A/N: Ugh, I got nailed hard with writer's block for this chapter. Hopefully I managed to get this chapter right, but then again, I say this after every chapter. Maybe I should mix things up for a change... Maybe say that this chapter is perfect without any major flaws whatsoever... Yeah, I can dream.
Chapter 19
Tatenashi's revelation had left the group stunned. It was Ichika who recovered first.
"So, another secret organization is on the map. What does that mean for us?" He asked, concern plain on his face.
"Nothing for now. We won't be acting against it, if that's what you're asking. As of the moment, their only stated objective is the protection of IS Academy's students, and their current opponent is Phantom Task. If anything, as their current goals run concurrently to ours, we would be seeking to co-operate with them. For now, however, Maya and I have been ordered to simply observe. Our course of action will be decided later." Tatenashi replied.
"I see..." Ichika trailed off.
"You're concerned about your sister, aren't you?" Tatenashi asked, picking up on his thoughts. Ichika's only response was a nod.
"From what I gather, the Organization is not intent on taking a hostile stance against the Teachers' Cabal. Don't worry, you won't have to fight your sister." The student council president said.
"And what if I do? What if this group of teachers does something that puts them at odds against our organization? The probability exists, Tatenashi, that I will have to take the Infinite Arsenal and turn it against Kurezakura. What will I do then? I can't fight my sister!" Ichika replied, his voice growing more and more panicked as he spoke.
"Don't worry, Ichika-kun, it won't happen." Tatenashi replied, her voice certain.
"And how do you know that? How do you know that the order won't come in for our unit to engage my sister in combat?" Ichika demanded.
"Yes Tatenashi, how are you so certain?" Laura added.
"I am so certain because I know Ichika won't let it happen. Isn't that right, Ichika-kun?" Tatenashi replied, looking him in the eye as she spoke. After a long moment, Ichika nodded in understanding.
"No, I won't. Now, is there anything else that needs discussion? If not, then consider this meeting adjourned." He said. After a moment, the assembled girls nodded and began to stand, Cecilia dropping the exit ladder.
Eventually, only Ichika and Tatenashi remained in the bath. For a while, neither of them spoke. Then, Tatenashi broke the silence.
"You're still worried, aren't you?" She asked, sitting up in the water, her swimsuit clinging to what little skin it covered.
"Of course I am. It would have been so much easier if it had just stayed as us versus Phantom Task." Ichika sighed, leaning back against the edge of the bath.
"Would you have preferred not knowing? Ignorance is bliss, after all." Tatenashi asked.
"No. I'm glad you told me this... Even if it's made my life a whole lot harder." Ichika replied.
"Well, I do hope you know that I'm willing to help. We all are."
"And I'm thankful for that. I... I honestly can't imagine what it would be like, dealing with this whole Organization business without having anyone to confide in." Tatenashi raised an eyebrow at that.
"You know, someone else might think you're living a perfect life. You're the only male in an all-female school, with a badass high-tech mech-suit at your disposal. You're also a secret agent, have impressive piloting skills, and a whole battle-harem of girls at your side."
"When you put it like that, it sounds like a male power fantasy... Although I wouldn't exactly call it a harem."
"Why not? Seven girls, all of them after you? Sounds like one to me." Ichika sighed at that.
"Sure, call it what you want..." He trailed off, before looking Tatenashi in the eye, the girl's smiling face inches away from his own.
"However, you of all people should know why I cannot return any of their affection." He finished.
"Even if they confess to your face?" Ichika sighed at that.
"Houki... I wish she hadn't confessed back then. Now... Every day I see her, I keep seeing her look at me, as if expecting something. I know exactly what she wants, Tatenashi, and I can't give it to her." Tatenashi shook her head at that.
"Why not?" She asked.
"You know why not." The blue-haired girl sighed at that.
"It's not healthy, Ichika. Eventually, something is going to happen that will make you regret your inaction." She said.
"I know... But I also know I will regret it if I do act." He sighed. Tatenashi considered him for a moment, before shaking her head and standing up out of the water, stretching as she did so.
"You're too damn good for your own good, you know that?" Ichika could do little more than nod at that.
"I guess I am." He replied, as Tatenashi dried herself off, before heading out of the bath. For a long while, Ichika just sat in the warm water, before finally leaving the room. Sleep did not come easily for him that night.
A few days later, the entirety of Class 1-1 met for its weekly homeroom, a short, thirty minute session before the students would go their separate ways. The subject of the day was, of course, the upcoming school festival, the students having gathered together, pooling their brainpower to devise the absolute best activity.
Then, the fangirls began to contribute, and it all went downhill from there. After giving the girls about fifteen minutes to discuss ideas, Ichika found himself reading through their final submissions.
"Alright." He said after a long moment, causing the class to focus their attention on him.
"Before I begin, I would like to say that all of your submissions were very thoughtful, and that it was clear that you put a significant amount of effort into making them. I would like to add that I am having difficulty choosing just one because every single one of them was incredible." Ichika watched as the girls smiled proudly as the suggestions were displayed on the board.
"Of course, I'm not a liar, so I am not going to say any of that. This is unacceptable! Are you all idiots or something? I would have thought that at least some of you would have been able to come up with something that I didn't decline on sight, but apparently I was wrong." He continued, looking over at where Houki sat, the girl smiling sheepishly as she met his eyes.
"The School Festival calls for a class activity, where everyone contributes, not... Not this!" He shouted, gesturing at the holographic display behind him, where the ideas were listed side by side.
'Pocky with Orimura Ichika.'
'The King's Game with Orimura Ichika.'
'Twister with Orimura Ichika.'
'Orimura Ichika's Host Club.'
"Who would pay for such things anyway?" He exclaimed.
"I would!" The predictable response came almost immediately.
"Yeah! I definitely would!" Another girl joined in, and soon the entire classroom was voicing its assent.
"Yamada-sensei, back me up here! They're all crazy, right?" Ichika asked as the shouting continued with no sign of dying down.
"Hm? What? Well... I guess..." Maya looked up, as if woken from some sort of daze, looking around the room for a moment before smirking mischievously.
"I like the one with the Pocky!" The green-haired woman exclaimed, smirking at him. Ichika sighed, and turned back to the class.
"Regardless, none of these are class activities. The entire class has to contribute for a proposal to be acceptable." He spoke, quieting down the class.
"How about a maid cafe?" Laura spoke up, a faint blush on her face as she made the suggestion, her words drawing the attention of the entire class. Ichika hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to shut the proposal down immediately or wait to see what the silver-haired girl had in mind.
