This Chapter came out a lot later than I wanted it to, but thankfully I was able to pull myself together and write it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Infinite Stratos.
It's Valentine's Day at the IS Academy, and everyone's gearing up for a celebration to remember! With the girls all trying to woo the 4 boys, it's a day of good fun for all to have!
However...Things quickly go awry.
What starts out as harmless flirting soon turns into an island-wide case of lovesick hunting!
The entire female population of the IS Academy is now on the hunt to win the affections of the boys, and they're out to do it by force if they have to! With no end in sight, the chase is on!
Can the boys find a way to reverse to situation, and salvage Valentine's Day?
Love was in the air at the IS Academy.
It was Valentine's Day!
Colors of pink, red, and white were all about the halls, classrooms, and dorms. Students and Staff alike were beginning to exchange items between their peers and colleagues, whether they were chocolate, lover letters, cards, or gifts.
"Vhat's a Valentine?" Inquired Laura, curious why everything was all pink.
"Ah!" Explained Charlotte, "Valentine's Day is the Feast Day of Saint Valentine, and originates from Christianity. Although the religious aspect is hardly celebrated anymore, Valentine's Day has become more of a romantic celebration."
"Ah...So it ish a day of love?"
"Oui!" Answered Charlotte "So, have someone special in mind?"
"Ah...Vell..." Laura didn't have an answer, she didn't even think of Valentine's Day until now.
Charlotte giggled.
"Hey, Char!" Called Ichika, "Happy Valentine's Day!"
Ichika walked casually up to Charlotte and Laura, bright as ever.
"Happy Valentine's Day to you too!" Returned Charlotte, "Say, where's Thomas? You two have been even more inseparable than ever since you fused together."
"Thomas's kinda busy, all the guys are today," Said Ichika, "It's...Kinda unnerving."
"Oh?"
"Yeah..." Said Ichika, "See...The thing is...Thomas predicted something's gonna happen today, and he's rarely wrong on that sort of thing."
"Ah...Well, for now, let's enjoy the festivities, together!"
Charlotte wrapped an arm around Ichika's.
She made away with Ichika like a bandit.
Whereas Ichika had found occupation, the other boys were soon to follow.
"T-Thomas!" Called Nana, nervously trembling, "Here! Take this!"
She shoved a box of chocolate into Thomas's hands.
"Yosh!" Thought Thomas, "Th-Thank you!"
Both Nana and Thomas, though they seemed very anxious and uneasy, were enjoying the situation greatly. They were indeed nervous, blushing as they were near each other, but it was pure bliss to them.
Elias had a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates, but found himself too fearful to set foot outside his room. He was currently on his bed, curled in a ball, breathing deeply in and out as he tried to work up the courage to venture out the door.
Cecelia was on the case as she stalked the halls in desperate search of Elias, but could find no trace nor witness of the boy.
"Oh dear..." Cecilia mumbled, "Where might he be? Is he too frightened of the responsibility today?"
Elias had gone from praising Cecelia like a goddess, all the way to being too anxious to set foot near her. It wasn't that she chased him off, despite the fact she was arrogant at times. It was due to Elias not being to able keep a handle of his...Instincts around Cecelia.
There were several awkward "mishaps" the two had shared.
If only Elias would find the confidence to feel bold around her.
Tyrone was walking to his locker, realizing he'd left his phone within.
The boy unlocked his locker...
...And quickly jumped out of the way as a massive torrent of Valentines of all kinds exploded from the confines of his locker.
"What the...?" Tyrone stared at the field of red, pink, and white that lay before him.
There were cards, love letters, boxes of chocolate, a few trinkets, even a teddy bear or two amassed together in the piles of Valentines gifts. Tyrone gulped. Sure, what guy wouldn't like this? But actually going through it was quite intimidating, to say the least.
Tyrone really played himself this time.
Unlike the other boys, there wasn't any girl in the IS Academy Tyrone was particularly close with. All he could do was sit on the sidelines and watch the other 3 guys get all lovey-dovey with their love interests.
Why did they have it easy?
Suddenly, Tyrone heard a woman snickering from around a set of lockers.
