[P.O.V. - Ichika - March 3rd, 1:57 p.m.]

Crash.

"..."

Crash.

"Mmmmm."

Crash.

"Mmmmmmm." Another soft groan escaped Ichika's lips. His consciousness surfaced.

He could feel the gentleness of the surface his face was pressing into.

...sand? He questioned himself. I'm….. on... a beach?

With a grunt he rolled his body over and rubbed his eye as he blinked away the drowsiness. Finally, he fully woke to the sounds of breaking waves. Though his eye could see only darkness, as he presumed it must have been night on the beach.

He felt wonderful once more. All of the pain that coursed through his body was gone. Making the simplest of movements no longer put him through hell.

"Where am I?" Ichika wondered aloud, sitting up and propping himself up on the soft sand.

His confusion was quickly answered when the memories of the previous day rushed back into his barely conscious mind.

Time to get some answers. He thought as he stood up, looking around but not seeing the AI. Over the sound of the crashing waves he heard a gentle singing that he assumed belonged to her, and began making his way towards it.

If he was being honest, he felt great. His pain and exhaustion were gone. Listening to the soft singing while walking he could feel the sand squish in between his bare toes, the breaking waves providing a fresh breeze that tingled against his skin. To most it might just be a relaxing walk, but to Ichika it was heaven. No longer was he covered in blood and grime, no longer did his muscles ache and scream for relief, no longer was he being beaten to a bloody pulp. He took a deep breath, enjoying existing without pain for the second time in years.

A touch of light danced on his face, catching his attention. Coming to a slow stop Ichika turned and looked straight at the sky.

The sun was rising.

It broke the horizon, scaring away the darkness of the night and replacing it with a gentle light, bathing the skyline in a rainbow of colors. The ocean was the purest blue he had ever seen. Further and further the flower of light rose into the sky as Ichika watched. The sky continued to brighten, dashing away the deep purples and blues and replacing them with vibrant oranges and reds. Beautiful, in every sense of the word.

Then Ichika did something that surprised even himself, he smiled. A wide and genuine smile of pure joy, with eyes crinkled and teeth on display. Existence was no longer just pain.

Ichika fell to his knees and began to laugh aloud, tears of happiness seeped from his organic eye. He had succeeded as well. It took far longer than he thought, and cost him much more than he had originally predicted, but he had successfully dealt a large blow to Phantom Task. It didn't happen the way he thought it would, but it still happened.

"YYYYYEEEEEESSSSS!" Ichika shouted at the top of his lungs until he had to stop for a breath. He was sure the echoing of his cheer of triumph could be heard for miles around.

Ichika had also found out he had the ability to pilot an IS, a completely different goal of his that he had no expectations of accomplishing any time soon.

He could tear down Phantom Task and save millions. He could become the best IS pilot there ever was. He could keep safe innocence and help those who couldn't help themselves. He could be the light in the world that balances the ever growing darkness. He could make his family proud. He could… and he would.

He knew which IS would have an AI that looked like Chifuyu. He also knew the only IS that even had a full AI. He didn't know how…. But it would surely prove to be an asset in and of itself. Though he was quite confused as to how Phantom Task got a hold of the particular IS.

It took him a few minutes to reach the source of the singing. By then he had pulled himself together, but he still had a gentle smile on his face.

He was no longer desperate to get moving, and thus was pulling in many more details than his first time on the beach.

The AI was laying down a few feet from the crashing waves, sitting on a hill of the very fine sand, swinging her crossed legs while she hummed her melody. A smile of contentness on her face as she gazed upon the sky. She wore a sundress of pure white silk, with patterns sewn into the garment. Ok, she is NOTHING like Chifuyu…

She looked up as Ichika approached and smiled widely at him while Ichika attempted a stone cold expression, only for his gentle smile to break through.

"Hello again, my friend." The AI greeted, he nodded his head in acknowledgment. Her voice matched that of her form, meaning it sounded like a younger Chifuyu. But while Chifuyu often made her voice deeper and sharper to establish authority, the AI's voice flowed as nicely as the dress she wore. As smooth and sweet as the finest honey, yet radiant with power.

