Side Story [Red] 1: Sword and Shield


Knock knock!

Green eyes glanced over to the door, frowning somewhat as the cup of coffee was set down. He had just finished jogging with Laura, couldn't he rest up for a little bit before being messed with?

Knock knock knock!

"I'm coming, hold on...geez..."

Twisting the knob, the door was pulled open.

"Good Morning, my Kni-oh..."

Blue eyes looked up at him in slight surprise, the bento in her hands lowering from where it was almost pressed up against his face.

"Well, um...Good morning, Murakumo-san. Is Ephr-I mean, is Sir Sahaku awake by any chance..?"

The courier scratched the back of his head, frowning somewhat as he recounted his memories from the day prior…


There was a tense silence between them as his blonde friend changed into his uniform, hair still damp from his shower. Ryo understood the risks of letting his friend go all by himself to unknown territory, but he also knew that Ephraim had already considered that. Whatever happens to him, he was sure to come back. After all, they had a slew of new mysteries to uncover, and the blonde's memories of both this world and of the SEED-verse would be a boon like none other.

"Stay safe out there." He muttered as he caught the tossed the Closed forms of the Gold Frame.

"Always do." His friend chuckled with that signature smug grin of his.

And so Ephraim left, wheeling his luggage bag behind him as he fixed his tie.


"He's not here..." Ryo mumbled, eyeing the bento warily. He could practically see the menace emanating from it. "He went to Okinawa, remember?"

Cecilia was silent for a good minute before she gasped, somewhat dramatically, as she took a step back. "Ah, right. He told me so yesterday."

"Right...Erm," The courier played dumb to her obvious pining, fully aware of the shorter blonde's feelings for his friend. "I'm pretty sure that he'll be back on Monday. He might come back there every now and again to settle his inheritance case."

"Ah, yes. His inheritance..." The blonde's expression softened, growing somber as she stepped back. "W-Well, I guess I can understand that...but still, to leave without saying a proper goodbye..."

Ryo opened his mouth to answer but found nothing to say. Rubbing the back of his neck, he could only offer her an apologetic shrug.

The noblewoman sighed, palming her face as she shook her head. "Oh dear, and I made him breakfast too...I can't believe I forgot..."

The courier paled as he stepped back into his room. "Right...well, since he's not here, I'll just...finish my own breakfast inside..."

Which were coffee and bread.

... Pretty much it.

'Can't even have the usual coffee since Ephraim took the effort to lock the damn cupboard that held the goods.' He grumbled in his mind. The damn blonde was a super miser, he swore.

...

The bento was extended towards him.

"Would you like to have it instead?" She smiled at him serenely. "It would be a waste to simply throw it away, after all."

The courier looked down at the box...

ゴゴゴゴ.

"U-Um..." Ryo stammered, slowly pushing the door close. "I'm actually just about to finish my heavy breakfast s-so...uh...thanks but no thanks."

"Oh, but I insist!" The blonde put her foot in the doorway, a pout on her lips as she did so. "You are Sir Sahaku's roommate. Surely you can message him on what you think of my dish!"

Suddenly her eyes widened, and she pulled back, mumbling to herself.

"...what if it makes him jealous? Would he even get jealous? He's the only one I give..."

"Oh, would you look at the time!" The courier crowed out, checking the nonexistent watch on his wrist. "I've got to get ready for...for the uh...thing!" He snapped his fingers. "The makeup matches, yeah!"

The noblewoman jolted, checking her own watch with wide eyes. "Good Heavens, you're right! I have to get ready for my match!" She turned around and left in a hurry, something that made the Astray pilot sigh in relief.

...

"I wonder if Laura can stomach that thing..."


Being dragged by the Student Council President so early in the morning was not in any of his plans.

So when Tatenashi had grabbed his wrist the moment he stepped out of the 1st Year Dorms, he couldn't really help but accept his fate as she sat him down next to her in the food court.

"You could have just sent me a message instead of ambushing me right out the gate." He groused, taking his phone back from the giggling bluenette. "And stop trying to dig through my gallery. I don't have anything to hide from you."

He ignored the surprised and excited gasps from the eavesdroppers around them. Now that he thought about it, that line probably gave more ideas than he intended.

