The next day, five minutes before homeroom, and already it was the boys' worst nightmare come true: they were the the center of attention. All because of the lightning- fast technology that was social media...
SURPRISE RESCUE OPERATION AT IS ACADEMY: The Representative Contender from China and the world's first male pilot coordinated a strategic maneuver with the world's youngest pilot to counter the sudden attack made by an unmanned IS. Ichika Orimura, Cecilia Alcott, and Lingyin Huang coordinated the main attack; while Lincoln Loud, Akina Shinohara, and Kim Ha-Jin worked with the senior elites to evacuate the arena and move the shot troops into position.The duo had completely forgotten about the potential Core 468 when they saw the headline on the school bulletin board...just outside of Class 1-1.
Even worse, one of the Arena cameras captured the very moment when Lincoln and Ichika were united as one knight, holding the wing shield and the Yukihira Nigata hand in hand.
"And the girls said, what danger?..." Lincoln hid behind Kim and Ichika after hearing massive gossip and whispering coming from every classroom in the hall, "Now, what's our plan?..."
"I don't know..." Ichika muttered.
"Well, just remember what I said," Kim encouraged, "Take it in stride, but don't take it to far."
"Humility can only get us so far in this life..." Lincoln groaned.
"What happened to that thick skin of yours?" Kim smirked, "And you thought being a celebrity would be smooth sailing."
"When you're among the underwhelming minority?!" Lincoln snapped, "I'm one of two male destructors!"
"We don't have a choice now," Ichika said, "Let's just go in and face the music." He straightened his blazer and brushed his hair.
"If you need me," Kim waved goodbye, "I'll be a couple floors up."
"Oh, joy..." Lincoln muttered as he gritted his teeth, "Got any advice?..."
"Nope," Ichika whispered, "You?..."
"Nada."
Three deep breaths and a nervously hearty handshake later, they took two steps towards the door-
-VRMM-
-and all of Class 1-1 lost their minds, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"It's the Dynamic Duo!"
"Can I get your autograph please?!"
"You looked so cool weaving your sword!"
"And you were so brave with your shield!"
"I'M NOT A MAN, I'M NOT A MAN!" Lincoln shouted.
"Get a grip, Loud!" Ichika pushed them into the classroom.
"No way! I'd rather run 50 laps around the school than-" Lincoln was yanked over by a student while holding on to Ichika's sleeve for dear life.
"Thank you so much, little brother!" A student squeezed him.
"GGGHACK-Good grip..." Ichika got stuck in her vice grip.
"I can't thank you enough for what you did!" Another student cheered.
"Yeah, sure," Lincoln grunted, "Who wants to take a selfie with Death, amirite?..."
"So, is it true?!" Someone pestered Ichika, "Was that IS really unmanned?!"
"That was so scary! Did you stare down it deadly eyes?!"
"Such bravery in the sword! You have to be so strong to fight that thing!"
"Uh, well..." Ichika stammered, "You could say that-Oh no-"
"Excuse me, but would you care to explain something to me?" Cecilia got in his face, "Specifically, your supposed play date with Rin?"
"Ichikaaaaaaa..." Houki growled.
"Gimme a break, guys!" Ichika said, "Let's all take a deep breath and-"
"You expect me to sit still while you're trying to pull a fast one on me?!" Houki screamed.
"How dare you abandon me for your promiscuous ventures?!" Cecilia rioted, "I've never been so disappointed in a backstabbing~~~"
At that point, Ichika cracked, "Then, maybe you can tell me what that stuff was with-"
("...no one can make a move on Ichika until he wakes up.")
"-and that weird bit that went-"
("...from my view of your fat ass, it looks like you were trying to get ahead of me.")
"-while I was three feet in front of you?"
"What? Where'd you hear that?!" Houki grabbed him and shook him, "Get it out of your head right now! We did not say that!"
"Hey, I heard what I heard, ok?!" Ichika wheezed.
"Obviously, you still aren't fully recovered," Cecilia butt in, "Allow me to escort you to the nurse's office straight away."
"No, let me take him," Houki interrupted, "Why don't you watch that other kid?"
"You'll make his concussion worse!"
"And what's your cooking gonna help?!"
And then they used him in a mini Tug-o-War.
"Nobody say anytime quippy..." Ichika was getting dizzy, when-
"ALCOTT! SHINONONO!"
The entire class froze at the sound of Chifuyu's voice.
"Care to explain exactly why you two are manhandling one of your fellow students?" Chifuyu demanded, "Especially given what transpired mere hours ago?..."
"But-no, it's not like that!" Cecilia waved her arms around, "We just consoled him for his valiant efforts, that's all it is!"
"Yeah, there's no manhandling at all!" Houki said, "Isn't that right, Ichi-" the moment she touched his shoulder-
"GYAAAAAA-haahhhhhhhh..." he fell to his knees, "Can we stop with the running gags, please..."
