A/N: The IS Wiki states that Clarisa Harfouch is a Lieutenant in the German armed forces. Due to them not specifying 1st or 2nd Lt. and me not getting a clear view of her rank insignia, I have decided to rank her as an Oberleutnant, or the German equivalent of 1st Lieutenant. By that logic Laura is ranked as Hauptmann, as that is the German equivalent of Captain. Please correct my German if I make a mistake.
Chapter 10
In spite of the events of the tournament, classes had not been cancelled, and Ichika seamlessly integrated himself back into the normal day-to-day routine of IS Academy once he was released from the infirmary.
Thus, Ichika found himself sitting in his seat in Classroom 1-1, listening to his older sister lecture on IS combat tactics. Occasionally, he would glance over to the empty seat where Laura had sat only two days before, the empty desk being the only visible evidence that something had occurred the day before. Laura herself had remained in the infirmary, as several specialists had to be flown in from Germany to perform more detailed medical examinations on her. Of course, despite the veil of secrecy surrounding the whole debacle, the IS Academy rumor mill had once again proven its worth, having arrived at the correct conclusion within three hours of the tournament's premature end. Granted, the rumor of it being a secret and illegal German prototype was promptly discarded in favor of it being a hacking attempt by an anonymous student that wanted to have her way with an injured Ichika, but still, Ichika mused, the students of IS Academy could easily be made into a crack espionage unit with only a little training and a lot more discipline.
"Orimura! As you have shown yourself to be proficient in IS combat, please explain to me when it is not appropriate to do an evasive roll in an IS?" His older sister's voice snapped him back to reality.
"An evasive roll is not appropriate when you are either very close or touching the ground. In addition, when facing scattering weapons, a simple roll may not be enough to get you out of the way of the enemy's field of fire. Finally, when facing homing weaponry, you should be very careful in the timing of your rolls. If you roll too early, the missile will have time to compensate and adjust its course, while if you roll too late, you will not be able to complete the maneuver in time." Ichika replied.
"A good answer. Sit down." Chifuyu smiled faintly, and he obliged.
"Alcott, as your IS is based entirely around ranged combat, tell me what you are supposed to do in the event that you cannot hit your opponent?" Chifuyu's next question was directed at Cecilia.
"If I do not have a partner available, I would first determine the opponent's movement patterns, how she dodges, and what she does afterwards. Next, I will use what I have determined to force them into a situation where they can be hit. Once I have landed my first shot, I press my advantage and finish the duel." The blonde replied, casting a quick glance at Ichika, as if asking him to confirm her answer. He smiled back at her in response.
The rest of the class passed in a similar manner, with Chifuyu lecturing and asking an occasional question to ensure her class was paying attention. Before too long, it was over, and the students were free to do as they pleased. For Ichika, that meant heading up to his dormitory and finishing up his evaluation of the IS blueprints that were sent to him the day before.
"So Ichika, what are you doing?" A familiar voice asked, several hours later.
"Oh, this? Well, I'm technically not supposed to show you, corporate secret and all." Ichika replied, saving and closing the reports.
"Do all corporate representative candidates have to do things like that?" Charlotte asked, sitting down beside him on his bed.
"It depends. For me, I have to not only submit regular reports on the performance of my own IS, but also evaluate the various possible designs that our company may produce in the near future." Ichika replied.
"I see..." Charlotte replied.
"So what about you? Aren't you representing the Dunois corporation? Don't you have to do anything like this?" Ichika asked, maintaining his cover story.
"Oh, no, I'm the Representative of France. Besides, since my IS lacks any real experimental technology, I don't have anything to report, aside from... well... you know..." Charlotte's face fell.
"You mean your supposed progress in stealing data from me?" Ichika asked.
"Yes, that... I've been sending false messages to my father for a while now, and he's getting impatient. Not to mention that he was there, watching our match against Laura..." Charlotte trailed off again.
"So he's seen you using my laser rifle?" Ichika asked.
"Exactly, and now he's demanding that I send him the data on it." Charlotte replied.
"I see. So what will you do?" Ichika asked.
"I... I don't know..." Charlotte sighed.
"Don't worry. It's not like he can do anything to you while you're here. You can keep him waiting as long as you like." Ichika smiled.
"But what do I do when I have to leave? As soon as the holidays begin I am required to return to France and report everything to him!" Ichika's smile turned predatory at Charlotte's admission.
"You just leave that part to me, Charlotte."
"What are you going to do?"
"You will see." Ichika made a mental note to meet with Maya as soon as possible.
The room was quiet for a moment, before Charlotte's face brightened.
"A-Anyway, enough about that! I heard that the boys' bath is finished, so..." Charlotte blushed.
"That's a great idea Charlotte! I haven't had a chance to clean myself off since the tournament, so a bath sounds really nice right now." Ichika said, standing up.
"A-Alright!" A blushing Charlotte stood up as well.
"What are you doing?" Ichika asked.
"I-I'm going with you." Charlotte blushed even further.
"W-Wait! I thought we were going to take turns using it!" Ichika exclaimed.
"I... I wouldn't mind..." Charlotte murmured, too softly for Ichika to hear properly.
"Sorry, I didn't hear you. What did you say?" Ichika asked.
"I... I said that it would look suspicious if only one of us was seen using the bath at a time..." Charlotte blushed even further and looked away. After a few stunned moments, Ichika sighed and looked away, a blush spreading across his face as well.
"F-Fine... I won't look, I promise." Ichika said, and left the room, keeping his eyes fixed straight ahead.
As luck would have it, Ichika was the first to enter the bath, sighing in relief as he entered the steaming water. Sinking down until only his head was visible, he closed his eyes and leaned back, half floating, half resting against the floor.
"I-Ichika... I'm coming in... Sorry for the intrusion!" A nervous sounding Charlotte exclaimed as she entered the steaming room. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately for her, the steam did little, if anything, to hide her body from Ichika's eyes.
Said boy blinked twice as he involuntarily stared at the rather attractive girl who stood naked at the edge of the bath.
"D-Don't stare so much... Ichika no ecchi..." Charlotte said as she entered the water.
"S-Sorry!" Ichika exclaimed, struggling against millions of years' worth of evolved instinct to close his eyes.
"Is something wrong?" Charlotte asked, sinking underwater, allowing Ichika to crack one of his eyes open.
"I-It's not th-that, i-it's just that-" Ichika stuttered, like any teenage boy would when in his situation.
"I-If It's bothering you, then I'll leave..." Charlotte said from somewhere off to his left.
"N-No, I should be the one leaving, I've already enjoyed myself." Ichika said, preparing to stand up.
"Wait!" At that, Ichika felt a hand cover his, and another body press against his back.
"I... I need to tell you something." Charlotte said, a slight touch of desperation in her voice.
"It's very important, so I want you to listen."
"I... Alright." Ichika sighed. Was it just him, or was the temperature in the room increasing?
The pair sat back to back in awkward silence for a few seconds, before Charlotte spoke up again.
"I... It's about everything. My father, my position here, my staying at the academy... I've made my decision." Charlotte said, resolve now present in her voice.
"What do you mean?" Ichika asked.
"I intend to stay here, with you. It's because of you that I'm doing this." Charlotte said, placing her hand on his hip.
