This chapter might be slow at first glance, but it's important piece of foundation for what happens next, and yes I already wrote chapter 8 and currently still writing chapter 9.
At the very least, Tempest's hard work ensure quality control, so you guys don't have to deal with my atrocious English. Read and Review!
Infinite Stratos
-The Mirror Universe-
Disclaimer:
Izuru Yumizuru
And everyone else!
Chapter 05: Sequence
Despite being awake, Ichika lay still, keeping his breathing slow and even to simulate sleeping - a trick he picked up from Bodewig during one of her less antagonistic moments with him. It helped that Icchan was also there to help keep it that way as well but that was something else altogether. Right now, he was sure that there was someone else in the room. The sensation on the back of the neck when one thinks they're being watched - yeah, that one. Taking a long, controlled breath, he suddenly rolled to his left side. Pulling a dagger out of a hidden sheath, he assumed a defensive stance, holding the dagger in a reverse grip in front of him at an angle.
He was much more used to a katana, but considering their size, a CQC blade was a lot more practical. This was taught earlier during his firearm safety training, along with military combative self-defense in general.
"Who's there," he called out to the darkness of his room.
"Whoa, slow down there, boy," a rather familiar and sultry-sounding voice teased his ears. "Is there a reason to get violent with a young girl like me?"
"This gonna be suck", he thought. "Wait, did that come from my…"
From his blanket popped the same girl he met few days ago. She smiled at him in the darkness, the blanket pulled around her. "But you are as fast as ever, I see." Her eyes flickered to his hand where his knife was. "And quick-minded too."
"Experience," he said firmly. "And please introduce yourself first, I still don't know your name."
"Hmm, really? What a player~" she winked, she brought a hand to her chin as she crept closer "Quite popular aren't you?" Her eyes took a look downward glance and a smirk. "I can see why, mmm~hm."
He didn't react at all, at least tried not to. No matter how much stuff like this happens during his training period, he could never grow immune… or at least accustomed to it. His heart was racing as if he had just completed a rigorous workout!
"Senpai, please get out or I'll call security," he tried to keep his voice even, which happened to make it sound deadpanned.
"Whoa, passive-aggressive much," she laughed, definitely not feeling threatened by him at all. "Why don't we take a seat?"
He didn't budge; instead he just stared at her expectantly.
"Alright, alright, I give up," she raised her hands up as she left the bed in the position of surrender, which Ichika didn't by one bit. Usually people didn't surrender while grinning, which made him all the more anxious. Such confidence, such an utterly dominating presence with whomever she had a conversation with.
He shifted his position to allow her by without taking his eyes off of her. Her eyes stayed on his the entire time as well as she sauntered past him, her crimson orbs staring with amusement at his unyielding ones. She gave a final smirk and a wink before she went through the door.
"What the hell was that about," he muttered, finally letting himself relax. If not for his heavy training regime and constant zaniness of his daily situations thanks to the various girls, he would have probably melted into an awkward puddle of hormones within seconds of such beauty and grace. Truly that young woman was a formidable enemy to resist.
He stored his weapons back into the weapon database and sighed, glancing at the clock. It was close to his wakeup time for the usual morning routine. With a growl, he switched into a t-shirt and shorts, blue and light blue respectively. He was still puzzled about the incident that occurred just now and went to examine his door.
It wasn't rigged, but he knew better. As pseudo-military school, I.S.A. student are taught self defense and various survival techniques - lockpicking and trap defusing were just two of them. For being a highschool, they were sure to train potential warriors quite thoroughly.
"No visible marks or evidence of tampering. Hmph, they are definitely good." This was definitely far and above academic student minimum competence, even he couldn't do it without leaving noticeable scratches. The only one he could think of to work of this calibre was the small German soldier.
Just who the hell was this blue haired enigma?
…
As his day began, he met his other half, who looked at him with surprise and a bit of pity at his disheveled state. "You look awful, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I need a better way to secure my door though," he gave her the gist of what happened without getting too detailed out in public.
He noticed that she looked especially thoughtful, probably wondering who it was herself. In all honesty, Icchan was not surprised that someone invaded his room. Probably because it happened so often, she lost count.
"Say, do you know this girl?"
Ikkun projected a still-image of the upperclassman sitting on his bed, smiling like a cat. Her face turned slightly pale and a weird expression came over her face.
"Uh… Yeah you could say that," she averted her eyes.
He blinked. The normally upfront girl was shying away from whoever this person was. How odd.
"I see," he replied but didn't push the issue with the very obvious question on his face.
Of course, the simple act of not pressing the issue confused her even more as she watched the makeshift train composed of rope and worn out tires dragging out behind him. Fastening the binding around her own body, she followed after him with a slightly lesser amount of weight on hers.
"So, Chifuyu-nee said she may have a lead to send you back home." Out of the corner of her eye, she searched his face for his reaction.
He was unsurprisingly skeptic of the news. "Really?"
She blinked, puzzled by his lack of response to the news. "… but the odds are way too high, it's not even certain you can go back to your… world, that is." For some reason, she felt guilty for even saying that to him.
He gave a careful nod. "Ah, of course."
He knew - she knew. This situation is frankly outside the context of normal humans to grasp. And the odds of him returning home… was scientifically improbable, if not downright impossible. And even if the way presented itself, what then…?
Would he trade his current life for such an abysmal chance of returning home?
She, for the first time since he came into her life, was unable to guess his thoughts.
