A Lost Guardian

by Apathy of the Abyssal Void

What does one do when confronted with things he cannot understand? Rise. Upon arrival at a school meant for girls only, this one starts a chain of events that slowly spiral out of control, descending into the Dark...Can he quell it before it can destroy him? Probably not. But trying certainly wouldn't hurt.

3. Colors

Chapter Three

Colors

-10 years ago-

"But why are we going to France, Grandpa?" I asked the elderly man beside me, who was simply reading a newspaper as we were flying on an unknown plane to said country. "I figured it would cheer you up, going to a foreign country that happens to be an ally to ours among the many others in the UN." replied Grandpa as he turned another page and kept reading. "Do you think I can make new friends in France?" I asked, feeling a little sad that I miss my old friends back home.

He gives me a side glance before resuming his reading and said, "I'm sure you'll make a new friend by the time we head back home, kid." I look at him with excitement. "You really think so?" I ask while bringing up a large smile, my eyes shining with hope. "Without a doubt. Who knows, maybe you might find that princess you wanted to protect, since you've been going on about being a 'super awesome' knight that beats up dragons and bad guys." He chuckled as I glare at him with an angry expression, my face puffed up while shaking a fist at him.

I turn towards the window with a huff, trying hide the blush that crept on my face as his chuckles gotten louder from my prior actions. I look down below to see green pastures and various farms. I began to smile again as I kept trying to see as much of the countryside as I could. 'Maybe I will find her...' I thought with curiosity as our plane began to descend.

-A week later-

I looked around in amazement, seeing all these strange structures for the first time, holding on to Grandpa's hand, pulling him along with the urge to explore. "Where are we, Grandpa?" I asked him gleefully, bouncing around like the silly kid I was. He looked at me in bemusement as I kept poking and prodding him with countless repetitive questions of the same nature. Other people watched with different emotions, some were laughing, some were annoyed or even angry about how noisy I was being.

"Excuse me." came a soft voice from behind me, I turned around to see a blond woman with an equally blond girl in tow. "It appears that you have quite the rambunctious child, sir." The woman spoke with amusement, while Grandpa chuckled and replied, "He can be a handful, but he's a good kid." She smiled and said, "It looks like you two are new here. Would you like for us to show you around?"

Grandpa replied,"I think that's a wonderful idea." He looks at me and asks,"Well, how about it?" I turned to him with a grin. "Yeah!" I nodded rapidly as I looked back at the female pair near us. "Go on." She whispered to the little girl, who looked a little nervous at first, but the woman nudged her toward me. I smile widely and asked,"Hey! Hey! What's your name?" "O-oh. Um, my name's Charl..." she whispered, still seeming to be shy. I paid no mind to this as I replied in a muttering fashion, acting like I was trying the name out, "Charl, Charl, Charl..." She blushed a bit as I continued,"That's such a cool name! The name's Artie!" Her blush lessened a bit as she began to frown at the name.

"I don't like it." she said with a disapproving look on her face. I made face as I said,"Jeez, it was just a nickname some crazy lady made up anyway. Besides, my real name is Arthur!" She brightened up at that and asked,"You mean like in the stories about the king?" "Uh-huh. My dad gave me the name, though my mom always complained that it was her idea." she giggled at that and said, "Well, my real name is..."

-Present-

Fluttering my eyes open, I look at the ceiling above me and thought, An old memory, huh? I wonder if I'll see her again. It's been so long since that day. I sit up in my bed, slowly taking in the morning rays that shined in my room. Gotta get ready for class today. I reminded myself, proceeding the morning routines as I had always done.

-In class-

I sat in my seat quietly, looking out the window as some of my fellow students were chatting in an excited manner. The only thing I heard was someone mentioning a date with Ichika. I ignore this out of annoyance, still feeling a little sore from overexertion due to the fight with the unmanned IS. The class quieted down as Miss Yamada stood in front of the podium with a smile on her face. This should prove to be interesting... I thought, watching with curiosity. "I'd like to announce yet another new transfer student!" A transfer student in our class? Who could it be?

Looking around, I could see the other students were just as curious as I was, though I wasn't showing it as much compared to the class. The door opened, giving way to the sounds of light footsteps. The first thing I noticed was that the student was wearing sneakers, along with pants above I look up, the clothing turned out to be exactly styled the same as both mine and Ichika. I look at the new student's facial features, taking in the blond hair that was tied off towards the end and that it hung in the back. I also notice the odd colored eyes as well. Purple isn't exactly a common color for a person's eyes. I thought, refocusing my attention on the whole body this time.

Before I could continue with my thoughts, the student greeted with a somewhat thick accent,"I am Charles Dunois, and I have come from France. It is nice to meet you all." A male student from France... This is very unusual. Wait, is he sparkling? Sure enough, I began to notice light shining all around him as if he was radiating beauty. There's no way... I narrowed my eyes as he answered a student's question about his gender, confirming that he's a boy as well as mentioning that there were other males in this school, which led to his transfer here. I'd like to not jump to conclusions, but this person's firing off warning bells in my head right now. That's no boy, but a girl in disguise. But what possible reason could...Oh hell no! I came to a painfully obvious realization while the female students began to go crazy over the new student.

Since Ichika and I are the only actual male students, it would make sense for people to obtain data on us. But to go so far as to- "Hackett. Orimura." Miss Orimura's voice rang out. I shift my focus to her as does Ichika, though he's more nervous of her at the moment. "Since you're both male students, I want the two of you to assist him with anything he may or may not need here in the school." She said, though something bothered me as I nodded to her instruction. "I apologize if I seem rude, but which room will Charles be staying in since there's now three male students?" I asked, and her immediate response was,"Dunois will be staying with Orimura." I respond just as quickly,"Understood, ma'am." She nodded before yelling at the whole class when they began to increase their insanity levels,"Silence, damn it!"

"Now then," she began after calming down from her shouting and continued,"We'll be doing our first practical exercise with Class 2. I want everyone to be dressed and ready ASAP. Now, get moving girls!" I began to get up and leave the classroom as Charles spoke,"So, you're Orimura. I'm-" he was quickly interrupted by Ichika,"Now's not the time. We need to get to the locker room quickly." "I agree." I chimed in, grabbing the very back of Charles' collar, dragging him out of the classroom. This action stumped the whole class, including said student that had a look of confusion as he was being dragged out. Ichika chased after us, leaving the other students to ponder on the strangeness being displayed.

"You didn't have to do that, you know." Ichika said, having caught up with us after traveling a good distance. I ease Charles back on his feet, him looking at me angrily and said,"I am with him on this. That was very rude of you to drag me out of class." "Hey, I just wanted to avoid hostilities since the girls usually change in the classroom, which allows us guys to change in the locker rooms." I responded with a shrug before continuing to walk towards the lockers. I stopped at the intersection from one hallway to another, sensing a familiar presence. I widened my eyes as scores of girls began to surround us like piranhas to the scent of fresh blood.

"Run!" I shouted, heading towards the new hallway, with the boys following me. They gave chase, rapidly closing in on us. I heard Charles ask,"Why are they making such a racket?" "Probably because we're the only boys that can pilot an IS." Ichika answered. "Oh, that would make sense." Charles said with a look of recognition. I don't think we can out run them for much longer. Time to go faster... I thought to myself.

I slowed down slightly to be near Ichika and Charles. "What're you doing!?" cried Ichika, as I nearly tripped him by mistake. "Hang on guys, this is going to be uncomfortable." I grab their respective shoulders and mutter, "False Movement: Echo Step." In that instant, I closed my eyes, imagining that our feet were running on clouds, quieting our footsteps to the point of near silence. The other students stopped as the boys began to slowly vanish from their field of vision."Hey, what's going on!?" cried one student as the boys disappeared entirely."Where could they have gone to?" "How did that happen?" All of them were squabbling amongst each other, but they all had the same question in their minds, "What made them disappear?"

-Locker Room-

When I opened my eyes again, we were in the locker room right next to the lockers we were assigned to. I released air I thought I never had, gasping for fresh oxygen that my body desperately wanted. I leaned against my locker, still trying to breathe while attempting to find Ichika and Charles. Much to what little surprise I had, I saw Ichika heaving into a potted plant, with Charles lying on the floor, facing the ceiling seeing the universe above him, dancing within his eyes. "N-never..." I heard Ichika said, pointing at me shakily, still heavily affected by the Echo Step. He slowly turned around and said, "Never put us through that hell again." "Sorry about that. That was the first time I've managed to use that technique without nearly killing a person that was attached to me. You two just managed to come through with minor side effects, no less. So, kudos to the two of you." I said weakly as I tried to move, but to no avail as I stiffened before laying against the locker once more.

Ichika paled as he turned around and began to heave into the same potted plant, with Charles coming to. He looked at me with barely opened eyes and said, "May you be cursed a thousand times over." I barely let out a chuckle as I moved to get changed at a slow pace, but fast enough to grab my uniform from the locker. It didn't take long for us to recover afterward, with me being the first to don my long sleeved upper shirt before adding the pants. Unfortunately, the clothing left the middle area bare for any and all to see. Once I began using my IS, however, it didn't matter anymore, since it had basic armor to cover that area.

