Gundam 00: IS
Mission 2: Seven Swords
Setsuna's first day at the IS Academy was a very strenuous one, since the undercover Gundam Meister was constantly showered with attention from his female classmates, he never had even a minute to himself, the girls always asking questions or inviting him to spend time with them.
"So, what's your favourite food?" Honne Nohotoke, an energetic girl with light brown hair and lazy looking eyes wearing a jacket with oversized sleeves and yellow hairpins asked Setsuna eagerly.
"Are you single?!" Another student, Kiyoka Aikawa, a girl with short purple hair, eyed Setsuna intently, hoping that the undercover Gundam Meister would give her the answer she wanted.
"Can I take a picture of you?" The last of the group, Kaoruko Mayuzumi, a bespectacled girl with brown hair holding a camera, smiled happily at Setsuna.
"What's with these girls?" Though outwardly calm, Setsuna was annoyed with all the attention he was getting. "Excuse me." The undercover Gundam Meister left the room and headed to the roof, hoping he could find some time alone with his thoughts.
Setsuna was alone on the roof, staring at the city below, the undercover Gundam Meister was thinking about his mission and the training he had received as a Gundam Meister.
"Will this mission really help put an end to war?" Setsuna asked himself, unsure of the importance of his given assignment, as a former child soldier, the life of a normal teenager was not something the stoic youth could readily adjust to.
"Oh, it's you." Ichika, who had just opened the door, spotted Setsuna all alone on the roof; the male IS Academy student then approached the undercover Gundam Meister. "You're up here all alone?" The Orimura boy asked, curious as to why the stoic youth isolated himself from the class.
"Ichika Orimura…" Setsuna gave the male IS Academy student a blank stare, the undercover Gundam Meister didn't know why the Orimura boy was approaching him.
"Kamal, right? I hope we could be good friends." Ichika smiled at Setsuna, feeling a sense of camaraderie with his fellow male student. "Man, being the only guy here sure was tough."
"Why?" Setsuna asked, having been raised as a child soldier, the undercover Gundam Meister was unable to understand why Ichika's situation was so stressful.
"Well, for starters, things always get awkward and I feel really nervous…" Ichika sighed, thinking back to his first day on the IS Academy and the attention he had received due to his gender. "But, those days are over." The male IS Academy student smiled at the undercover Gundam Meister.
"Right…" Though he still didn't understand Ichika's intentions, Setsuna accepted the male IS Academy student's friendly gesture.
As Ichika tried to hold a conversation with the stoic Setsuna, Houki and Cecilia opened the door and saw the two male students on the roof.
"It's the new student." Houki spotted Setsuna, the first thing the Shinonono girl noticed about the undercover Gundam Meister was his cold expression.
"So, you're the Azadistan Representative Candidate?" Cecilia approached Setsuna with a confident look on her face, the blonde eyeing the undercover Gundam Meister before pointing at him. "My name is Cecilia Alcott, the English IS Representative Candidate and I challenge you to a match!"
"Cecilia!" Ichika was shocked at the blonde's sudden decision to challenge Setsuna, thinking back to his own first meeting with English Representative Candidate.
"Fine, I won't hold back." Setsuna nodded at Cecilia's challenge, seeing it as the perfect chance to test Seven Swords' combat capabilities.
"Kamal…" Houki thought, surprised to see how readily Setsuna accepted Cecilia's challenge, but what was more shocking was how calm the undercover Gundam Meister looked in the face of challenging a Representative Cadet who took down an instructor. "Just who are you?"
Elsewhere in the city, Ribbons was accessing Veda through his Innovade abilities, the angelic youth's eyes glowed a bright gold as he used his Quantum Brainwaves to link to the super computer.
"Something's wrong…" Ribbons noticed a problem in Veda's mission database, several files were rearranged and some were even replaced, all the changes pertained Setsuna's mission to the IS Academy. "I knew this mission was a foolish one… sending Setsuna to the academy like that, risking Celestial Being's secrets." The angelic youth frowned, knowing that his plans would be in danger. "Someone's been tampering with Veda."
"Hey, are you spacing out again, pretty boy?" M, a teenaged girl with black hair and brown eyes, and one of Phantom Task's IS users, approached Ribbons, the mysterious girl noticed how the angelic youth's calm expression was absent from his face at the moment.
"Just some minor data gathering problems…" Ribbons gave M a gentle smile, hiding his clear frustration at the newest development regarding Veda.
"So, even Squall's boy-toy screws up." M smirked at Ribbons, enjoying the fact that even someone who her superior was so confident in made mistakes.
"By the way, I have a favour to ask." Ribbons turned his attention to M, thinking that he could utilize her for another one of his plans.
"This better be worth it…" M answered Ribbons, though disgruntled; the mysterious girl knew how important the angelic youth was to Squall.