"Then what were all of those images of those girls, hmm~?" She grinned up at him, her head propped up by her hands as she leaned on the table.

"You mean the characters of the shows and books that I like?" Ryo grumbled, pocketing his phone. "I'd hardly call them 'other' girls."

Tatenashi's grin turned sultry as she looked up at him with half-lid eyes. "Then it's a good thing there's a small addition to your collection."

"If you sent me something questionable. I swear-"

"Then you'll just have to find out now, don't you~?"

The courier facepalmed. Like hell he is going to check it out here in public, too many prying eyes, and if someone sees him checking out his phone with a possibly highly suggestive picture of the bluenette smiling smugly in front of him...

He can only imagine the repercussions.

Meanwhile, on the other side of things…

"Please don't say things like that, Guele-san! It's embarrassing!"

Tatenashi blinked and turned to see her blushing sister, with a grinning Davion next to her. Nudging the Astray pilot, she let her lips ease into an impish grin. "I see your friend trying to put the moves on my sister."

Ryo turned his head to see and let out an amused snort. "I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual, Kaichou." He pointed at the way the two seemed to be relatively comfortable with each other, "Look, she's sitting just a foot away from him."

"Ara~"


Later...

《 Kanzashi Sarashiki, Strike Uchigane: Launching! 》

The audience was silent, stunned speechless as they beheld the white, blue, and red suit. The amber visor flashed as it leveled out, and he could see that the blonde next to him had wide eyes and a gaping mouth.

He couldn't help but snort. "Rather impressive, is it not? Davion can make some pretty cool things once he puts his mind to it."

"I…Indeed." Charlotte muttered, the awe quickly washing away as she frowned. "I wonder…"

Recognizing the telltale glint in her eyes, he sent her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry too much. Just ask him for help when you find the time."

"Hey, Ryo!"

The green-eyed test pilot turned from his conversation with Charlotte, raising a brow towards Ichika, seated a row behind them. "Hm?"

"Did Davion..?" Rin asked, leaving the question open-ended as she knew the courier understood what she was asking.

"Yep," Ryo answered with a nod. "He and Sarashiki-san have been friends for almost a year now, so when he heard that she didn't have a personal IS despite being an RC, he helped out."

"That's quite sweet of him to do that, no?" Charles chuckled, his sights affixed to the Strike Uchigane. "And very chivalrous too."

Beep!

All chatter stopped as everyone turned back to the arena, eyes locking on the holographic countdown.

5

The courier leaned back in his seat, crossing a leg over the other as he made himself comfortable.

4

Beside him, Charlotte did the same, though she brought her phone out to record.

3

Several girls around them were doing the same, recording the fight between the IS and this new suit.

2

Ryo can only hope that this wouldn't start a series of new ripples…

1

…Oh, who was he kidding? There's zero doubt about it now. All he's gonna do is pray that it doesn't affect things negatively.

"Begin!"

"Fire!"

His brows shot up.

Was Kanzashi ever this aggressive?

Fyoom!

BOOM!

"Oh, this'll be a flashy one."

Charlotte could only nod at her friend's words.

"Both of them favor long-ranged combat, but Mademoiselle Alcott has beam weaponry as opposed to Mademoiselle Sarashiki's physical-centric arsenal...She has limited ammo, though if she was smart about it, she might not need to expend everything."

"But knowing Davion, he probably integrated a few tricks into the suit." Ryo whistled lowly as the Strike Uchigane dodged a sudden blue beam from a smoke formation in the opposite direction of where Cecilia ducked into the first time.

Fyoom! Fyoom! Fyoom!

He hummed at the sight of the railgun weapon of the Strike Uchigane before he frowned, tapping his chin in the meanwhile. "Huh, that must take up a lot of energy…"

"I'm far more impressed by Davion-san's ability to create a railgun that rapid fires in the first place," Charlotte muttered, making sure to steady her hand as she recorded. This could yield valuable data for her company. Perhaps she should approach the Astray mechanic again and see if they could strike a deal…

Brrrrrrt!

Fyoom!

The courier kept silent as he watched the match, taking note of the fighting style of the bluenette. There was a chance that he would face her in some far-off joint training session and, while he wasn't as battle-hungry as the other two dumbasses, he still held some pride in being one of the 'untouchables' in their class.

