A/N: Here it is, the start of the teambuilding exercises arc. I'm going to try and keep it short, certainly shorter than the tournament arc, but at the same time short does not mean simple. I hope that you all enjoy!
Chapter 35
Lily gave a small grunt of exertion as she forced the last tent pole into place, erecting the atrium of the tent on the IS Academy lawn. Fabrication had been completed earlier that day, and now they were setting it up to check for problems, and so far there hadn't been any. Not that she expected there to be anything, as it was obvious that Ichika knew exactly what he was doing and probably was covertly testing things with his IS when nobody was looking.
"Alright, that's it! Shall we?" She asked, gesturing at the entrance.
"Ladies first!" Ichika replied, unzipping the entrance. Lily giggled in response as she entered, took off her shoes, and then proceeded further in. While the atrium was low enough for her to have to bend over almost double, the ceiling inside the central dome was high enough that she barely had to stoop to avoid bumping her head against it. Then, one of Ichika's squadmates followed her in, and she sat down near the entrance of what would currently be the sleeping space she'd share with Ichika.
Ichika did end up being the last one inside, and as it turned out the central dome was just barely big enough to allow all ten of them to sit in a circle. Perfect for games, should they end up having time.
"So, looks like we all fit." One of Ichika's squadmates, Theresa, said.
"That's good, it means the tent works." She struggled not to roll her eyes at the inane response from Sakura.
"So, shall we see if we also fit in the sleeping rooms?" Cai asked.
"Yeah. They should be big enough for four people, but if they aren't we can always have some of us sleep in the center instead." Ichika replied.
"Then let's go!" Shizune replied, unzipping the door to the left wing of the tent. Theresa did the same for the right one, and Lily opened up the one behind her. The squadrons ended up crowding into their respective wings, while Ichika followed her into the officers' quarters. Zipping the door back up behind them, Lily flopped down on the tent floor, which wasn't as comfortable as it could have been due to no mattress being installed yet, and after a bit of experimental stretching, decided that it was adequately roomy. She then glanced over at Ichika, who was still sitting down.
"Enjoying your handiwork?" She asked, rolling over onto her side and propping her head up on her elbow.
"With just the two of us? There's plenty of room." Ichika replied, lying over on his side and showing that he just barely had enough room to extend fully.
Yes, with just the two of them, there would be no problem whatsoever. It was a pity too, as it would have been the perfect environment to slap a tag on him and abduct him out from under everyone's noses. Of course, now with her orders having changed and her identity possibly being compromised, all she could do now was lay low and observe.
"I don't think it would be a problem for us. Still, I think there's room for four people in here." She replied, loud enough that the girls in the other rooms would have had no trouble hearing her.
"Yeah, we fit! It might get a bit snug once we add in sleeping bags and our stuff, but nothing too bad!" Cai shouted back.
"Same here!" Theresa added.
"Speaking of sleeping bags, what is the status on the stuff we're bringing?" Ichika asked.
"Ah, right. I was unfortunately unable to find properly sized inflatable mattresses that could both fit four people and also fit in the side rooms. I did, however, find two person mattress that did fit, and I ordered five of them. One for us, and two for each side room. If I read the floor plan correctly, it might be a bit of a snug fit but there should be enough room left for clothes bags to be tucked between the mattresses and the walls. I've also ordered an air pump and a full set of ten sleeping bags. Thankfully, cookware and facilities will be provided, so I didn't have to order the propane and stove. Those would have been a nightmare to lug along with everything else." Lily replied.
"Yeah, and I'm glad you didn't. So, how much did it come to?" Ichika asked.
"Can't remember off the top of my head, but since you all insisted I will send you all the receipt." Lily replied with an exaggerated sigh. Best to play at chivalry for now, even if she could have easily afforded it.
"Alright, we'll split the bill once we get it." Ichika replied, before turning around.
"So, are we going to do the waterproofing test now?" He asked.
"Yeah! We'll get the tarp on, while Sakura runs for the water!" Theresa replied.
"Is this really necessary?" Lily asked as the rustling of the girls hurrying outside sounded through her ears.
"Think of it as a formal commissioning of the tent." Ichika replied as the waterproof tarp started being pulled over. The light in the tent dimmed as Ichika's squadmates finished covering it, and a few moments later, Sakura came back with a bucket full of water.
"You all ready?" She shouted.
"Go ahead!" Ichika replied, and a moment later there was a tremendous splash as water slammed into the tarp, before quickly flowing down into the ground. Ichika pressed his hand up against the tent wall, testing to see if any water was coming through. Lily did the same, and found that the tent remained dry even after a minute of repeated prodding.
"It works!" Ichika declared.
"Alright! Looks like everything is ready." Lily replied.
"That it does. So, shall we pack it up?" Ichika asked.
"Yeah. Do we need to hang it out to dry?" Lily asked.
"Yes." Ichika replied, opening the door and starting to make his way out of the tent. Lily followed right behind him, putting on her shoes in the atrium before stepping out. Her squadron followed her out just as Ichika's began to strip the waterproof tarp off. The tent was dismantled shortly afterwards and folded away.
"So, when will the orders come in?" Ichika asked.
"The day before we leave. Don't worry, everything will be ready on my end." Lily replied.
"Sounds good."
"So, you find out anything new about what we'll have to do?" Lily continued.
"No, I'm afraid not. Giorgi is keeping things close to his chest." Ichika replied. Lily noticed a slight change in demeanor at the mention of the Russian agent. Was there some tension between them?
"No worries, won't be the first time I went blind into something like this." She replied as she turned away.
"I can imagine. RepCamp?" Ichika asked, and Lily nodded.
"Somehow, I don't think it will be quite so difficult this time around. As much as Giorgi sometimes looks like he wants to run us through the wringer, this is a school, not a military base." She replied, and Ichika laughed.
"I'm sure he'll think of something in spite of that." He replied.
