It's been a while! Hasn't it? Also, Happy late New Year! 2021 would hopefully be a good year, I hope.

Today was a very special day for the IS academy. It was the match between Ichika Orimura and Jaden Smith, vs the likes of Laura Bodewig and… Houki Shinonono. The latter was very unfortunate to be paired up with the likes of her since she didn't choose her partner at all.

The arena was packed full of girls including Cecila, Rin, and Charlotte; who was still known as Charles as of now. In the control tower, Maya and Chifuyu along with a couple of other staff members watch the fight; monitoring if something goes bad.

Meanwhile, in the area, Jaden and Ichika looked particularly fired up today. Maybe it had to do with the plan that they discussed before the match even started. Ichika gripped the hilt of his sword even harder, the feel of the Yukihira Nagata shift under his fingertips. Jaden also gripped his sword, Sakikasane, even harder.

The pure silence that flowed through the whole area was nerve-racking. Either opponent waiting for the other to attack, since the bell for the battle had already commenced. "What is this?" Laura spoke up, in a surprised tone. "To think that you two were so confident on beating me, but that you're here standing still; silent."

The two of them looked at each other, nodding in the process. Jaden smirked, "We're not scared of facing you, Ms. Bodewig." He said with a bit of a sour attitude. "It's just that, hot-heads like yourself really turn us boys off." The smirk on his face grew further.

Laura, out of pure anger; and a blushing mad face aimed her railgun; a .80 caliber heavy railgun mounted on her right shoulder at Jaden. "I'll show you a hot-head!" She angrily said.

A small light emitted from her railgun, then into a full-on blast. Firing directly at Jaden, he took on a bit of a smirk; the plan being thrown into action. "Ready Ichika!" Jaden looked towards his friend.

"Ready!"

With a heap of adrenaline, Ichika charged directly for Laura. The blast was getting closer and closer towards Jaden. Closing his eyes, he thought about his pride as a warrior. "Never back down from a challenge," He muttered. "Even when the odds are against you!" He opened his eyes, revealing a deep shade of red.

He swung his sword at the incoming blast, dispersed it instantly. He then charged in to help Ichika, when he saw an incoming sword heading for his dome. Reacting at a quick pace, he stopped the attack with his own sword; creating some sort of mini clash. "Don't forget about me, gentlemen!" A female warrior's voice sounded into Jaden's ears.

Jaden smirked even further. "Don't worry Houki, we didn't forget about you." She then noticed something… off about Jaden. His eyes were different than before. They were brown, now there red! Houki was caught off-guard by this and it bought Jaden enough time.

"You're distracted!" Jaden shouted, breaking the mini clash that they had; landing an 80-degree vertical slash at Houki. The attack grazed her unit's shield energy, dropping at an incredible rate. Jaden then became stoic as he kicked Houki away, charging directly back at her.

"What the hell, was that!?" She grunted in frustration. She noticed Jaden's eyes shift to an unnatural color, and she thought it was very weird. Now she kinda realizes Jaden's weakness, if he has one to be exact.

The fact of the matter is that Jaden has some kind of autonomous power that only activates when he is in distress or when the people he cares about are in distress. That's probably how Jaden blocked Rin's scimitars when she threw them at Ichika the other day, without any sort of injury added to him. It's amazing how the teachers ignored the issue, but Houki knew something wasn't right at that moment.

And now she's facing the wrath that Jaden has dawned upon her. That one slash that he did, took nearly 30% of her reminding shield energy. 'If this continues, I'm not going to have a chance to fight against Ichika.' She mentally said. Looking for a possible solution, she remembered something.

The training that commenced when Ichika was being re-taunt all the things that he had forgotten over the years. She had a spar with Jaden, and to say it herself. "He's definitely above average. So which means, he's getting drunk on power; if I'm correct."

Indeed it was happening. Jaden made a slip mistake; this allowed Houki to gain the upper hand very quickly. "You're getting overconfident!" She said, landing a strike on Jaden's unit, dropping his shield energy in the process.

"That's what we want you to think!"

"Huh?"

Out of nowhere, Houki felt a hit to her back. She turned behind to see Ichika and Laura fighting. She was generally confused about what just happened. She just took a hit out of nowhere then? Wrong. During the fight between Laura and Ichika, it slightly shifted to where Houki and Jaden were fighting; and being how their plan was going, Laura didn't pay attention to a missed shot she had fired at Ichika and struck Houki to her back.

"What the hell-" Houki muttered, before getting kicked in the abdomen by Jaden.

"Your fight is with me! Don't worry, I'll tell Ichika that you did a great job." Jaden teased the latter by telling her something in particular that she was overall flustered to hear about. Charing back into battle, he checks on the fight between Ichika and Laura.

And oh boy! It wasn't going well for Ichika. Laura was practically the strongest out of the first-years and to top it all off, trained by Chifuyu Orimura herself; Ichika's big sister. Her combat abilities far exceed his own; after all, she was raised in the military. So it's to say that Ichika was mostly on the defensive side of the battle, and that wasn't doing very well at all.

Ichika blocked a direct hit from Laura and tried to parry the other, but Laura took advantage of this opening; slicing Ichika directly at his torso. The damage was incredible, so great that it partially consumed a chuck of his shield energy. He grunted in pain and frustration, until Jaden jumped out the back of Laura, using his gun Blood moon to fire a couple of shots at her back.

"You insignificant little-" She was cut off when Ichika, using nearly all the power that he had to land a blow directly to Laura, dealing some great damage in the process. She stumbled a bit to regain her footing, when she did she focused her attention on Jaden.

"Took you long enough," Ichika said, jumping over to the side of his best friend. "Where's Houki? I thought she was fighting you."