"H-Hello?" Tyrone said, walking around the lockers to see whom, "I didn't think anyone else was in here-Oh what the fuck?"
Tyrone was now gazing at a very energetic young woman wearing a pair of mechanical bunny ears and a blue maid outfit. She was snickering and giggling like she'd just told herself a funny joke.
Tyrone had been instructed by Thomas and Ichika to fear the very sight.
They'd also said something about "Evil bunny lady," But Tyrone didn't think they were actually serious.
They never did explain why he should avoid said bunny lady...
"Is there...Something you need?" Tyrone said, anxiety slowly taking grip.
"Oh! There you are! I was waiting for one of you cutie-boys to show!" The bunny lady cheered, "Say~! When'd you show up? More than that, how're you able to pilot an IS? I guess I'll just have to wait and see!"
"Uh...Thanks?"
"Oh, by the way!" The bunny lady continued, "You might wanna group up with your buddy-boys, the fun's about to start!"
"Excuse me?"
"Think fast~!"
Tyrone suddenly heard a loud crash from the entrance of the locker rooms. He quickly turned around towards the sound, and glanced back to the woman, only to find that she disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"What the crap?" Tyrone muttered to himself.
Tyrone went to the source of the disturbance, only to find a massive group of girls beginning to amass before him.
"Is...Is everyone okay?" Tyrone inquired, "I mean, there's some occult-stuff goin' on...Everyone good?"
"THERE HE IS!" One girl cheered.
"It's one of the boys! Quick! Don't let him go~!"
Tyrone flinched.
He didn't know how, he didn't know why, but he felt that he was now in danger.
Tyrone did as Thomas and Ichika told him, and run in the opposite direction of the crowd. Whereas Tyrone felt envious and jealous of his male peers, he suddenly found that he was so thankful they were here with him.
"Quick! Catch him!"
"Let's make a Happy Valentine's Day together~!"
Now how was he gonna find a way out of this one?
Some time later...
"Is everybody ready?" called Tatenashi.
"Yes Ma'am!" The student body boomed.
Thomas felt a chill go down his spine. Ichika gulped, wary of anything Tatenashi did with a smile. Elias was still in his room, curled into a ball as he tried to steel his nerves. Tyrone was nowhere to be found.
They were already two men down.
Tatenashi grinned from ear to ear as she caught up to Thomas and Ichika in a risque nurse outfit.
"Hey boys~!" She giggled, "Where's the other two?"
"Elias is lying down, Tyrone is...We're trying to find him." Said Ichika.
"I'm sure they're fine!" Tatenashi assured, "Besides, we've got some more important things for you! The less the merrier!"
"Don't you mean the more the-!"
"I know what I said! You two are the most experienced in the IS Academy, so you'll be fine!"
"Oh piss..." Groaned Thomas.
"What? What's going on?" Said Ichika.
"Today's Valentine's Day is extra-special!" Cheered Tatenashi, "To celebrate, we're going to have an extra-special event! Y'see, Valentine's Day is a day where girls get the most romantic excuse to get together with boys! However..."
Ichika gulped.
"There's only 4 boys the same age on this entire island." Said Tatenashi, "On top of that, there's an incalculable number of girl students all over the island."
"Oh..." Ichika realized.
"We've run this routine before! But now..." Tatenashi grew a mischievous grin, "Here, today, is a one-time event for the Student Body! I call it, 'The Hunt of Love: IS Academy She-Wolf Race!'"
"That's a stupid name." Said Thomas.
"The rules are simple!" Explained Tatenashi, "All the boys have to do is not get caught! The girls are on the prowl! Oh! I clean forgot..."
"What? What now?!" Cried Ichika.
"The event started five minutes ago!" Tatenashi clapped her hands, and pulled out her fan.
"May the odds be in your favor! Girls who catch a boy get to spend the entire rest of the day with them!"
She flapped open the fan, which read, "The Hunt is on!"
Sure enough, a stampede of girls began to flock down the hallway...
...With Tyrone barely keeping ahead of the group.
"He's in trouble!" Ichika noted.
"Quick! Let's get him outta there and pick up Elias!" Said Thomas.
"Right!"
Tyrone screamed as he run as fast as his legs would carry.