Usually, they had always shared similar opinions, and most of the time, the rare conflict between them was born out of mutual denial, or something like that. But in this case, she was simply unable to read what was in his mind on this matter.
And she was too afraid to know the answer, so she didn't ask.
"Someday, he will leave, he has to return to his original world," Chifuyu told her once, as they watched him being verbally grinded by the drill sergeant. "That's why… when he decides to leave, we shouldn't hold him back."
"oi…Oi…OIII!"
"Aaah!" She blinked; before she knew it he's far and away, confused. "Are you okay? Maybe we should postpone this one."
"N-no, don't mind me, let's go." She gave him a smile before running ahead, but not before grabbing his hand to pull him along. Just to reassure herself that he was still there… still with her…
Well, if he had to go… at least she want them to separate in a good terms, and that's why she swore herself that she'll let him go with a smile, even if her heart felt heavier than the old tires being dragged along behind the both of them.
~333~
"Ne, Ichika… don't you think you should join a club?" Icchan inquired as they made their way around their jogging route.
"Should I?" he gave her with a questioning look. "Is something like that mandatory?"
"It is, unfortunately" she affirmed, their feet striking the ground simultaneously in a constant rhythm. "Do you have anything in mind that you're interested in?"
"Aah… about that…" In truth, while there were things that he was interested in, nothing really stood out in his mind. That and the fact that whichever club he might join would just become a gathering of girls that he would have to get through just to participate. Wait; there was something he could do... "What club did you join," he asked her. If they were both in the same club -while it would garner attention- at least they could rely on each other to bail the other out should it come to that…
Besides, it would be yet another thing they would do together.
"I'm actually in the Public Moral and Safety Committee," Icchan told him.
"Really? What made you go for that one," Ichika asked her.
Icchan gave a shrug. "Various things, actually," she replied, not wanting to go further into the reasoning behind her decision. Thankfully, Ikkun did no such thing.
"So a school organization can count as one, huh… however, even if I joined a club I probably can't stay there too long," he mused outloud, missing the fleeting look of unhappiness on Icchan's face.
"Well, if you ask nicely the Principal probably will give you a pass for this," she told to him.
"Hnnn…" He thought about it… and summarily dismissed it. That would be unfair for everyone that doesn't want to join club at all. So he decided that he'd find one, no matter how long it was for.
"Say, do you have time to spare? I'm going to take a look around at what they got to offer."
"Really?" she gasped. "Sure, I'll be there!" She wasn't going to miss any chance to be with him from now on. Her heart skipped a bit after her brain finished confirming the thought. Eh? Why did my heart beat like that just now? She glanced at him from the corner of her eye in a bashful way, her face flushing a bit more than usual. To anyone else, it would be obvious but the younger Orimura was hardly 'anyone else'.
I hope I'm not getting sick or something, she thought, averting her eyes back to the path. It would be very bad if she was struck with a sickness at this time, especially with Ichika around. She didn't want to give him anything that she caught.
"Right, let's finish up this training then," he told her. She nodded and they increased their speed accordingly.
Unfortunately, while they had the strength to drag the insufferable truck tires faster than a normal jogging pace, they didn't have the size and grip to hold against the momentum of the still moving tires and ended up with their limbs and tire ropes entangled.
This of course earned a ridiculous look from the bystanders (and occasional laughs), much to their mutual embarrassment.
On top of a nearby building, a lone school girl stood proud, arms crossed, looking on at the sibling-like teenagers' antics with a genuinely amused expression.
"Orino Ichika-kun, you can't run from your fate, you should embrace it."
The fan unfolded, causing a distinct flapping sound as the fan covered her mouth and part of her nose as her eyes took on a melancholy expression. "Just as I had to."
~333~
"Tomorrow is the weekly test. Be sure to prepare."
"Crap, I forgot to study!" Rin wailed, throwing her upper body across her desk. "How about you?"
Ichika fixed the position of his shades on his head in a rather suave manner (at least to Rin) . "At least it won't be in the red," he shrugged. Not that he was pessimistic about the upcoming test, but in ISA, it was not easy to reach top marks with the curriculum being this hard. Even the esteemed cadet reps rarely got above 90 on average.
"Meh, let's study together then," Rin propping her arm up and leaning her head against it in a bored manner.
"Sure why not?" he chuckled.
It might sound strange, but the subjects that are taught in I.S.A. are closer to college-level courses than anything else, and the specialist classes are even harder than those. This is why I.S.A. graduates are scouted directly by various parties, whether its educational, entertainment, engineering, or even military. The branching paths of careers and education choices for I.S.A. graduates were as limitless as the name Infinite Stratos implied.
Just being accepted, let alone surviving the school was already an accomplishment.
"Today's lesson is to cover a certain part of an I.S. Our subject matter today will utilize the specs of the [Raphael Revive], third most common I.S. frame in operation today." The teacher tapped the board and brought out a holographic menu. After typing in a few keys, she brought up a 3D representation of a generic Raphael Revive design.
"It's a second generation machine, but it has an extremely broad spec range and is capable of extended flight as well as a multi-role combat ability."
The teacher began her lesson thoughtfully, which Ichika didn't mind. Unlike Orimura-sensei, Ackerman-sensei's expectations for her students were nothing too out of ordinary. She didn't expect perfection - she just wanted simple competence and discipline. Not to say she was boring or bland in any way, she was probably the second most feared teacher aside from Orimura-sensei. If Orimura-sensei would be described as a cold blizzard that froze you if you weren't careful, Ackerman-sensei was a compact yet intense flame that you could feel from far away.
