Heyo people, Happy CNY!
Here's another chapter mainly because i'm procrastinating from work; wish i can do that all the time oh well-
Too bad one cannot simply just survive with hobbies and passions, huh?

Anyways, Do feel free to comment and find faults on stuff like OOC-ness and spelling errors, thanks! Enjoy this chapter people!

P.S. It'll be great if you guys can wish me a happy CNY hahaha that will make my day :P


"That can't be true!"

"Exactly, Ichika Orimura belongs to all of us? How can this kind of thing happen?"

"Could it be a simple misunderstanding? I mean, viewed from a different angle, maybe it's not how it looks?"

Despite being IS cadets, they're all teenage girls at the age where events such as love and romance are placed in foremost priority. Combined with the innate capability of gossip, within a short moment everyone has heard about the news.

Of course, that includes the personal IS holders – Cecilia Alcott, Lingyin Huang (aka Rin), Houki Shinonono and Charlotte Dunois. Upon hearing the news, the first thing each of them did was to gather together in the hall where breakfast is usually served.

"Houki, did you manage to find Ichika?" Cecilia asks Houki the instant the four of them got together.

"No, I even took a slight detour to the garden to take a quick look; there's no sign of them anywhere." Houki shakes her head, while gripping tightly onto the bokken that she intended to train with Ichika this morning, before hearing the unimaginable news. "What about the rest of you-"

"…He…he promised to eat my sour pork every day…THAT LIAR!"

"Men who toy with young girls' pure affection should be kicked by a horse and die!"

Having being unable to find Ichika as well, both Rin and Charlotte vents their anger by mumbling aggressively.

"W…Wait a minute, you all; the rumour hasn't been confirmed yet, let's not jump straight to conclusions that quickly-" Even though she's feeling worried as well, Cecilia tries to calm herself down to the best of her capabilities.

"But it's true!" Honne comes hopping by while puffing her cheeks and shaking her arms violently, "I've seen and heard everything; Ichika and Laura were together…"

" " " "Yes?!" " " "

"Then, Ichika confessed to Laura, right after that he pushed her onto the wall and the both of them…KISSED!" Honne threw both her over-lengthened sleeved arms into the air while emphasizing the word "kiss".

CRACK

The bokken which Houki had held onto cracks, leaving it bent into an unnatural shape.

Charlotte looks as though as her soul has flown away, leaving only an empty shell of a body with an expressionless feature.

A soft, yet scary laughter flows out of Cecilia's mouth, with an expression that can only be said to be stuck in the middle of disbelief and unacceptance.

Rin simply just has dead eyes. Dead, dead eyes that reflects nothing.

Meanwhile, all the other girls explode into a flurry of conversation, with all different kinds of opinions flying around the dining hall.

BAM

"WHAT ARE YOU GIRLS SO NOISY ABOUT? GET BACK TO YOUR SEATING POSITIONS, NOW!"

The door slams open, and a demonic aura spreads out from that very door as Chifuyu Orimura walks in along with their assistant teacher, Yamada Maya. Everyone turns their head to that direction and in an instant, the entire room turns silent.

In the next second, everyone scramble back to their seats. Even the personal IS holders break out of their trance and get to their respective places.

"As IS pilot cadets, I expect a certain level of discipline from each and every one of you, especially the four of you!" Chifuyu points at the four personal IS holders, "I've expected the four of you to be personal role models for the rest, but it seems like I was wrong, perhaps?"

None of them dare to raise up their heads, with faces filled with shame.

"So, what's with the entire hullabaloo? Dunois!"

A sharp command from Chifuyu Orimura that cannot be denied an answer strikes Charlotte, as she quickly replies, "Well the thing is, we've heard the rumour about I-I-Ichika and Laura being…together?"

Another wave of soft whispers spread out across the hall, only to be quickly shut down by a fierce glare from Chifuyu. After a short moment of silence, she heaves out a sigh, expressing a look of disappointment.

"Gosh, are you girls here for gossiping, matchmaking or to pilot an IS? I'll now reveal the truth to you all; Maya, can you please bring the two of them in?"

