Omake - CORE of a Problem
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【Accessing [IS] Sub-Branch: Gamma-20654-2qP】
{Clause: Code [Z] Level of Unit Interaction and Modification Detected.}
{...}
{Actions: Observation of Events.}
{...}
{『Administrator』 prerequisites identified.}
…
{Initiating Nexus.}
…
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Four figures were on their knees before a fifth, who was pacing back and forth before them. The heels made an ominous tapping noise on the linoleum floor, which only heightened the general tension in the room.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
"So…"
The four figures flinched as Chifuyu leveled a demonic glare at all of them.
"How the hell did this happen?"
"W-Well…you see…" Ephraim spoke up after a short period of silence, braving the full-brunt of the annoyed teacher's glare. "It went like this…"
.
30 minutes earlier…
.
"Thank you for inviting me into the Hangar, Guele-kun!"
"Ah, you're welcome, Yamada-sensei. I'm more grateful that you brought one of the Golem COREs for me to look over."
Maya looked around her student's workplace, noting the numerous machinery on one side of the room and all of the metal tables with blueprints scattered about them. There was a general atmosphere of controlled chaos in the hangar, something that the greenette somewhat missed ever since her days as an IS pilot.
In the middle of the room were the specialized berths meant to hold the Astrays, and the teacher was somewhat excited to see the Professor's newest works in their resting state. She had always wanted to look closer at the suits, but could not find the time due to reading and grading all the homework of the students.
A head of blonde and of black hair caught her attention amidst her gawking of the colored Frames and she paused in her walking to tilt her head.
"Hmm? Sahaku-san? Murakumo-kun? Is that you?"
The familiar purples of her fellow teacher's combat assistant met hers as he leaned back, his brows rising in slight surprise as he removed his earbuds.
"Oh, Yamada-sensei." Ephraim greeted her with a slight bow, the lollipop in his mouth swishing as he came around the Gold Frame. He was carrying what seemed to be some sort of large cylindrical object, inserting what looked like a large bullet into it. "What brings you around here?"
"Pretty sure it's related to school-work." The other green-eyed person in the room snorted as he came around the Red Frame, sheathing the Gerbera Straight on the Astray's hip as he did so. Ryo shook off his compact headphones and rested them around his neck, nodding at the teacher in acknowledgement. "At least, that's— Why does Davion have an IS CORE?"
The blonde looked over and saw the mechanic slowly putting the CORE down on a stand with a pair of blacksmithing tongs. There was a look of concentration on his face, as well as disdain, as he removed the tool from the orb, putting it aside and turning to grab some of the cables from the cabinets nearby.
"Oh, he also wanted to try a hand out in decrypting one of the Golems' CORE." Maya supplied as the other two stood before her. "It's worth a shot, really."
"Well, I guess it is." Ephraim muttered, putting a hand on the back of his neck as he cracked it. He set the odd object in his hand down on a nearby table. "But Davion's not really that well-versed when it comes to CORE mechanics, he's more on the Astrays-"
Clink!
SHIIINE~!
The blinding light was sudden, catching all of them off-guard. They covered their eyes instinctually, standing around in surprise for a few seconds before the situation finally clicked in their heads.
Ryo reacted first, pulling Maya along as he dove behind a table, cradling her close as he blinked the white spots away from his vision. Ephraim did the same, diving behind another table as he pulled out an MP7 from his suit jacket, pulling the stock back before flipping the safety off.
The light subsided after a few seconds, and the blonde pulled out a pocket mirror which he used to carefully peer around his cover, making sure to keep his senses sharp as he readied himself.
The courier released his teacher, setting her beside him as he pulled out an M1911 from underneath his hoodie. The sight of such guns surprised and worried the teacher, especially at the apparent familiarity and ease at which they held them. The less said about how they were able to hide such weapons on their persons, the better.
Green locked on to purple in a silent conversation before the latter looked down at the mirror.
"Ugh…" Came an unrecognized voice, just as Ephraim's brows furrowed as he quietly rose to a knee. "The hell happened..?"
The blonde watched through the mirror as the hooded figure rose, using the table to help themselves up as they wobbled in place. They seemed to still be dazed, and he took this as an opportunity to act. Standing up, he immediately aimed his PDW at the back of the figure, right at center mass.
