Alright! In the next few chapters, things are about to get dangerous of Thomas is put up against...A lot, when I think about it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Infinite Stratos.
The school year resumes once more, and for the boys, it's shaping up to be a good term!
However, little do they realize the dangers hidden right under their noses.
Out of nowhere, the Student Council President, Tatenashi Sarashiki, makes the executive decision to become Thomas and Ichika's personal trainer! She drills them relentlessly, driving them to their limits!
Can Ichika and Thomas survive?
It was the first training battle after summer vacation.
Currently, Thomas and Ichika were going toe-to-toe at each other to gauge the Byakushki's new abilities, and the Revive's statistical data in the Primary Shift.
Ichika was chasing Thomas, seemingly leading the battle in his favor. Every time he got within range, he'd bring the Yukihira upon Thomas, who'd counter with his Barrier Shield, drawing the fight out for longer.
However, it was only a matter of time before Thomas actually decided to start trying.
"Remember!" Instructed Thomas, "The Byakushki's meant for CQC, putting you at a serious disadvantage. You need to close the gap without wasting power or getting hit, and that's the tough part!"
"I know! I'm just trying to figure out why you're not using guns! All you've done most of this fight is just hold your shield!"
"It's a Sword V Shield battle, might as well make the most of it!" Said Thomas.
Chifuyu and Miss Yamada watched from the pit control room.
"Looks like once again," Said Miss Yamada, "Orimura's leading the battle."
"Hardly." Criticized Chifuyu, "To me, it looks like Scott's trying to train Orimura. He has yet to actually attack Orimura, and he knows it. If anything Scott, could've won the fight any old time he wanted."
"So, why doesn't he?"
"It's a classic fighting tactic. He's just toughing it out so Ichika wastes his time trying to beat him. And, it makes it easier for Scott to straight-smash Orimura when he realizes he'd out of power."
Thomas finally decided to put up a fight for Ichika, and took potshots at the boy with a PDW.
Ichika simply cut down the bullets he couldn't dodge.
"Not too bad, you're getting better!"
"I saw you do it once! So I can do the same!"
"Then show me!"
Ichika had gotten within striking distance of Thomas, and began to hack away at his opponent.
However, Thomas's Barrier Shield was simply too big for Ichika to get past it.
Eventually, they broke off to give each other space for their next clash.
"This'll be the decider!" Declared Ichika, raising his Yukihira.
"Fine by me!" Said Thomas, shifting from his right Barrier Shield to his left.
He had a plan.
Ichika revved his Charged Particle Cannon, ready to fire in mere moments.
Thomas quickly did the same, the Cannon deploying on his hip.
Suddenly, the two fired, and their shots connected.
The result was a massive implosion that knocked them both askew.
Chifuyu flinched, and Miss Yamada gasped.
"Oh my!" Cried Miss Yamada, "I never thought that would happen! Should check on them?"
"No." Affirmed Chifuyu, "They're fine."
Sure enough, Thomas and Ichika had already shaken off the recoil from the collision, and returned to fighting.
Ichika rushed Thomas, only to be met with the left Barrier Shield.
Ichika brought down the Yukihira, clashing continuously with the shield. He then reached his Particle Cannon over the shield, and attempted to blast Thomas in the face.
Thomas, however, caught onto Ichika's plan, and moved away to reduce the impact. Sadly, he was still hit in the torso.
But the blow to the torso was better than one to the head.
Ichika went in for another attack, only to be met with Thomas's left Shield Pierce to his gut.
Ichika was sent back a few meters, and realized it was all over.
His shield energy was depleted, and his Yukihira fizzled out.
However, when he looked to find Thomas, the boy was nowhere in sight.
Ichika looked up, only to find Thomas right above him, smirking.
Thomas sent Ichika back to the Earth with a barrage from the Revive's missile racks.
Ichika groaned, Thomas landed, and the bell rang.
Once again, Thomas had beaten Ichika.
"Y'know," Said Thomas, "I really wish I could use an Uchigane again..."
