Chapter 2: You are (Not) loved
Ichika was walking alongside Tatenashi by his side. To others, they just seem like normal people walking together. But to the academy? They were big targets. Ichika had received many, and I mean many, stares from the surrounding crowd of people.
A lot of them were shocked to say the least, others were jealous of the president being close the their dream man, while some just didn't know why everyone had a crush on him, they were more interested in the president really.
Ichika tried to calm himself down from all the attention he was getting. While being stared at, especially for a year, was nothing to him at this point. But what he was more scared of, was the girls. Girls as in his 'friends'. He didn't know what they would think, let alone how they would react.
But then, he felt a gentle pull on his shoulder. He saw Tatenashi staring at him, her eyes told that of a person who tells you "it's all gonna be okay". He felt slightly relieved, he had someone who cared about him other than his sister. And it felt, so god damn good! He returned a tired smile, giving it as a mean of thanks.
They walked some more until they were approaching Ichika's class. This was goodbye, as Tatenashi was in a different class than his, so she had to separate early. He wanted to let go, but for some reason, his body didn't want to listen.
"Don't worry Ichika-kun, I'll be waiting for you at the dorm~, okay?" Tatenashi winked as she saw his body language having a fight with itself. She knew he didn't want to let her go, and she honestly felt tingly at it.
She was about to let go until some footsteps were approaching them. "So I was thinking that we should visit him after class- WHAT THE?!" Houki was explaining to her friends about their plan after class but was interrupted when she saw the 'hideous' sight that was right before her eyes.
"Ichika! What the hell are you doing with her?!" Lingyin questioned, flabbergasted at the scene before her. She didn't want to believe it, her childhood friend and crush was too close with another girl that wasn't her. Oh the humanity!
"Ichika, I demand to know why you're with this girl!" Charlotte shouted at him, demanding to know the reason behind this. All the girls were mad, not because he was doing something wrong like kicking a dog or something, but because he was close to Tatenashi.
"Guys, please understand. I was just helping her. She couldn't walk." Ichika timidly explain, he was scared. In front of him were very powerful girls, they could beat him 5 to 1, he couldn't stand a chance, added to the fact that he was injured.
"Well, that's her problem! she could just walk herself y'know instead of her dragging you down." Lingyin said irritated. The girls all looked at her in shock. Tatenashi then looked down in sadness, contemplating if she shouldn't be here right now. Okay, that was too far, thought Ichika.
"Hey! She's INJURED, what happens when your leg is bad!" Ichika shouted, surprising the girls. They had never heard him shout before, let alone at them. He was always calm and collected, always looking for a better solution than resorting to anger.
"Listen Ichika, don't you fucking dare shout at me!" Lingyin doubled down, letting her pride shine than to back down. "Oh yeah, what are you gonna do about it? Injure me more? We all know whose fault is that." Ichika fired back. This was bad, if this escalates any further, they could end up in serious injuries. They had to defuse the situation, and Cecilia was the first one.
"Calm down Yin, let's just calm down a sec and move on." Cecilia tried to calm down the ever slowly ticking time bomb known as Lingyin. Seeing the situation getting out of hand. "Bitch, I know your just as mad as me. C'mon, let's beat his ass and teach him a lesson." She said to Cecilia. Admittedly, she was also mad, but not to the degree of Lingyin.
"Hey now, he may be a bad boy right now but I don't want to beat him any further. Look at him!" Cecilia got the better mindset and pointed at Ichika, showing how his condition may worsen due to their bickering.
"She's right, Yin. Just let go." Charlotte had come to help and aid to calm her down, but that only mad her even more mad. "What, you think I'm wrong then? What do you know about me french girl!" Lingyin started to direct her anger towards Charlotte, who backed away out of fear.
"Lingyin, that's enough. You're scaring her..." Laura held her shoulder, trying to calm her down and not potentially have a dogfight in the hallways. "Grr, what is it now huh? Are you her guardian angel?" Lingyin mocked her, getting up close and personal.
"I'm her friend, Yin." She said in deadpan, not knowing why this girl didn't know the act of defending their friend.
"Tch, whatever. So Ichika," She partially transformed her arm into a blade. "Mind of I teach you a lesson." She said in a sinister voice, he swore he could see red lights coming out of her eyes.
"What is the meaning of this?" Suddenly, a demanding and authoritarian voice erupted in the halls. The voice was loud and demanded attention, it was non other than Chifuyu Orimura. Ichika's older sister and regarded as the most powerful and skilled I.S pilot of all time.
"O-oh, uh, Ms. Orimura, we were just having a disagreement that's all. haha..." Lingyin lost all of her pride and talked to Chifuyu like a kid who got caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. She transformed back into her normal form, tucking away the blade into somewhere. She lied through her teeth, hoping that she would believe it.
