Hello again people! Here I am with ninth chapter. Well, that was quite fast, isn't it, it took less than two weeks to write it. I suddenly got a surge of inspiration… Oh I wish I could get as much inspiration to update my other stories… I guess people waiting for an update for Heir of the Exiled hate me already… I'm really sorry about that.
Now, some talk with those who wrote a review.
But first thing first. Okay people, you have convinced me – I've updated story's description relating its main character.
Imperial-samaB, DarkBladerZX, Telron, FateBurn: Thanks people, here's another update.
xghosthunter115: Okay, I'll look into it.
meirmamuka: Well, first, thanks for a big review. Second – my primary source of canon material are light novels, not anime. I'm not saying that anime's bad, it's fine… but novel is way better. And third… I don't really think that we can count Dan as a full-fledged character here. I'd say we should consider Ichika as an only male character in the series.
Chapter IX – Violation
…
July 9th, about 7:30 PM.
Time has passed, and now it's already an evening. Everyone's having their dinner in the large banquet hall that's composed of three halls linked together. Right now, all girls are dressed in yukatas. The rule within this resort seems to be that 'One has to wear yukata while eating'. Well, who'd be arguing with that?
The first year students that are sitting neatly in rows are sitting on cushions. So of course, they're all sitting down in the seiza position. Everyone has a catering table in front of them.
Speaking of which, the students from an I.S. Academy are from all over the world. Thus, there are students and teachers from all the different countries. The scenery in this banquet hall is as such; blonde girls, silver-haired girls, brown-skinned students, blue-eyed students... a whole assortment of races. It seems that this is the only place where one can feel that she just went around the whole world…
By the way, having considered the many nationalities, races and religions of the students, the school provided an eating area for the students who can't eat in a seiza position. As the meal trays are sorted according to the type of cuisine, so those who want their own food just need to take their own and consume it.
All freshmen from I.S. Academy were here… but of course, excluding him… Orimura Ichika like vanished. Nobody has seen him since that volleyball game. He went to the changing room and… disappeared.
Girls were lost in conjectures, as neither of them could say anything unequivocal.
July 9th, 8:05 PM.
Having taken a bath after the meal, Cecilia was happily changing clothes. Because she spent a lot of time 'preparing' before dinner, she was a bit late. However, while she was on her way towards restaurant, something unexpected happened. By pure accident, she ran right into Orimura Ichika, who was returning to his room after dinner.
To prevent Cecilia from screaming and questioning him in the middle of the corridor (which no doubts would've attracted a lot more people), Ichika sorta 'bribed' her, inviting her to his room for 'private conversation and something more'. That sounded like an enormous luck, so Cecilia decided to prepare accordingly.
She was wearing the yukata that resort provided, but the underwear under it was completely different. 'Ahh, just in case... the underwear I brought just in case can finally be used!' She thought in excitement.
Thinking till here, her expression became exceptionally gentle. Seeing that mysterious yet excited look on her, a certain classmate asked incredulously, "Did something good happen, Cecilia?"
"Nope, nothing," She replied, though her reply sounded more like a song.
"...That expression says otherwise, you know?" Another girl said with suspicions.
"Oh my, really? Ufufu," Blonde giggled happily.
"Sigh... never mind," Third girl sighed. "Ahh, it's rare to have a chance to prepare so much just to play with Orimura-sama, and yet he and Orimura-sensei are in the same room..."
"We can't possibly play now..." The other girls nodded in unison.
Incidentally, they had prepared games with poker cards, UNO cards, Hanafuda, the Game of Life and Twister – full set for which guys and girl could look forward to. It's amazing that even in the 21st century these games are still extremely popular.
'Oh my… You girls are so naïve,' Blonde smiled. She knew Ichika good enough to have a clear understanding that there's no way he's going to play such games. 'Anyway, I don't need to play games at all tonight…' Cecilia hummed as she was blow-off drying her hair. Her wavering strands were two times more glamorous than usual.
"Ah… Your underwear is so sexy. It's so revealing…" Even though her eyes were half-open, the Nohohon-san's observation and perception skills were extremely great. On hearing her say that, even Cecilia felt a shock deep inside, because...
"What?! Somebody, help me strip her!"
"Strip! Strip her off!"
"Make her leave everything behind!"
If three people gathered together can perform a skit, then with nine people you could perform three skits. Especially since everyone couldn't go and find their target, Ichika, to play with, they ended up having a lot of free time.
"Kyah! Stop! Stop it! Stop pulling! Ah!" Seeing the girls go crazy like this Cecilia could sense how energetic they really were.
"Wah?! That's some erotic underwear…"
"This is one for a 'Moment of Truth'?!"
"What's this? Lucky underwear? We're unable to go to Orimura-sama's room, and yet you're wearing such a thing!?"
The girls started chatting away, before they finally declared in unison, """CECILIA'S SO LEWD!"""
"I'm… I'm not! This, this is, just preparations for the occasion... Yes, for the occasion!" Cecilia pulled on her now ruffled yukata and argued back while blushing, praying silently to herself that the fact that she' about to go to Ichika's room alone won't be revealed.
"Speaking of which, you were pretty thorough in your bathing…"
"And after bathing, you put on make-up for some reason…"
"That's rather suspicious, you know?"
Girls continued to discuss Cecilia's actions, glancing at blonde.
"That's-that's not suspicious! Girls should be aware of the occasion! I still have things to do!" After saying some mood-killing words, Cecilia stood up. 'I have to make a move first! I'll win once I step out of this room! Just when she thought that...'
"Un? Hmm? This isn't the perfume Cecilia normally uses. This fragrance is Clive Christian No. 1? Wha… that's pretty high class…" After Nohohon-san (whose real name was Honne, by the way) said that, the girls' expression froze.
'Oh no!' It was too late, the moment Cecilia thought this, the girls began to hassle her and ask.
"Clive Christian No. 1? I heard that one bottle costs more than 100 000 yen for 100ml bottle, is that true!?" [About £850, in fact]
"They only produce 100 bottles of it every year, and there's even a serial number!"
"Do you have the product with you? Show me!"
The blonde was surrounded and cornered.
"O-Okay, it's alright to show you. Anyway, I'll go off first…" Cecilia tried to escape, but of course…
"""NO WAY!""" Girls screamed in unison.
'Ehh…' Cecilia muttered deep inside, but the girls grabbed her hand really tightly, making her to be unable to get away.
"Where did you buy this? Didn't I hear that it's hard to buy even with money?" One of girls asked.
"Our family has relations with the Clive Christian..." Cecilia replied with plaintive voice.
"Uwa! Isn't Cecilia super rich!?"
"Let me have a whiff!"
"Ah, erm, if you like it, you can use it however you want. As for me, I'll leave first..." Cecilia once again tried to buy out her escape, but…
"""NO WAY!"""
'Ehhh' Poor girl began to lose hope…
"That's a waste!"
"If Cecilia applied it, we will just smell your body! Okay?!"
"Yeah! C'mon!"
The girls immediately opened their arms wide and rushed over. Cecilia had a bad feeling as she continued to back away until she hit the wall.
"Fufufu, we're not letting you get away."
"Alright, just surrender quietly!"
"Very good… very good…"
The girls slowly closed in with their eyes shining mysteriously.
"No, no, NOOOOOOOOOO!"
July 9th, about 8:15 PM.
In the meantime, Ichika just came back after the dinner. No, he didn't get another sudden invitation to participate in military training or something, he just had no desire to see any of those mollies, and fortunately there were a lot of places to 'hide' in this resort. He accidentally ran into Cecilia, but he managed to came out lightly. Nevertheless, probably the best place to hide was the "devil's lair" – Chifuyu's room, which Ichika was sharing with his elder sister.
He had his lunch and dinner in VIP dining hall, in company of resort's administrator. He even had no need to use his realizer, his hypocrisy and devilish charms were more than enough to get both lunch and dinner in VIP hall, and he even was treated with meals of his favorite eastern-european cuisine.
