Here's Chapter 16.
It had been about an hour since Charles had gotten out of the shower and neither of the roommates had spoken a word since. They currently sat on their beds, occasionally glancing over at the other. Charles was now wearing a clean fresh sports jacket with track pants. A pair of breasts could be made out under the sports jacket. Now that her identity had been exposed, she didn't bother wearing anything to restrain her chest.
This quiet atmosphere continued with only the ticking of the clock making noise. Anytime Ichika opened his mouth to speak, Charles trembled. Ichika eyed the teapot on the stove.
"How about some tea?"
"Huh? Sure…"
He began to boil water in an electric kettle as the silence took over yet again. The mood felt so awkward and tense that maybe not even Reiraku Byakuya could slice through.
"..."
Despite his calm expression on his face, Ichika a mess on the inside. He was still trying to piece together what was even going on. That girl was definitely Charles, but she was supposed to be a boy. If you talked to Ichika one hour ago, he'd tell you he was 100% sure Charles was a guy. Now that number shifted anywhere between zero and five percent. He racked his head to any answer that could explain what was going on. A prank? Secret twin? Aliens? It was a strange day when that last option sounded viable.
"UWAAAHH! HOT! HOT!"
Ichika was so lost in thought, his hand slid down too far on the kettle somewhere he shouldn't have touched. The heated metal begun to sear his hand turning the skin a reddish color. He rushed towards the sink, turning on the cold water to maximum. The icy water felt so good on his hand.
"Are you okay!?" Charles's looked worried.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just burned myself."
Charles ran over, inspecting the hand under the running cold water. "Let me see... Oh no it's getting so red. Maybe I should get some ice." When she looked at Ichika, his face was reaching red levels that matched his hand. "Did you burn your face to!?"
"It's not that... It's your breasts, they're pressing against my body."
After he said it, Charles finally noticed her positioning. Indeed, her boobs were pressing against his arm the whole time. She jumped away from him, hugging her body to try to hide herself. That look of concern in her eyes had turned to protest mixed with embarrassment.
"And I was worried about you... You're a pervert Ichika."
"What? Why!?"
It took a few minutes for Charles to calm down and for a new pot of tea to be made. Thankfully with no injuries this time. At least the accident had gotten them speaking again. They sat at the little table in the room taking sips of tea to clear their throats. Now things didn't feel as awkward as before. Still pretty awkward though.
"I'm sure you have some questions." Charles said.
Ichika nodded. He started with the obvious. "Why are you cross-dressing as a guy?'
She figured that would be the first thing he'd ask. "It's because... some... someone in my family told me to do it."
"Your family? You mean the Dunois-"
"Correct. My dad's the chairman of the Dunois corporation, and he gave me the order directly." Her face seemed to sour. Bad memories flooding into her mind.
"Your dad... ordered you? Why would he-"
"Ichika." Charles cut him off. "I'm an illegitimate child."
Ichika couldn't respond. He had no idea where to start. How would he? Even so, it seemed like that was only the beginning of it all. Charles had a story to tell and all he could do was listen.
"I grew up in the countryside of France with my mother. I lived with her all my life until her death two years ago. I was sent to live with my father her passing. It was the first time I'd heard of my father. His subordinates came to pick me up and they put me through many check-ups. They found that my IS compatibility and aptitude level was extremely high. So, I became the unofficial test pilot for Dunois company."
She stared down at her reflection in the tea.
"I didn't live with my father though, he had me stay in a nearby building. It was made apparent early on that he didn't want to see any trace of my existence. In fact, I only ever met and talked to him twice. One of those times, I was summoned to the main house to speak with him where he looked at me like I was a monster. It was horrible." Her voice turned dry with no hint of emotion. "I got verbally abused by my father's real wife. She called me a 'daughter of a whore'. And I could do nothing but stand there and take it."
Under the table Ichika clenched his fist. Digging his nails into his palm to keep quiet as Charles had more to say.
"After a while, the Dunois Corporation faced a financial management crisis."
"Crisis? But doesn't the Dunois Corporation have the third largest share of mass produced IS in the world?"
"That's true but remember. The Revive is a second-generation machine. The world is breaking into the age of third generation IS units. For countries that cannot create their own IS units, they buy them from corporations in other countries. Like how IS Academy purchased the Uchigane's for use. Everyone wants to purchase third generation frames for IS design if their country can't build frames themselves. France is one of the main countries that deals in IS frames sales with the Dunois corporation being their go to in sales. However, production has been slow compared to other countries. The Dunois corporation has too little time and data to create a third-generation frame. If they can't come up with anything soon, France's government may change their main manufacturers to another corporation." Charles took a deep breath after that mouthful. "Were you able to get all that?"
Ichika nodded. It was a lot to take in, but he seemed to get the gist of it. The Dunois corporation was pressed to make a third-generation unit, but they were unable. And if they, couldn't they'd lose a large number of sales. "What does all of this have to do with you dressing up as a guy?"
"Two reasons." Charles raised a finger. "First I'm to gain publicity. Raises the Dunois company's image to stall for extra time and gain investors." She raised another. "Second... If I was a guy, it would be easier to approach students with third generation personal IS units and obtain their IS data. I was tasked to steal data and even the units of personal pilots if possible. You, Jayden, and any other personal pilot if the opportunity arose."