He then remembered Chifuyu's threats of punishments, and quickly perished the thought.
Thomas and Ichika sat in the locker room as they changed and talked over their battle.
"I was so close!"
"Not really."
"Oh come on!"
"You weren't thinking it through."
"I was!"
"Then what was your plan?"
"I...wasn't thinking it through."
"You need to work on fixing your power consumption, that was over faster than the first time we fought."
Thomas had already finished changing. Ever since he'd come to the academy, he had always followed a single rule when it came to managing his IS Unit; Always wear the pilot uniform.
There was bound to be at least one situation a day where he'd need it.
"See you in class." Said Thomas as he took off.
He didn't even waste time to tell Ichika to work faster before he was late.
He didn't even notice the blue-haired girl walking into the locker room as he left.
Less than half an hour later...
"So let get this straight," Said Chifuyu, "That's your excuse for being late?"
"Yeah!" Defended Ichika, "There was this mysterious, blue-haired girl I never met before and she...um...distracted me?"
Apparently, Ichika had been held up in the locker room, and was late by a minute or so.
Chifuyu was giving him the glare of judgement and unforgiving cruelty.
"So," Concluded Chifuyu, "You were late to my class because you prioritized a conversation with a girl you didn't even know?"
"That's...not what I said." Whimpered Ichika.
"Dunois." Ordered Chifuyu, "Please demonstrate the Rapid Switch."
Thomas shifted in his chair.
"Woah-woah-woah!" He stuttered, "Isn't that overkill?!"
"I'm sorry Scott," Said Chifuyu, turning her wrath upon him, "You're on thin ice as is, but it sounded to me like you want to join Orimura here."
"That's not-!"
"Dunois!"
"Oui, Instructor Orimura!" Said Charlotte.
Charlotte deployed her Revive, and gave the boys a smile.
"Now!" Announced Charlotte, "Observe the Rapid Switch!"
She deployed one of her PDWs.
"Now," Her face twisted into a glare, "Let us begin!"
She aimed for Thomas, who, in his anxiety attack, reacted without thinking.
In a mere 5 seconds, Thomas deployed his Revive, disarmed Charlotte, grabbed her by the wrist, and flipped her over onto her back.
His eyes bulged, and he breathed heavily. The adrenaline rush took its course as Thomas slowed down.
He turned to look at Chifuyu.
If looks could kill, Thomas would've been several times dead.
"That's enough of that, then." Chifuyu said calmly.
Thomas feared for his life.
Normally, he could handle women screaming at him, but when they were calm, there were at their most dangerous.
"You three, back to your seats."
The trio all sat back down without a sound.
Thomas could tell Chifuyu was going to enjoy watching him suffer in whatever she had planned.
Later...
The class went down to the auditorium for a school assembly.
However, Thomas and Ichika could tell a good majority of the student body were all trying to get peeks at the two boys.
"Ladies and the two gentlemen of the IS Academy," Said the loudspeaker, "Please stand by for an address from the President of your Student Council."
The Student President walked up on stage.
Ichika whispered into Thomas's ear without taking eyes off the stage.
"That's the girl I was talking about! I didn't know she was the Student Council President!"
"I see...Not like it matters now, Chifuyu gonna kill me deader than a doorknob now!"
The girl began to speak into the microphone.
"Things have been hectic this year." She said with a smile, "So hectic that, many of you haven't properly met me yet! So allow me to introduce myself! My name is Tatenashi Sarashiki! And, if you're in this school's Student Body, then that makes me your head!"
Tatenashi then made eye contact with Ichika, and winked at him.
Thomas turned to Ichika.
"So," He whispered, "You two have a thing?"
"N-No!"
"Okay then!" Continued Tatenashi, "Our annual School Festival is coming up. That means each class must decide what they want to do as a fundraising project!"
She then whipped out a fan that said, "Deadline coming soon!"
"Good luck!"
Thomas and Ichika turned to look at each other.
They both knew full well just what sort of hell Tatenashi put them into.
