare yourself, for your crushing defeat shall be swift!" Cecilia boasted, materializing a laser rifle.
Ichika tisked as he weaved back and forth around the girl's probing shots. Ranged specialist, he'd have to get close. There was no way his wrist mounted machine guns could keep up with a laser rifle.
He returned fire with his wrist guns, aiming slightly high. As predicted, Cecillia avoided the salvo by diving downwards. In a dogfight, elevation was a long range specialist's best friend. If he could keep her out of the sky, the walls of the arena would help him corner the girl.
"So you can dodge my laser blasts with some competency, but how about this?" Cecilia taunted, deploying four drones, each firing their own lasers.
Ichika watched the drones carefully, dodging each of their blasts before flicking his gaze back to Cecillia. She hadn't moved an inch, watching him weave around her drones' fire. Why hadn't she regained the elevation advantage while suppressing him?
He snorted as he deduced the answer. He had the same problem with his feathers when he first started piloting. It seemed the girl didn't have the mental capacity to pilot and command her drones simultaneously.
Ichika suddenly rocketed towards Cecillia's position, four of his feathers deploying to intercept the four drones. He could see the indecision in the girls posture. Pull back her drones or get away from him?
Cecilia chose the latter, sacrificing all four of her drones to serrated feathers in order to retreat backwards. She needed to create distance between the two and recuperate. The walls of the arena were beginning to feel claustrophobic to her but it would be hard to ascend without getting intercepted.
"You are persistent, I'll give you that, but how about this?" Cecillia shouted, taking aim with the missile pods by her waist.
Ichika kept charging forward and fired his waist mounted grappling hook cannons. The hooks collided with the two missiles, resulting in a small explosion.
"Wha-!?"
"You shouldn't talk so much in battle, it slows you down," Ichika grunted, one of Fukurō's talons latching onto Cecillia's torso.
Cecilia could only watch in abject horror as Ichika carved into her IS with his hook shaped blades, firing into the energy shield with the underside guns at the same time. She tried to escape, but the talons attached to the bottom of Ichika's IS held firm. The only reason she wasn't crushed in it's grip was because the automatic energy shield that protected the pilot from fatal damage.
Ichika already knew victory was his once he latched onto the girl. Fukurō was specialized in order to cater to a single style of combat. IS battles could last hours, sometimes days in rare cases. This was because of how powerful their energy shields were. As long as the IS had energy left, the pilot was almost invincible.
His style of combat however was quick and dirty. If he could get close and latch onto the enemy with either his talons or hooked blades, he could deplete enemy shields extremely quickly with his short ranged weaponry. In essence, his role in combat was to do as much damage as possible in a short period of time.
Utilizing fukurō's heavier frame, Ichika toppled the Blue Tears to the ground, pinning the blonde pilot against the sandy surface. He repeatedly slammed the blue IS against the ground whilst still unloading his wrist guns into its shield.
"I forfeit, I forfeit! My shields are going to run out, stop!" Cecilia exclaimed in a panicked voice.
Ichika paused, stopping Fukurō from smashing the poor girl into the ground once again. If Cecillia's shields ran out and he didn't take notice, she would instantly be crushed in his grip. Not that he would never make that mistake though. He could practically feel Fukurō itching to finish the deed. And instinctually, he felt a part of him agree. He pushed it down however, Cecilia Aclott was not the enemy.
Cecilia gasped as Ichika unlatched his talons from her torso. "W-What?"
"Sorry if I scared you," Ichika apologized, offering a hand to Cecilia who was still sprawled out on the ground. He idly checked Fukurō's display huds that flashed in his peripherals. Shields were still at full capacity, perhaps he overestimated the girl. Or maybe he underestimated himself? He supposed it didn't matter much.
Cecilia scoffed, knocking the hand aside. "What is the meaning of this!? To think a plebian such as yourself would dare lay a hand on me. H-How did you…"
She looked at her measly shield energy, less than five percent. She grit her teeth, turning her back to the boy.