"R-Really?" Ichika asked, blushing further at the contact.
"Yes... Also, I've decided who I will be." Charlotte said, turning around, pressing her breasts into his back as she did so.
"Who will you be then?" Ichika asked, looking back to see his roommate's face inches from his own.
"I've decided that I will be Charlotte Dunois... I'll be the girl my mother always said I was, rather than the boy my father wishes me to be." Charlotte smiled.
"So you're going to reveal your true identity?" Ichika asked.
"You said that you would take care of everything... so I decided that I no longer needed to be my dad's puppet here." Charlotte said, leaning in until the distance between them was next to nonexistent. Ichika was silent for a few moments as he quickly thought things through, before he gave her his response.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure you can stay here... Charlotte." Upon hearing those words, Charlotte leaned in even further, covering Ichika's lips with her own. His eyes widened at the sudden contact, but they were soon closed as he lost himself in the kiss. Unconsciously, he embraced her, just as she embraced him. The kiss lasted on for what seemed like an eternity, before finally, reluctantly, Charlotte pulled away, leaning back into his embrace, while her own arms remained wrapped around his neck.
"Ichika..." Charlotte sighed, staring into his eyes.
"Don't worry Charlotte." Ichika repeated, smiling down at the girl in his arms. "I'll take care of everything."
Both Ichika and Charlotte slept very soundly that night.
The next morning Charlotte woke up early, leaving Ichika alone. She was missing from the cafeteria as well, and when Ichika stepped into Classroom 1-1, he saw that she was missing from there as well. Laura Bodewig was there, although the silver haired girl was giving him a strange look when he entered the room.
The classroom filled up quickly, but Charlotte did not enter. Finally, Maya stepped up onto the podium in the center of the room and cleared her throat.
"U-Um... Attention everyone! Today I will be introducing a new student." Maya said, sounding like the timid, somewhat absentminded teacher that most people thought she was, rather than the focused and somewhat intimidating agent that Ichika knew was her real persona. Her declaration, however, caused heads all over the classroom to turn towards the entrance, and almost all the students gasped as one when Charlotte Dunois walked in through the door, wearing a modified female IS Academy uniform with a shorter than average skirt.
"My name is Charlotte Dunois. It is a pleasure to meet you all once again." Charlotte said, smiling.
"Um... It looks like Dunois-kun was actually Dunois-san all along!" Maya explained, causing a fresh wave of gossip to sweep the room.
"Wait, so Dunois-kun was actually a girl?"
"I knew there was something weird going on!"
"So she is is a cute girl instead of a cute boy?"
"Hey Orimura-kun! You were sharing a room with her, so you couldn't possibly have not known about this!"
"Wait a minute, wasn't the boys' large bath being used by both boys yesterday?" As soon as those words were said, the classroom wall exploded.
"ICHIKA!" An enraged Rin screamed from atop ShenLong as she quickly hovered over to him, her Impact cannons already charging.
"Rin, are you crazy? What the hell are you doing?" Ichika screamed as he began a partial deployment, the Infinite Arsenal's barrier taking form around him. However, no shots impacted against it, as someone else had stepped between the two of them.
Her AIC absorbing the shots and simultaneously immobilizing the ShenLong, Laura Bodewig stood between Ichika and his crazed childhood friend, clad in the Schwarzer Regen. Then, keeping her AIC deployed, the silver haired girl turned to face Ichika. Reaching down, Laura quickly pulled him up until their faces were level, before leaning in and trapping him in a deep French kiss. Too shocked to resist, Ichika simply blinked as Laura forced her tongue into his mouth. Then, several seconds later, Laura placed him back on the ground.
"I hereby declare you to be my wife. All objections are dismissed." Laura declared, a faint blush visible on her pale cheeks.
"WHAT?" The entirety of Class 1-1, which had until then been shocked into silence, suddenly cried out, causing both Laura and Ichika to wince at the volume.
Ichika blinked once.
"Wait, what?" He exclaimed as the words Laura spoke finally sank in. That was about when Chifuyu walked into the room. Ichika swore that when his normally stoic sister saw the damaged wall, her eye twitched.
"What happened here?" It wasn't a question that was addressed to the now dead silent room, but an order. It was an order that Laura answered.
"At exactly 0800 hours, class began with the introduction of Charlotte Dunois, who has apparently been masquerading as a boy under the pseudonym Charles ever since she first entered the Academy. This revelation was enough to touch off a fresh wave of gossip. Less than a minute after Charlotte's gender had been revealed, Representative Candidate Huang entered the room via the west facing wall, using the ShenLong as a method of entry. She promptly assumed a position directly in front of my betrothed, clearly attempting to murder him in a fit of passion. Of course, my new wife is more than capable in these situations, and promptly partially deployed his IS unit's barrier in a commendable display of reflexes." That statement actually caused the normally impassive Chifuyu to blink in shock.
"However, while my betrothed was more than capable of withstanding Pilot Huang's assault, I decided to do my duty as his fiance to defend him. Thus, I blocked the attack and neutralized the threat with my Active Inertia Canceler. Once I had confirmed that the threat was indeed eliminated, I turned to my betrothed and promptly informed him of his status as my bride. I intend to consummate my marriage as soon as possible." Laura declared, all with a straight face.
Chifuyu simply stared for a few moments, pinching herself on the arm before shaking her head in exasperation.
"It's too early to be dealing with this..." Chifuyu sighed, before addressing the class as a whole.
"Due to the damage done to the classroom, today's lesson will be held outside. Which is quite fortunate, as today's topic happens to be proper usage of ranged weapons. Representative Huang has kindly volunteered to be the target."
The rest of class boiled down to the entirety of Class 1-1 lined up around an immobilized ShenLong, practicing their shooting skills, while a rather irate Chifuyu spoke on the phone with Chinese officials. Of course, Rin was allowed the occasional break whenever her ADS triggered, at which point she would be given a few minutes to stow away her IS and recharge its shields, after which the shooting practice would start anew.
Class ended after several hours of constant target practice, at which point even Rin was starting to feel drowsy in her IS. After all, centering the target and (mentally) pulling the trigger switch would get extremely boring after an extended period of time.
After the students were dismissed, the brown haired girl followed Chifuyu up to her office, and emerged nearly an hour later, looking rather sober. Apparently, her representative candidacy was in jeopardy of being revoked, in fact, judging by the information Ori had gleaned from tapping into the communications going in and out from the academy, the only reason that Rin didn't have her candidacy revoked was due to her high IS Compatibility score.
Of course, Chifuyu still had her own personal quarrel with the Chinese girl, as she had assaulted her younger brother. Hence the figure now running around the IS Academy track, a second, taller figure in pursuit, just barely visible from the window of Maya's office.
"So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Maya asked from where she sat behind her desk.
"I have a potential security leak to report, and I would like for it to be dealt with, preferably before the holidays begin." Ichika replied, leaning against the windowsill while looking out across the Academy grounds.
"Let me guess. Does this have to do with Dunois-san's deception?" The green haired Intelligence agent asked, a faint smile on her lips.
"Yes, it does. I assume you are aware of the reason behind her masquerade?" Ichika asked in turn.
