Part 2: The Promised Time
-EARLIER, IS ACADEMY-
"Maya, you have to let me go in," Ichika griped, "That little sucker's already demoralized three of my friends!"
"I would if I could," Maya clacked away at the computer, "but the entire world is on edge since the Prime Minister's bombastic message. Imagine when they see you stepping in to save the day! They'll defund the Academy!"
"Tabane can create anything we need out of thin air!" Houki said, "We need to make sure the Academy is still here, and right now we aren't sure of anything anymore!"
"I understand, I really do," Maya said, "but until the situation simmers down and it is safe to remind them that you saved the world before, we have to keep you here."
"Wonderful..." Houki threw her arms behind her head and left.
"Oh, boy..." Ichika ran after her, "First the dojo, then the renegade, now this...what else could happen?"
Well, a bunch of kids with wooden swords could stampede you.
"ORIMURA SENSEI! SHINONONO SENSEI!" The kids cheered and ran to hug them.
"Hey!" Houki screamed, "What are you all doing here?!"
"How'd you even get on a boat?!" Ichika asked.
"We came as soon as we saw that Chinese lady get beat by the renegade!" A little boy said, "So I rallied all the students to stop everything and come help you!"
"And when my parents wouldn't let me take my brother, I fought them hard!" A teenage girl proudly proclaimed, "We all gotta stick together, y'know!"
"You fought..." Ichika face palmed, knowing where that "everyone stays together" came from.
"Selflessness has its limits..." Houki growled at him.
"Why haven't you two gone off to fight?" A kid asked.
"Well, the renegade destroyed this place when we weren't here," Ichika explained, "so we have to stay here just in case."
"Are you gonna reopen?" A girl asked, "I got top marks on the compatibly test and the entrance exam!"
"Maybe," Houki said, "If we can get a green light."
"We'll get it for you!" The girl exclaimed, "come on! Let's reopen the school!"
"Waitnodont-" too late, Houki. They already ran off to tell the lady in black. "Oh, dear..."
"So," Ichika peeked over her shoulder, "shall we move the dojo to here?"
"And do what?" Houki said, "No way they'll let them bunk here. If only their parents taught them the truth..." The couple watched as the little tykes stood their ground against Chifuyu. They would've been able to admire their tenacity a bit longer...
"THE RENEGADE HAS BEEN FOUND. ALL AVAILABLE FORCES TO THE SUICIDE FOREST IMMEDIATELY."
...were it not for the sudden red lights flashing across the campus.
"Uh-oh..." Ichika muttered.
"Everyone listen up!" Houki shouted and pointed, "Kendo training resumes in that building over there!"
"COMING, SENSEI!" The kids stopped everything and ran after Houki.
"Um, that's the...upperclassmen dorms...oy vey..." Ichika shook his head and walked past the frenzied staff running to their stations, "And why do I feel dropping everything and going to hibernate forever?..."
"Probably 'cuz your hunny decked you in the socket one too many times!" a cheery voice suddenly snapped him out of the daze.
"What?! It's nothing like that, Rin!" Ichika instinctively snapped back before taking it back, "Wait...Rin? Is that really you?"
"The one and only!" she responded before she was cut off by an ally channel.
"Show respect for whom you speak with, filthy peasant!" Xingjia screamed.
"You should follow your own advice," Lingyin stately stated, "He is a big time IS pilot, who led the fight to save the world, might I remind you."
"Save the world!" Xingjia protested, "He is nothing more than a commonplace dirty rag-"
"So was I, before you shoved me into the Presidential Suite," Lingyin snapped.
"I have done more for you than and man ever could!" Xingjia begged.
"Really?" Lingyin winked, "Then what'd you do during the attack on the Third Mondo Grosso?"
Xingjia clammed up.
"Heheheh," Lingyin grinned, "Now be a good girl and leave this channel to the real heroes."
Xingjia disconnected.
"Now then," Lingyin changed the topic, "I know what you're thinking, and all I can say is, you're an adult now. You can make your own decisions and no one can stop you. Wanna go be a tragic hero? Do it. Just stop worrying about everyone you see. It's unbecoming of you."