"T-This was some sort of mistake. Mark my words Ichika Orimura, this isn't over," Cecilia barked out, floating back towards the staging area.
Ichika pursed his lips. She was still holding onto her pride. Had she not witnessed first hand her absolute defeat? He would have carved her into pieces with his talons under normal circumstances. He honestly didn't know if she was being stubborn or just plain stupid. pondering over these thoughts, he returned to his own staging area. Laura Bodewig greeted him as he deactivated his IS.
"I have a feeling this won't be the end of it," Ichika said with a tisk.
"Because you're too nice about it. The instructor had to physically intervene and stop me from strangling the life out of the girl when we fought," Laura scoffed, shaking her head.
Ichika frowned. "That's a bit much, she's just a girl that doesn't know any better."
Laura's eyes narrowed in response. "Come now Ichika, you're a killer right? I can see it in your eyes. So why can't you just close your heart to her and do what must be done?"
The boy shook his head. "Cecillia is not an enemy, she isn't like us, she's just a girl. Excessive violence could seriously scar her."
"And what if she was your enemy?" Laura questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, she would have to die then," Ichika simply stated.
Laura crossed her arms. "You know, I'm starting to understand what sort of person you are Ichika Orimura. The fact that everything you've said thus far seems genuine is… unsettling. Killers aren't supposed to be sympathetic pushovers."
Ichika considered her words before answering. "This world is already obscene enough. You're not a pushover for being kind to the people around you."
"Yet you hold no mercy for whoever your little organization sets their eyes on. Your duality of morals is a broken mindset. If you didn't have a soldier's discipline, I'd say you belong in an asylum."
Fukurō's metal frame shimmered slightly before once again taking the shape of a ring. The FOXHOUND operator turned to the German girl, crossing his arms.
"Are you going to keep pointlessly questioning me or is there an actual reason you came here? If not, I'm going to change out of whatever this thing is the academy makes us wear," Ichika sighed.
"Admittedly, your piloting skills are impressive. Even if it was miniscule, I did not defeat Cecilia without first losing a sliver of my energy shield. Are all American pilots of the same caliber?" Laura questioned.
"Only the ones like me," he answered vaguely. He'd gotten used to the German girl occasionally asking such questions. Had his sister asked her to try and get some information out of him, or was she personally curious?
"Back on the topic of Cecilia Alcott however, she will undoubtedly challenge you again no? I suggest you cut the nice guy attitude and give her a reality check," Laura remarked.
"You really think she will be so eager to have her pride trampled on again?"
Laura shook her head. "It may be tomorrow or perhaps the day after, but she will come crawling back for a rematch. She has no power and yet she has so much pride. What a sad girl."
Four Days Later
Cecillia grit her teeth as she tried to fight the grappling cannon's hooks that sinisterly reeled her Blue Tears in towards the pilot of the bulky brown IS. He'd been the bane of her existence, her crushing losses plaguing her every thought like a fresh wound. She had to challenge him again, she had to regain her pride, she had to win!
But loss after loss, and victory seemed as distant as ever. It was frustrating, she could tell that despite winning decisively every time, he was getting better. He was memorizing her attack patterns, her favoured flight maneuvers, even her instinctual responses to certain situations.
She thrashed in desperation as his accursed talons once again latched onto her. This happened every time without fail. She would be hunted down and captured in his vice grip before her shield was torn asunder.
"C-Curse you!" Cecilia screamed, deploying her final drone in a last ditch effort. However before her drone could even begin to fire its laser, three of what he called 'feathers' intercepted her drone and tore it to pieces.
Ichika grunted as a metal encased hand smacked him across the face. Fukurō was holding out on him, she could have definitely shielded that stray attack. He hoped that didn't just break his nose.
"Your shields are close to empty, should I stop?" Ichika prompted, holding the girl suspended in mid air in front of him.
