The day went on, and Lincoln was fully aware of what he did. He butt in. But he was nominated, so he would have been called to fight anyway. As for Ichika, the school would give him a personal IS to be used for data collection purposes, to which Cecilia was happy to launch into another arrogant tirade. They would've brushed it over, except she told them that she has a personal IS too, given to her by her government.
And somehow, they transitioned into Houki's sister, Tabane. The woman who created the Infinite Stratos was her sister, but Houki rejected, saying that she has nothing to do with her. Lincoln spent his mental energy on the rest of the morning piecing together how her relationship was soured.
"Hello? Lincoln?"
"D'ahhh! Uh," Lincoln quickly came back to the school, "Ugh, was I doing it again?..."
"Hihi, you know how cute you when you're brooding like that?" A classmate told him
"Oh...one of my bad habits," he said.
"Well, I was thinking, maybe you wanted to have lunch with me and my friend?"
"Actually," Lincoln tried to sway them away, "I was gonna lunch with I-"
"LET GO!" -BAM!-
Houki knocked Ichika down after he offered to piggyback her to lunch.
"Agh..." Ichika got back up, "You're So strong..."
"Uh, well..." Houki looked away, "Maybe you're the one who's gotten weak. That was just a little trick from my kendo training."
Lincoln figured...childhood friends who haven't seen each other in years... "Uh, Akina-san, what's for lunch?"
Fifteen minutes later... he was getting along swimmingly with the girls, "No way! You're from Korea?!"
"Yup! Pretty odd, out of a sea of Japanese girls, right?"
"Not at all! I mean, I'm having lunch with a high school senior!"
"What'd I tell you, Kim?" Akina poked, "Pretty cute, right?"
"Yeah, but he's a little on the younger side," Kim commented.
"Young?" Lincoln heard a small alarm in his head, and he heard that kind of talk before. Normally he couldn't ward them off the easy way, but since Ronnie Anne was an ocean away... "Actually, I have a girlfriend."
"You do?!" Akina squealed, "At 11?!"
"It happens!" He chuckled.
"Well, I was wondering," Kim said, "Since you're gonna go up against a Representative Contender, maybe you would want someone to train with?"
"Yeah, I'd like that," Lincoln responded.
"Good!" Kim clapped, "Well, If You'll excuse me, I'll extend the offer to Ichika." She got up and went to Ichika's table.
"For real, though!" Akina pestered, "A girlfriend girlfriend?!"
"Yep! Ronnie Anne Santiago. She's all the way in Michigan."
"Aww, young love! I wish I had a boyfriend that devoted..."
"Really? I would think that you-"
"Fine!" Kim stomped away, "I guess some things can't be helped!"
"Um...is something wrong?" Lincoln asked.
"Oh, nothing," Kim reclaimed her seat, "Just a woman who's in way over her head. She's bragging about how she's Tabane Shinonono's sister."
"Wuh?..." Akina reacted, "No, literally during first period today, she just said that she wasn't her sister!"
"What is with her? How spastic can these people get?"
"Uh, what's that saying..." Lincoln interrupted, "The more complicated or darker a person's backstory is, the more powerful that person is?"
"Wait," Akina laughed, "you really think that she's as powerful?"
"Hey, Houki's a kendo champ. You never know."
After the last period was over, Lincoln and Ichika went to the locker room.
"That's a different uniform," Ichika said, "Where are you going at this hour?"
"Training with Kim Ha-Jin," Lincoln responded, "She said she knows my IS type, so she's gonna help me get used to it."
"What a coincidence! Houki's gonna train me for the class rep runoff, too!"
"Whatever happened to a simple vote..." Lincoln asked sheepishly.
"Eh, that went out the window when we entered the scene..."
"Here you two are!" Kim entered the conversation, "Sorry you couldn't train together."
"I'm sure we'll work something out," Ichika apologized.
"I'm legitimately surprised that a school like this has a Martial Arts club," Lincoln said.
"Where's this school located again?" Ichika got a good laugh out of the two.
"There you are!" Then, Houki, "You're three minutes late, Ichi-Ah!"
Houki and Kim stared each other down, much to the boys' dismay.
"And where are you going?" Houki's arm yanked Ichika toward her.
"Just taking Lincoln for a short walk," Kim grabbed Lincoln's back.
Ichika and Lincoln panicked, "Uh-oh..."
They endured after school grueling training. Ichika was trying to shake off three years of no club activities in the kendo dojo...
"Ok, what in the hell is going on here..." Houki growled after defeating Ichika five seconds into the kendo match.
"Uh...I...don't know what you mean..." He panted.
"How did you allow yourself to become so weak?! WHAT CLUBS WERE YOU IN IN MIDDLE SCHOOL?!"
"The Go Home club...three years of perfect attendance..."
"Then, you'll retrain. This problem comes before the IS!"
...while Lincoln was in the gymnasium, exercising muscles he didn't know could be exercised.
"This'll be a problem," Kim said after pinning Lincoln.
