Disclaimer: I don't own Infinite Stratos.

A/N: This is most likely the last chapter that I fully needed to revamp. But, the fifth part, "Jaden's Weakness" needs some tweaking on the last part.

"My name is...Madoka Orimura."

A very particular girl said. She definitely looked like Ichika's sister, but she lacked the assets her older sister had. For one, her chest area was nowhere near her sister. Wait a minute? Why was Jaden looking at her chest anyway?

Jaden was kinda speechless. There were another one of Ichika's siblings standing right in front of him! And the most important question, does Ichika know about her? Her smile never leaves her face. "Now that you know my name. I shall...End your life!" She quickly pulled out a 9mm pistol, aiming directly for Jaden's head.

She let the first shot fire. Jaden's instincts kicked in, dodging the bullet in mere seconds. Then he charged straight for her. She kept letting shots off but Jaden kept dodging, making her slightly annoyed and impressed at the same time. "You're clearly not a newbie." She commented.

"Thanks for noticing." Jaden took on a slight smirk.

"You're better than most of the people who face me. Let's see your close-combat skills." She put away her gun, allowing Jaden to close the distance between them.

As soon as Jaden closed the distance between them, he went for a predictable punch to her chest, but she jumped at the last second. "What the-" Jaden was about to finish his sentence before a swift kick landed on his face, making him stagger back a bit.

The next attack she gave was towards his chest. Giving how that part hurts the most when he takes damage there. He's doing everything he can to avoid that blow. He caught her fist out of sheer determination. "Not bad." She lightly complimented him. "But you should always keep your guard up." She said.

Confusingly, Jaden wondered what she was talking about. Until he felt a massive pain in his chest. Apparently, he dropped his guard for a few seconds, enough time for Madoka to land a direct blow to his chest. He winced in pain, clutching his chest, desperately trying to get some air.

"You desperately need to work on that. Pathetic-" She was cut off by Jaden, releasing a powerful punch to her chest. She coughed out a bit of saliva. She had never experienced anything like that.

"And you need to shut up."

Madoka, clutching her chest, looked at Jaden. What she saw, terrified her. Jaden's eyes were glowing red, a very dark and intimidating aura surrounded him. His voice sounded a lot more serious and full of malice. She'd never seen anything like this. Now it was time to run.

She staggered to her feet, but as soon as she did, she received another punch. Then another. And another. Jaden was letting out relentless attacks, not giving her a chance to defend herself. 'What is he?!' Madoka thought to herself. Punch and punch, blow after blow, she was taking every single hit.

By the time Jaden subsided Madoka was barely clinging on to consciousness. He just stared at her, full of pure malice. Even though Jaden unconsciously let out his power, he still held back. He didn't want to kill her. He's not that bad, right? "Get out of here and never come back, or next time, you won't be standing like you are now."

She growled at Jaden. But she isn't dumb. She felt those attacks. She didn't have a chance against him. She could use her IS, but that would alert probably everybody on the Island. "Fine. but don't think the next time will be so easy." She walked away from him, disappearing into the shadows.

Jaden calmed down. But in response, his chest started to throb in pain. Clutching his chest again, he fell to one knee. "Guess I overdid it." He said to himself. He looked at the night sky than at his unit in standby form. It was in the shape of a gauntlet on his left hand. A small beam of light showed the time, 9:45.

"Crap…" He stumbled out to find his dorm. Little did he know that Madoka was still watching him, a bit of blood appeared from her mouth. Wiping it away she continued to stare at him until he disappeared into the school.

"That boy..." She muttered. She took a few more minutes to think about what had happened before leaving further afterward.

A knock happened at the dormitory of Ichika and Jaden.

"Coming!" Ichika responded.

He opened the door to find something that confused and shocked him. Finding Jaden, clutching his chest, breathing heavily, and a bit of blood from his mouth. "Are you okay?!" Ichika asked. Jaden tried to let out a smile, but his chest prevented him from doing so.