"It should be a nice change of pace, at least. After the tournament, it feels strange to just go back to class. Pretty boring, really." Lily sighed.
"I'll have to agree with you on that... On that note, my next class starts soon. I should be going." Ichika answered.
"Alright. See you on Saturday!" Lily waved.
"See you!" With that, the two squadrons went their separate ways.
It had been an interesting conversation, Lily mused as she headed off to her dorm, her own next class not starting for another two hours. If Ichika was indeed monitoring her for any signs of suspicious activity, he was exercising due caution, not even bothering to press her when she brought up her partially fictitious IS training. That likely meant one of two things, either that she was not under extreme scrutiny and thus there was no real need for pressure to be applied, or she was considered a high threat and was to be regarded with extreme caution in preparation for a move.
Naturally, this posed a problem, and the only possible solution remained to be as innocent as possible while remaining on her guard for a knife in the back.
She gave a small sigh as she walked, one that sounded suitably lovestruck to draw the amused glances of her squadmates. It really was a shame that the two of them were on different sides, especially given how at the rate that things were currently proceeding, there seemed nothing but doom in his future. There he was, someone who possessed a fire lacking in the entitled scions of the various ruling families of Phantom Task, someone who has already demonstrated capability far above what was expected for the average boy raised in this decadent age in spite of his mere human condition... Someone whom, she admitted, she would not have minded loving down the line.
The unbidden thought of what he, Madoka and her could do together in bed drew a faint blush to her cheeks before she ruthlessly quashed it. No, barring a miracle that path was closed. She had saved Madoka, but as much as it pained her, her brother was out of her reach.
"Oh my... Is our leader having dirty thoughts? Barely a few minutes alone with him in that room and-"
"Shut up!" Lily squeaked, cutting off Cai before she could continue.
"Not even bothering to deny it, are you?" Shizune needled.
"I-It's not like it would make a difference if I did!" Lily replied.
The rest of a squadron shared a laugh at her expense. Lily in turn just sighed and looked away, hiding both her smile and her embarrassment.
"So, what was it?" Cai asked.
"Well, it was Ichika and his sister... There were corsets, some strawberries and whipped cream, and... Now look who's thinking dirty thoughts!" She giggled as her squadmates' faces flushed bright red.
"Y-You started it!" Sarah protested.
"I merely had a thought. It was you who drew attention to it!" Lily replied, laughing.
She never would have thought it before, but it was nice having friends that she could just banter with. Way back before the IS, she had spent some time in American schools, courtesy of her parents pulling strings to get her out of the declining Orimura family's reach. That had been interesting, but her relative maturity compared to the other students left her isolated, serving more to teach her how to put on a sociable facade than anything else. Then the IS was revealed, the technology proliferated, and construction of the underwater headquarters began. Her father had her tested for IS compatibility, and after scoring highly she began her training, leaving her old school behind to reside at various Phantom Task bases, eventually coming to live at headquarters.
The realization that, aside from Madoka, these four girls were probably the first friends she ever made was sobering enough to bring her laughter to a slow halt. She kept a smile on her face, but her thoughts took a darker turn. She knew what lay ahead, and what it would undoubtedly mean for them. Her father's words came to mind then, telling her that in the face of the inevitable, it would fall on her family to ensure an optimal outcome.
So, what would be the optimal outcome for her friends, and how would she go about achieving it? Averting the issue entirely was out of the question, but how could she best soften the blow when it came?
She stifled a sigh, and kept the frown off her face. Plans were whirling through her mind, but their feasibility could not be determined by her alone. That meant she would have to contact her family, which would in turn represent a risk depending on how intensely she was being monitored.
Fortunately for her, there were plenty of ways she could pass along messages without appearing suspicious to all but the most paranoid observer. Probably the easiest would be placing a specially marked order at the nearby shopping mall. It would be slow, but it was probably the most secure option she had. Still, while the timetable was tight, it wasn't so tight that a week or two of waiting for a secure response to arrive would be a major problem.
With all that in mind she continued walking to her room without breaking stride, already planning out the letters to her father and sister.
Ichika would meet up with Giorgi on the morning of the day of departure. The older man was waiting at the monorail station, making small talk with the monorail operator. He turned as Ichika approached and waved him over.
"Ah, good, you're here. I trust the order was completed?" He asked, and Ichika nodded.
"Yes, it's ready."
"Good to hear. You'll be deploying them into trucks on the other side, which will take them to the campsite. I wish you good luck with your girlfriend, Sagara-san." Giorgi bid farewell to the monorail operator, who returned to his control cabin while the two of them entered the transport car.
It was a long journey across the bay, made even longer by the silence as Ichika avoided meeting his mentor's gaze. Finally, with a shudder, the trip came to an end and Ichika followed him out.
Outside, five large semi trucks were parked side by side, hitched to flatbed cars. A prompt on his watch from Ori told him the designation of the first item to deploy, and at Giorgi's prompting, he walked up to the first truck.
"Deploy BR01A." A decently sized container flashed into being on top of the truck, and another prompt appeared on his watch. The process would repeat itself over and over, the truck beds gradually filling up, although the last two ended up being taken up by single, large containers.
His work done, he stepped back and watched alongside Giorgi as workers pulled tarps over the loads and tied them down. Then, one after another, the trucks departed and Ichika turned to follow Giorgi back to the monorail. Soon, they were alone in the car again. He felt the shudder as it started to move, then Giorgi spoke.
"Ichika, are you alright?" He asked. Ichika nodded in response.
"Yeah."
"Are you sure? I know you've had a lot dropped on your chest lately." He pressed.
"I..." Ichika sighed.
"Maya... She told me to apologize on her behalf. When she met you, she had just finished being reamed out by her own superiors for negligence. She told me that she was... Stressed after that, and ended up taking some of it out on you." Giorgi continued.
"It was well deserved. I was the one in charge at the time, and not only did I not prevent it, I was the deciding vote in its favor." Ichika replied.
