Episode 2 - The Golden Rule
"You are at a disadvantage, you know."
Chifuyu walked down the hall, her assistant trailing behind her as he carried a stack of papers and folders.
"She has the freedom of flight and the luxury of energy shields." Ephraim conceded, sounding none too worried for the upcoming duel. "While I have experience, a new machine with untapped potential, and a few cards up my sleeves."
The elder Orimura snorted, stopping before her office door and unlocking the doorknob. "I assume you've already read up on her unit?"
"Blue Tears, a third-generation experimental IS focused around Long Range Sniping." Her assistant rumbled in that low baritone voice of his which exuded authority, the inherent smugness always ruffling her feathers. "Main armaments include a medium-range laser rifle and an optical drone package that can detach and attack from multiple directions, however she needs to stop and focus to control them."
"And she doesn't know the Gold Frame." She turned to him with a stern frown, disapproving of how he seemed to simply brush off his opponent's abilities. "But she didn't earn the position of IS Representative Candidate through brute strength alone. She's been trained by the military and she's a studious sort, she will be flexible and sharp."
"She's prideful." Ephraim countered, a smirk growing on his lips that would have matched his future opponent's in sheer haughtiness. "I'll aim to unbalance her on that front so that her training will be wasted. That's the downside of being a public figure, information about you is plentiful with enough research. An unknown like me has the advantage in those fields, so I must conceal my own strength until it is time."
"'Appearing strong despite knowing you are at a disadvantage'...an adage from The Art of War." Chifuyu sighed as she opened her office door and ushered him in. "And I assume you'll prove the other half of that statement during the duel?"
Purple eyes gleamed as he stepped inside, a low chuckle escaping his lips. "Of course. It would be rather remiss of me to not complete the set."
Gray eyes traced the outline and gloved hands sketched the blueprint.
"What's that you're making?"
Davion glanced to his right and saw Kanzashi carrying a laptop, having just entered the room. They were both in the Engineering Bay, more specifically in the hangar the school had given to him and the Neo-Types. It was starting to look homey, at least for him, with workshop tables set up not too far from the manufacturing machines that were against the walls. Three empty berths were in the middle of the room, obviously meant for the Astrays but the trio kept their suits on hand for the moment.
"An upgrade for our suits." He stopped sketching, as he leaned back on his chair. "I've been digging into the encrypted data stored within their black boxes, probably a...er..." He bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from talking too much. She didn't need to know that their suits weren't made by Tabane. "Probably something the Professor left for me to solve." He closed his eyes to hide the nervous glint, nodding to himself as he spun the lie.
"What does it do?" Kanzashi was curious, as she had not seen what said suits were. She knew that they were test pilots, having tapped into the rumor circle the night prior, though details were far and few in-between. The rumor mill was mainly circulating around the physical appearances of the boys, how dateable they would be, etc.
Red eyes then looked at the blueprint, taking in the humanoid frame that had a V-fin on its helmet. It was unlike an IS, that's for sure. Instead of the selective armor of the Infinite Stratos, this was a full suit, leaving no skin revealed at all. She wondered about the exact mechanics of this mysterious suit...
"It's called the Trans Phase Shift Armor System." Davion explained, pointing to a rather mind-numbing series of formulas in the corner of the paper. "It uses the electricity from our compact batteries to increase our survival chances. It does this by affecting a special metal with micro-vibrations, though I would have to create it first. Any physical attack against us will be nullified due to the projectiles' molecular bonding being weakened. Combine that with the projectile's velocity, then whatever was shot at us will simply shatter upon contact."
"That sounds...very complicated. Not to mention energy consuming." The younger Sarashiki sat down next to him, on the vacant work table as she opened her laptop.
"It is." Davion sighed, running a gloved hand through his unruly hair. "Which is why I'm gonna install it beneath our armor as an inner layer. The TPS will then activate once the surface level has been breached. It'll be situated in our important sections, namely the chest, head, and the joints."
"What about your energy shields?"
"Oh, we don't have those."
"Huh?!" Kanzashi turned to him in shock, almost flinging her hair clips off her head with sheer speed.