"Don't worry, I took care of her." He pointed to the left where Houki was standing there, her unit completely unable to continue any further. Before Jaden attacked Laura, Jaden was really letting Houki have it. Slash after slash, block after block. Houki just seemed unable to keep up with Jaden's furious speed.

Eventually, it all came crumbling down when Jaden unleashed an attack way more lethal than the rest. It was a combined attack from his gun, Blood moon, and his sword, Sakikasane. Crossing them over at the same time with very high accuracy, he created a devastating attack that completely knocked her shield energy out.

"Nice, now we have to deal with Laura."

"Great, just how much damage have you managed to rub off her?" A very annoyed Jaden looked towards his second-best friend. "And it better be something promising." He said.

Ichika chuckled a bit and gripped his sword even tighter. "Enough to the point where she got annoyed with me like I'm some fly, and started using more ways to literally kill me." He felt a shiver go down his spine on that last one. So if Jaden had to guess, about 5% of her shield energy.

Laura once again came into the picture, smirking. "It seems that you two have failed to understand the circumstances that you are in now," She said. "Like for instincts, that unworthy boy has barely landed a hit on me yet."

"Then what do you call the last five minutes?" Ichika said.

Laura just simply smirked even further. "Something called pity." Her mood then turned serious all of a sudden. "Also something that instructor Orimura would not approve of! You have tainted my mentor with your softness! She was proud enough until you came into the fray." She glared at him.

Ichika gritted his teeth and looked very pissed off. All those years ago. It wasn't his fault at all when it happened. "Oh yeah! Then what about you?!" The sudden action caused Jaden to look at him like he was crazy. "What have you contributed to her?! What have you done to make her feel the way she feels now, besides train under her?"

Laura, along with everyone, was shocked by the sudden outburst. Even the people in the control tower were shocked to say; Chifuyu and Maya to be honest. "What is he getting at Orimura-sensei?" A shocked Maya looked towards her stoic friend.

Chifuyu however had no words to express what her brother was saying; nor what he was feeling at this very moment. She could read him like a book since they were always together; basically siblings. But at this very moment in time, she can't understand him.

"I… don't know," Chifuyu walked over to where a tray of black coffee and two packs were sitting. She took a teaspoon of the unknown substance and poured it into the coffee, stirring it to completely mix the two. Taking a sip of the coffee, her eyes immediately went pale.

She put the cup down on the tray and looked up, with a sinister glare hidden in her eyes. "And who keeps putting salt on a coffee tray?" Everyone immediately looked away and started monitoring the fight even harder. Chifuyu may be a first-year teacher, but she can be very scary sometimes; damn near devil-like.

Back to the fight, Ichika was gripping his Yukihira so hard that apparent blood tears started running down his cupped hands. He was shaking with fury. Laura was having a confusing time thinking about Ichika's answer from before. 'What did he mean by that? Is there something that mentor Orimura didn't tell me before?'

Jaden had seen an outburst from Ichika before, but it wasn't on this scale. He was practically shaking with anger, probably sadness and regret. He had no place to judge Ichika on what he's been through because he didn't go through that. He had… outcomes happen to him.

Ichika glanced at Jaden with hate in his eyes, "Forget the plan. I'm going to beat some sense into this rejection of an anime character." He said. Jaden understood and slightly backed off, but this triggered something in Laura.

This made her go into a trance-state. This boy. Ichika Orimura. She couldn't let it slide because he had tainted her instructor in such a way that she dropped her guard when she was a worker in Germany for a year. Clenching her teeth, she aimed her railgun for his head. "Don't get too cocky, you bastard!"

Firing at the 15-year old boy, he let the attack some full-force at him; grazing his unit's sword. The attack did quite a bit of damage to Ichika; or to put it simply, he was basically asking to lose. With his shield energy below 30%, Jaden had no other choice but to barge in.

"Heads up!"

The sound of a sword from Jaden shouted past Ichika's ears, letting him become momentarily distracted by his best friend. Blocking a direct hit from Laura's railgun, he parried the attack; firing it back at her, completely shocked at the matter. "How's that bitch!" Jaden held a strong grin on his face, looking at the cloud of smoke covering Laura.

The cloud dissipated, revealing a very pissed-off Laura. "You!" She pointed at Jaden. "Enjoy your last few days on this planet, you raging bastard!" She shot forward, locking units with Jaden's. The clash was fierce; almost you can feel the bloodlust coming from Laura.

'Damn she's strong! I need to think of a way to break this lock, otherwise, it's game over for me.'

Focusing her attention on Jaden for the moment, she didn't notice Ichika jump up into the air and held his sword behind his head. "You're going down you bitch!" He yelled out into the air. Momentarily taking her attention off Jaden for a bit to look at Ichika, Jaden saw his opportunity.

"Never drop your guard skank!"

Quickly summoning his gun, he aimed for Laura's torso; pointing the barrel right up against her flesh. He took one quick breath and fired. Laura let out a grunt, backing up to gain enough distance from the two boys. She looked down at her body and noticed the shot Jaden took at her, and her eyes widened.

What she saw, changed something within her. She saw blood, oozing from her bottom right side. So many questions were running through her brain at once. Like, how did he bypass the energy barrier? She still has roughly 60% of her shield energy left after all those relentless attacks she took. So, how did he do it? Does he have some sort of bypassing mechanism that he never told anyone?

Right now, Jaden was also partially confused. He knew that he aimed somewhere on her bottom right side, but he didn't actually pay attention to where he was firing. All he's seeing right now is Laura, practically confused and maybe hyperventilating over the blood oozing from her side.