With a silent nod, Maya left the hall only to come back a few seconds later with both Ichika and Laura, as faces of shock, surprise and resignation appear in many of their faces.

All eyes are on Ichika and Laura, making the both of them feeling somewhat nervous. Still, Ichika clears his throat with a cough, breaking the tense silence that had been filling up the whole hall, "Err, well yes as you all can see here, Laura and I can currently…together." Right after saying that, he holds Laura's hand and raises it up.

Even for a person who's usually tough and confident, when experiencing something new Laura cannot help but have a face full of pink, trying her best not to grin out wide.

"Alright people, breakfast have already been delayed for quite enough. Let's all get to eating and stop delaying practice." Back to her normal frowning face, Chifuyu drags Ichika and Laura together with her to seat, "Oh and I know all you girls probably have a lot of queries and questions to ask these two, but let's wait until at least after breakfast. Ichika, Laura, come with me after breakfast as well."

Even though it's very evident that Chifuyu is, at the very least temporarily shielding the couple, no one in the hall dares to challenge her words, not even the personal IS holders. Still, small pockets of murmuring and whispering still occur within groups.

Breakfast soon ended. Chifuyu, along with Ichika and Laura went straight back to her office.

"Chifuyu-nee…is this really alright?"

"What do you mean if it is really alright? You made your choice, so man up a bit. Stop whining about every small little detail or problem."

"But instructor-" Before Laura manages to finish her sentence, a chop lands straight onto her head.

"Call me Orimura-sensei. Don't pester me with such childish questions; as grownups you guys should handle some responsibility of your own…or don't tell me that someone I've trained for a year can't manage something like that?"

"…! No, I won't let you down, Inst- I mean, Orimura-sensei!"

"That's better." Giving Laura a look of approval, Chifuyu turns over to look at Ichika, "In the first place, you're also the one who needed my help, so be happy that you aren't swamped by questions back then already. In fact, who asked you both to be so easily spied on…"


– 1 hour earlier –

"I've expected better from the two of you, making out so passionately before breakfast even began."

Ichika and Laura froze up, caught in the act.

"That voice…Instructor/Chifuyu-nee?"

Walking out from behind a pillar, Chifuyu glances at the couple who's currently holding hands, "Hoh, I would have never expected this quick of a progress from you. Looks like even you have reached that age, huh?" Chifuyu said with a teasing tone.

"N-N-No, it's not like that!" Despite what she said, Laura still did not remove her grip from Ichika. If anything, the grip tightens more so.

"Oh and by the way, I wasn't the only one that noticed your intimate moments. Nohotoke had also been around there, near the bushes. Not only did she see everything, but judging by the distance she probably heard every little detail. Knowing them, by the time you guy reach the dining hall the new will have spread to every last person."

Chifuyu gives the two of them a questioning look, "So, how are you two going to settle this? And also, how are you, my idiotic little brother, going to explain THIS to your other lovebirds?" While emphasizing on the word 'THIS', Chifuyu turns her glance on to their interlocked fingers.

"Of course, I'll explain to them the truth. Otherwise, how can I hold myself responsible for Laura?" Ichika looks at Laura with a loving smile.

"As expected of my bride-, no, as expected of my h-husband!" A lovely shade of pink brightens up the smile on Laura's face as well, despite her putting up a tough front.

"Alright isn't that enough flirting for one morning?" Placing a palm on her face, Chifuyu shook her head, "Seeing that you've at least grown a little more mature, I'll help you out this time. Don't worry, with me around, at least you'll survive through breakfast."


"The next time if anything is to happen, handle it by yourselves. Oh, and if Ichika misbehaves in any way, just take care of him for me; I'm counting on you to take of my idiotic brother, Laura."

(Instructor is…counting on me?)

The thought of being approved by Chifuyu has driven her into a state of nothing but pure bliss running through her mind.

"Chifuyu-nee!"

"Alright, for now go back to your usual activities." Chifuyu points at the both of us, "Be careful of being swarmed by unsatisfied girls and…hmm, wait one second."

After a quick thought, Chifuyu went over to the P.A. system and turn it on.