She stood from her position in the sand and dusted of her dress, proving to be taller than he expected. "Allow me to officially introduce myself, my name is Shirokishi or White Knight." She gave a deep bow in greeting.

Called it.

Ichika was not one to bow. Yes, it was tradition, especially in Japan. However, he held himself tall and proud even as a child. He recognized that it was a simple gesture of kindness and manor, yet he could not bring himself to like it. Though this time, this one time, he made an exception and bowed to the AI, although not nearly as deep as she had bowed.

"...not that I wasn't expecting that." He began as he brought himself back up to his full height, with perfect posture of course. "But I, as well as the entire world, was under the impression that The White Knight was completely destroyed in its daring rescue of Tokyo. Tabane said that all she could find was merely scraps of the frame." Ichika responded as he paced around her in a circle, observing her.

*sigh* "You might want to get comfortable, this is going to take a long time to explain." Ichika continued to walk around, analyzing her, but he motioned for her to continue.

"Alright… where should I start?" *sigh* "Ok. The White Knight is the only IS to have an Artificial Intelligence, it's part of what makes it so unique. This AI helps the pilot to fly the Infinite Stratos in many ways, and if given permission by the pilot, can take full control of the machine. Other IS have a kind of AI, but it isn't really the full thing, since it can't learn for itself."

"Now." She continued. "When Phantom Task hacked into the weapons of the world's governments, the AI was still incomplete. It didn't yet know much of the information that was necessary to complete it's tasks, nor did it have an actual avatar or physical form. So, to speed up the process so the White Knight could be completed, the AI copied all of the information it needed from it's pilot onto itself. That's why I look like an exact copy of Chifuyu Orimura when she flew me for the first and only time."

Ichika had simply continued to nod, having already guessed the majority of what she said, only now having his suspicions confirmed.

"Next topic. You know what happened to me during what they call 'the White Knight incident'? Chifuyu was an excellent partner, though I hate to admit it." She said with a slightly distasteful face.

She seemes to have some sort of grudge against Chifuyu, noted.

"We fought together magnificently, even though it was the first time either of us had flown. She had amazing talent, and I had all the information and knowledge I needed, but we had no experience. We had destroyed thousands and thousands of the weapons, but we couldn't get them all, and some began hitting the White Knight. One particularly large blast hit the heavily damaged IS, and that was all it could take."

That was the large explosion that day. That is why Chifuyu was looking at me... she thought she was about to die.

"You see, the White Knight had none of the modifications you would later make-" "Tabane didn't introduce me into the IS design for another few weeks…. Even though I could tell it was clearly her work…" Ichika interrupted, the AI nodded.

Never did like interrupting, but now is simply no time for mannerisms. The bow was enough.

"Exactly, so it was and still is only Tabane's original design. It didn't have an Absolute Barrier, an Inertia Canceller, and so on and so forth. So all that protected the pilot was the armor, and Chifuyu had taken a very heavy beating. Chifuyu had blacked out after the last large missle hit the IS full force. After which Phantom Task stole their real target, The White Knight, in its 'resting form'."

Ironic. If Tabane hadn't implemented the use of 'IS Space' they never could have stolen it so swiftly. She literally made it too advanced. Figures.

She paused to allow the information to sink in, and continued. "Tabane Shinonono had claimed she invented a machine the likes of which the world had never seen, not many believed her, but Phantom Task saw an opportunity. They hacked the governments and sent their weapons to Tabane's home country, knowing that she would send out her machine to defend her homeland. They used it as a test to see if the machine could do what she said and as an opportunity to take the Infinite Stratos for themselves… their plan was executed flawlessly."

"After they stole the White Knight. They attempted to use it as an incredible trump card that nothing could stand against, but there was one thing they didn't count on. Me. I stopped any of them from piloting myself. They thought it must have been a malfunction since it was the first of its kind or that the White Knight had been too damaged and was broken… junk. Of course they didn't want anyone else to ever find it in case, by chance, they could pilot it. So they stored it where no one would go or ever think to look, deep underground, far below their prison."