He didn't know how to respond to that, but Laura was quicker. "You fucking bastard!" He heard her yell out to the gods themself. Laura was now unrestrained. She locked eyes with Jaden and deployed her 6 wired-guided daggers at him.

Contempt surrounds Jaden's mind. All he could properly do was avoid those daggers and hope that Ichika landed an attack of his own upon her. Because against her; no matter what his strength is at this moment, she's enraged and blinded by fury. So jumping directly in the air, he started to dodge her controlled daggers heading for his unit.

He glanced at his shield energy. "I only have nearly 50% left. If I get tagged or anything of the sort, she'll beat into me so hard that I'll be on my way to the heaven's gates." He knew that Laura was very trained, and highly professional when it comes to hand-to-hand combat.

So fighting her with a sword will be like fighting Scorpio when he's angry. And he's not risking something like that, no matter how cocky he's getting. He still remembers the plan that was supposed to take place in today's match.

He talked to Ichika and Charlotte about the matter, trying to come up with ideas for the fight at hand. Houki wasn't a problem at all, the main focus was on Laura. During their classes on the field before the match, Laura wasn't cooperative with her group at all; while Ichika and Jaden were having no problem guiding the girls.

And guessing from the way she acts, Laura is the type of person to work alone, even in situations like this. So from tinkering down with plans and possible outcomes for today's battle, they had come up with a solution to the matter at hand.

Laura only cares about herself, and other people besides Chifuyu matters to her. She hates Ichika for an unknown reason, well he probably knows why. And most importantly, Jaden. His overwhelming that he unleashed upon her during her first day in class was unacceptable. He even had a long scolding from Chifuyu just on that matter alone.

But that kind of action should not be done unharmed. She basically slapped Ichika in front of everyone without even caring if Chifuyu saw her or not, and declared that she despised him for being her brother. What kind of bullshit is that?! So, Jaden took measures into his own heads by almost killing her that day.

He wasn't proud of it, but she did deserve it.

Snapping out of his day-dreaming, he noticed a dagger wrap around his unit's frame and pulled him down to the ground. He hit the ground with a loud thud and he partially had dirt in his eyes. Shaking it off, he opened his eyes to reveal a snarling girl. "Shit"

Picking him up, she glared fiercely into his eyes. "You're going to pay for that!" She then summoned her right hand, her blade fueled and extended out intending to kill. "With your life!" She proceeded to swing her hand down.

Another sound clashed with her blade. It was Ichika. He wasn't just going to stand by and watch his friend get turned into a pie. Plus, he had some beef with her that wasn't going to be settled by looking at her. "Forgot about me, Laura!" He said with a grin, glaring directly into her fierce eyes.

Grunting in frustration, she didn't even respond; instead of letting her body do the talking. Another one of her daggers wrapped itself around Ichika's frame, but he was ready for it. "That won't work on me, Laura. You'll have to try better than that!" Grabbing the wire, he quickly reacted by using the strength of himself and his IS to throw Laura to another side of the area.

In the process of unraveling Jaden from her hold.

"Thanks for that bro," Jaden said. "I really appreciated it." He then looked over to where Laura was at. She had taken some damage from Ichika by throwing her. Still, how was he able to manage that? The IS does grant the user the strength of their unit, but to throw someone to that degree. It was something that made Jaden curious.

"No problem," He then looked towards Jaden with a solemn face. "I'm sorry for acting out of the ordinary there. I just… had to get something off my chest." He said. Then the expected happened. Jaden placed his hand on Ichika's shoulders.

"It's alright buddy. I had to deal with moments like that in time before I got here," He then glanced at Laura, who was breathing heavily and slightly clutching her side. "But first, let's deal with this annoying little bitch first." He then rushed directly for her.

"Right behind you," Ichika said with a toothy grin.

Both of them charged directly for Laura, practically giving her a few seconds to react. She grunted and lit her hand up. Within seconds, Jaden and Ichika both served out the way. She was caught off-guard by their sudden action. "What?!" She said.

"As I said before Laura," Ichika said. "It's not going to work on us twice!" Ichika said.

Both of them readied their sword behind their heads, unleashing their might upon Laura. The attacks were so quick that Laura didn't even have a chance to react. Her shield energy suffered a major hit, dropping to below 30%. Her eyes widened when looked in the air.

How did they get there so fast? That was beside the point. Ichika and Jaden were glaring down at Laura like gods ready to punish her. They both looked at each other and nodded. Ichika suddenly closed his eyes and began to call upon his unit for power. It took a few seconds to register what was going on.

When he was finished, he had a different look to himself. He was glowing; practically surrounded with a golden aura. His sword's Fold-Out armor folded out, projecting an energy field over the blade. "Reiraku Byakuya!" He said. Jaden only saw Ichika use this once, and that was when that unmanned IS was rampaging when he had a match against Rin.

"Impressive," Jaden said. "But don't think you're the only one with a power-up like that!" Extending both of his hands above his head, he looked towards the sky. He closed his eyes and thought about the things that had happened to him over the years of him living on this earth.

The constant bullying back in elementary when he wasn't strong enough to defend himself or Tyler in fact. The day that his brother and he lost his parents in a house fire that started unconsciously. Having to see his friend slapped in front of his face. And finally, the ignorance and pride that Laura has, and will forever have until she dies. The thought of it disgusted him.

He opened his eyes revealing something different. His normal bronze, shiny brown eyes revealed a deep glow or sinister energy; red. He did all of this unconsciously. So, when he turned to Ichika to confirm if he was ready or not, Ichika was visibly terrified. He'd seen Jaden with those eyes, but this time it was different.

