And here I am again! And with the brand-new chapter, no less. This one is social, but we're preparing for the battle in the next one.
Should be interesting.
My comments for the reviewers:
Primordial Inscriptor Z-09: It's more like techno-myth than techno-demon. And there cannot be more than five people (including Ichika) as there's only ten sephirahs, and each person represents two.
Darkkon27: We've just started.
FateBurn: Thank you.
KingZeRoPL: Working on it, but I really don't want to overload my story with H-scenes.
Imperial-samaB: Thanks a lot man.
Guest: Thanks, here's the new chapter.
Now, let's proceed with the chapter.
Chapter XXIII – The Red Sun
…
October 21th, Saturday, 2:49 P.M.
I.S. Academy, Underground Special Area. In this place, of which only a handful amongst the teachers were aware of, Maya Yamada was analyzing the unmanned machines that were captured. Three frames were recovered, all with a different degree of damage, but at least they were recognizable, unlike those three destroyed by Ichika and Majin Naamah.
"How about you take a rest?" Chifuyu walked into the room and threw a can of drink to Maya.
"Ahh… Orimura-sensei, thank you," Maya caught the can. Tasting the Royal Milk tea that was passed to her, Maya showed the investigation results on the screen. "Please look. As expected, they're the upgraded versions of the unmanned machine that appeared before, I'm certain of it."
"And the cores?" Chifuyu inquired.
"According to the reading we've received, they're all unregistered," Maya replied.
"…How many did you retrieve?" Orimura-sensei asked darkly.
"Two of them. The other cores were completely wrecked in battle…" Yamada-sensei answered, "What do we do?"
After pondering for a while, Chifuyu replied simply. "We'll report to the government that all the cores were destroyed."
"Bu… But, that'll mean…" Maya stuttered.
"Think about it. The I.S. cores are things any country would desire. If we hand them over, there'll be a lot of unnecessary conflicts…" Chifuyu sounded confident, but according to what she said, it'd mean that the I.S. Academy would be exposed to danger. Seeing Maya remain silent, Chifuyu continued to remain optimistic. "Hey, hey. Who do you think I am? I was called the world's strongest before."
"Yes…" Yamada-sensei nodded uncertainly.
"One academy or two, I'll protect them," Chifuyu curled her lips up slightly. "…With my life on the line."
*Clink* The mechanical sound of an opened door announced another person's arrival. "What did you learn, commander?" Chifuyu asked as she turned to her brother. Maya Yamada didn't seem surprised – looks like she stared to get used to Ichika's rank and duties.
Ichika summoned several holoscreens as he started to explain, showing some figures on those screens. "Well, aside from one interesting thing – there was nothing special about those unmanned units. Their sensors were very precise, their armor and blades were made of advanced alloys, their main shield barrier, as well as those malleable support shields, were pretty sturdy, but really – nothing too uncommon about any of those. The laser cannons were using the frequency modulation of 445 terahertz, but that isn't something unexpected, either…"
"And that interesting thing you've mentioned?" Chifuyu inquired.
"Is that about the unknown energy that affects shields?" Maya joined the question.
"Yes," Ichika confirmed. "I've never seen anything quite like that. Since those things didn't use that technology against Demon Queen, I had to use the telemetry, gained by Kanzashi Sarashiki-san's Uchigane Nishiki and Charlotte Dunois-san's Sandstorm. It's less detailed than mine, but still I've managed to learn the overall principle of that technology."
"You did?!" Maya sounded very impressed, "What have you learned?! What is that?! How's that works?!" Green-haired sensei seemed quite worried, which is quite understandable.
"It's not 'how, it's more like 'when'…" Ichika started to explain, and as he said that, Chifuyu, who seemed more or less composed until now, strained a little. "How shall I explain it?… Alright, as you know, I.S. shield barrier isn't a solid-wall-like structure, it's more like a mesh-net, made of multiplicity of perpendicularly oriented sinusoids. Shield control logic uses the amplitude modulation, which 'strains' and amplifies those sinusoids when the barrier blocks the incoming attack.
Maya and Chifuyu both nodded – that was the general I.S. theory – every I.S. engineer and pilot should know this.
"Well, this… let's call it the 'shield disruption device'," Ichika continued, "It uses some sort of an exertion (which isn't an energy in common meaning, by the way), to distort the shield's temporal diagram. However, shield is connected to the core itself, so you can't just trick it by adding a phase shift or something. As such – and here's my conclusion – this 'shield disruptor' or whatever – it accelerates the shield's time. In other words – the disrupted shield is always too early, so when it really needed – shield 'thinks' that its job has already been done…"
"It… it affects time…" Maya asked in shock, looking at Ichika with saucer-wide eyes, "Is that… even possible…?"
"Seems so," Ichika replied as if it wasn't something special, "Of course my conclusion sounds a bit arguable, but I am pretty sure in my analysis." And while Maya was still trying to comprehend the meaning of Ichika's words, he addressed his elder sister, who, by the way, didn't seem surprised or shocked with Ichika's report, she just seemed very annoyed and displeased. "The analysis is still ongoing, but, at this point, I don't think that we'll be able to learn something important, in addition to what we've learned already." Ichika looked at his new wristwatch (a gift from Charlotte), "Now, with your permission, I'll be taking my leave. I'm going to Yokosoka, admiral Kirishima is already waiting for me."
"Very well, thank you for your insight, commander," Chifuyu nodded.
"Orimura-sensei, Yamada-sensei," Ichika bowed slightly and left the room.
Chifuyu stood silently for about a minute, looking somewhere aside, deeply submerged in her thoughts.
"By the way, onee-chan," Ichika's voice sounded again. But he didn't return, he was speaking directly to his sister via private channel, audio only. And since he called her 'onee-chan' – that was something personal. "Just so you'd know – Houki's Crimson Camellia's shield uses quadrature amplitude-shift keying, instead of a common amplitude modulation. This not only makes Akatsubaki's shield more 'sturdy' than normal barrier, I also think that, because the energy flow goes via much branchier route, both before and after the shield module itself, if that 'shield disruptor' would've been used against Crimson Camellia, its influence would've been greatly reduced, if not neglected almost completely. I guess she never actually intended to really hurt her precious imōto…"
"What a bitch…" The only thing that Chifuyu could say in this situation as she sighed heavily.
"Huh? Orimura-sensei?" Maya looked at Chifuyu in confusion.
"No, sorry, nothing," Orimura-sensei shook her head. "Please, continue your work, inform me if you'll manage to find something important. And don't forget to rest from time to time," Chifuyu advised and left the room.
Maya just shrugged and returned to her monitors. She was still a bit shocked with Ichika's theory about 'time-accelerating device', but she still has a job to be done.
October 21th, Saturday, 6:34 P.M.
"Ugh…" Her consciousness still blurry, Tatenashi slowly blinked twice. The white ceiling was dyed orange.
"One… onee-chan…" A girl's voice called for her gingerly. Tatenashi turned to the voice that called her. Kanzashi was probably waiting for her elder sister to recover, and stood up from the chair "Are you… awake…?"
"Yes... This is...?" Tatenashi still wasn't fully awake, and she asked Kanzashi in a somewhat dazed tone.
"The school's… medical office…" Younger sister replied quietly.
"Not the infirmary… Ow! Ow, Ow, Ow…" Her mind still blank, Tatenashi tried to stand up, but the moment she was about to do that, she was stopped by a sharp pain and a panicking Kanzashi.
"You still can't move yet… they're not fatal… but your wounds aren't light…" She gently pressed her elder sister to the bed.
"Okay…" Tatenashi obliged. After that, she and Kanzashi continued to remain silent for a while.
