Disclaimer: Refer to chapter 1.

AN: Hey! Raiden's updated!


Ichika and Houki paused outside the room Chifuyu had reserved in advance. She had clearly thought he needed all the help he could get with any IS he used. A look at the log showed that she had scheduled to have this room the day it had been discovered he was the only male who could use an IS. It both did and didn't surprise the now platinum haired teen that his older sister knew he would have more than a little trouble with an IS, let alone something as strange as Raiden. It was almost relieving to know his big sister would be there for him every step of the way when it came to getting through this mess. She would help him get past whatever the thing on his arm was trying to do to him, whatever it was trying to turn him into.

She would be there for him.

It was only slightly disheartening to know she had booked it ever since she had learned of his match with Cecilia.

It spoke, somewhat, of just how little faith she had in his abilities to pilot any IS. He couldn't really blame her for it either. He didn't have a good track record with actually getting an IS to work the way he wanted it to.

He needed the help. He needed a lot of it.

He stared at his reflection in the smooth and polished door. It was getting to be less and less of a shock when he saw his red eyes, saw his silver hair. He still couldn't help but stare. Stare at what Raiden had turned him into after it had simply taken over.

"You know...I can stay around if you want." Houki looked to where Raiden set on Ichika's arm. The metal vambrace had done nothing since the fight with Tatenashi but it was of little comfort.

She knew the IS was unique. She knew it was likely the most dangerous thing her sister had ever designed. It was always doing something even when it was in standby like now. That woman was a genius without an equal. And she was certain her creations were never benign no matter how they appeared. The world already didn't know much about the IS. There was no way anyone actually knew how to handle something like Raiden.

"..." Ichika was silent.

"Ichika?" She nudged one of his shoulders with hers.

He didn't respond.

"Ichika?" She did it harder.

He was pushed off balance. It also worked to snap him out of whatever trance he was in.

"What?" His arms pinwheeled as he tried to right his balance, stumbling off to the side for just a moment before he recovered. Knocking into him like that had snapped him out of his own head and whatever thoughts were going through it. She was almost certain none of them were good for him. "Why'd you do that?"

"You were zoning out. Did you get lost in that empty head of yours?" Her attempt at a joke was a resounding failure. He was back to staring at the door. Staring at the him he didn't recognize. She turned to him, stared at him for a moment. "Are you sure you're doing alright? I'm sure your sister will understand if you're too tired to handle another fight after that one with Tatenashi. She didn't exactly take it easy on you."

"No. I-I'm fine. I can do this." Ichika shook his head. His hand ran through his silver hair. "You can head back to the room Houki."

He stepped up to the door and it wordlessly opened for him. Chifuyu was on the other side, changed into something more appropriate to fight in then her teaching attire. A dark form fitting suit and armor that gave her an appearance almost like that of a demonic samurai.

She wasn't using an IS through. That was good.

She just had around half a dozen deadly sharp blades of varying sizes at her sides.

Ichika breathed out a sigh of relief.

He wasn't that dangerous to everyone to warrant something like her IS then, right?

His sigh turned into a sharp intake of breath.

He could be too dangerous. He had seen Chifuyu work with an IS. It slowed her down. It lagged behind her sometimes, couldn't keep up with at how fast she could move when she really got going in a fight. He was too dangerous for h-

"Come on." Chifuyu grabbed him by the wrist and dragged his frozen form through the doorway. He hardly had the chance to turn his head and say goodbye to Houki before the door sealed shut behind him.

The scanner turned red and a lock icon briefly appeared before it was gone. A transparent blue field shimmered into place a hair's breadth from the door's polished surface before fading from sight.

It wouldn't be opening for a while now.

Chifuyu had made sure of it after all. It was one of the numerous perks of being an instructor or part of the student council in the IS Academy.

"Ichika, if we fought right now, how long do you think you could last?" Chifuyu was never one to waste time. She had released him halfway into the room and now turned to face him a fair distance away. It was just far enough for her. She could close the distance just as quickly as he could react. She was giving him a fighting chance it seemed.