He held this overwhelming aura just like his sister's, it was hard to breathe in for a moment. This sinister grin that he was giving off. And finally, the sudden aura that just appeared around him. It was a deep shade of black, giving off all different types of emotions. What the hell was going on anymore?

"You ready Ichika?" Jaden said in a visible and deep tone. It was almost as if his entire voice had changed into something demonic. And that scared Ichika.

"Y-Yeah, let's do this," He replied in a slightly shaky tone.

Back in the control tower, Maya and Chifuyu; along with everyone else who was watching the battle, were fixated on Jaden. From the looks of it, he was hiding something very deep. So deep, that he had to suppress himself to that degree. Chifuyu didn't like the looks of it at all. She could tell just by looking at Jaden that something was definitely wrong with him.

"Call off the match!" A very ragged breath Chifuyu said towards her assistant teacher.

"Huh?"

"Call off the match!" She raised her voice to a higher level, scaring everyone that was inside the room.

Maya, who was confused, complied with her friend's wishes. She's not dumb enough to oppose Chifuyu herself, the first-ever Brunhilde, and Mondo Grosso champion. When she was about to suspend the match, she heard the boys get ready for their final attack.

Everyone, including the students, teachers, and government, and UN members watch the fight even closer than before.

Laura was stunned. She tried to move but her body wouldn't let her. Her breathing became ragged like she couldn't breathe at all. She could practically feel the outcome waiting to happen. She glanced at her shield energy. It was a very idiotic move, but she won't back down now, not after all that she's been through!

She summoned the last of her might to finally move, and it worked! She glanced back at both of them and slightly grinned. "If this is the way that I go out, I will go down swinging." She muttered to herself. Clenching her fist, she charged at them.

Both Ichika and Jaden charged before the momentarily still Laura, before they knew it, all three of them were charging at each other at full force. This was a possible outcome of life and death. It was until the very last moment that the area's buzzer gave out, signaling that the match was over.

A very large explosion took place above the area grounds, sending a huge gust of wind towards everyone who was watching the match. The sheer amount of power that was radiating between them was extraordinary! Something that couldn't be over missed. So much so, that it caused the barriers outside the area's shield to activate to level 3.

It was a momentary silence of which everything was quiet. Not even a sneeze or a cough was heard through the area. Everyone wanted to see the outcome of what happened. Finally, the dust subsided, revealing Laura, Ichika, and Jaden all at different sides of the area.

Jaden had his sword in a slash motion and Ichika's Reiraku Byakuya had worn off along with Jaden's dark glow he was giving off. Both of the boys had their eyes hardened and fixated on their target before letting go. Laura however had a face full of agony.

Her shield energy was depleted, signaling that Ichika and Jaden had won, but something else was wrong. A big diagonal slash mark came into view a few seconds later. The real reason why her face was contorted in agony. Out gushed blood, spraying from her chest down onto the ground.

The crowd, along with everyone besides the boys noticed this and screamed to everyone's dismay. The two boys turned around to see something horrifying. Blood. It was dripping down from Laura's chest. Their faces twisted in surprise and shock. And a little bit later, Laura fell to the ground, unconscious.

The two boys went over to see if she was alright, flying down to where they confronted Laura's unconscious body. Ichika was the first one to shake her to see if she was awake, but Jaden was feeling a bit different.

He wasn't angry or sad, he was purely shocked and scared to see what was going to happen to them. He'd never experienced something like this, how should he know what to do? Immediately, a paramedics team was sent out as soon as Ichika and Jaden confronted Laura's body.

They reached the two boys, and without saying a word they rushed Laura off to the hospital. The match concluded, revealing the names of Ichika and Jaden along with their faces over a holographic picture above the area. However, everyone was too shocked to even say something.

The boys however deactivated their units and sat there, looking shocked and defeated. It wasn't until someone approached them at high speed, and it was Houki. Without saying anything to the boys, she slapped both of them across the face as hard as she could manage.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?!" She screamed out to both of them, nearly shattering their eardrums. She expected them to say something, but they kept quiet. They didn't say anything. Practically the slap she gave them wasn't even fixated on them from how much-conflicted things were upon them now.

Houki sighed and glared at both of them. "Also, Ms. Orimura would like to see both of you, now."

Without saying another word, she left; along with half of the crowd that was watching them. The few remaining people among the crowd shook their heads out of disappointment or anger. How could they go as far as to severely injure someone to that degree?! She might have been the most powerful student among the first-years, but even she didn't deserve that.

Both Ichika and Jaden looked at each other with a face full of worry. They didn't want to know or want to go through what they were going to go through.

In unison, they both muttered under their breaths. "Shit."

Well, a lot of things happened after the match. First of all, getting dressed was no problem whatsoever. But the fact was that every student they passed was giving them the cold shoulder. Even the likes of the staff giving them strange looks. It wasn't of the students' level, but it was questionable.

When they reached Chifuyu's office, they were greeted by Chifuyu herself, Maya Yamada, and the… Principle of the IS academy, Akira Sato? Why was she here? Well, this is a very serious matter. So it makes sense if she took part in the situation.

Currently, they were in Chifuyu's office. It was like Jaden remembered it to be very dark and damp. He remembers when he was originally called her to spill the beans about his abilities; to which he has probably completely given himself away now. Sitting in opposite chairs from the desk that had barely anything on it, except for a picture frame, a computer, and two papers.

The tension was obviously there. Not even Maya, who was mostly a very kind and clumsy teacher, wasn't even smiling in the matter. In fact, she was dead serious about what was going on. This was a clear indication that this was something not to be toyed around with.

Clearing her throat, the principal walked a bit forward to view the two students. Ichika had his head down a bit, terrified. And Jaden, who stood up straight; trying not to break his Demeter of a straight face.

