Interlude 5 - What she sees...


Cecilia repeated the footage of the Blue Tear's most recent sortie, which was the Joint Practical Training with Class 1-2. Once more, it depicted the Gold Frame simply trouncing any attempt of the IS to gain superiority. Once more, it depicted her shortcomings and her failure as the UK's Representative Candidate. Yielded he may have, it was still less than a perfect victory for her.

'If I keep this up, the Crown itself will be rightly crossed with me...'

The noblewoman sighed as she pocketed her phone, exiting the Engineering Bay and gazing at the setting sun in the far horizon. Seeing those orange rays brought a sense of melancholy for her. The mere imagery of a bright and wonderful star like the sun having to hide away at the end of the day, having to shirk away after it had its time in glory, she likened to that of her own situation.

'At least I'm not in the Infirmary this time.'

The blonde walked aimlessly through the grounds around the Academic Buildings, waving at classmates and other students alike with a plastered on smile. Her thoughts continued to simmer and boil, her emotions reacting almost the same way as it became more and more negative.

'If I keep on losing, what will become of my spot as the Representative Candidate? Would it simply be ripped out from my hands, thus leaving me without a proper shield against those worms in the Branch Houses?'

There was one thing that the noblewoman kept secret to even those she considered friends in the IS Academy. One thing that would have jeopardized everything she created and built up for herself, the one thing that she feared would break her entirely once it was let out. Her pride simply didn't allow her to speak of it, the mere thought of such an action producing great paranoia that everyone would suddenly turn on her.

House Alcott wasn't united.

Her so-called 'family' were nothing but opportunistic parasites, vultures ready to tear into a corpse at the first chance they could.

The UK government offered her a chance, gave her a hand in her troubles in exchange for being their Representative Candidate. She passed with high marks, the product of both her natural intelligence and hard work and diligence, and thus was made the pilot of the Blue Tears. With that, she was ready to start anew in the IS Academy.

Once the school year started, she presented a strong, confident front, one that spoke of superiority and of confidence in herself and her skills. It was near flawless, and she wholly believed in it herself. After all, she had seen the results with her very eyes, with her top scoring the written exam and defeating an instructor during the enrollment of the IS Academy. The noblewoman needed to appear strong, she needed to appear unflappable and unbeatable. The Blue Tears was to be her perfect sword and shield, her bastion!

Until the Gold Frame broke through those defenses so utterly.

Cecilia was at a loss, another thing that she resented greatly. Her defeat at the hands of the Gold Frame should have caused her to resent both it and the pilot. They were credible threats to the superiority of the Infinite Stratos. They were credible threats to her standing as an IS Representative! With each loss comes the greater chances of the British Military revoking their protection of her seat as the Head of House Alcott!

She should hate Ephraim Sahaku!

...but she didn't.

And that infuriated her greatly!

"You're still hung up on her, huh?"

Blue eyes blinked as the masculine voice entered her ears. Looking around, she found herself surrounded by steel shipping containers. She had walked herself from the Academic Sector to the Docks of the artificial island with her being none the wiser.

"I'm not 'hung up' on her. It's more...I don't know...trying to remember anything concerning our time together."

'..! That's Sir Sahaku and Murakumo-san!'

Taking care to lighten her steps, she followed the voices of the two boys. She knew the eavesdropping was uncouth, but her curiosity got the better of her! Carefully peeking out from behind a green steel container, she spotted the Astray pilots sitting on one of the nearby docks. Their backs were to her but she could see enough to track how their hands moved as they talked.

"What brought this on, by the way?" Ryo asked, leaning back on his hands as he gazed out to the ocean. "You know that thinking back to those times is going to bring nothing but misery."

The tall blonde sighed, a hand pulling some sort of white stick from between his lips —'Is that a cigarette?!'— as he sat up straight. "I know. It wasn't a conscious choice. It was...triggered during the Class Representative party. Cec...someone said something that...reminded me of her."

'Her..?'

Now Cecilia's interest was piqued. The Gold Frame pilot has been awfully tight-lipped about the more personal aspects of himself during their time together. So far, all she knew of him was information already out in public or those that he chose to let loose. And those he chose to let loose were simply surface aspects of himself; his love for strawberry sweets, his experience as a cook and barista, his fashion sense, etc.

