A/N: Alright, here is the next chapter of the story. I don't have much to say this time around in this preamble, so on with the show!
Chapter 32
The beach sand was a comfortable cushion beneath Madoka's legs as she knelt as elegantly as possible on the beach, looking just past Squall with a gentle smile on her face. A cool breeze from the ocean ruffled her hair slightly, which she had kept styled in twin tails after deciding that she liked the look. She was wearing a sleek violet and black one-piece with an open back that Squall had claimed looked good on her. Madoka hadn't particularly cared either way at the time, but after a bit of time in front of the mirror had concluded that it was a good enough mix of looks and practicality.
"You've been a wonderful model, Minori-chan." Squall said from where she sat in the shade, a large canvas in front of her that she was slowly painting.
"Does that mean I can go?" Madoka asked. Squall laughed.
"Not quite yet." She replied.
"Come on, you've probably already memorized every detail of me by now!" Madoka pleaded, injecting a bit of playfulness into her voice for the benefit of the small crowd of observers that had gathered at what they thought was a respectful distance. Of course, whether they had come to watch an artist at work or just gawk at Squall was up for debate. The blonde was wearing a rather risque tiger-print slingshot bikini, with wide straps and a gold chain that wrapped around her hips. The outfit's ability to turn heads was only matched by its impracticality as actual swimwear, although Madoka guessed that Squall had no intention of going near the water.
"Oh I have, but I like to have a live reference. Now smile, I'd like to get your face right." Squall replied, and Madoka complied.
The blonde had a look of intense concentration on her face as she worked. Every move she made was slow and deliberate, and Madoka had no doubt that the painting would turn out exceptional. Still, she had been looking forward to swimming today, and she couldn't exactly do that while holding a pose for her leader.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Squall put her brush down for the last time.
"Alright, I think that will do it for today. You can stand up." Madoka didn't need to be told twice and quickly stood, brushed the sand off her legs, and stretched before walking over to look at the work. It was clearly unfinished, with much of it still being just pencil sketching on the canvas, and what was painted was mostly rough, but Madoka immediately saw the precision behind the work.
"Do you mind posing for me again tomorrow?" Squall asked.
"I... Why not?" Madoka tried not to show the exasperation she was feeling at the notion of having to repeat the process in the future, but Squall evidently caught on.
"Oh I know, it must be so tedious to have to sit still for so long, but such is the cost of art." She said. Such was also the cost of playing nice with Squall, but at the end of the day it was a small price to pay for an end to her leader's hostility.
"I understand. Is there anything else?" Madoka asked.
"No, not at all." Squall replied, and Madoka took that as her cue to leave. One short walk later and she was about to dive into the water when she realized that the silver ornament in her hair would tarnish from the salt water. She promptly removed it and started heading back to Squall, only for a young boy to walk in front of her, give her a deliberate shove, and continue on to where another much younger boy was dutifully working on a sand castle. As she bent down to pick the ornament up, she saw said sand castle start being ruthlessly kicked down, and with barely a second of thought, she decided that a lesson needed to be taught.
Walking up behind the boy, who was now taunting his crying victim, she delivered a hard punch to the side of his head. Then, as he stumbled, she followed up with a knee blow between the legs, followed by an elbow to the upper back to send him to the ground. A moment later, she had planted her knee into his back and seized his hair, twisting his head up to look at her. With some satisfaction, she saw tears already flowing.
"You're a rather rude brat, aren't you?" She growled, her face inches from his.
"When my father-" Madoka didn't let him finish before slamming his face into the ruined sand castle.
"Your father doesn't seem to be here to help you. Now why don't you make this easy for yourself and apologize for the inconvenience you've caused the both of us?" She continued into his ear, pressing his face into the sand for a few long moments before lifting it up.
"He'll find out where you live! He'll make your family lose their-" Again, Madoka slammed his face into the sand, keeping it there for longer.
"Your father, whoever he is, cannot touch a hair on my head. Tell me, what is his name?" Madoka asked. The boy coughed and spluttered in response, but Madoka didn't let him speak.
"Never mind, it's not important. After all, your father and his presumed legions of accountants and lawyers are hardly bulletproof. Nor are you, for that matter. I suggest you realize that and apologize before things escalate further." That got through, and she felt the boy freeze beneath her. That came with a certain sadistic pleasure from the knowledge that her victim now knew he was completely and utterly at her mercy. Of course, aside from the Silent Zephyrs she didn't have any weapons on her, but the message had been passed on regardless.
"Well?" She prompted.
"I'm sorry!" The boy squeaked.
"For?"
"For pushing you!" With that out of the way, Madoka now turned his head around to face the younger boy, who had stopped crying and was now staring at her with a mix of awe and slight trepidation.
"And what about him?" Madoka asked.
"I'm sorry for kicking down your sand castle and calling you poor and stupid!" The boy proved remarkably pliable once the lives of him and his family were threatened.
"See? That wasn't difficult at all! Now run along back to your precious father, and if he asks what happened, you will tell him that you slipped while running and fell on an empty chair. Oh, and remember, I will be watching!" Madoka said cheerfully as she helped the boy to his feet and not so gently shoved him away.
"Now get out of my sight." The boy didn't need any more convincing, and hastily took off. Madoka watched him run for a few moments before turning to the other boy.
"Are you alright?" She asked.
"Yes... But my castle is ruined." The boy sighed, before gathering up his plastic instruments and gathering up sand to restart construction. Madoka watched him work for a few long moments. There was something in his voice that seemed more resigned than upset, and his movements and expression were rather melancholy. She stood up and looked around, but nobody seemed to be coming over or watching them, and after a long while Madoka concluded that if he had parents, they either weren't anywhere nearby or were just completely unconcerned.
With that in mind, Madoka sat down and, affixing her ornament back in her hair, began shaping the sand into a decently sized wall.
"You don't mind if I help out, do you?" She asked.
"Really? You mean it?" The boy asked, evidently elated. Madoka gave what she thought was an elegant nod in response, before settling down and resuming construction. What followed was a surprisingly fun hour of construction, followed by a particularly strong wave knocking everything down, followed by rebuilding.
After a while though, the boy, whose name Madoka had learned was Noboru, looked up from the anti-wave ditch Madoka had ordered him to dig and paused, frowning. When he didn't resume work, Madoka cocked her head.
"Is something wrong?" She asked, wondering if the boy's parents had finally come over. Noboru promptly leaned over to whisper his response into her ear
"The scary lady is watching us again!" He said.
"Who?" Madoka asked.
"The scary lady over there!" He pointed directly at Squall.
