[April 20th, 6:23 a.m.]
A blur zoomed around a course, twirling in the area around obstacles and dodging energy bolts. After passing through a large archway it decelerated in the air.
"One minute, twenty two seconds." Tabane looked up from the stopwatch in her hand as Ichika slowed the speed on his Uchigane, landing it to the ground.
"MMmmm." His face was unreadable, but his slight disappointment was clear.
"That's really good!" Tabane said enthusiastically, running up to the large Mecha. "You're improving faster than anyone I've seen! A few weeks of practice and you're already far better than the average novice!" She jumped up and down with excitement.
'Well...ya. It is, given the time I've been practicing.'
"Mmmm…. I guess." He didn't sound very convinced.
"Oh, don't be such a baby, Ichika!"
"Chifuyu's fastest time is fifteen seconds." He said in his defense.
"She is a world champion with a decade of experience in piloting. You may be an expert engineer but you only started training a few weeks ago. C'mon, Ikkun! You're doing so well, give me a smile!" She used her fingers to morph his blank expression into a smile, only for his smile to disappear the second she moved her fingers away.
*sigh* "Fine. You want me to be all serious and boring? I will. You're moving is too rough, too jagged. If you want to increase your speed you need to move more fluidly. You're used to treating an IS like a machine, but to pilot one the most properly you need to treat it like an extension of yourself. Stop worrying about moving the entire IS correctly and just worry about moving yourself correctly, the IS will follow along."
A flash of light encompassed the testing arena as Ichika deactivated the Uchigane, dropping a few feet to the floor.
"Thank you for your help, Tabane-nee, but I have to get to the Academy. Work is in….a couple hours." Ichika said after checking his phone. Tabane grabbed him in a light hug before he dashed out of her lab's practice arena.
[7:25 a.m.]
It was an hour before the second week of school would begin, and that meant that it was the scheduled time for the class representative match.
Usually, students would still be sleeping, while only the most studious would already be preparing for classes. However, the stands of the stadium were packed to the brim with students intending on watching the duel between their two peers.
Cecelia, who had quickly gained a reputation as a snooty and entitled rich girl, was disliked amongst the class of 1-1. Though, the vast majority of the students of the academy had no knowledge of her character, thus she still had many people cheering for her.
Even though Cecelia had some fans, Madoka was the clear crowd favorite. Even amongst her peers out of class 1-1, she already gained a reputation of a kind person you don't want to mess with. Her name could be heard as many shouted her name as the countdown to begin the match started.
In a seperated and elevated area of the stands, Ichika stood observing the large arena from what was the teachers' stands, his hands resting on the safety bar that kept observers from falling to the arena. Behind him to his left was Chifuyu and Maya, enjoying a nice cup of freshly brewed coffee that had steam wafting off of it.
Many seats of the arena were filled with her students, all anticipating the duel between two of the school's newest top students. Even in the slightly secluded area of the stands, all occupants could hear the loud cheer as the countdown began, the two IS readied themselves for the upcoming fight. A loud alarm signaled the start of the match and Celcilia flew into the air, attempting to gain the high ground, Madoka quickly sped after her.
"There is no need to be worried, Onee-sama, our imouto will perform admirably." Ichika said in the most comforting voice he could muster.
"I'm not nervous!" Chifuyu immediately argued. She would've protested that he called her Orimura-sensei, but Onee-sama was an incredibly-almost too-respectful title, one that Ichika had always referred to her as. He had been gone for 5 years and to be honest every time she heard that title it reminded her of that little kid she had raised, and she just couldn't bring herself to protest.
Chifuyu was about to pour something in her coffee but Ichika stopped her hand without looking away from the match. She looked at him in confusion.
"That's salt, Onee-san." He informed her once again in a soft tone that showed he wasn't making fun of her.
"..." A light blush of embarrassment appeared on her face.
"..." Maya moved her hand as if rubbing her nose to hide a smirk.
"It's on your right, behind the pot of coffee." Ichika said as he pointed, though his line of sight never wavered from the ongoing match.
"...thank you." She said as she set down the salt and picked up the sugar.
The teachers who had watched the interaction from behind were shocked at the interaction between the typically ruthless Orimura and her younger brother.
"Ahh…" She wanted to start a conversation with him, but had no idea where to start. It wasn't her fault, she just had no idea how to talk to him. In almost every right he was a completely different person than she had known. She had of course talked to him a few times, but those had been light conversation and one life lesson, not a full conversation.