"Oh, my!" Cecilia knelt down, "Is something wrong, Ichika dear-" the moment she touched his other shoulder-
"WHAT DO YOU THIIIIIIIII-hihihiiiiiiiiink..." he collapsed, "Partial deployment on the shoulders?..."
"Uh-Huh..." Chifuyu had already deduced exactly what happened, and why, "Miss Yamada, please escort him to the nurse's office."
"Uh, yes ma'am," Maya slowly eased him on her back.
Cecilia and Houki were stuck with the many possible consequences of that little incident.
"Alcott. Shinonono."
"Yes, ma'am?" They both said.
"I want to talk with you two after school today...in private."
"*SHUDDER*"
Lunch was...
"Get me outta here..." terrifying for Lincoln.
"Ahhh-ow! Ow..." and painful for Ichika.
"So, are you, like, the strongman in your family?" A student asked.
"Oh, come on! He's the only guy in the family!" Someone interrupted.
"Dangit...I need my shoulders for this..." Ichika grunted.
"Let me feed you, then!" A student initiated the love-piling.
"No, me!"
"I have steady hands, you know."
"No, no," Ichika tried to shrug them off, "I am perfectly capable of feeding myself, thanks..." That only got the crowd even more riled up.
Until Lincoln, without thinking, "Let me help," picked up his spoon.
"Are you sure, Linc?"
"It's fine," and held it to Ichika's mouth, "I did this for Leni when she got sick."
"Careful, that's hot..."
"Oh, right. Uh...*soft blowwwwwwww*...How's that?"
"I can handle it...*bite*...Mm! Nope, still can't..."
And while the crowd only fantasied more intensely about the boys' time together, Cecilia and Houki just stared. With lovingly...vengeful...eyes...
The school day ended on a strange note. Normally, Ichika would be going to the training session, but he's been ordered to take the next 24 hours off. So, while he's been hauled off back to his dorm room, Houki and Cecilia were "meeting" with Chifuyu in 1-1.
And it wasn't pretty. They were reprimanded for the manhandling by a 30-minute detention, which Houki didn't mind, yet Cecilia overreacted. At minute 28, Chifuyu approached Houki, "Shinonono, the shot troops have informed me that you had distracted the rouge IS yesterday, allowing the others to destroy it."
"Uh-Yes! That's exactly what I had in mind," Houki quickly agreed.
Cecilia knew what Chifuyu actually meant, "I communicated with her before she rushed outside and told her the plan."
"If all that is seriously to be believed," Chifuyu played a voice recording, "then, why this outburst?..." that played, very very clearly...
["If you're a man...IF YOU'RE A MAN, THEN YOU'D BETTER DEFEAT THE ENEMY COMPLETELY!"]
"Oh..." Houki was had, "That... I just...I had to get their-"
"You do realize..." Chifuyu spoke in a haunting tone, "...that that would have been it for you, correct?"
"*GULP*..."
"The only reason you survived is by the grace of a plasma barrier emitted by a barbell twirler and a cellphone addict," Chifuyu said, "I hope you will take into account the impact of the risks you take from now on."
"Yes, ma'am..." Houki muttered.
"And Alcott," Chifuyu turned to Cecilia, "I find it hard to believe that you ordered a distraction... and even harder to believe that you didn't stop her from becoming that distraction."
"With all due respect, ma'am," Cecilia said, "I saw two girls rush out to her defense."
"Two girls that ran out of energy when Orimura stopped the attack."
"Huh?!"
"A simple "GET OUT" would have been more than sufficient. What if those girls had not been there to deflect the laser? Or, better yet, were evaporated during the blast?"
"Oh...uh...hhh..."
"And I thought Ichika was the dense one..." Chifuyu rubbed her eyes, "You two need to be more careful with situations like this and not get in over your heads. Some time in the future you won't be able to turn back from a mistake you could make, whether or not you're the one who caused it."
Later that night, while the two were on their way to dinner...
"I must say, this caused quite the problem for my personal record..." Cecilia mused.
"It's just a detention," Houki said, "What's there to worry about?..."
"While we were trapped in that prison, that restaurant girl might've gotten the jump on us and made her move on him! She's not even well endowed, or considered of sufficient height! What would Ichika possibly see in her that none of us have?"
"Childhood friends...Wait, that's what you're worried about?..."
"What does one's friendship have anything to do with attraction?!"
"Looks and feats aren't everything, ok?..."
When they left the dorm halls and entered the cafeteria, they heard a loud trampling.
"I have waited LONG ENOUGH!" A student screamed.
"Let's snuggle him!" Another shouted.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO WATCHING WHAT WE WERE DOING?!" Lincoln ran for his love life.
"Your fault, bruh!" Night Club shouted while riffing WTO-Finale.
"Say...didn't he say that he already has a girlfriend?" Cecilia muttered.
"Now that you mention it...I did hear someone say that," Houki immediately started forming a plan.
"Just a peek, please?!" A student almost nabbed him.
But Lincoln successfully jumped the walls and decor to evade the others, "GET YOUR OWN SUNGLASSES!"
