Chapter Two:

Trial

The air was still, the crowd quiet with rapt attention. The arena had been scarred by the battle before them, wrought by the combatants that had fought for the title of Class Representative. One note of importance was that one of the combatants had finally been defeated, who was none other than Cecilia Alcott. Her defeat brought up questions as to who actually bested her. Some had believed that Arthur had used Cecilia's greatest strength against her, while others insisted that during the grand assault Ichika used his mysterious One-Off Ability to bring her down.

Among the speculation, the only conclusion was that the males had worked together to defeat her before facing off. For the one who dealt the final blow was known only to the fighters themselves as they gazed at their handiwork below them. Her IS gone, Cecilia's body lied within the crater caused by her landing. Ichika looked over to Arthur, who was still observing the unmoving girl stoically. Before he could a word out, Arthur turned to him fully with a semi-solid battle stance and spoke, "It's only us now, Ichika. What will you do? Your shield points are quite low right now. If we fight, there's no guarantee that you will win. I've made sure to wear the two of you through a battle of attrition. Should you choose to fight, I will not hesitate to defeat you as quickly as possible. This is your only chance to decide and if you do not, I will do so for you. Now, choose."

Ichika bit his lip as he stared back at Arthur, trying to decide on his final course of action for the match. After a few seconds, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply while calming himself. He opened his eyes and glared hard at Arthur, shouting in defiance, "So what if you have the advantage! I'll beat everything you have to throw at me! I won't quit now, not while I can still fight!" Arthur gave an appraised look at him before asking, "Are you sure about this?" Ichika nodded and replied, "I am." Arthur nodded back while saying, "Very well...I forfeit this match."

A brief silence before a cacophony of screams and shouts sounded at once, "WHAT!?" Ichika couldn't believe what he was hearing from his now former opponent's mouth. He cried out, "What do you mean you forfeit!? I thought you said you were gonna fight me." Arthur nodded and replied, "I did. I simply chose not to. Besides, this battle was never about winning for me. I wanted to see if you have the resolve to fight no matter what would happen. And you did well." Ichika smiled with pride, though it was brutally crushed as Arthur continued, "Of course, you still have a ways to go before you can beat me." Ichika slumped in despair, with Arthur looking at him curiously before saying, "With this over with, I suppose that could only mean..."

-Cafeteria, the following night-

The room exploded into cheer, students firing confetti poppers into the air, the atmosphere was bright and warm for everyone that gathered there. Ichika looked around in bewilderment and asked, "Wait, I really got picked to be the Class Rep?" Houki had replied with a question of her own, "Why are you so surprised anyway, you won didn't you?" "Yeah but-" Ichika started until he was interrupted by Cecilia, who exclaimed, "Just be content with the idea that you represent our class from now on!"

Ichika sighed as the festivities continued on until he realized something. "Hey, where's Arthur at?" he asked and the reply came from his sister, who stood nearby from the crowded students surrounding him, "He had familial obligations and requested to leave the school for the night." Houki frowned and huffed with crossed arms, while the other students including Ichika and Cecilia, looked on in curiosity. "Why would he request to leave school, sensei?" asked a random student.

"Does anyone remember what happened to one of the neighboring towns 10 years ago today?" asked Chifuyu, looking on with a steely gaze. Not a single student had any idea, with one asking, "Was it the day Infinite Stratos was revealed?" Chifuyu shook her head, leaving the students wondering. At this point, Maya answered, "This day marked the 10th year since the Great Fuyuki Fire. Supposedly, Hackett-san had lived in this town when the fire occurred where he had lost his family and barely came out of it alive." The female students gasped, Houki and Cecilia included, some even had tears in their eyes while Ichika had a solemn look on his face. He thought back to Arthur's words earlier today: "I came to this city to start over, to forgive and forget what was done to me back then." "I failed..." "I lost that power, that will to fight when the ones I once cherished the most were stripped from me!"

At this point, the teachers exchanged glances and older Orimura continued where her colleague left off, "This was why he left as soon as the match ended. He's currently on his way to Fuyuki to pay his respects and spend the night there. He will return the following morning." The celebration continued where it left off, but the mood had been soured by this new revelation.

-Fuyuki City (Arthur POV)-

I stared in silence as our vehicle passed through the streets, illuminated by the lights of the bustling city. I thought to myself as I looked at the buildings that were being passed by rapidly, "It's been ten years. I wonder what's happened since that night..." As we neared the graveyard, I trembled slightly at the sight of the ominous land of buried corpses, until I felt a pair of comforting hands from both my grandfather and my younger sister.

I steadied my breath when the car came to a stop near an entrance to the graveyard, steeling myself for this awaited reunion. I exited the vehicle slowly, taking in the area around me. I turn to see Alisa and Grandfather exit from the other side and watched them come around to my side. I look to the driver of our vehicle, who waited patiently as he was watching us heading for the entrance. I peer into the vehicle and tell him, "We'll return in about fifteen minutes. If there's any sign of danger, make sure my sister and grandfather make it to our rest stop safely." He nods as I reach into my pocket and hand him the amount of money I kept before our arrival.

I leave the vehicle once more, turning around before walking up to the gate, with Grandfather and Alisa in tow. We enter the graveyard, seeing it smothered in dense fog, determining the path we needed to go to reach the proper gravestone. Making sure Alisa stayed between us, we walked together quietly, the only noise we made were by our footsteps. After about five minutes, Alisa suddenly removed herself from our hands and ran ahead of us. I glance at Grandfather, who nodded at me, silently acknowledging my decision to run after her.

I managed to catch up to her, only for her to be staring at a group of gravestones that had been destroyed along with most of the area nearby themselves as I had soon discovered. I look around to see what might have caused the wanton destruction, only for said cause to appear before us. It crashed against the ground, sending dust and chunks of dirt everywhere in its immediate vicinity. I saw a massive dark form hunched over before it stood upright, its appearance was as intimidating as its size. It had dark brown hair, though it looked like dreadlocks for whatever reason.

The muscles was what stood out the most from this creature, their size was what the sole reason the beast stood so tall. The beast's skin had a lighter shade compared to its hair, though what made me uneasy the most was the massive stone-like weapon it held in its had like it was a sword. I positioned myself in front of Alisa as much as I could to prevent it from seeing her. As I was observing it warily, the monster began to stand upright to its full height. I gulped as it noticed our presence, glancing at us with its gleaming red eye through the fog.

It then looked away in another direction as the sound of a sword could be heard swinging at the massive man-beast. I took that chance to pull my younger sibling away from the combat zone, heading back towards Grandfather, who was approaching us with concern as he asked, "What was that loud noise? What's going on over there?" I gently push Alisa over to him as I replied, "I'm not sure, but there's something really strange going on." I guided them back to the car, which was still in the same position when we entered the graveyard.

I quickly told the driver, "Do as I said earlier, and do it fast!" He nods before taking off to the hotel at a rapid pace. I turned around and headed into the graveyard once more, only this time I activated my IS' pilot armor with the cloaking capability turned on to avoid any one from seeing me. I slowly crept to a nearby tree, seeing a few unusual people fighting the behemoth. One was a red-haired teenager approximately my age along with three girls with vastly different clothing styles.

Amongst the three, I thought the smallest should've gone somewhere colder if she wanted to wear whatever it was she was wearing. I shift my gaze to the blond one that was adorned in armor, though the style was vastly outdated as I realize that something was very wrong here. I look to the third girl who looked like she was from a religious group or something. I narrowed my eyes as I saw the armored girl holding air in a highly visible state, but even stranger was that I could hear the sound of metal grinding as she held it. I brought up my scanner to analyze what the mysterious weapon was, only to see that the data came up inconclusive. I shook my head as I moved behind the giant quietly as the battle raged on. Once I had properly positioned myself, I summoned all of my orbs behind me to use them against this monstrosity.