"What?!" Lincoln managed to throw her off him, "I'm only 11!"
"You're not in middle school, mind you-HA!" Kim forced him off the mat, giving her the win.
"Guh..." butt cramp "AY!...st...too strong..."
"Your sister may be a capable fighter, but Cecilia is on another level. You have to be prepared for anything."
The spectators thought that they seemed kinda weak, so the boys had to take on three hours of daily training, up until the class runoff duel...effective immediately...
The first day was somewhat tolerable, but the next day they didn't bother going back to the dorms. They sprawled their legs on a park bench and panted.
"Oh my god..." Lincoln groaned, "High school is the worst..."
"Maybe I should call it off..." Ichika cracked his neck, "I might die before I get out in the arena..."
"Admitting defeat already?"
"URK!" They were jolted upright by a familiar British voice.
"Well, I'd expect no less from a rather unremarkable bore," Cecilia taunted, "but not you, little Loud."
"What'd you mean?..."
"I mean, you're supposed to be in middle school, and yet somehow you dropped the ball on yourself. You thought you could handle such a harsh difficulty leap? It's almost adorable how naive you are."
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't have the magic touch. And who are you to look down on us when you haven't got a clue what we're about?"
Then, Cecilia touched a nerve, "But I know what you're all about, though. You miss your family, don't you? High school isn't for the ill-prepared. Maybe you can go back to your family and have them comfort you."
"At least we have families," Ichika butted in, "We have people who care about us because they care, not because they're our servants."
"You presume to peck at my past without the slightest context?" Cecilia pointed.
"The only context I've seen is that you're too self-centered to see your own narcissism."
"Ha! That is just like you Japanese men, always rushing in-" she saw Lincoln "-without...using...that meat head..." she was expecting Lincoln to be concerned for his own well being.
"If we win," but he was angry, "you'll apologize in front of the girls."
"Oh?" Cecilia teased, "the classic retaliation tactic ? Are you sure you don't want any more than that?"
"No. An apology would do."
"Fair enough," she brushed the dust off her hair and went about her merry way, "Train all you want. The outcome will not change."
They waited until she was inside the residence building before getting their relief off their necks.
"Thanks for the save, Ichika..." Lincoln sighed.
"Hey, that's what friends do," Ichika patted the boy's back, "Though, she kinda does have a point..."
"What, That first bit of-"
"No, nu-uh! You do belong here, Lincoln! And your family is proud of you, let's get that right!"
"Heheh...thanks!"
Ichika stood up and tried to take their minds off her rant, "But we don't know a thing about her, apart from the obvious. We don't even know what kind of IS she has."
"Is Houki's training helping at all?"
"Nope. Kendo's all I've been doing. And I don't think she's going to teach me anything about the IS..."
Houki was taking a nighttime stroll, thinking about how she was going to make Ichika stronger. "I have to get him back to his maximum strength if he hopes to stand a chance against her. Yeah! We'll reconnect later. Making sure he doesn't get hurt is more important."
That's when she heard Lincoln scream, "That tears it! We need a plan STAT!"
"Huh?!" Houki gasped, "Lincoln? Wait, if that's Lincoln, then he's with-"
"Agreed," Ichika said, "If they're not gonna teach us about the IS, then we need to teach ourselves!"
"Ichika?!..." She whispered, "Oh, no. What are they doing?!..." she hid behind some bushes while they walked past her.
"You don't suppose the library's open this late?" Lincoln asked.
"Doubt it..." Ichika mused, "Say, Don't you have an ungodly intelligent sister?"
"Oh! Lisa's gonna shoot back an email about my IS soon! That can be our cheat sheet!"
"On top of class, homework, and that training...uy. You might actually look like a grandpa when this is all over."
"Hey, I've seen how you stumble over the most basic information!"
"Ohoho!" Ichika gave Lincoln a noogie, "Little Loud's gonna throw some stones, eh?"
The two laughed and talked their way back to the dorms. Houki then came out of hiding.
"What are they doing?" She wondered, "Are they trying to kill themselves?" She followed them to their dorm room, but she heard them laughing and bashing pixelated robots in the socket. "Oh...well, if that's all it is...I'll train him extra hard, then."
"Oh, you too?"
Houki was startled by a group of girls listening in on the noise.
"You know, if you close your eyes, it doesn't sound like they're playing a video game."
"Eee! They wouldn't do that!"
"Aha! She's blushing!"
"But is this what they call a bromance?!"
Houki wondered why she even bothered.
As time went on, the training intensified, to the point where the match nearly drowned out the friendly banter between the other girls. Ichika and Lincoln were spending lunches talking about what goes on in an IS. After school training was spent on movement and focused strikes, avoiding everything that was thrown at them. Dinners were spent on going over anything they could remember from that day, as well as anything they might use to get an advantage in the match.
And Cecilia was starting to take notice, too. For two classes she spied on them to see if they had a clue to what came out of their mouths. When she realized how serious they were, she started to get in the training vibe as well, gaining special sessions with an instructor who fought in the previous world tournament.