"I am. She was sent here by her father in order to steal data about your IS in order to facilitate the production of third generation French IS suits by the Dunois Corporation. I assume you want her father dealt with?"
"Exactly. From what Charlotte has told me, he is demanding access to the data on my new FEL Rifle, and will likely demand much more than that in the near future. I personally have a strong suspicion that, should Charlotte's method of data acquisition not prove as effective as he had hoped, he will likely take more overt action to get his hands on the Infinite Arsenal, and on the off chance that he succeeds... I am sure you already know the consequences." Ichika explained. Maya laughed in response.
"Looks like you're already living up to your nickname, 007. Seducing and turning female spies... The boys back at HQ will have quite a laugh over that fact! On a more serious note, what course of action would you recommend we take against this threat?" Maya asked, quickly composing herself.
"You're asking me? I thought this was your job."
"It is, but you are the one with the turned spy on your side. I am simply asking for your recommendation."
"I see. Well, from what Charlotte has told me, her father's company is in rather dire straits thanks to its inability to produce a third-generation TIS, to the point where their IS Development Rights are at risk of being revoked. However, getting those rights revoked is not enough, as that will likely lead to an act of desperation on Dunois' part." Ichika explained.
"I see. Is there anything else?" Maya asked.
"I was getting to that. Now, as I was saying, merely applying political pressure and revoking said license is not enough. However, the political approach is not the only angle of attack available to us. After all, while the Dunois Corporation was once the world's leading producer of MPIS suits, it is now beginning to struggle financially, as their contract for the Raphael Revive has expired, and the nations that they have exported Revive variants to are now considering replacing them with newer models from America and England. I believe that economic sabotage of some sort, when coupled with increased political pressure, can easily drive the Dunois Corporation into the ground."
"I see. If I remember correctly, our Organization has ties with a company that is currently in direct competition with the Dunois Corporation. That would be a viable venue for economic attack, and can be used to pressure the target politically as well. However, these are all general strikes against the Dunois Corp. as a whole. Do you have any suggestions that can be used to attack Raphael Dunois personally?" Maya asked. Ichika thought for a few moments, before replying.
"The main reason that Charlotte tried so hard to keep her secret is because her father was likely threatening to reveal her secret to the media should she fail. After all, the story of a bastard child who, in an attempt to curry favor with her father, forged her identity and tried to steal corporate data from one of her trusting classmates would ruin her. I propose we do something similar, but twisting the truth in order to target Raphael instead of Charlotte. Just think about it: A daughter abandoned by her father, called back on the day her mother died and blackmailed into spying on and stealing from one of her friends in the name of corporate greed. A story like that, if released via the right outlets, could cause quite the scandal, don't you think?" Ichika suggested. Maya blinked once in response, clearly not expecting an answer in such detail.
"You should have gone into Intel, Orimura-kun. A bit of training, and you would have been a master at media manipulation. However, such a plan would require Dunois-san's cooperation in order to work to its fullest. I can arrange for political and economic pressure to begin immediately, but I would like for you to reach an agreement with Charlotte before I leak the story. Persuade her to agree with your plan if necessary, then work out a plan for how she will respond to the 'news' of her story being leaked. Once that is done, report exactly what you have agreed to back to me, and I will send the result to the boys in media manipulation. Assuming they do their job correctly... Well, let's just say that Raphael Dunois' days are numbered, and if they don't... Well, if worst comes to worst, we can always order an assassination."
"A-Assassination? But-" Ichika exclaimed at that last part.
"Don't worry, I was just joking. We're not going to assassinate someone just because he blackmailed your girlfriend. Although that would make meeting her father so much easier." Ichika blushed, both in embarrassment and no small amount of fear.
"You have a strange sense of humor, Yamada-san." Ichika said.
"You're not the first person to say that to me, Orimura-kun!" Maya smiled in response. It was the exact same smile that she constantly wore on her face in the middle of class, but in the small office room it seemed much scarier to its only beholder.
That night, Ichika slept alone in his room for the second time during his stay at IS Academy. However, while Ichika was sleeping, another figure was moving through the halls, her eyepatch removed, allowing for her to use the golden sensor beneath to see perfectly in the darkened dormitory building.
1023, 1024, 1025!' Laura counted the room numbers in her head, stopping when she arrived at her destination. Quickly looking under the door to see if there was any light on inside, she smiled when she saw that the room within was just as dark as the hallway outside.
"Clarisa, come in. I am outside the target's room. Target appears to be asleep. What is a preferable course of action?" Laura whispered into her phone, the instrument's screen not emitting any light.
"Understood, Hauptmann Bodewig. Do you have a method of entering?" Oberleutnant Clarisa Harfouch answered from the other end of the line.
"I do." Laura replied, holding up a simple keycard that she had 'acquired' from a janitor earlier that day.
"Good. Proceed with entry. After you do so, be sure to carefully examine your bride's belongings for evidence of infidelity. Once that is done, you may enter his bed and proceed to sleep with him in order to consummate your marriage. As he is asleep, you must take great care in order to avoid waking him. Don't worry though, you scored the highest of all of us on the stealth examinations, so you should do fine in that regard. Before you proceed, however, I must warn you that I will not be able to contact you once you have entered your bride's room. You will be on your own from there on out." Clarisa replied.
"I understand. Thank you, Oberleutnant Harfouch." Laura replied.
"You're welcome. Good luck, Hauptmann." At that, the line went dead. Laura sighed in relief. When she had first brought up the issue of Ichika with her subordinate, she was worried that her problems would be dismissed as trivial, but Clarisa had pulled through for her. Even with such a limited amount of time to gather intelligence, she had managed to discover everything that Laura needed to know with regards to Japanese romantic customs! Then again, Clarisa was the oldest living clone to be produced by the Bodewig program, and thus, she was the wisest and most experienced as well! Back when Laura was still growing into her role, Clarisa was the one with all the answers. She was the one to go to whenever one had a question about which part went where when assembling a rifle, or which shell was High Explosive and which one was APFSDS! She was even the one that taught Laura how to read and write, so of course she would know what to do in a romantic situation! Laura felt silly for ever doubting her faithful subordinate's ability.
Quickly inserting and retracting the keycard, Laura tiptoed into her bride's room. A quick inspection showed him to be asleep, just as expected. After all, even someone as skilled as Ichika needed his rest!
Closing the door behind her, Laura stealthily made her way over to the table beside her bride's bed, noticing the black pouch sitting on it. That would be the most likely place for any evidence of infidelity to be kept, so Laura quietly opened it. Looking inside, she saw nothing but her husband's datapad and several neatly arranged documents. It seems that her bride was also very well organized! However, her implanted hyper-sensor had noticed some discrepancies present in the pouch's design. The main storage compartment was nowhere near as deep as it should have been in a pouch that size, so either the bottom was very thick, or there was a second compartment present.
Quickly analyzing the container for a second compartment, Laura noticed the two concealed latches on the black pouch's sides, disguised as ordinary silver decorations. Pressing down on both simultaneously, Laura was rewarded with the bottom of the pouch opening up, revealing a tiny firearm and four spare magazines.