Just as he returned from dinner, Ichika summoned his plasma machinegun, Equalizer, and now he was tinkering with it.
Door to suit's bathroom opened and Ichika's elder sister, Orimura Chifuyu, entered the room. "Huh? You're alone? You didn't bring any girl with you and instead you're tinkering with this thing again? How uninteresting," She said with disappointment. Even for Ichika it wasn't easy to see through his sister's emotions, so it was hard to say – was she really disappointed or just kidding.
"I'm glad to see that you're in good mood, Onee-san," Ichika smiled a little. Bring a girl over here? This room is still the Orimura-sensei's room. Once someone does something suspicious, it's unknown what fate will befall them. By the way, since Chifuyu just took a bath, her hair was all wet. Even though she's Ichika's sister, even he couldn't overlook those overly glamorous black hair that shone beautifully.
"Call me Orimura-sensei," She glared at Ichika sharply.
"Oh, come off it," Younger brother waved her off, "It's already past 8 PM, in all respects, workday is over, and there's only the two of us left anyway…"
"Whatever…" Chifuyu sighed as she sat on her bed.
"It seems even onsen bath didn't let you relax properly," Ichika noted, his emperor's eye could see the stiffness of sister's muscles even through her bathrobe.
"Humph," Elder sister snorted. "As if it even possible to relax with you around. If I let my guard down for at least a second, you'll cripple someone for sure…"
"Hey, don't be such a meanie," Ichika rolled his eyes, "You was the one who started it, using your Arcangel… But still, I won't deny it – I went a bit overboard, I know, I'm sorry, okay? Crippling your teammates just to secure a victory in such a meaningless game really was too much…"
"Damn…" Chifuyu shook her head, "Why didn't I take my winter clothes… Orimura Ichika apologized… It probably will be snowing tomorrow…" No matter what people may think – Chifuyu possess a pretty sharp tongue.
"Right…" Ichika sighed. He touched his machinegun and it disappeared into the quantum space, then he came to his bag and took out a glass phial with some thick liquid inside. "Okay, lay down, I'll help you relax, in the end this is a resort, and we haven't done it for a long time…"
"No, it's definitely going to be snow tomorrow…" Chifuyu shook her head as she understood that Ichika's offering her a massage. However, she untied her bathrobe and lowered it, as she laid on her bed facedown, so her back now was completely exposed, only her butt was covered somehow.
Ichika sat near her and began to warm up his palms with massage oil. "Yeah, you're really stiff…" Ichika noted as he touched sister's shoulders, "Handling those girls really puts a lot of strain on you…"
"Humph," Elder sister snorted again, but this time it meant agreement. "However," She added after few seconds, "It would be less stressful if I wouldn't have to care about this insane brother… I can die just if I open the wrong bag by an accident, you know…"
"Don't strain at a gnat," Ichika replied.
"Of course, that was such a trifle…" Chifuyu snorted sarcastically. "By the way, what was that thing anyway?"
"M.T.D.I.T?" Ichika asked. "Matter to Digital Information Transductor, as I said, a possible replacement for quantum transfer technology. However, it is the very early prototype, it has neither storage module nor data reconstruction device, right now it has only one functional part – digital deconstructor. Have no doubts – this morning you've saved Maya's life – wouldn't you have interfered – she'd have turned into a digital dust… by the way, I guess we'll have to pay for that chair that was disassembled…"
"Mmmm…" Chifuyu mumbled something incoherent through pillow, probably that should've meant that it was Ichika's fault and he has to pay himself.
Ichika ignored her words as he slowly began to rub oil into sister's skin, "Poor Maya… she's too impressionable…"
"Ichika," Elder sister raised her head a bit so she could speak normally, "How many times I should tell you that you shouldn't treat her like that? She's your teacher, like it or not."
"If she doesn't want to be treated like common schoolgirl, she should stop acting like one," Ichika replied. Chifuyu narrowed her eyes, so Ichika decided to clarify his statement. "No, onee-san, I understand your desire and reasons to make her look like a real teacher, but I'm afraid that your efforts currently bringing the opposite results…"
"And how is that?" Elder sister asked.
"Well, how should I put it…" Ichika thought for a moment. "For believers, a clergyman is the one who shows them the canons of their religion, so he has some degree of respect. However, in front of God himself that clergyman ain't more than a common believer. Maybe my example isn't too good, but I believe it reveals the crux of the problem."
Ichika took a bit more of oil and continued to rub it along sister's spine, "For those girls you are an idol, a perfection. In their eyes, comparing to you, not just Maya but all teachers in this academy are just like common schoolgirls, you outshine them all. Yamada-sensei's situation is worst because she's closest to your blinding light, as her own light is quite dim, even you can't argue with that."
"Of course, I can't impose my opinion on you, I'm just saying that you shouldn't bother yourself with that," Ichika couldn't settle down. "You're outmatching all and every woman, and there's nothing you can do about that, Onee-sama," Ichika intentionally used extremely respectful honorific, without any notes of sarcasm. "Your beauty's astounding and incomparable, but that's not what really important… All those girls and women, they lack that "goddess' presence" you possess. Haven't you noticed, Onee-sama? When you're walking – wind stops blowing to not disturb your hair. When you approach – birds stop singing as they're afraid that their singing is not good enough for your ears…"
Chifuyu plunged her face into the pillow as she sighed powerlessly. 'That little crafty scoundrel… I don't know about his eyes but he surely learnt how to glib…' As he complimented his sister like that, Ichika at the same time cornered her, preventing any further attempts to advertise other women. Indeed, if she'd try to argue about that, after those words he just said, she'd only make herself look foolish.
"Uh, uh..." Cecilia moaned, "That was too much..." Having been harassed badly by the other girls, Cecilia looked thoroughly worn out as she walked along the corridor.
'But at last, I can finally… Go to Ichika's room!' Thinking about this, all the damage and fatigue she suffered up till now disappeared in a puff of smoke, and the ruffled yukata recovered in just a few seconds.
'Hmm… I think I need to adjust my voice too…' Her excitement caused her to walk like the breeze, moving faster like she was dancing as she moved towards her destination.
However… She suddenly saw two girls in front of one of hotels' room.
"Rin-san? Houki-san? What are you two…" She tried to ask.
""Shh!"" Two girls immediately shushed at her as Rin pointed at a tablet on door. It contained occupants' names:
織斑 千冬 [Orimura Chifuyu]
織斑 一夏 [Orimura Ichika]
Seeing this, Cecilia immediately quieted down. Not understanding what was going on, she suddenly heard voices from behind the door.
"Onee-san, you're too tense… It's all because you haven't done it for a long time… Hmm, we shall do it more often," Ichika's voice said.
"Gladly, but someone prefers to spend time with his toys… Umm! Ah, don't be that forceful..." That voice definitely belongs to Chifuyu.
"Endure, it should be okay after a few more moves…"
"Oh! Ichika, be a little gentler, will you?"
"Alright, alright… Let's try it this way then, how about… there?"
"Ah! Th… There, there's... uh, no good! Ah!"
"Lay still, you'll be comfortable soon. There's quite a bit of fatigue you've accumulated..."
"AHHH!"
"Wh… Wha… What's going on...?" With her mouth trembling, Cecilia forced a smile as she asked. However, she only got the silent response of the other two. Rin and Houki looked dead serious like they hadn't slept for the entire night. Well, Chifuyu's moans were somehow lustful, to be honest.
Then…
"Hold on a moment, Ichika," Chifuyu's voice sounded a bit different from before.
"What? Their imagination ran too wild?" Ichika's voice asked with some sarcastic notes.
The conversation between siblings was interrupted. Just as the three people with their ears at the door felt that it was weird…
*PAM!* The door got punched without warning.
"""HEEK!""" The moment the door got hit, the three teenage girls shouted out in reflex.
"What are you idiots doing?" Chifuyu no Akuma [Devil Chifuyu] asked with sharp voice as three girls were literally kneeling in front of her.