Davion chuckled sheepishly, hoping that Ephraim wouldn't hear of this or else he'd have hell to pay. "Hence, why I'm making this armor system. We're confident in our skills and reflexes, but we can't be alert all the time."
Standing from his crouch, Ryo idly spun the cold can of coffee in his hand.
"200 yen? This better be worth it..."
So far, it has only been the faculty that he received delivery requests from. Perhaps the students were still wary of him despite his pure intentions. Sure, he may have been a bit too...passionate during delivery transits, but parkouring wasn't that scary was it?
He quietly cursed the skewed matriarchal outlook of this world.
Opening the can, he turned to the right to head over to the faculty offices-
Red eyes accompanied a vulpine smirk hidden behind the fan.
-only to turn a 180, shoes squeaking on the linoleum floor as he took a sip of coffee.
"My my, didn't you know that having too much coffee is bad for you?"
"Don't really care." He responded, walking away as his ears picked up her footsteps following after him.
"As the Student Council President, it is my solemn duty to take care of those under me." Tatenashi Sarashiki spoke from beside the courier, her air of being a prim and proper lady ruined by the telltale mischievous glint in those rubies of hers. "And I'm telling you to moderate your coffee intake." She closed her fan, wagging it in front of him disapprovingly. "This is your third can today, and I have no doubts that you have a stash in your dorm room for tonight."
"The hell?" Ryo blinked, taking a step back as Tatenashi leaned forward. "Have you been watching me the whole day like some stalker?"
"It's called observing." She stressed, opening the fan and hiding her vulpine grin. "The girls are very wary of you boys' presence, after all."
"Yes, well, we're trying to be approachable but most of the girls here act like they've never seen a boy their entire lives." He grouched, taking a long sip from the can.
"Maybe if you sing more as you do your deliveries, then perhaps a few girls get over their fears of you being lumbering brutes that would love to do nothing than to molest them~"
He choked briefly, coughing as he gulped down the mouthful and fixed her a small leer. "Ugh, you did that on purpose!"
"Maybe~" Tatenashi grinned, putting her fan away for the moment. "Your mastery of the English language is impeccable, by the way." She suddenly switched to the aforementioned tongue. "If I wasn't informed that you were pure Japanese, I would have mistaken you as a foreigner. It's a bit funny to consider that whenever you hang out with Sahaku-san, an obviously Western-looking man."
"One, that's kinda racist." He deadpanned in the same tongue as they walked down the path that went through one of the many smaller gardens. Overhead, a few upperclassmen IS pilots were practicing aerial maneuvers which caused him to turn his gaze up briefly. "Two, I've had a lot of practice with multiple languages while I was in the courier business."
"Did you now?" She hummed, now switching back to Japanese as they stopped before the Faculty Building. "Well, I like men who are the studious sort~"
Ryo's cheeks warmed as he turned away, tossing his litter into the nearby trash can. "...Okay…Thanks, I guess."
With that, he slipped inside, ignoring the half-lid eyes of the Student Council President as she watched him disappear amidst the staff.
"Murakumo Ryo..." Tatenashi whispered as she opened her fan to hide the intrigued smile on her lips. "You are quite an intriguing puzzle..."
A few days later...
"Orimura, I'm afraid that it will be a while until your IS is ready for you."
"What?"
Davion tuned out whatever discussion was happening, his mind preoccupied with the production of the Trans Phase Shift armor system.
From what he had decoded, which was barely the tip of the iceberg in the Black Boxes, the TPS required it to be manufactured under microgravity. The Research and Development Sector of the island had laboratories containing gravity manipulating devices, if he could request or reserve such a device, it would help with his upgrading immensely. On top of that, he might need to find a way to increase the energy capacity of their batteries.
'Unless...'
He searched his memories, specifically trying to find that one image from Gundam SEED...
'..! Got it!'
The mechanic would have snapped his fingers if he was able to, but he settled for tenting his fingers on his desk.
'The Perfect Strike Gundam had extended batteries that could be ejected once empty, kinda like the drop tanks on an F-15. If I could modify that system...'