The students returned to class, and began to vote for their activity. Ichika was the Class Representative, meaning he got the executive decision. However, he and Thomas knew all too well the girls were going to take full advantage of the situation.
"Okay," He said, "The suggestions for this class's Semester Fundraising Program are..."
Ichika looked at the four options he had to choose from.
One of them was a Host Club with Ichika or Thomas.
Another was a game of Twister with Ichika and Thomas.
The third was a game of Pocky with Ichika or Thomas.
And the fourth was The King Game with Ichika and Thomas.
Neither Ichika nor Thomas felt comfortable with any of the options they had to work with.
"...They're all REJECTED!" Cried Ichika, unnerved by the thought of doing any of the suggestions.
The girls were absolutely dumbstruck, all making gasps of confusion. What was wrong with the activities? Why would the boys reject them?
"Who'd want to do any of that stuff?!" Questioned Ichika.
"I know I would!" Answered one girl.
"What?!" Cried Ichika.
"She's right! You two need to follow through with your duty to please us!"
"That is not-!" Piped up Thomas, ready to remind everyone he was a True Advocate of Gender Equality.
"Yeah! Ichika Orimura and Thomas Scott are public property." Said a third girl.
"You're so backwards I can't tell if you just went forwards!" Insulted Thomas.
What unnerved him the most was that the girls all took that as a compliment.
It was Laura of all people who suggested the best solution.
"If you two are so uncomfortable," He said, "Zhen vhy don't ve do a Maid Cafe?"
The girls instantly turned to look at Laura, and overwhelming agreement swept the room.
"Maid Cafe?" Deadpanned Ichika.
"I mean, I did it before!" Admitted Thomas, "It didn't turn out so well, but I did it!"
The girls all turned to Thomas, ready to grill him with unending amounts of questions.
Thomas made a preemptive attack.
"No," He said unprompted, "I'm not going to tell you what happened. It's not something I want to talk about."
The girls all groaned in disappointment.
Despite Ichika's half-assed protests, the girls all decided upon the Maid Cafe.
Thomas looked at his watch, and mouthed the words, "Oh shit."
He signaled Ichika, and the two boys quickly left the room.
"Seriously?!"
"We're gonna be late for practice!"
The boys raced down the hall...
...Only to run right into Tatenashi.
"Where d'you think you boys are off to?"
"Practice." Said Thomas, "I don't want a repeat of the Rapid Switch incident, so we gotta get going-?!"
"Starting right now," Declared Tatenashi, "I'll be your Personal IS Coach. Both of you!"
The announcement had gotten mixed reception.
"Alright then." Said Thomas.
"What?! No way! We already have enough coaches as is!"
Ichika looked at Thomas as though he were insane.
"Are you seriously just gonna side with her?!"
"Yeh." Said Thomas, "If I can trade all of our coaches for just one, I see this as an absolute win!"
"Besides," Taunted the President, "If you have so many coaches, then why are you both such bad pilots?"
Thomas took offense.
"I am not a bad pilot!" He protested, "That only happened because I overloaded it!" He hinted to blowing up the Training IS.
"I've heard quite a deal about that," Said Tatenashi, "So let's change that, and get you right back on track!"
"I'm not gonna!" Denied Ichika.
"Yes, you will!" Insisted Tatenashi.
"You know what?" Said Ichika, "Let's settle this, IS Academy-Style! Fight makes right!"
"Alright then!" Agreed Tatenashi.
"I'll get a cart to haul you to the infirmary when this is over." Thomas said to Ichika.
After the fight...
It'd only been no more than 5 minutes.
Thomas was walking down to the martial arts club room, only to hear Ichika's trademark rooster-screech yet again.
Thomas threw open the door, only to find Ichika out cold on the floor, and Tatenashi covering her chest in embarrassment.
"So..." Thomas broke the tension, "Do you want me to carry him? Or..."
"Just give me a second and we'll carry him to the infirmary together." She said.
"He never stood a chance..."
"He's got moves...I'll give him that. But I think you'd stand much better a chance against me. Can't wait to find out!"