"Sunglasses?!" Cecilia and Houki repeated...before joining the hunt for the males.
"¡Ándale! ¡Ándale!" Night Club didn't bother helping.
Lincoln had escaped to the sanctuary of 1025. He was getting ready for bed when he received a call from Lola and Lisa.
"I AM NOT NARCISSISTIC!" Lola screamed.
"What's that about?..." Lincoln wondered.
"Don't you play coy with me, you vicious rumor-spreading lying Philistine!"
"She's perturbed by your comparison of her self image to this Alcott woman's self image," Lisa explained.
"For days?..." Lincoln-
"You might as well have ruined my reputation! My pageant career is over!" Lola got paranoid, "AND I HAVE YOUR SASSY LITTLE MOUTH TO BLAME FOR THE-"
"Whoa, there, young steed!" Lisa scattered glitter across the computer desk, "At ease, at ease...your pageant is tomorrow..."
Lola slowly calmed down thanks to the glitter, and the constant patting on her back... "I'm ok... I am totally ok..."
"It's not paradise in here at all," Lincoln complained, "I can't blink my eyes without having someone pop up on my NECK!"
"And I can't go one step without having someone giving me a massage that's...not really a massage..." Ichika added.
"Probably best you kept that in your head..." Lisa pointed to Lola's...flushed face...
"Uh, what's with her?" Ichika asked.
"Oh no..." Lincoln facepalmed, "Prison Pageants-"
"-went that direction," Lisa said, "Apparently, not even the discussion of criminal records is off limits to-"
"Maybe you oughta get some of that treatment yourself, just to relieve some of that filthy pressure," Lola made Lincoln and Ichika uncomfortable.
"Ok, Miss Queenie Princess," Lisa scooted her out, "You have a competition tomorrow, so why don't you take the necessary precautions and leave us be?"
"Fine," Lola left for her room, while shouting offscreen, "I HOPE THAT STUPID ACADEMY GIVES YOU RABIES!"
"Change the subject!" Lincoln blurted, "What's the call about?"
"Trouble on our horizon," Lisa shrunk her camera screen and... "We're at risk of a major fallout. Someone's captured a photo of...this..."
"Are you-how?!" Lincoln saw it...a snapshot of him in the squirrel costume, far away from his family, on that day...
"Is anyone ostracizing your family yet?" Ichika was almost afraid to ask.
"That's the strangest part," Lisa showed three diagrams, "From Lynn's report of RW Middle, the student body is split between endlessly assaulting us and endlessly assaulting those who are attempting to endlessly assault us. High school would be faring slightly better, were it not for the school's sophomore class intaking every toxic rumor they come across."
"What about elementary school?..." Lincoln asked.
"Standard reaction. All they saw was a plush toy who came in a mechanized exoskeleton."
"Uh...didn't Chandler have any thing to do with this?..."
"He was our very first suspect, but he vehemently denies it, referencing the "undeserved publicity" given unto you. He hasn't come anywhere near the gossip groups that permeate throughout middle school."
"Great...So no leads anywhere..."
"Did anybody outside of Royal Woods see you...in that thing?" Ichika asked.
"I'm investigating that right now," Lisa said, "So far, the only leads I found are Jason and Juniper, both relatives of Hank and Hawk, who boasted quite the ego about the picture. I'm working with Clyde to track their movements, and Luna and Lynn are working on a plan to attract them. We'll be ready to mobilize the moment they set foot in Royal Woods."
"I'm getting a weird vibe from all this..." Lincoln muttered.
"Think nothing of it," Lisa assured, "We will have this mess sorted out before the holidays."
"Some week, huh?" Ichika said.
"I don't think it's that bad..." Lincoln thought, but then he heard someone knock at the door, "And now it is..."
"I got it," Ichika said, "Why don't you and Lisa chat some more in private?"
"Good thinking," Lincoln took his laptop to the shower while Ichika opened the door to insanity.
"So, about that photo," Lincoln said, "How is it getting such a bad reception?"
"My guess is that they tied it to a scathing rumor," Lisa said, "As of now, I am still unable to confirm the truth of that matter, despite some blabbermouths blurting out rumors of conflicting opinions..."
"And my profile might include that, too...I'll see if I can do damage assessment on my end."
"Then, I shall confer with Lori about our status-"
"Lincoln?" Ichika interrupted the conversation, "We got a Code Red!"
"Oy vey..." Lincoln facepalmed.
"I see you and Mister Orimura are on exceptionally amicable terms," Lisa grew suspicious upon hearing the code for 'unforeseen monkey wrench in a planned event'.
"I'll call you back..." Lincoln cut communication. He was about to shut the laptop when he received a notification from his email:
Saw that photo. Sometimes, to beat a giant asshole, you have to be a slightly smaller asshole.
-AAdsz
"The heck does that mean?..." Now he shut his laptop.
Ten minutes later...
"How come you never told me your playdatew was this weekend?!" Cecilia demanded.
"And how come you're doing it with number two?!" Houki demanded.
