Notice: I do not own Infinite Stratos or any of its associated characters. There will be announcements at the end of this chapter so be sure to stay tuned. In the mean tine, enjoy this chapter of Infinite Stratos: Burning Star!
Connor slowly awoke with a groan as he sat up in his bed and yawned. Looking over he saw Ichika still asleep and then checked the time.
"9:47 huh? Well, guess I should get ready." He said getting out of bed and stretching. He then went and took a quick shower and changed into his Misfits outfit.
After Connor got out of the shower he looked at Ichika who was finally waking up. Connor nodded to his friend before walking over to his things and began digging around. As he was doing so Ichika stood up and looked at Connor.
"Can't wait to see you in action man." He said with a grin and Connor laughed.
"Neither can the world I bet." He replied as he stopped looking in his belongings, "Found it." He said.
"Found what?" Ichika asked him, walking over to his friend.
"My old picture with my team. Knew I had it somewhere." He said setting the picture up beside his bed.
The picture showed five guys, all of varying age, and one girl with their arms on each other's shoulders. Connor smiled at the picture and Ichika put a hand on Connor's shoulder.
"You'll see them again Connor, I can feel it." Ichika said and Connor nodded.
"I better, or else I'm going to beat their asses." He replied as Ichika took a closer look at the girl in the picture.
"Hey Connor, that girl kind of resembles you." He said, pointing his finger at the girl.
"That's because she's my little sister. She's a huge gamer, so maybe she'll be at the tournament in the crowd. Her alias was Green Dragon." He said to Ichika.
"Wait, so the Twin Dragon combo you guys pulled off in that match of that fighting game was you two?" He asked, slightly dumbfounded.
"Yep." He said with a smile.
"Can you please not get any cooler." Ichika said with a frown.
"No can do my friend. Coolness just attracts itself to me." He replied with a slight laugh and then Ichika lightly punched him in the shoulder.
"Don't get to cocky now. Come one, let's go see if the others want to come to the match." Ichika said as he began walking out of the room and Connor followed.
After the two of them met up with the girls and asked them if they wanted to go see a gaming tournament, they left out the part where Connor would be participating, the girls agreed.
-
As the group made their way into the city via the tram they began walking around till they found the gaming company that would be holding the tournament. As the group walked in, Connor showed his tattoo to a guard, without the others noticing, and they walked in. Upon seeing the immense space the company's entrance room had the girls looked around with open mouths. Connor smiled and then he saw the place the contestants were to enter.
"Hey, I'll catch back up with you guys in a bit, there's something I need to do." He said waving bye to the group he began walking off.
"Where could he be going? The tournament is about to start." Houki said with a confused look and the others nodded.
Ichika simply shrugged with a smug looked and they walked into the room the tournament would be held. They were then seated in the front row, directly in front of the stage, and sat down waiting for the tournament to start.
-
As the room quickly filled up and everyone took their seats the lights began to dim as the man Charlotte and Connor ran into walked onto the stage with a mic in his hands. The room went quiet as he began to speak.
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen, today we will be hosting the first gaming tournament of this company. To celebrate such an occasion, we have invited multiple gamers from across the area surrounding the ISA and its associated districts. Everyone here is a gamer of their own skill and each are determined to win the tournament. Without further ado, let's begin the tournament!" He yelled that last part and the room erupted. The only ones not cheering was part Ichika's group, they were all concerned that Connor would miss the tournament that he and IChika had invited them too. Unaware to them, Connor had the best seat in the house.
As the tournament began, gamers from all over began competing in a various array of one versus one games. One at a time, each of the gamers were eliminated and sent back to the gamers lounge with their heads hung in defeat. As the final two contenders approached the gaming platform Ichika noticed something. One of the contenders was no other than his best friend, Dan Gotunda. When Dan and his opponent took to the platform they shook hands as many others had done in the other matches. With that the announcer turned on the mic in his hand and began to talk again.
"I would like to congratulate our two final contenders to making it this far. Now, a new reward for winning the tournament has come up. The winner will be able to fight the representative that we have found to well, represent our company. In other words, we have a sponsored gamer who the winner will get the honor of fighting. Whether win or lose, the winner of this match will still get the reward that was promised to them, while if they win against our sponsored gamer, they will receive another prize." He spoke.
At the announcement of a sponsored gamer fighting the winner the crowd went wild. On stage, the two gamers had their eyes filled with determination at the thought of beating a sponsored gamer. The two then took their respective seats and began their fight.
After a grueling fight that had everyone on the edge of their seats, Dan was announced the winner while the other gamer sighed and shook hands with Dan. The other gamer then walked off the stage as the announcer turned on his mic once more.
"Now that was an awesome fight between the two gamers wasn't it!?" The announcer asked and the crowd went wild. "Now as promised, Mister Gotanda will receive the prize for winning the tournament, and shall now face our sponsored gamer. Are you ready Mister Gotanda?" He asked and Dan nodded. "Then, without further ado, here he is!" The announcer pointed to where the gamer should be and then the lights suddenly went off as the monitor above the stage for the crowd to see both fighters screens lit up with two dark blue reptilian eyes.
