God of Thunder

by The 483

A New year, and new Student. The New Representative Contender from America arrives, and is immediately embroiled by the animosity of Ichika's Harem. But her claim is she had no interest in making his heart dance to her tune. What is her real goal, and where did she receive the tech that her odd IS is equipped with? Original Character x ...not Ichika. Ichika x .. it's obvious.

3. Chapter 3

Infinite Stratos: God of Thunder

By: The 483

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Infinite StratosFranchise.

Spoiler Alert: Warning: Light to mild spoilers for the Anime may be included herein.

Alright, first off, let me say that yes, I have the Wiki open the entire time I work on this. And, I have a work around scheduled for Laura's Railgun, and an even stupider one for how they got Tabane's attention. Again, thanks for pointing out these discrepancies.

And as for the Paring, I thought that the first transition in the first chapter kind of spelled that out. Sorry if it wasn't clear, but, as I see it now, it's a Houki x Ichika. Just not going to edit the blurb yet.

In The Pit

"Miss Shinonono, I would like to speak with you at lunch." Houki sat bolt upright, (only a smidgen more upright than normal,) in her chair as Miss Orimura's voice cracked like a whip through the near silence of the light study period. It also served to guide every set of eyes in the class on her, which she did not enjoy.

"Y-yes, Ma'am." She replied, and turned her eyes back to her text. She had sounded cross, but that was also her normal tine of voice, so there was no telling if she was safe, or if she had dug herself a hole. Mabye she wasn't supposed to get friendly with the new girl? Maybe Tatenashi had told her something untoward about the visit last night? Maybe she was just being asked to dish the dirt on the new girl, and see if a future stink might be risen over the "incedent?"

She did not turn to look, but Cecilia wore a worried expression in her seat in the back of the classroom as well. Not surprising, giving the intensive, almost hysterical grilling she had given Houki before class. If nothing else, it showed that she was sincere in the belief she had not done it to be intentionally malicious. She would not have put in this much worry if she had truly been guilty. The girls in the mechanical section had done an inspection of her Blue Tears, and found that, while the diagnostics found that the radio link was operating, the radio unit itself was not functioning. If one keyed the radio, the signal was cycled and sent to the antenna. But the magnetism had screwed up the coding process, so just dead air went out, and none of the signals received were processed. So it took a long time to find the physical evidence of the faulty radio.

This, in effect, made lunch seem to take even longer than usual to arrive, and carried a dull feeling of dread with it. By the time it arrived, Houki had worked herself up to the point where she was not even remorseful over missing the opportunity to try jam some awareness down Ichika's sensory receptors. Futilely, of course, but there was something to be said about persistence. Chifuyu waited for the other students to clear with her usual frosty indifference, while Miss Yamada remained at the corner desk, her cute, omnipresent smile in place, making her seem less threating then she was. Finally, when Cecilia cast one last worried look over her shoulder and vanished into the river of uniformed students flowing down the hall, Houki rose and moved toward the center desk. Miss Orimura sighed, and fixed a piercing gaze on Houki.

"Miss Shinonono… I assume you got on well with the new student?" Houki, who was a ball of tension at this point, simply nodded. She did not trust her voice. "Good. I knew I could rely on you. Did you talk to her about what happened?"

"O-only indirectly, Ma'am. She expressed some… mystification on why she would be targeted by six of other girls, much less the Representative Contenders of other nations, before she had had an opportunity to cause any ire." Chifuyu's eyebrow rose, and a frownline appeared at the corner of her mouth, but she held her fury. "I… well, I explained about the situation with Ichika, and she seemed relieved that that was all that was behind it." Chifuyu snorted.

"Yes, petty jealousy between students sets a great example."

"To be frank, Ma'am, she seemed very understanding of this, and assured me she would not throw her hat in the ring, as it were. In fact, once I explained, she seemed to relax a large amount, and was almost buoyant." Chifuyu glowered over her entwined fingers as she thought for a moment.

