And Then There Were Two...
A/N: The newly inserted character comes in as a first year student during the other main character's second year of school.
Chapter 1
Nick still couldn't believe what was happening to him. He knew he wasn't supposed to do it. It had been such a stupid thing to do. He'd been visting his Uncle's factory in California, as part of a vacation to celebrate his sixteenth birthday. His uncle, Tyler Williams, was the CEO and head designer for the largest Infinite Stratos company in the US, and the second in the whole world.
He'd been getting the tour of the factory when he'd wandered off to see the place for himself in his own way. Even though it had been years since Nick had been in the factory, he'd had the exact same tour the last time he'd been there and he'd been bored out of his mind seeing the same things again.
Having successfully sneaked away from the personal tour guide, Nick had made his way to where he thought the restricted area would be and he'd been right. He'd found the area marked "Prototype Testing," located behind an impenetrable security door. Impenetrable, that is, unless you had the access card pickpocketed from your uncle. Nick swiped the card through the security console, and input the access code, remembered from when he'd gotten the tour directly from his Uncle Tyler in his youth. The doors slid apart, and Nick stepped into the room.
A single beam of light switched on, illuminating the form of a dormant IS in the middle of the room. Although it was in its sleep mode configuration, Nick could tell that it was quite far from a typical IS, it was smaller and more compact somehow. That was as far as he could tell without it being activated. He stepped further into the room, approaching the machine. Even though Nick knew there was only one guy in the whole world who could pilot an Infinte Stratos, he felt drawn to the IS in front of him. Even though he knew there was a danger to men who attempted to pilot IS's, he couldn't stop himself. He reached out to touch the machine. His Uncle Tyler then burst into the room behind him.
"Nick, don't!"
But it was too late, Nick's hand was resting against the IS and incredibly, it responded. The exo-suit machine lit up and activated, morphing out to its full size and shape, and that was how it had started.
The news had broken almost instantly and Nick's face and bio had been plastered all over the world. A full scholarship had been offered to Nick by the IS Academy in Japan for the coming school year. It's taken him about a week of thinking to make his decision. He hadn't wanted to leave his friends and his own school in New York, but the chance to be a real IS pilot, with all the thrills, adrenaline, and potential fame and fortune that came with it had been irresistible. Plus, the thought of being one of only two guys among hundreds of girls had its own attraction as well.
His own clothes and personal possessions had all been shipped ahead and his flight had been stress free, but his arrival had not been. For some inexplicable reason, no one from the school had thought that an average American kid from New York who did not speak or read a single word of Japanese could use an escort from the airport to the school itself. He'd taken the wrong train out of the airport and had spent four hours wandering around lost until he'd found a person who spoke English well enough to direct him to the right transport that would get him to the transport that would take him to to the IS academy.
He was, at that moment, lost again, wandering around the school, looking for his class. Even though he did not have his school uniform yet, was severely aggravated and was strikingly late for his first day, he thought he should at least go to whatever classes he had left. He finally saw a girl in a school uniform passing near to him and hurried over to speak to her, lightly touching her shoulder to get her attention.
"Excuse me, could you please tell me how to get to class 1-1?" Nick asked.
The girl responded, "Sumimasen ga, eigo wa hanasemasen. Wakarimasen."
Totally clueless about what the girl had said, Nick's face fell.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help but overhear. You said you're trying to get to class 1-1?" He heard a different girl ask from behind his back.
Nick was immediately interested and aroused by the sound of her voice. It was a clear, feminine, elegant voice with the most alluring British accent he'd ever heard attached to it. He turned and saw that the beauty of her appearance matched the beauty of her voice. She was short, no more than five-feet one-inch, had bright blue eyes, long, golden blonde hair and magnificently large breasts. Nick thought that she had to be the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen in his life.
With his own proportions of six-foot one and two-hundred-twenty pounds, Nick towered over her, as he had everyone he'd seen and met in Japan so far.
"You must be our new transfer student." She said, approaching him. "The second boy to be able to operate an IS. We've been looking forwards to meeting you."
She stood in front of him, holding her hand out to shake and Nick, forever cool under pressure, did what he thought would be the best thing possible to make a good first impression on this girl. He took her hand, leaned forward and gently kissed the top of it.
"Oh, my!" Cecilia was taken aback. "My, what a gentleman. I don't see manners like that quite so often."
Nick straightened up and looked her in the eye. "Well, when a man meets a lady such as yourself, he should extend her every courtesy."
He had no idea where that action and the formal, utterly fancy sentence had come from, but considering he'd never had much luck with girls back in the states, he absolutely loved himself for saying it and saying it so well.