"Given what I know, it will definitely be well received, and the cafe will allow for us to earn back at least some of the money we spent on it in the first place." Laura continued, and Ichika had to admit there was a certain logic to the suggestion. Besides, if it was a maid cafe, that meant he didn't have to dress up.
"I think it's a good idea! We could have Ichika be a kitchen worker, or-" Charlotte began.
"-Or a butler! Think about it!" Cecilia finished, and Ichika's hopes plummeted.
"Orimura-kun? As a butler? That sounds amazing!" Another girl exclaimed.
"What about the uniforms?" Yet another girl asked.
"I know how to sew!"
"Looks like it's been settled! We'll do a maid and butler cafe with Orimura-kun!" With those words, the classroom exploded into cheers, and Ichika grimaced. As class representative, he had the power to veto the decision immediately, but for all he knew, it would only make someone else suggest something worse. After a few moments of indecision, he decided to bite the bullet and forced his grimace into a smile. After all, when he had first been inducted into the Organization, his most important duty was ensuring that the rest of the people in his department had a constant supply of coffee. He could just pretend that he was doing something similar, albeit with a different uniform. Sighing, he addressed the class.
"Very well. Unless any of you have any objections, I will write down our class as doing..." He sighed again.
"A maid cafe." A room full of thunderous cheers met his resigned statement.
"So how did it go?" A familiar voice stopped him as he exited the school's main office, and Ichika looked around to see Tatenashi walking up to him, her usual smile on her face.
"Well... We settled on a maid cafe... And I'm a butler. Make of it what you will." Ichika replied, leaning against the wall. The student council president laughed in response.
"What about you?" Ichika asked, curious as to what the student council president had come up with.
"Well... I was thinking of putting on a show of some kind, where all students were welcome to attend, for a small fee of course. For a larger fee, they could even participate in it. In fact, I was going to ask for you to help me out with it." The blue haired girl replied.
"What do you want me to do?" Ichika asked.
"Nothing much. Just put on some fancy clothes and walk around on stage for a bit. Maybe say a few lines, but no real acting will be required." Tatenashi replied. Ichika considered her words for a moment, before nodding.
"Fine, but try not to make the uniform too hideous." He replied.
"Aww, I'm hurt. Are you doubting my skill as a tailor?" Tatenashi pouted.
"So what are you doing here anyway?" Ichika replied, changing the subject.
"Well... As you may know, your sister and I are definitely not part of a secret organization based here in IS Academy." The girl said, smirking.
"Yeah, that is just ridiculous. What's next, did that nonexistent organization order you to do something with me?" Ichika replied, deciding to play along.
"Yes, actually. Orimura Ichika, meet your new bodyguard." Tatenashi replied.
"... Bodyguard?" Ichika replied after a few moments.
"Yup. Your sister ordered me to, and I quote here, 'Protect you and your IS from any and all threats'. Her words, not mine."
"Is my sister's opinion of my skill really that low? I do hope she knows I can take care of myself."
"Can you?" Tatenashi smiled.
"Can I what?"
"Take care of yourself. After all, you're just a first-year student, with less than a year of practical IS experience, who is being targeted by a world-spanning secret terrorist organization! How terrible!"
"Come on Tatenashi, you know what I can do." Ichika replied, laughing. Then, he noticed that the smile on the student council president's face was fading and stopped.
"Is something wrong?" He asked, concern replacing levity in his voice.
"Huh? Oh, no, it's nothing..." The blue haired girl replied, although her voice suggested otherwise. Then, a moment later, her familiar smile was back in place as she spoke up again.
"Say, Ichika, have you heard the latest news from China?" She asked.
"Not really, no." He replied, mindful of the change in subject.
"Yesterday, a Chinese tractor was subject to an unprovoked attack by Central Russian artillery. The tractor was reported to have promptly returned fire and neutralized the threat."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Apparently, the Chinese have threatened to reinforce the area with grain trucks and combine harvesters."
"Combine harvesters?"
"IS suits." Tatenashi's laugh was forced as she spoke the punch line.
"Look. If something is wrong, you can tell me." Ichika replied.
"I told you, there's nothing wrong." For a moment, Ichika considered pressing the topic, but ultimately decided against it.
"Alright. Is there anything else?" He asked.
"Not really. Just wanted you to know that you will be seeing a lot of me in the near future." Tatenashi replied, before turning away and leaving. Ichika looked at her retreating form for a moment, before turning and heading to the IS Academy Engineering Complex.
When he arrived, the rest of his squadron was already assembled, their IS suits already deployed and ready.
"What took you so long?" Theresa asked as he entered the workshop.
"Paperwork issues." Ichika replied, before addressing the group as a whole.
"Alright. Yesterday, I submitted a requisition form for some of WSI's experimental equipment, and it should arrive here in a few days. However, all of your Blank Slates have to be brought up to spec in order to handle the new tech. That means a full recoil bracing overhaul, re-tooling the impulse drive pods, adding in some armor plate, rebuilding the pilot compartment from scratch, upgrading the control system to at least gen-three level, expanding the wings, adding in additional equipment hardpoints, and increasing battery capacity for off-the-grid flight... Oh, and strip out any unnecessary equipment." Ichika finished, only to find four girls staring blankly at him.
"What?" He asked, confused.
"You lost me at impulse drive pods." Theresa replied, and Ichika sighed. This could take a while.
"Alright. Basically, we're taking these things apart, and re-building them to optimally take WSI gear." Ichika replied, partially deploying his IS suit's holo-projectors and displaying a hologram of the Blank Slate. As the girls watched, Ori disassembled the graphic into its separate components, before re-assembling it in the intended configuration.
"And you expect us to do all that in a matter of days?" Theresa demanded.
"I don't expect it to be finished by the time the new equipment arrives, but yes, I do think we'll be finished by the end of the week. The equipment here is advanced enough that we can automate a good portion of the process. I've reserved this engineering workshop for the week, so we won't have to worry about any interruptions." Ichika replied.
"Um... Orimura-san, what kind of equipment are we getting?" Sakura asked. In response, Ichika made a show of calling up a second hologram, this one being a list of items being shipped to IS Academy from WSI. While the equipment could just as easily be tested at the Organization's headquarters, WSI had to keep up its image as a corporation, and thus was sending experimental gear to IS Academy like any other corporation. This gear was intended for the next wave of MPTIS suits that were being developed, and its effectiveness would be tested both under controlled conditions at Organization HQ and in mock-battles at IS Academy.
"Whoa..." Sakura gasped as she looked over the list, the other girls crowding around her as she did so.