"She certainly seemed a lot less frosty when I spoke with her this morning. DO you think it is an act?"

"Ma'am?" Houki questioned, thinking she got it, but wanting to be sure before she spoke. Chifuyu sighed again.

"If Miss Chambers decides, at a later date to make a grievance over this, it will no longer solely fall on Miss Alcott, Miss Sarashiki, and myself for negligence. At that point, It could become an international incident, not to mention a mark against the school, even once we file the all the proper reports of the incident. America has been behind in the IS race for a long time now, and the political situation in the light of the recent attacks by Phantom Task and other elements is… delicate. In short, what I am asking is, do you think that this friendly attitude is genuine, and that she considers the matter dropped?" Houki thought for a long minute on the gravity of her input here… and didn't like it.

"Well, Ma'am… I can say the Miss Chambers seemed rather odd to my… but not in a negative fashion. I spent maybe two hours with her… and she seemed friendly and intelligent enough. If she is lying, I would say she is an accomplished actress. She talked fairly candidly, at least, she seemed to. It seemed genuine to me." She added the last part quietly, not because of doubt, but because she worried over the impact of her testimony.

"Very well. I agree with your assessment. Now, for why I called you here. You are currently single occupancy, correct?"

"Yes…" She hesitated, hoping this would be good news.

"Have you spoken to anyone about becoming your roommate?" Houki decided to press her luck.

"No, Ma'am. I assumed I would be moving back into the room with Ichika, now that things have settled down." The look on Miss Orimura's face spelled out the odds of that in large, bold face print.

"I am afraid that is not the case. As the assailants of Phantom Task escaped after that last attack, I would like Miss Sarashiki to remain where she is for the time being." Chifuyu's eyes flicked back and forth quickly, and she let the merest trace of a sly smile touch her lips. "Besides, I would think you wouldn't need the handicap of living with him." She said, almost playfully, cause miss Yamada to giggle, and Houki's cheeks to glow.

"Anyway, how would you feel about Miss Chambers being assigned to the blank bed in your room?"

"I… I do not think that would be intolerable. Why place her there? Wouldn't she be better in the hall with her own class?" Miss Orimura crossed her arms and leaved back in her olid leather chair.

"Miss Chambers inquired into the possibility personally."

"Is this a concession?" She replied, mildly.

"My, aren't you a shrewd one." Houki didn't know why, but this made her feel embarrassed. "Not specifically, though that is not a bad thought. In actuality, Miss Chambers confessed that she has some awkward body modesty taboos that she is very conscious of, that she expressed did not apply to you specifically." She left a pause, so Houki could elaborate.

"Ah, yes. I happened to accidently walk in on her while she was not covered by the sheet. She reacted unfavorably, but seemed to force herself to be comfortable with the fact, rather than get angry."

"Interesting, but is shows of a degree of her character. I've seen her medical records. Poor child. She inquired if you were a possibility after she asked me where she could obtain pants for her uniform, as a skirt was untenable for her condition.

"I have adjusted to stranger, Ma'am. I have no complaints." Chifuyu let out one unguarded smile, and quickly returned to her teachers mask.

"Very good. We'll have her luggage sent over. Can I trust you to show her around if needed? Good. Dismissed."

(…)

The bell to signal the closing of the kitchens echoed through the noisy hallways of the academy as students back from dinner, chatting, or getting back late from club activities that ran over returned to their rooms for the night, or gathered in groups to enjoy a soak in the large open bath. Some still groused about how the newer "Male" bath went mostly unused, now that it had turned out the Charles Dunois turned out to be a pretty girl, rather than a pretty boy, but it had yet to be opened as a spillover for the girls. There were however rumors floating around saying that on occasion, very special permissions for individual girls to use this bath were granted, but no one ever seemed to be able to source this rumor, or find someone who had received this reward.