Now, had any other girl found this particular item, she would have likely gasped loud enough to wake up the firearm's owner, leading to a tense standoff and a large amount of tension and drama. However, Laura was not any other girl. Where other girls her age were learning that firearms were dangerous, she was learning exactly where to aim one for maximum damage to the target. Where other girls assembled jigsaw puzzles, Laura stripped and reassembled assault rifles. Everyone she met while growing up carried some form of weapon on their person at all times, so to her, a weapon was just another item of clothing to be worn, concealed or otherwise.
So, instead of gasping in shock, Laura simply looked over to her sleeping bride and softly complimented him on his foresight in keeping such a weapon on him.
Quietly closing the weapon compartment, Laura made the decision to finally consummate her marriage, quickly taking off her clothing. After all, a husband and wife had nothing to hide from each other. As she prepared to join her bride under the covers, however, her eyes came to rest on the sheathed knife also lying beside the bed.
"Oh Ichika, you're so smart, but you forgot one little thing." Laura murmured softly, reaching for the knife. She promptly dove under the covers and, careful so as not to wake the blade's owner, strapped the knife back to the leg where she knew Ichika normally kept it.
Her bride now properly armed, Laura finally replaced the eyepatch before nuzzling into Ichika's chest. The last thing she felt before she fell asleep was the feeling of Ichika unconsciously embracing her in his sleep.
Laura was not the only girl up and about that night, as the lone figure standing at the entrance to one of IS Academy's practice arenas proved. Shinonono Houki had stayed up late practicing her piloting skills, and had just stowed away her IS after a long, but uneventful session. However, her practice was far from the foremost thing in her mind at the moment as she stared at her phone, debating over whether or not to call a certain number. Steeling herself, she pressed the button and put the phone to her ear.
"Hey, hey, all day, every day! Hi~! I'm everyone's favorite idol, Dr. Shinonono Tabane!" The high pitched, cheerful voice rang out from the other end of the line, causing Houki to grit her teeth and nearly put down the phone.
"Wait! Wait! Don't hang up Houki-chan!" Houki's older sister pleaded, causing the long haired girl to pause and continue the phone call.
"Nee-san..." Houki began, but trailed off.
"My oh my, my dear sister! Yup, I know what you're after! You want your own personal machine, don't you? I have it all ready of course! With the highest specs, it's better than even the latest cutting-edge technology! It's easily on par with Ikkun's black machine! The name of this machine is... Akatsubaki!" That bombshell alone was nearly enough to make Houki drop her phone in shock.
"W-Wait, you mean-"
"Of course! It took a lot of hard work, but everyone's favorite idol has pulled through once again! With Akatsubaki at your side, you won't ever have to pilot one of those little training IS suits ever again!" Tabane cheerfully explained.
"B-But I didn't-"
"Oh, don't worry, I've made sure that everything about Akatsubaki fits your combat style! Nothing but my best for my Houki-chan, after all! Now, is there anything you would like to tell your favorite Onee-sama?"
"Wha... Why did... When did you... How..." For once, Houki was completely rendered speechless.
"Don't worry Houki-chan! You'll find out soon enough! Bye bye!" With those words, the call ended, leaving Houki standing alone, her eye twitching in frustration at the conversation she had just had. It was just like every other conversation she had had with her sister since the debut of the IS, short and one-sided, and leaving her more frustrated than before. However, the bombshell that her sister had dropped was nonetheless coursing through her mind.
Akatsubaki. If she had heard right, that was the name of the IS that her sister was making specifically for her. It was the name of a machine that could supposedly surpass Ichika's Infinite Arsenal. Her mind was awhirl with possibilities, each more ridiculous and overpowered than the last. However, the real news was that she was getting her own personal IS!
Like every other girl in IS Academy, Houki had been tested for IS Compatibility at age twelve, and had managed to score above the 50 point base minimum that was required to activate an IS. Only half of all women in the world had that capability, and were thus ranked as E-grade pilot material. Of that half, only one tenth of them had a score above 60, which was the minimum needed to actually make an IS move. Those were the D-grades, and they were the lowest scoring students to be even considered for IS Academy admission. The ten percent of D-grade pilots that had a score above 70 were considered C-grade, and that was where Houki was ranked. While C-grade pilots stood a good chance of being accepted into IS Academy, they were not even considered for representative candidacy. No, that belonged to the ten percent of C-grade pilots that managed to score above 80, and even as a B-rank pilot, your chances of being a representative candidate were slim, although some particularly skilled C and B ranked pilots were considered for corporate representative status, assuming they did particularly well during a tournament and caught the notice of one of the VIPs watching. Only the A ranked pilots were truly considered for national representative status, and only one in ten B-ranked pilots had a score above 90 which was necessary for the A-grade. Cecilia Alcott was one of them, Rin was another, as was Charles... no, Charlotte Dunois. Laura Bodewig was also likely A-grade, given her representative status. Orimura Ichika, on the other hand, was ranked even higher, being classed as an S-grade pilot with a score over 100. While the ratio of lower to higher grade pilots for all other ranks was approximately ten to one, only one out of every hundred A-grade pilots was considered S-ranked.
The most common theory behind Ichika's ability to pilot the IS was that his natural, S-grade talent allowed him to overcome whatever prevented all other men from piloting. It was said that S-grade pilots felt the IS as an extension of their own bodies rather than a machine to be controlled, and were more at home in their IS suits than in their own bodies. Unlike Houki, they were naturally suited to piloting their IS suits, while she was a mere C-rank. A simply average pilot. Her merely average IS Compatibility score caused her representative candidate application to be thrown out after only being given a cursory glance. It was that score that prevented her from being considered for a Personal IS and left her as the only person in Ichika's rapidly growing circle of friends without a personal IS in her name.
However, if her sister was telling the truth, she would be getting her own personal IS very soon! What would that mean for her? After all, no matter what IS she piloted, her compatibility score would still be C-ranked for quite some time, unless she was one of the few pilots who managed to gain enough skill and become so closely attuned to their machines that their score would change grades. It was fully possible to raise one's score through hard work, but each new point was exponentially harder to gain than the last. For all her effort, she would likely remain a C-rank pilot. A C-rank with a personal IS, but still a C-rank!
Sighing, Houki leaned against the wall. This was not how she wanted to gain a personal IS. She wanted to become so skilled that she would draw the attention of a corporation, and thus become a representative candidate through her own personal skill! Instead, her sister comes along and tells her that she would get a personal IS anyway, regardless of her piloting skills!
Standing back up, Houki decided to head back to her room, her mind still in turmoil. She knew her sister meant well, but Houki didn't want to win through her machine alone!
That night, Houki's dreamed of a kendo tournament. She was winning every match effortlessly, but with every victory, there was less and less applause until only one voice continued to cheer. Looking around, Houki saw that the only person still watching her was Tabane, all the other spectators having long since left.
The next match started, and Houki focused her attention back on her opponent. However, to her mounting horror, she now held a glowing katana in her hands. A single strike, and her opponent lay on the ground, broken and bleeding. Houki's eyes widened in horror as she rushed over to her fallen opponent, her heart pounding and her lungs desperately sucking in air, hoping that against all odds, that her opponent had survived. As she turned over the figure's body, her heart nearly stopped as Cecilia's dead face gazed back up at her. Then, the blonde's body vanished in a shower of sparks, and the process repeated itself, the next match also ending in a single lethal blow. This time it was Charlotte who lay dead on the floor. Again and again, Houki literally slaughtered her opposition. Again and again, the bodies crumbled away, and again and again, her sister cheered. Finally, the last match came, and Houki recognized her opponent. As she unwillingly swung her blade at Orimura Ichika, Houki screamed. Then, the blade made contact.
