Monday morning in Japan. Lincoln woke up extra early to catch the breakfast special. Coming from a strange night like yesterday night, he resolved to stow his inner conflict in the back of his mind and focus on the coming activities. Or at least that's what he wanted, but as soon as he entered the hallway leading to the classroom...
"Hiya, Lincoln!" Akina waved, "Boy, do I got some juicy gossip for you!"
"Oh..." Lincoln was relieved to see a friendly face in the sea of averted stares, "yeah, what you got?"
Not even a minute later...
"Keep was a way of telling her how dings?!" Lincoln exclaimed, fully sucked into the fever pitch of the hyperactive classmates.
"Oh, it be!" Akina said, "Apparently, whoever wins the next tournament will score a date with Ichika!"
"Whoa...how did this come about?"
"Who knows? All I care about is that chance to finally get closer to the sack of tasty man meat..."
Lincoln cringed at the sound of that, and the fervor of the other students did not help drown it out at all.
Cecilia and Houki were observing the insanity that was the steaming hot rumor.
"So, do you know what it is that these girls are so excited about?" Cecilia asked.
"I absolutely have no idea whatsoever," Houki was already worn out, having already known one possible cause of all the fervor.
Lincoln looked at Cecilia and Houki, then at three girls who seemed to have shown concern about the supposed rumor, "Huh...maybe they had something to do with it-"
"Ooh, a disturbing thought just crossed my mind," a student butt in and interrupted his train of thought, "What if Loud wins the tournament?" Uh, no. She derailed it. She derailed the thought trains of everyone within earshot, causing several students to fantasize about the brother-like relationship the boys shared.
"Oh my gosh! It's little brother and big brother!"
"Just when I couldn't get any more fixings!"
"Who's gonna be the bad boy?! Who's gonna be the kind heart?!"
"Well," Lincoln whispered, "at least squirrel's off the menu..."
Ichika entered the classroom looking like he made up for lost beauty sleep, "Morning, everyone!" He made the entire class stop. "What's with all the excitement?"
"Oh, no reason!" All the girls responded.
Ichika stared blankly at everyone, then at Lincoln who was just as confused as he was.
Suddenly, Chifuyu walked up to Ichika and shoved him inside, "Get in your seat now. Homeroom is starting immediately."
After everyone took their seats, Maya came in with an announcement, "Guess what, class? We're about to meet yet another transfer student."
Lincoln was informed yesterday, so he knew to expect some clamor. But just when he thought he could relax, the door opened. The student stepped inside and shocked everyone with the platinum blonde hair in shy violet eyes, and a gentle face that could woo anyone's heart. Ichika's eyes widened. Lincoln's jaw dropped. The rest of the class went into admiration.
As the third male pilot introduced himself to the IS world, "I'm Charles Dunois, and I have come from France. It isnice to meet you all."
"Dude, you're a boy?..." a student asked in awe of his overwhelming charm.
"Oui," Charles answered, "I heard about two male students who are in the same situation as I am, so I transferred here."
The class went ballistic. Lincoln quickly covered his ears, "Deja vu much?!"
"SILENCE, DAMMIT! THAT'S QUITE ENOUGH!"
The noise went by as quickly as it came. Chifuyu took control of the class, "Today, we are conducting joint practical training with Class 2. I want everyone changed and assembled on the second ground ASAP." She turned to Ichika, "And Orimura?"
"Y-yes?"
"I want you to keep an eye on Dunois since you're both boys," Chifuyu said before calling the rest of the class to attention, "Let's get moving, girls!"
"Did you know about this?" Ichika asked Lincoln.
"Another student, not another guy," Lincoln whispered.
"Hello?" Charles approached them, "You must be Orimura. It's very nice to-"
"Uh, no time for that," Ichika cut him off, "Getting There's our top priority now."
"The girls are gonna go bonkers again," Lincoln got up and grabbed both their hands, "Let's get our motor on, and quick." He dragged them out of the classroom, where no doubt dozens of overly curious girls would pounce on them should he decide to take a break.
"So, do we always have practical training in the arena?" Charles asked.
"Yep," Ichika answered, "and we have to change at the locker rooms every time it happens, so you better get used to beating the girls."
Charles looked at him as if he didn't expect that kind of answer, but quickly realized what he meant, "Oh, right."
"Hey, why do you look so anxious? Do you need to use the restroom?"