Houki plopped her butt back down on her bed, after her latest round of pacing, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning deeply. She had not found Catherine, and Catherine did not know where her room was, even though her travel bag and single wheeled case had found their way in. Her initial irk at still being displaced from Ichika's room by Tatenashi via Chifuyu had dissipated in the fact that she had been unable to locate her new roommate, and the thought of the unpleasantness that would follow if she failed at this. After class, she had checked about, with no luck. By the 6 P.M. dinner call, she posted near a doorway, and watched the kitchens and cafeteria for sign of her. But she never came to dinner. Now, at roughly half past 7, she had returned to her room hoping that when she was given the news that they had been approved as roommates, she would have been told where to go. This thought ending, started another round of pacing the room.

Finally, unable to stand the tension of doing nothing but waiting, she left again, came back, left a short note in case Catherine arrived while she was out, and took to asking random people if they knew anything. Finally she hit a clue in the form of Class 4's class representative. She mentioned that during the break, the new girl had been asking about the Maintenance facilities in the school. Houki thanked the girl and left at a trot. Of course, it was so simple she never would have thought about it. What was the first ting an IS pilot did when their unit was damaged beyond its own ability to self-repair? They took it to the shop, because they were basically naked without it in fighting condition. All parts needed to be in working order, or they would not deploy when summoned. And a full deployment was necessary for a proper parse of an IS unit's performance. So naturally, after taking a hit with her Absolute Defense, she would want to fix it. At the meant a trip to…

(…)

The Pit, as it was called, was an area set below the arenas where duels were fought. Each bay, Catherine saw as she entered the cavernous space, was a large room of cells the size of racquetball court, where an IS could be mounted for maintenance and repairs, or mods. She arrived on the heels of the bell that signaled the start of club activities, 5 minutes after the final school bell, and the place was empty. Directly to her left was a poster listing the rules, which consisted mostly of safety tips for tools, don't screw with other peoples areas, and the usual stuff found in machine shops everywhere. There was an old desktop computer on a metal cart, where she was prompted to print a small nametag to clip on the cell she intended to use. She did so, using just "Casey", and walked down the line. To the left and right, the cells loomed, large, three walled concrete rooms with an overhead crane and mounting rack. Most were empty, although the first 6 on each row were earmarked for school training models. She chose cell 8 on the right, because she liked even numbers, and preferred her right side to her currently stiff and lightly achy left. Plus, whoever had been the delivery people with her equipment, had chosen that cell to offload her gear. She clipped her name plate to the placard, shouldered her bag, and then tossed it in a far corner. There were more than a dozen packages, form wooden crates taller then she was, to smaller, metal boxes marked with stickers and seals of Interpol, The DOD, and some seemingly arcane company logos. There was even a small box marked with the mechanical bunny ear symbol that Tabane Shinonono liked to stamp on personal correspondence. Casey smirked at it, because that meant that, financially speaking, the contents of that package was valued higher the all the other packages combined, possibly by a factor of 3. She cracked her knuckles, shrugged out of her uniform jacket, and failing to find a hook, folded it and placed it on her pack. She then did the same with her uniform dress shirt, and the borrowed pants. This left her in her pilot suit, a black affair with gold trim at the left wrist, under the chin, right shoulder, and ankle cuffs where they jointed to the shoe portion. The suit covered all but her face, left hand, and right arm, and was practically skin tight. She removed a white tank top, and pair of old, worn jeans, and threw them on over the suit, and added a fingerless glove to her left hand, effectively covering all her scars, and leaving her looking like an average grease monkey. Satisfied, she found the shipping manifest, and began browsing. She had a lot to do tonight, and a bunch of set up to do before she could even start. She flipped a page, and looked for the first box she needed.

(…)

Honne Nohotoke, Kiyoka Aikawa, and Kaoruko Mayuzumi, (henceforth simply Honne, Kiyoka, and Kaoruko when they are mentioned) Took the steps down to the Pit at a lazy pace after the sheer scale of the meal they had just finished. Honne, usually the perkiest of the trio of maintenance girls, was almost nodding off while she walked. They had to finish tweaking one of the training IS's, but the Newspaper Club ran late because Kaoruko was unable to find the new girl to interview, and Cecilia was reluctant to speak on the subject, and took a subtle technique of flattery, badger, and passive aggressive questioning to spill the relevant information. As such, they had been unable to venture down until after dinner, having had no luck with the new girl.