So hearing something about a 'her' from the Half-German was bound to have a lot of juicy gossip!

"And now you're moping because of it."

"I'm not moping!" Ephraim snapped, the momentary anger quickly washing away into a somber tone. "I just don't like it when I don't know."

"...Well, the way I see it..." Ryo began, swinging his legs idly as the ocean winds ruffled his hair. "I think it's best for you to just...let it go."

'Let it go..? Is he perhaps talking about...a relationship?'

"'Let it go', huh..." The tall blonde brought the white stick, which she now noted was definitely longer than a lollipop stick, before him. Staring at the object, he then placed it back between his lips, a frown curling them down. "Wish it was that easy to let go of something that feels precious."

"I 'unno. You seem to easily let your libido go whenever a hot milf crosses your path."

'...What?'

"Haha, very funny." Ephraim growled, the stick between his lips flicking this way and that in irritation. "But me sleeping around isn't related to all this sudden guilt that I'm feeling. Well...maybe."

'Seriously, what.'

"You don't have to feel guilty, you know." The courier reassured his friend with a soft pat on the shoulder. "Here is here and there is there. It's a new start for us, we don't have to be all caught up in the past."

Cecilia felt like her world got rocked. The genteel Ephraim Sahaku slept around? The man that had beaten her, that had shown her kindness and offered a hand of friendship had sex with older women? And apparently he had a relationship that most likely ended most recently?

'Oh my..!' She covered her mouth to prevent a cry of surprise from escaping. While this was indeed juicy gossip, perhaps it was getting a little bit too juicy.

Ring!

"Oup. Gotta go, Student Council duties."

"Hm. Don't forget about the Horror Night later at the Dorm Common Room."

"Aye aye."

Hearing the footsteps come closer, she quickly looked around for a good spot to hide in. Seeing nothing, she instead chose to crouch in the shadows, silently lamenting how her pristine white skirt got stained by dirt and dust. Holding her breath, she didn't move as the jacket-clad courier passed by, headphones on his ears as he nodded along to the beat of an unheard song. She waited for a good minute before standing up and peeking around the corner again.

There Ephraim sat with a leg pulled in close. He rested an arm on the knee, the other supporting him as he leaned back. The cigarette was hanging between his lips, those royal purple of his gazing up at the darkening skies. It was...oddly unlit, with no smoke wafting off from it.

"Lady Alcott."

She froze.

'H-How..?'

"I know you're there, Lady Alcott. You weren't as quiet as you thought you were with those gasps." The tall blonde tilted his head back, lips set into an indifferent line as blue met purple. "Don't be a stranger now, you can come closer."

The noblewoman shook the shock away and came out of her cover, looking down at him with an imperious furrow of her brows. Back straight and steps purposeful, she came within a few feet of the Astray pilot.

"Is it true?" She had to ask, if not for her curiosity then for her ease of mind. She didn't want to endlessly ponder on the possibility that the one man who had gained her respect turned out to be some sort of sexual deviant!

That would be quite...troubling.

"...That I sleep around?" Those lips of his curled into a self-deprecating smirk. "Yes. Prior to enrollment, I did. Is there a problem with that?"

Cecilia recoiled slightly, eyes wide at his admission and nonchalance. "I-! A problem? No, no of course not!" She denied quickly, trying to mask her unbalanced state with her own nonchalance.

She didn't know why, but something within her seemed to lurch upon hearing his words.

"Whatever you do with other women isn't my business. What is my business is that!" Pointing at the cancer stick between his lips, the noblewoman stomped a foot in an effort to show and vent her frustration. "Are you trying to dig an early grave for yourself? Do you know how many toxins in that death stick there are? What do you have to say for yourself, Sir Sahaku?!"

He stared up her with wide eyes, fully taken aback by her outburst. It made her feel all tingly, seeing him looking up at her with awe and wonder, but she needed to keep the angry mask because of this stupid stupid man-!

"This is just a chocolate cigarette, Lady Alcott. See?"

Snap!

"...Eh?"

She looked down at the boy as he chewed on the broken half of the stick, which he turned towards her so she could see the dark inside of the white shell. There was no tobacco, no cancer-inducing chemicals that would have been present in a normal cigarette. Blue eyes stared in disbelief at both the item and at the boy, her ire gradually increasing.