"Tough," Said Thomas as he prepared to lift Ichika, "'Cause I can."
"I like you." Said Tatenashi, "You're so funny."
"Mhm." Thomas said as he picked Ichika up.
Tatenashi stayed with Ichika until he woke up.
Thomas, however, was forced to sprint all the way to Laura, who'd been waiting for him at the arena.
"You're late. And vhere ish my bride?" Said Laura.
"In the Club building's infirmary." Thomas wheezed.
"Vhy vould he be zhere?"
"He got his ass beat by the Student Council President."
"Oh...Ish he okay?"
"Well, he was breathing when I carried him to the Infirmary, so I think so."
"Very vell zhen." Laura said as she stood up, and proceeded to walk out of the arena.
"What about..." Thomas was too winded to speak properly, "What abou...Training?"
"Ve vill put zhat on hold for now." Said Laura, as she made her way to the Infirmary.
Thomas simply slumped onto the bleachers, bored and lonely as he waited for Laura to get back.
That is, assuming she was actually coming back.
A few hours later...
It was nearly the end of the day that everyone remembered Thomas was still waiting for them.
Tatenashi decided to actually start training the boys, ushering them into the area field.
Conveniently, Charlotte and Cecelia were already beginning to practice there.
After lots of questions and introductions, Tatenashi decided to have the girls help teach Thomas and Ichika new maneuvers.
"Okay girls!" She said, "Demonstrate the Shooter-Flow for a Circle-Rondo Formation!"
The girls deployed their Units, and began to fly in a ring with each other as they hovered just above the ground.
They began to spin up a cloud of dust as they started going higher, and higher into the air.
"En garde, Cecelia!" Challenged Charlotte.
"Do your worst, villain!" Returned Cecelia.
The girls then took aim, and opened fire with their sniper rifles. They did so without breaking their ring, making advanced movements while still managing focus on their respected opponent.
They were at the top of their game, and Thomas marveled at it.
However, he didn't see Tatenashi whispering softly into Ichika's ear, causing him to jump.
Turns out, the girls were secretly monitoring Ichika as well, and were both distracted by Tatenashi's proximity to Ichika.
Their distraction caused them to crash into each other, and land painfully on the ground.
Thomas watched them crash into the arena wall.
"Ten outta ten!" He declared.
"Okay boys!" Said Tatenashi, "Pick a partner, because it's your turn!"
Ichika partnered up with Cecelia, and Charlotte reluctantly paired up with Thomas.
He knew why.
"I know you wanna be with Ichika and all," He said, "But it wouldn't kill you to put some enthusiasm into it!"
"Oui..." Groaned Charlotte.
"Ready or not, Ichika," Said Cecelia, "Here I come!"
With that, Ichika and Cecelia began.
"I will finish this quickly!" Said Charlotte.
"Good luck!" Returned Thomas, as the two began to fly. The four of them were forced to cope as Ichika and Thomas could feel just how jarring their formations were.
"This...is new..." Belted Ichika.
"I think I'm gonna be sick!" Cried Thomas.
"Good job, boys!" Cheered Tatenashi, "Now, let's see those big ol' guns of yours!"
Ichika brought out his Particle Cannon, and attempted to hit Cecelia. However, his aim was completely off due to his inability to focus his shots.
Thomas was in the same boat.
It was taking a lot out of him just to maintain his current heading and match Charlotte.
Cecelia decided to return fire at Ichika.
She scored a direct hit to his right foot, sending him spiraling uncontrollably out of alignment.
He crashed right into Thomas, taking them both down.
Thomas rolled to a stop at the opposite side of the arena, while Ichika simply made a crater.
Ichika had gotten right back up.
Thomas, on the other hand, was waiting for the world around him to stop spinning so fast.
Charlotte and Cecelia both went to Ichika.
"Ichika!" Cried Charlotte.
"Ichika dearest!" Cried Cecelia, "Are you alright?"
"M'fine." Ichika grunted as he got to his feet.
"I...I'm fine too...Thanks for asking!" Stuttered Thomas, right before nearly passing out.