The giant had appeared to be close to victory as it raised its large weapon into the air, ready to finish the trio off with one final blow. Before he could strike, I threw my arms out in front of me, the orbs following the motion by launching bands that restrained him from swinging his blade. For added measure, I transformed the orbs into my wings to add extra restraint, holding the creature in place. During the process, my bands became visible with a dull white light, surprising everyone but the chained beast. I spoke with a hint of anger as I looked at all of them, "Could someone please explain why there is a giant trying to kill you and who was the cause for the destruction of this sacred land? I will not hesitate to inform the authorities of this wanton chaos you have all created tonight."

Silence filled the air before being consumed by laughter by the child. I raised an eyebrow as she pointed at me while still laughing. Before I could ask why she was laughing, the giant began to struggle against the binds. My eyes widened in surprise as the thing broke free from his chains. "Huh, I guess I should have seen that coming..." was all I said before dodging a sword swing from this brute. I ducked as it tried to grab me from my right side, leaving me no choice but to roll back from it and set myself into a battle stance. "Perhaps I should ask again...You there, with the sword." the three behind me gaped as I pointed at the monster with a hardened stare.

It looked at me silently, though it had the child next to him, her face with a triumphant grin on her face. I summoned my sword in my hand that I was using to point at it, I asked with the same stare, "Why are you destroying this place? This area is not meant for combat. I must insist that you take the brat with you and never enter this sacred ground again. Do you understand?" I heard an angry cry from the church girl behind me, "Are you crazy!?" I ignored her when I heard an equally angry cry from the child, "Hey! I'm not a brat! I'm eighteen years old!"

The pair behind me was taken aback as I snorted, "You must be pretty short for your age then, brat." "Stop calling me that!" she cried. I chuckle as I allowed my sword to vanish from my hand. I crossed my arms as I observed the child continue to be riled up by my jabs. I looked back at the giant and asked one last time, "So, are you done here? I have other things to do and I would like for you to leave this instant." The girl shook her head as she said, "You really are an idiot, aren't you? Berserker can't talk at all. He's lost all of his sanity when I summoned him." I raised an eyebrow as I reply, "Uh-uh. Right. Like I'd believe some brat-" "Hey!""who would make up such ridiculous lies. If that's true, why don't make you him disappear to prove it?"

She gave a scowl before commanding this 'Berserker' to disappear. I sigh in relief as it vanished from human eyes. "There! Are you satisfied?" I hear her ask as I walk away with a smile on my face, disappearing into the night. I could hear her fading angry shouts as I left the graveyard. When I made sure that I was a good distance away from the place, I took off into the sky towards the hotel my Grandfather and little sister were staying at. I saw them standing on a balcony that led to our room. I came down to a slow descent before dispelling my IS and landed squarely on the railing with both feet set at a 45º angle. Neither of them looked shocked when I had materialized before them.

"The issue has been resolved, though I'm afraid we won't be returning to the graveyard due to the massive damage it received earlier this night." I said as I hopped down from the railing, entering the room before turning around to face them. They followed me in before stopping in front of me. I put up my thinking pose as I began to contemplate the confrontation back at the graveyard. "Something on your mind, Arthur?" asked Grandfather with his usual look of seriousness.

I nodded as I brought up images that I had my IS record during any fight I had, including my prior fight with Ichika. I showed multiple images of Berserker and the people in the area that was involved with said confrontation. I spoke while pointing at the images, "Back at the graveyard, I witnessed the large behemoth known as 'Berserker' fighting against these three." I pointed at each image I mentioned before stopping on the blond one, "It appears that this girl was wielding air as a weapon, though it might be a cover." "For what?" came the unspoken question.

I sighed slightly and continued, "Considering what she wore at the time, I believe she held a sword of some kind, since her grip is exactly like how I would hold my own sword. What exactly her sword looks like, I don't know." I point at the boy and girl who were with the sword -wielder. "These two do not appear to have any weapons on them, but considering what I learned from the little girl who was with them, one of these two must have summoned the knight like she said she did."

"When you say summon, do you mean-" Grandfather began with me continuing from there, "Yes, Grandfather. Magic. There's no way something that large can be considered normal here. As hard I find to believe it, it is indeed possible that magic exists. I can safely say that whatever situation they're in, we need to avoid at all costs. Something like this has to be known to someone or certain people capable of performing these feats. If word got to them that people incapable or ignorant of magic discovered something like this, they could get killed, us included."

"This is not good. If we end up involved in something beyond our comprehension, this could likely get to everyone back at HQ or even the Academy." Grandfather said gravely. I nodded as I began to delete all of the files that were recorded during the incident. Grandfather spoke with a lighter tone, "Good idea, Arthur. We need to prevent this information from leaking as much as possible." I smiled a little as the images were deleted one at a time until they had all been removed entirely.

-Two hours later-

I stood outside, watching the full moon in silence as the other two went to bed to rest up for our return trip to the Academy. Looking down at the city, I saw the bright lights twinkling like stars as I heard the sounds of people returning home from a long day or those that venture out in the night. Looking up, I see a full moon shining down on the earth below, illuminating those that shine with lights of their own. Closing my eyes, I began singing lowly as to not awaken them:

"You and I were in our dream

You'd follow close wherever I'd lead

The steps you and I go on and on

You catch me safe if ever I fall"

I began to reminisce my past as a child, back when I still had the ones I loved the most...

"Your hand in mine,

we walked along

No hill too high,

no road was too long"

An image flashed in my mind; one of me running through a grassy field with my mother's blurred face looking on into the sky above me. I look back to see her warm smile despite not seeing her face...

"To stay with you,

my only dream

To share your life,

whatever it mean"

I see myself gazing one night at a starry sky with my father, watching as he pointed out the constellations during a prior excursion...

"I knew you'd have to go away

My love for you could not help you stay

You drifted off day by day

I cherished every breath that remained"

My voice hitched as I recalled the frightening images of the fire that ravaged the small houses, people screaming and dying. My younger self unable to comprehend the destruction that slowly consumed my hometown...

"In my arms

close to me

your body broke

your soul was set free"

I saw my father protect me from the wrath of the scorching flames as they caused a section of the house to break into large chunks of debris. He had wrapped himself around me when a piece from the ceiling fell and impaled him, nearly killing me in the process. I watched as we collapsed onto the floor with his body above my own...

"You left this world

my treasured friend

The chapter closed

but love has no end"

In another bit of memory, I saw myself screaming as I watched my mother trapped within the confines of the scorching house, collapsing on her. My younger self tried to save her, but to no avail as I had been rescued by dark figures behind me, the smoke causing me to pass out...

"Farewell my angel

you were with me always

just close your eyes and

next time we meet it's forever"

I stood in silence at the funeral of my parents alongside my Grandfather, who wore his military uniform and had been a captain at the time. I took one last look at the tombstones before I had been taken away for what would be a new beginning of my life. As I finished singing, I heard a small clap above me, prompting me to turn to see a man in a red trench coat, his expression was one of amusement as he stated, "You have quite the talent there boy." I raise an eyebrow in response, my arms folded as I take a defensive stance by the railing. "I wasn't expecting an audience tonight, otherwise I would've charged you for that free show." I retorted in annoyance. He chuckled as he held his hands up slightly as if he surrendered, replying with a hint of mirth, "My apologies then. I didn't realize a man such as yourself would be so touchy with his abilities. Speaking of, I am curious as to know if you were a participant of our little conflict."