"Hmph!" Puffing her cheeks, she turned away from him with crossed arms. Said cheeks burned in shame and indignance at her hasty conclusion. "Then my concern was wasted on you!"

Ephraim gave out a low chuckle as he, from the sounds of it, stood up. "It's not entirely wasted, Lady Alcott." His deep voice came closer and she had to turn her head away when he appeared beside her from the corner of her eyes. "I'm touched that you were worried about my health, I truly am."

Cecilia's cheeks flushed in embarrassment this time as she marched on, ignoring the amused blonde that followed her.

"I don't smoke, if you're that worried~" He teased and she could practically hear the smug smirk in his words. "I may drink occasionally, but I made an oath to never smoke."

Her head whipped around to him, eyes wide in shock. "What?!"

"Oops~!"


"I don't think I'm going to join the Horror Night thing..."

Grey eyes looked away from his typing to the blue haired girl to his right. Her back was to him, as she chose to sit at a worktable that was perpendicular to his. Modeling kit tools were scattered on said work desk, and the little 'snip-snaps' of the modeling scissors told him that she was just taking the parts out of the runners. Taking one last glance of the materials request form he was creating, he saved the draft and spun his chair towards her.

"Why not? Bad at horror?"

Kanzashi grumbled some incoherent words but shook her head. "No, I just...I'm not good with having a lot of people around. You know that."

'That idiot is also there and the less I see of his face, the better.'

Davion did know of her unease around people. He had noticed the girl's uncomfortable glances of those that passed by when they wandered Akihabara back when she was 'Maiko'. It was one of the first things he noticed about her, really, and it was why he felt rather protective whenever they came across each other.

"Right..." He nodded to himself, leaning back on his chair as he used a foot to idly spin himself around. "Well...I'm not going either."

"Eh?" The bluenette turned her head to look at him from over her shoulder, surprise clear in those rubies of hers. "Why?"

With a small smile, he stopped his spinning and pointed at the door that led to his dorm room. "Well, it would be a hassle to walk to the Dorm Building and then back. That and I still have requisition papers to write for some of my newest projects."

"O-Oh, right..." She chuckled awkwardly, focusing back on her Revive-Rafale model. They sat in comfortable silence for a few mores seconds before she let her curiosity get the better of her. "...What's one the newest projects?"

It was nothing short of miraculous in how fast the grey-eyed teen could innovate. Creating an armor system that made physical attacks all but null, having this beam negating effect through a special paint, constructing engines that are small yet powerful enough to lift the Astrays while an IS relied on its Gravitational Tech to allow it to fly. It made her somewhat envious, if she was more honest with herself.

But the fact that Davion didn't brag about it or let it get to his head was what made him endearing. She was there when he created a new arm for the Gold Frame and even helped him jury-rig those new calf thrusters on the same Astray. The focus and efficiency he displayed was awe inspiring, and he displayed a clear expertise in handling some of the machines set up around the hangar. And during the whole time, she had asked questions and he answered them without any hint of arrogance or even impatience.

He was genuinely excited and happy that someone did ask questions. Kanzashi imagined that if he had animal traits, he would most likely be a dog or similar canine, with a cute wagging tail and ears that would twitch this way and that excitedly-!

"Oh, nothing big really. Just some reinforcements for the g-suits of the Astrays." Davion cut off her thoughts before she would become lost in her imagination. "I need to make them bulletproof and maybe have some heat dispersing capacity to counter a few beam shots."

"That's a bit much though, isn't it?" She turned to him fully this time, with furrowed brows and a worried light in her eyes. "But ah...well..."

""Better safe than sorry."" They both recited at the same time, with a large grin on the boy's lips while she had a shy smile on hers.

They were on the same wavelength at times and just the mere fact of it brought a great sense of comfort within the younger Sarashiki. She would talk about things that he would immediately clue into, and he would talk about things she instantly knew of. They clicked, and her heart fluttered at the blessing of meeting such a person that didn't judge her for her outward appearance or endlessly drooled after her older sister.

Davion Guele was Kanzashi Sarashiki's dearest friend and vice versa.

Grey stared into Red for a few more seconds before both of their cheeks flushed, the earlier jolly air disappearing into an awkward one. Quickly turning back to what they were doing before, neither spoke a word for a good minute. Kanzashi occasionally peeked at him from over his shoulder, watching as he typed and noting his frustration as his lips quirked and pursed. Her eyes glanced down, where pristine white bandages were wrapped around both arms and hands, with some splotches of blood peeking through a few layers.

