And now, here's the start of the summer vacation arc! In these next few chapters, I'll just be doing random sketches. At least, they're supposed to be random, I may or may not be bringing in foreshadowing and the like here and there...
Besides, this one's just sort of an obligatory!
Disclaimer: I do not own Infinite Stratos.
As Summer Vacation begins, comedy ensues!
When Thomas wants a simple and quiet start to his summer, it ends up in chaos when Ichika's girl friends all decide to come over! Ichika and Thomas will have their hands full trying to keep the girls entertained!
Can Thomas recover his peace and quiet? Or will he have to remake his summer plans?
Charlotte gulped.
She'd never been to Ichika home before, let alone go to a place like the suburbs before. Being the daughter of the Dunois family, the only two places she knew of were a cabin in the forest, and the luxury of wealth.
This was something entirely different.
"It's okay, it's okay!" She reassured herself, "Ichika said he would be home today!"
Out of nowhere, a very unexpected face popped up.
"Charlotte?" Said Thomas, standing behind the girl.
Charlotte yelped, jumping around in surprise.
"Sacre bleu!" She cried, "Thomas, you scared me!"
Thomas was wearing a different choice of casual clothing. Instead of his trademark shorts and a long coat, he wore a pair of comfy beige cargo pants, a form-fitting black t-shirt, and a brown leather apron. He was currently holding what Charlotte assumed were...costume pieces?
"What're you doing outside my house?" He deadpanned.
Wait.
What did Thomas mean by his house?
"You mean..." Deduced Charlotte, "You live here?!"
"I don't know, do I?" He said sarcastically, "Yes. Yes I live here."
"U-Um..." Observed Charlotte, "If you don't mind me speaking, I've noticed you've become a bit more...Irritable?"
Thomas sighed.
"Sorry," He apologized, "It's just...I was hoping for Ichika to not turn my start of summer vacation into a fight for my life."
"Hm? What do you mean by that?"
"Well..." Said Thomas, "Let's just say it's never a dull moment when everyone decides to get together and do group stuff."
Thomas opened the gate. He left Charlotte in confusion with his usual cryptic banter.
"C'mon, you're already here, no point in beating around the bush."
"Excuse me?" Asked Charlotte, "By any chance...does Ich-!?"
"Yeah he does," Admitted Thomas, "He's inside. Come on in."
"I can come in?!" Charlotte said excitedly.
"No point in trying to fight it, just hurry up before I lock you out." Thomas groaned.
Charlotte was taken aback by Thomas's shift in attitude, but too distracted to really care about it for more than a second or so.
Thomas opened the door, took off his shoes, and called into the living room.
"Oi! Chastity belt!" He declared, "Charlotte's here to see you!"
"Cool!" Ichika called back from inside.
Charlotte was confused.
Ichika actually responded to being called a chastity belt? And why was Thomas so rude yet casual at the same time? Did she do something to make him angry? She tried to search her memory, but found nothing that would've set Thomas off like this.
Or was he just like this in private?
Thomas ushered Charlotte into the living room.
"I'll leave you 2 lovebirds to it." He joked.
Both Charlotte and Ichika quickly became flustered.
"We're not in love!"
"Yeah!" Said Ichika, "Why would we ever be in love?!"
Charlotte was quite hurt by Ichika's insensitivity.
"Oh.. I see how it is..." Growled Charlotte.
"What're you so mad about all of the sudden?!" Cried Ichika in dismay.
"Now that we have the obligatory cock-block out the way," Said Thomas, "I'm going to lay some ground rules. I have been put through serious shit in the past month, and personally, I don't know how much more I can take."
"What do you mean? The Academy's been normal!"
"That's not helping, now shut you trap, I'm not done. Anyway, as I was saying...you can stay as long as you want, but no sleepovers. Don't tread on me, I won't tread on you, don't blow up the house, don't try to kill each other-I will kill you both and bury your collectively dumb asses on the lawn-no freaky 50 Shades of Gray sh*t in this household-basically, do anything stupid and I will kill you so fast you won't even know you're dead 'till next Tuesday."
Thomas turned around, and left Charlotte and Ichika.
Moments later, he quickly zipped back in.
"And one last thing, most important thing of all," Thomas added, "Whatever you do, do not-I repeat, Do. Not. Barge into my room. I have some...personal business I need to attend to, and the last thing I need is other people sticking their noses where there especially don't belong."
"Lemme guess," Joked Ichika, "Your 'business' wouldn't happen to be certain magazines, wouldn't it?"