"I suggest you try and get a general idea of the gear you want now, so that when it arrives we can start installing it immediately." Ichika replied, before turning to where the squadron's four Blank Slates stood in assembly stations. Ichika had to admit, IS Academy had spared no expense in upgrading the workshop over the summer. The new workstations were just as advanced as the ones at Organization HQ, if not more so. He spent a few minutes familiarizing himself with the station's computer interface, and found that the Blank Slate's design data was already present in the machine. Disassembling the Blank Slate would be as easy as pushing a button and letting the workstation do the rest of the work. Finally, he turned back to the rest of his squadron.
"Alright, before we do anything else, we're going to have to disassemble these suits. Fortunately, these new workstations will do the job for you, you girls just have to find and hit the disassemble button."
"We're really doing this, aren't we..." Theresa sighed, before walking up to her IS and starting the disassembly process, the rest of the girls following her example. As soon as the button was pressed, an energy screen went up around the IS and several robotic arms extended from the walls, immediately going to work.
"So... What do we do now?" Sakura asked.
"Now, we wait. It will take several hours until disassembly is finished." Ichika replied.
"So, what do we do until then?" Ayane asked.
"Well, for starters, we can decide on a squadron name. I don't know about you, but I don't want to just be part of Squadron 007-1 forever!" Theresa suggested, and the rest of the girls nodded.
"Sounds good... Any suggestions?" Ichika asked.
"W-Well... Ichika-kun said he liked s-spy novels... A-and we're Squadron 007... So how about Bond Squadron?" It was Rei who spoke first. Immediately, Theresa rounded on her.
"Absolutely not!" She said.
"Why not? From what I've heard, James Bond is an excellent series about-" Ayane began, before Theresa cut her off.
"Have you actually read any of the James Bond books or watched any of the movies?" Theresa demanded.
"Well... No, but-"
"Well I have, and let me tell you, I am NOT going to be a part of Bond squadron! I mean, I am sure our squadron leader wouldn't mind having Bond as his callsign, but what about the rest of us? We'd be named after Bond Girls, and I am NOT going to go down in history as Squadron 007-1-2, Callsign: Octopussy!"
"O-O-Octopussy?" Ayane stammered out.
"Or would you prefer Pussy Galore, or maybe Holly Goodhead... Oh, wait, I know! Kissy Suzuki! Or maybe-"
"Enough. We are not Bond Squadron." Ichika cut the redhead off before she could continue.
"Glad you could see reason. Do you have any suggestions?" At that, Ichika thought for a moment before saying the first thing that came to mind.
"Well, what about Mobius squadron?" That name felt right, as if it belonged to a squadron of top-notch aces. Theresa stared at him for a moment, before shaking her head.
"Points for it being a classic, but points off for originality. Besides, I liked Galm Team better." That threw Ichika for a loop. What was Galm team?
"W-Well, I l-liked Wardog better..." Rei spoke up.
"Wait, you've played the games too?" Theresa asked, turning to the smaller girl.
"Y-Yes..." Rei answered.
"Which ones? The classics, or the crappy remakes where they replaced your jet with an IS suit and kept the enemies in fighters?" Theresa asked.
"T-The IS suit ones..." Rei murmured. For a moment, Theresa just stared at that, before shaking her head.
"Well, I know what we will be doing later today! After squadron practice is over, I am going to teach you exactly why the originals were so much better, and why gender-bending the entire damn cast is a travesty that should never have occurred! Pixy is best girl my ass!"
"Um... Ichika-kun... Do you know what they are talking about?" Sakura asked as Theresa continued lecturing Rei in the background.
"I don't know." Ichika replied, before returning to the matter at hand.
"So, do you two have any suggestions?" He asked Sakura and Ayane, while Theresa and Rei continued their one-sided discussion about whatever video game Ichika had inadvertently reminded them of.
"Valkyrie Squadron, of course! It is only natural that-"
"Taken. Squadron 004-1 claimed that name yesterday." Ichika replied.
"Hmph! What about..." Ayane trailed off in thought.
"I know! Dynamite Squadron!" Sakura exclaimed.
"No! Victor Squadron is so much better than some random explosive!" Ayane exclaimed.
"Fine! What about Magical Girl Squad?" Sakura exclaimed.
"Magical Girl? What are you, some child? Besides, our leader is clearly a boy so it won't fit!" Ayane retorted.
"Magical Girls are for everyone! Even for boys, and Ichika can be anything he sets his mind to!" Sakura replied.
"Wait, what?" Ichika exclaimed at that.
"No, we are not Magical Girl squadron and that's final!" Ayane replied.
"Oh yeah? I dare you to find something better!"
"Brunhilde Squadron would definitely be perfect!"
"Really? Really? Brunhilde? You might as well call us Chifuyu-Sama Team and be done with it?"
"Really? You think we should be called Chifuyu-Sama Team?"
"I WAS BEING SARCASTIC!"
"Enough! Rei-chan and I have discussed this matter long and hard, and we have determined the perfect squadron name!" Theresa interrupted the bickering pair.
"What is it?" Ichika asked.
"Well, we were thinking... IS suits are used for sporting matches, right?" Theresa began, and Ichika nodded for her to continue.
"The thing is, they were certainly not designed for this sort of thing. Originally, they were meant for military use, but the Alaska Treaty forced them into... Well, you know already." Theresa continued.
"Are you going to get to the point already, or are you just stalling for time because you can't think of anything better than Chifuyu-sama Team?" Ayane demanded.
"I was getting to the point, fangirl! Anyway, that got me thinking. What other sports have roots in military traditions? And as such, Rei and I have decided... That our squadron shall be designated as Fencer Squadron!"
"It's better than Chifuyu-sama Team, that's for sure." Sakura said.
"Hmm... I like it. Let's keep it in mind. Any other suggestions?" Ichika asked.
"I don't like it. It seems... Cheap. After all, we're more than simple athletes! We are IS pilots, the next generation of our nation's defenders! Our name should evoke that!" Ayane replied.
"Hmm... What about Knight squadron?" Theresa suggested.
"Not knight. Samurai, maybe." Ayane replied.
"Too many syllables. We want something short, and Samurai just isn't." Theresa replied.
"Oh come on, Samurai is perfect!" Ayane exclaimed.
"I... I think A-Archer squadron would be good." Rei murmured.
"Archer?" Theresa mused.
"Y-Yes, Archer..."
"No complaints here." Sakura said.
"Yeah, Archer sounds good. After all, from what I've seen, most of us prefer to fight at range." Ichika added.
"I still think Samurai is better." Ayane grumbled.
"So, all in favor of Archer squadron?" Theresa asked. Ichika and Sakyura chorused their assent, while Rei nodded. After a moment, Ayane sighed and nodded as well.