"Who dares awaken me!?" The eyes seemed to ask with a sound of electricity crackling in the voice.
At the sound and sight of this, most people began to look around scared. The two eyes then opened and closed as a laugh filled the room. The screen then turned itself off and the lights slowly began to turn back on. Everyone gasped as there now stood a figure with a cloak around its figure with only its arms visible. Small chatter began to flow around the room as the announcer held up his hand and the room fell silent and he looked at the cloaked figure.
"Such a flare for theatrics. Well with that out of the way, are you ready to begin your duel Mister Dragon?" The announcer asked and the figure nodded as a hand moved up to unbutton the cloak.
As the cloak fell, most of Ichika's group did a small gasp. Standing there was none oher than Connor with a smug grin on his face. They all looked to Ichika and Charlotte, who sat there with a grin on their faces as Dan smiled at his new opponent and held out his hand.
"Let's make this a good match." Dan said and Connor took his hand with a smile and shook it.
"Wouldn't expect to give them any less." He replied and the two took their respective seats. A fighting game then appeared on the screen, waiting for both players to press start.
"This will be a best of five match, the first to three wins without the other hold any will win. Are both contestants ready?" The announcer and they both nodded. "Then begin!" He said as they both pressed start.
As the game booted up, the crowd sat in silence as did many others around the globe who were spectating the match online or on the media. The two then selected their fighters and the stage for the fight was locked in.
After an hour of grueling back and forth combos from both Dan and Connor, Connor won the first round, while Dan won the second. As the fight continued, it was beginning to show who had the upper hand, but he was enjoying the game too much to care if he won or lost. With Connor announced as the third match winner and Dan the fourth, the stage was set for sudden death. With an ominous music coming from the stage as the players got ready. After another thirty minutes of a closely tied match, Connor was announced the winner and the crowd erupted into cheers for such an amazing match. After the two boy then stood up and shook hands again, both smiling.
"Well, that was certainly an amazing match now wasn't it everyone!?" The announcer said as everyone erupted into cheers once more. The announcer then looked over to Connor and then to Dan. "Well, Mister Gotanda, you have lost this bonus round but you still won the championship. Please exit the stage to receive your reward." Dan then nodded and left the stage. "Now, I believe it is time to say the name of the person Mister Gotanda went up against instead of his alias. The one fighting Dan was no other the a member of the disbanded professional gamer team called Team Misfits! And this young man is no other than Rain, the Blue Dragon!" The announcer said and the crowd erupted into a larger cheer than when the fight was over.
Connor then took a slight bow towards the crowd and looked to Ichika and his group before smiling. All but Ichika and Charlotte were staring at him with opened mouths. The announcer went on to how Connor would be awarded a sum of money and a few other gifts for representing the company. Connor then walked over to the announcer and asked to given the mic, to which the announcer ablidged.
"First of all I want to say what a match!" He said and the crowd cheered and he held a hand up. "Now, secondly, I would to say I will not be accepting the money from this company. Instead, I will be giving the money to a charity of my choosing in my home country of America. And thirdly, I would like to send a message to the members of my old team. If you want to get ahold of me or send me a message, you should know that my address has changed." He then held up his right hand, which held his IS in its sealed form. "I am the second male pilot to be discovered and should you want to contact me, make an appointment with the ISA. That is all." Connor finished his talk by holding out the hand which held the mic and dropped it before walking off the stage, grabbing his cloak in the process.
The crowd erupted into a cheer once again as the announcer picked back of his microphone, saying that Mister Rain would not be taking any questions at the moment or anything of that nature. Ichika and his group, seeing Connor go through the door at the side which lead to the outside decided to leave as well.
-
It took the group a minute to find Connor, as he was no longer inside the building and was sitting outside with a pale blue popsicle in his mouth. Everyone then left the building as they saw him and ran over to him and he smiled.
"What's up guys?" He asked nonchalantly.
"You were in the tournament!?" Cecilia asked him and he nodded.
"You were once a member of a professional gamer group?" Rin asked him and he again nodded. Everyone then looked at Rin and she looked taken aback from it. "What? I know I may not look it, but I'm a gamer too." She crossed her arms and everyone laughed.
"So, why wouldn't you take the money Connor?" Ichika asked him and Connor looked at his friend.
"Because there are people in this world that need that money way more than I do. And to be honest, I didn't expect to win that match. I am three years out of practice, so Dan was a tough opponent." He replied, taking a bite of his popsicle.
Everyone nodded at his reasoning, but during their conversation they didn't notice the murderous nature coming from the building behind them as it exited the building. Connor then felt eyes on the back of his head and froze, turning around slowly to see a girl who looked a year or so younger than himself. The girl had crystal blue eyes and the same colored hair he had, the girl was wearing a green t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. She seemed to be the source of the murderous nature.
"Oh shit. Completely forgot about her." He thought to himself as Flare laughed at his discomfort. Connor then stood and completely turned to face the girl as she walked towards them. Houki then looked at Ichika.