"For the sake of this conversation, yes." Said Thomas, "In reality, no. But try and figure what I'm doing and I will have to silence you permanently. In fact, it'd probably be best for everyone's sake if you just pretend I'm not here, and forget about me."
"I see." Ichika's voice cracked.
Normally, Charlotte wouldn't mind the vulgar banter between the two boys, but Thomas's very presence had already just put a serious kink in her alone time with Ichika. On top of that, Thomas was acting far more rude than normal.
How could she not pay attention to something so suspicious?
Thomas turned back, walked down the hall to what Charlotte assumed was his room, shut the door, and locked it from inside.
"What's his problem?" Said Ichika.
"You mean he doesn't act like in private?"
"No. He's usually a lot more casual and jovial. He's always that way in public, and private. I guess the stress of moving from America to Japan, nearly getting killed twice, and attending an all-girls school is getting to him. But then again..."
"Hm?"
"...Thomas has a habit of completely misleading people in these situations. Whatever's bugging him, it's best to just let him deal with it on his own, he tends to get cranky when other people interrupt him when he really wants to do something. Let's just leave him be."
"A-Alright then..."
It was then that Ichika and Charlotte could hear drilling coming from Thomas's room.
"Is this normal as well?" Asked Charlotte.
"I...I think we should check on Thomas." Said Ichika, revealing that the situation had just taken a turn for the unnatural.
The classmates quickly raced to Thomas's room.
"Thomas!" Called Ichika.
"Oh come on!" Thomas responded from behind the door, "I gave you something so easy! You had one job! ONE! JOB!"
"I get that, but-!"
"I'm working in here! Just do what you're doing, leave me be!"
"Why are you being so difficult? Just let us see what's going on!"
"Not yet! It's not ready to be seen yet!"
"What isn't?"
"I'll show you later! Just behave yourselves and be patient if you're so damn interested!"
Ichika turned to Charlotte.
"Yeah, let's just wait for Chifuyu to get back, maybe she'll be able to get Thomas to come out."
"Oui..."
As the two went back to the living room, Charlotte couldn't help but wonder what a normal day was like for the Orimuras and the Scotts.
"Sorry..." Apologized Ichika, "It's not usually this...combative..."
"Oh, it's fine!" Assured Charlotte.
"Uh...Oh right! I have some Barley Tea in the fridge! Lemme go get it!"
"Merci!"
The two sat down, and both drank a cup of Ichika's Barley Tea.
"So, do you do all the household chores?"
"Nope. Usually, me, Thomas, and his Dad split the chores between the three of us. Chifuyu's always super-busy, so she can't be around to do much. Now that I think about it, there was a really long time she didn't come home at all."
"I see."
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
"Who could that be?" Pondered Ichika, as he went to the outside camera monitor.
"Hello, Ichika darling!" Cecelia greeted from the gate.
"Cecelia? What're you doing here?" Asked Ichika.
"How're you doing on this fine day? I was just in the neighborhood, and decided to pay a visit!"
"You...Were just in town?" Ichika questioned in disbelief.
"O-Oh...Yes! I was just at that famous cake shop, with all the fancy selections! See?" Said the heiress as she pulled out a box.
Ichika opened the door to let her in. No harm could come of it in Ichika's mind. For everyone else, however, things were about to become very...uncomfortable. For Ichika, having the more meant the merrier.
For the girls, the fewer the better.
For Thomas, his plans for a quiet start to Summer Vacation had just been blown clear out of the water.
Cecelia walked inside, a smile on her face...
...And then she spotted Charlotte standing right behind Ichika.
Charlotte smiled nervously, knowing things could get hairy between her and Cecelia...
...And knowing Thomas was certainly the type who just might deliver on his threats.
"Agh, dammit!" Thomas shouted from his room.
His door unlocked, and Thomas marched outside with a frustrated look on his face. Cecelia stared, absolutely dumbstruck by the encounter. From what she knew, the Orimuras lived in the house...She wasn't expecting the Scotts did as well.
"Where'd I put the frigging-Hi Cecelia-the dag-blasted things?!" Thomas said without even stopping.
"What's wrong, Thomas?" Asked Ichika.
"Left some boxes somewhere-oh right! They're in the garage!" Thomas said as he burst out the front door.
Moments later, he came back in with a few sizable cardboard boxes. As he set the boxes in his room, Thomas raced back out for more boxes. He continued this process for a minute or two, and quickly shut his door when he'd finished.
However, he didn't lock the door this time.
"Did he...have a box of spray paint cans?" Inquired Cecelia.
"I thought I saw machinery in one of those..." Observed Charlotte.
