Heyo everyone! It's almost Christmas time, and I'm goin away again during Christmas break, so I thought I'd start writing again.

Thank you all for being so patient for this, it makes me super happy to know so many actually enjoy my stories enough to stick around.

And also, 7000 views.

I just… Wow. I don't even know what to say…

In any case, the fourth chapter of Simply Magic is here, and as always, I'll leave the replies to your reviews at the end.

Enjoy :)

Chapter 4: Calm Before the Storm… Kind Off

The ISA, otherwise known as the Infinite Stratos Academy, located off the coast of a smaller city in Japan, completely cut off with the exception of a single mono-rail going from the city to the island.

Bronze beaches and open waters surrounded the futuristic establishment, teaming with nature in such a way that made the otherwise bland-looking white buildings appear incredibly appealing.

By a small lake, just beyond the furthest buildings of the island, was a young girl holding a wooden katana, or a shinai as they were more properly referred to as. Wind blew through her raven hair, ice-blue eyes keeping their gaze on the wheat target in front of her. Hands firmly grasping the handle of her training weapon, and feet in a somewhat comfortable stance.

She struck forward, and the sword hit slightly off to the side of the ring placed on the dummy, making her sigh as she retracted her sword-arm.

"Grrr, how does he make it look so easy"-She growled in frustration as she clenched the weapons handle harder. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she took a stance again and held the sword out.

This time she swung the sword in a narrow arc towards the target, making a small *ping* sound as the tip made contact with the metal. She retracted her arm, and flung it out again in a straight strike, hitting just to the right of the middle.

When she retracted her arm again, the girl looked down at the sword and nodded to herself in slight satisfaction.

"Better"-She muttered.

"Hey! Tohsaka-san!"-A female voice made itself known as ice-blue eyes turned to the source of the voice. Letting go of the bag that held the training dummy she'd borrowed and leaning it on the side of the wooden wall of the dojo, Rin smiled at the new arrival.

Dressed in the normal female version of the ISA uniform like herself, with bright blonde hair and blue eyes, somewhat darker than her own, and with a bright smile on her face.

"Hello Edelweiss-san"-Rin greeted the girl with a slight nod of her head, "Your classes already done?"-She asked.

The blonde girl smiled even wider, and shook her head.

"Nope, not yet. We're just on an extended break. One of my classmates passed out"-She said with a barely restrained snicker, making Rin raise an eyebrow.

"Oh?"-She asked simply. The other girl looked barely able to contain her laughter, hunched over clutching her stomach with one hand, while the other covered her mouth.

"Y-yeah *snicker*, you should've seen it! She was just reading her book like everyone else, then BAM!"-The girl smacked her hands together for emphasis, "She just fell headfirst into it!"-She laughed.

Rin couldn't help but let out a small snicker herself. But really, she could sympathize with the poor girl. Some of the material the Academy made them read was just soooo boring.

Then again, the peace and calm, aside from the usual high-school drama was something she was rather fond of. Being at a relatively normal school without having to worry about being attacked by another magus was a refreshing change of pace.

"So…"-The older girl trailed off, "Wanna join me for lunch?"-She asked. Rin smiled politely and nodded.

"Sure"-She replied.

The two of them were, despite their age, no more than second-year students. The classes of which, were otherwise made up of 16-17-year-olds. Though, the ISA wasn't really an Academy were age mattered, that is if you had a high enough compatibility with the IS. Rin herself had an A-rank, which meant that despite her being 19 at the time, she was sent off to join a bunch of 15-16-year-olds in their first year.

The older, blonde girl, Jessica Edelweiss from Germany, was in a similar position. Though, she had a B+ rank, bordering on A, and was about half a year older than Rin. Their mutual position, and dislike of said position made them good friends pretty much the instant they met, and they helped each-other out, even though they were in different classes.

The raven-haired girl suddenly sneezed, making Jessica turn to her friend with a raised eyebrow.

"Catching a cold there or something?"-She asked. Rin shook her head, somewhat confused by the suddenness of the sneeze herself.

"No… Just, you know how it's a common theme to have characters in books sneeze when someone far away mentions them?"

Jessica crossed her arms.

"You, sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine. But if I find out that someone did speak badly of me… That person is going to get it"-She fumed slightly.