Houki awoke with a strangled scream, causing her roommate to slowly wake up as well. It was still dark out.
"Mmh... Is it morning already?" The drowsy girl on the other bed murmured. Quickly apologizing, Houki fell asleep once again. The nightmare did not return, and by the time morning came, it had been almost completely forgotten.
As soon as he woke up, Ichika knew that something was wrong. Forcing his body to remain as relaxed as possible, Ichika slowly took stock of the situation. Firstly and foremost, he was no longer alone in his bed. A pair of arms now circled his waist, while a second pair of legs were intertwined with his, both pairs of limbs being attacked to a clearly feminine body that was even now pressed against his. His own arms were wrapped around the unknown girl as well, pressing her body closer to his. Judging by the sensations coming from his hands and legs, the girl was not wearing anything either. Finally, Ichika noticed that his knife, which he could have sworn he had taken off right before going to bed, was now strapped securely to his leg once again.
This meant that he was now in bed with a naked girl and a knife, neither of which had been there when he had gone to bed the previous night. Slowly, so as not to wake the intruder, he removed one of his arms and raised the blanket. His view of everything below his chest was blocked by a large mass of silver hair, hair that could only belong to Laura Bodewig. The removal of the blanket caused said girl to curl in closer, making Ichika all too aware of the fact that she was completely naked.
"Mmh... That doesn't... go there..." Laura murmured in her sleep, causing Ichika to blush.
"No... Ichika... put that... put that in there..." Laura continued as she snuggled in closer.
"Now take aim... and fire it..." Ichika blinked at that. Laura's dream wouldn't last however, as the silver haired girl's uncovered eye slowly blinked open.
"Laura?" Ichika asked.
"Mmh... Is it morning already?" The silver haired girl muttered, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Pinching himself to see if he was still dreaming, Ichika tried not to stare at the naked girl sitting on the bed right in front of him. At that, he failed miserably.
"Laura? What are you doing here?" Ichika asked, trying to keep his voice as level as possible, and once again failing miserably once Laura dropped the blanket that was covering most of her body.
"I have just slept with you. That means that we have consummated our marriage." Laura said, blushing slightly.
"Wait, what?" Ichika exclaimed, looking down to confirm that he was indeed fully clothed.
"Mhm... Now you are officially my wife." Laura said.
"What are you talking about? Why do you keep calling me that?" Ichika exclaimed.
"I thought that people in Japan call their loved ones 'My Wife', or 'My Bride'." Laura replied.
"Who told you that?" Ichika asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. In response, however, Laura grabbed his closest limb and pressed it to her chest, leaning back in the process. It was a classic armbar, designed to hyperextend and break the arm. It was also easy to counter, as Ichika demonstrated by grabbing his own hand and rolling into his opponent. By the time Laura had finished leaning back, she no longer held the advantage.
"It seems that you have received some training in grappling techniques." Laura said playfully as Ichika quickly secured his position on top of her.
"However, you can always use more practice." With those words, Laura quickly locked both his left arm and leg with her own and rolled him over. Unfortunately for both of them, Laura had forgotten that they were both on an elevated bed, and the two of them promptly fell to the floor.
"Ichika-san! Classes start soon! I'm coming in!" Cecilia's voice caused both occupants of the room to pause. The door promptly swung open, and in walked Cecilia Alcott.
"I understand it's hard to get out of bed on Monday morning, but-" Whatever Cecilia was going to say died in her throat as she saw Ichika and a naked Laura lying on the floor.
"Don't you have any manners? Barging into a married couple's room like that-" Laura began, but was cut off.
"M-MARRIED?" Cecilia exclaimed, the word evidently being enough to break through her shock. The blonde's eye began to twitch, and a furious scowl quickly formed on her face.
"W-Wait, Cecilia, this isn't what you think-" Ichika began, but was quickly cut off.
"STEP AWAY FROM MY ICHIKA-SAN YOU GERMAN HARLOT!" Cecilia screamed, a blue drone materializing over her shoulder. Fortunately for everyone involved, Cecilia's cry had attracted the attention of Ichika's older sister, who just happened to be nearby.
"What is going on here?" The older, black haired woman demanded as she entered the room. Cecilia hastily stowed away her drone, while Laura momentarily forgot that she was naked and snapped to attention, with Ichika doing so as well, albeit fully clothed. Chifuyu surveyed the scene, before turning to the most conspicuous out of all of them.
"Bodewig, what are you doing naked in my younger brother's room?" Chifuyu asked.
"I have just consummated my marriage with my bride. We were simply practicing our close quarters combat skills when Pilot Alcott entered our room without invitation." Laura replied. Chifuyu just stared at her for a moment.
"What do you mean by consummation?" Chifuyu asked.
"My wife and I have slept together. That is how it works, doesn't it?" Laura asked innocently.
"I see. Put your clothes back on and meet me at the track. You will be punished for obvious reasons, and then enlightened. Alcott, do you have anything to add?" Chifuyu turned to Cecilia, who stood seething next to Ichika.
"No..." The blonde ground out.
"If that is the case, then you are also to report to the track for unauthorized partial deployment of your IS. Another incident like this and word will be sent back to your sponsors in England." Cecilia's face shifted from enraged to worried at that.
"As for you Orimura-" Chifuyu turned her attention to him, but was quickly cut off by the other two occupants of the room.
"He has nothing to do with this!" The two girls cried out in synch.
"I see. Due to the damage done to the classroom yesterday, today's class will be another hands-on lesson. Orimura, you will be taking an active role in the demonstrations, so be ready. That is all."
With those words, Chifuyu left the room, Cecilia and a now clothed Laura following behind her and leaving Ichika alone in the room to get dressed and ready for class.
Sarashiki Kanzashi walked down the halls of IS Academy, her mind focused entirely on the message she had gotten earlier that day. It had been sent to her by Yamada Maya, the assistant homeroom teacher from Class 1-1, electronically right after class had ended, saying that someone important wished to speak with her in her office. As she turned a corner, however, all thoughts about the upcoming meeting vanished from her mind as she saw who was standing outside Maya's office.
"O-Orimura-san!" Kanzashi exclaimed, her eyes coming to rest on the boy that was leaning against the wall.
"Kanzashi-san? You must be the appointment that Yamada-sensei has scheduled before mine. You should head on in, I am sure she's waiting for you." Ichika responded.
"Wait, you know about it?" Kanzashi asked.
"Yeah, Yamada-sensei told me when I knocked. She just said that someone wants to speak with you, make you an offer of some sort. It sounded important, but that's all I heard." Ichika smiled at her once he finished speaking.
"I-I see... I'll head on in then, I wouldn't want to keep Yamada-sensei waiting!" Kanzashi smiled back, and entered the room. As soon as her back was turned, however, Ichika's face sobered. He knew that, one way or another, Kanzashi would not come out of that room unchanged.