Giorgi considered him for a few long moments before responding.
"Ichika, if I may be blunt with you, you were never meant to make that sort of decision in the first place. You are what, sixteen?" He asked. Ichika nodded.
"Do you think a sixteen year old should be put into a position of commanding a unit in combat? Or of making a decision that could have world-shaking consequences?" Giorgi asked.
"That is irrelevant. I already was and am in that position." Ichika replied.
"Let me rephrase then. Do you think that a sixteen year old should be expected to know how to perform in those situations?" Giorgi asked again. For a long moment Ichika was silent, before he sighed and shook his head.
"No."
"You were never expected to do anything of the sort. The Organization's expectation of what you would need to do here at IS Academy was simply to make friends, learn a bit about IS usage, and participate in covert recruitment efforts down the line. You were not expected to be pressed into combat with rogue IS suits or Phantom Task capture units. You were not expected to kill anyone. You were not expected to constantly be on alert to repel Phantom Task raids, and you were certainly never expected to make any decision even near the scope of the one you faced in that bath room. You are in over your head. Maya is the same. Mistakes are to be expected." Giorgi said.
"But the correct decision was obvious!"
"In hindsight, everything is obvious. But at the time, you made your decision because you believed that it happening in a controlled environment, with you and Houki both being present, would be preferable to Laura going off and doing something on her own, am I correct?" Giorgi asked.
"I... Yes." Ichika replied.
"And is that not a logical train of thought? You assumed that Laura would act on her own, rendering a total shutdown of communication moot, so you attempted to contact Tabane in as controlled an environment as possible. At the end of the day, you made a decision that was logical given the information you had and the conjectures you drew from it."
"It was still the wrong decision." Ichika protested.
"It was. That I will not dispute, but do you honestly think that, with the information you had and could have obtained at the time, that it was a wrong decision in that context?"
"I... No?" Ichika asked, uncertain. Already, alternative courses of action came to mind. He could have denied the request outright and then ordered an AI to keep an eye on Laura and prevent her from attempting anything. He opened his mouth to speak, but Giorgi beat him to the punch.
"I imagine you are thinking of a better decision you could have made in that context, right? Perhaps denying things and assigning an AI to keep an eye on Laura?" He asked. Ichika nodded in response.
"There is a difference between a good choice and the ideal choice. An ideal choice is often impossible to make without the benefit of hindsight. Even the best commanders rarely make the ideal decision. They merely make good ones, and then work around the issues that arise. I certainly have made my share of mistakes, and if you earn your command you will make them as well. They may even lead to people dying when an ideal decision could have saved them..." Giorgi paused, and it was a moment before he continued.
"However, I have found that dwelling excessively on what could have been if you'd done something differently serves only to impede future decision making. Learn from your mistakes and remember them, but do not let them hinder you. That is my advice to you." He finished, and Ichika nodded.
"I... I will remember it." He said. Giorgi gave him a smile in response, and the compartment was silent for a while.
"So, how are things going with Lily?" Giorgi finally asked. Ichika smiled at that, grateful for the change in subject.
"Well, as far as I can tell. We were already on pretty friendly terms beforehand, so it's been pretty easy to get to know her... There's something strange though." Ichika frowned.
"What do you mean?" Giorgi asked.
"I think that something happened to her during her training. Whenever I bring the topic up, she seems reluctant to respond in a way that mentions any specifics." Ichika replied. Giorgi looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding.
"That is one possibility, yes. Does she look uncomfortable when the subject is brought up?" He asked.
"Not really... She brings it up on her own sometimes, but never in detail." Ichika replied.
"Hmm... Then from what I can tell, it is much more likely that she is in a situation similar to yours, where she knows something she is forbidden to disclose that is related to her training. Nothing truly traumatizing or similarly unpleasant, but she can't talk about it and isn't quite sure where the lines for what can and cannot be disclosed is drawn. Therefore she has no problem speaking about it, but doesn't want to mention details." Giorgi replied.
"That... Does seem more plausible. I feel somewhat silly for not thinking of it myself." Ichika said, and Giorgi laughed.
"That's what friends are for. You can't see everything, but a second pair of eyes might spot what you missed." He said with a smile. Ichika returned it, just as the train pulled into the station.
"So, are you packed?" Giorgi asked as they stood up to exit.
"Yes."
"Good, I'll see you here in..." Giorgi checked his watch, "six hours. Thank you for your help today."
"See you then. You're welcome." Ichika replied.
The appointed time came, and Ichika found himself standing among a loose gaggle of students at the monorail station. At his side was a duffel bag full of clothes, while on his back he wore a pack that held the tent. Around him stood the rest of the group, all of them carrying their own belongings as well as their share of the group's burden. Lily had the inflatable mattresses and air pump, Theresa, Sakura and Ayane carried the group's bedding, as well as various other items that they'd managed to fit into their bags. Rei carried several games that they'd decided to bring along, while Lily's squadron carried two coolers full of food, the group's cleaning supplies, and a few pots and pans that Lily had decided to bring anyway.
All in all, Ichika decided that they were just about as ready as they could be for whatever Giorgi was going to throw at them.
Looking around, he saw that some squadrons hadn't been quite as prepared. A few, it seemed, had forgotten either mattresses or sleeping bags, although it seemed as though his friends were not among those. Cecilia and Rins' group, for one, seemed more laden down than his own, with one girl seeming to be carrying an immense amount of tea, plus brewing equipment.
Houki and Tatenashi seem to have been more basic in their packing, bringing what looked to only be the bare necessities. Charlotte and Laura, on the other hand, evidently had thought similarly to Lily and brought a good portion of their kitchen with them. That left Kanzashi and Honne, whose squadron members all had packs stuffed full to near bursting, but aside from the necessities like a tent and sleeping gear, Ichika had no idea what they held.
"Attention!" Giorgi's voice, broadcast through a megaphone, caused all the idle conversation to stop.