"Well, you certainly know how to greet a lady. My name's Cecilia Alcott and we're to be classmates." She said.
"I think I'm gonna like this school." Nick thought to himself. He then said outloud, "I'm Nick Williams."
"Pleasure to meet you, Nick. I'm afraid homeroom is over, but I know our teacher and dorm supervisor, Miss Orimura, will want to see you. I think they were expecting you to arrive yesterday evening and have become quite concerned over you." Cecilia said.
"Ah! That must be why there wasn't anyone to meet me at the airport this morning. The airline made a mistake and I got bumped from my original flight." Nick said.
"Yes, that surely must be the reason. If you'll simply follow me, I'll take you to Miss Orimura." Cecilia said.
"Gladly." Nick said back.
He then allowed Cecilia to lead him into the school.
Nick spent most of the remainder of the day being interviewed by the famous Chifuyu Orimora and for reasons he couldn't understand, being poked and prodded by doctors and nurses. He'd been let out just in time for dinner and followed the crowd of girls to the cafeteria.
In his black leather jacket, boots and blue jeans, he stuck out like a sore thumb among all of the white school uniforms. In line for his food, amongst the hundreds of girls surrounding him, Nick had never felt more aroused and more unable to do anything about it. Especially since every single girl's eyes were on him and they were all trying to introduce themselves to him, whether they spoke English or not. He got his dinner of rice, sushi, and croissant and instead of even attempting to use chopsticks, he picked a fork out of the untensil tray.
Nick looked for a table and was about to sit to one alone when he spotted the only face he knew: Cecilia Alcott. She was not just the only friend he had so far, but he exceedingly wanted to possibly make her more than that. He made his way over to her table, and mentally lost a bit of steam as he saw the five people sitting with her. She was on the edge of an almost fully circular booth with four other girls and the only other guy in the school. Nick knew from the news the year before that his name was Ichika Orimura. He'd been hoping to talk to Cecilia alone, but, he knew that he and that Ichika guy were arranged to be roommates and it wouldn't be bad to get into a whole group of friends anyway.
Nick stepped up to the table, instantly getting the attention of everyone.
"Hi, Cecilia. Mind if I join you guys?" He asked.
"Oh, no! Not at all. Please, do sit down, Nick." Cecilia beamed.
Everyone scooted and bunched closer to each other and Nick sat down next to Cecilia.
She introduced him, "Everyone, this is our new classmate and the only man besides my Ichika Dear who can pilot an IS, Nick Williams."
"'Ichika Dear'?" Nick thought in his mind.
He recovered quickly and addressed the group.
"Hi everybody. Like she said, I'm Nick, and since Cecilia didn't speak any Japanese just then I'm assuming all of you can understand me."
"Yeah, we all speak English." Ichika said. "It's nice to meet you, man. I'm Ichika Orimora."
A cute, second blonde girl with purple eyes then said in a French accent, "Bonjour, I am Charlotte Dunois."
A girl with long brown hair split into a two part ponytail, blue eyes, and a bustline that while not absurdly exorbitant, still nearly defied description and measurement then gave her name.
"Glad to meet you, I'm Houki Shinonono."
A Chinese girl with striking green eyes said, "I'm Lingying Huang, but everyone calls me 'Rin'."
The final girl at the table, was a platinum blonde with an eyepatch over one eye and a cold aura surrounding.
She said in a thick German accent, "Jawol. I am Laura Bodewig."
"Nice to meet all of you." Nick said.
"Yeah, and I guess you and I are going to be roommates." Ichika said.
"Yeah, I guess we are." Nick replied.
All five of the girls at the table then seemed to pout. Nick was confused for a split second until he realized it had happened almost instantly after Ichika had mentioned he and Nick being roommates. Were the girls upset about that? They all the continued to eat as they spoke.
"So, Nick, please tell us about your IS." Cecilia said.
"Yes, sil vous plaît, we have all been very curious. There is not much data on your unit available." Charlotte added.
"Well, it's not quite the typical IS." Nick said.
"How's that?" Rin asked.
"Well, for one, while it's technically what you'd call a generation three-point-five. Its design is a lot different from the standard model. On top of that, it's designed for a lot greater speed and maneuverability than others." Nick described.
"What fighting style do you use?" Charlotte asked. "Close-range or long-range?"
"Actually, Speed Demon's specialty is for unarmed combat."
"Unarmed. Interesting. You fight vith no veapons." Stated Laura.
"But, how can you even hope to have a chance in an IS match without any weapons?" Houki asked.
"Well, they had to reduce weight in order to accommodate the increased speed and maneuverability, and one of the ways they did that was by getting rid of the weapons. I've got or two things on board, but for the most part, its just me and my fists and feet." Nick said.