I shook my head and said, "Not really, I was paying respects to the past before I took notice of the damage caused by a mad beast that just happened to be nearby. At any rate, were you following me because you might have thought that I would pose a potential threat to your so-called "conflict" of yours?" He shrugged and replied, "That depends on your answer, boy." "Then no, I'm not interested. Nor would I be even capable of doing so. I do have other obligations to mind after all. Besides, imagine how the United States and Japan would feel if one of the only male IS pilots somehow died and they decided to investigate this "conflict" of yours. I'd imagine that your master wouldn't like that at all." "No, I suppose not." He muttered before he turned and vanished, with me sighing with exhaustion. "This was supposed to be a relaxing vacation from the school and yet I get involved with something I have no right being a part of. Good thing we'll be heading back tomorrow." I said to myself before turning in for the night.

-The Next Morning-

The ride back was easier than I had expected, though our arrival was much more unusual when we were besieged by the female students from our class. Thankfully, Grandfather managed to shield us from the more aggressive girls, though I managed to catch a glimpse of Ichika along with Cecilia, Houki and some unknown female I have not seen before. She looked a little small, perhaps too young to be in the school, though I have made mistakes in the past.

Hm, I wonder if that's a transfer student? I thought while heading to my classroom again, ignoring anyone outside of my family. As we entered the hallway outside the classroom, I spoke to the pair with me, "We're here. Anything you guys want to say before I go in?" My grandfather decided to speak first, "I have important issues to attend to. I'm taking your sister to your aunt and uncle's house for the time being." I nodded and replied, "That's acceptable. Is this alright with you, little sis?" She nodded, holding up a message that stated, "It is fine. I'll be sure to call you when you're done with class." I reply quietly, "That's good. It won't be as fun with you gone, but I think I'll do just fine with my friends here."

She looked down slightly, her snowy hair covering her eyes briefly before she rushed at me, crashing against my legs with as much force her small body could muster. I gently smiled before crouching down in front of her. I placed my left hand and placed it on her head, rubbing it affectionately while whispering, "Don't be sad. Remember what we promised?" She nodded while her head was still down. "'I will be your guardian angel whenever you need me the most. Just say the word, and I'll be there to protect you from all the world's evils.'"

Alisa raised her head to reveal her glistening blue eyes, but no tears were shed as I pulled her into an embrace. As we held our embrace, we had unknowingly gathered observers from my classroom looking through the glass as well as other students around us. A rough cough from our grandfather pulled us out of the embrace. We looked back at each other and with a nod, I stood at my full height as she took a step back.

I look at my Grandfather, who kept himself from smirking, nodded and held out his left hand towards me. I brought up my right hand and we shook for a second before he held the same hand out to Alisa, who took it in earnest. They bid their final farewells to me as they departed from the school. I turned around to find that the crowds had dispersed rather quickly, and anyone within proper speaking distance had been avoiding me. Finding this behavior to be rather odd, I head over to Ichika, who had been rather perturbed by today's events thus far. "Hey there." I call out to him, who looks at me in surprise.

-Normal POV-

Ichika replies with a tone of cheer, "Ah, morning. How was the trip?" Arthur scratched the back of his head and said, "It was interesting, to say the least. Aside from that, I think I feel better now since I left. Wait. Who told you what I was doing?" Ichika had a look of uncertainty before replying, "Well, it was my sister originally until Miss Yamada came in and they explained why you left."

Arthur's body froze, his jaw tightened with fully constrained anger. He slowly asked as he calmed down, "Any particular reason they had for telling you guys something I had adamantly asked not to share with anyone at all?" "N-no, they didn't. Only that some of us were wondering where you went." Arthur groaned before slouching in his seat, his hands covering his face.

"While I knew it was a matter of time before you guys knew about my past, I would have preferred that it had been done on my terms. Now the other girls will only pity me because of that. This is gonna be so annoying." he muttered before putting his head on the desk. Ichika sighed and looked upwards with a semi-frown on his face as he thought, "Why would he be so concerned about other people's opinions of him?"

-Lunch-

Arthur ate quietly as Ichika talked animatedly with the new girl that went by the name of Rinin Fan, the Chinese Representative Candidate who had transferred to the school recently. Arthur wasn't entirely sure what was between the two, but it seemed like they were very good friends. He glanced back at the table behind him and noticed how Houki and Cecilia were glaring at the new girl. He turned around to continue eating and thought, "They're rather suspicious of her. Makes sense, those two were already competing for Orimura and with Rin here, it makes things worse. I have a feeling they'll-"WHAM. He, along with the pair in question, looked for the disturbance to see Houki and Cecilia in front of the table with their hands on it glaring at Ichika and Rin.

Arthur kept quiet as the first pair started, "What's the nature of your relationship with Ichika!?" "Are you two dating?" He raised an eyebrow as he covertly glanced at Ichika and Rin, who were startled by their interruption. The latter had denied the second question where Ichika replied saying that they were childhood friends. He corrected himself by saying Rin was his second childhood friend by explaining that Rin went to his school not long after Houki left.

Their discussion switched over to the nature of eating and who knew who longer. Arthur ignored their diatribes and banter as he silently went to gather more food before returning without their notice. He watched as Rin rebuked them and told them to leave. He turned to look at Ichika, who was having trouble on what to say about the problem. Ichika tried to look to Arthur for help, only for Arthur getting up with an irritated look on his face, departing the cafeteria. Rin noticed this and asked, "What's his problem, Ichika?" Knowing Arthur's reaction from their prior conversation, he decided against telling them. He sighed and replied, "I wish I knew..."

-Arena, after class-

Arthur walked out to the center of the arena and had set up several target posts made of various wooden material he had gathered before he had returned to the school. Once the posts were in place, he returned to his original position and said to himself, "Alright, that's done. Now let's try getting some practice in before I turn in for the night."

Arthur deployed his IS, Endless Respite, and brought out his sword and shield as he did before in his match. "Envision the target, Arthur." He closed his eyes and his HUD came to life, his helmet covering his head. He flashed his eyes open, target reticules flaring within sight range. He dashed at the first target, and with a hefty swing from his sword arm, bifurcated it within the span of 2 seconds before shifting his weight to spin around to bash the upper half at the next target 5 meters to the left while kicking the lower half in the opposite direction at the third post with the exact same distance from where the first post used to be.

He dashed as fast he could behind the second post as it received the forceful blow from the fragment, Arthur then swung his shield to reverse the transference of momentum and shattered both the post and fragment in the process with excessive force. He rapidly sped up towards the third post, blowing through the shards of wood, as the lower half came within inches of making contact. He brought his shield up at horizontal level and it once again split open to reveal the hidden gun within it, firing a concussion grenade from it. As soon as it made contact with the post fragment, the explosion shattered the wood into thousands of pieces.

He spun around to see four posts remaining in the arena and dismissed the shield for the blade alone. Grasping the blade with both hands, he tore all of them down in rapid succession, leaving a trail of savage destruction wrought by his pent up fury. Pausing momentarily to quell his rage, he allowed his sword to dissipate and observed his handiwork before he began to clean up the mess.

- 30 minutes later-

After disposing of the wood he used, exited the arena via the hangar bay, noticing Ichika as well as Houki and Cecilia entering from a different area, though the latter came after the former had already started training with their love interest. It looks like I'm not the only one getting some training done, eh Ichika? Arthur thought before turning around and continued on towards the exit. He began to whistle a tune as he worked his way through various pathways and halls until he reached the dorms.