"What about Xingjia and the kids?" Ichika scratched his head.
"It's ok," Houki invaded the channel, "I got the hold on these kiddos."
"Yow!" Ichika yelped, "When did you sneak into the conversation?"
"Since these annoyances wouldn't stop asking about you," Houki opened the visual cam, "so I told them you're off to catch the renegade."
"Ooooh," Lingyin cooed, "Pressure, pressure!"
"You are going out, are you?" Houki asked ahead of the kids cheering, "FIGHT-O! FIGHT-O!"
"*SIGH*...Yeah, I'm coming," Ichika patted his bracelet. The kids cheered for their hero.
"Ichika, if you're late, you're cleaning up their mess," Houki said before disconnecting.
"Pre-marriage life, huh?" Lingyin quipped.
"You have no idea," Ichika said.
"We're on our way to the Suicide Forest," Lingyin briefed, "Join us in the fight as soon as you see red." She sent the coordinates and disconnected.
"Well, old friend," Ichika whispered, "Looks like the world is about to get screwed." The bracelet hummed. "Couldn't have said it better myself," Ichika ran along the path and swung himarm downward, "Ok, Byakushiki! LET'S FLY!"
He deployed his IS right in the middle of the crowd and took off for Mt. Fuji, "Sorry to leave y'all hanging, but I got a score to settle!" he idiotically shouted before he IB'd out of the Academy.
Chifuyu saw the fledgling and tried to stop him, but one of her staff held her shoulder, "No. This is his test. He has to do it on his own."
"Are you kidding me?!" Chifuyu shouted, "Since when has that dunce been able to do anything on his own?!"
"Since he swore to change the relationship from where he has to be protected to where he is protecting," the staff woman answered, "Or have you forgotten?"
"Miss Orimura!" Maya ran up to them, "We have to get him back! Who knows what he'll-"
"Let him go, Yamada," Chifuyu cut her off, "If he wants to die, let him." She turned back to the classroom building.
"But doesn't he need backup support?" Maya stammered, "A life line? Anything?!" She ran after her to try and figure out what happened between her and the little brother.
Out in the blue void, Ichika twirled a few times, blissfully appreciating every breath of fresh air he inhaled. "Rowdy kids, I can handle," he said to himself, "Maniacal homicidal maniacs, I can handle. Endless women every single day...no way." He saw a radar showing the entire of Fuji city, with an unhealthy number of blue dots headed towards the center.
"So, she's recruited even more women..." he said, "Guess that means we gotta let loose, huh?"
-FUJI CITY HALL, SHIZUOKA PREFECTURE-
"I simply don't understand why we have to have a filthy man ape tag along with us..." Xingjia muttered.
"One: his IS has a one-hit kill one-off ability," Lingyin lectured, "Two: he never split up the group to get two of his own killed. Three: It was women who threatened the world in the first place, dumbass."
"And it was the men who created the situation," Xingjia turned away, "Do you find the wisdom to see that the path I proposed is the right one?"
"If we even get the chance," an officer noted.
"Not to worry," Lingyin brought up the radar, "I've radioed everyone in the prefecture. We're all set to strike."
-GOTEMBA RESTAURANT-
"The intel better not be wrong..." Clarissa huddled with her fellow army women, "If there's one thing I can't stand, it's the putrid stench of death..."
"Commander, please," a servicewoman muttered, "We are in public..."
"Screw everything!" She vehemently whispered, "I will not be hanged for some petty Grudge!"
"Then, I have some unfortunate news for you," an IS pilot was showing a message sent by Golden Dragon, "It's time to mobilize."
"Yeep!" Clarissa yelped and ran out of the restaurant. She screamed and deployed her IS, "Listen up, everyone! We're going in, and we're not leaving until the renegade is dead! Do not allow them any ground in the cursed forest! Do I make myself clear?!"
"Jawhol!" the service women shouted and stood at attention.
"Good! Now get going!" Clarissa pointed to the mountain, and all servicewomen ran out and deployed their ISs into the sky. She waited until they were gone to groan loudly.
