Here's the next chapter for you to enjoy. I consider 15 to be my lucky number so it better had rubbed off on this chapter. Hope you love it.
Thanks to AzureDominion for beta reading.
"Just a little bit longer."
"Vishnu, I can't take anymore!"
"Keep it up Jayden. You're almost there."
Jayden was sure his arms were about to pop off.
"Hold it… Hold it… and release!"
At the sound of Vishnu's clap, Jayden's body collapsed onto the yoga mat. How could anyone hold themselves up with their arms for that? Anyone that wasn't named Vishnu Isa Galaxy at least. Every yoga session the Thailand representative cadet seemed to one up herself in twisting her body to make Jayden's jaw dropped.
"So, did my yoga help you relax?" Vishnu asked.
"Not really." All it did was make him sore.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it harder for you."
"Don't be. I didn't mean it. I just have a lot of problems right now."
The issues on Jayden's mind came in all shapes and sizes. Minor ones likes Honne taking his bed every other night and poor test scores to major issues such as his need to do well in the upcoming tournament to keep his IS and his path to Tabane Shinonono via Houki was now cut off. Ever since coming here it'd been one problem after another.
"We can try cracking your back if you'd like. It's great for relieving stress. It may hurt at first, but you'll feel really good."
"I'll pass, I like my spine as it is in one piece." Jayden delightfully declined.
"Sorry. I guess I'm only good at helping physical issues."
He picked himself up and leaned against the roof railing with Vishnu following suit. Despite the growing number of issues, IS academy had a lot of positives to boot. He'd been able to meet so many people since coming here. The academy had one heck of a view when you got to the rooftops. There were even a few stars peeking out from the sky. You had a nice view of the mainland and the ocean that spread as far as far as the eye could see.
"It's really pretty." Jayden said.
"Eh?" Her cheeks were turning a hint of red.
"The view. Sure, this place can be a headache, but it really takes beauty to a whole new level."
"Ahh that's what you meant… right…". Jayden wasn't sure why she had a look of betrayal on her face.
"Anyway, enough about me. Anything new happening with you?"
Vishnu pressed the tips of her fingers together. "Not too much. I'm still visiting the school therapist and I've been reading this good book lately. It's about a young English nurse who's trying to find her way home after time traveling to the 1900's. It's really interesting."
"Sounds interesting. Is it worth reading?"
"You will if you like mystery and suspense. Honestly, it's a little slow at the start but it really picks up after the third chapter when she meets… I shouldn't spoil it. Sorry."
"No no, it's fine. I like hearing your passion about things, I don't get to see It often. It was a pleasant sight to see Vishnu be passionate instead of shy or nervous. "Maybe I'll give it a read when I get a chance."
"You should. Also, there's something else…"
"Hmm?"
Vishnu took a deep breath. "I'm going to enter the school IS tournament."
"Really? You're going to enter even though you'd be fighting in front of an entire stadium full of people?"
The way she shuddered made him regret bringing that up.
"Yeah… I know I'm still not good with large crowds. But I want to push myself. Meeting you and everyone else made me want to do more of those group hang outs you guys usually do. It's… a lot fun. And I want to keep doing them."
"Did you ask the student therapist what she thought?"
"She thinks I'm not ready for it and it'll be too much of a shock. Maybe she's right but… I want to at least try. Even if I don't win the tournament, I want to at least be able to act in front of others."
Vishnu was really coming a long way from when he'd first met her a few monthes ago. She's really starting to make efforts to be more social.
"Well when you're out there fighting. I'll root for you. Unless the one you're fighting is me."
"Thanks, now all I have to do is ignore that rumor.." Vishnu let a sigh out into the night sky.
Jayden's ears perked up. "Rumor?"
She immediately cupped both hands over her mouth.
"Umm… It's nothing. Forget I said anything"
"Something about a rumor?"
"N-No! I said nothing. Nothing! Wow hey is that UFO?" Vishnu grasped at straws to change the subject.
"Come tell me! No one ever told me rumors back in my school. I never got to be in on things I wanna be in the loop for once. Please?"
Vishnu still seemed unsure. This rumor was meant for teenage girls ears only and Jayden barley fit one of those two requirements.
"Please? Pretty please?" His lips quivered while he begged the Thailand rep for access to the forbidden knowledge.
"Okay, I'll tell you. Just don't get so close to me." Vishnu conceded as Jayden pumped a fist in the air. "Now. What I'm about to tell you, you didn't hear it from me okay?"
He eagerly nodded up and down.
Vishnu didn't know why but she was sure she was going to regret this. Quietly, she whispered the uncertain words into his ear.
/-/
"If you're the winner of this month's tournament, you get to go out with anyone you want on a date."
Sitting at a table by the window in the cafeteria, Houki's mood setting was stuck between rage and horror.
Somehow the secret promise she made between herself and Ichika became leaked to the entire school! Even worse the intention of her promise somehow got lost in translation creating the rumor that this tournament's winner could go on a date with anyone of their choosing. How did it all go so wrong?
Houki doubted Ichika was the one who spilled the beans so that left… yeah, she had no idea. Whether or not it was true, the idea was now planted in the student's heads. And if enough people believed it to be true than it may as well be true.
"An-Anyway, I've just got to win!"
Winning the tournament would be way easier said than done. Any IS unit the students had available could be used which meant those who had a personal IS unit could use them. Anyone who didn't was stuck with a training unit such as a uchigane or revive.
Ever try to beat someone in a personal unit with a training unit? You'd have better luck trying to hammer in a nail with an orange covered in fish oil.
To have a personal IS gave the user a huge counted all the people she knew who had a personal IS unit of their own. There were enough of them to almost make her run out of fingers on both hands. Not to mention all the experience they'd have with IS units while regular students could only train with them for an hour or two a week if they wished.
"If only I had a personal unit of my own…" Houki paused. Actually. There was one way to get a personal unit… She shook her head rapidly. "No. I have to win. By myself. I'm going to win, that's a promise to myself."
She looked down at the hands she'd use so many times to grab a sword. Even if others had an advantage, all that meant was she just had to try even harder. She'd trained her whole life in the way of the sword and once again it would hinge on her skill to see her wish granted.
Just like the promise she'd made with Ichika at the kendo nationals. She wouldn't break the promise she made again.
/-/
The halls of the first-year dorm were completely deserted. Which made sense given how it was past midnight and everyone was asleep. At least they should've been.
"Linda where the hell are you?" The hairs on the back of Yua's neck were standing upright. Like any moment a teacher would pop out from behind a corner and drag her ass down to detention. Or worse, she'd run into Ms. Orimura. She was positive this was the meeting spot. Outside that disgusting Sylvan boy's room.
"Did I keep you waiting?"