- Later that night-

After eating dinner in his room, Arthur set aside his tray and grabbed a book off the upper desk shelf he had. Sitting down in his chair, he began reading his book that spoke of a man's tale, a never ending quest full of otherworldly dangers. One that would bring companions together from across time itself. All brought together in search of an elusive construct that all roads met. But that story is for another time, in another place. Right now, however, his time of peace was met with stifled noises down the hall. I wonder what's going on... Arthur mused as he grabbed a nearby bookmark, placing it within his book before setting it down on the desk and making his way out of the room. Walking past a few rooms, he realized that the noises were coming from Ichika's room. "What did he do now?" he asked himself before knocking on the door.

The noises suddenly quieted as Arthur took a slight step away from the door, noticing the small sounds of footsteps making their way to the door. To no surprise for Arthur, Rin had been the one to open the door. He raised an eyebrow as she looked at him in surprise, along with Ichika and Houki. Rin exclaimed angrily as she pointed at Arthur, "What do you want!? Can't you see we're in the middle of something here?" He glanced at Ichika, who seemed somewhat relieved to see him along with Houki, though she didn't show as much. He looked back down at Rin and replied, "Well... I was in the middle of something myself when I heard a commotion coming from this room. I figured I could try diffusing the situation before one of the teachers do it themselves. So," he clapped his hands together and asked, "What seems to be the problem, Miss Fan?"

- One brief explanation later-

Arthur was standing in the middle of Ichika and Houki's room, along with Rin and said occupants. The former stood facing the latter three that were facing him standing in a semicircle. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed lowly, trying not to get a headache. Letting go, he opened his eyes and looked at the trio individually.

"So let me see if I have this right," Arthur said before pointing at Rin, "You want to share this room with Ichika," She nodded at him as he pointed at said male and continued, "who already shares the room with Miss Shinonono." This time, he pointed at Houki and said, "And she also happens to be childhood friends with Ichika, am I right?" All three nod, allowing him to finish, "Which leads you to say that since you are also Ichika's childhood friend, you should be able to share the room with him and switch with Miss Shinonono. The problem is that since Houki is refusing your request, all three of you ended up causing a ruckus, which led to my being here."

At this, Arthur calmly asked, "Now, did I miss anything?" No one responded initially, though they slowly shook their heads not long after. "Okay, here's what we can do to solve this dilemma:

a) Houki stays and Rin leaves..."

At this Rin says, "There's no way I'm leaving!" Arthur ignores her and continues:

"b) Rin stays and Houki leaves..."

Houki replies with crossed arms and a glare, "I was here first! I'm not going anywhere."

Arthur looks at the females before shrugging and saying, "Well the only other option is that you both leave and I room with him..." The girls look aghast as Ichika asked, "Are you sure that's okay?"

Arthur turns to him with a question of his own, "Why shouldn't it be okay? We're both guys, so wouldn't it be better than having both of us sharing a room with a girl?" Houki states, "I guess that makes sense..." "Maybe you're right." said Rin, with Arthur raising his hands in a placatory manner, "I'm not saying we go and do this now. Only that it was an option to consider. For now, let Houki and Ichika share the room until the faculty decides whether or not to switch one of them out of the room."

They all nod in agreement, with Arthur smiling and said, "Now that's done, I'm heading back to my room. I better not hear any more noises from here for the rest of the night okay? I don't want Miss Orimura breathing down our necks because you were too rowdy." As he was talking, he walked way from the trio towards the door and left the room. He closed the door behind him quietly as to not disturb the other residents and made his way back to his room.

Upon reaching the room, he opened the door and closed it behind him as he entered. He glanced at the clock, seeing that it was rather late, decided to contact his relatives to see if his sister was awake at the current hour. Grabbing his phone from his desk drawer, he dialed his aunt's number and waited for a response. "Hello?" Arthur smiled as he said, "Hey, it's me." "Hey there my little angel, how are you?"" He shook his head, knowing how his aunt would always call him that when he was a child.

"I'm doing fine, auntie. Is Alisa still awake or did she go to bed?" he asked, getting up to wander around the room with the phone. "She's in the kitchen with your uncle, getting some water before she goes to bed." His aunt responded, her voice somewhat grating but rather pleasant to Arthur for a change. "Is it alright that I say good night?" he asked and her immediate response was, "You know you don't have to ask that, dear. I'll let her know you want to talk to her."

He waited for a few moments before he felt a vibration from his phone. He looked to see a message that read: 'How was your day back at school? ' He replied, 'It had its ups and downs. Mostly still annoyed with Miss Orimura for mentioning that incident.' 'Was there any reason she had for doing that? ' she asked. He paused before answering, 'Not that I know of, no. Other than that, met new transfer student. Chinese. Names Rinin Fan. She's also a representative like Cecilia.'

'Anything else? ' she asked, and he responded, 'She's apparently Ichika's second childhood friend with Shinonono being the first.' 'So it's like that then, isn't it?' He smiled and typed, 'I don't know what you're talking about. But yes, she's another girl that likes him. At any rate, I better not hold you up for too long. You need to go to bed and I have things to prepare for the upcoming class match.''I see. Let me know how it goes, okay? '

He replies while glancing at his desk, 'Will do. Good night and sweet dreams, kid.' There was no response, but he understood that she had replied in kind. He put his phone away and began his preparations. After all, he thought to himself, Grandfather always said to be prepared for anything. Now, let's see what info I can get on Rin's IS...

-The Class Match-

Arthur stood in the control room to Ichika's hangar bay. He was not alone, as the other occupants were his teachers as well as Houki and Cecilia. As Ichika brought up the visual information on Rin's IS, Arthur had already gone over it several times and thought, While her IS is impressive, the Shenlong does have a few weaknesses. Her cannon is a Mid-Range weapon that can rotate up to a near spherical 360 angle on both sides, making it difficult for any Close-Range combatant to hit her without taking damage. However, it appears that she needs both of them to face the same direction to effectively damage her opponent. If her opponent can outmaneuver her cannon, they would need to contend with her Close-Range capabilities. She wields a pair of blades that can combine to be a dual-bladed weapon with little to no difficulty.

The only thing Ichika has going for him is his sword's One-Off Ability, the Reiraku Byakuya, which severely damages his opponent's Shield Points while sacrificing his own. I suppose that if he knew how to use the Ignition Boost, he may have a slight advantage over Rin, but he needs to play smart if he is to avoid the cannon. Knowing him as well as I do, he'll probably take a few hits from them before he can actually hurt Rin.

Arthur looked down at Ichika, whose visage filled with determination as he took off. He watched him fly off to the center of the arena, thinking to himself, I hate to say this, but I don't think he actually stands a chance against this girl. What's more is that he's fighting against a friend. Though I doubt either one of them would hold back against the other. In fact, he noticed as he was looking at the pair and their muted conversation, something must have happened after I had intervened last night. Whatever it was, it's possible she'll hurt him far more than I had realized.

When the call was made, both Ichika and Rin clashed with sparks of fury upon impact. As Arthur predicted, Rin had brought out one of her melee weapons, a massive blade that had a handle of a decent length with runic patterns along the flat of the blade. Ah, so it's a battle of blades now? Let's see if Ichika can hold his own... Unfortunately for Ichika, the battle so far hadn't been going so well for him.

