Interlude 7-3(e) - Friday Fun


"Don't hold back. I want to be pushed, both the Strike and I. Can you do that for me, Davion-kun?"

'Shit. 'Don't hold back' huh..?'

He ran a hand through his hair, a stab of uncertainty running up his spine at the predicament he was in. Caught between a rock and a hard place, he wasn't sure on how to proceed.

On one hand, he could indulge his girlfriend(?) and give her an all-out battle, something that he somewhat wanted to do given the amount of ordinance both of their suits could release. There was also the practical reason, of acquiescing to her request so that she would grow and become stronger.

But on the other hand, going all out would mean going against Ephraim's explicit orders hours prior. Not that he was beholden or anything to the blonde, it was just that the Gold Frame pilot was the most knowledgeable of the world and its dangers amongst their group, so whatever he said had to be taken into consideration.

"We cannot let the world know of what we are truly capable of. Not the governments, not the private corporations, and especially not those damn Phantom Task dykes. Tabane is another topic altogether, one we'll deal with at a later date. For now, pull your punches, refrain from using the new upgrades, just do enough effort to make it seem that we're actually trying."

And from what he had seen, Ryo and Ephraim kept their word. The former didn't use the Arrow mode to its full potential and the latter barely even used the Maga no Ikutachi.

The Red and Gold Frame had their gimmicks, their own groundbreaking technology that they would have to keep secret.

The Blue Frame…

'...It has nothing but overwhelming firepower.' Gray eyes widened as he realized a loophole. 'Unreasonably overwhelming, sure, but conventional firepower.'

The Blue Frame Second G was the most simple between the three upgraded Astrays, with only having increased overall performance via new thrusters and armor and the Tactical Arms. What exactly was he going to show off that the world wouldn't deduce from the obvious?

"And now we face the highlight of today's matches! A good ol' one on one duel!"

His helmet materialized in his hand as he continued to think. 'But I still need to be careful about it. They don't know about the odd phenomenon that I have with the suit. Which means, when push comes to shove, I'll have to use…'

Nodding to himself at his course of action, Davion put on his helmet, the visor sliding down and filling up with HUD elements.


'Energy Levels are 100%.'

Ruby eyes checked her vast arsenal, ignoring the pounding of her heart as she read off line after line.

'Clavicle Vulcans at a full 1000 rounds, 36 Missiles, 48 Micro Missiles, 26 Railgun rounds…'

The Barrage Pack's engines spooled up, spitting out blue-white flames as the jet wash harmlessly splashed against the metal walls of the Launch Bay.

"Our first duelist is one many of you are familiar with! The uncrowned Emperor of Engineering, the Regent of Repairs, his domain is the 'Bay!"

"Alright..." Kanzashi muttered as the Strike Uchigane went into 1st Shift, staying still as the rest of the armor appeared. The armored circlet materialized and the facemask locked into place, just as the amber visor slid down.

Du-dum…

'I know, Strike.' She thought, the slight tingling in the back of her mind calming as she took deep breaths. 'He's going to be a big challenge but I- no, we need this. We need to make a statement. That I'm not just 'the little sister' or 'the Representative Candidate with no personal IS'."

"Soaring in on blue wings of freedom is-!"

"Davion Guele, Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second G: Heading out!"

The bluenette watched through her visor, her HUD, as the Blue Frame launched out of its corner of the arena. Her eyes narrowed at the recoilless rifle in its right hand and the Type 71 rifle in its left.

"Not going for your Tactical Arms..?" The bluenette hummed as she stepped up to the catapult, missiles materializing on the hardpoints of the Barrage Pack's wings as they snapped up into place. "Just what are you planning..?"

"And for his opponent, one could say that she is his mirror and more~! Another member of the Student Council steps up to the plate, ready to show her fighting spirit!"

Cheeks burning, she ignored whatever her older sister was saying as she accessed the launch controls of the catapult. The warmed up engines let off brief bursts of thrust as she cracked her neck, licking her lips in preparation for the fight.

"She is Japan's Representative Candidate, the one! The only-!"

"Kanzashi Sarashiki, Strike Uchigane: Here I go!"

The catapult surged forward at the same time she activated the engines, the wings catching enough lift as they neared the end of the ramp. The magnetic locks detached and she soared up, blue-white flame trailing after her as she stayed in the air.

Amber visor looked down at sea-green optics as the audience cheered and hollered.

She could see, with the aid of the Hyper Sensor, her sister grinning and waving at her from the Control Booth. She could see her classmates waving flaglettes that had her name on them, a certain redhead waving a banner and screaming like she was the one about to head into battle.

But all of those were ignored in favor of observing the body language of the Astray below her.

The Blue Frame flexed its fingers, the pointer of each never straying far from the trigger as the rest rhythmically tapped the handles of their weapons.

Kanzashi pulled out her naginata from its holster in the Barrage Pack, the weapon's shaft extending as the pale blue high frequency blade sparked briefly with electricity.

"Are both fighters ready?!"

The bluenette held her naginata in her right hand, keeping her left open as she narrowed her eyes at the Astray.

The Astray itself merely raised the Cattus slightly.

"Let this battle…BEGIN!"

(BGM Start: Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans OST 2 - All Out)

BOOM!

In an instant, the railgun slug from the unfolded weapon and the 50mm recoilless rifle round met in a resounding explosion. The Blue Frame leapt back at the same time, only barely dodging the slug that powered through the explosion.

"And it's off to an explosive start!"

"Fly!" Kanzashi roared as she pointed her naginata at the mobile suit.

Six missiles detached from her wings and converged towards her opponent-

Brrrrt!