"Hey, isn't that the same girl you stood up for from being bullied by those third years?" She asked him and he nodded. "What's she doing here?" She asked, little did she know her question would soon be answered as the girl spoke.
"Connor." The girl said through clenched teeth and Connor backed up slightly.
"H-Hey Lily. I didn't expect you to be here." He said with a nervous laugh as the others looked at him.
"You know her?" Ichika asked, but before Connor could answer, the girl answered for him.
"He should, after all." She spoke and Connor looked at her and they both spoke at the same time.
"She's/I'm my/his little sister." Everyone then looked at the two of them with wide eyes as the girl began walking towards Connor and he backed up more.
"H-Hey, come on sis. Don't be like that." He said holding up his hands in defense.
Lily said nothing as she ran at Connor and he turned around and began to run away. The younger girl then jumped over the bench with ease and began to chase Connor, the others watching with blank expressions.
"Come on sis! Leave me alone!" Connor yelled as Lily began to catch up to him.
It was all over for Connor as he seemingly tripped over nothing and fell down. This gave Lily the chance to catch up to her brother and she pulled one of arms behind his back while holding his knees down with her own. Connor cried out in a bit of pain as Lily pulled on his arm.
"L-Lily please stop! You're going to tear my arm off!" Connor yelled as he tapped the ground, Lily glaring at him.
"Should we help him?" Charlotte asked and everyone else shook their heads.
"One should not get in the way of siblings fighting." Ichika and Houki both said and the others nodded.
After being held in that position for nearly five minutes Lily finally let go and Connor grabbed his arm. He then looked to Ichika and his group and then back to his sister.
"The hell was that for Lily!?" He asked as he got up, stilling holding his arm.
"That's for not letting me know you were in Japan, and for not sending even the slightest form of communication for two years. I thought you had left for good." Lily replied, a bit of sorrow in that last bit.
"Sorry about that sis, but I wasn't really allowed to. I'll tell you everything later okay." He said and she nodded.
"Fine. Now, are you going to introduce me to your friends? Or do I have to beat it out of you." She said holding up a fist.
"Still as violent as ever I see." He said with a sigh and then walked over to Ichika and his group.
After telling Lily who was in the group she bowed to them in a formal greeting. The group then bowed back to her, each saying that it was a pleasure to meet the other.
"She's a lot better mannered than you Connor." Cecilia said and Connor glared at her.
-
The group then went to a local café and began to talk to each other. Lily then explained to everyone that she was the representative candidate for Scotland and showed them her IS, Valkyrie, in its sealed form, which was a necklace with a sword on the end of it. The sword had the color of black, blue, green, and red on it. The group gawked at the necklace before a grunt interrupted them. The grunt coming from Connor as he stared everyone down.
"Still as overprotective as ever I see." Lily whispered to Connor and he rolled his eyes.
As the group began talking more on the subject of Connor and Lily's past the sun had slowly began to set. They then decided that it was time to head back to the academy to get ready for school, as the weekend was coming to an end.
-
Once the group got on the tram to the school, Lily sat next to Connor far away enough for them not to be overheard.
"So, which one of them is your girlfriend?" Lily asked bluntly and Connor coughed and looked at her.
"What?" He asked her and she smiled.
"It's got to be the French one. You always did have a thing for French girls." She said with a laugh.
"T-That's not true." He replied with a slight blush looking away from her. "Besides, I don't have a girlfriend."
"Not yet." Lily replied and he just stared at her.
"What are you planning little sister?" He asked her with a slight glare.
"Oh nothing big brother." She said with a laugh.
Connor then sighed and they sat the rest of the way to the ISA in silence. Silently cursing whatever deity is out there.
-
Once there, they all parted ways as Connor and Ichika went to their room. When they entered Connor immediately went to his bed and fell on it and Ichika laughed.
"You had an interesting today didn't Connor." HE said with a grin and Connor flipped him off.
"Oh come on man, don't be that way. Your sister seems to be nice from the way she talks." HE said as he sat down on his bed and Connor glared at him.
"Fuck you man, she can be a devil when she's pissed off. And don't even get me started on what I think she's going to do." He said with a sigh.
"I'm not even going to ask, let's just get some sleep. We don't want to be late for class in the morning." Ichika said and Connor groaned.
"Fucking hell." He said as they both turned their lights off.
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Alright everyone, that's gonna be it for the fifth chapter! Now, as promised, since we have passed 600 views, I am going to select a different winner from the following section for this series than I did for the one a few chapter ago.
Once again, thank you to everyone for being so supportive of this story. It means so much to me that you all are enjoying it! Thank you to any new followers or anyone who has favorited this story. I hope this is enjoyable for you!
I am also pleased to announce that I will be working on another story here soon to post alongside this one. It's not an Infinite Stratos story, but don't worry, I bet you all will enjoy it!
Thank you all for reading this chapter, and please don't forget to follow, favorite, or review. Also, please share this story on any social media with friends you think might enjoy it. I look forward to continuing to write this story! Have a nice day!