It had been a long time since the sisters had such a conversation – both of them were thinking that. The elder sister who was always mindful of her younger sister's thoughts. And the younger sister who feared and envied the elder sister. However, those things felt like lies, and both of them naturally became silent.
'Should I be thankful to Ichika for that…?' Tatenashi asked herself as she remembered about asking Ichika to help Kanzashi with her I.S. Thinking about it, that was really strange. 'Why did I ask him in the first place…?' She asked herself once more. 'I just wanted to take revenge for that he shook me out of my bed in the middle of the night and then dragged me into one of his dubious schemes?'
At that time, she didn't actually realize something, but she just believed it, 'It will be okay if I leave that matter to Ichika.' She really believed in his abilities.
'Have I…' Gradually, Tatenashi started to blush. 'No, no, no, no, no – this is not possible, not possible at all!' She tried to convince herself. 'Or…' Suddenly realizing that she started to blush, Tatenashi hurriedly turned to the window to avoid letting her younger sister to notice it.
"Onee-chan…" Kanzashi called silently.
"Wha… What is it?" Tatenashi stuttered.
"What happened…? Your face, it's so red…" Younger sister asked.
Not good, it seemed that her agitation was about to show. "Most likely it's due to the sunset…" Elder sister lied quickly.
"Really…?" Kanzashi wondered. Silence took place after that.
After about ten minutes, Kanzashi hesitated, and finally decided to say. "We… erm… you know… onee-chan…"
"Hmm?" Tatenashi looked at her imōto.
"I'm sorry… for all this time…" Kanzashi mumbled as she bowed her head.
"Don't worry about that," Tatenashi smiled in reply.
"But… but…" Younger sister just couldn't accept that so easily. She labeled others randomly, created a wall on her own, and kept running. Facing herself like this, Kanzashi couldn't help but be so ashamed that she couldn't just forgive herself. "I'm… the one… useless imōto..."
"That's not true," Tatenashi endured her pain and got up, hugging Kanzashi, who was about to cry. "You're my precious imōto. A very strong one, my beloved younger sister…"
Kanzashi's head continued to be patted, and unable to take it any further, she teared up, "Onee-chan… onee-chan…"
"Shhh…" Tatenashi tried to calm her down, without much success.
In the medical office with only two people, the sisters finally broke their frozen bond, and their souls finally interacted. Only the sunset remained, watching over both of them silently.
October 21th, Saturday, 9:12 P.M.
The debriefing in Yokosoka took almost five hours. In fact, Ichika wanted to head straight home after this, but first he wanted to check a few things in his 'secret chambers'. And after this he decided to visit his dorm room, which was a mistake, because he found five girls waiting for him. And now it all came to this.
"My turn. Yosh, two Fives."
"I'll put two Sevens then."
"Nuah! I wanted to put Seven!"
"Then, I'll pass."
"My turn? Then, I'll put two Aces."
Right now, Houki, Cecilia, Rin, Charlotte and Laura were playing Daihinmin in Ichika's room.
"As a punishment for avoiding the tournament and not pairing up with us, you must listen to one request from us" – Just like that, the five of them requested this at the same time.
Of course, that request was irrational, and those girls were annoying, but Ichika was really in a good mood today, so he just decided to let those five to do whatever – they deserved a bit of joy. However, he mentioned that he's not going to take requests from five people, and so the winner will take it. After several minutes of arguing, girls decided that the victor would be decided by Daifugō [Japanese card game].
"You're quite lively for those who were injured just a few hours ago," Ichika noted.
Rin turned to him, she seemingly tried to wave her hand or something, but instead she just let out a strange moan and squatted down. Her spirit, however, wasn't broken, "This little thing isn't much of an injury at all!"
"That's right! I hope you don't underestimate the Representative Candidates!" Cecilia agreed.
"Right! Besides, there are things girls can't back away from!" Charlotte exclaimed.
"There's no one in our squad who'll waste time saying such nonsense about being treated as casualties with just this damage," Laura noted calmly.
"Um… Ichika, if you're bored, can you please massage my shoulders…" Houki said casually.
"Hmm? And this is your request?" Ichika wondered, "If so – fine by me…"
But just when Ichika was about to stand up, Rin's cry pierced the room, "Aaaaaaaaahhh! Ichika, you can't! The winner has not been decided yet! You're really sneaky, Houki!"
"That's right! Rin-san is right! This is for the winner!" Cecilia agreed.
"Whaaat!? Shut up! Don't get between me and Ichika!" Houki didn't back down.
"Stop joking around. Is your throat itching to be pierced through?" Laura's cold voice pronounced.
In this ruckus, the five of them gradually had less cards. Now, it's finally Charlotte's turn. "Then… this!" She showed four Eights… which means, that… "A revolution! No – it's the French revolution!"
"That's mean!" "Cheat!" "Sneaky!" The intense poker card battle lasted almost until eleven P.M.
October 21th, Saturday, 10:57 P.M.
As time was passing by, unsurprisingly, girls arguing was gradually becoming more and more aggressive. For some reason, Houki and Cecilia were especially agitated. However, Ichika had no desire to interfere, he just decided to stop this, all together. He tried to call for his guests several times, but they weren't listening, so he decided to use a bit more efficient method.
*Baam!* A gunshot quickly silenced all the girls. That was just a dry shot from Ichika's Colt 1911A (a gift from Laura), but he gained girls' unrequited attention nonetheless. "Darlings, it's almost eleven o'clock, and we shouldn't be disturbing the other students that late. Tomorrow will be a day-off, you will be able to play cards or whatever as much as you like to decide the winner," Ichika said calmly.
It took a few moments for the shocked girls to understand what happened and what exactly Ichika just told them. And when they did…
"What the hell?!" Houki exclaimed.
"Now that was really mean, Ichika-san!" Cecilia agreed.
Rin, Charlotte and Laura probably also wanted to say a thing or two, but they had to rethink their intentions when Ichika raised his pistol once again. But he didn't shoot or anything as Colt 1911A just disappeared into his quantum space. "Listen people, I'm trying to be nice here, but you're really going overboard. I have absolutely no desire to listen Orimura-sensei's lectures before going to sleep. So please, be reasonable and go to your rooms, don't make me show you how mean I actually can be," He said as he took out his smartphone. That was just a normal smartphone – nothing more – but the highlighted contact was named 'onee-san'…
All five became pale. Seemingly satisfied, Ichika nodded, "Make yourself a favor – go to your rooms. I'll keep my promise – decide the winner among yourselves, and I'll listen to the request from the winner."
Being cornered, one after another, girls started to stand up, muttering curses toward Ichika. But when they approached the door, Ichika suddenly added, "And, by the way – thank you for today – you people did well, protecting the academy and other students. Thanks to your efforts and timely reaction – the academy got no one injured among spectators."
"""""HUH!?""""" All five froze like paralyzed. After what just happened – none of them definitely was expecting to be praised. Ichika liked to play on contrasts, and this worked perfectly once again.
"But remember, there are a lot of ways for improvement for every one of you, don't waste any possibility to get an experience," He added, "Good night, everyone."
Cecilia was the first one to recompose herself, "Oh, but of course!" She smiled radiantly, "This academy can always rely on me, Cecilia Alcott, the representative… hey?!" Blonde exclaimed as Houki pushed her back.
"We all know that, get going already!" Shinonono pushed an agitated Cecilia out of Ichika's room. Rin and Charlotte simply waved their hands and walked out, but Laura turned to Ichika.
"I'll visit you tomorrow. Be prepared," She declared, but when she tried to turn away and leave the room – she was stopped by Ichika's voice.
"Oh, by the way, I've almost forgot," He said as he approached Laura and something appeared from his quantum space. "Here, and don't ruin it again."