Yua flinched, having to lock her hands over her mouth to stop from making a noise. Thankfully it was Linda who'd just arrived.
"Sorry for being late. I had a little trouble carrying this here." Linda apologized as she put down what looked to be a large bucket filled with some sort of liquid.
Yua took a peek inside. It was some sort of liquid that she'd never seen before. "What the heck is this?" She had no clue what color it was even supposed to be. It looked like someone ate some green vegetables, puked it up, mixed it together, and decided to call it a
"Hair dye." Linda answered.
"And you brought this here because…?"
"All part of the plan. My friends are targeting Ichika's and Charles's room, so we've got Jayden's."
"What about the male teacher?"
"He's in the teacher's dorm so we'll have to get him later. Now here's the plan. We're gonna dump it on them. This kind of dye can take a long time to remove. I'm talking days, maybe even weeks. They'll need something strong to get this out of their hair."
Yua wasn't sure where this was going but nodded anyway. "That's a… decent start. Than what?"
"Then we run back to our rooms and watch the fireworks tomorrow."
Yua waited for more to come.
It didn't come.
"That's your big plan? We're breaking in and dumping paint on them?
"Hair-dye." Linda corrected.
"Oh, great idea Linda." Yua's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Why don't we draw a mustache on their faces or dip their hands in warm water while we're at it?"
"I like the way you think but one thing at time." She gave a thumbs up.
Yua resisted the urge to kick over that stupid bucket. The Japanese girl turned and begun walking away while muttering something about time being wasted.
"Where are you going?"
"Bed. I came here tonight to do something about the boy infestation, not play a sleep-over prank."
"Yua. What do you think the point of tonight is?"
"Apparently to waste my time." Yua commented.
"We're not here to do the deed ourselves. We're doing this to send a message." Linda emphasized. "Like I told you, there are other girls who also know that men don't belong in this world, but they keep those views hidden due to retaliation and judgement of others. We're doing this to show they aren't alone. I found you cause you were kinda really awful at hiding how you felt. No offense."
"Some taken." Yua said. "So why don't we just… you know." She made a cutting motion at her neck. "We'll have the perfect chance."
"I don't feel like trading my life for one of them if you catch my drift. Besides, what if there are more of those males who can use the IS and come to the academy? People like us are needed to inspire others and get them to act. Tonight, is about showing the other girls that they aren't alone and once our numbers rise, others will see our way. So, are you in or out?"
It wasn't exactly what she'd hoped for, but it was better than nothing. "All right. All right. I'm in. And speaking of in…" Yua looked at the only obstacle standing in their way. The door. Now how would they enter?
Linda answered with her actions, taking a keycard from her pocket, and pressing it against the door's sensor. The little light lit up green.
"How did you-"
"Master keycard." Linda blew on it like a smoking gun.
"Isn't that one that Ms. Orimura has?" Yua felt the room temperature drop by 20 degrees. "Don't tell me You stole that from Ms. Orimura!?"
"Steal is such a strong word. I prefer… Unasked borrowing."
Yua wanted to point out all the things Ms. Orimura would do to her (and maybe by extension herself) if she learned of this. Only she was too distracted by the fear in her heart by imaging what would happen.
"Okay we've wasted enough time. Get the door for me."
Yua did as instructed. It was go time, each of them made their way inside.
If both girls had to use one word to describe the room, dark would be the one.
It was a lot darker than either of them had expected. The window curtains were up so no moonlight could get in, and there wasn't even a digital alarm clock to guide the girls. Neither one wanted to bring out a light for risk of waking the room's occupants up.
"Dang it I can't see a thing. Which bed was he in?" Yua whispered. She was sure that Jayden's roommate was that pajama girl, only which bed was his again?
"His bed's the one closest to the door. Now help me get the bucket over his head."
Both girls carefully tiptoed their way over, raising the bucket over the head on the bed. Everything was in place. Yet Yua couldn't shake the feeling that something felt off. Sure, Jayden looked feminine but did his breathing always sound… girly?
"All right, we dump it on three, than we scram. Ready?"
Meh, she was probably imaging it.
"Ready."
"One… Two… Three!"
/-/
Homeroom was only a few minutes away from starting. Until then students were hanging out, chatting about the latest gossip in their classrooms like the supposed date rumor or wondering who would be entering.
Yua sat at her desk, keeping her eyes solely locked on the doorway waiting for some a certain someone to arrive. Eventually her patience paid off.
Ichika and Charles stepped into the classroom and immediately sat at their desks trying to ignore all the stares. Every eye on the rook was on both boys, specifically on their new green colored hair. Both guys sat at their desks trying to ignore all the stares they were getting.
"Ichika-dear. What happened to your hair?" Cecilia ran up full of concern.
"I'm not sure. Last night me and Charles were woken up by someone dumping something on us. We tried washing it out, but nothing worked."
"So, someone broke into your room!? Are you okay!?" Houki said concerned.
"I'm all right. It's only my hair. I'm just glad we didn't get hurt."
Yua was doing her best to fake concern like all the others. She been against it from the start but now she was so glad to have been involved. The cherry on top of her rotten Sunday was the third male student, Jayden Sylvan walking in. Now all three boys had their hair turned into an ugly shade of green.
Ichika Orimura. Puke green hair.
Charles Dunois. Puke green hair.
Jayden Sylvan. Chocolate brown hair.
Hold on for one sixtieth of a minute.
Yua rubbed her eyes to confirm that Jayden's hair color was the same it had always been. She swore they'd dumped that die on him last night so what trickery was this?
Well she got her answer a few seconds later. Honne emerged from the doorway sporting the same puke green style 2/3's of the men had. The smile that looked to be always present on her sleepy face was flipped upside down.
Yua phone buzzed to life, it was a text from Linda.
"Wish I could see the look on the boys faces right now. Do they look totally stupid right now?"
"We screwed up! You dumped it on that girl who wears those fox pajamas."
"?"
"Everyone take your seats, we're starting… class now." Chifuyu and Gelimer had arrived to teach the morning class. Ms. Orimura paused for a moment when she saw the new hair color her brother was sporting. There was no way her brother would do something like that willingly, not even in his rebellious phase. The fact that two more of her students were now sporting the same color proved something was up. Her co-worker however didn't see, to get the memo.
"Orimura, Dunois, Nohotoke why is your-"
Chifuyu shut him up with an elbow to the gut. "Everyone get in your damn seats. Now."
The class obeyed and everyone was in position. If they were too focused on learning, they'd have no time to ask questions. Something Ms. Orimura would have to do later.
So Chifuyu made sure to keep them all focused on today's lesson about first generation units. Sticking to the lesson plan kept everyone focused and busy. The lesson plan was done but there was still a few minutes to kill.