Rin had so far managed to hold off Ichika's attacks rather well and even took out her second blade, using it with masterful ease. Soon after, they danced around each other in the sky with the occasional clash of steel. Concerned about Ichika's situation, Cecilia had rushed at the view screen that Maya had been using to yell at Ichika to use a technique she had been teaching him, though it proved useless for her to waste her breath.

Ichika's opponent connected the ends of her blades so they faced opposite directions when used. She then rushed at Ichika with a series of swings, making it hard for him to avoid the strikes. He thought to himself, This is like fighting against Arthur, he would start with a series of close attacks followed by a ranged attack. Does this mean that Rin will attack from a greater distance? He dodged another swing before continuing, Well then, let's test that theory!

He pulled away from Rin to gain distance while watching for her next move, and Rin grinned while saying, "How naïve!" The two orbs on either side of her had began glowing before firing at Ichika. He narrowed his eyes and thought, I was right! He moved just enough for the bullets to miss but grazed his shield slightly. Too close! He thought before looking at Rin, who was smirking at him before saying, "And that was a jab!" Her cannons began charging up for another attack. They thundered loudly, the focused bullets bursting at Ichika rapidly. He then dropped his altitude until his feet slammed into the arena floor, kicking up a small cloud of dust.

"What!?" came Rin's outcry and she wasn't the only one surprised by this development. Even Houki and Cecilia were surprised at how Ichika avoided the attack. Arthur then said, "Well well, looks like someone managed to do their homework." Everyone in the room aside from Chifuyu looked to Arthur, who continued, "During the brief time Ichika and I had fought during the fight for Class Representative, I had done a similar tactic where I would focus a Close-range assault on him until he distance himself from me. From there, I switched to using a Mid to Long-Range attack on him. It worked perfectly against him at the time, since he's only a Close-Range fighter.

"I guess that since he was fighting Rin, he must've came to that conclusion and dodged the Shenlong's Shock Cannon on both occasions when the time was right." "Shock Cannon? Is that was the attack she used?" came Houki's question. Arthur looked to his green haired teacher, who replied, "It's a weapon that manipulates the atmosphere, pressurizing the air and firing at the enemy." Cecilia had understood this and continued while turning look at the large displayed screen, "That's right. The Shenlong is a Third-Generation IS model like my Blue Tears."

Ichika lifted himself slightly to a standing position and thought. I got lucky with that dodge. If it wasn't for me fighting against Arthur, I would have a much harder time against Rin.

A target reticule popped up in front of Rin's right eye, focusing on Ichika as she continued to fire at him. He ran as he dodged a series of bullets, each coming close to a hair length of hitting him. As she stopped firing, he held his ground with his sword at a near horizontal level. He shook his head before glaring at Rin, who spoke, "You're doing a good job at dodging. I thought the invisible barrel and ammunition were part of the Ryuho's features. However..."

Inside the room, Maya said as she leaned towards her screen before looking towards the viewing audience, "Somehow, the shock cannon's capable of firing at any angle without limitations because of the barrel's angle of skew." Cecilia said, "So, in other words, there's no blind spot." Maya replied before facing her screen again "That's right."

Houki looks towards the large screen with worry until Arthur added his piece, "While that's true, something bugged me about that." "What do you mean, Hackett?" asked Chifuyu, who finally decided to join the conversation. He gave his teacher a small respectful nod and replied, "While the cannon is capable of attacking at any angle, I had asked myself 'Can both sides operate independently of each other should she take on multiple targets?' I had done some research on her IS the night before, and not only had I noticed that particular oddity, I had also wondered if this oddity would actually weaken the effectiveness of her cannon."

She nodded and said, "While I won't ask on how you managed to obtain information prior to the match, I see your point on this matter. However, it doesn't affect the outcome of this match if she's only fighting Orimura." "My apologies, ma'am. I thought I should give some sort of positive input." he replied as he looked back at the main screen. He watched as Ichika dodged another series of bullets, gliding across the arena. He thought worriedly, If I stay too far, she'll hit me with those things and fighting her up close would be pointless. I've got to find a way to beat her with a preemptive strike or she'll win! Focus dammit!

His eyes widened as he remembered a prior conversation with Arthur and his sister, That's right. The barrier-disabling attack, the Reiraku Byakuya. I need to use it at the right moment or else I risk losing my own shield points. But the question is, he hardened his glare at Rin while wielding his sword with both hands, can I use it? He spoke loudly, "Hey Rin."She replied hotly, "Yeah, what is it." "From here on, I won't hold back." he said determinedly. "What the!? That's what you're supposed to do, you idiot! I'll show you that we're not in the same league!" She spun around with her melee weapon before charging at Ichika, who dodged her attack and fled with her giving chase.

"It looks like Orimura's going to try something." Maya observed, and her fellow teacher responded, "It I were to guess, he's gonna use the ignition boost I taught him." Piqued with curiosity, Cecilia asked, "What's this ignition boost?" Her teacher answered, "It's a surprise attack where you move at maximum speed towards your opponent. The bad news is that it only works once and right now is that chance."

The younger Orimura dodged an incoming hail of firing before flying upwards, dancing around Rin and her cannon fire. As he went back down, he blocked another melee attack and dodged another round from her cannon. Rin looked around angrily as she tried to focus her attention on Ichika, who was able to move faster than she could properly aim at him. When she finally turned to see him, he rushed at her ready to swing his sword at her. She had a look of shock before a bright star shined above the arena dome. A purple light lanced through the barrier, shattering a small section before colliding with the floor with a large explosion.

Holding off on his attack, Ichika looked at the fire in wonder along with Rin, while the majority of the Academy students began to panic with this sudden turn of events. Inside the room, Cecilia looked around in confusion and asked, "What's going on!? What just happened out there?" Houki cried out, "Ichika!" Maya turned to the screen as it flared multiple warning signs, indicating system damage. "It looks like an unidentified object penetrated the arena's deflection shield."

Instinctively, Arthur immediately turned and ran down the corridor towards the pit as Chifuyu held up a radio yelling, "Stop the match! Orimura, Fan, vacate the arena immediately!" Inside the arena, everyone who was watching began to exit the arena through the rear exits as red lights were flashing and large doors began to close in front of them. Ichika looked with concern asking, "What's happening? What the hell's going on here!?" a small image of Rin opened up with her replying, "The match is canceled! Head back to the pit now!" At the end of her demand, a warning sign displayed itself in front of Ichika right next to her: Heat source detected in stage center/Unidentified IS

"Another IS?" he asked incredulously as he looked into the fire. Another box appeared with the word Locked in front of the previous warning sign. "Wait. Is it locking me out somehow?" he asked as Rin came back. "What are you doing? Go back to the pit!" she said and he replied questioningly, "Go back? And what are you going to do?" He watched as she flew above him and said, "I'm going to buy us some time, so get out of here!" "Wait a second," he started in offense, "There's no way I'm going to leave a girl behind!" "You idiot, you're weaker than me, so you don't get any choice. Now move!" she retorted.

He weakly said, "But..." She looked away as she responds, "It's not like I'm going to fight it all the way until the end. I'm just standing in until one of the teachers take over and handle-" before she could finish, a purple light brightened until it shot through the smoke towards Rin, who looked towards the oncoming attack. Seeing the attack coming, Ichika cried, "Look out!" He tackled Rin out of the way as the attack missed the both of them.

"A beam weapon? And the power output is greater than Cecelia's IS." Ichika noted as he watched the source of the attack appear as the smoke vanished. The IS was mostly black in color, though there were other colors that had merely accentuated the design. It had two larger beam weapons on top of both of its hands with a pair of tubes coming from the shoulders to the rear of the beam weapons. One of the most startling features was that there was five red eyes on the pilot's face, or what could be considered a face.