That explained much about Charles, why she always seemed to be with anyone who had a personal IS unit. Since Ichika was her roommate, it would make him the easiest target to go for first.
"At least, that was the plan. But you caught me so it's all up in flames." She swallowed the rest of her tea and breathed a sigh of relief. Her conscious felt lighter after getting everything off her chest. "Thank you for listening to me. And I'm truly sorry for lying to you."
She gave a deep bow. Ichika was too stunned to immediately answer back. This is the kind of thing you would see in movies and other media. The fact that this was a real thing occurring made his stomach twist. Before he knew it Ichika was grabbing her shoulders. Forcing her to look him in the eyes.
"Is all this fine with you?"
"I didn't choose this, and I don't have a say. So, whatever."
"Don't you 'whatever' me!" Ichika's almost shouted. "How can you be fine with this? Your life is on the verge of ruin and you're acting like this is okay. It's not okay, it's bullshit"
"But my father-"
"A kid wouldn't be born if it wasn't for their parents. I get that. But that doesn't mean they can do anything they want with them. No parent has the right to take their kid's freedom away. Everyone has the right to choose how they want to live. AND NO ONE, NOT EVEN YOUR PARENTS CAN INTERFERE WITH THAT."
As he talked, Ichika seemed to realize it wasn't just Charles he was talking about. Charles's eyes were wide as she stared into his. "Ichika... why are you..."
"Sorry for the outburst. Chifuyu-nee and I were disowned by our parents. It just sickens me someone can abandon the people they're supposed to love. That's what a family should be. "
She too knew what it was like to be abandoned by a parent. Sure her father took her in but from his treatment and hospitability she'd never felt more alone till coming here. Charles didn't mean to make both of them bring up terrible memories.
"Anyway, what happens now?" Ichika changed the topic.
"Well, I assume you tell the staff everything I told you about my gender and mission. I'll be deported back to France and the Dunois company will go bankrupt or merge with another company. My father will blame me and probably try to pin this one me. I'll probably be sent to jail. And that's only my best-case scenario."
"T-That can't be right."
"Doesn't matter. I don't have a choice."
Charles gave a heart-wrenching smile. An absolute look of despair had taken over her face. Very soon she'd be kicked out with her fate in the hands of a man who hated her very existence. She accepted this fate and had given up trying to change it. Just the look of that face was pissing Ichika off. No one should ever make that kind of face. Even worse, he couldn't do a damn thing about this. Somehow, Ichika forced himself to take a deep breath. If there was a way out, he could only find it by keeping his cool.
His mind flashed with inspiration. Something he'd learn a while ago.
"In that case. Just stay here."
Time seemed to freeze for Charles as she heard those words. It took a few seconds to comprehend what he'd said.
"What?"
Ichika walked over to his desk. Opening it, he pulled out an academy handbook. Flipping through it till he found what he wanted.
"Article 21 of the Academy's Charter states that students who are studying in this Academy will not be affiliated to any country, organization or syndicate without the students consent. Without the student's agreement, external organizations are not allowed to manage them." Ichika shut the book. "Basically, as long as your attending IS Academy no government, corporation or organization can touch you. That gives you three years to think of something if you stay here. You're sure to think of something by then."
"T-that's amazing. You know all 55 articles!" Charles was surprised.
"Well... mostly a handful of them." Ichika admitted. Chifuyu-nee had gone over the ones that affected him the most. Article 21 meant he wouldn't be forced or pressured to join any country or organization. It was one of the reasons Chifuyu-nee made him attend IS Academy when she learned he could use the Infinite Stratos. "But I do work hard you know. Looks like your father didn't brush up on our Academy's rules."
"I guess he didn't." Charles grinned as she laughed.
Charles had finally laughed. That face of despair was breaking to show her smile. That beautiful smile was even affecting Ichika. Combined with her gentle presence and nice body his heart was beginning to race just looking at her. He looked at Charles and their eyes crossed one another's.
"Wait. But what about everything I just told you?"
Ichika shrugged his shoulders "Told me what?"
This was the guy she was supposed to steal from. And here he was helping her and even keeping her biggest secret despite her literary telling him she was going to rob him. Was this guy just too nice or too stupid? Either way, he was doing it for her sake. She had to fight a little to keep the water from leaking out of her eyes.
"Ichika… Thank you."
"Your welcome Char- Actually. Now that I think about it, Charles is a boy's name. Is that your real name?"
"It isn't but if we're going to keep up my act, it would be better if you continue to call me Charles. At least for now."
"All right then Charles."
There was now a full smile on Charles's face. Ichika answered with a smile of his own. She looked a lot better with that frown off her face. Meanwhile Charles was feeling a warmth inside her. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on.
But for the first time in so long. Charles's heart didn't feel heavy.
/-/
There was 40 minutes before the cafeteria closed for the night, with only a handful of students there to get a last meal. Jayden was one of those students eating a late dinner due to his IS practice with Vishnu. He'd been getting more use to the first shift Edel Gleam. Its speed, shield, and learning what his limits were. After that humiliating defeat in his battle with Laura he was determined to get better for the tournament and Vishnu was willing to help. There was just one minor issue.