"As you're all aware, the interclass school tournament is next week. I'm hoping to see participation from most of you at this event. Does anyone have any questions about the upcoming tournament?" Ms. Orimura asked. All she needed was no stupid questions to kill time and she could get the green-hair gang alone for questioning. "Sylvan?"
"Is it true the winner of this tournament gets to go on a date with whoever they want?"
So close…
It took her a few seconds to comprehend what was asked. The comprehension failed. "What are you talking about?"
"There's a rumor going around the school that whoever wins this tournament gets to ask anyone they want on a date. I wanna know if it's really true or not." Jayden asked excitedly.
So many student's jaws fell to their desk. No one expected anybody to brave or stupid enough to bring this up with an authority figure on the academy.
"I believe it's something the students thought up." Gelimer recalled hearing a few students mention it on the way to class.
Even worse, one of the teachers knew about this. Although to be fair, no one was really trying to keep that rumor a secret anyway. Ms. Orimura was pinching the tip of her nose to keep her composure. "There are no prizes related to non-school activities for winning the tournament."
"Hold on Ms. Orimura." Gelimer interrupted. "Let's pretend this fake rumor is true. How many of you would enter? Show of hands."
Jayden and a few others raised their hands up. Gelimer wasn't satisfied with that.
"How many of you really want it? Come on. Get those hands up."
Now nearly every girl in the room (minus Houki) had their hand stretched as high as they could. Even Cecilia had hers raised slightly above her desk.
"That idiot…" Chifuyu clenched her hand over her face to remain calm. She grabbed the tip of her teaching assistant's ear and dragged him outside the classroom before he had a chance to make things any worse.
"Ow ow ow… Are you trying to rip my ear off?"
Chifuyu had questions. "What the hell were you doing back there?"
Gelimer had answers. "Getting more students interested in competing in the tournament."
"By spreading hype about a false rumor?"
"By giving them something to work towards." Gelimer corrected. ",The main thing that keeps students from entering a tournament like this is the lack of reward for their work. Now there actually is something for them to fight for besides school credit."
"You are aware there is no prize like that. That rumor is a lie."
"It doesn't have to be."
She picked up what he was putting down. This idea was spur of the moment and completely idiotic. But it would give those non-personal unit girls a reason to actually compete. Even if most of them would lose in the first round, it would be good experience for them.
Both adults shortly returned to class. Every student was waiting with bated breath on the fate of the rumor. Chifuyu gripped her fist tightly. She just knew she was going to regret speaking these words.
"At this time, we are neither confirming or denying any rumors regarding prizes for the upcoming school tournament."
The sound of teenage girls screaming shook the building.
/-/
Classes seemed to fly by for the rest of the day. Students were too busy talking and thinking about the partially confirmed rumor that barley any knowledge could enter their heads. At least no one was talking about the bad hair day some first-year students were having.
And speaking of bad hair days.
"How does it look?" Honne asked.
"Well… I think it's not as bad as it used to?"
Shampoo bottles and hair products given by friends and classmates littered their room's bathroom floor. After going through about every bottle, they had at their disposal, the result was at best a little better from when they started. A few bits of pink emerged from the mess on Honne's head, but it wasn't much progress.
Honne's mood soured as she stared at herself in the mirror. Her eyes looking at the reflection in the background, the yellow fox pajamas she wore every night to be was also partly stained with the ugly color.
"I'm sure if we keep washing, we can get your hair back to its regular color."
"Right… my hair…" Honne sighed.
"Let's try this one next."
Before Jayden could open the next bottle, a knocking sound announced someone was at the door.
"I'll get it." Jayden told Honne while she continued to try to scrub out the green dye in her hair. Standing at the door was a girl whom he'd never seen before. She wore glasses and had braided hair whose color looked exactly like his roommate. There was also some of mature aura around her.
"You must be Jayden Sylvan. My name is Utsuho. It's a pleasure to meet you." Utsuho said with a bow.
"Uh yeah. Same to you." He mimicked the gesture.
"Is your roommate present?"
"Yeah but she really doesn't want anyone else to see her like this."
"Just let me see her. Please. I need to see if she's okay."
Jayden eventually agreed. "Honne. Someone's here to see you."
"Who is it?" Honne emerged with a towel over her head. "Sis?"
"Sis!?" Jayden did a double take between the two girls. Now he could definitely see the resemblance between the two of them. She even had Honne's original color. He almost slapped himself for not realizing sooner.
"You have a sister? Why didn't you tell me?"
"You never asked."
Utsuho casually shoved Jayden aside to get to her sister, embracing her in a large hug which Honne returned. "I've heard what happened. Are you okay? Did they hurt you."
Honne shook her head, resting it on her sister's shoulder.
Utsuho lifted a bit of the towel, inspecting her hair up close. She still couldn't believe someone would do this to her sister. "I can't believe they did this to you. Come with me, I have something to fix this."
Both girls went into the bathroom while Jayden waited on his bed. The dye that had been dumped on his bed had dried by now, but the sheets, blanket, and pillow had met the same dreadful fate as his roommate. Eager to get his mind off this, Jayden turned to an activity he rarely did.
Studying.
It wasn't that Jayden hated studying… okay that was a lie he did. It was just so boring. How did people force themselves to read thousands of words for long periods at a time?
About 30 minutes later, both girls emerged from the bathroom. Jayden was thankful for a distraction from the book.
"Honne! Your hair's pink again!" Jayden cheered. His roommate's hair had been returned to its natural color. On the side, Utsuho looked proud of her work. Hours of effort to try to remove the dye had been pointless but Utsuho had fixed it so fast. "How did you-"
"Anti-dye removal." Utsuho cut him off. "Its sole purpose is to remove dye products like the one used on my sister. Ms. Orimura sent Ms. Yamada off the island to pick this stuff up. If you see the other boys let them know to find her."
"Yeah, I'll let them know."
Honne was busy running her hands through her hair, she felt like a new girl.
Utsuho coughed into her arm. "While I have you both here, I'd like to ask you questions about last night. The student council is investigating this break in last night and any information would be very helpful."
"I'm definitely sure whoever did this was female!" Jayden quickly answered.
Utsuho resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Let's just start from the beginning. Honne, can you recall what you saw last night?"
Honne went first. "I didn't see much. I was sleeping and then I woke up to something being poured on my face. She dumped it on me, then I heard her running away. I was wiping my eyes, so I didn't see her."
"Same for me. I woke up cause of Honne and I wasn't sure what was even going on. It was too dark to get a good look. Maybe I should've tried to chase them down instead of checking on Honne."
"I see…" Utsuho closed her eyes to think about what they'd said. She looked to be in deep thought analyzing everything she'd been told. "Repeat what you just said Jayden."
"Uh I checked on Honne?"
"Before that."
