Openings song: Afraid to shoot strangers by Sabaton. (Iron Maiden is also an option but Sabaton works better for me)
You know what I really hate? Whenever you're busy with something, getting interrupted all the freaking time. Can't some people just leave me be and let me do my stuff? Is that too much to ask? Can't some people get their act together and work it out?
Ah, well, fifteen minutes were too less to do anything in the Division. For the ones who play it out, please make sure that all side quests are done when you go on freerun. It's a major pain to clean someone else's mess.
Spend a freaking month gaming and at the last weekend, they give a double bonus. Just the time I gotta leave. I can name them something but not going to do so. Also, would it fucking hurt to let your gamers know when the goddamn hell you're going to do a server update? It would save them from a lot of annoyance.
Kerlongsj walked around the city. He knew where he had to go. Most of the time, he would post a few guys here and there to help him out in case things went horribly awry. But right now, he knew better than that.
If just half of the rumors about Juuzou Kutsuwagi were true, even if he posted half his men here, that wouldn't make a difference. Besides that, Juuzou was one of the old school men. Guys who would think before they acted. But if he got in this place without his faction noticing, his soldiers would mean nothing.
Kerlongsj had no problem finding him. A Japanese older man with a kind face and relaxed appearance. He was currently sipping on the tea. Given his face, Kerlongsj guessed he didn't like the drink.
Well, that wasn't his problem. The younger man walked to the table and Kutsuwagi turned to see the face of the Flemish Devil. With a smile, he examined Kerlongsj. It wasn't the smile that Kerlongsj often got when he dealt with Infinite Stratos matters. Often, those faces carried disdain, hate, anger and just pure arrogance.
Juuzou wasn't looking to him that way. Okay, maybe a little bit mocking but that was something Kerlongsj could forgive him for.
Without asking, he sat down. He ordered a soft drink. Kerlongsj hardly drunk any sort of alcohol given that he preferred to be fresh in the head. Plus, his friends often told him that he was a horrible drunk.
The principal of the Infinite Stratos Academy was sipping his tea when Kerlongsj look made it clear he didn't came from his office to see an old man drinking. Luckily, the old spy hunter got the message.
"You young folks never learn to appreciate the art of taking your time for something." Kerlongsj raised an eyebrow on that. "We do know to appreciate it. But for now, I didn't come from my office to this place to see you drinking your tea. Down to business please."
He leaned closer to the man. "You came on my turf, been here for a while without any of my guys and you got on my private phone which only a few have. So, what are you doing here, Kutsuwagi?" The man put his tea down.
"Do I really have to tell you that, Kerlongsj?" Okay, this wasn't good. Unlike the Japanese or English, Flemish didn't really make a big deal of being called with their first name, Kerlongsj being no exception.
But this time, an old man, coming from Japan, referred to him with his first name. And Kerlongsj couldn't stand that.
Taking a breath by his nose, his glare intensified. But this had to be civil. He couldn't make a scene here.
Juuzou slipped past his security, he must have been here since the ISA disappeared. So that meant that he has to be here for three days at the very least. In that time, none of Kerlongsj organization and allies found him.
Kerlongsj kept tabs on every important player in the ISA, either by his own men, his private PMC's o which the Metal Claw where just one and his independent allies. Kutsuwagi was under watch by multiple groups and still.
"I don't have to ask, old man." Kerlongsj responded. "You're here cause your school went up in thin air. And because you're more watch dog for the whores in the Alaska Treaty, you went to my place. Either to become a fugitive which I seriously doubt or you came here because you think I'm responsible for this."'
The old man was a bit surprised on Kerlongsj figuring him out that fast. Maybe he shouldn't underestimate him. Unlike the spies, regularly send by countries, organizations or armies, this man was definitely a notch up compared to those kids.
"I see you got no bodyguards posted around the place. Do you insult me? Or do you think that you don't need them?"
Like most of the time, those types would test you out to see if you're really cut out for this. Kerlongsj smirked on that.
"You got in my country without us noticing and chose a place where my boys can't make a mess. I don't think that would be wise. But you forget a little thing." Kerlongsj got his arm before the older man could react. The grip was strong enough to tell something to Kutsuwagi.