He caught a gauntleted fist that rocketed towards his face. Three defeats and the girl starts sucker punching. At least she was learning, her almost chivalrous style of fighting stood no chance against his brutally efficient piloting. With a snort, he slammed the girl still trapped in his talons against the arena's concrete wall before dropping her.
Cecilia stared at her energy shield status in despair. Zero, empty, depleted, she had lost again.
"Why can't I win!?" She screamed, pounding the ground with a gauntleted fist. "You're supposed to be a third rate pilot, an absolute novice!. I'm supposed to be a representative candidate, a chosen elite, someone special. So why am I losing?"
Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. She'd been groomed for this role her whole life. Not only had she brought shame to her family by losing to the German representative candidate, but now she was being beaten over and over by some boy. Why couldn't she do it? Maybe she really was a failure, a weakling, someone insignificant after all.
Cecilia quickly wiped the stray tears from her eyes before unsteadily picking herself up. She refused to meet the boy's eyes with her own. "S-Sorry for challenging you so many times. I'll… I'll stop now, I just can't beat you. There was no way a failure like me could."
Ichika frowned, it seemed pride could indeed be beaten out of someone. Cecilia Alcott had been successfully dealt with, but why did he have to feel so bad about it. Yeah, the girl still needed a reality check, albeit a different kind of one.
"I'll let you in on a secret Cecilia," Ichika said softly. "I'm not really a beginner, I've been piloting my personal IS since I was a kid. In your own terms, I suppose I am one of the 'chosen elite'. So don't be so down, I've trained extremely hard myself you know."
"What?"
"Just listen for a moment. I'll tell you something similar I was told a long time ago," Ichika insisted, giving her a meaningful look.
"In the real world you would be dead Cecillia. You'd be dead because I am a better pilot. I would have torn you to pieces with my talons after your shield broke if we met on the battlefield. However you're not dead, you're still alive and have the chance to keep living. The most important thing in the world is not the past or even future, it is what you do right now. Don't worry about the fact that you've lost to me four times. Instead think about what you're going to do to win so that you can keep living, pride doesn't matter much to a dead person. We won't always be protected by the IS Academy after all."
Cecilia looked up to the taller boy with wide eyes. She was at her very lowest, her emotions frayed and her conscious vulnerable. Perhaps that was why something that he said, something in those words that resonated with her. Her damaged psyche desperately clung to the foreign ideal, slowly piecing itself back together.
Was her fractured pride really worth dying for? No, no that couldn't be right. Dying meant that she lost right? There was no pride in defeat, only victory. Victory was indeed the only validation that mattered. Ichika Orimura, one of the chosen elite, was a genius.
"How?"
"Excuse me?"
Cecilia pursed her lips. "How could I possibly beat you. I've only ever hit you with lucky shots that barely do any damage. How could I win?"
"So you're resorting to bluntly asking why you lost?"
The blonde clenched her teeth but nodded.
Ichika raised an eyebrow, had his words really changed the girl? It took Monika a whole year to get over her inflated ego. "To be honest, as a ranged specialist, you lost the moment I, a close quarters specialist, cornered you and closed the distance. Your drones aren't being used to their fullest potential, letting me get close. Not to mention how defenseless you are once I do get within melee range."
Cecilia nodded. "I see, teach me, please."
He blinked, then blinked again. Teach Cecillia Alcott? Him, an instructor? Helping the girl probably wasn't in his best interest. However he would be lying if her change in demeanor didn't interest him. Infact, he would be lying if it didn't impress him. She was the representative candidate to Great Britain, a close ally to America. Perhaps this sudden potential was in fact worth nurturing. He'd decided, it would be interesting to see where it would go.
"I'll teach you on one condition," Ichika stated,
"What is it?"
"If you use anything that I teach you to get in the way of American pilots, I promise you I will personally make you regret it."
Cecilia shivered slightly. "Our countries have deep cultural ties and are close allies, I assure you that wouldn't come to pass. But I'll remember your words regardless Ichika."