Fyoosh!

Still, he had to give props to the younger sister of Tatenashi. Throwing a shield coated in anti-beam paint in the path of an attack was high risk, high reward. Then again, style points were prioritized in these exhibition matches, often too much to a fair few pilots in the Academy.

The flashier the move, the better it is, as evidenced by the numerous popularity polls online.

Boom!

A series of explosions rocked the arena, many of the spectators cheering at the pyrotechnics display. Charlotte was switching the focus of her recording between the Blue Tears and the Strike Uchigane, wanting to get as much data as she could of this rather brutal round. She then gasped when the two opponents crashed into one another and began free falling.

It was like watching two birds of prey smash into one another and combat in their descent, claws, and talons wildly slashing out as their wings flapped in a desperate gambit. The Frenchwoman was concerned for her friend, as she was still in the midst of recovering from her wounds incurred a few days prior.

Crash!

With a booming impact, the two girls kicked up dust and debris as they met the ground. Ryo leaned forward and narrowed his eyes, trying to see any movement within the cloud.

An amber visor flashed.

"The Blue Tears' shield level has hit zero. Sarashiki Kanzashi and her Strike Uchigane are the winners of this match."

Ryo let out an impressed sound as he leaned back on his seat. Around them, the crowd went wild. "Looks like Davion pulled out all the stops on upgrading the girl's Uchigane."

"Go Sarashiki-san!"

The blonde right next to him merely nodded, eyes taking in the dirty form of the IS-Astray hybrid. She could tell that this was a big step in the technological arms race. If the Professor ever decided to release the blueprints of the Astrays to the public like how she did with the IS COREs all those years ago…

"Let's go, Strike Uchigane!"

"Man, that was so cool!" Ichika whooped, eyes glinting in childish delight. "Admittedly terrifying, but cool!"

"Man, Alcott-san just can't catch a break this term, huh?" Rin grinned, somewhat enjoying the irritated expression of the British Representative Candidate. "First was the match with Sahaku-san, then it was with Bodewig, and now Class 4's representative. Girl really needs to step up."

Houki elbowed her side, a stern look on her face. "Don't say things like that!" She chided the twin-tailed girl. "Karma'll bite you in the ass!"

Bzzz! Bzzz!

The courier took out his phone, recognizing the specified alarm for his delivery requests.

Kaichou: I need you to do something for me, Mu-kun~! (˶◡‿◡)

"Really now…"

Charlotte turned to him with a raised brow. "What's wrong?"

His lips twitching, Ryo tried to hide his slight irritation with a smile. "Student Council duties. I've got to go." He stood up and nodded his leave to the rest of his friends. "Tell me what happened in the matches later!"

Bzzz! Bzzz!

Groaning, he walked up the stairs towards the bleacher entrances, ignoring the repetitive buzzing in his pocket. Unbeknownst to him, Charlotte watched him leave with a small pout.


It didn't take long for him to meet up with a grinning Tatenashi, who quickly pulled him along in the direction of the Launch Bay. "Come on, come on! Hurry up before we miss it!" She tittered, tugging him along as he tried his best not to stumble.

Her physical strength didn't really surprise him, as he had long since abandoned any surprise when it came to the capabilities of the girls. They were supposed to pilot IS, of course they need the strength to do so.

"Miss what?" He grumbled, falling into step with her with a slight frown.

"This!" The fox-like smile only grew as she opened the doors leading into the Launch Bay.

"...Say that again, please? My name..?"

"You're welcome, Kanzashi."

Ryo gaped before his lips curled into a wide grin as he took his phone out.

"Ara ara~" Tatenashi cooed from beside him, her own grin practically dripping with mischief. Her own phone was already out when the two turned to them.

Davion and Kanzashi immediately separated, both of their faces flush with embarrassment. The younger Sarashiki immediately began to deny what they had just seen, stepping back as her older sister closed in for the kill.

"O-Onee-chan! I-It's not what you think!"

"Oh, I think I know what's going on here, Kanzashi-chan~"

The courier merely grinned at his friend, who glared at him with all the fury he could muster.

"And I won't leave you alone until you spill~!"

"Nooo!"

He stepped aside to give the younger sister an avenue of escape, raising a brow at the mechanic.