Chifuyu cleared her throat and forced herself to talk. "Why are you even here?" She cringed, that had come out much harsher than she had intended. She decided to instead direct to the one thing she knew Ichika would always be interested in.
"I mean, I thought you said you were going to be building your personal IS, why are you spending your time watching a duel?" She asked curiously. The teachers behind them were hardly hiding the fact that they were eavesdropping. Most of them were either sitting at a bench or at a table eating or drinking their own food, though they had now all stopped and were leaning toward the trio.
Ichika was paying them no mind but with one glare from the demon principle they all jerked their attention back to the match.
"I came to the same as our co-workers came, to observe." He gave a light nod towards the duel in front of them, which seemingly only he and Chifuyu were paying any attention to.
"I… see…" Many of the teachers behind them were stifling their laughs at Chifuyu's inability to talk to Ichika. It was very entertaining for them to see their boss, as well as the strongest IS pilot on earth, at a complete loss for words.
To be honest one of the reasons Chifuyu was finding it much harder to talk to Ichika than Madoka or Tabane was because she was quite disappointed in herself. She had taken Ichika in and promised to protect him. Then he was kidnapped by Phantom Task, the organization that her own mother headed, because said mother wanted to get back at her. She had promised to protect him and had been the very reason he had been put in danger. After he was taken she swore she would find and rescue him, but she never did. Instead, she had been ambushed and heavily beaten, and taken herself. As if to put a cherry on top of her pile of guilt, Ichika had been the very person to rescue her from whatever fate had in store for her. She had asked Ichika what he had gone through, but he dodged telling her. *sigh* She had failed in practically every aspect of her relationship with Ichika.
Ichika had turned towards his sister and noticed her scowl, he bent down to whisper so only she could hear.
"Please don't think like that Chifuyu." He said very softly. That only had her guilt increase. She couldn't even talk to him and he still knew her well enough to tell exactly how she was thinking.
"Hey." Ichika moved in front of her view of the match so there were face to face, he leaned in again so only she could hear. "Please don't think like that, okay? For me. I promise I am happier here with you and Madoka than anywhere else, and you are happy here with me and Madoka, so really… does anything else matter?" Ichika looked down at her and gave her an extremely rare full smile, heart melting and irresistible, it was his ultimate weapon against a sad Chifuyu. Both of them knew she was still depressed about her failures, but the teacher's stand was not the place to talk about it. She also wanted to get him to talk about what had happened to him, it wasn't healthy to keep a traumatic event (especially one as terrible as 5 years of what she presumed to be torture) to yourself. But once again, not the time, so she tried to set aside those problems for now.
The match had proceeded well for Madoka, just as Ichika had predicted. Her IS had 482/600 points with her opponent's at 249/500. Her IS-the "Silent Zephyrus"-soared gracefully through the sky on its butterfly like wings while dodging oncoming fire. Ichika shifted his attention to her opponent, wanting to study the "Blue Tears" so he could create a strategy to defeat it if need be.
"Orimura-san is truly impressive!" Maya spoke up.
"She really did grow up a lot in those years didn't she." Ichika sighed and turned around, having gained the knowledge of his potential enemy and already knowing what the outcome of the match will be. The bottom of his jacket blew from the wind as he walked away slowly.
...
"Why did he leave?" A teacher sitting a ways away asked no one in particular.
"I'm guessing he only came to watch Alcott-san battle, so he could develop a strategy to take her down if necessary." Chifuyu responded as the battle they were watching ended as Madoka landed a final blow on her opponent.
WINNER: MADOKA ORIMURA. The hologram popped up as the announcement rang across the stadium, the two contestants and the students began to exit the arena.
"That's how he always thinks? Everyone as a potential threat?" A different teacher asked.
"That is how life has forced him to think, forcing him to always take a long look behind his back, to make sure no one tries to stab it." She explained as herself as her coworkers turned glum.
"Can we know what exactly? It might help us help him." Maya asked, many of the teachers nodded.
She debated for a second, not wanting to reveal the private information. What would Ichika say? "It would be foolish to keep private information if it would benefit someone else to reveal it." *sigh* That is exactly what he would say isn't it. And he would be right too.