"Yeah. I'm alright."

"What happened?!"

"I...uhh…" Jaden stopped. He can't just tell him the truth. That he fought his sister, and seeming almost killed her out of sheer rage. He'll never forgive him. "I was training too hard, nothing serious." He lied.

Ichika didn't know Jaden for that long, so he probably guessed that he's telling the truth. "Oh, you should have told me you were training. We could have trained together." Ichika said with a smile. Jaden chuckled a little, grabbing some clothes and heading into the bathroom.

While in the shower, Jaden recalled what happened a few minutes ago. He fought Ichika's sister, but she wasn't exactly like her. For one she was shorter than him, second of all she was extremely hostile towards him even though they just met, and a whole bunch of other things.

"Could that girl...really be Ichika's sister, I think?" Jaden muttered.

He felt the area of his chest. The pain is starting to slowly subside. Maybe some sleep will help with the recovery speed. He figured it was enough time being in the shower. Turning the handle, he stopped the water. Grabbing a nearby towel, he dried himself off.

Wearing only a white t-shirt and some black shorts, he exited the bathroom, only to find Ichika doing his daily exercise. Jaden didn't want to interrupt Ichika's workout, but at the same time, we wanted to join. But that thought was quickly put out the window when he felt his chest throb for a quick second.

Ichika finished his set of 100 pushups and noticed Jaden was on his side of the bed with both of his eyes closed. "Huh? We're not doing our daily Exercise?" He asked. Jaden opened one eye and shook his head.

Ichika understood. Not to mention he came in with blood dripping down his mouth and clutching his chest like he just got hit by a car, plus he was breathing hard like he ran a marathon. He continued to finish his other set of workout drills before grabbing his nighttime clothes and headed for the shower.

'That girl, Madoka Orimura. Do Ichika know about her? Or possibly Chifuyu? I don't know. I should probably get some rest. My chest is killing me.' With that, he fell asleep.

Jaden woke up to the sound of footsteps. He felt his eyes slowly open to the light of the sun. He sat up and the first thing he noticed was that Ichika was gone. Weird. Ichika usually gets up after him. Where did he go? Looking at his gauntlet, he checked the time. 8:39!

His eyes shot open, quicking rushing to find his uniform. Now he knows. He overslept! And Ichika didn't tell him?! Probably because of how he saw him last night.

He was running through the halls and top speed, breaking every since running code there is. Passing by several other girls who were probably late as well as him. He was running for nearly a couple of minutes before he was about a couple of seconds away from the door.

Whispering and murmuring.

That was all the classroom of 1-1 was doing. Everyone wondered where their other male student had gone. He's about 10 minutes late. Chifuyu held her usual stoic expression by the classroom's door, while Maya was just like the rest of the students.

The only person who knew the reason why he was so late, was Ichika. He intentionally left Jaden alone because of how he arrived back to their dorm last night. He felt bad for not knowing Jaden pushed himself that hard, so he let him get some extra sleep to recover faster.

What he didn't know was that he barely made it to class himself, and his sister almost scolded him. Now Jaden is going to definitely feel her fury.

Suddenly, they all heard some footsteps. Jaden, sweating profusely, walking in kinda slumping. Everyone but one person was confused about why he was looking so...tired.

"You're 10 minutes late, Smith." A voice of authority was heard. Sadly, it was the person who he didn't want to hear right now. "The lesson has alright started, take your seat." She said.

Jaden took his seat like he was told. Ichika eyed him, and surprisingly, Jaden eyed him back. Ichika let off a nervous chuckle. "Hey buddy, did you sleep well?" He asked.

Jaden, half-lit eyes gazed among Ichika. "Nobody will ever find your body." He joked.

Ichika instantly paled. Was Jaden mad at him? He could only hope that Jaden was joking when he said that.

Maya also paled, but the tension wasn't directed towards her, so why is she worried? "Umm...since everyone is now here, let's continue where we left off." She instructed.