"You have indeed made a great legend for yourself, spy hunter. But you forget a little thing. While you can take on spies, maybe well trained by a lot of operators, you would be a threat to a normal human. But normal isn't a thing you can label me." The grip got stronger on Juuzou, causing some hurt.
"You walk in the grounds of the Hackers. We're not really buddy-buddy with anything of Infinite Stratos, Chifuyu might be the only exception." There clicked something in his head.
"That's how you got my phone number." Releasing the man, Juuzou smiled. "Indeed and I know what you and Chifuyu did. Don't you think it would be bad if the countries found out that you have spoiled her?"
Maybe the time has caused Juuzou to go senile, because no one in the right mind (or you have to be incredibly pissed like Mattheus was when he pushed his gun under Kerlongsj's nose) would bully Kerlongsj Orlejov.
The look in his eyes was the only thing the principal needed to rethink his words. "You do that and you're a dead man. For me, my organization might not look at me the same way but you would cause major shame over Japan. Either me or Chifu would want you dead. And none of the two options might be favorable."
Kerlongsj paused, taking a breath, calming his anger. He still could be triggered easily when he got angry. "Second. You still forget that I am very much capable of ripping your ugly old body in tiny pieces. Or do you think that I am above hurting an old man? Forget it. Me faction is me holy."
Juuzou shook his head. "An idle threat. I got in this place and you needed me to tell you that. You believe that you can match up with me, young one." Kerlongsj leant back.
"Okay, maybe I am not as good as finding someone's tracks. But you forget a few things. One. You've been doing this job a lot longer. Okay, that's just experience. But second. You only needed that kind of skill. I lead an organization that can destroy the Infinite Stratos, consisting of five million men, not counting in the private armies and allies. When the world turned upside down, a decade ago because some idiot rabbit invented a fucking machine, millions of soldiers were deemed obsolete. The reason why the world went down, was because some could offer them a place. I'm just past the twenty and I build out the organization even further than my predecessor."
Kerlongsj let that sink in. "You have to take the other skills in account. And besides everything, my boys seemed to thrive in this." Juuzou smiled and shook his head.
"And you believe that I came unprepared. If any kind of harm would come over me, wouldn't you think that some would look at you? Even if you cover it up, they'll still ask questions." Kerlongsj glared at the older gentleman.
"Don't piss me off, Kutsuwagi. Both of us have already enough on our heads. Get to the point. Why the fuck did you come here?" The man sighed.
"It's because I have a request. I want you to lead an investigation on the island where my school was located." Kerlongsj leant back in his seat, making an incredible smirk. That's where Juuzou noticed something. Kerlongsj wasn't 100% sane.
Of course, in this line of work, you didn't stay healthy in your head. Kerlongsj's insanity had something to do with the monstrous amount of power he got stored in his own body to the point that Devil was more an accurate term instead of a cool sounding nickname.
"Oh, so you, the principal of the Infinite Stratos Academy, asks me, for lead an investigation on a fucking island that disappeared? Did you drink something of a drug in your fucking tea?" Juuzou shook his head.
"No, I want especially you to take of that." Kerlongsj took a breath to calm his nerves and to make sure he didn't start laughing. "Okay, why do you want me? Isn't there a taskforce in Japan or the UN? Why come to me? Juuzou, you are maybe one of the few persons of this globe that knows what I am?" Keeping his voice down, he continued. "I am the leader of the legal Hackers and the de facto leader of them in general? Why do you want me?"
Juuzou crossed his arms. "Because, in this world, a man is nothing. I am the principal behind the schemes but the world thinks that my wife is taking care of the Infinite Stratos. Every intelligence agency, every military, everything that holds some importance is taken over by women. Your faction is perhaps the only pure male that's on the earth."
"That's chauvinistic." Juuzou had the idea that he got stupid. Did he hear Kerlongsj say that? Did the leader of the Nanite Hackers call him chauvinistic?
"I am maybe leader of it but my cause is built of men and women. True, most of the spots are filled with women but we live in equal lines. I'm not a Roman, I'm Gaul. If a top hacker is dead, his position is taken over by his wife or woman he's involved with. But that asides, why still come to me? Even if I did want to come, how are you going to cover that up?"
"So you're more worried about the idea that coming over to the school of Chifuyu then your own men?" Kerlongsj flipped the old man off. "Fuck you. I built this cause to last, with or without me. Me and Anaton are replaceable. Tis not favorable but it's an option. If I died or went MIA and Anaton suffered the same fate, my cause can survive." Kerlongsj leant back.