"Wait, Stella?" Madoka asked, and the boy nodded.
"I saw her earlier, and she has red eyes! Just like the monsters in the movies!" He replied, and Madoka laughed.
"And you're scared of her for that?" Madoka asked.
"N-No I'm not!" Noboru exclaimed, causing Madoka to laugh again.
"Sure you aren't. Don't worry, she's not going to hurt you." She replied. Or at least, Squall didn't seem the type to kill young children directly. When the boy didn't respond, Madoka returned to her work only to catch the boy standing up. She turned just in time to see the boy hurl a ball of sand in the general direction of Squall.
"What-" Her eyes tracked the ball of sand as it sailed through the air, and somehow, either through sheer dumb luck or the boy being some sort of baseball prodigy, it slammed home directly between the straps of Squall's bikini.
The sight of Squall jumping in shock at the impact was one that Madoka would not soon forget.
"See? I'm not scared!" The boy declared. Madoka was more concerned with Squall, who had just dusted herself off and was now staring menacingly in their direction.
Then, Squall bent over and in a single motion had collected a handfull of sand, packed it into a ball, and hurled it back. Madoka had barely a moment to close her eyes before it slammed home into her face, having been thrown hard enough to send her sprawling. She heard the boy giggle from the ditch beside her as he gathered up more sand to throw back, although his return fire missed by a wide margin. Madoka threw back sand as well, a smile on her face as she aimed for her commander's face as she came closer.
A few minutes of sand warfare later, Squall remained standing with a triumphant smirk on her face, which was slightly marred by several clinging patches of sand, while Madoka sat back in the ruins of the sand castle, thoroughly dusted. Beside her, Noboru sat in what remained of his ditch, a goofy grin on his sand-splattered face. Squall, slightly winded, took the moment to look around. There had been a few onlookers, but those had mostly been focused on Squall herself and not the rest of them.
"Noboru, is it? Do you know where your parents are?" Squall asked, bending over the boy.
"They went out." The boy replied, panting.
"So where are they?" Squall asked again.
"Out. They took their car and left. They'll be back tonight though." The boy clarified.
"So they just left you here alone?" Squall asked, nothing but concern audible in her voice. Madoka glanced up at that, scrutinizing her leader's face.
"It's what they always do." The boy replied, somewhat dejectedly.
"Well then, that's not very nice of them. Parents shouldn't just leave their child alone like that, especially not in a place like this. There might be dangerous people here who could hurt you." Squall commented. Madoka stifled a roll of her eyes. She doubted any of the aging, overweight businessmen, trophy wives and spoiled rich kids on the beach right now could hold a candle to the two of them in terms of danger.
"It's not that bad! I get the whole day to myself! No school or homework or piano lessons!" The kid replied, cheering up.
"I'm sure that must be fun. But still, I think your parents would want you to come inside by now. See, the sun is setting already and you look like you're tired." Squall pointed out.
"But-"
"No buts. You'll be able to play tomorrow." Squall ordered, ushering the boy out of the ditch.
"Fine..." The boy huffed and began walking back to the hotel before pausing.
"Will you be here tomorrow?" He asked.
"Probably." Squall replied.
"Yay! See you tomorrow, Minori-san, Stella-san!" Suddenly reinvigorated, the boy back to the hotel. Madoka watched him for a few moments before Squall spoke again.
"I think it's about time we headed in as well. I think a nice long bath would do us both good." Madoka shrugged in response, and followed her commander to where she had laid out her towel and helped her pack things up.
After yet another long soak in the gilded room, Madoka sat across from Squall at the dinner table, helping herself to a set of crab cakes when Squall brought up the day's events.
"You know, I never took you as someone who was good with children." She commented.
"I would say the same to you. You were practically motherly out there." Madoka replied, and Squall gave a short laugh.
"I learned from the best..." She trailed off, a faraway look in her eyes for a moment before returning to the present.
"But what about you? Why did you decide to help out?" She asked.
"Truth be told, I just wanted to teach that other boy a lesson, but when I saw nobody come to his aid..." Madoka sighed.
"He reminded you of yourself?" That struck a nerve, but Madoka hid it with practiced ease.
"Perhaps." She answered. Squall regarded her for a few moments before replying.
"I would caution you against getting too fond of him, Madoka. It's never wise to get attached to collateral." She said.
"Collateral?" Madoka raised an eyebrow.
"Yes." When Squall refused to elaborate, Madoka pressed on.
"Is his family on a target list?" She asked.
"Nothing like that. For all I know, we'll never see him again and he'll live a long, normal life. But at the same time we can never be sure. The future is full of possibilities, after all, and he may die before the year is out." Squall replied with a nonchalant shrug.
"And you think I'm getting attached to him?" Madoka asked.
"You certainly looked a bit fond of him out on the beach." Squall replied.
"It... It wasn't anything like that. I just..." Madoka trailed off, and after a few moments Squall nodded.
"I see. Come to think of it, with your mother being who she is you didn't have many chances to just be a kid growing up, did you?" Squall asked. Again, Madoka did her utmost to not grit her teeth in anger. Squall was testing her, seeing if she would snap, and she wouldn't give her the satisfaction.
"Among other things." She replied after a moment, and Squall nodded again, a look of understanding on her face.
"Then I suppose I can't fault you for it... And come to think of it, it was quite fun. Perhaps I'll join in from the start next time." She said with a smile.
"I don't mind." She shrugged, and served herself some pork.
"Then I guess it's settled. Have you picked out your swimsuit for tomorrow? Personally, I can't decide between the black bikini and the red one-piece." Squall asked.
"I think either one would work well. As for me, I'll cross that line when I get to it." Madoka replied.
"You're no help." Squall sighed.
They ate in silence for a while, before Squall spoke up again.
"I just realized, your birthday is in a couple days. Are you excited?" She asked, and Madoka raised an eyebrow.
"Should I be?" She asked, and Squall sighed once more.
"Of course, Reikou must have denied you even that small pleasure. I guess it's up to me to try and make this your best birthday ever." She said.
"It's a low bar." Madoka pointed out.
"That's no excuse. Is there anything in particular you want?" Squall asked. Madoka considered the question for a while, shooting down the snarky response that first came to mind. Then, an idea came to her. After a while, she decided to go ahead with it.
"Can you get any pictures of me? From my childhood?" She asked.
"I guess I could... Why do you want them?" Squall asked in turn.
"I..." Madoka considered her words before sighing and continuing.
"I want to send them to my brother." Squall paused at those words, fork halfway to her mouth.
"Now why would you want to do that?" She asked.