"One more time!" Ordered Tatenashi.
Ichika and Thomas took their positions, and tried again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
When Thomas and Ichika were both on the verge of vomiting, Tatenashi decided to let up.
She certainly wasn't going to clean up if they did.
"Okay then," She asked, "Why do you think I put you two under this drill?"
"Is..." Ichika pondered, "Is this because of the Byakushki's new Charged Particle Cannon?"
"Correct!" Said Tatenashi, "Although, such a weapon is generally the same thing as a sniper rifle when you think about it. It all depends on that single shot. So, I wanted you to practice by-"
"-by putting me in a range I can hit something!"
"That's right! What a good boy you are."
Tatenashi turned to Thomas.
"Your case is actually different, though." She said, "Let's hear your answer."
Thomas thought long and hard.
"If I were to guess," Said Thomas, "You wanted me to practice frame-control?"
"Not quite, I guess it was a little too hard to work out." Said Tatenashi, "Not only did you need more practice on frame-control, but more importantly, you needed to get better at handling in general. From what I've heard, you can use different Shifts on command, and Instructor Orimura's told me about your habits of quickly using too many shifts at once. Think of it as a way of trying to stick with one at a time."
"Oh...Did...Did she say anything else?"
"Maybe~!" Snickered Tatenashi, "She's told me a lot about you~!"
Thomas did not feel safe anymore. If Tatenashi knew about his antics, he was definitely going to get it for sure.
"Well!" Tatenashi said, "That's it for today, have fun, boys!"
Thomas quickly left before the situation had a chance to deteriorate.
Thomas decided to have some food in the cafeteria.
Currently, he'd just finished, and was walking back to the dorm room. There wasn't much out of the ordinary. Normally, the girls would turn their heads everywhere he went. He'd also learned to listen for sounds and knock before using the restroom.
When he'd mastered such a strategy, he'd saved himself from getting mauled by girls in the bathroom so many times.
He felt quite satisfied. The day didn't end with Chifuyu somehow managing to torture him with fate. Tatenashi was nowhere in sight, which put Thomas a little on edge, and he hadn't had to deal with the girls fighting over Ichika all day.
Scratch that, something was definitely wrong.
Thomas quickly became suspicious, and changed from walking to running down the hall to the dorm room.
He deployed both of his Revive's arms, just in case.
The dorm room was in sight...
...And the door was in splinters on the floor.
"For the luvva..." Muttered Thomas as he ran to the check inside.
Currently, Houki was standing in front of Ichika, and Tatenashi...
...Who was wearing a naked apron.
His face turned from panicked to angry.
"Houki..." He said calmly, "What did I tell you about breaking-and-entering?"
Houki turned around, confused.
"Don't do it?"
"That's right." Thomas said, "Now, you all have 5 seconds to clean up and explain yourselves, before I put you all on the side of the curb on Trash Day."
"Aw~! If it isn't the Muscular Teddy Bear-?!" Cooed Tatenashi.
Thomas suddenly had both Houki and Tatenashi tucked under his arms. His furrowed expression had gotten deeper, Houki began to panic, Tatenashi simply used a psychological tactic.
"Oh my! You're a bold man, aren't you?"
Thomas said nothing as he carried them to the balcony.
"I see..." Observed Tatenashi, "Wait...What're you-?!"
"AND STAY OUT!" Shouted Thomas.
Thomas then threw both Houki and Tatenashi over the railing.
"Are you insane?!" Cried Ichika.
"They'll be fine." Assured Thomas, and he recalled the Revive arms.
Sure enough, Tatenashi was riding on Houki while she flew away in the Akatsubaki.
"She's gonna do it again." Said Thomas.
"How d'you figure that?" Asked Ichika.
"Just wait and see."
The Next Morning...
Tatenashi wasted no time in drilling the boys with practicing the Circle-Rondo Formation.
Unlike before, the boys had to fly circles around poles, to get the measurements for their circumference and the radius to perfect the formation.
