Part 5: Not Again...
-IS ACADEMY, OFFSHORE JAPAN-
"Alright, you know your homework," Chifuyu declared to her class, "Study the inputs and outputs of the IS maneuverability procedures through the weekend and get ready to share your findings with me come Homeroom."
"Yes, Orimura-sensei!" The class responded before the bell rang. Everyone left the room in a hurry. Except one student.
"Hokari," she walked to her, "You're not still thinking about the damage, are you?"
"Huh? Oh, not at all, sensei!" Hokari responded, "It's just...him..."
Out in the central park area, Ichika wrestling with five kids and three girls while Houki burst into laughter.
"How can he still be smiling after everything he's been through?" Hokari mused.
"He's a tough mudder, I'll tell you that," Chifuyu commented, "He's always had a good heart, even in the face of struggle."
She thought of the time in Tokyo DisneySea, when Ichika was not smiling. That time, she forbade herself from doing anything, because she felt they had to learn. She quickly shook it off when one of the kids literally shoved a bamboo katana up Ichika's ass and he ran backwards to stab the kid with the rear end.
"And as you can see," Chifuyu pointed, "being an absolute dunderhead sometimes helps. Especially if you constantly forget about why you were scared in the first place."
"I guess..." Hokari said, "Did you see him not smile at all?"
"Aside from just now, and during the heat of battle...three times. And I never want to relive those moments ever again."
Just then, her cellphone vibrated. Chifuyu threw it at the blackboard, which projected an urgent message from the UN and the Minister of Defense. "Back to your room, Hokari, and we never had this conversation."
"Pin the tail on the pony!" The kid who stabbed the butthole and yanked it out yelled.
"Ok, you want it?" Ichika rolled over into his bear leap stance, "You got it!" He charged on all fours and tackled the kid. But while he pinned him down, the others tackled and tickled him to no end.
"What happened to all that bravado earlier?!" Houki laughed.
"Wouldn't you like to knoAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH!" Ichika's white flag was ripped apart by the kids' ruthless fingers.
Thank goodness a familiar, commanding voice saved him, "Ok, break it up, squirt! I need that rag doll still intact!"
The kids ran off, two of them very brave to stick their tongues out at her. Ichika panted, and Houki helped him up.
"Thanks for the save..." he wheezed.
"You sure you had it under control?" Houki asked.
"I'm not sure of nothing..." Ichika whimpered.
"Shake it off, you two," Chifuyu said, "We have a special guest."
-IS ACADEMY CONFERENCE ROOM-
"This is Tachibana Sayako, Minister of Defense and Chairwoman of the Japanese IS Committee," Chifuyu stated, "She's here to install a international program for our current educational system."
"Yes, quite," Sayako kept glaring at Ichika, "I don't see why we have to include him in the picture. And the fact that he is the brother of the reigning Brunhilde is irrelevant to me."
"So is the result of your treatment of men, I assume," Ichika intervened.
"Watch your mouth," Sayako growled, "You may have hoodwinked everyone else in your backwater prefecture, but not me."
"Ichika," Chifuyu leaned back, "Get the UN for me, would you?"
"No need," Houki blurted out, "They're scheduled to arrive within ten seconds."
"YOU WHAT-WHY?!" Sayako screamed.
"Convenience!" Ichika faux praised.
"Fine! I get it!" Sayako slumped, "He is a registered instructor, after all..." she muttered begrudgingly.
And, lo and behold, the Detective Unit and the head of the Task Force have arrived. Once everything has settled, Sayako began with a 3D projection of the school, with an added barracks and launching pad.
"Now, the UN has sent the Task Force across the world, but there is concern that there may be more like the renegade hidden in plain sight. So, in preparation for a preemptive strike, we are placing heavy emphasis on field exercises and incorporating special operations into the curriculum."
"In other words," a UN detective said, "You're going to recklessly endanger second and third year students on the presumption that more men might rise up against you."
"That's your opinion..." Sayako nudged.
"But how is this any different than what she just said?" Chifuyu demanded.
Sayako choked a bit before she said, "Because this way, we can actually defend ourselves from future threats while the rest of the world pursues the renegade."
"And where will Ichika be in all of this?" Houki asked.
"We're still working the final draft, so we haven't allocated any personnel as of yet," Sayako said.
"Well, I don't see why Mr. Orimura can't lead this program," Houki blurted, "aside from his hardheadedness."
"Not the time, honey..." Ichika whispered.
"That has been taken into consideration...and it is currently our best option," that hurt Sayako to say.
"Curious..." the UN head whispered.
