Chapter 17 is ready to go!
IS battles always drew in a crowd among students. Arena three was filling up with more and more students to watch the battle with four personal IS pilots.
It was a three on one battle with the odds against Laura Bodewig. And despite the latter being outnumbered, she looked to be beating her opponents almost effortlessly. Laura seemed completely unharmed, a thing which couldn't be said for her opponents who had bits of armor from there IS units scattered across the arena. Slowly, the three pilots Cecilia, Vishnu, and Rin got back on their feet looking like anything stronger than a small gust would knock them over.
Laura looked down on her so-called opponents. "Is that all? I expected little from the cadets of other countries and I'm still disappointed."
Her comment only fueled Rin's anger. "EAT THIS!" she yelled as she unleashed her Shenlong's impact cannons firing a blast of compressed air. Despite the obvious attack coming her way, Laura made no effort to dodge. Only raising her right hand. The invisible shots were completely nullified when they impacted.
"How did she do that? Some kind of protective shield?" Ichika hadn't see Laura deploy anything and yet Rin's attack was completely negated.
Vishnu took her chance next, aiming her bow. As she drew back her arrow the bow in her hand was shaking. Her breathing rate increased as she felt the eyes of the crowd watch from all directions. When it was just the four of them she was okay but as students came in to see the fight, she'd been making more and more errors. With her eyes shut tight, Vishnu released the plasma arrow.
Laura made no effort to dodge, not even raising her arm. The plasma arrow soared right past completely missing its target.
"Hmph. Was that supposed to hit me? Third generation weapons being used by people like you are a disgrace."
Vishnu stared down in shame while her breathing became a tad deeper. Blundering such an easy shot, between all the eyes on her and Laura's comments, her self-confidence had dropped to zero.
"Vishnu doesn't look okay. Did Laura do something to her IS?" Charles wondered.
"No. Vishnu's panicking with this many people watching." Vishnu had said she wanted to overcome her performance anxiety, but this was too much too soon. All Jayden could do was watch and cheer her on.
Cecilia moved in front of Vishnu, trying to cover her friend. Sending out her last BIT drone while shooting to give it covering fire. Maybe repeated attacks could break through the German's defenses. The wired daggers from Laura's IS unit split into two groups, one to block the shots from Cecilia's rifle, and the others to ensnare the drone. Shortly it after it was captured, the wires snapped the drone half letting the broken drone fall to the ground to join its brethren. The wires on Cecilia though had wrapped around Blue Tears and thrown her at her allies leaving them in a pile on the ground.
Rin gritted her teeth as another plan had failed against their opponent. Anything they'd tried ended up being useless or countered. "Vishnu. Cecilia. Any ideas?"
Cecilia glanced over at Thailand's representative cadet who was unmoving with her gaze locked on the ground. It was just herself and Rin now.
Laura charged at them before they could recuperate. Deploying the purple saber from her arm, she headed towards Rin first.
"She's going for Rin." Houki noted.
"That's a good thing." Ichika said "Rin's specialty is close quarters combat; she should be able to handle her up close."
Rin brought out her scimitar to defend herself from the relentless fury of strikes. Laura swung her saber prompting the Chinese cadet to block with edge of her blade. She aimed a thrust next forcing Rin to stagger backwards to keep out of range. As she kept pressing on, Laura snuck in a punch that connected with Rin's face.
"No way… Even Rin's being pushed back!" Was there anything Laura couldn't do?
"Damn you!" It was only matter of time before Laura got through to her. Rin charged up her only still-functioning impact cannon. At such proximity, Rin herself would be caught in the blast.
"You're using a weapon that needs to charge in this situation? Too slow." Laura held out her arm yet again as the cannon gathered energy to fire. Her own railgun begun to charge up power, compared to her enemy Laura knew projectile would launch first.
Just as she was about to fire Cecilia rushed in between Laura and Rin, using her body as a shield. Cecilia shot the missile type BITS around her waist at Laura just as Rin unleashed her impact cannon. The sudden act had Laura caught off guard by the reckless move. The resulting blast left all three pilots surrounded in a thick hazy smoke.
"Man, you're reckless." Rin managed to speak in between breaths.
"Save your complaints for later." That move Cecilia did got herself caught in the close-range blast, leaving her IS with shield energy in the single digits. She hadn't been counting on surviving that attack, but she was thankful Blue Tears could take it. "But still, taking a shot like that at point-blank range would trigger her IS's absolute defense and deal major damage to her."
"Oh? Is that what you were trying to do?"
As the smoke begun to disperse, Laura was standing right where she had been. Completely unharmed.
"N-No way…"
"Not even a scratch."
Both girls were frozen. Everything they'd thrown was completely ineffective against the German Representative Cadet. If there was a gap in power and skill between them, they didn't think it would be this large.
"Was that all?" Laura's looked unimpressed. "Well then, it's my turn."
Schwarzer Regen unleashed all of its dagger wires, wrapping around the limbs of Blue Tears and Shenlong. The accumulation of battle had left them too weak to resist. With her targets helpless she tightened the cord around them, stringing them up like puppets.
"To think these are third generation IS units." Laura brought down her fists on her opponents, trying to wreck the machines each girl piloted. Every punch, every kick was thrown with the intention of breaking these machines into little tiny pieces. Every blow that struck stripped just a little more metal from their units. Each blow pulling a scream out from the pilot inside.
Talks were spreading around the crowd watching, wondering if this was going too far. The gang was looking with reactions that ranged from horror to anger as they watched the German beat down on their friends.
"Some needs to stop this before they get hurt."
"Maybe Vishnu can! Come on Vishnu get up!" Jayden managed to move his stare towards the Thailand cadet representative.
"I… I'm sorry." A lot of meters away. Vishnu laid on the ground watching the battle in front of her. Her friends were in trouble and her body was still frozen in action. At this a change in herself may as well be impossible.
Her eyes wandered amongst the crowd eventually her friends watching. All the guys were there. Even Jayden was seeing her like this. All her efforts of trying to change herself seemed like nothing but a fantasy now. Despite all her doubt now, Jayden was still staring and looked to be yelling something at her.
"Jayden…"
She remembered back on the rooftop telling him how she wanted to overcome her anxiety. Even if she'd given up, Jayden was cheering her on and it looked like the others were doing the same. Even if she didn't believe in herself, others were believing in her. She took a deep breath before getting back up on her feet. Right now all Vishnu could see was herself, her friends, and Laura.
Vishnu created an arrow made from energy and released it at Laura. Just as it looked like the arrow would connect, Laura simply rose her right hand and the arrow stopped a few feet from its target, floating in mid-air before falling to the ground.