"Ha, haha, well, we..."
"Good evening, Orimura-sensei..."
"Bye... bye bye, Orimura-sensei!"
The trio intended to escape like rabbits, but got caught immediately. Rin and Houki got caught by the collars, and Cecilia got stepped on the yukata. It looked just like three accursed souls were trying to escape from Cerberus… poor them…
"I can't allow eavesdropping!" Chifuyu stated, glaring at trembling girls. "…But since you're here, come in."
"""WHAAT!?""" The unexpected words caused the trio to widen their eyes in shock.
"Ahhh, yes, the other two…" Chifuyu looked somewhere aside, "Call Bodewig and Dunois here."
"Ye… Yes!" The moment the back of their collars got released, Rin and Houki immediately ran off to call the two aforementioned persons. In the meantime, with the hem of her yukata removed, Cecilia adjusted it and walked into the room.
"So, you need a bit of eavesdropping to turn on, Cecilia? Well, who I am to discuss others' preferences, come over here, let's get it started," Ichika slapped the bed, indicating to Cecilia to get on.
In contrast, Cecilia was blushing in embarrassment due to such a bold request, "Huh, ahh, isn't Orimura-sensei is still here? This..."
"What are you waiting for? I've warmed up already, let's get started," Ichika replied as if there was nothing wrong with that.
"No, not that, but, this, is, the mood..." Cecilia's face was all red.
Ichika perfectly knew why blonde's acting like that, and that's why it was so fun to play this game further. He then patted the bedsheet again to prompt her to be faster.
Feeling really bothered, Cecilia secretly glanced at Chifuyu, who just stood there, as if it's quite normal, "Don't mind me, just start," She said.
Seemingly, elder sister really managed to relax due to good massage Ichika just gave her, thus she was in really good mood, so good that she even decided to play along and help her brother to tease this poor blonde, who now was burning with embarrassment, 'How, how can I not be bothered by this!?'
However, she couldn't decide. But, since Chifuyu seemed to have called for Charlotte and Laura to come over as well, things would only get worse if she dragged this on. 'Alright! Women must be forceful!' After screaming this in her heart, Cecilia gave up as she sat on the bedsheet. Her crazily-beating heart sounded like it could explode any second soon. Cecilia's heart was full of anticipation and anxiety as she closed her eyes… But nothing happened.
Ahh...? Just when she felt that this was weird and opened her right eye slightly, Ichika said, "Cecilia, if you don't lie down, I can't do that."
"Huh? Huh? Do… Do it... lying down?" Blonde asked, stuttering.
"Yup, let's start from classics," Ichika confirmed with somehow encouraging voice.
"I… I see..." Even though Cecilia felt bothered that it was different from what she read on the books, she still convinced herself that this was a normal thing in Japan.
"Alright, I'm starting," Ichika announced.
"Oh… Okay!" Girl prepared for the inevitable.
The sudden break in voice caused her to be embarrassed and anxious. Cecilia's heart started to beat crazily until she felt that it was about to pounce out as she waited for the incoming hand. Then…
"Hmm, aha, here..." Ichika said quietly.
"Owww… It hurts! I-I-Ichika-san! Ouch! Wha… What are you doing?! Auu!" Girl screamed several times.
"What am I doing? A massage," Ichika replied as if it was quite obvious.
"Mas... sage...?" Blonde stuttered.
"Yup, at the waist," Ichika confirmed.
"Waist..." Cecilia looked stunned as she repeated what Ichika said like a parrot. "Erm… Ichika-san, did you invite me to your room for this..."
"Yup. I just wanted to give you a massage. You're living in a large room, right, Cecilia? I can't focus if that was the case, so I called you here," He explained, still continuing to play innocent.
*KAUR* It felt like a crow flew by from above as Cecilia started crying inside her heart.
"That… That was bad... I..." Her voice cracked as if she was about to cry.
"Hmm? What is it? Was it that painful?" Ichika wondered. Cecilia couldn't see it but his eyes were glowing now.
"Yeah, it hurts... It hurts so badly that I feel like I will die..." Blonde moaned.
"Oh, I'm sorry then… I'll go lighter a bit…" Ichika said, though he knew exactly what she meant.
"Anything will do..." Cecilia sighed deeply, deeper than the darkness, that even the souls got sighed away as she had the look of fatigue, despair, cool and self-depreciation. But the comfort of the massage and her conversation with Ichika caused her mood to naturally improve.
"Will this force do?" Ichika wondered as he continued to massage her, though, unlike he was doing it with Chifuyu, that was dry massage, without oil, and he was doing it through yukata.
"Mnn... feels great..." She whispered. Ichika pressed against her back with his thumbs as he started massaging on both left and right sides.
"Speaking of which, your waist's really stiff. What do you normally do, Cecilia?" Ichika asked.
"Ah, well, I do play the violin, but only occasionally. It… It feels a bit bad there..." Blonde replied.
"Ah, I see. Then I'll do it a bit differently…" Ichika noted to himself as he relaxed his thumbs and silently exerted force on his palms. He's not using his thumbs as a pressure point, but using his palms to relax Cecilia's body with suitable force. Soon, that touch became a stable feeling, causing her to moan out in comfort.
"Haa... Ichika-san really is skillful..." Cecilia whispered.
"And why you're so surprised? I'm pretty skillful with a lot of things," Ichika said as if it should be obvious.
"...No doubts..." Though she sounded like she was grumbling, Cecilia just muttered that at a volume Ichika couldn't hear. Maybe it was because the massage made her feel good. Her voice did not carry any anger, instead bringing a cute feeling of 'Wanting fawn and wanting to make the other person feel troubled'.
"Alright, now I'll push up the backbone then," Ichika warned.
"Okay… I'll leave it to you then…" Feeling really happy and comfortable with the massage now, Cecilia felt like sleeping as she answered in a dazed manner.
"Any place you want me to exert more strength?"
"Fufu, I'll leave it to you then..."
"Okay then. Let me check here first," The range of massaging wasn't just limited to the top of the back as Ichika exerted force on both sides. He rubbed his palms and gently knocked on her. This method can remove muscle stiffness and making people feel like sleeping.
Massaging Cecilia, Ichika said, 'A good massage will make people want to sleep, and it will be extremely good if you immediately sleep, as the fatigue will be inexplicably removed from you'. Those words were true.
Massages with only pain are basically torture and interrogation. Only when the body and soul feel relaxed completely can it be considered a complete massage. A real, high quality massage can relax the body, and more importantly, the soul.
'Mn... I really... feel like sleeping...' Cecilia thought that with the now empty mind of hers, and now that idea gradually disappeared. Suddenly, she felt a male's scent on the bedsheet she's lying on. This is Ichika's scent, who's sitting beside her, causing her heart to beat wildly again.
'Such a wonderful smell…' She never paid attention to this before, but it seems Ichika actually uses some high-class cologne… Just when the half-awake Cecilia was about to fall asleep with the scent, suddenly…
*Grope!*
"AH!?" As her arms got grabbed suddenly, Cecilia's seemingly sleeping state got woken up immediately.
'I-I-Ichika-san!? Eve… Even if it's a massage? That… That's too daring...!' She thought as she used her right hand to press onto her wildly beating heart and turned around while trembling… but it wasn't Ichika's hands.
"You… You precocious brat," Chifuyu grabbed onto Cecilia's butt without mercy as she revealed a playful look of one whose prank had succeeded. However, that look didn't look apologetic or innocent, but one with ill-intent. "Wearing such an underwear that really doesn't match your age. And it's black, too."
"Huh... KYAAAAAHHHH!?" Blonde screamed as Chifuyu grabbed Cecilia's butt from below, the round buttocks got revealed by the yukata that flipped up. Of course, the underwear on the inside got seen. It was a laced 'special underwear' with extremely little cloth. Both sides were tied using strings, and it looked like it was designed to be taken off easily.