"For years the White Knight collected dust. I tried to entertain myself but I'll be honest, it was really boring. I hacked the prison's technology, but honestly there wasn't much to do, all they had was security doors, cameras, and little else. But I took an interest in a young boy, you. I watched you day and night, granted the night was less interesting considering it was always just pitch black. I watched you train and train, using the little space you could move in to master anything and everything you knew. Every time you tried to escape I would try to help by cutting off the guards access to the cameras, but I couldn't do much else unless I chose you as my pilot, in which case I could communicate with you the same way we are now. I watched your escape, saw your skill, your raw talent and indomitable willpower… I felt a connection… a pull towards you. So… I chose you."

She paused and her smile faded as her face morphed into a serious expression. The waves grew silent and the breeze stopped altogether. In a flash of light she was gone, replaced with the hulking frame of The White Knight, though empty and without a pilot. It floated silently, hovering in the air mere feet in front of him.

Her voice began to speak from the armor, this time it echoed across the beach, with an air of authority daring anyone to object.

"Know well, you Ichika Orimura are the pilot of The White Knight… you Ichika Orimura are my pilot. You are the one and only person on this planet that I will allow to pilot me. I deem you worthy, no one else."

As soon as she had transformed, she did so again. Turning back into the smiling young girl in a silly little sundress.

"Well... that was awesome." She giggled, but evidently her story was unfinished as she continued to speak.

"I formed a bond between us, the very fact that it was successful means that you subconsciously allowed our bond to form, embraced it. It also means that you, and I actually don't know if it has to do with me choosing you or what, are the only male in the entire world with the capabilities to pilot an Infinite Stratos." She inhaled deeply, finally finishing her explanation. "Oh… and you're about to wake up in a few seconds… have fun with that. But also… thanks, I would still be in the bottom of that prison collecting dust if it wasn't for you." She said, smiling once more.

That's true from a certain point of view, but you also saved my life. "You have my thanks as well." He said as he felt himself starting to wake up.

"Oh. Also, when the White Knight bonded with you, it began healing most of your major wounds, speeding up your healing factor. However, loads of minor ones still cover your body, and the healing didn't replace all that effort and energy you exerted so you're going to be extremely tired.

"...I have a question." She tilted her head.

"Tabane told me that the White Knight was almost completely destroyed." He said it like a statement, but it was really more of a question.

"She lied, as you already know, you just don't want to admit it." Ichika felt his stomach drop slightly. He could see that Tabane had lied, it was the only possible reasoning. Yet, he had been hoping it wasn't true. He felt a small mixture of anger and disappointment in his friend and tutor, yet it vanished as fast as it had surfaced.

"Tabane had recently taken on an apprentice. The second she introduced him to her invention he began making improvements and modifications. She loves you and enjoys having you as an apprentice, but her pride was wounded."

Ichika glanced down, he had never seen it that way. … I guess I would feel pretty annoyed if I just made the invention of the millenia and then some kid just came along and started to make… improvements. Ya… that would be annoying, even though I want best for the advancement of technology.

"Then you asked her what happened to the White Knight, and she couldn't bring herself to admit that it had not been destroyed….but far worse… lost, stolen. She had played right into Phantom Tasks hands and she knew it. Above anyone else, they were the most likely ones to have stolen it. So, she began mass producing IS, in hopes that their numbers could overwhelm the White Knight if Phantom Task ever returned with it."

Ichika looked up at her with somewhat saddened eyes, nodding. He could understand why Tabane would lie. Given the circumstances, he may have done it himself. But… he still felt somewhat disappointed in his mentor.

"Don't be too hard on her, okay? Despite what you think about the people you hold dear to you, they are not perfect. Madoka is not a perfect picture of innocence. Nor is Chifuyu the perfect warrior. Nor is Tabane the perfect vision of intelligence. Nor are you the perfect incarnate of wisdom."

He looked down at the sand again, the light from the sun leaving his face as his long hair blocked it from the sun.