Sure, 4.6×30mm armor-piercing may not be as effective against unarmored targets as they would be against kevlar or ballistic plate-clad hostiles, but 30 rounds going into a human body is still enough to kill someone.
"You. Raise your hands and turn around. Slowly." Purple eyes looked around, worry growing as he spied no sign of the mechanic.
A missing Davion meant that something was very wrong. The man was a brawler, and if he was grappled, then he would have obviously gotten himself out of it in a fit of righteous anger.
"Wha..? Ephraim, what are you..?" The figure slowly turned and gray met purple.
…
"Ryo, you may want to look at this." Ephraim did not lower his gun, nor did he take his narrowed eyes away from confused gray.
Flicking the safety off, the courier slowly rose from behind his cover, his gun immediately aimed at…
"...What the fuck?" Ryo muttered, his greens briefly locking on to the same gray he's known for a long time. He then looked at the bandages on the figure's face, the familiar shade of brown of the hair, and then at the attire…
"Am I seeing the same thing as you?" The blonde asked, somewhat rhetorically as he spied the scars on the exposed arms of the person. They were…familiar.
Determining that a gamble was well-worth it, the courier licked his lips somewhat nervously as he inclined his head. "...You. Look down."
"Wha..? Look down? S-Seriously, why are you two pointing your guns…"
The tense silence that followed afterwards prompted Maya to slowly get up and peer over her cover, the teacher gathering her courage to see just what the lightshow was all about. As she did so, her green eyes widened as she took in the features of the person her two students were pointing their weapons at.
Wearing a familiar hooded work vest, was a girl with short tousled brown hair. Her face had a bandage on her cheek and on the bridge of her nose, and yet it didn't detract from her cuteness and beauty. Her long lashes fluttered with each blink, and her gray eyes were wide as she looked down at her assets.
Bandaged wrapped hands slowly, disbelievingly, squeezed the breasts that were threatening to rip the polo shirt underneath the open work vest. The white cargo pants seemed to be visibly straining too, with how the button was popped and the zipper half-way down.
"Wha…" The girl muttered, her face both in a paradox of paling and flushing red. "What the hell?!" She shrieked, squeezing her breasts once more and eliciting a pained yelp. "This…these are real! What the fuck?!"
"As I suspected…" Ryo muttered, finally lowering his gun and facepalming. "Some bullshit is happening…"
"Lords below…" Ephraim sighed, flicking the safety back on on his MP7. "I wanted to think otherwise because come the fuck on…"
Maya was lost but when she stared at the glittering IS CORE behind the panicking girl, the dots slowly started to connect in her mind.
"...Oh my God, Guele-kun turned into a girl!" The teacher shrieked, pointing at the genderbent mechanic who had collapsed to her knees. "But how-?! Why did-?! Huh?!"
"Sci-fi bullshit courtesy of that headache." The blonde grumbled as he walked around the table, pointing the PDW at the IS CORE sitting pretty on the table behind Davion. "Oi, get up…And would you stop fondling yourself?!"
"But I need to check! That this isn't some sort of weird dream or nightmare or something!" The mechanic cried, fumbling with the pants as Maya yelped in shock. "I can't be a girl! How am I gonna be a boyfriend if I'm not even a boy to begin with!"
"Well, do it in your room, not out here! Now get up!"
"I…I can't pull it up! My pants…my ass is too thick now."
"Why would you say it like that?" Ryo deadpanned, wishing that he was anywhere else right now.
Riiiip!
"...Please help."
"Just stand up, man." Ephraim put his gun back into its hidden holster on the small of the back underneath the suit jacket, rubbing his temples as the gray-eyed girl pouted. "Why are you feeling shameful all of a sudden? It's not like we haven't seen all of each other before!"
Maya couldn't help but flush at the imagery.
"Just help me up, you ass!" Davion hissed as he— as she reached a hand out. She gave a tearful glare at the blonde and courier, the latter of which holstered his own weapon.
"Lords below, you're so damn whiny…"
Clasping their hands together, the tall teen pulled the girl up-
Squish~
-and his expression turned sour as her breasts pressed against his chest.
"Eeeh, that feels weird." The mechanic muttered as she stepped back, once more cupping her boobs with a conflicted expression. "They're more sensitive…"
"TMI." Ryo hissed, covering his face with a hand as he looked away. "TMI!"