"I've should've chased them down?"
"So, there was more than one intruder here last night?"
Both occupants of the room hadn't realized it till Utsuho had brought it up. "Oh yeah. I guess there was another person. One got the door for the other and they ran away."
Utsuho adjusted the glasses on her face. "So, there were two people. The same number who broke into Orimura and Dunois's room as well. May I ask why neither of you reported this as soon as it happened?"
"Well we were going to… eventually."
Utsuho sighed, it was better to move on. "Was there any evidence left behind."
Honne pointed to the corner of room where there was a large bucket laying on its side. A bit of puke colored residue remained inside it.
"The bucket they used. They left it here?"
Honne shrugged. "Maybe they were in a hurry and forgot about it."
It was a pretty important thing to just forget about. A major piece of evidence like that could have prints or if she was lucky enough, a name.
"I hope you don't mind but I'll be taking that bucket with me." Utsuho took some latex gloves from her pocket and slipped them on.
"Go ahead sis. I don't have anything but bad memories of that thing." Honne said.
"This may be able to tell us who did this." Utsuho turned to leave but stopped herself. "Before I go, there's one thing I'd like to ask. Jayden, it was your bed that got the hair-dye dumped on and yet my sister was the victim. Care to explain what she was doing in your bed?"
Jayden gulped. Why did Honne's sister have to be so smart? "It's not what you think, I can explain. Actually, it's kind of a funny story when you hear it."
"Let me guess, my sister tends to pick whichever bed she wants for the night and you sleep in the other one. Thus, trading beds each night but still separated from one another."
"That's not- Wait… yeah that's exactly what happened. How did you-"
"I lived with Honne for most of my life. This isn't anything new to me." Utsuho glanced over at the bed snatcher who was smiling like this was an accomplishment to be proud of. "I've gotten an enough information. I'll be taking my leave now, thank you for your time."
"Oh, before you go sis, can I get some more of that hair-dye removal?"
"What for? We already got the color off you."
"To get that awful color off my pajamas. It works on fabric to, right?" Honne asked.
"No. It only works on hair." Utsuho answered.
A whine left Honne's lips.
Utsuho coughed into her arm. "Honestly, it's for the best Honne."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Something about the way Honne said that seemed off. The usual cheer in her voice was missing.
"Well…. You know."
"Know what?" Honne tilted her head.
Utsuho knew she was going to have this talk with her sister someday. Looks like that day was going to be today. Time to rip the bandage off.
"Honne. Don't you think it's time you stop wearing those kiddy pajamas?"
"No way." Honne folded her arms.
"I'm serious Honne. You're too old for those things."
"You used to wear animal pajamas to!"
"Yeah. When I was seven, but I also grew out of it. For god's sake Honne, you wear those to breakfast every morning. Haven't you realized everyone else wears their school uniform in the morning? If this school didn't have a dress code, you'd wear that thing 24/7."
"And what's wrong with that?"
"Don't make me spell it out. You look like an immature child when you wear those so often. The upper classman talk about you behind your back you know."
"Good things?"
"No Honne. Not good things. They make fun of you behind your back like ask if you even own any other outfits. Some of them even talked about donating money to get you real clothes and every time I have to defend you."
"So that's it. You just care your own reputation. Well sorry for being your embarrassing little sister."
"That's not what I meant, and you know it. And it's not just how you dress, it's also your grades."
"And my grades are fine Utsuho. I'm not failing any classes."
Honne was starting to get ticked off. A rare emotion Jayden never knew she had.
"Sure, you're passing but you're doing the bare minimum. Like you'll do the least amount of work necessary to pass. You could be so much better Honne. If only you put in the effort to do better, I'm sure you could be top of your class and maybe even a representative cadet. Not to mention your other duties."
"Let me live how I want to."
"So, you're fine with being average?"
Honne answered by turning to the side and folding her sleeve covered arms.
"I'm telling you this because I care about you. For god's sake Honne you're 15. Shouldn't you start acting like it?"
Jayden's eyes shifted back and forth between the Nohotoke sisters. Was this a legendary sibling quarrel he was in the middle of? As an only child he could never partake in this event and he was glad he'd never have to.
"Hey girls if I could just say-"
Two pairs of Nohotoke eyes unleashed death stares. Without words the message was clear.
"That I'll be leaving now!"
/-/
The tournament was coming next Monday. Students were trying to get in as much training as possible to prepare for the event. Almost everyone had their eyes on the not guaranteed prize. The IS arena was full of students in IS suits practicing maneuvers and getting use to the suit itself.
Not much he could do besides get more comfortable with flying Edel Gleam because someone designed weapons at the speed of light but in reverse! That man really needed to get out-
"AGGGGHHHHHH!"
Of the way!
Jayden dived just as the incoming IS did its best impersonation of a meteorite onto the arena grounds. The result was a small crater on the ground. Inside the crater was one fourth of IS academy's male population.
"Ichika?" Jayden peered over the edge.
Ichika gave a half-hearted wave as he tried to stop his head from spinning.
An Orange IS unit landed down on the other side of the crater, the pilot inside being Charles. "Not bad Ichika, but I'm afraid you were way too predictable."
Jayden was taking in Charles IS unit, it looked like the Raphael Revive that Ms. Yamada had used a few days ago. Only Charles's was orange instead of green. Only there were less armor plates on it and it had two modified looking multi-thrusters on its back.
"Were you guys having a fight?"
The blond boy nodded. "Ichika and I were having a practice battle."
Considering Ichika was in the crater, Jayden had a good feeling who the winner was.
"You're really amazing Charles, it's like you knew everything I was going to do before I did." Ichika had flown out of the crater to join his friends.
"Well…" How did he put this lightly? "It wasn't that I was good, more like you made it easy for me. You don't seem to understand how ranged weapons work."
"What's there to understand?" Jayden asked. "You point the gun at something, pull the trigger, and whatever's in its path gets shot."
"Well that's one way to look at it… but it's a lot harder than it looks. You must consider your own position as well as your opponent's. Not to mention there's a small but crucial delay before the bullet will connect. If an opponent's already in motion they can dodge if you don't aim ahead of them or predict where they're going to be."
Given the high speeds an IS could reach, you'd need to have your prediction or aim to be on point if you wanted a long-range attack to connect.
"Ichika in our battle you only focused on getting close to me. Always the taking the shortest path to get to me via a straight line. This allowed me to keep you at bay with long range attacks and win."
After all, if one person could deal damage and the other couldn't, it'd be a very one-sided match.
"Jayden, you also only have one weapon. A melee one correct. This applies to you as well."
That was true, at least for now.
"You have to be willing to mix up your movements in order to get close to your opponent so you can attack."
"OH! Like a guessing game?"