Two days before the match, Ichika wanted to know how it would be formatted. Lincoln was waiting at the lockers, when he saw him rounding the corner.
"So, what'd Maya say?" Lincoln asked.
"It's All randomized," Ichika said, "They'll dump our names in a virtual bowl, and the computer will pick up two pieces of paper."
"Dangit...then, the person going last will have the advantage of recon..." light bulb "...unless we can get Cecilia to go first..."
Ichika cringed, "Good lord, you are not."
After that day's training...which somehow got worse...the boys barely made it out the front door before they rolled over on the grass.
"Hahhh...hahhhh...I think...I made Houki angrier..."
"And Kim...is having...way... too much fun..."
And right on cue, "Oh, are you tuckered out yet?"
"Heheh..." Lincoln initiated contact, "What's wrong with a little R and R?..."
"I would lump you with the rest of the uncultured population, but I don't feel it's appropriate," Cecilia said.
"I thought you said you weren't gonna go easy on us..." Ichika sat up.
"That's not because I just so happen to see you two attempting to bridge the gap between our power," Cecilia bragged, "Don't you realize that I am a Representative Contender, one of the most powerful pilots in the world? Whereas you two are mere commoners who I could simply scoff at and blow you away into next week?"
"Since when did we roboticize DBZ?..." Lincoln groaned.
"And I'll bet you see us as a threat, right?" Ichika asked, "Is that why you're training too?"
"Training? Against you? Hahaha! Why would I ever-"
Lincoln thought he was egging on her, until he saw sweat dripping from her chin, "What's that on your chin?"
"Wha...what do you see?"
Ichika saw it too, "The beaded sweat, the slightly frizzed hair..."
"Oh, that's ridiculous!" Cecilia crossed her arms and looked away, "Why would I need to put any effort into beating you?"
The boys just gave each other puzzled looks.
"Well, since you're clearly lacking proper knowledge of one's fighting capabilities, I'll be more than happy to give you a firsthand demonstration," Cecilia turned to Lincoln, "What say you, little Loud? Care to come up close and personal?"
"Like I need another cramp in my ramp?..." Lincoln muttered.
Cecilia cheerfully put him down, "Oh, I won't have to waste too much effort on you." Then, she glared at Ichika, "You, on the other hand..."
Ichika didn't say a word. He just sat there as Cecilia walked away with her condescending leer.
"I'll properly deal with you afterwards..." and then she went away to her dorm room.
Completely missing the boys laughing and bumping fists.
"That went perfectly!" Lincoln giggled.
"How did you know how to persuade her?!" Ichika wondered.
"When you're around someone like Lola 24/7, you'll pick up on a few things."
"Nice one!" Ichika ruffled his hair, "Hey, thanks for the assist, Linc."
"That's what friends do-" crotch cramp "BOOOOOHOHOhoooooo...right in the socket..."
"Here...I'll piggy back you..."
"I can't pee or poop anymore..."
The weekend before the duel, their training was doubled to six hours, and it was moved to the early morning. This time, after training, instead of reading about the IS, they had their own practical lesson, using Lincoln as the model. He described in full detail what it was like to first fly in an IS, his mindset and emotions while fighting, and how he was able to make it his. Then, they got in some more practice, by making cardboard arms and legs and knocking away...almost every projectile they threw at each other.
Finally, the day of the duel. They've done all they could to prepare for the fight. That morning, Ichika stormed the school, feeling like a model.
Lincoln stayed in the bathroom area. He checked his teeth, then washed his face, "Ugh...I definitely feel like a grandpa..." He walked over to the classroom, where, of course, Cecilia awaited him, "Oh, hello."
"You're far too late in asking for a favor now, little Loud," Cecilia taunted.
"What? A simple hello offends you?" Lincoln took the long way around to his seat.
"I hope you and your faded brother-in-crime are prepared to suffer the consequences for challenging me," she walked back to her seat as well.
"Was she this obnoxious to you too?" Lincoln asked Ichika.
"No, she was worse."
Then, lunchtime came. Houki and Kim ate at another table, leaving the two boys to...do this.
"Ok, I've worked out a plan," Lincoln showed him the notes on a paper, " Since we're on the same team, we'll be taking turns. Whoever goes first is gonna get a good view of every angle, find any weaknesses. That'll buy the other person some time to plan an attack and nail her to her coffin."
"Sounds good. And after we win, we can finally get some decent rest," Ichika cracked his neck, "I didn't think it'd be this easy drowning out the "all girls" nonsense."
"Me neither! I think I'm getting used to this high school crud."
Suddenly, over the intercom system, "CECILIA ALCOTT. LINCOLN LOUD. ICHIKA ORIMURA. REPORT TO ARENA THREE AT THIS TIME."
"That's our cue," Lincoln crumpled up the paper and tossed it away.
"Let's go before my sister drags us by the ear..."
"Dun dun dudun dun dudun dudun duduuuuuunn..."