"Uh, no, that's not it-" Charles anxiously said before-
"HEY! I SEE THE NEW TRANSFER STUDENT!" A student from class 3 got in their way and led more students to their position.
"Dang it, Code Yellow!" Lincoln flinched.
"Huh?" Charles was surprised by the coming scene, and by the students'...
"Ashen white, steel blue, platinum blonde!"
"They compliment each other so well!"
Ichika grabbed the boys' hands, "Run for it!" He led them down the hallway while avoiding the girls' advances, only to be cut off by even more students, demanding they get in a question and a photo op.
Lincoln had to deploy his wing units to airlift the boys out of the girls' grasp. "HOW MANY MOOD SWINGS CAN ONE GIRL GET?!" He screamed.
"What do you mean?" Ichika asked.
"Literally yesterday, they were looking at me like I brought the emotional plague upon the school! Or was that the half that didn't see me fight Rin?...You know what, I don't care!"
"I'm not sure I understand," Charles said, "but if it's the girls' reaction, I'm confused with the raucousness as well."
"I'm pretty sure it's due to the fact that we're the only three males who can operate an IS," Ichika sheepishly said.
"Oh, right," Charles said, "Yes, that's right." He then noticed that he was being dragged on the ground, "Um, pardon me?"
"Huh? Ah! Oh, geez," Lincoln didn't notice that he was flying to low and withdrew his wings, "Uh, didn't mean to drag you."
"Are you ok, man?" Ichika asked, "You seem a little bit spaced out, too."
"Orimura?" Charles tapped his shoulder, "I think we need to get dressed."
"Oh, right! Lockers are this way! Come on!" Ichika led the way with Charles tailing after him.
Lincoln just walked. He was far too deep in the revelation that he may have just jumped 13 years into the future and carried a teenage version of Lily.
"Uh-Uh, Nope!" A revelation that had NO! written all over it, "The hell you talkin' about, albino? That guy's a guy! A very...very...feminine-looking guy..."
After changing into their training uniforms, both Class 1 and Class 2 were lined up in front of Chifuyu.
"Your practical training begins now," Chifuyu said, "First, we'll need to simulate an actual battle. Alcott! Fan!"
"Ma'am!" Cecilia and Rin said.
"Since you both have your own machines, I'm sure you'll gladly volunteer," Chifuyu ordered, "Step forward, girls."
The two seemed reluctant at first, but after Chifuyu whispered...something...
"It looks like it's time for Cecilia Alcott, England's Representative Contender, to step up and take charge."
"Yeah, and I can show the difference between those who have personal machines and those who don't."
they immediately propped up and put on an ego-measuring show.
"Wuuhhh?..." Lincoln drooped.
"What did the teacher say to those girls?" Charles whispered.
"How on earth would I know that?" Ichika answered back.
"So, who's my rival?" Cecilia crossed her arms and eyed Rin with a snarky grin, "I wouldn't mind tossing you around, restaurant girl."
"Eheh, that's my line," Rin returned the glare, "You're dead meat."
"Oh, don't get ahead of yourselves," Chifuyu said, "You haven't met your opponent."
Right at that moment...
"...aaaaaAAAAAAAA!"
A manned IS came plummeting downward.
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Maya screamed, "PLEASE AND THANK YOU!"
Everyone scrambled to evade the falling Maya. Ichika just stood there and watched in amazement at how a veteran pilot could be so clumsy to allow an IS to fall.
Lincoln saw the stiff man and jumped into action, "HIBBLETY PIBBLE" He deployed his IS and shoved Ichika out of harm's way, then merged his wings into a shield and brought it onto himself to take the full force of the crush and soften Maya's landing.
BOOM!
SAVVY SUITE — SHIELD 44/137%
RAFAEL REVIVE BASIC — SHIELD 53/100%
"Ugghhh..."
("O M GOSH! What happened?! No no no no no, Lincoln stay with me!")
"...Le...ni?..."
("LORI! LUNA! WE'RE GO...SE...ARE...SOME...LP!...")
"But...I'm still here, Leni..."
"You never left."
"Uh...huh?" Lincoln was brought back to his senses and finally saw just how close she was, "EEP!"
To everyone else, it looked like Maya had gotten...on top...of Lincoln, what with his face being mere millimeters away from her breasts, but that wasn't what was going on in his mind...
...at all.
