Chapter 11; Aftermath

The ride back was awkward, to say the lease. Maylin sat with Tabane and Chifuyu, talking with them about lord knows what, since any attempt to eaves-drop was thwarted immediately. Rather than talking with anyone, Simon had decided to take one of the seats towards the back. Putting his ear buds in, he did his best to emit an air of do-not-disturb as he closed his eyes and tried to make sense of the past two days. While he didn't realize it, Cecilia glanced at him several times during the trip, conflicted over respecting his obvious desire for privacy, and going to him to try and work out what they were both thinking.

Once they had arrived at the Academy, Simon and Ichika decided to return to their room rather than stay with the girls. Once they arrived at their room, it was to find Tatenashi sitting on Simon's bed and looking rather bored. The moment they walked into the room, she lept from the bed and was immediately in Simon's face. "I need you, right now" She said before grabbing the back of his collar and dragging him from the room. Rather than trying to fight back, Simon said to Ichika, "You tell anyone about this, you're a dead man." When they arrived at the elevator, she released Simon, allowing him to turn around. "Okay, what's so important that you needed to break into my room and drag me away like that?" he asked, already worried about what this could do if Rin or Cecilia found out.

"Family" she answered simply as the elevator arrived. She stepped into it and just stood there, waiting. Whether she knew it or not, that particular topic was one of a handful of ways to get Simon to help, no questions asked. He joined her as the doors slid closed and asked, "I'm going to need a bit more information than that." Taking a deep breath, she explained, "My sister has been trying to put together her own IS, but she hasn't made much headway. She needs help, but she won't accept it from me." "Why not?" "Simon, you know the family I come from," she said, finally looking at him, "We're expected to excel at everything. My sister tried as hard as I did, but because of my natural talent and how well I can work with others, she quickly slipped into my shadow." She didn't need to explain any more for Simon to grasp the problem. This girl was trying to prove herself, but she was stuck with a prodigy for an older sister.

"So, where do I come into this?" he asked. "I would like you to help her the way you helped Ichika" she said, smiling as she turned back to stare at the door, "But, don't tell her that I asked you to." "My lips are sealed" Simon said as the doors opened and he stepped out of the car. "She's in the IS hanger, bay 7" Tatenashi called out as the doors closed. The things I do for friends Simon thought as he left the building. However, this would provide Simon with a nice distraction from the thoughts that had been eating away at him since getting back from the resort. He noticed that Maylin had made the trip back with them, but that Tabane and Chifuyu had taken her off to Chifuyu's office the moment they arrived. Clearly, there was more they needed to get from the girl before she could interact with the rest of them.

Arriving at the IS hanger, he quickly found his way to the bay where Tatenashi's sister had set up her workshop. Walking in, he noticed that it was hardly in use; only two of the stations actually had equipment set up at them, and only one had an IS. At first, he thought it was one of the Academy's Uchigane, but looking closer he saw that the wings had been modified to be longer and a bit more rectangular. Some kind of missile system, or maybe cannons he thought as he walked over to the other equipped station. Summoning his IS before him in stand-by, he decided that working on his own unit was a better way of getting her attention than just walking up behind her.

Bringing up the schematics on one of the larger screens, he made sure it was turned so that she could see it if she looked over and bought up his bit system. Grabbing the test collar he kept with his equipment, he quickly put it on and made sure it plugged into the port correctly before he activated the system. He then went through some of the thought controlled systems; unfolding the wings and manipulating them the way he did in flight, as well as deploying and docking the fangs. Bringing one of them forward, he decided on one of his more challenging exercises as he deployed the blade and tried balancing it on his finger. He briefly noticed that the girl was watching him now before turning his attention fully to the fang before him. The tip of the blade just barely made contact with his finger, causing a brief pain as the skin was slightly burned. He then focused on keeping the bit perfectly level.