"Mr. Orimura, Jaden Smith," She said into the silence. "Do you know the reason you both were called here today?"

Jaden visibly shook a bit. 'Damn, she knows how to make matters worse…' He mentally thought. "Umm, to talk about our match regarding Laura Bodewig?" He actually guessed.

"Correct," She said. "You two are here regarding the incident that took place between you two and Laura Bodewig. And how you'll both be suspended until further notice." This made both of them gasps in shock and confusion.

Jaden stood up. "Wait a minute? Suspended?!" He asked in shock.

She simply just nodded her head, and calmly spoke. "That is correct, suspended."

Ichika couldn't sit by and longer and also stand up. "It was an honest mistake that we didn't mean for it to happen," He said. "Why can't we just apologize for our actions." He asked the principal, to which she just shook her head.

"I'm sure you two are unaware of the situation at hand," Her voice grew slightly higher than her usual calm matter. Slamming her hands on the desk, making the both of them flinch. "You two almost killed a student today! She's in the hospital right now, barely breathing! Do you know how much damage you have done to her?! A simple apology isn't going to cut it."

Ichika and Jaden's eyes widen even more. Barely breathing? That means she is alive! That did take a bit of the pressure off their shoulders, but it didn't make it better. Akira passed them two papers that were on the desk. They both read them and their hearts slightly dropped.

It was a letter of notice, about… being prohibited? "What does this mean?" Jaden looked at Akira, to which she slightly sighed.

"Since this matter is very serious, you two are hereby suspended from the IS academy for 14 days, along with the fact that you can't use your IS outside of school grounds," She said. "Also, when you do come back, expect a full week's worth of punishment, along with an apology letter hand-written in under a day to Laura Bodewig herself." She then walked towards the door and closed it behind her.

The two of them looked at the door in utter shock and turned back to see Chifuyu and Maya still staring at them. "I want you both off school grounds by the end of today," Chifuyu spoke up in a very calm and restrained matter. "Understood?" She looked at them with fury clearly in her eyes.

"Yes Ma'am," Both Ichika and Jaden looked down in sorrow. They couldn't believe the things that happened today. They were so pumped up and confident about their match with Laura, so much that they started insulting her, bad-mouthing her abilities, and not even holding back at all.

They were about to leave until Chifuyu stopped them. "Oh yeah, boys?" She said again in the deadly calm voice. They both looked back expecting something to fly at their faces. "Specifically you Orimura. Don't go to our house, understand?"

Feeling the resolution of his actions, even more, he held down his head even further. "Yes, Ma'am."

With that, the two of them walked out of the office to their room. On the way there, they were met by Houki, Cecilia, Rin, and Charlotte who were looking awfully angry. Truthfully, Ichika and Jaden didn't want to deal with more scolding, especially coming from the girls; so they decided to ignore them, something that they were not very fond of.

So after a long walk that felt like hours, constant cold shoulders, and glares coming from left to right, they finally made it to their room. Opening the door, both of them found their room to be just the way how they left it, instead of in a somber mood. Closing the door behind them, they both went to their beds and stared down at the floor.

"We fucked up Ichika, badly."

"Yup, you can say that again."

Falling back on his bed, Jaden sat their spread-out. He looked outside and noticed that the sun was already beginning to set. Sighing, he stood up. "We should probably get going, it's about to reach the point of no return." He got up and started to pack some of their clothes for their 2 week-long journeys.

"Yeah you're right, hate to anger Chifuyu now more than she already is." He too started packing up some clothes for their journey.

After packing some clothes and switching out into something more comfortable, they made their way to the monorail before dark. Dealing with Chifuyu now would be the worst thing to happen to them at this moment. Students were not out anymore, all of them probably went to their rooms and were probably already asleep. How could they not? It took Ichika and Jaden an hour to pack up some clothes, switch into something more comfortable, and take a shower. By now it was basically a few minutes away from dark.

Reaching the monorail, the train already stood there waiting for the two to get on. The conductor had already been informed on the matter, and she wasn't in the mood to be playing around. She could have stalled time if she wanted to, but at risk of losing her job. Ichika and Jaden boarded the train, and without a moment to spare, it took off.

While on the train, Ichika and Jaden had to think about what they had just done. They nearly killed a student today and tried to get by it by apologizing. Something as pathetic as that was enough to make anyone want to kill himself, but they pulled through and managed.

"So," Jaden spoke up. "Do you have any place to stay at the moment? Besides your house?"

Ichika sighed. "Well, there is one place that we can try. But I don't know if they'll agree to it."

"Well, it's worth a shot! If not, then the streets here we come." Jaden fakely hyped himself up, but Ichika nearly broke from the thought of living on the streets.

It took roughly 5 to 10 minutes for the train to come to a complete stop. When it did, Ichika and Jaden exited the train, taking off almost immediately. The amount of rudeness and glares they were getting today was beyond anything that Ichika had ever witnessed. Lucky to Jaden, he'd gone through stuff like this before the IS even became a thing.

"So, where is the place?"

"Just follow me, and let me do the talking."

It was dark, cold, and empty. Chifuyu had strictly forbidden them from entering her house while on this 2-week suspension, so the only other place that Ichika knows that will take him in is…

A knock on the door happened, followed by a few minutes of waiting. Jaden was relatively confused about what was happening. Did he walk with Ichika for about 20 minutes in utter silence… to a restaurant? As much as Jade would like a break, he didn't think it's for them to be stopping for a snack.