"I assume we have to shoehorn this distraction into our curriculum within one day?" Chifuyu griped.
"One week, actually..." Sayako said, "because once the program is in place, the Prime Minister is stepping down." A major bombshell, out of nowhere.
"What?! Why?!" Every single person in the room shouted in unison, except the UN head.
"Because we found that she only has males in the camps here," she said, "There are hybrid camps elsewhere across the world, housing makes for obvious reasons, and females for lacking in misandry."
"How could you?!" Sayako screamed.
"What did you expect?"
"I expected you to do nothing and let us do everything..."
"And that's exactly why you're in this rabbit hole," Chifuyu said.
"You should be siding with us, not your weakling of a bro-"
Chifuyu and Houki deployed their swords and pushed the blunt of their blades to Sayako's neck. "Say it," they gnarled, "I dare you to say it."
"For crying out loud, can we just skip to the end here?" Ichika facepalmed, "We have enough on our plate as is. We don't need this U-Turn to ground zero."
Chifuyu and Houki exhaled a harsh amount of air and withdrew their weapons. Houki went back to his side. Chifuyu folded her arms and leaned back against the desk. Sayako was scarred for life, but she didn't have any time to properly process the blades.
"Hey, focus," Ichika snapped his fingers and caught Sayako's attention, "What do I need to do to prepare the girls for defense against the renegade?"
Sayako threw a flash drive at him, but he caught it with two fingers. "Everything you need to do to prepare for the battle is in that drive. Don't screw this up." Ichika just nodded and went to his office while everyone else discussed the nitty-gritty.
Two hours later, everyone finished the meeting and left. Sayako returned to Tokyo in a sour mood because they were going to have Ichika head the Defense Programme, and Chifuyu and Houki as school principal and vice principal respectively. She had to let it past her, lest she forget why she came here in the first place. The rest of the UN people scattered throughout the campus to get everything set up for next week.
"So, now you know what a major pain in the ass this is," Chifuyu said to Houki.
"Oh, yeah..." Houki nodded.
"Wish I could say I expected it... but thanks to the renegade and...ugh, Phantom Task..."
"Why can't we just go after them right now?"
"The UN has sanctioned a task force already, not to mention the Empress has gone loopy and made everyone in the damn country go pacifist..."
"Oh, right. Haha, she was so mad when we vouched for him."
"And Ichika vouched for the renegade..."
"That was out of character for him...why don't you go check on him. I'll check out the new pads."
"Did the Academy leak again?"
"We never stopped leaking since opening day."
They shared a laugh and separated. Houki walked slowly to the teacher's lounge and found the door still opened. She walked in and heard a small hum of air leaking through a hole somewhere. She jolted and creeped her way in.
It was just Ichika sleeping on the couch, in classic test cram fashion. She walked over and checked out what he was given. It was a set of ten folders, with details on how to set up and implement the prog-wait a second.
Well, no wonder why he blanked out halfway through the first folder, and no wonder why Sayako was such a stick in the mud. This thing was preparing him to replace her as Defense Minister. At 20? Ohhhhhhhhh, that's why. But knowing him, he'll take the challenge anyway because of the situation back in Chūbu. On top of that, he has some knowledge of female two-timing thanks to his time in the Academy, and incredible endurance thanks to his never ending spartan training.
In a country haunted by the ghost of the Silverio Gospel...
Houki put the laptop on the desk and cuddled up with him.
-BAR IKKEI, HOKKAIDO PREFECTURE-
It was 01:03 local time, and Chifuyu drank to her heart's content. She was really pissed, in both senses of the word. She thought of the weight of her worst fears come true, which led to her rash decision to fire Maya for her little episode in New York. Granted, it was inevitable since they've all been stressed to their limits and were unable to bear the weight anymore, but even she didn't force herself down on him, or the others. Or to admit to a fact only Maya figured out after the firing: she never got over her brother complex. So, she was absolutely livid when she saw Maya enter the pub.
"What in the-WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" She screamed.
"I live here," Maya answered.
"In the pub?"
"No, no. In Sapporo. I come by here every now and then to relieve myself," Maya casually walked to the stool, "much like yourself."
"Quite the mouth you got there, Maya," Chifuyu growled, "You sure you got your fill of mayonnaise?"
"Hey, everybody acted inappropriately, including you, when you flipped out at the lady with a bajillion bags. For what reason, I wonder..."
"Don't you put that on me..." she got ignored by her own subordinate. Maya drank a martini glass while Chifuyu went back to her seat and put her head down. The TV above them showed a report of Phantom Task and Cecilia Alcott last seen in Canada, with the latter brazenly promising to end Canada's pilot drought.