"I should've gone left!" He cried.
Tyrone was relieved when he saw Ichika and Thomas catching up and running alongside him.
"Kept you waiting eh?" Grinned Thomas.
"Wait!" Said Tyrone, "We have IS Units! Why don't we just take 'em down?"
"You know the rules!" Said Ichika, "It's sorta illegal to use your IS for personal reasons! So we can't just lay the smack!"
"We can still fly!"
"It's more fun this way!" Said Thomas.
Ichika and Tyrone both stared at Thomas.
"What?" The two boys said in unison.
"Come on! Chop-chop! We still got the girls behind us!"
The boys ran and ran, with little end in sight. Soon enough, they were around near the dorm building, trying to locate any one of their rooms' balconies in the hopes they could find a safe haven.
"Now," Said Thomas, "As I was saying, we may not be able to fight with an IS, but we can still move around with one."
"Really?"
"Follow my lead!"
Thomas deployed the Revive's legs, and launched into the air as he snatched the railing of a balcony of the third floor.
"That's the third floor!" Gawked Tyrone, "Teach me your ways!"
"We just use partial deployments with our units," Explained Ichika, "Kinda-!"
Ichika launched with the Byakushiki legs, and climbed onto the balcony with Thomas.
"-Like this!"
"Lemme try!" Said Tyrone.
Tyrone attempted to deploy Subwoofer's legs, only to end up deploying the entire IS.
"That's not what was supposed to happen." Said Tyrone.
"Try again! We can't risk you climbing up and pulling the balcony railing out!"
"Right!"
Tyrone recalled Subwoofer, and tried again. Much like the first attempt, Tyrone ended up deploying the entire IS Unit rather than just individual parts. Tyrone began to panic, they didn't have very long before the girls caught up.
"Crap crap crap!" Cried Tyrone.
"H-Hang on!" Said Ichika, "We can pull you up!"
Ichika deployed the Byakushiki's left arm, and Thomas deployed both of the Revive's arms. Thomas jumped over the railing, and grabbed Ichika's IS glove, and extended his free arm down to Tyrone.
Tyrone deployed the Subwoofer, and took hold of Thomas, recalling the IS to lighten the lift.
The boys had all gotten onto the balcony.
"You never got much practice with the deployment, did you?" Said Thomas.
"N-No..." Said Tyrone, "Not really."
"We can all get together and practice that stuff when this is over." Said Thomas.
"It'd help us with team-building." Noted Ichika.
"Right then." Said Thomas, "Anyone know who's room this is?"
"No...Why?"
"We gotta find Elias's. Who knows if he actually had the balls to go out today?"
"You mean he's still really anxious about Cecelia?"
"Seriously, that whole shy-guy act is so stale..."
"It's not like he can help it..."
"Even so," Continued Thomas, "Adorable as it is to watch, Elias really needs to learn to grow up and take something he wants while he still has the chance. Sure, Cecelia and Elias being good buddies from way back helps a little, but I bet it's pure luck Elias landed in the ISA only to find Cecelia again."
"Kinda jealous of him." Said Tyrone, "Just sayin'. You guys all got it good."
Thomas chuckled.
"You make it sound so easy."
"Huh?"
"Sure, we all have girls that we're close to from before we all came here...But, just because you have the chance to pursue that romance, doesn't mean you should or feel capable of doing so."
"Ah..."
"That said, there's a limit on how much I stick a cap on that stuff. A good relationship needs time to cultivate and grow, partly why I'm not moving too quickly to jump all the bases just yet."
"So..." Tyrone started, "What you're saying is...?"
"...Take it slow." Finished Thomas, "Pacing is the most vital part of any healthy relationship."
"...Got it."
"Now that we got the awkward stuff out of the way," Reminded Ichika, "We need to find Elias."
"Who's room is this anyway?"
Thomas looked into the room, only to realize it wasn't the one they were looking for.
"I vote we break in." Said Thomas.
"What? No!" Protested Ichika.
"Oh shoot!" Realized Thomas, "I forgot to get Nana's Valentine's day gift from our room! We need to get that asap!"