"You're right, of course. It's just… disappointing." He admitted.

"I'll tell you one thing though…. you're the best of all of them, Ichika. The very best."

Ichika lifted his head to look at her once more as his form began to fully disappear from the beach, with a ghost of a smile still on his lips.

…

Beep….

Beep….

Beep….

… Ichika could hear the beeping of a machine as well as distorted talking as his body began to wake up.

He felt better, certainly not as well as in his own mind, but better. It felt like he was laying on a cloud. The pain he felt in his arm was bad, as well as on his side and left leg, but after all he had been through it felt like a bee sting. The distorted talking cleared as his body woke up completely, he groaned and blinked open his eye, his right eye socket covered by an eyepatch.

"That's me. Like it? Your original eyepatch was cut off during your first day of being tortured, so you needed a new one and I thought it made sense. Plus, what else do you never take off?" The voice of Shirokishi spoke in his mind. 'Well done.' He mentally spoke back, guessing correctly how to communicate with her.

Honestly he didn't even notice that she turned into an eyepatch when she disappeared into IS space when he first came into the hospital.

The speaking voice sounded very similar, but more mature. "You're awake." The voice said as a person leaned over his face, smiling widely, though Ichika saw a deep sadness behind those eyes. Madoka. She looked like a slightly younger version of Shiroi Kishi, which made her a slightly younger-younger version of Chifuyu. This is going to give me a headache.

"Ichika…" The amount of emotion poured into the single word was astounding. Ichika could hear the heartbreak behind it, but also the overwhelming happiness.

Before even trying to start a conversation Madoka burst into tears, wrapping her arms around Ichika. To be honest it freaked him out, when she touched him he could feel the pin of his scars and felt like he was back in the prison, about to be tortured once more. However with effort he forced himself to relax, it was his family after all, she wouldn't hurt him.

"It's alright…. It's alright. I assure you I'm fine. Shhhh...everything is going to be okay." He said in words so gentle they were whispers, all while he rubbed his hand in a circular motion along her back, giving his best attempt to sooth her.

Ichika looked around only to find his neck hurt like hell from the small movements. Must've been the awkward position I was in when I lifted the rubble.

He was now sitting up in a hospital bed as Madoka sat next to him in a chair. Nearly his entire body was covered in gauze, his head was covered in thick padding like a helmet. Where his left hand used to be was now nothing, his arm only extending to about 2/3rds of his forearm, the rest only a stub wrapped in gauze and cloth.

Across from the hospital bed was a window with open blinds, through which he could see cars wizzing by. What suprised him was that he saw store signs in Japanese.

I'm in Japan?

I can heal, shouldn't take me too long to make a mechanical hand and new eye. The old eye barely worked when I still had it 5 years ago, and was constantly malfunctioning. Plus, I can make many more uses for that eye other than just seeing. Ichika thought, already planning what he would do once he got out of the hospital.

Madoka's loud sobs had turned into muffled cries and let go of Ichika, sitting back in her chair. The chair gave a creak as she fully leaned back onto it.

"You've….. Ah…" Madoka cleared her throat and whipped her eyes of her tears, pulling herself together.

"You've been out for days. When they figured out who you and Chifuyu were, the entire world went insane. The strongest person in the world had gone missing for a couple days only to reappear in her long lost brother's arms, both covered in blood, you in particular looking like a demon and missing a hand." She glanced with heavy eyes at the stump on Ichika's left arm.

"I….ah….I was contacted that you both were in a hospital in America. I flew over right away. The doctors told me you would be relatively fine with rest, but you still had many injuries… and your body was covered in scarring. Chifuyu didn't wake up…., they said she had been forced into a coma from the amount of anesthetics that were in her body, she's still asleep, but the doctors say they are slowly counteracting the effects of the anesthetics and that she should wake up soon. After you were…." Her voice caught again, she gave a hard swallow.

"After you were… stable, I got some people to move you and Chifuyu back home. Right now you're actually only a few kilometers from our house."