"The first solid lead for a sneak attack..."she shook her head, "WHYYYYYYYYY..." and took off.
The only thing that gave her any relief is that there's more company on the way. A total of 20 pilots will engage the renegade. On their way to their target location, she saw more brigades of pilots ready to take down their greatest threat. She was about to wave Lingyin hello when-
"We got trouble!"
That all too familiar voice boomed out of the forest. And arose from the dried leaves a seraph of unholy light.
"Of course..." she muttered.
There he was. The renegade, piloting the Silverio Gospel in its 2nd Shift.
He said nothing. He simply waved his hand downward and let loose a, "BIG BANG WING OUT!" A tiny laser fired from his wings and into a pilot behind him. From the point of impact, a huge explosion, a bomb that caught that group of pilots. They shook it off, but lost a third of their shield energy.
"Just so you know," he shouted, "she's suped up to the level of a 5th Generation IS!" He unsheathed his sword and shield, "I hope the rest of you do not disappoint me!"
"So," Xingjia growled, "you are the one who incapacitated Lady Huang..."
"Xingjia," Lingyin said, "Let's think about-"
Too late. Without thinking, Xingjia immediately charged at him and swung down her greatsword hard on his shield. He used the impact to loop over the blade and land a harsh strike on her jaw. His wings fired two lasers on opposite sides. The pilots dodged them and moved in to strike.
"The one time I chose not to lose my cool..." Lingyin prepared her Shenlong for mid-range combat, "Everyone go now!" Her unit moved in as she provided cover fire.
The renegade kept pace with the onslaught, dodging and blocking as needed, "Not yet, Silver. We do it now, we're sitting ducks later. Besides," he looked down momentarily at the cabin entrance, at three shocked faces staring back at them, "It's us they want, not them." He kept up the evasion tactics, repeatedly coming down to block some shots aimed at the cabin. He continued to hold back his own strikes, despite aggravating yet cringe-worthy insults. Until he saw an opportune moment with three very familiar faces.
"YOU WRETCHED CHIMPANZEE!" The rich women charged at him, and he just took it. He allowed the strike to penetrate his barrier, crashing him down in the forest floor.
Unfortunately, they never learned. One hug of the wings was all it took. They stood frozen in time, while their most hated enemy stood tall, within the cockpit.
"And three strikes the dress," he said with the altered voice, "You know how long I've been waiting to put you down?"
"Why...can't I...move?!..." one of the women struggled.
"You're stuck like that until I say you can go," Sokoto boomed, "and you ain't going alive!" The cockpit released.
"You're kidding me..." the leader whispered, "I'm going to die by the hands of a flea-ridden penis monkey-"
Sokoto punched her gut, "Get a dictionary!" He bounced off and went on a two minute tirade, kicking and punching every one of their orifices. When he finally went back and released them, they fell unconscious.
"That's weird," he muttered, "I's expecting the other yahoos to pummel me by n-" He sensed three auras scattered across the sky, blasting everything and everyone in their path. One of them crashed into the cabin.
"Why there?!" He screamed.
"I'm sorry!" Squall sarcastically said, "It was full of bad juju! I hate bad juju!"
"Ain't you bad juju incarnate?!" Sokoto snapped.
"Hey, dick magnets!" Autumn screamed threw her moth gust, "Get up here and help us!"
"We can't hold them off much longer!" Madoka yelled, bursting her Twin Lance lasers to max power, but not hitting her intended targets.
"Leave the small fry to me!" Squall rejoined the group, "Go after the big three!" She fired her lance rifle at the other pilots.
"Whaddaya think we've been doing?!" Madoka and Autumn continued to fight off Lingyin, Xingjia, and Clarissa, who was still squirming due to the interference of the forest.
"Can we just leave now?!" Clarissa screamed as she froze Autumn in place.
"And abandon ship?! No way!" Lingyin blasted down Autumn, but Madoka was able to sneak behind and strike her. Xingjia rammed Madoka and bombarded her with rockets, but Autumn blew the impact off with a powerful gust. Lingyin and Clarissa fired a combo blast towards the two. Madoka and Autumn withstood the entire attack, but Xingjia was able to get behind them and position herself for a massive blast.
