Orimura residence, next morning. Lincoln and Ichika were sprawled out on the floor of the boy's room, while High Card and Chifuyu were snoring in the master bedroom.
"ZZZZ...ZZZZ-uh...nnn..." Chifuyu was the first to wake up, "Oh my head..."
"Hmm..." High Card stretched, "Good morning, Chifuyu..."
"Oh...Hi, High..."
"You feeling ok?"
Chifuyu clawed her hair, "Feels like I fucked Death ten times over..."
"Well, I heard that a cold shower helps-"
"I don't think so..." Chifuyu left the room and slumped over to the hallway. But when she was about to enter Ichika's room, a doorbell ring pierced her head, "Agh! Ow! Shit, I'm coming! I'm coming already!"
Who should be at the door other than Tina, Hana, Cecilia, Houki, Charlotte, Lori, Leni, Laura, and Rin.
"You can stop ringing the doorbell, Rin," Cecilia muttered.
"You know boys are," Rin grinned, "You wake'em up with constant noise."
Lori sighed, "Maybe in America, but not-"
"AAHH?!" The doorbell suddenly screamed, "THE FUCK YOU PEOPLE WANT?!"
Everyone shrieked.
Lori went, "WHY BOTHER?!"
"Lori?!" Chifuyu jolted, "What're you doing here?!"
"We came for a student teacher hangout," Lori answered.
"We?! Who else is there?"
"Me, Leni, and everyone who has a personal IS."
"Come back later! I'm busy hustling a dust bunny!"
Suddenly, High Card's voice came on, "Ok, lady! You need to shower!"
"Get your giant mittens off me!"
"Go! And make sure the temperature doesn't go over 20 degrees!"
"Yeah, yeah, keep your nipples off me!"
Tina cowered, "What is happening?..."
"The destruction of reality..." Houki murmured.
"Uh, sorry about that!" High Card waved to the camera, "Chifuyu had an episode last night and still has yet to recover!"
"Sure..." Rin squinted.
High Card used her cellphone to bypass the security password and open the gate, "Why don't you folks make yourselves at home and I'll-"
And then, Chifuyu- "GOOOOOOOD! I THINK I SHIT OUT AN ICEBERG! WHY'D YOU SAY 20 DEGREES?!"
"You use Celsius, don't you?!"
"WELL, FUCK YOU VERY MUCH!"
"You have any idea who I'm talking too?!" High Card screamed, then shut off the camera, "I'll see y'all inside."
"WAIT, WHO WERE YOU TALK-"
-BZZT-
Dead silence for a good minute.
Dead silence for a good five minutes after the girls settled down in the living room. The pilots on one sofa, embarrassed over what they heard. Chifuyu and High Card on the other sofa, embarrassed over what they said.
"So..." Rin was the first to break the silence, "...where did Ichika go?..."
Chifuyu didn't uncover her face.
"Upstairs," High Card said, "Turn left to face the bathroom. Door's on the right."
Lori recognized that layout and instinctively went upstairs, with everyone except Leni following behind.
"Where are you going?" Houki asked Lori.
"This place is the exact same layout as my old house," Lori said.
"But why?"
"I don't know... I just feel like I have to..."
The girls entered the living room and found the boys dead asleep on the floor.
"Aw, how adorable!" Tina cooed.
"Like brothers-in-crime," Charlotte nodded.
"Is that how they say it?"
"Je ne sais pas."
The girls surrounded the boys and tried to poke them awake.
Cecilia tried to blow some air throughout her fan to his armpits, but she got no response, "He doesn't seem to be sensitive to cold."
Rin tried dangling a feather right onto Lincoln's nose, but she got nothing, "Dead fish...nothing."
"Perhaps a loud noise is required," Laura said.
Tina partially deployed her gauntlets, "Oh, I got that covered.
The boys went "...Nnn..."
"Wait, they're coming to," Lori stopped them.
"Dang it..." Tina groaned.
"Uhhh...Huh?" Ichika was the first up. He looked around and saw the girls on their knees, encircling him with curious eyes, "You guys are here early..."
"I've been known to be fashionably late," Cecilia giggled, "I'm correcting that problem with this play date."
"Uh...Huh..." Ichika sighed, "And we're being everyone?"
"Yeah..." Houki nodded, "Rin dragged us into it, and we've been worried sick about you."
"Hey," Rin put her hands up, "All I heard was "We needed to get out more". I didn't say nothing about no play date."
"Ok, I get it," Ichika nodded, "Let me get changed, and then we can-"
"I doubt that you normal attire would do," Cecilia immediately grabbed Ichika's hand.
"Yeah!" Houki grabbed his other hand, "I'll see if there's any acceptable attire for you in this dump heap."
"Wha-hey!" Rin was caught off guard.
"Quite right," Cecilia nodded, "at least until we can get you more fashionable clothing."
Ichika blinked, "Wha-did you just say dump heap?!"
"Oh, you know what I mean."
"How dense are you?"
"Gummy's?" Rin completely missed what was happening.
"Ugh...keep it down..." Lincoln mumbled, "I'm trying to sleep..."
"It's morning," Lori said.
"Don't care..." Lincoln rolled over, his hands dropping onto Lori's lap. It didn't take him long to shock himself awake, "D'AH! WHAT! What am I laying on?!"
"Hi," Lori waved.
"HOLY-" Lincoln jumped, "What's everyone doing here?!"
"We came to check on you."
"Wh-why?! Where's Hana?!"