Everyone did what they were told. Jaden turned his head a bit to see Ichika giving him a sorry smile. Jaden took a light sigh, giving a small smile. Now Ichika knows that he was joking, good.

Time went by, and now they were in an area. Jaden stood closely by Ichika's side. Why? Every single girl around them was either wearing the same outfit as them or a modified one. Only one person had one though.

Maya stood there, with her happy-go face. While Chifuyu had her generic look, stern, unnerving, and deadly.

"For today's lesson, we're going to practice operating the basic controls of an IS," Chifuyu spoke. A quick pause went by. "Orimura, Smith, Alcott, you're up first." She ordered the following students.

"Not a problem."

Cecilia closed her eyes and started concentrating. A white flash developed on an earring in her left ear. Then in a flash, she was coated in sparkles, before standing tall with her unit, Blue Tears.

Everyone, besides 2 people, looked on in awe. They're seeing a personal IS a user, in the first person. Only one person that didn't really care that much. And that person was...Jaden. He slowly looked over to where they were gawking at Cecilia.

"Show-off." He muttered.

"Huh?" Ichika looked at his friend. "Did you say something Jaden?"

"No."

"Oh, alright then. Let's see how I do."

Ichika closed his eyes and focused, but nothing happened. "Maybe it's broken." He tried again, nothing again.

"Hurry it up Orimura! An experienced pilot should deploy in less than a second." Chifuyu barked at him.

Taking a quick sigh, he focused for the last time. "Just focus…" He said to himself. He started to feel a tingly sensation on his right arm. "Engage Byakushiki!" He was covered in white light. It took a matter of seconds for him to stand in his unit, Byakushiki.

"Hey, it worked!"

Now, all that's left is Jaden. Who was spacing out?

'Madoka Orimura…' His thoughts wandered to yesterday's night. That girl looked so much like Ichika's sister but shorter. He wondered if she knew about her. "Smith!" He heard an aggressive voice call out his name.

It was Chifuyu. He looked over at her, confused. All she did was glared to Ichika and Cecilia, in their units. Jaden looked around clueless. "Deploy your unit blockhead!" She roared, scaring a couple of students.

Jaden cringed for a minute, then did what he was told. He didn't know how to call his unit. He just figured that whatever Ichika and Cecilia tried to do when their eyes were closed, he'd try that.

He closed his eyes and in a split second, he was standing tall in his unit, Soviet Ranger.

"Huh, it worked."

Chifuyu sighed. "Alright, now fly." She also ordered.

"Right," Cecilia responded. It took a second for her to be already in the air, waiting for further instructions. Jaden looked at Ichika and nodded, also taking flight right behind Cecilla.

Ichika...took a few seconds longer than them, but he also was catching up pretty fast. "How are you struggling to fly now?" Jaden asked. "You were flying just fine yesterday, why now?" He added.

"Sorry. It's just that...it's been a while." Ichika chuckled.

"It's been a day…" Jaden deadpanned.

"What's wrong with you two?!" A voice came over Ichika's and Jaden's headset. "You're both too slow. On the data outputs, it shows that both of your units are superior to hers." That voice was of course...Ichika's sister.

"That may technically be true, but right now I'm focusing my imagination on deploying the pyramid part forwards okay?" Ichika responded. Jaden had no idea what he just said. "Man, I just don't understand this at all." He muttered, Jaden heard that.

Before Jaden responded though, Cecilia swooped in behind them. "An image is nothing more than an image." Nearly scaring Ichika, Jaden was already gone. "It's better focusing on doing what you are told."

Ichika looked to his left side. Jaden was gone. Where did he go? He looked around and found him, in front of them. He mentally sighed then turned to Cecilia. "Well, easy for you to say, I'm still not used to flying. Heck, I'm not sure what makes it fly."

"Well, if you're interested, I'll be glad to give you lessons every day after school." She said. Ichika didn't quite follow her, but it seems she also wanted to train with him after school?

