Infinite Stratos: Digital Prototype CH. 8 (I don't own Infinite Stratos)

Thin Red Line

Previously...

All in all, it was a good day. Later we were up in the shops and I bought Char and Laura some ice cream, which they sat down to eat with that girl from earlier, who was chewing on a slice of watermelon. Then the teachers called us all for dinner.

I sat in saisa next to Char, who was next to Ichika, who was next to Cecilia. I looked over my platter, unsure. I had been in Japan now for almost a year and I hadn't sampled a full Japanese cuisine as of yet. I watched how Ichika and tried to copy him, with only one problem, I can't use chopsticks, at all. I watched as yet again, my food fell back onto my plate after another unsuccessful attempt. I sighed and got up, walking over to grab a set of silverware made available for those like myself that can't use chopsticks. I grabbed a packet and made my way back to my seat and sat down. Char grinned at me when she noticed that I had finally given up on chopsticks. I bumped her lightly with my shoulder, grinning myself. I began eating, testing everything for taste and taking stock of what was there. I noticed the wasabi and steered clear for the moment, still tasting the rest of my food. I looked over to see Char pick up the whole piece of wasabi, not knowing what it was. I bumped her shoulder, making the wasabi drop back onto the plate. She looked at me, angry before noticing me shaking my head. "Do you know what wasabi sauce is?" I asked, chuckling. She shook her head. "Probably the hottest sauce in the entire Japanese cuisine, meant to be eaten in tiny amounts on top of other things to balance it out. That small piece is meant to last you the entire meal." I informed her, motioning to the now deformed pile of wasabi. She looked at me wide-eyed, "Really?" I nodded, taking a drink as I ate a piece of the meat topped with a little bit of wasabi. I pointed to one of the other students as they did as Char was about to and ate the entire piece of wasabi. Her face turned red immediately and she quickly drank her drink entirely, then refilled twice more. I turned back to her to see her looking at the wasabi like it had tried to bite her or something, "It's not that bad if eaten in small amounts, like this." I said, using my fork to scrape a small drop of it onto her choice of platter before handing it to her. She looked at me, wary. I just smiled at her, encouraging her to eat it. She did, frowning as the heat took over, but not as bad as what about happened. She thanked me for my help and went back to eating peacefully. I returned to my plate, eating the rest of my meal before noticing Ichika and Cecilia, Ichika just about to feed her before the rest of the room noticed what was happening. This caused the volume to raise exponentially in the enclosed room. I winced at the pitch, rubbing my right ear and taking my platter to the station. I placed my things there and let Char know that I was headed back to our room. She nodded, just beginning to finish herself. "See you in a bit, love." I whispered, grinning as she blushed at the pet name. I was just about to walk out of the room when Orimura opened the door and quieted the room, then reprimanded Ichika as I walked out.

I'll give her the necklace tonight, I thought as I walked into Char and I's room, looking around at our room. "Still can't believe that they paired us together," I said as I made sure the box and note were both still there and in place before looking out of the door real quick and seeing Char headed back, just about here. I ducked my head back in and grabbed a change of clothes and my shower kit and walked into the bathroom, starting the shower but not getting in. I heard her open the door and I put my plan into play. "Is that you Char?" I called out from behind the door. "Yeah, it is Z, do you need something?" I heard her ask, setting something down. "Yeah, I forgot to grab a shirt out of my suitcase. Could you grab one for me and set it on the counter?" I asked, feigning ignorance at the fact I was right inside the bathroom door. "Yeah, hang on." I heard her say, moving something before walking in the direction of my suitcase. I snuck a peek around the door to see her about to open my suitcase, I opened the door the rest of the way, thankfully silent and walked over to stand behind her. She opened the suitcase and noticed my note and jewelry box. She gasped in surprise and picked up the note:

Dear Char,

While we were walking around the mall, I came to realize that we had been together for almost a year and hadn't celebrated at all. So, I bought you this while you were occupied in the swimwear store before Ichika and the others showed up. I hope you like it and, I'll let you know now, I don't expect anything in return for this. I bought this for you, no strings attached. Happy Anniversary Charlotte Dunois!