"She'll come later," Laura said, "Right now, we need to get everyone to the..." and froze.
Rin noticed Laura giving off, "Uh...you good, ear loop?"
"...amusement...park..." Laura hissed.
"How about an indoor water park?" Rin suggested.
"...a slight improvement..." Laura hissed.
Meanwhile, Chifuyu was downstairs making breakfast while Leni sat on the couch with her knees tucked in.
"Here," Chifuyu walked in with a pair of grilled cheese sandwiches and orange juice, "It's all we've got after the fridge got totaled last night."
Leni didn't look up. She just took the cup and drank it whole.
Chifuyu knew that face and body motion. She sat beside Leni, "It's gonna be ok. We're just gonna have a girl's day out. You got nothing to worry about. Those bad people aren't coming back."
Leni was very unnerved, "I'm not sure..."
"Hey, you've got the Brunhilde on your side," Chifuyu reassured her, "If I can handle a bunch of spoiled pilots, I can handle a mere deviant."
Hearing that gave Leni immediate flashbacks of the woman formerly known as Reiko and made her shiver.
Chifuyu groaned, "Yep...good one, Chi-Chan..."
"Hey, Chi-chi!" High Card suddenly came down the stairs in a summer outfit.
"High?" Chifuyu said slightly surprised, "You haven't dissipated yet?"
"Why would I?" High Card responded excitedly, "We're going on a play date!"
"Don't say that..."
"What else would you call it?" High Card pointed to the front door.
There stood seven girls eager to show off their new threads, and two boys not so eager to show off anything.
Chifuyu sulked, "Oh joy..."
"Why do I get the feeling that this was a horrible idea?..." Ichika mouthed.
Three hours later, the entire group arrived at the Adventure Dome. Almost all the girls were ready to have themselves a true beach day.
"YAHOO!" Rin, Tina, Charlotte, Hana, and Maya (of all people) were the first off the van and into the water, "SPLASH BATTLE!"
High Card, Houki, and Cecilia eased themselves onto the beach. They had the umbrella and at set up for a good hour of de-stressing.
"It's not like you to take a siesta such as this," Cecilia commented.
"After all the crazy things that happened," Houki rolled over on her back, "I need it."
Chifuyu, Ichika, Lori, Laura, and Lincoln were last off the van, not at all enthusiastic about the venture.
"Again with the pointless riffraff?..." Laura groaned.
"I know, but we need a morale recovery," Ichika thought, "Maybe we can get everyone back up to speed with this one trip."
"There are more conventional and more convenient ways to accomplish that."
"No," Lori said, pointing to Leni who was still cowering in the van, "The beach will do."
Chifuyu sighed, "Ok..." She walked over to Maya, who was caught in a Mexican Swim-Off with Charlotte and Hana.
"You two should not be here," Charlotte said.
"It's a personal request from Miss Orimura," Maya grinned.
"Lincoln asked me to come," Hana responded.
"Then, they are both fools," Charlotte simply replied.
"Miss Yamada!" Chifuyu came in at the wrong time, "I need you to-" SPLOOSH! "BLAGPHFMPH?!"
"?#@*%!" Charlotte, Maya, and Hana froze. They launched their splash attacks at each other. But Chifuyu was the one who suffered the hit. And they prepared for the worst, "Oh crud..."
Back at the van, Lincoln found out that he was barred from joining the main festivities, "This is a massive overreach, dude."
"I'm serious," Ichika said, "You cannot join us at the Big Dump until you set things straight with Lori and Leni."
"Those two can take a gator to Davy Jones's locker for all I care!"
"And yet, something in here-" Ichika poked Lincoln's chest "-told you to do it for them."
"It's not gonna spill out to everyone else!"
As soon as Lincoln said that, a massive tidal wave erupted from Charlotte and Hana's location. Maya was swept downstream, while Charlotte and Hana were swimming away from Chifuyu's aqueous rampage; with Rin and Tina happily joining in the chase; and High Card, Houki, and Cecilia simply observing the spectacle while sipping martinis on the beach side.
Lincoln's brain short-circuited, "...you know, that's a good idea." He immediately scurried over to Laura, Lori, and Leni. When he saw the trio exit the vehicle, he called over to them, "...ahem."
The trio turned to him.
"...can we talk?" Lincoln murmured.
Ichika signaled Laura to back away from the Louds and give them time for themselves. Lincoln made a confused face towards Ichika, but he pressed on to isolate the group.
Leni took one look at Lincoln's eyes and immediately hid behind Lori.
"It's ok. It's ok," Lori massaged Leni's shoulder, "He won't do anything to you."
Lincoln slowly approached them until he was two feet away. He could see the uneasiness in their eyes, so he cut his words short, "Shall we?"
Meanwhile, Charlotte, Maya, and Hana were determined to fix whatever has plague the Brunhilde...after running into a forest-type juice bar.
"What has gotten into her?!" Hana screamed.
"Perhaps it was an unfortunate situation of circumstances?!" Charlotte panted.
"Yeah, the triple Aqua Edge works wonders..." Maya mouthed sarcastically.
"YOU'RE DEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAD!" Chifuyu sounded her battle cry throughout the park.
All three screamed and fled the scene. But it was no use. As soon as they ran out into the open, Chifuyu snuck up from behind and tackled them into the pool.
Lincoln saw the rampage go down, as well as the trail it left in its wake, "Might wanna get some Kool-Aid afterward!"