"They'll scatter and they will lose the power that we have nowadays. But my men have their officers. My officers will make sure that we'll live. So again, how do you want to explain that I can go there?"
Juuzou showed him the phone. Kerlongsj cringed on the look. "You've got to be fucking shitting me at this goddamn moment? She is the one who wanted me?"
The device was a smartphone with pink additions. Something a little girl would have picked up. But that wasn't the most worrying piece. It had. Fucking. Mechanical. Rabbit ears. Those moved like it was talked to.
Kerlongsj knew only person could do that. And despite the fact that he and the Brunhilde often laid in bed with each other, didn't change the fact that he loathed the person who fucked the world over and didn't use lube to make it easier.
"Tabane Fucking Shinonono. She's the one that asking me to come over? You're expecting that?" Juuzou nodded and Kerlongsj did everything he could not to release his full power and brutally destroy the entire building with everyone in.
That intent was badly hidden because several people began to move out, wanting to avoid that danger.
Meanwhile at another world, there were other issues for some. Namely, a party. And the mainstage was occupied with the group that for the supposedly first time had defeated an attack. That made Mattheus wonder when he was trying to the overly expensive stupid monkey suit he had to wear as a guest of honor.
While the Hunter and Ichika did help to defeat the machine, they still weren't seen as official soldiers. Goody, seems like nothing has changed.
He had another thought. If they were the first to defeat an attack, why the fuck would they bother with furtherly developing those machines? They did have to be worth more than he could ever imagine. He would be sick if he thought about this even more.
So he entered the room. Instead of a tuxedo, he wore a neat shirt tucked in his pants and a tie. His black pants made up for a lot more. He drew attention to him like honey attracts a bear. That was something he hated.
Several girls (and even some women) looked at him. Okay, Kizuna and Ichika were fun but he was something some of the girls couldn't wait. The fact that he would commit a crime was less a problem in their minds.
The ones not surprised were Ichika and his group but because Mattheus left Ichika to face his overly worried harem, he didn't want to save his best friend. 'Reap what you sow.'
Luckily, his arm was lodged between two soft objects. And Mattheus nearly got turned on when he looked at Natasha. "Hey, this is good looking on you." The American pilot looked at her boyfriend while sending a glare to anyone. No one was allowed to buy or even sample the goods.
The woman wore a blue dress that neatly accented her figure. Some of the top bras also looked interested in her but a harsh glare from the Hunter told them to stay off her. And he certainly didn't approve of the looks.
The two joined Ichika who had Joel next to him. The girls still wore their uniforms but for some stupid reason, Mattheus was forced in the monkey suit.
"Thanks for the save." He bit to Ichika. "Up yours."
"Yo." They turned to Kizuna and both the males excused themselves from the group. Ichika got a fist bump and Mattheus gave a nod.
"So escaped your girls as well?" Ichika asked his counterpart. "Tell me about it. Those girls were getting really into it. How do you deal with it?" He asked. Ichika got the message.
"Practice. And just hoping they'll leave you alone." Kizuna sighed.
"Well, I can say I'm a worse spot." The Eros pilot said. "You can't believe how bad it is."
"Nos shit." Ichika shook his head.
"Not really. I mean. I have those girls after me. If I did just 5% of what you do, I'd be dead a thousand times over." Ichika said.
"I mean. You're doing perverted stuff and all but that's not your choice. Me on the other hand, well, if I as much get a glimpse of their underwear, I'd suffer divine furry." He said in a deadpan voice.
Kizuna sputtered. "So you're my senior." Ichika nodded on the question.
Meanwhile, the girls were chatting.
"Hey, don't you think they're a little bit too friendly?" Rin asked the girls. All of them gave their nods. Except Natasha. "Well, aren't you worrying a bit too much? They're squadmates and well, I don't know about Ichika but I can assure that Mattheus is not into men." She said with a smile.
"Ohoh," Tatenashi said with her usual catsmile. "And what gives you such a belief?" The older woman smiled at them.