Ichika just stared at his sister.

"No one in this school can keep up with you." He was being honest when he spoke. "I'll be lucky to last a minute if you went easy on me."

"Why would I waste my time with something like that? Holding back won't help you deal with Raiden in the slightest." Chifuyu's hands fell down to two of the blades at her side. "If you don't want to grow I'll hold back. But once you ask me to do that I can't waste my time training you anymore."

"I wouldn't want you to waste any of your time Chifuyu-nee, I know how busy things can be for you." Ichika glanced to his arm.

To Raiden.

It felt heavy.

He swallowed.

"You'll have until I reach zero to decide." Chifuyu drew one of the blades from her side with what had to be deliberate slowness. The noise it made, what it promised, made his hair stand on end. She wasn't going to give him anything but her absolute best.

He didn't know if he should be terrified or honored at such a thing.

"Five." She held the blade out in front of her. The tip pointed straight at his head.

He never noticed the muscles on her arms until now. They weren't big. Despite her absolute terrifying strength, they weren't massive.

"Four."

That wouldn't fit a woman like his sister. She was more like a coiled serpent, ready to unleash a devastating strike at any moment with lightning fast speed and accuracy second to none. Big muscles would just get in her way, slow her down.

"Three." Raiden appeared in the blink of an eye.

He somehow felt lighter. Felt heavier at the same time. It hurt. It was good. He was himself and he was a stranger.

"Two." She drew a second blade.

"One." The sword he used with Raiden was drawn from his back with Raiden's clawed hand. He couldn't call it his own.

"Zero." He struck first.

His blade was easily blocked by one of hers. The other didn't move from where she had let her arm rest at her side. He strained, threw all he had into bypassing her guard with the enhanced strength he knew Raiden gave him once it was active. He couldn't. He could be at this for hours but he would never beat her in a test of raw strength like this. She was leagues ahead of the top IS pilots, stronger than entire armies even. He didn't stand a chance and he should have known it. He still strained to break through, to overpower her.

Raiden gave more power.

Chifuyu didn't bother using her other hand.

Raiden gave more power, consumed him in crackling, screaming, burning lightning.

Chifuyu looked almost bored.

"You attacked." She wasn't shocked. She wasn't surprised he had tried to take her down in an uncharacteristic surprise attack.

'Hope for the best but plan for the worse.' As her brother struggled against her in their completely one-sided blade lock she couldn't help but think of the age old adage being so true.

Raiden had definitely changed him. Ichika would have still been trying to talk her out of attacking, to talk her out of fighting in general. He was always trying to resolve things without resorting to violence like this. It was one of his almost endearing traits to her. It didn't surprise her Raiden was already changing him. It had done a number on her own mind, on her own character, almost just as fast. She had rejected it for that reason, had refused to use the IS again to prevent it from changing her too much, changing her permanently.

Back then, she could take it off at least. He couldn't. It was too late for him to escape it. He had to confront it. Control a thing even she hadn't been able to control with the creator at her side.

"Of course." His voice was changed thanks to the black mask in place over his face. It had slid over from either side in the blink of an eye. Raiden's systems were likely working on overdrive to try and beat her now.

Red electricity crackled down his arms, spread to his blade. Chifuyu's eyes did narrow at the sight but it was only slightly.

She triggered one of the blade's many functions by squeezing the custom grip in a well-practiced sequence before Raiden could take full effect. Violet electricity crackled down her blade from the hilt and clashed with red.

She figured Ichika's eyes likely widened to an almost comical extent on the other side of the visor Raiden had hidden his face behind. He was in shock or it was Raiden being confused at what was going on. It didn't matter in the end. She had him dumbfounded.

She couldn't help it.

She smiled.

"Did you really think you were the only one with a sword like that?"

She moved at last.