"Get away from me, Nee-chan!"

The younger bluenette ran past him, covering her face as Tatenashi followed. The older sister teased her with smooching sounds and suggestive phrases. He turned his head back to Davion, his grin turning into a smirk.

"Don't you say it..!" The grey-eyed teen hissed, hands clenched tightly.

"What?" Ryo leaned against the doorway, shoulder shaking in repressed laughter, "I ain't saying anything."

"You're thinking about it."

"Hmmmm~?"

"Oh, shut up. I'm not taking any lip from you." The mechanic walked past him, pulling his hood up to hide his growingly red face as he escaped into the hallways.

That was what broke the camel's back. He followed his friend, peals of laughter escaping from his lips as he patted the fellow Astray pilot's back.

"Don't patronize me, man." Davion grumbled. "You two ruined a perfectly good moment."

"Pfft~"

"Ugh, leave me alone dude!"


Bzzz.

Charlotte: Ryo, you missed my match!

Dumbass 1 (You): My bad, Charlotte, but the Prez is dragging me around…

Dumbass 1 (You): That and the 3rd years just dropped a bunch of delivery requests on me.

Charlotte: Tu ferais mieux de me rembourser!

Dumbass 1 (You): Bien sur.

"Mu-kuuun~"

The courier sighed, lowering the canned coffee he was about to sip from. Pocketing his phone, he turned to her with a slight frown.

"What?"

They sat together on a bench in one of the multiple recreational parks on the artificial island. Their presence drew the eyes of many students nearby, most likely due to her position and that he was one of the boys in the Academy. Already whispers were abound, though most of them knew to keep quiet out of respect for the Student Council President.

"How are your grades?" Tatenashi asked him, her tone losing that teasing edge as she licked her popsicle.

The Astray pilot blinked, looking at her with a raised brow before he leaned back on the bench. "They're fine." He responded, taking a sip of his iced coffee. "I'm kinda lagging behind on Mathematics though. Never did like doing complex formulas..."

"I see, I see... what of the other two?"

Gazing up at the fairly cloudy sky, Ryo let out a hum as he closed his eyes. "Ephraim is an overachiever as expected, though that's probably because he has Orimura-sensei looking over his shoulder due to being her assistant... Davion is unbeatable when it comes to IS Mechanics, he practically gives his own lectures during class, and even the professor is learning something from him."

"Why don't you ask them to tutor you?" The bluenette raised a brow in question.

"Can't. The three of us have our own stuff to do." He answered, opening his eyes to the sight of a swallow flying past. Glaring at it, he followed its flight as the girl next to him giggled.

"Ah."

They then sat in comfortable silence, the courier savoring his drink in small sips. He was tempted to pull out his compact headphones to listen to music, but didn't want to let his guard down, especially since he was with-

"Mmmh~"

His brow twitched.

"Mmmmhhhmmm~"

"Kaichou..." The courier growled, the can slightly crumpling in his grip.

"Mmmh~?"

"Can you not?" He turned to her with an embarrassed scowl.

Tatenashi looked back at him, her cheek bulging slightly due to the popsicle in her mouth. She slowly took it out, deliberately panting. There was that glint in her ruby eyes as her tongue licked the cold treat, the corners of her lips curling up.

"Is that really necessary?" Ryo hissed, cursing himself as he felt some of his blood flow down below.

"For your reactions, of course~" She tittered, finishing the treat in a single swallow.

"You're risking dragging both of our reputations through the mud with how you do it..." He grumbled, looking away as he eased his grip on the half-crushed can.

The bluenette laughed as she patted his back. "You gotta branch out with how you present yourself, after all! I get to relax when I mess with you, and you get to look a little more approachable to the girls."

"I think I'm plenty approachable, Kaichou." Ryo countered, turning back to her with a raised brow. "I've been delivering all sorts of things for all sorts of people already."

"That'll just make you more of a gopher than a person, Mu-kun." She glanced at him with a small smile. "What I'm doing with you makes it appear as if you're more than that. That you aren't all smiles and 'Thank you for asking for my help'. Wearing that sort of mask isn't healthy, you know."

He blinked, somewhat caught off-guard by the seriousness of the topic.