After mentally counting two minutes, he returned the bit to the IS and examined his finger. Sensing someone behind him, he noticed that she had gotten up and was looking at the burn on his finger. "W-why would you do that?" she asked. Clearly not used to social interactions he thought as he undid the clip on his collar and took it off. "To make sure my concentration is right for the control I need" he answered, placing the collar on the table and facing her fully. At this, she shrank back a few steps and clasped her hands in front of her. She's scared of me? He wondered, noticing that she had averted her gaze and also hunched over slightly. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean t-to pry." She said, turning to leave. "So, what kind of IS are you working on?" he asked, trying to keep the conversation going. "I d-doubt you w-would understand." She mumbled as she made to leave. Crossing his arms, he responded, "The machine you see behind me was built by yours truly, you know." That ought to get her attention.

And it did, because she stopped and turned back, her eyes brimming with a million questions. Instead of talking, sense that clearly wasn't her strong suit, he motioned to the monitor and nodded. She walked up to it and looked at it for a moment before flipping through the different sections of the schematic. Smiling, he just stood there as she looked through the plans, sensing that she was probably one of a handful of people that could fully grasp the design of his machine. Finally, she looked up and said, "There's a component missing." Knowing full well what she meant, he turned around and pulled the hair on the back of his head up, revealing his Interface plug. She walked up behind him, then stopped, asking "M-may I?" "It's sturdier than it looks." He responded. Gently, she touched the back of his neck and the area around the plug. He could even feel her breath as she leaned in to look at it closer. Then, about 5 seconds later, he heard an "Eep" before she quickly jumped back. Turning back around, he saw that she was blushing rather badly. Deciding to spare her any further embarrassment, he walked over to the screen and brought up the neural system.

"It's okay, you know. I'm not going to say anything" he said without turning around, "So, want to tell me why you're here alone?" She just stood there with her hands clasped in front of her, looking squarely at the wall with her cheeks still rather red. Sighing, Simon decided to try another approach. "How about we start with names? I'm Simon Felix" he said, leaning back on the table. After shuffling her feet for a moment, she answered, "Kanzashi Sarashiki." "Well, Kanzashi, since I've shown you mine, how about showing me yours?" She just blushed harder at that, and Simon mentally slapped himself for the phrasing he used. "Your IS, I mean" he corrected, thinking I'm really glad Rin isn't here. Thinking about it, she nodded and walked over to her own IS.

The paint job was a lot of light blue and white, reminding him of ice. While she brought up the schematics on one of the screens, Simon noticed a lot of hand-drawn plans on the table and picked them up, sifting through them. "Ah! Th-those are-" "Hand-drawn notes on IS systems" he said, finishing it for her, "Very well done, too. I've only ever been able to work out these kinds of problems on a computer." Looking up, he saw that she was, again, looking at the ground. Wow, this is going to be interesting. "You don't have to lie, I know they aren't very good" she said, looking more depressed than anything. "You clearly haven't seen me draw. I'm lucky if it ends up looking normal, let alone this kind of detail" he said, turning back to the plans. "You're trying to work out a missile targeting system from scratch?"

This caught her off guard, and she looked up, surprised that he understood the notes that well. Normally, the other students just dismissed her work, saying she would be better off with one of the programs the Academy can provide. "Y-yes, but I'm not getting very far" she admitted, "The system can't seem to configure more than 6 missiles at a time." "So, it can't handle multiple projectiles at once?" Simon said, putting the plans back down. Thinking a moment, he walked back over to his station and copied some data from his own IS before returning and handing the memory stick to Kanzashi. Looking at the stick for a moment, she then looked at him in confusion before plugging it into her own terminal. She was surprised to see that it was a copy of the control system he used for his fangs. "B-but, I can't use this" she said, turning back to him. "No, but the system on my IS keeps me from sending conflicting signals. It should work well as a base, though" he said.