"It might sound silly to you, but... I just want to remind him that I exist. I want him to know what I went through. I..." Squall raised her hand, cutting her off.
"You want him to go to his sister and demand why she didn't save you as well?" She laughed. Not how Madoka would have put it, but she didn't bother correcting her commander.
"In that case, I suppose I could pull some strings and put together a rather accurate picture of your life. Nothing compromising, mind you, but I can get an AI to search through old security footage." She finished.
"Thank you." Madoka replied.
"No worries. Is there anything else?" Squall asked.
"No."
"Then I guess I will have to surprise you when the time comes." Squall concluded. Madoka merely nodded, and returned to her meal.
The Friday after his return to IS Academy, Ichika found himself sitting between Cecilia and Kanzashi at a wide table, listening to an instructor lecture on about suppression tactics for melee-oriented IS suits and their counterplay options. The gist of it was that a close-combat focused IS could use a ranged weapon to fire off snap shots at the enemy as it closed, forcing them to dodge and throwing off their gunnery. The counter to that was, naturally, to fire first or to respond in kind with a more powerful weapon. The tactic was also extremely easily countered if the target had a wingman.
The instructor was concluding the lecture by outlining the live-fire exercises the class would be doing later in the week when Honne Nohotoke burst into the room, a wide smile on her face.
"Kan-chan! Big news!" She exclaimed, making a beeline for her squadron leader.
"I'm a representative candidate! I made it!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around her leader.
"You did? Congratulations!" Kanzashi exclaimed, returning the hug.
The rest of the class exploded into conversation as everyone left their desks, rushing over to congratulate Honne and ask their questions.
"Did you get your IS?" Kanzashi asked.
"Yes! As of today, I am now the official pilot of the Kyuubi no Kitsune! The new third-generation IS from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries!" A new round of questions exploded at that declaration
"Please, settle down and give her some space!" Kanzashi exclaimed to no avail.
"Can you show us?" One of the girls asked.
"Yeah! Can you?"
"Not in the classroom! On that note, class dismissed!" The instructor shouted, and the students streamed out of the room.
"What's going on?" The door of another classroom opened up, its occupants likely wanting to know what the commotion was all about.
"Noho-chan just became a representative candidate!" Yuzu Tanimoto, one of Honne's close friends, replied.
"What, really?" And chaos broke out in that class as well.
By the time they'd reached the courtyard, several hundred students had joined the crowd. Several instructors who had gone along ended up forming a cordon, allowing Honne some space to deploy her IS.
"Sarashiki!" Chifuyu, who was one of said instructors, called out and Kanzashi crossed over.
"You are to fly chase for Nohotoke-san. Orimura!" Ichika crossed over as well.
"You are to fly with them as well, and provide drones as demonstration targets should the need arise."
"Understood!" Ichika replied.
"Good. All of you, put on your pilot suits and return here." Chifuyu ordered, and the three of them ran off to the nearest changing room. Upon their return, Chifuyu addressed Honne.
"Nohotoke! If you can, do you mind explaining what your IS is capable of? I'm honestly curious." Chifuyu asked.
At that, Honne stepped forward to address the assembled students, clearly nervous.
"Ah... Hi!" Honne paused, and Kanzashi also stepped forward to give her friend an encouraging pat on the back.
"I'm Nohotoke Honne and I am now the pilot of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, a third-generation IS from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries!" Honne said before deploying her new IS.
The most distinctive feature of the Kyuubi no Kitsune was the large disk that made up its back. Nine forked, golden spikes protruded out of it, four from either side and one from the bottom, while the upper portion of the disk gave way to the support column for another circular module that hung over Honne's head like a parasol.
On its hips were a pair of three-barreled cannons of some sort, arranged in turreted mounts similar to those on Kanzashi's IS. These were painted bright red, where most of the rest of the IS was silver with red and gold trim. Finally, its right hand held a naginata, although the blade's head looked like it was able to fold downard for some reason.
The Kyuubi no Kitsune was also unconventional in that it was a wingless design, with its impulse drives being situated on its legs and in the disk on its back.
"Like its namesake it has nine tails, each equipped with a lightning projector!" One of the spikes on its back suddenly shot upwards, revealing that it was attached to a long golden chain. Its forked tip crackled with an arc of electricity for a few moments as Honne showed the weapon off, before retracting it.
"It also has six particle cannons for long range combat!" Honne continued, and the triple mounts on its hips swiveled in response before splitting apart and starting to traverse independently of each other.
"It also has this lightning naginata, with a special surprise built into its head!" Honne have the polearm a twirl, and lightning crackled over its head for a few moments before the head folded down against the weapon. In its place, a large red rod was deployed, and judging by how it seemed to be built to resemble a firecracker, Ichika would have wagered it was some sort of explosive.
"Finally, it comes with a powerful radar and jamming suite!" Honne concluded, gesturing up towards the disk above her head.
"Now who wants to see in action?" A cheer came from the crowd at Honne's words, and in response Ichika and Kanzashi deployed their IS suits.
"You are cleared to fly. Orimura, remember that any target practice is to be conducted over the bay, facing away from the mainland." Chifuyu ordered.
"Understood." Ichika said as Honne coaxed her IS into the air. Kanzashi followed her a moment later, while Ichika peeled off to head towards the ocean.
"Kan-chan, Orimu, can you hear me?" Honne asked over the radio.
"Loud and clear." Ichika replied, and Kanzashi said the same a moment later.
"Great! We're in position. Feel free to launch target drones when you're ready!" Honne said.
"Alright. Here we go." Ichika answered, deploying a force of thirty knife missiles and sending them at Honne. A moment later, the particle cannons on her hips spun to life and, with radar-guided precision, six beams of light swept across the sky, knocking drone after drone out of the sky. One beam swept across the Infinite Arsenal's shields, and Ichika noted that it didn't actually deal much damage in its relatively brief contact. The last drone was destroyed about a hundred meters away from its target, and as the smoke cleared, Honne spoke up.
"Again! I want to use the tails this time around!" Ichika complied, and another swarm of drones was sent out. This time, all nine spikes extended from the Kyuubi no Kitsune's back, their tips glowing with electricity. Extending out by nearly fifty meters, the tails aimed themselves out at the incoming drones. Then they opened fire, and nine lightning bolts chained between the oncoming drones. Some fell out of the sky, but the effect of the lightning bolts was surprisingly small. Then the drones came within melee range of the tails, which began to swat them out of the sky. Still, a few came close enough that Honne had to use her naginata. The first was blown apart by the explosive at the end of the pole, while the rest were cut up by the weapon's blade.