Suddenly, Tina in a two-piece string bikini ran up to him, "You missed the rodeo, boy! I'm out here yodeling over her-" dinosaur "-RAARAAAARRRRRARARARRRRGH-" normal "-and everyone just lumped up and fled!"
"I'm not one for running people out of town, but-"
"But NOTHING! It was the absolute best thing ever!"
"What, Chifuyu snapping the entire story in half?"
"Your story, or theirs?" Tina pointed her thumb to Lori, who was easing Leni into a hot tub.
"See? Warm, isn't it?" Lori said.
"Um...yeah... I guess..."
"Ok. Slowly lower yourself into the bath."
Leni took herself into the warm water step by step. She was getting comfortable with the feeling around her body, until the water touched her bottom- "AAAAH! NO! NO! NO!"
"Ok! Ok! Ok, ok..." Lori managed to calm her down, "No water time needed..."
"What is happening here?" Lincoln stumbled upon Leni's freak out.
"PTSD," Lori answered, "From the...you know..."
"And you thought it was a good idea to bring her here?"
"Tina roped me into this. I wanted to stay home."
Lincoln shook his head, "Like that could've worked."
Leni ran back to her table, where no water could get her.
"A spectacular failure," Lincoln sneered, "as usual."
Lori grimace-
"Ok! Enough!" High Card suddenly interrupted their struggle, "You two! Splash Mountain! Now!"
"Wha-how'd you get here?!" Lincoln shouted.
"What about Leni?" Lori asked.
"None of your business, and I will watch Leni," High Card said in Lori's old tone, "You two need to resolve this problem two weeks ago."
"With her?!" Lincoln snapped, "Like hell I would-" He was stopped by High Card's death glare, which was just Lori's death glare with a fiery background plastered with all of his worst nightmares- "...skip the hang out with my own class-" the death glare intensified "-sister! Yeah, I'd love to hang out with my older sister!"
High Card's aura returned to normal, "Good." She then tended to Leni, leaving him at the mercy of Lori's sharp, thorny heart pieces. Which Ichika...
"YAHOOOO!"
"Ok! Take it easy!"
...was at the mercy of the others' pieces pieces...
"Onward, my trusty steed!"
"Rin! I'm gonna fall~~~"
"No worries! Hup-"
"OOFREED?!" Ichika landed on his backside, "We have to work on your spasms..."
"Oh my," Cecilia found him, "Looks like you're in need of a cool down."
"Uh...huh..." Ichika groaned.
"Spasms?!" Rin twitched, "Excuse me?!"
"Well, there's no one else here," Cecilia picked him up, "Let's hurry over to the pool, shall we?"
"But what about the others?" Ichika asked.
"Don't worry about that. Everyone else has gone ahead with their personal favorite," Cecilia pointed to the enormously powerful six-lane water slide, complete with ramps, splashes, and screaming.
"..." Ichika blinked, "...yeah, where's the pool?"
"This way, Ichika," Cecilia led him on, "We can't let them have all the fun, so let's get a move on."
"Hey, Ichika!" Rin shouted, "Aren't you forgetting about someone?! Ichika!"
And just like that...Rin was all alone. At first, she got angry, "Grrrr! If I had that conniving meathead all to myself, I'd throttle him until..." then she suddenly sighed, "Dangit, what is with me today?..." She didn't know what was coming over her, so she decided to relieve her stress at the Splash Mountain attraction, "Well, at least I can-pffttt?!"
Where she found Chifuyu and Charlotte side by side at the bottom of the mountain.
"Miss Orimura!" Rin called.
"Hm?" Chifuyu looked behind her, "Oh, Huang."
"What'cha doing with Dunois?"
"Keeping her under control," Chifuyu patted Charlotte's head, "No doubt she's picked up a few pranking skills from the boys."
"It was a spur of the moment..." Charlotte whimpered.
"Suurrrrre, it was..."
"Where are they, by the way?" Rin asked.
"One of them is up there," Chifuyu pointed to the summit, where Lincoln and Lori were next to ride.
And where they received the worst news of the day from the lifeguard, "This is a couple's ride. One person sits down, and the other person hugs the front very tightly."
"WHAT?!" Lincoln and Lori screamed.
"It's a safety precaution," the lifeguard said, "You can always exit the ride via the staircase."
Which was a windy twisty trip down, much slower than the way up, and much much slower than the actual slide.
"Uuuuuuuuuugh..." Lincoln let out a groan.
"Want me to ride front?" Lori said.
"No! No," Lincoln flinched at the sound of that, "I will take point...as usual." Then, he sat down on the entry point, "Holy-Uh-Hey!" But there was no tube, just his but against the water current.
"Gotcha!" Lori instinctively grabbed his hand to prevent him from falling into the ride.
The two shared a well deserved, "Uhhhh-"
"I have him, miss," the lifeguard said while holding Lincoln steady, "You can get seated now."
"Ok," Lori sat right behind him and grabbed his belly, which already made him feel uncomfortable, "Is this good?"
"Tighter," the lifeguard responded.
"Well..." Lori looked to her side as she pressed her body against his.
"Hey, don't!" Lincoln reacted.
"I literally don't have a choice!"
"You always have a choice!"
"Alright!" The lifeguard didn't pay attention to the squabbling, "You guys have fun!"
They felt the push, "Huh-Wait, aaiiiiiIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAAAAAAAAAAAA?!?!?!"
They were thrown into the whirling torrent of dark blue and aqua whitish blueish thingishishes. It was an endless tunnel that allowed for looping the ride and sliding against gravity.