"Ichika!" Called Tatenashi, "Your off-center! Try to correct that now!"
"Right!"
Ichika was still distracted by last night.
"Your velocity is slowing!" Snapped Tatenashi, "Maintain your focus!"
"Understood!"
Tatenashi turned her focus on Thomas.
"Tommy!" She called, "You're way off! You need to tighten your circle, it's an oval right now!"
"Trying!" He called back.
She turned back to Ichika.
"Good! You've sped up!" She cheered, "Now, I want you to try using the Ignition Boost!"
"You want me to what?!" Cried Ichika.
"The Ignition Boost!" She explained, "You need to shift from the Shooter Flow's orbit to a straight line! You'll break the opponent's line of fire and you can hit them at point-blank range!"
"I can't just do that all of the sudden!"
"Do it!"
Ichika reluctantly did as he was told.
He made an Ignition Boost, and crashed right into a wall.
Thomas slowed down, and broke off as best as he could to help Ichika recover.
Tatenashi sighed.
"Here's a tip," She said, "You can't break the Shooter Flow while you're charging the Ignition Boost."
"Right...Simple..." Muttered Ichika, who was slowly losing whatever understanding he had.
"You both need to learn this," Encouraged Tatenashi, "So get back up, a try again!"
"Right!" Thomas and Ichika said in unison.
They'd figure it out, one way or another.
During Breakfast...
Ichika had his face on the table, Thomas was falling asleep while sitting up.
"Ichika? Thomas? Are either of you okay?"
"Sacre bleu!" Cried Charlotte, "You look like death, the two of you!"
"I feel like death..." Groaned Ichika.
"And hat happened to zhe President?"
"Student Council business or somethin..." Muttered Thomas.
"You two got it rough! You just let her walk all over you." Said Lingyin.
"If it means I only have one coach, I'll roll with it." Thomas said as he finally pulled himself back into semi-proper sitting posture.
"She's right..." Admitted Ichika, "I'm still weak in some areas, I gotta work harder to get better."
"It is good to see you two working harder." Complimented Charlotte.
"I am still vaiting for our rematch, Thomas." Said Laura.
"Well Ichika darling," Offered Cecelia, "If you find your current living arrangements lackluster, I'm sure I can find it in my heart to let you be a guest in my quarters."
"Hang on!" Lingyin snapped, "If you wanna stay in my room, I have playing cards~!"
"I vill let you sleep vith me!" Said Laura.
"I've got Hanafuda Cards, Ichika!" Offered Houki.
"Oh, but I've got Tarot Cards in my room, just like the deck used in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure!" Upped Cecelia.
Back during the summer, Cecelia took notice of Thomas and Ichika planning to do Jojo Cosplay, and did research. She quickly purchased a deck of Tarot Cards that were made to represent all of the Stands in Jojo.
"Sshhh! They're sleeping!" Whispered Charlotte.
Sure enough, Ichika was sleeping like a baby with his head resting on the table, and Thomas laid back in his seat, with his face towards the ceiling as they both slept like babies.
The girls giggled quietly.
The two boys never looked more adorable.
A/N: And another chapter has been completed! I'm not gonna lie, this chapter may have been underwhelming. I've been planning the chapter for Thomas vs Laura Round 2, and it'll come soon enough! I'm a little surprised, I didn't expect this chapter to be as short as it is, compared to others.
I really don't know what else to talk about though. This is one of those periods I really don't have much to say...Oh wait! I do have a few more things to say!
In the next chapter, Thomas encounters someone he never expected...
I'll have to warn you though, next chapter's gonna be a full-on Jojo sketch!
Next time: Cinderella's Bizarre Adventure!
The School Festival is underway, and the boys are officially butlers! But, as the day moves along, Thomas quickly finds himself roped into an impromptu Cinderella play run by the Student Council! It's not an average play however, and Thomas quickly discovers he must fight for his life if he wants to get out of the play! He'll need his wits, brains, and brawn if he wants to survive!
Can he survive a brutal onslaught from the so-called "Strike Force Cinderella?"