"Wait! Does he...live here?" Asked Cecelia.
"Yeah. Good thing too, we don't get tired of each other's company. It was quite lonely when Chifuyu didn't come home, I guess the same goes for Thomas."
Cecelia then realized her plans to woo Ichika with her womanly charm had not only just been shot down by Charlotte's presence, but sent to the deepest pit of hell by Thomas's as well.
Not that she really had any problems with the boy anymore, but...
...He really wasn't helping her chances of getting Ichika to fall in love with her.
"I'd hesitate to ask, but..." Cecelia finally said one of the questions on her mind, "What is Thomas doing in there?"
"We don't know." Confessed Ichika, "At first, he locked the door so we couldn't peek inside. And I'm actually a little scared of what he might do if we peek inside now. But, he's willing to share when he's done, so we can just wait for him!"
"I see...Oh, right! Well, I have some cakes here, so..."
Thomas's guerrilla entrances had really offset Cecelia, making the atmosphere awkward enough.
Charlotte, Ichika, and Cecelia all sat down at the couch as they decided to take a look at Cecelia's haul.
"Oh wow!" Complimented Ichika, "They're all different!"
They certainly are!" Said Cecelia.
"It was pretty much the two of us until now..." Charlotte thought to herself.
"Just what is Charlotte doing here?!" Thought Cecelia, "Was that cross-dressing fraud trying to get ahead of me?!"
Ichika took a fork, and decided to take a taste-test of one of the cakes.
"This one's great!" He cheered, "Oh hey, why don't we swap a little piece from each of the cakes?"
"Oh yes!" Said Cecelia, "That sounds like a wonderful idea!"
"Do you mean we should feed each other?" Said Charlotte.
Cecelia and Charlotte locked eyes in shock, both beginning to form a plan.
"Sure!" Said Ichika, "That sounds great."
Charlotte and Cecelia were delighted at his response.
"Aw..." Ichika groaned, "But you wouldn't want a bite from the piece a guy's already eaten from, right?"
Their hopes sank like the Titanic.
"No no! It's absolutely fine!" Assured Charlotte.
"Yes! I insist!" Agreed Cecelia.
"And actually," Said Charlotte, "I would really like to have a taste from each of them, so...Let us eat cake!"
Thomas's door bust open. Footsteps thundered down the hall.
Thomas slid to a stop, with a glare in his eyes.
"Please tell me you just said what I think you just said!" He called.
"Eh...Oui?" Whimpered Charlotte.
"Alright, you do you, I was trying to make sure." Thomas said as he walked back to his room and closed the door. After the trio could hear muffled sounds of Thomas's work, including the sound of spray paint, cutting, and much more. It may have been quieter, but they could still hear it.
Charlotte and Cecelia locked eyes with smiles, and shook hands.
To them, it felt like and alliance between two nations that would benefit them both.
"Well, if you're so sure, I guess it'll be okay..." Said Ichika.
"Right!" Said Cecelia, "Let's begin with your cake!"
"Oui!" Agreed Charlotte, "I want you to feed us!"
"Okay..." Ichika said, bringing out a clean fork.
He broke off a piece of cake, and prepared to feed.
"Okay!" He declared, "Cecelia's first, say 'ahh.'"
"Cecelia did as told, closing her eyes and opening her mouth. Ichika pushed the fork forward, and Cecelia bit down upon it, savoring every inch of her crush's treat for her. It almost felt arousing for a moment.
Cecelia squealed with delight.
"So, it's good, huh?" Ichika asked, completely misreading the situation.
"Yes!" Answered Cecelia, who really didn't care about his density, "It's heavenly!"
"Ichika!" Asked Charlotte, "I am next, right?"
"Yup!"
Ichika pulled off another piece of cake.
"Say 'ahhh.'"
Charlotte did as told, closing her eyes and waiting for the joy the cake to finally be hers. The moment it was in range, Charlotte chewed upon the cake. She too, much like Cecelia, was enthralled by the rush of Ichika feeding her.
"D'you...like it?" Ichika asked, confused by Charlotte's reaction.
"Ah..." Muttered Charlotte, "Yes, I like it very much."
"Okay then!" Said Ichika, "Now I should get to have a bite from each of yours-?!"
"Hold it right there!" Snapped Cecelia, "It's our turn to feed you this time! That's how this whole thing is supposed to work!"
Cecelia is correct!" Said Charlotte, "That is how this should go!"
"If you think about it..." Said Ichika, "There's no reason I can't just eat the cake using my own fork-?!"
"NO WAY! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" Cecelia and Charlotte shouted in unison.