"More so trying to predict what your opponent will do. Will your opponent aim ahead of you? directly at you? Maybe they'll call a bluff and lure you into an unfavorable position. Your enemy will be trying to make it as hard as they can for you, so you must be able to do the same. Otherwise they'll control the pace of the battle."
Charles had pointed out of the major issues of ranged vs melee in such a simple yet accurate way. Both guys were amazed he could quickly apply this knowledge and understanding in one battle.
"So, to understand a ranged weapon, it would be best to try it yourself."
Charles deployed a .55 cal Assault rifle from Raphael-Revive's storage. It looked like quite the weapon, and that was just one of the many weapons Charles had up his non-existent sleeves.
"But I thought an IS can't let another IS unit use its weapon." Ichika said.
"That's true for the main weapon on an IS like your Yukihara. Sub-weapons like equalizers may be shared if the user grants permission. So, who wants to go first?"
Both guys raised their hands to be first in line to try a weapon that didn't require swinging.
"Wow, look at that."
"No way, that's the 3rd generation German model."
"I've heard it's still in the testing phase in their country."
Suddenly, the arena began to buzz.
Standing over there was the other transfer student, the German representative candidate, Laura Bodewig. Her IS was different shades of black with two pod like units above her shoulders. The arms were covered by thin metal with the legs receiving most of the bulk. The most noticeable feature on her IS was the large railgun across from her right shoulder.
Ever since she transferred in, Laura hadn't really interacted with anyone outside of class or even gone anywhere else besides the classroom, lunchroom, and her dorm.
"Hey." A voice came from the IS communication channel. It was Laura.
"What?" Ichika reluctantly answered.
"It seems you possess a personal IS unit. If that's the case, it's simple. Fight me."
"No."
"What!? Are you a coward?"
"I'm not. I just have no reason to fight you."
"You don't. I do. If it wasn't for you, instructor Orimura would've easily reclaimed the Mondo Grosso championship. Because of that, I will never acknowledge your existence"
"Instructor?" Jayden figured she must have meant Ms. Orimura since she was her teacher just like them. As for Ms. Orimura not being the two-time winner of the Mondo Grosso, did Ichika really have something to do with that?
Ichika looked over at his IS's remaining shield energy from his battle with Charles. It sat at a little under halfway. Technically he could fight but…
"Maybe next time." Ichika turned away.
Laura certainly didn't come to this backwash school just to be rejected. If he wouldn't fight by his own choice than she wouldn't give him one.
As Ichika walked away, Laura deployed and took aim with what looked like a pistol to fire at Ichika. He realized what she was doing too late, all he could do was brace himself for the shot. Butting in, Jayden deployed his shield to block the bullet from Laura's railgun. Edel Gleam's shield begun glow making its presence on the IS known.
"Thanks Jayden." Ichika said
Jayden gave his friend a smile and nod before turning back to the attacker. "What's the heck's you're problem?"
"This has nothing to do with you American, stay out of this."
"It does when you try to attack my friends when their back is turned." Even though his legs trembled a little from Laura's deathly glare, he held his ground. Did the Nohotoke sister's death glares prepared him for this?
"This is your last warning. Get out of my way or else."
Jayden didn't budge.
"Why are you so obsessed with fighting? If you want to fight so badly, than fight me."
The look on Laura's face soured further.
She'd only come to this arena to fight Ichika Orimura, the one whom had tainted the legacy of her mentor. Only instead of a Japanese boy, she'd gotten an American one. Still maybe this wouldn't be a complete waste of time.
"Very well then."
"Eh?"
"Since the instructor's brother is too much of a coward to fight his battles, I'll settle for crushing his friend instead."
Based on the reports she'd read there were multiple students in her year who had personal IS units. And those machines were the latest in IS technology from other countries. While Laura was here to complete her goal, she figured she may as well test herself against the other personal pilots while she was in the neighborhood.
By now the two pilots had become the center of attention for everyone in the arena.
"Are you sure about this Jayden? She's a representative cadet." Charles reminded him.
Oh shoot. Despite the face she was clearly in a custom IS unit, he'd forgotten that crucial detail.
All he'd wanted to do was protect his friend and look cool while doing so. He didn't think Laura would take him up on that. Wasn't this the part where she'd get annoyed and storm off or something? Even worse, she was a representative cadet. If Jayden's battle with Lingyin taught him anything, representative were the elites of IS pilots.
Was it too late to take back his offer?
BZZZZZ!
Girls fled the arena into the stands as a purple energy saber extended from the right arm of Laura's IS. Although Ichika and Charles remained, they stood on the sides of the arena to stay out of the way.
Yup. It was.
Laura didn't waste a moment, skating straight towards her opponent. Once in range the blade attached to her arm with a flurry of slashes prompting Jayden to block using his shield. Jayden gritted his teeth, focusing on making sure that blade of hers only touched his shield. With each attack Jayden was forced back more and more until he felt himself touch the arena wall behind him.
Laura smirked as she readied to perform a thrust attack. In a panic, he dived to the side towards the ground. Laura's blade stabbed into he arena's wall where Jayden was less than a second ago.
This maneuver left his back exposed to the enemy. Not missing the chance, Laura stabbed her beam saber into Jayden's back. Just below his shoulder. A clear hit that was draining Jayden's shield energy. With some struggle he managed to get away, taking to the sky to create some distance to strategize.
"Okay, this girl is good. And she's really aggressive but…" Jayden's eyes looked at his glowing weapon. Thanks to all that attacking, his shield had stored up some energy. It wouldn't be enough to finish her off in one attack, but it'd make a good dent in her shield. Now he felt better having a plan to begin defeating Laura.
The cannon on Laura's side begun to glow. A large BANG came, and Jayden was hit with a powerful projectile. He ended up being flown backwards as a result but managed to stabilize himself before he hit the barrier. As he tried to fly to Laura, another blast form that railgun halted his advance.
Realizing there was no way to get close he had to pull back to have enough time to avoid her blasts. Pulling back, Jayden used his shield to expand an energy barrier around the corners of the shield to fully defend against Laura's latest long-range attack. The explosion itself was powerful enough that got around Jayden's shield to trigger his IS's shield energy for protection. This continued for a few minutes with Jayden helping Laura with target practice.
"Is running away all, you know how to do?" Laura fired once again at her target.
She wasn't completely wrong. As long as he was here and she was over there, he couldn't win. Oh when he got to her, he'd shove his shield right in her smug, one-eyes faced. The only thing stopping him from doing that was-
Jayden dropped out of the way of another blast from her railgun.
That.
Laura looked perfectly fine just standing there and using him for target practice. With no ranged weapons she was free to attack without fear of retaliation. Which meant Jayden had to be the one to close the gap. Only anytime he got close, Laura reminded him why he should stay away.