"WAAAAAHAHAHAAAAAAA!"
"I'M GONNA FALL-" SPLOTCH "-EEP!" Lori got shaken so hard she grabbed onto Lincoln even tighter.
"LEGGO OF ME-PFMHBM?!" Which caused him to jerk his head back and set it between her protruding chest-ceps, which caused him to rest his elbows against her biceps, which caused them both to remain silent throughout the entire ride: Lori for fear of being alone in the windy dark water chamber, and Lincoln for fear of puberty.
When the light finally came, they were launched ten meters high into the air, giving them a brief glimpse of the calmness of the open world. They both had a feeling of amazement unfamiliar to them, before being shoved into the cold pool of reality.
When they finally came to, they saw Rin and Hana whooping, and Charlotte and Chifuyu smiling.
"New cannonball record, Linky-dink!" Rin cheered.
"You held on the entire way!" Hana said.
"We did?..." Lincoln cringed.
Chifuyu went to Lori, "Finally got the guts to come out here, huh?"
"That's not the right way to use them," Lori groaned while adjusting her top, "Where's everyone else?"
"They just came from the Water Dragster. You should've seen the look on their faces," Chifuyu giggled.
"After you utterly trashed them?"
"What else!"
Lori saw Lincoln get dragged away by Rin and Hana, "Uh, should I?"
"You can," Chifuyu suddenly lugged Lori to her side, "after we get a couple martinis."
"But I don't drink-"
"You do now!" Chifuyu dragged Lori away.
"Hey! You're still hungover! Put me down! Noooooooooooo~~~"
Lincoln saw the oldest sisters trudging their way to the nearest bar, "Ok, who screwed up their characters?"
"Oh, can it, high brow," Rin said, "We have a race to catch!"
"What, the Big Chute thing?"
"No, it's the Grand Rapid river," Hana said, "It winds it's way throughout the entire park, and then some."
"Great. I'm game," Lincoln sighed in relief.
The trio settled in their tubes at the start of the ride. And at first, everything seemed to go steady.
"Ahh..." Lincoln breathed, "Now, this is the life."
Rin kicked her legs up, "And you thought I meant we would raaaaaaaace..." stretch.
"I'm fine where I am," Hana yawned, "The bright sun, the lush green-" She was stopped by the sight of a woman hidden in the green. A woman with a mischievous face, trying to hold in her laughter, with her thumb sticking out between her middle and ring fingers.
"I could get use to this," Lincoln's voice brought Hana back.
"Uh, yeah...yeah..."
"You ok? Hana?"
"Of course!" Hana wiggled her tube closer to Lincoln, "I'm just happy we can finally get away from the school."
"Same here!" Rin lunged herself onto Lincoln's shoulder, "What'cha'll say to some hard rock beverages afterwards?"
"Sure!" Hana piqued, "I wanna try the Love Boat!"
"I'll have what she's having..." Lincoln said while trying to ignore Rin's slim body, soothing sweat, and gentle panting. Thankfully, a loud buzzer brought him out of his trance, "Oh, thank god!"
"Uh-oh..." Rin grinned.
"What? What Uh-oh?" Lincoln panicked.
"It's releasing the rapids!" Hana grabbed onto Lincoln, just as a giant surge of water rushed the group downstream, "Hold on!"
"YEEE-HAAA!" Rin grabbed Lincoln tighter and cheered on the rush.
"Where's this thing going?!" Lincoln screamed.
Downstream, Cecilia was happily humming along, with Ichika taking his time easing her along the calming river.
"It's true what they say," Cecilia smiled, "There's nothing quite like spending a hot summer day at the pool, don't you think?"
"I'd say that applies to any day," Ichika replied.
"Oh, if you insist, dear."
"Stop that..." Ichika winced before coming onto a river merge, "Say, I haven't seen any of the others."
"I think they'd rather gust their pointless struggles away rather than enjoy the moment as it comes..." Cecilia said while wafting her hands in the water.
"You don't say..." Ichika caught glimpse of her rather raunchy choice of beachwear. Just then, they heard the sound of oncoming water, "What's that?..."
Cecilia scoffed, "I'm sure it's just poorly designed ambiance-"
"GANGWAAAAAY!"
"But that isn't!" Cecilia jolted and jerked her eyes to the back.
And saw Lincoln, Rin, and Hana riding a massive wave in her direction:
"MOMMYYYYYYYYY!"
"COWABUNGAAAAA!"
"COLLISION IMMINENT?!"
"HOLY SHAMOLY!" Ichika heard the screams and started paddling for his life.
"RUUUUUUUUN!" Cecilia clung on to Ichika as he paddled as hard as he could, but the wave was getting closer and closer.
"OUTTA THE WAY, PEA BRAINS!" Rin flung herself onto Lincoln's tube (not at all paying attention to body orientation in relation to Lincoln's!) and unleashed her Ryuuhou, firing behind her to give herself and the wave a speed boost.
"Rin! Stop!" Hana tried to kick herself away, but she ended up flying onto Cecilia's tube.
"Get off me!" Cecilia screamed.
"The fuck, man?!" Ichika yelled...
...right before they hit the downhill.
Laura was walking with Houki trying to hunt down Ichika and Cecilia.
"Those conniving meatheads!" Houki growled, "When I find them, I'm gonna twist their bodies into human pretzels and feed them to rabid horses!"