"Whew... That was a bit closer, wasn't it?" Honne said, breathing heavily.
"I think the lightning guns would be more effective against shielded targets." Kanzashi added.
"I see... Hey, Kan-chan, care for a match?" Honne asked.
"Of course! On three?" Kanzashi asked.
"Alright. One... Two... Three!" As Honne counted down, Kanzashi took the opportunity to gain some distance from her friend, and as soon as the countdown ended she let loose a barrage of missiles. Honne's particle cannons immediately swiveled to intercept the incoming attack, allowing Kanzashi's own particle guns to lock on and open fire. Several bolts slammed home as Honne was distracted by dealing with the incoming missiles.
Kanzashi kept up the pressure, her hyper-sensor guided missiles being unaffected by Honne's jamming, and the Kyuubi no Kitsune was proving to be rather slow, making it difficult for Honne to close the distance with Kanzashi.
"Alright, alright, you win!" Honne eventually said after being hit by a few more barrages of particle cannon fire and desperately fending off another wave of missiles.
The firing ceased and Kanzashi flew over, Ichika following suit a few moments later.
"Eh... I guess your IS is still a bit better than mine." Honne chuckled.
"I wouldn't go that far. You took care of my missiles pretty well." Kanzashi replied as the three of them came in to land. The crowd of students clapped appreciatively as they stowed their IS suits away.
"I trust the two of you enjoyed yourselves?" Chifuyu asked once they had done so. The girls nodded, and Chifuyu gave a slight smile before continuing.
"Unfortunately, I will have to be the bearer of bad news as well. Nohotoke, due to your new status as a representative candidate and a pilot of a cored IS suit, I am afraid that you can no longer be a part of your previous squadron. You will instead be rotated into an unsponsored squadron, who will in turn have one of their members take your place. Your sponsor has already notified us of their plan to ship a set of equipment for Blank Slate conversions over to equip your squadron, so do not worry about that aspect. You and your new squadron are excused from classes for the rest of the day to practice." She finished, and Honne's face fell.
"Yeah, I know." She turned to Kanzashi, who gave her a smile.
"Don't worry, I expected this to happen. If you need help with your squadron, don't hesitate to call me." The blue haired girl replied, giving Honne a quick hug.
"Alright! Oh, and when we're ready, you owe me a rematch!" Honne replied, smiling again.
"Looking forward to it!" Kanzashi replied.
By then, the crowd had started to disperse, the students heading off to their next classes. Honne soon followed suit while Ichika, having a free period next, elected to have lunch instead.
He had just about finished his meal when an announcement came, asking that all IS Academy students involved in Giorgi's leadership training exercises report to the auditorium. He quickly made his way there, and took a seat next to his squadron.
"Hey Ichika, you wouldn't happen to have some insider information about this, would you?" Theresa asked once he'd sat down.
"What could possibly make you think so?" Ichika asked, smiling.
"I mean, you and Stukanov-sensei know each other, so I'm pretty sure he might have shared some details with you." Sakura pointed out.
"True, true. Still, I'm pretty sure he'll tell us everything he's already told me. If not, then I'll share it with you after the fact." Ichika replied.
"Fine..." Theresa sighed.
"So Ichika, what did you think about Nohotoke-san's new IS?" Ayane asked.
"Hmm... From what I've heard, it is probably one of the best support-oriented IS suits here. Its radar and jammers could prove extremely advantageous to its squadron, as it would be child's play for it to determine the enemy position while also being able to hide its own from search radars. Of course, there are sensors that can pick radar emissions up, but very few, if any, of the IS suits here have them. Furthermore, that radar is almost certainly capable of directing its particle beam cannons in a point defense role, making it difficult to hit with missiles. Any missiles that make it through would then have to deal with the nine tails, which can also act as defensive weapons with both their arc projectors and as melee weapons. On that note, it's definitely not an IS you would want to engage in close combat with. Between the tails and its naginata, you'd need to be extremely lucky or skilled to even have a chance of landing a hit, let alone take it down." Ichika said.
"But it doesn't have particularly good ranged capability, does it?" Theresa asked, and Ichika nodded.
"Yes. Its particle cannons are the longest ranged weapons it has available, and while they're good for defending the IS, they're a bit less effective as offensive weapons due to their relatively low damage output. Of course, even if it were completely unarmed its ability to act as an AWACS unit would make it invaluable to any IS squadron." He concluded.
"What about her new squadron? Know anything about them?" Theresa asked.
"Why would he? Have they even been assigned yet?" Sakura asked.
"Evidently they have. Look!" Rei interjected, pointing to the auditorium entrance, where Honne had just entered, flanked by four other girls. Ichika recognized two of them as Honne's friends, Sayuka and Yuzu, who often accompanied her, while the other two he didn't know.
"I don't know anything about the upgrades issued to her squadron, although they would probably take advantage of their leader's sensors." Ichika replied.
"Makes sense." Theresa said.
Giorgi walked out on to the stage just as the last students were filing in. The man tested the microphone for a few seconds, giving the room time to grow silent, before speaking.
"Before I continue, this assembly is for those who have signed up for the upcoming leadership and teambuilding exercises set to start the Sunday after the next. If you have not signed up or got yourselves involved due to last-minute squadron reshuffling, please leave the room and return to class." Nobody left, but a few people laughed.
"Alright, now that that's over with, let's begin." Giorgi clapped his hands, and the screen behind him flickered to life, showing a picture of a lake, surrounded by forest.
"This is the Hachinohe Apple Forest Campground, offering all the comforts of a home life combined with an idyllic, luxurious campground. Normally, such a facility would be far out of our reach, but the owner just so happens to be an old friend of mine, and I have thus been able to reserve the entire campground for a week." Giorgi paused before continuing.
"Over the course of the week-long exercises, you will be arranged into groups of ten, with each group being comprised of two squadrons each. The purpose of this is to get you used to not just working as teams, but coordinating with other teams as well. Are there any questions so far?" One of the girls near the front of the auditorium raised her hand.
"When will we find out who our partners are?" She asked.
"In a moment." Giorgi replied. When no other questions came, he continued.
"Now as for what you will be doing over the course of the week, it will be a wide variety of tasks, some changing with each day while others are week-long projects. Some are simple challenges, while others will be competitive events between groups. Each group's performance will be scored, all contributing to a cumulative score for the exercises. At the end of the exercises, the members of the top three groups will receive prizes, namely gift cards for various shops at the mall on the other side of the monorail. The value of these cards will naturally be related to your placement." Giorgi said, leading to some excited chatter among the assembled students. He paused for questions, and when none came, he continued.