"What was that thing Charles said?" Jayden tried to recall. Not making your flight pattern predictable. Well it was worth a shot.
It was go time. He dodged the latest blast by moving left than proceeded to zig-zag to advance forward. This time Laura wasn't firing as often as she just had. Now having to aim with her target's flight path becoming erratic. The only downside to this plan was it meant him taking longer to get to Laura which gave her enough tries to land some shots on him. Despite the damage taken along the way, Jayden was almost back in close combat range.
Now that he was getting close Bodewig switched back to her beam saber and charged in for close combat. Laura attacked in a rapid assault with her beam saber all while keeping her eye on that shield of his. The fact that it was glowing bright was something that hadn't been in the data report she'd been assigned.
He kept on the defensive, waiting for just the right moment to strike. That was tricky with this opponent as she wasn't showing any signs of stopping her onslaught. The furry of attacks prompted him to intercept her purple saber. Jayden pushed forward as Laura was about to do the same.
Clash!
Both pilots pushed against the other with their respective weapons to overpower the other. Over time it looked like Laura was gaining ground pushing Jayden back. He struggled trying to think of a way out of this. This was just like the battle with Rin when she…
Actually, that could work.
He pushed back with everything he against her. Shield pressed into saber. The power struggled continued with the silver haired German getting closer and closer. It looked like Laura was just about to overpower him.
Than Jayden jumped back.
Her force left Laura staggering ahead forward, stretching out her arms to balance herself. Though she was able to keep herself upright the position left her vulnerable, Jayden performed his shield slam with all his might straight into Laura. It felt like being hit by a truck, condensed into a small area. The blow did much more damage than Laura expected as was sent back tumbling until she stopped rolling on the ground.
As fast she went down, she got back up Her shield energy was at just over half. An attack like that wasn't in the data report she'd been given.
"I did it? I did it!" He hadn't been 100% confident that plan would work but it had! He got in a hit against a representative cadet, and a big one at that. A few more of those and just maybe he could actually pull this off. "What's the matter? I'm kicking your butt with just a shield. Isn't that machine of yours supposed to be the best from Germany? "
Her look shifted into a glare. Were all students here like this? One lucky hit and they thought the battles was theirs? But that wasn't the worst of it. She was Laura Bodewig, leader of one of Germany's special task force. To have this idiot even think that their machines were equal was the bigger insult. Laura clenched her fist; this would not stand.
It was time to show how much of a gap there was between them.
Six glowing wires emerged from Laura's IS. Gasps came from the spectators, as Laura unveiled her newest weapon.
"What the what?" Jayden flew back in shock. Those wires were a type of weapon he'd never laid eyes on before. He wasn't sure what those wire look things could do but he defiantly knew he shouldn't find out.
"Charles, do you have any idea what those things are?" Ichika asked.
"I'm not sure. It's Germany's latest IS so that must be one of its newest weapons." Charles examined the wires though the far sight granted by the IS. The tips of the wires had blades like daggers attached to them.
Yet again Jayden was on the When one attack was completed another was ready to strike him. Between Laura's fists and her dagger wires, defending was all Jayden could do.
Laura thrusted forward, or at least she appeared to prompting Jayden to hold out his shield to block. With the feint, she knocked his shield aside to the ground and out of his reach.
"No!"
He moved to reclaim his weapon. A poor move on his part as he was no longer paying attention to what was trying to injure him. With his eyes off his opponent Laura performed a kick that introduced him to the ground. The impact left him on the floor dazed. Meanwhile six dagger wires spread themselves out around his IS.
"JAYDEN, RUN!" Ichika yelled.
The wires wrapped themselves around Jayden's limbs and torso before he could even figure out what he should've ran from. Jayden began to sweat as he tried anything, he couldn't break the black wires binding his IS. Without warning the wires retracted making Jayden yelp as he was dragged towards Bodewig. Even digging his hands into the ground didn't slow the wires down.
Jayden was hanging just a few feet away from Laura. It'd be the perfect chance to land a blow if his arms or legs could move but those wires were holding him down tight. His squirms only seemed to make Laura's smile grow wider. With some effort she hoisted him up leaving him hanging in front of Laura. He resembled a puppet and Laura was pulling the strings.
Laura balled her fists, striking Jayden. As relentless as she'd been from the start her flurry of punches and kicks never let up. Her fists continued striking the makeshift punching bag who couldn't attack back or defend himself. Despite his cries, grunts, or calls to stop she never ceased.
Those all around could do nothing. Like a car crash their eyes couldn't look away from the fight. Although this battle looked to be no longer a fight. A better word to describe what was occurring would be slaughter.
Ichika gripped his glowing sword like he had enough strength to crush it in his hands. He was just ready to charge ahead to cease this nonsense until…
"You students over there! What are you doing?"
Everyone froze hearing the voice come from the arena speakers.
"Stop that now or there will be punishment!" It like Ms. Sedgewick the class 1-3 teacher on the speakers.
Laura looked at her opponent who was breathing heavily in front of her. He didn't seem to have any fight left in him. The wires surrounding his IS vanished as she dematerialized her IS. One landed on a pile on the ground and the other on her feet.
Jayden's IS quickly dematerialized, leaving him lying there. There was no sign of physical injury on his body but the exhaustion
Laura looked at him like she was staring at garbage. "There will always be a gap between you and I. Never forget that. And Orimura, I'll let you escape for today."
"Are you okay Jayden?" Ichika and Charles knelt over by Jayden's side.
"I'm all right. Except for my pride." Jayden sighed. The battle had been going so well at first but than it spiraled out of control. There was no conclusion thanks to Ms. Sedgwick but even if it had continued, he was positive his shield energy would drop to zero.
"Don't feel too bad Jayden. Laura's is an extremely powerful opponent." Charles could tell by watching that fight that she had more experience than an average student. Maybe even more than a representative cadet.
"Think I could've done something different to win?"
Charles had an uncertain look on his face. "Well… you had a good start but when she learned what your tricks were, she negated it and proceeded to dominate you."
It made sense to him. Everything went down the drain when his shield was knocked out of his hands. Next time he keep that thing in his hands like he used an entire tub of gorilla glue.
"Besides that, Laura just had too many advantages. Experience, weaponry, speed, offense. She was just the better pilot."
"For now." Jayden folded his arms.
"How about we go shower together?" Ichika asked. "We could use some cooling off to refresh."
"Eh!?" Charles couldn't look Ichika in the eyes. He wasn't even sure where to look thanks to that statement. That battle got him fired up but he didn't think it'd lead to this.
"I mean, we have to wash this dye out of hair. Plus, a break from the IS might do us some good. What do you say Charles?"