Whatever Laura was doing would stop any frontal assault. Vishnu had an idea… okay more like a theory but it was better than nothing. Vishnu materialized five arrows into her hand, this was a trick she wanted to debut at the tournament, but this was an acceptable occasion. She aimed her bow at Laura who was holding up her hand ready to intercept while charging her railgun. Vishnu changed her trajectory firing upwards at an angle repeating the process as she avoided a barrage of blasts from Laura.
The arrows that were fired above begun to change directory as gravity did it's job. Now falling downward directly above Laura.
"Falling arrows." Laura wasn't impressed as she rose an arm up to the sky. Any arrow that approached Laura stopped completely in midair." This is your best?"
"No. That's just the diversion." Vishnu charged at the side of Laura, performing a spinning motion to get some extra energy into her leg. Only now did Laura realize Vishnu's intention. With Laura's wires on her friends, and her hand stuck in the air to stop the arrows, Laura had no more resources to stop the sideways attack.
CLANG!
For the first time in this fight, Laura had taken clear damage.
Her foot hit the center of Laura's IS sending the German to the ground. The wire daggers from Laura's IS retreated back into it dropping Cecilia and Rin on the ground, coughing and gasping as air tried to return to their lungs. After making sure her friends were okay, Vishnu rushed at the German in a kicking frenzy before she had time to recuperate.
"I thought it was strange you always remained still when using that arm trick of yours." Vishnu performed a round house kick prompting Laura to block. "That's when I realized you couldn't move when you use it. At least, that's my theory. Am I wrong?"
Laura didn't give an answer, which Vishnu took as her being correct.
Vishnu pressed on wasn't going to give Laura any time to raise that hand of hers. Keeping her attacks focused on Laura's right side to keep her hand remaining lowered.
Laura kept hopping back to avoid the incoming attacks. While dodging blows the railgun on her shoulder was warming up for another attack. Vishnu had her eyes on that railgun, ready to dodge and quickly reapply the pressure when it fired. Just as the Railgun unleashed its blast. She leaned forward slightly to shoot the ground between them, creating distance and another smokescreen of dust and smoke.
"No no no!" Vishnu had to keep up the pressure or it was over. She struck with a round house kick where Laura was only to have her motion stopped halfway. In fact, she couldn't move anything at all "No way…" Vishnu was sure that defense Laura had could only stop small projectiles, she didn't think it would be powerful enough to completely stop an IS. "How are you doing this!?"
Laura gave no answer only taking aim with her railgun to put this farce of a battle to rest. There were four girls in the arena but only one real IS pilot among them. Laura fired the last shot of the battle sending Vishnu across the arena into her friends. The three pilots laid on the ground and showed no signs of getting back up. Their units busted without a point of shield energy among them to spare. Laura had truly and mercilessly beaten them.
After some claps from the audience for the performance by all the pilots, students begun making their way out the arena to find something else to do. Few like Jayden were relieved the battle was over. There may be some bruised egos but that would be the worst of it.
"…"
Laura was staring at the three pilots she'd defeated. No, pilots was too good a word to describe them.
There are many emotions that were reasonable to be experiencing if you just defeated three of ISA's strongest students. Excitement, amazement, or disbelief came to mind. Laura was only feeling disappointment. This was the best the people her age could do at IS Academy? She assumed the American was an exception that received an IS due to his gender. But these were girls who had the title of representative cadet and the latest IS units of their respective countries. All together they'd barely scratched her Schwarzer Regen. But that wasn't the worst of it.
These girls were trained by her instructor, the world's strongest and yet their skills would barley pass for average compared to the people she fought back in Germany. This couldn't stand, these girls didn't deserve machines with their low skill level. Laura knew what she had to do.
And she'd start with the one who'd ruined her flawless victory.
"Hey! What's Laura doing?" People who were starting to leave turned their heads back towards the arena grounds.
All but one competitor had no shield energy left. The battle was over and everyone would go about their day and do their own things.
At least that's what should've happened.
The wires of Schwarzer Regen tied themselves around Vishnu's IS, Durga Singh. Hoisting her up, Laura begun to tear at Vishnu's Durga Singh with her own armorer up hands. Bits and pieces of the Orange IS begun to decorate the floor with the other scraps of IS metal that broke off during the fight. Every punch and kick breaking off more and more of Durga Singh.
"LAURA!" Ichika cried out, pounded his fist on the energy barrier.
"STOP IT! IT'S OVER! YOU ALREADY WON." Jayden joined in with Ichika yells.
Laura turned her face towards her instructor's brother. A malicious smile formed on her face. Seeing the one who ruined her mentor make that anguished face only made her want to continue more and more.
Laura gripped the right arm of Durga Singh and pulled with all her might. She continued to pull and pull making Vishnu's screams.
"S-S-STOP!"
RIP
At last the machine gave in. The right arm of Durga Singh was completely torn off, the metal ripped around Vishnu's arm leaving it fully exposed. Vishnu's arm fell limp just dangling where it was. All the while Laura had that sadistic smile on her face as she continued to wreck the IS. It was pay back for the humiliation earlier.
"I'm going in." A bright flash emerged around Ichika as he deployed the Byakushiki. Without warning he activated Reirakyu Byakua lashing away part of the arena's energy barrier in one swing to make an IS sized hole.
"Let her go!"
He rushed straight for Laura at the highest speed he could go. Laura quickly reacted holding out her right hand
"Wh-What's going on? I can't move!" His struggles amounted to nothing being stuck in whatever Laura was using.
"Emotional and straight forward motion. You really are the textbook definition of a fool." Laura readied the railgun on her IS's shoulder, pointing it in Ichika's face at a little more than point blank.
"Perish!"
"Get away from my friend!"
Jayden charged in from behind, skating towards her with shield in hand. Laura had to fly back and retreat freeing Ichika and Vishnu in the process.
"You again?" Laura scowled. Once again someone unrelated was getting in the way of her business. "Get out of my way!"
"Fat chance. If you mess with my friends than you mess with me!" Jaydne's heart was thumping like a rabbit's foot. He meant to sound brave but fear could be heard in his voice. His friends were in trouble and once again his body moved on his own to help. Jayden was feeling half brave slash half stupid for even being here.
"Vishnu! Is she okay?"
Vishnu laid on the ground inside her broken Durga Singh. Charles did a close inspection, noting the rising of her chest. "Oui, she's hurt but she should be okay. The same goes for the others."
"That's good. Me and Ichika can keep Laura busy, just get them out of here."
Saying that was one thing, doing it would be another.
"Any ideas on how we can get past Laura's defenses." Ichika was sure one good strike with the barrier void attack could take down Laura. The only issue was getting that strike to hit her.
"Maybe we can attack from different sides? I don't think she can block both of us at once."
It was a simple plan, so simple that Laura would see it coming. Although it would keep her occupied and give Charles time to get the girls out of here. The boys repositioned themselves with Jayden in front of Ichika. When Laura made her move, they'd put the plan into action.