"So, now that we're here with enough time to get ready, how about we introduce ourselves to Mister Dunois here?" I offered as I wait for Ichika and Charles to get ready. "Sounds like a good idea to me." He glances at the clock and notices how right he was. "Well, the name's Ichika Orimura, but you can just call me Ichika." he said, and then they turned to me, waiting for my introduction as well. "My name's Arthur Hackett, just refer to me as Arthur." I said, with a curt nod.

Charles paused, giving me a look I didn't recognize, before smiling and replied,"Nice to meet both of you, you may call me Charles." I look at the clock, widening my eyes and said,"We should get a move on, I don't want Miss Orimura disciplining us for tardiness." Ichika looked at the clock and replied,"Oh crap, he's right!" He began to remove his clothes, causing Charles to gasp and turn away. I raise an eyebrow and glanced at Ichika, who just noticed Charles' reaction. "Hey, we're going to be late if we don't change, and like what Arthur said, our teacher has a strict non-tardy policy." he said, with me nodding in agreement.

"Mhm. I will get changed, but would you mind changing the other way, please?" he asked in embarrassment. I nodded, turning away as did Ichika while replying, "Okay, I wasn't going to look, but if you insist." He looks into his locker for a brief second before turning his head Charles and adding, "Just don't-" he looks in surprise as Charles finished dressing himself in his new clothing. "Ah, is there something wrong?" I turned around with curiosity, seeing Charles in his clothes as well.

"Well, it's that you changed really fast. Do you have a secret trick to it or something?" Ichika asked, us watching Charles as he nervously replied, "N-no I don't." he laughed just as nervously as he replied, too. I thought, You have got to be kidding me. Why is it I'm the only one who realizes that Charles is faking this whole thing? Ichika continues,"Well that's a shame because it's frustrating to put these things on every time, especially since my things keep getting caught." "Your things?" Charles parroted, with me answering without missing a beat, "And how."

Part of me relished the fact that Charles face turned incredibly red with embarrassment. That was too easy. I thought, while Ichika noticed something odd about the clothing Charles wore. "Wait, yours looks really easy to put on." He noted, with Charles saying, "It's an original made by Dunois." So that's it, huh? I thought with a smile and Ichika asked,"Dunois? Isn't that the same name you have?" "Mhm, my papa is the company's CEO. The Dunois Corporation is the largest IS-related corporation in all of France." Ding. That's number 2 now...

"So, you're the CEO's son then. Now it makes sense." Ichika said as he continued to exchange his clothing. "Hm? And what does that mean?" Charles asked. Ichika replied, "Oh, I don't know. You've got class, not to mention that you look like you come from a prestigious family. So, now I get it." He gives a small noise of cheer, but was met with a sigh of disappointment from Charles. I mentally groaned and thought, Great Ichika. Now you've gone and made the kid unhappy, though this time I can't really blame you for your ignorance this time. Not only that, it looks like the kid's got a sob story too, and as it so happens, I'm a sucker for sob stories.

-Later, Training Field-

Both classes stood attentively, awaiting the next set of instructions from Miss Orimura. "Your practical training begins now." "Right!" the students chorused, me included. "First, we're going to need to demonstrate a real battle. Fan! Alcott!" Said girls had replied quickly in succession, with the teacher continuing,"Since the two of you have personal units, I believe you'd gladly volunteer. Move to the front, girls."

The girls were disappointed having being put on the spot, but the teacher whispered something to them and they suddenly changed their tunes by boasting in front of the combined classes. I slightly glanced at Charles, who whispered to Ichika,"What did the teacher say to those girls?" "How should I know?" I refocus as the teacher interrupted the pair upfront by saying, "Don't be so careless. While your real opponent's not arrived yet, I believe I can find a good substitute until then. Hackett!" I look to the teacher in surprise, "Ma'am?" "Bring out the Respite, I'm granting temporary authorization for this demonstration."

The classes looked confused as to what she was saying, with the exception of those who already know or had an inkling as to what she meant. "Uh, ma'am? Isn't that a bit much?" Cecilia asked, feeling a little apprehensive. I voiced loudly, "Understood ma'am!" I walked past the crowd up to the side of Miss Orimura. "I'll only use the most non-lethal techniques against them. But, I suppose they should get a taste of something new..." I said quietly to her. She responded, "I wouldn't worry to much about it, Hackett. They can take whatever you dish out at them."

"Okay, I just don't want to be responsible for any serious injuries they may get." I said before sighing. It's alright, two opponents that can't even work together. This should be alright. I thought, swinging my right arm over to the winged pennant over my heart. With a resounding chiming of bells, I was basked in white light before standing in my IS. I smile as I look to the girls, who brought out their units as well. The students began chatting excitedly amongst each other. I looked at them curiously before shrugging and taking off, with the girls in tow. "Just for your information, this battle won't be like last time." Cecilia said, with Rin adding,"We won't lose to you!" "Might as well get to it then." I muttered to myself within my helmet.

The girls take off in different directions, with me flying backwards to gain distance. Okay, recap time. Cecelia's IS is primarily Long-Range, while Rin's IS is Short to Mid-Range. The only things I have to worry about the most are the drones and the Ryuho. Otherwise, this is good practice for dealing with multiple opponents. Now, let's see if I can knock down two birds with a single stone. I thought, dodging the drones and the blasts from the Shock Cannon. I summoned a pair of grenades in each hand while I mentally commanded my wings to protect me from the hailing of gunfire.

-Meanwhile-

The two classes watched in awe as Arthur effortlessly avoided any attack from severely damaging him. However, they noticed the amount of times he had been able to easily avoid the attacks grew fewer, each time was becoming a close call. "Something's not right." Ichika said, with Charles asking, "What do you mean?" "This isn't like him at all. He's dodging the attacks just fine, but he would've gone on the offensive by now. He must be planning something..."

-Back to the fight-

I managed to dodge another attack before thinking, Man, I have no idea what I'm doing right now. All I need to do is wear them down until their actual opponent gets here. I block an attack from the Ryuho with my shield before side rolling an attack from Cecilia. I've got it! Let's make it a tad brighter for them! I throw the grenades, which happened to be flash bangs, set to explode upon detonation regardless of the source of ignition.

Cecilia made the foolish mistake by sending her drones out to destroy them. Realizing my plan, Rin called out to Cecilia, but was too late as I set them off, causing the female pilots to become blinded and disoriented. I spoke quietly,"False Movement: Echo Step." I immediately vanish as the bright light faded, allowing the pair to regain their vision while still having trouble hearing anything. They were looking around for me while I silently landed behind the pair. "Fragmented Focus." They quickly turned around to see several copies of me hovering behind them. We all spoke as one in a slow, long, and haunting manner, "Side by side, we march as one..." Each of us summoned a different sword of various lengths and sizes, whether they were held in one of either hand or both hands. As held our swords, we brought our blades facing the sky above with the flat side facing both ourselves and towards them. "We fight 'til all are none..." was our next verse, unnerving the girls. "What on earth are they talking about?" asked Cecilia. "I don't know, but it's creeping me out." replied Rin.

"Our foes shall fall as rain..." came the third verse, and then we launched ourselves at them unrelenting, each swing was quick, decisive as well as deliberate. Our assault grew faster and faster, forcing the girls on the defensive, never allowing them room to retaliate. However, Cecilia's drones came to their rescue, forcing us back and giving her enough space to use her rifle. "Even as we toil in pain..." as this fourth verse was spoken, a few copies vanished into dust from being blown through by Cecilia's rifle. "And with our Blades that shatter with Shields that sunder." I successfully damaged Rin's shields with a powerful blow with my sword, sending her to crash against Cecilia. The impact stunned the both of them, preventing them from attacking at the moment.

"As we cry with voices of thunder, we sing..." The remainder of us encircled the pair, our swords lowered past the horizontal level at a 45 degree angle. Soon after, each of us began to shine with flowing silver light. The girls recovered quickly and immediately went to a defensive position having observed this new spectacle. Each version of myself, including me, brought our swords to our sides as if we had sheathed them while maintaining a strong grip.

In the front of my screen, multiple boxes started to pop up, including one that said: One-Off Ability Ready. As we prepared to swing our swords, they began to glow a dark green color. "What's happening to them? Is this...?" Cecilia asked her partner, with her replying,"Yeah, this is exactly like what Ichika did the other day when he used his Reiraku Byakuya." Their conversation ended when they heard the sound of air inhalation coming from our glowing forms.

Just as we exhaled, each of us swung simultaneously, but no visible light was released from the blades. However, what came was sound that began low and started to grow until the spectators below were able to hear this new sound. But this sound was unusual, as if it was the sound of voices. Voices that actually became singing from a chorus. Though no known words were spoken, they had an extraordinary uplifting mood to it. As the invisible chorus grew louder, the sounds of instruments became just as noticeable. "Wait a minute," Rin started, and the pair weren't only ones who would comment on this phenomena.