"Ugh, fine. As much as I wanted us to stick together..." Said Ichika, "Go to our room, get the thing, me and Tyrone are gonna go find Elias. We meet up at Elias's room to plan our next move and try to wait this out."
"Roger!"
Thomas quickly began to jump from balcony to balcony.
"Is that safe?" Said Tyrone.
"Nope." Said Ichika.
Ichika turned in the opposite direction.
"C'mon!" Said Ichika, "Let's find Elias!"
"Yeah!"
Ichika went from balcony to balcony, pausing each time to make sure Tyrone didn't fall. Each time the boys made it to another balcony, they quickly peeked inside the room to see who's it was.
After what seemed like forever, Tyrone and Ichika found Elias, curled up in a ball on his bed.
"I can do this..." Elias whispered, "I can do this..."
Ichika knocked on the sliding glass door.
"Aah!" Elias fell right out of bed, shocked by the unexpected visit.
Elias quickly got up, and blushed with humiliation as he dusted himself off. He looked to find Ichika and Tyrone waiting for him at the door. The one saving grace was that Thomas wasn't among them.
Thomas would've never let Elias live that down.
Elias opened the door.
"What're you doing out there?" He inquired.
"Tatenashi decided to play matchmaker without our permission, again." Said Ichika.
"This isn't the first time?!" Cried Tyrone.
"You should've seen the Halloween fiasco..." Said Ichika.
"Do I want to know?"
"No!" Stammered Elias.
Suddenly, Thomas thudded onto one knee on the balcony.
"Gentlemen." He greeted.
"Did you get it?" Said Ichika.
Thomas raised a wrapped up gift.
"Good." Said Ichika, "So...What now?"
"Sit until the storm blows over?" Suggested Tyrone.
"Oh dear..." Said Elias, "I must find Cecelia!"
"No-can-do." Said Thomas, "Maybe whenever this little game of Tatenashi's is over, but not right now."
"Oh dear...I was trying to work up the courage and do this..."
"You gave her a present back at Christmas, what's so hard about this?"
"That was Christmas!" Cried Elias, "This is Valentine's! There's a complete difference!"
Thomas shot Tyrone a glance, as if to say, "This is ridiculous."
"Anyway," Said Thomas, "We should be on our toes, the girls are bound figure out where we are, so we need to be ready to book it at the drop of a hat. I'll say this much-at least we've got something we're used to doing today."
The boys all sighed.
"Anyone have-well, had-anything planned?" Inquired Thomas.
"Dunno...I had a few valentines for Lingyin, Char, and Laura..."
"What about Houki?"
"U-Uh..." Ichika blushed.
Thomas smirked.
He had Ichika all figured out.
"Well well," Said Tyrone, "Looks like Ichika's got a crush~!"
"N-No! It's not..." Ichika faltered, knowing the boys were right.
"I know you got too many girls on you," Said Thomas, "But you need to give them a sign. It's not healthy, or a remotely good idea to just keep leading everyone on. It doesn't have to be outright, just a sign."
"But...The other girls will get so mad!"
"Maybe so, but waiting on an answer you're procrastinating on giving isn't going to help."
"You're right..."
Suddenly, the boys heard a knock on the room's door.
They all froze.
Is anyone in there?" A girl's voice called from the other side of the door.
It was then the boys understood they were in great danger. The girls had already worked out that they were hiding in their dorm rooms. Although the boys could claim the girls weren't allowed entry, the flimsy rule of privacy wasn't going to hold up in this chase.
Thomas signaled the boys to head for the balcony, and got up to check the peephole.
"I don't hear anything..." The girl said.
The boys all had their eyes trained on the door as they moved slowly.
"Maybe they're in one of the other rooms!" Said another girl.
Thomas quietly made his way to the door, and looked out the peephole.
That was a lot of girls.
Thomas turned back to the other boys, and signaled them to flee.
The boys turned and broke into running...
...Only to have Elias trip, and make a thud and grunt as he fell.
"Oof!" He grunted.
"Someone's in there!" The girls boomed.
"Shit!" Thomas shouted as he ran to help Elias.
"Get the door open!"
"Fuck fuck fuck!" Cried Thomas as he practically picked Elias up and threw him.
The boys ended up separated.