"Ichika Orimura. Are you going to hide behind your friends again?"
"I was never hiding behind them." Ichika moved himself across the arena as everyone's eyes were on him. He wasn't completely sure why Laura was so fixated on him but if she focused on him, Charles could get the other out of here. "If you want me than come and get me!"
No one made a move immediately.
"Fine, it you won't attack then I will!" Laura deployed the energy saber attached to her arm once more.
Just as she was about to strike, a figured jumped in between them. It was so fast that no one realized it was there until it stopped moving.
CLANG!
The sound of metal against metal echoed throughout the arena. That figure had stopped Laura's charge.
"My, my… this is why dealing with you brats tires me out."
"Chifuyu-nee?"
The figure belonged to Chifuyu Orimura who came holding an IS sword. A sword meant to be used by an Infinite Stratos that was at least five and a half feet tall. Something that would take multiple grown men to carry, and yet Chifuyu was wielding the massive blade with ease. To everyone, it was just another reason why Chifuyu could leave you speechless.
Chifuyu's eyed the state of the arena. Holes in the ground, damaged arena barrier, some IS parts scattered across the field. She let out a sigh. "If you wanna have mock battles that's fine. But when it's gets to the point that you're wrecking the arena grounds then I become responsible for it as a teacher."
Jayden stared at Ms. Orimura in disbelief. "But Laura was-"
The glare she sent him shut his mouth.
"I'm ending this battle now. Unless any of you still want to fight, in which case I'll be your opponent." No one take Ms. Orimura up on her offer.
"But Instructor." Now Laura stepped in. "Please let me finish this now. These fools aren't worthy of your guidance. I can-"
"Shut up."
Two words from her instructor silenced Laura.
"I trained you so long ago and you end up like this? Maybe you're the one who doesn't deserve teaching from me."
With words alone, Chifuyu had done the most damage to Laura.
Back up. What did Ms. Orimura just say? Jayden looked between the teacher and student as the spoke, which lead to a realization that dawned on him. Laura was trained by Chifuyu Orimura. Not the kind of training in a classroom as teacher and student, more like master and pupil. No wonder Laura's skill level was so much higher than everyone else's.
"If you really wanna finish this battle you can do so at the school tournament this Monday. Is that fine with you all?"
Everyone nodded.
"In that case, until the tournament this Monday, all mock and personal battles are forbidden. Dismissed!" Chifuyu forcefully clapped her hands.
/-/
The nurse's office gained three new patients. The girls who'd taken part in the brawl now laid in beds next to one another with a high number of bandages wrapped around them in several spaces. Each girl looked either annoyed, sulked, or appeared to be to be both.
"We didn't need you guys to save us." Rin said to the guys and Houki stopped by to visit. "If we'd kept going, we definitely would've won."
"Jeez Rin." Ichika looked at his friend. Even battered and beaten Rin didn't want to show any signs of weakness. That spirit was admirable, though sometimes Ichika thought it made her look like an idiot at times. Not that he'd ever say that to her face.
"For an elite like myself to be reduced to this…" Cecilia gripped the edges of her blanket. She replayed the battle in her mind, trying to think of anything she could've done differently to change the outcome.
"How are you feeling Vishnu?" Houki looked at the girl who almost resembled a bandaged mummy. Compared to Rina and Cecilia, Vishnu looked like she had the worst of it. There was a higher total of bandages wrapped around her compared to the others. What stuck through all the bandages was the cast that covered her elbow to her hand.
"I… I'm alright. I'm on some painkillers but I'm feeling okay. My arm got slightly fractured when Laura ripped the arm of Durga Singh. The nurse said I was lucky, that things could've been a lot worse."
"I still can't believe Laura did that. It wasn't enough that she destroyed you guys, but she practically wrecked your IS–
Jayden winched as Charles nudged his elbow at his side. "What was that… oh… Uh sorry." Jayden felt guilty.
"I just don't get it." Rin couldn't wrap her head around it. "Anything we tried, she would raise her hand and some kind of invisible force field came up. It stopped everything we threw at her. Never seen anything like it." During battle Rin as able to make it out when dust was flying but otherwise it was completely invisible.
"I landed a kick on her when she was using it to block my rain of arrows." It felt embarrassing giving her attack a title. "It's powerful but I think she can only use it in one direction at a time. That weapon though, I've never seen anything like it. Whatever that thing is, its incredible."
"That thing you're describing is an Active Inertia Canceler." A newcomer said, entering the room.
"Ms. Olivia! H-Hello…"
"You know this woman Vishnu?"
Thailand's cadet representative nodded. "She's my-"
"I'm Vishnu's homeroom teacher." Olivia cut her off. "Professor Sedgewick, homeroom teacher of class 1-3. I was asked to come here by Ms. Yamada to check in on the girls who were fighting with Germany's cadet representative. "But I believe you were discussing Ms. Bodewig's weapon. The Active Inertia Canceler, also known as A.I.C is a system designed to negate the inertia of any moving mass. In simple terms it can stop the movement of any object the user wishes."
"It's strong enough to even stop an IS?"
"Apparently so. Up till now I've only ever heard about it in theory. Looks like the Germans managed to figure out how to create one for their star student."
"Speaking of the devil, what happened to Bodewig?" Houki asked. "She received punishment for causing all this right?"
"That German representative cadet? Oh. Ms. Orimura gave her detention this weekend."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"And?" Jayden asked.
"And what? She got detention and she went on her way."
"T-That's it? Laura becomes a one girl wrecking crew and all she gets is a slap on the wrist?"
"Oh she got that to. I heard it hurt."
Multiple stares of disbelief were formed.
"Look. I'm not saying what she did doesn't deserve punishment. I'm saying detention is what was decided for Ms. Bodewig for her actions. What were you girls thinking fighting her despite your IS units being at low shield energy. Did you pride make surrendering not an option?"
The three girls in beds turned away, unable to give a proper response for their actions.
"And Not just you three. Apparently another trio broke the energy barrier in the arena to get inside and have their own tussle with Ms. Bodewig. Now it has to be fixed, and that isn't cheap. Now I wonder who could've done that?"
Now it was the boys turn to look away.
"Normally people would be suspended for this, but with the tournament coming soon and too many officials coming to watch it, they couldn't take out so many star IS units. With how many personal IS pilots got involved, they had to choose whether to punish everyone involved or no one. In the end it was decided to sweep this under the rug and call it an accident. Anyway, I'm not here to tell you girls about your German dominator. I'm here to let you know about the status of your IS units and participation in the tournament." Olivia sat down in an empty chair, making herself comfortable. "I've got some minor good news and really bad news. Which do you want first?"
The good news slash bad news message was never a good sign. Rin took it upon herself to pull the trigger. "Give us the good news first."