"Oh, for real?" Ichika said as he was impudently looking at Cecilia's exposed butt. "So, you've come here with *those* intentions? Oh, I'm very sorry that I misunderstood your desires, ma chérie, but one of my traits is that I can quickly adapt to changing situations, I'm sure you're well aware of that. On the other hand, you're a top-tier beauty, of course I won't refuse if you really want that. Should I start with removing these with my teeth?" He asked, clearly meaning Cecilia's laced panties.
Hearing his questionы and 'compliments', Cecilia realized clearly that 'she got exposed', and felt so embarrassed that she wanted to find a hole to hide in and stay there forever. Yven her ears were burning red. "Sen… Sensei! Please let go of me!" She shouted out while blushing furiously, but unexpectedly, Chifuyu just let go like this.
"Oh my, to think that you would expect to do such an erotic thing in front of a teacher. You, 15-year-old girl," Chifuyu shook her head.
"E-ER-ERO-EROTIC...!?" Cecilia screamed in panic.
"I'm just kidding," Chifuyu laughed at blonde again, before making a deep breath, "Hey, the four people outside, time to get in here!" She called for four girls that actually arrived a while ago. After a few seconds of silence, the door opened. Standing at the door were Rin, Houki, Charlotte and Laura. They're all wearing the yukatas provided by the resort. "Okay, you girls go get a place to sit," Seeing Chifuyu greet them, the four girls walked into the room with a look of terror. They then followed orders and looked for their favorite seats, though here's only two beds and a few chairs (as one got disassembled this morning). "You had enough of massaging, right, Ichika?" Elder sister asked.
"Well, physically I'm not tired at all, but mentally… with the crowd you've assembled here, I can't continue," Ichika replied.
"What, you don't know where to look first?" Chifuyu asked with cunning smile.
"Oh, believe me, onee-san, I do," Ichika replied without delay, looking straight at sister.
"You're rather straightforward," Chifuyu facepalmed.
"Can't you just enjoy the compliment once in a while, onee-san?" Ichika shook his head
"Who knows?" Elder sister shrugged.
Hearing both of them chat away happily, everyone present here finally realized one thing that actually should be completely obvious. They are the elder sister and her beloved younger brother…
Anyway, what they just eavesdropped on Cecilia's voice and Chifuyu's voice from before were because of the massage.
"Ha, ha ha..."
"I-I-I knew about this already..."
Houki relaxed completely, yet Rin just argued back.
Having imagined all sorts of 'explicit things', Charlotte and Laura blushed as they looked down.
"Anyway," Ichika addressed all who were present here, "Having so many people around me in such a small place exceeds my zone of comfort a bit… There's another person around here somewhere, which I didn't see in a while, I'll go look for her…" As he said that, Ichika's body was engulfed with light particles as his resort-provided yukata was replaced with Japanize Navy Lt.-Commander's field uniform and he went to the balcony.
"Hey, don't you dare to wake me up when you return!" Chifuyu warned him as Ichika jumped over balcony's fence and disappeared.
Just as Ichika vanished, the five girls who were ordered to sit down didn't dare to move at all. "Hey hey, is this the watching of a funeral? What happened to that usual noisy atmosphere?" Chifuyu asked, though she actually was well aware that these girls are feeling themselves… uncomfortable, to say the least.
"No, it's not that, but..." Houki mumbled.
"Talk… Talking to Orimura-sensei like this. Well, how should I say it..." Charlotte said, stuttering.
"It's the first time anyway..." Cecilia muttered.
"Really, it can't be helped then. I'll treat all of you to drinks then. What do you want, Shinonono?" Chifuyu announced, heading to fridge.
Being called out suddenly, Houki's shoulders trembled as she felt bothered about being unable to answer immediately. Just when everyone was hesitating, Chifuyu opened the fridge of the resort room and took out five bottles of different kind of cool refreshments.
"Here, ramune, orange juice, sports drink, coffee and a red tea. If you want to drink something else, just exchange around," Even though she said that, the girls took the respective drinks. Houki, Charlotte, Rin, Laura and Cecilia felt satisfied with their drinks, so they didn't exchange it.
"Thanks… Thanks for the patronage…" Everyone said in unison and started drinking.
Seeing the rumbling on the girls' throats, Chifuyu smiled, "You drank it?"
"Ye… Yes?"
"We… We did..."
"Wha… What did you put inside?"
Asking that, all girls were seemed frightened.
"Idiots, stop being so rude. It's nothing much, I just want to bribe you anyway," After saying that, Chifuyu took out a canned beer with a star logo from the fridge. With the crisp sound of the can being opened, the beer foam bubbles spurted out. Chifuyu just gulped it down in one shot. "Ah… nice…" She said with satisfaction. Everyone present just looked dumbstruck as Chifuyu looked seemingly satisfied as she sat on the bedsheet. "Well, I wanted to share a bit with Ichika... but it seems he's not interested."
"Sensei… I thought we're not allowed to hang around after retreat…" Houki asked uncertainly (and she looked a bit unhappy) as she guessed that Ichika went to look for her own elder sister.
"My workday is long over by now, and chasing him around the entire island by no means are my duties," Chifuyu waved her off. This person in front of five girls now is completely different from the lawful and ridiculously strict 'Orimura-sensei', causing the girls to be dumbstruck, especially Laura, who continued to blink her eyes like mad as if she couldn't believe what she's seeing right now. "Stop giving me that weird look! I'm an ordinary person, of course I would drink beer! Do I look like I drink machine oil?" Chifuyu seemed annoyed a bit.
"No, no, it's not that..."
"It's not..."
"But, right now..."
"Aren't you working now...?"
Laura just left her mouth wide open, unable to say anything, and then gulped down the black coffee in her hand.
"Don't be so strict! As I told you – my workday is over, besides, I just bribed you people anyway." Chifuyu revealed a heinous grin as she looked around at everyone's hand. At this moment, the girls finally realized the meaning behind the drinks as they let out an 'Ah'.
"That's it for the opening. Now to the main point," Chifuyu wanted Laura to get her a second can of beer. With the crisp sound of the can being opened again, she continued, "I say, what's so good about that guy?" Even though Chifuyu said 'that guy', everyone present knew who she's referring to. The only 'him' – Ichika. "He's hypocritical and cruel, he gave all of you disgusting nicknames… and yet you're all here.
"I… I'm not really that interested in him... it's just that I feel angry that he's no longer care about anything but his I.S. and stuff," Drinking the ramune, Houki said.
"Just a little fate..." Rin mumbled while rubbing her sports drink can.
"As the class representative, I just want him to buck up," Completely different in attitude now, Cecilia boasted proudly.
"Oh, is that so? I'll just tell Ichika what you've just said then," Chifuyu said casually.
Chifuyu's casual words scared the trio as they all screamed in unison, "PLEASE DON'T SAY IT OUT!"
Seeing them like this, Chifuyu laughed and took another gulp of beer.
"I… well, I... like his confidence, so..." Charlotte muttered softly, yet it sounded firm.
"Oh? But don't you think that such a level of confidence is more like arrogance?" Chifuyu asked.
"Tha… That's right... which is why I hate it... He can easily make a girl embarrassed, but seems that he himself has no idea what embarrassment actually is…" She revealed an embarrassed smile as she fanned her burning cheeks. The trio before Charlotte stared at her, seemingly feeling envious.
Chifuyu, however, gave Charlotte a weird sight, just for a moment. In fact, elder sister knew that her younger brother actually did learn about embracement one day, and sadly, that happened thanks to her.
Flashback
It happened about a week after she returned from Germany and she and Ichika again were living under the same roof. During this week, Chifuyu was coming home pretty late – apparently, she just got her job as an I.S. academy instructor. But that day was Sunday, and Chifuyu was at home, unlike her brother – the final of junior high school football tournament was near, so Ichika's team was training even during Sundays.