"Just what is that damn thing? It's certainly not like any IS I've seen before." Ichika said as he and Rin watched this new opponent that stayed in it's center of arrival. A text box appeared next to Ichika's face that read SOUND ONLY with Maya's voice coming in, "Orimura, Fan. Please leave the arena at once! The teachers with arrive with their IS and neutralize the situation." Ichika replied, "No, we need to occupy it until the students can evacuate." "I understand how you feel, but you just can't do that!" she replied in earnest, with Cecilia and Houki rushing up behind her shouting, "Ichika, Run!" "Ichika!"

Meanwhile, Arthur was running through the corridor and thought, Man, of all the times for this to happen. Good thing I made preparations last night. Now, where's the damn door? He turned around a corner and made for the door that led to the launch room. He quickly activated his IS, seeing Ichika and Rin avoid an aerial attack from the mysterious IS. He sighed and muttered, "I hope I know what I'm doing. Now Endless Respite, launch!" He took off into the arena and activated his cloaking ability right as he entered the battlefield.

"What was that!?" cried Cecilia and Maya replied as she looked astonished, "It's Hackett! He took off into the arena with his IS! When did he do that?" "Probably when none of us were looking." Chifuyu said and gathered the looks of the other females. She sighed and continued, "It must have been when that enemy IS first landed in the arena." "Please Miss Orimura, allow me to assist as well." Cecilia spoke with a hand to her chest. "I wish I could, but..." the teacher replied, turning to look at the screen with a small visual that showed that the deflection shield had been set to a higher level than before. "The shield is set to Level 4." Houki spoke, with Cecilia adding, "Not only that, but all the doors are locked." She stopped to ponder aloud, "Was that IS the cause of this?" "It looks that way. Right now, we can neither stage a rescue or evacuate."

While this was occurring, the students were pounding on a locked door, unable to leave. In the arena, Ichika stood in a dark smokescreen, suddenly ambushed by the black IS and pushed skyward. Cecilia asked Chifuyu, "Well, what about government support?" "Right now, they have people cracking the system as we speak and we have teachers ready to assist at a moment's notice." The teacher replied stoically, with Cecilia sighing in disappointment. "I guess the only thing we can do is wait then." she said, with Chifuyu adding, "That's right. Even if you helped, you'd only get in the shock troops' way. In any case, there's no reason for you to help." "Wait a second! Just what exactly you're trying to say?" she asked, insulted by her teacher's comment.

Chifuyu explained, "What I mean is that your Blue Tears is geared towards combating multiple opponents on its own. This means that you'd only get in everyone's way. However," she stopped to look at a separate screen that showed Arthur trying to search for the enemy while remaining still. "With Arthur's Endless Respite, he can provide a multitude of roles. And right now, it seems that he's doing something that I find quite questionable for a regular teenager." She noted, with the other three watching in interest.

"What do you mean, Miss Orimura?" asked Houki, her teacher closing her eyes before replying, "Assassination." The other three were taken aback as they parroted the word in confusion. "That's what it appears to be, anyway. Though I can't say that I'm certain on that." she said, looking as Arthur crept along the arena floor, next to the wall quietly. As Arthur watched, he took notice of Ichika's attempt to use his barrier-disabling attack. Second time then. It looks like he's been careful on using it. Though he's still not very successful. Perhaps I can get it to hold still. He thought, watching the black IS pursue the other IS pilots while firing from its shoulders. First, I need to disable its weapons. Maybe a little Judgment is in order then. He finished, bringing out a longsword into each hand. As he readied himself to attack, he noticed how the IS stopped firing, smoke enveloping its form.

Ichika, not noticing Arthur's presence, stopped moving in front of the smoke. He watched it, realizing something unusual. "Hey Rin. Doesn't that IS' movement seem a little too mechanical?" he asked, though she was unsure what he meant. "What do you mean. It is a machine, you know." Her screen appeared next to him as she replied. "That's not it. I'm wondering if there's actually someone piloting that thing." He said as he continued to watch the smoke for movement.

"Wait. An IS won't move unless there's someone piloting it." This she knew, what anyone knowledgeable in the IS world would know. She gasped before heading next to Ichika and stopped, realization apparent. "Now that you've mentioned it. I noticed that she doesn't attack us while we're talking. It's almost like she's curious about our conversation." she said, with Ichika replying, "I know, right?"

She shook her head negatively and said, "This doesn't make any sense. There's no way it can be unmanned. There has to be someone inside an IS for it to move. That's how it is." "But think about it. What if...what if it's unmanned?" he asked, though he was feeling much more confident now. "So what you're saying is that we can beat it if it's unmanned?" she hesitantly asked, and he smiled with a reply, "Yeah. If it's unmanned, we can beat it with everything we have, and it'd be fine for the both of us." "Everything we have?" she asked, still not convinced on this matter.

"Not to worry you two, I've already performed biometric scans on the IS. It's a drone, alright." came a familiar voice. Ichika looked happy and asked, "Is that you, Arthur? Where are you right now?" "Don't worry, I'm not far from you guys. In fact, once you guys have the plan set up. I'll have this thing held down so it won't get away." he replied assuredly, and Rin asked, "Hey, isn't he that guy from before?" "Uh-huh. And if he said to not worry about it, then let's take it down." "Ichika!" cried a voice, startling said person and directed his attention over to Houki, who was standing by the edge of one of the hangars.

"If you're a man..." she said, stopping to steady her breath before shouting, "If you're a man, you better defeat that thing completely!" This caught the IS' attention as well, prompting it to raise its main weapons, charging them to fire at her. Seeing this, Ichika turns to his friend and shouted, "Houki, run!" Before if could attack, two white lights whipped out from an unknown source, yanking the unmanned IS' arms and pulled them upwards where no one could get hurt.

It was then lifted into the air before roughly slammed into the earth, kicking up dirt and dust in the process. The IS then began to struggle against the bindings until more white lights wrapped around the torso and both of the legs, further locking it into place. "Well, it looks like it won't be going anywhere anytime soon." came Arthur's voice once again, his IS revealed to the pair. "That's his IS?" asked Rin and Ichika said, "That's right, you weren't here when he, Cecilia and I fought for the title of Class Representative." "As much as I like hearing you guys talk about me, I'd rather have this thing disposed of. Otherwise, this thing's gonna break free and it'll be a pain to restrain it again after it's been caught once."

"Oh sorry." "Sorry about that." They apologized before Ichika turned to Rin and said, "I'm gonna use the Reiraku Byakuya one last time. Think you can give me a boost?" Rin was affronted and asked, "Just what the hell do you mean by that?" "Simple. Just be ready to fire the cannon on my mark." he replied, while looking back at the black IS. "You know that since it's restrained, I could hit it with no problem." she said incredulously, though Ichika paid it no mind as he stated, "Yeah and that thing can break free at any moment. I'm not taking any chances by having him blasted at when I can just use the barrier-disabling attack to stop it from moving."

She sighed and said, "Well, since you're so determined to kill it yourself, let's do it." When she finished, one of the bindings on the IS snapped clean off of it. "Guys, now might be a good time to go through with your plan, because this thing really hates being caught on a leash." Arthur warned to Rin and Ichika, who yelled at the former, "Rin, do it!" "Right!" she called, beginning to charge her shock cannon. Before she fired, Ichika flew in front of her, blocking her view of the IS. "Hey you stupid idiot! You're in my line of fire!" she berated him, though Ichika was quick to respond, "Just shoot, dammit!" She was briefly startled, but refocused and said, "Whatever, just know that whatever happens, it's not my fault!" she backed up a little ways and fired at Ichika's back. The concentration of the energy was powerful, but Ichika held on long enough for his unit's power to reach its maximum.