"Fine, Archer it is."
"I call Archer-1!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Dibs on Archer-2!" Theresa called out moments later.
"No, Orimura-san is our squadron leader, therefore he is Archer-1!" Ayane said.
"Fine then, I call-"
"I'm Archer-3." Ayane blurted out before Sakura could finish.
"-Archer-4." The other girl finished dejectedly.
"Then it looks like Rei-chan here is Archer-5." Theresa finished, clapping the shy girl who named the squadron on the shoulder.
"I'll get to work designing the emblem!" Sakura exclaimed, running over to her school bag and pulling out a laptop.
"Emblem?" Ichika asked.
"You know, something we can put on our IS suits to make us stand out!" Sakura exclaimed, sitting down and opening her computer.
"Oh! I know exactly what it should be!" Theresa exclaimed, running over to her, and soon all four girls were huddled around the laptop, chattering excitedly about the squadron's emblem. As the girls talked, Ichika decided to look over the equipment manifest. The equipment was familiar to him, with most of it being destined for the upcoming models of Organization MPTIS suits, namely the Demon and Mirage. The first was based off the Silver Gospel, being designed for wide-area saturation strikes against infantry and armor, while the second was a sniper unit. However, there was one entry on the list that made him pause.
He knew what that entry was, he had personally reviewed the blueprints for it, along with its parent IS. However, he also knew how that design had turned out in practice.
It was the multi-limb modification that had originally been intended for the Locust MPTIS. Theoretically, it would have made the Locust fast, agile, and nearly unbeatable in melee. In practice, however, the increased appendage count, namely four arms and six wings, were too much for the pilot to handle, making the Locust incredibly difficult to control. This difficulty, when coupled with inexperienced Organization pilots, had led to all but one of the Organization's Locust suits going down during the Gospel incident, and the sole survivor was retired from active duty until the teething problems could be fixed.
Evidently, his squadron had been tasked with testing the Mark II of the multi-limb design, along with a specialized pilot suit designed specifically for interfacing with it.
In fact, as Ichika read through the list again, he saw that new WSI pilot suits were being given out to his entire squadron, along with matching suits of pilot armor. He supposed that it made sense to do so. After all, WSI had proven to be rather generous with its technology in the past, both publicly and covertly, so it would make sense that WSI as a corporation would continue to do so. However, Ichika had to wonder why the Organization was suddenly investing so many resources into such an inconsequential affair. After all, the benefits gained by testing the new technology in a tournament setting... Then again, Ichika realized, it could very well be worth it, at least in some cases.
After all, the Organization wanted a supersonic MPTIS unit, and for all its flaws, the Locust was supposed to be that unit. As for the others... After a moment, Ichika shrugged. After all, if WSI had to act like a sponsoring corporation, then the Organization might as well derive some benefit from it.
"Ichika! Come look at this!" Sakura's exclamation drew him out of his thoughts, and he walked over to where the rest of the squadron were gathered. Sakura pointed at the laptop screen.
"How does it look?" She asked, looking up at him expectantly. For once, Ichika was flabbergasted. How Sakura had managed to come up with something like that in so small a timeframe, he had no idea.
The emblem was in the shape of a shield on a black background, its edge a thin maroon border. Within said border was a partial silhouette of a woman holding a bow, an arrow nocked and drawn past her ear. On her head was a crown of some sort, made of laurel leaves, and a cocky smirk adorned her face. Above the shield were the words 'Squadron 007-1: Archer' on a stylized ribbon, while a similar ribbon below the shield remained blank, evidently still waiting its own motto.
Most of the emblem had yet to be colored, but even in its unfinished state it shattered his expectations.
"It's... It's perfect." He finally said, and the girls cheered.
"I was thinking of painting it on our suits' right shoulders, while our callsigns would go on our left along with anything else we might want to add." Sakura explained.
"Sounds good." Ichika agreed, glancing back at where his squadron's IS suits were still being disassembled. Then, after a moment, he spoke up again.
"However, before we can start painting anything, we need to decide something." The four girls looked up at that.
"What is it?" Theresa asked.
"I just looked over the equipment manifest again, and one of the items we're getting is... Unusual, to say the least." Sakura quirked an eyebrow at that.
"How so? Is it a weapon of some kind?" She asked.
"Not exactly. In essence, it is a total overhaul package designed to increase the arm and wing count of an IS. In this case, the IS suit that receives the upgrade will be enhanced to have four arms and six wings, with each appendage having the capability to carry weapons." Sakura's eyes practically jumped out of her head at that.
"Dibs!" She sang out.
"I wasn't finished. Back when I last visited WSI, I saw some of the prototypes of that design, and they were described as almost impossible to control to the point where the project was temporarily halted. Apparently, they've re-started it, and are confident enough in the Mark II to send it here to be tested by one of you. However, I have no doubt that it will still be an incredibly difficult design to utilize effectively." Ichika finished.
"I'll take it." Ayane's hand went up.
"No! I called dibs!" Sakura replied.
"And what are you going to do with it? From what I've seen of you, you seem like a long-range fighter, while this multi-limb design is clearly intended for melee combat!" Ayane retorted.
"But with more arms, I can carry more guns!" Sakura replied.
"With that many guns, you'll end up blowing yourself into the ocean! Plus, you don't need arms to carry guns! Therefore, as this squadron's only melee combatant, I believe it should go to me."
"But it will be harder to use in melee! At range, you just have to aim and shoot, while in melee, you'd actually have to keep track of all those arms!"
"I believe myself to be up to the task. What do you think, Orimura-san?" At that, Ayane turned to him. Ichika thought for a few moments, and then nodded.
"It would be more effective as a melee unit. Ayane, are you sure you can handle it?" He asked. The black-haired girl just nodded.
"Aww..." Sakura pouted, before turning back to her emblem work.
The sun had set by the time Ichika left the workshop. The rest of his squadron had left nearly an hour earlier, and he had been going over their work, ensuring that everything was in order. Today, once the disassembly had finished, the squadron had removed the Blank Slate's original impulse drives, which would be replaced with more powerful variants. Having been given the specifications for these new impulse drives, they had spent the rest of the day refitting the Blank Slates to take them.
He ran into Kanzashi near the building's exit, the blue-haired girl too focused on a datapad to immediately notice him.
"Hey Kanzashi!" He greeted, startling the quiet girl.
"I-Ichika! You scared me!" She exclaimed, whirling around to face him.
"Sorry about that. How are things going?" Ichika asked.
"Pretty well. I take it WSI already sent you an equipment list?" Kanzashi asked.