"Now just relax! Okay?" Said Cecelia.
"Say 'ahhh.'" Cooed Charlotte and Cecelia, their cake-tipped forks at the ready.
As if one cue, the doorbell rang.
This time, it was Houki, Lingyin, and Laura.
"I don't mind all of you stopping by," Said Ichika, "but it would've been nice if at least one of you let me know you were coming."
"And just how would I have done that?!" Questioned Houki, "I didn't know I was doing anything today until now!"
"Yeah!" Added Lingyin, "What gives?"
Without warning, strange sounds erupted from Thomas's room.
"What...Was that?" Asked Lingyin, taken aback by the sudden occurrence.
"Oh," Explained Ichika, "Thomas is working on something in his room, he seemed really set on making sure no-one interrupted him."
"Wait!" Piped Houki, "Thomas lives here?!"
Out of nowhere, the ensemble of noises stopped.
Thomas threw his door open and marched out into the living room, a paint gun in his hand, and a vapor mask he'd pulled off his mouth hanging from his neck.
"I swear to God," He ranted, "If I have to hear that goddamn question one more time, I will blow your asses all the way to the west! YES! Yes, I live here, I'm sorry I'm putting a kink in you all trying to get to the bone-zone, but I live here and I will fight you if you don't like it!"
He turned around, and walked back to his room.
"Now, don't come in my room! I'm still working!"
He shut the door, and left it unlocked again.
It started to seem as though he was daring the other students to peek inside.
"I don't see the problem." Complained Lingyin, "Is showing up unannounced really such a big problem? Or...could it be that you have something to hide? Spill it! Magazines? Drugs? Confess your sins!"
"What? No!" Cried Ichika, already overwhelmed.
"Damn," He thought to himself, "If Thomas was here, he'd be able to help, but..."
"I zhought zat it vould be an amusing surprise for you if I stopped by, unannounced." Explained Laura, "So Ichika, are you amused?"
"I hate how bold Laura is," Thought Lingyin, "But I can't help but envy her confidence!"
"It's too hot to go outside, should we do something inside?" Asked Ichika.
The girls all agreed.
"Of course!" Thought Houki, "I specifically chose a day I knew Ichika would be home!"
"If we got outside," Thought Lingyin, "We'd risk running into the Gotanda Siblings, and that'd just ruin everything!"
"We just can't go outside!" Thought Cecelia, "I came all this way so I could learn something new about Ichika, not the neighborhood!"
"If there is any chance at all," Thought Charlotte, "I'd really like to see what Ichika's room looks like."
"I am extra curious," Thought Laura, "Zhis is zhe house of Mentor Orimura."
As Ichika pondered the question, the girls were beginning to feel quite antsy about what Thomas was doing inside his room.
"Let's go check on Thomas!" Suggested Lingyin.
"No..." Explain Ichika, "He made it clear he doesn't want anyone disturbing him..."
"But he's been doing all sorts of strange things when we see him out side his room." Protested Charlotte.
"I understand he wants it to be a secret, but I must say, he's really not helping his case." Said Cecelia.
"I just want to see what crazy thing he's making this time." Admitted Houki.
"I too vould like to see vhat Thomas ish vorking on. Vhatever it ish, I assume he vill be putting his American Pride into it. Truly, he ish a man of great dedication to his country!" Said Laura.
"That's...mildly confusing." Said Ichika, "But still! It's just not right to invade his privacy!"
"We need to be sure he's not up to something!" Said Lingyin, "He could making a robot monster, or something worse in there!"
Ichika was so dumbstruck he couldn't even respond.
Finally, he gave in.
"Sorry Thomas." Ichika thought to himself.
The group all tread carefully and quietly, in the hopes Thomas wouldn't hear them coming.
Ichika made everyone swear that they'd only take a very quick peek, and that would be the end of their little stealth mission. Just a few seconds, at most, would do to satisfy their peaking curiosity.
Lingyin went first, tip-toeing lightly as she reached for the doorknob.
Ichika was having second thoughts, seeing as he let Lingyin go first.
The group held their breath as Lingyin noiselessly touched the doorknob. As she slowly reached her fingers around the metal object. She raised her fist to signal her comrades to prepare. Lingyin quietly twisted the doorknob.
The tension was so thick, it could be cut with a knife.
Ichika assumed Lingyin would quietly and slowly open to door a tiny degree.
He should've known better.
Lingyin threw the door wide open without a warning.
"Alright!" She commanded, "We caught you red-hand-huh?!"
Thomas's room was pitch-black. The curtains were drawn, the lights were off, and the severely limited light that entered couldn't even begin to help them see what was happening inside.