"This is your last chance to back out! If you do not feel like you are ready to do this, feel free to resign from the exercise now. Transport between IS Academy and the campground will not be available." He announced.
None of the squadrons left, although some of the less prepared looking ones gave each other nervous looks.
"Nobody? Alright, I guess that means you all are ready. Now, please form a line in front of the monorail. When you reach the front, you will hand me your IS. This will be labeled and securely stored until the end of the exercise, when it will be returned to you."
Slowly the line formed, and Ichika took off the decoy watch that he had Ori fabricate for him and replace it with the real IS deployment beacon, the appearance of which had been altered to more resemble a conventional digital watch. Ahead of him, Cecilia did the same with a decoy earring, replacing it with an identical one a few moments later. He had fabricated decoys for all the girls and distributed them, and Cecilia was now the proud owner of a full set of identical earrings.
"And don't think you can try to sneak your IS in with you! I have ways of testing to see whether or not you gave it to me!" Giorgi announced, waving around an odd handheld device. A few girls muttered about that and took various trinkets out of their hiding places.
He held it over the first IS given to him, obviously a Blank Slate, and after a few moments the device pinged. Nodding, Giorgi labeled the IS and put it away, allowing the line to move. Slowly it made its way forward until it reached Tatenashi, who handed her decoy to Giorgi. The device pinged, and Tatenashi moved on ahead. A few students later, the device sounded an alarm, and the girl in question reluctantly took back the ring she handed over before giving up the real IS. Giorgi shook his head as she walked past, before checking the next student.
Eventually, it was Ichika's turn, and he passed inspection without incident. Lily did the same a few checks later, and she took the seat next to him.
"Seems like an awful lot of effort to go through to make sure we don't use our IS suits." She commented as she sat down. Ichika shrugged in response.
"The campground owner doesn't want IS suits on his property. I guess Giorgi really wants for this to be a repeat occurrence, not just a one-off trip." He said.
"Yeah, I guess it makes some sense... Still, I'd rather keep my IS on me." Lily sighed.
"It does feel pretty strange to no longer have it." Ichika replied.
"Then there's the issue of safety. What happens if Phantom Task attacks again?" Lily asked.
"What do you mean?" Ichika asked.
"Well, a bunch of students out in the open with no IS suits? That sounds like a really tempting target." Lily replied, and Ichika shook his head.
"I don't think that's very likely to happen." He replied.
"What makes you think that?"
"Well, Phantom Task attacked me to try and steal my IS suit, just like they did with the Silent Zephyrs in London."
"Ah, right, you were in London too. I remember reading about that in the news..." Lily said, frowning.
"Yeah. Anyway, I think that this works out in our favor. All our IS suits get kept under lock and key in a secure vault at IS Academy, so that we can go on this trip without being a large and easy target." Ichika replied.
"But that woman, Autumn, she tried to take hostages in the arena, didn't she? What if the same happens here? Take hostages and try to demand the IS suits as ransom?" Lily asked, and now it was Ichika's turn to frown. Protecting against such a scenario was the reason why he and the rest of STS-01 had smuggled their IS suits along, but he couldn't exactly say that to reassure her. Instead, he simply leaned back and shrugged.
"I'm sure there are plans in place to prevent that from happening." He said.
"I hope so as well." Lily replied, leaning back into her seat. Outside, the line slowly would its way to the end until the last student boarded. Then, with everyone seated, the monorail made the journey across the lake, where they promptly disembarked and loaded their belongings onto several buses. Then they were on their way once more. City made way to countryside as the hours ticked by, the sun slowly setting up above.
It was night by the time they arrived, the campground lit only by moonlight, and it was then that Ichika noticed a very significant gap in his preparations. As far as he was aware, his squadron did not possess a flashlight. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Lily rummage through her pack and pull out a pair of headlamps, before handing one to him.
"Let me guess, you forgot?" She asked with a playful smile as he took it.
"Thank you." He replied as the students began to disembark. He switched the light on as he exited the bus, adding it to the mess of flashlight beams that dappled the area.
"Everyone, listen up!" Giorgi's amplified voice sounded out, and Ichika quickly picked him out, holding a flashlight in one hand and his megaphone in the other.
"This parking lot is next to the main staging grounds. Over there..." He gestured with the flashlight, illuminating a nearby building, "are the toilets and showers. Nearby, you will find the dining pavilions, the kitchens, and the laundromat. Don't worry about those for now though. Every morning we will gather here, and I will take a roll call and explain the day's activities."
"Once you unload your group's belongings, you will proceed to the pavilions. From there, you can take any one of six paths leading out from there. Each of these paths will have plenty of numbered signs marking campgrounds along it. Don't worry about getting lost, the gravel paths all loop around back to the pavilions. However, be advised that hiking trails do branch off from the gravel paths, so do not leave them. These hiking trails do loop around as well, but they are long and probably difficult to navigate in the dark! Once you find a campground that is to your liking, you may claim it as your own and pitch your tent there. No more than one team to a campground! There are more than enough for all of you!" Giorgi continued.
"There are to be no campfires tonight! An inspection will be carried out in the morning, and if your site passes, you will be allowed to light fires for the rest of your stay here. For now, pitch your tents and go to sleep. Showers are available as well. The activities for this exercise will be explained tomorrow. I expect you all to be up and ready here at 8:00. Breakfast will be provided. Now, chop-chop! Off you go!" With that, the assembled students sprang into action with varying degrees of success. Some, with flashlights of their own or having partners who possessed them, immediately made their way to the bus and began unloading. Others, lacking lights of their own, made their way through the mess of shifting lights to try and grab their belongings.
"Ichika? Where are you?" He heard Theresa call out.
"I'm over here!" He replied, looking around until his flashlight's beam caught Theresa. Sakura and Rei were beside her, while he spotted Ayane beside the bus after a brief search.