"Orimura, Smith, Alcott, execute a power dive then come to a complete stop." Chifuyu came on the intercoms.

"Roger that! Well, ladies first." She pulled back. Diving nose first, she pulled up right before she crashed into the dirt, making it seem like it was easy.

"Wow! She totally nailed it. Now let's see how I do." He went to complete his dive...and failed. He crashed, leaving a huge crater on where he was. Lucky to say he was still alive...but completely dazed. He was totally getting a headache after that.

The whole crowd went into shock. "Ichika!" Houki rushed over to see if her childhood friend was alright. Also Maya. The smoke cleared up and Ichika had his head stuck in the ground. Pulling his head out he looked around and sighed.

"Aw man, I seriously thought I was going to die."

Everyone took a sigh of relief, except for Chifuyu. "That was pitiful Ichika. You still haven't mastered a single thing that I tau-" She was pushed by Cecila, rushing over to Ichika's need.

"Goodness! Are you alright Ichika dear?" She supported him back to his feet. "Have you been injured or hurt in any type of way?" She desperately asked. Ichika was kinda confused about her actions, but he appreciated the care in her voice.

"Well, not exactly, so I'm fine." He dusted himself off, then paused. "Wait! 'Ichika dear'?"

"I'm so glad to hear you say that, but I think you should get checked out at the nurse's office to make sure, in fact, I'll even go with you," Cecilia exclaimed excitedly.

"Not so fast." Houki stepped between Ichika. "It's impossible for anyone to get injured piloting an IS."

"Oh, Ms. Shinonono. Please understand it's only natural for me to care about others." Cecilia responded.

Then Ichika spaced out. He wondered where Jaden was. He looked where his sister was, but he didn't see Jaden. "Where's Jaden." Ichika snapped both Houki and Cecilia out of their little quarrel.

"Now that you mention it."

"Yeah, where is Jaden?"

Maya and Chifuyu heard them. Maya looked around and didn't see him. Chifuyu looked above her and found him. Jaden...didcan't even respond when Chifuyu called an order, instead he was staring at the sun.

His mind was focused squarely on yesterday. He still couldn't get out the memory about it. What looks to be a copy of Chifuyu, tried to kill him yesterday, with her getting brutally beaten to a pulp. "Madoka. Why are you after me?" He muttered.

"Smith, what are you doing! Come down here now-"

"SHUT UP!"

Jaden roared throughout his intercom. Chifuyu, the ice queen herself, flinched. Nobody heard him yell at Chifuyu except Maya. They both heard Jaden sighed. "I'm sorry, Ms. Orimura." He coldly responded.

A few minutes later everyone saw Jaden finally come down from the sky. Chifuyu was ready to scold him for yelling at her, but Maya stopped her. She didn't say anything. Chifuyu hesitated but calmed down.

A few hours had passed, and it was nearly midnight. Jaden and Ichika were walking together towards the cafeteria. Jaden wanted to clear his head some more, while Ichika tagged along since he wanted to help Jaden the best he could.

How did he know this? Jaden had been distant with Ichika ever since they got finished with class. Ichika figured that he did something wrong and will try his best to fix it before it affects their relationship.

They arrived at their destination, and it was completely empty. It didn't bother Jaden that much, since he didn't want to be swarmed by girls, especially since he's in a conflicted mood right now.

The lights suddenly went out. Jaden and Ichika instantly got defensive. "What's going on?" Ichika asked.

"I don't know, maybe a power malfunction."

It took a few minutes for the lights to come back on. When it did, girls were surrounding both of them, party decorations were seen, and a banner with the words. "Congratulations on a class rep, Ichika Orimura."

"Wait… how did I become a class rep? Didn't you win the fight, Jaden?"

"I did. But I didn't want to do all that business stuff, so I gave it to you." Jaden gave a half-lit smile. "Also, I'm not a sign paper type of guy."