"You will tell no one of this… it isn't classified information, but it is highly private and sensitive. Tell someone and you will disappear, I promise." Chifuyu warned, they all quickly nodded.
"He… isn't my brother." That created many shocked expressions from the listening teachers.
"Not biologically… I….rescued him from a bad life….a story that is not mine to tell. He was in a bad place and I got him out. I was still a young teenager, but I felt pity for him. I took him in. I didn't know how old he was...not exactly… so I treated him as if he was the same age as Madoka. I trained him harder than anyone has ever been trained, I was incredibly harsh and ruthless. Somewhere along the line he must have mistaken my being a bitch for "tough love". He was always joking, trying to make us… me… laugh. He quickly became Madoka's older brother and Tabane's best friend, but we had a closer bond. His biological mother hadn't even given him a name, so I named him Ichika and gave him my family name." She took a pause.
"For the first 5 years it was great, then… during the Second Mondo Grosso, he was kidnapped. My… my biological mother is… the head of a phantom task." At that every teacher had a shocked expression on their face. "My mother was a good woman, and an excellent mother. But we were in deep poverty. My father took it out on her. One day he lost his job and took it too far." Chifuyu looked down and shook her head.
"She snapped. Claimed she didn't see any other way, and I still don't know what happened. But one day he was just...gone. No trace. She founded an organization with the intention of making sure what happened to her wouldn't happen to another woman. It was a noble goal, or at least it was at first. Her crusade to end male superiority turned into a crusade for female superiority." She stopped and closed her eyes, it was clear this was taking a large toll on her.
"I was by her side for a while….until I saw what she was really trying to do. I left, and took my younger sister along with me. Madoka wasn't even three years old. I have been in contact with her a handful of times after, and never in person. All I know is that she hates me more than almost anything. Sees me as the traitor that stole her youngest daughter from her." Chifuyu was in bad shape. Her emotional dam was clearly cracking as her voice was beginning to catch.
"...you still love her?" Maya prompted.
"...I….she is my mother. She was so very kind. She was like Ichika in a sense, just didn't know when to give up on someone. Yes…...I do….." A long pause ensued before she continued. "When Ichika was taken I have no doubt the terrorists wanted to get to me through him. I… failed to rescue him. Failed to protect him like I swore to myself I would. My own relation to my mother is the entire reason he was taken… tortured… who knows what else."
She took a deep breath. Chifuyu wasn't nearly this open about her private life and sharing it was taking a lot out of her, but she could also feel a large invisible weight being lifted from her shoulders.
"I am sure Phantom Task was going to do whatever they had done to Ichika to me… probably worse, but he broke out and took myself with him. I… don't know what happened in those 5 years, he won't tell anyone, he refused to let me see his body to look at the scars. But just by his face and hand you can tell he was tortured horribly. I failed to protect him… and he is the one protecting me from my own failure. I am the strongest person in the world, that's a fact I have proven twice, and yet he is protecting me… what have I become?" Chifuyu said, finishing her story, revealing a side of herself her co-workers had never seen.
Some teachers were staring at the door Ichika had exited from in pity, the rest were looking at their co-worker who was acting like a completely different person.
"You have not become anything other than what you should be." The usually nervous teacher Maya broke the silence, Chifuyu turned her face to her. "You are the strongest, and even though you try to hide it, you're a good and kind person." Maya smiled. "After all, Ichika loves you, doesn't he?" At that Chifuyu smiled before coughing and putting on her stoic expression.
"That….got away from me. My apologies for rambling. Well, I think I will retire to my room now. After all the match has long since ended." With that she ended the long conversion, emotionally exhausted, and left the teachers stands.
A/N: Thank you all once more for the support and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. We hit 70 favs and 90 follows, which is certainly more than I thought I would get. Thanks for that. "Gamer Style" hit 100 follows today which is just ridiculous.
I know this chapter is shorter than average for this story, but it is necessary.
Unfortunately my college semester has begun and my upload schedule must go back to "only when I can". Keep in mind whenever I do update this story it will still be on Sundays, so if you're interested in this story I would check then.
Personal Responses:
Just some guy: Yeah, avoiding a harem is a choice that I hope pans out well. Hope you liked the chapter.
Ghostflint: If I did put Ichika in Star Wars, I think I'd make him a Grey Jedi. Sort of a in between force user who does his own thing without adhering to any one dogma. Glad you think my fanfic is unique, I'll try to keep it that way.