"Hmm?" German girl looked confused. The thing that Ichika was holding was the photo of him – the one that Laura accidentally pierced with her knife. It looked just like a new – not a trace of damage remained. Then, a ray of joy fell on Laura as she saw her favorite photo completely restored. And then, as she realized the full picture, Laura's eyes widened as her face was blushing rapidly. German girl run out from Ichika's room like a bullet. Right now, she wasn't in the right condition to ask – how Ichika got it from her personal locker.
"Laura?" Charlotte asked in surprise as she saw her roommate running away.
"Photo," Ichika said shortly as he now was standing in his room's doorway. Charlotte just smiled awkwardly and run after Laura to explain the situation. Of course, Ichika wasn't digging in Laura's locker – Charlotte noticed the spoiled photo accidentally. She wanted to help, but she had no idea how to restore the photo completely, so she asked Ichika for help – French girl had no doubts that he knows about that photo's existence anyway. Ichika used the digital material reconstruction and gave the photo back to Laura.
Looking at that strange scene – Rin just shrugged and headed to her room.
Only two persons – Houki and Cecilia – still couldn't calm down. A tsundere and a himedere – not the best combination.
"Finally, thanks to my efforts, Ichika-san finally praised me," Cecilia exclaimed joyfully.
"What?!" Houki interjected, "He definitely praised me! I was the one who fought alongside Ichika today!"
"Hah, as far as I've heard – you were present alongside him while Ichika-san himself defeated the enemy," Cecilia laughed.
"Why you…" Houki growled. Seemingly, those two got not enough of fighting for one day…
Word after word, and both of them were already holding weapons. Houki summoned her sword Karaware, and Cecilia summoned her sniper rifle Starlight Mark III.
*Swoosh!* Suddenly, as if from nowhere, a harsh gust of wind, in form of a crescent moon, knocked down both girls and sent them flying along the corridor. Both of them flew head over heels for about thirty feet.
"Hey, idiots. It's partial deployment, but you're still using your I.S.-es. As a punishment, run two laps around the sixth arena with your I.S.-es deployed. Of course, you're not allowed to use neither PIC nor thrusters. Understood?" Sharp voice said.
""Ori… Orimura-sensei…"" Now the two of them were trembling.
Speaking of which, Chifuyu is the supervisor of the first years' dorm, so she actually could be patrolling around. But even so, 'To create such a strong air pressure front with her bare feet…' Ichika admired his elder sister.
"Go!" Chifuyu glared at Shinonono and Alcott.
""Und… Understood!"" Houki and Cecilia replied as they quickly got up, straightened their backs and ran out of the dorm, glaring at each other… running two laps on sixth arena means running around the entire academy, twice. And with I.S. units being deployed… That is really tough, how pitiful.
"Hey, Orimura," Chifuyu called for her brother.
"Yes?" He asked.
"You're always the source of commotion. You know how much time is now?" She inquired.
"I have nothing to do with all that," Ichika refused to take the responsibility, "I've chased them out of my room before eleven, and I've honestly warned them to not make a commotion."
Chifuyu looked at her brother intently, but then just sighed and walked away, without saying a word.
"Good night, Orimura-sensei," Ichika said before closing his door.
At this moment it was pretty pointless to go home, he just can stay in the academy, local beds ain't that bad anyway. But before that – he had one last thing to do today.
October 21th, Saturday, 11:18 P.M.
Medical office. "Mmm…" Tatenashi moaned in her doze. She was having some unpleasant feeling, as if something cold is touching her feet. She reluctantly opened her eyes, only to see someone sitting on the bed where she was sleeping. "Umm…? Ichika-sama…?" She was a bit confused due to aftereffect of anesthetics.
"Oh, you're awake?" He asked.
"Huh?!" Tatenashi suddenly realized that this Ichika isn't an image that her sleepy mind is creating, but the real one, and he is flicking her toes and feet with his ever-cold right arm. "What are you doing?!… Ow!" She tried to bend her knees, but that appeared to be quite painful.
"Hmm, is that hurt?" Ichika asked emotionlessly, "Good – will be a good lesson for you. You know – I've seen surveillance records of today's battles… have to admit – your choice of tactics seemed a bit… exotic…"
"Ah… well… ahaha…" Tatenashi laughed nervously – she didn't like Ichika's voice intonation…
"You do understand that if you'd have died – it would've caused a lot of troubles for all of us, and especially for my sister?" He wondered, still with that creepy intonation. "We will discuss your actions in details later, but now, I think a bit of punishment is necessary. It's good that you are so helpless…"
"What?!" Tatenashi's eyes widened, "Hey, I'm injured! No! Get away from me! Auch! No, let go of me! Ow! Ouch! Don't pull my cheeks! Auch! Anybody! Help me! Ow!…"
About ten minutes later. "Boo! Ichika no Baka…" Tatenashi grumbled resentfully. "Harassing an injured girl – what a sadist you are?!" She pouted as her cheeks were burning.
No, of course Ichika didn't do anything severe – he just pinched her cheeks and nose… well, many times, and that was somehow painful. He already left, so Tatenashi was grumbling here all alone. "Seriously, what's with him!? How could I even think that I could have any feelings toward him!? I hate him! And I don't want to see him ever again!" She declared angrily… But, sadly, her wildly beating heart was telling her completely otherwise.
Besides, Tatenashi couldn't get rid of a weird thought, 'Since he came to scold me for my recklessness… does it mean that I am not completely meaningless for him?...'
"Uuu… Ichika no Baka…" She grumbled again as she pulled her blanket over her face, to hide her rapidly flushing cheeks.
October 21th, Saturday, 11:31 P.M.
Sixth arena. "Haa! Haa! Haa!" "Fuu! Fuu! Fuu!"
The night sky covered the I.S. Academy, and the red and blue machines were letting out heavy metallic sounds as they were running around the entire island.
"Haa, Haa, Cecilia! Thi… This is all your fault!"
"Fuu, fuu! What!? Houki-san, stop mistaking things! Fuu, fuu!"
Breathing heavily, two girls were still arguing.
"I'll… I'll settle this one day…!"
"That… That's my line…!"
Both of them glared at each other as they slowed down. Either way, the I.S.-es are pretty heavy.
"Guh, guh, guh, one more lap…"
"Hah, Hah, I… I won't lose… definitely…!"
Trying to vent the anger at each other, since they couldn't vent it on Ichika, Houki and Cecilia were angrily glaring at one another as they continued to run in the middle of the night.
October 22th, Sunday, 1:03 A.M.
Inside the room that was swallowed in darkness, only the light from the monitor could be seen. The things that were shown by the light were numerous machines with unknown functions. This scene looked just like some Middle Age witch's ritual.
"Hmm… the system's efficiency finally improved," The owner of the room continued to mutter to herself as she looked at the display screen. The face that roughly appeared in this room belongs to Shinonono Tabane. "Even so, Golem Mark III's complete destruction was really unexpected…"
Humming along as she said that, she continued to play with the I.S. core. That's right. An I.S. core that hadn't been registered – in other words, the new cores were all created by Tabane. That was because no one other than her could create them. "Well, I.S.-es need humans to pilot them to trigger their maximum abilities. It can't be helped that an unmanned suit's ability is inferior."
Unmanned I.S. technology. This belongs to Tabane – and only she has this technology. It'd be a bad thing if this technology was revealed to the world. Nobody knew how much this action could be limited. "But you got stronger, Houki-chan. Just like that time." Confirming that she received the data of the battle between Houki and Golem Mark III, Tabane smiled happily. In order to attain Houki's personal data and update the battle capabilities of Crimson Camelia, she sent an unmanned units to attack the academy. Tabane caused so much damage just to get Houki's personal data.