You screwed up in lesson? No problem. But lo behold if you don't bother to fix it. She might not be a sadist like his sister, but if you don't behave… the punishment will be swift and decisive, and you will regret it forever.
"Orino-kun, what's the difference of [Raphael Revive's] armaments from other units?"
Well there was no other Orino in this class so he stood up. Feet slightly apart, hands down at his sides, he focused on portraying his confidence through his words.
"That would be 'Modularity', ma'am."
Ms. Ackerman gave a slight nod, acknowledging his answer as a correct one. "Explain," she commanded him.
"In it's default state, it has a double-slide motorized operation that it can switch in between, this arrangement made it a lot more flexible in adjustments, variable output, and response time can be achieved. This means it can perform well in both melee and gunfights alike. Furthermore, the parts can be easily switched and configured for the desired result."
As usual, the girls threw silent cheers of amazement. He was always confused at their reaction: wasn't this supposed to be basic knowledge? Well, basic knowledge for a cadet representative maybe. Well since he had always sucked at the 'basic knowledge' part back then, it was kind of a surprise for him too. Icchan theorized that it might be because his increasingly healthy, yet busy schedule allowing better blood flows to his head and thus, allowing his brain to work more efficiently. Or so he told himself that.
The fact that he was no longer hesitant might also help a lot.
The cold-mannered teacher nodded in acknowledgment, "Good answer, Orino-kun. Huang-kun, please explain the weakness of such a system."
The Chinese girl raised her chest in confidence –or lack thereof- before she answered.
"Since the frame uses double-slide motors, both systems are expected to work synchronously. This causes extra burden being placed on both parts and peak performance cannot be fully achieved. At this present time, the technology still the best operational arm servo in the world, but the third generation frames will eventually catch up."
Soon, he added mentally. [Raijin's] own arm joints were made with similar construction in mind, while [Fuujin] use single motor and [Suijin] don't even have the arm servo.
Since the first encounter, [Raphael Revive] had consistently high scores in most fields. When he saw the performance sheet of the other units, it can be safe to say that 3rd Gen units has a lot more room to develop. And yet, they have a lot of hole to exploit due to their overspecialized nature.
If what Chifuyu-nee said is true, [Raijin] will eventually evolve into an anti-G3 I.S.. At the moment, it's only an unremarkable all-rounder unit with fancy gimmicks, but it's steadily getting stronger and stronger. He still wonder: what would happen with I.S. industry, especially now that Houki had possessed something even more advanced than that?
The class ended without a hitch, next one was a practical class about maneuvers. Would he survive this one too?
~333~
It's lunch time again, and Lingyin walked out of the class gloomily. Behind her, Ichika followed her, a hand in his pocket, looking at her back. "Geez…that must have been an embarrassing slip back there."
"Shove it," she punched him weakly on the shoulder. "I was never one for math."
Raised his eyebrow he wonder what made her so stressed. "No really, what's the problem?"
Even though Ichika knew they weren't as close as should be, she was still his friend, regardless how long they've know each other. Something was gnawing on Lingyin's mind, and he wanted to know, and if he could help share that burden.
"Something's just nagging me in the head; don't meddle you idiot."
But of course, there are some things that only certain people could do, or rather, were allowed to do.
Ichika hid his disappointment at her rebuff but he understood. "If you say so…"
Rin snuck a glance towards him before turning her head completely away from him. "… B-but thanks for asking anyway."
He smiled at her. "I'll listen if you want to whine about something. I know our friends would."
Rin gave a huff. "Yeah… right. Cecilia wouldn't; never in a hundred years. She's the one who complains more than me."
Ah yes, Cecilia. As far as Ichika could remember, she was the only one who would never listen to Lingyin's complaining, mostly because she'd start complaining about something as well.
"Those special kinds of friends do exist after all, it's about the balance of the multi-verse," he chuckled merrily, caused her to giggle a bit. Well, at the very least, he was able to distract her for a little while from whatever was bugging her.
Even as he saying all of that, what made him feel bothered were Ms. Ackerman's words to both himself and Rin when they were leaving the classroom…
"For those that own Personal I.S., be careful and expect the unexpected. When you have something this extraordinary, it's natural that others will want to have it for themselves."
Was it some kind of warning? Or perhaps hinting a school organized event? He didn't know for sure, but he knew who to ask.
And what a coincidence, Orimura-sensei was talking with Ackerman-sensei right on the front of the classroom when everyone had finished bailing out for their lunch break. His eyes met with those of his 'sister's' and an unseen transmission occurred between them.
"Lingyin, go ahead without me."
"Huh?" The smaller girl looked up at him. "Why?"
"I have few questions for the teachers that I need to ask."
"Boo~ring," she put her hands behind her head. "Fine, but be sure not to skip lunch though," she slapped his back softly before waving her hand as she left.
...
"Hoh, so Ackerman said that, did she…" Chifuyu kept her arms crossed as both she and Ichika stood in the hallway.
Ikkun nodded. "Yeah. I have this feeling that it's pretty serious. Ms. Ackerman isn't one for jokes."
"That's true," Chifuyu muttered, glancing at him. After a few moments she seemed to decide something because she threw him a look that told him not to let this come back and bite her. "I think I can tell you this but keep it under wraps - I don't want this common knowledge." She paused to make sure that they were in the clear before continuing. "A terrorist organization has raided multiple facilities in the world, intending to steal the I.S. held there."