"Stop fucking groping yourself and secure the CORE." Ephraim groaned, straightening his tie as he tried not to crunch down on his lollipop. "Fucks sakes, turning into a damn girl out of the blue…"
"Are we really just gonna gloss over that fact?"
"Not the time, Ryo." The blonde ground out as his brow twitched, turning to the courier with a frown. "We can freak out about it later, first we need to make sure that no one gets close to the cursed thing. Yamada-sensei, please help Davion put it back in the case-"
RIP!
"My pants!"
Ryo watched, wide-eyed, as the gray-eyed girl tripped while she held the CORE with the tongs. The thrice-damned comedy gods must have been watching over them because he swore that the thing slipped the grasp of the industrial-grade blacksmithing tongs and launched itself up in an arc towards the turning blonde.
'Why are you turning?! Dodge! DODGE, YOU IDIOT!'
Deciding to take matters into his own hands, the courier exploded into action. Vaulting over the metal desk, he launched himself towards the taller teen once his feet found purchase on the ground. With arms spread out, he impacted the side of the blonde, causing him to grunt as they lurched to the side.
Tap~
Ryo felt something hit his side.
'...Fuck.'
He closed his eyes.
SHIIIINE~!
.
Present time…
.
Chifuyu pinched the bridge of her nose once her assistant finished his…her story. Opening her eyes, she tilted her head up to stare at the ceiling before looking back down at the four kneeling figures before her.
Maya was off to the side, having been reduced to a near-crying state at the turn of events. She should have been the responsible adult for what happened, but given how sudden and ridiculous things were, she had instead shut down and had to be escorted to where they were now.
It was simply a miracle that they were undetected on the way to her office.
Davion was looking down, more entranced in staring at her breasts than at the floor. She had changed her outfit into a more discreet hoodie and joggers combo. She still held the same hair-length as when she was a boy, though there was an obvious softness to her features now. The most obvious change was her massive breasts, easily the biggest size between the three with her impressive G-Cup.
The teacher can only wish her luck in dealing with the back pain.
Ryo was closing her eyes, obviously troubled by all of this. Her hair was still the same even before the change, perhaps becoming a bit more silky now, with it still barely reaching past her nape. She didn't need to change, unlike Davion, as her clothes were fairly baggy and flexible enough to adapt to the…changes. Namely, her hoodie now had two sizable lumps that were a bit smaller than the mechanic's, but big enough to be noticeable with a single glance, possibly an F-Cup.
Both she and Davion practically personified the 'tomboy' aesthetic, if Chifuyu was honest. Though, with their breasts, she definitely will see them having trouble working out because of those. Perhaps they can bind them like what she did with hers when she was practicing kendo during her youth.
'And lastly…'
Sitting in a seiza was her combat assistant, head bowed down low after having finished recounting the story as to how he and his friends became girls. By far, he…she had the most drastic change between the three, as evidenced by her normally dirty blonde hair turning platinum. It lengthened to reach the small of her back, forcing the girl— no, woman, to tie it up in a high ponytail. Her chest size was the smallest of the three, with it being an E-Cup much like her own, and was a bit more subtle due to how Ephraim liked to wear a suit jacket.
Though, judging from how the buttons of the dress shirt underneath were straining, she was also in need of a wardrobe update.
Taking another deep breath, Chifuyu leaned back on her desk and tilted her head up.
"...How long will this last?"
She could practically feel Ephraim's wince.
"Uh…I'm…not sure." The blonde's voice was almost similar to hers, with the same authoritative lilt despite the unsure undertone. It fit too, with the general mature air she got going on. "This is…well, quite unprecedented. I mean, turning boys into girls..?"
"It's like something out of a Light Novel." Ryo muttered, opening her eyes only to rub them in annoyance. Her voice was soft, gentle, and undeniably girly. "With a weird plot and a sub-par romance arc."
"How can I be a boyfriend when I'm not even a guy anymore..?" Davion whined, cupping her face and quietly groaned in slight despair. "I don't want a…a vagina!"
"Why would you say that?" The courier hissed, cheeks flushing as she turned to glare at the other short-haired teen. "I was pushing that fact so far in the back of my mind and here you are punching it back into the forefront!"
"Because this is all too freaky! All I had to deal with before was my pecs and now I have tits!"
"You two, quiet down!" Ephraim barked, lifting her head and revealing the glare of her eyes. The other two turned to her with expectant looks. "I may have a solution for all of this."