The party went on. Houki, Cecilia, and some other girls were chatting together. Of course, the girls were talking with Ichika, but Jaden was a different case. The girls weren't too sure what to say to him. Unlike Ichika, you can't tell what he likes and dislikes by his expressions.

Jaden...was solid. None of the girls knew his likes or dislikes. They all know that he isn't anywhere near as dense as Ichika. But that's probably just about it. He's excluded himself from the girls, but not completely.

Jaden didn't pay that much attention to the girls.

An hour had passed and Jaden and Ichika were walking again. While walking, both of them saw Chifuyu walking on the other side of them. Ichika went to say hi to her and received a clipboard to the head.

"I told you not to call me that at school!"

"...Understood…" He nursed his injured head.

Chifuyu noticed Jaden standing there, staring at her. Naturally, this didn't bother her, but she wanted to know the reason why he yelled at her a few hours ago. She walked past Ichika and in front of Jaden. She was shorter than him, but that didn't discourage her from talking.

"I need to have a word with you." That was all she said.

Jaden understood. "I'll be right back Ichika." He said. He followed Chifuyu outside to the school's rooftop.

"So what was that all about?"

"Could you explain why you yelled at your instructor?"

"..." Jaden didn't respond.

"Well?"

"...I…experienced something recently."

"And what that might be?"

"Do you...have any other family besides Ichika?"

Chifuyu was confused. Another family member? What's he talking about? "No. Ichika is my only family member, why do you ask a question like that?"

"Because...I saw someone who looked exactly like you. Her name was...Madoka Orimura."

The next morning was at abuzz with conversations. Apparently, there's a new transfer student coming in. The questions were: Is she a strong pilot? What country is she from? And the more questions to tell.

"A transfer student? At this time of the year?" Ichika said.

"Supposedly, they say she's from china." A random girl said.

Cecilia walked over to the group with a proud smile on her face. "I wonder if she transferred her to study my techniques."

"Well I sure am curious, what do you think Jaden?" Ichika asked his friend.

Jaden was thinking at his desk. "Huh? Oh yeah, sure, cool." He responded. Ichika sighed then went back to talking with his small group.

Jaden was thinking back on Chifuyu's words from yesterday.

Quick Flashback

"What?!"

Chifuyu responded with a face of pure shock, disbelief, and curiosity. She had just heard that Jaden had "found" her another sister, apparently from his words, "Looked exactly like her." She didn't know what to say or even think, but she had to come up with something before Ichika started asking questions.

"Alright...I'll look more into it. Just...dodon't tell Ichika about it, not yet."

Back to the present

"That information is outdated."

Jaden snapped out of his daydream. Looking up he saw a girl standing at the door. She looked to be a really young girl, with light brown hair tied into two twin tails, with ribbons on the side. Compared to the other girls, she is quite petite, and green eyes.

"A representative contender for class 2 also has a personal IS, so it isn't going to be easy to win anymore." She said.

Ichika stood up. He clearly recognized this girl. He chuckled a bit. "Good one," He said. "Coming in and acting like a showoff, that's so unlike you, Rin."

"What! Why are you saying things like that about me, huh-?" She was about to continue until a clipboard smacked her on her head. 'Ow, that hurt. Why did you hit me, huh?!" She froze when she saw who attacked her.

"Consider that your homeroom bell is ringing." She said. Then she got a funny idea. She smiled, scaring the absolute soul out of Rin. "Would you like to try a shot against me?"

"C-Chifuyu…"

She slowly raised her clipboard. "That's Orimura-Sensei, right" She was about to deliver.

"Sorry, ma'am." She ducked in response.

Chifuyu smiled, knowing she was victorious. Her smile then quickly dissipated. "Now get back to your class, you're in the way." She walked by her.

"Yes ma'am." She said. She then regained her anger. " I'll be back, so don't you run away Ichika." Chifuyu glared back at her, and she immediately ran off.