The sight of which caused her shoulders to sag, her mind going back to that time where she got almost mugged...

"HEY, LET GO OF HER!"

"What's this a hero? Try me you—urgh!"

"G-Guele-san!"

"It's alright, Yamada-san! I've been in more than a few scuffles, this cut is nothing!"

"You're staring at them."

Blinking, she looked up to see his soft smile as he gingerly touched a bandaged arm. "It's just a surface-level wound. Nothing too deep, it came from a...failed project."

'Failed project' typically meant an explosion, and she had personally seen enough happen in front of her very eyes to get used to them. An explosion from a project wouldn't seriously hurt the mechanic, that she was confident on, and the worst he would get was a blast concussion or a superficial scar.

Scars...

"...I've never really properly thanked you for that time during October..." The bluenette asked, worry and shame in her tone as she set her tools down. "W-When you saved me from being mugged, that is."

'Granted, I could have taken the guy down, but Guele-san arrived first before I could do anything else...'

"It's no biggie." He grinned that typical boyish grin of his, the one that made her feel all fluttery, as he thumbed his nose. "You were in trouble and I was in the right place in the right time." Davion leaned back on his chair, tenting his fingers on his stomach. "Though, maybe I hit him too hard. Those uh...those were his molars that got sent flying, after all."

Giggling at the memory, her worries were washed away by his joviality. "Well, maybe you need to pull your punches sometimes."

Both their eyes then slowly looked over to the one table that had an obvious dent in it, with the markings of a fist within.

"...Yeah, maybe I should."


"Thanks for coming, Murakumo-kun~"

"Hm."

Tatenashi watched as the courier-turned-gopher take a sip from his canned coffee. She focused on the minute facial changes, from the crinkling of his eyelids to the small curl of his lips when the drink hit his taste buds. The way he shifted his stance, the manner of which his shoulders relaxed, and even to how comfortable he seemed with the headphones on...

"Mou, Murakumo-kuuun~!" She whined, leaning on the meeting table childishly. "You barely paid attention to me this whole meeting~!"

The Student Council had just concluded an impromptu meeting concerning the upcoming Class League Match, mainly on logistics and moving around schedules for other events. They were efficient, partly out of their own excitement and their own motivation to see this event be a success, considering what happened in the Inter-Class Tournament. They waved to the last council member as she left, leaving the two alone in the fairly fancy meeting office.

"I didn't want to distract you, Kaichou." Ryo responded from beside her, taking a long sip as he stared forward. The sight of which caused her to smirk, because she knew that he knew that she knew that if he even looked at her, she was going to tease him.

Which she was still going to do!

"Doing so would have labeled me as some sort of attention seeker. That's already Ephraim's thing, not mine."

She couldn't help the snort from escaping, a hand quickly covering her mouth as she stifled the giggle. Ryo's ragging on his blonde friend often resulted in some prime jokes, and was a great source of information concerning said blonde. So far, she had gathered that Ephraim wore a mask, not unlike her, when dealing with other students, that he was unconsciously a glory-hog, had hints of sadism, and apparently had a thing for older women. The last of which was great teasing material if she ever had the chance to mess with the tall boy.

"You're so mean to him sometimes." Tatenashi smirked as she leaned back on her executive chair, idly slowly spinning as she crossed her arms behind her head. "But I guess that's how I know you two are close."

The courier snorted as he emptied his can in a single go, licking his lips slowly as he set his headphones down from his ears. "Well, we've been through a lot. With being uh...in the Professor's training regimen. Knocked my socks off a lot of times with both his limbs and a quarterstaff."

'Oh? More information?'

"So he isn't only a proficient martial artist, but also good with polearms, hmm?" The bluenette's smile turned a bit more mysterious as her mind worked the boon given to...

'...Hold on. This seems too good to be true.'

She slowed down her spinning, feigning being bored and dizzy as she stared at the boy beside her. He kept his face impassive as he stared ever onward, a finger idly tapping the empty can that was in his hand. It was the very image of a bored teen, and if she wasn't as experienced in matter such as these, she would have believed it. The courier was ever an enigma to the Sarashiki Head, one that she wanted to unravel slowly, piece by piece...

