A/N: My sincere apologies for the long delay in updates. I hope that this chapter is good enough to compensate.
Chapter 20
Ichika had never been more thankful for his IS suit's climate shield than he was now, flying two thousand meters in the air above the ocean near IS Academy. All around him, raindrops curved away from his IS suit's pilot compartment, blurring his vision but keeping him mostly dry.
"Whose bright idea was it to fly in this weather anyway?" Sakura complained, her suit's blurred form barely visible from its position thirty meters to his left.
"Hey, we all agreed to it. Stop complaining." Theresa snapped from Ichika's right.
"We agreed before it started raining." Sakura retorted, her words underscored by a flash of light, followed closely by a thunderclap. The sound almost completely drowned out Rei's startled squeak.
"It's good practice. If we can fly in this, we can fly in anything." Ayane said.
"Wouldn't they cancel the tournament if the weather was like this?" Sakura asked.
"Did you even read the tournament guide? As far as they're concerned, inclement weather just adds to the fun." Ayane replied, her speech interrupted by another thunderclap.
As his team bickered, Ichika glanced at his satellite map. Satisfied at what he saw, he addressed his squadron.
"Alright Archer Squadron, we're at the starting point. Houki should be signalling me any-" A ping interrupted him mid-sentence.
"Alright, Houki is in position as well. Remember, don't push your suits too hard, I don't want an impulse drive malfunction to cut our little stress-test short." Even though he couldn't see it, he knew Sakura was wincing at that statement. After all, she was the one who had been the victim of such a malfunction on his squadron's previous practice flight.
Hopefully, that issue had been properly addressed. It wouldn't do for Houki's squadron to have their first combat flight in their newly-upgraded Blank Slates to be cut short.
"What's the plan, Ichika-san?" Ayane asked. After a moment of consideration, Ichika gave his reply.
"Out of all of them, only Houki has any real experience with her IS. All the others haven't done anything bigger than a systems test flight in theirs. However, those suits all use tech designed by Dr. Tabane, so do not underestimate them. Expect each and every one of them to come with the ability to fill the sky with pink lasers, or something to that effect. I don't know their exact specifications, but I expect that they're easily better than our own suits." He concluded.
"So, what do we do?" Theresa asked.
"First, I want everyone to climb to at least six thousand meters. Hopefully that should be enough to get us out of the clouds. Our range-oriented arsenal doesn't do us any good if our hyper-sensors are blind, after all. Once we're in the clear, I want us to split into elements of two. Sakura, you're with me in element one. Theresa, Rei, you're element two. Ayane, you're independent for now. When we're above the clouds, I want you to fly level at about two hundred meters above the cloud layer, where you will act as bait. Your job will be to locate Houki's squadron and report on their capabilities. The rest of us will take up position one and a half kilometers above you, where we will provide support as needed. Any questions?" He finished. When none came, he nodded and signaled Houki that he was ready.
A minute later, she pinged him back, and the battle began.
One of the characteristics of an IS was its ability to fly despite its complete lack of aerodynamics, courtesy of its impulse drives. With a passive inertia canceler protecting the pilot from G-forces, the only real limit on an IS suit's performance was air resistance, which built up as speed increased until an equilibrium was reached between the impulse drives and the atmosphere, prohibiting further positive acceleration. This meant that an IS suit did not have to worry about stalling out in a vertical climb.
Thus, Archer squadron was easily able to breach the cloud layer, and soon its members were in position. For a few minutes, nothing was visible, before Ayane spoke up from below.
"I see them. They're trying to hide in the upper edge of the cloud layer. I'm marking them now... They've spotted me!" She reported, the highlighted forms of Houki's squadron appearing on his HUD. Already they were attempting evasive maneuvers, anticipating the incoming barrage. Glancing at each suit in turn, Ichika quickly singled out Houki as the only one who was not maneuvering erratically. Where the others were clearly still getting used to their suits, her experience was clear by contrast.
"No sense hiding now, open fire." He ordered, centering Houki in his sights and pulling the mental trigger. Invisible Glare Mk. II hissed in his grip, firing its laser directly at its target. Houki's MIRAI system may have allowed her to dodge incoming projectiles and plasma, but not even the MIRAI system could heighten one's reflexes past the light-speed barrier. He kept the trigger down as he attempted to follow Houki through her intensified attempts at evasion, the continuous laser beam following its target as best as he could make it. A cloud of mist quickly formed around him as he tracked the target, but the Mk. II's radar gunsight made that a non-issue.
Beside him, Sakura opened up with her own weaponry, quickly saturating the target area with plasma. It had not been hard for her to take the Demon package and apply it to her Blank Slate. Rather, she had jumped at the chance as soon as he had mentioned triple-barreled rotary plasma cannons, which even now blazed away, obscuring the targets with blue-white plasma and nearly drowning out her maniacal laughter.
"Ichika, tell Sakura to calm down and exercise some fire discipline! I can't aim properly with the whole area glowing white!" Theresa's annoyed voice broke through the ear-splitting wail of plasma cannons. Where Sakura had chosen firepower, Theresa had gone for precision with the Mirage package, and as soon as her suit's upgrade procedures were completed, she eagerly began practicing with the Sun Gun, as she had nicknamed her suit's weapon.
"Sakura, fire in bursts, you're messing up Theresa's aim." He relayed Theresa's request to the girl in question.
"Thanks." Theresa said a few moments later, the target area clear once more. Then, one of Houki's Blank Slates flashed white as Theresa landed a hit, its pilot desperately weaving through the air in an attempt to evade further fire.
"I'm under attack. They seem to all be primarily melee oriented." Ayane suddenly reported, and Ichika glanced down to see her being engaged by two Blank Slates.
"Hold them there for now. Rei, move to support Ayane. Theresa, focus fire on the Akatsubaki. Sakura, follow me. We're going to get a little closer." Ichika ordered, before nosing his IS into a head-first dive, his faster suit quickly out-pacing Sakura's own. His target was a Blank Slate that had been isolated from the rest of her squadron thanks to poor choices in evasive maneuvers. With its nearest allies engaging Ayane two kilometers away, the lone IS was a perfect target.
Switching out his laser rifle for his plasma gun, he opened fire, saturating the thick clouds with blue light and scoring several hits before screaming past his target, quickly pitching up and rolling to face his opponent, who was attempting to follow his faster IS in its climb. However, that move had given Sakura a perfect opportunity to line up her own shots and open fire, a torrent of blue-white plasma enveloping the IS on Ichika's tail.
"I got her! Her ADS is up!" Sakura exclaimed a few seconds later as she pulled up alongside him.
"Nice work. Everyone hear that? One down, four to go." He relayed to the rest of his squadron. Quickly surveying the battlefield, Ichika saw Rei pulling one of Ayane's assailants away from her, leading the other girl on a zig-zagging chase, slowly whittling away at her shields with her rifle as she did so. That left the girl's partner facing Ayane one on one, and it was obvious that she was out-classed. Her opponent's four-armed design was evidently too much for her, and she was quickly driven down into the clouds, vanishing from view. The final remaining Blank Slate was attempting to intercept Rei, but the bright flashes of light indicated that Theresa had her in her sights, and the sniper soon reported her target disabled.