Vishnu could be very distracting. Not because of her tricks or beauty, although he'd admit she was gorgeous. See when Vishnu wasn't in her academy uniform, she tended to wear tight clothing. Those yoga pants and IS pilot suit really clung to her figure, making it hard not to stare at certain areas.
In his defense, it was really hard not to stare. Look it wasn't his fault he had so many chances to look at her butt. Her firm, hot… Jayden chugged down all the ice water in his glass.
"Um. Excuse me."
Jayden snapped out of his questionable thoughts to answer, only to realize it wasn't him being talked to. Rather the booth next to his.
"My what a lovely lady you are. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
That came from the booth next to his to only this time he recognized the voice. Jayden peered over the edge to find a girl with whitish hair in a male looking IS uniform sitting there. Recognizing her as the same girl he'd met with Houki in the locker room. Only he couldn't place the name that went with that face. What was it? Ronney? Ronna? Something with an R. He clicked his fingers. Rorentsuine!
The girl talking with Rorentsuine was shuffling like she had to pee. Her eyes shifted around the room but never once locking onto Rorentsuine. She just gave a reassuring smile, taking the stranger's hands into her own.
"Don't be shy. I'd love to hear what you have to say."
"My name is Gina. I-I was wondering… well if it isn't too much trouble." She took a large breath. "If you wanted to get a drink together sometime. Like some smoothies or hot tea?"
"Sorry I'll have to decline."
Disappointment emerged over Gina's expression. Rolan gently lifted her face till their eyes gazed into one another's. "After all. I already have a hottie right here."
Gina couldn't piece together any words, looking to be on the verge of melting into her shoes. Rorentsuine pulled out a pencil from her pocket and wrote down a series of numbers onto a nearby napkin. She placed it into Gina's pocket before leaving whispering sweet nothings in her ear. Gina's head looked like it'd floated off into space and would never be seen again. The pep in her step seemed to grow more and more till she was out of sight. Rorentsuine leaned back into her booth with her hands resting behind her head.
Jayden's mouth hung open. What did he just watch?
"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to eavesdrop?" Rorentsuine's glanced over at the peeping Jayden, flashing him a cocky smile.
"R-Rorentsuine!"
"Rorentsuine Laurent di Fillney." She gestured with a sitting bow. "But call me Rolan. It rolls off the tongue better."
"I'll just stick with Rorentsuine. I prefer to call people by their real names."
Rorentsuine shrugged. "Suit yourself."
"By the way is it foreign? Doesn't sound like a Japanese name."
"Dutch."
"Oh. Anyway, how did you do that!?"
"Do what?" She knew what he meant but she loved hearing it said out loud.
"T-That!" Jayden couldn't find the word to describe Rorentsuine's performance, so he settled on that.
"You mean me getting another date? Don't act like you just saw a unicorn in a field of rainbows. It's quite common for me. I know the way around a woman's heart but as a fellow heart taker, you must know all about that."
Jayden hesitated. "I do?"
"You're in a school with a one to hundred male female ratio. Surely you must have girls lining up to go out with you. Right?"
That was the case when he first arrived. Jayden lost count of how many times he'd been chased by a stampede of girls who wanted to let hm know that each one of them had a name and face. Man was it hard to get alone time back then. But as the months went by his hype died down. Now he'd pass by a lot of girls who'd occasionally wave back or say hello. The current hype was on Charles who was learning how many girls it took to form a stampede.
But even then, it never really went any further than light talks and meet and greets for Jayden. The most he'd done was chit-chat while this girl was getting full on dates. Rolan was being a better guy than him. And she wasn't even a guy! His manly pride couldn't take this.
"I mean. I do!"
Rolan didn't say anything. Based on the way his eyes looked away and how his hand scratched his cheek, it was an obvious lie. When you were a people person like her, you tended to pick up on a lot of social cues. "Is that so…?" Sure, she could've called him out on the lie and watch him get even more flustered, but her brain hatched a better idea.
"Yeah. I just go so many places with all the ladies. Parks, resturants, skating rings, and all the popular dating spots. Guess you miss us all the time. I've been like ten… er twenty dates!"
"My that is impressive. Well as someone who has 99 girlfriends, I have to see if you're really a lady killer. Care to play a game?"
"99 girlfriends?" Okay, now that had to be an exaggeration. "What kind of game?"
"Are you familiar with IS Academy's Beyond the Infinite Parfait?"
"The Beyond the Infinite Parfait!". In the IS Academy cafeteria, there was one sweet treat that stood above all others. The Beyond the Infinite Parfait was said to take your tastebuds on a one-way trip to flavor town. Served on fine china, this parfait was loaded with 12 flavors of ice cream, 15 different kinds of fruit. Top all that off with chocolate, imported whipped cream, and some shaved gold and you had the Beyond the Infinite Parfait. All this would cost you was the low price of $500. Rumors said the Beyond the Infinite parfait would leave your stomach full and wallet empty.
He had a feeling where this was going.
"I've heard it's a rare and delicious treat. Here's the game. If you can score a date with the next girl who walks through those doors, I'll buy it for you. But if you fail. You have to buy it for me. You game?"