Ichika's surprise was evident. To steal an IS? All of the top-secret security that must go into guarding one of those things and someone dares to even attempt to steal it? "That's just crazy!"
Chifuyu gave a shrug and gently whapped him alongside his head. "I said keep your voice down." He mumbled a quick apology and she continued. "Crazy or not, what's more important is that they succeed. Out of 20 facilities infiltrated, a grand total of 18 I.S. were stolen. This includes the American-made I.S. [Fang Quake] and Britain's latest limited production model of the [Blue Tears] model, the [Silent Zephyr]"
He widened his eyes. It couldn't be...
"How about the Chinese?" he hastily asked.
She sighed, wondering why the round of questions. However, for some reason that she did not want to admit to, she felt as though could trust him with this - not because he was hyper-competent, not that at all - but because of something more closer to home. "…apparently, they lost a frame, too. Fortunately at the time, it was devoid of a core."
Ah, so that's why Lingyin look so upset. Cecilia though… she had been surprisingly calm. Perhaps he needed to talk with her… he needed to clear his head first; this wasn't a situation where inserting his foot would be acceptable.
"Does Ichika know about this?" he asked.
"Yes, I had just told her this morning and I assumed that she was planning to tell you later anyway." She stopped near the cafeteria and looked at him. "Just stay alert and remember your training - there's no need to go looking to be a hero." She let a tiny smile escape. "Do what you must to stay safe until you get back home, alright?"
"Understood, and thanks," he placed his shades back on and gave her a small, playful smile in return. "Well then, 'Orimura-sensei', excuse me."
"Yeah," she murmured, regarding him carefully as his silhouette disappeared beyond the doorstep. Despite herself, she was worried about him. He had quickly grown accustomed of assuming his second persona… almost too accustomed to it.
Her initial fear of him being some sort of a planted spy with the ability to act as if he's an Orimura surfaced once more, but for an entirely different reason. She wasn't worried about him being an actual spy now - there was far too much familiarity and instinctive knowledge for that not to be the case - but the fact that he was now turning out so similar to herself…
Perhaps that wall surrounding his heart wasn't fabricated at all, perhaps it's always been there since the beginning, placed there by his own version of Orimura Chifuyu. She gave a sigh - seems that raising a well-adjusted younger sibling is just out of the scope of Chifuyu, no matter what the circumstance is.
Even then, she couldn't bear to become soft now. It's not because she didn't want to, she just didn't know how - she didn't become what she was today because she wanted to. She had to be strong, tough - like a man, ironically enough. Due to that it was very difficult for her to behave in a normal feminine manner. Chifuyu never provided her own sister with the so-called 'personal womanly touch', at least not to the extent where Ichika grew up in a normal household. Thankfully Auntie Yukiko had been there to provide the nurturing aspect that she could not.
Her train of thought was disturbed by the sound of her cell ringing loudly.
"Orimura her-"
Greeting her ears was the loud, nonsensical ramblings of a man mixed with computer and machinery noises in the background. If it was anyone else they might have gotten a seizure just by listening to it. As it was, Chifuyu held the phone out at arm's length. But of course, even steel-cold Chifuyu was not immune to simple annoyances. Her voice was low and chilled, as if she intended to freeze hell itself. "Use human language, you idiot. And turn off those damn machines already!"
The silence following the outburst was so much better.
"[Sorry about that, Chifu-san. I've been caught up in a mess-BOOOM]"
Chifuyu blinked…Was that the sound of an explosion?!
"…just what in the world are you doing?"
"[Nah, I'll be there in few hours, please tell the principal as well-BAKOOM-don't worry about – BTOOOM - MWAHAHAHAHA –BANG-BANG-]"
And then, the call hung up abruptly, leaving even her speechless. Whatever happening over there is bad beyond all reasoning.
As expected of the male version of that woman. Though this belief made her at ease somewhat, it doesn't help with her headache in the slightest. Mad scientist never changes no matter if they have Y chromosome or not.
Never mind, it's not like that person will die easily anyway. With that thought, Chifuyu went to get some lunch for herself.
~333~
"So, are you ready?"
Waiting in front of his classroom door was Icchan, her smile was brighter than ever. A blood red armband was now perched on her left, the kanji marking her membership as Public Moral and Safety committee. She had a small notepad with a pencil stuck through the binding to hold it.
"Sure, whenever you are," he nodded at her. She seemed to be in a much better mood now. "So, what do you usually do at this time?"
"Mostly patrols at the beginning," she told him as she took the lead as they walked down the hallway. "It's not much different from being a security guard to be honest. Ah! Hold up," she stopped walking and produced a small headset with a mike attachment on the left side. "Here you go!" She gave him a beaming smile.
"What is this?"
"It's our patrolling headset. In case we need to give chase or something, we can coordinate with these much easier than with a cellphone. It's on a secure line too so not a lot of people can hack it without using their IS or special equipment." Icchan took a step forward. "Here, I'll put it on you."
"Hey, I can do it myse-"
"Oh hush, let me do it," she chided him, reaching up to place the device on his ear.
The other students looked on at the identical duo, most of them with smiles towards the new 'couple'. Of course this was lost on the actual couple themselves since Icchan was so engrossed in telling Ikkun more about her work after school other than being a pilot. Ichika glanced around. Being an all-girls school that was pretty much isolated from the world, one would think that enforcing public morals and such wouldn't be much of an issue.