"You… got people to move us?" Ichika asked with a raised eyebrow, pushing for clarification.

"Yes….I mean Chifuyu is Chifuyu. So many people owe her they would do anything to help her in her one time of need. But actually I got my people to move you." Madoka answered. Ichika could easily detect the pride in her voice, he also identified the classic Orimura smirk on the right side of her face.

"..." Not even speaking, Madoka understood he wanted more information..

"I'm the new Representative Candidate of Japan, as of a few months ago." She said, smirk turning into a full smile towards Ichika as her eyes sparkled and looked at him for acceptance.

"Well done… Well done indeed. That is no easy feat." Ichika patted her head. He could swear she might explode from happiness.

"So…?" She said. "So what?" Ichika asked.

"Soooo… how are you alive? We thought you were long dead! Why aren't you bothered that you're missing an entire hand?! How did you lose your hand?! Why were you covered in blood?! Why were you carrying Chifuyu?! Why is Chifuyu under anesthesia?!" She finished her rant after constantly gesturing to accommodate every question, panting and gasping for breath.

He decided to quickly and simply answer her questions. "I wasn't dead. I can easily build a perfect mechanical hand. I lost my hand in my escape and was covered in blood because I had to fight my way out. I was carrying Chifuyu because she was in the same prison as me, so I escaped with her. She is under anesthesia because they wanted to prevent…. problems."

"How? How could you possibly fight your way out of a Phantom Task prison, there must've been tons of guards, not to mention some might even be piloting IS?!" Madoka questioned, Ichika had a lightning fast inner-conversation to decide what to tell her.

'What will the consequences of telling her the truth be? A lot of attention. I could do without that, but apparently there will already be quite a lot of attention on me. Wait. "I can pilot other IS right? I don't see why I wouldn't be able to.' Ichika asked Shirokishi.

"Looking through your memories it's pretty obvious all Infinite Stratos are based off of me, after all I was the original working prototype. Considering that, yes, you should be able to pilot other Infinite Stratos. Why do you want to?" Shirokishi responded, he could swear he heard a hint of jealousy.

'Can't go flying around in the most famous IS, now can I? Actually, I doubt I can ever fly you unless in a very secure facility empty of anyone but me. I'll have to build a second IS for myself to use, or maybe just use a Uchigane, the White Knight will be my last and strongest trump card. Who would expect me to have a second IS if I was in a life or death battle?' Ichika responded, deciding to tell Madoka the truth.

"I may, or may not, have piloted an IS to escape." he answered, hastily adding in the or may not part.

If Madoka had been talking to anyone else, she would've just started laughing thinking they were joking. But she saw the state her brother was in, she knew how Ichika was, he had a knack for doing the impossible and it sounded like as he grew up that only got worse. He was an extremely multi-talented, mega-genius prodigy. If any male on planet Earth could be the first male pilot…. it would be him.

"Okay, explain. Please." Madoka said, as she got up from her chair and sat on Ichika's hospital bed.

*sigh* "Well… I ended up piloting an IS, but it was heavily damaged in my escape, and I didn't have time to repair it." Technically that was all true, but he knew Madoka would assume he meant he had fought with it in his escape and hadn't taken it with him.

"That's it?" She pressed. "I mean… where were you the past five years? Are you ok? I've seen the scars on your body. What happened!?" With each question she scooted closer and closer to him.

Ichika waved his hands in surrender. "... I assure you I am fine, or will be in a few months at most. I would prefer not to talk about what happened to me in the past 5 years, they bring up painful memories that are all too fresh. Please allow me that luxury… now, not to be hypocritical, but what has happened to you all over the past years?"

"Well as I said I became Japan's representative candidate a few months ago, it was difficult and took quite a lot of work and studying, I can't just look at something and have it memorized you know. I got privileges as a representative candidate and actually moved out for two months, but I was lonely and I would bet you Chifuyu was too, even though she hid it. Speaking of Chifuyu… she's been different Ichika. Everyone has been different. Y'know how after your life before she took you in as our brother, she became pretty territorial and protective of you?"