"Speaking of boys, what do you think of the new transfer?" She decided to go for another route, switching the topic entirely.

The tapping stopped and Tatenashi immediately took note of that. Her mind connected the dots, all the information she had on both the new blonde's and Ryo's relationship. They had been seen together walking throughout the school these past few days, after all. Laughing, smiling at each other, sharing stories...

...Her finger twitched.

'My my, Mr. Dunois...you sure know how to steal someone's toy away...'

"Charles? He's a good guy." Ryo answered her with a shrug, and his green eyes glanced at the watch on his wrist. "Kinda shy though, never really liked changing with us in the locker room whenever we got out for some Practical Training."

"Is that so?" The bluenette grinned as she leaned closer to him. "Maybe he gets hot and bothered at the thought of being surrounded by all that shmeat~!"

The way the courier's face twisted into one of disgust almost made her break down in laughter. "Why would you say it like that?" The boy groaned, palming his face to hide the grimace. "That's totally disgusting!"

"I dunno~" Tatenashi cooed as she ran a finger up and down his arm, subtly feeling the tensing of his muscles at the contact. "A lot of girls seem to like it when you Astray boys reveal all that muscle~"

"Ugh...Don't remind me..."

Both of them were talking about the underground trading ring of candid photos within the student body. It was inevitable for some sort of black market to pop up when there's a scarce resource introduced into an environment. The IS Academy was sorely lacking in one specific resource, obviously.

Ryo had brought this topic up with Chifuyu, and got a non-committal shrug in return. She herself didn't really know how to deal with such things and instead pointed him over to the Student Council President. Though, the teacher was a tad bit miffed that her little brother took up more than half the photo stock, muttering something about 'dumbass perverts' as he left her office.

The Student Council President...was in on the whole thing herself, but neither wanted to bring that up to light because both knew it'll just go in a circle of accusations. Tatenashi wasn't even doing anything overly malicious with the photos that she had, rather using them every now and again to tease the courier. She even helped out pull some specific photos, those that were rather risqué, out of the 'market'. Though, it did cost him a few personal favors, which meant transporting foodstuffs to her or 'borrowing' some key items from a choice set of people.

"Oh god, Kaichou, why do you have that?"

"Aww, but look at you boppin' and singin'~! Didn't expect you to listen to some oldies like Beach Boys, hmm~?"

Breaking out from her little walk down memory lane, the bluenette focused back on the courier and the topic at hand. While he was downright disgusted at the presence of this 'market', his friends were...far more positive about it.

Davion was largely indifferent, having been used to being stared at due to his build and bandages. If she was correct, the hottest in the 'Guele' line of pictures were of him taking a nap in the library or on a bench in one of the many recreational parks on the island. Something about seeing him all sleepy and peaceful struck something deep in the 'buyers', likening him to a pet. He recently did ask a fair few of the more bold ones to stop bothering him while he worked out in the school gym though, so his patience might have run a bit short.

Ephraim was far more used to being looked at or taken photos of, so he took it all in stride. Tatenashi had read his file and dug a bit into his own work records herself. The man had been a bartender and waiter, a good-looking one at that, so he definitely had his fair share of candid photo experience. He let his photos slide, most likely knowing that once this kind of market popped up, it would be hard to fully dismantle. Still, that didn't stop him from giving those who thought they were sneaky a knowing wink or a smirk. Those were among the hottest items in the 'Sahaku' line of photos, right up there with the rarer shots of him having a sadistic expression on.

"Anyway, if there's nothing else, I'm going to go to that Friday Night Gathering thing at the dorm." The courier stood up, looking at his watch and then at the night sky through the windows of the meeting room.

"Ara~? What's the theme?" Though disappointed that their time would be cut short, she also stood up and stretched her arms. The 2nd Year Dorms also had the Friday Night Gathering, but it was more of a formality than anything else. Everyone already knew each other from the previous year, and something like that wasn't necessary anymore. Still, it was a good way to share notes and even copy homework for those too lazy to do theirs.

"Horror." Try as he might to hide it, Tatenashi spotted the brief look of apprehension flash across his face.

'I do wonder what's he's scared of...'