"With that said, it is now time for assigning groups. Please stand up as I call your squadron. First, Squadron 001, you will be paired up with Squadron 002." Cecilia and Rin's squadrons stood up, and their respective leaders made a show of waving to each other.
Giorgi called out the next pair a few seconds later, and soon Houki ended up partnered up with Tatenashi, while Charlotte and Laura ended up together as well. Then, immediately after pairing up Honne and Kanzashi, it was Ichika's turn.
"Squadron 007, you will be paired up with Squadron 298." Ichika stood, and looked over at where Lily was also standing on the other side of the room. The blonde gave him a friendly smile, which he returned, before Giorgi called the next pair, matching up a pair of squadrons Ichika recognized from the tournament.
A few minutes later, once every squadron had been paired up, Giorgi motioned for everyone to be seated and the slide changed, now showing a picture of a tent.
"With that out of the way, it's now time for the bad news. Unfortunately, between the prizes for the winners and the reservation of the campground, the budget of this trip is all spent and in spite of my best efforts, IS Academy won't increase it. This unfortunately means that there are no tents for you all to use." One could hear a pin drop in the shocked silence that followed.
"However, I choose to see this not as a problem, but an opportunity. Your first objective as groups will be to acquire a tent, either by purchase, design, or asking a friend. Orimura, I know what you're thinking, and using your IS to build a tent in ten seconds is cheating." Giorgi continued, causing the room to glance back at Ichika. He shrugged in response. Waterproof fabric was easy to come by, and the on-campus fabrication systems could easily make tent poles, so it wasn't much of a problem.
"Your tent will not be graded, but do try to make it a good one. I do believe it is supposed to rain partway through the week." Giorgi finished as the muttering began.
"Be sure to have it ready by the Saturday after the next. We will meet at the monorail station at 18:00 hours in preparation for departure. Bring everything you are taking with you, as we will not be coming back to IS Academy until after the exercise is over. Any questions?" One of Lily's squadron members raised her hand.
"What about food? Will we have to bring it, or will it be provided there?" She asked. Ichika noticed Lily shake her head while the rest of her squadron appeared rather entertained by the question.
"I am glad you asked. It will be a mix of both. A light breakfast will be provided early in the day, along with a late dinner. Aside from that though, should you get hungry during the day you will have to either cook your own meals with provided utensils and ingredients, or bring food along with you." Giorgi replied.
"Is there a list of items we should bring with us?" Another girl asked.
"A list of recommended items will be emailed to you sometime today. Acquiring any you may not have is on you."
"Will there be electricity to charge our phones?"
"Yes."
The questions continued for a while, before Giorgi eventually called the assembly to a close.
"Before we leave though, there is another thing to note. Due to concerns about collateral damage, the campground's owner has refused to allow IS suits on his property. As such, before leaving for the trip you are to hand over your IS suits to be placed into secure storage. They will be returned to you immediately upon our return." There was another round of disappointed muttering.
"Finally, I will remind you that we will be guests at the campsite. I expect you to be on nothing less than your best behavior. If I see any trash dumped on the ground, the punishment will be severe and will be meted out to the entire group. I will not accept any excuses. Understood?" He asked.
"We understand." The room chorused.
"Good. You are dismissed."
At that, the students stood and began to file out. Ichika saw Lily waving him over, and he led his squadron over.
"Hey Ichika! Looks like we're partners now!" She greeted.
"Looks like it. It's nice to know I'm not with a complete stranger." Ichika replied with a smile.
"I'll say. So, when would be a good time to meet up and start planning out the tent?" Lily asked.
"Would tomorrow work?" Ichika asked. Lily sighed, and shook her head.
"Unfortunately no. I'm taking my squadron out to practice for the day, and I've already reserved the airspace. They'll be exhausted by the time it's over, and certainly in no shape to collaborate." She replied.
"Yeah... At least she takes us out for dinner once it's all over." One of Lily's squadmates sighed, and Lily laughed.
"That's the best part!" She exclaimed.
"I take it she's drilling you hard?" Ichika asked.
"From sunrise to sunset, every weekend." Another one of Lily's squadmates replied.
"Getting back on track, what about Sunday? I've already made the reservation for the morning, but there was a conflict with the evening reservation so we should be able to meet up then." Lily said.
"That sounds good. I have something to do on Saturday as well, but Sunday evening is free." Theresa said.
"I take it the rest of you have no objections either?" Ichika asked.
"Nope!" "None here." "No." The rest of his squadron chorused.
"Then I guess it's settled. See you then. I'll come up with some preliminary design ideas in the meantime for us to go over." Ichika said.
"Sounds good. See you then!" Lily replied, before heading back out to her next class. Ichika did the same, and the day soon returned to its normal routine.
Saturday came and went, and early Sunday morning Ichika found himself woken up by a notification from Ori. Ignoring Tatenashi's grumbling about the noise, he read through it. Apparently, Maya wanted them to conduct a cybersecurity sweep of academy. Sighing at his lost morning, Ichika got up, took a quick shower, and got to work.
A good five hours later, finding no problems, Ichika finally settled down to have a late breakfast. He'd barely had a chance to start when another message came in, this time from Giorgi, saying that there were a set of sealed packages that needed to be delivered, several of them in person. He quickly ate what he could, then hurried off to do this new errand.
A few hours later, Ichika handed off the last package, which felt like a box of chocolates, to one of the older instructors, Ori notified him yet again that Maya had forgotten a folder of paperwork in her office which needed to be delivered to one of the rooms in the basement underneath the engineering bay. Rather irritated at his free time having all but evaporated, he went to Maya's office, found the folder in question, and headed off to where it needed to be delivered.
With no windows and spotty lighting that was often left off to save power, it hadn't been long before the engineering building's basement earned the nickname of 'the catacombs', and Ichika remembered how a while back there was a rumor circulating that some first year student had gotten lost and nearly starved to death down there.
Of course the chances of him stumbling upon an emaciated corpse down there were minimal, Ichika noted as he followed a luminous strip to his destination. Opening the door, he saw that the room was dark. Of course, Maya wasn't even there to pick up the papers in person. He felt around for a light switch-
"Happy birthday Orimura-kun!" The lights flashed on and Ichika blinked, looking around stupefied at all the girls assembled in the room.
It was at that moment that he glanced down at his watch and from the date saw that yes, it was indeed his birthday.