Until the door opened revealing a boy by the name of Dan Gotanda. He had long scarlet hair that was tied in a dark bandana and brown eyes just like Jaden, only the expectation that they were not as shiny and colorful. "Ichika? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at paradise land?" He made sure to emphasize the word paradise.

Ichika smiled, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, it's a long story. Mind if we come in?"

"Uh, sure."

Letting them in, Jaden looking around the place. It wasn't bad at all. The way the tables were set up and the chairs that were put up was a clear indication that they were closed. Figuring that Ichika knew this guy because of coming here to eat every so often, he asked.

"Uh, hey Ichika. Do you normally come here?" Jaden asked.

"Yeah, I and Dan are friends. I met him in middle school, a while before I was announced as an IS pilot."

Jaden understood now. This was one of Ichika's close friends when he's not at the IS academy. Unlike the girls at the academy, Jaden isn't getting jealous over the fact that Ichika has a boy-friend. In fact, Jaden knew about the relationship between Houki and Ichika and Rin but didn't think he'd be that dense about it.

Dan looked over at the stranger Ichika brought over. "Hey, Ichika, who is this?" He asked his closest friend. Ichika turned over to eye Jaden.

"Oh yeah, Dan this is Jaden. He's a student at the IS academy, he was discovered a bit after I was discovered." He said. The pieces clicked for Dan. He went over to greet him.

"Sup, the name is Dan Gotanda. But you can call me Dan." He greeted Ichika's other friend.

"Thanks, but you can call me Jaden if you want."

"No problem buddy."

Ichika was kinda stunned at how easily Dan was getting along with Jaden. Back in middle school, Dan and Jaden were relatively close during their time there, along with another person by the name of Kazuma Mitarai. But other than that, it was just them.

Then out of nowhere, another girl entered the fray. She also had long scarlet hair, but goes down to her hips and is tied up in a rough ponytail. And with a slender body to boot, it was safe to say that any boy would be hitting on her. Her name was Ran Gotanda, Dan's little sister.

"Oh, hello Ichika," Ran said with a slightly shocked and wonderful smile on her face. "What are you doing here all of a sudden?" She asked quizzically. Then she looked back to see someone she didn't recognize, besides her brother. She was momentarily caught off-guard by his looks but corrected herself.

"Well, let's all sit down," Jaden said. "I believe me and Ichika have to explain the situation that we are in right now." With that, they all went upstairs to Dan's room.

"You're both what?!" Dan exclaimed from shock after hearing the one word he'd never thought would come out of Ichika's mouth.

"Yeah, we're suspended from the IS academy," Ichika said, shifting on the ground where he was sitting. "We were in a match against one girl from Germany, and we really did a number on her." Ichika nervously shifted.

Dan and Ran were just shocked to the bone right now. Ichika Orimura, one of the prime examples of today's society, along with Jaden, was suspended from the IS academy. Dan never thought of a day like this would happen at all. Ichika is such a good guy, that he thinks that what they're telling him is fake news, but unfortunately, it was real.

"For how long?"

"14 days, practically 2 weeks," Jaden said, filling the gap of talk time between the four people.

"I'd never thought I'd hear those words come out of your mouth Ichika," Said a very conflicted and confused Dan, leaning back on his bed. "So let me guess, you both need a place to stay until your suspension runs out?" He accurately guessed.

"How did you-"

"Because," Dan cut off Jaden mid-sentence. "When someone comes to someone's house with a duffel bag full of clothes, and a bit of research material for the class, you kinda get the point." Dan then thought of something else. Didn't Ichika live with his sister? "Hey, Ichika. Don't you have a house with your sister and all?"

Ichika rubbed his back. "Well, before we left the academy, she told both of us not to go anywhere near her house. I'm guessing it's a bigger punishment that we have to obey."

Dan deadpanned, looking at Ichika with wide eyes. "Damn, I didn't think Chifuyu would go that far."

"Don't pry on it," Ichika said. "I'm guessing she's just a bit frustrated with us."

"A bit?" Jaden said, looking over to Ichika with slightly squinted eyes. "Did you see how angry she was with us? She was holding back every fiber of her being just to not lash out at us. Thank god the principal was there, otherwise, we'll be having huge welts on our foreheads from the books she'll be chunking at us."

Ichika had to agree on that with Jaden. He'd felt the amount of pressure the books or clipboard she'd use to discipline them. It hurt like hell, but he never said anything like that towards her. He wouldn't be alive if he did.

Dan snickered. "Well, you guys are free to stay here under one condition," Dan pulled out one finger, with a grin on his face. "You have to help out around here until you guys are allowed back at the academy." He said.

"No problem, thanks, Dan!" Ichika gladly went on thanking Dan.

"It's nothing," He said. "After all, I do owe you after the last time, remember Ichika?"

Ichika momentarily stopped and remembered. It was a year ago when it happened. Dan had got into some issues regarding schoolwork, and Ichika helped him out. But the thing was that they were studying on the wrong material and Dan almost failed the class for the semester until Ichika took one for him by agreeing to help around with the whole school for cleaning duty.

It was a very long day, but at the end of it all, Dan owed Ichika something ever since; and today's that day that he gets to repay him for all his hard work.

"Oh yeah, I remember that."

Starting today was the start of a brand new Ichika and Jaden that was going to emerge, and they didn't even know it. Outside the building of the Gotanda's family restaurant, was a man standing there. He had straight bluish-black hair and bangs running down his neck, along with his amber-brown eyes.

His name was Ethan smith.

Currently, he was standing there; fixated on the restaurant at hand. He could practically feel someone of his blood inside this place, and he was having a huge smirk on his face. "Jaden…" Was the words mentioned.