"She just came off the heels of a divorce," Ichika tried to reason with them, "Doesn't it make sense to try and comfort her?"
"But why you?!" Houki screamed, "How come it has to be just you alone?!"
"Come on, What's wrong with a little one-on-one time?" Ichika said, "Besides, I already said that I wasn't dating her, right?!"
"You're obviously missing the point!" Cecilia nagged.
"Yeah, so what is the So-called point?!" Ichika demanded.
"Why would we tell you?!"
"Because we're friends, aren't we?!"
"Me and Cecilia are!" Houki butt in, "But between you is a-" she stopped herself when she felt Cecilia pinching her shoulder.
"Yeah?" Ichika demanded, "Go on?"
"Well, we..." Houki gave up, "You...you're too dense to understand."
"Then give it to us straight," Lincoln...out of nowhere!
Making the two girls yelp.
"Weeeeell?" Lincoln sat on the chair in his douchebag pose, "What is he to you two?"
The boys gave the girls a full minute to hammer out an excuse before scooting them out.
The weekend came. And with it, Ichika's birthday, and an autumn festival. Ichika planned to meet with Rin at the local festival, with Lincoln tagging along as the third wheel bodyguard. Taking a cue from his "fair balancing act" with Lori and Bobby, Lincoln opted to not interfere with the festivities unless it was to prevent someone else from interfering. And knowing his luck, and his current juggling act with multiple personal crises, trouble was always around the corner.
In this case, it came in the form of a kendo monster and a girly giantess.
"I can't believe it," Houki growled, "Of all the people to go with, why her?!"
"And why is Lincoln the one guarding them?!" Cecilia complained, "There must be a workaround for this disastrous-"
SAVVY SUITE - SHIELD 78/137%
"Whoa, did you hear that?" Houki heard footsteps.
"I think that's your ribbon interacting with the wind," Cecilia said before someone tapped her shoulder, "I didn't see any more unnecessary activity yet, Houki."
"Not Houki."
"Wha-YA-MMMFMMMGHMMMM-" Cecilia was quickly gagged by a fuzzy die and grabbed in a headlock.
By High Card?! "Mind telling me why you're tailgating a dunderhead and an amateur kitsune?"
"Ptui!" Cecilia spat the fluff out, "What's it to you why we're following them?!"
"Because Ace has ordered their play date be-" whisper "-uninterrupted..."
Houki muffled a scream of pure terror.
"What was that?" Lincoln turned around.
"Probably just a dramatization of a love confession," Strong Suit said, "You know their fluttering leaves."
"Can't argue with that."
"Dudes, check me out!" Night Club suddenly came up to them in a kimono, "Gotta say, the shrine maidens know their fashion!"
"That's not gonna trigger any unwanted flags, is it?" Strong Suit cringed at the thought.
"I hope not," Lincoln muttered while Night Club pumped her fists in excitement. Just then, his belt beeped an alarm.
"Guys, trouble on the horizon," from High Card, "Poker Drill and Ribbon Flush have arrived on the scene."
"Who?" Strong Suit cocked her head.
"Cecilia and Houki. Big green ribbon and big yellow hair."
"Oh no..." Lincoln and Strong Suit groaned.
"Ok, formation group!" Night Club huddled the two together, "Ace, you stay near the players. Suit, mid-range. High and I will watch the long distance."
"I'm all over it!" Strong Suit departed.
"I told them to piss off, but they'll be back in three minutes," High Card said, "Night, take the southern end."
"Ooh!" Night Club brightened up, "that's the musicians'-"
"Remember the mission, rockhead."
"Dangit..." and slumped over to her position.
"Ok...focus..." Lincoln centered himself, "Keep the play date between two, look for Squirrel Boy, and don't get caught...Well, better get my withdrawal ready."
"Oh, have some faith, why don't you," High Card cut communication and sent him on his way.
"I guess...Wait-ugh..." Lincoln was suddenly reminded of a similar situation...
("We have a reservation at Jean Juan's French-Mex Buffet at six! AND YOU WILL MAKE HER FEEL LIKE THE MOST SPECIAL GIRL IN THE WORLD!")
"Nope...get it outta your head..."
The first stop on the festival walk was a fish scooping game.
"You know, I wouldn't have guessed that you could take a beating well," Rin joked.
"Hey, the day is far from over," Ichika said, "I can still win this."
Cecilia and Houki were staring from a couple booths over.
"Look at that little restaurant girl hogging him all to herself," Cecilia taunted, "So unbecoming of her."
"I'm gonna tear him a new one when we get back," Houki growled.
"Why wait? We could sabotage activities and ruin their day that way."
"Ok, so what's our first move?"
Strong Suit from behind, "Might I suggest throwing in the towel?"
"AAAAA!" The girls screamed, "THE JOCK!"
"Because stalking is so unbecoming of you," Strong Suit leaned against a wooden pole from an unfinished stand, which- "Huh-WAAAA-BLAGUPHGH..." collapsed on her.
STRONG SUIT — SHIELD 10/15%
Ichika heard it, "What was that?"