"The fuck is she doing there?" Chifuyu said.
"Who knows?" Maya said, "As far as I can tell, she's trying not to let her ban on Ichika get to her." And the two traded verbal fisticuffs with each other just to get their minds off the struggles. And that evolved into physical fisticuffs for which Maya was easily booted outside. Chifuyu took a few...dozen...teeth before she gave up and left. When they saw each other, they laughed it off as if it was nothing and stumbled their way down the street. Actually, Maya's still sober.
"Ugh...you're heavy..." She grunted as she didn't have the strength to lug Chifuyu to the stoplight.
"*HIC* You callin' me fat, wommmmmaan?!" Chifuyu slurred, "Hhhhhhoo could fogggggeeeeet *HIC* dem cow tits uyyyyyurs..."
"That's just mean..."
"*BELCH* Fu*HIC*king fight back, dammit! Fight back!" Chifuyu forced herself off Maya's shoulder and leaped onto the grass, "RAGE AGAINST THE GODDAMN MACHINES!" And then she puked and fell into Maya's bust, "Ahhhhhh...so fluffy..."
"Um...You're..." Maya tried to hold it in.
"Ahhhhhh, this is bliss..." WAKE UP ALREADY, WOMAN! And Maya lost her cool. Great. The renegade's handiwork is in full force.
-TENSOCHI PARK, IWATE PREFECTURE-
Tabane and Chloe were having tea just off the park's Sakura Way, under the full moon.
"The sakura are not yet in full bloom," Chloe commented, "the moon is still somewhat clouded by the ashes, and the renegade is still on the loose. Why are we picnicking here and now?"
"Let's just say that I've hit writers' block," Tabane stretched her arms out, "and I need some R and R to refuel my cells and get me back in track." She threw a biscuit halfway in her mouth, and poured some tea for the both of them, "Besides, now that the pus piss is off the Japanese grid, I can finally plan my revenge."
"You're not still hung up on him crushing your ears, are you?"
"Oh, yeah," Tabane munched on a cucumber sandwich, "Put him together with his possé, and combine them into one grotesque concoction. The are the first person to ever beat me."
"Master, that was not even a real match..."
"What? Can't I have a little pride?" Tabane winked. They chuckled as they went on with their picnic. They enjoyed the finally slow environment around them. For ten seconds.
"Speaking of..." Tabane said slyly, "That was quite the smooch you gave him."
"I meant it," Chloe simply said, "I truly was amazed by how he was able to keep his heart pure."
Tabane got in earshot range and whispered, "Is that why you wanted to feeeeeeel it?"
Chloe blushed and jumped and opened her eyes. And then they were in a theater with a clip from her POV, feeling up his udder and exchanging spit with him.
"Hahaaa! That's the reaction I was looking for!" Tabane laughed as Chloe shut her powers off and covered herself with a blanket.
"What I wouldn't give to undo that moment..." Chloe muffled.
"Heehee, I feel you..." Tabane patted her back, "I'd be embarrassed too..."
"No, you wouldn't..."
"Yeah. I'd beat the ever loving shit out of him! Ha haaaaaa!"
Chloe recovered and took out a very old camera.
"Ew...you still hang on to that junk?" Tabane noticed the thing.
"Why not?" Chloe said, "It's a memento of my homeland."
"Gross," Tabane winced, "Why don't you throw that thing away already?"
"When I'm ready to let go. I plan on deleting my memories tonight."
"Eh. Sure," Tabane tossed her a sandwich, "In the meantime, let's have a toast!"
"To what?"
"To every single thing we're going to fuck up on this earth!"
They clicked teacups and enjoyed their time. For all this was worth, Chloe enjoyed this moment. And Tabane definitely like the idea of goofing around, even though she does it every day. But this was just taking pictures, and conversing with the local women in the area. But that camera also hid a dark secret that was successfully erased from history. And the camera. Chloe took pictures of Tabane absolutely screwing with the populace. She was also the one who programmed the old outdated camera to capture the moments of world deception and snuck them into a random core, which just so happened to be the Silverio Gospel's. While they were activating its core, she went into the computer world and burned the film into its mind, giving it a permanent storage outside of Tabane's sight. The perfect untraceable evidence.
And to this day, no one knows, not even Tabane.
Chloe could never bring herself to tell her savior that the missile test went too far. She couldn't go against her wishes. And she was fine with that. As long as it gave her a reason to keep herself away from the eyes of the world, she would go along with anything Tabane said. Even if it contracted her own morals.