As soon as Kanzashi entered the room, she knew something was amiss. For one, Maya was missing, and for another...
'WHAM!' The door slammed shut behind her, the window tinted itself, and the lights shut off. Just as quickly as the room had darkened, a holoprojection shimmered into existence, its dim, black light providing the only illumination in the room.
"Hello, Sarashiki Kanzashi." A deep voice, unnaturally so, spoke from several directions at once.
"W-Who are you?" Kanzashi asked, looking around frantically for a way out of the nearly pitch black room.
"Who I am is of no importance at this moment. What matters is the offer that I am about to make to you." The voice replied.
"And what is that offer?" Kanzashi asked tentatively.
"Employment. We are offering you the chance to work for us, Sarashiki. A chance that will only be given once." The voice replied.
"Out of the question. I don't even know who you are! For all I know, you could be Phantom Task trying to get your hands on the last of the Sarashiki family!" Kanzashi snapped, surprising even herself with the amount of venom in her voice.
"And if we were Phantom Task?" The voice asked, causing her to panic and send the mental activation signal to her IS... and nothing happened. She tried again and again, but her IS would not deploy! Outside the room, Ori reported to her handler that the Uchigane Niishiki's empathic interfaces were temporarily disabled.
"W-What did you do to my IS? I-I will k-kill you for this! And e-even if I don't, there a-are people who will hunt you down and end you for what you're doing!" Kanzashi screamed, trying and failing to keep her panic down. Then, just as she finished speaking, the lights turned back on, although the window remained tinted and the door locked.
"Congratulations. You passed." The voice replied simply.
"What do you mean, I passed?" Kanzashi growled out.
"Exactly that, Kanzashi. You see, your family is not the only group opposed to Phantom Task's activities. Our Organization is simply the largest of the various secret groups and paramilitary organizations that exist throughout the globe, fighting the secret war. Now that I have confirmed your immediate loyalty to the fight against Phantom Task, I would like to, once again, ask you to join us." The voice replied.
"Bullshit. If such a group actually existed, my family would know." Kanzashi replied.
"So your family knows everything about the multitude of 'new-age' techno-terrorist groups and the various local and global efforts to combat them? If so, then what can you tell me of the latest developments regarding the Neo-Socialist Party terrorist group's recent turf war with the Velikaya Rus? Or the ongoing underground conflict between spies from North Korea and the new age American vigilante group 'Eagle's Shadow'? What can you tell me about those?" The voice demanded.
"What does that have to do with Phantom Task? The Sarashiki family's only goal is the destruction of the organization known as Phantom Task! We do not keep tabs on other such organizations as of the moment."
"It has everything to do with Phantom Task. Both Velikaya Rus and the Neo-Socialist Party are receiving arms shipments from Phantom Task, usually in exchange for launching attacks at certain targets in Russia in order to soften them up for Phantom Task's own efforts, while the DPRK has been confirmed to be one of Phantom Task's sources of funding. Tell me, did the Sarashiki family know about this?"
When Kanzashi didn't answer, the voice continued.
"No, of course it didn't. Thanks to a series of Phantom Task raids that culminated in an attack on your family's headquarters, your organization is a shadow of its former self, with most of its members either dead, missing, or gone to ground. All known active members of the Sarashiki family have, as of today, been approached and made the same offer I gave you. They all accepted. Make of that what you will."
"What do you mean by that? Does that mean that-" The voice cut Kanzashi off mid-sentence.
"Yes. It means that your sister is one of us now."
"What... How dare she! After everything that has happened, she goes and turns her back on everything our family has sacrificed themselves for!" Kanzashi was livid once again, glaring at the inert ring on her finger as if her anger would be enough to force it into activity.
"Our goals run parallel to one another. She has not abandoned the battle against Phantom Task, merely gotten new allies. The Sarashiki family and our Organization are not mutually exclusive, after all." At that, Kanzashi's fists clenched, and she didn't speak for several long moments. Then, after several seconds of silence, she replied.
"What proof do I have of you actually doing anything? You claim to be fighting Phantom Task, but what do you actually do?" Kanzashi asked.
"Most of our current efforts involve eliminating Phantom Task's extensive subsurface navy, destroying their means of producing said navy, and prevent their 'Golem' Dummy-IS program from coming to fruition. As of today, our air forces have sunk a total of six subsurface vessels confirmed to belong to Phantom Task, while our rapidly growing surface fleet has, as of yesterday, claimed its first submarine kill as well. In addition, our IS corps have confirmed one Golem destroyed, three submarines sunk, and four surface installations destroyed in conjunction with our conventional armed forces branch. We have the data to back these claims up as well, just in case you were having doubts as to their veracity." The voice replied, causing Kanzashi's eyes to widen for a moment before her gaze became skeptical.
"And just where is this data?"
"Upon your joining, you will be authorized to view it. Until then, I am not authorized to disclose any more information regarding our operations."
"How convenient. Does said data even exist? What proof can you give me, here and now, that you are actually doing something?" The voice was silent for a few moments, before it spoke up once again.
"One of our Organization's members will be along shortly to provide you with some of the data you have requested." The voice said. Kanzashi turned to face the door, ready to face whoever was about to enter. To her surprise, the door did not open. Instead, a small hologram shimmered into existence. It was of a young girl, about half Kanzashi's age, wearing an Armani suit and a pair of black sunglasses. To Kanzashi, she almost looked like a younger, female Ichika, but that had to be a simple coincidence.
"Hello, Kanzashi-san. My name is Ori White. I am the first White-pattern AI to be produced by the Organization, and I have been authorized to provide you with the following data regarding the destruction of a Phantom Task submarine one month ago. Names, locations, and technical specifications have been censored in this particular document." The hologram explained, before a holoscreen flickered to life on the room's desk. Hesitantly, Kanzashi approached the screen. As she did so, the screen split, the top half starting to play a video, while the second displayed what looked like an after-action report. The audio of the video was constantly interrupted by the classic 'bleep' of censorship, while multiple sections of the offered document were also blacked out, but the message it carried was clear.
"Are these genuine? Documents can be faked, and creating a video like that with modern CGI, while difficult, is still possible." Kanzashi said once the video finished playing. At that, the voice simply sighed.
"Are you even considering accepting our offer? Or will you just continue questioning the veracity of everything I show you until I get sick of it and assume you are not planning on joining us?" The voice asked.
"Unless your little group can offer me definite proof that you are doing more than the Sarashiki family, I will not even consider joining you." Tatenashi replied.
"Have a seat then. This could take a while." The voice replied, while a single light on the ceiling illuminated a chair behind the desk. As soon as Tatenashi sat down, however, two manacles clamped shut over her arms, while a pair of belts snaked around her waist and legs, binding her in place. An arm behind the chair unfolded as well, holding a single, glinting syringe.
"What is this? What are you doing?" Kanzashi cried out as she was thus immobilized.
"A simple precaution, as the data we are about to share with you is considered highly classified. We must completely eliminate the probability of a leak." At that, a new holoscreen switched on.