As he returned, Ichika walked up the stairs and headed straight to his sister's room. While she was in Germany, Ichika used her room as a storage room for his sport equipment. Being deeply in his thoughts, Ichika automatically opened the door to his sister's room and already raised his arm with intention to throw his backpack with football, football boots and uniform on Chifuyu's bed before he realized that this bed is actually occupied. As common people would say – he caught his sister during the process of self-satisfaction…
Don't get it wrong – brilliant-minded boy knew perfectly that she's doing that regularly. His sister was a young woman in full bloom, no doubts she has a very high sexual temperament, and she has no boyfriend, so there were no other possibilities. So, Ichika knew that she's doing that and Chifuyu knew that he knows that she's doing that, and none of them was bothered about this situation.
But when Ichika accidentally barged into sister's room right in the middle of the process… well, that was one of those very rare occasions when he regretted about having emperor's eyes, which immediately grasped entire situation with slightest details: clamps on sister's nipples, one on each one; four clamps on her pussy lips, two per each; butt plug in her asshole; with all that, she was moving vibrator in and out of her pussy with her right hand, at the same time using her left hand to squeeze her own throat, strangling herself.
Of course Ichika retreated from sister's room immediately. Actually, that incident didn't cause any real issues in relationships between siblings, they both just silently agreed that it never happened, but… As it was said, Ichika knew what his sister doing, but seeing it live… besides, he learned about Chifuyu very specific predilections… Well, in overall, that was quite embarrassing, even for people like Ichika and Chifuyu. After that incident Ichika installed a new door-handle with lock into Chifuyu room's door and gave her the only key, just in case…
Flashback end
Returning to current events, there is only one girl remained who didn't say anything about Ichika. "What about you?" Chifuyu asked the silent Laura. Laura jerked, probably not expecting to be called up.
Yet she found it in herself to reply, "May… Maybe because he's strong..."
"Is that so?" Chifuyu snorted. "Well, he's strong, I can't argue with that. But he's also insolent, conceited and merciless. Besides, he's a veritable sadist, so love for pain would be a great advantage if you want to pick his interest… You've learned about that on your own hide, ain't you?"
All five now were looking at Chifuyu as a dumbstruck. "Don't get me wrong," Elder sister decided to clarify, "Personally, as an elder sister, I have nothing to complain about. He always was reliable, he was taking care of our house virtually alone, he can cook… and his massages are great. Isn't that right, Alcott?" Being questioned, Cecilia blushed as she looked down and nodded her head gently. "He was earning money using internet since he was five years old…" Chifuyu added, as she finished off the second beer can in her hand "…and it's simply needless to say anything about his school grades – there always were only '100'."
Rin and Houki looked at each other – both girls were well aware of that.
"Quote: 'Romantic love doesn't exist…" Chifuyu began to cite someone, bringing the third can of beer to her mouth "…So called 'romantic' relationships can only be nice and stable if they are mutually beneficial, just like any other kind of relationships, otherwise they are doomed…' End of quote," Chifuyu took another gulp of beer. All five girls looked at her in confusion. "About eight years ago, we were in supermarket. Ichika was staring at a couple, which was buying some stuff. As they left, he stated that soon that couple is going to fall apart, and then said the phrase that I just cited."
Now all five were looking at Chifuyu with some desperate expressions. No surprise, considering what they just heard… "It seems he's really hard to get, does he?" Elder sister narrowed her eyes. "So what? Are you going to give up on him after all you've just heard?"
All girls shook their heads. It is hard to say how exactly they were intending to handle Ichika, probably none of them actually thought about that seriously, but they definitely weren't ready to give up.
"Good," Chifuyu smiled, "Anyway, I know the kind of girl that just may pick up his interest. So? Do you want to know the details?" She asked.
Everyone looked up. Laura asked timidly, "Are you going to tell us?"
"Idiots, you really think I will give him away just like that?", Chifuyu again smiled maliciously.
'Ehhh...' The girls moaned in their hearts.
"As women, how can you lack will when fighting for a guy? Work harder brats, and try to get to my level!" Bringing the fourth can of beer to her mouth, Chifuyu looked delighted as she said that. "It's for your own good, by the way. As you people are now, if you'll get too close, he'll devour you whole, without leaving a single bone. Get stronger," Elder sister added with one eye closed.
July 10th, 8:05 AM.
It's the second day of training camp, and today, I.S. academy students are going to carry out testing of all sorts of I.S. equipment and data collection. As for those with personal machines, they received a lot of specialized packages, so called 'boosters', from their I.S. manufacturers, and now they have to try out all those packages in an unrestricted environment, so this day's going to be quite busy. As for Ichika, he was intending to observe all that testing – maybe he'll be able to learn something useful. Besides, there's another event is going to happen…
"Is everyone here? Hey, the latecomer over there!" Chifuyu called for a certain girl.
"Ye… Yes!" Unexpectedly, the one who cringed when Orimura-sensei called her was Laura. It seems she got up late, a rare feat for her, and got to the gathering point 5 minutes late.
"In that case, explain the I.S. Core Network," Chifuyu asked a control question.
"O… Okay! The I.S. core network uses all sorts of signals to exchange data. It was originally designed to send the location information in vast space. Right now, it allows the pilots to communicate with each other through public and private channels. Also, through recent researches, the core attracts all sorts of signals through a 'sharing' method as fuel to evolve. As the I.S. creator Professor Shinonono viewed these as a part of evolution, she allowed them to develop continuously, so right now, they're still under development, resulting in an incomplete grasp of the whole picture," Laura reported. Well, such an answer should be expected from Chifuyu's personal trainee.
"Outstanding as always. I'll let you off for being late then," Orimura-sensei said with forgiving tone.
On hearing Chifuyu's say that, Laura heaved a sigh of relief. Looking at silver-haired girl, Ichika even smiled a little, as poor girl was patting herself on the chest to comfort herself... 'Interesting, that girl was onee-san's trainee for a year, has she lived with that feeling of unspeakable terror of Chifuyu during all that time?' Ichika asked himself.
"Alright. Each class is to carry their stuff to begin the I.S. packages testing," Chifuyu announced, looking around. "Those with personal suits are to test the personal packages. Everyone, move fast."
Everyone answered 'yes'. As all the first years are lined up in a straight line, there are lot of students. On a side note, I.S. testing is happening on the beach. The surroundings are extremely high cliffs, so if there's a need to go to the sea, one has to go underwater and through a water tunnel. It really looked like some underwater filming for a movie.
The I.S. units and equipment that has to be used for testing is gathered here for this purpose. Of course, since all students have to pilot I.S, they all are wearing their I.S. suits. It feels like some sort of swimsuit competition at the seaside.
"Ah, Shinonono, come over here," Chifuyu called for Houki.
"Yes," Houki, who was using the Uchigane unit to carry something, heard Chifuyu's call and turned towards sensei.
"From today onwards, you'll be piloti…"
"CHHHHHIIIIIII~CHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNN~!" A sudden, hysterical scream almost tore the sky apart. As a cloud of sand and dust gathered, a figure came flying over at a very fast speed, making a lot of noise. Maybe she has an I.S. on her? No, she doesn't have anything – emperor's eye confirmed that. Though the problem's that person is…
"...Tabane…" Chifuyu said with the voice of doomed one.
That's how it is. That peerless genius Shinonono Tabane just ignored the restriction of the zone completely and came barging in just like that. "As if you're actually surprised, Orimura-sensei," Ichika noted, facepalming.
"Yaa Yaa! I really missed you Chi-chan! Let's hug to show our love… fuheh!" Tabane's words turned into something undiscernible as Chifuyu held her down, when Tabane came flying over, with one hand, grabbing onto her face too as sensei's fingers sank mercilessly into the flesh. Chifuyu really doesn't know how to show mercy.
"Shut up, Tabane," Chifuyu growled. Actually, she's amazing for being able to clamp down Tabane just like that.
"Mmmn... your iron claw's as merciless as ever!" After shouting out lightly, Tabane-san now turned to Houki. "Yaa!" She shouted joyfully.