An hour later, they were back in their hideout. Tabane had begun planning her revenge by preparing a brand new personal model specifically for use against brawler type units. Chloe just went to her room and began the process of sleeping maintenance. She had already erased her reasons for leaking the info to the Gospel. Now she will erase everything else to retain her absolute loyalty.
Meanwhile, Tabane was tinkering away at her newest tools. She was always one step ahead of the rest of the world, but this is the one case where she couldn't figure out how the renegade unlocked the Gospel's code. She knew Chloe had leaked the photos; hell, she set herself up to be easily captured on photo, but Chloe didn't know. She kept it a secret, all so she could figure out how to get that info out of the core, and figure out the Black Box within.
Does the renegade know something she doesn't? That would be a first. She thought about how he quickly learned all that mumbo jumbo to sneak into Shibuya Technologies, but then the stupidest tabloids shunted her monitor:
"IDIOT RENEGADE LITERALLY KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES"
Nope. Just a thick headed moron with a lot of street smarts. "Well, goddamn..." she went back to work. She may have lost this game, but the match was still on. Total victory was a long way for both of them.
-ROTES RATHAUS, FEDERAL STATE OF BERLIN-
"And when do I depart for North America?" Clarissa asked a panel.
"It has been decided that the Main division will engage the renegade in Canada," the chairman said, "You will go to Washington D.C within three days."
"Why America?"
"We anticipate the main division failing to capture the renegade, and we suspect that he will target the President soon after evading pursuit."
"I see. Anything else?"
"No. Captain Bodewig will brief you outside."
"Laura?" Clarissa seemed puzzled. What's Laura still doing in the Capitol? She went out to the lobby and found her finishing her conversation with other high officials.
"Laura!" Clarissa ran up to her, "What are you doing here?"
"Actually, I came to see you," Laura explained, "With all that is going on, I will no longer have the time to watch the Schwarzer Hase regiment."
"What?!" Clarissa exclaimed, "But you are the best in the entire army in terms of IS combat!"
"I know, and that is why I must temporarily leave the regiment."
"Temp? Ok..." Clarissa sighed, "But who will take your place?"
Laura put her hand to Clarissa's shoulder, "You will."
"Eh? Was hast du gesagt? (What did you say?)" Clarissa was befuddled.
"My dearest friend, how do I say this?" Laura said, "You have been a pivotal part of every step in my journey. You even put yourself on the line to stop Phantom Task and bring victory to our team."
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Clarissa didn't want to hear it, but she ended up saying in her head anyway.
Laura giggled, "Relax. If everything goes as planned, it will only be for six months."
"But if it doesn't go as planned? Then what? What will we do without you?"
"You already have your orders, don't you?" Laura reassured her, "You'll simply go back to America and launch a worldwide manslaughter for the renegade."
"You really hate the renegade, don't you..."
"It's because of him that I can no longer get payback for being rejected by my own bride. He made me forget all about Ichika, and it's about time they both pay."
"Didn't you give him your...you know..." Clarissa sheepishly referred to the time when half of the squad was piss drunk.
"Well, that no longer counts because he took it and ripped it to ashes! He cast it away as if it were a used tea bag! I'm going to use this program to force him into so small a corner I shall force him to give me back my-"
"Captain!"
"WHAT?!"
"Your papers..."
Oops. Laura got so angry she tore up everything she got from every meeting she went to. Including the leather portfolio.
"Well..." Laura dusted herself off, "I shall contact you once everything is in order."
"Anything I can do to help?" Clarissa asked.
Laura hugged her, "No. You've done more than enough. You're not my shadow anymore." And with that, she went back to the main hall to finalize the project.
Clarissa felt a mixture of gratitude, pride, and confusion. Her friend with whom she has shared her entire army life with. They will now part ways. They've been through thick and thin, all to train each other for the final mission. She nodded and went back to the base to prepare for her departure.
But the second she entered her quarters, she smelled something burning, "Hmm? Incense and...honeysuckle. No. No, no, no, no, no!" She kicked the door down and saw her subordinates burning her entire manga collection, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!"
"Apologizes, Commander," an SH member bowed, "Captain's orders."
"Ack!" They must have seen how she freaked out when the Golden Dawn changed shape! They knew she read way too much monster horror manga! "Do whatever you must..." she went back to the main computer and displayed the renegade's current location, "but we already have a team led by Sarashiki en route to Toronto. We will intercept should he escape to America."
"But what if he decides to go to the UK?"
"Then, we'll lure him our way and take him for ourselves."
"What?!" Everyone in the barracks looked towards Clarissa.