"I assure you, this will be quite entertaining to you." Ribbons chuckled, amused by M's restlessness and abrasive attitude. "I want you to keep an eye on Kamal Majirif." The angelic youth showed the mysterious girl a photo of Setsuna on the screen.
"He's cute…" M blushed upon seeing the photo; though the mysterious girl found Setsuna's features really attractive, the one thing that truly captured her heart, was his cold eyes, eyes that looked like they've seen the very depths of despair. "I-I think I'm in love!"
"Foolish human…" Ribbons shook his head, clearly disappointed in M's overwhelming display of emotion, but the angelic youth hid that fact through his pleasant smile. "As long as you don't complicate things for Mistress Squall, feel free to pursue him." The green haired boy printed the photo and tossed it at the mysterious girl.
"Kamal Majirif…" M held onto the photo, staring at it with a crazed and predatory gaze, eyeing Setsuna intently. "You will be mine!"
Back at the IS Academy, Setsuna and Cecilia prepared for their match, the undercover Gundam Meister was thinking back to Ian's description of the Seven Swords' armaments and his training with Gundam Exia.
"I'll eliminate the target." Setsuna said to himself, mentally prepared for the coming match with Cecilia, unaware of all the attention he would be receiving.
"Kamal, are you sure about this? Ichika approached Setsuna, fully aware how Cecilia fights.
"Yeah, I accepted her challenge." Setsuna nodded in response, fully prepared for his match against Cecilia, the stoic youth then deployed Seven Swords before launching.
Setsuna flew into the stadium, clad in the armour that Seven Swords provided, while using his IS, the undercover Gundam Meister was clad in blue and white armour with two large binders and a green orb on his chest and a head attachment with two fins that formed a v shape armed with two swords, one short and the other long fixed on his waist, two beam sabres behind his shoulders, two beam daggers behind his waist, a folding sword fixed on his right arm, and a bladed shield. Waiting for the stoic youth, was Cecilia, in her own IS, the Blue Tears, a blue IS with bulky legs six wings that housed four interceptor drones, armed with a "Blue Pierce' rifle and to missile pods.
"If you give up now, I'll understand." Cecilia spoke in a haughty manner to Setsuna, the blonde was so sure of her victory, even before the match had even started. "I am the best my country has to offer."
Setsuna did not reply, instead he unfolded the sword that was fixed on his right arm, pointing it straight at Cecilia.
"How rude, ignoring a lady's speech like that!" Cecilia was enraged by Setsuna's gesture; the English Representative Candidate then pointed her rifle at the undercover Gundam Meister before firing a blue bolt.
Setsuna quickly dodged the bolt and closed in on Cecilia with his folding sword.
"I don't think so!" Cecilia deployed all four of her bits and fired them before Setsuna could get close to her, firing blue bolts all from different directions.
Setsuna took out his two beam daggers and hurled them straight at two of Cecilia's bits, destroying them; the undercover Gundam Meister then took out his two swords and dispatched the remaining two bits.
"H-he took out all my bits!?" Cecilia was shocked, having underestimated Setsuna, she had not expected her to dispatch her attack drones so quickly. "I'm not done yet!" The English Representative Candidate then fired her two heat seeking missiles at the undercover Gundam Meister.
"Kamal Majirif in Seven Swords, eliminating the target!" Setsuna then hurled his two swords at the missiles, setting them off mid-air and creating a cloud of smoke from the explosion; the undercover Gundam Meister took out his beam sabres and cut through the field, and when the smoke cleared, the winner was decided.
"I-I lost!?" Cecilia was dumbfounded, not just by her loss, but how quickly Setsuna had seized victory, the blonde then noticed the fire undercover Gundam Meister's eyes, the sign of sheer willpower was enough to make the English Representative Candidate weak on her knees, all her life, because of her father, she thought men were spineless, but what the haughty girl saw in the stoic youth was far different, and the feeling she got made her blush.
Later that day, Setsuna was walking towards the dorms when Maya approached him, wearing a very frantic look on her face; the green haired teacher looked like she had some very interesting news.
"M-Mister Majirif, your room is ready…but…" Maya looked very nervous, as if she was trying to tell Setsuna something very awkward.
"But...?" Setsuna was puzzled by Maya's behaviour; the undercover Gundam Meister had no idea why a simple matter such as living arrangements was making the green haired teacher so nervous.
Within one of the rooms of the dormitory, Cecilia was on her bed, unable to stop thinking about the feeling Setsuna had given her during their match.
"Why do I feel this way?" Cecilia placed a finger on her lips; the blonde could barely focus on anything other than the image of Setsuna's face. "Kamal Majirif…"
"M-Miss Alcott, y-you're roommate is here!" Maya knocked on the door, waiting for Cecilia to answer and hoping that the blonde wouldn't overreact.
"I'm coming." Cecilia walked over to the door and opened it, but to her shock, behind Maya was Setsuna, who was carrying his belongings in a duffel bag.