"Hey, guys… do you hear that?" Kiyoka said, holding up a hand to halt the other two.

"…Yeah… it sounds like it's coming from the Pit." Kaoruko replied slowly, while Honne blinked sleepily. They could all hear a low growl with a thumping beat interspersed rhythmically. Kiyoka moved cautiously forward, and pushed at the swinging metal door that opened into the maintenance bay. It immediately became clear, when exposed to the sound, that it was some form of music with a lot of bass drum in it, and a screeching that was presumably someone singing. They edged closer cautiously, and peered around the corner of the cell that was the epicenter of the noise. The cell seemed almost dark, but the hulk of an IS mounted on the ceiling crane, its gold trim reflecting the hall lights dominated the center of the cell. The entire left side of the machine was a crumpled wreck, the center torso and arm completely gone, along with the left wing. The left legs plating was cracked and scored, and burns and uneven melts marked all the broken edges. The girls got the impression from it that the pilot should not have been on her feet, much less working on it.

Large metal cabinets, still will stickers marking their construction order were lined along the left wall, and the right hand wall held closest to the hall, a large corkboard, followed by a wire grid full of hooks and tools. The far back wall had another wire grid stretched across it, but mounted her were 16 four point star objects hung in 3 rows of 4. Wires wove across the grid and connected to ports on the lower right arm of each star, and a blue light glowed on the 3rd one in the top row. The ceiling mounted lights that normally illuminated the cell had crude metal baffles over them, effectually eliminating the lighting. In its place, a strip of flexible cable was threaded around the floor where the walls met, and where the walls and ceiling met, and could be illuminated to provide a bottom up lighting to the entire room. On each wall, two high powered spot lamps mounted on jointed, telescoping arms, with dual bulbs, one for white light, one for black light.

Finally, upon a square cart with several drawers, a new age transparent screen computer was mounted, and leaning heavily on it, the glowing screen illuminating her face in the dark cell, was the new student. It was Kaoruko who took the first step forward and as her foot entered the space, a laser relay was interrupted, and the loud music dropped to a subtle background whisper. Started, the girl in the corner shuffled quickly, closing what she had been looking at, then whipping around and standing at rigid attention. She pressed a control and a tablet clipped to her waist, and all the lighting strips glowed up slowly until the room was awash in an even, indirect lighting that left no real shadows. Startled herself, Kaoruko took a jerky step back, and as her leg left the cell, the music returned to full blaring life. Catherine killed it with another tap on her tablet.

"Oh… hello." Catherine said, breathlessly. Honne, observant as she was, peeked over her hands, brought together in their long sleeves.

"What were you doing back there?" She asked, her personal innocent tone coloring the words in neutral flavor.

"I wasn't playing Katawa Shoujo, if that is what you are asking." She said, slightly red.

"That sounds… not good." Kiyoka added with a frown at the image the slang conjured.

"You'd think so, but it is actually quite charming. So, what can I help you ladies with?" She smiled in a strained way.

"Oh, we didn't mean to bother you. We were just surprised to find anyone else down here." Catherine giggled embarrassedly.

"Ah, sorry. Am… am I not supposed to be down here?"

"Oh, no, you're fine. Besides, with the damage sustained, it makes sense you'd head down here first opportunity. It's just usually us three, that's all." Honne said amicably, and then gathered the other two by eye. "I am going to go and get started, so I can go to bed." She turned, and walked back to the 4th cell on the left to the machine they had been working on.

"Wait, I am coming too!" Kiyoka called, and hurried over.

"This may seem a stupid question, but you are the new student from America, yes?" Kaoruko asked, adjusting her glasses on the bridge of her nose as her quarry was located and her journalism mode kicked on.

