[P.O.V. - Ichika - January 13th, 8:00 a.m.]

Ichika drifted into and out of consciousness, his mind desperately clawing its way to the surface of consciousness only to be dragged back down by the overwhelming pain erupting from every fiber of his being.

He could only catch a few bits of information his senses could process before he would once again fall into his own mind. But nothing that he heard made much sense to the boy, at first he thought he heard yelling, but then it was drowned out by a loud whirring of… maybe a helicopter… a plane engine?

The next time he was conscious it was very quiet and he could hear talking in the background, though he couldn't force himself to stay awake long enough to figure out what the voices were saying.

...mmmm… uggghhh… ahh… shit… "Ahhh!" Ichika yelled a cry of pain as he regained his consciousness. Pain washed over his body, overwhelming his senses and making him have to fight just to think.

My body feels so hot, overwhelmingly hot… but… everything is cold at the same time. Am… am I dead? No, being dead wouldn't hurt this much at the very least. So where am I?

Ichika finally regained his bearings. The first thing he noticed was the absence of his mechanical eye. His hand came up to his face, touching the now empty eye socket. With a grunt he pulled himself up.

He was in a cell, not that he had expected anything less. It was quite large with completely cement walls, it had no windows. The only light in the room was coming from cracks in the doorway, but the small amounts of light were enough to ever so dimly light the room. The room was barren, it looked as though it was brand new. They must have built a cell especially for me. He had to admit, there was absolutely nothing in the cell he could work with… mainly because their WAS nothing in the cell.

He himself was in the dead center of the room, his hands and legs were cuffed individually. His legs each had a long chain attached to the ground inches from him. They were clearly there to keep him in a certain area, with enough slack for him to move around most of the room. As for his hands, each one was also attached to a long chain. However, each one of those chains were connected to closed hooks in opposite walls of the cell. In each of the four corners of the room were cameras, mounted on the ceiling. All of which were covered in there own layer of steel bars.

He wore his same clothes, though that wasn't saying much since after his fight they were mostly just shreds of cloth. His entire chest was covered in a thick layer of gauze. Not that he was surprised, his chest felt like it was melting, every time he looked down he was expecting to see his entrails spilling out.

Before he could start examining the room he heard approaching footsteps. Following a few ominous clicks of locks a large cement door was swiftly opened and in walked a relatively tall women. It wasn't one of the pilots that had kidnapped him.

She was caucasian, with long flowing blonde hair. European, or American. Her eyes were red, but not the red of Chifuyu or Madokas' eyes, hers were a deep blood red.

"Ichika Orimura." She stated. Ichika, having no reason to respond, continued to analyze her. Definitely American with that accent.

Perfect posture and scrutinizing eyes, the overall way she held herself. Military. But her clothing conflicted with that. She wore casual clothes, but they weren't for practical use. If Ichika had to guess, most people in the military would dress practically over impressively. However the women's clothes were fitted rather to accentuate her body. Ex-military, then.

"Who are you?" Ichika decided to ask, the more information he could get the better.

He scanned her face, stopping at her right eye. Mechanical eye. Unlike his eye, which was now almost 5 years old, her replacement was covered by artificial skin which made it almost impossible to tell the difference, especially from a distance.

The woman continued, ignoring his question. "You are the famous apprentice of Tabane Shinonono, the creator of the IS. This organization is curious just how much she has taught you about her machine."

"Surely you already know where this is going."

"..." Cores

"My boss wonders if she has truly taught you all she knows? …If she has… then that would make you more than capable of knowing how to build an IS core… correct?" That is something the entire world had theorized and hounded him about. He was the famous apprentice. The smartest man in the world. But no one knew, besides him and Tabane, just how much he had been taught. He knew what he had been taught… everything.

"Let me guess, the leader of Phantom Task wants me to make IS cores, and if I don't… you'll kill me, or maybe torture me?"

"Oh who knows really?" The woman began pacing in front of the door. "I told them that you would never in your life make IS cores for Phantom Task no matter how much you were tortured. Nor would you give up any information on the IS, least of all how to build cores. But they… insisted." Ichika made a note to find out who this "they" was.