Tyrone and Ichika jumped onto another balcony, Thomas carried Elias as he deployed the Revive and flew down. The boys each took off running as the girls burst into Elias's room, realizing they'd gone out the balcony.
"Darn!"
"They're so quick!"
"We have to find the others!" Said Ichika.
"I think we should worry about ourselves first!" Said Tyrone.
"Face forward Elias!" Said Thomas, "And fucking run!"
"But-!"
"They'll be fine!"
"I hope your right..."
The girls were unhinged this time around. They'd begun setting up all kinds of traps and tricks in their attempts to catch the boys for themselves. It was only a matter of time before the Representative Candidates give up and use force in the form of their IS Units.
Oddly enough, Thomas had expected them to do so already.
Tyrone and Ichika jumped from balcony to balcony until they safely made their way down to the ground.
"That was close, you okay?" Said Ichika.
"Y-Yeah...Just...Woo..." Tyrone was simply stunned.
"You'll get used to it. At least we're getting daily cardio!" Ichika tried to cheer Tyrone up.
"Oh yeah..." Tyrone panted sarcastically, "'Cause that's so helpful..."
"Let's go find the others when you're feeling up to it."
"Yeah..."
Thomas was practically pulling Elias along as the boys ran for it.
"I'd expect Cecelia to be leading the charge..." Said Elias.
"I think it's better if she didn't." Said Thomas, "You'd just chicken out and give up so you can spend the day with her."
"Is that so wrong?!"
"Might just be me, but I've never lost a race!" Said Thomas, "Not even virginity!"
"Hey!" Snapped Elias, pointing to himself, "Victim. Sore subject!"
"At least you have both parents!" Said Thomas, "Now hurry it up!"
The boys rounded a corner...
...Only to find Cecelia, towering over them in Blue Tears.
"Welp." Said Thomas, "We're fucked."
"Surrender, Elias!" Ordered Cecelia, "You won't deny me on this day of romance!"
Elias opened his mouth to speak, but Thomas quickly stopped him.
"Think about your options." Said the American boy.
"I did." Said Elias, "And that's why I'm doing this! I don't want this silly game to go on like Halloween! If I'm to fall in love with Cecelia, I want it to be on rational terms! I can't afford to let this pass up!"
"...Your funeral." Said Thomas.
Elias nodded, and turned back to Cecelia.
"Cecelia!" Elias declared, fighting to hold back the smile on his face, "I surrender!"
Cecelia flinched, obviously not expecting Elias to be so eager for her to catch him.
"That's...Quite refreshing." She said to herself.
Cecelia descended, and recalled her IS.
Elias stepped forward, letting Cecelia claim her prize.
"Elias Dansforth," Cecelia announced, "From this moment, until the end of today, you are mine! You will not refuse, at all!"
"I accept wholeheartedly!" Elias responded.
Cecelia blushed, a happy smile on her face.
Valentine's day had just gotten a lot happier for her.
"Hooray!" Cecelia cheered as she wrapped around Elias with a bear hug.
Cecelia had a great deal of plans for activities for her and Elias on their Valentine's day. There was simply so much to do, and so little time left! They had to get started right away, and no interruptions!
Elias blushed furiously as Cecelia's bosom rippled against his body.
In that moment, Thomas turned tail and ran off before any girls came onto the scene.
As Thomas was out of sight, he could hear an announcement.
"Elias Dansforth! Caught! Loser!"
Thomas skidded to a stop.
This was being broadcasted?!
"You hear that Ichika?!" Said Tyrone.
"Yeah. How'd Elias get caught?" Said Ichika.
"I guess he just wanted to be with Cecelia."
"Lucky him!"
"Y'know, getting caught by your love interest isn't all that bad..."
"It's not that..." Started Ichika.
Suddenly, a black object began to descend from the sky above Ichika and Tyrone.
"...It's everyone else I'm worried about!"
With a loud crash and a crater in the pavement of the walkway, Laura emerged in the Schwarzer Regen.
"Oh fuck!" Cried Tyrone.
"Language!" Called Ichika.
"ICHIKA!" Roared Laura, "YOU ARE MINE!"
"Okay, run!" Ichika cried, turning tail and running.