Tatenashi sighed, suddenly sounding tired as her smile strained. "Maintaining a mask for so long just makes it easier for something to demolish it in one blow...and then you're left with the pieces that you don't know what to do with..."

Ryo frowned as her expression fell. He glanced around at the few students watching them and sighed.

He poked her cheek.

"Mu?" She made a noise of surprise, turning to him with wide eyes.

His hand pinched the cheek it was previously poking, lightly pulling up as he rolled his eyes. "All people have masks. What matters is when you should take it off and when you wear it. With you, however, I can't even be bothered to put it on." The courier let go of her cheek as he turned his head away to hide the pink dusting on his own. "I wouldn't be here and complaining this much if I did."

He heard her giggle. "Then this show is reserved for lil' old me then~?"

"Take it how you will, I'm not elaborating." Ryo let out a sigh, thankful that his back was to her...

"Heeeh~?"

...Otherwise, she would have seen the appreciative but melancholic smile on his face.


After that little moment, they had separated to do their duties. Tatenashi had to deal with something about the remaining fallout concerning the incident with Laura the day before, and he had been called away to do more of his deliveries.

"Yo! Thanks for picking this up for me." The blonde 3rd year grinned at the courier as she took the small box from his hand. Her sea-green eyes looked at him up and down, a lecherous smirk forming on her lips. "Damn, you'd be quite a looker if you were a girl."

"… Excuse me?" Ryo's brow twitched as he stepped back. "I... is this harassment, Senpai?" He didn't know how to deal with her, honestly. Her uniform was...revealing, with her top's buttons undone so that it showed her cleavage and her lace bra, and her skirt was downright scandalous.

It could barely be called a skirt at all!

The girl merely laughed as she tossed the box back into her room, somewhat causing the courier to scream internally at how she was so careless about his work-! "It's a compliment, you dingus!" She offered her hand, the smirk turning into a friendly grin. "Daryl Casey. You don't need to refer to me by some Japanese manners. Just call me by my first name, rookie."

The courier reluctantly shook her hand. "Ryo Murakumo, if we're going by Western nomenclature. You're the US' Representative Candidate, right?"

"Yup!" Daryl gave his hand one more firm shake before pulling hers back. "Pilot of the Hellhound. Shame I'm not allowed to fight ya, I would have loved digging my teeth in on the shiny white ass of that Astray of yours."

"Er..." Ryo didn't know how to answer that.

The American laughed, a hearty belly laugh the echoed in the dorm hall. "Don't let me keep ya, pretty boy! You probably have a hot date." She waggled her eyebrows, a lecherous light glinting within. "I know that I do!"

"R-Right...well, good afternoon then..." He bid his farewell and turned around for a quick retreat.

'This damn academy is eccentric for sure.' The courier mentally groused as he walked down the stairs of the 3rd Year Dorms. A few of his upperclassmen looked at him with suspicion, having never been used to his presence on their territory. Some whispered, some leered, but most of them merely gave him a single glance as he went.

Bzzt. Bzzt.

With a small sigh, he pulled his phone out, checking if it was another delivery-

..?

"A consultation..?"


Maya set the coffee carafe down before picking up the two mugs filled with the dark liquid. Turning around, she smiled at the courier sitting down by her desk at the Faculty Room. The other teachers paid them no mind, having been used to the student's presence whenever he passed by for a delivery.

"We haven't really sat down for a talk, Murakumo-kun." She sat down at her seat, passing the other mug to her fellow caffeine fan.

"Well, all of us have been pretty busy as of late." Ryo shrugged, taking a sip of the piping hot coffee. He smacked his lips, surprisingly unscathed at the temperature. "Added with our tertiary duties as part of the faculty, and all."

The green-haired teacher nodded. "I understand, and on top of that were all of the incidents that must have really stressed the three of you out..."

"Not... exactly." He chuckled, a somewhat sheepish expression on his face. "The other two were looking for something to do that was related to piloting the Astrays. So the stuff that happened was probably something they were asking for, I was just along for the ride. But it did give us a chance to prove ourselves to the public, which was something we were waiting for."

"It was still dangerous!" Maya protested with a pout. "Who knows what could have happened!"

