I've been feeling slightly tired for the last few days so I will take a break sometime after January for a while? Until then, I'll continue to almost upload a chapter weekly as I'm motivated to reach 17 chapters or if I can, 20.

Expect a chapter very soon, just need to rest up before I rediscover my form.

If you want to contact me or get into the Infinite stratos fanfic community:

Discord: Kano #1948


In the dead of the night, Natasha Fairs, a IS teacher, a user and a roommate to Ichika Orimura. Natasha scurried around her room at Quarter to one in the morning whilst looking for a flashlight. Although Natasha was making a lot of noise, Natasha had no idea why her lamp refused to turn on.

'Come on... where is it...'

Natasha became weary as she tread as she couldn't see much that was in the room. The room that Natasha and Ichika stayed in, was a spacious room that was currently in complete darkness, save for the moon shining into the room through the curtains

'Goddamnit! I'll just turn the lights on...'

Natasha turned to her right and began to slowly approach the exit of the door where the light switch for the lights were able to be turned on and off.

'I cannot see anything... why do I have to wake up now?'

Natasha was mere footstep or so away from the light switch as she approached it with caution not to bump into anything or make noise. Natasha knew that Ichika was a light sleeper so whenever she woke up at night, Natasha always made a note to be quiet.

Unfortunately for Natasha, she stepped a little too close to the light switch and stumped her toe into the wall.

"Ow!"

'Motherfu-'

Before Natasha could continue, she was stopped by the moans and groans of Ichika slowly starting to waking up.

"Hmmm... Natasha?"

Ichika, whom woke up from the movement of Natasha, not being able to see, Ichika strained his eyes to the best ability to see his roommates' figure. The tired eyes of Ichika Orimura soon stopped straining themselves as Ichika felt a new sense of tiredness overload his senses. The room was submitted into darkness all of a sudden which made Ichika on guard ever so slightly..

"Ichika? I'm here, I'm pretty sure that the power went out... if I can find my desk, there should be a flashlight in there somewhere."

Ichika could faintly hear the rummaging of his teacher as she searched the room in complete darkness. To Ichika's own surprise, he could tell distinctively where Natasha was in the room.

'Huh... I can tell where she is... so this is the fruits of my training... I'm too tired to react to this information at the moment... I'll wait until tomorrow before I start thinking too deeply into this.'

Hearing the sounds of Natasha tapping on the sound of a wooden drawer stuck out to Ichika as she was opposite to where Ichika stood currently. knowing where he was currently, Ichika sat on the side of his bed as he waited patiently for the blonde bombshell to find the torch that she was talking about.

"Hmmm! I found it! Give me a moment Ichika..."

Ichika could tell by the tone of Natasha's voice that she was certain that it was the flashlight. Ichika closed his eyes and used the palm of his right hand to rub his tired and heavy eyes.

A few moments later after fiddling with the torch in her hand, Natasha finally managed to turn it on. In response Ichika opened his eyes with the light blaring directly into his eye line.

"Too bright Natasha..." Ichika looked away as the teacher didn't realize she was shining the torch in his face.

"Sorry!"

Natasha quickly moved the torch away from Ichika so the light was no longer in his face. Now that the pair was able to see properly, Ichika stood up and walked towards the window in-front of their beds and pulled the curtain apart from each other.

"It's not just us Natasha, many of the rooms have been encased in darkness like ours, I assume it's a specific power outage." Ichika analyzed from checking his surroundings outside.

"I assume that Satella and the others are already looking into this by now, it only appears to be this building and not the defenses." Natasha looked out the window as she said her own thoughts out loud.

"Agreed." Ichika let go of the curtains and walked over towards his bed. Natasha watched with a curious expression, just before she could speak, Ichika interrupted her. "I'm certain that not everyone knows about the situation at hand so I was thinking we could let everyone know before something happens." Ichika grabbed the black jacket that lay on his bed and turned to Natasha.

"Hmmm... you make a good point... plus we can go assist with the situation downstairs if we need to." Natasha aimed her torch at the ground to avoid the light in Ichika's eyes

Ichika's eyes caught site of a heavenly view as he noticed Natasha's pointy nipples sticking out of her light blue tank top like a sore thumb. Not wanting to be caught staring at her perky breasts, Ichika turned his head to the side with a slight blush on his face as he avoided the temptation to stare.

'Get it together Ichika... now is not the time to be staring at her magnificent breasts of all times! Jeez... now I sound like a pervert! Just great!'

Ichika internally screamed at himself for the thought of wanting to look at his roommates breasts. Natasha noticed the light blush on Ichika's face and wore a confused expression as she was left in the dark.