The group timidly entered a few steps into the room, tension was replaced with anxiety.
They then heard the door begin to slowly close behind them. Ichika snapped back, raced to the door and pushed against to ensure they wouldn't be trapped inside. When the closing stopped, they had even less light to see with.
They then heard a deep, raspy, gargling growl.
The group, fear stricken on their faces, all trembled as they did their best to try and narrow down the source of the noise. The growl droned on at a constant pitch and volume.
It was a very terrified Cecelia who looked to the ceiling.
She screamed, the others all turned upward and did the same.
"PREEEECIOUUUUUUUUUS!" Screeched a humanoid-like figure, clinging to the ceiling.
It drove them over the edge.
The group all ran out screaming, nearly tripping over themselves in a frenzied and desperate attempt to escape from the horrors of the dark room.
They slammed the door shut as the last person escaped.
For a moment, there was silence.
Thomas turned on the lights, and landed on his feet as he dropped down from the ceiling, grinning from ear-to-ear.
"Heheh...Bunch a' idiots. It was bound to happen sooner or later." He chuckled to himself.
He turned away from the closed door, and resumed his work.
The girls and Ichika breathed heavily as they reached the safety of the living room.
"What...What was that?!"
"I think it was a monster!"
"Wait! Thomas was in the room, did that thing..."
"No way! It couldn't be Thomas."
"Zat was...exhilarating!"
"How the hell're you so satisfied?!"
"Thomas ish clearly employing advanced defense tactics to stop us. He's thought of everything!"
"Actually," Clarified Ichika, "I think he knew we were coming."
"Huh?!"
"I mean, we weren't exactly quiet about planning to break into his room..."
"True...But still! We still don't even know what he's up to!"
"I think it's best if we just play some games..." Suggested Ichika.
"Seeing as that was a total bust," Agreed Houki, "I guess occupying ourselves until he's finished will have to do."
After some time of playing board games, everyone tired of trying to find a game they could all have fun playing. Eventually, the group all settled on watching a show, or a movie. Now, all they had to do was agree on what to watch.
"We should watch Gundam Micro!" Declared Lingyin.
"Oh please!" Snickered Cecelia, "We should watch something much more refined! What decent shows do you have? Do you have Downton Abbey?"
"I vote for Samurai Warbots!" Said Houki.
"Well..." Suggested Charlotte, "I've always heard great things about For Honor...Maybe Assassin's Creed..."
"Hmm..." Laura closed her eyes as she thought long and hard, "Since I have no idea on zhings like zhese, I vill place my trust in you, my bride."
Ichika was stuck on his choice.
There were so many choices! The Scotts brought over tons of their entertainment over from America, meaning Ichika had a lot more choices to watch from. He and Thomas had a lot of trouble on decisions like these!
He was going to need a distraction.
The front door opened.
"So that's what all the noise was about." Said Chifuyu as she entered, "Ichika, you didn't tell me you were having a party."
"M-Miss Orimura?!" The girls cried in dismay.
"Where's Thomas? That boy should be helping entertain guests." Chifuyu muttered.
"He's...busy in his room."
"Seriously? What am I going to do with that kid? Stay here, I'll go get him."
Chifuyu went to Thomas's room, and threw open the door.
"C'mere, you!" She snapped as she wrangled Thomas like he was a wild animal.
"I'm busy!"
"You've been working on that thing for way too long! Besides, you need to interact with people more often! So stop acting like such a goddamn cat and get out there! Ichika's been trying to entertain the girls all day and you've been pretty damn rude!"
After a full minute of struggling, Chifuyu came back to the living room with Thomas reluctantly in tow.
"Alright," She said, "now behave yourself!"
"Fine..." Grumbled Thomas.
"Okay then," Chifuyu said, "You girls make yourselves at home, but no sleepovers!" She turned to leave. "Oh, by the way, Shinonono. I've heard you haven't been to your Family Shrine in a while, you should visit sooner rather than later."
"Hold on," Said Ichika, "You're leaving already?"
"Unlike you slackers," Chifuyu said as she smiled and rubbed Ichika's head, "The Instructors have work to do, even during the summer."
"What's dad up to?" Said Thomas.
"Hm? Oh, when you moved, he switched jobs. He's now working at the IS Academy. Probably should've mentioned that sooner."
"Seriously?"
"That's about the size of it. Now, you two do your best at entertaining guests."
With that, Chifuyu left.
"So..." Thomas broke the ice, "What're you all up to?"
Lingyin was bold enough to ask what was on everyone's mind.