His voice was calm and clear, almost as if he didn't age at all. His eyes held a sense of remorse and sadness. It had been 8 years since he last saw his son, both of them. It all happened during that day. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'll see you in 2 weeks, both of you..." He said, disappearing into the shadows.

It had been a week since Jaden and Ichika were suspended from the IS academy, and to put it into words: It was okay. Their lives were now just a bunch of typical workers in society. The restaurant was open Monday-Thursday to 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and when they were off, Ichika, Dan, and Jaden got a chance to explore more of the city.

Well, in particular, it was Jaden getting used to the city. The three of them had been to all sorts of different places, and sometimes Dan would invite his little sister, Ran, to come and enjoy the time of their lives. It was only 4 weeks away from summer, and Ichika and Jaden were anxious.

They were still suspended from the academy, but that doesn't mean that they're going to slack off when it comes to studying the material. It was a guarantee that when they got back, they were going to get called on for everything; even if they didn't have their hands raised to test if they were slacking.

So far things were going good until something happened.

It was recently discovered that another male can use the IS, which excited both Jaden and Ichika to be able to meet him. They said that he wasn't scheduled to come to Japan for another week, but he took his chances and arrived a week before-hand.

Currently, Ichika, Jaden, and Dan were walking and talking at the same time, trying to find something to do. They could go to the new and improved arcade that just recently opened up, but they weren't up to feeling it for today. So, after walking and talking about issues and guy stuff, Jaden bumped into someone.

"Oh I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going." The stranger said.

"No it's my fault, I wasn't looking where I was going either."

Jaden got a clear view of the person he'd bumped into. He had slick blonde, straight long hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a sea-green shirt over a v-neck white shirt, and black jeans, and grey shoes. He also had a long sea-like necklace over his neck. In all short, he looked like a pretty boy.

"Um, sorry for bumping into you," The stranger said, fiddling with his shirt before dusting himself off. He then offered a hand towards Jaden. "My name is Keith Wilson, nice to meet you." The way that he was openly offering a hand to Jaden made him feel a bit weird.

Ichika and Dan also stopped when Jaden had bumped into Keith, and they were confused and a bit shocked to see this guy's face. Just by looking at him, Jaden and Dan could tell that he was a pretty boy from only a glance, while Ichika was slightly admiring his face.

Eventually, Jaden shook Keith's hands; matching the kind of awkward vibe he was getting from him. "Nice to meet you too, my name is Jaden Smith," Jaden responded firmly.

Keith's eyes widened a bit. "Wait, your Jaden Smith? The second male that could pilot an IS?" He asked. To which Jaden slightly nodded.

"Sorry if I'm a bit slow today, but I've heard about you two months ago."

"Oh is that right?"

Suddenly, people were starting to crowd over the lingering people. Once they got a visual image of the people, they immediately gasped and took out their phones to grave this image in their heads forever. Ichika cringed from all the photograph that was being taken, Dan thought it would be a good idea to slowly back away. So, the three boys were surrounded by a paparazzi.

Jaden, Keith, and Ichika shielded themselves from the flashing lights and noises. Then out the middle of nowhere, they heard a low rumble. The ground around them started to shake. "What the hell is that?" Jaden asked out of curiosity and nervously.

Keith automatically knew what was going on. He turned towards the two boys. "We need to run, now!" With that he booked it, leaving Ichika and Jaden in a daze. The sound of cheering and screaming started to come over the guy's ears, and they wished they listened to Keith when they had the chance.

It was a mob of girls, and they were coming in hot. Immediately heeding Keith's words, they took off without a second to think. The remaining crowd was completely demolished by the stampede of running girls zooming straight by them. Dan was almost caught in the action until he side-stepped out the way.

"Good luck guys…" He said with a smirk as he headed back to his home.

Meanwhile, Jaden and Ichika had caught up to Keith, who was giving it his all. They were running like the ground around was going to break apart. "What the hell was that all about?!" Jaden asked the running to his far-right, Keith.

"Sorry, but when I got here, those girls immediately swarmed me. I don't really know why, but it took me 5 minutes to completely get away from them," He said. "Then that's when I met you guys, sorry if I'm causing trouble."

Jaden couldn't really blame him, since it happened to him when he first arrived in Japan. "Wait a minute," Something inside Jaden's mind clicked. "You said they were chasing you when you first got here, correct?"

Dodging an incoming person, Keith swerved to the side before relocating with Jaden. "Yeah, why?" He said.

Then it clicked for Jaden. Keith was the third male IS pilot to ever be discovered. That meant that Keith was getting swarmed by paparazzi and fangirls before he arrived here? It was announced that there was another male that could use the IS, but they didn't expect to meet him here; running away from a stampede of girls.

Ichika heard all of this and held a smile on his face. "At least we're not the only ones, right Jaden?" He said.

Dodging another person, Jaden nodded his head. "You bet your ass I'm glad! That way we won't be the statues of liberty when we go back to school." He said with a grin.

Anyway, they had to deal with the incoming crowd.

"Any ideas?" Ichika asked.

"How about we split-up?" Keith proposed.

Jaden looked at him with a twisted face. "Hell no! We can't risk it," He said. Thinking of new solutions quickly, he got a great idea. "How about we hide at the new arcade that recently opened up?" He suggested.

Ichika looked kinda confused. "Why that place?"

"Think about it," Jaden said. "Girls sometimes don't like boyish things. So that means, if we go into the arcade, there's a 50% chance that we'll lose them. And that's just going off if they like arcades or not."

"Alright then, it's a plan." The three boys said in unison.

So, running from corner to corner, alleyway to alleyway, they finally made it to the arcade that was thankfully opened. Without a second to waste, they booked it into the place, hoping to hide away from the stampede that was following them.