"Ichika? What's the matter all of the sudden? It's very unlike you to act like this all of a sudden." Natasha asked with a worried tone lacing within her voice for Ichika.

Ichika eyes remained on the pretty face of Natasha as he avoided eye contact with her breasts.

"N-nothing! Anyway we should see how the other students and teachers reacting to all of this commotion that has been caused in a small window of time." Ichika walked towards the door a mere metre away from Natasha and the bed.

Nodding to Ichika, Natasha followed in pursuit behind Ichika as she brushed past Ichika whom held the door like a gentleman she thought he was. In response, she blushed a little which went unnoticed by Ichika.

'My oh my, what a gentleman Ichika. The small things do not go unnoticed.'

Natasha whom was in front of Ichika, smirked like a Cheshire cat when Ichika was not able to see her properly. Ichika stopped ever so slightly as stood in front of two doors on each side of him.

"Natasha." Ichika gained the teachers attention whom turned around and faced Ichika with her eyebrows raised in response. "Houki and Cecilia's room is these two, they might not be awake as they were turning in for the night."

Without needing to say anymore, Ichika knocked on Houki's door first before turning to Cecilia's door and knocking as well. Ichika turned back to Natasha with an earnest smile as he waited patiently for any signs of the girls answering the doors.

After waiting a few moments, Ichika figured out the girls were indeed asleep still. Letting out a sigh, Ichika scratched the back of his head as he waited a few more seconds before accepting that they were not coming out.

'It's a good thing they are still asleep, at least it'll be blown over when they wake up from their sleep.'

Ichika without wasting any more time, continued to walk down the corridor with Natasha following as they approached the end of their section of dorm rooms. Before Ichika could argue and say anything, Natasha grabbed Ichika's arm as they made it to the end of the corridor.

"Natasha... what are you doing?" Ichika blushed lightly as he felt the soft sensation of Natasha's breasts pressing against his arm.

"Hmmm? What's the matter Ichika?" The busty blonde looked at Ichika with an oblivious look that told Ichika that she didn't understand what she was doing to him.

'She doesn't understand what she is doing to me... doesn't she?'

Ichika let out another sigh and smiled wryly at Natasha before turning the corner with them being very close to each other.

"It's nothing Natasha." Ichika focused on what was in-front of him and tried to grab the flashlight that was in Natasha's hand.

Ichika's hand covered Natasha's hand as he pointed the flashlight in front of them so they could see clearly. Unbeknownst to Ichika, Natasha's began to blush as she relished the feeling if Ichika holding her hand.

'Ichika's holding my hand... Ichika...'

A sultry smile began to appear on Natasha as she recognised what was happening, her eyes began to become glazed as she stared at Ichika with warm eyes.

'Ahhh... it's like a dream come true... I hope this never ends...'

Natasha's thoughts got the best of her as she was wrapped up in her own world. Ichika on the other hand, focused on the endless corridors that they walked down. Their light source being the torch meant that Ichika had to keep an eye out for any movement.

"I know that but how did something like this happen? The academy is a prestigious place, and this should not be allowed to happen."

Ichika and Natasha heard a familiar voice from deep into the hallway that they currently could not see as of yet. Natasha whom snapped out of her own thoughts, turned to Ichika who stopped in his tracks.

"Hello?" Ichika raised his voice slightly to try to get the attention of the voice of the person he recognised. "We have just come from the second years dorms. I'm assuming that you are younger years?" Ichika spoke out loudly enough for the voice down the hallway to hear.

"Ichika-dono!? Is that you?" Ichika instantly recognised that voice as it got ever so closer to him and Natasha. "Do you know what is going on? Me and Marika here split up with the others to find out." Shinobu and Marika's figures began to appear from the shadows as they approached the two.

"Ehh! Shinobu? Marika? Is that actually you?" Ichika struggled to make out the faces for a few moments before they stepped in-front of the flashlight. The two younger girls had to avert their eyes from Ichika due to the torch being in their eyes.

"Ichika-dono... the flashlight is in our eyes..." Shinobu averted her head to the side as she waited patiently for Ichika and Natasha to move the blaring light out of their faces.

"Sorry."

Ichika moved Natasha's hand which held the flashlight in the palm of her hand. Shinobu and Marika without the light in their face no longer, approached the two with a small smile.

"Ichika-dono, what is going on here?" Shinobu asked with a curious tone lingering in her voice as she raised her eyebrows at Ichika.

"We aren't too sure to be exact, but me and Natasha here came to the conclusion that the power for the building is gone." Ichika responded with a wry smile and Natasha nodded to back up Ichika.

"Ehhh!? Really?! How did the power go out?! Surely the people who create the building would of came up with ways to keep the power on."