"Yep." She answered simply.

"There has been a lot of talk about you." She said, hungrily, then remembered herself. "Ah, sorry, my name is Kaoruko Mayuzumi, and I am on the school newspaper. Could I bother you for an interview?" Catherine crossed her arms an thought about it.

"I… suppose…" She answered hesitantly. "It's not going to be a bunch of leading questions and a smear campaign, is it?" Kaoruko looked indignant.

"I should say not!" She gave an offended sniff.

"Very well, then, I consent." Kaoruko materialized a notebook and pen in her hand, and cracked it open with a motion well practiced.

"Alright, then. First, may I have your name?" She asked, already scribbling out the framework of the article, knowing her questions, and leaving space for her own personal shorthand.

"Catherine Elizabeth Chambers." She answered, and moved over to the biggest and most solid of her cabinets. She opened it, revealing some sturdy drawers, and a waist high shelf with a coffee machine bubbling on it. "Can I offer you some coffee?" She offered, gesturing with a shrug as she fixed a cup for herself.

"Oh! Why do you put it in there?" Kaoruko asked, moving deeper into the cell, and looking at the machine. "And Yes, Please." She added.

"Because this…" She pounded a fist hard on the inner wall of the cabinet, the fluid in the pot didn't even ripple, "is the most stable spot in the cell, and I can keep it covered.

"Clever… thank you." She tucked her notebook under her arm and accepted the offered cup. She noticed there was powdered cream and sugar, and mixed in her choice. She sipped it, found it satisfactory, and placed it on the shelf as she redrew her pad. "You seem very comfortable here. May I ask how you managed to set up so much so quickly?"

"Well, back home… er… in the U.S. that is, my brother basically lived in a machine shop we had on the property. So, I pretty much did too. We had cots and everything set up, so if we slept in the house more then maybe, two nights a week, I can't remember it.

"You brother enjoyed working?" She continued, having finished scribbling almost before Catherine had finished talking.

"Heh, liked doesn't really cover it. Most of the time, I almost had to force food down him. If I didn't watch, he'd forget to eat, and only used the restroom because I threatened to kill him if he actually tried to regress into diapers." She said with a fond laugh. "Yeah. He really loved his field. He designed most of my Tesla, and I built him. He did the smart stuff, and I did the sweaty part." She let out a contented sigh of remembrance.

"And this was a government sponsored core that your IS is built around.

"Oh, goodness no. We had the thing built, and Everret, my brother, would periodically mail designs and ideas to Tabane Shinonono when he thought he'd gotten onto something truly awesome. And, surprisingly, instead of a cease and desist, she sent him a bleeding core and revised and improved designs based on the ones he had sent her."

"Interesting. Now, if I may change the subject, about your battle yesterday…" Catherine held her hand up to cut off the reporter.

"All I will say about that is that the injury was an accident, and there are no negative feelings on my side of the issue." She said firmly enough that even Kaoruko's journalistic desire to press forward was dampened.

"Okay, then, can I quote that? Excellent. Alright… lastly, how do you like the school so far?"

"Well, I haven't been here long enough to for a real opinion, but I like what I've seen up to this point." She said, and shrugged again. "Yeah, sorry, that's all I have." Kaoruko smiled understandingly.

"That's perfectly alright. It's just a filler question, anyway. This should give me enough to craft an article. Thank you." She gave a very small bow, flipped closed her notebook, and tucked it away. "Now, I think I should go help my friends." Catherine gave her a sunny smile.

"Of course, thanks for visiting, and I look forward to seeing what you write." Kaoruko took a step back and then turned, grabbing her coffee, and then retreating back to the hallway. As she moved into the cell with Honne and Kiyoka, the music from the American's cell resumed.

(…)

It took a little longer than they thought it would to get the whole of the problem with the training IS rectified, so it was around 7 when they had it all back together, and flagged to be returned to storage.