"You two." She pointed at England's and China's representative cadet. "I looked the damage reports on your IS units. The damage levels of your IS units are level B. They sustained damage in that fight you had."
Rin scowled. "And just how is that supposed to be good news?"
Olivia continued to speak. "Despite your injuries the nurses will allow you to compete in the IS tournament on Monday. Assuming you can get your IS units in working order that is. I've checked out the damage. It's bad but repairable over the weekend if you work non-stop."
That put a smile on Rin and Cecilia's faces. There was still hope to fight again.
"And what's the bad news?' Vishnu had a feeling she already knew what it was.
"Ms. Galaxy, I'm afraid your IS unit suffered major damages in the limbs section and main torso. Your IS unit is at damage level D. Durga Singh needs too many repairs to be functional, not to mention the fracture in your arm. I advise you to spend your time repairing and restoring your unit for the foreseeable future. Otherwise it may lead to serious side effects. Also since both you and your IS need to recover. as your homeroom teacher I've decided to forbid you from entering the tournament."
"I… I understand." Vishnu quickly conceded.
"Wait, what do you mean she can't compete? Can't she just repair her IS with Rina and Cecilia?" Jayden asked.
"In case you haven't noticed, your friend here has more serious injuries compared to the others. But lets pretend for a moment that your friend was in peak physical condition. Her IS had an arm ripped off and sustained damage on its limbs while it had no shield energy to protect itself. Parts will have to brought in from Thailand to make specific repairs. Ms. Galaxy could get it in a working condition if hasty repairs were done but that would be the IS equivalent of running a marathon while your leg is in a cast. For a person it may lead to improper healing, for an IS it would lead to unwanted experience." Ms. Sedgewick explained.
"What does experience have to do with the IS?" Jayden asked.
"Experience allows an IS to grow. Some even theorize it's possible for an IS to obtain a greater form with enough combat experience."
"A greater form?" Ichika asked.
"Some IS researchers believe IS units have the potential to evolve upon gaining enough experience, leading to a new design and even upgraded equipment for the IS. This theory is known as the second-shift theory. We'll be covering it next month in class."
IS units had the ability to change themselves from a default like state into a more unique state once they gained enough experience through a process known as a first shift. The idea that they could do this again a second time didn't seem completely unrealistic.
"An IS gains experience every time its used, that includes even when its damaged." Charles explained.
"Indeed." Cecilia looked like she wanted to add to the conservation. "Operating a damaged unit will cause that experience to carry over and can even negatively affect the use of the IS even after the damage has been repaired."
Olivia nodded; she could see why those two were IS representative cadets.
"Any IS can technically evolve once it gathers enough experience?" Houki summarized.
"Oh, it's like that popular game series where you keep monsters in your pocket and when they get enough experience they evolve!" Jayden added.
"Now I get it." Ichika nodded.
And Olivia. could see why those two weren't cadet representatives.
"Focus on getting better Ms. Galaxy. I'd hate to see you ruin your IS due to some silly promise."
"I understand. I'm sorry guys, I really wanted to show you guys what I could do."
"What are you talking about? You already did." Jayden said.
"Huh?"
"During that battle, at the end when everyone was watching you got up and put Laura on defense. That kick on Laura was awesome! It was the best shot I've seen anyone get on her!" Back there the arena was in shock seeing someone land a direct hit on the German representative. "That was the best shot anyone got on her."
"Y-You mean it?" She'd been so focused at the end of the battle, it was like she'd forgotten there was an entire crowd of people watching her. She almost didn't believe that was actually her.
"Yeah. It was brief but you were able to pilot your IS with all those people watching you. And you didn't hesitate. You were awesome."
"Awesome…you think I'm awesome. Hahaha…" Vishnu's head was floating up to the stratosphere while her body temperature rose to feverish numbers. The temperature only got higher and higher until retreated under her bed covers, never to be see again.
Olivia rolled her eyes. The way these teenage girls acted around boys felt like a c-list romantic comedy that aired in 2011. The teacher had done her job and took her leave.
"How did you guys end up fighting Laura anyway?" Ichika asked. The three girls in question stiffened in response. Each one expecting and hoping the other would answer for them.
"Ah, could it be that Laura said something about the guys?" Charles teased. His comment made all the girls in beds blush.
Jayden didn't seem convinced. "I doubt it. Laura probably insulted there IS units and they wanted to prove her wrong."
A lifeline! He'd unknowingly thrown a lifeline to those drowning girls, and they grabbed it without hesitation.
"Y-Yeah! That's exactly what happened." Rin agreed.
Vishnu rapidly nodded her head in agreement.
"T-That's right! She insulted a woman's pride and naturally we had to show her she was wrong."
"But you guys lost."
The three girls continued to wear a painful smile.
Charles nervously laughed, taking Ichika and Jayden's hands while guiding them to the door. They'd been here long enough, and it would be a good idea to get moving before someone, she wasn't going to name names, said something to start another brawl. "It's about time we get lunch. We'll see you girls later. Feel better soon."
Rin and Cecilia waved goodbye, each of them too busy entering digits into their phones. Repairing personal IS units in such a short time frame meant parts would have to have expedited shipping to IS Academy. And that was going to require them both to tell their officials exactly why and how their IS units ended up looking like they belonged in a junkyard. It was going to be a long weekend.
/-/
"You're telling me there was an IS battle! And I slept through it!" Honne groaned, her head dropping to the table. Another great opportunity had gone by while she slumbered. All she had to go on now were the details the male students and Houki were giving her. "So they all tried to fight Laura?"
"They did, and they lost badly. Now their IS units need repairs" Houki said. "Even the boys broke through the arena to stop Laura. It was only due to Ms. Orimura that everything came to an end. She kept calling Ms. Orimura instructor."
"So Laura was personally trained by Ms. Orimura?" Honne asked.
"We believe so."
Laura being able to kick so much butt makes a lot of sense now. Anyone who was trained by the strongest woman on Earth would have to be some kind of super soldier. She'd beaten three personal IS pilots, and who knows how high that count would've gone up to if Ms. Orimura hadn't intervened.
"Think Ms. Orimura would give private lessons?" Jayden wondered.
Ichika already knew how that would play out. "If you did she'd smack you on the head andsay 'If you wanna get better pay attention in class'."
"What can you expect from the winner of two Mondo Grosso's. Ms. Orimura is practically the strongest woman alive Anyone she personally trained would have the skills of a professional." Honne said.
"One time winner." Jayden corrected.
"What?"
"Ms. Orimura only won one Mondo Grosso. She won the first Mondo Grosso and was runner up in the second."
"You mean someone beat Ms. Orimura in an IS battle?" Honne couldn't imagine a woman strong enough to face her homeroom teacher and come out on top.
"Well... yes and no. You guys don't know about the second Mondo Grosso?"