"There does seem to be quite the conundrum," Maya blushed, "You see, if this progresses, then I might be entangled in a~~~"
"OK, BYE!" Lincoln wiggled himself free from the iron-claw bear hug.
"Whoa!" Ichika ran over to free him, "Hold on, little Loud!"
"Oh my god the cooties!" Lincoln freaked out, "Disinfect! Quickly!"
"Ok, calm down," Ichika soothed his shoulders, "We don't need to make a scene..."
"Eh?!" Lincoln looked around, and already the girls are either spreading more rumors, or laughing, "But...oh, forget it..."
"I'm sure you will get your bill soon enough," Chifuyu came and pushed the boys off, "Now, get back in line."
"Boy, you're really in for it now," Akina smirked.
"Just ignore the cycle..." Lincoln gritted his teeth.
"By the way," Chifuyu called both classes back to attention, "Miss Yamada here used to be a Representative Contender. She's still a fierce combatant and an expert pilot."
"Thanks, but that was a long time ago," Maya said, "and I could never break free from being just a contender."
Lincoln drowned out the exchange. He was too preoccupied with the sudden flash of a direct mental injection. A flashback he doesn't remember happening, where Leni sounded younger. He wondered what about the boobular collision could've caused that flashback to happen.
"Mr. Dunois, I'd like you to tell us about the IS that Miss Yamada is using."
Lincoln was brought back in the nick of time by Chifuyu's voice.
"But, Of course," Charles obliged, "Miss Yamada's~~~"
"A 2-on-1?" Lincoln was watching Cecilia and Rin try to find an opening on Maya. No matter how many shots they took, they were either blocked or evaded. Maya usually countered with a shot that disoriented her opponents, causing them to nearly slam into each other, "Right...definitely not Leni..."
"Loud," Chifuyu called him to task.
"Ah-Yes, ma'am!"
"You've fought against Miss Yamada during your entrance exam. Do you see any difference between the practical and this simulation fight?"
That got the girls whispering again.
"Well..." he ignored it and analyzed the current fight, "Miss Yamada's not doing anything different. If anything, it's the fault of Cecilia and Rin. They're not working together or planning a coordinated attack. They're working against each ot-"
He was cut off by Cecilia ramming into Rin's side, and Maya taking advantage of the distraction to launch a rocket at them. The two were sent spiraling downward and slamming deep into the ground.
And yet they still have energy to bicker.
"I can't believe this is happening to me..." Cecilia whined.
"Couldn't you tell she knew exactly which way you would go to try and escape from her?" Rin griped.
"And what about you?!" Cecilia nagged, "You were taking unnecessary shots like an idiot!"
"Uh, no and no," Lincoln interrupted their squabble and leaned into them with a smirk, "This is the fault of the heart. You both let your overinflated egos dictate the flow of the battle."
"How dare you insult a woman's unmatched caliber, you old ruffian?!" Cecilia snapped.
"It's not like you've ever suffered from a fight like this, so shut up!" Rin pointed a scimitar at him.
"Actually, I was his entrance exam opponent," Maya touched down and shocked Cecilia and Rin, "and he hit me real good."
Lincoln smacked his forehead, thinking that Maya wasn't aware what she just said, or what she put in Rin's head.
"I hope you're all aware of what your instructors are capable of," Chifuyu said, "and knowing that, show them the proper respect." And with the demonstration over, she began the real lesson, "For this phase of practical training, you're going to form teams. Those who have personal machines will be the group leaders."
"Gro-WHA-EP-" Lincoln blurted out of turn, bringing him seconds away from Chifuyu's wrath.
"Is there a problem?" Chifuyu glared at him.
"*GULP*...no, ma'am..."
"Good. Then, get forming already!"
And that was it. Lincoln had to forget about the most recent slip ups and carry himself with the current, "I can assure you that I've had double the mood swings."
"Oh, get with the good!" Akina bumped elbows with him, "You'll get your second wind!"
"Hey, let me pair with him!" A student nudged him.
"Can I be in your group too?" And another.
"Uh...sure?..." Lincoln gave up and just went with the flow.
The training proceeded with little problems. The two classes divided into groups to get a firsthand look at how an IS was supposed to be operated in and out of battle. The only problem was obvious.