-only to be shot out of the air, the ports by the cheeks of the Astray lighting up as the new 12.7mm vulcans shredded the homing ordinances. The missiles tried to evade to the best of their limited capabilities, even with their verniers, but the aim of the supersoldier was straight and true.

Sea-green optics flared as the Type 71 snapped up, green lances racing towards the Strike Uchigane. She tensed her grip on her naginata for a moment before dashing to the side to dodge.

The bluenette wanted to mimic how the Gold Frame pilot deflected projectiles with his spear, but knew that this wasn't the time nor the place to practice it. Shifting her grip on the railgun's handle, she switched the fire mode as she tracked the Astray as it used the powerful thrust of its Tactical Arms to hover backwards.

'...I better not do a repeat of the Alcott-Sahaku duel.' Kanzashi thought as she shot forward, keeping her barrel aimed at the Blue Frame as she pursued.

Fwoom! Fwoom! Fwoom!

Three slugs shot forth…

Boom! Boom! Clang!

And all but one missed.

The first round was avoided with another leap, kicking up dirt and debris from the impact.

The second was dodged with a twist of the body, the ground behind the suit cratering as the slug cratered the ground.

And the last and only shot that connected dug into the side of the Astray as it was twisting its body to dodge the second round, the sheer kinetic force of the round shattering the white foam armor that comprised the chestpiece. This also sent the Blue Frame reeling, skipping across the ground and leaving indents in the ground from the impacts.

Her breath hitched for a moment before she pushed it down, knowing full well that she can't go back on her words now.

If she wanted him to hold nothing back, then why should she?

So, with a firm resolve, the naginata switched hands from right to left just as the beam launcher swung into her right hand's waiting grip.


Ignoring the ringing in his ears, the gray-eyed pilot hissed as he turned another tumble into a handspring. A quick glance to his battery levels told him that the hit cost him about 10% of the battery pack. The dulled sting of the impact caused his side to throb, but it was negligible, as he had taken much more hard hitting blows before.

'Well, that's one of my guns for ya…'

Landing on his feet, he looked up-

Fyoom!

-straight into a mess of red-blue energy.

'Wha-?!'

Instantly, the Blue Frame's shield replaced the Type 71, and in the next, it was placed between the beam and himself. With the prongs dug into the ground, he braced himself against the bulwark as the Tactical Arms shifted-

Fyoosh!


"The Strike Uchigane's energy is dropping." Maya reported as she kept a close eye on the status of the two duelists. "The Beam Launcher's shot took almost 10% of her total energy and it's steadily decreasing the longer she keeps it up."

The teacher and the bluenette watched as the red-blue beam, one made of plasma that had undergone a multiphase energizing sequence, splashed off the metal bulwark that was the Blue Frame's shield. Thanks to the polarized properties of the Control Booth's glass, they could safely observe the battle without risking having their retinas burned by the bright glare.

Chifuyu frowned as rivulets of the beam splashing off dug small trenches into the ground that surrounded the Blue Frame, kicking up superheated dust and debris, as well as chunks of slag from the Astray's shield. She took a quick glance at the audience, inwardly relieved that most of them weren't foolish enough to stare and that they were averting their eyes from the visual hazard.

'I didn't expect the Beam Launcher to be that strong.' Tatenashi mused as she glanced down at the status of the Blue Frame on her own screen, taking note that its external temperature was sharply rising. 'But then again, this is Guele-kun we're talking about. Almost all of his inventions are a step up from what the militaries have on hand.'

Boom!

"Yamada-sensei?" The teacher beside her asked, her brows furrowed as the shield finally gave out, exploding in that curious pink cloud as they were wont to do.

"The TPS is holding." The green-haired teacher reassured her, eyes switching between watching the suit's system reports and that of the status of its pilot. "Guele-kun's vitals are steady, with no sign of ruptured eardrums or lungs from a blast that close."

Chifuyu hummed as a momentary lull spread throughout. She wondered just what the gray-eyed teen was planning with this fight…


Kanzashi glanced every now and again at the status screens on her HUD, taking note of both her ammunition and energy levels as well as the communication line she had with the Control Booth. Since the Astrays did not have the IS' energy shielding, it was up to the teachers to decide whether or not the Professor's prototypes were unable to continue fighting.

Of course, there hasn't been such a case considering the test pilots were terrifyingly skilled, but perhaps one day soon they should create a program that could track-

A swarm of missiles interrupted the bluenette's musings as they rocketed out of the cloud towards her, to which she quickly boosted back as her clavicle vulcans opened fire.

Brrrrt!

12.7mm rounds raced towards the homing ordinance, the bullets penetrating the casings and igniting the explosive payload within.

Boom!

A chain reaction of explosions rocked the arena, snapping the audience out from shielding their eyes. Then, they cheered at the spectacle, quickly spotting the white, red, and blue of the Strike Uchigane as it hovered a fair distance from the pink debris clouds-

CLANG!

The ear-ringing sound silenced the cheering, all eyes locked on to the blue blur that sent the IS-MS hybrid flipping head over heels with a surprised squawk.

It was the Tactical Arms in its Sword form, the massive blade's thrusters sputtering out as it fell to the ground. The tip of the buster blade dug easily into the ground when it landed, causing a wave of murmurs to spread amongst the girls.

Alright then.

The Blue Frame stepped out of the pink dust cloud, its armor having visible chips and cracks as it stomped closer to its sword. The foam metal on the left arm was gone, blown away in the explosion, but thankfully the inner frame was undamaged. The left shoulder thruster was damaged, however, forcing him to also refrain from using the other thruster.

The right hand reached out and grasped the Tactical Arms, easily pulling it out and resting it on his shoulder. The odd backpack dissipated into white-gold motes, a familiar winged Flight Pack replacing it as the 8 high-powered engines blew away the dust cloud behind him in a strong jet wash.