Once they were inside the building, they wasted no time dodging people and heading directly for the bathroom. Once inside, they let out a bunch of panting breaths. "Did… we… lose them…?" Asked a very exhausted Keith.

Slowly approaching the door, Jaden cracked it open only to find people playing and enjoying the food that the arcade was giving out. He took a deep sigh and closed the door. "Yeah, thank god." Resting his back against the wall, he let the exhaustion take over him.

Standing up, Ichika took a deep sigh. "I'm pretty sure that we didn't properly introduce ourselves," He said, walking over to Keith. "My name is Ichika Orimura, nice to meet you." He offered his hand. To which Keith gladly obliged.

"Keith Wilson, but you already knew that from before," He said. "Nice to meet you."

Now it was time. Time for Jaden and Ichika to head back to the IS academy. It had been another week, and today was Monday; everyone's the most hateful day of the week. And luckily, Ichika and Jaden were in a neutral mood. They haven't seen or heard from Keith ever since their run-away match last week. But that doesn't matter right now.

What matters right now is getting to class on time, because Jaden and Ichika slightly forgot that they had school today. And the thought of getting punished by Chifuyu on their first day back drove them into overdrive.

Currently, they were on the monorail heading back to the IS academy itself. Feeling anxious and a bit nervous for some reason, Ichika and Jaden waited impatiently. They were nearing the 5-minute mark that was undoubtedly conventional out of blue.

After the ride stopped, Jaden and Ichika; with duffles bags around their chests, booked it towards their rooms. It was apparent that it was 8:41, and they didn't have enough time to talk and socialize and admire the view after being gone for nearly 3 weeks, they had to run.

Finding their room wasn't easy enough. Instead of dealing with the cold glare and shoulders being directed at them, they didn't care in the slightest. All they cared about was getting to class on time, which was probably not gonna happen. Girls were watching them book down the hallways at incredible speeds.

They were still angry at them for almost killing someone 2 weeks ago, but the intensity slightly died down. They don't know how they manage between them. But it didn't matter right now. Ichika and Jaden had finally made it to their room, bursting open the door.

Throwing their duffel bags reposefully and accurately at their respectful beds, they closed the door behind them and dashed off to their classroom. It was currently 8:45. They were officially late now, but that didn't stop them from running their legs off.

By now, all the girls were in their classroom, and Ichika and Jaden were the only ones running throughout the halls of the academy. Eventually, they reached their class, bursting through the door and landing on the cold, hard surface below them.

Chifuyu, looking as stoic as after, sighed and looked down at both of them. "You're both 15 minutes late! And on your first day back," She said. "I guess-"

"Yeah, yeah. Save that for later…" Jaden said, interrupting her. She was caught off-guard by his sudden response. So much so, that she wanted to use her clipboard and go upside his head with it, but suppressed that urge for later.

"We've been running for nearly 25 minutes straight without taking a minute to breathe or nothing," Jaden snapped a bit at her. "So please, let us have this moment to breathe." He said, shocking everyone.

Whispers and murmurs began to take place in the class. There was one student, in particular, that was all the way in the back with a cast on her chest. Laura Bodewig. She gazed at both of the boys who caused her such pain, and with hateful eyes, stood up.

"Watch your tone!" She said.

Everyone turned to look at the student with a huge amount of bandages on her chest. She slowly walked over to the two panting boys and glared at them. "I believe that you should treat our instructor with the proper respect that she deserves," She said in a very restrained voice. "Otherwise, you'll deeply regret it."

Jaden looked at her amused. "Are you seriously trying to start a fight right now?" He asked in an annoyed expression. "I only said 'save it for later because I and him know that we won't hear the end of it until a week later." He said.

He was onto something right there that everyone could agree with. It was true that Chifuyu had a habit of sticking with her words until it was over. Like for example, a student was caught day-dreaming in her class and revered a huge punishment for a week straight, constantly reminding her of her mistake.

Laura then got more annoyed. "That doesn't give you the right to disrespect her like that!"

"Like you."

The sudden response caught her off-guard. She felt her anger boil up inside her but she backed down. She didn't want a repeat on last time, either how she pictured it. She needed more data on Jaden and how he was functioning. He released something that she had never seen before. It was almost as if he was imitating Chifuyu with the scariness and her power.

Just then, the door opened; revealing a very confused boy. He was holding a piece of paper along with a bag with him. "I'm sorry, but is this class 1-4?" He asked until his eyes fixated on the two boys.

"Jaden, Ichika?"

"Keith?"

The three boys stared at each other before bursting into laughter. Nobody had a clue what was going on besides the three boys. Chifuyu decided to put an end to it. "Silence!" She roared out, immediately shutting up the boys and the girls that were murmuring.

"Orimura, Smith," She looked at them. "Get to your seats this instant! Homeroom has already started." Then she turned to the new transfer student, "You! This is the wrong classroom, it's down the other hall." She simply said.

Nodding, Keith walked out of the room with a slightly terrified face. Anyway, class started as normal before Jaden and Ichika burst in.

Nearly killed a student 2 weeks ago, and came back on their first day exhausted.

Ichika and Jaden knew it was going to be a very long day.

I know this took a long time to get out; practically almost a whole year, but I managed to pull through in the end. But anyway, how do you like the plot twist in the story? Ichika and Jaden getting suspended for 2 weeks!? Also, I teased that their personalities are going to be tweaked in the last part.

Instead of Ichika being a brain-dead idiot, I'm going to make him notice, and not as dense as he was in the Anime. And another thing, Jaden's father, Ethan Smith is going to make an appearance in the next chapter, along with Carlos and Tyler.