"You would blindly follow orders? You said that you know that no matter what you do to me I will never do anything or say anything to any of you, but "they" insisted. Why follow a leader who won't even tell their followers why they are doing what they do?"

"Not a bad try, kid. I'll give you credit you do have a silver tongue, but I'm not an idiot." Worth a shot. I could use a spy in Phantom Task. He started pulling himself up from the cold cement floor.

"Oh, I wouldn't be getting up If I were you," she said with an emotionless and bitter chuckle. "On second thought, do get up, in fact I'm hoping you try to resist. That'll mean I get to have more… fun." He did not like the way she said that last part.

"Your going to be my torturer?"

The woman smiled, which was exceptionally off putting. "Straight to the point, huh?" She lightly chuckled.

"Unfortunately, no. I have been assigned another job for the time being. Your torturer is one of my subordinates. She is very… enthusiastic in her job. Luckily for you the wound you got in your fight with those failures was nearly fatal. So she has to wait until the wound is healed enough to torture you. Like I said, I'm not stupid. I was ordered to kidnap you for information on how to build an IS core, I can't have you dead. Tortured to the brink of death? Sure. But not dead." I won't be tortured until my wound heals enough to not be fatal if it would reopen… meaning I have a few weeks of prime opportunity to escape.

"You will be brought three meals a day to keep you alive. If you put up resistance at any time you will be severely punished for your actions." With that the woman had seemingly finished speaking with him, and left him, closing the door behind her and once again leaving Ichika in the nigh pitchblack room.

[January 16th, 3:22 a.m.]

Ichika sat in his dark cell. He was curled into the fetal position, trying to retain as much heat as possible in a desperate attempt to get any amount of sleep. It seemed as though after days of trying he might be able to find some reprieve until he heard the recognizable clicking of locks.
It was quickly followed by the sound of the stale air rushing out through an opened door. The small amount of dim light that came through the door blinded him enough to make him look away.

He only heard footsteps accompanied by the sound of chains dragging across the floor. He looked back after his eyes adjusted to the light. A gruff looking man was attaching one end of a chain to the metal hook in the center of the room. The only end of the massive chain was attached to a metal collar which was around the throat of a girl who looked to be slightly older than him.

She was caucasian. Brown hair that was cut extremely unevenly covered her eyes, though in the glimpses he caught he could see hazel brown eyes.

It was to note that the girl had no clothes. Her skin looked like it was turning translucent. It looked like there was no real "flesh" on her body, just bones covered in skin. The girl sat down on the hard floor as far from Ichika as she could get.

If Ichika had any doubt that Phantom Task was an entirely bad organization, he didn't have any now.

Having finished connecting the chains, the man stood up and left the room. The large door slammed loudly as he exited.

Ichika stood up and walked to the girl, who jerked back immediately, only for the chain to stop her. "Ah!" She yelled as the collar around her throat contracted, keeping her within the confines of the chains' length. Ichika stopped in his approach.

"I… mean you no harm." He knelt down to the girls level, slowly reaching out his hand. "Ah!" He grunted as he pulled back his hand, now covered in a bite mark. The girl had a harsh expression on her face, clearly ready to fight for her life.

He held his hands in surrender. "Hey. Hey. Hey." He said in as soothing a tone he could muster. "I mean you no harm." The girl didn't seem to buy it, and Ichika gave up. He walked back across the cell, sitting at the opposite end of the girl.

[8:00 a.m.]

The girl hadn't spoken. Ichika couldn't keep track of time perfectly but it had at least been a few hours. In those long hours he had made numerous attempts to talk to the girl, to no avail.

A series of recognizable clickings drew Ichika's attention to the door. This time to reveal a female figure. The figure didn't speak, but simply stood out of Ichikas' reach, and laid down a tray of what probably passed as edible food. He had been expecting this, they had been bringing him three meals per day, after all they needed to keep him alive to torture him.

The woman slid the tray with a screech across the cement flooring. Another woman had entered after her and laid down a tray on the girls side of the room.