"Ok," Ichika called to his group, "In order of your attendance number, I want you to put on the IS, activate it, and walk. Uh, the first one up is-"
And as if on cue, a student very cheerfully finished his sentence, "-me! Me! My attendance number is 1. I'm Kiyoka Aikawa. I'm in the handball club," -ok TMI- "and my hobbies include watching sports and jogging!" Huh?! "Nice to meet you."
Ichika blankly stared at Kiyoka's bowing gesture and extended hand, as if he had heard something he wasn't yet ready for.
He was further confounded by-
"Hey, no fair!"
"Yeah, me too!"
"Me three!"
-three more ladies extending the same reach to him, "I knew it was you at first sight!"
"Yep, definitely a Code White..." Ichika said with a mixture of discomfort and hilarity, then checked in with Charles, "BUH-"
Charles was in the same awkwardness of the situation, only with an even bigger and more affectionate crowd due to his mastery of control techniques, and his sheer looks.
"Welcome to the man-meat grinder, Charles," Ichika nervously chuckled before turning to Lincoln's direction, "Huh?"
Lincoln's group was noticeably smaller and much less love-hungry. In fact, a couple students weren't too keen on getting close to him.
"Well," Ichika thought about lending him a hand, "Maybe I should-"
"ORIMURA!" Chifuyu's voice ended that notion, "Get moving!"
"Uh, yes ma'am!"
While the training sessions were underway, Lincoln had made it halfway through the group.
"Wow. Moving this thing is a lot harder than I thought," a student commented while inside the cockpit.
"Just think of the IS as an extension of your own body," Lincoln explained, "Like you suddenly grew three times your height."
"Ok! Now, let's see," the student nodded. She concentrated her effort into the space outside her legs and got it to move. She took a few steps before calling it off, "Whew! I didn't think it be this hard!"
"You'll get the hang of it," Lincoln said, "For now, come down and switch with the next person."
The student jumped off and shook her legs, "For a moment, I felt like a giantess trampling over mountains and valleys!"
"There's plenty of time for giant sports tomorrow," Lincoln turned to his group, "Ok, who's next?"
"Um...me..."
"Hm?" Lincoln saw the girl next in line take a step back out of concern for his capacity for anger. "Oh, you saw that fight last weekend?"
"Um...a little bit."
"'Eey, What's my quota for subplots?" Lincoln mouthed before easing her tension, "That's not me anymore, Hana. I'm not gonna lash out at you."
"Well, ok...I'll hold you to it..." Hana allowed his hand into hers.
"Uh, Linc?" Akina tapped his shoulder and pointed him to his group's IS, "It's too high up."
"Oh..." Lincoln saw that the IS wasn't properly dismounted, "Hey, What if I get you up there?"
"Get wha-huh?!" Hana stuttered.
Meanwhile, Ichika's group was having the same problem. Houki's turn came next, but the previous student forgot to dismount. So, Maya's suggestion was...
"Orimura, take Byakushiki out now."
"Uh, right," Ichika deployed his IS, then looked at Houki.
"A-and just what exactly is he supposed to be doing with that?..." Houki dared to ask.
"He's gonna pick you up in his arms, of course," Maya happily answered, "and the shove you on that big thing!"
"KYAAAAAAAAA!" All of Class 1 lost it at the sound of that and turned their eyes to Houki.
"He's gonna pick me up?!" Houki stammered while hiding behind her group's training model, "And shove me on this big thing?!"
"Yup!" Maya answered, "Exactly like Loud is doing right now!"
"Loud? WAH!" Houki freaked out even more when she saw Lincoln carry Hana in his arms, in a manner similar to how a knight would carry his lady, "Awawawawaaaaaaa...eep?" She blushed when Ichika extended his hand to her.
"Come on," Ichika said, "We can't keep everyone waiting."
"There we go," Lincoln eased her legs inside and arms inside, "Now, call out your weapon."
"Ok," Hana nodded. She closed her eyes and pretended to draw out a sword. And on command, a sword materialized in her hands the moment she extended them, "Ok, I got it out."
"Alright, now just trust yourself..." Lincoln then engaged Hana in a mock battle.
When the one minute was over, Hana recalled the sword and lowered the cockpit to where she could step down. "Whew...uh, that was fun."
"I'll say. You had me nervous when you drew that blade."
"Really? I could've sworn that ~~~"
And that was the morning for him. Since his group was half the size of everyone else's, Lincoln was able to give his group a slight edge over the rest of the class on maneuverability training. Of course, that meant more whispering and mystery stories about him being spread like a plague, but he didn't mind since that meant alleviating some tension between today and yesterday. But none of that alleviated a burning itch in the back of his head, almost as if he was being watched.