Without warning, an all-too-familiar Polearm sunk right into the ground in front of the boys.
"IIIIIICHKA!" Shouted Lingyin.
"Aw crap!" Cried Ichika.
Lingyin's Shenlong landed right in front of them.
"You can't get away this time!" She sneered.
"Aw man..." Groaned Ichika.
"HOLD IT!" Houki charged in with the Akatsubaki, "He's mine!"
"Aaand here we go..." Groaned Ichika, knowing full well what was to follow.
Suddenly, Charlotte jumped into the fray.
"He's mine! En garde!"
The girls began a four-way brawl right there on the IS Academy campus. They no longer cared for collateral damage as they engaged in close-quarters combat with melee weapons. They'd have a little bit of time before someone came to stop them.
This was their fight for the ultimate prize.
"Should we stop 'em?" said Tyrone.
"It's far easier to run and wait 'till they burn themselves out, c'mon." Said Ichika.
"Hey...Ichika?"
"Yeah?"
"Um...Remember the Evil Bunny Lady you told me to avoid?"
Ichika quickly figured out Tyrone's next statement.
"You found her, didn't you?"
"More like the other way around, but yeah, something like that."
"It's not your fault, she's just...Bored. I guess."
"Bored?"
"Being a super-genius can really do that to people, I think. Maybe she's just so bored and she's trying to make some buzz so she can feel entertained. She's usually acting on whatever whim takes her."
"Oh..."
"We'll take about when we get somewhere safe."
Ichika looked back at the girls one last time.
They'd completely forgotten about the boys.
"Hopeless." Ichika muttered as he continued on his way.
Meanwhile, Thomas was still on the run.
He ended up running into several of the students' traps along his way.
"He's heading down the path! Seduction team, engage!"
Suddenly, a group of girls were in the path ahead of Thomas, all of them striking sensual poses in the hopes they could catch him off guard. Thomas was running right at them as they prepared to distract him with their feminine wiles.
"Heya boy~! Like what you see~?" Said one girl.
Thomas rushed faster.
"Uh...He's not stopping..."
"Trust me, this'll totally work."
Suddenly, Thomas jumped right over the girls like they were a hurdle.
"You fools!" Thomas declared, "I've fought naked chicks with my own two fists!"
"Wha?!"
"It didn't work!"
"Drat!"
Thomas chuckled as he ran off.
"THOMAS!" An all-too-familiar voice boomed.
"Ah..." Thomas turned around, only to find Nana bolting right at him.
"AH..."
Nana was now within grabbing distance.
"AAAAAH!" Thomas booked it at top speed, narrowly evading Nana.
"Just stop running already!" Said Nana, "It's okay to lose this time!"
"I NEVER LOOOOSE!" Thomas charged at full-force as Nana lost her speed on Thomas.
"Dammit!" Nana whined.
How was Thomas still able to push at top speed? It was inhuman!
"But why?!" Cried Nana, "It's Valentine's day..."
Nana pouted, and seemed ready to cry.
Thomas turned back, and felt his heart stop.
"That's not fair!" He cried.
"I-I just wanted to spend some time with you today..." Nana sniffled, "Am I not enough? Do you not like me?"
Thomas felt so cheated at that moment.
He needed to make her stop crying, but he didn't want to get caught!
What to do? What to do?
He could easily just book it...But was it worth it?
It was then that Thomas got an idea.
Thomas turned to Nana, and ran back to her.
"Yes!" Thought Nana, "It worked!"
Nana spread her arms wide as she awaited Thomas's embrace.
Except...
Instead of running into her arms, Thomas shoved an object into her hands instead.
He then began to run away once again.
"Huh?!" Nana was dumbstruck her plan didn't work.
Thomas said nothing as he forced himself onward.
Nana looked down to find Thomas had dumped a wrapped-up gift into her possession. The gift was poorly wrapped, and was stitched together with tape all over. Nana could see Thomas at least tried to make the gift presentable.
At least it was made with love, right?
Whatever the case, Thomas felt he'd made a compromise to his dilemma.
Nana looked back to Thomas, and then back to the present.
Might as well...
Nana clawed the wrapping, and opened the gift up.