Ichika nodded, that was good enough for him.
"You're going to what?" Laura asked with a short.
Ichika let out a tired sigh. "I agreed to help her because she actually asked me. If she can swallow her pride and change as a person, then I believe she has the potential to be a good pilot."
"I suppose it's your wasted time not mine, do what you want," Laura intoned, shaking her head. "By the way, what are you planning to do for the upcoming inter class tournament. As a representative contender, I've been automatically selected to participate. However you can still opt out."
"I was going to opt out," Ichika said with a shake of his head. "My sister wasn't too happy about that however. I'm already flying under the radar when it comes to studies."
"Just so you know, I'm going to win the tournament and bring glory to the fatherland. In short, I'll crush you should you get in my way," Laura stated.
"Do you really think you can beat me?" Ichika asked, looking the German girl squarely in the eye.
"For Germany? Yes, I do." Laura answered stoically.
"I see. Well, let's hope it doesn't come down to it," he sighed, walking across the dorm room and taking a seat at his desk.
"I remember a few days ago, you said I had a broken mindset," Ichika began, changing topics.
"And?"
"I've thought about what you said you know. But I haven't figured out why it's so outrageous to be a good person."
Laura's one eye narrowed. "You're not a good person Ichika. Infact, just how many people have you killed?"
"I lost count a long time ago. But I've only killed the enemy, people who deserved it, people who needed to die," Ichika retorted.
"Is that what you were told, that they needed to die?" Laura pressed. "Your mind is filtering what is and what isn't morally acceptable. However taking a life is infallibly evil. Hell, I bet you never knew the people you killed. Tell me Ichika, those two girls who were with you at the warehouse on that day, would you kill them if you were told to?"
"It would never come to that," Ichika affirmed, rising from his chair.
"What about your sister Ichika. If whatever shadow organization you belong to told you that she was the enemy, would you kill your own sibling, your only sibling?" Laura demanded, looking Ichika squarely in the eye. "My mentor is Japan's best pilot and an important political figure as the first Brunhilde. It's not out of the realm of possibility that your organization would want to get rid of her."
Ichika clenched his fists. "That-"
"Answer the question Ichika Orimura!" Laura interjected, her voice rising.
"I… I would follow orders."
"Would you?" Laura demanded.
"..."
Crossing her arms, Laura shook her head. "The fact that you're hesitating tells me everything. You've been living in a black and white world Ichika, caring for those around you yet holding none of that compassion for those that are deemed enemies."
"So what's going to happen when those concepts contradict one another, have you even ever thought about it? I honestly have no idea, that's why I said your mindset is broken. Following order like a good soldier is one thing, but seeing you caught up in that delusional world of yours frankly pisses me off."
Ichika sat on his bed, a heavy frown marring his face. "I'm done talking about this."
"So be it. I just hope America has you maniacs on a tight leash, for the world's sake."
Ichika Orimura did not sleep easily that night. He lay in bed staring blankly at the ceiling. Hours passed and Laura's soft rhythmic breathing could be heard from the adjacent bed, he long since tuned it out.
This feeling was old yet familiar. Uncertainty welled within him. It was like a dull ache within his chest that didn't quite hurt but served as a constant uncomfortable reminder. He remembered feeling this way on his first few missions. Back then, Monika had been there to comfort him. He missed Monika, he missed everyone, why was he even here again?
Oh right, he lost to Chifuyu-nee. She cut Schaefer open and beat him to a pulp. There… there was no way he'd have to kill her right? She was his sister, Chifuyu was a good person, would they really order him to do such a thing?
He'd killed countless people for FOXHOUND, what was one more? Good people did bad things all the time right? Wait, but Chifuyu was his sister, she wasn't his enemy. Was he really a bad person for killing all those people after all?
He couldn't find an answer so he pushed the thought to the dark corner of his mind, he'd think about it later.