In the locker room, ten minutes to lunch...
"Oh, so that's how you are able to keep pace with the rest of the class," Charles said.
"Uh-huh," Lincoln nodded, "I keep my battle uniform on underneath my regular uniform. It may smell a little, but at least I don't actually have to change."
"Huh, that really is helpful advice," Charles put his school uniform on, "You just saved me valuable minutes of skin chafing."
"Happy to be of service!"
"You are very different from what the girls have told me about you."
"Oh yeah?" Lincoln tiled his head while prying his locker open, "What do they say about me?"
"That you are very moody, carrying a lot of familial emotional baggage."
Immediately, Lincoln's locker door swung open and knocked him into Charles's locker. "Did somebody set up constant reminders over the fourth wall or something..." he groaned.
"Oh my," Charles knelt down by the locker, "you must have a way with life to be so carefree about mishaps like this."
"The heck does that mean..."
"Hey, guys!" Ichika waved to the two, "Houki just invited me to lunch with her, and I was wondering if you wanna join in."
Charles and Lincoln blinked.
"What?" Ichika blinked, "Why're you looking at me like that?"
"Do you not see the issue?..." Charles said.
"Well, Houki asked, so I figured that the others were going to barge in. So, I thought, the more the merrier."
"I'm out," Lincoln flatly said, "I think I'm being followed, and that follower might end up following you."
"Uhhhh..." Charles stood up and carried Lincoln out of his locker, unknowingly giving Lincoln a very good view of the under armor, "Pardon, Lincoln. We'll talk later, ok?"
"Yeah, sure," Lincoln scratched his head, "Don't mind it." He waited until Charles and Ichika left before dashing to the nearest bathroom stall and locking himself in it. Because he saw what wasn't down there when Charles stood up, "That guy's got no balls! That guy's a gal!"
"Hihihihi," and for no reason whatsoever, Strong Suit and Night Club appeared in the surrounding stalls to taunt him, "HIGH SCHOOL!...HIGH SCHOOL!..."
"Aw, poo-poo..." and Future Lily's once again valid.
The rest of the day went without a hitch, save for Ichika skipping half the final class period due to a severe stomachache. And Lincoln unable to scratch the itch off the back of his neck. But the day wasn't over even then.
On the way back to the dorms...
"What in the hell?..." Ichika said after Lincoln informed him of the tournament rumor, "As if a stomachache wasn't enough, now the girls had to go and give me a headache, too..."
"That's what Akina told me."
"Great. I need to ask Charles for some major help."
"Ulk-" Lincoln flinched, "Speaking of...you notice anything odd about him? Him in air quotes?"
"Huh...not really, though he does look a bit more feminine than most."
"Yeah, but what guy wraps up insanely long blonde hair in a pink ribbon? Or insists we look away while changing?"
"Huh, you have a point," Ichika said as the two approached room 1006, "Ope, looks like this is your new room."
"Yep," Lincoln sensed a slightly harsh presence within.
"Did Miss Yamada say anything about your new roommate?"
"Nope. Just that she's another transfer student."
"Another? Two days in a row, how the heck is that possible?"
"Well...I have a couple of ideas..."
"Alright," Ichika patted Lincoln's back, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow. We got a lot to go through."
"Gotcha," Lincoln have a thumbs up, "For the glory of the One Ring!"
"Ok, not that much!" Ichika eased him down and departed to his own room, leaving Lincoln to brave whoever had the fortune of intimidating him tonight.
"Hoo-boy..." he reached for the doorknob, "Today ain't gonna be like-what the-" the door was unlocked. Usually, he'd have to beg someone to open the door, but not this time. He wondered if anyone was hiding inside, so he barged right in and sought out every inch of his new room. But there was no sign of tomfoolery anywhere. Just a slightly used bed with a modified school uniform.
"Huh..." he examined the uniform, "Doesn't look like it's made for school... army? And it's..." he went to the mirror by the door and tried it on, "Oh my...*SNICKER*..." perfect fit "...quite the conundrum...hahahah..." salute "HEIL LEDERHOSEN!"
He got back into his comfort clothing. Then, he opened a video call to his home.
Surprisingly, Luna was the early bird who received the signal, "Lincoln? Uh, wassup?"