"I know that is not how it works in this new building... Natasha giggled awkwardly as she crossed her arms under her breasts.

"I assume that the new building runs on a separate power-station as everything seems to be fine outside." Ichika scratched the back of his head as he commented with his limited knowledge.

"Well it's rather foolish for them to allow something like a power outage to happen." Marika added as she folded her arms alongside narrowing her eyes.

"I'm sure there are reasons for this to happen that we do not know." Natasha brushed her long golden hair behind her shoulder. "Have you seen the others? We need to let the others know before mass panic throughout the academy occurs." Natasha placed her hand on her hips as she waited for an answer.

"Sakura, Emelia and Aila were still asleep when we came here... to find the others. "Marika explained vaguely with a blank expression on her face.

"Hmmm I see..." Ichika let the information sink in for a few moments.

"Marika-dono you forget to mention that we saw the teachers earlier." Shinobu added onto Marika's explanation.

"You saw the teachers earlier?" Natasha narrowed her eyes between the two girls.

"We saw Orimura-sensei and Calling-sensei, they were heading to find the other teachers and figure the power outage out." Natasha nodded and scratched her forehead.

"Right... can you lead me to them? We can finally figure out what is going on." Natasha asked Marika specifically whilst the other two listened in.

"I can, as long as we can fix this issue so I can go to bed already." Marika rolled her eyes slightly before her eyes landed on Ichika. "Are you two coming with us?" Marika asked Shinobu and Ichika.

"I'm going to look around and see if I can find the others, the chances are that we aren't the only ones wondering about in the academy." Ichika explained as he looked past the girls and into the abyss of the darkness.

"I'll follow Ichika-dono." Shinobu added with a small smile.

"Me and Marika will catch up with the teachers and fix this problem as quickly as possible." Natasha walked closer to Ichika until she was invading his personal space. "Be careful Ichika, we do not know what is lurking within the shadows."

Without needing to say anymore, Natasha leaned in and kissed Ichika's cheek. A moment later, Natasha pushed back and blushed lightly whilst looking at the lipstick print, she left on Ichika's cheek.

"""" EHHHHHHHH?!""""

Shinobu, Ichika and Marika were left shocked by Natasha as she brushed past the three and headed into the opposite direction.

"Come on Marika, show me where they are heading." Natasha stopped in her footsteps and ushered her student to pick up the pace.

Marika quickly made eye contact with her two friends and turned to Natasha before brushing past Ichika and Shinobu and catching up with the blonde busty bombshell of a teacher.

"Let's go Shinobu."


Being on the southeast side of the IS Academy, Chifuyu, Satella, Iris and Natalia were currently in the main operating room trying to fix the power outage that was happening within the dorm rooms of the IS academy.

The room appeared to be quite spacious in terms of size as the four women watched and communicated with each other about the main problem occurring with the academy.

"This isn't working..."

Currently, Chifuyu and Satella operated on the holographic keyboard as they typed away with electric speed. Not being able to figure out the solution to their problems quickly was starting to annoy Satella in great amount.

"Are the generators that power the main department of the academy no longer usable?"

"Hmmm... I'm not too sure... so far there is no sign of the reasoning's why the power has gone out..."

Satella continued to look for any sort of evidence to suggest that the generator was no longer working, Chifuyu on the other hand, remained silent as she typed away alongside Satella.

[Initiate power grid reboot sequence: 1%...38%...84%...99%...100%...Reboot Startup]

[Power Grid Status]

[Generator 0A1 Status: Startup Successfully]

[Generator 0A2 Status: Unsuccessful Launch Sequence]

[Generator 0A3 Status: Unsuccessful Launch sequence]

[Backup Generator 0BU1 Status: Active – No Abnormality]

Chifuyu narrowed at her holographic screen as she remembered seeing the blueprint to the new and improved academy. Iris lingered over Chifuyu's shoulder as she began reading the information on her screen.

"What?

Iris rubbed the temple of her forehead as she let out a sigh of frustration. Natalia snickered in response to seeing the visible frustration on Iris's face.

"One third of the main generators is online but the other two are having issues. As one isn't enough, the backup generator activated to keep the key systems running." Chifuyu explained curtly as she shakes her head in annoyance.

"Agreed."

"So much for a 'new and improved academy', Jeez... just when I thought my day was getting better... it continues to get worse." Iris rubbed her eyes as she began to feel the woes of tiredness waving over her.

"Highly doubt it's getting better from here... luckily we do not have to teach those meddling students of ours tomorrow." Natalia giggled as she met eyes with Iris for a few moments.

"Last time I checked, you sat in that dimly lit room and did examinations on the students. Or am I wrong?" Iris smirked at the busty blonde doctor. Satella overheard this and giggled at the bickering of her two friends.