"Thank you..." He said once the shock wore off, taking a moment to survey the room. The girls were all there, standing in front of a table holding presents, along with his squadron. Maya and Giorgi were there as well, along with Honne. Curiously though, Chifuyu was noticeably absent.
"Ichika, did you forget it was your birthday again?" Rin asked as he put the folder down.
"I guess I did." He shrugged sheepishly.
"I swear, you're so absentminded sometimes." The Chinese girl replied with a theatrical sigh.
"So, what will it be first? Cake or presents? Or shall we skip straight to the games?" Laura asked.
"Laura!" Charlotte admonished.
"We've actually prepared a full lunch here, since it's about that time and most if not all of us haven't eaten yet." Maya said.
"That sounds wonderful right now! I haven't eaten much today actually, thanks to some people who shall not be named." Ichika replied, giving Maya and Giorgi his best glare.
"It was a necessary sacrifice." Giorgi shrugged nonchalantly as Maya nodded.
"Lunch it is! Orimura-sensei, do you mind?" She asked, and a few moments later, a door on the other side of the room opened up and Chifuyu came in, pushing a table covered in food. However, what drew Ichika's notice was the fact that his sister was wearing an incredibly frilly maid outfit, its cheerful nature contrasting with the expression on her face.
"Not. A. Word." She hissed as she spotted the stares the students in the room were giving her, while Giorgi and Maya tried and failed to hide their smiles.
"How... Why...?" Ichika asked.
"Giorgi and Maya are filthy cheaters, that's what." Chifuyu growled, while the rest of the girls looked on, their faces a mix of shock and disbelief at the sight.
"You bet and lost, fair and square." Maya teased.
"We all knew the risks." Giorgi added solemnly.
"Wait, you would have had to wear that outfit too?" Tatenashi exclaimed.
"Yes."
"Then thank you for cheating." Tatenashi replied, causing the room to laugh. They quickly sat down to eat, Ichika ending up between Tatenashi and Charlotte.
"So, how does it feel to be sixteen?" The blue-haired girl asked. Ichika thought for a moment before shrugging.
"Not that different, really." He replied.
"You know, in most places you'd be considered an adult now." Charlotte pointed out.
"Not in Japan." Ichika replied, causing the French girl to laugh.
"It's more a case of you being old enough to have adult responsibilities with none of the benefits. For those, we have to wait until eighteen." Kanzashi said.
"But you can at least learn to operate a motorcycle now." Tatenashi said, and Ichika laughed.
"I've already got an IS suit. I think I'm set in the vehicle department for now."
"That's true. Who'd want to crawl around on a motorcycle when you can break the speed of sound?" Rin asked.
"I mean, some people think motorcycles are pretty neat." Tatenashi defended.
"Those people are idiots. Why waste time with such a flimsy thing when much better transport options are available?" Laura said.
"Alright, I guess motorcycles just aren't cool these days." Tatenashi sighed.
As the conversation continued though, Ichika noticed that Houki, who was sitting on the other side of Tatenashi, was staying quiet. He considered speaking, before deciding to do it later, when he wouldn't have to speak across Tatenashi.
Lunch was over fairly quickly, just in time for Chifuyu to wheel in a decently sized cheesecake with sixteen burning candles.
"Looks good!" Honne exclaimed, before the lights went out and the singing began. When the song was over, Ichika looked at the cake for a few moments. Then, deciding on a suitable wish, he blew them out.
Once the applause died down, the cake was cut, with about half being distributed while the remainder was left aside, presumably for later.
"Did you pick this one out, Chifuyu-nee?" Ichika asked.
"I made it." Chifuyu replied, a touch of pride in her voice as she ate her own piece.
"Wait, really? You made this?" Laura exclaimed, freezing with a piece of cake halfway to her mouth.
"Of course." Chifuyu replied.
"It's wonderful! I don't remember you baking much, Chifuyu-nee!" Ichika said.
"Thank you." Chifuyu nodded, without any further explanation.
"C-Can you teach me?" Laura asked, a sentiment that was quickly echoed by several other girls. Chifuyu gave them all a long look before sighing in exasperation.
"No." That caused a wave of disappointment to sweep through the room.
"I have neither the time nor the energy to teach you how to bake. Learn it yourself. It's not that difficult provided you can follow instructions." Chifuyu sighed, before settling down to enjoy her handiwork.
The cake was finished and put away soon enough, and it was around then that Laura spoke up.
"So, can we give our presents now?" She asked.
"Why not?" He replied, laughing as Laura eagerly stood up.
"Can I give mine first?" She asked.
"I thought we'd agreed I would give mine first!" Cecilia objected, also standing up.
"There was no formal agreement." Laura retorted, already halfway to the table.
"How about this? Rock-paper-scissors, best of three." Ichika intervened before a scuffle could break out.
"Alright!" One brief contest later, and Cecilia walked up to the table, a dejected Laura following right behind her. The British girl took a few moments to gather up a wide variety of wrapped packages in her arms and presented them to him.
"I couldn't decide what exactly to get you, so I just got everything. What do you think?" Cecilia asked as Ichika began to carefully open the first package, which was the size of a small suitcase. That proved a particularly apt assessment, as upon opening it, he found a large box containing several expensive-looking suits and pants.
"C-Cecilia, this is-" He choked as he saw the price tag on the side of the box.
"I remembered just how dapper you looked during the school festival, and I just happened to have already had your measurements on hand, so placing the order was no issue at all. Do you like them?" Cecilia asked.
"They look wonderful, but you didn't have to-"
"Nonsense, it was no trouble at all." Cecilia waved a hand as Ichika carefully replaced the lid on the box and turned his attention to Cecilia's other presents. These were a trio of long, thin and heavy packages that were a bit more difficult to open without damaging the paper, but he managed nonetheless.
In the first was a long mahogany cane. As Ichika inspected it, he noticed an odd, barely visible seam near the top, just below an oddly grip-like handle. Another seam was also visible in the head of the cane, and as Ichika touched it, he felt it start to slide. Pushing it up all the way revealed a button.
"W-Wait-" Cecilia's protest came too late, as he had already pressed it. With a startling 'Crack!' the wood covering below the first seam shot off, narrowly missing Laura as it was propelled away by powerful springs that simultaneously extended and snapped a steel crossguard into place. Beneath it, a long and narrow estoc was revealed, and a hesitant test proved that the tip was quite sharp.
"Cecilia... Where did you get this?" He demanded.
"Oh, there's a company back in England that custom-builds sword canes that I ordered it from. After all, what use is a gentleman without a suitable armament?" Cecilia asked as Ichika stood up and, sword lowered, went to find the rest of the cane. Fortunately, the wooden sheath was just as easy to reattach as it was to remove, the crossguard folding inward to sit flush with the blade until the whole assembly clicked back together.