Tilting his head up, sea-green optics locked on to an indifferent amber visor as the Strike Uchigane leveled itself out from its uncontrolled spin.

I guess it's time to stress test the Strike.

The folding up of the chin guard to form some sort of mask was the only warning the IS-MS hybrid had before the Blue Frame charged towards her with deceptive, and frightening, speed.


Her heart leapt to her throat as the Astray closed in, the CORE answering to her wishes as they gunned the thrusters of the Strike Uchigane. The suit shot up into the air, just barely missing the wide swing of the Astray. The sheer power of the swing and of the weight of the blade itself nearly blew her back from the wind it kicked up.

Executing a mid-air flip so that she had her front to him, the Strike Uchigane unleashed dozens of missiles and micro-missiles towards the Blue Frame-

BRRRRT!

-only for them to be taken out by the Gatling form of the Tactical Arms. Beams and bullets destroyed the missiles, a vast majority of them shooting past and pinging off her shields, forcing her to retreat further.

"The Blue Frame's not out of the fight just yet!"

It was a testament to both the suit and pilot's strength that he was able to wield the Tactical Arms as it was while in the air. A veritable rain of brass casings fell to the ground below him as the 30mm vulcan relentlessly hounded after the bluenette.

Kanzashi flew past the audience, who instinctively tried to shield themselves from the amount of bullets and beams that were impacting the arena's shields, her mind in a flurry as she tried her best to look for a way out of this situation.

'The gun looks like a shortened version of the American Avenger autocannon but with four barrels instead of the standard seven.' She mused even as her shields took another burst, sharply dropping their energy. 'Still, that shouldn't matter. There's something at play with Davion-kun's weapons as he hasn't run out of ammo yet, never mind the fact that he doesn't have a visible ammo container on him, and that he has been continuously firing for more than 18 seconds without overheating...'

BRRRRT!

Gritting her teeth as her shields took another devastating burst, she shot up high into the air, her railgun swinging into her grip as she did so.

Fwoom! Fwoom! Fwoom!

Immediately, the Tactical Arms stopped firing, quickly shifting into its Sword form to act as a makeshift shield and the massive flat of the blade was then presented just in time for the slugs to impact.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The collective force of the three supersonic rounds was enough to ground the Blue Frame again, but Davion was sharp enough to land on his feet rather than on his back. Regaining his footing, he peered over the bulwark right at the remnants of the Strike Uchigane's ordinance, all remaining missiles and micro-missiles, screaming towards him.

Oddly, there was some sort of glitter-

'Chaff.'

"Shit."

BOOM!

(BGM End: Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans OST 2 - All Out)

"Oooh! He'll definitely feel that in the morning!"

Kanzashi cautiously descended from the skies, the tip of her railgun's barrel glowing as she let it swing back to its place in the Barrage Pack. A quick glance at her ammo reserves told her that she was empty on the missiles and that she only had enough energy for a single shot of the beam launcher. The railgun was all but useless now, with the barrel warped after having been firing in bursts in quick succession.

Clank!

She readied her naginata as the Blue Frame stumbled out of the cloud, dragging the buster sword behind it as it carved a trench into the dirt. The Astray's armor was heavily damaged, half of which were practically blown off, revealing the inner blue mechanics. Half of the V-fin had been snapped off, and one of the sea-green optics was visibly cracked, but the head was merely scratched up. The Tactical Arms itself was damaged, with plenty of scratches and chips on the flat of the blade. Half of the barrels were shorn off by her railgun slugs, marking the end of its use in the fight.

The Strike Uchigane landed several meters before him, pointing the High Frequency blade of the naginata at the mobile suit.

Crackle!

The Tactical Arms shifted in the Astray's grip as electricity arced from the weapon. One of the thrusters on the hilt began smoking before erupting in a small explosion. Despite this, the Blue Frame carried the massive blade with ease.

The Barrage Pack's wings folded down to their compact forms, slimming the overall silhouette of the IS-MS hybrid. The amber visor then cleared up as ruby eyes glared into the damaged sea-green optics.

"I'm not satisfied with this. Not at all." She growled, now holding her naginata with two hands. "I told you not to hold back!"

"Sorry, 'zashi." Davion apologized as the optics were replaced with a clear visor, gunmetal gray locking on to her red as he shifted his stance. "But I'm not some sharpshooter, which is why I sucked earlier. But…"

His Flight Pack answered his thoughts, the eight engines spitting out blue flames as the air around them became a bit more heavy.

The mechanic's eyes glinted red for a brief moment as a grin stretched his lips, hidden by the faceplate but all too clear by the slight curl of his eyes.

"I never said that I was a gunner in the first place, now did I?!"

In a massive burst of movement, the Blue Frame threw the Tactical Arms at the Strike Uchigane before following close behind with two brandished Armor Schneiders. Their own High Frequency blades sang in the air as Kanzashi barely side-stepped the buster blade. Her eyes quickly darted to him and her naginata weaved as it deflected the two smaller blades.

Clang!


(BGM Start: Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans: Urdr Hunt - Main OST)

"There it is! An earnest duel between two warriors! It's what we've been waiting for~!"

Purple eyes watched the exchange with an impassive mask, even as the ear-ringing clash of two high-frequency blades echoed in the arena. The audience around were cringing at each blow, especially when large amounts of sparks were created whenever the weapons met.

"Loewenherz-san, he's part of your club…right?"

Alektra glanced over to her right, where a classmate of hers was eyeing the weapons with a look of intrigue. She knew that look, it was the same look many of her 3rd years had when one of Arzenal managed to create a form of beam boomerangs that was safe to use, provided you were skilled enough to catch the return.