"A glorified security guard, eh?"
Something like that," she admitted. "Except the 'threats' are usually from within." Suddenly, Ichika's sharp eyes picked up on something across the field in the shadows of a cluster of shrubs and trees. "Like that. Wait here," she told him as she suddenly dashed across the field, leaving Ikkun wondering after her. Icchan came to an abrupt stop just shy of the shrubs. "Hmm… they never learn."
She pulled out a whistle and took a deep breath before blowing it, the shrill noise made Ikkun wince even at the distance he was at. "2nd year Suzanne Carter and 2nd year Simone Alastor! Public displays of affection are not allowed on school grounds!"
Ikkun took the opportunity to get a good look at them. Apparently Icchan found a pair of girls almost kissing, from where she spotted them nearly 200 meters away. They looked pale and afraid enough that they froze in place.
"What the- you actually managed to spot them from that distance," Ikkun muttered in disbelief. The headphone mike picked up the whisper and transmitted it.
"*Rather than that, I just had good intel*," Icchan smirked as she pulled out two well-worn index cards. "Yellow card for the both of you. Meet me in two hours at classroom 7-C if you don't want any further trouble to arise." She jotted down both their names in her pad.
"Haiii…" the two girls agreed with slumped shoulders and left together while still holding hands.
"Good grief," Icchan sighed before tapping her headset and turning around to look at him with a wave. "*Ichika here, any problems over there?*"
"*No, not really.*"
"*Alright, let's back to patrolling around.*" She tapped the headset again and jogged back to where he stood and they continued to walk side by side again.
"I…did not expect that," he told her honestly.
"You will be surprised by how 'bad' schoolgirls can be when left to themselves," she laughed. "And you already know about how Laura feels about me."
Ichika shrugged. True enough, they call the boys perverted but in the end, hormones are in full control for both sexes.
"You seem to be extremely calm about it," she leaned over, inspecting his face. "Or maybe you actually enjoyed the display?"
"Hey, c'mon," leaned away from her but she leaned in closer. "Okay, okay, it was...nice." He steadied himself for the incoming hit but Icchan just straightened back up after a few more moments of staring at him, leaving him puzzled. "Y-you're not going to hit me?"
"Hit you? Why would I - oh." She remembered from their talks about how he was essentially abused by his versions of Houki, Charles, Cecilia, Rin, and Laura. "No, I'm not going to hit you. Having perverted thoughts is one thing - acting on them is another thing entirely."
"Try telling that to Chifuyu-nee. I can't remember how many times I got hit because she knew I was thinking something … perverted."
Icchan broke into laughter. "I can imagine; she mind-reads you too, right?"
"It sure seems like it. It's totally unfair! She should use her powers for the good of mankind." The two of them shared a laugh as they continued their patrol.
"So, aside from moral considerations, what else do you do?"
"Occasional seminary and gathering, mostly about training and practice. There's also a matter of stopping petty squabbles between pilots of all years, but the 3rd year ones especially tend to be bloody business." She shook her head.
Oh yeah, he was reminded by how awful the aftermath of the fight between Bodewig, Cecilia and Lingyin back then.
After patrolling the school grounds several times, Ikkun was brought to the committee's office. There, Kanzashi and two other students already were sorting … something out. He took a closer look; apparently confiscated goods, judging from the giant box on the table.
That can't be something good, so he didn't ask about it.
While he already knew Ichika (female) and Kanzashi, he didn't know the other two students in the room with them in the slightest. One of them are petite and young-looking enough to pass for a freshman, her hair is bright red, much like leaves in the autumn (in contrast to Houki's reddish brown). Her eyes were soft, yet frightening, much like those of Ms. Ackerman, contrasting greatly against her pale skin like Kanzashi's. Looking at her eye to eye gave Ikkun a certain sense not unlike Chifuyu's chilling presence when she was upset, as if this girl was hiding monstrous strength as well.
The other one was a black haired girl with rounded glasses that gave her a classic nerdy appearance. She was apparently drowning herself in engineering sketches and textbooks whilst occasionally exchanging a few words with Kanzashi.
"This is our workplace," Icchan walked up to the girls and turned to face him. "You already know Kanzashi-chan well, but I don't suppose you haven't meet the others yet."
The girl with the cold eyes looked up."Rita Vrataski, Pilot Class 3-2," she introduced herself.
"Sha-Shasta Raylle, Engineering Class 2-2," the black haired girl said awkwardly.
"Ichika Orino, class 1-2," he said confidently and bowed. "Please kindly guide me."
Rita nodded curtly. "I've heard the stories about you, although I suppose you'll find our work bothersome."
Ikkun gave a slight chuckle. "It might be bothersome, but it's also necessary, right?" He could have sworn he saw a ghost of a smile appear on her face but it looked more like her mouth twitched.
Shasta called for their attention by raising a cardboard box up and shaking it, the contents banging against each other. "B-by the way, this is today's haul."
"Haul?" Ikkun muttered "You mean the confiscated goods?"
"Y-yes" the sophomore answered awkwardly, "Anything questionable and illegal we obtain and hold it, until we can deal with the owner."
Icchan nodded and began to rummage inside, and then pulled a book that made her blush slightly and quickly put it down. "Yaoi doujin. Again."
Ikkun blinked. While it was just a glance, he managed to recognize the likeness of a certain redhead. "Huh, was that… Dan," he blurted out. The sharp chin and long, red hair as well as light blue headband were the telltale markers of who the character was suppose to be.