"Hey, Kaoruko, that was the new girl, yeah?" Kiyoka asked. She had been one of the few girls in their year that had missed the excitement in the arena the day before.

"Yeah, it was." She answered, wiping her hands on a rag.

"Her unit is pretty badly tore up… should we offer to help her?"

"I thought you wanted to go to bed." Honne countered, looking blank.

"Well, yeah, but… I'd still feel bad if we didn't at least offer

"I know. Kaoruko, do you agree?"

"I have no problems. I'm going to be up for a while regardless."

"Alright, then, let's go!" Honne said, raising a sleeve ensconced arm cheerfully, having worked of some of her post consumptive apathy. They moved as a trio back over to the loud cube of dark, where the girl was again hunched over, staring at the glowing screen of her flat glass monitor. When they entered, and again broke the relay that cut the volume on the music, she did not jump in surprise. She turned with a smile, and walked over.

"What's up, ladies?" Honne, despite her small size and timid appearance, was often the mouthpiece for the trio in situations like this, because of her boisterous and unassailable cheeriness. Kiyoka didn't contribute unless she had something to add, and Kaoruko was friendly, but only ever really butted in when she smelled a juicy story.

"Miss, we were wondering if you might need any help with your own machine." Honne asked, her in her lightly spacy tone.

"Oh, no, there is nothing you could do." Catherine said it simply, and without rancor, but instantly the girls eyes narrowed and the hair on the back of neck rose as the impingement on their prowess hit their nerves. Catherine noticed and looked puzzled, then her eyes flew wide and her hands came up apologetically. "No, no, sorry, that's not the way I meant that. I am so sorry, I still struggle with connotation in my own tongue, and the nuances in your language are a whole different kind of thing."

"Connotation?" Kiyoka said with a trace of frost.

"It's the flavoring a word has based on the culture using it. Like a shade of meaning. It's like how slick and slimy can be used to describe the same thing, but slimy conjures a gross image." Kaoruko added, words being her field.

"Yeah," Catherine said, hopefully, "I did not mean what I realized I implied. What I mean is, "there is nothing anyone can do right now."" The girls no longer emitted the aura of hostility they had a second ago, but were by no means mollified.

"What do you mean…" Honne asked, suspicion clear. Catherine motioned them over, and they moved deeper into the cell, past the suspended IS, to the back, where she indicated the wall with the star magnets mounted. The blue light was glowing near the cable in the fourth unit, now.

"Alright. As I was injured yesterday," Kaoruko twitched in a way that almost looked as if she wanted to grab her notebook, but was barely suppressed, "I am not going to start on any of the wiring or plating, or actuators, or any of that heavy stuff today. But, 1 of my magnets was destroyed, and needed to be replaced, 3 were obviously damaged, and all 16 need to be tested and adjusted if necessary. So basically, all I am doing is running diagnostic tests, and adjusting where necessary. This is on all 16 units, and I am on number 4, and that is just of the new ones that I had mothballed. So it's basically just waiting for each unit to be tested, pulling down one if it needs correction, adjusting it, and then remounting to test. It's just tedium at this point, so while I really appreciate the offer, there is nothing to do."

"Ah, okay, that makes sense. How long does each one take to test?" Honne asked.

"About 45 minutes to run the necessary number of redundant tests."

"Wow, just to test the one thing?"

"Oh, my no. Inside each of the superstructures are sixteen bar magnets that need be aligned with micrometer gauge precision. So run the tests 24 time per adjustment, to make sure that they work every time, because I cannot afford to depend on it, unless I am certain it will work." She unclipped the data pad from her hip, keyed it, and held it up. A waveform chart showed fluctuating red, blue and yellow lines waving around a static green wave. In large text, "7 of 24" was hovering over a progress bar that was slowly advancing. Under this, it showed a schematic of the star shaped magnet, with rectangles outlined in orange, and a green color overcoming the ones that were being tested.