"Yes, Guele-san is part of Arzenal." The German IS Representative answered with a casual tone as she leaned back in her chair. "But before you even ask… No, he won't create weapons for anyone other than those he deemed 'worthy'. It's part of an agreement he has with the Professor. You know, his sponsor?" She fixed a dry look at the displeased girl, who merely scoffed and returned to watching.

'And I'm lucky enough to be deemed worthy.' The dark-haired girl quipped in her head, rolling her eyes and idly touching the Closed Form of her Raziya. 'How foolish…knowing what's going on in the background…'


Despite having to deal with a flurry of attacks, Kanzashi found herself…smiling.

Screech!

Even as she spun her weapon, using the momentum to blow away the incoming strikes not unlike that of a certain spearman, she felt her heart race. A telltale glint from the tip of the Blue Frame's feet clued her in and she used the thicker part of her heel to block the incoming toe knife, to which she then ducked from the follow-up spinning heel kick.

'Another glint…'

Due to being practically stripped down to near barebones armor, the Blue Frame was far more agile that it has ever been. It was a veritable hurricane of blades and limbs, one that the bluenette was barely able to match.

'I just have to wait for the right moment…'

A part of her regretted wanting him to hold nothing back, but the rest of her mind knew that such an agreement was a high-risk, high-reward deal.

If she won against him, she would be proving to both them and to the whole world that she was just as, if not more so, skilled than Davion. If she lost, then she would be just another tally to their victory count, another tally to rally around by those who were against the Astrays.

Besides, if she won, then that would mean she would have something to hold over her government. Ichika Orimura has not yet won against the Professor's test pilots, so if she stole that first victory from him, then they'll regret ever prioritizing him over their Representative Candidate.

Screech!

But first, she needed to be able to beat the Astray first.

It was like a tug-of-war, one would be pushed back only for them to counter and be the one pushing back. She had the reach advantage when it came to her naginata, but he had the experience in fighting with knives and in close combat. That was not to mention the possible expertise he had against polearm users considering he was friends with the Gold Frame's pilot.

Fizzle!

Kanzashi grit her teeth as her energy shield shattered, the Blue Frame's stabs and swipes apparently fast enough to register as considerable threats to her CORE. Now, she had to rely on her own Trans Phase Shift armor to protect her.

Clash!

Swinging her naginata up, she knocked one of his knives out of his hand and sent it flying in the air. The Astray didn't hesitate as it turned the open palm into a fist and sent it surging forward. A quick burst of her engines and of the clavicle vulcans both allowed her to make space between them and deflect it respectively. She ducked underneath another spinning heel kick and swept his legs with a leg of her own, metal meeting metal in an ear-ringing clash.

"Tch!" Davion snarled as he twisted, planting both his hands down on the ground and stretching his legs. Both toe and heels knives popped out as he executed a 1990 spin, the pinions of the Flight Pack shortening as they aided him in the velocity of said spin.

"He's…breakdancing?! What can't Guele-san do?!"

The Strike Uchigane backed off, not wanting to risk draining its energy on blocking and deflecting the hidden knives. Her clavicle vulcans opened up once more and emptied the last of her ammo into the whirlwind.

Brrrt!

Most of the bullets pinged off or broke apart upon contact, but it was enough for the Blue Frame to stop its spin and right itself back on its two feet again. He raised a hand up, catching the knife that was knocked up earlier.

"Now that was just stylish!"

Ruby locked on to red-tinted gray, the noise of the audience around them dimming to a muted white noise. Both of their eyes narrowed as they knew that their opponent was on their last legs, both the engineering-savvy students knowing full well just how much energy they both wasted during the whole bout.

It was now or never, with one last move, they could finish the fight.

The Blue Frame ever so slightly shifted it's right foot-

'...Now!'

She stepped back just as the Blue Frame went for another lunging stab, using the dull edge of her naginata to sweep his outstretched leg. Even though it wasn't the cutting side, it was still a high-frequency blade. Rapid vibrations rocked the exposed inner frame and sparked rather violently when it and the Trans Phase shift armor reacted. A high-pitched whine emanated from the contact, causing both to visibly screw their eyes shut at the noise before she capitalized on the chance.

Clang!

Bringing the butt of her naginata up in a sharp strike, she hoped that whatever she hit was the chin of the Astray. Shifting her grip and stance, she brought her weapon up and around her head, twisting a miniscule ring on the shaft as she did so.

Slash!

"Gah!"

"The Blue Frame has suffered sufficient damage! This duel goes to Kanzashi Sarashiki and the Strike Uchigane!"

The crowd went wild.

Her eyes snapped open in surprise at Chifuyu's voice, taking a quick glance at the Control Booth where her sister was waving at her excitedly before looking back at her opponent.

The Astray was on a knee, Armor Schneiders on the ground by its feet as it traced the shallow gouge in its chest. Looking at her blade, she quietly sighed in relief that her gamble paid off and deactivated the beam feature of the naginata.

"Man, this is gonna take me all weekend to repair…" Davion muttered as the Astray dematerialized in white-gold motes. This left him in his pilot suit, which was just as banged up with visible tears and burns. "Luckily, I have spare armor just in case…"

Gray eyes, now lacking the odd red glint from earlier, looked up at her as he smiled warmly. He was breathing slightly heavily, a bead of sweat running down his cheek as he slowly stood up.

"Well, are you satisfied with my performance?"

'...Am I..?'

She…honestly wasn't sure.

It was clear that Davion still didn't show his full capabilities, but what in her mind now was…

Could she handle a full-power Davion?

She was barely able to keep up with him when he was up close and personal, and he displayed uncanny skills when deflecting with knives. But it was the way he seamlessly flowed into various forms, from knife-fighting to breakdancing for example, that almost caught her off-guard.