"Is this true?" Chifuyu asked to the other girls, they all nodded in unison to also not get in trouble with her. "Get back in class, recess is over." She said with authority and the girls all scurried off and into their class. Chifuyu then walked up to Ichika and said, "Are you alright?" Her tine being more calmer and caring. something she only did towards Ichika.
"Yes, I'm alright, thank you." He answered timidly, all his anger now gone. "That's good to hear. Listen, if you have any problems, wether it be the school or the girls, just talk to me, okay?" She said, patting his shoulder to try and ease him out. She really was caring.
"Ye-yeah, Thanks again, Chifuyu." He smiled, he really was grateful to have her as his sister. While she did emit a scary and demanding aura, she was carefree and nice towards him when their alone. She was also protective to him, which is something she will never admit.
"Sorry for not visiting you last night. I had a tight schedule and couldn't come when I heard you were awake." She said, her voice now being sad. "It's okay sis, I had Tatenashi here by my side." He nudged at her, she blushed and gave him a cheeky smile.
"That's good. Anyways, you should get back In class. Yamada's waiting for you." She said as she was walking away to her own class to teach. "Come on Tatenashi, your in my class aren't you?" Chifuyu looked back at her, gesturing her to follow her.
"It's time to go Ichika. Don't worry, I promise you'll get a nice meal at our dorm okay?" She winked, it was her secret weapon to always get Ichika embarrassed. But this time, he gave a simple, "Thank you, Tatenashi." He gave her a charming smile, not a hint of nervousness or embarrassment at all.
"Wh-what?! where's your blush? where's the stutter in your voice?" This time, it was her turn to be embarrassed and flustered. Her face turned into a tomato and steam started coming out of her ears. Guess her weakness was a confident Ichika.
"That enough Tatenashi, let's go." Chifuyu sighed, getting tired of waiting, and started dragging her by the arm. She left with a stuttering Tatenashi, Leaving behind a confused but confident Ichika in the hallways. He chuckled and walked back to his class, entering it and learning his oh so favor subject, I.S theory.
Would you look at that, it's lunch time! He grabbed his lunch and decided to not go to the roof anymore. The girls already knew that spot so he had to find somewhere else. "Y'know, there is the seaside behind this building. But, it's so far away, I'm pretty sure recess would be done by the time I get there." He thought.
"Or, I could go to the park nearby. Though, it still does have people there..." He tried to come up with another plan. "Ugh, there's really no more spots huh..." He whispered in frustration, not knowing where to eat his lunch. "Maybe I could eat in a closet." He thought up randomly.
"Actually, that does sound like a good idea. It won't be comfortable, but I'll be eating alone." He was mentally jumping in triumph. Finally, he could eat in peace. But where is the closest closet here?
"There is the janitors closet near class. But there'll be a lot of girls there, especially my friends..." He thought hard on where to go. "I know! the closet near the stairs leading up to the roof! That'll do." Perfect, he found the new place where he'll eat in peace. But just as he was walking there, a person had just caught up to him, striking a conversation.
"Hello there Ichika." The woman said in a calm manor. Ichika grumbled and looked at her, she wore a white blazer, same design as their uniforms, but at the top of it, it held a peculiar green gem in a triangle shape. Her blazer was unbuttoned, showing off her red wine turtleneck underneath. Her hair was jet black which didn't have any style other than it was short and sleek. She wore an orange tinted and oval glasses, her hands wore that of White gloves. Her height is nearly the same as him, only 2cm shorter.
"Hi there, I'm sorry, I'm not in the mood to talk right now." Ichika tried to be nice and wanted to end the conversation right when it started. "I want to eat alone."
"Oh, but I need to discuss something with you. It's very important." The woman refused to go and wanted to speak with him about something. He was obviously not happy.
"Ma'am, could you please go. I'm busy." Ichika still persisted
"Nu-uh, I'm coming with you." This random woman declined once more. leaving Ichika frustrated but let her join in anyways. He walked to the stairs, the woman tailing beside him.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" Ichika decided to strike up the conversation now than later.
"Do you like the I.S?" She said to him, going straight to the question.
That's a weird question. Is that really all she wanted to talk about? He tried to answer, but for some reason, nothing came out.
"I... I..." He spoke, but his answer never came. He never really thought about it. Did he ever like the Infinite Stratos lineup? It just came into his life and he just, accepted it. No questions asked. But now that she asked it, did he really like the I.S? Did he really like being a pilot for it? Does he want to continue piloting it?
"I... I... don't know..." He gave her an answer.
"Hmm, do you like being here?" She asked again.
"Oh, definitely not." This one was easy. He never liked being here, from the very start of his enrollment, he despised every grueling day on the academy grounds. Even then, he heavily disliked going out, due to the Ichika fanclub still bothering him on breaks. He would do anything to get out of this hellish place.
"How interesting, do you like your friends?" She asked once more. This time being more personal.