That left Akatsubaki, which had vanished from view. After a few seconds of fruitless searching, he heard Sakura cry out, and he turned around just in time to see a barrage of plasma bolts slam into his wingmate. A moment later, Akatsubaki was upon her, twin katanas flashing through the air as they descended upon their target. Unfortunately for Sakura, the Organization had decided that the Demon's melee weaponry did not need testing, and so had not seen fit to include it in the package, leaving Sakura defenseless. Even as she tried to spool up her cannons for a point-blank barrage, Houki struck, and with two clean hits, Sakura's IS was disabled.
"Sakura is down!" Ichika called out as Houki's next strike was caught by a shield drone, allowing him to evade and deploy a trio of knife missiles. None of the drones connected, as the MIRAI system predicted their paths and allowed Houki to slice two of them in half while dodging the third. Rolling out of the way of Houki's next strike, Ichika frantically considered his options, deploying another wave of knife missiles and explosive drones as he did so.
Akatsubaki was faster than the Infinite Arsenal, so he could not outrun it. It was more agile, so he could not outmaneuver it and expect to win. Worst of all, while its ranged weaponry had a relatively short reach, its melee capability far outstripped anything the Infinite Arsenal possessed, and it had already closed the distance.
"Ichika, I have you covered, but I need a clear shot. Keep her still and stay out of my scope." Theresa reported, giving him his solution.
"Roger." Ichika replied, sparing a glance up to where Theresa's IS hovered, its form surrounded by nearly invisible distortions as its spectral absorbtion drones did their work, collecting light of all frequencies, converting it to power, and then transferring that power to the suit's main gun.
With his teammate's position in mind, he flipped his IS over vertically, his upside-down face passing within inches of Houki's own as she sped past beneath him, her strike connecting with empty air.
"I have a clear shot! Firing!" Theresa exclaimed, and as Houki was turning around for another strike, a blinding white flash erupted from her shoulder as Theresa landed her shot.
"Hit!" Ichika called out as Houki went inverted, flipping under him and placing him between her and Theresa.
"My line of fire is blocked. Should I re-position?" Theresa asked.
"Do it!" Ichika called out, dodging out of the way of another flurry of strikes. His attempts to strike back were easily dodged or parried, the MIRAI system anticipating his movements and heightening Houki's reflexes to compensate.
Suddenly, Houki broke away from her assault, rolling backwards just in time to dodge a burst of rifle fire from Rei. The quiet girl's IS flew past a few seconds later, one of Houki's squadron-mates still on its tail, although the other girl's Blank Slate apparently lacked any way of damaging its opponent.
While Rei's attack inflicted negligible damage on Akatsubaki, it did draw Houki's attention, and the crimson IS disengaged, quickly closing with Rei and landing a solid strike with one of its blades, sending Rei tumbling down towards her second opponent, who promptly disabled her with a single strike of her weapon, which seemed to be some sort of naginata. Less than a second later, the Blank Slate flashed white and fell out of the sky, disabled by another shot from Theresa.
The rapid elimination of two IS suits left Ichika and Houki in the exact same position as they had started, as Houki attempted to keep Ichika between him and Theresa, who in turn were attempting to maneuver to create a clear shot.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, Ichika saw something flash, and moments later, a four-armed, six winged figure slammed into Houki at transonic speeds.
"She's the last one, right?" Theresa asked.
"Yeah, as far as I know I got the other one." Ayane grunted, her face set in concentration as she attempted to manipulate all her limbs at once. The resulting flurry of strikes overwhelmed Houki, who tried to dodge and parry, but even with the MIRAI system there were simply too many incoming attacks, especially when Ichika joined in, firing off a point-blank burst of plasma fire into Houki's shield, which flashed from the impacts... But the light did not fade.
"What's happening now?" Ayane muttered as she watched Houki's IS vanish within a cocoon of light.
"Ichika... I've got some bad news." Ori spoke up for the first time since the training match started.
"What is it?" Ichika asked.
"Aki just contacted me. She says, and I quote here, 'Ha ha, I win, pay up." The AI explained.
"Pay up? What does that mean?" Ichika asked, not taking his eyes off the glowing Akatsubaki.
"Well... Aki may or may not have bet that she could force Akatsubaki to undergo Second Shift in this battle, and I may or may not have accepted the bet." Ori replied sheepishly.
"Good to know." Ichika replied, before addressing his squadron.
"Alright, Akatsubaki is currently undergoing a shift. Post-shift capabilities are unknown, so get some distance and take aim. Ayane, as soon as the shift is complete, try to tie it up in melee. The rest of us will try to support you at range." Ichika replied, flying away from Akatsubaki as fast as his suit's impulse drives could push him.
"Understood." The two remaining active members of his squadron chorused. Then, with a blinding burst of crimson light, Akatsubaki emerged.
Then it opened fire.
Two bolts of crimson light streaked towards Theresa, traversing the three kilometer distance in less than a second and slamming home.
"Theresa, are you alright?" Ichika demanded, aiming and attempting to return fire, but his shots punched through empty air, as Houki was already engaging Ayane. As before, Ayane attempted to overwhelm Houki through sheer volume of blows, but this time Houki had deployed her suit's fold-out armor array, ten bright blades taking form all over her suit's body, while two drones ignited energy blades of their own. When combined with the suit's twin katanas, it was clear that Houki now held the advantage in terms of sheer number of blades.
Moreover, unlike Ayane, Houki had an AI to assist her in controlling those blades, as each one seemed to move independently, rapidly forcing Ayane on the defensive.
"What the-" Ayane exclaimed, before her shield broke and her IS plummeted out of the sky. Her opponent flashed once as Theresa landed another shot, but now Akatsubaki could return fire, as two more crimson beams streaked across the sky, slamming home and incapacitating their target.
"Now it's just you and me." Houki spoke as she dodged Ichika's retaliatory fire.
"May the best pilot win." Ichika replied, before cutting the channel and speaking to Ori.
"Ori, deploy as many drones as you can manage. Seventy-thirty percent split of explosive and beam drones." He said, and Ori obliged, the air around the Infinite Arsenal shimmering as nearly three hundred drones materialized around it.
"Fire when ready." Ichika ordered, taking aim with every weapon he had, deploying an Invisible Glare on each shoulder, a plasma cannon in one hand, and his suit's original railgun in the other.
A few seconds passed as he and Houki sized each other up, before Houki sprang into action, accelerating forward, firing away with her new long-range weaponry while Ichika backpedaled, attempting to keep the battle a long-range exchange of fire for as long as possible. As he sped away, the drones began to charge towards their target, the beam drones attempting to encircle and suppress the crimson IS with sheer volume of fire, while the explosive drones charged straight at it. Then, the sky was filled with explosions as bright red crescents criss-crossed the sky, each one slicing multiple drones apart long before they could accomplish anything of worth. More and more drones shimmered into being around Ichika, replacing their predecessors as quickly as they fell, but the replacements too were soon destroyed.
All the while, Houki was drawing closer and closer, her IS seemingly even faster than before.