If he was truly fighting in earnest, with an intent to do real harm…

"...Somewhat." Kanzashi cleared her throat to push her mind away from uneasy thoughts. "Though, I'll blame your hardware as to why you weren't taking it seriously."

"Hey, I resent that! The Blue Frame is just…" The mechanic trailed off as he began to rub the back of his neck. "W-Well, it's kinda limited, for sure…but nothing a bit of genius won't-"

Crackle-pop!

They both turned to the damaged Tactical Arms buried in a crater not too far away, watching as the hilt exploded.

Davion fell to his knees, a hysterical look twisting his face as he gripped his hair.

"NOOO, MY BABY!"

Kanzashi pointedly looked away.

(BGM End: Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans: Urdr Hunt - Main OST)


"I'm going to go congratulate my little sister for her victory."

Chifuyu waved away the bluenette as she stood up, spotting the telltale glint of pride behind the composed mask that she wore when she walked away.

She could understand, as one big sister to another. As the younger Sarashiki had proven herself to be capable, so did her younger brother. Ichika had grown leaps and bounds since the start of the school year, thanks to no small effort of the Neo-Types.

"Maya, did the chaff earlier affect the recording?"

The green-haired teacher shook her head as she typed a few keys, ending the recording software and moving the match data files away to a different server. "Not really. Other than providing a welcome dazzle and pizzaz during Sarashiki-san's attack, the feed was still clear enough to capture everything!" She cheerfully responded with a fist-pump.

Snorting, Chifuyu turned away from the window. "Good enough for me."

'Just why are you asking for combat data, Tabane..?'

In all her years of knowing that annoying rabbit, Chifuyu knew that the plum-haired woman didn't do things for no reason whatsoever. She always had something up her sleeve, an ulterior motive that was well hidden behind facade after facade. Most of the time, they were generally harmless but when they weren't…

Well, it was best not to ponder on such things.


.

.

.


After that was all said and done, the Academy rather quickly went back to routine. Aside from Kanzashi gaining a bit more popularity as 'the IS that beat an Astray', things were going as usual.

Ryo still went about doing his deliveries…

Davion was cooped up in the hangar fixing the Blue Frame…

Ephraim getting his ass handed to him by Chifuyu in sparring class…

The day quickly passed, and the students soon found themselves finishing their classes. Dismissed, they did whatever they needed to do: homework, club activities, hanging out with friends, and the like.

It was a Friday, so most of them were more than ready to kick it back and rest.

Thus, when night fell and they retired to their dorms, the 1st Years once more enacted the Friday Night Gathering Program…


"There better be a good reason as to why you dragged me here…" Davion grumbled as he sat down on the floor of the 1st Year dorm's Common Room. Wearing a sleeveless gray shirt and black shorts, the mechanic had no shame in displaying his powerful arms. A few new band-aids dotted said arms, the product of his frantic repairing and tinkering hours prior.

"You need to come out and interact with the rest of the 1st years more often, that's why." Ephraim dryly answered him as he unwrapped a strawberry lollipop. The blonde was wearing a plain white short-sleeved shirt this time, as well as his usual black pajama pants.

Like always, he had his scars on full display, but by now most of the girls by now had gotten used to seeing the rather morbid sight.

"I interact with them plenty enough in the Engineering Bay!" The mechanic protested. "And if you've forgotten, I still have the Tactical Arms to repair!"

"Spending a night with friends isn't that bad." Ryo interjected as he sat down between the two. He was clad in a loose hoodie and basketball shorts, the fake glasses that he wore everywhere noticeably absent for tonight. "You missed quite a lot of movie nights and TTRPG campaigns."

Davion jolted at the mention of the latter, fixing a look of betrayal at the two of them. "Wait what?! Why didn't you two tell me?!"

"Trust me," The blonde shivered as he glanced at a group of girls that were looking at them with barely veiled lecherous expressions. "You wouldn't have liked being in those campaigns. The amount of persuasion checks to seduce us was…"

"Hell." The green-eyes of the courier dulled to almost deathly. "I've never felt so much like a piece of meat while we were roleplaying, it's such fucking bullshit. Most of them were horribly roleplaying as guys too! Fuckin' full of toxic masculinity bullshit…."

"...Now I'm curious-"

Clink!

A bottle landed cleanly on the rug that they sat on, interrupting the gray-eyed teen as the three of them turned their heads to look as to who threw it. Rin grinned at them as she led Charlotte and Cecilia towards the three, with each holding some sort of game in their hands.

The Frenchwoman carried with her a deck of cards, which she shuffled around every now and again. She wore a similar hoodie to that of Ryo, one that reached mid-thigh and almost completely hid the dull black and orange boxer shorts underneath it. Her hair was free from its usual low ponytail, so her golden locks ran like a river down her back.

The courier tried his best to not let his eyes wander down to her thighs, clenching his right fist ever so slightly to fight the temptation to ask for a lap pillow.

'Must…ignore…urge…to rest my head there!'

Cecilia carried with her a board game, chess it seemed, and her smile merely grew when her blues locked on to Ephraim's purples. Instead of a fancy nightdress or a camisole, she instead wore a plain white shirt and blue boxer shorts. And rather than the drills that she usually sported, the Brit had her hair in a high ponytail.

The blonde Neo-Type would admit to himself that seeing the noblewoman in such simple clothing was…kinda hot. Added to the fact that her hair was in a ponytail and that her shirt juuust hugged her breasts rather well-

'Calm down… There's no need to embarrass myself because hormones are running wild…' The older teen took a deep, calming breath, disguising it as a repressed yawn. He ignored the light warming of his cheeks all the while, pushing down the memory of the sheer softness of her-

'Calm down!'