"Yamada-sensei, it's fine. We knew the risks." He held a hand up, a smile on his lips. "We wouldn't have jumped in if we weren't sure we could do it. And we couldn't just stand by while everyone was panicking."

"You're still kids, Murakumo-kun..." She sighed, blowing on her coffee. "You ought to enjoy your youth like some of your fellow first years!"

"I don't think the three of us can be considered 'kids', Sensei." Ryo smirked as he took a sip of his mug. "Ephraim's turning 19 this September, I'm turning 18 this December, and Davion just recently turned 17 back in April, during the Golem incident."

'Physically, that is. Mentally we're practically around your age...'

"E-Eh?!" Maya looked shocked, almost jumping out of her chair. "We missed Guele-san's birthday?! Oh no! I should get him a belated birthday gift and-"

"Sensei, it's fine!" The courier chuckled as he calmed her down. "He wished for a victory in the Inter-Class League. He got it following the defeat of the Golems and was satisfied with that." He then sighed in exaggerated dismay after a few moments of silence. "But, we did give him money to feed that model kit addiction of his. He got so many expensive kits that we had to step in before he bought a 1/48 scale Perfect Grade Bicorn Madnug! His room in our apartment back then was absolutely filled with boxes that he had to sleep in the living room for a good month."

"But still!" The greenette continued, a pout of her lips. "You're the Professor's pilots. I should at least give him a greeting!"

Ryo smirked. "Then I'll pass it along to him. Consider it a delivery."


Later...

It didn't take long for night to come, and he had to bid farewell to the assistant homeroom teacher. The talk was therapeutic, reminding him that they were still regular students, despite everything in this world.

Despite everything that he did…

'No...No! Don't brood. Don't brood, you're not that kind of guy...'

But what mattered was that he actually relaxed. Even if it was for a little bit, he was able to forget who they actually were.

Outsiders, Outworlders, etc.

Their interdimensional boss was never clear on how long they were able to stay in a given place. They would just toss them in without regard of their wishes and then pluck them out whenever it suited them.

Times wherein he could ignore that little fact were few and far between with that damn persistent thought in the back of his head. Always wondering when, one day, he would wake up in a completely different place.

So, he valued the moments wherein he could practically forget the reality of the situation he was placed in-

Poke~

He blinked, snapping out of his thoughts and sending an unimpressed stare at the owner of the finger pressed up against his cheek.

Tatenashi stuck her tongue out as she sat on the bench's armrest. "What were you thinking so deeply about?" She wondered, looking at him with her signature grin. "A girl~? Me~?"

"I was thinking about myself." He deadpanned, leaning back on the bench as he looked around the recreational park. "About what I'll do after everything is done..." The courier mumbled, briefly looking up at the starry sky.

Granted, the last part was only an assumption as they never have had the experience of leaving a world on their own terms.

The bluenette's eyes softened as she sent him a reassuring smile. "Hey, I'm sure it'll be fine! You three were doing well before you enrolled here. What's to say that you won't be able to get back at it when you graduate?"

Ryo inwardly winced. So that's how she interpreted it. Graduation, huh?

"I highly doubt that. The moment we leave the Academy, our diplomatic immunity is gone, and we'll be swarmed by the world's governments and maybe even other parties. Each of them trying to extract just the least bit of info on our- on the Professor's suits." The courier huffed as gazed down towards the ground. "I don't even want to know how far they are willing to go just to get one piece of intel."

'And what they are going to do with it.'

Mass-produced mobile suits wreaking havoc in cities with devastating weapons...

Perhaps he let his thoughts show as Tatenashi settled down next to him, elbowing his side to break his thinking. "Come on now, you're dwelling too hard on it. I'm sure you can find something to make things work out." She smirked up at him. "After all, you're friends with the Head of the Sarashiki Family."

Ryo blinked, surprised at her offer of support. Smiling, he gave her a few pats on the head. "Huh, that's kinda unexpected from you, Kaichou. Thank you."

"Don't patronize me, Mu-kun~!" She pouted without much heat in her tone. "I can be genuinely nice when I want to!"

"—his movie theater in Odaiba that's gonna show Hathaway's Flare at around 10:30 in the morning. Originally, I was gonna go with Ephraim, but since he dipped out due to family reasons...uh..."