"Y-yeah," Icchan confirmed. It was one thing to find such material out about people - it was completely mortifying to find such material based off one of your childhood friends. "He always been fussy about this," Icchan told him sheepishly, putting the book again.
Rita eyed on the box then pull another book, it's more like a diary on its first appearance. "Ah, it's a secret photo stash." She began to flip through the pages. "You want to see?"
Kanzashi and Rayle jumped out of their chair and hid behind the nearby cupboard, to Ikkun's confusion. Shy girls always been sensitive to such things; and two of them are perfectly matched indeed.
Rita just shook her head at the two girls. "Honestly, stop that you two."
"We-we're not suppose to just look through things like that," Rayle cried. "That's indecent!"
"If they didn't want people to look, they shouldn't have brought it," Rita justified herself with that statement. Her eyes stopped moving for a moment as she looked at the page in front of her. "O- Orino-kun, there are your photos as well." Both of the 'twins' darted around to either side of Rita to look but Ikkun recoiled at the sight.
Indeed, there he was caught with Dan in a compromising position, the taller boy's arm cradling around his neck and armpit. Truthfully? He was sure the picture was taken during the water wrestling in the waterpark weeks ago.
"Oh, they actually shopped the trunks out," Rita looked at it with all the scrutiny of a seasoned art critic. "They did a pretty good job for an amatuer."
Ikkun just glanced over at Rita, amazed that the serious-looking girl could say something like that with a straight face, while Icchan joined the other two girls hiding a few meters away from the perverted goods. Even she her limits apparently.
"SENPAI STOP THAT," Icchan wailed in frustration as she popped out just enough so that her face was visible, which one could have mistaken for a giant red tomato.
"Oh stop being such a chicken, it's our job to organize them," Rita scolded her, her voice was cold as ice "And Orino-kun, are you sure you can handle this all?"
"I am pretty sure" he said, examining the rest of the 'secret album'. Aside from that particular one, the rest was, to his opinion, rather tame. Some of them are good enough that he actually feel proud somewhat. He never had thought of himself as being 'attractive'.
He knew Chifuyu-nee was very attractive but for it to have carried over to him… the entire situation seemed kind of surreal to him. Okay what are you thinking, focus. He said to himself mentally. He was on the verge of closing the book shut when he found that yes; there were Icchan's photoshopped photos there, as well as other girls he didn't recognize. Not that he would tell her right away…
"There are photos of females in here as well…" he said as he handed it back to Rita. He tried to school his features so that his current turmoil was not visible.
Rita's eyes searched his face and an impish smile appeared for a fleeting moment before it vanished. "So Izumi Tanashi is bi? Hmm," she contemplated the implications silently for a few moments. "So, who wants to deal with the 'interview'," she asked in a most deadpanned manner.
Both Sasha and Kanzashi pointed at Icchan, much to her chagrin. "WHAT, ME AGAIN?"
The glasses duo comically crossed their arm in front of their face, refusing to speak.
Rita looked at the taller girl. "Honestly, Ichika, do you think they can handle Tanashi?"
After a moment, Icchan shook her head, while sighing heavily. "Alright, I know, I know. And I still have to deal with Carter-sempai and Alastor-senpai as well."
"Oh, that infamous couple, aren't they're Rayle's classmates," Rita remarked with a side-long glance to the girl.
The timid sophomore nodded without hesitation "Yes, they've gotten quite daring in expressing their affection, I'd rather say myself. I'm surprised that Icchan actually got the both of them."
"Tough luck for you," Kanzashi said to Icchan. She took a deep breath in and let it out. "Alright, I'll deal with Tanashi-senpai for you."
"AIYE, THANK YOU!" Expressing her gratitude, Icchan snuggled herself on Kanzashi's back, made the tiny student really feel inadequate and push her away with all her might, which only made Icchan move a step away. "GET OFF." Alas, Orimura-Ichika (female) was too strong and big for her to handle.
"Anyway," Icchan looked back towards Rita. "I'm going to examine the school's documents with Kanzashi-chan and Sasha-senpai, what about you?"
Rita was already looking through another magazine. "In the meantime, I'll handle your boyfriend's tutorial."
Both Ichikas delivered their signature, head-tilting face of confusion in perfect tandem, with Kanzashi thumped her head on the desk in response. Being the third to a pair of, well for lack of a better term - black holes, was positively the most aggravating task in the world.
Rita just stared at the both of them for a few seconds before relenting. "Nevermind, just go ahead."
And thus they left; only Rita and Ikkun remained in the meeting room. The girl left Ichika to sit there in silence while she finished organizing 'her loot' as she referred to it until she was done.
"And? What about you Orino-kun? Have you encountered problems with some of the girls since you came here?"
"Um, no, not really. None that I can recall much. Aside from their unnatural curiosity, everything is fine and dandy," he said bluntly, it's much better than his old days where he's always surrounded by violent and ultimately selfish girls.
Perhaps it's the power of his cool shades? Nah…
That aside, should he tell Rita about that one girl too?
"Oh, so you don't have problem with this?" Rita waved the confiscated album without care.
Ikkun tried not to laugh bitterly and answered. "What-what people do on their own time is their own business."
"Acting tough won't solve anything," she told him plainly.
She's sharp, but that didn't surprise him at all. "It solves a lot of trivial things, senpai."
For the first time in the last half hour they met, she delivered a smile that stayed. It was a mocking smile, but still.