"Probably a doofus," Rin said, "Or a stalker from the Academy..."
"Oh no," Ichika groaned, "They actually went and did it."
Lincoln grabbed some sunglasses and a black jacket, and appeared behind them, "Apologies, but the perimeter has been compromised. We need to vacate immediately."
"Huh? To where?!" Ichika demanded.
"Whoa, stuffy stuffy," Rin was pushed along with them.
They trio left as soon as they could, leaving the fallen fortune-telling stand behind.
"Grr! They're onto us!" Houki growled.
"We must be discrete now," Cecilia said, "Let's circle around to their frontside, just beyond their field of vision." She led Houki out of the stands and through the festival trail.
While Strong Suit popped a hand out, earning the scared moans of whoever was unfortunate enough to see it, "I'm ok! I don't feel anything! Really!"
The next stop was a paper candy stall.
"Oh, I've never gotten the hang of this game...ever," Rin commented.
"Really?" Ichika said, "I used to play with it on my downtime."
"What'll it be, young man?" An elderly woman asked.
"2500p, please." Ichika received a rather difficult stencil, along with a thumbtack and a piece of candy to cut.
"Pftt-really? You're in way over your head, aren't you?" Rin scoffed, "Ma'am, can I see a 1000p piece, please?"
"Nu-uh. You are not."
"Oh, I am," Rin smirked as she was given a nigh-impossible template to follow, "And you are gonna eat my dust, jerk!"
Lincoln was playing a water gun game, keeping a very close eye on the two, when he noticed the elderly woman get bribed into switching out with Houki, ribbon and all.
"Alert," he said, "Hokey Ribbon has taken the initiative. Everyone gather to my location."
Houki had finished swapping out with the elder. There she was, staring at Ichika, who was having fun with someone that wasn't her. She was close to sabotaging Rin,
when Night Club came in with a wig, "What are you doing, Komana?! You are needed on the parade route!"
"Huh?! Hey! What are you-" Houki was dragged out.
"Let's go, slack jaw! Get down there and land the dragon safely!"
Ichika could not help but notice that. "Uh, what just happened-"
"Hahahaaaa!" Rin cheered, "Read it and weep!" Rin shoved a perfectly-tacked silhouette of a rock girl in his face.
High Card suddenly showed up in a disguise as well, "Well well, not bad. That's 1000 points for you, young woman."
"What? How's that-" Ichika stopped short of recognizing that short blonde hair, "Lori?!"
-CRACK!-
and breaking his pink clover.
"Oh, sorry, lad," High Card said, "No points for you. It's clear who the winner is."
"Heheheh," Rin chuckled, "Now I get to pick our next activity."
Ichika got slightly nervous. Lincoln sighed in relief. Cecilia angrily hauled tail after the pair.
Rin led Ichika all the way to a shooting game.
"Hahaha! Now, this I can do!" Rin triumphantly declared, "No way you can fib your way out this time!"
"Do we have to?..." Ichika groaned.
"Why, yes we do," Rin shoved him over to the station, "Yeesh, and I thought they looked terrifying from afar..."
The weapons were just cork guns, but they were nonetheless intimidating, especially when it came to their intended targets: stuffed animals.
"What will it be, children?" A woman asked.
"Twin pistols!" Rin grabbed two BB guns and immediately fired a pair at a stuffed dog, which strangely didn't fall off, "Huh. Thought these packed a bigger punch..."
"Let me try," Ichika picked up a rifle and fired a blunt round at that same dog, and it fell over, "Hahaa!"
"Whaaat?!"
"Here you go, sweetie" the woman gave him the dog.
"Ok...let me try this one," Rin cracked her neck and fired at a smaller stuffed animal, and it didn't fall over, "Ok, weird."
"Is something wrong, child?" The woman asked.
"Oh, no," Rin answered, "Just...something's off with my gun," completely unaware that it was actually Cecilia in a disguise the whole time.
'Hohoho, this is your first and last date, restaurant girl,' Cecilia thought, 'I knew you liked things in pairs, so I rigged your pistols with paper blanks! You will never have a satisfying experience with Ichika ever!'
"Well," Ichika said, "Why don't we hit up that big one then? Together."
That caught 'the woman's' attention, "Oh, we can't allow that! Only one person per shot."
"Huh," Rin mused, "Ok, then let's go for the feet."
"Hmm..." Strong Suit saw the whole scene play out and knew what Cecilia was up to. So, she snuck behind the stand and started to wave her fingers, "Uka ala uka ala uka ala~~~"
"Ok..." Rin took aim, "Here goes...something!" and fired.
"Be-bleh!" Strong Suit clenched her fists at the same time the pistols fired and gave them extra power, just enough to propel the blanks to the duck's feet and topple it, "Too easy, and too satisfying."
STRONG SUIT — SHIELD 8/15% (WARNING)
"UH!" Cecilia was floored, "Uh...Uh..."
"Hahahaa! Score one for the big game home!" Rin cheered, "I'll take that to go, please."