"Mhhm." Ichika confirmed

"After you were… taken... it was so much worse. Nee-chan became colder towards everyone, she searched and searched for you for years. She drank… like a lot, still does. I… I was the one who convinced her you were… were dead." She said, tearing up again. "I-*sniffle* -I'm so*sniff* sorry." Madoka's eyes were bloodshot as she once again hugged Ichika and buried her head in his chest.

"She's gonna hate me. I'm the one who told her to move on, to stop looking. But you were alive and being tortured, we could've found you, we could've helped you, but I ruined it, we could've been a family for the past 5 years and I RUINED it."

Ichika didn't show much emotion. He didn't try to hide them like Chifuyu did, that's just how he was. Logical, calm and collected. When he did show emotion, it was often overwhelming and intense but short lived. It was kind of ironic, most people thought he just wasn't empathic, but in reality he was too empathic.

"Look at me," Ichika said. She did and honestly he thought she looked cute crying. "You will not spout such nonsense! You are not remotely at fault. I will always love you and Chifuyu, as I'm sure she will always love you as well."

Madoka stopped crying and smiled through a face wet with tears. She did notice that he didn't say "she will always love us". That made Madoka sad that he was so unsure that people loved him, but even more determined to show her brother he was loved.

"Thanks." She said. "I needed that."

Ichika started to sit up, ignoring the soreness and pain as he did so. "What are you doing! You need rest!" Madoka said.

"I have things to do. People to see. Plans to make. Projects to build." He said as if it was obvious.

"But- You-" She began stammering.

"I thought you said it's been days?" Ichika protested.

"Well duh, but your body is still healing, idiot." Madoka said.

"My body shall still heal even if I am active." He said, getting out of the bed and doing a few small stretches.

"I have many plans, firstly I want to see Chifuyu. I'll be very busy for a while, might not see me for a little, but I'll be back as soon as I can." He said while stretching and slowly walking toward the door, feeling a pain sting in his leg with each step. "Why does my leg hurt?" I know I had extensive injuries but none were on my legs. He looked down and searched through the sea of scars, finding a fresh scar of what used to be a bullet hole. Huh. I guess I got shot during the escape… probably Squall… didn't even notice.

"How can you think you will just be fine!? And you can't go out now you need rest to heal, what if someone picks a fight with you, huh, what are you going to do!? And how can you have plans already?" Madoka said as she grabbed and clinged to his right arm, trying to pull him back towards the bed but he was as immovable as stone.

"I'm me." Ichika said, answering all three questions at once. He pulled out of her grip and exited the room.

*sigh* "Same old Ichika… different, very different, but the same." Madoka said happily and smiled, exiting the room herself and heading toward Chifuyu's hospital room.

[March 3rd, 8:03 p.m.]

[P.O.V. - Squall]

Squall had been driven to her knees the second she opened the door, and was now kneeling as if in front of royalty in the middle of the doorway. She was nearly drowning in killing intent, she struggled through each breath. Her head was in a deep bow, avoiding looking anywhere near the source of the suffocating aura.

"Squall, do you know why I ordered you here?" The voice was feminine, deadly cold, and forged in steel.

"..." She couldn't talk. She couldn't open her mouth. She couldn't move.

"You, Squall, are one of my most important subordinates. Meaning you have been loyal through many years, but do you know what that loyalty also means?" The womens' back was still turned.

"..."

"It means that you, above all, should know I do not tolerate insubordination."

"The boy wa-" "SILENCE!" The women roared before Squall could get out a sentence.

"I do not want your excuses!" She spat. "How could you fall victim to such a cliché weakness? You underestimated him! You were successful in capturing the main target and so you let your ego take control! You allowed a prisoner, a PRISONER, to not only escape, but to take with him another prisoner and the IS! In one fell swoop you lost not one, not two, but THREE of this organizations' most valuable assets!"

"My lady, Chifuyu Orimura will not-" "Do not say that name in my presence! That traitor has taken enough from me! I will not have her name spoken to take away my time as well."