"Is something wrong? You're not your usual upbeat self."
"I know," Luna wagged her hand, "And it ain't because it's like 9:30."
"And you're not at school...ok, who did what?"
"Yeah, about that...what was supposed to happen was: Mom's taking me and Lynn to drop her out of sports."
"Uh-huh...and what actually happened?..."
Luna winced, "Check your em. Just...check it."
"O...k..." Lincoln minimized the cam screen and opened up his inbox. What he found momentarily wrecked the mental image of the Royal Woods community he was hoping to escape to later in his sleep.
Hey, bro. I've been thinking about what you said about retribution and all that crud. In that, I still have no idea what that means. But if it has something to do with the fact that we made you into a glutton for punishment, then maybe we oughta load just a tiny bit off your shoulders. Starting with me, since I'm the one who goaded you into going to that one game I lost.
-LJ
P.S.: Don't tell any of your IS friends.
Amazement was all he felt. Not the good kind, like his first experience with the Milk Shaker. The bad kind, "Do I wanna hear it?..."
"Probably not, but we all did," Luna responded, "and because of that...and the coaches getting hung ho about the "WAAAR ARGH LET'S GO TO WAR!" vibe the school's been reeking of, Lynn is gonna axe every sporting event in Royal Woods."
"Ga-wuh?..."
"We all heard your conversation with Lynn the other day. Especially the part about the bat over the stairs."
"That was supposed to be-the walls. Yeah, I get it," Lincoln rubbed his face.
"Yep," Luna nodded, "And apparently, it ate everybody up so much that they chow down on Lynn like nobody's bee's wax."
"Great..." he hissed, "And lemme guess, Lynn didn't say no?"
"That's the weird part. She just said, "Fine, I'll do it." And then, she went straight to the locker room."
("Forgiving you was a mistake... I shouldn't have done that...I should have made you work for it long ago...")
"Oh, of course," Lincoln groaned, "It always has to tie back to whatever I did."
"What's that?"
"Nothing. How's everyone else doing?"
"About what you'd expect. Except for me. I got a few tunes I wanna crank out for the pep rally today."
"Huh...that is a surprise."
"I know, right? This right after I swore off music! What the heck is happening to everybody?"
"Looks like that war is going to happen after all..."
"Yeah...nothing we can do about it now," Luna shrugged, "Just do the best we can."
"Second that..." Lincoln said before getting that feeling of being watched, "Um...I'm gonna have to call you back."
"Oh...uh, sure thing! Just don't be too long," Luna waved and ended the call.
Lincoln groaned and leaned his head back, "Oh, what a fine pickle fish this turned out to be..." He then put his laptop under the bed and walked over to the door leading to the porch.
"Ok, I see your intimidation ability," Lincoln said...out loud, "And I know you've been giving me the heebie-jeebies all day!" He didn't hear anyone answer. "I'm coming out right now, and I wanna hear an answer outta your smart mouth!" As soon as he said his two cents, he forced the door open and punched the outside.
But no one was there.
"Guhuhuh..." He muttered, "Maybe a stray hawk?..." He looked up.
"Lincoln?" It was Kim from a balcony two stories above, "Since when did you change rooms?"
"Since I got a new roommate!"
"Oh. Well, make sure to treat her nicely!"
"I'll try..." He said before turning around- "BOYO-holy..." He managed to duck under a pointy thing before it plucked his hair, "Hehe, where did you-"
Then, a female voice surprised him from behind, "Very observant."
"AAAAA!" Lincoln toppled backward and landed in the bed, "NAKED MONKEY!" Whoever that woman was walked over to him and looked down. This was the first time he ever saw a teenage girl in a one-piece that up-close-and-personal, and that was enough to drive him into the bedsheets. The only thing that kept him from completely going bonkers was her red eyes piercing a needle of haughtiness, and her eyepatch didn't ease her leering one bit.
"And very unruly," the girl scoffed.
"Where did you come from?!" Lincoln demanded.
"Germany," the girl answered.
"That's not what I meant!" Lincoln pointed at her, "How did you get into this room?! I locked the door!"
"I would think you knew," was all she said before she walked into the shower room.
Lincoln tried to intercept her, "Actually, I was gonna-" and failed as his face met the cruel rejection of the closing door.