A breath of relief was released from Charles's lips. "Thanks, but I'd feel better doing this on my own. I'll head back to the room. Bye." The blonde boy turned away as the skin on his face turned a shade of red.
"Sorry Ichika, I wanna get some more practice in. I know I can beat her if I try again. I just need to get better. Find Ms. Yamada, she has the hair-dye removal you need. See ya."
/-/
"Nothing like a good shower to make you feel refreshed." Ichika was heading back to his dorm room. One long shower with the dye removal Ms. Yamada had gotten him, and his hair was back to its natural black color. He had to thank Ms. Yamada for going out of her way to get that stuff. He had to get this stuff to Charles.
The only iffy thing was that Charles had once again declined to shower in the locker room. Heck the only time he changed his clothes in the locker room was on the first day he arrived. Now he would always head back to the room to change or wear his IS suit under his clothes. Ichika knew this could only mean one thing.
Charles was really shy.
Though it was weird how open he could be formal when they were out and about, and yet be so stiff when behind closed doors. It reminded him of Vishnu, only Charles was good with many people instead of a few at a time. Kinda strange when you think about it.
"I'm back." Ichika announced as he entered his dorm room. It looked like Charles wasn't here though. As he thought about it, Ichika could hear the sound of running water from the bathroom.
He must be probably trying to get that ugly green color out of his hair. Then he'd defiantly appreciate the dye-removal bottle.
Ichika barged right into the bathroom.
"Hey Charles. I got some… dye… removal…"
"I-I-I…chika…?"
"Wha…?"
A girl Ichika didn't recognize was using his shower. Even someone like Ichika was able to realize this was a girl due to her breasts. Her drenched hair was dark green and curly with hints of blond starting to peak out from the coloring. She has nice long legs on her slender body. The purple eyes on her face showed that she wasn't Japanese.
Even though Ichika wanted to look away, his eyes refused to move from the naked hottie in front of him.
She looked like she wanted to scream but she was too petrified to do so. The girl immediately positioned her arms to cover her most private areas, but the damage had already been done.
"I-I'll, I'll leave the dye-removal here…"
"O-okay…"
After that questionable conservation ended, he placed the bottle down in front of the shower and left the bathroom.
Ichika didn't move a muscle, trying to comprehend what he just saw. Logically that should've been Charles in the shower with light green hair and that girl too had light green hair. Not to mention she looked a lot like Charles if he let down the hair he always tied up. But that wasn't the main problem.
"Why does Charles have breasts?"
Those perfect crystal-clear skinned breasts that looked as beautiful as diamonds…
No. Bad Ichika! Bad!
He couldn't shake out the image of Charles naked that was stuck in his eyes. His mind was a total mess. Why did the male transfer student have a body like that?
"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!?"
/-/
Charles was a girl!? Who could've seen that coming? The battle between Jayden and Laura was a little difficult to write as I didn't want it to be a 100% curb stomp despite Laura having nearly every advantage, but I'm satisfied with how it turned out.
In other news, this story has hit 100 followers! Thank you so much for helping me reach this amusement. Now lets see if we can get favs to the triple digits next.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think in the review section. Especially about the battle.
Keep your sense of wonder and I'll see ya next time.
Reviewing Reviewers
AzureDominion: I liked your ideas and thanks for being the beta reader for this chapter.
B123: Always a pleasure to read your review. You really like to analyze everything in each chapter. I say keep it up!
Irbis: It's hard for Jayden to not act like a kid when he is one. As for how he acts… well Jayden is Jayden.
Omake
"So, tell me… where did it all go wrong?" Aoi Chiba, IS Academy's school therapist took out her notepad.
Gelimer Brighton made himself comfortable on the couch. "Well… I was born on January 23rd-"
"That… wasn't what I meant. I'm talking about this 'problem' you were telling me about. Now how can I help you Mr. Brighton?"
"Isn't that what you're supposed to figure out?"
"Not when my patient describes their issue as…" Aoi took out a piece of paper and cleared her throat. "Oh god help! Please make it stop. Help! Help! The reckoning is upon me. Help!"
"Isn't that what I was supposed to write?"
"You were supposed to write your name."
"Oh… Sorry. I've been so on edge lately that I can't think straight." Gelimer looked like he'd seen better days. His white hair was uncombed and the bags under his eyes meant he hadn't slept for at least a few days.
"It's all right. You relax here, nothing is going to happen and if you'd like, I'll listen to your problems." She could tell just by looking that he really needed to get some things off his chest. "Let's try this. Can you describe your issue in three words?"
"Girls like me."
"Like you? Ah, Your students. Dealing with girls like these can always be a hassle. And some of them aren't used to men so they may be seeing you as potential love interest or role mode. I know it can be frustrating at times teaching them, but you have to understand-
"Students? I'm talking about my co-workers!"
"Eh?"
"Let me break it down. I'm the only male teacher in a work environment full of female teaching and work staff. And a few specific women have taken an interest in me. And it's putting my life in jeopardy."
"Multiple women?" Aoi's eye twitched.
"Yeah! It's crazy right?"
"Could you elaborate on when this started?"
"It all started after I gave Ichika and Jayden school lessons on how to survive their harems at IS Academy."
Ms. Chiba was about to ask something.
"Don't ask. Anyway, a rare phenom occurred in which I made…" Gelimer shuddered. "A mistake. I was in the same position those boys were. I fled to safety and next thing I knew I was on the floor on top of Ms. Orimura and Ms. Yamada with my hands locked on their bosoms."
Many men would consider a feat such as that to be the highlight of one's lifetime. To Gelimer, it was the day everything went down the crapper. Somehow that incident had lit a spark in those women that made them begun to show interest in him. How? Why? Gelimer had no idea, he was a scientist not a matchmaker dang it!
Aoi looked down at her own sweater puppies. They were a good C cup but completely outclassed by heavy hitters like Chifuyu and Maya. "What makes you think they're into you?"
"They've been spending way more time with me than usual. First there's Chifuyu Orimura, she's the headfirst year teacher I'm usually assigned to help teach and lately she'd been getting a lot more personal with me."
"That doesn't seem so bad." Ms. Chiba scribbled on her notepad.
"At first." Gelimer continued. "It started with just grading papers together and setting up tests. Than she started dragging me with her to help with extra work. By my ear no less. I swear my right earlobe is an inch longer than my left." He rubbed his earlobes to feel if it was true. The jury was still out on that. "I'm not done yet. Lately she's taken to cooking meals for me to try. And it's a good thing a requirement of being the legendary brunhilde wasn't cooking edible food cause she'd be disqualified immediately. All her meals have been frozen, overcooked, or somehow both! Honestly, I'd be amazed to find a worse cook than her in this Academy."
"Achoo!" Somewhere, Cecilia wiped her nose as she sneezed.