"Hey! I actually do quite a bit other than just doing physical exams! Your just jealous that I get to do a physical examination on Ichika soon." Natalia smirked as she tried to make Iris jealous.

Why do you have to do the examination? You'll probably just end up making Ichika embarrassed." Iris raised her eyebrows at Natalia.

"What reason could Ichika possibly have to be even slightly embarrassed around me? If you are talking about Ichika's member, I'm sure he's more than fine in that area..." Natalia bit the tip of her nails as her thoughts began to run wild.

"You will not be seeing Ichika's anything as that is way over the guidelines around here." Iris pointed out curtly as she watched Natalia's every move with precision. Unbeknown st to the two women, Chifuyu twitched her eyebrows in irritation

"Ehhh? Why not? I've got to make sure he is perfectly healthy down there."

"Because I said so and I'm sure the others would also agree with me on this matter specifically." Iris verbally put the nail in the coffin when it came to Natalia's own fantasies.

"You ladies are no fun." Natalia pouted as she realized, she was not going to have her way.

"It appears that we may need to split up and change the main generators to a back up one instead." Satella turned around changed the subject from one matter to another.

"Oh? How do you want to do this? Should we keep two here whilst the other two split up to replace the generators?" Iris enquired as she waited for a response from one of the two.

"No need." Chifuyu also turned around to make eye contact with the three other women. "Satella you stay here and wait for the generators to be connected, Miss Shepard and Miss calling, make your towards the second generator I will deal with the third." Chifuyu gave very specific orders which the ladies all agreed on.

"Well luckily I have arrived to help out."

The four ladies turned around to the entrance and exit of the operating room. There at the entrance stood a busty blonde with a slender waist whom currently wore a light blue tank top and shorts to go along with the attire.

Behind her, stood a small girl that had tan coloured skin and lengthy her black hair to add to her character. Her purple eyes stood out as the four ladies instantly recognised the young girl behind Natasha.

"Oh? It's you? Didn't we tell you and the Ninja girl student to go back to bed?" Satella wore an amused face as she teased the young girl.

"I helped her get here and besides I can help." Marika argued.

"We know you can but that is not the point, something as simple as this we can fix on our own." Iris added.

"Ladies she's here and that's that." Natasha made the final point before moving out of the doorway. Marika nodded and wore a platonic expression.

Marika followed Natasha as they approached the four ladies, Chifuyu currently had her back turned from the other women.

"Say, what happened to the ninja warrior girl? Did you split up and go separate ways?" Satella crossed her arms as she listened with intent.

"She's with Ichika-san at the moment, they were going to look for others who didn't understand what was going on." Marika explained vaguely before her eyes narrowed from one teacher to another.

"Might I add, the academy feels different to walk around in the night. It has this ominous feeling to it as I walk around it." Natasha made her point clear on how she felt whilst she walked around the darkness of the academy.

"The academy at night always feels different so you are not alone." Iris agreed with Natasha to some extent. Satella and Natalia nodded alongside Marika.

"Aren't you supposed to be splitting up and fixing these damn generators already?"

Chifuyu turned around with a scowl as she narrowed her eyes at each of them individually. Iris scratched the back of her head awkwardly. Satella wore an amuse expression as she watched Chifuyu.

"Miss Hansenberg go to generator 0A3 with Miss Fairs and Marika here, Miss Calling and Miss Shepard, go to generator 0A2 and fix the issue already."

Chifuyu demanded with an annoyed tone lacing in her voice as she spoke out to the ladies.

"Fine, you are no fun Miss Orimura."

"On it Chifuyu-sensei."

"I know right? She really needs her brother to lighten her up."

Chifuyu rolled her eyes at the last comment from Satella as they approached the exit of the operating room. One after another, the girls followed behind each other before the exit closed, leaving Chifuyu alone in the room.

'Thank god finally peace and quiet... haven't heard that much talking since I was in the Orimura clan... what was the name of that fool who thought he could marry me when I was younger? Orimura Takazaki? It's hard to remember trash sometimes.'

In attempts to get rid of the thoughts that lingered on the Orimura clan, Chifuyu wiped her face with both palm of her hands in attempt to drain her thoughts. After reopening her eyes, she took a few moments to regain her composure before bringing up the holographic screen once again.

Chifuyu quickly moved through the menus on the screen like it was second nature to her until she landed on the camera's, Chifuyu had the idea of watching the women throughout the academy as they made their way to their individual destinations which were the generators.

Chifuyu pulled up the first camera within the academy which was located in the middle of the academy, none other than the lunch hall for all students of the various different years to go on break. However, the lunch hall resembled nothing like it usually did as it was mostly booming with life throughout the day.