-Training Ground-

"Is that music!?" Ichika asked as the rest of the students were awestruck by this as well. "So that's his One-Off Ability, huh?" Chifuyu commented to herself as she gave a small smile as familiar music began to play. I grinned as we shouted the name of our One-Off Ability, "Herald of Dawn!" The music exploded from our blades in harmony, unleashing powerful waves that began to overwhelm Rin and Cecelia's IS units. "This is my pride! As a debt of gratitude, I present you a small piece from one of the greatest musicians in human history, this is from Beethoven's 9th Symphony!"

The displays from their IS' began to flash wildly, which lead to the units to malfunction at a rapid pace. "Why's this happening to me again!?" cried Cecilia as her drones stopped responding to her commands and dropped towards the earth. I watched as their units began to shutdown as well, which then caused them to drop like flies. As soon as they were out of direct range of my music, the IS' began to power back up and the girls were able to regain control as they reached the ground. As the girls were ready for round 2, Miss Orimura said,"I believe that's enough, your real opponent will arrive shortly, so I expect you to be ready for when she gets here."

I ended the music as soon as they got out of range, following them rather quickly, though I stopped when I heard screaming from behind me. I turn around to see a green blur slam into me, sending both of us into the ground together. After the dust-filled explosion made from the impact vanished, I look up to see the front of Miss Yamada lying down on my chest. I could feel her pressing against me as she tried to move, while I tried my best to act like I hadn't noticed any particular things were affecting me. "Oh, Hackett. Are you alright?" I just noticed how close she was to my face.

"Er, I'm alright. Perhaps I'd be better if you weren't on me ma'am." I replied, though feeling extremely uncomfortable by this awkward situation. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she apologized, removing herself off of me and somewhat laughed. "It's fine Miss Yamada." Not long after, Miss Orimura had Miss Yamada fight against Rin and Cecilia, though they lost rather quickly to a well placed grenade that sent them spiraling into the earth. Of course, the pair had argued over whose fault it was, but Miss Orimura had said something about respecting the skill of their teachers. Somewhere in the middle of it all, I listened to Charles' explanation of the Raphael Revive model that was made by his family's company and that was currently in use.

"Now then, for the first phase of practical training, you will be formed into teams. Those with personal units will be the group leaders, so get to it already!" Naturally, Ichika was the first to be surrounded by the female students. Then another group surrounded Charles and I respectively, though only there were fewer for me to guide as the remaining students went with the other pilots as well as the teachers. Things had gone rather smoothly until the girls in the groups with male leaders all started to bow with their hands stretched out toward us with the usual 'pick me!' thing.

I swear, these girls are so odd. I thought, picking a random girl to enter the training IS. "Alright, make sure to have the IS in the kneeling position every time we rotate." I said to the student, whose name escapes me at the moment. As the next girl enters the IS, I glance over at Ichika to see him carrying Houki up into a training IS. Huh, wonder what could have happened there... I thought, facing the next student that was ready to enter the cockpit.

-Lunch-

The six of us were sitting on the roof with most of us with our own handmade meals. "What's going on here?" Houki asked lowly and Ichika answered,"Well, the more the merrier, right? Besides, Charles is still new to the school and he doesn't know his way around unless Arthur or I are there to help him." "I guess, but..." Houki replied as she angrily stared at the other girls that were with us. I noticed the girls bringing out their food with a sense of hesitation.

"Uh, Ichika? Are you sure it's a good idea for me to join you here?" asked Charles, and he happily replied,"Don't be silly, Charles. Of course it's fine. Besides, we boys should stick together since we're going to be roommates from now on." Charles looked relieved as he said, "Oh, I'm so touched. You're a really sweet guy, Ichika." I released a short snort as Ichika looked shocked and had a very small tinge of pink on his cheeks. Rin noticed this and demanded,"Mind telling why you're blushing?" Ichika steadfastly denied the accusation, though it didn't satisfy her and simply continued on with grabbing her lunch.

"Ooh, sweet and sour pork!" he exclaimed, as he gazed at Rin's lunch. It does look good. I thought, looking down at my container. Shrugging, I open it to see a pair of triangle shaped sandwiches, along with a bowl of strawberries that was covered with saran-wrap next to it. "Ah, it's gonna be a good day..." I said to myself, grabbing one of the sandwiches and pulling it out. "Oh that's right, I made BLT's using toasted sourdough bread this time." I muttered as I inspected the contents, which garnered the attention of everyone else around me.

"What kind of sandwich is that?" Ichika asked, with Cecilia adding,"Yes, do tell us Arthur." "Uh well, this is a BLT sandwich. It has bacon, lettuce and tomato as the basic ingredients. For the bread, I used sourdough bread and lightly toasted the exterior of the slices for the extra crunch to it. Though you can use just about any kind of bread for this type of sandwich. I've even made one of those sub sandwiches once and it turned out great. However, it wouldn't be very practical to be bringing that kind of sandwich to school every day." I replied, though I had rambled a bit in the process.

"Also," I added as I reached inside and pulled out the bowl full of strawberries for everyone to see. "I have these strawberries, too. I'm kinda nutty for them, since I've been eating them since I was little." I scratched the back of my head and chuckled a little. "Well, does anyone want one? I have enough for all of us to share." I offered to the group, but all had politely declined. "Oh well, more for me." I said, devouring the fruit one by one, unaware of their miscellaneous antics taking place.

-Night (Third Person POV)-

In Ichika's room, both he and Charles were sitting at a table enjoying tea. "Man, it sure is better with two guys in here, huh?" Ichika said, with Charles saying,"This is quite different from the European tea I'm used to, however it is quite excellent." Ichika nodded and sipped from his cup. Charles hesitated for a moment and asked,"I understand that you have been having your IS training done after school. Is this correct?"

"Yea, and it was thanks to Arthur I've been able to keep up with the rest of the class, but I still have a lot of work to do to avoid falling behind." he commented. Charles leaned in and asked,"So would it be alright if I start training with you? I may be of some help since I have my own IS." Ichika leaned back and said, "I don't have a problem with that." Charles nodded with a smile on his face with a reply,"Okay, it's a deal!" "Besides, I'm sure Arthur will want to join in too. I've never really seen him train, so I'm kind of curious as to what he does." Ichika added.

In his room, Arthur was reclining in his chair, facing his television he propped up on his desk (when he made room for it). Armed with his gaming console and controller, he placed the CD in the console tray before allowing it to be pulled in to the system. Looking over at the case, he smiled slightly before facing the screen. It feels nice playing this game again...Now let's see if I still have that old file Alisa and I shared whenever we'd play together. he thought, looking at the screen with the name of the title displayed: Final Fantasy X. "Okay, it looks like everything's still here. Got the items, most of the relics...crap I forgot about the damn lightning event too." he sighed in annoyance and continued,"Got that Monster Arena and the bonus monsters too. At least it won't be too difficult..."

-2 hours later-

Arthur's left eye was twitching as he watched his party members get sprayed with thousands of needles and promptly dying. "I hate those damn cacti..." he growled as his last party member stood with about 6000 hit points left, thanks to the use of a Phoenix Down. As he thought of gruesome ways to murder the infantile sized cactus, a knock was sounded on his door. Pausing the game, he walked up to the door and opened it to see his green haired teacher standing there.

"Ah, good evening, ma'am. Is there something wrong?" he asked. She replied,"Not at all. I'm here to inform you that you'll be receiving a new roommate!" He raised an eyebrow and asked,"Are you sure that it's okay to have both a male and a female student share the same room?" "I understand the concern, but it appears that your roommate has no issues with the situation." she chirped. "Alright then. I take it that she will be in class tomorrow morning?" He asked carefully, wary of this new development unfolding itself before him.

"She is, but she requested that she would like to move in immediately." she replied, and he internally cringed at the thought of this new roommate. "I have returned with my things." a new voice entered the conversation. Arthur shifted slightly to get a look at his new roommate by leaning a little forward. She was somewhat shorter than he was, though her height was similar to Rin's, so it made sense. Her hair had a dark silver color to it, some of it covering what looked to be a black eye-patch with minor red lining as well, opposite from her single, visible red eye.

Arthur noticed how the lower part of her uniform was quite large, mostly it seemed that the leggings had managed to keep them in place. Why is it that I wind up meeting girls with unusual clothing? The boy thought bemusedly, observing this newcomer with curiosity. "Ah, this is your new roommate, Laura Bodewig." Miss Yamada said, gesturing to the girl beside her. "It is nice to meet you, Miss Bodewig." He said to his roommate and she responded "Likewise. You must be Arthur Hackett, yes?" He nodded with a smile and said, "That's correct. I apologize if the room seems untidy. I wasn't expecting any new roommates for some time."