"Okaaay~" She stood on her tiptoes and patted his head playfully. "Don't be a 'fraidy cat~"

Brushing her hand off, Ryo rolled his eyes. "As if. It takes a lot to make me scared."

Together, they both cleaned up the documents and put them in their folders and into a box. The bluenette lifted it without much trouble, waving off his offer to help as they stepped out the room.

"Thanks again for the help, Mu-kun~!"

"...'Mu-kun'?"

Tatenashi flashed him a cheeky grin. "Saying 'Murakumo-kun' is a bit tiring now, so I'll just shorten it~"

"Tch." The green-eyed teen turned around, shaking his head in the meanwhile. "Do what you want."

Ruby eyes watched him depart down the hall, eyelids lowering as her thoughts became more calculative. Pursing her lips, she herself turned around and walked away.

'You answer some of my questions while at the same time creating new ones, Murakumo-san...'

The Sarashiki Heiress walked around the corner, finding herself all alone and letting her easy smile ease into a more mysterious one.

'I just hope that there won't come a time where I have to point my blade at you. You're far too interesting to me..~'


Later...

"Thanks guys, you have no idea how much this means to me."

"Why'd you bring a pillow anyway?"

Ichika motioned to the item he had under his arm. "Oh this? This is just something to substitute myself with in case some girl starts grabbing me."

The tall blonde within the group of boys opened his mouth to say something before closing it. Cupping his chin, he sent a glance back at his room that they walked away further and further from. "...That's actually a good idea, normie."

"Are you really gonna-"

"I do wonder what kind of movie we're going to watch." Charles piped up from between the two, not wanting either to start arguing when they should be enjoying this one night of leisure. "Would it be an old horror like The Ring or perhaps something newer?"

"God, I hope it's an old one. Like old old. Like 2000's horror and not 2010's jump scare galore." Ryo groused as he followed a step behind. "Getting real tired of cheap thrills, I want some psychological horror to spice things up."

"Oh yeah, just wondering, where's Davion?" The younger Orimura asked, looking around to see if the mechanic was going to meet up with them.

"Probably cramming or doing the assignment that he's a day late in submitting." The courier shrugged as they went down the stairs that would lead them to the 1st floor lobby and eventually the Common Room. "'Sides, going back and forth to his room from here would've been a pain."

"Ah right, he has a room in the Engineering Bay...dang, he is a greasemonkey."

"Took you boys long enough~!" Honne, who was clad in her fox onesie, called out a few meters ahead of them, a giddy smile on her lips as she waved them over. By now, they had passed the lobby and walked down a side corridor. The noise of chattering and gossiping could be heard a dozen or so meters ahead and around a corner, causing the Neo-Types to share a wary glance.

Movie Night and Horror? That was a recipe for a lot of clichés happening.

Turning said corner, they were greeted with a large hall that was practically covered in beanbags, couches, and all the female students in the 1st year dorm. They all were wearing their sleepwear, and Ephraim was just thankful that most of them were decent. He would have had a fit if some girl decided to wear lingerie on a damn movie night. That didn't stop some of the ladies to wear clothes that were just as revealing!

Hell, what he and the boys were wearing were downright prudish compared to those girls! He had a long-sleeved top and pajama pants combo, Ryo and Ichika had a shirt and gym shorts combo, and Charles was wearing a white and black tracksuit. Just comfy sleepwear that wasn't too elaborate or anything.

"Hey Ichika, over here! We saved a seat for you guys!" Rin shot up from the sea of girls, waving at them wildly from her position by a set of couches. The Chinese girl was wearing a tank top and some short shorts that Ryo wasn't even sure was sleepwear. Beside the girl was Houki, who glanced back at them with an embarrassed blush before facing forward again. The swordswoman was wearing a baggy grey hoodie, one that went down to her mid-thigh and it most likely hid her own shorts. A shock of blonde hair beside her caused Ephraim to smirk slightly, as Cecilia turned to them with a raised brow. The Brit was wearing a baby blue nightgown, a somewhat revealing piece where two straps held it up on her shoulders. It went down a few inches past her knees and she had a near translucent shawl of a lighter blue over it.

'Bloody hell, this is like that stupid sleepover scene in RWBY.' Both Neo-Types thought at the same time as they maneuvered their way past multiple groups of girls. The closer they went, the more giddy Rin seemed to be.