Activating the sketching program of his desk, he began to draw the silhouette of the Red Frame's Flight Pack. He took a discreet glance up to check on what the class was doing and to see if the teachers were paying attention to his sketching in the rear.
"There are only 467 IS units worldwide, so obviously those who have their own personal units are the elites of the elite amongst the planet's population of 7 billion!" Cecilia bragged, pointing at both Ichika and Ephraim. The latter had crossed his arms and he turned his nose up at her in a mirror of what she did the day prior.
"Well...Davion, Ryo, and I are the only pilots of the Professor's newest project." The taller blonde countered in a calm tone, though everyone could tell that there was an undercurrent of smugness in it. "Does that mean that we're the utmost elite out of said 7 billion?"
Off to the side, the courier facepalmed.
"Why, you-!"
Suppressing a snort, he focused back on his sketching. Reverse engineering the Red Frame's Flight Pack would be easy, but adding in a disposable energy battery would require a bit of moving around parts and making room for new circuits. He could already imagine what specific modifications he could make for each Astray...
"Wait, wait, only 467? That's all?" Ichika asked with wonder and disbelief in his tone.
"That's because the central component of all IS technology, the CORE, has never been released." One of the girls in the class explained to him. "As a result, there are only 467 machines in the entire world."
'That they know of.' The mechanic rolled his eyes at the statement. There was no telling how many IS Cores the mad rabbit had actually created and kept secret.
"And Doctor Tabane Shinonono has personally produced every one of those cores."
"Apparently the IS Core is akin to an impenetrable black box. Only the Professor can access one, much less create it."
"However, she refuses to create more so nations, companies, and organizations have to make do with researching the Cores that they have at hand."
Chifuyu cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention as they looked up at her.
"Fundamentally speaking, personal IS units are given only to those who work for nations or belong to companies." She fixed a piercing stare at her younger brother. "But given your unique status, a personal IS will be prepared in the interest of data collection. Is that clear?"
"I-I guess so?" The male IS pilot shrugged, somewhat uneasy at all the pressure placed on his shoulders.
"Um, Sensei," One of the braver girls raised her hand, glancing at Houki as she did so. "Is Shinonono-san related to the Professor?"
Davion winced, as the question itself made him think of the fact that he was 'technically' adopted by Tabane. No doubt she'd try to hold that over him, and she could very well reveal that out of the blue and bog him down with unwanted attention.
"Yes, Shinonono is her younger sister." Chifuyu nodded, to which the whole class gaped at the aforementioned woman. Almost immediately, a wave of surprise swept through the class.
The Neo-Types all made faces of exasperation.
"Really?"
"But isn't she missing and the whole world is looking for her?"
"Wait, didn't Chifuyu-sama say that the Professor is sponsoring the test pilots? Do you think that they've talked to her, like, face-to-face?"
Ephraim sighed, his genteel mask straining to not let the scowl show on his lips.
Ryo pointedly looked away, rolling the pen between his fingers as a few pairs of eyes turned towards him.
"Houki-san, you don't know where she is?"
"Murakumo-kun, did you see the Professor?"
"She has nothing to do with me." Houki ground out, the lack of emotion in her voice silencing the class in a mere moment.
Davion looked up from his sketching, an empathic frown on his lips as he stared at her.
"I'm not my sister." The swordswoman continued, looking down at her desk with a blank gaze. She then turned away from the class, away from all the prying eyes. "There is nothing that I can tell you about her."
The other two Neo-Types could only send her sympathetic gazes while the rest of the class stayed silent and ashamed.
"Yamada-sensei. The class, please." Chifuyu sighed quietly.
"A-Ah, yes! We'll begin the lesson now! Turn your textbooks to pages..."
"IS, or Infinite Stratos, covers the pilot's body with a special energy barrier."
Davion immediately took notes, intent on finding some sort of key for him to replicate this energy shielding. If it was some sort of dead end? Well, perhaps an alternative could be found in the Black Boxes.
"Each IS has something similar to a consciousness of its own."