Tatenashi's eyes widened before she looked over her shoulder. He made to do the same but stopped when the bluenette sat on his lap, ducking her head and resting it against his chest.

"Hide me!" She whispered as her hands squeezed his shoulders.

"You... want me to come with?"

Ryo groaned as he finally registered both Davion and Kanzashi's voices in the distance. Looking over his shoulder, he spotted the two walking out of the Engineering Bay.

"Yeah." Davion rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"...Sure!" Kanzashi smiled up at him with fond eyes.

The two walked off, probably to get dinner, unaware of the two eavesdroppers sitting on a bench nearby.

"...Did you hear that, Mu-kun~?" Tatenashi grinned up at him.

"I did." He sighed as he stared at her.

"Then let's tail my little sister on her date tomorrow!"

Tired green stared up at mischievous red.

"Why..?" Ryo hesitated to even ask for her reasons at this point.

Tatenashi circled his arms around his neck, pressing herself close to him as her lips curled into a seductive smirk.

"Because it'll also act as a date with me~? Doesn't that make your heart race, Mu-kun~? To be on a romantic outing with the beautiful Student Council President, eating lunch together, helping me out with new clothes, having a romantic dinner-"

Ryo continued staring with dead eyes. "You just want me to be your valet again."

The bluenette playfully bonked herself, sticking a tongue out and winking at him.

"Ehe~!"

The courier facepalmed.

"... Fine."

"Yes!"

He then pushed her off his lap.

"Ow!"


AN:

The entirety of Red Arc has been Proofread and Edited by: ProjectRyo

And now we enter Ryo's perspective of his weekend. It's pretty chill, all things considered.

TL:

Charlotte: Tu ferais mieux de me rembourser! (You better pay me back!)

Dumbass 1 (You): Bien sur. (Of course.)

On to the reviews!

KnightOfZaku: The boys do indeed consider Tabane as their enemy, but they know that challenging her as they are now wouldn't bode well for anyone. They're somewhat playing the long game, with mixed results. Ephraim is aware of what she can do, what she's done, and what she could do. Though, he hasn't read the Light Novel in-depth and his meta-knowledge (a bit of behind-the-curtain knowledge here) comes from watching the whole anime and some wiki-diving. He 'joked' about Tabane unleashing Excalibur in Episode 1, however his knowledge of the events leading up to it is very...lacking. Turns out having two sets of memories makes a mess of your headspace, and there can only be so much that the human mind can remember before it starts pruning unnecessary memories away.

Rodvek97: I don't really want the whole misandry aspect of the Infinite Stratos world to be a prevailing aspect in every chapter, if I hyper-focus on that, it'll be a problem narrative-wise. But still, the world they are in is problematic, and that they have, and will, face more than a few radicals that wish nothing but malice to them. For now, Laura sees her new brothers as just that, brothers. Brothers that she wants to make up to for her aggression in the past two weeks. Keep in mind, Laura has absolutely bunk in social skills amongst her peers, and the trio know that as well, so they're going to guide her as best they can.

P.B.S: Houki and Rin remain in Ichika's orbit. Cecilia was drawn to Ephraim's, and he wishes to pull Chifuyu into his orbit. Ryo has Charlotte and Tatenashi in his orbit. Davion (by his controller's choice) wishes to only have Kanzashi (mainly because the controller is very vanilla about relationships but hey, to each their own). Laura has been successfully pulled away from Ichika's orbit, though there's no telling if she was going to get pulled back in.

Man, it's just you three that regularly review huh? I really appreciate that. Really, I do. It lets me know if the way I'm portraying the boys here is enjoyable to the audience, you guys.

To be honest, I'm getting quite nervous as we get closer and closer to the Silver Gospel arc. I had a set path on how the fight would play out, but the more I thought about the whole thing, the more...lacking and uninspired it seemed. So I wrote plotline after plotline. 3 separate convergence points within Episodes 11 and 12 were made, and all of them have their own merits on the narrative. I fear that I would reveal my hand too early with each 'path', and thus ruin the story, causing me to scramble to try and 'fix' whatever wrong I did and further ruining the flow of the story.

Haaah, nevermind my rambling. I'll probably work it out when the time comes, I just wanted to vent for a little bit.

This is Cipher, signing off!