"This is for allying with that flea-bad renegade!" Xingjia charged in bazookas ablaze. But she was repelled in the nick of time by Sokoto's shield, which blocked the rockets and knocked her off course. The shield, and Xingjia, came back to him.
"You will know your place, yellow mop!" She screamed.
"Not on your life, PAGAN OCTOPUS!" Sokoto thrust the tip of the sword into her blind spot and sent her back a hundred feet, "Boo-yah! Critical hit!" Followed by a beat down strike thanks to Squall crashing several pilots into each other and blasting them to smithereens.
Meanwhile, Ichika remained hidden beneath the forest rubble.
"Wow...the renegade's strong..." he whispered, "I gotta be a hundred and twenty percent right off the get go." He held his bracelet to his eye, "Whaddaya say? 2nd Shift start?"
Xingjia burst from the debris, shrieking her lungs out.
"Whoa," Lingyin twitched, "Who shoved a butt plug up your pee hole?..."
"I want his head served to the pigs is all," Xingjia growled.
"Stay focused," Clarissa regrouped with Lingyin and Xingjia, "We may have exhausted their energy, but it's still a three on four battle."
She was right. There they were, a hundred feet above ground, staring down the renegade and Phantom Task. A team battle of untold consequences. They all gripped their triggers, preparing for the final charge when-
"Nah, it'll be an even 4-4 pretty soon," Sokoto blurted out.
"What?" Clarissa turned to her teammates, "What does he mean?"
"I mean, you're hiding someone below that wood, pagan woman!" Sokoto pointed to the destroyed cabin.
"You had to make it weird," Ichika muttered.
"Laura's intel was correct," Clarissa grimaced, "He does have extra sensory abilities..."
"I know someone is down there, waiting for me to get completely invested in you three bung holes," Sokoto taunted, "but it ain't gonna work! I'll deal with him myself!"
"Are you sure?" Madoka asked.
"Positive," Sokoto reassured his team, "And if you get overwhelmed, just call me and we'll swap out. Cool?"
"Uhh..." Madoka blushed. Since when did the most vile criminal in Japan look so cool?! Clearly, she must've eaten something.
"Cool," Squall said, "Go get 'em, tiger."
"Right then," Sokoto said and dropped to ground level. Autumn could not believe how much he and Squall connected. Madoka was still recovering from the sudden suaveness.
Opposite to them, Xingjia, Lingyin, and Clarissa prepared for their final charge.
Sokoto landed and pointed his shield at the rubble.
"Oh boy," Ichika said, "I think that's the signal."
"Show yourself, coward!" Sokoto blurted, "Come out and fight me like a real man!"
"Oh no," Lingyin groaned, "Everyone go!"
"Here they come!" Autumn refocused the point of her vengeance on the task force.
Ichika let out a wicked grin, "CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!" He unleashed Byakushiki's 2nd Shift and IB'd right at Sokoto, who prepared his sword to strike at Ichika's head.
Instead, their blade tips connected at Mach speed, and a giant rainbow shockwave emitted from the resultant force.
"WITH HIS SWORD?!" Ichika said, "HOW?!"
"I IMMEDIATELY REGRET THIS!" Sokoto shouted.
At the same time, the two teams collided. Lingyin clashes with Madoka, Xingjia with Squall. Clarissa couldn't get a grip on Autumn because Autumn used a gust-laser combo to blow her back and blast the entire crowd. With Clarissa hit, Autumn continued her onslaught, leaving the others to deal with her mess.
On the ground, the swords' energy caused an explosion which sent them back several feet. Ichika skidded to a safe stop. Sokoto rolled upside the head.
"That was on purpose!" He yelled as he rolled back on his feet.
Ichika wondered what kind of opponent he was fighting. On the news, the renegade was a vicious mass murderer, but here, he's just a really strong kid.
"CHARGE!"
A really strong kid who has to be put down!