Later that night, after he showered and finished his homework, "*YYAAAWWWWNNNNN...* Boy howdy, that was a good distraction..." He looked around the room, "Ok, she's not here..." he opened his spiral to the last page, where he hid, amongst the wealth of notes about the IS, a vivid description of the flashback he saw. He knew for a fact that he didn't remember that happening at all, yet this was proof it happened regardless. Just from those words, he could tell that something bad happened to him and Leni was there right after it happened.
Leni. She didn't have any smarts, but her memory could be comparable to her fashion sense, "I'm gonna have to ask her about that."
"Ask who what?"
"CROCKAHOOEY!" Lincoln flinched and ducked under the desk. He peered out and saw that girl again, arms crossed and eyes down on him, "Ah, I uhhh...ask, Uh...ask you how your hair became such a silky silver! Yeah, that!"
The girl knelt down and stared intently into his eyes, as if to scan his soul for any defects. "The same way you acquired your ashen white hair," she said, "I was born with it." Then, she walked over to her bed.
"You know, dangit, woman!" Lincoln crawled out, "Could you be any-"
"Laura."
"Huh?"
"I am not "woman." I am Laura Bodewig."
"Uh-huh..." Lincoln crawled back under, "You know, dangit, Laura!" and then crawled back out, "Could you be any more jump-scare inducing?! What's your deal, anyway?!"
"I fail to see how your personal insecurities would relate to the current situation," Laura said while rummaging through her bag.
"Do you act like this around everyone?..."
"Do you always ask meaningless questions about everything?"
"The heck is-oh, forget it..." Lincoln gave up on furthering the conversation, thinking about how difficult she would be should she ever attempt to initiate contact with him.
Like a couple hours later, when he turned the lights off and was trying to settle himself for bedtime.
"Good night, Bun-bun," Lincoln said as he tucked in his stuffed bunny-
"Curious."
"YEET!" Lincoln deployed his arms and attempted to clock whoever scared the sleep out of him, only to be suddenly caught in six magenta-glowing wire-guided daggers, "TENTACLE MONSTER!"
"And a deployment speed only 0.2 seconds behind me."
"Dep-se-huh?!" Lincoln recognized that German accent, "DANGIT, LAURA! WHAT IS YOUR DEAL?!"
Laura turned on the light and examined Bun-bun, "How can it be that such vast potential is wasted on a child born of hypocrisy and ignorance?"
"Wait, wuh?...I'm only 11, BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" Lincoln shouted before the wires released him, "Boy, you must be fun at parties..." He snatched Bun-bun back from her, nearly brushing against her army sleepwear, "Now, if you'd mind, Cthulhu, I would like to get some sleep!"
"The men in my barracks never slept with such a shoddy piece of fabric," Laura taunted.
"THIS AIN'T THE ARMY BASE! We're in a boarding school!" Lincoln snapped, "And why the sudden fascination with me anyway?!"
"No reason," Laura de-materialized her wire daggers and switched the lights off.
Lincoln was expecting to go the entire night worrying about when he'll get jumped again, but strangely he was completely worn out merely by just how much activity occurred around him and the new information he received from those events. As soon as the lights went out, so did he.
It didn't help that he was awoken by a pair of emails that not only shocked him into his alerted state, but gave him so much to rant about:
Lincoln! Bad! Really bad! The coaches are so worked up in this war that...ok, yeah, Lynn kinda started because of the Squirrel Boy pic thing that-WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT?! Her coaches are making her participate in every single sporting event this semester! I tried to call it off, and so did your mother, but no! Lynn's ok with it, and she's not even gonna reconsider it! You were right! The cycle is bug nuts!
-Clyde
I don't know what happened between you two, but she ended up not quitting sports. Quite the opposite, she's been conscripted into every single sports team in Royals Woods. I've ordered four-eyes to make sure she doesn't bombrush it; that's how bad it's gotten. Please, both of you, keep your dickheadedness in check.
-AAdsz
There were eight more messages related to that subject. He deleted them all.
Ten minutes later, in the cafeteria...
"Sheesh!" Ichika said while chowing down on a ramen bowl, "And I thought I had it bad."
"I don't think anything could outmatch being kidnapped at 11 years old," 'Charles' said.
"That's what I thought," Lincoln spiraled, "right before I internalized getting flashbacks of stuff that I know didn't happen to me with this IS crap, the bad luck crud that's stuck to me like really bad BO, and my new roommate that walks around like she's trying to balance a chip on her shoulder! On top of a war that wasn't supposed to happen and somehow ended up happening for reasons incomprehensible to even the most gifted of minds!"