The final nail in the coffin came when Ori notified him that he was approaching the edge of his allotted training airspace. With no other option, he attempted to turn away, but Akatsubaki had the advantage in agility as well, and in a matter of seconds Houki was in striking distance. His last barrage of point-blank weapons fire connected, causing Houki's shields to flash, but even as he whittled away at his opponent's defenses, Akatsubaki began to glow with a bright golden light, and Ichika realized that Houki had activated her suit's one-off ability, completely restoring her suit's shields to maximum capacity and temporarily rendering her suit effectively invulnerable.
It took one strike to swat aside his attempted parry, the force of the blow being enough to detach the railgun from his suit's arm, sending it spiraling down towards the cloud layer, where it suddenly vanished, emergency stowage drawing it back into IS-space for repairs.
Houki's second strike destroyed his shoulder-mounted lasers, while the third slammed into his suit's chest. The fourth and fifth hit in rapid succession, disabling his shield and ending the practice match. Were it not for his suit's ADS disabling his communications suite, he would have complimented his childhood friend on a job well done. However, with his suit disabled, he could only watch her as he plummeted down into the clouds.
His ADS kept the rain off him, and when he hit the ocean, it kept him afloat. It really was a wondrous piece of technology, Ichika mused. Now, if only it wasn't so power-intensive to use.
A minute passed by before he regained control over his IS suit, at which point he exited the water and headed back to IS academy.
The launch platform was slick with rain as he came in for a landing outside the IS hangars. Once serving to store the academy's fleets of training suits, the hangars had been reduced to little more than a glorified staging area for training flights and the occasional class. One of the hangar doors was still open, and Ichika flew towards it, gliding inside before finally stowing his IS away.
Inside the hangar, both Houki's squadron and his own had made themselves at home, with Houki's squadron clustered around their leader, chattering excitedly as they examined Akatsubaki's new features. On the other end of the hangar, Ichika's squadron was standing around Ayane, who was still in her IS, a concerned look on her face.
"What's the problem?" Ichika asked as he walked up to them.
"The servo on wing five froze up while I was fighting Houki. I can't get the wing to move." Ayane replied, gesturing at the indicated wing. Ichika examined the indicated appendage for a few moments before turning back to her.
"It doesn't look damaged." He mused.
"I know, but it just won't move!" Ayane complained.
"Hmm... Try to dismount, but do not disconnect." Ichika ordered, and Ayane nodded. Her IS knelt down, and she quickly stepped out, revealing the network of wires attached to the back of her suit, leading back towards the Blank Slate. He spent a minute or so inspecting them, gently tugging on each wire before one of them came loose. Grabbing the offending wire, Ichika plugged it back into its port, making sure it was tightly in place before speaking up once more.
"Try it now." As he thought, the wing twitched at Ayane's command.
"It works. What was the problem?" She asked after a few experimental movements.
"The servo was fine. However, the wing's remote empathic interface connection was cut. It must have been shaken loose during the fight." He replied.
"I thought we had installed electromagnetic clamps specifically to prevent that from happening!" Ayane complained. In response, Ichika tugged the wire once more, and after a firm pull it came loose.
"This one's magnet must be faulty. We will likely have to replace it." He concluded, causing Ayane to sigh.
"Was that all?" He asked.
"Yeah, it was."
"Good. You can disconnect for now and stow your IS." As he spoke, the remaining wires were ejected from their ports, quickly retracting into a compact pack on the back of Ayane's suit. Its wearer shuddered with discomfort as her connection with her suit was broken.
"Any problems?" Ichika asked.
"No. Losing eight limbs is just a little strange, even if they were never there to begin with." Ayane replied, still shaking.
"Nobody's making you do this, you know. If it's too much, I can always-"
"No. It's not a problem. Now, where is my practice rig?" Ayane replied. In response, Sakura came up and handed her the object in question, which took the form of a harness with two skeletal, wire-filled arms attached. Thanking the other girl, Ayane put it on with practiced ease, several wires extending from the back of her pilot suit to connect with the appropriate ports. Giving the two limbs an experimental flex, Ayane nodded and folded them behind her back.
"Any issues?" Ichika asked.
"None." Ayane replied, before walking over to a corner of the hangar where her neatly folded uniform pants lay on an old crate. While her use of the practice rig had allowed her to get away with wearing her pilot suit in lieu of her school uniform, the IS Academy school board had nonetheless insisted on her keeping the pants.
Once she was ready, Ichika cleared his throat and prepared to address his squadron.
"First, I would like to say that every one of you did very well today. I can say with confidence that, were it not for Akatsubaki shifting when it did, the match would have been ours."
"We still lost." Theresa pointed out.
"True, true, but we weren't crushed by any means. Now, did anyone else have any problems with their IS during the battle?" He asked.
"Nope!"
"None here."
"No."
Ichika smiled as his other three squadmates replied in the negative.
"That's good to hear. Now, as a reward for your hard work, dinner is on me!" He declared, his words met by a cheer from Sakura and smiles from the rest of the group.
"What are we ordering today?" Ayane asked.
"You figure it out. I have to talk with Houki." Ichika replied, turning away before the inevitable bickering started. As usual, Ayane seemed to be recommending traditional Japanese cuisine, while Theresa hotly defended her desire for something American.
"So, now that I've sorted out everything with my squadron, how are things going on with yours?" Ichika asked Houki as he walked up to her. While he was troubleshooting his teammate's IS, she had dismounted from Akatsubaki and was now in the process of inspecting one of her suit's new weapons. She looked up as he approached, a broad smile on her face.
"I say we did pretty well! Our first flight as a squadron and we beat you!" She replied, stepping away from Akatsubaki.
"Keep working hard and I'm sure that trend will continue. Now, what about the rest of your squadron? Any problems to report?" Ichika asked. One of Houki's squadmates promptly responded.
"No offense to your sister, Houki-san, but these suits are almost impossible to control! I can't evade properly if my IS is constantly over-compensating in the pivot!" She said.
"Plus, they've got no ranged weaponry. I mean, the naginata is cool and all, but if you're being shot at from five kilometers away, it won't do you much good." Another girl added.
"Yeah. From what I saw, if you and Orimura-san were removed from the battle, we would have been wiped out." Houki's third squadmate said.
"Are your suits really only armed with that naginata?" Ichika asked. The other girls nodded in response.
"Alright then, first order of business is to give you some ranged capability. Once that's taken care of, we can tweak the maneuverability settings to prevent overcompensation. Does that sound good?"
"But what about practicing for tournaments? If we're spending all this time upgrading our IS suits, we won't be able to practice in them." One of the girls asked.
"Good point. However, tournaments don't start until after the school festival, which means we have plenty of time to do both." Ichika replied.
"Ichika! We've decided!" Theresa called out from the other end of the hangar.
"Alright, I'll be right there." He replied, before addressing Houki's squadron once more.
"So, any other issues I should be aware of?" He asked. When none of the girls spoke up, he nodded.