Because of the lunch hall was being incased in darkness, all Chifuyu could make out was the individual objects that lay throughout the room. The long tables within the lunch hall remained there alongside the chairs.

Chifuyu spotted a clock on the wall which read the time it was currently at. Not seeing a sign of life within the camera's, Chifuyu decided not to stick around and watch the camera any longer.

'Hmmm... No signs of life anywhere in this academy, I don't know whether that should be a good or bad thing.'

Chifuyu scrolled through the various amounts of camera's that were available to look over and watch. Instead of watching one or two individually, Chifuyu minimized them and waited for any glimpses of life or anything that catches her eye.

Sitting back, Chifuyu let herself distress as she stared at the ceiling.

'I wonder whether it's possible for me and Ichika to get away from here and start a separate life entirely?'

Chifuyu found herself unknowingly smiling at the thought of her and Ichika getting away. Her thoughts drifted on quite a bit as she imagined what her potential life with Ichika could be like.

'Maybe start a farm somewhere in the corner of the world? Or maybe start a business and live a calm life in somewhere the others can't reach? Now I'm just rambling... that could never happen.'

The very thought of getting away with the person made her imagine the life they 'could' have. Chifuyu thought of it as the 'good life'. Although an impossible one, Chifuyu could only pray for it to happen.

[System breached: Unknown Intrusion detected...]

Chifuyu sat up straight as soon as she heard the announcement of the systems being broken through. Chifuyu began typing as she tried to deal with the system breach.

Her eyes narrowed as everything on her screen began to disappear until the holographic screen and keyboard completely disappeared from Chifuyu's keen eyesight

'The hell? Chiasa... is this your doings?'

Chifuyu waited patiently for any signs on his younger sister as Chifuyu had a hunch that she was the one responsible for the System shutting down. Chifuyu leaned forward grabbed the flashlight from the desk and stood up before aiming for the exit.

[System complete: Welcome-]

Chifuyu stopped in her tracks before turning around to see the malfunctioning system that appeared to be taken over.

Chifuyu took a deep breath before becoming increasingly aware of her surroundings, she didn't trust anything she saw and heard for the time being.

Chifuyu took a few steps forward towards the desk in attempts to pull the Holographic screen she used to monitor the situation with the other ladies. To Chifuyu's dismay, nothing appeared.

[System connected: Welcome User Testament.]

Chifuyu's eyes began to widen as she instantly recognised the name that came from the system in-front of her. Chills began to run down Chifuyu's spine as she was now in no man's land.

A scowl appeared on Chifuyu's face as she grew weary about the interception.

[Now, Now Chifuyu Orimura, I'm not here to harm you, no not today...]

Chifuyu's breathe steadied as the voice that was Testament's became eerie enough to keep Chifuyu on her toes.

The doors behind Chifuyu began to click as they lock behind her, leaving Chifuyu trapped in the operating room.

"Testament, why now of all times? Is this you that damaged the generators?" Chifuyu demanded answers.

[Ufufufu! My... aren't you the feisty one? Hasn't your mother taught you to be patient?]

"I've heard this before Testament. You are just rehashing old points from an old point in the past." Chifuyu rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as stared out into the darkness.

[My oh my... You are straight to the point aren't you? I was only playing games with you...] Testament followed her comment up letting out a giggle that made Chifuyu feel uncomfortable.

"Enough with the petty games already, I'm done playing around. Tell me, was this you're doing?" Although Chifuyu could not see Testament. She could imagine the creepy smile that was being plastered across her face.

[I'll leave that up to you to figure out... hehehe! But... For now, we need to move onto pressing matters.]

"Go on..."

Chifuyu waited patiently for Testament to reply. Although, Chifuyu's mind wandered about whether or not Testament was the true culprit behind the power outage

[Hmmm... Well before I Say anything Chifuyu, let me tell you this... we and the others are getting tired of playing around.]

Hearing this, Chifuyu's thoughts crossed the likes of Orimura clan and the other [SAIS]. Chifuyu closed her eyes and nodded as she took the cryptic and vague information she was given...

"It's the least of my concern." Chifuyu paused for a few moments. "When you get the chance, tell that mother of mine that no matter how many barrages of attacks she sends, no matter how many enemies she sends, her goal of bringing Ichika back to the Orimura clan will never work in the ways she thinks... she doesn't want to admit that I have won already."

Chifuyu smirked already, she had a feeling that as a whole, her mother was behind Testament contacting her. Chifuyu felt a sudden rise in confidence levels.

[hehehe! She doesn't see it that way... however once again, whilst the situation does require Ichika, that isn't what I am here for... I'm contacting you to let you know that things are going to get rather interesting from here...]