"Eat" They said in unison, sliding the trays into the prisoners' reach. The girl was already gorging herself.

The women didn't leave. They stood still and watched as the cellmates ate their food. There weren't even utensils, meaning both Ichika and the girl were currently eating their food like pigs. After a few minutes of hastily eating, the women told them to slide back the tray, he complied and the girl followed his lead, the women simply picked up the trays and left without a word. The door closed, once again leaving the room in a cooling darkness.

Ichika got up from his position, instantly drawing the attention of the young girl.

He began walking slowly towards the girl, who continued to back up until she was straining against the chain. Ichika stopped in front of the struggling girl, noticing this the girl slowly calmed down. She looked at him with tired, dull brown eyes.

Ichika lifted his hands, the girl flinched, he took off the remnants of his shirt, he held the scraps in his right hand and extended them to the girl. "Here..."

The girl eyed the scraps of shirt in his hand, but looked at him with suspicion. "Take it…"

The girl looked back to the cloth in his hand and eyedit hungrily, but made no attempt to take it. Ichika sighed "Alright." He dropped the cloth onto the floor and turned, walking back to his side of the room.

He sat down. The girl hadn't moved and was still eyeing him, though now it looked more like it was out of curiosity. Her eyes darted to the scrappy shirt on the floor, then back to Ichika. She hesitantly picked it up and put on the remnants of his shirt. Her face seemed to relax slightly with the newfound warmth in the cold cell.

"Now then, I'm going to try to go to sleep. The name is Ichika Orimura by the way." The girls eyes widened, but she stayed quiet. He closed his eye, once again trying to get some sleep.

"A… Amelie." ! His eye opened, he smiled lightly. She had a soft voice, but he couldn't quite pinpoint her accent with just one word, especially only a name.

Ichika got up once again and began walking over to the girl. He sat down next to her, a few feet away. She shifted away a little, but once again made no attempt to get away from him.

"Well, Amelie. It doesn't look like we have much to do here. Care to tell me how you got here?" He sounded kind, and frankly he was curious.

The girl remained silent, she looked at him confused.

She spoke up. "Je ne sais pas ce que vous dites."

"..."

"Shit." That was french… the silky accent was now immediately recognizable. Problem… he didn't speak french. That makes sense… she must have said her name because she recognized mine, since names are universally recognizable.

"Eh…" He decided to try other languages he knew. "Do you speak English?" He asked in said language. The girl could tell the obvious switch in language, and guessed what he had asked, she shook her head.

"Do you speak Manderin?" Another no. He repeated the question in every language he knew, only to get consecutive no's. *sigh*... time to learn how to speak French.

"Ah… you." He pointed to her. "Teach me" He pointed to himself. "Speak." He made a gesture of sound coming out of his mouth. "French?" He tried to impersonate her accent on the last word. From that the girl got the concept.

The girl pointed to herself. "Je." She pointed to him. "Vous enseigner." She made the same gesture he had. "Parle Français?"

[9:43 p.m.]

French was surprisingly easier to learn than most languages. Granted he had only just started learning it, and he really couldn't be sure if the words she was teaching him meant what he thought they meant… but he was learning quickly and thought of the words he was learning he probably had more than 90% right.

They had spent all day going through the very basics. The language was very similar to English and he was surprised how quickly that improved his learning rate.

After hours and hours of making motions and hand gestures, then repeatedly saying a word, Ichika decided they had done enough and they both went to bed. They huddled together for warmth on the cold cement floor and after an eternity of shifting and letting his mind wander, Ichika finally fell asleep.

[Dream Sequence (Obligatory Flashback)]

A young boy sprinted down the streets like his life depended on it. Chaos reigned in the city as people ran every which way, all in desperation to get to whatever destination they had in mind. An explosion went off across the street from the boy, leveling multiple buildings instantly, no doubt killing all occupants.

Even across the way he felt the heat sear his skin and char his clothing.

Ignoring the pain he continued his sprint with renewed vigor towards whatever his destination, continuing his trek across the city. Entire buildings were being consumed by flames and explosions.