"Sarashiki, if you knew half of what we did in bed, you would be shocked. But it does prove the fact that you are all just little girls. I mean, you want Ichika to take charge but their entire life, they've been told to stand back. With Mattheus, that was just his shy nature. The one thing that I needed was saying he was in the clear. After that, well, let's just say that while I was a virgin, I rather enjoyed it. From my more experienced friends, sex between virgins isn't that great but it makes everything enjoyable to have something to learn. And believe me, it was fun."
The girls were red-faced after their senior and teacher told them that. All of them were thoroughly embarrassed about the bedroom that Natasha and Mattheus were having now.
"And believe me, it are often the more quiet types that got the dirtier minds. But while he never did something I didn't like, he has a certain enjoyment of pain."
She left the girls while Ichika, Mattheus and Kizuna were standing outside. "So the girls were fighting?" Ichika asked Kizuna.
The Eros pilot gave the Knight a nod. "I didn't interfere. Didn't want that." Ichika looked to the sky. "Very wise decision. I wouldn't do that either."
"Neh, Ichika, Mattheus, just a question." The two looked at the now third male of their little group. "Do you two, well, how to say?" Mattheus picked it up fastest.
"Well, I have Natasha. And with her, I have my hands full. So there's your answer." Mattheus answered. "As for Ichika, you are slowly getting there." Ichika, who had been as dense as a rock, was happy that his best friend was more honest.
"We haven't gone there." Even with a bigger blush, he looked at Mattheus. "Yet." Mattheus laughed. "Ichika, that doesn't have to be. Take your time, me and Natasha were rather fast in that but we were just frustrated. Besides, that's where you, a sixteen year old boy and me, a twenty one year old lie. I am different in that matter."
Kizuna laughed softly. Those guys are what he needed. Contrary to what most would believe, spending time with only women wasn't that much fun. Not at all.
Sure, you might be collecting a harem and picking girls left and right but you couldn't be yourself once. You couldn't hang out and just do your own stuff. That's why it was nice to have Mattheus and Ichika around.
More because those two boys knew how it was. Ichika was maybe one year older but he had a lot more experience on dealing with a harem.
It was a small step. But it was there. Speaking about small steps, they have now finally gotten a victory. Eventually, they would take their homes back.
And hopefully find a way that those guys could go home.
A burp caused the boys to look asides. They saw Reiri and Chifuyu drinking with each other like they were best friends. "Wouldn't the students be disillusioned if they see them like that?" Kizuna asked. "I'm surprised that Chifuyu-nee is keeping herself together. She can put a lot more down if she's stressed like that."
"Cut them some slack, they're humans. What else would you guess?"
Suddenly, a picture of Kei popped up. "Kei, you're having fun?" The woman asked. Seems like she never knew how to have fun. To be truthful, Mattheus wasn't that much of a party type.
He'd prefer to spend his evenings at home, cooped up, playing games until he got too tired to follow with his teammates and went to bed. Come to think of it, when he played singe player games like Assassin's Creed, Sniper Ghost Warrior or Sniper Elite, he got less tired. Even Far Cry. Hell, the first time, he pulled an all-nighter was on that game. When he played the Division or other co-op multiplayer games, he got tired a lot faster.
Hell, when he played Survival, that was more preferable all by himself, he could out a lot longer. More because he could play at his own pace. Similar to DOOM, the reckless, all intense game play made it harder to play all the time.
His taste was a little biased. Shooters (he wasn't a purist in First Person or Third Person) that carried more than just fighting, like DOOM, Far Cry, some Tom Clancy games, especially Ghost Recon or The Division, Wolfenstein as well, and god forbid, Battlefield and Call of Duty. While he did enjoy the games, it wasn't like the other games. He also was fan of open world, like Assassin's Creed and a reason why he liked the Division or Far Cry so much. Tomb Raider was also on his list.
The Sniper Ghost Warrior Two was fun but not to say the best game. The third tried to pull too much at once and they messed up. Mixing Far Cry with the Call of Duty was pissing two fandoms off and that wasn't great.
But back to the issue of Kei.
[I'm okay.]. But suddenly, the door opened and several supposed to be important people came out. "So you're here, Commander."
"Please come on. The friendship meeting with the prefectural governors of each district float will begin. They also want to see you, Orimura-san." Both of the women cursed but quickly went along.
"Seems like they are similar."
"Heh?"