"That is ill-advised," Laura said, "Horses cannot tolerate such a huge quantity of meat."
"Laura? Do you know what "figure-of-speech" means?"
"Is it a distraction technique?"
"..." Houki blanked out, "You cannot be serious..."
Then they heard the sound of rushing water.
"Ok, who leaked?" Houki sarcastically asked. But her pupils shrunk when she saw a tidal wave of Ichika, Lincoln, Rin, Hana, Cecilia slam into her and whisk her away to kingdom come, leaving Laura untouched and unbothered.
The group washed up on a nearby gathering area. Cecilia hung atop the whale sign like a beached whale. Houki landed on Ichika's back. Lincoln and Hana were dunked in the nearby greenery. Ichika's head was buried in the sand. And Rin floated onto the shore, with her tube dangling on one of her legs.
"Grrr..." Ichika moaned, his face blotched hot pink, "If I have to deal with the flesh one more time..."
"Um...Ichika?..." Houki whimpered.
"AWAY!" Ichika reached for one of his shirts and quickly covered Houki before anyone could see, "You feel ok?"
"A lot better, thanks..." Houki blushed.
"What's wrong?" Ichika saw Houki acting uncharacteristically shy.
"Um...your back's gotten a lot more...muscular..."
"It's all thanks to the daily training."
Rin suddenly plopped onto his shoulders, "Aren't you forgetting who trained you in the first place?"
"That was all Tatenashi!" Ichika groaned.
"Dangit, Ichika!" Rin started bopping his head, "You big dumb dummy dumb head!"
"Ow! Ow! What did I do?!"
"Hey, take it easy, Rin!" Houki flocked to get Rin off him.
"Come on then, ye red habanero!" Rin lugged Ichika along the chase.
"What's happening?!" Ichika ran away for some reason, "Liiincooooooooooooln?!"
Hana pushed her way out of the bushes, "Oh my head...Lincoln, where are you?" She saw Lincoln pop out with Houki's bra covering his eyes. "Yow!" She yelped, "Are you ok?!"
"What does "ok" mean anymore?..." Lincoln moaned as if he just lost his soul.
Cecilia slid down the whale and limped over to Lincoln, "Hello, handsome..."
"Oof!" Lincoln felt the full weight of a grown woman on his budding shoulders, "Urgh...help...me..."
Hana led them to a seat by the wading pool, then helped him set Cecilia on a lounge chair, "We should go somewhere else to relax."
"What about Cecilia?" Lincoln asked-
"Eeeheheheheheh..." Cecilia moaned in her stupor, "Why yes, I'd like a fanciful star trebuchet..."
Hana and Lincoln nodded and ran.
Moments later, they were sipping mocktails at the outdoor food court...well, Hana was.
Lincoln was sulking at the unfortunate occurrences that happened upon him, "I thought today would be simple, but I got bambBOOBled and ASSploited in the span of 20 minutes! What in the world is happening to me?!"
"I'm sure it's just a phase," Hana assured him, "It'll blow over eventually."
"What happens when it blows over?! Am I gonna get a Schwarzenegger makeover?! Will I grow three balls, two dicks, and a forehead nipple?!"
"Don't be ridiculous. That's not possible for us humans."
"Oh, like that's reassuring..." Lincoln collapsed on the table. But then he noticed that she wasn't the least bit flustered when he said the forbidden. Then he looked up and saw her peeking side to side, "You look like you're expecting something."
"Hm?" Hana was caught unawares.
"Did you invite somebody over?"
"Uh...sort of..."
"Wait, I didn't know you had a clique all your own."
"Well, it's not really mine...I'm just glad to be a part of it."
"It's all good," Lincoln said, "I'd really like to meet them."
"Actually," Hana piqued, "They're coming right now."
"Oh, okay, you had me worried there for a second," Lincoln sighed in relief, "So, where exactly are they?"
Right when Hana was about to answer him, someone else spooked him from behind, "Guess who!"
"Aah!" Lincoln flinched before he got his eyes covered, "What's happening?! Someone get her off me!"
"Hahaha, what'd I tell you, Forte?!" The person laughed while Lincoln was squirming, "Too damn attractable!"
"Rain!" Hana...said... "Not so hard!"
"Wait-Forte?!" Lincoln had a horrible shiver down his spine, "Hey-get off me-" He broke free and saw who held him. It was that same woman that knocked him out and almost killed him. That same woman who was posing as 'Akina' for over half a year, "No...not you..."
"Yeah, me," Rain winked, "You didn't think I'd let my prey get away from me, did you?"
"What are you doing here?! Who sent you?!" Lincoln tried to unleash his IS, but it was unresponsive, "And what did you do to the park?!"
"Easy, Lincoln," 'Hana' tried to calm him down, "We're here of our own volition."
"We?! Who's we?!"
"Well, me and her of course," Rain yanked him against the table and leaned on his back while cleaning out her ears, "My name is Rain Meusel. The girl over there is Forte Sapphire."
"Hana?!" Lincoln grunted and peeked over at 'Hana', "No...no no no, you can't be..."
"Yeah, I am," 'Hana' somberly admitted and took off her wig and contacts, revealing pink eyes behind dark blue hair that is tied in a long braid.
"Uh...wh...hahhh..." Lincoln nearly lost his mind when he saw her disguise come undone, "You mean...all this time..."
"It was my idea," Forte said, "When I heard that there was a second male pilot, I put into motion our plan to withdraw, then re-enroll as completely different people."