"Good. Try to think of some weapon ideas that you might want on your IS. Run them by Houki if you think they're good. I probably won't be able to work with you again until next weekend, so that should be plenty of time to come up with something." He said, before turning away and walking back to his squadron. Behind him, Houki's squadron was already talking amongst itself, swapping weapon ideas that ranged from practical and boring to completely ludicrous ideas that wouldn't be out of place on a TIS suit.
"Ichika!" Houki's shout caused him to pause.
"I... I just wanted to thank you. For taking your time to work with me in all this."
"No worries. I promised, didn't I? Besides, I like working with IS suits." He replied.
"Still... I don't want to hurt your own squadron due to my inexperience."
"Again, it really isn't a problem. If anything, it helps my squadron by giving them better flight experience." Houki looked like she wanted to respond to that, but a shout from her squadron drew her attention.
"Alright. Have a nice day, Ichika. I'll see you later." She said.
"You too, Houki." He replied, before walking back to his squadron.
"So, we couldn't decide on what to get, so Rei decided to search for something new." Theresa greeted him as he approached.
"Really? What did you find?" Ichika asked, turning to the quiet girl.
"It's a Russian restaurant. It's pretty highly rated, so I guess they have good borscht." Theresa interjected.
"Yeah. It looked good, so why not?" Sakura added.
"Alright, I guess it's decided. Let's get going. Restaurant Row starts to get swamped in about an hour, so we should hurry if we don't want to wait." Ichika replied, and led his team out of the hangar, quickly stopping by the changing room before heading out into the rain.
As a multicultural institution housing students from all over the world, it quickly became obvious that IS Academy could not meet the tastes of every single one of its students. As such, Restaurant Row had been created several years after the school was founded, the result of opportunistic chefs and businessmen seeking to fulfill the needs of a guaranteed customer base.
Now, hundreds of restaurants called the area home, taking up both the original street and several artificial expansions into the bay. To Ichika, the sight never ceased to amaze as he entered the main street. All around him were fancy buildings, styled after the culture they sought to represent. Be it traditional Japanese, fancy old Dutch or modern glass American architecture, it was all there. Even the restaurant names showed off the multicultural nature of the area, as English letters, Arabic script, Japanese Kanji... All blended together in the cacophony of sight and sound that not even the rain could dampen completely.
"We're here!" Theresa announced, bringing the group to a stop. Ichika looked up to see a comfortable looking stone facade in front of him. Above the entrance was the restaurant's name, 'Tul'ski Samovar' written out in Russian.
Inside, the first thing that struck Ichika were the paintings. The walls were covered in large canvasses, some of which contained familiar images, although Ichika couldn't quite identify them.
The rest of his squadron entered right behind him, Ayane drawing several noticeable stares as she was still wearing her pilot suit and practice arms. She made a show of ignoring them, although she still fidgeted slightly with both sets of arms.
"Hello, welcome to Tul'ski Samovar. How may I help you?" The heavily accented voice of a waitress drew Ichika's attention.
"I would like a table for five, if possible." Ichika replied.
"Very well. Follow me please." The waitress replied, before turning and leading them into the dimly lit restaurant. They quickly arrived at their table and sat down, leaving the sixth chair untouched.
"Well, it doesn't seem all that bad so far. Let's see what they have to eat." Theresa said, opening up the menu, Ichika doing the same.
As it turned out, there was a lot more to Russian cuisine than borscht. Thankfully, the menu had Japanese translations, as Ichika barely recognized a third of the Russian.
"Hello, is this your first time dining here?" Looking up from his menu, Ichika saw the waitress standing over the table, a large silver samovar on a cart behind her.
"Yes, it is." He replied, the girls around him nodding.
"Good, it's always nice to see new faces here." The waitress replied, placing the samovar down in the middle of the table, before setting out cups beside each of the occupied seats. The final addition to the table was a large tray, upon which sat several jars, one with sugar, another of jam, and the final filled with honey. A plate of sliced lemons completed the ensemble.
"Do you know how to use the samovar?" The waitress asked once she was done.
"Nope!" Sakura replied.
"Very well. It's very simple. The water should have already boiled, and the tea is already brewed, so just pour yourself some from here," The waitress said, gesturing towards a large teapot that sat on top of the samovar.
"Be careful, it is very strong. Once you've added some tea, you then add hot water from the samovar. Just twist the knob on the tap and it will pour. Once that is done, add some honey or jam, or whatever you want. Do you understand now?" She asked, gesturing to each component in turn.
"Yes, we do. Thank you very much." Ichika replied.
"Alright! I will be around soon to take your orders once you've decided on what to eat. Enjoy your dinner!" With that, the waitress was gone, leaving Ichika's squadron alone.
"Well... I certainly didn't expect this." Ayane said, reaching up to grab the teapot. Her second pair of arms, meanwhile, reached down to grab the cup. Following the waitress' instructions, she quickly prepared a cup of steaming tea for herself, before passing the pot to Sakura, who enthusiastically began to fill her cup with the brew. A small addition of hot water later, and she brought it to her lips, only to quickly pull it away.
"This stuff is strong!" She complained.
"You poured in half the pot! Of course it's strong!" Ayane replied, sipping her own without complaint.
"Add some honey if it's too bitter." Theresa suggested, Sakura eagerly following her advice.
Finally, Ayane decided to kick off the conversation.
"So Ichika, do you have any idea for how to beat Akatsubaki?" She asked.
"Come on, do we really have to start with that? Why can't we just relax for a change?" Sakura complained.
"Normally I'd agree, but we all saw what happened today. Akatsubaki took out our entire team in a matter of minutes, and its primary weakness was just rectified when it shifted. If we have to face her in a tournament, we need a plan." Theresa replied.
"Well, your gun should be able to out-range her weapons, provided you have good aim. The only issue with just sniping her from extreme range is the MIRAI system. Once the first shot connects, she will be able to predict where future shots are coming from and be able to evade." Ichika mused.
"Or we could try and overpower her in melee." Ayane proposed.
"With all those fold-out armor blades? Getting into a melee battle with Akatsubaki is suicide." Theresa countered.
"Um..." Rei began.
"What is it?" Sakura asked.
"I... This is some good tea, isn't it?" The quiet girl said.
"Yeah, it definitely is." Sakura replied.
"I personally prefer coffee, but it's not bad." Theresa said.
"Black, with a noticeable taste of cinnamon. I like it." Ayane commented, raising the cup with one of her mechanical limbs and taking a sip.
"You've really gotten good at using that thing." Ichika said, observing the movement.
"I definitely have. It's really strange, but once you get used to the sensation, the two extra arms are really handy. That reminds me, do I have to give this back at some point?" Ayane asked.
"That depends on how well the later prototypes turn out. If there are problems, you might have to turn it in, but if it all goes well you might get to keep it." Ichika replied.
"I hope I can keep it. It feels really strange to be missing two arms whenever I take it off to sleep. I know I'll adapt back if I don't wear it for long enough, but still, four arms are better than two in my experience." Ayane replied, getting a short laugh from Theresa.
"You know, that kind of technology could lead to groundbreaking advances in prosthetics. Is WSI trying to expand into the medical field?" She asked.