As he spoke this, he turned to the side to allow Laura to navigate the room. She looked around with both curiosity and criticism. She took notice of the console and the game that was paused at the moment. "An interesting game. I inquire as to its name." Laura stated as she looked at the screen with her single eye. Arthur replied gently, "I'll be sure to tell you once you're settled in. Agreed?" "That is acceptable." She turned and left the room to grab whatever items she brought with her. "Well alright then. Be sure to let me know if there's anything the two of you need, okay?" Miss Yamada asked, with us turning down the offer kindly as we continued on organizing the room. After taking care of her things, the girl waited as Arthur reached for the case that had been left on his desk. He held it before her, its name and image for her to observe. She grasped it, pulling it close to herself as Arthur let go of the item. A terrible mistake on his part, as Laura tossed it at the wall, watching it sail rapidly in the air with little interest. Arthur was quick to snatch it before it made contact with the wall.

He turned to her with a look of wariness, one that came with experience of growing up in a pseudo-military setting. As he watched her, he beheld the gaze of his roommate, one that had cold, hard anger and contempt. "Disgusting." She murmured, glaring at him with a look that would've ended his existence there and then. "What is?" Arthur asked carefully, trying to wrack his brain for the sudden change in demeanor.

"To think I share a room with a male that has such...despicable, unnecessary trinkets." Arthur looked at her curiously as he responded, "Really? It looked like you wanted to know about the game. My mistake then." Setting the case down, the boy made sure the data was saved before properly stowing the equipment into the vacant spaces he had placed for them earlier. "I'm going to bed now, we should get some sleep tonight so you can introduce yourself to the class tomorrow." Arthur suggested, moving the sliding mini wall to change into his pajamas, which only consisted of a long sleeved black shirt and loose, gray pajama bottoms.

Arthur slid the mini wall back in, not even noticing the fact that Laura was in the middle of changing her clothes as well. He turned away just as Laura turned and looked at his backside as he entered his bed. "Oh, I've got a question for you." He said, facing towards the window side of the room. She narrowed her one eye and asked,"What do you want?" He sighed and asked,"I was thinking that maybe we should talk more or something. Wait, that's not the question..." Laura became curious as to what he was blabbering about. "Well? Out with it." She urged in an annoyed fashion.

Arthur sat up in his bed slowly, still not looking at her as he asked, "You came from Germany recently, correct?" The girl was puzzled by this question of his, thinking of it to be of little consequence as she replied, "Yes. What of it?" He breathed out a sigh and said, "Figures this sort of thing happens. Alright, I'm gonna turn around now, are you done changing?" She gave a quick reply, "Affirmative."

He turns around, looking at her with conflicting feelings and said, "Look, here's the thing. I already knew a pilot from your country would be here at some point in time. This is mostly because I (from an unknown source) found out about the dedicated IS unit from Germany that Miss Orimura had taught for a year some time in the past because of the incident during the Second Mondo Grosso." He stopped as he watched for any emotional reaction, but only saw a vague hint of various emotions that were kept in check.

Seeing as she was okay for him to continue, he pressed on,"Obviously, I had the feeling that your anger might have stemmed from the fact she left you to return here. Not really sure how exactly, but I figured that someone of her skills would've been a far greater asset to your unit, am I correct on this assumption?" He watched as she struggled to reply,"Y-you are not wrong on this." He nodded and said, "So I guess the only thing that could possibly bother you is that there's something about Miss Orimura that makes you so angry. Care to share?"

She stood there for a brief moment, silently debating on whether or not she should tell him. "I'm willing to share a bit of myself, if only to be fair..." He added in a somewhat helpful manner. She gave an assenting nod and replied,"Alright." He gave a mental pat on the back as he silently congratulated himself for convincing her to tell her story.

- a few minutes later-

"Interesting." He said, getting up to walk to the window. "What is?" she queried as she observed his movements with a calculating eye. "The fact that you're holding a silent grudge against Ichika for making his sister 'soft', as you were to describe it." He ignored any reaction she might have had at the moment and said,"What's just as interesting is that you are determined to removed this 'weakness' that Miss Orimura, your former instructor, has by getting rid of Ichika, if this is what I am assuming to be correct?"

She nodded fiercely at this question. He let out a long sigh and turned around to look at her square in the eye. "I believe you are going about this entirely wrong, Miss Bodewig." She growled and was about retaliate, but was stopped as Arthur held up a hand to gesture that he had more to say. "What's wrong is that you have a misplaced sense of what strength is. This 'strength' is what could drive you down a path I believe one day you cannot escape from once you enter it."

"What are you trying to say?" she asked dangerously, her ire coming to rise once again, but was stopped as Arthur asked,"Have you ever stopped to consider that Ichika's the only reason she became strong in the first because she had the desire to protect him? Isn't that similar to what she told you, that she was only strong because of him?" He watched as she recoiled in surprise at each point of reasoning he gave.

"While I do not doubt that you are strong, having come from a large military background, it's that same background that's blinded you to the ideas of family and the will to protect each other, rather than being the strongest one by defeating the competition. While I sympathize the fact that you had no purpose to go on when you were not able to be compatible with an IS at the beginning, but you also had someone to help push and guide you to become an elite again. Perhaps it's time you find your own path, and not follow in the shadows of someone else."

Laura stood silently with her head down, unsure of what to say to Arthur. He walked to her and said,"Look, I understand that none of this is making sense to you right now, having just recently come here and up until now you've met someone who's telling you that everything you know isn't right, but the best thing you can take from this is to be more open minded to the world around you. While life isn't perfect, try to make the most of it while you can. Even I'm not perfect. I've made mistakes in the past..." He trailed off at the end, looking a little saddened.

With a heavy sigh and a slight clench of his hands, he spoke,"Ones I regret greatly, but don't let that tell you what you should do or not do. As long as you believe what you are doing is right, then you'll do okay." He sat on the edge of the bed, allowing Laura some time to digest this new piece of information. I hope she doesn't lash out at me for all of this. I'm only trying to help her so she won't hurt herself later on. He thought, looking at her with some trepidation. She looked at him with a serious look and said,"If what you say is true, how can I know for sure you're not wrong?" He shrugged and replied,"Like I said, it's entirely up to you how you want to live your life. If the truth is what you seek, then ask Miss Orimura. If you want to understand what strength means to another person, ask Ichika. After all that, talk to me if you still have any doubts." She nodded and proceeded to enter her bed for sleep. She paused before speaking, "There is one thing I would like to know."

Arthur nodded and asked, "Yes?" "Why go through the trouble of trying to convince me that I am wrong? Even if you were wrong, why would you want to tell me any of this?" He smiled forlornly as he gazed back to the night sky replying, " Well, that's two things but I'll treat it as a singular. I guess you could say...You and I are very much alike. Strong in ways we were raised and taught how to be without any real meaning behind it and yet, we are more broken than a shattered mirror could ever hope to be." No response was given as she turned away and crawled into her bed, resting up for what would occur in the morning. Arthur quietly descended under his sheets and began to dream another dream, yet it wasn't at the same time...

-10 years ago, France-

"Ha ha! I have slain another evil-doer! No one can match the power of Sir Arthur!" The young boy shouted with as much might as he could muster at the moment. Holding his fake sword in the air, standing with one foot on his fresh victim, which happened to be a carved pumpkin. Behind the child was a giggling voice, which was none other than Charl, holding a hand over her mouth in an attempt to stifle them. Arthur turns around with smile as he declared, "Never fear, my fair maiden! I shall protect you as the duty of a knight!"

"Oh brave sir knight, I thank thee for slaying the evil King Pumpkin! How can I ever repay you?" she asked while having the back of one hand on her forehead in an exaggerated manner. Arthur was about to reply when he heard her mother calling them to come inside the house. "C'mon, Charl!" he said, grabbing her hand and ran towards the dainty little cottage over the next hill. As they made it to the cottage, the boy saw Grandpa standing by the door with a sad smile on his face. Arthur slowed down in confusion as he asked,"What's wrong, Grandpa?"

"It's time to leave..."

-Present-

Another memory? He pondered, holding his head with one head as he tried to shake off the pulls of eternal bliss. He glanced over to see his roommate's side to be gone, having opted for the shower in the morning. Might as well get dressed and ready for class. I'm kind of curious as to how she'll introduce herself... he thought, finishing the reorganization of his bed back to its original state. In a matter of minutes, he dressed himself in his school uniform as he heard the shower turned off.

Perhaps I should leave a note for her... He mused, gathering his things before beginning to head out the room and said as he passed by the bathroom,"I'm heading out now, I'll see you in class." "Understood" was her reply, and he left the room and closed the door behind him. Not long after, Laura had dressed herself in her school uniform and was about to leave when she spotted a piece of paper on the door. Do something surprising today, it might be worth it. -Arthur. Something surprising, hm? Laura thought as she grabbed the note and crumpled it, tossing it over her shoulder into the air, landing squarely in the trash can.