Suddenly understanding what he meant, she gathered the notes on her control system and started breaking both them and Simon's own control system down. After a moment, he walked over to the IS and started rebuilding the system as she walked him through the changes. It turned into a full-blown conversation where her stutter disappeared. She was clearly more comfortable talking tech than trying to talk normally. After a time, Simon noticed that he didn't hear anything going on behind him and turned to see that Kanzashi had fallen asleep on the table. Looking at his watch, he realized that it was 10:40. Damn, no wonder I'm so tired he thought as he got up and walked over to the table. Kanzashi was sound asleep, and he had to admit that she looked rather cute. Shaking his head, he leaned down and eased her chair back. After looking her up in the dorm registry, he got her onto his back and carried her back to the dorms.

After spending a few minutes figuring out how to work the elevator controls, he managed to press the right button for the sixth floor with his elbow. Shifting her weight, which was less than he would have thought, he peeked out of the doors as they opened. The last thing he needed was for someone to spread a rumor about him and this girl. Seeing the floor was clear, he hurried to her room and used his foot to knock. This will be an interesting conversation he thought as he heard the roommate coming to open the door. "Do you have any idea what time…it…is…" she said, trailing off as she saw Simon holding a sleeping Kanzashi. "Yeah, sorry, but I figured it was better for her to sleep here rather than the maintenance bay" he said, edging past her and moving for the beds, "So, which belongs to her?" Without a word, the roommate pointed to the closer of the two beds. Setting her down and saying a quick goodbye, he left the room and made his way back to the elevator.

After suffering through the classes for the day, Simon decided to check the bay to see if Kanzashi had made any progress. The moment he entered the room and she saw him, however, she "eeped" and hid behind her terminal. The roommate must have told her what happened he thought as he walked over. "I'm not going to bite you, Kanzashi" he said as he stopped in front of the terminal. She peeked over it, but still had a rather bad blush on her cheeks. "S-she said th-that you…you and I…" she stammered back. Sighing, he explained what had happened last night and made clear that nothing inappropriate had happened. While this seemed to put her at ease, she still had a slight blush as he turned back to her IS. "So, what are you working on today?" he asked, picking up a wrench and walking over to it.

This quickly turned into a routine where Simon would help her modify the IS almost every day. Almost a week passed before someone finally decided to find out what the blonde was doing. Unfortunately, that someone was Cecilia. After following him at a discreet distance, she peeked around the door into the bay and saw him helping Kanzashi with her IS. The two were talking, and even occasionally laughing, which caused Cecilia's temper to flare. How dare that girl make a move on her man! Walking into the bay, she looked rather pissed as Simon looked up and saw her. Ah, crap he thought as she glared daggers at him. Kanzashi just hid behind her monitor, clearly terrified of the British girl. "So this is where you've been going?" she said, stopping in front of him with her arms crossed.

Sighing, Simon put his tools aside and stood up. "Before you start, I'm only helping her build this IS. Nothing more" he explained, trying to keep his voice level. "Is that right? Then what's this I hear about you carrying her back at night?" she demanded, moving closer and looking ready to shoot him. "We work late sometimes, okay?" Clearly not what she wanted to hear sense she had summoned a laser bit at this. Rather than trying to dodge the laser, he continued, "Did you know that her IS was sidelined in order for the company to build Ichika's?" That seemed to stop her cold as she looked over at Kanzashi, who was watching them over the monitor. "She's supposed to be the Representative Candidate of Japan," he explained, "but when Ichika came around, they shelved her planned IS in favor of building one for one of the first male pilot."

After glaring at him for another few seconds, Cecilia dismissed the laser bit and walked away, saying, "I hear about anything questionable, you will be punished." While she would have loved to actually figure out why that bone-head was ignoring her, now was not the time. "I-is she always like that?" Kanzashi asked, finally coming out from behind her station. "Not normally, but we're not exactly in a good place right now" Simon said as he turned back to her. "Maybe we should stop for today?" She nodded before leaving the bay herself, although she looked back at him briefly. Simon left not too long after, but ended up running into Rin when he left the building. "There you are, idiot" she said, grabbing his sleeve and dragging him along with her. "Where's the fire?" he demanded, trying to get free. "My new roommate is driving me crazy, asking all kinds of questions about you. I can't take it anymore."