As for Rin…

"Where's your game?" Ryo asked with a somewhat wary tone. "Because if it's like last time, you can count me out."

"Last time?" Davion asked with a raised brow. There was some kind of story there and he wanted to know!

"It was just Monopoly!" Rin protested against his silent accusation, sitting down across from them with a huff. Tonight she seemed to be wearing a Zhong Yi, oddly conversative for the normally bold girl, and her signature twin-tails were loosened to a casual bun.

"That Monopoly game ended with Orimura-sensei confiscating the board after Houki threw a table in a fit of rage!" The courier argued back with a twitching brow.

"Holy shit, what?" Gray eyes looked at the two other girls for clarification.

"It's true." Charlotte tittered as she sat across Ryo. "Shinonono-san did indeed…ah, what's the term…'yeet' the table out a, thankfully, open window."

"I didn't expect her to snap into a near-murderous rage just because of a community chest card…" Cecilia muttered, taking her place across Ephraim and setting the chess board aside.

"Speaking of the ponytailed girl…" The taller blonde took a cautious look around, the stick between his lips slowly swishing about. "Where is she? I would have thought she and Ichika would be here by now…"

"I passed by Ichika earlier and he said he was getting a drink, he'll be here shortly. As for Shinonono-san, I don't know, probably doing homework or something." Rin shrugged before she clapped her hands and gestured to the rough circle that they were in. "Anyway, we're in position! So…" She pointed at the bottle in the middle of said circle and shared a sly look with the other two girls.

Davion felt his mind freeze.

"Oh fuck." Ephraim cursed under his breath with a grimace.

Ryo facepalmed.

"It's time to Spin the Bottle!"


"We don't exactly belong here, Ichika…."

The Byakushiki pilot pondered his friend's words earlier as he grabbed the soda from the vending machine.

Barring the obvious fact that they didn't pilot the IS, nor the fact that they were the products of a bloody supersoldier project, they way the courier said that was a bit more…troubling.

'It was like he was saying that…that they don't belong in society?'

Did his friend really think so lowly of himself? Of the others?

Sure, they may have had a rather dark background, but he believed that one's past doesn't define or shape them in the future. His friends deserved to feel as if they belong, to not be held back by doubts and fears.

Humans had the capacity to change, to be free of the chains of their past and be a different person. The pilot wanted the three Neo-Types to no longer be 'Neo-Types' but just be normal guys. It was why he wanted to be closer to them after what had transpired last Friday, so that they didn't feel as if he would alienate them just because he knew who they were.

'Or maybe I'm just overthinking things… Perhaps he just thought that we were all naive, compared to what the three of them went through…'

Shaking his head, he turned back to the dorms, drink in hand, when he saw something that gave him pause.

"Houki…" Ichika muttered, squinting his eyes as he spied his roommate on the balcony of their dorm room. She seemed to be on her phone, if the small light by her ear was anything to tell by.

The swordswoman had been…rather bitter in the last few hours. He had found her in the dojo after checking their room, the clue having been the missing shinai. There, he watched her swing her frustrations away, turning her volatile rage into a cold anger. He didn't want to interrupt her venting, so he stayed on the sidelines and watched.

It was obvious that she had a shadow opponent from the way she had ducked and weaved, and it wasn't hard to realize that it was a certain golden spearman. Truthfully, Ichika didn't fully understand the hate she had for the Neo-Types.

When the first term had started, they were just as fresh out of the water as he was, though they had a bit more grace. They didn't prance around like they owned the place, no, they were cautious in their interactions with the other girls and it took them weeks to build a solid reputation as dependable and friendly men.

Houki, throughout all that, had been cold and even spiteful towards them. Especially so when the Astrays had been revealed and the whole world went wild on speculations and claims. He didn't fully catch what she had been muttering about, other than 'sister' or 'spies'.

The match earlier just cleared things up for him.

She was upset that the Neo-Types were the Professor's test pilots, that they were there as an extension or to act as her wardens of sorts. Ichika knew how overbearing some older siblings could be, some of his friends had rather strict older sisters or brothers, but the way Houki acted was a new level.

It was as if the Professor was going to bury her or something from the way she acted about it.

The swordswoman had kept that belief throughout the months, stubbornly so, even though there was no indication that the three of them were anything of the sort. Sometimes they even seemed to dislike the Professor, yet Houki didn't seem to notice.

Or if she wanted to notice at all.

Shaking his head once more, he entered the dorms and made way for the common room. He had given up in trying to persuade Houki to join them earlier, with her stating that she had late homework to do and that the deadline was tonight.

Pulling the tab of his soda, he took a small sip as he turned the corner, following the general noise of various friend groups enjoying the Friday night. He waved to a few girls that passed him, and when he entered the common room proper, he quickly spotted his friends.

They sat in a rough circle on a rug in the corner of the room, just by the windows and one of the exits. The three blonde heads of Cecilia, Charlotte, and Ephraim made it quite easy to spot them. Much to his slight surprise, a certain bluenette was also there, sitting behind a…shirtless Davion.

'What the..?'

As he neared them, he began to overhear what they were doing…

"Yes!" Rin raised her fists in victory before pointing at a bemused Ephraim. "Alright, finally! Truth or Dare?!"

'Truth or Dare?' Ichika blinked as approached the circle. "You guys playing 'Spin the Bottle'?"

His childhood friend turned around in slight surprise before a beaming smile stretched her lips. "Yup! Come on, join us! Ephraim over here was about to choose!" She patted the space between her and Charlotte, motioning for him to sit down.

The Byakushiki pilot did so, placing his can of soda between his crossed legs. "You said 'finally' earlier. What did I miss?"