"But that was really unexpected," She muttered. Tabane thought that Chifuyu would definitely interfere if she'll send in so many unmanned units.
The first generation Japanese I.S. Kurozakura that earned Chifuyu the first title of Brunhild; Tabane didn't know where it went, but she felt that Chifuyu still has it.
"Hmm…" Tabane tilted her head and placed her hand at her chin. Those eyes were looking at the sea of thoughts. "Ahh, don't tell me…" Tabane didn't think that this was something big at the beginning, but on thinking about this carefully, it made sense. "Is it? Is it? Is it there? Haha…" Like a kid that just thought of a new prank, the naive face had ill intent in it.
Just when Tabane was making a ruckus like this, someone walked into the room. She was short and skinny, and 12 years old, or that was the impression she's giving. Her name, the one that Tabane gave to her, was Chloe Chronicle. The one thing people were really mindful of was the flowing silver hair and the braiding of the long hair down to waist level. As for why the hair was braided, it was because Tabane had braided it.
To the girl, Tabane was more important than anything in the world. Her savior and rescuer, these things couldn't describe girl's feelings fully. She swore an eternal allegiance to her the day she met Shinonono Tabane.
"Tabane-sama," Chloe called.
"Yaa, Ku-chan. What's wrong?" Tabane asked.
"The bread's burnt," Girl replied humbly.
More than half of it was burnt, but Tabane's eyes were glowing, "Amazing!"
"You're lying, It's definitely not nice…" To be honest, the girl didn't want to serve Tabane such a lousy food. But she followed Tabane's words that 'a girl must be able to cook', and continued to try, but just ended up making carbon and gluey stuff. Even so, Tabane didn't look irritated, but continued to eat on and on. And when Tabane said that it was really good, it made the girl feel even more guilty than happy.
"Hey, Ku-chan," Tabane called.
The girl that was called lifted her head. Her eyes were always shut ever since she entered the house. But by using the girl's unique characteristics, it didn't matter whether she could see or not. "What is it, Tabane-sama?"
"Boo, that's too serious, too serious. Ku-chan, just call me the okaa-chan, okay?" She requested. Shinonono Tabane has only one sister. So, when she adopted the girl, she decided to treat her as her daughter.
"Then, what is it that you want to tell me?" Chloe asked again.
"Will you follow me for a dinner?" Tabane asked with smile.
October 22th, Sunday, 9:19 A.M.
Ichika just returned to his room after the breakfast, and now he was washing hands. Despite he managed to acquire thee I.S. cores yesterday, he still decided that today he'll have a day off, so he could focus on his work during the upcoming weeks.
As for today's plan – first, a trip to Ran's Saint Marianne's Academy for the School Festival, and then he wanted to visit an atelier and order a new set of military uniforms and a new I.S. Academy uniform – his body grew up during past seven months, and his current set of clothes could barely fit him.
*Knock* *Knock*
"Hmm?" On hearing the knock on the door, Ichika answered as he left the bathroom, "Who's that?"
"Yes, it's me!" It was Maya Yamada. For some reason she does feel really happy today.
"Come in," Ichika replied.
"Orimura-san! You're going to be investigated!" She announced happily as she came into Ichika's room.
"What?" He asked skeptically. Did she just say that someone will be investigating him?
"The investigation will begin in twenty minutes. Please come over to the Student Council Room," Maya informed.
"Negative," Ichika replied simply, "I have completely different plans for today."
"Huh?" Maya seemed taken aback. "But we can't write a report if we don't understand the course of this event. All personal I.S. pilots, who were involved in the battle, have to turn up, you know?"
"I've already submitted the full report, just get a copy," Ichika waved her off, "Today is my day off."
"Erm, but, Orimura-san, you'll be kept under detention if you refuse…" Maya said uncertainly.
"Oh?" Ichika's eyes flashed, "Yamada-sensei, please, we both know those people don't brave enough to even think about direct conflict with me. And, by the way, it's not the I.S. Academy's initiative to carry out an investigation, am I right?"
"Um… Yes, it's the government's I.S. branch…" Yamada-sensei replied. "They requested us to get your reports and submit them directly to the I.S. branch's main office…"
"Ah, I should've known this – it's that old hag again…" Ichika snorted. "Well, since it came to this, all the more so I have to refuse. I'll call my command and consult with them, and then I'll visit the government's I.S. branch's office personally… let's say… about three P.M."
"Huh? But, Orimura-san, this is…" Maya tried to convince him.
"Yamada-sensei, I know – my decision will inconvenience both you and Orimura-sensei, but this request for an 'investigation' have nothing to do with the academy's safety – it's just an internal power struggle within the Japanese government," Ichika explained his refusal. "Thank you for delivering a message – me and JMSDF command will take it from here. Just tell Orimura-sensei and others that I'm sorry for the inconvenience."
"Al… Alright…" Maya replied uncertainly. As she realized that she can't help it, green-haired sensei took small steps and went away.
Ichika closed the door. "I think I was enjoying that old bitch's idiocy long enough," He said to himself as metallic chain on his left hand glinted.
Three minutes have passed, and Ichika already was preparing to leave his room and go to Ran's school, but…
*Knock* *Knock*
"I'm really popular this morning," He noted, reaching for the door. On opening the door, he found Kanzashi standing in front of him there. "Hmm? Kanzashi? What's the matter?"
"We… Well…" She mumbled uncertainly.
"They also called you for the investigation?" Ichika wondered.
"Yes…" Kanzashi nodded her head hard. She really looked completely different from when she and Ichika met for the first time. It's definitely for the better.
"Well, I'm not going to participate," Ichika said as he stepped out from the room and locked the door. "I have to take care of it the other way…"
Kanzashi seemed a bit surprised, but, being a smart girl, she realized that Ichika's situation is quite complicated, so she didn't ask additional questions. Seemingly, she came here due to some other matter.
"How's Tatenashi-chan doing?" Ichika wondered. Well, he actually knew about her situation, but it was polite to ask about one's elder sister.
"Onee-chan's… she needs to be monitored in the Medical Office for a while…" In other words, she still needs to stay hospitalized, it seems.
'Serves her right…' Ichika wanted to reply, but he decided to keep that thought to himself. "Well, it's lonely in the infirmary, I wonder if we shall get a gift for her?" Ichika suggested, and that suggestion was quite a vile, considering what he did to her yesterday. "What does Tatenashi-chan like?"
"Huh? Erm… Shogi, I guess…" Kanzashi answered humbly.
"How refined," Ichika snorted. "However, she can't play Shogi all alone…"
While he was thinking about that aloud, Kanzashi raised her volume slightly, "Are… are you worried… about onee-chan's situation?"
"Hmm? No, I'm just wondering about what kind of gift would fit her," Ichika replied.
"A… gift…?" Kanzashi asked worriedly.
"Well, it's a lonely life in a hospital, isn't it?" He asked. He actually stayed in the hospital once – when his right arm has been amputated.
"Ah… I see…" Kanzashi looked like she heaved a sigh of relief.
'For Heaven's sake!' Ichika swore mentally as he was observing Kanzashi.
"A kendama," Kanzashi said. Seemingly that was an answer for Ichika's question about a gift for Tatenashi. "It's better to give her a kendama. Onee-chan always liked to play with that." [Kendama is a variant of the classic cup-and-ball game]
"Really? Hmm, interesting…" Ichika noted to himself.
"And I'll… bring some books over…" Kanzashi added.
"I see. Then I'll bring a kendama along…" Ichika decided. "Well, now, if you'll excuse me…"
"Umm, wait, please…" Kanzashi asked, and Ichika noticed that she's flushing… well, more than usual. He looked at the girl questioningly. "Thi… This is…" Saying that, she took out the carrier bag she'd been holding ever since she came. "Please… look… inside…"
"Hmm?" After she said that, Ichika looked into the carrier bag. There were a lot of anime Blue Disks inside – mahō-shōjo anime, mecha anime, but most of the titles were of eiyū anime. "Oh, there're things I've seen before…" That was an Ichika's well-known quirk – he's an anime fan.