"Than you must really be the perfect pilot for it." Houki said. "I read you're a champion in both Karate and Wing-Chun."
"I've won a few competitions but its not much to bragg about." Nick said.
"That all sounds awesome!" Ichika said. "We ought to have a practice match. See how your machine can handle against my Byakushiki!"
"Sounds like fun. You're on!" Nick exclaimed.
"Great! We'll do it tomorrow after school."
Cecilia then said, "But, Ichika Dear, we have our private training tomorrow after class."
"So do we." Rin said.
"As do we, my bride." Laura said.
"And us." Charlotte chimed in.
"Us too!" Houki said loudly and a bit angrily.
Nick was thoroughly confused by that point.
"Wait, you fi... 'bride?'" Nick asked, his brain still trying to process everything.
He shook his head clear and got back to his main point.
"You mean, all five of you give him special, one-on-one training after classes everyday?"
All of the girls nodded affirmative. Nick looked to Ichika to explain.
"Yeah, I'm actually kind of a weak pilot and everyone's good enough to help me." Ichika said.
"Although, unfortunately, it usually turns out to be more of a group activity than a private session." Cecilia complained.
She, Laura, Houki, Charlotte and Rin than all exchanged a quick look of hostility. Nick then finally understood.
"All five of them like him." He thought to himself. "Seriously? Even Cecilia?"
He looked to his left at Cecilia, seeing the rivalry in her eyes, and he mentally sighed, knowing that getting her attention had just become a far more complicated task. Cecilia then noticed Nick staring at her and met his eyes with hers.
"What is it, Nick? Do I have something on my face?" She asked.
"Oh, no. Not at all. Your face is, uh, just perfect."
Nick then screamed at himself in his mind, "PERFECT!? PERFECT!? YOU COULDN'T COME UP WITH ANYTHING BUT 'PERFECT', YOU IDIOT!?"
"Oh, uh, thank you very much." Cecilia said with a smile, blushing just a little bit.
"So, uh, we were talking about a practice match!" Nick nearly shouted, trying to change the subject.
"Yeah, we were." Ichika said. "I really think it'd be great. We'd all get to see Nick's IS and piloting skills and then maybe he could join us for all the training after."
"Vell, I am eager to see zis 'Speed Demon' unit und it does sound like an acceptable compromise." Laura said.
"Yes, it sounds merveilleuse!" Charlotte contributed.
"Of course, we should consider whether or not they're evenly matched. How are your skills, Nick?" Rin asked.
"Well, I did defeat my instructor during the test match." Nick said.
"Quite impressive!" Cecilia squealed.
"In that case, I think you and I should be the ones to go at it." Houki declared. "I'm far better at IS fighting than Ichika and I'd love to test my kendo skills against your martial arts."
"I guess I wouldn't really be able to see your skills as well if I was the one fighting you. We'll have a bout some other time." Ichika said.
"Okay, I guess its all set up then." Nick said. "We'll have the match tomorrow in the arena... uh, I'm sorry, Houki, right?"
Houki nodded. "Yes, that's my name."
"Let me just make sure I've got everyone's name straight." Nick said.
He went around the table, pointing to everyone as he sounded off what he was fairly sure was their name.
"Laura, Rin, Houki, Ichika, Charlotte, and Cecilia I know for sure."
"Right on the money." Ichika said.
"Hey Cecilia, I was thinking maybe you could give me a tour of the school before class tomorrow. Help me get my bearings of the place." Nick suggested.
Cecilia was about to speak, but before she could, Ichika broke in.
"Don't worry about it, man. I'll make sure you know your way around."
"Thanks... Ichika." Nick gritted through his teeth, only half keeping the frustration out of his voice.
"No problem, man. What are friends for?" Ichika asked.
"I'll tell you when I figure out if you're playing at anything." Nick thought.
Out of all the girls, only Laura noticed Nick's displeasure at Ichika's offer.
"Hmm. Potentially interesting." Laura thought to herself.
"Well, since it seems I won't be conducting your tour, perhaps you'd like to join us for lunch tomorrow on the roof?" Cecilia asked Nick.
"Yeah, I'd love to." Nick said.
"Excellent. I'll make some of my delicious English dishes for you and Ichika Dear."
"You're gonna cook?" Rin asked.
"And why not?" Cecilia asked back.
Rin made an audible gulp and a shuttering sigh. "I'll make my sweet and sour pork and bring it along to revive Ichika and Nick's stomachs afterwards."
"Hmm!" Cecilia huffed in protest.
"I'd better bring along a couple of my signature bento boxes too." Houki said.