"I've heard Ms. Orimura placed second, but I never looked up the details of it." Charles answered. Besides Ichika, the others didn't know anything about it. At IS Academy students learned the ins and outs of the Infinite Stratos. Never the history of sporting events regarding these machines. Lessons rarely if ever covered the women who piloted these world changing machines.
"You guys really wanna know?" Everyone except for Ichika was giving Jayden their full attention. The smile that appeared on Jayden's face only grew and grew. For once it was his turn to explain something IS-related. If only Cecilia here, he'd love to rub this in her drill-haired face. "The Mondo Grosso is an international tournament where every country sends their best pilot and IS to face off against each other to see who's the best. During the second Mondo Grosso, Ms. Orimura was winning every fight with ease. Every one of her battles was a total victory for her. It was like none of her opponents could even touch her. Her battles were like watching a master swordswoman at work."
Total overwhelming victory. That fit Chifuyu Orimura.
"Everyone was thinking this Mondo Grosso would be another blow out by the previous winner Ms. Orimura. But there was another woman on the opposite side of the bracket. Her name was Alicia Jiosestaf, the representative contender of Italy. She was a little older than Ms. Orimura but people say she had the skills and strength to match her."
A person who could match Ms. Orimura in battle, that almost sounded like a myth.
"And it wasn't just her skills, her IS unit had some really high specs for a second-generation unit. Though this was back when the second-generation units were the latest fad. Anyway, they both kept winning their matches on their sides of the bracket until they reached the finals and were to face each other."
"So, Ms. Orimura lost to Italy's representative contender?"
"Kinda." Jayden scratched the side of his head. "Ms. Orimura got disqualified."
Everyone looked shocked, except for Ichika who was keeping his head down.
"Disqualification!? What did she do?"
"Not what she did, rather what she didn't do. Ms. Orimura never showed up to the battle."
"Didn't show up?" Houki couldn't imagine their homeroom teacher running away from a battle.
"Her opponent Alicia even wanted to wait for Ms. Orimura to arrive. After an hour of no-show, the officials declared Alicia by default. It was the most anti-climatic fight in Mondo Grosso history."
"Why didn't she fight?"
Jayden shrugged his shoulders. "That's the million-dollar question. No one really know what she never showed up that day." There was never an official reason why Chifuyu didn't show up, though the internet had a bundle of theories. Some say she got cold feet. Others said that she was bribed to lose. It was all speculation though as Chifuyu herself never revealed why she didn't arrive to the finals. Anytime she was asked Ms. Orimura replied with the same answer, 'No comment'.
"To top it off, Alicia never accepted trophy for winning the Mondo Grosso. She claimed that she hadn't won since she never defeated the best. So, an official from Italy had to accept the trophy on her behalf. Hey Ichika, I didn't suppose you know why your sister forfeited the second Mondo Grosso?" Jayden asked.
Ichika looked like he was in his own little world.
"Ichika? Hey Ichika!"
"Huh? Oh sorry. I… don't know."
"Guess that mystery will remain unsolved."
"Guys…. guys!" Before they could discuss it any further, Yuzu came running to the table, almost dodging the students in her way. She seemed like her excitement had been turned up to the max as she took the sheet of paper she'd been carrying and slammed it down on the table, almost knocking over a few drinks in the process. "They just released the signup sheets for the tournament next week." Yuzu announced.
"About time." Jayden read over the words on the paper along with everyone else. There were many rules advertised on the page explaining them, quite a long list of rules that somehow managed to fit on one piece of paper. Still, the main premise could be boiled down to a few key points.
1. For the inter-grade tournament students will form teams of two and engage in combat with other teams. The team that reduces the shield energy of their opponents to zero first will be the winners. Winners will move on to the next round and losers will be eliminated from the tournament.
2. Anyone who wishes to enter without a partner will be randomly assigned one prior to the start date.
3. Students with a personal IS unit may register them for use in the tournament. Students without a personal IS unit will be given a standard training unit with their choice of one standardized weapon.
4. Matches will be concluded when the shield energy of a team's IS units both reach zero. Due to higher than expected turnouts, there will be a time limit of 10 minutes per match. At the end of ten minutes if a winner has not been declared, the winning team will be whoever has a higher combined shield energy total.
5. Failure to show up to your match on time will result in immediate disqualification.
"The tournaments going to be doubles style?" Ichika said. Usually IS battles consisted of one on one battles. The entire outcome of the battle could be changed depending on who was on your team. Besides the 2v2 format, the rest of the rules seemed pretty standard.
"That's not even the biggest shock." Yuzu flipped the paper over, revealing more words on the back.
Each member of the winning team will receive two tickets for an all expense paid dinner at Joel Robuchon.
"Joel Robuchon? Is that place good?" Ichika asked.
"Any good? ANY GOOD?" Honne got all up in Ichika's face! "Nakamura is one the fanciest restaurants in Kyoto." Calling it just good is like calling Mt. Fuji a really big hill. It didn't do the place justice. "It's a three-star restaurant. They practically have the best French cuisine in Japan!" Honne made no effort to cover the drool dripping from her mouth.
"Only three stars?" If it didn't get the full five, Jayden didn't think it was that special.
"Three Michelin stars." Yuzu corrected. "it's the highest honor any restaurant can achieve. There's less than 100 restaurants in the world that have three stars."
The whole time Houki was looking Ichika's way. Along with her vow to win, there was now an actual prize at stake. It wasn't just about the restaurant. As the flyer said each team member would get an extra ticket. Naturally a person would use that ticket to bring a plus one. Depending on who the winners were, there was a good chance the boys at ISA would be asked out. And Houki was going to be sure that would be her.
While everyone was talking on the importance of Michelin Stars, A rumbling sound started making its way through the halls into the dining room. It transitioned from a faint rumble into a growing stampede. Ichika and Jayden recognized this sensation as it meant one thing.
"Pair up with me Dunois!"
"Let's pair up Sylvan!"
"Orimura can I be your partner?"
"A-Again!?" Charles figured all those stories he'd been told about girls mobbing the guys when they wanted something was an exaggeration.
The guys escaped from the booth before it could become surrounded by students. Each guy ran their own way to get out to one of the many exits in the cafeteria. The large group of girls divided itself into three smaller but still deadly gangs for each girl to go after the guy they wanted.
"Split up!" Jayden and Ichika ran off in different directions leaving Charles to choose another direction a few seconds later. The mob of girls split themselves up to chase after whoever they wanted as their partner.
/-/
Left side? All clear.
Right side? All clear.
Ichika sighed in relief as he got out of the bush he'd been hiding in for the past half hour. The students here could be extremely persistent when they wanted or wanted to know something.
"Those girls really know how to put up a chase."