"Ichika, stay at the bus and start unloading our belongings. Everyone else in our group, come to me!" Lily ordered, shouting to be heard over the confusion.
Ichika did as she asked, and soon found the bag with the tent as well as his own personal suitcase. Pulling them out, he hurried over to Lily.
"Alright, good work. I'll come with you on the next run. The rest of you, stay here and keep an eye on our belongings. I only brought two flashlights, although there is also a lamp in my backpack. Once we get that, we'll light it here." Lily ordered as he arrived.
"Sounds good." Ichika replied, and the two of them turned around and headed back. Pushing through the mass of people, they began digging through the mass of luggage. It was Lily who ultimately ended up finding most of the luggage, pulling it out and sending Ichika to run it back to the rest of the group.
Finally, they had gathered up all their belongings, lit the lamp, and headed out. Only two other groups had managed to gather all their belongings up and start heading out to look for campgrounds, and unsurprisingly Ichika heard Tatenashi's voice directing one while Laura commanded the other.
Fortunately, being one of the first groups to gather their belongings also meant that they had their pick of the ground to set up camp in, and they ended up settling on a spot very close to the central area. Setting down the lamp on a conveniently provided table, they got to work. First the tent was un-packed and then, with a rehearsed ease, it was set up. The central dome went up first. Then, as Sakura and Theresa hammered the pegs into the ground for the poles, Cai and Shizune erected the atrium. The wings were next, while the already erected sections were hooked up to the pegs. It seemed no time at all had passed before the tent was ready.
Lily was the first inside, where she hooked the lamp up to a strap on the ceiling of the central dome. Then she began unpacking the air beds.
"Don't bring any of your stuff in yet! I've got to inflate these first!" She said, distributing said beds into their respective rooms.
"What about our sleeping bags?" Theresa asked.
"Stack them in the central area for now!" Lily replied as Ichika made his way inside as well. The loud noise of the air pump drowned out Theresa's response, and he ended up helping her move the large bundles into the tent. One mattress was completely inflated by the time he was done, so all that remained was to wait until Lily was finished.
Eventually the mattresses were all inflated and the pump was turned off. Outside, Ichika heard the chatter of other groups walking by, undoubtedly looking for their own sites.
"Alright, everyone bring your stuff inside! It's time to decide who sleeps where!" Lily announced.
Ichika heard the scramble outside, and quickly got out of the tent. Sakura passed him his suitcase, and he quickly scanned around for Lily's before seeing Sarah carrying it in along with her own belongings. He ended up being the last one back inside, coming back to a scene of controlled chaos as the rest of the girls were grabbing sleeping bags and moving into their wings. It looked as though his squadron had taken one, while Lily's had taken the other. That left him and Lily with the last room, which the blonde was now entering with her own sleeping bag.
He quickly grabbed his own and followed her inside, where he saw that the mattress had been positioned in the center of the room. Lily's bag had already been placed on the left side of the room, so he stowed his away on the right.
"So, cozy enough for you?" Lily asked as she unrolled her sleeping bag and put her pillow down.
"Looks that way." He shrugged, setting his own sleeping bag down.
"We shouldn't take too long here. I'd like to get to the showers before the rest of the girls here show up." Lily continued, leaning over to open up her suitcase. The lid practically popped open from how stuffed full it was, and she quickly pulled out a towel and a fluffy yellow bathrobe.
"We still have to bring the rest of our belongings inside..." Ichika frowned, before he realized something.
"The rest of you can go on ahead. I'll have the men's showers to myself, so I can bring the rest of our stuff inside without worrying about waiting in line." He replied.
"Lucky you! Well, if you insist..." Lily shrugged, grabbing up her belongings and crawling to the room exit. Ichika followed her out, moving past her as she spread the news to the rest of the girls. He promptly began lugging the remaining bags outside into the tent, while the rest of the girls got ready inside. As luck would have it, he finished before they left, and quickly gathering up a pair of pajama pants and a towel, was able to leave alongside them.
As it turned out, Ichika ended up being the first one back as well. This was unsurprising, considering how at least one other squadron had managed to beat him to the punch, resulting in a line already forming for the girls' shower. His money was on Laura's, but Tatenashi was also a possibility.
In any case, that left him alone in the tent with nothing to do. He considered calling up Ori for a chat, but ultimately decided against it. In the end, a glance at his watch told him that it would probably be for the best if he were to get some sleep now. Keeping the light on, he wrapped himself in his sleeping bag and closed his eyes. However, sleep proved difficult to achieve, and he soon heard the girls arrive and enter.
"Ichika?" He heard Theresa ask.
"I think he's asleep. We should be too." Lily replied. He heard the sound of zippers as the girls moved into their respective quarters, followed by rustling.
"I'll leave my headlamp in the atrium. If anyone needs to get up in the middle of the night, take it." Lily said after a few moments. Then, she turned off the light and made her way into the officers' bedroom. Ichika felt her stoop and shuffle around before getting into the sleeping bag.
"Ichika, are you awake?" He heard her whisper.
"Yes." He replied.
"Ah... Good night." She replied.
"Good night." He replied, and it wasn't long before he fell asleep.
The following morning, Ichika awoke face to face with a sleeping Lily. Evidently one of them had shifted during the night, probably Lily judging by her sleeping bag being halfway unzipped.
Carefully so as not to wake her, he began slowly moving to try and get some distance between them. There was still a whole week to go, and the last thing he wanted was to make things awkward between them now!
His hopes of silent escaped were dashed when Lily shifted and he quickly froze, shutting his eyes and pretending to sleep.
"Hm?" He heard her pause a moment later. Then, after a few moments of silence he heard a rustle, followed by a sigh of relief. He opened his eyes to see Lily stretching. Of course, it was right at that moment that, as her back was arched, her bathrobe slipped behind her.
"Huh?" She looked down, and in doing so, made eye contact. She blinked, then her face reddened.
"A-Ah! D-Don't look!" She scrambled around, drawing her sleeping bag around her.