-Classroom-

Students were whispering amongst themselves, Chifuyu stood by in silence with her eyes closed. Maya looked somewhat confused (or nervous) as she spoke to the class,"I have another exciting announcement. We have an extra addition to our expanding classroom today! Meet the new transfer student from Germany, Laura Bodewig!" The students were rightly unsure about the situation, causing them to talk loudly. "Please be quiet everyone, her introduction isn't over!" Maya cried out to silence the class.

Chifuyu gave her piece to the statement,"Yes. Go ahead, Laura." "Yes, Instructor." Ichika was a little surprised that there would be a student that was previously taught by his sister. "I am Laura Bodewig." she said to the class, but gave nothing else when Maya had asked her about it. Laura looked over at Ichika and said, "So you must be..." She walked over to the front of his desk and gave a quick once-over before reaching into her right pocket with her respective hand.

Pulling her hand out, she held a black glove and fitted it on the same hand she grabbed it with. I wonder what she's up to... was Arthur's thought as he watched this new spectacle with curiosity, along with the rest of the class. Once that was done, Laura quickly back-handed Ichika across the face. Most of the class gasped in shock, while others were not as surprised. Ho? Did I get through to her? His mind echoed, watching to see what Laura would say. "I don't approve of you. In fact, I will never accept that you're her brother..." spoke the silver haired German. Huh, so she still doesn't believe me...Then let's see how this goes. Arthur realized as he sat back and allowed for chaos to spring forth.

-Later that day-

This has to be the most amusing thing I've seen from the trio. Arthur thought, watching as Houki was swinging her arms around, complete with sound effects. Rin was talking about some random nonsense, while Cecilia was trying to explain the steps to perform defensive maneuvers. Unfortunately, all three of them were doing this at the same time in front of Ichika. Soon enough, "I don't get this!" he shouted, with each of the girls angrily replying to his confusion. So far, Arthur was the only other person among the group who had his IS deployed.

"So, Ichika. Ready for our match?" Queried Charles, having just arrived in his personal unit, which happened to be a Raphael Revive, thought the color scheme was the only difference compared to the IS Miss Yamada had used the day prior. "You're on!" he shouted before turning to the girls and said, "I guess I'll see you later." They weren't so happy about being ignored. Arthur muttered, "Now let's see what Charles can do." He silently watched as Ichika made the first strike, which was blocked by Charles' shield. Pushing him back, Charles took off into the air with Ichika tailing him. Quickly turning around, Charles deployed a sub-machine gun into his right hand and began firing at Ichika, forcing him to evade the attack.

I see, so Charles primarily relies on burst Mid-Range weaponry to make his opponents move where he wants them to. Arthur noted, watching as Charles dodges a reckless swing form Ichika. The blond boy then brought out an Assault Rifle, quickly damaging Ichika's Shield Points. He tried to deflect them as much as he could, but ultimately lost against Charles. Not long after, the two of them stood at the edge of a launch ramp, talking to each other. Arthur caught up to them just as they were discussing the One-Off Ability. "That's right, I remember Arthur telling me about it the other day. So far, the Reiraku Byakuya has an insanely high damage output, but at the cost of the unit's shield energy. But Arthur's One-Off Ability is much different." Ichika said, as another screen popped up next to his, showing a freeze frame of Arthur and his sword glowing in their respective colors.

"It is indeed." Arthur chimed in, landing to the right of Ichika. He continued as he glanced at the picture of himself,"The difference is that I use the power of resonance to disable my opponents rather than to outright destroy their shields." "Resonance?" Ichika asked, curious as to what he meant. "Basically what that means is that I had used the vibrations (when at certain frequencies) that makes music at a much larger scale to cause the internal systems to be disrupted long enough to shut them down. Or easier to say, put them to sleep. Kinda makes sense if you think about it."

"But didn't the IS' you used the One Off Ability on power back up as soon as they were out of range of it?" asked Charles. Arthur nodded and replied, "Yeah, that's one of the drawbacks of the Herald. If an opponent is able to avoid it or recover quickly enough, it can leave me wide open to other attacks. But since this is the first time I've used it, I haven't been able to test it to see if it can affect an ally's IS as well whether it can potentially boost their capabilities or like what happened yesterday. And that means I need to avoid using it unless I know for sure it won't hamper a fellow pilot's IS."

- a few minutes later-

A series of holographic targets lined up next to each other on the other end of the arena, each of them with different colors that depicted the number of points for the area the color represented. Arthur stood to the side as Charles handed his rifle to Ichika. "Alright, let's try it again." Spoke the blond boy as he held his rifle, but stopped as Ichika said, "Wait, I thought I couldn't use another unit's equipment?" Charles replied, "Normally, that would be the case. However, if the original owner unlocks the equipment..." "Anyone could use it as long as they're registered with that equipment, right?" Ichika finished, with Charles nodding and said, "I believe that's close enough."

Arthur smiled as Charles continued to assist Ichika on the proper shooting stance. Realizing something was off, he glanced around and saw the girls watching the other boys with some amount of jealousy. He shook his head as he looked back and saw that Ichika had just finished his practice shooting with a final score of 50 points. "Not bad, Ichika." Arthur said as he looked over at Charles and asked, "Would it be alright if I try it?" "Hm, I don't see why not." Charles said as he nodded to Ichika, who passed it to Arthur.

Taking it with a gentle grab, Arthur moved a little to the right as he positioned himself into a kneeling stance. Taking his right knee, he placed it on the ground while keeping his left bent at a ninety degree angle and held the gun the same way he watched Ichika holding it. "What is he doing?" asked Charles, looking to Ichika for an answer. To his dismay, Ichika had no answer to give because he himself did not understand what Arthur was doing. "Alright, tilt the head to the left, center the target and pull the lever." Arthur muttered as he quickly aimed at the refreshed target.

With a loud bang, he fired and destroyed the center most portion of the target on the far right. "Whoa, since when was he that good?" asked Ichika as Arthur continued to fire rapidly, consecutively destroying the other targets with the same precision. As the final target was obliterated, Arthur stood back on both feet to see his score was much higher compared to Ichika's own. "Huh, I guess I still got it. Hm?" He turned to see looks of amazement from both Charles and Ichika.

"Er..." Arthur said awkwardly, unsure of the attention he was receiving at the moment. "A-anyway, here's your gun Charles." Said boy made an 'Oh!' noise before retrieving the weapon and kept it at his side. While this was going on, there was series of noises from a group of girls that garnered the attention of the boys. Up on the nearest platform, a fully deployed IS stood still, as if basking in the sun's rays. While its primary color was pitch black, what made it stand out was its red and gold trimming. It shifted slightly to the side to reveal Laura Bodewig, the IS' pilot with her visage for all to see.

With a huff, Cecilia tersely states, "It's Laura Bodewig." Rin, only heard of her recently, asks, "The contender from Germany that slapped Ichika? What does she want?" Houki could only watch as the inevitable confrontation took place. Despite her anger, she was just as concerned for Ichika's well-being as the other girls were. Glancing over at Arthur, she noticed how calm and calculating he was as he observed the new arrival.

Oh? Quite the impressive machine she has... was Arthur's thoughts as he crossed his arms, eyeing the IS with appraisal. "Ichika Orimura!" she shouted at the boy next to Charles. "That's me. So what's up?" Seeing the Byakushiki for the first time, she replies, "So you have a personal machine? Good to know. Now fight me!" "No way, there's no reason for me to fight." he said, turning away from her.

"Maybe you don't, but I do!" she says with contempt in her voice. "Perhaps it would be for the best you fight him when the tournament comes up, Laura." Arthur interjected, causing those around him to look in surprise. Ignoring them, he continues, "In the mean time, I will gladly fight you right now." "I'm afraid not." she replies, her rail-gun lowering down as it pointed straight at Ichika. "It wasn't a suggestion, Bodewig." he replied darkly, hovering right in front of her, his sword pointed straight at her. Surprise overtaking her, she quickly looked to see him still standing in the same spot and looked back to see the other one that pointed his weapon at her. "What kind of IS is this!?" she demanded as she kept her eye on both of them warily. "One that's not meant to be taken lightly." he replied, still keeping his sword within her visual range.

"Fine then. I'll let you escape today." she said, dismissing her IS before walking away. Arthur dismissed his IS and his illusion shattered, leaving the girls to question Ichika as the former's eyes followed after Laura. She was avoiding me. Something doesn't feel right. Arthur thought, turning around as he hopped back down. "Everyone okay?" he asked, and the group nodded. "Now then, I think it's for the best that we head back to our dorms for the day." Arthur said, walking away towards the locker rooms. As he was walking away, he said, "Oh, and guys." The other boys listened closely as he continued, "There's something I'm going to need to discuss with the two of you tonight, so don't go to bed too soon, alright?"