"Uhh...uuuu..." Lincoln was close to a mental breakdown, but it was triggered when Rain placed her chest on his back.
"What we didn't count on was your eclectic personality," Rain nudged, "How the hell did you manage to drag us into your own harem, huh?"
Lincoln let out a muffled shriek.
"Aw, did you hear that?" Rain cooed, "He wants to do a three-way!"
"I'm not opposed to it," Forte shrugged, "but he might be conflicted."
Meanwhile, Tina was fooling around with Laura, who seemed to have mistaken Tina's brashly playful advances for actually offensive advances. She tried to repel her, but Tina just kept coming back.
"Over here!" Tina poke.
"HAH!"
"Squirt!" Tina water gun.
"RUGH!"
"Pbbttt!" Tina Bubble Beam.
"HIYA!"
"Missed me!" Tina Tackle.
"YAH-"
-SPLASH!-
"Rrgh..." Laura had enough, "WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?!"
"What?" Tina splooshed her, "Can't lighten up once in a while?"
"Is this what you call "lightening up"?!" Laura growled before getting plowed in the deep end by Rin and Houki.
"Gotcha footsies!" Rin flailed.
"NO NO NO-HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!" Houki was getting tickled to no end, "OK! OK! YOU WIN! YOU WIIIIHAHAHAAAAA*SNORT*AHAHAHAHAHAAA-"
"What was that?..." Laura became unnerved.
"Dude!" Rin caught that uncharacteristically loud snort, "Oink oink much?"
"It's your fault!" Houki dunked Rin into the pool-
"YAYAYAYAYA~" only for Rin to rapid splash away her away.
Laura got caught in the crossfire, "WHY YOU LOUSY-" before getting caught in Tina's crossfire, "UNHAND ME, OR I'LLLAAHAHAHA-" and getting stuffed in Maya's gunfire.
Ichika was watching from the table side, relieved that the girls were spending time together, away from him, "Whew...about time..."
"This is a common sight for you?" Charlotte asked.
"No, it ain't," Ichika leaned back and bore witness to the wondrous scene of the girls frolicking with one another. He even saw Cecilia dangle around the bend, "It's nice to be on the sidelines once in a while."
"Can't argue with that," Charlotte nodded.
"Say, I have a question."
"Yeah?"
"Do I have my priorities in the right place?"
"What the..." Charlotte cringed, "Where did that come from?"
"I made a promise to protect my friends," Ichika explained, "I also made a promise to hold my own and not rely on my sister so much."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"How do I balance all that?"
"Really?" Charlotte piffed, "I thought you would have an answer by now?"
"Ehhhhh...when I come around," Ichika quipped.
"Oh god, you're hopeless," Charlotte attempted to call Lincoln, but she got a "lost signal" message, "Not good."
"What's wrong?" Ichika asked.
"I can't contact Lincoln," Charlotte said worriedly, "He might be in trouble."
Just then, Laura clawed her way out of the splash zone and onto Ichika's feet, "Allmächtiger Himmel…das horror…DAS SCHERE HORROR…"
"Are you ok, Laura?" Ichika helped her up.
"I will be well..." Laura panted heavily, then regaining her composure mere seconds afterwards, "Do you ever feel as if there is an unwanted disturbance in the environment?"
"Well..." Ichika caught sight of Leni still on the bench, sitting next to High Card...who was starting to fizzle out of existence.
"I said it," Charlotte said, "Lincoln's in trouble."
"We gotta go! Now!" Ichika grabbed their hands and ran.
Meanwhile, Lincoln was still grappling with the fact that two of his main three confidants from his first semester were all fake...while the fakers were casually sipping on beverages and burgers.
"I don't know what they put in here, but it is fucking nasty!" Rain said, "What is this?! Some nappy from the Green Giant's tampons?!"
"Probably someone's leftover from a week ago," Forte responded, "The food is horrid."
"This is why we should've waited until Spring Break, Fort. Aunt Squall has connections with some of the best restaurants in the world!"
"I can't wait to see you trash the dinner for the 22nd time."
"I behave!...sometimes!..."
Lincoln was still unable to process the scenario, "What is wrong with you people?!"
"What's what with huh?" Forte and Rain said together.
"You lied to me!" Lincoln went off, "You siphoned off my information! And most of all, you tried to kill me and my friends!"
"...and?" Rain rolled her eyes.
"WHAT 'AND'?! YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT ANY OF THAT?!"
"It was fun while it lasted," Rain swooped her arm under her plate, "but we got other things to do."
"And you seem well enough on your own," Forte said.
And Lincoln got the message immediately, "Oh, no...No, no no no no! You are not gonna get me again!"
"Pft-We barely told you anything," Rain giggled, "and you already got us figured out?"
"Only a member of Phantom Task would come up with something so brazen!" Lincoln attempted to flee, "And I'm not gonna fall for it!" But he was suddenly halted by a chain on his ankle, and ended up getting dunked as a result.
"Haahhhh..." Rain rested her head on Forte's shoulder, "Sad how things don't go your way."
"I thought I could convince him..." Forte sighed.
"You can," Rain winked, "You just need to give it a push." She walked over to Lincoln, who just came up for air, dove him down below the surface, initiating a bear hug as he struggled to free himself, while she kept her face above the surface, "How about it, small fry?! Wanna grab a seat by yours truly?!"
"~~~! ~~~~~~!" Lincoln could only gargle out noise, but it was enough to stand for a rejection.