"I assure you that everything you see during the following presentation is genuine." The voice clarified, and the presentation began. Over the course of the following hour, Kanzashi saw a condensed and edited version of the Organization's history. From its formation to the development of White-pattern IS Technology, up to its current state, Kanzashi saw it all. The voice and Ori were silent throughout the hour long presentation, and remained silent for several moments after the screen went dark.
"You do realize that, given what you have seen, you will only leave this room in one of two ways, and the first is as a new member of our Organization." The voice idly commented.
"And the other option is?" Kanzashi asked.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." The voice replied.
The room was silent for a moment, before Kanzashi began to laugh. It was a humorless, dry laugh that resounded through the small office as Kanzashi released her pent up emotions.
"Is something amiss, Kanzashi?" The voice asked. At that, Kanzashi only laughed harder.
"No, nothing's amiss, Voice-san." That caused a fresh wave of laughter.
"This entire situation seems like it was taken out of an anime. It feels rather... absurd." Kanzashi said as she finished laughing.
"I see. Now, for the final time, I will offer you the chance to join our Organization. This offer will not be made again. What is your response?" The voice asked, a sense of finality in the air.
"I accept." Kanzashi replied after a short pause.
"It's not like I have a choice in the matter now, do I?" She laughed again.
"You always had a choice, Kanzashi. We simply helped you make it. Now, due to your field of expertise, you have been assigned to the Organization IS Corps, and Dr. White has requested that you also be made a member of either Engineering or R&D. Your commanding officer will be here shortly in order to brief you on your new status."
"Wait, commanding officer?"
"Yes. I believe you already know him quite well. We will meet again." At that, the voice went silent, leaving Kanzashi alone to ponder the meaning of its words, only dimly noticing that she was no longer restrained. Just who was her commanding officer, and how did she know him?
As if on cue, the lights in the room switched back on, the door slid open, and in walked...
"Ichika! What are you doing here? Don't you know that-" Kanzashi began, standing up, but Ichika cut her off.
"Hello again, Recruit Sarashiki Kanzashi. I am IS Wing Commander Orimura Ichika, and I am your current commanding officer. Do you have any questions?" Ichika asked.
Words could not describe the amount of shock that had gone through Kanzashi's brain at her friend's introduction. Blinking once, twice, three times, Kanzashi slowly walked up to him, until she was standing directly in front of him. A few moments passed, before Kanzashi slowly and deliberately drew back her hand, and slapped her new commanding officer across the face.
"ORIMURA ICHIKA-SAN! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING? DO YOU KNOW WHAT I HAVE JUST GONE THROUGH? I HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO A SHADOWY VOICE THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BELONG TO A TERRORIST I HAVE SWORN TO KILL TRY AND SUCCEED AT PERSUADING ME TO JOIN THEIR SHADY SECRET ORGANIZATION! THEN YOU WALK IN, CLAIMING TO BE MY COMMANDING OFFICER! IS THIS SOME SORT OF A JOKE TO YOU? IS IT? WHY I OUGHT TO TEACH YOU A LESSON ABOUT PULLING THINGS LIKE THIS!" Kanzashi exploded, screaming into a wide eyed Ichika's face.
'SLAP!'
"Kanzashi-"
'SLAP!'
"SHUT UP! WAS THAT VOICE YOURS GONE THROUGH A MODULATOR? WAS THIS ENTIRE SHOW ARRANGED BY YOU? DID I JUST END UP JOINING A SECRET PARAMILITARY ORGANIZATION ALL BECAUSE YOU HAVE A HORRIBLY SKEWED SENSE OF HUMOR? HUH? DID I?" Kanzashi paused to breathe, before drawing back her hand once again.
"Wait, Kanzashi-"
'SLAP!'
"NO TALKING!" Kanzashi drew back her hand once again, but this time, the blow was caught.
"Sarashiki! I understand that your treatment during recruitment may have been sub-optimal, but you can save the rant for this weekend while we are en route to base. I assure you that it was not me that spoke to you, nor was this all some elaborate joke. Now, do you have any questions regarding your new status as a member of the Organization?" Ichika asked again, his tone firm. Kanzashi's arm trembled in his grip for a few moments, before going limp. Just like that, Kanzashi's face fell, her anger replaced by simple despair.
"So it was all true then?" Kanzashi asked, her previously loud voice now a mere whisper.
"Yes. Is something wrong?" Ichika asked, concern plain on his face.
"Don't. Don't you dare act like nothing has happened! After all, everything we did before now was a lie, wasn't it? Your helping me with my IS, your friendship... All you were doing was preparing me for recruitment, weren't you? You were ordered to pretend to be my friend, weren't you?" When Ichika didn't answer, Kanzashi's hand clenched into a fist.
"It's not just me either, isn't it. Cecilia-san, Rin-san, Dunois-san... You have everyone here fooled, don't you? That damn smile of yours has the whole academy in your grasp while you plot how best to use them! We're all just tools to you, aren't we? Just objects that may be useful in the future-" Kanzashi's rant was cut off by Ichika leaning in, planting his hands on the blue haired girl's shoulders. His dark brown eyes gazed into Kanzashi's own red orbs that now sat mere inches away.
"Don't you ever think for a moment that I was not being genuine when I decided to befriend you. While it is true that I was ordered to get to know you in order to provide you with a smoother integration into the Organization, I consciously chose to become your friend, and a friend I will stay. Your new status simply means that we will be working together far more often outside of school than before. Do you understand?" Ichika asked. Kanzashi was silent for a moment, before she pushed past him, heading to the door.
"Kanzashi?" Ichika asked.
"Leave me alone." Kanzashi said simply as she walked purposefully to the office door. As she was about to open it, however, Ichika's hand once again came to rest on her shoulder.
"Your cover story is that you were made an offer by White-Sakamoto Innovations and accepted. You will be making a visit to WSI tower this weekend. Understood?" Ichika asked. Kanzashi nodded slightly as a reply, before shaking his hand off her and opening the door, leaving the room. The door slid shut behind her, hiding Ichika from view. Alone once again, Kanzashi began to walk back to her dormitory. Her walk soon became a jog, which became a full on sprint as she struggled to hold back tears. The first drops were already making their way down her face by the time she reached her room. Entering quickly, Kanzashi slammed the door behind her. Only then did she allow the dam holding her tears back to break as she curled up against the wall, sobbing softly.
She didn't know how much time had passed before the door opened again. It could have been minutes, or hours, or just a few seconds, but eventually, someone else entered the room. The figure's footsteps were quiet, almost inaudible, but Kanzashi immediately knew that the figure that had walked into the room and sat down beside her was her older sister.
"Kanzashi-chan..." Tatenashi said, trying to place her hand around sister's shoulders.
"What do you want?" Kanzashi spat, shrugging off her sister's attempted embrace.
"You accepted the offer, didn't you?" Tatenashi asked.
"Of course I did! Let me guess, I did the right thing, and I should be proud that I'm letting a secret organization use and discard me? Are you here to congratulate me for having the 'right choice' made for me?" Kanzashi hissed out, turning away from her sister. Tatenashi simply stared for a few moments.
"What happened in there, Kanzashi-chan? Please, you can tell me!"
"Nothing much! I just found out that someone I thought I trusted turned out to simply be out to use me to further the interests of his employers!"