"Um, I..." This one was really hard. He didn't want to say it, being nice about it and out of fear. He truly didn't hate them, but he also didn't like them. He'll never say it, he could only imagine how they would react if he were to criticize them on the spot. They had a lot of problems, some of which makes him want to say that he doesn't want to be friends with them anymore.
"You don't have to answer. I already know." She said out of the blue, he was very confused.
"Um, what?" He asked innocently.
"I know you dislike them. I could tell from you face." She said. " You don't think we're all blind, do you? From the sidelines, I could always see the resentment that you hold in your eyes whenever they lash out on you."She explained further.
"Don't you ever want to fight back against them? Don't you think it's finally time for them to learn what you really think of them?" She persisted, trying to conjure up some form of anger.
"Look, why do you care about how I think about my friends?" He tried to block out her voice and deflected any further conversation. His mind was already filling up with sour emotions surrounding his friends.
"Because you know it's wrong. You know that what they are doing is not good. I'm only here to help you get out of this situation." She persisted. They've arrived at their destination, in front of them was the closet that Ichika wanted to eat In, but now he had no appetite.
"You're... You're wrong." He tried to fire back but he had no evidence other than that those simple words which held no meaning.
"How am I wrong? Look at your arm, it's all wrapped up due to those girls. She pointed out his bandaged arm.
"Listen, i- it was just an accident okay?" He tried to come up with an excuse, failing to realize how the woman knew the cause of his injury.
"Alright then. You can think about what I said earlier. Give it some food for thought." She backed down, leaving him to his own comfort. " Oh, and be sure to keep an eye on Tatenashi. She'll be in for a treat." she said ominously. What did she mean by that? How did she know about Tatenashi?
He wanted to ask but she was already gone.
"That was, weird." He whispered. First this girl came in and asked him several out of the blue questions, then tried to change his mind about the girls, then just said some weird ominous things and left. What the hell did he get himself into.
What was that girls name? She didn't even introduce herself. What motive did she have? why did she ask all those weird and personal questions? He didn't know. Maybe she was just doing it for an article or something.
He looked down at the food he held. Honestly, he had no appetite now. But, throwing it out would be a waste of food, so he forced himself to eat it in the closet. Thinking about what she said earlier.
"Do I like the I.S?" He said in between bites. "Maybe but..." He thought further, remembering the things that were done with his Byakushiki. He helped people, saving them from the incoming terrorist attack. He vividly remembered the faves that he received when they saved the day; Happiness. He teared up at the memory,. knowing that people were happy because of them, because of him.
But then there's the other side, the other memories. Ones which he would never forget, no matter how hard he tried. Ones where he was hunted down from the Phantom Task, the time where he almost lost his life, the time where he wore that stupid crown and had to fend for himself from the girls. All of this, were caused, by the Infinite Stratos.
It put him in a sour mood. "Are all of my problems caused by this line?" He stared at the apple which came with his lunch. "Is that the reason why I'm stick in this darn place." He picked it up and inspected it.
He remembered all those grueling training, abuse, torment, expectations; It all came from his ability to pilot one. How did that even happen? Why was he chosen to be one when he didn't even ask for it! He started gripping the apple, the fruit itself growing small cracks from the pressure.
He hated this. His reason for being stuck in this horrible school, being inspected by entire world organizations just to understand his ability which he didn't know how it even came to be. Being chased by people, being expected to succeed, it was too much. He stopped gripping the apple, he didn't have much strength to crush it, he just let it go on the floor. He put his knees near his chest, he wanted to cry. He them remembered that it was still recess, he had to get back in class before the teachers- or rather, his friends get mad.
He wiped the forming tears on his eyes, picking up the food waste and going to a nearby bin to dispose of it. His mood was gone, only thing left saving it was Tatenashi. But, he has to wait an entire day for him to meet her. No matter, he'll forget about it. Probably.
lunch time was over. He got back to class and it started like any other. But news came about when the teacher announced something, "Alright everyone, before I start, I wanted to let you know on some big news!" Yamada, their teacher, said to the whole class. The entirety getting quiet to listen.
"Next week, we'll have the official New Semester Tournament Battle!" She said excitedly, the whole class erupted.
"Oh yeah, I forget that happened every new semester." Ichika thought.
"As per usual, everyone will fight 1v1 with each other. Whoever wins, gets to go to the next round and fight the other winner. It all ends when the final contestants battle each other out and who finishes the other first, wins!" She explained the rules, ot was pretty basic.
"Ooh, I can't wait to beat all of you and claim Ichika as my prize!" Laura said in triumph like she already won the tournament.
"Hey! why am I always the prize?" Ichika said in confusion as he was always considered to be a prize rather than a contestant. Guess that's the life of being the only boy in an all-girls school.