"What've you been working on?!"
"Ugh, knew someone was going to pull that one sometime."
Thomas got up.
"Alright everyone, lemme show you."
The group eagerly followed Thomas to his room. Thomas opened the door, moved some boxes out of the way, turned on the lights, and at long last, displayed his secret creation he'd been working so privately on.
A blue helmet with a golden crest on the forehead, blue gauntlets, blue boots, and red pieces laying about.
"No way..." Said Ichika, instantly recognizing it.
"I don't..."
"Vhat ish zat?"
"Is this...cosplay?"
"Right you are." Said Thomas.
"You're really building a Furai Model Star Convoy?!" Said Ichika.
"Hell yeah!" Answered Thomas, giving Ichika a high-five.
"I don't understand." Said Cecelia, "What's...'Star Convoy?'"
"Star Convoy's a variation of Optimus Prime from the Transformers franchise." Explained Ichika.
"I was building this suit for the convention coming up."
"Wait! That's not gonna be for several months!" Realized Ichika, "Why start now?"
"Because I thought we agreed we're not just doing on cosplay this time. We need to prepare in advance."
"Oh yeah..."
"Speaking of which," Said Thomas, "How's your Part 4 Jotaro cosplay coming along?"
"Still need to order the Star Platinum stuff..."
"What other things will you be dressing up as?"
"Um...Lessee...Part 4 Jotaro...Gundam Unicorn...and...I'll decide on the last one later. How about you?"
"Star Convoy, Part 3 Joseph, Arkham Knight, and a few more."
"The convention's only for 3 days, you're really doing more than 3 cosplays?"
"Yes."
"Just hold on a minute!" Said Cecelia, "What do you mean? Conventions and cosplay?"
"People get together and dress up in decent-looking costumes and go around and buy merchandise and stuff. They all take pictures, meet n' greet, and let out their nerdy sides and stuff like that."
"I see...Well, if Ichika's attending, I for one would love to see just what occurs in such a place."
"Anyone up for a movie?" Said Ichika, returning to their predicament.
"We can't decide on what to watch!" Complained Lingyin.
"Hm..." Thomas began to think.
Charlotte never watched movies, nor did Laura. Cecelia would most likely be interested in the refined sort of entertainment. Lingyin was straight-up a Gundam fan, that alone was easy enough. Houki's preference was Samurai Warbots. What could they watch...?
Thomas then got an idea.
"I have one suggestion you all might enjoy!"
"What is it?"
"Anyone ever see Robot Knights?"
"That...was an experience." Said Cecelia.
They'd just finished watching Robot Knights. Charlotte liked it, Houki was fine with it, Lingyin stopped pouting over the loss of the chance to watch Gundam, Laura was still trying to wrap her head around everything, but was otherwise entertained.
Thomas checked the time.
"Oh snap," He said, "Almost time for dinner."
"Oh, that's right!" Said Ichika, "We have to go buy groceries!"
"I'll make something special for you!" Said Lingyin.
"That goes for me too!" Joined Houki.
"And I will be glad to do the same!" Agreed Charlotte.
"Of course, I vill be participating zhe effort." Said Laura.
"Well," Cecelia piped up, "I suppose I have no choice! Why don't I just go-?!"
"Oh no you don't!" The girls intervened in unison.
The group all went to the store.
"This reminds me of all the times I used to go to the market with my Mama." Reminisced Charlotte.
Thomas would've said something, but was currently missing from the rest of the group.
"Dammit..." Muttered Ichika, "Not again..."
"Did that idiot seriously get lost?! I thought he grew out of that!" Snapped Lingyin.
"Hm? What do you mean?" Said Cecelia.
"When we were kids, Thomas had a habit of...Getting very lost very easily."
"Oh my! He certainly is one of a kind!"
"Damn straight." Said Thomas.
The group all yelped at Thomas's magical reappearance.
In his arms, he held shredded mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, pepperoni slices, seasoning, a bag of Reese's, a pack of Twix, four six-packs of Doctor Pepper, a few tubs of ice cream, and dough.
"What's with all that?" Asked Ichika.
"Well, since everyone's doing a dish," Concluded Thomas, "I decided it'd be best to make something everyone can have, plus dessert. That, and I'm going to get hungry while working on Star Convoy later."
"Smart thinking!" Complimented Ichika.
"I took cooking drills back when I vas in zhe military," Said Laura as she picked up a potato to judge it, "I vill show you vhat I have learned I have learned from my instructor."
Lingyin was babysitting Cecelia, in the hopes that the heiress wouldn't do something that would get them all kicked from the store.