His female school mates always meant well, but sometimes their excitement and eagerness could be a tad too much for him, especially when they all came at once asking him for something. He hoped Charles and Jayden had managed to get away like he had. Especially Charles, she may be in trouble if a girl teamed up with her and got too close. Ichika dusted the leaves and twigs off his head before moving on.
"Why does it have to be here instructor!?"
"Jeez… Haven't we already discussed this?"
Those voices sounded exactly like Laura's and Chifuyu-nee's. It sounded like a heated discussion, well at least for Laura. He wasn't the kind of guy to eavesdrop, but it'd be a lie to say he wasn't curious about the what the spat was about. Moving behind a tree, Ichika peeked out to listen in.
"Stop making me repeat myself." Chifuyu told her. "I have my own responsibilities. That's all there is to it."
"What responsibilities could you possibility have in this far eastern land? Please instructor. Return with me to Germany and give us your leadership once more. Your guidance is wasted here, these people can't even utilize half of what you taught them."
Whatever Laura was talking about, she seemed extremely passionate about it. There were emotions on the German's face that he'd never seen before on her.
"A place such as this is beneath you instructor. You're the champion of the first Mondo Grosso and you should've been a back-to-back champion. The title of Mondo Grosso champion – the winner of the greatest tournament on Earth and most powerful human being alive. That title should belong to no one other than you instructor."
Now it was all making sense to Ichika. Laura could feel his sister's incredible power directly. Combine that was his sister teaching Laura for about a year in Germany and he could understand why she was so infatuated with her.
"Besides, the students at this academy are not worthy of your teaching Instructor. They're naïve, too relaxed, and have no sense of danger for their surroundings. You're only wasting your time trying to teach those failures." From what Laura had seen and the battles she'd faced since coming here, the students here were a lost cause. "And the girls here only think of the IS as some sort of fashion fad. It's unthinkable that people of such a low level could be taking up your time. And that brother of yours, he's nothing but a burden on you in the past and even now-"
"That's enough you little shit."
Just five words shut Laura up. Ichika's hand clutched the tree to try to steady his nerves. Chifuyu's face held that mature expression she always wore but the tone in her voice had changed.
"You've grown a pretty big head in the short time since I last saw you. You turn 15, get a personal IS unit, and think you're some sort of chosen one?"
"I… I…"
"I won't be returning to teach in Germany. This is the last time we'll be discussing of this. Understand?"
Laura clenched her teeth to hold back her tongue. She wanted to yell, to argue, to make her mentor realize she was wasting her time here. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to argue further against her idol. The German didn't say another word as she ran off. Both Orimura's kept their eyes on her until she was out of sight. Ichika gripped the tree a little harder than before.
"Laura wasn't wrong though. I was a burden on Chifuyu-nee." Ichika thought. "Everyone was certain Chifuyu-nee would win the IS world championship for the second time in a row. But Chifuyu-nee didn't win back-to-back titles. And that's because…"
Ichika felt his chest tighten and for a brief moment forgot how to even breathe. His body stiffened up as haunting memories replayed themselves in his mind.
"Because I was kidnapped…"
Years ago, the day had come when Chifuyu Orimura was to fight in the finals for the championship of the second Mondo Grosso. Ichika was at home, watching the championship on TV. One second everything was fine, and the next the door was forced open. Before he could realize what was happening some kind of rag was forced against his nose that smelled funny. With one whiff Ichika's body numbed, and his conscious blacked out. When he came to, he was tied up in some building. A dark, cold, unknown, abandoned building that hadn't been in use in who knows how long. Ichika's yells didn't reach anybody for help.
Seconds turned into minutes. Minutes turned into hours. For who knows how many hours Ichika remained tied to the pillar. He was a scared boy who had no idea what was even going on or what would happen to him.
And out of nowhere, the wall in front of him burst apart. There she was, Chifuyu in her IS suit with the same IS she'd used to fight her matches in. He never forgot the way she looked that day when she threw aside her world title to save him. Brave, powerful, awe-inspiring, and beautiful. Chifuyu was all of that and more that day.
There were a few loose ends in the kidnapping such as how many people were involved or if the true goal really was to make his sister forfeit the Mondo Grosso. Those questions had been lost to time, but they didn't seem to matter anymore since everything had ended okay.
After the incident, Chifuyu had gone to teach in Germany a few weeks later. The reason being because she owed them a favor for their help in rescuing Ichika from his kidnappers. Laura must've been one of her students over there. Maybe she somehow found out he was the reason why Chifuyu forfeited the match.
But even without a title or glory, Chifuyu-nee was and is still the greatest big sister in the world. With a sister like her, Ichika sometimes wondered if he even deserved someone like her.
"Hey. The boy standing over there." Chifuyu spoke to the tree.
Busted.
"Eavesdropping huh? I never knew my brother had such lewd disgusting hobbies."
"Wh-What's that supposed to mean, Chifuyu-nee?!" Ichika came out from his hiding spot only to be greeted with a fist to the head courtesy of his beloved sister.
"Call me Ms. Orimura at school."
"Yes ma'am." He rubbed his sore head.
"I take it you heard everything that was just said?" The panicked look on her brother's face answered for him.
"Ms. Orimura… I'm sorry for what I did years ago." He couldn't even look his sister in the eyes. If it wasn't for him, she would've been a two-time champion.
"Ichika." Chifuyu cut him off using his first name. A thing she only called him when they were off school grounds. "I've never blamed you for what happened, and I still don't."
"But still… If it wasn't for me, you'd be-"
Ichika was silenced by a flick to the forehead. Even his sister's flicks could deal some damage.
"That's enough of that. If you have time to worry about issues of the past, you have time to focus on the current issues at hand. I take it you've read the rules of the school tournament and not found a partner?" Once again, no answer was needed. Her brother was an open book and all those words read no. "Find a partner you can work well with. Someone who can make up for your lack of weaponry. I'd hate to see you get eliminated in the first round."
"R-Right, don't worry Chifuyu-n, I mean Ms. Orimura!"
Chifuyu decided to turn a blind ear to his slip of the tongue. The two siblings went their separate ways with Ichika heading back to the main building. He had to find himself a partner, and he knew just who to ask.
/-/
"I swear I saw him go in here."
"He definitely went this way."
"Keep looking, he should be in here."
Female students searched high and low in the Academy's library for 1/3 of the male student population. All areas were being searched for Jayden Sylvan. Students were checking under chairs, in closets, and anywhere that looked big enough to hide a human.
"First one who finds him gets to be his partner!" One girl declared.
"Deal!"
"I never agreed to that!" Is what Jayden wanted to yell but doing so would give away his location behind a bookcase close to a wall. It was cramped back there, but it served its purpose of concealing Jayden so long as no one looked too closely. At least it was clean though, not a speck of dust to be found. The janitors really went the extra mile to keep the Academy nice and tidy.