He was thrown back and into the shielded wall when she decided to stop humoring him. The field in place shimmered and was able to be viewed by the naked eye as he dropped down to the ground. He recovered rather quickly, shook the stars from his head. His armor covered body seemed to tense as red electricity engulfed him for a second. She let her foot slowly fall back to the ground. Her heel struck the ground with a loud almost thunderous click in the all but silent room. She waited for him to recover.

There was no point to follow with an honest offensive.

This wasn't a true fight after all.

This was just a test.

She needed to see what she had to work with, how much of Ichika Orimura was left, how much Raiden had taken.

"Alright sis." Ichika never called her that. He was always more respectful. He pulled himself up and his silver hair was tossed from side to side as he shook the last of the stars out. He brought his blade in front of him. It cast his armored body in a red light when electricity raced down it, as it consumed him in its dancing crimson glow. "Let's try that again!"

He wasn't even a streak to the cameras watching the two. Raiden had enhanced his speed to levels few IS could be expected to match, that few IS pilots could dream of reacting too. They would have to be overly specialized in evasion, in maneuverability, and would be destroyed in all of a single strike from Raiden's blade. He would be a formidable opponent for anyone.

Just not her.

She almost lazily parried his blow, threw him off balance when his all-out charge was suddenly brought to a complete stop. He was sent falling to the ground when he couldn't get his feet under him again in time. Chifuyu didn't press him. She watched him release his weapon and catch the spinning blade between an extended platform on his heel. It locked the blade in place. His hands landed on the ground and he spun.

His blade was the source of an out of control and razor-sharp cyclone. It would overwhelm others with the sheer speed he was moving with, how dangerously sharp his sword was. He could hack through most defenses with it just by the sheer hailstorm of blows he unleashed with every second he could keep it up. Lack of specialized equipment made it vital he make up for it with speed, with an all out offense like this. Vicious and unyielding, terrifying to witness, adaptable with sheer brute force and aggression.

He would need to outpower his opponents, outclass them in speed, be unrelenting in his onslaught. It was primal, based around instinct to defeat someone.

Just not someone like her.

The attack was too telegraphed and his technique was too sloppy. Too sloppy to ever even dream of hitting her on a bad day.

She stopped his blade and his maelstrom of an attack cold with only one of hers.

She used the dull edge of her second sword to land a hit on his side. She knew he would feel it through the armor. He understood he had made a mistake and was pushing himself into the air while releasing his sword from his foot. He caught it in his hand as it fell while he continued upwards. He flipped in the air in front of her.

His series of backflips across the room were actually rather impressive to see. He landed on his feet in a crouch and with one claw tipped hand planted in front of him while the other held his sword out at his side. She knew his red eyes were focused on her even if she couldn't clearly see them. They were likely being filled by his growing anger towards just how one-sided this fight really was.

Chifuyu began to walk after him. Each step sent another resounding click through the room empty of anything but the two siblings.

"Acrobatics like that aren't necessary in a fight like this." Chifuyu flipped both of the blades in her hand to make use of their blunt sides. She wouldn't be using any lethal force in this fight. Just a painful amount of blunt force. She was just looking to teach him after all, not deal him any serious injuries. At least yet. She hoped it wouldn't be necessary but was ready nonetheless. "They won't help you beat someone when you're this outclassed. Perhaps you could impress them into pitying you, letting you live for the amusement of your antics alone, but you can't rely on that level of cruelty. You should expect that your opponent wants to do nothing more than defeat you, destroy you, perhaps even kill you."

"And now you're not even going to fight me?" His voice was distorted, sounded as if it was moving through tin. There was uncharacteristic anger in his voice. His body once again crackled with crimson electricity. The hold on Raiden's blade tightened. "You're just messing with me now aren't you! Treating me like I'm some kind of joke? Like I'm some kid!"

"No." Chifuyu didn't speed up her walk. It looked like she slowed down actually. "You're, like I've already said if you would bother listening, just that outclassed."