Ephraim felt a cold sweat form up his spine, purple eyes narrowing minutely. While he was not against AI, it was still an uneasy feeling to have something you wear, something that protects you, be a conscious being. After all, what's stopping that consciousness to simply deactivate the shields in the most crucial moment because its calculations deemed it appropriate?
"Communication occurs between the IS and the pilot," Maya gestured to a screen that displayed the aforementioned topic. "The more time one spends in the suit, the more the IS learns how one thinks."
Ryo grimaced lightly, uncomfortable at the thought of something learning how he would think. He preferred the privacy of the mind, thank you.
"Please consider the IS not as a tool, but as a partner."
The mechanic glanced at the white and blue fingerless gloves around his hands, snorting slightly before he continued writing down notes. While the Astrays may not have had a 'consciousness' like the IS, that still didn't stop him from 'listening' to the machine. The small movement of the limbs, the clicking of triggers, and the roars of exhaust, each were a part of the greater voice of his Blue Frame.
"Any questions so far?"
A student raised her hand. "When you say partner, do you mean like boyfriend-girlfriend?"
'What in the-?' Was the collective thought of the three Neo-Types.
Maya recoiled, shielding herself as if she was about to get hit. "Eh? I-I'm not sure..." She blushed lightly. "I don't have the experience to answer that." Maya then cupped her cheeks, swaying in place as her imagination ran wild. Beside her, Chifuyu facepalmed as the green-haired teacher continued to gush amidst the class' giggles.
"Oh, but do I wonder~"
Ephraim ignored the half-lid stare of Ryo, opting to pull at his collar as he let out a quiet sigh. His friends knew of his preferences and how often he indulged in his vice. It didn't help that Maya was quite a beautiful woman, and the situation of being with an inexperienced partner, of being one to lead and teach them the carnal ways was always something he...indulged in far more than the rest before they got enrolled.
'Calm down...calm down...she's looking for a stable relationship, not a fling...'
Davion yawned as he stretched his arms over his head, pushing his chair back and standing up. He could see Ephraim was reviewing what he had written down in his notepad as Ryo approached the blonde.
"Lunch?" The courier asked as the gray-eyed mechanic neared them. Ephraim stood up, cracking his neck and glancing at Cecilia who passed him, her nose up imperiously.
"Hey, you guys!" Ichika called out to them, not seeing Houki flinch. "Wanna have lunch together?"
Three other girls turned towards them with big smiles, and the mechanic recognized one of them as his seatmate: Honne Nohotoke. The other two were her friends, though he didn't know their names.
Ryo immediately put a hand on Ephraim's shoulder, having seen the tensing of the latter's jaw. "Sure!" He answered for all three of them, gaining a raised brow from Davion and a stern glance from the blonde. "It'll be a good chance to get to know each other better."
"It's good to get along with classmates." Ichika smiled as he turned to Houki with a jovial smile. "Don't you agree?"
"Count me out." The girl huffed.
"Don't be like that..."
"He's pushing..." Ephraim mumbled, and Ryo nodded.
Grabbing his friend's wrist, he pulled her up from her seat with a big smile. "Come on, get up~!"
"Ah." Davion made a surprised sound.
"Hey! I said I won't go!" Houki growled as she glared at Ichika, her brow twitching in irritation.
"What? You don't want to walk?" The male IS pilot's grin turned mischievous. "Do you need a piggyback ride?"
"I said, let go!" Houki pulled him back before bringing her shoulder forward in a tackle that sent him on his ass. The impact caused the whole class to turn and gape, whispering and muttering in both worry and wonder at what just happened.
"Ow..! You've gotten better..." Ichika groaned as slowly got up, patting whatever dust got on his uniform.
"Um..." The three girls that accepted his offer earlier inched away. "On second thought, I think we'll pass..."
"Yeah, we'll do the same." Davion spoke up, slowly pulling his hood up in an effort to hide away from the awkwardness. "We wanna go ahead first before all the good seats are taken..."
"Let's go together then!" Honne, the girl whose hands were perpetually hidden in her overly long sleeves, skipped towards them.
"Uh-" The gray-eyed mechanic looked at his two friends, who merely gave him deadpan looks.
"Sure..?"