Jaden was confused. Another girl? And she seems to be a childhood friend of Ichika's. Interesting.

The class was back to start. The only one who didn't arrive yet was Maya, but Chifuyu can definitely keep them in check before she arrives. She glanced over at Jaden. He was looking down at his desk, playing with his thumbs. Yesterday was quite shocking to her. She found out that she has another sister, and apparently tried to kill Jaden. She could not let that happen. What would Ichika think of her if she failed to protect a friend of his?

Maya arrived sooner or later and class began.

Hours later, it was time for lunch. Jaden wanted to try something different this time. He saw girls taking their food outside the cafeteria, so he was going to try that. He could have been walking for a few minutes before stopping at the school's rooftop, again.

"It's so peaceful up here. I wonder if Ichika knows that I'm not there."

He opened up his bento box. Since he's American and doesn't fully know everything about Japanese food, Ichika gave him a bento box that his sister gave him. It wasn't old or rusty, actually, it was brand-new. He appreciated it and started eating his rice.

He learned on his first day not to randomly order things from the menu. So, Jaden asked Ichika for a good combo that he knew of. He told him what his favorite dish was, and now he's eating it.

"Amazing! Japanese food really is the treat." He continued eating.

While eating his instinct told him something. Someone is really close to him, but where? Looking around him, he didn't spot anyone in particular. But he did see a silhouette of a figure running away.

"Weird…" Then the worst he could possibly think of happened.

"I forgot my drink! Damn it!"

"And who was that running away? Could it have been Madoka?" He thought for a moment. "No. She isn't that dumb to show her face in broad daylight. I have a feeling that she's watching me very closely."

'Madoka sure is...fucked up in the head.'

"What's going on here?!"

Cecilia was in her unit, along with Ichika, Jaden, and Houki. The sun was beginning to go down, and they were all in one training area. "Just training. What about y'all? Why aren't you two in a different area?" Jaden asked.

Houki growled. "I've been given clearance to use the training unit, and I'm going to use it to further Ichika's evolution." She focused her blade straight at Ichika.

"What about me?" Jaden plainly asked.

"You are a different case. Ever since your first day of Kendo training, you've been doing better than Ichika, and Ichika is still lacking in some areas that I need to correct for him." Ichika gulped at that moment.

Jaden chuckled a bit. "So what you're basically saying is, I'm too advanced to teach right now?"

The anger instantly arrived at her face. "Don't get too cocky! You're not nearly on the level I'm at right now. Your defense clearly lacks, causing you to almost lose against me multiple times." She said.

Jaden's smile instantly went away. Houki is right. During their sparring moments, he does let his guard down, a lot. So much, that his fighting style is almost seen through now.

"Well then, let's see how strong we've gotten over these past weeks, shall we?" Jaden confidently smiled. While Ichika wasn't really fond of the idea, Cecilia clearly was. Ever since her defeat by the hands of Jaden, she wanted to let off some steam that she's been holding back for a while.

"You're on!" Cecilia declared.

"Hope your defense is good Jaden because I won't be going easy on you two." Houki slightly smiled.

Ichika looked at Jaden with a displeased face. "Sorry, I got carried away," Jaden responded to Ichika's displaced face. Ultimately he sighed, knowing there's no other way out of this except giving them a good fight.

'Let's see if I can win, hopefully'

Houki charged straight at Ichika, clashing swords. Houki was clearly the dominant one between the two, but Ichika had a plan. He planned on wearing out Houki, but as he saw during the fight between Jaden and her, he probably could hold out for that long, hopefully. Using his other hand, he forced his sword upwards, cutting the lock between them.

"What the…" Houki gawked. He wasn't this strong a few weeks ago, what happened? The true reason is obvious. Jaden and Ichika trained together. After knowing how weak he was in Kendo, he asked Jaden to spar with him, only one time though. He was saving this for their next battle but he has no choice but to use it.