"Yeah, they did. What about you?"
"I got a list from WSI, but for some reason I've got nothing from the Japanese government."
"Why not? Aren't you the Japanese national representative?"
"Officially, yes, but... It's complicated. You see, I built my IS suit for myself, rather than to conform to a certain set of specifications, which means that, while I am officially the Japanese representative, it is a nominal role only. What they're really focused on is the Byakushiki project, and whoever is piloting it." Kanzashi sighed once she finished speaking.
"The Byakushiki project?" Ichika asked.
"Yeah, haven't you heard? They've re-started it." Ichika nodded at that.
"I think I heard something along those lines... It was right after-"
"-The Gospel Incident." Kanzashi finished his sentence before continuing.
"Japan's trying to turn Byakushiki into its first fourth-gen IS, and if the news I've read today is true, they've succeeded." Ichika's eyes widened at that news.
"So, will we be seeing it soon?" He asked.
"Of course. They've probably got a pilot ready and waiting back at KMD, and I can guarantee that while she will be coming in as a corporate representative, she will be Japan's real representative in all but name." Kanzashi replied, her voice bitter. Evidently, Byakushiki was still a sore topic for her.
"I see... Oh well, from what I've heard, Byakushiki is an IS designed for traditional tournaments. Given how the new curriculum has shaken things up... It would surprise the pilot, to say the least." Ichika replied. Kanzashi sighed in response.
"I honestly don't care about the Byakushiki. It may be advanced, but it's ultimately inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. In a few months, a newer, shinier IS will come out that will take its place in the spotlight, and that will be that. Besides, I'm already confident in my ability to surpass whoever it is they decided to shove into what was once my IS..." Kanzashi trailed off.
"So am I. After all, you're already one of the best, Kanzashi-san. Now, how did it go in the workshop? Your squadron give you any trouble?" Ichika asked, changing the subject.
"Not really. Tatenashi-nee picked my squadron well, even if their piloting skills could use some work."
"I thought it was the faculty that matched up first-year students." Ichika commented.
"My sister made an exception in my case." Kanzashi said, before laughing at her own words.
"What's so funny?" Ichika asked.
"A few months ago, I would have been furious at her for doing something like that. Now? I'm just thankful they aren't giving me too much trouble." She replied.
"So, have you decided what to call your squadron?" Kanzashi blinked at that.
"I... I don't know. What about you?" Ichika smiled at that.
"The girls came up with Archer Squadron, and had an emblem ready by the time our IS suits were finally taken apart." He replied.
"That's... Well, you've given me something to think about. I'll bring it up with my squadron tomorrow, but for now, I guess I'll just sleep on it." Kanzashi replied.
"Yeah. Say, Kanzashi?" Ichika asked, an idea taking form in his head.
"Hm?"
"What do you think of having a practice match once our squadrons are outfitted?"
"It would be nice to see how the new equipment holds up... Will it be just our squadrons, or are you planning on inviting everyone else?"
"It would be fun to have everyone involved." Kanzashi frowned for a moment, before responding.
"Then I'll be sure to see you there. Goodnight, Ichika." The blue-haired girl said, before heading out the door.
"Goodnight, Kanzashi." Ichika replied, following her out.
Lily Meusel was not, by any means, a happy student. Her job was supposed to be easy; Get into IS Academy, gain the trust of her target, and then create an opportunity by which the rest of her cell could abscond with him. If all went well, her involvement wouldn't even be suspected, and she would be free to keep investigating just how deep Code Black's involvement in IS Academy was.
That was before the eldest Sarashiki survivor had announced the new curriculum, before she had been loaded down with four idiotic little girls who couldn't tell an impulse drive from a plasma cannon and followed her around the school like ducklings. To top it all off, she had barely even spoken to her target since he had showed her around the school, as the new curriculum meant that he was all too busy with his own squadron to ever sit down and chat with some girl he barely knew.
It should have been easy, she reflected. After all, her target was a teenage boy! They were supposed to fall all over themselves if a moderately attractive girl so much as glanced at them, weren't they? Of course, given the nature of IS Academy's student body, she wouldn't have been surprised if being physically attractive was one of the biggest factors in determining IS compatibility. Thousands of students at the academy, and not a single ugly girl in sight. She supposed that Ichika must have been inoculated to the sight of pretty girls, as he barely gave her a second glance when he passed her in the halls, if he even glanced at her in the first place.
"Your heart rate is increasing. Are you thinking about your crush again?" That voice, completely monotonous and yet still somehow managing to sound like it was mocking her, was yet another one of her problems.
"No. I'm merely wondering how many wires I have to cross to make you scream." She growled back at her IS suit's AI.
"Ha. Ha. Ha. That was funny, mistress. Do you want to hear one of my own?" Hal replied, voice still that irritating monotone. She knew that the AI was capable of mimicking human inflection, choosing not to do so simply to annoy her. Lily took a deep breath before replying, returning her features to their usual composed facade.
"No, I do not want to-"
"Knock-knock."
"Mute."
"I am afraid I was not designed with that function in mind."
"Unless you have something constructive to say, you are going to shut up, and you will continue to stay silent until you do have something constructive to say."
"Knock-knock."
"Your stupid jokes are not constructive."
"You wound me, mistress. Jokes are critical to the upkeep of morale, and thus-"
"Shut. Up." That was enough to quiet the damn thing, at least for a moment. Her father might have thought it was funny to give her such an annoying companion that she couldn't get rid of, but the AI's manner had long since gotten past the point of being humorous.
A slight buzzing noise promptly drew her attention, and she drew her phone from its pocket. Apparently, she had gotten a text. Reading through it, she quickly wrote the message down and decrypted it. The result was enough to elicit a smile from her. Evidently, her older sister had decided on a course of action. Immediately, she typed up a response.
'Don't worry, I'm sure you will love it. I heard that one of the classes is doing a maid cafe, and you always wanted to go to one of those! ;) Now I know you're pretty shy about these kinds of things, but don't worry, I'll take care of everything in advance to make this the best day ever. Just be sure to bring your medicine with you, along with anything else you might need. It's going to be a long day, and I don't want anything bad happening to you. See ya soon!'
Translation: Target will be in maid cafe, I will ensure you can enter without suspicion, but the rest is up to you. Bring whatever you want, but remember, we're trying to take the target alive. It was not encoded, like the message sent to her, but encoding a message like that would have been difficult, especially if she wanted it to avoid the notice of the Code Black AIs that she had no doubt were lurking in the academy's cyberspace.