Aoi nodded along as Gelimer spoke. Her pen danced across the paper as he spoke. "Have you tried refusing her offers?"
"I did but then I realized I like living too much. And it's not just Ms. Orimura, lately Ms. Yamada has been running into me an awful lot lately."
"That's… lovely." The student counselor put on a smile that he thought looked painful. "Do you meet with her often?"
"No. She literally runs into me." Gelimer emphasized. "That woman has no breaks and she just happens to find me around every corner. Which leads to both of us going down. And then we end up in a compromising position that you'd find on a questionable 18+ website. The only consistent thing is that my hands always end up on her bosom. Every. Time!"
"You've been groping the Academy's legendary bust? Are they as soft as pillows like the rumors say they are?"
"Even softer." His hands unintentionally made the same motion whenever his hands fell onto Maya's bust. "Think of two giant soft warm marshmallows that your hands sink into but aren't sticky… Wait! Why are we talking about this?
It seemed Maya's bosom had the power to surpass gender. Truly, a dangerous weapon.
Aoi tried to get things back on track. "So those two ladies have-"
"Oh no no no." Gelimer stopped her. "Unfortunately, there's another woman."
The pen in Ms. Chiba's hand snapped from the pressure.
"Lovely…"
"I met this other woman a short while ago, Olivia Sedgewick. We bonded over discussing the Infinite Stratos and theories of its evolution. At first it was just simple chats and grabbing lunch here and there. Next thing I know she's breaking into my room at night to 'hang out' and she's buying us lunch."
"Well that's sweet."
"Using my credit card."
"It's the thought that counts?"
"I swear she'd going to get me arrested." All he could do was bury his face in his hands. "I've had no time to myself lately. I don't know what to do and I need advice."
So many girls were going after him? This kind, attractive, and intelligent man right in front of her?
"So what I should do?"
Aoi paused. This was her chance.
"Kick them out of your life and never talk to those hussies ever again."
That wasn't exactly what Gelimer was expected a licensed therapist to say.
"Like give them the silent treatment?"
"No. Like never talk to them again! You deserve someone much better. A woman who will treat you right and appreciate you."
Gelimer blinked.
"I mean… I don't wanna never see them again." He'd be lying if he said this reckoning was 100% bad. 98% at best.
"What you need is a girlfriend." Aoi suggested. "Someone to show those witches that you're taken and off the market. I'd be happy to do that for you."
It almost sounded like… no he must have imagined it. There was no way Ms. Chiba would be into him. There personalities were on opposite sides of the spectrum. Plus, he was sure this was the first time he'd ever had a conversation with Ms. Chiba.
"Thanks, but I need help with my women problem, not my love life."
"This'll solve both at once."
Ms. Ciba leaped out of her chair, pouncing on top of Gelimer. The notepad slipped from her grip and landed on the floor for him to see. On the front page were not words but rather a drawing. The same drawing repeated multiple times.
GB x AC
And there was a heart around each one.
GB?
AC?
It only took Gelimer Brighton a second to realize what they meant.
"Ms. Chiba. I'm flatter, really, I am! But we shouldn't do this. We barely know each other."
"Then lets fix that."
Gelimer sunk back into the couch as much as possible. It wasn't enough as she lowered her face closer towards his. Her lips slowly approaching Gelimer's.
This couldn't get any worse.
"Mr. Brighton, there's a matter we need to speak with regarding… WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING!?" Somehow Chifuyu, Maya, and Olivia had found where he was and were standing right at the door.
Well what do ya know, it could get worse.
Gelimer couldn't fathom a response. Luckily someone else spoke for him
"Isn't it obvious." Gelly-Jelly was about to have his way with me before you all interrupted. This is a private counseling session. Can you all please get lost and let us get back to our work?" Aoi explained.
Gelly-Jelly? Lack of imagination aside, wasn't a therapist supposed to help with issues? Not make them worse!
"Mr. Brighton if you're having issues with other colleagues, I prefer if you came to your boss to discuss it. We can easily arrange something, like have Maya moved to another class if she's bothering you."
Gelimer opened his mouth but Ms. Orimura's cold stare closed it for him.
In a rare act of defiance Aoi boldly stood up, matching Chifuyu's glare.
"I'm going to kindly ask you all to leave." Aoi didn't falter, even against the legendary Brunhilde. Love could really make one do crazy things.
"I'd prefer it if we cut the bull and settled this once and for all." Ms. Orimura crackled her knuckles.
"What do you know? For once we agree." Ms. Sedgewick pulled out a convenient and totally not illegal switch army knife from her lab coat pocket.
Lightning cackled between their eyes; a brawl seemed eminent.
"Why don't we ask Gelimer than who he likes the most." Maya suggested.
All three of them froze.
"Oh yeah, that would make more sense."
They all turned to Gelimer to see nothing but the outline where Gelimer once was.
"Just… A little… closer…" Gelimer crawled towards the open door. Freedom was just in his reach. Almost there…
Ahem.
The four ladies glared down at him from all sides.
"Who do you like the most?" They asked in unison.
Sweat poured down the poor man. Was there even right answer to this question. "Uh… you're all beautiful?"
Nope. Wrong answer.
"He's mine!"
Each woman grabbed a limb of the man they wanted and pulled like their future depended on it. It was a four-way tug of war to claim the prize of their dreams. It was a battle none of them could afford to lose. The prize meanwhile was looked to be in agony.
"Please! If there's anyone out there – any god or goddess – anyone! Please save me. I'm begging you to help me from these lovestruck nutjobs. Anyone!"
The speaker in the corner of the room hummed to life.
"Mr. Brighton please report to the principal's office immediately."
All four girls dropped him.
"Ow."
Pain aside, it was a miracle! The gods answered his prayer! Okay so it wasn't a god but rather the principal speaking over the school's intercom system. Still his prayer had been answered. The principal wasn't a goddess, but he'd give her a prayer.
Heck! Maybe he'd give religion a shot when today was over.
"WelleveryoneitwasgreatseeingyouallbutworkcallsandallthatI'llseeyoulatergottagobye!"
Before any of them could get a word in Gelimer was already out the door, not stopping until he'd reached the insides of the principal's office. Once he got there his body collapsed into a chair. Now he could rest.
Click
"Thank you so much for coming."
Gelimer once again broke into a sweat. Something was amiss.
Why did the principal just lock the door?
Why were the windows boarded shut?
And why was she in her underwear!?
"What are you doing Ms. Kutsuwagi!"
"I've been very lonely lately, my husband's been so busy at work that I haven't seen him in a while. So, I figured you and I could get to know each other a little better."
The color drained from Gelimer's face. "We shouldn't be doing this. You're married!"
The grin on her face only widened.
"That's what makes it fun."
What? You thought only male students get harems at IS academy?