"So, Guele-san~"
The aforementioned teen looked up from his tray, having just taken a bite of the last onigiri he ordered. The smile on her face was ever friendly and welcoming, to the point that the mechanic wondered if she had any expression other than that.
"Yes?" He asked through the rice.
Bump.
And it earned him a not-so gentle nudge of the knee from Ephraim.
The girl tilted her head, that smile ever on her lips. "I heard from Ojou-sama that you're very dedicated to your craft?"
Davion raised a brow at the question, somewhat unsure if he's ever met someone that was an 'Oujo'. Swallowing his bite of onigiri, he tilted his head as he made his confusion clear. "'Oujo-sama'?"
The pinkette merely giggled, covering her lips with that sleeve of hers. "Sarashiki-sama! You knew her as 'Maiko'."
"...Oh!" Davion nodded after a second of pause, surprise clear on his features. "Yeah, I'm very into custom work. Kanz...uh...er..." He stuttered, scratching the back of his head as he let his passion get the better of him for a moment.
Honne waved her other sleeved hand. "It's fine if you call her Kanzashi! I think she'll like it~"
The mechanic resisted the urge to pull down his hood, instead letting his cheeks flush ever so slightly. "O-Oh, well...I didn't know that you two were friends..."
"I'm her personal maid, silly~"
Ephraim and Ryo exchanged surprised looks as Davion leaned back, even more surprised at the revelation.
They didn't know that!
'Either I missed it when I watched the anime or it's deep in the LN that I...never really read properly.' The blonde deflated somewhat, a frown on his lips as he looked away. 'This is what I get for relying on fanfiction as my go-to knowledge dump.'
"Huh." Davion let out, which was the only thing he could say really. Unlike his friends, he didn't have extensive knowledge of this world. He never really watched the anime, never really even knew about it until he and his friends gained consciousness here. It was only from Ephraim's mad raving and Ryo's snarking that he got a good foundation of what to expect facing forwards.
"...So!" The elegant dark haired girl with amethyst colored eyes, having introduced herself as Shinobu Takarada, clapped her hands. "How exactly did you three become the Professor's test pilots?"
From the corner of his eye, Ephraim could see a fair few of the girls surrounding them turn towards their table. Oh they tried to be discreet, but when your targets had superhuman senses, it was hard to be undetected.
"Yeah!" The tomboyish girl with reddish-brown twin tails nodded, having introduced herself as Mayuri Todaka during their walk to the cafeteria. "I distinctly recall Murakumo-kun delivering me pizza a few times before I enrolled here."
"And I definitely remember Sahaku-san being a barista in that one cafe in Gyre I was talking about during Spring Break. Uni, was it?" Shinobu continued, a fond smile on her lips as she remembered the soul-warming coffee she drank when she visited there.
"Like I said before," Ephraim started, setting his fork down on his now empty plate. "We don't rightfully know why she chose us. Maybe it was because of our...familial connections." He looked uneasy at the last part before glancing at his friend in faux-realization. "Er, save for Ryo here, sorry."
Ryo waved it off, watching his friend with calculative eyes, anticipating what thread of the lie he was going to spin next.
"My...adoptive father did tell me about having worked with someone 'high up the chain' before he disappeared." Davion shrugged, somewhat grimacing from having to refer to Tabane as his parent-figure. To an outsider, he was merely having bad memories of losing his 'father'.
"And Orimura-sensei did brief me on the old prestige of the Sahaku Clan...maybe my mother knew the Professor..." The blonde mused, looking at his nearly empty plate in contemplation. There was indeed a chance that his 'mother' of this reality knew Tabane. Rondo Mina Sahaku was a powerful figure in the Cosmic Era, who was to say that she wasn't one here?
He really needed to look up on this world's Sahaku Clan...
"Wait, you didn't know about the Sahaku Clan?" Mayuri blinked at the purple-eyed teen.
'Oh, speaking of...'
Shaking his head, he glanced around and saw that the other girls were turning an ear to listen in. "I don't really recall any memories involving my late mother. My youth was spent traveling Europe as an urchin." He chuckled ruefully, somewhat thanking the open-ended and vague backstories he and Tabane had crafted for their backgrounds. It was a bitter taste to collaborate with her, but if it established a hint of 'camaraderie' between the two, perhaps he could exploit it at a later date.