Suddenly, as if all of the citizens prayers had been answered, it all stopped. No more explosions… silence reigned across the entire city, the entire country, the entire world as every human on the planet held their breath while they waited in anticipation of what had happened. The once drowned out the sound of the boys footsteps now echoed across the city as he became the only person continuing to run.

For only a second he lifted his gaze to glance to the sky. Horror unimaginable greeted the young boy. It looked as though the sky was filled with birds or distant airplanes, but he could tell what they were. Missiles. Dozens… hundreds… thousands at least… maybe even more. All raining down on his homeland. However, that was not what captivated the young boys' gaze.

A flying figure, clad in pure white armor stood opposing the incoming missiles, staring death in the face… without the slightest hint of fear. Dawned in classic armor with a long glowing broadsword in the figures' right hand. Explosions went off in the air as the figure darted at amazing speeds between the missles, slicing them and forcing them to explode mid air.

Some missiles to get passed the figures efforts, only to seemingly veer from their trajectory, stopping mid air and dropping like a chunk of rock to the ground.

Shirokishi, The White Knight, and Ichika Orimura had just gotten the first ever glimpse of the machine that would change the world. He had to get back to his home.

The instant the alarms blared across the country, warning everyone of the oncoming crisis, chaos had ensued. Everyone began darting for the nearest bunkers or any place they believed might keep them safe from the missiles.

Not him. No. He had been at school, or to be more precise in highschool, but that's a story for another time. They had tried to get him to comply with a security protocol, but seriously? Lining up by the walls and ducking into the fetal position and waiting for his imminent demise was not how he was about to spend his last moments alive.

If he was going to die he was as sure as hell going to die with his family. Though now that the figure appeared his priorities had changed.

He had been taken in by a young girl, though she was quite older than him. Chifuyu Orimura. She had rescued him and taken him in, and she and her little sister Madoka had quickly become his family.

It soon became obvious he was not a normal child. His intellect was enormous, and "off the chart" wouldn't summarize it. Due to that Ichika also become close friends with one Tabane Shinonono, a genius in her own right and a girl the same age as Chifuyu. The two hit it off and had been the closest of friends ever since. That was a quick summary of his life after he had been taken in by Chifuyu. Of his life before? Well, he had tried his best to forget.

Tabane had been working on a "secret project", and the second he saw Shirokishi, he suspected his fellow genius's craftsmanship.

However, he was panicking. The machine was being broadcast all over the city, or to be more accurate, all over the planet. In the center of the machine was it's pilot, and even though her body was covered, he had a large hunch on who it was. Chifuyu Orimura.

The one who had taken him in a few months ago and had begun to raise him even though she herself was still a child. The person on Earth that he most respected, most trusted, most loved… a member of his family… risking life and limb for king and country.

He looked away, dedicating fully to his sprint.

Ichika was now running to his and Tabanes' laboratory, which just so happened to be next to the Shinonono residence where he was currently living. It was his favorite place on the entire planet. But more importantly, that was also were all of Ichika and Tabanes' technology and inventions were. Ichika had seen the missiles that were getting past the Shirokishi, and was positive Tabane must've been remotely hacking and disabling the missiles that got past the machine.

Unfortunately, some missiles were still getting past both Shirokishi and Tabane, meeting their trajectory and causing massive explosions. He panted, sucking in as much air as he could as he continued to run as fast as his little body could carry him. He needed to get to the laboratory, he could help hack the missiles. Lives were at stake. Nothing else mattered.

An especially loud explosion went off and Ichika once again looked back to the sky. It was too far away to tell what was happening, so Ichika turned his head to one of the massive television screens that was broadcasting a live feed up close on the figure.

Horror truck his face as he saw the current state the White Knight was in. It's armor was in tatters. The helmet had a massive crack, creating a hole large enough to see a piercing red eye of the pilot, there was no doubt in his mind now, it was Chifuyu.

Most of the missile were now gone. Only one remained. Now floating over the ocean, no longer above the city and facing the final incoming missile, the Knight stood still. It turned its head to whatever camera was recording it, seemingly looking at all of humanity, but Ichika could feel that stare and had a strong sense that out of the billions of people… it was looking straight at him.