"Well, IS suits aren't really a stable source of revenue for a corporation. They're expensive, and there's no guarantee of getting a government contract. When the contract is landed, everything is good, but when it's not... Just look at the Dunois corporation. A few years ago they were the largest IS-tech corporation in France, and now they're in rapid decline. This uncertainty means that most IS-tech corporations tend to dabble in other fields as well for more stable sources of income, and their experience with cutting-edge tech gives them an advantage." Ichika explained.
"So is that a yes or a no?" Theresa asked.
"I don't know, I'm not an executive." Ichika replied. That was when the waitress arrived.
"Are you all ready to order?" She asked.
"Yes. I would like yesterday's borscht please." Sakura began.
"I would like it too, please." Rei added.
"Good choice. Would you prefer black or white bread?" The waitress asked.
"Black bread for me." Sakura said.
"White bread for me please." Rei answered a moment later. With that done, the waitress turned to Theresa.
"Beef and vegetable shashlik for me, please." The girl in question ordered.
"Golubtsy with vinegret for me, please." Ayane finished. That left Ichika. Taking a moment to finalize his choice, he placed his order.
"I would like some pelmeni with buckwheat please." He said.
"Very good choices. I will be around with them as soon as possible." The waitress said as she left.
"So how did you end up working at WSI anyway? As far as I know, it's not common practice to offer people our age engineering positions at major corporations." Theresa asked. Ichika laughed in response.
"It's a very long story." He finally said.
"Well, we've got plenty of time to listen." Ayane replied.
"Alright. It all started when I was ten..." He trailed off, as old memories flooded back. Time had worn away at them, erasing the edge they once held, but they were uncomfortable nonetheless.
"Anyway, I was walking home from school when some masked men grabbed me and shoved me into a van. One of them knocked me out, I think it was chloroform he used, and the next thing I remember was waking up in a dark room, all tied up." The other girls were staring at him now. Clearly, they hadn't expected that.
"So... What happened next?" Sakura finally asked.
"Well, I didn't know it at the time, but I had ended up somewhere in Russia. The Japanese government ended up hiring a bunch of mercenaries to get me back. If they didn't, Chifuyu-nee would have flown all the way back to Japan and forfeited the tournament, and the government really didn't want that."
"Orimura-sensei would have done that?" Ayane asked.
"Yeah. The government didn't even tell her until after I was secure for fear of it happening." He replied.
"Wow..." Ayane trailed off, her eyes distant. After a few moments, they focused once more.
"Just one more reason to try and live up to her example!" She said, a broad smile on her face.
"Oh, right, you're a fangirl." Theresa snorted, rolling her eyes.
"There's nothing wrong with admiring the admirable!" Ayane shot back.
"So what happened next?" Sakura asked.
"Well, it turns out that WSI had intended to meet with me that very same day, and had evidently paid off the mercenaries to drop me off at company headquarters."
"Why would they be looking for you?" Rei asked.
"I have my suspicions... Personally, I think it was an attempt to flush out Dr. Tabane, since pretty much everyone else related to her was either in protective custody or a champion IS combatant. Honestly, I don't really care. I got to work with IS suits, earn a Class Four ISDL, and once I finished my apprenticeship, get on the company payroll." Ichika replied.
"So how much do IS engineers make anyway?" Theresa asked.
"Well, I'm not being paid at the moment since I'm here at IS Academy as a representative candidate, but the average IS engineer earns around five thousand yen an hour." Theresa whistled at that.
"Looks like you're set for life." She finally said.
"I guess I am. Now you see why I don't mind paying?" Ichika replied, just as the waitress approached.
"Here you are. Enjoy your meals!" She said, handing out the squadron's orders with practiced ease.
"Thank you very much." Ichika replied as he looked down at his order. They appeared to be oddly shaped dumplings, covered with a mixture of sour cream, black pepper and dill leaves to taste. A taste of one confirmed that, while they tasted odd, they were indeed quite good.
"The menu wasn't lying when it said that yesterday's borscht is best. This is delicious!" Sakura exclaimed, her mouth surrounded by a small layer of red soup.
"Um... You're supposed to put the sour cream in first." Rei said as she did just that, her own soup turning a light pink as she stirred the sour cream in.
"Nonsense! It tastes perfectly fine as it is!" Sakura replied, spreading the cream on her bread and dipping the result into the borscht.
"Besides, this is how you're supposed to eat it!" She finished after taking a bite of the result.
"What about you, Theresa-san? How are you liking yours?" Ayane asked. It was a while before Theresa replied, as she was busy eating.
"This is delicious! You can argue about borscht all you want, I can definitely say that this is better!" She finally said.
"I'm glad you like it. It has to be better than your original suggestion." Ayane replied, taking a bite of her own meal, which appeared to be a boiled cabbage leaf wrapped around a meat and vegetable filling.
"No! Don't start that argument again!" Sakura exclaimed as Theresa prepared to retort. Rei nodded in agreement.
"Fine. I will be the better lady and ignore that obvious attempt at provocation." Theresa sniffed.
"What about you, Ichika?" Sakura asked.
"I like it, although looking what you ordered, I can't help but think it's a little on the simple side." He replied.
"Can I try some?" She asked. Ichika blinked at that before nodding.
"I... I guess. Why not?" He said, spearing one of the pelmeni with his fork and passing it to his squadmate, thinking she would take it with her own. Instead, she leaned in and ate it off of his, a smile on her face.
"Success! I can't wait to mention this out of context and brag to all my friends!" She exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. For a moment, everyone just stared at her, before Theresa broke out laughing. Ayane attempted to hide her own smirk behind a sip of tea, only to realize that her cup was empty. Rei merely smiled faintly as the taller girl scrambled to refill it.
"I guess I walked right into that one." Ichika groaned, laughing along.
The rest of the meal went by quickly, and true to his word, Ichika paid when the waitress came around once more. It was when they were waiting for the waitress to return that Ichika noticed the unfamiliar figure walking towards him.
"Ah... Hello... A-Are you with IS Academy?" The girl asked, her Japanese hesitant with a thick Russian accent.
"Yes I am. Are you a transfer student?" Ichika replied, switching to Russian. The girl's eyes widened, before she smiled and began to speak so quickly that Ichika had trouble following.
"Yes, I am a transfer student. I'm Sasha Vadimova, pilot of the Chernaya Karakatitsa! I just came here today, and I'm supposed to report there tomorrow for something called squadron assignment. I was just wondering if you could help me, because I really don't know my way around here, but I wasn't sure if you were really at IS Academy since you are a boy. I mean, I know your friend has a pilot suit, but it could just be an odd local fashion trend, and-" Ichika cut her off.
"Please, slow down. Don't worry, I'll show you around. It's not the first time I've done it, after all." He replied.
"You will? Thank you so much!" Sasha exclaimed.
"Yes, I will. Now, you had a question about squadron formation?" Ichika asked.
"Yes. What is it?" Sasha replied.
"Well, they recently changed up the curriculum, so you're likely going to be assigned to a team of IS pilots. You'll be working together with them in tournaments, practice exercises, everything really. I'd explain more, but I think it's best for you to find out for yourself." Ichika explained, keeping a friendly smile on his face.