"Such as?"

Chifuyu was getting tired from Testament eluding from the main point that brought here. Chifuyu could imagine Testament grinning like a Cheshire Cat as tried to waste time.

[Hmmm...Make sure that boy toy of yours and those students prepare for a little fun... hehehe...]

Chifuyu could practically sense the malicious intent lacing in [Testaments] words. Feeling slightly irritated; Chifuyu gritted her teeth for a few moments before letting a breath.

"Want to elaborate with more information?" Chifuyu demanded with a passive aggressive tone lingering in her voice.

[Hmmm... That is only for us to know dear...What I will say is wait your turn... Chifuyu Orimura... hehehe...]

"Wait!"

[System Notification: Testament has Now logged out.]

"Goddamit!"

Chifuyu banged her fist on the desk in front of her in frustration. Being in the dark began to to frustrate her to no end. Chifuyu wanted to gain more information from Testament but was unsuccessful in the end.

'I might have to call on Tabane to get rid of any lingering traces of them being able to get back into the academies systems.' Although she did not want to call on the rabbit, Chifuyu felt as if she had no choice to fall back on the mad scientist in the end.

"Miss Orimura?"

Hearing the sound of the door open behind her, Chifuyu turned around to see Satella, Natasha and Marika standing in the doorway with a confused expression. Noticing Chifuyu's scowl, Satella decided not to press for information, instead choosing the easier route and telling Chifuyu everything she had gathered whilst trying to repair the individual generators across the academy.

"You may as well call that Rabbit in; she would know how to deal with this more then we know how to…" Satella giggled awkwardly as she scratched the back of her head

"Unfortunately, it's true… I'm not too sure how to describe it but… it's totally out of my league…" Natasha added to Satella's point.

"…" Marika did not say anything but nodded to further confirm Satella's explanation.

"I see…"


Within the living headquarters of the IS academy being encased in darkness, many of the students did not know what was happening with the power outage. However, most of the students were supposedly asleep during the power outage that has occurred in the academy.

Ichika and Shinobu had split up from Natasha and Marika a mere few minutes ago to search for other students that were enrolled into the IS Academy. Currently, Ichika and Shinobu walked throughout the hallways with a torch resting in Ichika's hand.

Shinobu wrapped her arm around Ichika's arm as they walked back into the dorm section of the academy. So far, Ichika and Shinobu had not encountered a single student that roamed the academy.

'Why am I even surprised... it's quarter past one in the morning... I highly doubt we will see anyone in the next few minutes or so.'

Ichika closed his eyes for a few moments as he began to feel the results of staying up longer than he should of. Shinobu on the other hand remained vigilant as she watched her surroundings in suspicion.

Ichika picked up on this as he noticed Shinobu looking back into the darkness of the hallway constantly. Ichika reached for Shinobu's hand and squeezed it gently

"Thanks, Ichika-dono."

"No problem Shinobu, I could see that you are on your toes tonight." Ichika made a genuine smile as he comforted Shinobu.

"I cannot shake this feeling of something laying within the shadows." Shinobu peered over her shoulder as she checked her surroundings once again.

Ichika chuckled before he and Shinobu made a sharp turn around the corner as they approached the rooms for the first year.

"Shinobu, if I remember correctly... you are roomed with Ran right?" Ichika used his right hand to brush a few strands of hair out of his face.

"Hmmm... I am Ichika-dono, although I left the room quietly without Ran-dono..." Shinobu giggled slightly as she pushed her hair shoulder length emerald green hair behind her shoulder.

"I just realized Shinobu, you have your hair down... I don't think I've seen you with your hair down before." Ichika tried to recall a moment in time where he saw Shinobu with her hair down.

"Ah! Oh... Yes! uhhh... when the power went out... I couldn't find the bobble to put my hair into a ponytail..." Shinobu bit the end of her nails.

"You should let you hair grow out... although I like your hair short, I think you would look much more beautiful with longer hair." Ichika gently caressed Shinobu's hair as he smiled warmly at her.

"Hmmmmm... but my hair always gets in the way Ichika-dono!"

Whilst Shinobu considered growing her hair out, the pros were being outweighed by the cons. However, Shinobu's thoughts were unconsciously influenced by Ichika's words.

"Well whether you change your hair length or not, I think at the moment it's perfect the way it is." Ichika came to a stop as he lifted the torch to show the door number.

Ahh! Here we are! Let's try not to wake up Ran in the meantime..." Shinobu picked a card out of her pocket that she was going to use to open the door.

Taking her sweet time, Shinobu finally pulled out her key card and placed it in the scanner which began scanning the card.