Cecilia snorted as she crossed her arms, looking pointedly at the three Astray pilots before her. "Just these three avoiding doing 'Truth' whenever the bottle pointed towards them."

"It was quite fun though." Charlotte piped up with a smug smile, ignoring the dry stare of the courier across from her. "Wasn't it, Ryo-chan~?"

"...Shut up."

Ichika's brows shot up into his hairline and he visibly recoiled. Ryo's voice was..!

"Holy-! You can sound like a girl?!" He asked the glaring courier.

"She dared me to!" Ryo growled, pointing at a giggling Charlotte. "I don't even know why she thought that of all dares!"

"It was either that or the maid costume, I believe." Ephraim grinned beside his roommate, with Ichika just now noting that he had a somewhat messy side ponytail and a small braid on the other side of said ponytail.

"Hey hey, focus back on the situation!" Rin waved her hands before pointing once more at the tall blonde. "Truth or Dare!"

All eyes turned to the Gold Frame's pilot as he frowned. He stared at the bottle pointing towards him before he took a deep breath.

"...Truth."

The smile on the Chinese girl's lips stretched far too wide as she rubbed her hands together. "Mwehehehehe… Now what should I ask you…hold on." She slipped an arm into her Zhong Yi and pulled out her phone. "Where is it, where is it…Aha!" Her green eyes looked up at him with a cat-like gaze, hiding her mouth behind the phone as she read whatever it was on it.

"Okay so this was one of the most discussed topics in many of the group chats and… O-oh…"

"...You're stuttering." Ephraim pointed out with a narrow stare, quickly spotting her paling cheeks. "Why are you stuttering? What's the question?"

"Um…Er…"

Ichika leaned over to look at her screen only for her to turn away. She then took a deep breath and turned back, looking at the tall blonde with an apologetic look.

"'Are you a virgin?'"

"What kind of question is that?!"

"Quoi?!"

Cecilia and Charlotte turned to Rin with blazing cheeks, the former discreetly sending him slightly worried looks in the meanwhile. She already knew the answer to the question, but the sheer frankness of how it was delivered was…

"Come on, Ephraim." Davion grinned at the blonde, leaning back on his hands so that he was sort of back to back with Kanzashi. The bluenette herself leaned back in response, the headphones on her head preventing her from having heard the rather shocking question. "Answer the question."

Ryo merely rolled his eyes, glancing at the not-so-obvious eavesdroppers around them in the meanwhile. They had been inching closer and closer to their circle, a fair few of them having poorly hidden phones out to record. His eyes locked to the surprised yellow of Honne and she waved apologetically before slinking away in embarrassment.

"It's gonna be one of those nights, huh?" The tall blonde then sighed, shaking his head as he crossed his arms. Pursing his lips, he took a moment to think before snorting with a playful smirk. "Let me answer your question with another question-"

"Apapap!" Rin, having seen the overly eager looks around them, pointed at him again. "The truth and nothing but the truth!" She then mouthed 'Sorry!' at him, to which he nodded ever so slightly at.

The wonders of social pressure...

"Yeah!" A few of the eavesdroppers agreed but then quickly ducked away when Ephraim sent them a scathing look.

"Rin, isn't that question a bit too… I don't know…" Ichika tried to give his friend a helping hand. "Personal?"

"I-It is, but one must honor the code when playing Truth or Dare!"

"...What code?"

"Just…The Code!" Rin punched his arm in annoyance, wincing and then rubbing her knuckles afterwards. "Ow…stupid muscles…"

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to, Ephraim." Cecilia spoke up beside the Chinese girl, sending a gentle smile at the scarred teen. "It's rather uncouth of them to ask such a vulgar question, yes?"

"Boo!" The eavesdroppers hissed. "Quit being a clam jam, Alcott!"

"A what?!" The noblewoman screeched, quickly standing up and looking around for the one that insulted her. "You dare besmirch my name?!"

Snap!

All the chatter stopped at the sound of the snap, heads swiveling over to an irate Ephraim as he lowered his hand. His roommate gave a quiet applause at the act, smiling at him approvingly.

'Nice, a snap this time.'

"Lords below, this much chaos over a simple question?" The blonde growled as he sat up straighter. "See, this is why I avoided doing Truths. Too much damn trouble…" With another sigh, he closed an eye as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Anyway, no, I'm not a virgin."

The nonchalant way he delivered his answer caused a few of their eavesdroppers to fall on their ass, a bit too surprised at the blunt nature.

Cecilia quietly sat back down, gauging the reactions of their batchmates with a guarded expression. She could only hope that someone wouldn't use this as some sort of ammunition for a smear campaign, Lord knows there were already plenty of such women online.

Charlotte looked at Ephraim with a slightly awed expression, mostly impressed by his nonchalance at admitting that he no longer had his virtue. It took courage to say that out loud in front of many potential suitors, especially to a certain noblewoman.

Rin, thankfully, disguised her grimace of certain memories coming back as her still in pain from punching Ichika. She and Cecilia shared a look, to which the noblewoman frowned at her.

And Ichika…

'...Not really surprising.' He took a look at all the faces around them, all of which were in various states of shock, disbelief, or joy. 'Ephraim has that sort of vibe. The real question is how many-' The Byakushiki pilot shook his head, pushing away the rather inappropriate question.

"Done gawking?" The blonde scoffed as he leaned forward and placed a hand on the bottle. "If so, let's return to the game."


Elsewhere...

"Maj...Loewenherz-senpai."

Alektra turned her head and raised a brow. "Bodewig-kouhai." She acknowledged the albino with a nod. "Is there something wrong?"

Laura shook her head. "Nein, I merely wish to ask something."

The black-haired German huffed, untying the jacket from around her waist and draping it over his shoulders. She had just finished a workout session in the gym, her superior's words having a rather profound effect on her ego.