Cecilia was forced to yield the small animal to Rin, lest her cover be blown. She was free to express her frustration when the two left, "I don't understand! How in the world did mere paper blanks topple a well-placed duck?!"
Suddenly... "More like, how did you stuff paper inside a barrel."
"YAAAA!"
Strong Suit. "You think those drills can hold guns? I know they can hold cups, but-"
"OUT! GET OUT!"
"WEES'NAW!"
After a few more games, and a few more mishaps from Lincoln's gang, Ichika and Rin were just walking around the festivities. Lincoln was still watching them from a few yards, while Night Club was-
"And it all comes together in one beautifully strung chord."
-lollygagging with locals who were infatuated with her charm and her musical prowess.
NIGHT CLUB — SHIELD 7/18% (WARNING)
Strong Suit caught up to her music-loving superior, "Uh, Night? Shouldn't we be watching out for those IS people?"
"What's the rush?" Night Club responded, "We ain't gotta worry one bit. Young Man Plushie's having a ball watching the playdate already." She pointed her thumb to Lincoln eyeing the parade, of which he noticed Houki leading the procession.
"Sucks to be her," Strong Suit joked, "That costume has to be taxing underneath the silk."
"Especially..." Night Club strummed a few notes on her shamisen, which earned a few swoons from her already noticeable fan base.
"Well, maybe you could put that to good use?" Strong Suit pointed to the parade closing in on Ichika and Rin's location.
"I'm all over this!" Night Club ran out to meet them.
Right before High Card came up, "Suit, you got a moment?!"
"What's got your cards ruffled in a-" That's when Suit saw it, "Well, BAALS to you!"
High Card caught a post of Lincoln in the squirrel costume, "This is our second objective. It's just been posted to 4chan, and already it's facing the meme baptism."
"Who did this?!"
"That group," High Card pointed to a group of people by a mocha stand, "That's where their IP Address leads."
"Oh, I'm gonna rip off a piece of their minds like chicken nuggets!" Strong Suit ran off to confront the group.
"I guess I'll keep Ace away from the kerfuffle," High Card said exasperated.
HIGH CARD — SHIELD 15/20%
Lincoln was sitting underneath a tree, just beyond Houki's line of sight. And for the second time in his life, he was actually enjoying his lone time, "I guess I made the right move coming here. I got a front row seat to traditional and culture!" He was marveling at the many dances and sets, while checking on Ichika and Rin. He saw that the two were having a good time, and he saw that Houki had settled in comfortably as the banner girl for the parade.
High Card leaned against his tree, "Having fun?"
"Feels like it," Lincoln said, "I can't remember the last time I got to just watch life happen around me."
"Enjoy it while it lasts. We all know what's coming up next month."
"Oh, yeah. The inter-class tournament," he groaned, "I do not get these people."
"Don't sweat it," High Club watched the parade slowly pass by her, "I'm sure you'll see your needs fulfilled in due time."
Lincoln thought about that. He did draw up a quick page about how the hero could never truly forgive or forget, no matter how much they wanted it. He saw Ichika and Rin riffing on the banner girl for lacking the fight and spirit. He was about to tell them to tone it down, when-
-BAM!-
"What's your problem-AAAGAH!"
"Squirrel Boy's my problem!"
"He's just a silly little-UGH!"
"He's a hero!"
"He ain't worth the liver you're ruining for this!"
"What was that?" Lincoln turned back to the food court.
"Oh no..." High Card led him to a stand that had fallen, thanks to Strong Suit unloading on a group of men who posted the squirrel boy picture.
"Little girls have no right to-" a man stopped short of being shoved into a tree, "-AGH! How... did you-"
"I used the anger I got from seeing you post the picture to your chat group," Strong Suit threw two other men against him, "Now, you're gonna take it down, or else-"
"Strong Suit, no!" Lincoln shouted, "Stand down!"
"Why? He was this close to posting it everywhere!" Strong Suit said.
"I cut off the network in this area!" High Card said, "He can't share it anywhere!"
"Wait, wait, wait!" The man said, "What network?!"
"Hey!" One of his friends said, "You're that kid! The one in the squirrel costume!"
("¡Música!")
("No! No música!")
("LINCOLN!")
("Is she your girlfriend?")
"Huh?!" High Card checked her phone and saw that the photo was shared manually. She stopped it from being shared outward, but she couldn't prevent others from coming into the field and showing it to other people. She growled and tapped Night Club's icon and communicated to her, "Night, we've been compromised!"
"Wuzzat?" Night Club spoke over the music she was playing for her nearby pack of fans.
"The mission is a failure! Get Ichika and Rin out now!" High Card commanded...too late.
"Hey, look what some guy gave me!" A girl showed her friends the pic.
"Oh, poop..." Night Club responded, "I'm gonna try to do damage control and extraction at the same time!"
Ichika was walking with Rin on the sidewalk, "I gotta admit... that was a good time I had."
"Same here!" Rin cuddled him, "We oughta do this again before the tournament!"