"*Sigh* no matter, I'm gonna win this time! So prepare for failure Laura!" Ichika yelled in an arrogant way. Trying to forget what happened earlier and mask away his inner turmoil.
"Oh silly Ichika, you think you're gonna win? It seems you haven't learnt your lesson yet, I'm gonna win this semester!" Cecilia got herself into the ring and began giving her own set of taunts towards the boy.
"You guys are forgetting who actually won last semester." Another person went into the ring. This time, she was the one holding the belt. "For as I will win again this year's tournament." It was non-other than Houki Shinonono. Looks like her last victory got into her head.
"Don't get to caught up in your own head Houki, for the french has the best tech in the I.S, I will win this semester!" Charlotte declared as she didn't want her friend to be fueled with so much ego. She to wanted in the fun.
"Alright calm down class. You can all discuss after we finish today's lesson, which is science! My favorite!" Yamada eased the class down, reminding them they all had a lesson to learn. She got the typical "aaawwws" But she paid no mind.
Off in the sidelines stood a rather bottled up person who didn't engage in the bickering the Ichika fanclub did. She instead was in her own head, planning on what to do this weekend. Her head was filling up with malicious ideas, all planning towards one single target, Tatenashi.
"That damn bitch," She thought in her head. "Just you fucking wait this week. I'm gonna make you regret standing beside him. Oh, and I'll have to teach that idiot a damn lesson."
She was furious, how the hell did that girl get so close to him? To which he HUGGED her! Well, it was more of a side hug but still. She plotted ways on retaliating that girl, she didn't even pay attention to the class.
"Hmm, I could sneak up on her and bash her with my I.S. But, she'll probably be ready and kick my ass..." She didn't want to, but she faced the truth and admit that Tatenashi was a lot more stronger and skilled than her. So trying to fight her would be impossible.
"Or, I could have my friends help me" She grew a sickeningly evil smile. She knows that her friends are just as mad as her, so if she can manipulate them, they can all dogpile on Tatenashi. "Oh, just you wait, blue haired bitch."
The class went on as usual until it was almost 3 o'clock in the afternoon, signifying the end of classes. Ichika got up and took his bag with him. Going back to his dorm room and hopefully see Tatenashi again.
When He left that door, Lingyin got up and got the girls to stop and hear what she has to say. "Guys, listen, before you go, I want to talk to all of you." They all looked at her and decided to listen.
"So, you all hate Tatenashi right?" She asked, getting mixed responses. Houki and Laura hated her, while Cecilia and Charlotte mildly disliked her. For all the same reason, "It's because of earlier right?" They all nodded.
"Hmm, how bout we teach her a lesson?" She grinned, they leaned in closer to hear her better
"The tournament is happening just a few days, which is next week. So, if I ask her if we can train together, we can all ambush her and beat her ass. How does that sound?" She explained her plan, Laura already having doubts.
"You do know what she's capable right? As much as I hate that girl, she's not called the president for nothing." Laura called out their power levels. Sure, they could probably beat them. But Tatenashi had a lot of experience and could probably beat them all without any effort.
"Laura, its 5v1. We have the numbers. Sure, she's powerful, but we can outnumber her. It'll be a piece of cake!" Lingyin persisted on the idea.
"I don't know Yin, she does have an argument." Charlotte weighed in on her argument. "We don't know what she's capable of."
"I think your forgetting that she's injured." Houki weighed in as well, joining in on Lingyin's side. "Having an injury is a serious disadvantage in piloting an I.S. So we'll have more of an advantage on her."
"She's right." Cecilia agreed. "Especially on the leg. Running and standing is a no go, so flying is what she would resort to. Her advantages are mostly in ranged combat and ground to ground or air combat. so flying to her would be difficult." Cecilia observed that her I.S would only fight on ground, leaving her to speculate that she was at a disadvantage when she's in the air.
"Hmm, that is true." Houki had also observed her fighting tactics, agreeing on Cecilia and her testament.
"See! I told ya. Let's all jump on her and see her begging face." Lingyin wanted to get on this as soon as possible.
"Look, we'll do it. It's just that, we'll do it at the end of the week. I have to train first before we meet that powerful pilot." Charlotte said, dipping in towards more late approaches.
"Yes, I agree with her." Laura had also chimed in on Charlotte's idea, not wanting to go unprepared. Not like she's ever gonna admit that.
"What! Oh come on. What about you guys?" Lingyin asked all deflated to Cecilia and Houki.
"I have to agree with her. We can't just go to her with this half-assed plan. We'll have to play the long game." Houki answered, explaining her reasoning. Cecilia had agreed to with her nodding.
"Ugh, why do all have to be so weak..." She muttered. "Alright, fine. We'll do it on a saturday okay?" She came up with a day to strike, they all agreed.
"Good. Now, let's get out of here. I want to go back and sleep." Lingyin said as she stretched. " C'mon on Houki, let's go." She then gestured for her to follow. She followed, leaving Cecilia, Charlotte, and Laura alone.