"You..." He didn't finish.

Chifuyu came to a stop. She had a feeling it wasn't going to be flattery.

"Go ahead and finish that sentence." She leveled one of her blades at him. Her eyes were harder than stone and held no warmth in them. "I might get mad enough to stop pitying you if you do."

He only made some sound of discontent and anger before he dashed forward at that same blindingly fast speed, his blade sweeping in and up to take out her arm. She deflected it with the expected ease. His other hand came up with the pistol drawn from his thigh. She cut it in half before he could fire a shot off. He tried to jump back but she followed after him. His surprise wasn't made vocal. It was known to her by the hurried swing of his blade to try and stop her, to distract her from her attack. She knocked it aside when she moved her blade too fast. She went with the sudden opening and went without her blade. It was sent spinning into the air after she had no more immediate use of it.

She used one armored hand to throw him away.

He hit the ground on his back after her blow and she landed in front of him. The darker armor that covered his torso was rather useless against her fist. He remained on the ground, gasping for air that just wouldn't be coming to his lungs anytime soon. Her blow was intended to make breathing a monumental task for a while longer. He was going to remain on the ground while she spoke to him.

"I'm not disappointed believe it or not." Chifuyu caught her blade as it fell. The action was casual at best, a simple lift of her hand bringing the airborne sword back to her possession. "I knew you wouldn't last long."

"Y-You..." Ichika's voice trailed off once again. He was still unable to do much more than just wheeze and struggle on the ground.

"You're not as bad as I thought." Chifuyu returned both blades to their proper places at her side. She didn't need them anymore if this was all he could do. "Raiden also doesn't have much armor still. You don't have a shield either. Every hit you take will hurt. Not as much as now but you already know that. You took some damage during your match with Alcott."

Her only answer was a wheezing rasp. He still couldn't take in much oxygen it seemed. She didn't pity him or regret what she had done. She was being merciful in the long run.

Raiden was too dangerous for him. That was clear now. He would need more time to learn any kind of control, to learn how to properly use such a strange IS.

"There's ways around it. You and I both know my IS had a similar problem with the Yukihira. There's only two ways for someone in your position to get past the issue: Power and speed." Chifuyu kept her eyes on him as she spoke, crossing her arms in front of her. "I've used both, refined them through practice and combat. You don't have the skill or talent to outclass anyone you face with technique so those two will have to do for you as well. If you're fast enough you can close the distance between you and your target, even long-range specialists that will hold a natural advantage over you, and beat them before they can do any lasting damage. You need power to stop yourself from being exhausted obviously. Closing the distance will be worthless if you can't hurt them enough to bring them down. You won't have many chances either. Two to three at best. One if you're unlucky and fighting someone out of your league. Pity, overconfidence, will provide you one chance to strike."

The act of breathing was beginning to become easier, air coming in more smoothly. He was wheezing less and less. His recovery rate was higher than she thought. She hadn't given him a very gentle blow after all.

"You have the speed. You bypassed Alcott's defenses and closed the distance between you and her without giving her a chance to properly plan out an attack. You'll need to use that strategy more and with ample variation. Any girl here with half a brain can tell you don't have many ranged options so they'll work to keep you at a distance. That gun of yours is worthless for any substantial damage. You'll need to keep them off balance. That spinning trick would have worked on someone else. Anyone who didn't see the flaws inherent to it wouldn't be able to act pass the initial panic."

He managed to force himself to sit up. The mask covering his face pulled back to either side.

"D-Didn't...hit...you..." He had managed to get enough air to speak again.

"Technique and experience will beat sheer speed any day. Most other IS pilots don't use a sword so they don't have experience with it, fail to understand the inherent limitations of a blade. That attack would be worthless against anyone who uses one extensively. It was too telegraphed once you caught the sword so it became simple to block." Chifuyu glanced to her wrist as she spoke. She still had plenty of time in the reserved room.

She had thought this would take longer.

It hadn't.