"...Hello," Houki grunted in reply.
"Hehehe, long time no see. How long have we not met? A few years? Houki-chan has really grew up, especially the breasts…" Tabane jumped towards her sister with obvious intention to grab her breasts.
*BAAM!* Houki hit her elder sister, "I'll beat you up!"
"You've already beaten me up... and with a Japanese sword sheath! That's too mean! Houki-chan's so mean!" Pressing her head, Tabane looked teary eyed as she complained. Everyone present just looked at that exchange.
"Huh, well, well, people other than the ones involved are not…" Maya Yamada tried to intervene.
"Hmm? What you're saying is really weird. If you're talking about I.S. related personnel, I'm the most, most important person now!" Tabane stated without hesitation.
"Huh, ah, so, yeah, so, I guess that's right..." Yamada-sensei got shot down beautifully. Basically, there's nothing anyone can do as they just let her on a roll.
"Hey! Tabane! At least Introduce yourself, my students don't know what's going on," Chifuyu demanded.
"Huh… That's so troublesome..." Tabane sighed with boredom, but then she turned to other students, "Hello, I'm the genius Tabane-san! That's all from me!"
After saying that, she jumped on a small rock and even made a spin around. At this moment, everyone present seem to finally realize that this is the genius scientist who developed the I.S., and the girls started to chat.
"Haa... can't you even introduce yourself properly?" Chifuyu sighed heavily, "Hey, first-years, why are you stopping? Ignore this person here and continue testing."
"That's too much, calling me 'this person'…" Tabane mumbled resentfully. "Can't you call me 'my beloved Tabane'?"
"SHUT UP!" Chifuyu bellowed.
"It's just as if I've traveled back in time for ten years…" Ichika shook his head. Interactions between Tabane and Chifuyu haven't evolved even a bit. "By the way, Tabane-san," Ichika noted casually, "I really don't know much about cosplay, but are you sure that not wearing lingerie is a must?" With Tabane standing on a rock right beside and above Ichika, he could easily look under her 'Alice in Wonderland' styled dress, and one actually don't need emperor's eyes to see that she has no panties and her crotch is completely exposed.
He said it pretty quiet, so only Maya, Chifuyu and Tabane herself could hear him. Maya immediately became red. "Tabane, get down from there!" Chifuyu demanded, last thing she wanted is other students noticing that what Ichika just mentioned.
"Fufufu, I had to swim here, I just forgot to put on my swimming suit!" Tabane stated before jumping down. And again, Ichika took advantage of his emperor's eyes. Predicting her moves, he caught her in her fall, and, just for two or three seconds, their lips locked in kiss. Fortunately, thanks to a large cloud of sand, raised when Tabane jumped and Ichika caught her – only Maya Yamada could actually see what those two just did.
"ORI… ORI… ORIMURA-SAN!" Maya just screamed, she seemed completely deranged.
"Yamada-sensei, calm down!" Chifuyu ordered, trying to bring things back to order. As it was said, she didn't see what exactly happened – she couldn't devote her entire attention to Tabane and her doings, here were a lot of students around.
"Yes… well… but…" Maya was stuttering, "Um… what should I do in this situation..." She couldn't find it in herself to actually explain what's bothering her.
"Ah, like I just said, you can ignore this person here. Yamada-sensei, please help assist the classes," Chifuyu asked.
"I… I got it…" Maya obeyed.
"Uu, Chi-chan's so kind... This Tabane-san really feels envious. She got fooled by this huge-breasted monster, right?" After saying that, Tabane worked herself out of Ichika's embrace and leaped onto Yamada-sensei as her hands quickly grabbed onto her ample breasts.
"KYAAAAHHH! WH-WHA-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Poor woman screamed in complete shock.
"Sigh, what's the problem, what's the problem?" The topic just changed within a few seconds... where in the world did her jealousy go to?
On a side note, Tabane's breasts are slightly bigger than Chifuyu's and about the same size as Yamada-sensei's, maybe even a bit bigger too. Actually, it's kind of an eye candy to see two huge-breasted women harassing each other.
"SHUT IT YOU IDIOT! IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BREASTS, AREN'T YOURS BIG ENOUGH?" Chifuyu roared, she just couldn't allow Tabane to harass poor Maya anymore.
"Hehehe, Chi-chan's so lewd!" Tabane giggled childishly.
"GO TO HELL!" Chifuyu bellowed as she finally resorted to act. After being kicked really hard by Chifuyu, Tabane's face got buried fully into the beach sand. Let's emphasize this once again. This woman, whose ass just got kicked by Chifuyu, is the peerless genius who single-handedly developed the basics of I.S. and practical design.
"Nee-san… What about the thing I requested from you...?" Houki sounded somewhat hesitant as she asked that. On hearing this, Tabane quickly jumped up on her feet and her eyes lit up.
"Fufufu, I prepared that already. Here, behold the great sky!" Tabane pointed up at the sky. On hearing her saying that, Houki and the other students looked up at the sky.
BAAM!
Suddenly, really suddenly, with the sound of an impact, an unidentified metallic object dropped onto the sand. The silvery metal block looked like it's a wall for a moment as its front part fell down. Then everyone saw the contents inside. What's inside is…
"Ta Da! This is Houki-chan's personal I.S., Akatsubaki [Crimson Camelia]! Its specs are superior to every I.S. in every way and was made personally by Tabane-san!" As if in response to Tabane, that crimson red armor was moved out, using mobile arms.
The red armor was reflecting the bright sunlight, probably because it's a new I.S. It's really eye-catching. 'The specs are all superior to the current I.S. units, you say? I guess we'll find out soon enough. However…' Just as it appeared, Ichika's eyes began to examine this new unit.
"Here, Houki-chan, it's now the time for an optimization! I'll help out from aside, so it'll end soon," Tabane sounded very enthusiastic.
"...I'll leave it to you then," Houki grumbled.
"That's so rare. We're blood siblings. You should talk to me in a more affectionate manner," Elder sister complained but Houki interrupted her.
"Hurry up and start," She said quite rudely. Is this what they mean by 'playing alone'? Houki ignored Tabane's note completely and prompted her to move.
"Mn… well, that's true. Let's get started then," Tabane pressed the remote control, and Akatsubaki activated, opening the cockpit to allow the pilot to enter. It even kneeled down automatically to let the pilot enter it easily. Alright, most advanced weapon may just as well be a bit comfortable.
"I've input Houki-chan's data to a certain level. Now I just need to update the recent values!" That seemed to be the truth – new I.S. looked like it has already undergone the First Shift. "Then, let's do it!"
Tabane opened a control panel and slid her fingers on it. She then summoned out six screens in mid-air to navigate through the huge amount of data on the screen, and typed out on the emulated keyboard in mid-air.
"She's really amazing, I have to admit," Ichika smiled, looking at Tabane's work.
Tabane noticed his sight. "Hey, Ik-kun, don't look! When you're staring like that it feels like my ideas are being sucked right from my head!" She said quite childishly and took a step to the side, as if trying to cover her screens from Ichika's eyes, though perfectly knowing that it won't help even a bit.
"I just want to make sure that the lesson learnt and we won't see a red moon again," Ichika said casually. That phrase seemed completely meaningless, but for some reason, Chifuyu flinched and glanced at her brother angrily, whilst Tabane, just for a moment, gave him 'you're a meanie' look. Others present here didn't notice anything, though, and seemingly that was just as Ichika intended [Using kun'yomi, red moon (赤月) romanises as 'aka tsuki'].
Tabane turned away and continued her work. Then she looked at Houki, "It's a close-ranged suit that's adjusted to being an all-around type, so I guess you will get used to it soon! Not to mention there's an automatic support equipment! Onee-chan prepared them all!"
"Oh, thanks," Houki still sounded rather cold. Really, since those two are sisters, shouldn't Houki be a bit more warm to her elder sister? No, that's not that simple… Shinonono sister's situation was completely opposite, comparing to Orimura siblings.