"This school is isolated from the world as a whole" she leaned back in the chair, looking at the window in the direction of schoolyard. "The girls are lonely and sexually frustrated - they feel locked away from the rest of the world, and while some of them managed to find happiness, many don't." She kept her eyes looking outside. "Do you know why?"
Ikkun took a glance himself at the school buildings that were visible in the setting sun. "It's because this is I.S.A."
"Indeed," Rita rotated in her chair and ran a hand along the box. "I.S.A. is a world-class educational faculty, each of the students are elite amongst elites, the few hundred from tens of millions. In short, there are big gap between us and other teens of our age…" Her fingernails drummed against table for a moment before standing up to.
"Whether it's because of the girls' own pride; or the other party's insecurity, it's hard for some I.S.A. students to find good relationships outside school, both platonic and romantic. The fact that most of them originated from all-girl schools since elementary does not help." Rita put the box inside the locker "It was hilarious if you ask me, for you to appear this suddenly, it was like God himself descend from heaven to bring them happiness."
Ichika actually winced at that - the irony hurt so much.
"That's why I'm kind of surprised that no one seduced you as of yet."
Okay, that sounded like everything wrong with the school. Was he that sought after, like some kind of expensive, a one-of-a-kind commodity? Or maybe a rare pet that they could brag about? Though, he might be able to understand these girls' feeling as well, thanks to Rita's explanation.
"Even if they did, I think I'll just refuse," he told her. "I might accept their feelings, but I won't promise anything in return except my heartfelt thanks."
She regarded him with odd sense of curiosity, "Don't you like her? I thought you liked her?"
Again, his innocent response –or rather, lack thereof- said it all. "Liked who?"
She scoffed at his seemingly inhuman ignorance, and patted his shoulder "… You two are too much alike."
…
Ikkun stood to the left of Icchan as the two students that 'they' had caught before sat in front of her. The situation was tense as they were clearly confused and afraid what Icchan will do, or rather, what the committee will do. It seemed as if Icchan's reputation as one of the top 5 pilots preceded her.
"I won't waste your time. You know why you have been called here," Icchan began, looking for the both of them to nod before continuing on. "But before all of that, have you two been involved with each other for very long?"
"Um, for almost two months," Carter told her, reaching for Alastor's hand.
Alastor nodded and gave her partner's hand a squeeze. "That's right…"
"I see… so you two are dating after all," Icchan nodded, noting the way they held hands in front of her. Well, it's not as if she was Orimura-sensei, whom would have seen it as a defiant act and would have no doubt swatted them for doing so. She, on the other hand…wasn't so unforgiving, but she did have her position to uphold.
"The reason why we found you so early is because of an anonymous complaint about your actions," Icchan explained as politely as she could. "I don't think you will appreciate what may happen if the teachers got a hold of this incident."
"But Orimura-san, you wouldn't-"
"Please don't, I beg you-" Alastor released Carter's hand to bring her hands together. "Please don't do this to us!"
Their faces said it all, Ikkun thought. The sight of the girls' resolve faltering pained her - stepping on someone else's love was something she could never do willingly. Alastor looked on the verge of crying while Carter kept her head up but her confidence was sorely shaken, more so from Alastor letting go of her hand than from Icchan's words.
"It really depends on your decision here," Icchan tried to give them a reassuring smile. "In all honesty, we don't have intention of doing so. It's our job to deal with the code breaches amongst students. I just wanted to warn you about this sort of thing before someone else got to you."
The two of them could only look at her with disbelief. How could they get away scot-free like this? Even the child-like Yamada-sensei wasn't that merciful!
"Even so… I hope that my senpai realize, it's not that we oppose your relationship," Icchan continued. "It's my hope that you will be more mindful of how you approach this. Some people don't like it."
Ikkun looked down at her intently. For his female counterpart to behave in a more mature, calm and collected manner than usual; perhaps it was the responsibilities of the job that caused such a turn in her personality. Just like in their training, she was actually much more internally focused whenever she's serious.
In a way, it was definitely a charm on its own.
"The Public Moral and Safety Committee only deals what happens inside school, because this is were the rules exist for a reason. We want the entire student body to enjoy their education experience without too much disturbance to their own personal lives. But please, think about what you would do next, because some people cannot appreciate public display of affection like that, especially since half of the students here are Japanese."
The two older girls sighed in relief.
"I believe that's enough of a warning for now," Icchan nodded, rising to her feet. "Consider the yellow cards revoked for both of you."
"May I ask you a question, Orimura-san?" one of the girl asked. "If you were in the same position as us… what would you do? Would you tell your friends? Would you tell anyone?"
Icchan scratched her head in response, because she's not quite sure about what to say. She stole a gaze at Ikkun, who looked down at her at the same time. He removed his shades and then gave a shrug of his shoulders.
But that alone was enough for her.
"No, I wouldn't say anything really."
Furrowing their eyebrows in disbelief, Alastor and Carter looked at the both of them. "You...wouldn't say anything?"
"Nothing," Icchan affirmed with a nod. "Although, if they ask about it, then I will tell them."
Icchan didn't know why she had to glance back at her male counterpart while saying that but she didn't care. Her attention still set on the pair of sophomores in front of her. "If I can share my happiness with them, then that's great, but…"
As if their minds connected, both Ichika's came to the same conclusion at the same time. Ikkun placed his hand on her shoulder and she reached up to touch his hand with hers, "But, there are times where knowing about something like this may hurt them, because it's a bond no one else can share."