"Whi… Which ones?" Kanzashi peered over to look, perhaps to hurry up and know the titles Ichika watched.
"Hey, careful," He warned, due to Kanzashi's hushed actions their foreheads almost collided.
"So… Sorry!" She hurriedly apologized as she looked shy. Recently, Kanzashi's face felt like it had a gentle presence as compared to the first time they've met. Honestly, it's cuter like this.
While rummaging through the bag to take a closer look at some titles, Ichika inquired, "So, this is what you like?"
"Huh…?!" A somewhat flabbergasted voice could be heard, "Yes… I like…" Kanzashi blushed as she looked down. She was pinching her skirt hard, "Erm, that…"
"Is that so?... Oh, the second season is already on Blue Ray? That's quick," Ichika noted to himself, his attention was focused on the bag's content.
Kanzashi took a deep breath, and then lifted her head up. "I… I Like!" She suddenly shouted. That voice echoed throughout the corridor. The girls who heard that all went «What? What? What?» as they came out of their rooms.
Ichika switched his attention from the bag to the girl in front of him as he looked at her questioningly, "Kanzashi-chan, I have an acute hearing, why are you screaming?"
"Then, I'll be heading off…!" But without even hearing Ichika's question to the end, she ran away.
"Haah…" He sighed heavily. Since Ichika's attention was mostly focused on those new Blue Disks, he missed some details, but the overall meaning he knew long before now, anyway. "From where these greenhouse kids are coming from?" He thought aloud as a bag with Blue Disks disappeared into his quantum space.
October 22th, Sunday, 9:34 A.M.
'I… I said it out…!' Running down the corridor at full sprint, Kanzashi's ears got completely red.
'Orimura Ichika… The brilliant-minded engineer… The invincible warrior… The peerless leader. He changed me… helped me… saved me. He's strong… proud… and even a bit scary. But it can't be helped… I like that Ichika… I fell for him.'
Such thoughts were swarming in Kanzashi's head. Either way, she really didn't understand much about crushes. Her head was spinning like a dog that's chasing its own tail. 'I… I'm not weird, right…? I didn't do anything weird, right…?' She searched through her memory.
"Ah…" When they just met, her behavior was pretty rude. He came to help, but she was behaving like… well, like that «Kanzashi from the past». Looking at it now, that was a really big and shameful failure. 'Ah… Ah… I have to… apologize…'
Though she was thinking that, Ichika would definitely say something like, 'Hmm? Forget about this, I don't care about small things.' But this is this, and that is that. To Kanzashi, she can't let it go if she won't apologize. 'But… But, if I go back now… I'll definitely, be unable to say anything…' She thought. Since this was the first time she confessed in her life, when she meets him again, she couldn't do it easily even if it wasn't much. Besides, he probably is gone already.
'And… And…' She never said that she wanted to go out with him. She just said what she thought, so of course she wouldn't get a response. Besides, he's that infamous 'Orimura «I'm very busy and have no time for silly girls» Ichika-sama.'
'But… But… I did say… properly… that I like him…' Kanzashi's face got even redder as she continued to run down the corridor. "Huuuh!?" Why did she feel that the atmosphere felt weird? She recalled the confession.
"…you like?"
"Yes… I like…"
"Is that so?..."
"Huh?!" Kanzashi stopped in her tracks. She thought through it carefully again.
They were talking about anime. → "Do you like it?" → "Yes, I do." → "Is that so?"
'Huh? huh? huh? That… That means…' Kanzashi's heart skipped a beat. "Did he just ask me, whether, I like… titles that caught his attention…?" There was no assumption. That was what he basically asked while he was looking into the bag. "Uuuuu!" Feeling like she wanted to find a hole to hide in, Kanzashi again ran forward. Probably unintentionally, but Ichika provoked Kanzashi to make a huge misunderstanding.
October 22th, Sunday, 10:18 A.M.
Tokyo, the government's I.S. branch headquarter. Rikushō [Lieutenant general] Aoba Mia was sitting in her chair. 57 years old, but still healthy-looking woman, she currently is a director of the Japanese government's I.S. branch. The government's I.S. branch controls all the I.S. pilots who aren't military servants (test pilots and representative cadets/candidates), and closely tied with the I.S. research/production enterprises. The I.S. Academy isn't directly controlled by the government's I.S. branch, but it's under branch's patronage.
"Insolent brat… and that damn fool…" General Aoba growled, as she again looked at the message she received just a few minutes ago, "This time, they won't get away with this…" I.S. Academy's curator just informed her that Orimura Ichika refused to report the details about yesterday's incident, and instead he and his commanding officer, Kaishō [Vice admiral] Kirishima Kōjirō, personally will come to see her about three P.M.
To put it mildly, this woman wasn't an Ichika's fan. Actually, she wasn't a big fan of Orimura family, not only Ichika. It started several years ago, with Chifuyu's abandonment of a second Mondo Grosso final match. She was holding a grudge against Chifuyu since then. When general Aoba (together with entire world) learned about Ichika's ability to pilot an I.S. – needless to say – she wasn't excited. She and her adherents were opposing Ichika's enrollment into the I.S. Academy, saying that there's no place for a man in the all-girls school. They also were trying to convince the government that Ichika's ability to control I.S. is just some sort of a trick and Chifuyu just wants to keep her brother closer to herself. Finally, Aoba and her supporters were opposing the idea of giving Ichika an I.S., saying that nothing good will come of it.
Another thing is the internal power struggle within the Japanese government. I.S. branch wanted to control all I.S.-es in the country, military or not. Ministry of Defense wanted exactly the same thing. When Ichika joined the JMSDF – he signed with the opposing faction. That demarche infuriated Aoba to the limit. Since then, I.S. branch was trying to discredit Ichika and his commanding officers, investigating every minor incident, requesting useless reports and even fabricating some false accusations. In other words, that woman and her adherents were a constant nuisance for JSDF. But, for Ichika, the most irritating factor was the unproved rumors that Aoba Mia has some ties with Phantom Task…
By now, the government's I.S. branch had no intention to stop being a nuisance. Yesterday's incident wasn't an exception – Ichika already submitted the detailed report to his superiors, she just could request a copy. But instead, the I.S. branch ordered the I.S. Academy to carry out its own investigation. And as a result – another demarche, and now those two are coming personally. No doubts, Kirishima will be blaming her in actionable negligence, saying something like «If academy would've been under JSDF's control – such a thing would've never happened». And 'that brat' will be examining her with his cold eyes as if she's just some sort of a lab rat. And then they'll team-up to tell her how to do her job and how to live her life.
"No way," General Aoba declared. There're still a few hours – she has to prepare. No way she's going to play by their rules. She stood up and looked into the window. Being a director of the government's I.S. branch, she has a large office, with a separate conference room, end even a personal bathroom. A woman opened the bathroom's door and entered, closing the door behind herself. She turned toward the mirror… and froze like paralyzed, because, instead of her reflection, she saw someone, or, rather, something else on the other side of the mirror. However, she had no time to understand what's going on – an 'invader' stepped out right from the mirror and its fingers touched the woman's shoulder. And at that moment, general Aoba Mia turned into a heap of blue square particles, disappearing from this world.
October 22th, Sunday, 10:53 A.M.
The middle school Student Council Office section of Saint Marianne Academy. "Haah…" Ran was dressed in the basic black uniform, and it was the tenth time she sighed today. Though she was sitting in the Chairman's position, she sprawled her body on the table.