He used a reverse grip on his right hand, charging straight for Houki. She didn't know what he had planned. She could read him like a book before, but now, she's left in the dark. He finally got within striking distance, using both hands this time. He landed a solid blow to her unit.

That was Ichika's plan. To make her think he's using a different fighting style from one he's used to, but actually playing her. He let a smile graze his face. "Sorry Houki, I've been training too hard." Almost a chuckle went out.

Ichika has slashed away. Houki got sick and tired of the cocky attitude of both Jaden and Ichika. Now, she's going to let her anger out of both of them in this match.

Meanwhile, Jaden and Cecila we're battling pretty hard. While Jaden preferred close-type rang on his opponent, Cecilia was a long-range fighter. It's going to be hard to get some hits on her with all that distance covering between them.

"Damn it! She's too far away, I can barely get a hit on her."

He then remembered something. Quickly searching through his weapons menu, he found his gun or a rifle he would call it. "Blood Moon!" he called upon his weapon. A white flash spread across his hand in the shape of his weapon. When it was done, his gun was that of an alien killer.

"Alright, let's see my shooting skills."

Jaden set fire upon Cecilia. And for the best, he wasn't too bad. Well, the best you could say was that he was only reaching her feet in terms of aiming, but overall his shooting skills weren't half bad.

"Your shooting skills lack a lot of work. It will take a lot more than that to take me, Cecilia Alcott, down."

Figuring, to hell with it! Jaden called back his rifle. Summoning his sword again. He went to charge at Cecilia but his unit wasn't moving that well. "What the…" Before he finished his sentence, Cecilia let fire upon Jaden. His unit wasn't responding, so he took every shot.

She even deployed her BITS to do extra damage. When the carnage was over, Jaden didn't have a spec of shield energy left. He fell to the ground, confused. "My unit stopped responding to me. Why?"

Cecilia flew over to him on the ground. "You didn't block at all? What were you trying to pull?" She asked. But Jaden couldn't give a straight answer on that one.

"I don't know. I tried to move, but my unit wouldn't respond to me."

Cecilia didn't respond. She kinda understood what he meant. But at the same time, confused about why it happened. He went through his 1st shift during their fight, so he should be having perfect control over his unit. "Maybe because of a defect. Something is probably wrong with your unit. Probably best if you alert the teachers about this."

"No. I'll figure out what's wrong by myself before I tell them."

Cecilia didn't ask any further.

'Defective unit. Could there be a problem with my IS? Or could it just have been a malfunction? I'll think about it later on.'

Jaden was walking back from training, alone. He was thinking about what happened until he saw someone approach him. "Excuse me, do you know where Ichika is?" She asked. He looked up and saw it was the same girl from this morning.

"Hm? Ichika?"

"I saw you in his class this morning, so don't think about lying or covering up for him."

'Sorry, Ichika.'

"Well, I last saw him in the locker room getting changed. He could probably be with Houki or Cecilia."

Rin paused for a minute, before hee face reddened. "And Houki is that girl I met earlier?!"

"You met her? I wasn't there during lunch, so I don't know what you're talking about."

Rin took a deep sigh. "Argh, nevermind! Just point to the way!" She demanded. Jaden didn't even want to sell out Ichika like that. But at the same time. It could be funny to see him come back to their room looking completely exhausted, and his arms probably stretched out.

He pointed the way and she stomped off.

"What kind of friend did Ichika make before he came here? Because that girl is crazy."

A few minutes passed by and Jaden was already in his dorm. He didn't hear any footsteps, chattering, or giggling, so nobody was near his room. Not even a few seconds after that thought he heard footsteps.

Ichika quickly opened the door and closed it, panting hard. "Are you okay Ichika? Did you run on your way here?" Jaden asked his exhausted friend.

"No, something else."

"What happened?"

"Houki really laid into me during our match, and now I'm really sore. She approached me after our match and scolded me some more. I couldn't take it anymore, plus my body was hurting, so I ran out of there."

"She's going to kill you someday."

"I hope not."