"Ah... That sounds very interesting. Thanks for telling me!" Sasha exclaimed.
"No problem. We could be classmates in the near future, after all!" He replied.
"I hope so! If everyone is friendly like you, I think I'll really love it here! See you tomorrow!" Sasha replied, turning away and waving goodbye.
Ichika waited until she was out of earshot before letting his smile fade.
"We're going to have to keep an eye out for her." He said, picking up his tea.
"What were you two talking about anyway?" Ayane asked.
"Just some introductions and explanations. She was wondering if we were from IS Academy, since she's starting there tomorrow." He replied.
"Why do we have to look out for her?" Theresa asked.
"Think about it, Theresa-san. Russia is in the middle of a civil war, and she comes here as a representative candidate? I'm no spy, but even I can tell that there's something going on." Ayane replied, before looking over at Ichika.
"Did you ask where she was from?" She asked.
"No. I had the same thoughts as you, and I didn't want to risk mentioning it." He replied.
"But why are you all so suspicious? W-What if she's just a refugee?" Rei asked.
"If she were a normal student that would be a possibility, but she's a representative candidate. She has an IS core, and we all know how precious those are. The only way she could have gotten her hands on one is if her government gave it to her, or she stole it. Neither possibility is particularly pleasant." Ichika replied.
"And our dinner was going so well too!" Sakura sighed, taking another sip of tea.
"I really hope we're just overreacting." Theresa added, finishing her own drink.
"I do too. I don't want to consider the alternatives." Ichika replied, leaning back into his chair, teacup drained.
"Thank you for dining at the Tul'ski Samovar! I hope you all enjoyed your meals!" The waitress chose that moment to appear, receipt in hand.
"They were wonderful. Thank you very much." Ichika replied, taking back his academy credit card.
"We should get going. I promised some of my friends that I would meet them later." Theresa said as the squadron stood. Her advice was promptly heeded, and the squadron headed back to IS Academy.
"Ichika! There you are!" Charlotte's voice made him pause as he ascended the steps to his temporary living quarters.
"Charlotte? What is it?" He asked, turning to face the French girl, who paused and seemed to consider her words before speaking up.
"Nothing, really. I just wanted to talk." She replied, leaning against a wall.
"Oh." Ichika replied, unsure of how to proceed.
"So... How was your day?" Charlotte asked somewhat awkwardly as she started to walk, Ichika following right behind her.
"Productive, to say the least. I had some early classes with Chifuyu-nee, then my squadron had a practice match against Houki's." He replied.
"Oh yeah! That was today, wasn't it? How did Tabane's upgrades turn out?" Charlotte asked.
"Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that she personally handed them to Houki, I wouldn't think of them as her work. They were poorly calibrated, underarmed, and of completely inferior quality. Even for something clearly designed to play second fiddle to Akatsubaki they are underwhelming." He replied, adding a dismissive wave for good measure.
"Aren't you being a little too harsh? Their pilots don't have the experience we do, and it was their first time fighting in their new suits."
"No, the pilots were good enough. However, they weren't able to do much with their little naginatas when we were sniping them from three kilometers away, and according to the pilots the suits were incredibly prone to overcompensating movements, which stinks of poor calibration. Honestly, they would have done better if they had been in Uchigane trainers." Ichika explained.
"Ah... So how did the match end?"
"Akatsubaki underwent a shift at the last minute and wiped the floor with us. The Infinite Arsenal needs an upgrade soon, that's for sure." Charlotte laughed at that.
"That must have been fun... So what happened afterwards?"
"Well, for a job well done, I treated my squadron at restaurant row. We found a nice Russian restaurant, and talked a bit about nothing in particular."
"Oh. So, is Russian food good?"
"I liked it."
"I guess every culture can produce tasty things. Even Cecilia can make good food every once in a while, provided that you assume making is synonymous with watching more qualified people do their job. However, no matter how you look at it, French food is hands-down the best in the world. My pride as a Frenchwoman tells me as much!" Charlotte replied in a faux snobbish voice before breaking down into laughter.
"Anyway, after we finished eating, we ended up meeting another representative candidate who should be arriving here some time tomorrow. She's from Russia, incidentally, although I didn't pry as to which one for obvious reasons." Charlotte's face grew somber as he spoke.
"Nasty business going on up there, that's for sure." She replied.
"That there is. Hopefully it will be over soon." Ichika said, and Charlotte nodded. The rest of the short trip to her room was spent in silence.
Finally, with a quick swipe of her keycard, Charlotte opened the door and they stepped in.
"Hmm, Laura's not here yet. She must still be practicing with her squadron." She murmured.
"Why am I not surprised?" Ichika replied.
"Laura is never one to do things halfheartedly. I can't help but feel sorry for the students under her command though. She has high expectations, and expects for them to be met at all times. At least her squadron seems to be rising to the challenge."
"That's good to hear. What about you?" He asked.
"Everything is going pretty well. I installed my upgrade packages successfully, and... Well, I have a practice match with Laura scheduled for tomorrow. Hopefully it will go smoothly!" She replied.
"That's great to hear. Good luck."
"Thank you. I'll do my best."
Before Ichika could reply, the door clicked open, and an exhausted looking Laura walked in, flopping down on her bed with a muttered 'I'm back!'.
"Is something wrong?" Charlotte asked, walking over and sitting down beside her.
"No, no. Why are you asking?" Laura replied, her one visible eye blinking open.
"Well, you're not usually this tired, even after squadron practice." Charlotte answered.
"Ah... It's nothing..." Laura murmured, only for her stomach to growl.
"Laura... Did you skip dinner again?" Charlotte asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously. After a long pause, Laura nodded.
"Come on Laura, it's not healthy! You'll waste away if you keep skipping meals like this!" Laura hung her head at that, refusing to meet Charlotte's gaze as she scolded her. After a few moments, Charlotte's expression softened and she patted Laura on her head, getting a faint smile from the other girl in response.
"Alright, I guess I'll have to make dinner again. Get some rest while I warm it up, alright?" Charlotte said as she stood up, walking over to the room's fridge and opening it. After a few moments of inspecting the contents, she sighed and shook her head.
"It looks like I'm going to have to get some ingredients. Ichika, look after her while I'm out, would you?" Charlotte asked as she headed for the door. She left before Ichika could respond.
For a few long moments, the room was silent before Laura sat up, all traces of exhaustion fading away.
"Ichika, we need to talk." She said, looking him in the eye.
"What is it, Laura?" He asked.
"Charlotte told me something very interesting yesterday, concerning the immediate aftermath of the Silver Gospel incident." The silver haired girl replied, eyes narrowing. Ichika merely nodded in response.
"What did she say?" He asked.
"Well, do you remember how we were temporarily detained at your Organization's base?" It was a rhetorical question. Of course Ichika knew, he had negotiated her way off that island.
"Of course I do." He replied.
"Well, during that time period, I remember being told that my fellow detainees refused your Organization's generous offer of membership. Imagine my surprise, then, when Charlotte slipped up and mixes up a pronoun during a routine discussion of IS equipment, leading to her revealing to me that what I was told that night was a lie. Does that ring a bell?" Laura said.