"Each one had to be tested separately to ensure its conducting properly, and then in sequence, to make sure the flow lines don't compete. So really, it's 24 x 16 x 16, and that's only if they work perfectly every time." If there is an error, discrepancy, or unknown, it rejects it, and I have to correct, then retest. So it is mostly just ridiculously tedious."

"My god!" Honne said, her hand to her mouth and her eyes cracking wide. "Why would you bring such finicky equipment out into combat?" Her voice was dripping with shock. Catherine shrugged, and gave a wan smile.

"Well, it's not like it's life or death out there. And besides, all new gear is finicky and delicate in its experimental phase. But sensitive equipment needs lots of maintenance, so it's necessary." She lovingly stroked the battered metal of her mount. "But all of that is just the first line. I'm not going to spoil it, you'll have to wait and see until I get out into some fights I am actually allowed to fight in." Her smile turned from soft to predatory. "You may be surprised at what I do."

(…)

Houki pushed open the door a little before 8, and was disappointed to not immediately see her target, and would have analyzed why she expected this odd possibility if it were not for the assault of the loud music on her sense of thinking. As she moved deeper into the pit, she cast her eyes around at the empty sells, the one training IS marked for moving, and the overwhelming thunder of the music. When she arrived, and looked into the dark cell with the mounted IS of the girl she was looking for, she didn't see anyone, just a faintly glowing rectangle in the back corner. She stepped inside, and the music immediately dropped to a whisper. She was stunned by the change, and after a few seconds heard a voice for the far end of the hall, after cell row twelve, call out.

"Hey, whoever is over there, we're down here in the lounge!" Houki, who was inexplicably embarrassed, as if she had been caught snooping, exited as the music pounded at her back as it resumed. She moved quickly, and arrived in the small terminus that was not quite cell, but was slightly bigger. Boxes, lockers, and other spare parts were commonly stored here, but there was also a water cooler and a half a dozen chairs. 4 of them were filled with girls drinking coffee. Three of them Houki recognized from her class, though just by sight on one, and the other was the girl she sought, obviously telling a story that the others found interesting.

"…so, I get off the train, and the station is moderately crowded, but seeing as it's like, midnight, it's mostly dead heads, graveyard workers, meth heads, and the usual smattering of homeless people. So when I see this guy walking toward me, not in a fast food uniform, looking alert, I know something is up. I thought, oh, it must be a fan, here to try and get a looksee before the match. Well… not quite. He pulls a gun, and BAM, shoots me." She pointed to a ridged scar that crossed the outside edge of her shoulder. The other girls, and Houki, all looked aghast, but Catherine laughed.

"Ah, poor little bastard was a crap shot. I don't think he knew, either, because he sure looked surprised that I didn't fall down. So, I guess I must have pulled an Andy "Old Hickory" Jackson, for next thing I know, I am being pulled off him, my shoulder and hands sore, having beat this poor sod half to death. I guess I was lucky a by standard stayed to testify that the guy shot first, I had beat him so badly, the Cops thought I had started it."

"My god, that's crazy!" Honne said, her hands clutched at her mouth.

"Yeah, why'd he do that?" The other two asked. Houki took this moment to sit down too, having forgotten why she had come. Catherine shrugged like this was an ordinary, boring story.

"Oh, it turned out he was a supporter of Chelsea Whitman, who it just so happened was my opponent in the finals 2 days later, and he wanted to make sure his girl won."

"Did she?" All four asked. Catherine made a noise of stark denial, and leaned back casually.

"Pfft, no flipping way. That match circled on the internet for a while under the title "Saint Valentine's Day Massacre II: The de-bitchening." She said, with an almost arrogant smile.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… you mean the Chambers V. Whitman bout from 2 years ago?"

"Yeah, won me the RC title."

"That was you!?" Kaoruko said, almost scared. "That is still regarded as one of the most brutal fights between IS pilots ever fought." Catherine huffed.

"Bitch should have not had crazy fans. Besides, her arm wasn't in there when I removed it, anyway. Bloggers didn't have their facts straight. Plus, she was only in the hospital for two days." There was quiet for a second, the Kiyoka rose.