The glance at the camera only lasted for a second, and the Knight once again turned back to the missle. It's thrusters blasted out energy, the blade lengthened, and the Knight bent into a ready stance as if preparing for a duel. It rushed forward in a dash towards the missile.

Before anyone could see what had happened, a final explosion went off. The effect was massive. Not nuclear explosion massive, but it was definitely larger than he had ever seen in person. He felt a wave of heat wash over him, and looked away as the blinding light flashed, which was saying something considering how far away he was from the explosion.

He looked up at the television, but it was static. Whatever had been recording the Knight had been destroyed. Ichika turned toward where the Knight had last been seen. Nothing… no missiles, but no White Knight either. Chifuyu…

The boy prepared to continue running, but dissolved into a blur as the dream shifted.

The scene was now a large room. The most advanced technologies in the world covered the room. In the center was a large desk with two chairs and two sets of computers with holo screens for monitors. A large and long table to the left of the desks was piled high with small models of inventions. To the right of the desk was another massive holoscreen that covered the entire wall, which was currently displaying an image of a brand new IS design.

The notes to the left of the image showed that it now had countless new adjustments and additions. Brand new technology such as the Absolute Barrier or AIC, as well as a connection to the recently created "IS space", along with various other notes on the new design.

Far behind the desk was a circular platform in which the flooring changed to a different metal. Standing on the platform was an IS perfectly resembling that of the one on the holoscreen.

The same boy stood in front of the IS, looking at the creation. The boy glanced to his left to see a very happy looking Tabane. The scene once again dissolved.

The boy was now in the living room of the Shinonono residence.

He was sitting on Chifuyus' lap. On Chifuyus' left was Madoka, sitting in a chair on the right was Tabane. The boy had an extremely giddy look on his face as he held up a small gift in his hand. Chifuyu looked down on him with an extremely rare full smile.

He nervously yet exitedly lifted the gift to her as she took it in her hands, slowly unwrapping the small box.

She lifted away the top covering of the box and pulled out a stunningly beautiful necklace. As she pulled it away from the box you could see what looked like a gem sparkle in the center of the necklace.

The "gem" was lined with what looked like a black metal, it surrounded the gem and kept it in place. Engraved at the top in very small letters was the name KURAZAKURA, on the back glinted the name CHIFUYU ORIMURA. Chifuyu continued to smile, and hugged the little Ichika.

The scene slowly dissolved into blackness as Ichikas' eyes blinked open.

A/N:

I wanted to get this chapter out earlier but since it is the very beginning of the story I have to plan ahead a ridiculous amount so each chapter will correctly lead to the next. Sure I have already stated that I probably will go back and make edits, but I still want the story to not only be cohesive, but enjoyable, entertaining, and genuinely fun to read.

I would like to say that I have read none of the manga. Everything I know about the cannon is just from the 2 seasons of anime or other details I have pieced together from other fanfictions. So I am going to be spitballing quite a lot of this. I mean, seriously, I couldn't even find what form the Kurazakura takes in resting form so I had to make one.

I hate OC's, and I really didn't want to make one, especially this early. However, I have created the plot and needed to create an OC for it to work to its fullest. So bear with me and take heart knowing she won't be a large part of the story. She is a plot device, nothing else. Once she serves her purpose she will no longer be in the story.

Lastly I want to say that the amount of response the first chapter got was astounding. I didn't even expect half of the amount of views, favs, follows, and reviews. Thank you all and I really do hope you continue to story. Sure, at the end of the day I am pretty much writing this for myself, but if I can entertain other people and contribute to the fandom, then why the hell not?

Personal Review Replies:

Jss2141 & Alternate Reality: Already responded by DM

Just Some Guy: I did not expect a comment like that. That is very flattering and nice to hear. I hope I can contribute a good story to this fanbase.

Angron: I wish you hadn't said that, because now I can't stop thinking about it. :)

YOURLORDANDMASTEROFINTERESTING: Interesting

Both "Guests": Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed it and hope you continue to.

- This is AceOfSpades, signing off.