"Cecilia Alcott…" Setsuna stared at the blonde, still wearing his stoic expression, the fact that he was going to be roommates with a beautiful girl didn't seem to matter to the undercover Gundam Meister.
"H-he was going to move in with Mister Orimura, but there was a mess in the paperwork!" Maya bowed frantically; very nervous on how both Setsuna and Cecilia would handle their living arrangements.
"K-Kamal's my roommate!?" Cecilia wore a furious blush on her face, not just because Setsuna was her new roommate, but the thoughts she was having about the undercover Gundam Meister.
Meanwhile, Houki and Ichika were getting ready for bed, but something was bothering the Shinonono girl, something about Setsuna's match was really bothering the long haired teen.
"Why? Why does he seem so familiar?" Houki couldn't take her mind off Setsuna, as if a far off memory was triggered upon seeing the undercover Gundam Meister fight, but then, that memory showed the Shinonono girl something. "He couldn't be… is he that boy from Krugis?" The long haired teen remembered all the moving her family had to do once her elder sister, Tabane Shinonono invented the IS, there, she met a young boy in the Middle East. "Soran…"
At an unknown location, Tabane Shinonono was watching a recording of Setsuna's match with Cecilia; the purple haired scientist wore a pleased smile on her face.
"Hacking Veda to get Setsuna into the IS Academy worked!" Tabane smiled, proud of herself for her achievement, the purple haired scientist then pouted, this time, somewhat disappointed due to the undercover Gundam Meister's living arrangements. "But I wanted him to be Houki's roommate, because she was his childhood friend, she would have been so happy!"
Just as Tabane continued with her train of thought, the purple haired scientist heard her phone ring, and it was the ringtone assigned to her best friend, Chifuyu Orimura.
"Chifuyu!" Tabane answered her phone excitedly, looking forward to a conversation with her closest friend.
"Tabane, what's the meaning of this?" Chifuyu asked over the phone, her voice sounding uncharacteristically anxious. "What is a Gundam Meister doing in the IS Academy? I know you have something to do with this!"
"Yes! It was me!" Tabane replied to Chifuyu's question happily, the purple haired scientist felt as if she did a good thing for Setsuna. "I want him to make friends and to see Houki again…" The crazed genius's cheerful tone was replaced with a more serious and sad one. "So he wouldn't end up like Grave did…"
"Grave…" Chifuyu spoke the fallen Gundam Meister's name with a deep sadness in her voice; the memory of losing someone she loved so much was still alive in the stern teacher. "Fine, I understand… just don't go too far."
Memories of a tragic past, a ray of light in the form of a friend she lost, these experiences shaped Houki Shinonono's personality, but what if the friend she thought gone was right in front of her, in the form of an undercover Gundam Meister. Will Setsuna remember? What reunion awaits Houki? Next on Gundam 00: IS, Memories of Childhood Friendship. Setsuna, do you remember?
Technical Report:
IS Seven Swords
Known Pilot: Setsuna F. Seiei/Kamal Majirif
Generation Type: 3.5th Gen
Battle Type: CQC Type
Armor: E-Carbon
Power-plant: IS Core
Armaments:
FV Folding Sword/Rifle A
FV Long Blade B
FV Short Blade C
Beam Saber x2
Beam Dagger x2
Blade Shield
Beam Vulcans x2
Description
The IS Seven Swords was developed by Ian Vashti using test data from the Gundam Exia and combat data from the Gundam Astraea. The Seven Swords is armed with three FV or "Frequency Vibration" Blades, weapons that send energy currents through the blade to increase cutting power through vibration, designed as particle breaking weapons, the FV Blades slice through objects on a molecular level, allowing them to cut through many shields. Another feature that sets the Seven Swords apart from other IS is the notably smaller leg size, allowing more precise and human like movements in battle. The Seven Swords, despite being a Celestial Being based machine, does not rely on GN Particle Technology, so as to preserve the organizations' secrets.
Author's notes: Chapter two is done! Ribbons finds out that Veda has been hacked, and the hacker is none other than Tabane Shinonono, who hacked Veda for less than professional reasons. M develops a yandere attraction towards Setsuna and Houki knows Soran, which will be explained next chapter. Cecilia's match with Setsuna was a short one and definitely a blow to her ego, but she too is now attracted to the Gundam Meister, who through some paperwork snafu is now her roommate! Ichika will keep Rin and Ran in his harem, so no worries! The FV Blades are based on the HF Blades in the Metal Gear Series. Chifuyu approves of Tabane's plan, because of her memories with Grave, which will be explained on Gundam 00P: IS.
Now to answer my reviewers
worldwanderer2.0
Thank you for your review, we discussed it over pm and I thank you for your input.
Logius Scriba
Thank you for your vote of confidence, I'll try to keep my next chapters interesting.
SanShine
I'm glad I could help! I figured someone had to write a story like this.
Shawn-san
Thanks, I figured that would be a good way to introduce Setsuna as a spy and I'll try my best to keep this story interesting.