"Oh, come on!" Rain grinned, "You know you want to! This whole damn world's a lie! Why don't you follow me down the rabbit hole!"
Forte just looked on with content. She wasn't too worried about dealing with Lincoln anymore, though she thought it would have been nice to stay with him... and even though Rain acted too soon. But then she heard someone trampling towards her.
"There they are!"
"Get away from him!"
"Rin! Now!"
Out of the blue, a plastic knife was hurdled towards Forte, but she simply cocked her head to dodge, "Rain, they're here."
"Whaaaaat?!" Rain pouted, "That's so unsatisfying..." She hoisted Lincoln out of the pool and set him on the ground, "Welp, we'll just leave you here for the piranhas."
"We really should've waited for Spring Break..." Forte sighed.
"And let you get ahead of me? Hell, no..." Rain wagged her hand.
Right then, they were surrounded by the other pilots.
"I don't know who you are, but you've messed with the wrong kid!" Rin shouted.
"Visual recognized!" Laura said, "This is the same woman who assaulted him at the Cannonball Fast!"
"Wait," Ichika held them back, "Let them make the first move." He then turned to Rain, "You hear that, lady?! Be careful with what you do!"
The rest of the pilots took their battle stances with various beach implements.
"Kghgh...B'AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAA!" Rain couldn't help it, "Man, y'all are dumb as shit!"
"What's so funny?!" Tina demanded.
"Are you mocking us?!" Houki said.
"Look at you!" Rain pointed out, "You're like the sorriest bunch of misfits I've ever seen!"
"Uuhhhh..." Lincoln slowly recovered, only for Forte to pick him up and prop him on her lap, "Huhhh?!"
"Shhh..." Forte caressed his ear, "Don't do anything sudden..."
Lincoln cowered, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH~~~"
And that was more than enough for Lori and Chifuyu to stampede into the pool.
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM!" Lori shouted.
"JUST FUCKING GO!" Chifuyu dragged her into battle.
"Rain?!" Forte panicked.
"Follow me!" Rain jumped headfirst into the pile. She effortlessly evaded every single attack that the pilots and sisters could throw at her.
Forte saw the pilots approaching her, "Sorry, Lincoln. We'll continue this at a later date." She followed Rain safely out of sight from the others. It wasn't long before they escaped the water park.
"Grr, that mangy slut!" Chifuyu screamed, "When I get my hands on her, I'll rip her heart outta her ass and stuff it back down her throat!"
"That don't even make sense! But I'm game!" Lori punched the air, "Let's take the fight to those Phantoms!"
"Miss Orimura?!" Maya yelped, "What are you doing?!"
"This is not how you're supposed to act!" Charlotte tried to calm them down.
"They had to have left behind some clue as to who they were!" Cecilia said to Houki.
But while the other girls had dispersed, Ichika was in pure shock, "What...is going...on..." He could believe that Chifuyu could drink herself silly. He could believe that someone would come for them when they set foot outside. He could believe that everyone closest to him would rally behind him in search of a friend in danger.
But he could not believe that his own sister, in her own drunken stupor, would come to Lincoln's rescue her in a heartbeat. In the middle of a public place, where everyone saw what had just happened.
"Mmm...mumummmmm..."
"Hey! Lincoln!" Ichika ran to Lincoln's side, "Stay with me, dude! We're gonna get you back to-"
"AAAAAAAAAAGH!" Lincoln clung to Ichika, "MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!"
"Hey, hey, hey! It's ok! UThey're gone-"
"HELP ME! SOMEONE! ANYONE! HEELLLLLLP!"
"Lincoln! Stop! You're gonna-AAAAA-" SPLASH!
"GET ME OUTTA HERE! I GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE!"
"Lincoln! Hey!" Ichika ran after Lincoln, who escaped the pool and ran into Leni. And that's when he saw it.
Whispers of the people around him, rumors starting to spread. Some speculated as to what drove Lincoln so far as to flee from him. Some speculated whether or not Chifuyu knew what she was doing with Lori. Others speculated whether or not the students were actually on a secret mission.
One thing was for certain: everyone started to get eager about their presence.
Ichika decided to put a stop to the chaos, on his terms. He deployed his IS, "HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!"
That thunderous call made the people stop and turn their attention to him. Especially the other pilots.
Ichika unsheathedhis Reiraku Byakura and bellowed, "EVERYBODY OUT! NOW!"
Some of the park goers groaned, but Ichika shut them down, "NOT YOU!"
"Ichika!" Houki shouted, "What in the fiery red heck is going on?!"
"Yeah, what's the big idea?!" Rin snapped.
Tina came up to him, "You better not be thinking about-"
To which Ichika aimed his arm cannon, "THIS WAS A HORRIBLE IDEA! WE NEVER SHOULD'VE COME OUT HERE!"
Lincoln cowered behind Leni, who cowered with him right back. Seeing that gave Ichika a horrible flashback.
The night after Madoka left, the fighting between his parents got so bad that they started throwing everything at each other, words and objects. Chifuyu and Ichika hid under the table to hide.
Ichika got even angrier, but he withdrew his IS and gave everyone an ultimatum, "BACK TO THE ACADEMY, ALL OF YOU! WHOEVER STAYS BEHIND WILL BE EXPELLED!"
"You don't get to make that call!" Chifuyu stomped, "I'm the head of the freshman dorm-"
Ichika suddenly redrew his Reiraku Byakuya and aimed it at her, "I...DON'T...CARE!...EVERYONE GET OUT!..."