"I see." Ichika replied simply.
"Is that all?" Laura demanded.
"No. However, before I continue, let me ask you this. Are you angry at Charlotte for lying to you?" Ichika asked.
"No. She was following orders that, in her mind, were for my benefit. No harm came to any of the involved parties as a result of those orders, therefore I see no reason to feel anger towards her." Laura replied, her tone clipped and formal, her voice emotionless.
"That is good to hear. Especially considering how I was the one who indirectly issued that order." Ichika replied, matching her tone.
"Explain." Laura ordered.
"While you were detained, I was being debriefed. Over the course of the discussion, you came up. I was ordered to either come up with my own solution that met all requirements, or give my recommendation for one of two existing solutions."
"Solutions to what?"
"The problem of having multiple unaffiliated individuals knowing the location of a secret paramilitary organization's main base of operations, where several of these individuals possessing strong connections to potentially dangerous security risks." He answered. Laura nodded but said nothing, instead motioning for him to continue.
"I had two solutions proposed to me. The first was to subject you all to an unproven memory modification treatment with unknown permanence and side effects. The second was to detain you at the base indefinitely, while Kanzashi and I come back claiming to be the sole survivors of a Phantom Task ambush. I did not consider either solution optimal."
"So you devised your own." Ichika nodded at that.
"I did. The two most pressing security risks were you and Houki. Houki ended up not being a problem, as her communication with her sister is fairly infrequent, and their relationship is strained enough that sensitive information would not be passed between them. You, however, were and still are loyal to the German military. That loyalty, while admirable, had to be circumvented if I was to get you all off the island with your minds intact." He continued.
"I see. So you convinced your superiors that keeping me ignorant would minimize the security risk I pose, thus securing the freedom of myself and my fellow students." Laura mused.
"Exactly." Ichika replied.
For a long moment, the room was silent, before Laura finally sighed, collapsing back into her bed.
"Well, it's a moot point now. Even if I were to send a message to Germany containing everything I know of your Organization, the AI your people put in my suit would be able to suppress it before it can reach its intended recipient." She said tiredly, her voice filled with resignation.
"So what now?" Ichika asked.
"Now? Now I do nothing." Laura replied.
"Nothing? Really?" Ichika asked, curious.
"If I were to act on what I know, the Organization would know. Regardless of who reports it to them, they will know, and then they will target you, or even worse, they will target Charlotte in order to keep my silence." Laura replied.
"The Organization would never-" Ichika tried to deny, but Laura waved a hand and cut him off.
"You never struck me as the naive type, Ichika, so don't start now. An Organization that would indefinitely detain five girls on an island would have no problem targeting one to ensure my silence." She stated, fixing him once more with her stare.
"That's... I can see what you mean." He conceded after a few moments.
"So I will do nothing. So far, while your Organization has earned my suspicion and distrust, it has not earned my animosity. It has stayed true to its stated purpose and combated Phantom Task around the globe. Assuming it continues to do so, I will not take action. However..." Laura continued, reaching under her pillow. When she withdrew her hand, it held a gun.
"In the event of the Organization deviating from its stated goals and acting against the interests of the civilized world, I will do everything in my power to bring it down... And I would like to know where you would stand in such matters." She finished, laying the gun down on the bedside table.
When no response came, she continued speaking.
"Ichika, I am serious. Suppose your Organization launched an attack on, say, Beijing tomorrow and ordered you to participate, what would you do?"
For a while, Ichika did not respond. What could he say?
"Answer me, Orimura."
"I... I would do the right thing." He finally said.
"And what would be the right thing to do?" Laura asked, eyebrow raised.
"The right thing is what I consider it to be. If it contradicts my orders or complies with them, so be it." He replied, meeting her gaze. For a while, they stared at each other before finally Laura smiled.
"Good. If the Chinese were secretly aiding Phantom Task, I would fight alongside you regardless of the consequences." Laura replied, putting the gun away.
"Ichika... I learned very early on that, while orders are meant to be followed, one must be ready to think about them and, if necessary, be prepared to disobey them. Germany learned the hard way that blindly following orders can lead to the deaths of millions. I will not let you become guilty of the same crime." She continued.
"I have no intention of-" Once again, Laura cut him off before he could finish.
"I know. That is why I am here and not in a cell on your island base. Had you not considered things that day, I would not be here right now. For that... Thank you." Laura replied.
"You're not angry?" Ichika asked.
"Why would I be angry at you? If lying to me meant saving Charlotte and everyone else, I would have gladly remained ignorant. Sometimes there are no perfect solutions and we must do what we can to save what we can, and you did just that. So I am not angry that you lied to me, or that you ordered Charlotte to do the same. I am annoyed at the deception, yes, but not angry." Laura replied, a slight smile on her face.
"So what happens now?" Ichika asked.
"Well, Charlotte should be coming back soon, so I would like to invite you to stay with us for dinner." Laura answered after a moment's thought.
"You're not going to poison it, are you?" Laura laughed at that.
"I'm a soldier, not an assassin. If I wanted you dead, I would have just shot you." She replied.
"That does not make me feel any better." Ichika deadpanned.
"No, I suppose it would not." Laura replied, still smiling.
It was a while before either of them spoke again, the only sound in the room being that of the clock ticking. Finally, Laura broke the silence.
"Ichika..."
"Yes?" He replied.
"Will you trust me to be your conscience? I-I mean, if I were to tell you that you are wrong, will you trust me enough to stop?" She asked.
"I don't understand." Ichika replied.
"I... I'm not sure I said it right. It's... It can be very difficult to disobey an order from a superior. There have been multiple experiments done that prove it. What I'm trying to say is that, if I tell you to stop, and that what you are doing is wrong, will you stop?" Laura asked.
"Of course I would!" Ichika exclaimed.
"Good... Ichika, you're not a bad person. Sure you lied to me, and you've broken plenty of laws merely by being part of the Organization, but you were also the one who pulled me out of the Schwarzer Regen when it... Malfunctioned. You helped Charlotte resolve her issues with her family, and I know that everything you do with the Organization has good intentions behind it... But I believe the saying goes that 'The road to hell is paved with good intentions'. I just want to make sure that your intentions line up with your deeds. I... I don't want you to become what you're fighting against without ever knowing it!" Laura exclaimed, choking up slightly and looking away, although not quickly enough to hide the solitary tear on her cheek.
Rather than reply in words, Ichika walked over and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him.
"Don't worry, Laura. I trust you. If we both do our best, I know it will never happen." He murmured, as Laura returned the embrace.
"I know, but-" Laura began, but Ichika cut her off with a finger to her lips.
"It won't." Ichika repeated. Laura merely hummed in response and held him tighter.
Then, the door clicked open and Charlotte walked in.
"I'm back!" She announced cheerfully, placing the food down in the kitchenette as she did so. Ichika and Laura promptly sprang apart, but not before she noticed them.
"T-This isn't what it looks like! I-I didn't do anything! I swear!" Laura protested immediately. Charlotte merely blinked for a few moments before laughing.
"Didn't do what?" She teased, walking over to where the two of them sat and giving Laura a quick hug.