"Well, as thrilling as this was, I think I will turn in. Thank you for the coffee, it was nice to meet you." She bowed, and Cathrine made a polite reply, as her other two friends joined and left. Catherine turned a happy smile to Houki.

"Hi there. What brings you down here at tonight?" She asked lightly.

"Was looking for you. Didn't see you at dinner." She replied, wondering if she should comment on the story she had just heard. Catherine looked her over with a raised brow.

"Looking out for me? Should I be flattered?"

"Well, Miss Orimura did ask me to keep an eye on you. In a friendly way, of course."

"Of course. But I skipped, wasn't hungry, and I can always eat later. So you just hunted me down because to be friendly?" She didn't say it with any suspicion, but Houki felt like it anyway, as an extension of her failing to locate Casey earlier.

"Well, that, and to show you to your new room assignment." Catherine looked slightly crestfallen at this, but covered it well.

"Oh? An you know who I drew? Please tell me she's not a total bitch." She said, with desperate hope in her voice. Houki decided to engage in one of the very rare instances when she had a sense of humor.

"Well, to be perfectly honest, she can be, at times. But I think you'll be able to get along alright. Shall we go?" Catherine looked slightly nervous, but then mastered herself, and forced her calm back, and let her face relax.

"Nah. It's okay. You can just give me the room number, and I'll find my way there when I finish up here." She said, lifting up her data pad and examining it briefly. Most girls at the academy tended to retire between 9 and 10, which wasn't far off.

"I'll wait. When do you think you will be done?" Casey again examined her data pad, doing some basic calculations in her head.

"Oh, if nothing goes wrong… let us say about 1."

"What!?" Houki exclaimed. "What do you mean, one? Like, one A.M.?"

"Yeah." Catherine replied with a hint of boredom. "That will leave me with 4 to check tomorrow."

"That is unacceptable!" Houki, who required her 8 hours minimum for proper function, recoiled at the thought of the closer to 5 hours Catherine was planning for. Less, if she planned to eat and shower before then. Or after. Either way, it was far to little sleep for Houki's comfort. "You cannot possibly get all the sleep you need on that schedule!" Catherine shrugged noncommittally.

"It balances, I sleep best in class, anyway." Judging by the look on Houki's face, she did not appreciate this joke. (Not that it fully was a joke, mind you.) So Catherine checked her pad, signaled to end testing when the part it was on finished, in 30 seconds, and keyed it for standby, so she could pick it up tomorrow.

"Alright, Alright. You win. I'll stop here, and pick it up tomorrow. Just need five minutes to clean up, and put all the systems to sleep. That suit?"

"Oh, okay." Houki said, having to clamp down and banish the bluster she was preparing to vent. Houki watched as Catherine deftly moved about her own space, shutting down or switching to standby all the system she was using, and put away her tools. Houki had been rebuffed in her offer to help, for the simple fact that Catherine could do her clean up faster if she wasn't constantly being jostled by someone unfamiliar with where she kept things.

Catherine was clearly apprehensive as they approached the room, and Houki was a bit pleased with herself for having thought to have a little fun. Being stressed over fighting the other girls and competing over Ichika left her very little chances to exercise her mostly stagnant humor.

"Here we are. Go ahead." Catherine moved slowly up to the door, and Houki noticed that the nameplates next to the door read "Shinonono" and "Chambers." But Catherine didn't seem to notice this, and knocked. There was, as predicted, no answer. "Oh, just go in already." Houki said, irked her plan had been ruined.

"I guess she's not here…" Catherine muttered, and opened the door.

"What do you mean? You saw the nameplate, I am your roommate. Your request was approved." Catherine looked shocked, then pleased and relieved.

"Oh, sweet! I had no idea."

"Why not?" Casey looked embaressed.

"Well, it's an old stereotype that American's always think all Asians look alike and are related. So, I kind of just… don't associate name real well. I was trying to avoid making racist assumptions."

End 3.