-Late Afternoon-

Arthur stood in his room, looking out the window as the sun was shining with its hazy glow, began to hum to himself quietly. Is her need for vengeance that strong, or is it because she's conflicted on whether or not she wanted to confirm what I told her? If I hadn't interfered, would she have gotten her answer? He asked himself, closing his eyes as he muttered, "To the depths of Despair, I have been sent..." Not hearing the door open, he continued,"No one was saved, and to their graves, perished and dead. All on my head, because of me."

On the other side of the room, Laura had heard him talking to himself, but the way he spoke didn't sound remotely close to an average conversation. Opting to remain quiet, she listened as her roommate's voice began to grow louder at a steady pace."Those I have failed, feel my betrayal. The final nail, hammered by me. I didn't mean what was done..." What on Earth is he talking about? She wondered, processing his words carefully as he spoke his final verse, "If I could turn back the time now, I'd sacrifice my own life for him. Why not me? "

"You can stop hiding, Laura." he said, making her stiffen in surprise. She walked tenderly over to him as he said, "I take it that you spoke to Miss Orimura today?" Laura didn't reply, still angry and hurt from having spoken with her earlier. "I guess that's a yes then. So, was anything I said correct when you talked to her?" he asked, and again she did not reply to him. He sighed as he said, "Look, I get that things didn't work out for you after the confrontation with both of the Orimura siblings, but this is reality. You'll never get to have her back in Germany again. She'll still be here teaching the students that attend this school. What's more is that even if you did get rid of Ichika, his sister would never forgive you for taking away the only thing she has left, regardless of her position."

She gasped, not having thought of the consequences that would have followed that plan of action. While she would never directly harm her mentor, the emotional devastation would have ruined her not only as a pilot, but as a human being as well. Her eyes were downcast, having been bested by words once again. "Why..." she mumbled to herself. Arthur turned around, sensing her distress and spoke gently, "Because I too, have a family to consider. Much like Miss Orimura, I have a younger sibling that gives me the strength to be as strong as I can possibly be, if not stronger than that. I also have the pride of my family that I've carried on since the day I could fight." She looked up to him, her eye narrowed as she replied, "If that's true, then without that source, you would not be as strong?"

His eyes narrowed just as much, but smiled and replied, "If you're thinking what I believe you're thinking, then you're dead wrong. I've lost people in the past, those I've cared for deeply and even loved. Though they had all died, I was the one responsible for their deaths, with the exception of my parents. That was something I could do nothing about." "Your parents?" she asked, and he nodded sadly as he said, "It was ten years ago that they had died to ensure I had lived and ever since then, I've been trying to get stronger to make sure that never happens again. It hasn't worked all that well from time to time."

"My condolences." she said, and he shook his head as he replied, "It's all in the past now. I've come to terms with it and now I'm at peace. But, there's someone I've been hoping to meet again since that day. It's kinda strange, since I've only remembered her only recently." "Recently?" she asked, and he nodded. "Yeah, it had been not long after my parents died that my grandfather had taken me to France, to 'cheer me up' was what he told me when we arrived there. From there, I met a young girl and her mother while we were at a market. The young girl and I would play together, becoming fast friends during my brief time there. But it had only been a few weeks until the IS was announced, then after that came the Shirokishi incident was that I was forced to leave, never to return to France and her again."

"I see." said Laura, contemplating this new piece of information, looking away briefly before facing Arthur and asked,"Do you happen to know her name?" He leaned back and said, "Not really, but ever since those memories resurfaced, it's like I only saw her not too long ago..." Eye widening in realization, Laura exclaimed, "I have an idea." Arthur was slightly surprised as he responded, "What is it, Laura?" "It's the French boy, surely he must know of her." she said as she began to walk away. "That's right, I meant to talk to the guys at some point, though I suppose now's a good time to do so." Arthur said, walking behind her towards the door.

Leaving the room, the pair headed down the hall towards Ichika and Charles' room. "Maybe I should knock first, just to make sure to avoid hostilities. Is that alright, Laura?" Arthur asked and she nodded, allowing Arthur to walk in front of her to the door. Knocking on it lightly, Arthur spoke through the door, "Ichika, Charles. Are you in there? It's me, Arthur." When there was no response, he made for the door handle and opened it to see Ichika still in his school uniform. "Oh, hey Arthur. What can I do for you?" he asked, looking around and saw Laura standing off to the side.

"Um, what is she doing here?" he asked, having recalled the events earlier in the day, as well as his conversation with his sister. Arthur waved his hand and said, "It's alright, we've cleared some things up so you don't have anything to worry about right now. Isn't that right, Laura?" She looked at Arthur for a brief moment before nodding and replied, "I have no quarrel with you at this point in time. However, that doesn't mean I forgotten nor forgiven you for what you've done." Ichika slumped a little and said, "Of course you won't." "It's a work in progress, Ichika. Give her some time." Arthur said reassuringly.

"If you say so." replied Ichika, opening the door wide enough for the pair to enter the room. A quick thank you came from Arthur as they entered the room and looked around. Hearing the sound of water in the bathroom, Arthur asked, "Is Charles in the shower?" "Yeah. Which reminds me, can you hand the body soap to him? It should be in the closet." Ichika requested, with Arthur nodding and grabbed the bottle after having found it. Heading over to the door, Arthur knocked on it while speaking, "Hey Charles! Can you hear me? It's Arthur." No response was made and he continued, "Ichika wanted me to hand you this soap, since you ran out of the last one." Opening the door carefully, he walked in with the bottle in his other hand. Before he could get a foot in, he was immediately yanked into the bathroom with the door slamming shut.

This action alarmed Ichika, though he was the only one of the other people in the room at the time that had something to say about it,"What the hell was that!?" Laura had remained calm on her part and sat down on a bed, waiting until the pair exited the bathroom, which she estimated to be at least five to ten minutes. Ichika turned to Laura and asked, "Don't you find it strange that Charles would pull him into the bathroom?" She ignored him and continued waiting patiently, focusing only on finding out what possible weakness the Hackett boy had.

Meanwhile, Arthur had a brief thought in his mind as he tried to see through the hot mist from the shower that was turned off a few minutes ago. "What are you-" Arthur tried to say, but was silenced as a tender hand placed itself on his lips. Looking at it curiously, Arthur followed the hand down the smooth arm and the body it was attached to. Darkened blue eyes met purple as he reddened in the face when he remembered that Charles was a she. "It's good to see you again, Arthur." Her soft voice came out, though it struck a chord in him, as she lowered her hand down to cover her chest.

"Uh, it's nice to see you too..." he said, feeling rather uncomfortable at how close her naked body was to his fully clothed. She giggled a little before grabbing the bottle from his loosening hand and replied, "I wanted to send you a message before I arrived, but I didn't have the time to do so. Oh well." she sighed airily as she stood by while idly fiddling with the bottle. "I-i guess I'll see you later?" Arthur stuttered slightly, with an 'okay' from her and he reached for the door handle. Still the same as ever, despite the whole charade she's put herself under. Arthur thought before he heard a "Wait." he turned around and found a pair of lips placed on his cheek, making him turn bright red. After a few seconds, she moved away from his face while saying, "That was a gift long overdue."

"O-oh, I see." he continued to stutter as he left the bathroom. I wonder why she did that...I figured she would have freaked out having me seen her naked, but she didn't mind at all. Arthur thought as he closed the door behind him, but stopped as he saw Ichika standing right in front of him with an accusing stare. "Something wrong, Ichika?" he asked nervously, and Ichika said, "Yeah, something's wrong alright. You were in the bathroom for awhile now. Just what were the two of you doing?" "Oh, it's nothing at all. I uh, had trouble finding Charles with the hot water misting up the bathroom." Arthur lied, hoping Ichika was stupid enough to buy it.

"Then you should open the door to air it out then." Ichika said while shaking his head as Arthur internally sighed with relief. That was too close. Arthur thought as he began to walk away from the bathroom. "In fact, I'll go ahead and open it." Arthur froze and paled dramatically as he said, "No wait!" He was too late as Ichika opened the door to see Charles' naked female body as she blinked at him for a moment before screaming and covering herself up. Ichika rapidly apologized as he slammed the door shut, his face burning up in embarrassment.

"You idiot! Why the hell would you open the door!?" Arthur shouted at him and he said in response, "Why didn't you tell me Charles was a girl!?" "For the very reason why you freaked out just now! I didn't expect you to just brazenly open the door, especially since Laura's still here!" Arthur argued back at him, gesturing towards her, who blinked owlishly and spoke to herself,"The French boy is a girl?" "Anyway," Arthur said, calming down before continuing, "Now that the three of us know she is a girl, this could pose a serious problem for her." "How big?" Ichika asked curiously, and Laura answered, "She could face serious criminal charges, depending on the severity."

Arthur said coldly, "And there's no way in hell I'm letting her taking the fall for the company her father owns. For now, we wait until she's done with the shower and let her say her piece." Both Ichika and Laura nodded in agreement, while Arthur leaned against the wall next to the sliding glass door. Some time had passed and the girl exited the bathroom wearing track clothing. The blond girl had noticed Laura was in the room after leaving the bathroom and thought, "Huh? Why is Laura here? " Her having suddenly realizing the fact that Arthur was here as well meant that Laura must have also known her secret. Awkward silence ensued until Ichika broke it by asking, "Does anyone want some tea?" Both of the girls replied, though Charles was the first to do so, "Uh, sure. Why not?" "No thank you." Arthur had declined as well, but had asked for some water instead.