Once his machine gave the okay to use the Reiraku Byakuya, the IS gained a fiery aura over it, the sword gaining length by a few inches. He launched forwards towards his intended target and with a mighty cry, he sliced off the enemy's left arm. "Yes!" cried Ichika, though it was short-lived when the bonds restraining the enemy IS broke, allowing the unmanned IS to swing at him. It's attack was met with retribution, as Arthur's IS pulled it away from Ichika towards himself after it struck his fellow male pilot.

As it neared him, Arthur crossed his swords together and muttered, "Dual-slash Mod Variance Bravo: Cross of Scaffold." Swinging his left sword, he removed the other arm from the enemy IS, bisecting that same arm with the opposing sword, creating an explosion and damaging the IS. "Now that it's main weapons have been removed, disposing of this will be much easier. Will you do the honors, Miss Alcott?" Arthur asked, to the surprise of the two other females in the arena and a grinning Ichika.

"I would be happy to, Arthur." she replied pleasantly, her drones raining down on the IS with no mercy, its shields dropping rapidly. "And for the final blow!" Arthur shouted, with Cecilia shouting, "Roger!" Placing the black IS within her sights, she fired at it with unrelenting power. It struck true, piercing the IS clean through it, creating another explosion from it. After receiving the fatal blow, the IS had fallen back onto the ground. Feeling cautious, Arthur directed Ichika towards the downed enemy IS.

As they both neared it, the IS performed one final lunge at Ichika, intent on taking someone with it. "Oh crap!" cried Ichika, with the other girls crying out for him. Arthur vanished from the sight of everyone as he said, "False Movement: Shattered Mirror." With a ringing sound of metal piercing, there were two IS' that looked exactly like Arthur's, each with a sword that had been driven straight through it, the blades facing opposite directions from each other.

The IS slumped over, finally vanquished thanks to the combined efforts of Ichika, Rin, Cecilia and Arthur. Arthur's IS dissipated, along with the copy of himself breaking down like glass, and the original standing upright next to the fallen enemy. He turned to the other pilots that had participated in the endeavor, and began to walk towards them. Arthur stopped as he felt an unusual vibration in his body, suddenly had a sense of foreboding. His instincts were proven correct as his vision grew dark, his body falling towards the earth below. He faintly heard shouts from Ichika and the other females, his consciousness was lost as Ichika was quick enough to catch him into his arms.

-Later that day-

The afternoon sun was giving off a low lustrous glow as it hung in the sky. Hearing some shuffling noises in his room, Arthur began to stir in his bed. Blearily opening his eyes, Arthur saw a rather familiar ceiling. As his vision began to clear up, he spoke to himself,"I guess I overdid it again. I hope everyone's fine from that attack, though I wonder what happened to that IS." "It's being investigated at the moment." Looking to his right, he saw his teacher sitting down with her arms folded and had her usual glare. "Oh. Afternoon, ma'am. Is there-" He began, but was cut short as she said, "Save it, Hackett. There's no need to act that way because I know you've been angry with me for some time now. So be honest with how you feel."

He sighed as he looked back at the ceiling and replied, "It's true that I've been angry at you recently. It's hard not to when your teachers decide for the betterment of one of their students to tell their past, especially when it's against their wishes to do so." He gripped his sheets tightly and continued,"Not only that, it even feels like I've been alienated by most of the students here in the school ever since they found out." He relaxed his grip and gave a small smile as he said,"Although I guess I can thank Ichika and his friends for still seeing me for who I am now rather than seeing the broken child I once was. But to be honest," He slowly sat up as he looked to his teacher and finished,"I had already planned on telling them about it when I thought the time was right and so far, only Rin seemed to be left out of the loop."

"That does seem to be the case. At any rate, there's something I need to ask you." She stood up from her chair and walked over to the window on the other side of his bed. Arthur watched with curiosity as she put one hand against her side and asked, "Have you received training outside of the Academy?" He looked to the wall in front of him, frowning before he replied, "Well, yes and no." She turned around and looked at him with the same pose.

He glanced slightly toward her before facing the wall once more."While I was never formally inducted into the military, my grandfather had contracted private trainers to cover various aspects of warfare since I had been too young to properly enter the service. Nonetheless, I had at one point undertaken various missions where I'd frequently work with mercenary groups to deal with threats from both without and within the US. However, the only times that would happen was when I wouldn't be in school here in Japan. I never once told anyone what I could do with what I had learned in these past years, mostly to avoid drawing attention to myself.

"The only reason why I said things I did back during my first match was because I felt that all that training I had undertaken would be meaningless if I couldn't use what I had gained to protect others. But with my IS, it felt like I had all the power I needed to protect my family and maybe even my friends as well. But as you can see," he gestured to himself that had been sitting in his bed before continuing,"it came at a small price." She raised an eyebrow as she asked, "Just what kind of price did you pay, Hackett?"

He smiled sadly and said, "Remember when I used the second technique against the IS to permanently shut it down?" "You mean the False Movement?" she asked. He nodded as he looked down at his hands that were folded together. He spoke as he continued to look down,"Normally, that style is nearly impossible for me to use outside of the IS, due to the physical demands it places on the body and mind. The first technique is called the Aura of Phantasm. It's what allows me to freely blend in with my surroundings by subtly reflecting all light away from me from every possible angle. However, the difference from my technique and the standard cloaking device is that I need to visualize the lack of my existence or the existence of others in that very same spot. Also, I can choose to allow other people to see me despite the Phantasm being active."

"So that's what you were using during that match." she noted, with him nodding as he began again,"Yes. Though like I said earlier, each technique I use comes at a price. So far the worst effects I get from this one is just terrible headaches or slight dizziness. The second technique was the one you saw during that fight: Shattered Mirror. For that technique, I willed my body to move fast enough to create an afterimage of me thrusting my blade through my opponent from one side while I copy the motion from the opposite side. Once it ends my afterimage breaks down into nothingness like what happened earlier today."

He winced as he tried to move his legs and continued,"So far, the only negative effect from that rendered me into a state of unconsciousness. As you may have already noticed, each technique comes with more debilitating effects, even to the point of death. Thankfully I haven't been brought to the point of needing to use it. I had been hoping that with the assistance of my IS, the use of my techniques would be less costly, but I fear that the opposite may be true instead."

"If this style is so dangerous for you to use, why are you even using it in the first place, especially when you know you can die from using it?" He looked back up at her, his eyes full of sorrowful determination as he said, "Because that's what it means to sacrifice oneself. If I had the chance to protect the ones I loved at the cost of my life, I would do it in a heartbeat. And I would never regret it no matter how many times I repeat this life, regardless of the changes involved."

"You must be very dedicated to your loved ones if you're willing to go that far. Unfortunately as a teacher, I insist that unless you find a way to overcome these side effects, you are to refrain from using those techniques unless given proper authorization by me or Miss Yamada. Is that understood?" He hesitated for a second before answering, "Yes ma'am." She walked away but stopped when Arthur said, "There's two more techniques I've yet to mention, ma'am." "Whatever they are, they are also prohibited from use as well." She said as she exited the room.