"And I shall bring some delicious French cuisine as well." Charlotte said.
The rivalry flashed between the girls again. They all then continued to talk and eat until their meal was finished. They all got up from the table and stood for a moment, Nick and all the girls saying their goodbyes.
"It was great to meet all of you. Houki, I look forward to our match tomorrow." Nick said.
"So do I!" Houki enthused. "I can't wait!"
"Charlotte, I've never met a French person before and I have to say, you make a fine impression for your country." Nick said.
"Merci beaucoup!" Charlotte thanked him.
"Rin, we didn't talk much, but I think we're gonna be good friends."
"Yeah, I think so too." Rin replied.
"Laura..." Nick trailed off, trying to think of something to say. "Nice eyepatch."
"Thank you."
Nick then turned to Cecilia.
"Cecilia, it was a real pleasure to see and speak to you again." He said.
He then took her hand and kissed the top again.
"Yes, it was my pleasure as well." Cecilia said as she drew her hand back.
"Very interesting." Laura thought to herself.
The group then all dispersed with Ichika leading Nick back to their room.
An hour later, Ichika emerged from showering in the bathroom and found Nick doing crunches on the floor of the room with his shirt off.
"Jeez dude, you're really ripped!" Ichika blurted out.
Nick stopped halfway through another crunch.
"Uh... thank you?"
"I, I didn't mean anything by that!" Ichika blurted again. "I just meant it's nice to finally have another real guy in here."
"A 'real' guy?" Nick asked, becoming increasingly concerned.
"Uh, this isn't really going well, let me explain." Ichika said.
Ichika then moved over and sat down in one of the chairs in front of the long, dual person work desk. Nick stood up and sat down in the other chair.
"All I meant was it's nice to finally have another guy friend here. See, when Charlotte first got here last year, she kinda posed as a guy at first." Ichika explained.
"Charlotte posed as a guy?" Nick asked.
"Yeah. See, it was her father's idea to try to help his company, the largest IS producer in France. She was supposed to send him information on me, my IS and several others, but I sort of walked in on her in the shower and discovered the truth."
"You saw her in the shower?" Nick asked, trying to make sure he had it all straight. "Because she was living in here with you because she was posing as a guy?"
"Yeah. Of course, that was after Houki moved out." Ichika said.
"Houki lived in here too?" Nick asked.
"Yeah, for quite a while. They couldn't give me my own room after all." Ichika said.
Nick's head was spinning from all of it.
"And, have any of the other girls in your group...?"
"No!" Ichika blurted. "No, they haven't. It's just been me in here since Charlotte moved out after she revealed she was really a girl."
"I guess that's why I had to spend three hours getting checked out by the infirmary doctors." Nick said.
"I guess so." Ichika said. "They probably didn't want a repeat of Charlotte."
A thought then entered Nick's mind. If he was going to pursue Cecilia, he had to know what exactly her situation was in relation to Ichika. He didn't know for sure how to word it, but he had to know.
"Ichika, can I ask you something personal?"
"Sure, Nick."
"Uh, I just really need to know, for my own peace of mind and because I'm kinda confused, what exactly is going on between you and all the other girls?" Nick asked.
"Going on?" Ichika asked back. "Going on how?"
"Can he really be that dense?" Nick asked himself in his mind.
"Are you seeing any of them? In a 'more than friends' fashion." Nick asked out loud.
"What?! No! We're all just friends. I mean, none of them even feels that way about me." Ichika said.
"Really?" Nick pressed the issue. "Not even Houki or... Cecilia?"
"No, not at all." Ichika said. "I mean, 'I' sometimes think about Houki that way and they're all really cute, but with all the times they yell at me and get mad at me and hit me, sometimes I'm not even sure they like me as a friend."
"Wow. He might be a nice guy, but Ichika seriously hasn't got a clue." Nick thought to himself. "But, his stupidity is my gain. As long as he doesn't give Cecilia any encouragement, and if I can keep somehow stumbling my way through this 'gentleman' thing I've got going on with her, it shouldn't be too much trouble to get her attention and get her to go out with me."
"Okay, thanks man." Nick said aloud.
"No problem. We should probably get to sleep now. You're gonna have a big day with Chifuyu and then fighting Houki after school and everyting." Ichika said.
"Sure." Nick said.
Nick then showered, changed into a pair of sweatpants and got into bed, reflecting on his first day in Japan. In one single day, he'd gotten lost twice in a foreign country, met a stunningly beautiful girl and, in fact, many stunningly beautiful girls, learned the one girl out of all of them he liked was interested in someone else and was at that moment sleeping a few feet away from that other guy. He went to sleep thinking it couldn't get any crazier from there.