With the price of the Beyond the Infinite Parfait, Jayden could kiss almost all his allowance money good-bye in one go if he ended losing. His lack of dating experience didn't help either. He kept his mouth shut trying to think of a way out of this.
"Oh? Where'd all the bravado go?" Rolan wagged a finger in his face. "One little wager and you turn with your tail tucked between your legs?" She let out an exaggerated sigh from her lips. "I guess you aren't much of a man after all. Though truth be told you look like you'd make a better girl anyway."
That face Jayden was making showed he fell for the obvious taunt.
"I am totally a man!"
"Prove it."
He snatched Rolan's hand, giving it a large shake to make the bet official. "Get ready to eat your words as I… um… eat the parfait… man that sounded a lot cooler in my head."
They didn't have to wait long as student walked through the cafeteria's entrance.
"There's your challenge." Rolan said.
"Stupid teachers." Yua Tani whispered as her feet dragged into the cafeteria. Her entire day got wasted by that Ms. Sedgewick who made sure to drill every lesson into her head. Maybe it would help if she didn't speak at miles per minute but a little of what she taught stuck in her brain. Now if only it didn't take so many hour for one tutoring session.
"There's your target." Rolan said.
"Her? She looks kinda familiar."
"Well good luck. And for proof of a date, you have to bring back her phone number." She added.
"That wasn't part of the… grrr fine." Okay, another bump on the road but nothing he couldn't handle. He'd faced a killer IS robot. This should be nothing.
Yua clenched her fist. Oh, when she got her hands on that grandpa of a teacher she woud-
"Excuse me."
"What do you-" Yua froze when she realized just who she was talking to. One of the four males on the island, Jayden Sylvan.
The same guy she'd tried to dump paint on a few nights ago.
The same guy she tried to dump paint on a few days ago with Linda. The same plan which failed thanks to that stupid mascot pajama wearing roommate of his. It was very dark when they did the act but now part of Yua was worried he recognized her or would do so if they interacted.
Oh shit!
If he figured it out, her life was toast, The two crossed eyes until Yua turned to the side to keep her face hidden. She didn't know what to say. Then again neither did Jayden.
"Uhh… Hi My name's Jayden. Rolls off the tongue. Maybe you've heard of me."
Yua slightly nodded.
"So what's your name."
"Yua."
"That's a neat name. Hey you look familiar. Have we met?"
Sweat ran down Yua's face.
Jayden studied her face before snapping his finger. "I got it. You're in class 1-1 right? We're in the same class taught by Ms. Orimura.
"Yeah." She'd never felt as relieved as right now.
"So how's your day been?"
"Fine."
"Umm… Nice weather were having huh?"
"Sure."
Anything attempts he made at conservation only got a one-word reply. Why this hard? This should not be hard! At this rate he'd be returning to Rorentsuine empty handed and broke. Desperate times called for desperate measures.
"I'm just gonna say it. You look pretty cute."
"Thanks…" She said as quietly as possible. Yua placed her hands behind her back so he wouldn't see them balling up into fists. She had to make herself as unrecognizable as possible. Smacking him in the face would do the opposite of that.
"Oh wow, her cheeks are going red. I'm actually doing it!" He was actually flirting.
"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime. Maybe go to a park or catch a movie?"
"uhh… thanks but I'm good." She took a step back resulting in Jayden moving forward.
"Come on, I just wanna spend some time with you. Maybe we can grab a drink or study together. You look like you like studying right?"
"Not exactly… look I have to go." Yua quickly said.
"Please? I really need you to do this."
Yua squirmed as he kept asking and asking. The last thing she needed to do was cause an incident. All she could do was endure till she broke. "Sorry. I have to leave. Now."
"Wait. Can I at least get your number? I think you and I can make something work. Please?" He reached out to grab her hand only to have it smacked away. Stopping herself before she could do anything worse.
"Fine." She hurriedly took out a scrap of paper from her folder, hastily writing on it. Yua lightly tossed the scrap his way before turning her back to him once again.
"Cool let me give you my…"
Just like that Yua had already fled from the cafeteria. He hadn't even given her his number. Oh well, there was always later.
But the mission was still accomplished. In his hands were an actual girl's contact number. Jayden could only imagine something like this happening in his dreams or tv. Was this why Rolan did it so often? He slammed the paper onto the booth's table. "Told ya I could do it."
"Really?" Rolan seemed skeptical.
"I may not look it, but I'm a real big hit with the girls. That's what you get for…. What are you doing?"
Rolan had just finished inputting the same numbers on the paper into her phone which was in the process of dialing.
"Hello. This is the Gotanda Eatery. How may we help-"
Rolan ended the call with press of a button.
"What?" The number he'd been given had led to restaurant probably somewhere on the main land. "You must have put in the wrong number."
"I put it in right." Checking the phone only proved it was indeed the same number on the paper. Rolan just folded her arms under her chest. "The classic fake phone number trick. And you fell for it hook, line, and sucker."
"But we were having a good time!"
"Wow. You must be wearing some really strong rose-tinted lens if that's what you really think. I couldn't hear what you were saying but even I saw she looked uncomfortable. Did that hand smack does not send any warning signs?"
"That was just flirting."