As Ichika's never had anyone but his elder sister, Chifuyu was performing a role of a parent as good as she could. She was working not sparing herself, at the same time trying to finish the school. She sacrificed her own childhood for her brother's sake. In return, Ichika was doing everything he could to make sister's life easier as much as possible, helping her in every way possible. Even this morning, when Chifuyu woke up with a hangover (third can of beer was unnecessary, and fourth was clearly too much), there was a glass of clear water and two pills of Alka-Seltzer prepared for her by caring and provident brother… In other words, Orimura siblings were united like no one else.
As for Houki and Tabane, let alone painful incidents, just normal, social circumstances were quite bad. When Tabane published her researches about I.S. and it was recognized, her entire family fell under government protection program. Houki had to part with her friends, Including Ichika and Chifuyu, with her aunt and uncle… and after that Tabane herself also disappeared. All things considered – Houki had a right to hate her elder sister… but not for that long, of course. As there was something, something for which Houki cannot forgive herself, even if she can't clearly remember what happened – she still feels the weight of guilt, and thus, she's unable to speak to her elder sister normally.
"Houki-chan's kendo skills are even more refined. I can tell from your trained muscles. Yaa Yaa, onee-chan's really proud of you!" Tabane exclaimed encouragingly
"..." But Houki remained silent as rock.
"Hehe, I got ignored…" Tabane giggled with no sign of discouragement. "Okay, optimization is complete… That was fast, as expected of me." Spouting nonsense, Tabane never stopped typing. It resembles someone playing the piano more than typing a keyboard, fast and fluid, and she even went through all the pages that switched around. Though she's rather frivolous and quite insane, she is a real genius.
'It's just the same stuff…' Ichika's attention was attracted by Akatsubaki's armament, 'Tabane-san, you're always were complaining about boredom, couldn't you spend your free time on inventing something really new? Why it's still those, you think it's a perfect fit for Houki?' Ichika shook his head, he seemed a bit disappointed for some reason. 'There's nothing I can steal for myself… oh well, let's just hope that "that thing" is there no longer…' He thought, continuing to observe Akatsubaki's preparation. Well, whatever Tabane's reasons, Ichika believed that no one knows Houki better than her elder sister.
In the meantime, other students began to express their… thoughts about what was happening just now:
"That I.S. is to be given to Shinonono-san...?"
"Just because they're family?"
"Yeah, it feels a bit unscrupulous."
Voices like these could be heard from the crowd. Unexpectedly (no, actually quite expectedly), the one who quickly squashed all these reactions was Shinonono Tabane herself. "Oh my, haven't all of you read history? This world has never been fair."
The girls who were called out immediately went back to work. As for Tabane, she just left it that as she continued the adjustments, or rather, she never stopped typing even though she was talking. She's really a genius.
Then, the adjustments were complete, and Tabane-san closed the screens.
"After that, it'll just be adjustments, and the personalization will be complete. Ah, Ik-kun, let me see your Byakushiki. This Tabane-san's really enthusiastic!" After closing all the screens and keyboard, Tabane-san turned to Ichika. Her light skirt flutters as it gives off a polished woman vibe that's completely opposite of her childish personality.
"Tabane-san," Ichika replied with lenient smile, "How many times should I remind you that Byakushiki does no longer exist? Last time was yesterday's evening, if I remember correctly." Ichika raised his left, gloved arm, summoning his own personal I.S. As if responding to his command thoughts, Messiah dispersed in balls of light. The lights then gathered in mid-air to form a circle, spinning a few layers around him before forming, all that happened within less than a second.
This was Ichika's personal I.S., Messiah, whose name was Byakushiki only a few months ago… seems like forever passed since then. A machine that was developed for close-ranged combat was heavily modified, less than half of its original parts were still there, other were replaced. Even its only weapon, energy blade Yukihira Niigata has been replaced with plasma weapon Ragnarök, which now is capable of taking shape of five (actually six) different plasma-based weapons.
"Ah, so this is it, this is it," Tabane mumbled quietly. No, of course she saw Ichika's I.S. several times, but this was the first time she was seeing it from such a close range with her own eyes.
"I'm sorry, Tabane-san, but all command interfaces were redesigned to fit my own needs, I'm afraid there's no more external access points," Ichika confirmed. Actually, that was the first modification Ichika ever made – he closed any possibility for anyone but pilot to interact with his I.S. Last thing he wanted is someone messing with his unit, no matter who it might be. By the way, when she gave Ichika a few advices, Tabane unwillingly helped him to cut herself from his I.S. Not that she really had any regrets about that… "But if you really wanna see it, Tabane-san – here," Ichika added as three holographic screens appeared in front of his I.S.
"Mnn... To actually create such an unbelievable diagram like this. What is this? I never seen this state before. Is it because Ik-kun's a guy?" By the way – the diagram here refers to the development path the I.S. takes according to the person. In human terms, it's the genes.
"No," Ichika shook his head, "Let's say… there are more reasons to that…"
"I see…" Tabane smiled cunningly as her childish demeanor suddenly disappeared for a few moments, "Then I'll just wait to see where that path leads…" Of course, information that Ichika was showing was incomplete, and even peerless genius like Tabane couldn't comprehend everything with so small amount of data. "Well, forget about it. I just don't know about what I don't know then. I've set the I.S. to evolve on their own when I created them, so it was obvious such a thing would happen eventually, hahaha," She laughed carelessly. "But to think that it would happen with Byakushiki, the I.S. I personally created…"
"Huh... WHAAAT?! Tabane-san created Ichika-sama's I.S.!?" Several voices asked in unison.
"Mn, yup!" Her eyes lit up again, "Actually, I just retrieved the scrapped flawed machine and tweaked it slightly until it could move. But thanks to that, Ik-kun can use the One-Off Ability in first shift, right? That's super convenient. Yup! Also, how should I say it? It was developed like this, you know? In Japan."
*BAM!* "Idiot, stop revealing so much of classified information!" Tabane's head got hit without mercy. The one who attacked was obviously the instructor from hell aka Chifuyu.
"OWWW! Huh, Chi-chan's affections have been too intense up till now," Tabane moaned.
"SHUT UP!" Chifuyu landed another hit. Whilst Tabane was rubbing her head in pain, a girl called out to her.
"Ex-Excuse me! I heard of Professor Shinonono before. If possible, could you please check my I.S.?" It was Cecilia. Most likely, she felt excited about seeing the famous Shinonono Tabane in front of her as her eyes were glowing with expectation. However…
"Ah? Who are you? I don't recognize some blond person. And right now, it's a touching reunion with Houki-chan, Chi-chan and Ik-kun after so many years. I don't know why are you interrupting me. Who are you anyway?" Her voice suddenly got cold, the content, the eyes and even the tone got cold.
"Huh, that..." Cecilia tried to say something.
"Shut up and move aside," Tabane rudely interrupted her.
"Uh..." After being rejected again, even Cecilia backed away while looking completely distraught. She got rejected without even having the chance to be shocked by the sudden change in Tabane's attitude as her eyes got teary.
Well, this person hasn't changed at all... According to Tabane herself, the reason is that: 'I can't tell the difference between humans. The only people I know are Houki-chan, Chi-chan and Ik-kun. Papa and mama may count as well. Ufufu, that's because I have no interest in other people at all!' That's why Tabane treated everyone else besides three aforementioned persons just as she treated poor Cecilia right now. But, well, she did improve in this case, actually… she would simply ignore others in the past... Actually, that seemed to be trained into her by Chifuyu. At least she would answer others now.
"Hoo… weird blond hair. I hate the thick skin of the Japanese. Japanese are the best… but I don't care about Japanese either way except for Houki-chan, Chi-chan and Ii-kun," It was hard to say why she said what she just said.
"Uncle and aunty too?" Surprisingly, Houki asked that.
"Hmm? Well… that's right," Tabane nodded.