A moment later, laughter broke out from the room where the rest of her squadron was sleeping.
"I called it! First day!" He heard Catelyn exclaim.
"You said it would happen on the evening of the first day!" Sarah shouted back.
"You said second day! Don't be a sore loser, pay up!" Catelyn replied, still laughing.
"What's going on?" Theresa's groggy voice came from the other side of the tent.
"Lily just-"
"S-Shut up!" Lily exclaimed, pulling her sleeping bag tighter around herself and looking like she wanted nothing more than to disappear.
The tent was silent for a few moments.
"She sounds so embarrassed..." He heard Cai say, quieter now.
"Yeah, she didn't mind it when she was flashing us back in the-"
"Shut up!" Lily exclaimed again. At this point, Ichika's face was almost as red as hers. He quickly turned around, and Lily took the opportunity to make herself decent.
Of course Lily would start crushing on him as well. Granted, he suspected it long before then, but now it was plain as day. He stifled a sigh of exasperation. Why was it that the beautiful girls with powerful IS suits and unusual backstories never stayed as just friends? Now, he would have to try and figure out a way to let her down gently enough that she wouldn't hold a grudge and would remain friends.
Their faces were still beet red when the group assembled outside. The sun was just rising, and a glance at his watch told Ichika that there was still a good hour to go before they were due for roll call.
With that said, breakfast was already being served in the form of hot pancakes, freshly cooked sausage, and scrambled eggs that were surprisingly not the consistency and taste of rubber. There were also about five tubs full to the brim with what he quickly recognized as Giorgi's own personal Mannaya Kasha. He shuddered, remembering the bland porridge that the Russian man somehow could consume and produce in industrial quantities.
Looking at the volumes of food available, it looked like the vast majority of latecomers would only have the porridge available to them.
Thanking his lucky stars, he gathered up a pair of pancakes and some sausage, before noticing Giorgi casting a reproachful look at him. Rolling his eyes, he added a dollop of the porridge onto his plate as well, before taking a seat with the rest of his group. A moment later, Laura scooted over to him from where she sat.
"So, how was your first night?" She asked.
"It went about as well as I thought it would." Ichika shrugged, deciding to not mention the little episode with Lily.
"It's like training all over again!" Laura smiled, digging into her own porridge.
"That applies to all of us. Drill Sergeant Bodewig over here has been drilling us in rapid tent setup ever since we got it." One of her squadmates piped up.
"Yeah, we could probably do it in our sleep at this point." One of Charlotte's girls added.
"That explains how you were able to get to the showers so fast..." Sarah muttered.
"Yeah. That and I may have cheated a little during baggage recovery." Laura smirked, tapping at her eyepatch.
"Ah, I see how it is." Ichika laughed.
More students filtered in as they ate. Those that came in first quickly grabbed pancakes with excitement, while those that came in later would grab some porridge while looking at the earlier arrivals with jealousy.
Finally, the time came and Giorgi appeared, megaphone in one hand, a rolled up poster under his arm, and a bundle of papers in the other.
"Alright, you all have five minutes to finish eating! When you're done, form a line in front of the tables! When I call your name, indicate that you are present. If someone you know is not present, please tell me where they last were so that I can check up on them!" He announced.
Ichika quickly finished eating, and the line quickly formed on time. It was clear that a few groups were missing in their entirety, as there was no way that the line that formed was comprised of everyone attending. Indeed, there were several long pauses when Giorgi did roll call, and one group ended up stumbling into line, still half asleep, while he was calling their names out.
Finally, roll call was finished and Giorgi addressed the assembled students once again.
"Alright! Now that you're all here, it's time to explain what's going on!" He unrolled the poster, revealing a large spreadsheet, where each group had a row. The first column was filled completely with check marks.
"As I have said before, this exercise is a friendly competition between groups. Over the course of this week, there will be many events for you to compete in. Some will be available week-round. Others will only be available on certain days, while others will be tasks that you have a week to work on and complete. You will be graded on each task you complete, and receive points accordingly, although if you are unsatisfied with your score, you can repeat most tasks to try and improve it." He paused.
"You shall all be pleased to note that every group has received full marks for basic readiness, and every group here has received full score for first-day attendance." He smiled, before putting the score-board down and grabbing the paper bundle.
"Here is the full list of tasks to do. For the most part, you are free to complete them as you desire. Take one packet per group. If you are feeling particularly generous, take one for a group not in attendance here as well, or if you're greedy, take two for yourself." There was a small round of laughter at that.
"Finally, I have compiled a list of groups now allowed to light campfires. Do note that firewood must be purchased from the camp site. Gathering or cutting down wood from the forest is strictly prohibited, and I will not tolerate theft. Any questions?" He asked.
"How will you grade all our performances? There's a lot of us, and only one of you. You can't be everywhere at once!" Lily asked.
"Technology is a wonderful thing. Miss Mallory here is very correct, I cannot be everywhere at once. Fortunately, I was able to get around that problem thanks to Mr. Orimura here, who generously lent his IS suit's production capability to build much of the equipment that you will be seeing over the course of the week. This includes a complex surveillance network that streams live footage of your performance to IS Academy faculty for evaluation." Giorgi replied.
"I see..." Lily replied, looking over at Ichika with a raised eyebrow. Ichika shrugged in response to her glare, and shifted slightly as the attention of everyone present was directed at him.
"Is there anything else?" Giorgi asked. When no more questions came, he set the stack of paper down.
"Alright, take what you need and start planning out your week!" With that, the meeting was adjourned, and Ichika quickly grabbed a packet before his group headed back to their tent.
"Alright Ichika, I believe you have some explaining to do! You told me you knew nothing about this!" Lily said.
The ten of them were back in the tent, sitting around the event schedule packet.
"I didn't. Giorgi made the templates, and then requested use of my IS to manufacture them. All I know is that he built quite a few shipping containers' full of various items that he had me deploy into trucks that took them to the camp site in advance." He replied.