She gasped as she bore witness to what was inside.
It was a folded up scarf, a rose, and a card.
Nana pulled out the scarf, and let it unfold as she held it up to examine it. It was covered in hearts, and looked quite warm and fluffy. Nana then picked up the rose, mindful of the flower's thorns.
It smelled lovely.
Nana finally picked up the card, and opened it.
She couldn't help but blush upon reading the contents inside.
"I'm not very good at talking about this out loud." Read the card, "But...Writing it down somewhere's always a surefire way to make my point, right? Anyway...It's pretty obvious we both...Like-like each other. I know it's cheesy as hell, but will you be mine?"
Nana felt her heart skip a beat, and blushed.
It certainly wasn't poetry, but Nana felt it was a masterpiece.
She was so going to keep the card...
Later that day...
After a few hours, Tatenashi declared that "The Hunt of Love: IS Academy She-Wolf Race" was over.
Chifuyu punished the girls involved with making a huge fight on the campus, and consigned them to be the ones to spend the day cleaning up the mess they'd made. The bright side was that Houki, Lingyin, Charlotte, and Laura were getting better at repairing and construction.
Ichika felt guilty about not helping them.
And for the rest of the day, Elias and Cecelia went out on their first date.
Many girls were disappointed they weren't able to get Elias first.
Thomas eventually found Cecelia and Elias enjoying a Valentine's Day meal together. Cecelia blushed as she cuddled with Elias, a smile on her face. Elias looked stiff beyond belief, and somehow managed to turn a new shade of red that no human being could possibly achieve.
At least Elias was getting closer and closer to first base.
Once the game was over, Thomas had eventually relocated Nana, and spent the day with her.
And thus, Thomas and Nana were dating in all but name.
Though Thomas had a very anxious heart a lot of the time, he never felt happier. Ichika teased him endlessly when Thomas came back to his room, but Thomas quickly turned the tables on Ichika over his valentine for Houki.
Chifuyu ended up receiving a mountain of valentines from both staff and students, the majority of them being from her avid cult-like following from her career as an IS Pilot. Alex tried cheering Chifuyu up with beer, which mostly worked.
Thomas and Ichika eventually gave Chifuyu obligatory valentines, only to receive a hug from the woman as she drank herself silly, as she sobbed hysterically under the intoxication, leaving tear stains on both boys' shirts.
Right around dusk, the girls finished their task, and set up caution signs.
Houki went back to her room, and collapsed on her bed.
She hadn't found Ichika, and was unable to give him a valentine.
Just then, Houki heard a knock on her door.
"Hello?" Houki groaned, exhausted.
"Hey, Houki?" Ichika called, "Are you in?"
"I-Ichika?" Said Houki, "Yes! I'm here!"
"Can I...Come in?"
"Of course!"
Ichika entered, something stashed behind his back.
"Is there...S-Something you wanted?" Inquired Houki, blushing as her mind beginning to jump to conclusions.
"W-Well...You got into a fight and everything...And then you had to clean up..."
Houki was internally screaming with joy.
This was really happening!
"Anyway, sorry for coming so late." Ichika continued, blushing a little, "Things got kinda hectic. So..."
Ichika held out a valentines gift.
"Here! I wanted you to have this."
Houki gasped, wide-eyed as her wildest fantasy played out right before her.
Instead of doing anything else, Houki rushed at Ichika and locked him in a powerful bear hug.
"You big softie!"
Little did Houki know, however, Ichika had already gone and done the same thing to the other girls in his little harem. Ichika decided to save the best for last, and made sure the other girls were happy before moving on.
Just let her have this one Ichika...
"Oh...I have something for you too!" Houki remembered.
"Really?"
Houki then placed a heart-shaped box in Ichika's hand.
It was a classic, never-failing item.
The ever-safe-to-use box of chocolates.
"H-Happy Valentine's!" Said Houki, blushing.
She really wasn't used to this.
"You too!"
Ichika quickly rushed off, and left Houki to open her valentine.
Houki gasped a little as she opened up the gift.
It was a few roses, and a new ribbon for her hair.
Houki felt her heart skip a beat.
Ichika got this...For her?
Ichika was walking down the hall.