"I've seen flirting. That was creeping. Did you not see her looking uncomfortable? Geez between Houki and that girl, I'd say you have the charisma of a dead skunk." This was why amateurs shouldn't step up to the plate. "I'll say it again, learn to read a person's mood. It'll save you from looking stupid."
"Well how do I do that?"
"Try taking a second to observe a person's facial expressions would be a good start."
Jayden smacked his palm into his forehead "I'm going to bed…" He was about to leave until Rorentsuine grabbed the sleave of his shirt.
"Not yet. I believe a certain someone needs to order up a Beyond the Infinite Parfait for someone else."
Oh right he had to do that.
"Not gonna try to run away?"
"No… my promise is my bond."
He would at least be enough of a man to keep his word. Jayden pulled his wallet out of his pocket as he made way towards the food counter. Walking had never felt so hard, his legs had never felt so heavy before when he put one foot in front of the other. He gave his wallet a kiss good-bye at the counter. "Hi. I'd like to make a… special order."
/-/
Olivia Sedgewick accepted the small plate of cake with a cup of hot tea. She dug her fork into the pastry, the chocolate sending its sweetness into her tastebuds. She let out a sigh of content, chasing down the treat with the hot beverage. "Thank you for the desert. It's good."
"I'm glad you like. This school store does sell some good sweets." Gelimer said opposite from her. The two were hanging out in Ms. Sedgewick's room. "Honestly I really needed this break."
"Been busy?"
"Quite, I've just about finished Edel Gleam's first sub-weapon. And now I'm trying to at least get the second one in a workable state. I have to make sure my IS looks good in front of the VIPS." Gelimer wiped some imaginary sweat from his forehead. "And considering who I have as the pilot of my IS, I need everything to be working properly."
"Jayden, right? I've seen him fight. He's... well."
"Weak?"
"Your words, not mine. Think he has a chance?"
"I'll be amazed if he wins his first round."
"Huh. And I thought putting others down was my thing."
"It's not that I don't have faith in Jayden." Gelimer swallowed the bite he took. "He's made a lot of progress from when he started in just a few months. But he's just out matched by most of his competition. I'm using this tournament to see if he can keep up despite the late start he has. If he can't I'm tagging him out to find another pilot"
"Trial by fire? I approve. More tea?"
"Oh, thank you."
"Splendid."
It really was. It had been a while since Gelimer felt this relaxed. Ever since they met in the cafeteria, they'd met up a few times for meals and snacks. Given Ms. Sedgewick's fondness for the IS, she was really easy to talk to and more than happy to discuss the Infinite Stratos.
"-It's not that I don't trust Jayden to win. Jayden's just so out experienced by everyone. Even the non-personal IS students. I'm predicting he'll either get a weak opponent in the first round and win or get taken out before getting far. He's gotta do well in the first match to show off Edel Gleam."
"I can see that happening." Olivia nodded in agreement. "Uf I catch his match I'll be sure to root for him."
"Thank you."
Olivia sighed and leaned into her seat. That had been an acceptable amount of small talk. Now onto business. "I've made some progress with getting us into the lower levels of the Academy to inspect the IS that invaded a month ago, and I think I have a solution."
Gelimer leaned back into his chair. "What do you have?"
"To get down there we'll need to do one of two things. The first is to gain clearance through regular means." Olivia explained.
"Which is impossible for you and would take too long for me." Gelimer reminded.
"So that leaves option two. We need to sneak down there. Though we may end up going back there multiple times."
"That's also impossible. We need a keycard to get down there and the moment one of us is spotted we'll get kicked out and asked how we got there. And I'm pretty sure they got security cameras or something."
Considering the secrecy of the underground area known as the basement, it was safe to assume there would be multiple security clearances for one to get down there.
"So, we're screwed." Gelimer threw his hands up in the air. "Wonderful."
"Not quite." Olivia wasn't so eager to throw in the towel just yet. The cameras can be dealt with by hacking in and playing a feedback recording of empty hallways. For not being found out I took care of that to."
The woman pulled out some sort of list from her lab coat pocket. From what Gelimer could tell it was a sort of a timetable for the week of the tournament.
"If we go down there at certain times, there should be no one there. Perfect chance for us to do some research."
"Okay. That's two for three. What about the keycard?"
There was a smug look on Olivia's face as she pulled out a keycard from her pocket. Twirling it in her hand before tossing it over to Gelimer to show off.
"Looks like you've got everything. Remind me why I'm needed again?"
He handed the card back to her as she explained. "It's only a blank keycard for now. I managed to borrow-"
"Steal"
"Borrow! A keycard from the school principal without her knowledge. It's currently blank so I have to program it with the proper credentials to allow us access. But if I make a new card entirely, the system will register a new user and people will know something's up. What I need to do is copy someone else's data and have the system thing we're that person. Are you familiar with Maya Yamada?"
Chifuyu's green haired teaching assistant who was sweet and wore clothes that showed off half her bra? Yeah, Gelimer had become acquainted with her. He nodded his head.
"Good. While I will be adding this backdoor into the system Maya Yamada must not use her keycard under any circumstance. If she does the system will recognize two Maya Yamada's accessing the system at the same time. Cyber security will know something's up. She can't use her keycard or accounts here while I'm working. And I mean zero input from Ms. Yamada. No entering IS Academy networks, entering her codes in the system, room key usage or anything."