[Access Denied: Card not readable.]

"Ehhh?!"

'She's not scanning the key card properly...'

Ichika found Shinobu's reaction to her card getting denied priceless, especially her facial expression she wore on her face. Shinobu continued to try to use her card on the system.

[Access Denied: Card not readable.]

[Access Denied: Card not readable.]

[Access Denied: Car-]

Before the system could finish, Shinobu pulled her card out of the scanner and turned to Ichika with a wry smile as Ichika watched in amusement.

"It seems like I am not going to be able to go back to bed tonight... can I stay in your room? Ichika-dono?"

Shinobu watched as Ichika reached out to grab something in Shinobu's hand. Seeing what Ichika was after, Shinobu handed him her key card as he wore an amused smile.

Ichika approached the scanner as he pressed the card on the scanner the right way unlike Shinobu who put it upside down. Shinobu leered over Ichika's shoulder as she watched him.

[Access Allowed: Welcome Shinobu Kirigakure.]

The light on the scanner turned green and Ichika turned around to face Shinobu. In response to Ichika, Shinobu looked at Ichika in amazement as he handed the key card back.

"Whoa... how did you do that Ichika-dono?! Are you secretly some genius?" Shinobu followed behind as Ichika opened the door to Ran's and Shinobu's room.

"Hmmm... Shinobu... close the door... you're letting in a draft..."

"Sorry..."

Shinobu slowly and quietly closed the door behind her as the two entered Shinobu's and Ran's room. The room was encased in darkness as Ichika flipped the torch in his hand into a darker setting. Ichika did this to avoid to waking up Ran.

"It's fine... what are yo- Ehhhh?! Ichika-san?!

Ichika's attention turned to Ran as she now sat up and wore a shocked expression on her face. Shinobu giggled awkwardly as she tried to find the words to explain. Luckily for Shinobu, Ichika beat her too it.

"Relax Ran... I'm here for a reason..." Ichika smiled reassuringly as he made direct eye contact with his good friend. Ichika turned his attention to Shinobu for a moment before turning to Ran.

"To put it simply, the power has gone out for the academies student rooms. However, the emergency power for some of the doors and computers are still functional. Originally me and Shinobu met up to see if any other students were in distress... but with it being so late... no one is really awake."

Ichika scratched the back of his head as he explained the situation to Ran, Shinobu nodded and backed up Ichika's explanation. Ran nodded and closed her eyes as she let out a sigh.

"Ahhh... I see... I thought you came into the room to do perverted things to me..." Ran blushed lightly as she placed her hand on her cheek as she her mind trailed with dirty thoughts.

'Why does everyone take me for being a pervert...'

Ichika sighed as he did not understand why the girls considered him as a pervert. Shinobu watched her two friends with an innocent expression as she did not understand what Ran was getting at.

Although, Ichika and the two girls were sat in silence not realising the elephant in the room. It didn't take long for Ichika to pick up what lay in front of him.

'Oh wow...'

Ran and Shinobu's attention was caught by Ichika staring at Ran, Ichika's expression was that of a surprised expression as he continued to stare at Ran

"What is it Ichika-san?"

Ran looked down to see where Ichika was looking directly. Before Ran knew it, her cheeks began to go a deep shade of red as she looked up at Ichika with puffed out cheeks. Ran quickly covered herself with the bedsheet whilst she was in her bra and panties.

"ICHIKA-SAN!"

"OWWWW!"

The screams of Ichika and Ran can be heard echoing throughout the soulless hallways of the IS academy as it reached every corner of the academy.

Many minutes later...

"Owww..."

"Sorry Ichika-san... you saw me in such a state. It was a reflex..."

"I'm still confused, what was so bad about Ichika-dono seeing you in your underwear?" Shinobu couldn't understand why Ran acted out in violence towards Ichika as he saw her in her underwear.

"Because it's not normal for a man to see a woman in her underwear when they aren't dating." Ran tried to explain as vaguely as possible. The moment of Ichika seeing her in her underwear continued to play in her mind.

"Hmmm? But Ichika-dono has seen other women in their swimsuits, right? What's the difference?" Shinobu couldn't wrap her mind around Ran's explanation. Ichika chuckled awkwardly in the background as he listened to the two roommates.

"It's just different! How would you feel if Ichika-san saw you in your underwear?" Ran asked her emerald green haired roommate. Shinobu tilted her head in response.

"I wouldn't mind, it would be no different from Ichika-dono seeing me naked." Ichika rubbed the temple of his forehead as he took what Shinobu into account. Ran's jaw dropped as she didn't want to be believe what her friend just said.

"EHH?! Shinobu! You aren't just supposed to be casual about Ichika seeing you naked body!"