"Of course, my lady. But your daug-ahk!" Before she knew it she was being held in midair, with a hand of steel crushing her windpipe. A long black IS blade was leveled at her throat, already digging into her skin producing a deep cut. Her blood began trickling down the massive blade.

"I have made it very clear that that traitor is no daughter of mine. She has forsaken that right after stealing her younger sister from me."

"O-of co-course my lady, I-" Squall was stammering to talk. She was doing her best to breathe with little success. Her face growing ever more panicked.

"I often find it wasteful to kill subordinates, but you have failed me three times in one. So-" The sword dug into her neck. "-I want you to give me a very VERY good reason to not pin your head on my wall." The metal claw of the Black IS loosened slightly, only enough to allow her to talk.

"I-" *Gasp* "I can still do-" *Gasp* "-what you have ordered, my lady. I can get your daughters for you, both will kneel at your feet as you have requested. I can get back the White Knight and the boy to atone for my failure."

"Do not make empty promises. You only managed to capture that traitor by overwhelming her with odds. I need not mention the fact that she was both exhausted physically and mentally, as well as drunk. If you fought her without all of those conditions, she would swiftly turn you into little more than ash blowing in the wind. As for that boy, the imposter, the only reason you were able to keep control of him was due to him being captured when he was a mere child. No doubt that even during his imprisonment his skills improved exponentially. Do not be so arrogant as to think you can take them both, especially now that their skills are together."

"I-I can, I swear on my life. Please, my lady. Allow me a chance to fix my mistakes." The women looked down at her with the look of a devil, and a shiver went down her spine.

"Kill the boy. He provided excellent bait but he is intelligent and wise, he will surely make a contingency plan in case he is kidnapped again so he could not be used as such bait. He made it clear no amount of torture will make him reveal information. In his escape he also showed his ability to pilot an IS. He is a loose cannon, eliminate him. As for the real Orimura siblings, I want them kneeling at my feet by the end of this year, or I will fulfill the oath you made on your life."

The claw of the IS opened and Squall dropped to the ground on all fours, clutching her throat and coughing hysterically while gulping down air. Her forehead was heavily laden with sweat.

"I want you to be exceptionally careful when dealing with these tasks, especially the boy. Make no mistake, as of now he is one of our largest threats, but he is also more. He now has the ability to pilot an IS, along with core 000 in his possession. He has... far too much potential." She said with a look of disgust on her face.

Squall quickly saw what the devil was getting at. "You think he could grow into your equal?-" Squall scoffed. "-my lady, be reasonable. I admit I may have underestimated him, but he could never pose a challenge to you."

The woman narrowed her eyes. "That is exactly what caused this problem Squall. Do not underestimate your opponents. The fact is that he is already a massive threat and still has overwhelming potential for growth, it is better to eliminate him before he is given the chance to grow into an even bigger threat to Phantom Task's... plans... I do not need to tell you what the consequences will be if you fail me a second time." The woman tilted her head upward as if she were royalty, looking down on Squall with stone cold eyes.

The devil paused for a second, seemingly considering something.

"As for your resources, I will grant you command of an IS squadron for these tasks. If need be I may increase the amount."

"One squadron milady? But-" "Excuse me?" The womans' eyes narrowed, the deep blood red felt like it was boring into her soul. Her head bent further down to the floor in submission.

"Of course, my lady."

"Good. Now, you have your orders, see that they are followed through successfully."

A/N: All I really have to say is that I have no plans of having the whole "Orimura Clan" thing that I've seen in a lot of fanfictions.

Chifuyu and Madoka's mother does have a history that will be revealed, but there isn't a whole bunch of Orimuras out there, it's just her and her daughters.

Right now I'm out of school so I'm trying to update as much as I can, but once I start college updates will likely slow down.

Personal Responses:

Just Some Guy: Ya. Chapter 4 is without a doubt my favorite chapter so far. In ranking I'd say 4,1,5,2,3. I'm doing my best to keep all of the chapters on the same level of quality, but there is no denying chapter 4 was by far the best.