"What's wrong, Kaichō?"
"Why are you so lifeless?"
"Today's the School Anniversary, you know?"
Some of Ran's classmates and friends from the Student Council surrounded her worriedly.
"The one I invited…" Ran spoke weakly as if her soul was coming out.
"OOH! Who? Who? Who? Who did you get? What's his name!?" She was immediately bombarded with questions.
"It's not that…" She sighed in reply.
"Then, what happened to the guy you invited?" One of the council members asked.
"He's late…" She sighed again.
"Huh, what's wrong with that? Just wait," Other girls tried to reason her, "It's not that he's not coming, right?"
"That's true…" Ran agreed lifelessly.
"How long will he be late?" Another girl inquired.
"About two hours…" This means that she and Ichika couldn't go on the shopping trip in the morning.
"Isn't it okay to go in the afternoon? There's still three hours left before the School Festival closes," One of the girls noted.
"Isn't that too short? A little longer, even till night. Maybe we can raise a campfire," Another one suggested.
"Nope, that's impossible. The Festival Rules are part of the school rules, they're really strict…" Ran sighed once again. It couldn't be helped, but she didn't give up as she opened her phone's mailbox again.
"Ran-san, my apologies, but due to the extraordinary circumstances I will come later than we agreed earlier, probably around noon. Once more, my deepest apologies."
'Uuu, I thought we could go out in the morning…' Ran thought melancholically. But if he will arrive around noon, it would suit her, wouldn't it? They'd be seen if they were to eat lunch with everyone on the rooftop. 'In that case, ehehe… there'll be rumors of him being my boyfriend. Just like that…' And just when Ran was lost in her thoughts, the phone again let out a ringing sound.
"Mail…? Ah!" Her eyes shone. 'It's from Ichika-sama!' Ran forcefully swallowed her words before she said that out. Ran never told anyone that she'd invited someone, no matter how close that person was. It's a secret amongst secrets. 'Wha… What's wrong? Will he be here earlier than expected?' Her heart beating even faster, Ran pressed the phone, and the phone showed the content of the mail.
"Ran-san, the situation has been resolved, I can arrive to your school within twenty minutes. Please acknowledge if that won't cause any inconveniences."
Ran almost jumped with excitement, '45 minutes earlier!' With trembling hands, Ran quickly typed a 'positive' reply, and then stood up from her chair.
"What's up, Kaichō?" One of the girls wondered.
"Ah… No… It's nothing…" She assured the other student council members. "I'm just got tired of sitting here, I'll go look around while there's still time…" That excuse sounded silly at best, because when the one she invited will arrive – she'll have a long walk anyway. But other girls didn't start to tease her as they just smiled to one another. Ran closed the office's door from the outside, and immediately rushed to the school's entrance.
October 22th, Sunday, 11:12 A.M.
Ichika has arrived to the entrance of Saint Marianne School. To not cause a stir, he came via public transport system. Just when he approached the entrance, a female in nun habit came closer. "I'm sorry, may I help you with something, officer?" She asked. Seemingly she was confused with the uniform – Ichika decided to not change clothes.
"Ah, no, don't mind the uniform, it's not an official business, I was invited by one of local students to see the school's festival," He explained.
"Really?" Nun seemed a bit surprised, "Then, may I see your invitation ticket?"
"Yes, surely," Ichika replied as he gave her a ticket, shocking the nun slightly because he took it out from his quantum space, thus the ticket appeared from the thin air.
The nun looked at the invitational ticket and stared at Ichika with weird expression, that's probably because his age and rank doesn't really correspond. "Then, welcome," She finally said and gave the ticket back to Ichika.
However, here's an issue – Ichika couldn't see the person who invited him – here's no Gotanda Ran around. He could only see female students of Saint Marianne Academy dressed in black blazers in the School Festival. Looking around, he found many groups of threes, fours looking at him from afar. A man wearing the navy uniform – he definitely stands out. Well – nothing new here – it's also the all-girl school – just like the I.S. Academy.
"Hey, hey. Isn't that guy a really cool looking?"
"Yeah, yeah! And he's alone?"
"But I think I've seen him before…"
"Ah! That person! Look! It's Orimura Ichika-sama! I saw him in the news, several times!"
"Huh!? Really!?"
"He took someone's invitational ticket in, right? He must've been!"
"Let's… Let's go and talk to him…"
"Ah! He's walking over here!"
The noisy girls were raising a commotion. Ignoring this, Ichika approached the nearest group of girls, "Well, if you excuse me?"
"""YES! ANYTHING WILL DO!""" Their voices overlapped.
He suppressed the desire to facepalm, "Well, you're all from the same middle school, so you no doubts know the Student Council President, Gotanda Ran. Do you perhaps know where I may find her? May be in the Student Council office?"
Actually – that wasn't like Ran at all – she's very responsible girl. To invite someone and be late like that… Not to mention that the one who she made to wait is Ichika. But, on the other hand – she's a Student Council President – which means she's in charge of the entire middle school section of the festival. Maybe something happened, so Ichika decided to wait several more minutes before calling her via phone.
But then his eyes spotted a red-haired girl running over – that's definitely Ran. When she stopped in front of Ichika, she was completely out of breath, and her clothes seemed crumpled somehow – that's definitely not just because of running. "Haa… Ichi… hah… ama… hah… ery… hah… orr… hah…"
"Ran, I didn't get a single world," Ichika noted. "It's alright, get your wind." He had no intentions to scold her to begin with, besides, right now she looked really pitiful. One look into her eyes was enough to understand that her sincerest wish right now is to die. She not only made the person she admires wait, now a lot of her schoolmates are seeing her like this… Probably she rushed right to the entrance as soon as she got the email, but, most likely, she crashed into someone on her way – a teacher or a local nun – and got scolded harshly.
It took about one minute for Ran to regain breathing. Without looking into Ichika's eyes, she made 90 degrees bow, "Ichika-sama! I'm extremely sorry for making you wait and for my unsightly looks! Please forgive me!" Ichika noticed that her knees are trembling – no doubts that her teenage imagination drew some weird reactions from Ichika's side.
Ichika rolled his eyes. He reached for her hand and took it. "I've just came, no need for that. C'mon," Ichika said, holding girl's palm tightly.
"Huh? Ichika-sama… where are we going?" Ran stuttered, as Ichika was leading her into the school campus.
"Hmm? To see the festival, of course," Ichika replied calmly.
On a side note, the programs and performances of I.S. Academy and Saint Marianne Academy, which are both all-girls schools, feel similar. But this school feels somewhat more historic compared to I.S. Academy with its brand-new facilities. The windows are as tall as the church, and the sunlight shone in brightly. The floor and walls are all a simple cream-color, giving off a stern feeling.
"What, Gotanda-san got a boyfriend!?"
"That super-strict Gotanda-san!?"
"So good… I'm so envious…"
"Huh?! Is it that guy from the news?!"
The conversations of the girls Ichika and Ran have passed by could be heard… Can't be helped, girls really like to talk about such things. And, maybe it's just a speculation, but with everyone looking at her and Ichika like that, Ran seemed to feel better.
"Ah, there's takoyaki. Do you want some, Ran? My treat," Ichika suggested.
"Umm… creeps…" She said humbly. "Ichika-sama, I'd like to try some creeps…"
"Oh, is that so? Alright, we'll go to the crepes shop then," He agreed.
"Okay!" Girl's eyes shone. It's unknown when exactly Ran's mood improved completely, but now she was smiling radiantly like the sun.
Ichika had to go to the government's I.S. branch headquarter, so he left about 2:30 P.M. But still he spent about three hours, attending the Saint Marianne Academy's school festival. And Ran could say without hesitation – those were the happiest three hours in her life.