'No, that's not right,' Ichika's eyes easily saw through Tabane's lie. "Better say," Ichika asked her, "What have you decided about that what we were talking about yesterday's evening? Are you going to dress up like Kurumi Tokisaki next time? I can even help you with replacing one of your eyes with clock!"
"Che… Ik-kun's really too much!" Tabane exclaimed childishly, "I don't want to paint my hair black!" Then, at the same time they turned towards Chifuyu… no doubts – her luxury black hair would fir Kurumi's image perfectly. "Hey, Chi-Chan…" Tabane tried to say…
"SHUT UP IDIOTS!" Chifuyu bellowed, and both Tabane and Ichika had to back off. As it was said – there were only two people in this world, which could infuriate Chifuyu to that extent… and now they were together. Chifuyu looked at Ichika and her eyes flashed, that definitely meant 'we'll talk about that later.'
"Ah… ahem," Houki coughed twice to get her elder sister's attention, "Am I done here?"
"Mnn, yep, it's done. Oh, 3 minutes over. Ahh, I could have used the time to cook a cup of instant noodles. Too bad," Tabane sighed.
'No, there's nothing to feel bad about...' Ichika thought. If he's actually hates something – let it be a bad food. Besides… nowadays, instant noodles won't even need 3 minutes, anyway.
"Then try taking it for a ride. Fly it a bit! It should follow Houki-chan's thoughts!" Tabane exclaimed.
"Okay, I'll try it," Houki replied with dry tone.
The cables that Tabane used to link her terminals with I.S. were removed. After that, Houki closed her eyes, and Akatsubaki flew off at a really fast speed.
"WAH!" Several people exclaimed at the same time.
The sudden acceleration caused shockwaves that made the sand dance. As Ichika turned to look at Houki, his emperor's eyes were following Akatsubaki that was flying about six hundred feet above.
"How is it? Much more mobile than what Houki-chan expected?" Tabane asked with satisfied smile.
"Mnn... yeah, sort of..." Houki mumbled in reply. By the way, Tabane's using the public I.S. channel to communicate, so she definitely has some I.S. related trick in her sleeve.
"Then try swinging your swords," Tabane suggested, "The right one is Amatsuki [Rainy Moon], and the left one is Karaware [Cracked Sky]. I'm going to send the special data of the weapons over!"
After saying that, Tabane's fingers began to dance on holographic keyboard. Having received the weapon data, Houki drew both swords with a swoosh. That clean strike indicates years of kendo training.
"Let's add on Tabane-onee-chan's explanation!" Tabane almost sang. "Rainy Moon's used to attack one person. The blade will create several energy rays when it attacks. It can turn an enemy into a beehive if it's used consecutively! It's a wonderful weapon! The range is about as far as an assault rifle, no? It can't reach the range of a sniper rifle, but it's balanced out by the speed of Akatsubaki."
Ichika wasn't sure that Houki was going along with Tabane-san's explanation, but she got ready to swing the blade. She raised her right hand to her left shoulder, according to her family's style, the Shinonono-nitoryū kendo style – the shield-sword style. That's a position that can easily turn defense into attack, using the force of the attack to counter.
As the blade got swung out, several orbs of red light formed in surrounding space, after which all those orbs shot forth like bullets of light and pierced out several holes in the clouds in the air.
"And again, she's doing that…" Ichika said quietly as he approached his sister. "Have you noticed, Orimura-sensei? Those energy charges use frequency modulation of 445 terahertz…" Chifuyu didn't reply anything, but her eyes narrowed.
"The next one's Cracked Sky. It's a weapon used to deal with a group, and can launch a crescent moon shaped attack with the slash! The blade can extend its length when it's swung, so it's super useful. Try hitting some of them here!" After saying that, Tabane summoned a 16-missile pod firing machine. As the light particles gathered and formed it, it shot out its missiles at that instant.
"Do not relent, Houki," Ichika said.
"Don't worry! If it's this Akatsubaki!" Tabane exclaimed.
Like what Tabane said, Houki swung the Sky Breaker, that was tucked under her right armpit, one round. The red laser blade extended itself out just like Tabane said, slicing 16 missiles with one slash. And again, laser blade definitely uses frequency modulation of 445 terahertz.
Gradually appearing from the smoke of the explosion, Houki and her red I.S. looked as imposing as ever. "Powerful..." Everyone present looked stunned and mesmerized by the overwhelming outcome in front of them, unable to say anything. Tabane-san seemed satisfied as she viewed the scene in front of her, nodding away.
However, one person's staring at Tabane-san sternly. And that person's Chifuyu. 'Onee-san, don't show such a look… there's no need to look at her like at an enemy… future is uncertain, yet…' Ichika thought, looking at sister's face.
Ichika's own thoughts, however, were focused on Akatsubaki, 'Is that really it?' He thought. Seemingly, Houki's new I.S. didn't really impress Ichika. It was exceptionally fast and powerful... but not as much as Ichika expected from hand-crafted unit, created by Shinonono Tabane herself. 'Is that all you are really capable of, Tabane? I refuse to believe it… then it can only mean one thing… There's a huge flaw in this I.S., and that flaw is her pilot… How are you intending to deal with that issue, Tabane? Simple tools won't work help with that…' His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden call via military emergency channel. At the same time…
"TH-THI-THIS IS BAD! O-ORI-ORIMURA-SENSEI!" The sudden voice of Maya Yamada caused Chifuyu to keep her sharp eyes and turn to her. Though Yamada-sensei's normally panicking, it felt different this time.
"What's wrong?" Orimura-sensei asked sternly.
"Pl-Plea-Please look at this," Maya gave Chifuyu her datapad. On seeing the visual image Yamada-sensei passed over, Chifuyu's face darkened.
"Class A special mission, and a request to deal with it immediately..."
"Th-That's... Located at the Hawaiian research facility…"
"Shh! Don't leak confidential information. The students will hear it."
"So-Sorry..."
"The pilot of the personal I.S.?"
"One… One's missing. The rest are present."
Chifuyu-sensei and Yamada-sensei seem to be discussing about something in a soft voice. Once they notice several students looking here, they started using hand signals instead.
Ichika could easily read those signals, he remembered their meaning since when Chifuyu was the I.S. representative of Japan. However, he wasn't interesting in them, as he himself now was in the middle of important call.
"I… I'll contact the other teachers then," Maya ran away.
"Got it. EVERYONE! PAY ATTENTION!" Chifuyu shouted with thundering voice and clapped twice to gain everyone's attention. "The I.S. Academy teachers are now going to carry out a special mission, so today's testing will be over. Every class is to keep the I.S. and return back to the resort. You are to remain in your own rooms. That's all!"
"Huh...? What's going on?"
"End? Why? The special mission is..."
"I don't understand at all..."
The unexpected situation caused the girls to chatter away.
But Chifuyu-nee roared, "EVERYONE IS TO HURRY UP AND HEAD BACK! WHOEVER'S COMES OUT WITHOUT PERMISSION WILL BE LOCKED UP! AM I CLEAR!?"
"""YES!""" Everyone started moving frantically, removing the equipment on their bodies, shutting down the activated I.S. units and putting them on the vehicles. It seems that they got scared by Chifuyu's demonic roar.
"Personal I.S. pilots are to gather! Orimura, Alcott, Dunois, Bodewig, Huang, and... Shinonono!" Chifuyu called for selected people.
"Yes!" Answering really loudly was Houki, who stood beside Ichika. Oh yeah, she can be considered as one with a personal I.S. now.
"Orimura, you're waiting for special invitation?!" Chifuyu called for her brother, who didn't seem to be in hurry, unlike the rest.
"It's Lt.-Commander Orimura now," Ichika reminded. Of course – level D alert was declared, and until it will be canceled Ichika was no longer an I.S. academy student, but Naval officer. "Go ahead without me, I'll catch up, I have admiral Imōmarū on the line right now…"
As she heard that, Chifuyu just nodded, honestly – there was nothing she could do about that situation.
And that's it for now, don't forget about review!