"Eh, would you like some tea?" Charles offered a small cup to Lincoln.
"I can't...not yet."
"Hm?"
"Um, change of subject...I know rumors fly," Ichika commented, "but this is enough to start a blog."
"I still don't understand their fascination with this kind of whispering back talk," Charles said, "Why are they getting so worked up over us?"
"Maybe because we're boys?" Lincoln answered, "Otherwise, who else would talk so much about us?"
"I don't think you're helping much, to be honest," Ichika nudged Lincoln and pointed him to two girls staring at the three of them.
"Are we a dream team to them?..." Lincoln muttered.
"I guess so," Charles joked, "Where else can you find three men with radically different hair styles, hair colors, and personalities?"
"And the trifecta is complete..." Lincoln mumbled, once again overcome with time travel lag.
"Hey, mind the time," Ichika warned them, pointing to the clock that signaled the ten minute notice.
Lincoln wolfed down whatever food he had left, while Charles ended the meal early and trashed his plates.
Finally, the morning began. All the students were talking amongst themselves, no doubt having to do with the "dream team" surrounding Ichika's desk. The trio decided to carry out a conversation of their own to ease their nerves-
"What the heck is the logic behind that?!" -but then Ichika heard a student talking about the alleged prize for the tournament winner, "Who came up with that stupid notion?!"
"That's something I don't wanna probe, like, ever," Lincoln said.
"So, Lincoln?" Charles asked, "Is your new roommate really such a stiff? You've been with her for only one night."
"Oh, you're gonna take a huge iffing to her," Lincoln smirked, "She mocked my country, my age, and my "IS ability" in one exchange. If that's just on me, I don't know what she'll do to the both of you."
"Come on, I think you're overreacting," Ichika patted his shoulder, "What's one uneasy conversation gonna do?"
"May I suggest a "Hello, how do you do?" type of starter?" Charles said, "I believe it would be best to keep it simple if Laura is indeed the woman you described."
"Well...I dunno..."
Just then, Maya entered the classroom, "Ok, everyone in your seats! Homeroom is about to begin!"
When Charles walked to his seat, Lincoln whispered, "Well, how's the observational period?"
"Nothing strange yet," Ichika whispered, "aside from not being allowed to go to the toilets or shower with him for some reason..."
"Quiet at the front!" Chifuyu suddenly walked in with the silver-haired girl beside her.
Ichika and Lincoln paid very close attention to Laura, noting that she never opened her eye(s) to look at the other students, except for one instantaneous moment where she batted a menacing glance at both of them right before returning to her normal gait.
"Did you see that?..." Ichika asked Lincoln.
"Yep," Lincoln nodded, "the eye."
"Ok, class, I'm about to make another exciting announcement today!" Maya said, "I'm about to introduce yet another transfer student to our ever-expanding classroom!" Then, she waved her hand over to left, "Meet our newest transfer student from Germany, Miss Laura Bodewig!"
While the class went into a soft clamor about how it had two transfer students from two different countries in two days, the boys were looking at her for any reaction. So far, she didn't even twitch.
"Please be quiet, everyone," Maya silenced the room, "Her introduction isn't over yet, so show some respect."
"Yes, go ahead, Laura," Chifuyu said, "Please finish."
"Jawohl, mentor," Laura addressed Chifuyu before turning to the class, "I am Laura Bodewig."
Then...Dead silence for a good five seconds.
Maya didn't know why Laura kept silent, "Um...is that all you want to say, Laura?"
"Ja," Laura answered, "That's all." She then batted her eye at Ichika, "And this must be..."
The boys sensed a sort of hostility from her words. They saw her step away from the blackboard and stop right by Ichika's desk. Ichika felt unnerved by her, so much so that when she raised her hand, so did he.
"Whoa!"
Ichika just blocked a hard slap. Everyone saw it.
"Code Red-gyaha!"
Everyone saw Laura slam Ichika's hand on the table and try again...only for Lincoln to take the hit instead. He felt the sharp pain spreading throughout his face, yet he was able to stand his ground and separate the two.
"I have waited long enough, Laura," Lincoln demanded her answer, "What is your deal?"
Laura just scoffed at them, "My 'deal' is that I do not approve...in fact, I will never approve..." She pointed at Ichika, "...that he is her brother!"