"Chifuyu-nee and Reiri-san. They really have similar personalities." Ichika said to Kizuna. "Yeah, she's a big deal around here. I mean, she is the Commander of Ataraxia and she's the principal of the school. Hey, Ichika, what's with Chifuyu?"
"How do you mean?" He noticed the edge of Kizuna's tone. It wasn't really angry but more wanting to know.
"You're sharp. Chifuyu-nee is the Brunhilde." Ichika answered. Mattheus face palmed on that simple answer of Ichika. While that answer might solve the question, Kizuna wouldn't have asked that question if he knew what that meant. Even Mattheus who grew up in Belgium, one of the few countries that didn't have Infinite Stratos, knew of Chifuyu Orimura.
"Sorry, my bad. I forgot. Back in our world, the Infinite Stratos are more a political and military grandstanding than a real fighting force like the Heart Hybrid Gears here. Every once in a four year, the countries assemble their best pilots for an elimination fighting contest. Think about it like some Olympic Games but than for our machines. It's called the Mondo Grosso Championship and the winner is called Brunhilde. Chifuyu-nee is the first participant. She would have won the second time. If." Ichika halted.
He or basically his existence, was the reason she lost the second title. "Sorry. Don't want to say." Kizuna knew better than to press. Where his sisters were the same, he and Ichika knew it as well. "I understand. So the Infinite Stratos are more for that grandstanding. It also explains why the girls have a hard time adapting to this place."
Ah, right. Kizuna was about the only guy who had an actual Heart Hybrid Gear in his body, males could still get their hands on Technical Gears. Due to a shortage of actual HHG, people focused on making them for girls instead of giving guys a machine.
But that was more of practical reasons. At this point, the girls of the ISA had to adapt on having male classmates. And like the HHG girls, they were top notch in terms of beauty. For those, rather alien, girls, having guys with them in such close proximity, it was a hard time.
The Moral Committee was working overtime. But besides that, the guys were calm and relaxed now. They tensed up when they saw the girls entering. Natasha walked to Mattheus and he slung his right arm over her to protect her from the cold. "Never a dull moment."
"That's the life we lead, bro."
The HHG girls joined Kizuna, talking with him and seizing his attention. Ichika joined the girls of the ISA, they also wanted their prince charming back.
So far, who they had now was okay but still, the life was fast.
This was somewhat a breather chapter. I was planning three major ones but because the second birthday of the Grad Stud, I had to rethink my plans. I had this draft somewhere so I worked this out today.
I apologize for any errors in this one but this is as raw you can get. As for Mattheus quirks, funnily enough, he's the OC that has most of my traits. Even more then Kerlongsj. For me, it makes it easier to write out.
As for the harems, I know that Kizuna gets a lot more women swarming him when they come back from Vatlantis (sometimes, it's called Batlantis or even Atlantis. I stopped giving a care.) but I'm thinking about adjusting here and there a bit. Still aren't out of it because the women I'm talking about aren't even introduced until the later Volumes and I haven't caught up with them all. I think I got around Volume 9 in the summer but before we get there in this story, we'll have to read it again.
I still haven't figured it out completely but it's on the long run of it so I don't worry that much about it yet. Those are issues for after Volume 4 and we got a lot more ground to cover.
Speaking about that, I'm planning one major chapter for my three major works, namely, this, En Route to a better life and The Graduated Student and The Irish Street Punk.
Date of posting? Can't tell. At least, before next year November. No joke. If I haven't uploaded it by then, I quit.
I hope before 2018. Jokes asides, for me, it's hard to really write in this because while I'm used to Kizuna, Aine, Yurishia and Hayuruu are a little bit trickier to write. While they are similar characters, it's still hard to really get into it. But hey, I live to learn.
I had the idea of reversing the roles of letting the (human) cast of HHG coming to the universe of Infinite Stratos but because I know that I already have work stockpiled and cut out for me, I'm keeping that for later. Like way later.
Also, I got one week of holidays in which just a few major things will happen. Catching up with the way too many games I bought, catching up with my stories (at least write a basis) and buying my own laptop. So I could write at my da when it's too cold in my room or at my mom when I'm forced to stay there for weeks. That's really wrecking my skills. And if patch 1.8 isn't that great for The Division, I'm going to cut back time. Nearly 800 hours since launch. Man, I'm an idiot.
But not going to change that for anyone.
Saluut.