"I still don't understand why I don't get to cook anything! I want to show my skills so that England can be fairly represented as well!"
"I don't think you representing England is going to go over well with the people of England."
"What is that supposed to mean?!"
Ichika had Houki had paired up.
"You really haven't visited your Family Shrine yet?"
"No, I haven't. But I was already thinking about visiting even before Chifuyu brought it up earlier."
"That's great." Said Ichika, "I'm sure your Aunt Yukiko will be glad to see you."
Houki smiled and nodded.
"Ichika! Heeelp!" Cried Lingyin.
The pair looked forward only to find Charlotte and Lingyin desperately attempting to restrain Cecelia from doing something that wouldn't end well for any of them."
"Aww...The Hell're they on about now?" Asked Ichika as he brought the shopping cart over.
Houki couldn't help but smile as she watched.
"I will cook for you Ichika, AND EAT IT!" Cried Cecelia, "AND YOU WILL LIKE IT!"
Thomas, who was watching from the drinks machine as he purchased a soda can, was split in decisions. On one hand, He was terrified and knew from personal experience to be wary of Cecelia's cooking. On the other hand, he was really quite curious just how Cecelia actually cooked.
"On the other hand..." Thought Thomas, "Wait, shit...I'm out of hands."
The group returned from the store and quickly began to work on their dishes.
Lingyin was struggling to peel the potatoes.
"Agh, dammit! This potato is so hard to cut. And you picked the wrong kind!"
"You insult me vith your ignorance!" Returned Laura, "Back vhen I vas in Germany, I vas zhe best in my unit vhen it came to picking zhe right potatoes!" She boldly declared as she split a potato in two with her combat knife.
"Uh...Guys?" Said Houki.
"Hm?" Said Ichika.
"Are we going to let her continue with that...?"
Cecelia had gotten her hands on kitchen equipment and ingredients.
Thomas took notice, and made a mental note to pray if he survived.
From the looks of it, Cecelia had somehow managed to create what appeared to be an almost-edible version of bubbling magma. And she didn't stop to examine her own creation, but instead began to work at the speed of a madman.
"It definitely needs a great deal more red...much more!" Cecelia said as she emptied an entire bottle of ketchup, and two bottle of hot sauce into the mixture.
Ichika gulped.
"I think...that ship has already sailed." He whimpered.
"Cecelia," Charlotte intervened, "I think it would be a really good idea if you didn't do any more cooking!"
"I simply cannot bear the idea of doing nothing while everyone else around me is working so hard!"
The pot began to glow as Cecelia turned from wayward chef to a witch brewing a potion.
"But you needn't worry," She said with a smile, "cooking starts with a few small defeats, but I usually win the war."
"Cooking's not a martial art!"
Thomas had yet to actually start cooking. The dish he planned on making required much more open space, so he decided to let everyone else cook before he actually got started, it was simply easier that way.
Thomas was offloading most of the haul, putting non-essential things in the fridge and freezer, putting the packs of Doctor Pepper, Twix, and Reese's in the mini-fridge in his room, and returned to the kitchen.
It only took him 30 seconds.
The moment he entered the kitchen, he was greeted with an explosion to the face.
30 seconds.
There was absolutely no possible way Cecelia would've been capable of doing literally anything.
He was so wrong.
"Oh, drat!" Cecelia snapped, clearly the culprit.
Cecelia had deployed one of her Optical Drones in order to superheat her dish, and thus make it cook quicker. But, what Cecelia didn't understand was that by heating it with a laser designed for combat doesn't make it an everyday use item.
"You were cooking it with a laser?! That is so irresponsible!" Cried Charlotte.
"Failure is the mother is success!" Defended Cecelia, "Watch me do it perfectly this time! Cecelia Alcott's famous IS Cooking!"
"Well, why d'you think it's famous?" Thomas whispered to himself.
"Don't worry about cooking anymore!" Pleaded Lingyin, "Why don't you go set the table?"
"Yes!" Agreed Charlotte, "That's a good idea!"
"But why?!" Cried the Alcott, "Please explain to me why everyone is attempting to prevent me from cooking?! I simply can't understand it at all!"
Thomas chuckled.
From the looks of things, everyone else was done cooking their dishes.
"Alright alright." He said, "Stand back, and watch a master in his domain."
Everyone all set up their dishes on the table, and all watched eagerly as Thomas prepared.
He washed his hands, pulled out the ingredients, put on a white apron, pulled out his phone and a few bluetooth speakers. He pressed play, and began to work with a sudden grace and style in his movements.