"What do you want me to do. Tie her up and lock her in a closet?"
"I like the way you think but you're going about it wrong. If we're to be sure Ms. Yamada doesn't do anything there's only one good solution, you have to take out Ms. Yamada."
Gelimer's body tensed. "T-Take her out?"
He'd done a lot to get where he was today, and he wasn't proud of everything it took to get here. But this was going too far out of his comfort zone.
"Isn't that a little too much?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "Not really. With her out of the way I can work without worry."
"Isn't this a little too far?"
"Not really. Just go to the town outside the island. They have plenty you can do with her to kill time."
"Huh?"
"Stuff you can do on a date." Olivia said.
"…"
"…"
"Oh A date!" Gelimer realized. That made much more sense than he was thinking.
"Right a date. What did you think I met?"
"A date. Exactly what you said."
"Really? Cause it sounds like you thought I wanted to you k-"
"No. A date. I always thought that!"
Olivia decided to pretend to believe him.
"Look just ask her out. That shouldn't be a problem… annnnnnd you look like you have a problem. Spit it out."
"I've never been on a date before." Gelimer admitted.
Olivia paused. Followed by burying her face in her hands and groaning. Did she have to do everything for this plan?
"Aren't you 27? How have you never asked a girl out?"
"I mean I've been busy with the Infinite Stratos."
"For 27 years?"
Gelimer said nothing, settling for taking an overly long sip of his drink. Ask did one ask out a girl? No seriously. How did you do that? Was there like a point system where you cash them or did the girl have to ask the guy out first? They didn't make manuals for this.
"I never realized your competence revolves only around the Infinite Stratos." Olivia mocked. She placed her hand on her forehead. A sigh escaping her lips. "So be it, in addition to doing everything I'll teach you how to talk to women on a date."
"And what makes you so qualified to teach me that?"
"I'm a woman."
He was forced to admit she had a really good point.
/-/
Days until the tournament: 2
"Ah!"
Three individuals seemed to have the same idea to get some early morning practice in an empty arena before anyone could arrive. The three people involved being Cecilia, Rin, and Vishnu. They let out a short cry realizing their private training session wouldn't be so private anymore.
"What are you guys doing here?" Vishnu asked.
"I'm here to do some special training in order to win the tournament." Rin answered.
"What a coincidence. I came here to do the same." Cecilia commented.
"Well I got here first, and I need the extra space for target practice. So, if you guys wouldn't mind heading to another arena I'd appreciate it." Rin gestured with a shoo motion. "Thanks." The Chinese cadet representative summoned her personal IS which prompted the other cadets to bring out their personal units.
"I'll take that as a no then."
Invisible sparks began to fly as Cecilia and Rin stared one another down. The Chinese and British cadet summoned their respective weapons, pointing at one another. Vishnu couldn't muster the will to join the stare down and looked for something to hide behind. A difficult task to do in an empty arena.
"All ri-"
At that moment, a supersonic cannon blast came from above redirecting their attention. The three girls evaded backward while looking up where the blast was shot from. In the sky above them was a black IS. The machine known as Schwarzer Regen and its registered pilot-
"Laura Bodewig." Cecilia looked unhappy as she braced herself.
"England's Blue Tears. China's Shenlong, and Thailand's Durga Singh." Laura looked down at each IS as she named them. "Hmph. They looked much more impressive when I checked them through their data."
The girls scowled hearing Laura's taunt.
"What? You wanna go?" Rin challenged. "You must be some kind of masochist coming all the way from Germany just to get your ass kicked."
Vishnu began to sweat. "Guys, maybe we shouldn't antagonize her. Didn't you hear what she did to Jayden?"
"Oh, I've heard. Don't feel so proud of that. Beating Jayden isn't much of an accomplishment."
For the first time, Laura agreed with another student in IS Academy. "His abilities leave too much to be desired. Not to be expected when he's being taught at a place like this even with the instructors teaching. He doesn't deserve her training and neither do any of you."
"Don't compare him to an elite like myself." Cecilia said.
"Elite?" Laura just laughed. "I didn't realize the English were so good at telling jokes."
"Excuse you?"
"You call yourself an elite with a personal IS unit and yet you lost badly to someone in a mass produced unit. Even with the help of that pathetic dragon IS you still managed to be humiliated. The only thing both of you possess is an incredible lack of talent." Steam began to metaphorically pour from Cecilia's and Rin's ears. "And you. Thailand's representative cadet. You have no battles recorded since arriving here. They say you're shy but all I see is a giant coward who can't even face her own shadow." And with that, Vishnu joined the I hate Bodewig club.
The three of them were now itching for a fight. They tried to vent their anger with words to let off steam.
Vishnu aimed her bow at the German. "Someone needs to take you down a notch."
"I agree with you Ms. Galaxy. Allow me to do the honors." Blue Tear's Starlight rifle took aim at the same target.
"Hold on, I want first crack at her. This pile of crap is asking for it." Rin pointed a scimitar upwards.
They looked at one another, trying to decide who would have the honor of being the first to knock Laura's lights out.
"So how do we decide this? Rock-Paper Scissors?" Rin brought up.