"I'm serious," Clarissa declared, "We cannot allow him even the tiniest bit of fresh air after the humiliating defeats he handed us. Not to mention he cost us many of our soldiers and pilots." She pulled up an X-Ray of the renegade she saved for a few months, "And even if we were required to experiment on him, who says we need him alive? We can perform as many autopsies as we please until we all have our fill."
The other members nodded. Why are they bothering to keep him alive when they could've easily finished him off had they not held back.
"So, we're all going?" A member said.
"Yes," Clarissa said, "And I've just received word that the Brunhilde herself will join the fight."
"Seriously?!"
"Wait, who will watch over the IS Academy?!"
"Maya Yamada and a team of UN investigators," Clarissa uploaded to the display board, "They will guide the students while keeping their watchful eyes on Japan, leaving us complete freedom to smash the renegade."
"Well, isn't this an amazing convenience."
"Indeed, and we must capitalize on it immediately," Clarissa commanded, "Everyone pack now. We leave tomorrow."
"Jawhol, Kommandant." They all said and left to get ready.
Clarissa turned back to the screen. She filled her mind with all those moments of ire, how she was repeatedly compared to the paganism population of the begotten realm. She couldn't stand the smirk on his face when he insulted her and her friends and got away with it.
"You were better off when we were just "pagan women"," she muttered, "but now you have the wrath of the Schwarzer Hase coming for you. Your head will be ours."
-BC PLACE, BRITISH COLUMBIA PROVINCE; NEXT DAY-
"I never thought I'd see the day..." Autumn whispered.
"What? Him running 10 laps nonstop?" Madoka said.
"No...when he couldn't contain his embarrassment..."
"Oh. I was thinking "They even let us in here!" or some shit like that..."
"Give it up, renegade!" Autumn shouted, "No one can forget a night like last night!"
"WELL, I WILL!" Sokoto screamed under his breath.
"You sure about that? Everyone in the whole damn country knows what a sexual dunce you are!"
"AND WHOSE FAULT IS THAT, MOTH WOMAN?!" Sokoto couldn't take it anymore, "You know what, screw it. I'm going outside!" He changed course and ran to the pits, leaped up the rails, and out of the stadium.
"Speaking of," Madoka said, "where are those UN geeks anyway?"
"Oh, with the attraction we stirred?" Autumn leaned back against the bleachers, "I think they're already here, lying in wait until we take one foot outside."
"Huh..." Madoka rummaged through any fancy delusions that resulted in hearing those words, bearing in her mind the kind of education he received yesterday, and the warm reception his oriental public gave his tabloid story. She walked towards the exit.
"Aww, don't tell me you're worried about him!" Autumn joked before getting pelted with Madoka's shield bits.
Sokoto made it to the bridge over False Creek before slowing down and ranting,
"Silvia, let me tell you. These Canadians are VICIOUS! I have no idea what got into these people! They act like they ain't never seen a pilot before! I know that's probably why they're acting like that, but whatever! Hell no, I didn't tell them that Squall was a pilot, or that I met with her father! You know what they'll do to me if I tell them that?! PAGAN THINGS! I am constantly on the lookout now, keeping a weary eye on-" (Car honk fan girls) "Them...See?! There's no end to them! Would it even matter if I was just a tourist-oh, I forgot to mention! Hair Drills is here! Y'know, the British Cootie monster?! Yeah, she's here, and apparently, she wants to find the first Canadian pilot! I don't buy it. I can't read auras from that big a distance, but she got that look in her eyes that screams, "GIVE ME ATTENTION DAMN YOU!", or something like that. God, is there anyone in this whole world who's not simple-minded love dove li-" (Sensing three mellow auras to the left in the boat below him) "Ohhhhh, thank god! I gotta take out my humiliation on a couple of, I hope they're UN agents because, derp most wanted...I'll let you know how it goes."
He walked to the rail and stared at the approaching boat, whose passengers stared right back. He waved at them. They smiled and waved back. One of them partially deployed her IS. He charged his shield and jumped down.
No rest for the wicked, not even in the one country that embraces them with open arms. Phantom Task has only scratched the surface of the mysteries surrounding Canada. The rest of the world is mobilizing for what may prove to be the most conspiracy-riddle era of the IS. No one seems to care that they have all lost trust in the world power, and are taking matters into their own hands. The most foolhardy of them, Cecilia Alcott, who will undergo the biggest test of her life as she works to restore her name and her reputation. To pass, however, she must overcome one devastating mistake she made. One that will be reenacted by people who don't even know they're reenacting it.
The virus rampages once more on the next episode of Infinite Stratos...Virus.