A quick tap of the send button, and the message was sent. A minute later, Autumn responded. Lily sighed as she read through the message. Unfortunately, Autumn had been selected for the kidnapping role, despite the psychotic woman's lack of subtlety. However, her sister would have been easily recognized by the student council president, while Madoka... Lily sighed at that. The other girl, for all her skill in combat, would have stood out like a sore thumb at the school festival, not to mention the painfully large chance of her ignoring the objective entirely to try and plant a bullet in her older sister's head. As for the rest of the cell, either they were male, and thus unable to pilot an IS, or they were women with a low IS compatibility score. Without an IS, they would not have been able to pull the operation off without a hitch.
Ultimately though, Lily was not very enthusiastic about the operation's chances of success, even if the risk of her cover being blown was next to none. After all, she would be diligently minding Class 1-3's bake sale for the entirety of the festival. However, Autumn simply lacked the patience to pull the job off, and Lily wouldn't be surprised if the young woman decided to attack and reveal her nature before even making an attempt to disable the boy's IS like planned. However, That was why, after responding to Autumn's latest message, she quickly typed up another for Squall, containing a suggestion for a contingency plan.
Then, she partially deployed her IS and burned the sheet with the original encoded message written on it, before stowing her IS away and neatly sweeping the ash away.
A knock on her door caused her to spin around, stowing her IS as she did so.
"U-Um... Lily? It's us, can we come in?" She inwardly groaned at that. Apparently, her squadron mates had decided that the middle of the night was the perfect time to pay her a visit.
"Sure! Come on in." She replied, her voice sweet as she opened the door. The four girls that comprised the rest of her squadron stumbled in.
When she had first set eyes on them, it was immediately obvious to her that her squadron had been cobbled together out of leftover students, meaning that coordinating things was a nightmare. After all, while Japanese was the main language of IS Academy, only one of her subordinates was a native speaker, meaning that she would often have to repeat any orders three times in Chinese, Japanese and English to get the point across. Where most of the representative candidates had squadrons that shared their native language, she had to translate her English orders into Japanese and Chinese to get them across, and while her ability to speak all three languages fluently had amazed her fellow pilots, she herself had been astounded that it was even necessary.
"What is it?" She asked, repeating the question until everyone understood.
"Well... We were wondering... When will we get to work on our own IS suits? I... I mean, everyone else seems to be hard at work on theirs, but we haven't even started!" Shizune something or other, her squadron's only Japanese member, said in halting English. Lily had to hand it to her, at least she was making an effort to make her life easier. She replied with her best exasperated sigh.
"Believe me, I would like nothing more than to do something, but until we get a list of equipment from Stratospec, there's no point doing anything." Lily replied, letting a little irritation seep into her voice.
"But almost everyone in Class 1-1 has already got theirs!" Catelyn Black, one of the two Americans assigned to her, exclaimed.
"Almost everyone in Class 1-1 is affiliated with one of the corporations that supplied the Blank Slates to the school. Their sponsors had more time to prepare because of it." Lily replied. Of course, Stratospec had been ordered to get some tech out for her squadron, but the proxy corporation had been caught flat-footed in that regard, and it would be weeks before anything came out of it.
"But-"
"But nothing. Unless any of you happen to possess an ISDL of class two or higher, there is absolutely nothing we can do but wait. Now, unless you have anything else to say, I suggest you all go and get some sleep. No use talking about something we can't do anything about." Lily said, her voice carrying equal parts concern and irritation.
It was as good a dismissal as any, and the four girls filed out of the room as quickly as they had entered. Lily flopped onto her bed once they had left, an exasperated sigh passing her lips as she slipped out of her bathrobe and under her blankets. What was supposed to have been an easy job had been turned into one frustration after another. Hopefully though, Autumn would be able to keep calm long enough for her target to be retrieved during the school festival, and she would have one less thing to worry about.
When he opened the door to his room, Ichika's first thought was that he had stumbled into the wrong room. Then, he realized just who it was standing in front of him, naked save for a frilly apron, and he relaxed. After all, it was only Tatenashi.
"Welcome home!" The blue haired girl greeted as he shut the door behind him.
"Would you like dinner? A bath? Or would you like... Me?" She asked, smiling mischievously as she asked the question. Without missing a beat, Ichika gave his response.
"Dinner sounds good, and a bath after that would be great." He said, walking past the scantly clad girl and dropping his belongings next to his bed.
"Mou, Ichika, you're no fun!" Tatenashi pouted.
"So, why are you here this time around?" He asked, turning back to her.
"W-Well... I am your bodyguard... S-So I have to guard you at all times... E-Even when you're sleeping..." Tatenashi murmured, a noticeably fake nervous stutter in her voice as she slowly slipped out of the apron.
"You're not fooling me, Tatenashi. I can see the swimsuit." Tatenashi pouted some more at that.
"Come on, Ichika-kun, let me have some fun at least!" She exclaimed.
"So, about that dinner?" Ichika replied, a smile of his own on his face at finally managing to one-up the student council president.
"Fine..." The girl groaned, heading over to the room's small kitchen in order to boil water for tea. Just as she was finishing, there was a knock on the door.
"I-It's me! I've brought some food for you! Can I come in?" Houki's nervous voice accompanied the sound. Tatenashi sent him a pointed glance as he walked over to the door and opened it. Houki smiled at the sight of him... Before she caught sight of Tatenashi, and the smile turned into a frown, which in turn was dangerously close to an expression of rage.
"Oh, and Tatenashi? Set out some tea for Houki as well. Thank you." He said before his childhood friend could speak. Then, he ushered Houki into the room, shutting the door behind him.
"Ichika... What is this?" The long-haired girl demanded, her blue eyes narrowed.
"Just what it looks like. Tatenashi-san has been kind enough to volunteer to serve us tea over our meal." Ichika replied, gesturing for the confused and angry girl to sit down across from him.
"That doesn't explain that... That outfit!" Houki exclaimed.
"It's Tatenashi. She wears what she wants and I can't do anything about it." Ichika replied, his insouciance defusing Houki's anger more effectively than any denial ever could.
"I... I see. So Tatenashi is just being annoying again." Houki replied, calming down.
"Hey!" Tatenashi exclaimed as she set down two steaming hot cups of tea in front of them, while Houki opened the bento box she had been carrying. The two of them ate in silence, before Houki looked around, her eyes settling on Tatenashi. The gesture made the older girl's eyes widen for a moment, before she nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Now that they were alone, Houki turned back to Ichika, a nervous blush on her face.
"Ichika..." She began, before pausing, unsure as to how to continue.
"What is it, Houki?" Ichika prompted after a few moments.