Before he could ask who she meant, she had dragged him to one of the plazas on the campus, and he saw that it was none other than Maylin waiting for them. Upon seeing them approach, she looked away with a slight blush dusting her cheeks. Goddamnit, I do not need this today he thought. However, Rin's grip was like iron as she pulled him over to the bench and said, "Here, you can ask him yourself" before walking away, leaving the two staring after her. Turning back to her, Simon saw that she was still unwilling to meet his gaze. Sighing, he sat down on one of the benches and said, "So, what did you want to know?" Maylin sat on the other end of the bench, looking down at her hands. Her uniform had been modified to a version like Cecilia's, although it was a bit shorter. After watching her fiddle with her dress for a while, he decided to continue. "You know, I would have thought that you would know more about me than even I do, since you're from the future and all" he said, looking up at the sky.

"Actually, I do not. Mother did not speak about you often," she said, still unwilling to look at him, "And when she did, it was not always in great detail." "So I'm not around in your future?" he asked, looking back at her and receiving a shake of the head. Well, damn, that's depressing he thought. "Well, what did she tell you about me?" "She said that you were a marvelous pilot, a great engineer, and a very good friend" she said, finally looking up, although she did still blush a little. "Well, how about I fill in some of the gaps?" he offered. Simon then proceeded to tell her as much of his story that he could bear. All the while she sat there politely, listening to every word.

"So, how is it that you know Italian?" she finally asked. Smiling, he answered, "My grandmother's mother was Italian. She believed that we should stay in touch with our roots, so she taught my sister and me." She just nodded, letting the silence that followed stretch on for a bit. "Can I ask you a question now?" Simon asked, turning to her. "It would only be fair." "What happens to me?" Maylin grew quiet at that, looking down at her hands. After thinking for a few minutes, she answered, "You died, two years after I was born." Simon took a moment to fully process that, trying to keep his face impassive. However, based on the look she was giving him, he wasn't succeeding. "Can I ask how?" he asked after some time.

"I am not sure of the details, but you and two others died when the Gospel made its first real move" she explained, "After that particular battle, the survivors fractured and went their separate ways. Mother took me back home and focused on protecting Britain." While he was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to be telling him any of this, he wasn't about to interrupt her. "I spent most of my early life in the estate, and only began IS training when it became clear mother could not dissuade me from it. She…" At this point, she stopped and looked on the verge of tears. Simon could guess where this was heading and he wasn't looking forward to it, but at the same time there was a part of him that had to know. "She died, to, didn't she?" he asked, feeling his voice break. Maylin just nodded, and Simon felt like his world had just been thrown off-kilter. "And the other two who died with me?" "The French woman, Charlotte, when she defended Ichika from an attack from one of their IS, the Red Fairy," she answered, her voice already cracking and tears starting to run down her face, "And Ichika when he challenged the Red Fairy shortly after."

Rather than continue the conversation, he moved closer to her and put his arm around her shoulder. Maylin turned to him and buried her head in his chest just as she started to cry. "I miss her, Simon. I miss her so much" she sobbed. He just sat there, knowing full well the kind of pain she was feeling, and knowing full well there was nothing he could say to ease it.

The next day, Simon's class learned that another team-based tournament was going to be held at the end of their first semester. After giving it some thought, he knew exactly who to ask to be his partner. Once class was dismissed, he bolted for the door rather than give anyone a chance to ask him to partner with them. After a brief walk, he found the right classroom and waited as the students filed past. Most of them took little notice of him, one of the perks of being at the school for so long, but finally he saw the person he had been waiting on. "Kanzashi, you got a moment?" he asked as she left the room. While she looked startled that he would be waiting for her outside the room, she nodded. They walked out of the building and along the pathways for a bit in silence, just enjoying the day, although she was enjoying more than that.