After the drinks were served, Arthur decided to start off for the whole group, "I've had some ideas of why, but could you explain the reason you were pretending to be a boy?" With a sigh of helplessness, she answered, "My family wanted me to do it." "Wait, you mean your family's company wanted you to do this?"asked Ichika, wanting clarification. "Oui. This whole plan was my father's direct order." she replied with a sad smile. Arthur shook his head and said, "Unbelievable." She looked at him and said, "To be perfectly honest, I'm not the child of his wife."

He chuckled ruefully and asked, "Illegitimacy?" She nodded as he swore underneath his breath as Ichika was confused by the reaction. Charles continued on sadly, "I had lived with my mama back in France at a very young age, though that was around the time I had first met Arthur." Ichika had a look of 'aha' on his face, while Laura's single eye widened slightly before resuming it's normal size. "It was until two years ago that some men from my papa's company came for me. That was when my mama had died." "So he never contacted you at all while you stayed in France?" Laura asked Charles and she shook her head negatively. Arthur growled lowly at the reply, his rage boiling within himself, restrained by his well placed stoicism during this bit. "After that, they had scientists run tests on me and it turned out I had exceptional compatibility with the IS. So they made me an unofficial test pilot without anyone from the outside of the company knowing."

She then looked down and said, "I had only seen my papa only twice in the past and on both occasions we've only spoken no more than an hour. And then the Dunois Corporation saw financial difficulties." Ichika was perturbed by this fact and said, "Wait, I thought your company was the third in the world when it came to producing IS units." "While that is correct, the Revive is only a 2nd generation type. Right now, the other countries have already begun research on 3rd generation models." "Which makes sense, since Cecilia and Laura here," Arthur said while looking at her briefly and refocused on the group as a whole, "transferred to this school to obtain data for that research."

Laura added, "While this may be true, I came here for personal reasons Arthur and I had already discussed earlier." Arthur nodded and glanced at Ichika, who spoke, "But what does any of it have to do with you pretending to be a boy?" "It's simple. I'm just here to act as a form of distraction while I obtain data here in this school." Charles said, with Ichika supplying, "Like an ad?" She nodded while replying, "The company felt that I would have a better chance on obtaining data on both the Byakushiki and the Respite, as well as the pilots themselves. Simply put, I was only here to steal your data all the while pretending to be a boy named Charles."

Arthur sighed and asked, "Did at any point in time believe this was what you wanted, Charlotte?" She gasped and the others looked just as surprised as she was. "What?" she asked, and he knelt in front of her and asked, "Did you really want to steal our data to save your father's company?" She was unsure of what to say as Ichika gritted his teeth in anger and had voiced his concerns, "I can't stand the thought of any parent who would use their children as if they were cheap tools!" "Calm yourself, Ichika. What's happened has happened and there's nothing that we could have done to prevent this." Arthur said gently, and the boy stopped, but his anger had not fully subsided.

"My parents had abandoned my big sister and I as kids, but now I have no intentions of ever seeing them again." the Orimura boy had added while looking away in frustration. Arthur nodded solemnly as he said, "I understand you're angry, but you already knew my situation, so I don't feel the same as you do." "What do you mean, Arthur?" The now named Charlotte asked and he replied, "I never told you back then because I didn't want to be pitied or looked down upon. The thing is Charlotte, my parents died before I met you ten years ago. The Great Fuyuki Fire that took the lives of many people, my parents among them."

She looked at him in sadness, while Ichika said, "It must have been tough growing up, Arthur." He smiled and said, "It's fine, but there's something more important right now. So Charlotte, what will you do about this situation?" She had a look of mild confusion and asked, "What will I do? I guess the only thing there is to do is to return to my home country. If I am lucky, I'll end up in jail." "Well it looks like you won't need to go then." Arthur said while grinning. Ichika added, "Yeah, you can just stay here. Besides, even if your father or the company knew, there wouldn't have been a damn thing either of them could do while you're here in this school."

"Ah, you must be referring to the school rule then?" Laura asked, as the boys both nodded with grins on their faces. "Yep. Grab the book Ichika." Arthur said, as he responded, "On it!" He began to rummage through one of the desk drawers and pulled out a small book and said, "Here it is, the IS Academy Manual." He turned a few pages and found the needed section. "It says here that 'All students attending the Academy are under its exclusive control and no country, organization or other groups can interfere with their attendance here.'' " "So basically you have three years to have a fully formulated plan to deal with your father and the company. Sounds easy enough." Arthur said as Charlotte replied, "I can't believe you memorized that. There are fifty-five rules after all." "Well despite his looks, the knucklehead here does study hard." Arthur jokingly said, giving Ichika a rough pat on the back.

"Hey!" Ichika protested, as he glared with a look of exasperation before smiling a little. "Arthur, Ichika." the boys look back at Charlotte as she bent forward slightly as she said, "Thank you for covering for me." Noticing that her cleavage was showing, Ichika looked away as Arthur replied, "It's no problem at all. Besides, what kind of men would we be if we didn't help you out?" "R-right." Ichika agreed.

"Oh." Arthur widened his eyes slightly as the others looked at him curiously. "What's wrong, Arthur?" asked Charlotte as she had a look of concern. He shook his head and replied, "I just realized that none of us have eaten dinner yet. Should Ichika and I get some food for the four of us?" Before the girls could reply, a knock had sounded on the door and a voice called out, "Ichika, are you still awake? It's Cecilia." Arthur made a shushing motion, guiding Charlotte to her bed as Cecilia continued, "Are you feeling ill?" Realizing that her presence would compromise the situation at hand, Laura quickly dove under the bed where Charlotte had been tucked into. When there was no response from Ichika, she opened the door saying, "Ichika, I'm coming in."

As she walked in, she saw Arthur tucking in the blonde boy in the bed with Ichika standing off to the side looking sheepish. "Hey Cecilia." the latter spoke as the former glanced at her oddly. "Is everything alright?" she asked and Arthur said, "Unfortunately, it looks like Charles seemed to have come down with a cold of sorts, so we're looking after him." "Yeah, he's got quite the nasty cough too." Ichika added as Charles (Charlotte) agreed while coughing. "Oh dear, I'm sorry to hear that. Would it be alright if I borrowed Ichika?" she asked hesitantly. Arthur nodded as Charles said, "Go -cough- ahead."

Cecilia looked to Ichika and said, "It appears I haven't eaten tonight either. Would you care to dine with me?" "Well, uh." Ichika replied awkwardly and heard from Arthur, "I think that it's a good idea." He looked at the pair and asked, "Are you sure?" Arthur smiled and said, "It's fine. Say, while you're at it, can you get something for Charles to eat too? I'm sure he's quite hungry." "Well okay, if you insist." Ichika relented, walking with Cecilia out of the room. Once the door had closed, Arthur sighed in relief and said, "Okay, coast is clear."

Laura popped her head up as soon as he gave the word, standing up on both feet after a minute. Charlotte had lifted the covers off herself and moved to lean against the bed frame behind her. "That was too close. If Ce-" Arthur began to say, until his body stiffened and his vision began to distort. Brief flashes of grotesque images superimposed themselves in the room, with the girls vanishing and the sensation of despair flooded the ruinous guise. 'Shit. Shit! Not now, I don't want them here! ' "Aw, what's wrong Artie? Aren't you glad to see us again? " came a dark, malevolent voice. A voice so twisted and foul, it worsened the room's already abominable condition.

'Not really.' Arthur thought, regaining his ability to move slightly, but was careful as to not strike against this false reality. Doing so would only make the girls think he was losing what's left of his tattered mind, no thanks in part to his gift.

- Normality (aka Ichika and Charlotte's room)-

Charlotte's eyes widened as Arthur just stood there, as if frozen in time, except that she could hear him talking to himself in a way that was not himself. "What's wrong Arthur?" she asked worriedly, getting up from her bed and hurried over to his still body. Once she was within arms reach of him, she called out to him once more, "Arthur, wake up! Say something, please!" Laura, despite not having any positive feelings towards the boy, was just as concerned, but maintained her distance just in case something went wrong. Part of her wondered what could have caused him to freeze in such a manner. For all parties involved, it was for the best that they didn't know...

-The Room of Frayed Planes-

"How cute. She's calling for you, Artie..." said the Voice, amused by the vain attempts to free Arthur from this grim world. 'Yeah, she is.' he replied, smiling softly as he looked to the dark form perched on the fragmented wall above him. The room had mostly vanished, replaced by hollow frames of rusted metal that gave way to the ever expanding lost world before his eyes. "You know it's pointless for her to help you, once I have regained full control of your body."