October 22th, Sunday, 5:21 P.M.
"Then, I guess there are no problems now…" Squall finished her make up in the hotel room, and sprayed the perfume as a finishing touch. She's still dressed in a luxurious and gorgeous dress that was worth several hundred thousand yen, and had a necklace with all sorts of diamonds and precious stones of all sizes, earrings, rings, bracelets, impeccable all over.
The one beside her with nothing to do was M. She's fooling around with the locket hanging in front of her chest, looking into space.
"What is it, M? Are you still unhappy about having to go eat together?" Squall asked with smile.
"…I have no reason to go," M grunted.
"You have, don't I need a bodyguard?" Squall retained her smile.
"Don't kid around," Orimura Madoka aka M, who knew about Squall and the others I.S. piloting capabilities very well, can only feel sarcasm in these words.
"Then, let's move out," Squall touched her hair. "Hey, smile a little. We're meeting the Shinonono Tabane today."
In the end, Madoka could only follow Squall out of reluctance, or unwilling obedience.
October 22th, Sunday, 7:16 P.M.
"Um, um, this meat's delicious. Ah, wine please!" The one indulging in her food without restraint was the one of the most famous persons in the world, the amazing scientist who created the I.S., Shinonono Tabane.
As for how they managed to invite this Tabane, who's being searched for all over the world, to this underground restaurant – only Squall knew. "Are you satisfied? Professor Tabane?" Blonde asked.
"Hmm? Well, everything's fine except for the sleeping drug in the soup," Tabane smiled.
Even as her plan was revealed, Squall showed no change in expression. What was more surprising however was that Tabane finished off the bowl of soup with sleeping drug in it, but showed no signs of being affected.
'Well, this is to be expected. She's 'that' Shinonono Tabane, after all,' Squall had her elbows on the table, giving a smiling look on her face. Tabane was busy with her food, but Squall got a weird feeling, it seemed as if her vis-à-vis is throwing curious glances at her, at her forehead, to be more precise. But that isn't important right now… "Then, Professor Tabane, can you please consider about what we've discussed?"
"What is it?" Tabane asked.
"About creating new I.S.-es for us, the Phantom Task. With the cores, of course," Squall said.
"Ahaha, nope – that's very troublesome," Tabane laughed, she had no intention of hinting that she could still create new I.S. cores.
"Please help no matter what," Squall insisted.
"I refuse. Ah, I want a cake, a hamburger, a curry and Chinese cold dishes," Tabane continued to munch on the pork ribs and stared at the menu indecently as she continued to place orders.
"Hah… you won't agree no matter how we ask?" Blonde sighed.
"Aha," Tabane replied and then smiled mysteriously, looking at blonde's forehead, as her eyes glinted, "You're marked by the destroyer, why you need a new I.S…?"
"Huh?" Squall didn't get what Tabane just said. But she just continued to consume food, so Squall resorted to act. "Then, how about this?" She clicked her finger.
Silver-haired girl, who was restrained, appeared just like in a movie scene, with Autumn pointing a knife at her neck, "If that's the case, how about some steak from this little fawn?"
"Let her go," Tabane said casually, she wasn't worried at all.
"Only if you promise to help," Squall replied.
"Nope," Tabane smiled, and at the next moment she throwed all the knives and forks at Squall.
"Huh?!" Blonde was taken by surprise. Tabane then stepped on Squall, who barely managed to cover her face, then leapt, stepped off the ceiling, and charged right into Autumn's clutches. She snapped Autumn's hand as the latter was about to hurriedly swing the blade down, and immediately stabbed the knife into Autumn's right lung directly. Then, she sent palm strikes at the left shoulder, left torso, and left flank, breaking Chloe away from her captor, sending Autumn flying back with a kick, as her body slammed into the wine cellar with a loud crash.
"Ku-chan, are you alright, nyaa?" Tabane untied Chloe barehandedly, and smiled to the latter gently.
"Yes… Tabane-sama…" Girl mumbled guilty. She didn't want to go for a dinner, so she asked for a permission to look around. And she let herself being caught.
But Tabane seemingly didn't mind at all, she continued to smile as she looked at angry and desperate Squall. "Let me tell you. I'm always called a genius here and there by everyone, but that's not just in terms of thinking and brain ability, you know!?" She embraced Chloe from behind as she explained, "My physical body is improved on the cellular level."
This was Squall's complete miscalculation. She originally thought that even if the hostage will not be of any use, she could use her I.S. Golden Dawn to suppress Tabane, in the worst-case scenario. But, such a devastating defeat. If Tabane were to get serious, Squall didn't know if she could win even if she activated her I.S. No, she wasn't certain if she would've been given an opportunity to activate her I.S.
"Only Chi-chan, I suppose, can fight me on physical terms," Tabane continued with her back facing Squall, and the latter gritted her teeth unhappily.
But at this moment, a sudden change happened. "Don't move," An I.S. appeared, breaking through the wall. Madoka, who had been on standby outside, probably heard the commotion here, and charged into the restaurant with her unit Silent Zephyrs activated.
'Nice going, M, perfect timing. Now the chances are at 50-50,' It was naïve of Squall to think so.
"Hmm, that's an interesting unit you have," Tabane noted as she instantly closed the distance between herself and the Silent Zephyrs, and now she's actually standing on the rifle barrel nonchalantly.
"Huh!?" The moment Madoka thought about shaking her off, the rifle was disassembled into sparks of white light by Tabane's fingers. Then, the armor, helmet and everything else was also disassembled, vanishing into light particles like Sakura petals fluttering in the air.
After the armor on the head was disassembled, Tabane stopped her fingers. "Um? Hmm?" Tabane continued to stare at Madoka's face without moving.
Madoka did not dare to move at all. It felt as if her physical body will be disassembled too if she'll made a single move.
"Aha! Ahahaha! What's your name?" Tabane has troubled everyone here with this sudden laugh. "Aha, ahaha, how about I make a guess?" Tabane's laughing away with her hands on her belly, ostensibly finding it funny. "Orimura… Madoka… right?"
""Hah!?"" Squall and Madoka showed shocked expressions at the same time.
"Bingo! Hehe, if that's that case…" After making a thinking look, Tabane turned to Squall and said, "Hey, if it's this kid's personal machine, she already has a core, and I can make a new I.S. for her!"
"Eh?!" Madoka however was the one who let out a shocked voice.
"That's why, eheheh! Come over to my side! Hey, hey, can I take this kid away?" Tabane asked casually.
"I… I'll be very troubled here…" Squall could only show a bitter expression. Besides, Madoka was her only trump card at this point. If she were to be taken away, there would be huge hurdles in the please.
"Why? You're so petty. Well, it doesn't matter. Hey, hey, Madocchi, what kind of personalized machine do you wish for? Long distanced? Close distanced? Special armed? Armor focused? Or mobility focused?" Tabane showed an urge to create as her eyes were dazzling like a child holding a crayon. "Well, it's fine to leave this topic aside for now! Right, let's eat together. Ku-chan and Madocchi, you won't grow bigger if you don't eat a lot!" Tabane raised her ample breasts as she laughed away as the only one enjoying herself. Everyone else present could only look at her flabbergasted.
October 27th, Friday, 7:31 P.M.
Tatenashi Sarashiki was visiting her family's manor. Officially she was the thirty-nineth head of the clan, but her family, parents in particular, were still very influential people. She came to visit her parents to personally report about recent developments in the I.S. Academy.
"… and with this my report is concluded," Tatenashi slightly bowed. She was sitting on her knees, in front of her parents, and the air around the room feels very traditional.
"Thank you, Tatenashi," Father raised his right arm.
"Take care of yourself," Mother advised, she knew that her daughter has been hospitalized just a few days ago.