"Why not?!"

"Because it's in womanly for a woman to just say that they would show their body off!" Ran tried to convince her roommate that she was the one right in this situation

'Why am I even here? I just want to sleep the night away already... it's too late in the night...'

Whilst Ichika leaned his head back on the wall as he wanted to so badly drift off into the abyss of sleep. Ran and Shinobu continued their bickering while Ichika tried to keep himself awake

Ichika currently sat on Ran's bed which was in the top left corner of the spacious room that was being shared with her dark green haired friend, Shinobu.

"Ichika-san? Are you okay? You seem kind of out it right now..." Ran approached her own bed and crawled next to Ichika to also lean against the wall. Shinobu watched Ichika as well as she noticed the tiredness building up on Ichika's face.

"Probably because I am..." Ichika turned to Ran with a tired smile on his face. "Sorry... I feel like I haven't slept in a long time." Ichika said with a tired voice.

"Ichika-dono why don't you sleep in here for the night? I'm sure you are as tired as it is..." Shinobu showed genuine concern for her senpai as she approached the bed and sat on the opposite side of Ran.

Ran and Shinobu sat next to Ichika, Shinobu on his right and Ran was on his left. Ran noticed that the covers weren't over the three as they sat with their backs against the wall. That didn't last too much longer as Ran reached out and grabbed the bed sheet and pulled over the three.

'Ichika-san... you look so cute when your sleepy...'

Ran blushed slightly as she admired tired expression that Ichika wore currently.

"Hmm... sleep here? I don't know, I need to go back sooner rather than later to check up on Natasha." Ichika let out a yawn and covered his mouth instinctively.

Ran smiled genuinely and leaned her head against Ichika's shoulder as she closed her eyes. Shinobu leaned forward and saw her friend do this and also followed her.

"Hmmm?"

Ichika felt the weight of the two girls using his shoulder as a head rest. Ichika adjusted her arms slightly until he wrapped his arm around Ran and Shinobu's waists. The warm bodies of the two girls next to him made Ichika become even more relaxed.

"Ichika-san, have you ever wondered about what the future could hold?" The red asked Ichika with a thoughtful smile on her face.

"Yeah of course I do, not all the time but I do. Sometimes I would imagine what it would be like to live in a perfect world." Ichika spoke his thoughts out loud to the girls, although it was very much true.

"Really? What is your perfect world?" Ran looked up at Ichika as he stared elsewhere. Shinobu listened in with intent as she had grown curious.

"My perfect world? To be honest I could go on and on about my perfect world, but the circumstances do not allow me to have my ideal world." Ichika made a slightly sad smile as he thought about it more.

"Hmmm... I heard about what type of people your family is... especially your sisters... I mean your other sisters." Ran corrected herself before she fumbled her words anymore.

"Yeah...I have a love, hate relationship with my family... I love them so much in ways I don't even understand myself, yet I also hate the fact that they divide me so much." Ichika chuckled at the thought of his sisters.

"We understand Ichika-dono, it must not be easy to have people here that you care about and also have your family out there." Shinobu stared at Ichika with a warm smile before wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I know what my sisters are like, they are the most passionate women I've ever met but they drive me crazy knowing the trouble they can cause." Ichika fiddled with flashlight as the three sat in darkness with only the torch as their light source.

Ichika oddly found it amusing to think about his sisters.

"Is Miss Orimura and Madoka also in that statement?" Ran asked with curiosity lacing her tone. Ichika took a moment to think

"Chifuyu and Madoka would be also be in that statement as well, and my aunts and mother if you want to include them." Ichika added his mother and aunts into equation.

"Ahh... Miss Orimura and Madoka are quite strict when it comes to being around us, I wonder why that is?" Ran asked herself out loud, Ichika let out a chuckle as he confirmed Ran's point.

"Don't let the behavior of the two fool you." Ichika maneuvered his arms and slowly sat up before rubbing his eyes. "As much as I would like to relax...I cannot rest while I don't have answers to the questions I have." Ichika sat up and stretched.

"I've been wondering where Marika-dono and Fairs-dono has been...hopefully they are fine." Shinobu pointed out before scratching her cheek and pushing her hair back

"I've been thinking the same thing."

"Good point, where did they say they were going?" Ichika asked the million-dollar question as he looked back at the two girls as they sat up straight.

"I don't think we asked..." the red head scratched the back of her head. "Shall we find out?" Ran questioned the two as she made eye contact with them.

"Originally I wanted to sit back and wait for this to blow over." Ichika stood up and offered his hands for the girls to get up. "Seems like I cannot wait no longer."

With that said, the three shortly left the room and began their hunt to find Natasha and Marika.