Their eyes were vibrant and their smiles shone brighter than the sun's reflection, filing the room with a sense of unrestrained comfort and happiness.
This, of course elicited extremely positive, enthusiastic, and misunderstanding reactions from the two older students; "WE COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND!"
The intensity of their agreement startled the Ichika duo, nonetheless, Icchan went right back to playing the mediator. "I pray for your happiness then," she smiled again, holding the couple's hands together, "I hope we can meet again under better circumstances."
They decided to give her a simple hug together, much to her surprise.
"We will pray for your happiness too, Orimura-san," Alastor held Icchan's hands in hers.
"Orino-kun better not break your heart or else-" Carter threatened good-naturedly, giving him an elbow to the rib.
As usual, the hint flew over these two's heads, but they appreciate the thoughts nonetheless. The couple left the meeting room with an even better mood than before.
"That was a rather unusual approach," he commented, looking at the door. "But, they did look pretty happy."
Icchan clasped her hands behind her, twirling around with yet another success in. She was just like a child now, it was amusing in an endearing way. "While it's possible to rule by fear… to make them understand how following the fact that rules and law are for their own benefit, this is a much more rewarding way for everyone."
"Well, it worked for those two," he smiled at her, to which she looked up at him at just that moment. Their eyes met, and for about 30 seconds, neither of them said anything. It was like they had fallen into a trance, both unable, or rather, unwilling to do anything else.
"Ah…"
"Uh, what are we doing again?"
"I dunno? What's the next mission?"
"Ah," she blanked out for a moment, still looking at him. "I'm … not sure." They both turned away from each other, thinking about their dilemma in their own way. The Ichika duo spent another minute being confused before deciding on going out for another patrol.
~333~
Unknown to most of the student body and even a few employees, I.S.A. had a huge underground facility as well. What makes it even more notable is how extensive it is compared to the simple underground training camp back on the Japanese mainland. It was as if Chifuyu had just stepped into some villain's secret lair or something like that. The ominously red lightning didn't help alleviate that feeling in the slightest.
By now, however, she was no longer impressed with the facility - she has been down here far too often. She bypassed several large hanger-like doors, headed towards the very back of the walkway.
Opening the second-to-last door, she almost tipped himself over a giant cable that was half the size of her forearm. She bit back a curse and waited a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the near-pitch black condition of this particular workshop. Suddenly, lights flickered on everywhere, momentarily stunning her. "Tch, just don't flip on the lights like that, you idiot!"
The sounds of computer humming and digital keyboard clicking caught her attention. A young man, about Chifuyu's age, paid little to no attention to her arrival and continued tinkering with the frame in front of him. The man was tall and lanky, wearing a butler uniform. His face was pale and unhealthy-looking, with dark lines drawn under his perpetually squinted eyes. His reddish-brown hair split to a bang roughly shoulder length. A single monocle sat on top of his nose, made his quirky appearance all the more prominent but on top of everything, was a pair of mechanical cat ears perched atop his head.
This was the true force behind Chifuyu being able to get the [Raijin] frame so quickly.
In front of the man sat an enormous machine. Even in its kneeling position, it was almost as tall as the man himself. A massive pair of engines protruding from each side and what appear to be folding wings stuck out like a sore thumb. Chifuyu took it all in a glance but still could not believe her eyes. "Thi-this is…"
"Interplanetary Expedition Module for extended operation in various hostile environments," the man answered without missing a beat. It dawned him that someone else was there with him. Since only one person knew that he was there, he knew who it was.
"HOOYA, Chifu-san," the man cheerily greeted her, with a catlike smile and carefree expression. "Look at this! My AMAAAZING masterpiece, Full Armor ByakuShiki! That boy would dance a jig if he knew about this. My AAAWESOME creation second to none~!"
"Second to none," she repeated in a completely unimpressed tone. Are people from other universes always this identical? Chifuyu wondered, then again, it didn't matter for her.
"Okay fine, maybe second only to that woman," he pouted. "Regardless, you trust me more than her… that alone is enough."
That's right…ever since that day, Chifuyu had lost her faith in her one and only best friend. If a war was what required in stopping her, then so be it. Chifuyu can declare a war - when she was ready for it. She's been amassing her own influence and assets for the inevitable standoff between the mad genius and herself. And for that, she'd borrow the power of the other Ichika if she could. She gave an inward smile. She'd have to share some beer with him if he actually agreed with this. To protect her, and this world…
Even if I have to lose my own life…
Rubbing her temples, she decided to switch to another topic. "Are you aware of what happened? Phantom Task has made their move. But things seems to be a bit rushed… their method of infiltration was far cruder than usual."
"Hmm, they're just desperate," he chillingly smirked. "From what I gathered; it was a blunder because of one of their backer's unreasonable request."
"I see." As Chifuyu stood alongside him, arms folded, the machine began to emit a noise not unlike a deep, resonating growl; its steel gray armor began to change slowly but surely into silvery white and gunmetal blue, the engines and wings extended, revealing that the machine are much larger than it appears when deployed.
The male scientist's lone monocle seemed to glow with an eerie light, contrasting the large, beaming smile on the man's face. "So, who's up for the test ride?"
Afterwords by Tempest35:
Forgive the delay! I should have had this out a month ago but I've been swamped both at my civilian job and my militia job as well. Got back from two weeks from a place where all electronic communication was strictly monitored so I didn't have any time for this. The next chapter is already in the works so look forward to it!