"Do you think we can beat her?" Charlotte asked as the trio all left the class. She knew about her capabilities, she never saw it but Laura has explained that she was very skillful, telling her about the fights they had, and how she always lost to her.
"Probably. I mean, we do have the numbers and she is at a disadvantage." Cecilia answered as she closed her eyes and hummed.
"Yes but, what about Ichika?" Laura chimed in. "How will he feel about this?"
"Oh, he'll accept about it soon enough and it will all go back to normal. I mean, when was the last time he ever held a grudge?" Cecilia said nonchalantly, pointing out the fact that he always forgave them, one way or another.
"I just, I don't know. Maybe he won't this time." Laura was having second thoughts about this. She was scared of losing Ichika, she didn't want them to leave on sour notes. Especially since he's her first ever love.
"Maybe, but, we'll find out in the future." Cecilia said as she reached her dorm room. " Anyways, see you tomorrow!" She said as she opened the door, the other two waving goodbye to their friend.
"Guess it's just you and me then." Charlotte said obvious.
"Of course we are, we live in the same dorm room." She rolled her eyes at this. Charlotte chuckled. They walked together, discussing about topics that were currently happening in the world. Though one randomly topic did com to surface which was bottling up inside Charlotte's head.
"Hey Laura, Dou you know what an I.S even is?" She asked out of the blue.
"Um, there military machines built by Tabane Shinonono no?" She grinned a bit at that last 'no'.
"No, what I mean is, what are they really? Like, how do they fit in this tiny amulets and bracelets?" She reiterated her questions, pointing out how the machines can fit into such small and tiny solids.
"Huh, I actually don't know. I guess I just accepted it a while back." She really didn't have an answer to this. One day, the machines just came to her and she accepted it. No questions ask. Huh, feels like deja vu. No matter, the point is,How did these things came to be and how do they fit into small spaces.
"Hmm, I should really ask Tabane about this. But, she's always busy with stuff." Charlotte was itching to meet the famous inventor, she had the knowledge about all of it and singlehandedly change the whole world with how it operates.
"Heh, just try. I'm sure you'll get to talk to her." She teased, knowing that the both of them would never be able to talk to the famous inventor again. Charlotte looked away in sadness.
"Ha-ha, laugh it off. We're here." Charlotte dismissed it sarcastically and soon arrived at their dorm room. Opening the door and entering it, discussing more about the I.S and it's origins.
"The I.S, how fascinating. How such a big and complicated machine could fit into a small and condensed package." The woman we saw earlier talking with Ichika was pointing out her fascination with this machine.
"It truly makes you wonder how that inventor could discover such a thing." She wasn't alone, listening in was her partner, Fuyutsuki. At least, her first name that is.
"Isn't that right, Hana?" She turned around and asked her. Her full name is Hana Fuyutsuki. She was the partner of this mysterious woman and worked with her ever since she graduated high school. She wanted to be a researcher in the I.S and soon met this girl. She had grey long hair, wearing normal glasses. Her attire is a grey fitted jacket that was zipped up. It wasn't a normal jacket like street wear, no, it was professional, like that of a general. She also wore a skirt that went down to knee length and wore leggings. She also sported high heels.
"It is, Rei." She agreed. Rei, Rei Ikari. She was a scientist that also researched in the I.S, that's where she met Hana. There's not much information about her, other than her appearances. Which were discussed earlier.
"Anyways, the next semester tournament is approach. The girls have rivaled up towards Tatenashi. It's all going towards the scenario." Rei oversaw the security cameras, seeing their whole fight and their plan to 'teach her a lesson'.
"Should we contact the Phantom Task board of different?" Hana asked. The Phantom Task was the not so secret terrorist group which specializes in attacking and stealing many I.S assets. Their main target was of course the Infinite Stratos Academy, with our little Ichika as their bonus.
"Contact them." She answered. They dialed them, it was answered quickly. The answer behind the line was all the board of directors, managing the entire Phantom Task group. The screen showed 12 channels, all of which didn't show their faces, it only showed 'sound only'.
"Hello, Rei Ikari." The first speaker said their greetings. "Hello, Seele 01." All of the members didn't have names, they just went by 'Seele' and their respective numbers.
"What is it that you called us?" Seele 04 asked.
"I'm here to discuss that the scenario is going accordingly to the scrolls." She said as her head rested on both of her hands to support.
"So you mean that the boy will go further down into mental insanity?" Seele 13 spoke. "Yes." She answered simply.
"What about the vessel?" Seele 01 asked.
"The vessel will be here at the end of the week. Once she is injured and brought down to terminal dogma, the scenario will go as follows and Instrumentality would begin." She said ominously. "The spear of Longinus is also here at terminal dogma." She added.