Laura rolled her eye. This was taking too long. "I'll take on all three of you at once."
"WHAT!?"
Taking on three personal IS units at once. That would be an extremely difficult feat even for a personal IS user. And yet nothing but confidence was on Laura's face. To her, taking them all on at once would be the only way to make this anywhere close to a challenge. Although considering the expectations she had, Laura even doubted that.
"Are you some kind of masochist? With all of us against you, you're practically asking us to send your butt back to Germany." Rin fumed.
A bit vulgar in how she put it but the others agreed with Rin's statement.
"There's no way I can lose to some hussies chasing after some stud horses." Laura smiled with arrogance as she motioned a come at me with her hand. That girl really knew which buttons to press to piss them all off.
"BRING IT ON!"
With that the final straw had been obliterated. The three representative cadets tightly gripped their weapons to take on their common foe.
/-/
The three boys walked along towards IS Academy's third arena to get some early morning practice in before anyone could get there. With three IS units, the extra space would be much needed. Jayden followed along behind the other guys with a questionable expression on his face.
"Is something the matter Jayden? You've been giving us that look for a while now." Charles asked.
"It's fine."
"Is everything okay Jayden?" Ichika looked over.
"Come on Ichika. Don't act like you haven't realized it."
Ichika seemed confused. "Realized what?"
"You and Charles. The way you've both been acting got me thinking. Something strange has been going with you guys. I did some thinking and I figured it out."
Charles nervously scratched his neck. "I'm not sure what you're talking about Jayden."
"Fine if you won't admit it. I will. Look. I'm not stupid, I've seen the way how you both are acting. I can't believe you guys have been spending so much time together."
Sweat started to drip down Ichika and Charles.
"Without me!" Jayden got up in their faces on the verge of crying a river. "As the only guys on the island we're supposed to stick together. Three musketeers and all that/ But lately you've guys have been hanging out together. Getting meals, training together, and staying locked up in your room. Don't leave me all alone. Do you guys know what happens to third wheels?"
"No. What?"
"I don't know. But I don't want to find out." Jayden grasped the collar of Ichika's shirt. "Please don't let me become a third wheel."
True Charles had been spending most of her time at ISA with Ichika. Though that was because he was his target when she was stealing IS data. Putting all his focus on Ichika did make him neglect Jayden outside of when they saw each other in class or the arena. It didn't look like Jayden had any idea about Charles secret. Things were okay, at least for now.
"I'm sorry that we made you feel left out Jayden. It wasn't our intention." Charles placed a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't we get together at some point and have… how do the American's say it? A guy's night out?"
That perked Jaden right up. "Really? You mean it."
Before Charles could reply, he was pushed aside by a student running past him.
"Sorry!" The student yelled as she continued on into the arena. A few more girls ran by heading into the arena. Based on how many girls were running there was some commotion going on.
"What's going on?" Ichika asked one of them as he helped Charles up.
"There's a bunch of representative cadets fighting in the arena." She quickly yelled before hurrying to catch up with her friends.
"A battle royal?"
"Awesome! We can't miss this." Jayden led the way inside the third arena. On the inside a decent number of students had gathered to watch the battle unfold. There were students in almost every section from the spectator stands to the locker rooms with video feed. No one wanted to miss this showdown.
"Ichika! Over here." Houki Shinonono called out to the gang.
"You're here to Houki?" Jayden asked.
Houki huffed, turning away from the American slightly. She was still committed to never speaking with him again.
This time Ichika asked a question "What's going on?"
This time Houki did answer back. "Cecilia, Vishnu, Rin, and Laura are fighting. People are calling it a battle royal but it's more like three against one with Laura outnumbered."
"So, Laura's getting her butt kicked." Jayden recalled his tussle with her a few days ago. "That's awesome!" It'd make him feel better to see the German representatative cadet get introduced to the ground the way she did to him.
Charles inspected the arena battlefield. "I don't think that's the case."
DONG-VROOM!
Everyone turned to look at the sudden explosion. Three shadows flew out of the smoke on a one way trip to the ground. Thanks to the protective shield no one outside the battlefield had gotten hurt. The same couldn't be said for the three IS units that crashed and rolled across the ground.
Vishnu, Rin, and Cecilia rolled till their lost momentum with there IS units looking severely damaged. The frames on all their units had cut metal and dents on the edges. Parts of their armor were either completely broken or scattered across the arena. In contrast their opponent Laura Bodewig was hovering above them where the smoke had been. She wasn't completely unscathed but her damaged looked like nothing compared to her opponents.
"No way…"
Jayden's mind was trying its best to comprehend what was going on. It was three against one and his Representative cadet friends were looking demolished. They should've been easily turning Laura's IS unit into scrap metal only it was in reverse. Just how powerful was Laura Bodewig?
At this point in the story, Laura would be the strongest person that we have been introduced to. Well…. Second to Ms. Orimura. All it takes is a few words from her to bring a student down. Especially Laura.
We're reaching the climax of the arc. With two main girls and one Archetype Breaker girl being introduced, this arc is like a double feature film and were just at the end of the first half.
Will the Representative cadets be able to compete with the state their units are in? only time will tell.
Reviewing Reviewers
AzureDominion: Thanks for the encouragement.