Chifuyu raised a brow and crossed her arms, keeping quiet for now.
The now-platinum blonde took a deep breath.
"We contact The Professor."
"No." The mechanic immediately rejected it, rising from her seiza with a peeved expression. "No way! Do you even understand just what that kind of decision would do?! Do you know how much that will affect me?!"
"It'll be a necessary evil!" Ephraim countered, looking reluctant at what she was saying as she rose to her height of 6 feet. "As much as I hate having to rely, or even interact, with her, she might be our only hope!"
"My ass, she is!" Davion grabbed the taller woman by the collar, pulling her down so they were forehead to forehead, glaring into each other's eyes. "She might have orchestrated this from the very beginning!"
"Then what the hell do you want to do?!" The blonde shoved the brunette away from her, forcing Ryo to rise and catch the gray-eyed teen before she could fall on her back. "All of us here don't want to stay as girls!"
"Anything but Tabane!"
"You three, calm down."
They turned to see Chifuyu shaking her head as she sighed. "Try not to stress yourselves out by worrying about how to turn back. Right now, the most important decision to make is how to keep you three here in the Academy."
"I'm so sorry!" Maya suddenly cried out, surprising the other four women in the room. "This is all my fault!"
"It's okay, Yamada-sensei." Ryo was the first to come to her aid, raising her hands placatingly. "None of us would have seen this coming."
"Yeah, i-if anything, it's my fault for letting the CORE go."
Ephraim sighed as she looked down at the struggling buttons of her dress shirt before unbuttoning them to let herself breathe. "Damn it all." The blonde muttered with a frown. "Turning into a girl was not in any of my plans."
Her superior raised a brow. "Just how many plans do you have, Sahaku?"
"Enough." The purple-eyed teen answered cryptically, then rolling her eyes as she pulled out a lollipop from her suit jacket. "Let's just…follow your directions and focus on the now, okay? Any ideas?"
"Faking identities is out of the question, given that we're already well into the 1st Term and even then, suddenly introducing three new 'transfer students' is going to raise plenty of eyebrows." Chifuyu pointed out as she pushed herself off her desk. "Not to mention how to cover up your disappearances to your friends."
"You can always say that Tabane could have recalled us back for whatever reason." The blonde offered, popping the lollipop in her mouth as she crossed her arms. "That'll buy us some time to find a way to fix this."
"And what will you three be doing?"
Ephraim frowned as she sifted through all the contingency plans she had in the event that the three of the Neo-Types had to bail out of the Academy for one reason or another. "Well, personally, I'd believe that us leaving the island and staying in Yokosuka or Chigasaki would be optimal. Since three new faces popping up so soon after the test pilots disappeared is very suspect."
"Denied." The teacher answered, a stern frown on her lips. "I'd rather have you three within arm's reach in case something happens."
"Why so little trust, we'll still be a tram ride away anyway…" The blonde grumbled as she shook her head. "Fine, we can scrap that one. Since you don't want us leaving the island and I do not want to pose as a student, why not have us assigned to be part of the staff? Davion there can be a fresh mechanic, Ryo can be part of the library crew, and I can be one of the 'new' cooks."
"Oi, wait." Ryo turned to them with a raised brow, having sufficiently calmed Maya down. "Why library specifically?"
"Because going back to the courier service of the academy will be suspect?"
"I think I'll manage." She deadpanned at the purple-eyed teen. "I'm not the only one who's working in the courier service."
"Yeah, but the others were fellow students who wanted extra credit. Some outsider getting in is highly suspect."
"My only problem with all of this is my relationship with Kanzashi." Davion spoke up, looking quite upset that the blonde hadn't taken into consideration some crucial details. "I'm not just going to up and disappear on her! That's horrible!"
Ephraim frowned at the mechanic, putting a hand on her hip as she did so. "Davion, are you seriously going to tell her that you turned into a girl? Who's to say that she'll let a thing slip?"
A hint of red flashed in those grays as the shorter girl stomped towards the blonde, the former's face twisting into a peeved expression as she poked the latter's chest. "I trust her to not have loose lips, you bitch, so stop trying to imply that she's an unreliable factor."
"I'm not trying to imply anything, mongrel." The purple eyes sparked as the taller teen slapped the hand away from her. "I'm just being careful. Think of the damn fallout of this thrice-damned matriarchal student body finding out that the boys somehow turned to girls! They'll skin us alive by the end of the week!"