I love you,

Z

I stayed behind her as she put a hand to her mouth in shock, stepping back and sitting on the bed. She reread the note again, then looked at the jewelry sitting there in my suitcase. She walked over to it and opened the box and gasped again. I smiled and walked up behind her, setting a hand on her shoulder and wrapping the other around her waist. "Happy Anniversary, Char," I said, taking the necklace out of the box and putting it on her, the charm resting right in the hollow of her throat. The green diamond shining and the purple frame glistening. She walked over to a nearby mirror as I watched her. She pulled her hair out of the way and turned back and forth, catching the light over and over again. I smiled, "It's looks great, almost as good as the person wearing it." I complimented, watching as she looked at me out of the corner of her eye. I walked up behind her again and wrapped my arms around her waist, smiling at her in the mirror. "I know I say it a lot, but you look stunning, no breathtaking is the word for it." I said, kissing the top of her head. She smiled and turned to look at me, face to face. "Thank you, so much!" She said, tearing up slightly. I smiled and kissed her, cupping her face in one of my hands. I pulled away, breathing hard. "You are most welcome," I said between breaths. "I'm going to take my shower now, enjoy yourself a bit more. You are so worth it,." I said, kissing her cheek and heading for the bathroom and the still running shower. I stripped and stepped into the stream of warm water, not seeing the small smile on her face as she fingered the necklace as she looked back in the mirror. "You too, Zeke. You too."

Waking up in a bed well rested is a great feeling. Waking up to Char resting her head on my chest was new. I woke up, feeling a pressure on my chest. I had at first shrugged, figuring that it was just one of the pillows, then the pressure moved, and the bed shifted. I opened my eyes and looked down to see… "Char?!" I blurted out before I could stop myself. I immediately clapped a hand over my mouth, then noticing that one of my arms were pinned down by Char's sleeping body. Char made a small sound at my exclamation, then rolled a little ways away. I wiggled the pinned appendage and realized that she had rolled right into the crook of my elbow, allowing me some movement of my arm. I looked at the clock to see that, as usual, I had woken up way before I had too. I laid my head back on my pillow, my arm propped up behind it. I sighed and rolled so that my chest was pressed to her back and shifted one of my pillows to support my head in my new position before wrapping my other arm around her and falling back asleep. When I awoke a little while later, Char had somehow twisted in a 180 and was now facing me, more specifically, my chest. I went to roll over and found that she had an arm wrapped around my waist. I sighed and looked down at the girl I was falling more in love with. I noticed the serene smile on her face and hated what I had to do, but took a deep breath and bent my torso down so that my mouth was by her ear and whispered, "Char, sweetie. It's time to get up. We need to be somewhere in about, oh ten minutes or so." I barely got my head out of the way before she bolted up, hearing me talk in her ear. She looked around, apparently not realizing where she was. "Morning beautiful. This was a surprise." I said, a small smile on my face. She turned at the sound of my voice, "What are you doing in my bed?" She exclaimed, I looked around, then looked back at her. "Since when did the couch become your bed? I thought I was sleeping on the couch." I said, faking confusion as I sat up. She took a look around before her face flushed in embarrassment. I leaned over and hugged her, chuckling. "Not that I minded the surprise when I woke up earlier, but you could have just asked." I said, teasing her. She shrunk farther into my arms, embarrassed. I chuckled, "You're too cute, you know that ?" I said, looking down at her. She looked up at me, a cute expression on her face. "Come on, we need to get ready. Breakfast is in 20." I said, exposing my earlier lie. She frowned at me, then began to step out of the bed before I realized something. "You may want to put some more clothes on, you're not exactly decent Char." I said, turning to give her some privacy. She looked down and realized her state of dress, which consisted of a bra and panties. I tossed her one of my shirts without looking. I heard the bed creak as she shifted, probably to get into my shirt. "It's okay now, you can look." I heard her quietly say. I looked over and smiled, "You look good in my shirt." She got up from the bed, the shirt covering her to her thighs. "I like it. I'm thinking of keeping it now." She said, hugging the shirt to her body. I shook my head, "Go ahead, keep it." I said, grabbing another shirt without looking at it and pulled it on. I grabbed my ball cap and turned back to her. "Air Force, huh? You were a flyboy back home?" I heard her say. I glanced down at my shirt, now noticing my shirt. "Uh, yeah. That was one of the branch's I had my cover under before the government went public with the news that I could pilot IS. It served me well." I said, reflecting a little before grabbing my aviator glasses and looking at her. "Well, there's my other shirt." I said, noticing the Marines logo across her bust before realizing where I was looking. "Might want to put some pants on before you join me. People might get the wrong idea if you show up as is," I teased. She looked down and dropped to her knees as I walked out of the door, chuckling.