Arthur replied shortly, "Some how I doubt that. There's no way she'd give up on me, nor would I willingly allow you to take what's already mine, Demon." The creature chuckled lowly before bellowing out full laughter as it spoke, "What's already yours? How trivial. Do you honestly think that your precious light will protect you from me forever? I think not." It then jumped high from its perch, swooping down with elongated claws at the ready. "In fact, I think I'll take it now! " it shouted as it swung its deadly blades down upon Arthur. He braced himself for the impending attack, but it never came. In front of him stood an ethereal figure, basking in its own shining aura.

"Are you alright? " spoke the figure as it held it's brilliant blade against the Dark Figure's claws. "Fine as always, my friend, fine as always. Besides, I've got a little lady who needs me right now. So without further ado..." Arthur trailed off as they focused their attentions on the creature before them. The Demon struggled heavily against the blade, slowly pushing the white warrior backwards. "Oh no you don't!" Arthur said, summoning a pair of short swords and launched at its left flank, but was pushed back as well when the Demon swung its other set of claws with as much strength it could muster at that moment.

With an angry huff, Arthur slowed his reversed momentum to a grinding halt before launching on the offensive once more. This time, took advantage of the Demon's momentary inattentiveness and forcefully pushed it into Arthur's path. The boy then let loose a flurry of swings and strikes that caused the monster to be set on the defensive, blocking the swords as much as it could until it received a heavy blow from the White's sword, leaving a deep scar that emitted a bright white light from its body. It howled in pain, clutching at its wound frantically, glaring at the pair with insurmountable hatred in its hidden eyes as it rasped, "Damn you! Damn the Light you have! It won't last, not for long! " Its breath became more haggard, slowing down as the creature's strength dwindled away. Arthur rolled his shoulders a little, hefting his right blade behind his head, allowing it to gently rest without difficulty. His angelic ally, settled itself into a kneeling position, much like he had done in the past. With a hum, it spoke with a regal voice that echoed throughout the barren wasteland:

I venture with sword and shield,

Never wavering in my steps,

For I am the Guardian to the Weak,

Savior to the Helpless,

Purveyor to the Starving.

My Light shall protect thee as it had for myself.

The monstrosity realized what would transpire, and quickly launched itself at the boy before its opposite could finished, all the while screaming, "NO! " Before it could harm Arthur, the brilliant light that once encased its mirror self, slowly faded away as streams of light flowed onto his body. As the blackened blades descended, they were quickly impeded by Arthur as he blocked the slash with both swords. With this new empowered strength, he launched his foe into a stone column, impacting it with a sizable crater before said pillar collapsed on top of it. As the creature was covered by the earthen material, Arthur spoke loudly, his voice level matching the ethereal being's own:

And to the those in Despair, I shall bring Hope.

To those who are Lost, I shall Guide.

To those who are Burdened, I shall Carry.

Let the Light grant me the strength to perform these miracles.

A loud explosion rocketed the debris outwardly in every direction, with both Arthur and his ally protecting themselves from the blast. A hideously blackened aura now surrounded the monster, its voice growling with anger, hatred, despair and any twisted form of the human emotion it could possibly mock with its presence. "YOU..." it spoke, trudging its way slowly to them, its opponent's raising their guards in wariness. "MINE...MINE..." It repeated endlessly as Arthur and the figure next to him spoke at once, allowing their combined presence to push back the ever growing darkness that began to encroach the mental landscape. This was their rite:

To Wickedness, I grant Punishment...

To Murder, I deny Absolution...

To Corruption, I deliver Damnation...

To Evil, I pass Judgment...

Thus I solemnly decree...

The creature lunged, its target within its reach, using all of its remaining strength to rend Arthur asunder. It was not meant to be, for Arthur had impaled his swords through the abomination's shoulders and the White Figure ran its sword into the monster's chest. The Dark Figure stopped breathing for a moment, as its opponent's gave one last phrase before it faded away into the sky above:

Heaven's Will

Arthur breathed deeply before picking up his swords, exhaling softly as he looked at the scenery changing before his eyes, the world becoming a vast white void once more. His companion turned to him, his being barely recognizable amongst the background, its expression unreadable. "How much longer will you prolong this? Every time the Demon is vanquished, the Darkness revives it again to torment you. I cannot protect you if you are not willing to remove the Darkness itself." It spoke to him concernedly, with Arthur replying in annoyance, "It's not that I won't, it's more like I can't..." "Go on." it urged as gestured for its partner to continue.

He nodded and replied, "During the night of the fire, I had briefly felt something unbelievably horrendous that I couldn't even begin to comprehend what it was. But all I had seen then was some sort of mud-like substance that simply gave off this feeling like I had stared at Evil itself. It must have been that same substance that could have latched onto me prior to my rescue." "This does not bode well, Arthur. Even with the power we currently have, it may not be enough to simply force the Darkness back, should its Avatar return once more..." It was then Arthur closed his eyes and asked, "And if the worst should come to pass?"

It bowed its head as it replied, "We must to do what is necessary. Even if that means removing our very existence from the Earth. And to do so..." "I must remove all traces of myself, including all memories of myself here, if it means that the Darkness cannot return." Arthur said sadly, having done so many a times in the past. "There will be no turning back if you make that decision, you know this." Arthur nodded, looking down with a small frown.

"Will you tell her? You've always made it a priority to be honest with her no matter what would happen, even if she ends up hating you for this." It continued as Arthur walked away aimlessly. He stopped, his shoulders slowly began to shake, arms at his sides with tightened fists. "No." he whispered, nodding his head in agreement with his verbal answer. "I can't do that to her again. Not anymore..." He drifted off, looking back at his companion with anguish visible on his face.

"I see. What you wish to do is your decision, Arthur. I will be at your side if you need me." The Figure disappeared into the void, leaving its ally as the sole occupant in his empty realm. Arthur turned away from his ally's point of departure and held a distant gaze as the world began to shift once more, one of solitude. The white surface below him peeling away to reveal a rocky landscape, the endless sky above darkening, becoming riddled with shining lights in the sky. But the brightest light came from a large moon, hanging above him like a lantern to guide his way.

I'm sorry my love. No matter how many times I have tried, I couldn't save our world we tried so hard to build. And every time I had fallen, I left you in despair, driving you to the verge of madness and eventually death. And every time I returned, regardless of the point of origin, you would never remember what happened, thus furthering my own despair. I don't want you to suffer anymore. And when the next time comes. I will ensure that you can live a happier life without me...I-I- His thoughts broke as he collapsed, finally giving into his tightly controlled emotions that held onto for eons...and cried.

As if sensing his awakened despair, the world shattered...

-Reality Once More-

Charlotte's eyes widened as she saw Arthur's eyes grew hollow with a vacant stare, his body unable to move on its own. "Why won't you answer me!?" she half-shouted to the boy she cared for deeply, fearing that he may never break from his trance. To her surprise, however, it seemed as though he had. His arms slowly raising upwards, and she embraced him tightly. The arms then drooped down her shoulders as he mumbled incoherently. Looking back up at him, she saw his vacant eyes filled with water as it spilled down his cheeks, though the expression in his eyes had not changed.

"W-why are you crying?" she asked, her voice shaking, confused by his unusual responses. Then what she heard next, shook her down to her core, "I'm sorry, my love." It was then his body began to fall forward as he held her unknowingly. As the pair fell to the ground, Laura became alarmed at the sudden change of events. "Hey-" she said, moving to grab the boy before Charlotte interrupted, "Wait!" Laura stopped as she saw Arthur began to shake uncontrollably and heard something that would be the last thing to hear from him...his sounds of sorrow. He cried quietly as he kept repeating, "I'm sorry..."

This only served further confusion for Laura as she watched Charlotte's eyes soften and began to console him, whispering sweet nothings into his ear. After a few minutes, Arthur grew still, having finally stopped shaking and crying. With Charlotte nodding to Laura, the girls began to move Arthur onto her bed to allow him to rest. It was then that Ichika returned to the room, with a tray of food in his hands. Upon seeing the change in the room, he asked curiously, "Did I miss something?" The girls looked at each other quickly before looking at him and replied, "Oh no, it's nothing." "None of your business, anyway."

Chalking it up as to it being Arthur's fault, he shrugged and continued on with serving Charlotte her food as the trio began to talk as Arthur slept soundly, unaware of the words he had spoken earlier. Why would he say that? Does that mean he really thinks of me in such a way? Ooh, why does he have to make me so flustered right now!? Charlotte thought, a faint line of pink adorning her face, unnoticed by Ichika and Laura. Maybe I'll ask him in the morning...

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08Dec13

AN: Whew! Finally finished this chapter. To be honest, I've been hit with copious amounts of the deadly Writer's Block. I've had the idea of maintaining a run-along for canon, while placing something new into it. As you can see, things are not as they appear to be. What does this mean for Ichika and his friends? What will become of Arthur? Wait and see...

Until then,

The Void bids thee farewell...