"Who, Orimura-kun? Kanzashi-chan, Ichika isn't that kind of-"
"Yes he is! The only reason I know him is because he was ordered to befriend me in order for an easier recruitment process! Of course, you already know this, because you were in on it too! How long were you a part of this? How long has it been since you deserted our family? Answer me!" Kanzashi raged, causing her sister's eyes to narrow.
"I did not abandon our family!"
"Then why are you a part of this? Ichika was bad enough, but to find out that you were-"
"Enough Kanzashi! I joined the Organization barely a month ago, and I did so because I thought that it was the best way to finish what our family had started! Damn it Kanzashi, I joined so that you wouldn't have to!" Kanzashi snorted at that.
"Look how well that worked out. Now they have two more members."
"Please Kanzashi, all I wanted was for you to be safe-"
"Safe? What if I don't want to be safe? I'm not some fragile doll for you to protect, Tatenashi! All my life, I just wanted to be perfect like you, and every single time I tried, you made sure to remind me that I was just a spare! A backup in case you failed, and nothing more!" That certainly caused Tatenashi's eyes to widen.
"Kanzashi-chan... I..."
"You what?" Kanzashi asked, turning to face her older sister, who promptly leaned over and wrapped her arms around her, holding her tightly.
"I don't want to lose you. Not like everyone else." Tatenashi murmured, causing all the anger to dissipate from her sister's face.
"I was there when the attack happened. I saw our family die, Kanzashi. That's why I tried so hard to keep you safe, because I didn't want to lose you too." Kanzashi's eyes widened as she felt a slight wetness on her uniform. Was her older sister crying? Hesitantly, Kanzashi returned the embrace, the first one the two sisters had shared since the day their family was torn apart.
"All I ever wanted was to stand by your side someday... To have you look at me and see pride in your eyes... Why can't I have that?" Kanzashi asked, talking more to herself than to her older sister, but Tatenashi heard her anyway.
"You already do, Kanzashi-chan. You don't need to earn my pride because you already have it. You're my precious sister. My beautiful, strong, incredible little sister." Tatenashi was not the only sister crying by the time she had finished speaking.
"I... I'm so sorry... I've been treating you so badly... I'm a horrible little sister, aren't I?" Kanzashi choked out.
"Don't ever say that, Kanzashi-chan. We all make mistakes, but in spite of everything, you are still a little sister I can be proud of." Kanzashi smiled as her sister's grip tightened around her.
The two blue haired siblings remained wrapped around each other as the sun set outside, neither one wanting to end the moment that they had desired for such a long time.
"Tatenashi-san, I have a message for you... is this a bad time?" An unfamiliar male voice suddenly asked, breaking the silence in the room and causing Kanzashi to jump.
"Don't worry Tuman, it's as good a time as any." Tatenashi replied, speaking to the hologram that had appeared over her shoulder.
"Wha... Who is this?" Kanzashi stammered out.
"Oh, this? Kanzashi, meet Tuman. He's a White-Pattern AI that was assigned to me. He's the main component of my IS suit's new control system, and apparently he has a message for me." Tatenashi replied, gesturing to the tiny hologram that nodded curtly at the younger girl in the room.
"Wait, you said he was a White-pattern AI? Are there any others like him?" Kanzashi asked.
"Of course! Ichika's has had Ori with him for a while now, and there are hundreds of others at Organization HQ. When your IS undergoes refits, I'm sure you will get one as well."
"Yes, that appears to be standard procedure for members of the IS corps. Every member excluding trainees are currently partnered with an AI similar to myself." Tuman chipped in.
"Wait, Ori? So she's Ichika's AI?" Kanzashi asked.
"Yes, she is. Have you already met her?"
"Y-Yes, during the recruitment process."
"I see. Anyway, Tuman, you said you had a message for me?" Tatenashi turned to the AI that still stood at attention over her shoulder.
"Yes, I do. I have been ordered to tell you that both yours and Recruit Kanzashi's presence has been requested at Headquarters this coming weekend. You are to report to the White-Sakamoto Innovations tower on Saturday at 0900 hours precisely. Once there, Kanzashi is to surrender her IS for refits, before boarding a transport to HQ. Further instructions will be presented upon arrival. Any questions are to be directed to Wing Commander Orimura. If anyone asks for the reason you are leaving campus, you are to say that you have accepted an offer from WSI and are going there for evaluation." Tuman finished.
"I understand. Tell Yamada-san that we have received the message. I assume that Orimura-kun has gotten similar orders?" Tatenashi asked.
"Yes. Any questions about this are to be directed to him." Tuman said, before fading away, leaving the two sisters alone once again.
"Wait, you mean Yamada-sensei is also a member?" Kanzashi asked.
"Of course she is! Why else would the recruitment have happened in her office?" Tatenashi laughed.
"Are there any other members here?"
"No, so far it's just us, Yamada-san, and Ichika, as well as Ori and Tuman."
Kanzashi did not reply for a while, but she did eventually break the silence once again.
"Onee-chan..." When she did speak up, Kanzashi's voice was uncertain.
"What is it?"
"Well... Onee-chan, just who exactly is Orimura Ichika?" Tatenashi did not reply for a few moments as she thought of a response.
"That's a hard question to answer. Ichika-kun... He's a hard person to describe. I know for certain that he isn't some conniving chessmaster manipulating us all for his own purposes, but other than that I don't really know much about him. However, what I do know is that he is a good person."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. You remember when he first started helping you with your IS? When I found out, I confronted him about it. Long story short, he promised to do everything in his power to ensure that you would always come back to me."
"What?"
"Yes, he did, and I know that he truly meant it. His friendship with you was real, Kanzashi. Ichika isn't someone who can fake a friendship to that degree."
Kanzashi remained quiet for a moment before sighing.
"I guess I owe him an apology." At that, she turned to leave, but she was stopped by her older sister.
"Ichika-kun can wait, Kanzashi-chan. Right now, we've got a whole lot of catching up to do."
A/N: And that's a wrap! Honestly, this chapter should have been out a week ago, but the very last section was giving me trouble. I still have doubts regarding the recruitment scene, but in the end I chose to roll with it. Anyway, I currently have this story planned out entirely all the way up to the end of the Gospel arc, after which I will likely take a short break from this story in order to write up The Declassified Files, release that, then get back to work on this.
My current method of planning out this story involves simply imagining an epic scene, such as the opening battle of Chapter 1, or the first Golem fight, then figure our a logical way of tying them together while using canon as a guideline. This usually means that I have to occasionally (or not so occasionally) manipulate the timeline of Infinite Stratos, extending the periods between the events of the Anime, as canonically, much of the 'canon' events in this fic happened much closer together in time. Fortunately, this altering of the timeline does little to truly damage the storyline, whilst simultaneously allow for me to bring in more developments from the Noncanon side of things, as they have the time to actually happen.
But enough rambling. I do hope you are all enjoying the story, as I have had quite a bit of fun writing it. The bedroom infiltration scene with Laura was particularly fun to write, and I do believe that she will continue to be a fun character to use, mainly because her personality seems a bit more 'well defined' in canon. Now, just because she's fun to write doesn't mean that she will be the one who gets Ichika in the end, although I do have very big plans for her on the romantic side of things...
Anyway, that's all for now! Enjoy the story!