"9 mass production I.S, don't disappoint us." Seele 01 said cryptically, and all the members vanished out, leaving Rei with her orange tinted glasses mimicking the static in front of her.
"Finally, our dream is only beginning. Father..."
Sunday, the day before the Tournament starts. It was morning, Tatenashi got up before Ichika did. Oh yeah, it was break time, he was at home. No matter, she could just visit him! His house was nearby. She already had a plan for the day and soon did her morning routine, showering, brushing her teeth, changing etc. After she got done changing, She went out of her dorm room and walked in the empty hallways. A week had passed so her leg had slowly gotten better.
"Hey Tatenashi, wait up!" She heard someone yell at her from behind. She looked back and saw the chinese girl Lingyin running up to her. She stopped and heard what she had to say.
"Phew, hey Tatenashi, sorry for bothering you but, I just wanted to apologize about earlier." She said looking down in guilt.
"Hmm, earlier?" She looked confused, what type of beef did they have this week?
"Listen, remember that time where I insulated you about your injury?" Oooohhhh, that's what she's talking about. "Umm, yeah, what about it?" She asked innocently.
"I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't have done it, you were injured so it was understandable." Lingyin rubbed her arm to ease her guilt. "I hope we're cool now."
"Oh silly you, of course we're cool!" Tatenashi hugged her, it was always her way of trying to get rid of heavy emotions or tension that was surrounding her. Lingyin blushed in embarrassment.
"Really? you're not mad?" She asked, confused.
"Nah I'm not. It was like, a week ago.I don't hold grudges." She explained. She never liked holding grudges, it was always a waste of time. She was too busy spending time with her favorite Ichika than to be busy with the past.
"O-oh, that's good then. Hey, do you want to go and train for the tournament tomorrow?" She asked. "It's a way for us to bond with each other."
"Uh yeah, of course! I love kicking some ass." She let go of the hug and patted her shoulder. " Don't think I'll go easy on you though." She winked.
"Ha, your on!" Lingyin played along and mockingly said that'll she'll beat her this round.
"Alright then, let's go!" Tatenashi saw the determination in her eyes and pumped her fist up. The two then walked towards the battle stadium, which was used for training and holding events like tomorrow's tournament. "Sorry Ichika, looks like plans have changed. Don't worry, I'll make it up to you with a lot of lap pillows hehe." She thought, thinking of ways to tease her favorite boy.
They walked for minutes but soon arrived at their destination. "So, are ya ready?" Tatenashi said mockingly.
"Oh you're so on!" Lingyin shouted as she transformed into Shenlong, her I.S, and gave out signal. Oh poor Tatenashi didn't see what's coming.
A barrage of missiles, lead, lasers all came crashing down on the unsuspecting girl. But, her reflexes were fast, and soon transformed into her I.S, Mysterious lady, before the onslaught hit her directly.
"Gughh, grrr." She grunted in pain,.the shockwaves from the blast not dissipating, passing through her body like ocean waves. She say her shield which was already down to 45%.
"Damn it, we've been ambushed." She whispered in frustration, still clueless on who the attackers were. "Lingyin! are you alright!" She yelled in the intercom that connected to her I.S, but no response.
"Damn it, did they get her already?" Tatenashi wondered the worst case scenario. "But that can't be, I know her capabilities. She's not that easy to capture." She argued with herself doubting the possibility of Lingyin losing.
"Oh, at least you have one redeeming quality," Suddenly, Tatenashi hear a haughty voice coming from her intercom. "You acknowledged that I am powerful." She looked up where the voice was coming from through all the smoke. What she saw was Lingyin, and she's not alone.
Beside her were all of her friends, which were all in full I.S suits.
"What is the meaning of this Lingyin?" Tatenashi shouted int the intercom, clueless about why she was brutally attacked by them.
"Geez calm down, it's no big deal." Lingyin responded carelessly. "It's only retaliation for hogging up Ichika!" Her attitude then turned sour and growled at her. Tatenashi looking stunned at what she just heard.
"You act so smug around Ichika all this week! it's time for you to learn a lesson!" Lingyin shouted in anger, letting the inner rage consume her. "Girls, attack!" They all nodded, flying off into multiple directions. Going at speeds that rivaled fighter jets.
"Tch, this is tough." Tatenashi shuts off her intercom as she new there was no civil talk surrounding these girls anymore. "I'm at a disadvantage, my leg is still healing. Meaning I have to fly." She monologue, she always did that in battles. It was her tactic to better understand and execute a fight, her words.
"2 melees, 2 ranged, 1 hybrid. Melee is easy enough to dodge in the air but," She flew in the sky, dodging various attacks from Houki and Lingyin. "Those ranged attackers, I'm gonna have a hard time dodging those." She barrel rolled, narrowly dodging two intercepting missiles from Laura.
"Hey bitch! when are you gonna start fighting huh?"Lingyin shouted as Tatenashi dodge yet another attack from her.