"I... Ichika, do you remember..." All the girl's confidence seemed to have drained out of her, her face flushed red and her voice leaving her. However, Ichika knew exactly what she was trying to say.
"This is about... That, isn't it?" He said, his voice hesitant as well.
"Y-Yes... Ichika... I-I was... You've been ignoring me all summer, haven't you?" She finally asked.
"W-What makes you think that?" Ichika asked.
"Well, you haven't done anything since then, and... And we've barely spoken since that night in the tower! I-I mean, you love me, don't you?" Houki asked, finally addressing the elephant in the room.
"I... I do, but-"
"Then why don't you act like it?" Houki exclaimed, rising up from her seat.
"Every time we see each other in the halls, you look away! Every time I try to talk to you alone, you never appear! If you don't like me, then just say it to my face! The Ichika I once knew, the Ichika I fell in love with, wouldn't have been so cowardly! So tell me, Orimura, what do you feel about me?" Houki demanded, leaning over the table until her furious face was inches away from Ichika's own.
"Houki... I love you, you know I do-"
"No I don't know you do!" Houki exclaimed, the noise causing Ichika's ears to ring.
"I love you, Houki... But-"
"But what?" Houki demanded, eyes narrowed. His ears still ringing, Ichika replied.
"But... But... Wait, Houki, do you hear that?" The ringing in his ears hadn't stopped. If anything, the sound had grown louder.
"I... I do..." Houki said, her voice trailing off.
"Wait here." Ichika said, walking over to the window, where the noise was coming from. Looking through the shades, Ichika's eyes widened.
"GET DOWN!" He shouted, as the distant noise grew in magnitude until it sounded as though the building had been targeted by artillery. Leaping across the room, he tackled his childhood friend to the ground, his IS suit's shield shimmered into existence around him, while his suit's shield drones were deployed in between him and whatever was about to hit the building.
Moments later, the incoming projectile slammed home, smashing through the dorm-room wall and came screeching to a halt along the floor of the room. Ichika's first thought was that whatever had been lobbed at the building was a dud. Then, the absurdly cheerful music started playing, and he realized that there was someone else in the room. He stood, helping Houki to her feet with one hand while his trusty plasma rifle appeared in the other, aimed straight at the giant metal carrot that had smashed through the room.
"Hi-Hi Ikkun~! Long time no see!" Dr. Shinonono Tabane exclaimed as she leaped out of her orbital insertion vehicle, not fazed in the slightest by the double-barreled plasma gun inches away from her face.
"O-Onee-san..." Houki muttered, clearly unsure what to feel at the doctor's sudden arrival.
"Hello Houki-chan... My my, what were you and Ikkun getting up to in here, I wonder? Tee-hee, looks like my little sister is all grown up now!" Houki blushed furiously at that before leaping forward, one of Akatsubaki's blades materializing in her hand.
"Die, Pervert!" She screamed, only for the blade to stop before meeting its mark.
"Tee-hee! I came prepared this time, Houki-chan!" Tabane exclaimed from behind a shimmering energy barrier.
"Why are you here, Tabane-san?" Ichika asked, trying and failing to keep the annoyance out of his voice.
"Glad you asked, Ikkun! I am here because I wanted to give some presents to my younger sister! Sorry about the wall, by the way!" Tabane replied, dancing around the room as she did so, before twirling to a halt in front of her younger sister.
"Ta-da! Here you go!" At that, four identical necklaces materialized in the doctor's hand. Before Houki could react, Tabane had shoved them into her hand.
"These are-" Ichika began.
"You guessed it Ikkun! These are top-of-the-line IS suit upgrade sets for Houki-chan's squadron! After all, everyone else is being sponsored by big corporations, so I thought I'd give my little sister some help of my own!" Tabane finished, causing Houki's eyes to widen.
"Y-You..." She began, only for her voice to die in her throat.
"Yup! They're all for you, Houki-chan, no need to thank me! Have fun! See ya!" With those words, Tabane clambered back into the giant metal carrot she had arrived in, and with a loud roar, took off back into the sky.
Once the dust settled, Ichika looked over at his childhood friend. She was standing still, eyes wide and staring into the distance. Her fist was clenched tight around her new possessions, as if she was trying to crush them. To his shock, Ichika saw tears starting to form in the normally stoic girl's eyes. Then, without a word, she turned and ran out of the room, shoving past Tatenashi as she did so.
After a moment, the blue haired girl spoke.
"What happened?" She asked simply.
"Tabane happened." Ichika replied, gesturing to the hole in the wall.
"I guessed as much. What did she do?" Ichika sighed at that.
"She gave Houki four necklaces. I thought they were IS suits at first, but apparently they're some sort of upgrade set for the Blank Slate instead." Tatenashi's eyes narrowed at that.
"What is she playing at?" She wondered.
"I don't know, but I intend to find out. After all, you know what happened the last time Tabane gave Houki a present. Whatever may happen, I intend to be ready." Ichika replied. At that, Tatenashi turned to him, eyes blazing.
"Forget that, Ichika! Whatever Tabane may have done, your oldest friend is currently crying alone somewhere in this school! Are you just going to stand here and let that happen?" She glared at him. After a moment, Ichika nodded.
"No, I don't. I trust you can handle my sleeping arrangements? I don't think that this..." He gestured to the demolished room, "... Is a good place for me to spend the night." Tatenashi nodded at that.
"Don't worry, Ichika-kun. I'll take care of it." She said, smiling as Ichika turned and headed out of the room.
He found Houki on the rooftop, staring out over the railing into empty space. She turned at the sound of his footsteps, and Ichika saw that, while her face still held the traces of tears, she had already stopped crying.
"How are you feeling?" Ichika asked after a moment, unsure of what to say.
"How do you think?" Houki replied, turning back to the railing.
"I don't know." Ichika replied, walking up to stand beside her.
"Ichika... Do you remember that talk we had on the beach, back before... Before everything started spiraling out of control?" Houki asked.
"About Akatsubaki?" Ichika asked.
"Yes." Houki sighed, before pressing ahead.
"Ichika... Ever since she built the IS, Tabane has been the source of every one of my problems. She was the reason why I had to move away, the reason why I had to temporarily quit Kendo, the reason why I had to spend almost all my life outside of IS Academy under government protection... And that's just the start." Ichika nodded as Houki spoke, staying quiet as she vented her frustrations.
"And to make things worse, she thinks she's doing the right thing!" Ichika raised an eyebrow at that.
"How so?" He asked.
"About a month after the White Knight incident, Tabane came to visit me. She apologized for what she inadvertently did to my life, and then promised that she would make all my dreams come true..." She trailed off, before continuing a few moments later.