"I pity whoever that poor soul may be"-Jessica shook her head with a small chuckle in amusement.

When they reached the cafeteria, the place was relatively empty considering the time of the day.

"Hey, I forgot to ask, but. Don't you have any classes today?"-Jessica asked as the two went over to get their food.

Rin shook her head.

"No. Classes were canceled today, I don't know why but I'm not complaining. I needed more time to study for the test that was due today. Seriously, I can't understand half of the technical jargon they spout"-She replied, somewhat annoyed by the fact as she filled her plate.

"Eh? I can understand. I don't get most of it either"-Her friend shrugged as she was done getting food on her own plate.

"Really? Then how come you have such good grades in everything?"-Rin questioned, sitting down at a table, with Jessica sitting across from her.

"I do what everyone else does. I take notes and I study. You do the same, right?"

"Of course, but I mean, my family has never been too involved with technological stuff. We were always more… Old fashioned, I guess you can say"-Rin sighed.

"Yeah, I think I actually prefer the old fashioned ways…"-Jessica trailed off, with a distant look in her eyes, "I mean, my uncle was like that too. Whenever we came to visit, everything just seemed… Calmer. It was the only thing that got me through the stress of school actually…"-She sighed.

"I'm, sorry for bringing up a sore subject"-Rin said apologetically. The older girl gave her small smile and waved her off.

"Don't worry, I've come to terms with it"

Even so, Rin couldn't help but feel sorry for her friend. She wanted to tell her, but couldn't. The man she spoke off, her uncle, was a magus. An upstart like a certain idiot she knew, but unlike said idiot, this man crossed the wrong people on accident and had no way of defending himself…

After all, to cross the Einzberns is like a death-sentence for any magus less than herself.

"Sooo, speak with your boyfriend lately?"-Jessica asked with a cheeky smile in order to change the subject.

"Really Edelweiss-san? Now?"-She asked in a deadpan, though not being able to keep a small blush from her face.

"What? Can you blame me? I'm curious!"-Jessica defended herself, "After all, you're probably the only one I've met in this place who isn't all crazy-gooey for that one boy, whatshisname?"-She said.

"Ichika Orimura"-Rin reminded her, "And first of all, Shirou and I are not in a relationship. Second of all, eww Edelweiss. Orimura is like, what? 5 years younger than me?"

"Doesn't seem to stop some of the other girls around"-The blonde smirked. Rin sighed.

"Perverts"-She muttered, making Jessica snicker, "Seriously, what is this academy?"-She asked in an exasperated tone, cupping her face in her hands.

Jessica shrugged.

"Beats me. But, hey. At least flying's fun"-She said.

"Yeah, I guess"

"Hey, did you girls hear?"-They heard one of the first-years "whisper" to her friends, "They found another guy able to pilot the IS!"

"Wait, what?"-Another asked.

"Yeah, I heard about it"-A third spoke up excitedly, "I hope he'll be in our class"

"Fat chance"-A fourth spoke solemnly, "They're probably going to place him in the same class as Orimura… Lucky girls…"-She muttered angrily.

Jessica and Rin turned to look at each-other, and blinked.

"Another guy?"-The blonde asked quietly.

"Seems so"-Rin replied, making sure to keep her tone low as well.

"Hmm, wonder what he'll be like"-Jessica wondered.

"Oh, don't you start as-well"-Rin hissed, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"Hehe, what? You scared I'll leave you for him?"

"No, I mean… Maybe"-Rin shook her head, "If you do, I'll string you up to the top of the tower"-She threatened.

"Duly noted"-Jessica replied with a chuckle.

"Just one more day"-Ritsuka sat on his bed, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself.

"Don't worry too much. Just remember what I said and it'll be fine"-Olga-Marie tried to help him calm down.

Keyword being "tried".

One of his eyebrows twitched.

"Olga, you basically told me that I'm going to be placed in a class full of lustful lunatics"-He hissed, "That's NOT helping"

The ex-director smirked at him.

"Oh, you'll be fine"-She insisted, waving him off, "What you should worry about is your teacher. I heard she's super strict, and doesn't have anything against hitting her students"

Ritsuka blinked…

"Seriously, what is this academy!? First, a bunch of hormonal teenage girls with only two teenage guys around, and second, teachers who beat their students!? What's next!?"-He flailed his arms in frustration, making Olga snicker at his misfortune.