"Tch." She bit her tongue and did what she was asked for. She whipped out Rusty nail and whipped it Right on Lingyin's side. Knocking her down to the ground. It wasn't over, she felt the firings of bullets lasers heading towards her. She looked to the left and spin to the side to narrowly dodge again. That is, without a few hits.
"Ahh, Gugh!" She grunted in pain. "Warning, shield down to 40%." She heard from the I.S. "Damn it, if this continues, I'm screwed." She spent her times to long processing what just happened when behind her, she was hit by Houki's Amatsuki, her main katana.
"Gggrrr," She grunted again and took her lance, heavy rain, turning her back and whacking it on her chest to make some distance. She switched it to it's ranged mode and fired directly at Houki's chest.
"5,000 feet till ground." She heard through the intercom. She turned around and saw the already close ground getting closer. She used her front engine to slow down her momentum and flew straight across with her leg thrusters. Cruising close to the ground.
"I need to get up higher." She said. Being to close to the ground could mean that she couldn't maneuver and dodge well, only going side to side. So gaining air superiority would be the ideal goal. She would do that, if missiles weren't tailing on her.
"Crap!" She saw the incoming lasers from the side. She had to dip down to dodge it. She did just that but dipping down was a mistake, Laura had been tailing on her from the ground ever since and decided it was time to go for the attack. Tatenashi was met with Laura's beam sabers, which decimated her armour. She was then shot by her .80 caliber gun while descending in altitude, making distance between.
"Wha- Gagh!" She was confused as to why Laura had descended but was met with an answer when the missiles that were chasing her exploded on her rear, making her fall down in an uncontrolleble fashion.
"Warning, shield down to 15%" What? how powerful were those missiles!? She shook it off as she had more pressing matters at hand. She was currently falling down while spinning, making it hard to correct herself and potentially dodge more attacks.
"Damn it, what do I do?" She tried to think of something as she heard an incoming attacks from the side. Lasers and bullets, there's nothing she could do about it. She braced for impact as her I.S received critical hits. Sending shockwaves through her body, making her dizzy and feel nauseated.
"Warning, shield down to 5%. Health levels, mild. Seek medical attention immediately." The intercom said as she flew across the arena from the barrage that she had received. She then heard someone shouting from above.
"Say goodnight you fucking bitch!" It was Lingyin, and she was Kamikazeing down on her with her blade directly pointing at her. It's too late, she couldn't do anything. Not dodge, not maneuver away or anything, nothing. Her head was already hurting from the impact of those bullets and missiles, she was done for.
"Y'know, Yin, I wish we could've been friends..." Tatenashi activated her intercom once more and said her final words to Lingyin; that they were never friends in the first place. Tatenashi accepted her fate and braced for the impending contact. Lingyin striked down, everything went in slow motion.
Lingyin's blade had burst through her armour. "Shield level 0%" Her blade went through the now depleted shield and pierced through her side abdomen, only damaging her left side internally. "Health levels, Critical." Lingyin's momentum had brought down the two of them closer to the ground, Lingyin wore a sickening evil smile. "Seek medical attention immediately." Tatenashi closed her eyes, accepting the fact that she has lost. Going out in a way that wouldn't satisfy the blood thirsty Lingyin.
"You know Ichika, I wish we could've gone to that flower garden yesterday." She spoke in her head. "I really wanted to see your blushing face when I give you some flowers." She chuckled, imagining the face that her favorite boy Ichika would make.
And then, the scene replayed again. This time, at much faster speed. Lingyin striked down the accepting Tatenashi, bringing her down to ground levels. The momentum didn't slow down as the two travelled fast, heading further and further towards the dirt. Soon enough, they impacted, leaving a crater with cloud and dust surrounding them.
"Oh my goodness! Are they alright?" Cecilia saw the impact and it didn't look so good. "Come on Charlotte, let's investigate." Cecilia offered her friend to follow her, to which she agreed. The two flew together to the crater that was in the stadium.
"Lingyin!" "Tatenashi!" Houki and Laura said in unison. That crash looked brutal, especially at the speeds that they were falling at. They both also went there to assess the situation.
All four girls arrived at the same time and saw what had truly happened. Their eyes were met with horror as through all the rubble and smoke, Lingyin had carried a person with her. She came out from the smoke and showed them what a tragedy this was. She carried an unconscious Tatenashi, who was slightly bleeding but was bandaged poorly on the left side of her abdomen. But for some reason, her face told that of peace.
"We need to get her to the infirmary, now." Lingyin said coldly, looking at the mess that she has made.
"What is the status of the pilot?" Rei asked as she oversaw the whole facility and researching on what seems to be "The Seed of Life."
"Unconscious and is in critical condition." She read aloud from the tablet that she was holding, seeing the girls frantically running towards the emergency room with Tatenashi being carried by Lingyin.