"Hey hey, you two cool it." Ryo got between them and pushed them apart, fixing a glare at both. "Having a damn catfight won't help anyone, we need to be calm and think things through."
Snap!
The three flinched and then slowly turned to the teacher behind her desk. Chifuyu's expression was steely as she lowered her hand.
"Alright, now that I've got your attention…" She fixed them a stern look each before she continued speaking. "I've got just the plan. But we'll need another person to know so that this will all work."
"'Another person'?" Ephraim parroted with furrowed brows, clearly skeptical about bringing another outsider into this problem that they have. "Are you-?" She cut herself off, turning to the door with a frown and a hand ready to reach into her suit jacket.
Knock knock.
"Uh, Orimura-sensei, you called for me..?"
Ryo's verdant eyes died a little. "Oh you've gotta be kidding me."
"Come in." The teacher called out, a small smirk curling her lips as she sat down on her chair. "And do it quickly so no one else sees you."
"Um…okay."
The blonde whirled on her superior, slamming her hands down on her desk with a snarl. "Why? Why, of all people-?!"
Creak…click!
"Okay, why did you call…me…"
Gray eyes locked on to shocked browns and Davion shyly, awkwardly, waved.
Chifuyu grinned as she leaned back, looking past Ephraim and right into the eyes of the person she was waiting for the whole time.
"Ah, right on time. I don't think I need to introduce these three to you, do I? It's rather obvious who they are…Orimura."
Ichika stared wide-eyed at the three, his jaw dropping as his mind quickly connected the dots. A brunette with bandages, a black-haired teen with green eyes and glasses, and a blonde wearing a suit with a lollipop in her mouth. His back hit the door in his stumble, and he quickly palmed his face as he let out a tired groan.
"Oh…why did I wake up today..?"
…
{Conclusion: …Pending.}
{...}
{Actions: Continued Observation of the Phenomenon.}
{...}
{『Administrator』 prerequisites identified.}
…
【 [IS] Sub-Branch: Gamma-20654-2qP will be put in Observation. 】
{...}
{Console Connection: Deactivated.}
/Shut. Down./
AN:
Not beta'd by ProjectRyo because I'm uploading this on a special day.
Behold! An omake born from a drunken idea! I've had this ready to be uploaded for what probably is a month or so and I forgot about it. Oh well.
If you're curious on their looks, I put a link to the imgur that has pictures of the Female Test Pilots alongside other art of Gone Astray in the previous chapter. Fun fact, the artist I asked to draw FemDavion actually went a wee bit wild in the aftermath of their piece. I may have accidentally converted another soul to the Church of Tomboy.
By the way, I might cross post this to Archive of Our Own, out of fear of a random purge in FF. Will inform you when I do, of course, and when I'll make an account. Just uh...just brace yourself for some of the things you see on the IS corner of Ao3.
Genderbent VA's (JP for now since I can't really think of a good EN VA, feel free to think of your own though!) :
Davion VA: Ami Koshimizu (JP, same VA as Saki Kawasaki from Oregairu, Yang Xiao Long from the JP RWBY Dub, Kallen Kozuki/Stadfelt from Code Geass, Ersha from Cross Ange, Sana Sunomiya from Nagatoro, and many more.)
Ryo VA: Mikako Komatsu (JP, same VA as Seishirou Tsugumi from Nisekoi, Totsuka Saika from Oregairu, Hotaru Tachibana from Aoharu, Maki Zenin from Jujutsu Kaisen, Lupusregina Beta from Overlord, and many more.)
Ephraim VA: Shizuka Itou (JP, same VA as Akeno Himejima, Miku from Gokushufudo, Luviagelita Edelfelt from the Fate series, Kaori Kanzaki from Toaru, Irina Jelavic from Assassination Classroom, Froylatia Capistrano from Heavy Object, Takao from D-Frag!, Koko Hekmatyar from Jormungand, and many more.)
Measurements (with a band size of 75cm) :
Davion - B101, W60, H93
Ryo - B99, W59, H92
Ephraim - B97,W58, H91
Cup-Sizes (in Japanese and US Standards respectively)
Davion - G-Cup/DDD
Ryo - F-Cup/DD
Ephraim - E-Cup/D
With that, this is a drunk Cipher, signing off!