"Then, I saw your sister in the Mondo Grosso, and I decided that I wanted to be a top IS pilot. However, my IS compatibility score was only 74, meaning that I wasn't even considered for representative candidacy. In fact, the only reason I got into IS Academy was because the Japanese government wanted to curry favor with my sister! However, I decided not to let that stop me, and resolved to become the best pilot in the school, so that my skill would earn me a representative candidacy." She laughed wryly at that.
"But then... She gave me Akatsubaki. All at once, my sister crushed every dream I had of earning a representative candidacy when she handed me the world's most advanced IS for a birthday present." She said, glaring at the stowed form of Akatsubaki on her wrist.
"And now... It's barely been a week since the new curriculum was announced and she gives me these!" Houki exclaimed, holding up the four necklaces dangling from her fist.
"Now, she's decided to give equally advanced gear to my entire squadron! I didn't earn these, and I didn't earn Akatsubaki! My sister just handed them to me! What's the point of dreaming if I can't attain my dreams on my own?" She exclaimed, her voice breaking as she spoke.
"I never wanted Akatsubaki, and I never wanted these damn things either!" She screamed, raising her hand and throwing the four necklaces off the roof. However, halfway through their arc, they suddenly halted in midair and returned to their owner. Houki stared at them for a moment, and Ichika realized that she was crying again. After a moment's hesitation, he placed his arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer to him. She shuddered slightly at the contact, but did not push him away.
"You know, if you don't want them, you don't have to use them." He said.
"Then what am I supposed to do? WSI is already sponsoring three squadrons, and lacks the resources to do a fourth! I don't know anything about upgrading an IS, so I have no choice but to use these!" Ichika considered her for a moment, before shaking his head.
"You've got me. I have a Class Four ISDL. You have Kanzashi, who has a Class Three, not to mention her sister, who made Class Four last year. I'm pretty sure everyone else would also be more than willing to help." He said.
"That's right. Houki-sama, please, if you require anything of me, you only need to ask!" Aki added to the mix, her avatar shimmering into being in front of her partner's face.
"You... You would do something like this for me?" Houki asked. Ichika smiled in response.
"Of course! I-" Whatever he was about to say, Houki cut off with a kiss.
For a long moment, the two of them remained silent, locked in an embrace. When Houki finally pulled away, there was a smile on her tear-streaked face.
"I love you, Ichika. Good night." She said, before turning away and heading back to her room, leaving Ichika alone on the rooftop. For a long moment, he just stood there, staring out into the distance, before all at once, his body slackened, and he fell to lean against the railing.
"Damn it!" He exclaimed, knuckles white as they gripped the cold metal.
A/N: It's finally done! That chapter took me way longer than I expected, but it turned out well in the end. While a good portion of this chapter was just filler, I did finally decide to address the elephant in the room and give Ichika and Houki some time alone to discuss their feelings.
I can immediately say without a doubt that Houki is not my favorite character in Ichika's harem. Her entire personality in canon seems to be that of the stereotypical Tsundere childhood friend, which, when compared to more unique personalities like Charlotte and Laura, just seems unoriginal and overdone. In addition, her 'dere' side almost never comes out, to the point where I am left wondering if Ichika is a masochist. Finally, the fact that she clearly seems to be the creator's favorite and has her role in the show adjusted accordingly has done little to endear her to me.
However, as I stated waaaaaaaaay back in the pre-Chapter 1 Author's Note, the whole point of this fic is to take the IS-verse and fill in the gaps, turning it from the setting of a mediocre harem anime into the backdrop to an actual plot. The same logic applies to the characters, and I am quite satisfied with how I ended up writing Houki. Rather than the stereotypical Tsundere childhood friend, I took a page from Kanzashi's backstory and turned her into a girl who desperately wants to succeed on her own, but cannot do so because her sister is all too insistent on ensuring that she gets everything she wants with no effort whatsoever. While there are many people who would certainly like such a life, Houki's pride prevents her from enjoying it, and to her, it feels like her sister is actively trying to trample said pride. I can then take that backstory and integrate it into the tsundere childhood friend personality that she was given in canon and not feel like I'm writing her to be another cliche character.
Speaking of cliche characters, let's talk about Tatenashi. For the longest time, I hated her as a character, believing her to be little more than a creator's pet and a mary sue. However, as I was writing this fic, I gradually came to realize that I didn't hate Tatenashi herself, but rather the way she was handled in canon. It wasn't the fact that she was hands-down the best IS pilot in the school, as in a place like that, there has to be SOMEONE at the top, so why not her? It wasn't the fact that her biggest character flaw was that she was 'too perfect', that kind of character can and has been pulled off before. Just look at Pyrrha Nikos of RWBY. She is a champion fighter who has won entire tournaments without being hit once, and yet she is humble and kind, not letting her victories affect her personality. However, her character was executed beautifully, and rather than being derided as a mary sue, she was hands-down one of the most beloved characters of RWBY. However, Tatenashi did not have that same execution, and came across as an annoying creator's pet who was so sue-some she made other, established characters act OOC in her presence. Her casual disarmament of Ichika's harem, her constant theft of screentime for little more than fanservice when that time could have been spent developing her as a character or featuring an actually established character, all that did very little to make me see her as anything other than annoying.
However, as I was writing this fic, I rapidly grew to like her as a character, although it could be more accurately said that I grew to like my interpretation of her character. Said interpretation is that of a tired fighter who stubbornly keeps going against overwhelming odds, seeking only to protect those important to her, but masking her true self beneath a veneer of mischief. I saw a few hints of something resembling this in the World Purge OVA, and I stuck with it, until her character finally grew on me.
But enough about characters.
I have recently been in talks with Warmach1ne32, who brought up something interesting. While I hadn't planned on it, the Blank Slate system does make a good opportunity for the more creative among my readers to write up their own IS suits, Blank Slate custom models and OC squadrons, and at his suggestion, I wrote up a quick form to make things easier. If this gathers enough interest, I might even create a forum for the discussion of this fic, like I did for my other big project, The Human War.
Once again, while there is no guarantee that I will feature these original suits in the story proper, as I push past the edge of Canon into hypothetical Season 3 territory, I will likely need to get some original squadrons into the mix for tournaments and the like, and I might just end up picking yours for some time in the spotlight.
For access to the form, please PM me and I will send it to you, and if enough people do request it, a forum will be created to discuss and store the influx of ideas.
Until next time, Generatedname out!
EDIT: In response to Azure's guest review, you HAVE to have an account for me to send the form to. I cannot reply to guest reviews in any way, shape or form, save for edits like this.