"Good. All is according to the scenario." She felt satisfied and closed down her tabs, only leaving the home screen being displayed. "Get changed, head upstairs and aid Tatenashi." She gave orders to Hana, to which she bowed and immediately obliged. Going into a separate room to change.
Suddenly, the home screen had changed and went into a new tab without command. What showed was non other than the board of directors, Seele. She turned around and listened on what they had to say.
"Rei, is the vessel ready?" Seele 01 asked, not bothering to greet her.
"The vessel is ready." She answered.
"Instrumentality will begin tomorrow, we will send the mass production I.S and the phantom task to aid. Do not disappoint us." Seele 01 explained the plan for tomorrow, they than all ended the call just as quick as they had started.
"Tch, don't worry father, I'll make you proud." She muttered, heading towards the elevator shaft, and going down to further levels below.
Rei decided to call Hana through the in built intercom which the elevator held. "Hana, make sure Ichika knows of her injuries. Make him visit her."
"Don't worry Ms. Ikari, I was planning on doing it anyway." Hana answered through 'sound only', Rei felt satisfied.
"Good. After that, bring the vessel towards terminal dogma. Do not let Ichika know or follow." Rei explicitly said to make sure that Hana does all of these things correctly.
"You have said this scenario many times to me Ms. Ikari, I won't mess up." Hana mocked how she always heard the same plan over and over again fro Rei. Honestly, she just tunes out whenever she hears the words 'Do not let Ichika-'.
"Just making sure." Rei said as she was still traveling downwards. "Say Hana, why did you accept my request from years ago?" She asked, remembering the day which Hana would join Ms. Ikari's allie and follow her plans. She still doesn't have the reason behind it.
"It's the same as you Ms. Ikari, I lost a loved one." She answered, getting close to the infirmary and walking towards the counter to check in.
"Which one?"
"Family." Hana answered bluntly as she traveled through the halls of the emergency room, looking at all the patient's room through the tiny window every door held. "My little brother lost his life because of them. I swore to destroy it after he said it as his dying wish." She stopped and looked at one particular patient through the window.
She recalled the scene. She was in a room, with her brother, all tubed up, resting on the bed. She cried, crying on the arm which her brother rested.
"Hana, it's okay. Please don't be sad." Her brother tried to calm her down by patting her head. "I- I can't calm down... You're - you're dying! Be-because, of those monsters!" She hiccuped, trying to conjure words to describe her feelings.
"*Cough* *Cough* Ugh, I don't think I can go any longer..." He said as he rested his arm which patted Hana's head off to his side.
"Wa-wait! Please don't go! You're my only family left." Hana begged as she tried to deny the fact that her little brother, the only family she had left, would finally leave.
"Don't worry Hana, you won't be alone..." He took her arm and placed someone in the palm of her hand. She inspected it and It looked like cross. Her brother was always religious, while she was an atheist. "Make sure to destroy them okay? Don't let them destroy you..." He said as his monitor flatlined and he closed his eyes, resting them forever.
She saw him, saying his final words, and leaving the earth once and for all. She didn't know what to do anymore other than cry, She cried and cried on his arm, regretting everything that she has done. Wishing that she could spend time with him other than studying. Playing games with him other than being locked up in her room reading theories. Wishing that she could just teach him, something, anything! She just regrets everything.
But sadness wasn't the only emotion, resided in her, was boiling anger. She swore in her lifetime, that she will accomplish what her brother had promised; Destroy the monster that were created in this world.
She faced reality once more, shaking away her memory and walking further in the hallways.
"Hmm, it seems that were both in the same situation." Rei concluded. She was getting close to the bottom. "That's all you need to know,. don't forget alright?" The elevator stopped.
"Alright. I'll report further." Hana spoke and ended the call, leaving Rei alone with her own thoughts. The elevator doors opened and she walked outside. It was a vacant room, it was big, but no inhabitants lived or walked here. She walked further, leading towards a pool of weird orange liquid.
"There you are," She saw that I the distance, a big round sphere was sitting in the weird liquid. The sphere itself being stabbed by the spear of Longinus. "Don't worry, you will soon have a vessel and all of this will be over." She said as she sat down and admired the sight in front of her.
"Don't worry Ichika, it will all be over."
Edit: Fixed some grammar errors and added a bit of dialogue to Ichika.
Author's note:
Phew, here it is! Chapter 2. I hope this one isn't fast paced, since my brain thinks that writing speed is the same as reading speed.
This does contain a bit of ooc like Lingyin, so I hope that doesn't bother anyone too much. God damn am I so addicted to this book! It really showed me that I needed to write other things than just Konosuba. I guess I was too close of having a writer burnout on that one.
Other than that, I hope you all enjoy this book and if you have any criticism or comments, please let me know in the comment section.
Thank you and see ya later!