"You don't want to know"-Alaya suddenly made herself known, walking out of the bathroom, fully dressed with a tired yawn as she stretched her arms out. She suddenly had an evil smirk, "I could tell you"-She teased.

"No, just… No"-The poor boy sighed, "I'm trying to calm down and you two are just making it worse… This is like high-school all over again"

"Don't be like that. I'll be there too you know"-Alaya gave him a cheery smile. Olga nodded.

"And me as well. I may not be in the same class, but all classes and years have very similar lunch periods"-She supplied.

"Well, that's something"-Ritsuka fell onto his back on the bed.

"If it helps, I'm certain your teacher's strict nature will keep the females in line"-A new female voice spoke up.

"Yeah, thanks"-Ritsuka replied, looking down at the white watch on his arm, with a light-blue display. Placed just above a set of familiar red marks, "Just, make sure to keep your alternate form… I don't even want to imagine the attention we'd get if you didn't"

"Of course, master"

The stars lit up the night sky, with the crescent moon hanging low. People went about their business as usual and even though it was nearing mid-night, there were still plenty of people out on the streets.

In one area, a couple of people had gathered around an electronic announcement board, showing the news.

"We have recently gotten word of the new male found capable of piloting the Infinite Stratos unit"-Murmurs began to spread throughout the gathered crowd.

"Many begin to question if this is a mere coincidence, or if males capable of such a feat will begin to appear more frequently"-The murmurs grew slightly angered at this.

"The young boy, Ritsuka Fujimaru, 15-years-old and born in Fuyuki city"

The news reporter continued to speak, and in the crowd of gathered people, a petite girl's red eyes widened at the mention of the name in curiosity.

'Ritsuka…' Suddenly, the announcement board began to spark with electric currents which sent a wave of shocked gasps throughout the crowd, as they backed up.

'Fujimaru…' The board went out in a large explosion, people yelled and ran as far as they could, leaving the girl alone.

'That name… It's familiar'-A smile formed on her face, 'Maybe, he can tell me who I am?'-The smile grew as she turned around.

'And if he doesn't talk willingly… I'll just have to force it out of him' She started walking away as the remains of the board fell to the ground with a loud crash, police sirens being heard in the background.

'Ritsuka… You have my attention' Purple hair fluttered in the wind as the girl walked away from the scene.

Ooooh, this spells trouble for our protagonist. One wonders who this girl is, no? Well, I'm not gonna spoil! So, you all will just have to wait.

In any case, onto the reviews!

Ruberforumfree: Err, I don't know. I haven't thought about writing any lemons… I'm terrible with writing romance anyways but, we'll see. Although I'm not promising a pairing with Olga-Marie, just putting that out there.

Stratos263: In the game it is stated that her soul is pretty much destroyed, finito, yes. But I did explain in the previous chapter how Alaya saved her. Don't worry if you missed it though, happens to the best of us.

Pepebomb: Thanks man! I'm still thinking of pairings but, the comedy route stuff is very tempting. It's on the table, thanks for the suggestion.

longbowchris50: I know right? She's one of my favorite characters.

ringtallemur0: I'm supposing you wanted to place your vote? Well, it's a little late, but it's the one I went for anyways, so I hope you like it.

Mr. Haziq: I haven't decided any pairings yet. But I'm thinking of putting it up to a vote when the time comes around… Or I might go with the comedy route, meaning a harem but none of the girls really manage to get his attention. As for the Noble Phantasm, I'm not spoiling anything, but, I'm glad you're interested.

Guest: Stealing? Well, again, pairing's still up for discussion but thanks for leaving your thoughts. (Though, might wanna be a little more discreet if you're gonna hate on one of my other stories… Just my two cents, you have rights to your opinion)

Akashi1412: Highly unlikely that he ever will. Ichika is known as the most dense anime harem protagonist around… That's high praise, seriously. Such a title is not earned easily.

Think that's all. Sorry if I missed any reviews. Been a while since I updated any of my stories, and I'm a little tired right now.

Anyways, have a good continued day or night to all of you!

GiantFlyingScythe, signing out.