I was sitting in the meal room eating a helping of eggs and toast when I felt a pair of arms wrap around my neck. I looked behind to see a smiling Char, who took a seat next to me and grabbed a piece of toast off my plate. "I would ask if you slept well, but I don't have to ask, do I?" She looked over at me, the smile still on her face. "No you don't, I slept wonderfully, thank you." She said, "Glad I was an awesome pillow then," I said, grinning at her. She looked around before kissing my cheek quickly and darting off to get herself some food. I finished my food and was starting on my orange juice before she returned with her food. I chuckled at her choice of eggs and toast, then sipped my OJ as I looked around at the group of students walking in. "Hey, there's the rest of the gang. Sleep well guys?" I asked, noting the different reactions to my question. Laura gave me her typical 'none of your business' look. Cecilia gave me a small smile. Rin didn't seem to hear me, while Houki and Ichika smiled at me and waved, "Hey Zeke, yeah I slept good." Ichika said, walking past with the rest of the group headed for the meal line, except for Rin. She headed straight for the coffee machine and poured herself a cup of coffee and began sipping on it, slowly waking up with each sip. I laughed at her actions, shaking my head as I grabbed my other cup and took a small sip of coffee myself. Char looked at me, "It's not that I need it, like her. It's just a part of my morning routine." I defended myself, downing the rest of it. "Not the strongest I've had, but it does the trick." I muttered, setting the cup on my plate and sipping at my OJ again. Char just shook her head at me and continued eating. I finished my orange juice and took my dishes to the statio, separating my juice cup from the rest of my dishes. I'll probably have another glass I reasoned, setting my dishes down and heading for the dispenser. As the glass was being filled, I looked out the window to see a girl running this way. Normally that wouldn't catch my attention, but what did was the robotic rabbit ears on her head. Ahh, Ms. Shinonono had made an appearance. Well, time to hide now. I thought, leaving my juice cup and disappearing somewhere into the hotel area. I didn't come out till I heard Orimura announce that all personal IS users were to meet, and even then. I took my time before dashing for the meeting when Tabane was nowhere to be found.

I joined the group at the designated meeting place, noticing Houki standing there as well. I shrugged and joined Char and the rest of the group. "Where've you been? I looked all over for you!" Char said, smacking my shoulder when she noticed me. I shrugged, "Around, avoiding someone." Char looked a little worried for a second before I smiled at her. "All right. Everyone with a personal IS has been assembled." Orimura said. Then Rin had to point out, "Just a minute. Houki doesn't have her own unit, does she?" Houki was about to explain when Orimura started for her, "Allow me to explain. The truth is…." Then Orimura was interrupted as Tabane made her entrance with a "YAHOO!" She basically attacked Orimura, chanting something before moving onto Houki and embarrassing her, then finally introducing herself to the rest. I was, again, gone. "Wait! Where'd Zeke go?" Char said, noticing I was gone again. I slid further behind the rock that was my hiding place, watching as everyone looked around as if I'd magically appear. "Zeke, come out! We have to discuss some things now!" Orimura yelled. I sighed and stood up, walking out from my hiding place. "Zeke! It's so good to see you again! Wow, You've grown since I last saw you!" Tabane said, trying to hug me and whatever else she had planned. I sidestepped and continued on towards the group, "Nice to see you too, Tabane. Can we please get on with the meeting?" I asked, trying not to look at the hyperactive bunny. I didn't listen as Tabane explained why she was here, but I was looking up in the sky when she pointed, noticing something falling towards us. I grabbed Char and pulled her behind me as whatever it was landed in front of the group, creating a dust cloud. I coughed and made sure Char was alright before looking at whatever had fallen from the sky. "What is that?" I asked, nobody answered me. Then Tabane popped out from behind it, "Ta-daa! This is Houki's personal unit. The Akatsubaki!" She announced, the thing shimmering and a red IS taking it's place. I listened as she explained the specs, then Houki climbed in and took off. The shockwave pushed everyone back a little, "What the heck? It's so fast!" I heard Rin exclaim, joined by Char's "So, that's the speed of a fourth-generation model?" We all watched as Houki's IS darted around insanely fast. Tabane updated her on her weapons, two swords it sounded like. When she tested the first one, the resounding clap sounded like thunder, and watching as all those missiles just disappeared before the second swords attack. "That's what Tabane is good at, making things flashy and overpowered. As always." I shook my head, listening as Tabane congratulated Houki. Then Yamada made her entrance with an "Oh, no!" We all turned as she ran up to Orimura, completely ignoring Tabane and handing Orimura something. It popped up a few screens of apparently data and objectives. But all I saw was the IS shown on the third screen, "S-s-Silver Gospel?"

Orimura looked up at me at my outburst of the IS's name. I looked down afterwards, ignoring everyone's questions until Orimura called us to meet later. I turned and without looking said to Char, "I'll be in our room." With that, I walked back up the hill and back to the hotel. Before I got too far away I heard Rin ask, "Char, where'd you get that necklace?" And Char stuttered out something, but I was too far away by then. "Why? Why'd you have to show up again? Why now?" Was all I was thinking the whole way back. I walked into the room, shut the door. Then I couldn't take it anymore, "Dammit!" I yelled as I punched the wall. I looked at the wall, seeing a dent in the wall and I pulled my hand out of the dent, "Why'd you send it out? Even after I told you it was a bad idea?" The walls didn't have an answer.