Several seconds have passed, but Tatenashi was still sitting, with no intentions to leave. "What is it, Tatenashi? More to report?" Father inquired.
"No, I have a… personal request," She replied and her voice didn't sound as confident as before. "Okaa-sama, can you please give me several additional lessons… of traditional dancing…" She faltered a little.
"Hmm? Traditional dancing? Well, it shouldn't… huh!? Can it be?!" Suddenly, a dignified woman became very lively, causing her husband to facepalm as strict and traditional atmosphere in the room crumbled to pieces. Sarashiki-sama jumped on her feet and a moment later Tatenashi was encased into loving motherly embraces. "So, the flowers in your garden have finally bloomed?! Ah, my cute little Katana-chan already is so grown-up now!"
"Okaa… can't… breath…" Tatenashi croaked, suffocating, as her face was buried in mother's lush breasts.
"So, who is he?! Who is he?! Who is he?!" Lady Sarashiki couldn't settle down as now she was holding her daughter's shoulders and looking straight into her eyes, as her own eyes were shining. "Oh!? Really?! Is it the boy from your school?! Orimura Chifuyu-san's brother, Orimura Ichika-kun? I saw him in the news several times – he looks rather defiant… But I'm sure my beautiful Katana-chan can charm any man in the world!"
On a side note – now it's completely obvious – from who Katana Sarashiki aka Tatenashi inherited her lively character, keen mind and a perfect body.
Being under a huge pressure, Tatenashi looked at her father, begging for help. But he just shook his head, "I'm sorry, princess, but there are things from which men should stay away."
"Yes, yes! Listen to your father! Certain things should stay between girls only! This is one of the keys to family happiness!" Lady Sarashiki stated. "C'mon, Katana-chan, your mother will teach you dancing and a lot of other necessary things about family!" She added and started to push her daughter toward another room. Tatenashi couldn't withstand such a pressure, so she left the room together with her mother.
Being left alone, mister Sarashiki remembered his youth. With the same lively energy, his future wife met him, charmed him and married him. He didn't even notice how exactly that happened. But he never had any regrets – life with her always was full of different events. And his elder daughter is so alike with her mother. "But still…" He thought aloud, "Orimura Ichika is interested in traditional dancing, huh? Who could have thought…"
October 28th, Saturday, 11:21 P.M.
Orimura residence. Chifuyu's room. "Ughpth!" She let out an unrecognizable sound. But, with the ball-gag in her mouth, she couldn't really say anything. She was lying on her bed, and her hands were tied behind her head with the metallic rope. Her tights also were tied to her knees with the same metallic rope, and her legs were spread wide, leaving her pussy completely accessible. Her ass was stuffed with a pretty thick butt plug. Soft leather belt around her neck was making her breathing a bit constrained…
"I'm sorry, onee-chan," Ichika noted, "I know it's cold, but common ropes won't hold you, so I had to use these metallic ropes – Naamah's armor is made of the same material…" He himself already had a rock-hard erection, but Ichika was holding himself back. He wanted to tease her, to let her enjoy this agony of expectation.
Chifuyu was waiting for this moment for four weeks, and now she couldn't wait any longer. She was burning with desire, her ecstasy was almost explosive – she wanted nothing more but her brother's cock to fill her very hungry womb. But he was prolonging her agony… "Umgptfh!" She let out another unrecognizable sound as Ichika put a clamp on her left nipple.
October 29th, Sunday, 3:47 A.M.
"Hey, Ichika…" Chifuyu called quietly. After more than four hours of rough fucking, she finally was satisfied, for now. She was lying beside Ichika, holding him tightly.
"What is it?" He asked.
"I've been thinking…" She said a bit uncertainly, and that was weird by itself. "I think you need an official wife…"
"What…?" Ichika asked skeptically.
"Okay, listen," Elder sister looked at his face, "No matter how little you care about social traditions – I cannot be your official wife. But I really think that you need to marry officially, considering your 'only male I.S. pilot in the world' status…"
Ichika didn't say that only a washed-up pervert could suggest something like this, he didn't want to play captain obvious. Instead, he asked, "And you are really okay with sharing me with another woman? I probably… no, definitely will have to sleep with her too, you know?"
"Well, I'm not excited about the idea, of course," Chifuyu mumbled in reply, "But, considering the circumstances, I think I can tolerate another girl… but of course, with a condition that I will be your primary concubine!" She added.
"Haah…" Ichika sighed heavily. "I think you do understand that, even if you are okay with this – I still need to find another girl who'd like to marry me first, and after that to be sharing me with my lover, who also is my own elder sister?" He asked. "In other words – she must be a pervert of your scale, onee-chan. I wonder if such a girl even exists…"
October 30th, Monday, 2:18 P.M.
JSDF staff conference. High-ranked officers gathered here to discuss the current agenda.
"…and one last question for today," Gray-haired air force general pronounced, "Regarding the disappearance of general Aoba Mia…"
"It's been more than a week since she disappeared," Ground force general noted, "Still no clues?"
"Not exactly," Intelligence colonel replied, "Her credit card was used in Montevideo four days ago, someone withdrew all the funds from her personal bank account…"
"Where?!" Several people asked at the same time.
"That's not all," Intelligence officer continued, "Though our resources are limited, we've managed to acquire the surveillance video from Carrasco International Airport. After we've carefully examined the footage – we found a woman who looked very similar to general Aoba – she arrived to Montevideo the same day when her credit card was used…"
"It's not the best time for an unplanned vacation!" Admiral Kirishima Kōjirō exclaimed angrily, "What's she thinking?!"
"We're not completely sure about what's going on, but for now we've blocked all of general Aoba's passwords and personal access codes," Intelligence officer informed.
"Good, continue the investigation, give it a top priority," Airforce general requested.
November 2nd, Thursday, 6:18 P.M.
About two weeks have passed since the unmanned I.S.-es attack on the I.S. Academy. Life more or less has returned to its ordinary grooves, however, the tournament that was cancelled due to sudden attack has not been rescheduled yet. Arenas were still under repair, and academy officials were still thinking about how to increase the security. And the fact that the director of the government's I.S. branch has gone missing wasn't helping at all.
So, to take the strain off, Academy decided to organize an unscheduled school trip. Not an I.S. related event, but a normal excursion. Each year had to choose the place they want to go via vote. After the vote, it was decided that first year students are going to Kyōto.
Far side of the academy's island. Here, on the bench, a young man was sitting, watching the setting sun. A woman with long and beautiful black hair approached him from behind. "Orimura-sensei?" He asked as she came closer, "Can I help you with something?"
But Chifuyu didn't reply as she came even closer and shook her head, meaning that right now she wants to talk to him as his elder sister. "I'm just wondering… Why have you agreed to join the class for a trip?" She was completely sure that he'll try to avoid participation it that school trip at all costs. Let alone the fact that Ichika has already been in Kyōto while he was in the middle school – this event isn't I.S. related so Ichika had some legitimate reasons to not participate. But Ichika didn't say anything at all – meaning that he's going with the class, like any common student.
"I don't know," Ichika replied honestly. "I'd really like to tell you something specific, but I can't properly describe it. It's just a premonition of sort – I feel that I'm going to miss something really important if I won't join the class…"
And when Ichika turned to her – Chifuyu didn't like the expression on his face. His eyes were glowing with some wicked light. She knew that he can see the immediate future with his eyes, but that wasn't all. There's something else, which has nothing to do with his eyes – he just can feel the echo of forthcoming events…
"Look by yourself, onee-chan," Ichika suggested as he turned back to the sunset, "The setting sun is especially red today… I think that it will be an interesting trip."
And that's it for now. See you people, don't forget the review.