"Oh, you poor thing..." Shinobu looked at him sadly, to which he shook off with a firm look.
"Don't pity me. All those struggles and hardships brought me up to what I am today." The firm look softened as he sighed. "But seriously, I also don't know why she chose me, a barista of all people, to be a test pilot..."
"What about you, Murakumo-san?" Honne asked, tilting her head as she propped it atop sleeve-covered hands. "How did you become a test pilot?"
Ryo blinked as he pushed his empty tray away, having eaten all of his lunch while Ephraim was spinning his web of lies. It was quite entertaining to listen to, almost keeping him on the edge of his seat as he tried to anticipate what the next thread would bring.
"...I delivered a package to the Professor and she decided then and there that I would be one of them."
A girl choked on her soda the next table over, and a fair few of them fell out of their chairs in disbelief.
The green-eyed test pilot rubbed the back of his neck with an annoyed look. "Well, it was more of a dead drop delivery, but I think she got impatient? All I remember that day were rabbit ears before I suddenly got shaken like crazy."
Ephraim snorted next to him, in the midst of taking a sip of his soda. His lips were curled in that smirk of his, the one that was hard to decipher just what kind of emotion it was.
"And then the week after that, I got a letter promising a good pay if I went to a certain location, said location being in the middle of the Black Forest in Southern Germany. I was working as a courier in Stuttgart for a time, you see. So with me being a teenager that was kind of struggling to get by, I didn't want to pass up the chance of getting extra money, despite it being shady as hell." He groaned as he pushed his glasses up.
It didn't really help with anything, but it did make him look more intellectual.
"And then..?" Mayuri was leaning forward, as were the other two, enraptured by the spun tale. Ephraim wasn't the only one that knew how to spin a story!
"I navigated the expansive Black Forest at night because that was what the letter said." He grumbled, putting in the emotion so that it was as if he was genuinely annoyed by the memory. "So I entered this clearing, and the moment I stepped foot in it, she was there, rabbit ears and all. She had this carrot-shaped looking device in her hand, and she pressed a button on it."
With a dramatic sigh he then shook his head. "And then the next thing I knew, I was in a large hall with several other people around my age. The Professor practically kidnapped me."
Shinobu gasped, as did some of the girls listening in. "That's horrible!"
"No, not really." Ryo shrugged, looking at his two friends with a wry grin. "It's where I met these two, after all. All we had to do was do a few physical and mental tests, nothing too strenuous. Then I got transported back to the edge of the Black Forest with a briefcase of Euros."
"How much?" The mechanic asked with a smirk on his lips. Time to throw out random numbers to throw off the girls. "I got 10 million Yen when she sent me back."
"I got 56k in American Dollars." Ephraim chuckled, leaning back on his seat. He caught the brunette's game. "Half of it is still in my account, untouched and ready to be used."
"Guess we all got the same amount then." The courier grinned. "50k Euros, baby."
"Eeeh?!" The girls cried out in shock. "That much?!"
"Yep! The Professor's quite generous when she feels like it."
Across the cafeteria, Houki narrowed her eyes at the trio.
Elsewhere, Cecilia was having trouble finding any trace of her opponent's unit on the internet.
Oh, there was evidence of the Professor having a new project in the works, and there were indeed mentions of said Professor having contact with certain high-ranking officials within intellectual gossip circles. But the exact details of the pilots' training and the capabilities of whatever units they were using was still in speculation. It was only the fact that their teacher even introduced them as the test pilots that she got a lead to follow!
'This is absolutely infuriating!'
She has not been idle in the past few days, barely even getting enough time to do her homework because of her pride. It was only thanks to her Head Maid back in the UK that she was able to get a glimpse of his and his friend's pasts...
...Only to be left dumbfounded at the vague and mundane backgrounds they all had.
Davion Guele? Adopted son of a no-name mechanic who disappeared.
Ryo Murakumo? An orphan who worked for courier companies all around the world.