"So, what're we watching tonight?" Ichika asked once he sat down between Houki and Rin, holding his pillow over his chest like it was some sort of armor. "A Quiet Place? Conjuring?"

'It's still so weird to both have parodies and OG stuff in this world.' Ephraim mused as he sat down beside the blonde Brit, who turned her head away with an upset pout. Beside him, Ryo sat down and was followed by Charles as the surrounding girls sent them mischievous smiles and titters. 'There's stuff like the usual parodies, Wacnordo, Burger Knight, HappyHornet...and then there's untouched franchises like Saizeriya, or movies such as The Godfather or Kill-Bill.'

"We cast a vote and we decided on something called 'Hereditary'-"

Ryo immediately stood up, face pale as he started sweating bullets. "I...uh...I forgot that I had to do the assignment, Igottago-"

But before he could even take a step forward, his blonde friend grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him back down to his seat. Ephraim sent the green-eyed teen a smile that was full of teeth.

'If I'm going to suffer, so will you.' Royal purple gleamed in sadistic pleasure.

'Fuck you, I want to go to bed.' Verdant green argued back.

A soft hand patted the courier's back, and gentle amethyst sent him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Ryo! We're surrounded by friends, there's no need to be afraid!"

Seeing that smile eased the tension in his heart by a great margin. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, the Red Frame pilot nodded at the Frenchman. "Right...right, thanks. Uh...phew, this is gonna be a...a thing then." He sat back and stared at the large holographic screen on the far end of the room. It displayed a countdown that was slowly ticking down to 10, and he nervously glanced around to see if any of the other girls knew of the movie.

...Judging from all the excited faces? They didn't know.

Grasping the Frenchman's hand suddenly, and causing him to squeak, he sent the short blonde a pleading look. "Sorry, I'm normally alright with horror but not with this movie especially. I know it sounds real emasculating, but please don't let go."

Ignoring the snickering of Ephraim, Charles' cheeks slowly flushed as he hid their joined hands between them. There was little reason to show it to the rest of the girls who might go rabid at the sight of it. "Of course. I'll be right here if you need a shoulder to lean on."

This time, Ryo's cheeks flushed visibly.

"Shhh! It's starting!"

The lights began to dim down...

'Be brave, be brave, be brave,' The green-eyed Neo-Type chanted in his mind. 'Don't embarrass yourself and Charles, don't embarrass yourself and Charles...'


.

.

.


He failed.

The movie with all its atmosphere and the buildup of tension finally cracked him. Practically wrapping himself around Charles on instinct, the terrified courier turned his head away from the screen and buried his face into the short boy's hair.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck..!" Ryo swore under his breath, his heart rate skyrocketing as he shook in the Frenchman's arms. "I should have just left when I had the chance!"

The younger blonde had to hold him tight, both in an effort to not let their combined weight tip them forward and in an effort to calm the panicking Japanese boy. "R-Ryo, calm down..!" He whispered, his own voice shaky as the movie got to him as well. "I think we're almost done..!"

"Scheiße, das ist-! Bloody hell!" Ephraim half-laughed, half-swore on the couch perpendicular to his friend's. Horror was something that he adored, and perhaps it was just the sadist in him talking, but seeing all the brutal and creative ways these kind of movies spiked the tension made him feel all tingly. Buried into his side was the noblewoman, who had long fainted out of fear. He had a hand on her shoulder to prevent her limp body from being moved too much by his own.

Rin and Houki both let out horrified squeaks, which were lost amidst the many other similar sounds as the rest of the girls gave their own scared or disgusted reactions. They both had their arms wrapped around an equally terrified Ichika, who was holding his pillow like how a drowning man would hold onto a life preserver. "Aww, man that's just wrong!" He let out, shutting his eyes and burying his face into his pillow.

It was definitely a memorable first Friday Night Gathering Program.

What was even more memorable was Chifuyu shouting at them all to head to bed, that got all of them to jump out of their skins in fear-induced panic.


"Of all the damn movies, why that?"

"It was a one in a million chance, no?"

The short blonde looked up at the embarrassed courier with a cheeky smile, causing the taller teen to look away while cover his face with a hand. Cheeks flushing and jaw tense, the Astray pilot bit out a retort. "A one in a million chance to break my balls, sure."