"Why..." For once, Ichika was at a loss for words.
"You heard me. It's a weapon fit for a gentleman." Cecilia replied.
"I'm pretty sure I can't legally carry this around..." Ichika muttered as he picked up the other two bundles, which were of similar size.
"Don't tell me these are also weapons." Cecilia gave a nervous laugh at that, and he opened them to reveal a sheathed rapier with a gilded basket hilt in one and a practice foil in the other.
"Why?" He asked.
"When I saw it, I felt like it suited you. Plus, fencing is actually quite a fun pastime." Cecilia replied.
"But I don't know the first thing about it." Ichika pointed out.
"Then I guess I will have to teach you. That's half the fun!" Cecilia answered with a smile.
"Unfortunately, I will have to confiscate these until you have filled out and submitted the proper permit requests." Maya interjected.
"Wait, you're telling me that I'm actually allowed to openly carry these on campus?" Ichika exclaimed. It was one thing for him to have his hidden knife and gun for Organization business, but did the school really allow for any student to just walk around with a sword?
"Of course!" Laura replied, reaching down and producing a long knife from her right boot. She tossed it into the air and caught it with practiced ease before re-sheathing it.
"Alright, if you say so. Where do I get the paperwork required?" Ichika asked as he handed over the cane and rapier, although Maya allowed him to keep the practice foil.
"Just stop by my office some time later today. I'll get it ready." Maya replied.
"Am I the only one who thinks this sort of thing is a disaster waiting to happen?" Theresa exclaimed.
"Says the one who proposed selling anti-tank weapons for two thousand yen." Sakura replied.
"That's different! That's just for IS suits!" Theresa replied.
"And the amount of damage they could cause is significantly more than any knife. At the end of the day, regulating personal weaponry at IS Academy would, for the most part, require regulation of IS suits due to the capabilities provided by partial deployment. There are exceptions, such as personal firearms being banned, but bladed weapons would have too much overlap with IS suit equipment to effectively regulate." Maya explained.
"That... Still doesn't make much sense. If you can ban guns separate from IS suits, why can't other weapons separate from IS suits be banned as well?" Theresa asked.
"Because as I mentioned previously, IS suit partial deployments can act completely identical to bladed weapons, while a gun separate from an IS would require its own ammunition. That means one would require regulation of IS suits, while the other can just be addressed with its own distinct rule." Maya replied. Theresa looked like she wanted to reply again, before sighing and shaking her head.
"Does that mean I can get approval to bring a katana in?" Ayane asked.
"You have a katana?" Sakura exclaimed.
"Not yet I don't." Ayane replied.
"You can pick up the paperwork in my office, same as Orimura-kun." Maya replied as Laura grabbed her own present off the table.
"Here. I hope you like it." Laura said, blushing slightly as she handed the package, wrapped in simple brown paper, over. It proved extremely easy to open, and inside was a heavy, dark grey greatcoat, bundled together with a fur hat.
"I thought that, since winter is coming, it would be useful to have a warm coat." Laura said as Ichika unfolded and looked at it.
"It certainly looks warm. Where did you get it?" He asked, before moving to put it on.
"Ah, well it was a design that was proposed for a new winter coat, but was rejected. A few hundred were still produced, and I was able to get my hands on a few. The hat I bought at the mall." Laura explained as Ichika worked the buttons, slightly hampered by the fact that the sleeves were just a bit too long.
"It looks good on you. A bit big though..." Charlotte commented once it was on.
"It's definitely warm as well. I like it." Ichika added.
"I figured it would last longer if it was a bit big, not to mention it being warmer." Laura replied.
"I don't mind at all." Ichika replied.
"I think it would have been better in green instead of grey, but other than that it looks useful." Giorgi commented.
"The available colors were grey, dark grey and off-grey." Laura shrugged.
"I don't mind." Ichika replied as he undid the buttons and took the coat off. He carefully folded it and re-wrapped it as best as he could.
"Thank you, Laura." He said.
"Our turn!" Rin exclaimed, pulling Charlotte along with her to grab a set of packages of varying size from the table. These turned out to be quite heavy, and upon opening them Ichika found them full of cooking utensils, ranging from several pots and pans to a complete set of kitchen knives.
"We noticed that the IS Academy dorms didn't come with cooking equipment by default, so we thought that maybe you would like to have your own set. I know that cafeteria food gets old after a while." Charlotte explained.
"Thank you! I'll be sure to make good use of these." Ichika replied, before turning to Maya.
"Do I need to get a permit for these too?" He asked holding up the box of knives, and Maya laughed.
"Of course not." She replied as Ichika stacked the boxes back on the table, noting with some worry that it would be rather difficult to move it all up to his room.
Kanzashi was up next, and her gift turned out to be a box set of one of her favorite anime, being about ninety percent collectors' items by volume with the show itself being stored on a tiny flash drive. The blue-haired girl looked like she was about to die from embarrassment as he looked at it.
"Thank you, Kanzashi. We'll have to get together to watch this sometime." He said, placing it down on top of a skillet.
"A-Ah! Right! We should! Perhaps if we have time during the leadership trip?" She exclaimed, all embarrassment forgotten.
"Possibly." Ichika replied as Tatenashi came up next.
"My gift to you is the most precious one of all! I give you... The gift of friendship!" Tatenashi declared, earning herself some disappointed glances from the other girls in the room.
"Ah well, not all my jokes can land. Anyway, here you go!" Tatenashi replied, picking up a package.
"Originally, I wanted to get you a puppy, but then I decided it would be too much of a hassle. So I got you one of these instead." Opening it, Ichika found a decently sized laptop.
"Whoa... You didn't need to-" Ichika began, reading through the specifications.
"Nonsense. I know it's a pain to have to write essays on a tablet, and it's just good to have a full computer on hand. Just don't use it too late, we're still sharing a room!" Tatenashi replied.
"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you!" Ichika replied, placing the laptop down on the table. Next up was his squadron.
"Looking at all this, our gifts do seem a bit underwhelming, don't they?" Theresa asked as they handed their gifts over. The first was a framed picture of them at Urup, taken shortly before their match against Charlotte. Next was a set of squadron patches, meant to go on the shoulder of his IS Academy uniforms, and finally there was a large banner with the squadron insignia on it.
"You made these yourselves?" Ichika asked, gesturing towards the patches and the banner.
"Yup! We sure did!" Sakura boasted.