"I didn't know you could get excited about a simple hangout."
Rin pouted, "It's a little more than a mere hangout for me, ok?"
"Sure, sure..." Ichika wagged, then turned his head to a small commotion behind them, "Seems like Lincoln has his hands full..."
"I'm sure he's caught up in the festivities," Rin said, "Maybe we missed out on the best part."
"That you did!" Night Club popped up and startled them, "And seeing how the best part is always the last, how about we call it a night, Huh?" Stretch "Oooooh! I'm beat..."
"How's That, now?..." Rin tilted her head.
"Is everything ok?" Ichika sounded suspicious.
"Oh, definitely! I...just..." Night Club quickly materialized an acoustic guitar, "...thought of a song I wanted to sing. Yeah, that's it!"
NIGHT CLUB — SHIELD 4/18% (CRITICAL)
"Oh," Rin nodded, "I guess a song couldn't hurt."
"I...ok..." Ichika was close to going back to the Academy, when he heard a very heavy clang at the food court. "Who in the-" In that instant, he saw a white tuff of hair and a brown ponytail colliding with each other, "Lincoln!" He slipped out of Rin's hug, "Sorry, Rin! I have to take this!" and ran towards the chaos.
"I wouldn't recommend it, dude!" Night Club tried to stop him, "That barbell weighs a crap ton of hurt!"
"I'll take my chances," Ichika shoved her aside and fled into the scene, with Rin tailing him.
Meanwhile...
"Who else wants some roadkill?!" Strong Suit was livid. She told numerous people to delete the photo, only for them to outright refuse and suffer her wrath.
"You have to stop!" Lincoln couldn't calm her down, "It's just a photo!"
"A photo of the worst moment in Loud history!" Strong Suit protested, "How do you expect me to not do anything?!"
"What photo?" Cecilia asked.
"This one," a girl showed her.
And Cecilia was appalled, "Oh my...can we take it down?!"
"Why would you? This is rich!"
"How about my 45s on your digits?!" Strong Suit got onto the girl.
"No, don't!" Lincoln tackled Strong Suit to the ground.
"Yeah, control your sister, Squirrel Boy!" Another girl taunted.
"Hey, that's his parents' fault!" Another butt in, "Leave him alone!"
"Why?! He almost socked me!"
"But I didn't-" Lincoln stopped short of seeing three guys argue over the photo:
"Seriously, where is he?"
"Dude, don't."
"Lay off, man."
"Hey, that's him!"
"Ease up! He's just a kid!"
"He did it to himself."
("Ronnie and Lincoln, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!")
("YOU!")
("Ooooh! *SLAP* Ohhhh...")
"Oh no...not again..." Lincoln was defeated. The cycle has officially restarted. They all saw the thing. They're quickly placing the blame. And they've singled him out.
"I think we need to bail!" High Card dragged him out "OOF!" only to run into Rin, "Hey, what are you doing here?!"
Rin pointed to Houki, who shared in the laughter of the photo.
High Card zipped to Houki, "Give it here!"
"What? No!"
"Hands off, blonde bimbo!" The girl took it back.
"Ace, over here!" Night Club called out, and Strong Suit shoved him over to Ichika's side.
"I got him!" Ichika shouted, "Everybody out now!" He grabbed Lincoln's hand and ran off, while Rin grabbed Night Club and bolted after the boys.
High Card and Strong Suit stayed behind and made sure no one came after Lincoln.
"Where is that little rascal?" Houki asked.
"Did you hear me?!" Cecilia nagged, "We have to leave now!" She grabbed Houki's hand and quickly ran out.
"Wait!" Another man stopped them, "Do you know him?!"
"That kid was just here!" A woman said, "Did you see where he's gone?!"
"Uh, no!" Cecilia stammered, "He's just visiting! We only talked once-"
"Actually," Houki ruined it, "he's the world's youngest pilot."
"I knew I recognized him!" A girl cheered.
"HE'S A WHAT?!" The man screeched.
"He can't be a pilot! Only women can pilot an IS!"
"But the news said there were two male pilots~~~"
At that point, the food court became a frenzy of talk. All sorts of words being spread about how Squirrel Boy has came from IS Academy to view their very own parade party.
"Now, you've done it..." High Card funneled nearly all of her energy into her cellphone to drain every single mobile device in her vicinity of all battery life.
HIGH CARD — SHIELD 1/20% (CRITICAL)
High Card sensed that Lincoln was too far away to maintain her link, meaning that he was out of these people's blabbering range, "Strong Suit! Withdraw!"
"Uh...right," Strong Suit nodded and fizzled out of existence, shocking everyone who had surrounded her.
"And, you two!" High Card dragged Houki and Cecilia away from the scene and into an empty park. Then, she slapped them.
"Ow!" Houki flinched, "What was that for?!"
"Quite right!" Cecilia yelped, "What is the meaning of-"
"I told you to piss of, but you didn't listen!" High Card boomed, "Which one of you cucks told them he's from IS Academy?!"