(Song-Il vento d'oro-Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.)
Some of the girls giggled a little at Thomas acting like such a dork, even though he knew people were around. Thomas had put the song in his Jojo playlist, including songs from the soundtrack, opening songs, and ending songs. Each time there was a new song, he'd dance a little to the song, but still work diligently.
Thomas pounded the dough, and began to spin it into a large floppy disc, tossing it in the air a few times. When he carefully set down the dough, he took a clean ladle, and evenly spread out tomato sauce in a circle just a few inches short of the edge of the dough. He took the shredded cheese, and began to spread it around the dough with style and technique. As he finished with the cheese, he pulled out the seasoning, and sprinkled it in small amounts.
He decided to do the Salt Bae meme while doing it.
As he finished, he carefully set the dish in the oven to cook, and set the timer.
"Tell the truth," Said Ichika, "Are you making pizza?"
"Yes! I am!" Said Thomas, making an Avdol reference.
The group had a wonderful dinnertime.
"Always love it when I get to try stuff from around the world." Reflected Thomas.
"Your pizza was the best!" Said Ichika, "Where'd you learn to make pizza like that?"
"There was a guy who owned a Deli Shop back before I moved to Japan," Explained Thomas, "He and I managed to become great friends during the school year, so he eventually taught me a few tricks."
"Really?"
"Yup!"
The girls all decided to stay and help clean up. Since the cleaning was done quickly, the girls had already left for home. Thomas, despite his original plan of continuing work on Star Convoy, was currently too deep in a food coma to act upon his previous plans.
Not that he didn't mind.
Chifuyu was right: He needed to do more group stuff more often. It helped him forget the stress of his missing mother, and sometimes it was just nice to know there were people in the world who seemed to genuinely enjoy his company.
"Speaking of which," He continued, "I should call Louie."
"Is he the deli shop guy?"
"Yeah. I wonder how he's doing...I'll call him tomorrow, I am way too full to do that now."
"Now that I think about it," Thomas thought, "I've come a long way already, haven't I?"
It was in moments like these Thomas found strength to keep going in his darkest hours.
Having friends, people who'd pay undivided attention to him, his big sister-figure, heck, it almost felt like he had a great, big family.
Almost.
He may have had complications with the start of his summer. But for once, he really didn't mind.
The IS Academy was a complication that he enjoyed.
Yin sat in the bar. She didn't actually drink, she was simply waiting.
Chifuyu walked up and took the stool next to her.
"How is he?" Said Yin.
"He's doing just fine." Said Chifuyu, "From what I could gather, Thomas and Ichika are going to a convention in a few months."
"I see."
"Y'know," Suggested Chifuyu, "If you're so desperate to see him, you can use the convention as a means of interacting with him without the risk of being caught."
"Good idea." Yin sighed, "It's still so hard to believe. I always wonder what would happen if I were to just walk into Thomas's life. He's grown up without me, I'm scared he won't love me. What if I'll never be able to love him again?"
"Stop worrying so much." Said Chifuyu, "The only way we'll know for sure is if you try. When the time is right and all that. But...It's been so long already and you haven't found her..."
"I'll find her." Said Yin, "And when I do, we'll be a great, happy family again."
"So..."
"That convention you said earlier, want to join me?"
"Only because you'll get too nervous to actually talk to Thomas for once."
"Thanks."
A/N: Aw crap! It's almost the end of actual summer for me, and I'm only one chapter into the summer vacation arc! What am I going to do?!
I'll figure it out.
Anyway, Louie the Deli Shop Owner was just a random thought in my head, and it would help explain Thomas's culinary skills, so I felt it was a win-win scenario.
Downton Abbey is a real show, I do not own it.
Gundam Micro, Robot Knights, and Samurai Warbots are all things I literally came up with on the fly, and are not real, anything that may have any correlation is purely another work, and these are just random thoughts I came up with in 5 seconds. However, I'm willing to do small chapters for those 3, if anyone wants that...
For Honor and Assassin's Creed are video games. After watching Gamer's Little Playground on Youtube, I made them into movies just because I was messing around, they are video games, not real movies. I do not own either.
Star Convoy is indeed real, but the Furai Model Star Convoy is not. The Furai Models are Transformers Figures that have a much more anime-styled appearance in their design.
But whom was this "her" that Yin was talking about? You'll get the answer at the end of the summer vacation arc, so stay tuned!
Next time: Multiplayer Madness!
The girls all visit Ichika for a second time, only to find their love interest stuck in a MMO session with Thomas and Ran Gotanda! Can the boys show off their incredible gaming skills and win the game?
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