B123: Leave it to you to break down the chapter. There are a lot more conflicts going on than in canon, my favorite being the Nohotoke sister's issues right now. And thanks for the compliment on the battle, I feel like that's my weakest part so I'm happy to hear any thoughts and critiques on it.
InfiniteDragonPlayer: Happy to write!
Kaze-Kami-Ha: Usually male OC's in this fandom are written as teenage students so they rarely go for the teachers as a love interest. Having a male adult in the school gives the teachers someone to go after who's their own age.
Guest: My, I had no idea the only male teacher on the island would get so popular with the fans. The teachers never get much time to shine in the harem spotlight unless they're gunning for Ichika. Now there's someone their own age to play with. And thanks for the words of encouragement, it really made me happy.
Keep your sense of wonder everybody and I'll see you next time.
Omake
Jayden and Rorentsuine refused to look anywhere other than the main cafeteria entrance as they waited for someone to walk in. The bet was in full swing for Jayden to ask out a girl with the contents of their wallets and one Beyond the Infinite parfait on the line. They awaited with bated breath to see who would enter. After a short while, a female passed through the doors.
Jayden's hope shriveled up and died.
Chifuyu Orimura had entered the cafeteria.
"Do over!" He slammed his fist on the table. "I demand a do over!"
Rolan laughed as she wagged a finger in Jayden's face. "Uh-uh-uhhh. We agreed the first girl to walk in would be your target."
"But… but that's not a girl. That's a goddess!"
"A girl's a girl. Even if way out of your league. But if you wanna give up I understand. Guess you don't it have it in you, not that I expected much." She licked her lips, already tasting that beyond the infinite parfait.
Jayden's body trembled. It was as though even the gods wanted to make sure he didn't win this bet. How does one ask out Ms. Orimura? She must've had tons of secret admires and celebrities ask out her out. Sure, he could pilot an IS but what did he have going for him besides that? And don't even get started on the age difference. If he was doomed from the start, he at least wanted to go down swinging.
Rolan watched him go, licking her lips in anticipation of that parfait. Only she noticed he was walking in the opposite direction of the counter.
"Where're ya going? The food counters-" Rolan paused. He was approaching Ms. Orimura! A smirk made it ways onto her face as she leaned into the booth. Oh this would be good. Tonight, she'd be getting dessert and a show.
Rolan was too far away to hear what Jayden and Chifuyu were talking about, so she had to judge by actions and expressions. With Jayden's back to her she was mostly reading Ms. Orimura to gauge what was going on. The head teacher stood with her arms folded as Jayden did most if not all of the talking with Ms. Orimura giving short replies. After that he clapped his hands together in a pleading motion. She gave a sigh before saying a few words to him and going on her way. Jayden came back to the booth with his head looking low.
"Wow. I admit you got more guts than I thought you did. Don't feel too bad, I'll at least praise your efforts." Rolan commended.
"I got it." Jayden said.
"Got what?"
"A date."
Rolan paused for moment. "What?"
"I got a date with Ms. Orimura."
She dug a finger into her ear. "I'm sorry I don't think I heard you right. Can you repeat that?"
"I got a date with Ms. Orimura."
"Sorry I need you to speak slowly and clearly."
"I got a date with Ms. Orimura." Jayden repeated yet again.
"All right. I hear you speaking, but the order of your words you're using don't make sense."
"I got a date with Ms. Orimura."
She placed a hand on her forehead. Nope she wasn't burning up a fever. Rolan brought her face right up to his. Desperately trying to find any sort of doubt or lie on it. A minute passed and she still couldn't locate any hint of deception. Her eyes blanked as her mind forced herself to accept the truth.
"I. Got. A. Date. With. Ms. Orimura." Jayden spoke slowly. Emphasizing each to word make sure the message to Rorentsuine. She dug her hands into his shoulders tightly.
"How!? How did someone like you get a date with someone like Ms. Orimura!? Tell me!"
"What can I say. I've got a certain kind of charm if you know what I mean."
"I can't believe you. What are you even doing on this date?"
"Oh, you wanna know?" Jayden smirked. "Well Ms. Orimura and I will be going over the history of 2nd generation IS units. We'll be going over common questions she's sure to quiz me on at later date. Just me and her all alone for about an hour this weekend. Just me and her in a classroom hanging out"
"Wait…" Rolan started putting the pieces together. Studying. Quiz. Classroom. "Is that a tutoring session?"
"I prefer the term date."
"That's a tutoring session not a date."
"You say tomato. I say tomatoe" Jayden smirked.
"Nobody says tomatoe. Wipe that stupid smirk off your face. It's not a date. You didn't even get her phone number."
"Didn't need to I already have it. It's on the syllabus she gave to our class to go over the semester lesson plans."
"T-That's still not a date!"
"Isn't it? Wasn't it you who said an activity between two people can be seen as a date if one views it that way?"
Ms. 99 girlfriends opened her mouth to speak but no sound emerged. To counter this would call into question some of her past date. She tightly gripped the edge of the table trying to decide what to do.
"Y-Y-You… win…"
Rolan conceded the win, letting her head fall to the table.
Jayden smirked. Victory had never been so sweet.
"Now about my Beyond the Infinite Parfait."
And it was about to get even sweeter.