"It looks like you rested up quite nicely, so do you mind helping me with the dinner? Ichika, you come too. It will go faster with all three of us." She said, before turning back to the kitchenette, her two new assistants in tow. Soon the room began to fill with the delicious smell of cooking food, and before they knew it, the food was finished.
"Bon appetit!" Charlotte said as she placed a plate full of crepes down beside the stove. Already, Laura had taken one and was in the process of filling it with a variety of meats and vegetables. Not wanting to be rude, Ichika did the same. Placing the stuffed crepe on the still warm frying pan, he waited for a few minutes before taking it off.
"You're not having any more?" Charlotte asked as he walked over to the table.
"I'm afraid I already ate before coming here, so I'm not very hungry." Ichika replied as Laura sat down across from him, three stuffed crepes on her own plate.
"Oh. Well, if you want some more, feel free to take them. I made plenty!" Charlotte replied, sitting down beside Laura.
"Delicious as always. This is so much better than what they serve in the cafeteria!" Laura smiled as she took the first bite of her own food.
"Don't tell me you skipped dinner on purpose!" Charlotte exclaimed in mock horror.
"W-Well..." Laura began to protest, an embarrassed blush on her face. Charlotte giggled a little at the sight.
"You're so cute when you do that!" She exclaimed, before a devious smile appeared on her face. Spearing one of Laura's crepes with her fork, she held it out in front of the silver haired girl.
"Now say 'Ah~!'" She sang, causing Laura's already red face to darken further.
"C-Charlotte! Ichika is watching!" She protested.
"So what? Let him! Now say 'Ah~!'" Charlotte repeated.
"A-Ah!" Laura finally complied, opening her mouth and allowing Charlotte to feed her. The sight of the normally stoic girl being flustered in such a manner was too much for Ichika, who after a valiant attempt at restraint, burst out laughing, causing Laura to blush even further.
"Don't laugh!" She managed to stammer out.
"S-Sorry! B-But you looked so funny!" Ichika choked out in between bouts of laughter, causing Laura to look over to Charlotte for support only to see the blonde girl giggling as well. For a moment, she just stared, before smiling and picking up one of Charlotte's crepes.
"Your turn Charlotte! Say 'Ah~!'" She ordered, causing the room to go silent, at least for a moment. Then, Ichika began laughing again, as Charlotte blushed at being on the receiving end of her own teasing.
The rest of the evening passed by on a similar note, and Ichika was still laughing slightly as he excused himself and headed off to his room. He swiped his keycard twice before realizing he was using the wrong one, much to his annoyance. When he did open the door, he saw that the room's other occupant was already inside.
"You're back late." Tatenashi commented from where she lay on one of the beds, clad in only a bathrobe.
"What can I say? I stopped for a chat and one thing led to another." At that, Tatenashi looked up, one eyebrow raised.
"You naughty boy. Did you really manage to seduce one of the girls here in the span of a few hours?" She asked. Ichika merely laughed.
"No, but I did meet someone interesting. She's a representative candidate who officially arrives here tomorrow." He replied.
"Vadimova-san? Yes, I heard. She's from East Russia, and has one of their three IS cores with her. What was she like?" Tatenashi asked.
"A little nervous, but not particularly suspicious." He replied.
"Good. Hopefully there's no foul play involved, but you can never be sure. I'll have to keep an eye on her." She mused, before lying back down.
"Still, there's not much I can do when she's not even here, so no sense in worrying too much about it. Now, it's getting late, and I have to get up early tomorrow. Student council stuff." Tatenashi continued, yawning as she finished.
"You get up early every day." Ichika commented.
"Perks of being student council president." Tatenashi replied as she began to strip off her bathrobe, Ichika rolling over onto his other side as he did so. He had found out the hard way that Tatenashi preferred to sleep in the nude, and did not wish to repeat that embarrassing sequence of events again.
"Oh come on Ichika! I don't mind!" Tatenashi teased as she reached for the light switch and bathed the room in darkness.
"Thanks again for letting me sleep here." Ichika said after a few moments.
"You say that every time." Tatenashi commented.
"I know. I'm thankful every time." Ichika replied, causing Tatenashi to laugh.
"You're welcome. Goodnight, Orimura-kun." She said.
"Goodnight, Tatenashi-san." He replied, allowing his eyes to close and his mind to drift off once more.
A/N: Alright, it's finally done. Took a lot longer than I thought, but what is life if not an endless sequence of delays?
Now for my usual post-chapter notes for those who are interested.
First off, after some deliberations I decided against including scenes with Ichika working with Houki's squadron to improve their IS suits for fear of getting bogged down in infodumps and technological exposition that would ultimately have little relevance in the future. As such, I instead decided to showcase the aftereffects of this work in a fight scene, with some discussion immediately afterwards to complement it. The second point of that battle scene was to explain the sudden appearance of Akatsubaki's energy crossbows in Season 2 that were clearly not there at first. There was no real explanation in the anime, and the only info I saw on the wiki was that Houki increased her skill and thus unlocked additional functionality. I interpreted that as Akatsubaki having undergone a Shift off screen, and thus I decided to write that in just for fun.
Next, the restaurant scene also had a twofold purpose. The first is to give some non-business interaction time to Archer squadron, where nobody involved has anything to do and they can just talk. In most previous scenes, they are either in combat, or Ichika is working on something while they either help out or do their own thing, so it was nice to change things up and allow Ichika to loosen up a bit.
The second purpose was, of course, to introduce Sasha, whom I obviously have plans for. I've been setting up her appearance for a few chapters now, and I hope you all enjoy what I have in store for her.
The final major scene with Laura and Charlotte was originally meant to be much lighter, as it originally involved Cecilia roping Charlotte and Laura into making Ichika try on his butler outfit, the purpose of said scene being merely to give some screentime to the aforementioned girls, whom I have been neglecting in favor of Tatenashi, Houki and Archer Squadron in recent chapters. I ended up deleting it due to it feeling too much like standard Infinite Stratos filler, not accomplishing much and generally having no purpose other than fanservice, which doesn't really carry over to text all that well. As such, I instead decided to tie up loose ends from way back in chapter fourteen. I had originally intended to expand on those much sooner, but I ultimately ended up shelving them because i couldn't really find a way to include them in the manner I had hoped, so I ended up shelving them until now.
As such, I used the opportunity to showcase both Charlotte and Laura's interactions with each other, with Charlotte taking on a more motherly/big sister-y role towards the somewhat less mature Laura, with Laura clearly enjoying the treatment she was likely denied in her own childhood. More importantly, it allowed me to showcase more clearly how Laura thinks. We must remember that, for all her cuteness and lovable ignorance of the wider world, she was still raised from birth to be a soldier, and as such is not exactly a well-adjusted individual. I do hope I showcased that enough in her interactions this chapter.
Additionally, I would like to congratulate AzureTemplar3535 for being the first to complete an OC squadron on this fic's forums. Should I ever need an OC squadron, his will be the first to fill in the gap, saving me time and giving him a chance to see his own creations in action.
Finally, as always, if you notice any glaring inconsistencies or other issues with this story, please notify me and I will address them. Enjoy!