"Why do I not believe that?" Lily asked.
"Believe what you want. It's the truth." Ichiika replied. Lily stared him in the eye for a moment before shaking her head.
"Whatever, what's done is done. So, what do we have to work with?" She asked, flipping open the packet until she reached a list of tasks.
"Hmm... Coordinated obstacle course, Wednesday and Thursday only... Volleyball competition, Friday... Blindfolded rock climbing?" She paused. The rest of the girls crowded around to see.
"I... I foresee a lot of bruised foreheads." Catelyn muttered.
"Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes?" Theresa exclaimed a moment later.
"Oh, that's got to be good!" Sakura added.
"It says here that we have all week to build a boat capable of racing across the lake and back!" Cai pointed.
"With what?" Shizune demanded.
"It says that materials are provided... We have to pick them up from the parking lot." Rei pointed to the line below.
"Then I guess we have our first objective. Shall we?" Lily asked.
"I guess... We still need to decide what to do today." Ichika replied.
"Our options are pretty limited. There aren't many tasks available for the moment. Giorgi probably needs some time to set them up." Lily said.
"Then that gives us time to plan ahead, and maybe knock out some simpler tasks early on." Theresa said.
"Um... I just noticed something." Sarah said, pointing to a section on the next page.
"Meals will be provided at 7:00 AM and 8:00 PM. If your group wishes to have a meal between these times, ingredients are available on a first-come, first-serve basis in the kitchens at the central pavilion..." Lily read aloud.
"That could be a problem. I happen to enjoy having lunch." Ayane said.
"I don't see much of a problem. I can cook, ingredients are available, and we brought some extra food if all else fails." Lily shrugged.
"Agreed. I can cook as well, so we've got no problem on that front. So long as we can arrive on time, we shouldn't have any problem getting lunch." Ichika added.
"Whew..." Sarah sighed in relief.
"Now the question is, what do we do today?" Ichika asked.
"It looks like he's still setting things up. Most of the tasks don't open up until tomorrow." Theresa said.
"There are still a few tasks available today. They're pretty simple, but we might as well knock them out now." Sakura replied.
"Also, there's this weeklong task. Canoe building... It says supplies are available for pickup in the parking lot. We can carry those over here and start work." Ayane added.
"I'd say that's something good to do this evening. First though, we should try to knock out some of the easier tasks so that we can do the more exciting ones coming up!" Shizune said.
"Agreed." Sakura said.
"Then I guess it's settled. Shall we start now?" Lily asked.
"Why not? This definitely won't take the whole day." Shizune answered. The rest of the group agreed, and soon they were heading out again.
The tasks of the day had proven to be rather underwhelming, Lily thought as she folded a piece of paperboard into shape. The current objective was to build a dropper capable of safely getting an egg down from the roof of the kitchen building to the ground. It was a trivial task more suited to elementary school science classes than this, and that sentiment seemed shared among the entirety of the group.
Even Ichika seemed struggling to stay interested in the task at hand, and he was the one who had basically single-handedly designed the whole thing.
"You sure this will work?" She asked.
"If it does, it does. If not, then we've still got two shots." Ichika replied from where he was painstakingly taping together a bunch of cotton into a cushion, which would surround the egg. This would go into a makeshift roll cage made out of plastic straws that was currently being assembled by several of the other girls.
They were far from the only group working on the task. Indeed, just at that moment, there was a shouted warning from the rooftop, and Lily ducked down behind the table. A moment later, there was a splat as something failed to do its job.
"Alright, inner padding is done." Ichika reported.
"I've finished the lower half of the outer casing. The upper half will be done soon." Lily reported.
"The roll cage is three quarters done. I think it will hold if you put the egg in." Theresa reported.
"Alright, let's try it." Ichika replied. Indeed, installation of egg into cover was done without issue. Soon the device was complete, and it was time to drop.
They carefully carried it up the stairs to the roof, and Lily ended up getting the honors of dropping it. Holding it over the edge, she lined it up over the blue tarp below while Ichika adjusted the camera.
"Heads up!" She shouted, smirking as everyone below dove for cover, before releasing the egg.
The large round casing promptly thudded into the ground, bounced once, and then lay still. Shizune and Theresa, who had remained on the ground, promptly ran out from around the corner and picked it up. She carefully opened it, and Lily watched as she drew out... A pristine egg.
"It worked!" She exclaimed, holding up the egg to a nearby camera. There was a small smattering of applause from the other assembled students before they returned to work.
"So, what now?" Lily asked.
"Everything is done for the day, short of carrying our canoe supplies over." Ichika replied, gesturing over at where a bunch of long containers lay stacked at the edge of the parking lot.
"We've yet to have lunch, and I'm pretty hungry." Lily replied. Then, she heard a sound in the distance. After a moment, she identified it as wheels on gravel. A few moments later, Ichika heard it too, and she followed his gaze just in time to see a bus turn into the parking lot. Through the tinted windows she was just able to recognize the face of Chifuyu, and her heart froze. Allowing her eyes to naturally follow the bus and not linger on the woman inside, she kept her face quizzical.
"What's that?" She asked instead as the bus came to a stop.
"I'm not..." Ichika trailed off as several instructors disembarked.
"Huh, looks like Giorgi decided to call in some help after all. I was wondering how he would manage some of the stuff on the list... Is that Chifuyu-nee?" He exclaimed as his sister disembarked.
"Looks like it." Lily replied. There was no mistaking it, of course. It was Chifuyu, and that meant danger. Out of all the people at IS Academy, it was Chifuyu that posed the single greatest threat to her. She knew full well what that monster making her way to the building was capable of, and that she would stand no chance against her. If she displayed any of her enhancements at all in front of the older woman, she could be found out. To make matters even worse, Chifuyu had known her older sister when they were young, and Lily knew full well that there was a family resemblance between her and Squall. While her most distinctive feature, the bright red eyes that she'd inherited from her mother, were concealed behind a veil of blue and her hair had been dyed a darker shade of blonde, her facial structure could still give her away under close scrutiny.