"Ah well. I suppose that she'll realize that she should've stayed to hear about them later." He paused before he smiled and said, "You can come in now." He watched as Ichika and his friends walk in with some trepidation. "I take it you all heard what we were discussing?" he asked as they stood around his bed. "So you were serious about the side effects from using those techniques?" Ichika asked as he looked with a hard expression at Arthur, with him matching it as well.

"Yeah. If I over do it, I could very well die. Being able to pull off superhuman feats like that is no laughing matter. For False Movement, it's a matter of knowing the best time to use the technique and the reason for doing so." Arthur had replied while stretching his arms and falling back onto his pillow. He sighed as he put his hands over his face and said aloud, "Well, I suppose I should get started then. So, how does everyone feel about listening to a story?"

"Uh..." Cecilia started but Arthur raised his head and asked, "Is there something wrong?" "Well, the last time we were told about your past, most of the students avoided you since they made the connections from what you said before." Ichika said, with the others sans Rin nodding. "I don't get it. Why's everyone so hung up on Arthur's past?" she asked. "It's actually quite simple, really. But I suppose someone of your standing can't even-" Cecilia began to taunt before Arthur shot her a warning look before looking at Rin.

"While I'm sure Cecilia meant well, I would rather not have my past be made in light of at this time. That being said, what Miss Yamada and Miss Orimura mentioned earlier was a rather cut and dry telling of my history." Arthur said, with Ichika, Cecilia, and Houki looking pale as Houki stammered, "That was cut and dry?" He nodded as he looked out the window before continuing, "In case you were wondering Rin, my parents died ten years ago, roughly a month prior to the release of the IS, which made that day precisely 2 months before the Shirokishi Incident."

This time, it was Rin's turn to lose all the color off of her face. For her, she still had her parents in her life. Though they we're divorced, she still managed have them for most of her childhood. But to hear that someone had lost both in a single night, it was unthinkable to her. She looked to the others, each of them with saddened faces. Arthur smiled as he looked back at his small audience and continued,"In a small city of Fuyuki, I had only lived there for a few years after arriving from my nation of origin." "Nation of origin? Wait, you mean to tell me that you weren't born in Japan?" asked Rin. The trio next to her were just as astonished about this revelation.

Arthur nodded and replied, "Yeah, I didn't know about that until my 5th birthday. As to my national origin, it's probably better if I reintroduce myself. Though it seems a little weird, I figured I would receive the best reaction if I included some other things as well." "Such as?" Houki inquired, with the rest nodding in agreement. "I will tell you." he replied crisply while looking between the four. He closed his eyes and sighed slightly before reopening them slowly.

He straightened himself on the bed and held his hands together before speaking, "Hello. My name is Arthur Hackett, grandson of Adam Hackett, Admiral of the US Navy's 5th Fleet. I enjoy reading, music, running and operating/maintaining my IS. It is a pleasure to meet you and I look forward to working with you all once again." Dead silence filled the air as Arthur looked at them expectantly, waiting for them to respond.

"Grandson..."

"Admiral..."

"United States..."

"..."

Each of them uttered a word or two, save for Ichika, who had his eyes closed while contemplating the introduction he had just listened to. For the females, they had a look of utter shock before becoming angry. "Why the hell didn't you tell us sooner!?" Houki exclaimed, with Cecilia adding,"Don't you realize how important that makes you look?" Rounding off the trio, Rin shouted, "What kind of idiot hides something like that?" "The kind that doesn't want to be recognized for the achievements of others. The kind that's forced to live up to mendacious expectations placed by the ignorance of others. The kind," Arthur paused as he allowed for them to take in his response before continuing,"that wishes to be someone that can be relied upon. Those are among the things that make me that kind of idiot. Besides, if I told you the moment I introduced myself the first time, people would've stopped seeing me for who I am rather than just be given a baseless title to appease me while attempting leech off of me."

With this said, the girls had faltered in their rage, having been quelled by each statement made against them and more."Uh, perhaps I'll let you guys ponder on that for a little while. Right now, I'm going to get some more rest before I come back to class the next morning. Night..." Arthur said as he drifted off to sleep. "But-" Rin started, though she was held back by Ichika's hand on her shoulder. He shook his head and said,"That's enough Rin. If that's all he wants to say, then that's fine. We've bothered him enough as it is today." He turned around and began to leave the room. "Also, if there was anything else he wanted to say, he would've said so."

"And what makes you so sure he would tell us?" Houki demanded, her arms crossed with a deepened frown on her face. His head turned to the girls and responded,"He trusted us this much, hasn't he? I mean," he turned his head away and finished,"shouldn't we do the same?" As he left the room, Cecilia turned to the other girls and said,"Ichika has a point, as unusual as it sounds. He helped defeat that unmanned IS earlier today. Not to mention, the boys seem to understand each other quite well." "What do you mean?" Houki asks as she looked to Cecilia for an answer.

She replied with uncertainty in her voice,"I'm not really sure, but just from seeing them interacting with each other, it's almost like they know what the other was thinking at times." As they continue to ponder, another event was occurring elsewhere within the school.

-In an unknown lab-

The unmanned IS lied idle, above it was various robotic arms, moving over it with careful precision. Nearby the IS was Maya at a computer with multiple screens, typing away on the keyboard in front of her. Behind her stood Chifuyu, who watched the scene stoically while formulating ideas about the mystery IS. "So it really was unmanned." spoke the former as she looked over to another screen that displayed the IS Core from the unmanned IS. "That's really strange." Maya commented, making Chifuyu ask,"Well, what did you find?" Maya replied, "The IS Core is unregistered, and there are only 467 registered cores in the world. So where did this one come from?"

Chifuyu gained a hardened look as she continued to watch the IS that was lying on the table. Some how, this thing was attempting to gain data on the pilots but failed to do so when Hackett destroyed the components necessary to obtain that data. What was this thing trying to accomplish? She thought to herself as she continued looking at the IS.

WA͠R̸Ǹ̡͡I͢N͘G̸!̛̕!҉͠!̷̧͝

̢M͏҉͝em͟ǫr̡҉y ̨҉B̕͠a̧ń̸k͞͠ ̴̕D͜e͘͝g҉̵ŕ̵e̶d͜át̡io̕n͢ ͟͠à͡t ̶1̢2%

̛͘L͢a͢un̕͡c̴̀͟hi͘͝n͘g͞ ̷I̡ņ̧i҉̸t͢i̢̛͞a̵̸l̵̨͏ ́́P̧͡͠ŕ̶o̴͜͡ţ̕ȩc̨t̷̨͝i͏҉ó҉n ̨̨P͟r̸͞o̸t̷̛ò͜͞c̴͝ols͢

̧̛͡W̛A̷RN̛҉̷I͜N̴͞͝G͝!̢҉͢!̵̨!̢̡̛

̴͢P̵҉r̢̢̀o҉t̴̀oc̡͠͏ol͜ ̶̷͟F̴ài͡l͏ư͏͝r̕͏e

͢C͞orr͡u̵p̴͠t̶̕͟i͏ò͠n͟͜ ̛a̸̷͝t́́ ̡͠1̡͠0%́

24Sept13

That's chapter 2. Honestly, I have no idea what I'm going to do about the events after the end of the first season of the anime. Although the light novels, which I'm sure, are much further ahead. Hopefully, that stuff will be animated as well, but it's possible that it won't. Can't win everything, I guess. Any who, r&r. That sort of thing. Let me know what you think. Oh, and in case if you were wondering about the dates, they're the days I completed the chaps, so that can give you guys a somewhat accurate time line of how long it's been taking me to complete each chapter.