"Pfft!" An impolite snort escaped the blonde's lips, a pair of hands quickly covering it before it could snowball into improper laughter. "Wh-why would you say that?" Purple eyes looked up and down the hall, watching for any eavesdropper or loitering girl. Charles had offered to walk with Ryo to his dorm room, as Ichika had rushed ahead out of fear of his older sister's threat while Ephraim was escorting Cecilia to her room.

The noblewoman had been shaken awake by the taller blonde, and she returned to consciousness feeling his hand on her shoulder. Acting on instinct and embarrassment, she had slapped him before realizing her action and apologizing profusely. The Gold Frame pilot merely waved it off, a cheeky grin on his lips all the while.

"Because that's the one movie that scares the daylights outta me!" Ryo groused, shaking his head as he ran a hand through his hair. "Of all the things! That was what was showing! Out of everything-!"

Charles stifled a giggle as he watched the courier begin to rant. The green-eyed teen wore his heart on his sleeve, and it showed whenever they interacted. His smile was warm, very welcoming. The Red Frame pilot had been nothing but very friendly and helpful in the few days he's been here, and the Frenchman always showed his thanks for it.

However...

The blonde's smile lessened, and those purple eyes looked away from the now-seething courier.

'If he knew why I was here...what my orders were...'

His fists clenched.

'Would he still be able to look at me the same way he does now?'

"-h I can handle thrillers just fine, I've played Lifeless Stretch, I've seen enough body horror to become desensitized by it, but of all the damn-!"

"Murakumo! Shut your mouth and head to your dorm room! I can hear you all the way in the other hallway!" Chifuyu's voice barked further down the hall, stopping the swordsman from speaking any further. Paling and clearing his throat, he bowed to Charles.

"S-Sorry, I let myself get carried away."

"No no," The blonde waved it off with a fond smile, the somber thoughts fleeing at the attention of the courier. "It's quite alright. It's good to vent every now and again."

Letting out a long sigh, Ryo stood back up straight and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah...well...anyway." His embarrassed expression eased into his usual friendly grin. Gesturing to the door beside them, the courier tapped the 78 gold plate on it. "This is my dorm, feel free to come by if you have any questions to ask. My door's always open for ya."

Feeling his cheeks flush, Charles nodded as his smile became a bit more bashful. "Thank you, Ryo. You are...very sweet, you know that?"

The taller boy blushed at the sight of the earnest smile and turned away to his door. "A-ah, thanks. Well...haveanicenight!" He slipped inside the room in a mere blink of an eye, the speed of his retreat causing the blonde's hair to be blown back for a brief second.

"...Was it something I said?"


AN:

Lifeless Stretch is a spoof of Dead Space, by the way.

Tabane apparently has The Godfather theme as Chifuyu's ringtone and the Kill-Bill theme for Houki's.

So...I guess some RL stuff is gonna be in there.

Anyway, I tried to be as vague as I can 'cause I don't want to spoil anything about Hereditary. It's a real damn fine horror movie, it actually got me to jolt a few times over the course of its playing. Be warned though, that there are scenes that aren't meant for younger audiences, scenes that grossed me out especially.

Moving on, here's some of the girls' perspectives on how they see the Neo-Types. Nothing much for me to say about really, I try to make their relationship growth as organic as possible, though it may be somewhat rushed (?). Well, I just try to make it logical and real-ish, as real as I can in an anime setting, at least.

And hello again Rodvek97!

I understand your skepticism towards OC-centric stories, I've read my fair share of OC fics that didn't really go anywhere. Which is a shame, cause some of the plotlines they introduce are really interesting. Actually, I was really scared of publishing this because of that stigma in the first place. I'm just real glad that people gave this a chance, people like you! So, thanks!

The prologue part...eeeh, I'm sorry if it got confusing, I try to adhere to the whole 'show not tell' thing. Try being the keyword.

As for the relationships, well some of them are really obvious already, especially within this Interlude. But I do have a rough plan on how things'll pan out, and a few...twists and turns concerning them.

Oh, don't worry, I share your irritation on how the girls just became showpieces in the harem. One of the driving forces in my writing of this was to try and explore the girls characters and capabilities. I don't want them to basically orbit around a single person, rather, I want them to have their own social circle and stuff. Though, I'm not so confident in trying to write it but I'll still try!

This is Cipher, signing off!