A knocking was heard on the door. "Hello? Ichika, can I have a word with you?" a girl asked. By her voice alone, Jaden and Ichika could figure out who's talking. "Come in!" Ichika said.

A girl walked in, and it was someone who Jaden encountered a while ago. "Hello Rin, what are you doing here?" Ichika asked. Rin took a deep breath before talking.

"I want to switch rooms."

"Huh?"

"What?"

Jaden and Ichika were confused. Switch rooms? "I refuse…" Jaden quickly spoke up.

"Worth a try...hey Ichika! Do you remember that promise we made?" Rin excitedly asked.

"Promise?" Ichika and Jaden said in unison.

"The one from middle school. That is. You do remember, right?" She now had a half-lit smile on her face. Jaden could only guess how this is going to play out.

"Was it that, I'll eat your sweet and sour pork if you became a better cook right?"

Rin perked up. "Yeah, that's it." She was extremely happy now.

"And it will be your treat, right?" Ichika included.

"...What…" Rin's entire mood made a complete 180.

"That's right. You promised to treat me to a meal every day, wasn't that it? That would be awesome since I'm still single and-"

*Smack*

Silence filled the room. Jaden and Ichika look on in shock at what Rin just did. "What a jerk!" he angrily said. "How can you not remember a secret promise you made to a girl?! You're the most despicable guy ever! I hope a horse kicks you to death!"

"I don't understand why you're so mad, I did remember the promise." Ichika got noticeably upset.

"But you didn't get the meaning of it." She protested.

"Well, maybe you should explain it to me! What the hell is the meaning!" Ichika nearly yelled. This surprised Jaden. Ichika is usually so calm, kind, and dense as hell. Maybe the stress is getting to him.

"You want me to explain it!? How can I explain it when the person I know is so dense." That right there. Jaden could relate. Ichika is dense… really dense.

She then thought of something. "How's about this?! In next week's class league match, the winner gets to make the loser do whatever they say, fair enough?!"

"Fine, why not?! And if I win, you're going to explain the meaning to me! Deal?"

"Deal!" Then she slammed the door behind them.

A few awkward seconds passed by. "Why we're yall yelling? Is she someone you know from back then?" Jaden asked. Ichika collapsed on his side of the bed. He took a deep sigh before sitting upright.

"Rin is a childhood friend of mine, like Houki. But she's way more aggressive than Houki."

"You have some seriously messed up friends."

Ichika sighed in response.

"Wanna workout? Or are you too sore to do it?"

Ichika's eyes lit up with determination. "You bet! Are you ready though?"

Jaden instantly went into a push-up position. "Do you have to ask?"

"Alright."

"Ready."

"Set."

"Go!"

A week had passed and it was time for the class league matches to begin. Ichika was unlucky to be the first person to fight with his rival being...Rin. What are the chances of that?

"Man, Rin is my first opponent in the first match?" Ichika sighed.

Ms. Yamada got on the intercom and started to give Ichika a quick rundown on Rin's unit. It was a close-ranged type by her appearance, but the other things she could have up her sleeve be devastating even for Jaden to ponder about.

He has to spectate in order to know how she fights.

"This match isn't going to be the same as our match, Ichika. So be ready at all times." Cecilia spoke.

Houki was there too, but she wasn't all that happy. What happened a week ago really got to her. Ichika reassured her that he wasn't avoiding her or anything, just a little sore, and didn't want to be scolded on that day.

She cheered up a little. "The only advice I can give you is: Don't let your guard down." She responded.

Ichika was about to take off when Jaden stopped him. "Kick her ass, Ichika." He gave a thumbs up. Ichika smiled in response and took off.

The girls approached Jaden. "Do you think he'll be alright?" Cecilia asked. Jaden looked over at her. What did she just say? Jaden glanced at Houki. She was practically a few seconds away from tearing somebody's head off.

"Hopefully he doesn't get whooped out there."

With that, the battle commenced.