Her eyes turned back to Ichika when his wheezing finally stopped.

He was fully recovered it seemed.

"Anything you feel you need to add Orimura?"

He looked up at her.

She almost took a step back.

Hate. Sheer hate shined in those unfamiliar red eyes. Pain and anger were buried only slightly further down, helped in twisting his face into a twisted grimace. He wanted to hurt her, wanted to see her in pain, wanted to feel her blood on his hands. His face told her everything.

And then it was gone.

Ichika's shoulders dropped. The tension in his form was gone. Raiden crackled with crimson lightning, raced up and down his kneeling form as the various pieces of the unique armor adjusted itself across his body. His hold on his weapon slackened for a moment before tightening as the crimson light racing across his form grew brighter for that split second. He wordlessly rose to his feet.

"No." He took hold of Raiden's blade with both hands. The dark metal and visor that usually hid his face remained absent for now. His red eyes were focused solely on her. She didn't draw any of her blades in turn. She looked over his armored form, her eyes glanced into his, and she dropped her arms to her side.

"You want to continue even after that?" Her inaction, neither walking away nor taking a proper stance, showed she wasn't for or against this outcome. She was apathetic at best to his refusal to stop.

"If I decide to just quit after a few good hits from you Chifuyu-nee, how am I supposed to get any better with this thing?" Ichika forced himself to keep the blade steady, to keep himself standing. "I'm good to go again. I'm not leaving until I can get at least one good hit in. You know I'm stubborn like that." He tried to smile but it didn't reach his eyes.

She didn't question his determination to continue but it was impossible to know if he fueled it or Raiden was pushing him forward.

Chifuyu stared at him for a moment longer before she drew one of the many blades at her side.

"That initial spar was just to evaluate your skill level. Telling you to do drills wouldn't have given me as much information as that did." Chifuyu copied his stance without issue, familiarity guiding her limbs. "Just follow what I do for now. We won't have another spar until I'm satisfied with your progress."

"That could take forever." He was trying to laugh. It was stopped with another bout of crimson lightning, the armor shifting across his body once again. His body was tense for a moment before he forced himself to moved, to shift his stance to mirror her own refined version.

"Shinonono no doubt taught you some of the basics of kendo during your training with her, correct?"

She received a nod.

"Then this should be simple." She readied her blade, lifting it slightly. "Follow me." She made use of a simple slash, a basic strike she knew he could do.

His was too aggressive, great speed valued over accuracy, crimson lightning leaping from the blade to the ground in the midst of it.

"Again." She repeated the motion once, twice. She watched his hands tighten on the blade, irritation at her order almost unnatural on his face. He forced himself to follow her example, his strike just as fast as before, crimson lighting not leaping from the blade again but spreading across his armored form. He ground his teeth as he repeated the motion again with a mere look from her.

By the fifth repetition of the basic strike, he couldn't disguise the growing fury in his strikes. He lashed out at the ground, drove the blade point first into the ground. Crimson electricity linked the blade to his hand even as he drew away, as his red eyes glared at her, met her calm graze.

His hands, tipped with claws, were fists at his side.

"Will you at least show me what I'm doing wrong already! Just doing the same thing over and over again isn't helping me at all!"

She met his outrage with a simple repetition of the same movement as before.

His sword was ripped out of the ground as he charged her in a blind fury.

She met his blade with two of her own, stopped his flurry of attacks one after the other. She had been waiting for this, wanted to see just how much Raiden had already changed Ichika in the short time it had been with him. His heightened aggression, short temper, it was all a byproduct of Raiden acting on him.

She had to teach him some level of control or else the problem would only grow worse given time, turn him into a disaster waiting to happen for not only himself but the entire IS Academy as well. She would curtail such behavior, beat Raiden into submission no matter how long it took her.

She had nearly two more hours to work with him.

She could impart at least some skill into him in that much time.


AN: Well. Doesn't seem like Ichika's having a good time.