"Well, what is it?" Alektra zipped up the jacket, just stopping shy of the sports bra so she could still let her girls breathe.

The albino frowned as she looked down. "What does one do at a resort?"

"...What."

"I reported yesterday that the whole 1st year batch will be heading to Kanucha Resort in Okinawa for their beach trip this Monday." Laura crossed her arms and closed her eye, unable to see the exasperated expression on her superior's face. "What does one do at a resort such as that? I mean I've undergone Amphibious Training and some Beach Landing exercises, but…"

The 3rd Year pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a quiet sigh of disbelief at the supersoldier's cluelessness. "Mein Gott…"

"Er…are those…not skills suitable for a resort?" The shorter girl looked up at her with a worried frown. "Should I expect an urban operation or-?"

"Bodewig, no." Alektra shook her head. "The purpose of your beach trip is so that you and your classmates will have a relaxed mind still fresh from studies in order for you to tackle the exams at a 110%."

She should know, she had undergone similar trips in her three years of schooling.

"I assure you, there won't be any danger that will require someone of your caliber. There's an Amerikaner Marine Base across from the resort, one Camp Schwab, so if anything, they'll be the first responders should any problems arise." The two Germans walked away from the Gym, the shorter of the two nodding at the older's words. "So just take it easy and relax, but do remember your standing order. And if anything does happen, I have a feeling that our three HVT's are going to help solve it."

"A feeling, Major?"

Alektra nodded as she looked over at the distant 1st Year Dorms. "Yes, a gut feeling." Sighing, the ponytailed woman arced her back. "Now, run along before Orimura-sensei finds you out late."

The albino nodded and quickly walked away, muttering to herself to which the purple-eyed 3rd year shook her head at.

"Capable in many areas but so utterly clueless in social situations…" She looked at the night sky fondly, crossing her arms as the faint ocean breeze blew past. "Kind of like you back then, Tiegel, wherever you are right now…"


AN:

I sincerely apologize for the late update, Hell Week just ended and my partner and I were able to finally pass the project. Both of our bodies are now trying to return to optimal sleep schedules after how many damned nights of no sleep at all. On top of that, the Blue Frame's fight was a bit hard to properly write, mostly since Davion's Controller wasn't that...well, creative in his description during the action and combat phase.

Moving on...

We're finally done with Interlude 7!

There will be a short omake after this, occurring on the day after and as a sort of prelude to Episode 9.

And for something random, the chosen voice actor for Ryo's 'Female' lines is Mikako Komatsu who is the Seiyuu of: Seishirou Tsugumi from Nisekoi, Lupusregina Beta from Overlord, and more recognizably as Saika Totsuka from Oregairu.

[EDIT]

Saw a plot hole pointed out by a reviewer and revised it, thank you so much for pointing it out. I will address the rest of your review in the next chapter, thank you for reading!

Now for the reviews!

KnightOfZaku: Laura was indeed still rather affected from what had happened a week prior. Added to the fact that her Schwarzer Regen is not that same from last week, since the IS turned into metallic sludge, she didn't have the time to properly test and compare of the unit she had back then and the unit she has now. Also, she's quite wary of losing control again, so she played it a bit too safe.

Commissar Baphomet: Thanks for the review! The idea of Houki being possessed by a pissed off Canon is quite humorous. Though, it's really just Houki's character being true to itself. Stubborn, willing to use brute force more often than not, she is...quite a character indeed.

Once again, I sincerely apologize for the late update.

This is a very mentally fatigued Cipher, signing off!

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Tick tack tick! Tack tick tack!

Lines of code rapidly filled the screen, the dainty fingers rapidly dancing on the holographic keyboard as it and the holographic screens around the person were the sole source of light in the dark room.

Tick tack tick! Tack tick tack!

Three screens flanked the coder, displaying a recording of the events that happened in the IS Academy. Plum eyes glanced over every now and again, watching and replaying the actions of the Astrays.

Bzzt! Bzzt!

Her mechanical rabbit ears perked up at the familiar ringtone as her fingers stopped their typing, the woman's lips curling into a wide smile as she momentarily looked around for the source of the noise.

"T-This ringtone!" The purple haired coder looked up, spotting the phone she stashed away on one of the mechanical limbs of her multi-purpose chair. Snatching out from its prison, she answered the call jubilantly.

"Yo, yo, hey, hey~! Suuuup! This is everyone's favorite idol, Tabane Shinonono-sama~!"

"Tch! This was a mistake."

"W-Wait wait!" Tabane cried out in panic. "Don't hang up on me, Houki-chan!"

"Ghhrk..! Nee-san…"

Her sister's growl was almost feral and just as caustic, almost indecipherable, but Tabane would know exactly what a cry for help from her darling imouto would sound like anywhere!

And from that growl alone, she knew just what she wanted!

"Ahahaha~! Say no more, my dear little sister, I know exactly what you want~!"

"Do you really?" Was Houki's bitter retort, which was waved away by the rabbit professor. "Then what exactly is it that I want now?"

Tabane grinned as she leaned back against her chair, crossing her legs and stretching with a low moan. "Your own personal IS, of course~!" The blue-dressed woman then cooed, squirming as to get into a more comfortable position. "One that would outshine Project: Astray~!"

She didn't need to even imagine her sister's reaction, she already knew that she got her hook, line and sinker!

"And of course I've got one ready for you~!" The older Shinonono looked over her shoulder, leaning slightly so she could peer around her chair at her newest child. "It just needs a bit more tuning up and after that…well~" She then pressed a button and watched as the gray armor shift its colors to that of red with a muted hiss.

Her lips stretched in a sinister grin.

"The Akatsubaki will be the best the world has ever seen!"