Out of nowhere, he heard Houki make a thunderous boom of happiness.
"Sounds like Houki liked it." He said to himself, walking back to his room with a pep in his step.
He rounded the corner...
...Only to bump into a girl who was walking right into him.
"Oh! Sorry!" Ichika apologized.
"It's fine-Hey, you're one of the boys!" Said the girl.
"Y-Yeah..." Ichika knew where this was going.
"Do you...Know Thomas Scott?" She whispered.
"Oh...Yeah. He's my roommate, actually."
"Really?! A friend of mine wanted to give him a valentine, but she couldn't come..." The girl pulled out a gift-wrapped object, "Can you give this to him for me? She'd really appreciate it."
"Sure! Why not?" Said Ichika, taking the object.
"Thank you!" Said the girl cheerfully.
Ichika walked off to his room, but stopped.
"Hey," Ichika called, "What's your name?"
"Me?" Said the girl, "I'm Daryl Casey!"
"Okay, have a happy Valentine's Day Daryl!"
"Same to you!"
The two parted ways.
Ichika quickly reached his room.
"Hey Thomas!" Ichika greeted, "You got fan-mail!"
"What?" Inquired Thomas.
"A girl wanted me to give this to you." Ichika said, handing the gift to Thomas.
"Drop a thanks for me when you see her next." Said Thomas, "What was her name?"
"Daryl Casey."
"Hm. Dunno her...Probably just some fangirl."
"I guess!"
"So...I take it that's from Houki?" Said Thomas, pointing to the box in Ichika's arm.
"Oh! Uh...Y-Yeah..."
"Lemme see!"
"Hey! No peeking!"
The boys shared the items they'd received, and laughed into the night with good fun.
Nothing else mattered to them at the time.
Elsewhere...
"Kana?" Daryl spoke over the phone, "Package delivered."
"Really?!" Piped up Kana on the other end, "Did you see his face?"
"No...I had to give it to his roommate."
"Aw, boo! I worked so hard on it! I wanted to see how he liked it!"
"It's fine. I'm thinking he doesn't know any better anyway."
"I guess...The poor thing!"
"What now?"
"I just wanna whisk him away from that awful place!" Cooed Kana.
"Okay...You're having withdrawal, aren't you?"
"YES!" Cried Kana, "I haven't been near Tommy in so long! I think I'm gonna die!"
"Chill out, you take photos of him for whatever freaky reason, brocon...Is Auntie there with you?"
"Mm! Mama Squall's been waiting for you! I'll give her the phone!"
"Daryl?"
"Hi Auntie! Happy Valentine's Day!"
"Same to you, my favorite niece."
"How are things on your end?"
"The same. Madoka's being stubborn and Kana's a handful, but that's their charm."
"I'm not stubborn!" Madoka shouted over the phone.
"The operation's almost ready to be underway. Is Thomas acting normally?"
"Doesn't know any better."
"Perfect. It won't be long until he's finally ours. Keep monitoring him until we commence the operation. He's quite vital to Phantom Task's research, with his unique physiology. We'll need him intact for the experiment to work, especially now that we have our first test-subject."
"I understand."
"Daryl!" Called Forte Sapphire, "Come back to bed!"
"I gotta go, later Auntie!"
"Sleep tight, Daryl!"
Daryl ended the call and made her way over to Forte.
"Cuddle!" Ordered Forte.
Daryl chuckled as she climbed in bed.
"Hopeless..." Daryl mumbled as she embraced Forte.
It wouldn't be too long now.
Daryl hoped Thomas was having fun.
He certainly wasn't when Phantom Task made its move.
And that wasn't going to be very long...
A/N: At last! Sorry for the slow chapter releases, I've been suffering from writer's block. I hope you enjoyed the chapter though.
It took me so long, but I finally had the chance to bring Daryl and Forte into the fold!
I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Now, don't take this the wrong way, but I've decided to finally take a little break on writing American Idiot. Although I know what I'm doing, with future arcs and everything, I just don't know what to do next.
It may be a short break, it may take forever, I don't know.
But until I know what to do next, American Idiot has been paused.
Sorry I don't have much to say this time.
Leave a review, they're much appreciated and show that you care!