"Do you have a partner for the tournament yet?" Simon asked finally, breaking her out of a slight daydream. Rather than answer him, she just shook her head as she felt her cheeks warming up a bit. This boy had made the effort to get to know her, something few had ever done before, and she definitely felt something strange for him over that. "How about pairing with me, then?" he asked, causing her to stop and look at him in confusion. She hadn't really planned on entering it in the first place, her IS wasn't nearly ready for that kind of test. When she told him, Simon just snickered as he continued to walk towards the hangers. "Then we're going to have to make it ready, aren't we?" Smiling, she hurried to catch up to him. Damn, his enthusiasm must be contagious.

However, before they could get to the bay that held their IS, Cecilia and Rin stopped them with looks of suspicion. "Hello, Simon" Cecilia said, crossing her arms. What he had done, or not done, to make her appear this mad was beyond him. "How was your talk with Maylin the other day?" Rin asked, clearly a little wary of Cecilia's change in attitude. "It was…informative, to say the least" he said, "Have you talked with her yet, Cecilia?" "And why would I do that? Because she claims I am her mother?" she shot back with a little ice in her voice. Finally, Simon took note of how she was standing; her arms crossed, her shoulders back and her weight on one foot. Even though he had only seen it a few times, he clearly recognized her don't-screw-with-me stance. "Kanzashi, would you like to take Rin and show her what you've been working on?" Simon said. While she didn't quite take the hint, Rin did. She walked over and grabbed Kanzashi, and with a concerned look at her friends she led her towards the bay.

After they had left, and Simon made sure no-one else was in the hallway with them, he turned to Cecilia and asked, "Is there something you want to ask me, princess?" "How about why you seem to be avoiding me?" "I'm not avoiding you, I've just had other things on my mind." "Like flirting with the sister of the student council president?" she shot back, causing Simon to falter slightly. "That's what you think this is? I'm just helping her with her IS. There's nothing else going on." "How do I know that? You haven't talked with me about anything sense we came back, Simon" she said, he demeanor finally starting to thaw. However, that last part, for some reason, hit a nerve with Simon. "What would you like to talk about then, huh? How about the fact that your daughter is here, someone that I, apparently, never get to meet?"

She looked a bit shocked at this, taking a step back and letting her arms drop. "Wh-what are you talking about? Of course you would have met her" she said, clasping her hands in front of her. "Really? Cause according to her I died two years after she was born. Which is just one of the little bomb shells she dropped on me about our future" he said, practically throwing it into her face. While he knew that he was going to feel terrible about this latter, for some reason he was pissed-off. While it wasn't about her, she was the closest target, and damnit, he couldn't keep this bottled-up much longer without chocking. "Or how about how two of our friends also died fighting these things? Would you like to hear how Ichika and Charlotte met their end?" he continued, no longer yelling at her, but more just shouting at the air in general, "And the best part? It appears that my sister is the one responsible for all this shit! I didn't even know she was still alive, and she's going to be responsible for the deaths of three of my closest friends."

"What do you mean three?" Cecilia asked, noting the number. He had only mentioned two, but at hearing her question, he stopped dead and looked down. His anger had completely burned itself out by that point, the question like a hard slap. Turning towards the bay door, he said, "Nothing," before walking towards the door. "Simon" she called out, reaching out to stop him. "Cecilia, please, I just need some time. Okay?" he said, the pain clear in his voice. With that, he opened the door and walked into the bay, leaving behind a very hurt girl and feeling lower then pond scum for it.

Is this a crack opening up in their relationship? Will it ever be fixed? Can they avoid the fate they seem destined for? You'll have to wait till the next chapter. God, I feel like such an asshole ending on this note, but I can promise at least one of these issues will be resolved in the next chapter.