Chifuyu was shaken. And that's when she saw the mess that they caused-
"No! No! Not here!" Ichika pushed her back, "Back to the Academy! All of you!"
The other girls were downright scarred, having just seen Ichika hold a weapon to his own sister's neck. They decided not to infuriate him any longer and make their way back to the van.
High Card used her phone to put the van into self-driving mode, giving everyone the time to soak in the events of the day. Or lack thereof. Aside from one person uncovering another traitor in the midst, Ichika felt like he accomplished nothing. Well, if he didn't count unraveling the so-called illusion of a typical group hangout. Or ward off two potential attackers. Or uncover the underlying problem within both of his families...
That night, while everyone was sulking in their rooms, Ichika and Tina laid Chifuyu and Lori in 1025.
"Thanks, Tina," Ichika said.
"Don't mention it," Tina responded, "Though I would've preferred getting you a megaphone."
"Don't," Ichika sighed while High Card carried Lincoln and Leni inside.
"That's the last of them," High Card wiped her forehead and checked her phone, "Wow. I need to recharge badly..."
HIGH CARD — SHIELD 2/20% (CRITICAL)
Ichika slammed his hand against his forehead, "Hey, remember when this was just about us flying a bunch of skimpy Iron Legion suits..."
"Nope," High Card shrugged.
"I zoned out," Tina said.
"Thanks for that..." Ichika rolled his eyes. He then went inside 1025.
Chifuyu and Lori were completely hammered, and Leni and Lincoln looked like they were trapped in a nightmare. Both pairs were fast asleep, holding onto each other.
"Welp...what the hell now?" Tina asked.
"There's literally no way we can continue the school year as is," High Card said.
Ichika thought about it for a moment. He knew what he had to do... but that would require placing himself in Chifuyu's shoes, without any preparation whatsoever. But if it meant cleaning up whatever mess has caused his closest ones disarray, he was more than willing.
"Monday morning," he declared, "the Infinite Stratos League makes its first official appearance."
An hour later, outside a local sushi joint, Rain and Forte were having a ball.
"Gahahaaa!" Or...Rain was, "Now, that was a riot! Did you hear that other guy, like-" female macho voice "-HEEEEEEEEEEY-Pfftthahahhaaaaa!"
"That was way too soon, Rain," Forte said while munching on a piece of tuna, "But I'll admit it did feel good to cause some chaos."
"Understory of the night! I wish I-DUDE! Drunk Orimura! Fucking bollocks on the rocks-Hahahahaaaaa!"
"Now, that made the whole scheme worth it."
"Oh man..." Rain sighed, "...I'm glad you decided to ditch the A-dick-emu attire."
"Me too," Forte nodded, "It means I get to spend more time with you."
"Quality time, mind you," Rain flashed her brassiere and pumped up her eyebrows.
Forte blushed, "Not in public..."
"Oh, fuck outta here, tight once!" Rain nudged, "We got the whole world at our finger tips now! We can do whatever we want!"
Then, a female voice interrupted their conversation, "No, you do not."
Rain instantly recognized the voice, "He-hey! Tatas-Shi!"
Tatenashi, it was. And she didn't look the least bit pleased, "Don't you Tatar Sauce me, Rain. You were supposed demonstrate the flaws of the Infinite Stratos League."
"Really?" Rain plucked her ear, "All I heard was 'BLAH BLAH BLAH' 'Indecent Starters Leech' 'BLAH BLH BLHshit'. What'd you hear, Fort?"
"Dunno," Forte shrugged, "I wasn't paying attention."
Rain nodded and turned to Tatenashi, "There you go. You get what you paid for."
Tatenashi immediately readied her IS's water nanobots, "I hope you're ready to pay the consequences for not keeping your end of the bargain." She immediately halted her advance when she heard metallic growling coming from the restaurant in front of her. Her eyes widened with horror when she saw two robotic hellhounds on top, and her breath shortened when she felt the air around her slowly grow colder. Right away, she knew.
They have recovered their ISs. Hellhound and Cold Blood were ready and waiting.
Forte's demeanor suddenly changed from relaxed to murderous, "And we hope you are ready to make a deal."
"Ooh...cold..." Rain quipped.
"You wouldn't..." Tatenashi tensed up.
"Walk away from us like we've never met," Forte responded, "and we won't have to."
"You honestly expect to just forget about this?!" Tatenashi snapped.
Rain and Forte just stared at each other blankly. When the hounds stood up and glowed red, the duo turned to Tatenashi and nodded, "...yep."
Tatenashi was at a disadvantage. She didn't think that they'd disregard her offer so blatantly, or recover their ISs so quickly. If she tried to unleash her Mysterious Lady, none of the mist particles would get through Forte's Frost Bite, leaving every single person at that restaurant at the mercy of Rain's hellhounds. If that happened, she couldn't imagine the fallout between her and the rest of the world when Rain spills the secret deal.
Tatenashi cursed under her breath. If she wanted to avoid and and all suspicion, she had no choice but to approve the ISL. She withdrew her IS and left.
Rain nudged Forte, "I suddenly have to blow off some steam."
Forte whispered back, "I saw a love hotel on the way over."
"Bit on the nose, but fuck it," Rain sighed before she whistled to her hounds to come to her. She rode on one while Forte was lopped onto the other. "ONWARD!" Rain shouted.
"Wait-wait-WAAAAAAAAAA~~~" Forte couldn't be bothered anymore.