"It's wonderful! What will we do with it?" Ichika replied, pointing at the flag.
"Ah... We thought you could just hang it up in your room, or maybe add it to your IS!" Rei said.
"Perhaps we could use it to decorate our campsite?" Ichika suggested.
"Good idea! All in favor?" All five hands went up at Theresa's question.
"Then it's settled!" Ichika shared a high five with the rest of his squadron, before glancing at the table. Only one present remained, and it didn't take a genius to see who it came from.
"Houki, it's your turn!" Tatenashi prompted.
"Right..." Houki blushed as she stood up, walking over to the table and picking up a pair of long wrapped bundles.
"H-Here... These are for you..." She blushed as she gave them to him.
Opening the first one, Ichika gasped at its contents. Inside was a katana, but not just any such weapon as he saw upon pulling it from its sheath. It was a genuine, handmade Gendaito, easily making it one of the most valuable items in the room.
"How did you..." He trailed off, holding the sword in his hands, not drawing it any further.
"I commissioned it." Houki replied, looking down.
"But the waiting lists for these are several years long!" Ichika exclaimed.
"I... I had a way around it." Houki replied, blushing further.
"The cost-"
"Was not a problem." Houki finished.
"I... It's beautiful. Thank you, Houki." He said, before allowing Maya to take the blade. The green-haired teacher took it gingerly, holding it close as Ichika opened up Houki's second present.
This one was also a sword, albeit one lacking in any ornamentation. The blade was dull, indicating that it was a practice sword and not a genuine weapon. Then Ichika noticed a note attached to the scabbard. Reading through it, his eyes widened.
"You made this yourself?" He asked.
"Y-Yes... It was my first project in the academy fabrication lab. I wanted to try and replicate traditional methods as best as I could, but I couldn't..." Houki trailed off.
With barely a moments' hesitation, Ichika pulled his childhood friend into a hug.
"It would be a shame for me to not be able to use a blade as beautiful as the one you gave me. You'll have to teach me." He said.
"O-Of course! Yes!" Houki exclaimed, returning the embrace. They stayed like that for a few moments, before separating.
"Thank you, Houki-chan." He said.
"You're welcome." She replied, still blushing slightly.
"Well... The saying of best for last certainly holds true." Cecilia said.
"I'll say. I did not expect that." Tatenashi added.
"So how did you manage to get your hands on it? It can't have been easy." Charlotte asked.
"I... I'll keep that my own little secret." Houki replied.
"Aww... There has to be a good story behind it!" Rin exclaimed.
"Not really... It's a long story, but not particularly exciting." Houki replied.
"Looks like your brother is starting a sword collection." Maya said to Chifuyu, who shrugged.
"There are worse things to collect. Swords are expensive, but at least they are quite classy." She replied.
"By the way, didn't you have a present you wanted to give him?" Maya asked.
"Ah, right! Wait a moment." Chifuyu walked out of the room.
"And what about you, Giorgi? Didn't you have a present of your own?" Maya asked.
"It should arrive later today in the mail. I've already notified the mail room staff to send it up to your room, Ichika." Giorgi replied.
"Thank you, Giorgi. What is it?" Ichika smiled.
"A collection of old military technical manuals that I managed to get my hands on. I know you liked reading them back in the day." The Russian replied.
"Ah! I look forward to seeing them!" Ichika exclaimed, just as Chifuyu came in with a small box in her hands.
"Here. Happy birthday, Ichika." She said with a smile.
"Thank you, Chifuyu-nee." Ichika replied, opening the package. He closed it almost immediately after seeing its contents. He fought down his puzzled expression and fixed a smile on his face.
"It's wonderful." He said, tucking the package away into his pocket.
"I'm glad you like it. I hope it proves useful." Chifuyu replied with a smile before turning away, leaving Ichika to try and figure out just why she had decided to give him a concealable pistol for his birthday.
The party went on for a little while longer, but with his meeting with Lily coming up, it wasn't long before it came to an end. Ichika helped clean up before leaving with his squadron to meet with Lily. They took the cake as well, thinking that the other squadron would appreciate something sweet after a day of practice.
It had been a good day so far, Ichika thought, and there wasn't much that could happen that could ruin it.
A/N: And that's a wrap! The travesty that was the birthday episode has been adapted into something a bit more reasonable. Or at least, I hope it is reasonable. Now for the recap:
Firstly, the scene with Madoka and Squall was quite interesting to write. With it, my goal was to establish the new relationship between them after Squall's apology/confession from the previous chapter. I feel like I portrayed the awkwardness/tension well enough, what with Squall being an excellent liar and manipulator and Madoka being effectively caught in a trap where she has to pretend as though everything is forgiven and be an ideal subordinate if she ever wants to be free of her. With this, Squall has neutralized Madoka as a threat in the near future, and may potentially be able to mold her into an actual ally down the road if she plays her cards right. I also gave their public personas some time in the spotlight, mostly to contrast with their actual selves.
Next, we have Noho getting her own IS suit! The Kyuubi no Kitsune was adapted from the IS suit of the same name from the now-defunct Archetype Breaker game, although pretty much all of the ingame suit outside of the basic appearance was removed and replaced with things I considered more sensible. Ingame, its equipment consisted of the nine tails minus the arc cannons at their ends, literal firecrackers that it threw at the enemy, and some weird plasma kitty dish. This reworked version is a powerful close-mid range combatant with extremely powerful sensors and jammers that all combine to make it an excellent support IS. As for the rest of Honne's squadron, they'll get their IS suits soon enough. I'm really excited to reveal them as well.
Of course, with a new IS on the table, I've come to the realization that The Declassified Files is a bit behind, with many pieces of equipment currently missing, especially with regards to the various girls' squadrons. With that in mind, I'll probably alter my planned update sequence for it to quickly get it up to par with regards to important information, and then slowly move its content around as new chapters for various nations are released.
Next we have the teambuilding/leadership field trip arc that's coming up. It's finally been revealed, and I'm looking forward to writing it. It shouldn't take too long, and certainly won't drag on like the tournament arc did!
Finally, we have the birthday itself and I feel like for the most part I did it well. I tried to make the gifts fit each character, ranging from Cecilia's suits and gentlemanly weapons to Laura's military surplus equipment, and even Houki's expensive traditionally-made katana. I also feel like these gifts are, for the most part, practical enough that I can make use of them down the line. Ichika's not going to start walking around wearing a sword or carrying his estoc-cane, but I do have some ideas for how I can use them down the line.
With all that said, I hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter. Please point out any inconsistencies and errors on my part, and I will do my best to correct them.