Houki froze. She didn't know what to say, as she has now sent a huge crowd after the Academy solely for the purpose of Swuirrel Boy.
"Yeah. Thought so," High Card started to fade, "Don't let the branches hit you on your way back," she said as she, too, fizzled out of existence.
"Oh my..." Cecilia sighed, "What a disastrous night..."
"I'll say..." Houki agreed.
"Seriously?! Why'd you tell them he's at the Academy?!"
"If I didn't, they'd never leave us alone! They'll follow us until they see the giant tower of Arena 6!"
"Maybe a little white lie could've crossed your mind?!"
"Uh...no, it hasn't..."
"Gah!" Cecilia grabbed Houki's hand again and dragged her away, "All I wanted was a good little story about me and Ichika! And now, it's gotten completely discombobulated because of that stupid photo bad luck thing!"
"What did you think you would accomplish with that?!" Houki stammered, "Ichika probably asked Lincoln to guard him!"
"Well, I wanna hear that from him! I want a full explanation for this farce!"
Back at room 1025, Ichika, Rin, and Night Club were all catching their breath. Lincoln, however, resigned himself to an unusually long shower.
"What the heck was that?" Rin asked, "One minute we were walking along the river front, and the very next minute we were whisked away to kingdom come."
"Maybe we could ask him," Night Club pointed to the shower room, "He's seen exactly what we were trying to avoid."
"And what would that be?" Ichika asked before he saw Rin's bracelet light up a notification from the communication channel.
"I'm guessing it had everything to do with this thing," Rin accesses the notification, which led her to a certain post on social media.
It was two photos. One was a picture of Lincoln donning the Squirrel costume, looking despaired before his face was covered. The second was a picture of him fully inside the squirrel costume, looking downtrodden as the rest of his family was happily frolicking away at the beach.
"Máo liánmǐn...(Mao have mercy...)" Rin gasped.
"Oh poop deck..." Night Club facepalmed herself, "This post is spreading like wildfire..."
"Look, we don't need to dig too deeply into this whole mess, do we?" Ichika said, "It's something he doesn't like to..." He stopped talking when he received the look of shame from Rin.
"Uh, quick question," Rin said, irritated, "How did Lincoln come by the IS?..."
While Ichika and Rin were discussing the real origin of Lincoln's powers, the white-haired boy was busy drowning in his thought amid the shower's false warmth. He saw the photos that were posted online and wondered if there was any way to reduce the damage. The photo had already been shared to everyone in the Academy by now. Chances are, he would be challenged about the photo and who might've taken it, as well as...
("Put the head back on so we don't get stung by a jellyfish!")
Was it then? Did they take the photo then, without anyone noticing? And what else did they hear?
("IT'S THE SAME ONE-TWO PUNCH EVERY SINGLE DAY! WE NEVER! EVER! EVER LEARN!")
("That's the kid! That's the boy in the squirrel costume!")
("Hey, cut it out! How'd you like it if you're in that thing?!")
"What am I doing?..." he muttered, "I forgave them, didn't I?..."
"Sure you won't reconsider?"
"Huh?!" Lincoln jolted and turned around. He wiped away the foggy steam from the glass door and peered out to the sink.
"Are you sure you meant it?" It was Lynn. With a baseball bat.
"AAAAA!" Lincoln dropped keel and backed away from the door, accidentally causing the shampoo and shower hose to fall, "What are you doing here?!"
"Just wanted to make sure," 'Lynn' said, "You're coming to my softball game, right?"
Before, Lincoln had no choice but to reconsider because she was the only one with threateningly persuasive speech. But now that he has a means to defend himself...
"Make me, you trashy mudhead!" He deployed his arms and wing units.
"Oh, I knew it," 'Lynn' readied her bat, "You are bad luck, albino!" She charged at the glass door.
Lincoln was ready this time. He contacted the door the moment 'Lynn' slammed her bat onto it. She blocked both his arms and used her bat to push him back against the wall.
"Ugh..." he grunted, "and you are a fake..."
He slipped a card through the bat and punched her upward. She just flipped over and slammed the bat downward, which he blocked using his wing units. When he felt the bat striking him, he pushed the shield upward and locked himself in a power struggle with her. When he was close to getting the upper hand-
"Dude! Stop! Open your eyes, man!"
"Stay out of this, Luna!" Lincoln shouted, "I have to get Lynn out!"
"Not Lynn!"
"What?!" Lincoln was dragged off by Night Club. And only after she wipe his eyes did he truly see who he fought.
The 'Lynn' in his vision was just Rin, who came busting on him when he keeled over and caused a clatter.
"Dude..." Rin said, gripping her double-bladed staff while Ichika was helping her up, "You got issues..."
"I don't...How was I..." Lincoln struggled to wrap his long around what just happened, when all of a sudden Night Club fizzled out of existence.
He could have sworn he got over it and moved on. But he remained stuck in the moment, unable to run from his own feelings anymore. He said he forgave them.
But did he really want to?