She stilled her hand, preventing it from unconsciously reaching for an IS that was no longer there. Nothing could give her away. Every action would have to be controlled, and controlled well. If Chifuyu was already suspicious, she would need an escape plan ready. In a worst-case scenario, she could use the tag she kept stowed away in her wallet to teleport the IS to her and use that. However, her orders were clear. No long distance teleportation whatsoever. If Code Black learned of this capability, then Coronation could actually be in real danger. Even then the chance was slim, but the operation needed to go on exactly as planned, otherwise even if it did succeed, it would all be for nothing.
"I thought she had a class to teach." Ichika mused as he headed for the stairs.
"You go on ahead. I'll start work on lunch." Lily said.
"Really? Thanks, Lily." Ichika replied with a smile, and Lily allowed him a small blush as she returned it.
"It's no trouble at all." She said, following him down the stairs. No trouble at all indeed.
"Chifuyu-nee? What are you doing here?" Ichika exclaimed as he went over to meet his sister.
"It's a funny story. You see, a certain older instructor decided that, in spite of his earlier objections, he could actually use some help after all. Apparently, the incredibly complex and futuristic surveillance system he commissioned would not have been sufficient to referee and manage the more complex events he had planned." She replied, amused.
"So he called for help. But why did you show up? I thought you had a class to teach."
"A class that this little exercise gutted quite thoroughly. I was down to six students, and Maya volunteered to take up my duties while I took a week's vacation, in her own words." Chifuyu replied, walking beside him.
"So, how has it been so far?" She asked.
"Interesting. We haven't gotten to do any of the really exciting stuff because it wasn't set up yet, but that changes tomorrow. In the meantime, we're about to have lunch." He replied.
"Ah, I'd offer to join you, but we stopped to eat along the way." Chifuyu replied.
"It's no trouble at all. In any case, I think Giorgi might need your help first." Ichika replied.
"Alright, I'll go meet with him. Do you know where he is?" Ichika shrugged in response.
"Figures. In that case, enjoy your lunch while I track him down. I'm suddenly looking forward to this." Chifuyu replied. Ichika laughed in response, waving goodbye to his sister as she headed off. Then he headed back to the kitchen.
Lily had evidently wasted no time in getting to work, and with her hair tied back she was busy chopping up meat.
"I'm making curry. Do you mind helping?" She asked as he approached.
"Of course not. What do you need?" He replied, and he was soon following her instructions to the letter.
"So, what is your sister doing here?" She asked after a few minutes.
"Giorgi decided that he needed help running this after all, so he called for it." He replied.
"Ah... Should I expect to serve eleven?" Lily asked.
"Nah, she's not joining us for lunch." He replied, and Lily nodded.
"Alright, more for me then!" She smiled.
It took a while for the curry to be finished, although the smell was enough to stop any impatient group-mates in their tracks when they inevitably came in to ask where the food was.
Still, it was done in due time, and Lily basked in the praise her squadron lavished on them when they delivered it. She promptly gave herself a generous portion and dug in. Ichika did the same, and soon lighthearted conversation sounded out across the table. Cecilia's group ended up joining them for lunch. Lily had made enough curry to share, and they contributed some of the meal that Cecilia and Rin had cooked up together, which was comprised of some of the most delicious-looking pork and rice that Ichika had ever seen. A hesitant bite told him that it tasted no worse than it looked, and he was sure to give his compliments to the chefs.
Cecilia in particular was ecstatic, and Rin ended up regaling him with the tale of how she had given the British girl a crash course in proper cooking in the lead-up to the exercise. Still, the horror story of what Cecilia had originally been dumping onto her food to make it look good did nothing to detract from the meal as it was now.
Once lunch was done, it was a relatively easy task to lift and move the container full of building supplies to where they had set up camp, and the rest of the day was spent relaxing in and around the tent. Of course, everyone knew that the next day would be when the real fun began, and after reading through the packet again, Ichika found himself looking forward to it.
A/N: Alright, with all that done, it's time for my commentary.
If it wasn't obvious already, this arc will feature Lily quite heavily. I've said it before and I say it again, it's really fun to have their cover personas bounce off against each other, while bits and pieces of their true selves leak through. With that said, I don't think there is too much for me to comment on this chapter, as much of it is ultimately setup.
However, there are a few points that I would like to cover. First is Lily herself, who is starting to get attached to her squadmates. I took the opportunity to elaborate a bit on her upbringing as well, specifically with her originally being raised in civilian life but unable to interact with her supposed peers due to the maturity gap between them. Only now is she in a position to interact with people that she can relate to who are not Phantom Task themselves, and like almost any person in such a situation, she starts making friends. Of course, friends or not, the mission comes first...
Then there was Giorgi's motivational speech. It has been far too long since I've been able to have him act like a true mentor to Ichika, or anyone for that matter, so this was something that was very much necessary. It's about time that we had teachers actually acting as teachers again, since I haven't really had the chance to show them doing their job in a long time. I hope it came out as good as I intended it to be. This was a difficult piece to write, but nonetheless enjoyable.
Next up, the task today. Honestly, it was a bit of last minute addition, as the task I originally intended to use turned out to be so complex that I ended up shifting it to a future chapter so that I could actually do it justice. Thus, I ended up scrambling to replace it, and with some assistance from friends I was able to come up with the egg drop on short notice. It certainly wasn't exciting in and of itself, and didn't even showcase much of the actual purpose of this exercise, but it ended up serving as a nice segue into the final scenes of the chapter.
I look forward to getting to the meat of this arc in the next chapter, and I hope you are all enjoying it thus far. See you next time!
EDIT: The Declassified Files has been updated with entries for both the Byakushiki and the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Both are now present in the fourth chapter.