Although maybe hiding behind a cramped bookcase in an area with only one exit was a bad idea. But when you're desperate and got only 5 seconds to hide, any hiding spot's a good one… right? Jayden peeked his head out to check the area and immediately pulled back. All he saw was girls searching in every direction for him. It was only a matter of time before someone's search made them check behind the bookcases. It looked like his best/only option was to make a break for the exit and continue the chase to somewhere else, preferably one with comfier hiding spots. He inched himself slightly out, prepping himself to-
"There he goes! He just ran out!" A girl shouted, pointing a finger at the exit.
"He's mine!"
"Jayden! Be my partner!"
"Hands off he's mine!"
The room shook as a stampede of girls ran out to chase after the supposed runaway with people pushing and shoving one another to get to the front of the pack. When all was quiet Jayden could finally hear himself think.
"What the heck just happened?" The room that had once been full of life was now quiet enough to hear a pin drop in less than a minute. It took a moment to register this had happened. Was this an act of God?
"They're all gone, you can come out Jayden." The girl who made the false claim earlier called out. A girl who sounded exactly like…
"Houki?" Jayden's head peeked out from his hiding spot. As he thought, it was Ichika's first childhood friend standing there. She was no god but right now, Jayden considered her a goddess for what she'd done.
"Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah." Jayden answered as he squeezed out from his hiding spot. "Thanks for saving me Houki. Not to sound ungrateful but what are you doing here?"
Houki hesitated before managing to answer. "I… I figured you'd be in trouble, so I followed the crowd and decided to help you out."
"You really saved my bacon." Jayden sighed in relief. No wonder Ichika had this girl as a friend, who knew she could be so helpful? Although Jayden remembered an important fact. "Wait. I thought you weren't speaking to me." After their falling out, Houki had made that promise to never speak to him again, and she'd been keeping good on that promise up till now.
"W-Well…" Houki coughed into her arm. "After doing some reflection, I've decided to forgive you. It wouldn't be reasonable for me to hold a grudge on a friend for the rest of time."
"That's great! I felt kinda bad for what I did. Now we can go back to-"
"Do you wanna keep talking or do you wanna get out of here before those girls realize you didn't go anywhere?" Houki looked annoyed, folding her arms under her bust. She had a pretty good point; those students were easily excited but definitely not stupid.
Houki took the lead with Jayden following close behind her as they made their way to the first-year dorms. She'd scout out ahead and when she was sure the path was a girl-chaser free zone, then Jayden would run through. With Houki's help, both students were able to reach the first-year dorms and even get to Jayden's room without being spotted.
"We made it." Houki said in relief.
"I almost thought we'd been spotted back there." Jayden wiped away nervous sweat from his forehead. "This is nothing like how TV shows portray this."
"You don't like this kind of thing. Being a guy and having so many girls want you?"
"A little bit. It's nice having the attention but that many girls at once is way too much for one person. And they only ever give me or the other guys that much attention when they want something or wanna be around my "fame"." When the spotlight was on him or the girls wanted something, they came to Jayden like moths to a flame. Any other time and it was business as usual.
Houki reminisced on something for a moment. "I can relate…"
"But once I find a partner the hype's sure to die down. Just gotta find someone."
"Then team up with me."
"What?" Jayden rubbed the inside of his ear to make sure he wasn't hearing things.
"You heard me. Be my partner for the tournament." She repeated. "May we talk inside your room?"
Jayden nodded and let Houki inside his dorm room. Honne wasn't around so it was just the two of them.
"Okay, why do you want the two of us to be partners?" Jayden asked.
"We know each other well and we have… decent chemistry. Your defensive fighting style can complement my offensive style. This lets us make up for what the other lacks. I believe that if we work together, we can win the entire tournament."
"I suppose…" Something about this seemed off. A few hours ago Houki hated his guts and now she was going out of her way to help him with his issues. This was a complete 180 from Houki. "You're sure about this?"
"I am. You're a great IS pilot and I want to team up with something like you."
If Jayden wasn't sure of his doubts before, he definitely was now.
"Don't lie to me Houki. I know I'm not that good of a pilot. Heck, I can count the number of IS battles I've won since I've gotten here on one hand." He lifted up a few fingers for emphasis. "What's going on Houki? First you forgive me out nowhere after not talking to me for days, then you show up to help me with my girl troubles and now you wanna team up for the IS tournament. Tell me what's really going on or I'm vetoing this team up."
"Fine. I need to win this tournament and you're the only other person I know well enough and has a personal IS unit who would team up with me." Houki admitted.
"What about the others?"
"They've all partnered up. Cecilia and Rin decided to pair up. The same goes for Ichika and Charles." Houki cut him off. "This is a team tournament.
Jayden's fist slammed onto the mattress, rising back up with a bounce. "DANG IT! They always do this. So much for guys unity." Once again, Charles and Ichika had gone behind his back. There were three guys, so someone would've been left out by default if they were forming a guys team. But they could've at least asked him. If Jayden got to face them in the tournament, he'd make them regret not talking it over with him.
Houki waited until Jayden calmed down with his outburst before resuming. "Vishnu is unable to compete due to her injuries so that leaves you as the only personal pilot I know well enough to ask."
"So, I'm just the consolation prize?" Jayden rolled his eyes. "Wow Houki. You really know how to make a guy feel special Houki."
"I wasn't trying to insult you Jayden, I'm just stating the facts. Look we need each other"
"Actually, you've got that wrong. You need me but I don't really need you. There are a lot of girls who would love to have me as a partner. I've got a personal IS unit." There was literally a stampede of girls who wanted to team up with him. If he got a second or third year, they'd be way more experienced in an IS than Houki was.
Houki had been hoping he wouldn't realize that but now that was out the window. "Please, I have to win this tournament."
"Why do you wanna win so badly?" Houki was just a regular student unlike him who had a personal unit and a need to do well to keep his IS.
"I made a promise." Houki answered.
"To whom?"
"To myself. I need to win this to prove to myself that I've changed." To show herself she had the strength to move on from the past, she had to win this. Not to mention the prize was dangerous. There was a huge chance Ichika would be asked to go on the date no matter who won. And Houki as going to make sure it would be her. "And right now, you're my best shot at winning. What's it gonna take to get you to say yes? I'll do anything."
Jayden's eyebrow rose. "Anything?" His eyes were locked completely on the girl offering such a claim.
"Within reason." She quickly added.
Jayden's face started to turn a slight reddish color. "I didn't mean it like that! But... There is one you can do for me. Do it and I'll team up with you."
"Name it."
"Let me talk to your sister."
The smile on Houki's face shattered.
"Except that."
"Oh come on!" Jayden threw his hands up in the air. "Why not? What is it with you and your sister? You're family right, don't you have her number or something."
"It's complicated. I have morals and they involve having to do anything with my sister."
"Then just give me her number. That's it You don't have to do anything more than that."