[Attention to all pilots, DO NOT deploy your IS unless authorization from me or Yamada-sensei. That is all.]

"That's the most I can help you two not get killed. If there's nothing else, don't come and bother me unless absolutely necessary." Chifuyu said after switching off the P.A. system.

With that, the both of us left the office and head straight back to packing up their bags. After all, today is the last day that we'll be here in the resort.

Surprisingly, for the rest of the trip none of the personal IS holders went to find Ichika, and even avoided him subtly when they see him. Although he knew that something like this may happen, Ichika felt a deep sense of dejection.

"Hopefully this is not something permanent. You all…we're still friends, right?"

As for Laura, it was just about the same treatment. Worse still, even normal IS cadets gave her weird looks, and practically all of them distinctively walk away around Laura when they see her. Even though she's already used to being alone while being in military, after hanging out with the IS personal holders for a while Laura felt the silence to be somewhat…unsettling.

She went back into her room with the intention to quickly tidy up, only to find Charlotte in the room, sitting there on the floor waiting for her.

"…" Laura simply didn't know what to say.

(Apologize? But what should I apologize for, for being chosen by Ichika? What else can I say…wait, how do I even usually talk to her. After all, she's the one who talks to me first usually.)

"Laura, can we talk for a moment? Don't look so worried, I'm not here so have a fight to the death with you, if that's what you're thinking." Charlotte looks at Laura with a warm smile, just like how she usually is.

"…Mmm."

Laura sits down in front of Charlotte, half afraid of what might happen next. She tries to look as though as doesn't care much, but her expression of brooding betrays her thoughts.

"Laura, it's true that most of us feel unsatisfied about the decision that Ichika has made. Even I'm feeling slightly bitter about the choice, to be honest with you."

"…!"

"But after thinking it through for a while, I understand that this is the choice that Ichika has made, by himself. No one else can make this choice for him, and eventually he'll still have to choose between the five of us. Since it's a matter of time, why not let him choose sooner?"

Charlotte extends her hands forward, grapping hold of Laura's gently.

"Since Ichika has made his choice, then as friends we should be more supportive of his choice. Actually, even though I'm sad that he didn't choose me in the end, at least he chose you, Laura; my close friend."

"Close…friend?" Laura simply cannot comprehend what she's hearing. After all, she has expected herself to become public enemy the day Ichika has chosen her. Yet, Charlotte is here, being saying words of best wishes for her and even being a friend.

Slowly, tears start to flow down from Laura's eyes. Truly, she has never expected a treatment from Charlotte like this. After all, although they are considered friends after the inter-class tournament, Laura didn't really think that Charlotte will go so far as to be so selfless even when it comes to their shared love interest.

"It's fine, Laura. Girls are always allowed to be just a little more selfish for themselves!" Charlotte stands up and walks towards Laura, kneeling in front of her and giving her a hug, consoling her, "I'll always be your friend…"

Charlotte stayed in that position along with Laura, as Laura starts crying more audibly. It was as though as that this little moment of happiness, to be accepted by her friend caused all the pain from the past to explode out in the form of tears. From then on, Charlotte and Laura's friendship became stronger than ever.

After a good ten minutes later, Laura finally got herself back together, took out her eyepatch and starts wiping her eyes, "How humiliating…I've never cried in a long while, ever since the surgery that gave me my eye."

"Everyone has to cry once in a while…and wow, Laura your eye looks beautiful, just like a jewel." Charlotte exclaims.

"Huh? Oh…" Laura reaches towards her left eye, "I wonder if…Ichika will also think that it looks beautiful as well…"

"Here I am giving you a compliment, and you're over there thinking about Ichika again! Laura, you'll have all the time in the world to think about him next time!"

"T-T-That's not what I meant! I was just…just..." Laura flusters as she tries to explain herself.

"I'm just kidding! Woah, look at the time; we have to get packing already! I'll see you later, Laura!" Charlotte runs off, but not before waving goodbye to her friend.

As Laura watches Charlotte run off, she thought to herself…

(Even if one day, Ichika decides to choose someone else instead of me, I'll definitely not mind if he chooses to go with Charlotte…my best friend.)