"If you call her from a phone number she doesn't recognize, she's not going to answer it." Houki knew Tabane well enough that she'd only ever pick up to a few select people. Unfortunately, she was one of those people.
"You and your sister had some sort of falling out, I get that and its a touchy subject, but don't you think you're overreacting maybe? It's just a phone call."
"It's more than that. I want nothing more to do with my sister."
"Please Houki. You're my only chance at speaking with Tabane Shinonono."
"Why do you want to talk to my sister so badly?"
"Because I want to know why I can use an IS. Every other man can't use one expect for me, Charles, and Ichika. And I wanna know why. I just, wanna know what makes me special. And maybe if I find out why I can use it, I can figure out why other men can't. We've been through a lot Houki, heck I saved your life when that rogue IS unit invaded the academy a few months ago. Doesn't that count for something?"
Houki's resolve looked to waver a tiny bit. "And you think Tabane knows the answer."
"Maybe, but she's my best shot. So, will you let me talk to her?"
Jayden and Houki stared one another down as seconds turned into a minute.
"Forget it. Looks like we can't make this work. I appreciate all you've done Houki but I'm going to find someone else to team up with. Good luck in the tournament."
She hadn't left just yet. Her best chance at winning had refused but she needed his help.
"Wait!"
Houki hesistated. It'd actually come down to this. The morals inside Houki were fighting against each other. Two promises Houki had made for herself. One to never be involved with her sister ever again, and one where she won to prove her strength to herself and a certain someone no matter what. One of those would have to give.
"If we win…"
Jayden blinked. "What?"
Houki clenched her fists tightly. "If you team up with me and we win the tournament… I'll get you in contact with my sister."
"You're serious?" The look on Houki's face showed she was indeed serious. "What about you not using your sister to accomplish your goals?"
"Just this once, I'm going to slightly loosen my moral code."
The offer to talk to the IS inventor Tabane Shinonono was in his reach. It was everything Jayden had been wanting for a while. There was just the itsy-bitsy issue of winning the entire tournament. Jayden would have to face and win every opponent that came his way. Third years, personal IS pilots, even Laura if his luck went down the toilet.
And his partner was going to be Houki Shinonono. A first-year student who would use a standard IS unit. The only thing Jayden knew about Houki's fighting style was that she was extremely good at kendo. Who knows how well those kendo skills would transition to IS piloting, but it was better than nothing. If this team was going to win, it'd fall to him to do the heavy lifting.
"How about if I just team up with you?"
"No. I need to win this tournament. And if we're going to do this, I'll need you giving it your best. Consider it motivation."
Jayden still seemed unsure about all this.
"I'm loosening some of my morals to do this, so know that I'll be giving it my all to win as well. Don't expect me to make this offer again."
"All right Houki, you win. I'll team up with you."
"Excellent. Just sign this form and I'll submit our registration."
Houki took out a team registration paper from her skirt pocket. At the bottom Houki's name was already signed.
"Got a-"
Jayden was taken back by how fast Houki produced a pen from her skirt pocket. She really had planned everything. After adding his name to the paper, the team of Houki Shinonono and Jayden Sylvan was now official.
"Thank you for doing this." Houki took the paper, getting up from her spot to head out.
Mission accomplished... kinda. He'd finally gotten Shinonono's favor to speak with her sister, although he had to work for it but it was definitely progress. Honestly, Jayden hadn't expected getting Houki to set him up worth Tabane to be like pulling teeth.
"Hey Houki?"
"What is it?"
"Do you hate your sister?"
Houki's eyes glanced over at Jayden before shifting her eyesight to the ground. "I'll see you later." That was the last thing Houki said before she closed the door behind her.
Another chapter completed and the story grows ever bigger. Given that this arc introduced two girls the story would have about twice as many chapters, and we've reached the end of the first half. Cecilia and Rin have managed to avoid their canon fate of being sidelined although Vishnu has taken the fall in their place. Houki has also found a new partner for the tournament so who will Laura be forced to pair up with?
Next chapter will be a short intermission to get everything wrapped up a nice little package.
To all my readers, I've heard in your reviews about Jayden's unfair hatred he's been receiving along with his lack of spotlight compared to Ichika. My intention was to make Jayden like an underdog with a hint of fish out of water but looking back I've noticed I've gone too far in that direction. I'll be making some revisions that put Jayden in a more positive light. Thank you everyone for voicing your opinions.
Keep your sense of wonder and I'll see you next time.
Reviewing Reviewers
B123: I wanted to make the scene with Charles revealing why she's here to Ichika a personal one and I wanted to expand on it. Meanwhile Jayden's still falling for the bait trying to prove himself or stick up for somebody else. But hey, at least he technically got a date with Ms. Orimura so karma balances out?
Gobert600: Jayden does tend to act immature given his age. Compared to all the older teens he interacts with; it tends to stand out more.
Freakyfreek: Jayden has been receiving too much hate recently. I'm planning on dialing it back and giving him the chance to shine more often.
Nekoboy2012: Never realized I made a Jojo's reference till I read your comment. Tune in next time to Jayden's bizarre adventure.
Immaculate Doll: That ended up happening, good eye.
To the guest accounts who left a review, thank you. It really perked me up hearing you enjoyed my work.
Special thanks to AzureDominion for beta reading and proofreading this chapter.
Omake
"Please Jayden. I need you to team up with me." Houki was on the verge of dropping to her knees to beg. "I'll do anything if you'll be my partner."
"Anything?" Jayden didn't think getting his wish granted would be this easy. "There's one thing I want, and you know what it is." He held out his phone in front of her.
"A-Are you sure that's what you want?" Houki's gulped while her face heated up. Sure, she said anything, but she wasn't literal. But if this is what it took…
"It's exactly what I want."
A few seconds later, Houki lifted her head and spoke. "O-Okay then."
"Sweet." This was actually happening. He could finally talk with Houki's sister. The famed IS inventor Ta-
Jayden's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of clothing falling on the ground. Houki had discarded the top half of her School Academy uniform leaving her in a pink bra that really highlighted her large bust size. And now her hands were looking to do the same with her skirt.
"W-What are you doing!?" He placed his hands over his eyes, though it didn't stop him from making small openings between his fingers.
"I'm giving you what you want. That's what the phone is for, right? You want my nudes in exchange for your aid."
"Your nudes? I don't want that. I want your sister!"
"You want nudes of my sister?
"I don't want anyone's naked photos."
"But the phone-"
"I was trying to be clever with a metaphor." Jayden screamed.
"Oh." Houki immediately covered her bosom with her arms. She eyed the phone, realizing she'd have to deal with her sister. Houki considered her options before slightly lowering her arms from her bust. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather have my nudes?"
"YES BUT NO!"
"Fine…"
This omake was Inspired by Coeur Al'Aran