And her opponent? The long lost son of a dead Clan with a conglomerate that barely kept itself afloat.
They had no formal training aside from whatever the Professor put them through!
Cecilia grumbled as she turned the computer off, looking around the library in case any of the three were somehow there. She has been slighted, in the greatest sense of the word. A proud noblewoman like her being talked to by some sort of prodigal son of a dying clan like he was the superior one?
Absurd!
"He has no basis to stand on, even!" She fumed to herself as she began to walk out. "How dare he even talk to me that way!"
Students made way for her, immediately recognizing the familiar aura of a scorned woman.
'I'll show him tomorrow! I'll show him that a pathetic man can never upstage Cecilia Alcott!'
Later that night...
Bump.
Ryo looked to his left and saw his roommate with his head down on the computer desk.
Their room was actually almost identical to that of Ichika's, or at least what he remembered of it in the anime. Two beds, a fold-out divider, a balcony, a bathroom, a kitchenette, and a closet for all their clothes. Pretty spartan, but they've slept in worse rooms before.
"What's wrong this time?" The courier asked, his fingers continuing to type on the holographic keyboard.
"Tabane literally just dumped a bunch of deeds and inheritance rights on me. The Sahakus actually own a good part of Okinawa Island and the waters around it. And my 'mother' actually had a sort of successor that's currently constantly emailing me concerning a meeting!" Ephraim groaned, leaning back on the chair as he palmed his face.
"How did she even know? And why the hell are even more SEED characters popping up?" The blonde let out a long sigh as he slouched, nearing his wit's end from all the further complications popping up. "I thought that the Astrays and me apparently being a Sahaku would be the end of it, but no!"
"What do you mean?" Ryo stopped his typing, leaving his assignment essay half-written as he stared at his friend with a raised brow. He didn't really know anything about SEED aside from Kira 'Jesus' Yamato, who was so dense in Plot Armor that he was all but invincible. Hell, he even thought that this whole Sahaku business was something within Infinite Stratos.
"They aren't natives. Or least, they aren't supposed to be." The blonde outworlder let out another sigh, looking all the more tired as he explained. "Rondo Mina Sahaku, and her twin brother Gina, were the pilots of the Gold Frame in the Cosmic Era. I chose your surnames because they were the same with the pilots of your respective suits: Lowe Guele for the Red Frame and Gai Murakumo for the Blue Frame. What I didn't expect...was there to be connections."
Ryo blinked, latching on to a specific point to his roommate's rant. "Wait, why aren't I called Ryo Guele or something? Lowe pilots the Red Frame, right?"
"Davion wants the Red Frame so he could upgrade it to the Red Frame Dragon. The fact that he could possibly make that upgrade easier now, thanks to the Black Boxes, means that he might switch with you at a later date, thus completing the Red-Guele and Blue-Murakumo naming conventions." Ephraim deadpanned, somewhat getting tired of their mechanic's penchant for making things unnecessarily 'cooler' for the sake of being cool. He also was somewhat of a glory hog, but Davion's brand was far more tamer and more innocent than his own. "That's why I gave you Murakumo. Well, that and 'Ryo Murakumo' sounds far better than 'Ryo Guele.'"
"Oh...Well...Guess we can chalk this crossover up to the【Boss】then." The courier shrugged, attributing this odd phenomenon with their…superior. It saved them the headaches of trying to make sense of some rather illogical happenings. "Who's the successor?"
Ephraim tilted the monitor with a move of a finger, showing his roommate a picture of an orange haired girl with sea-green eyes. "Lath Winslet. A Scandinavian that Mina Sahaku freed from a hostage situation during a visit to Europe. She was taken by the defiant will of the young girl and decided to host her as a foster parent following Winslet's parents' deaths in said hostage crisis."
"Oooh..." Ryo winced.
"Which kinda makes her my sort-of-sister." The Gold Frame pilot then took a deep breath before palming his face, letting out a muffled scream of frustration.
"Just let it out man..." His roommate patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Just let it out..."
The next day...
Chifuyu looked down from the Launch Bay booth as Davion ran some last-minute checks on the Gold Frame.
While she would never say it out loud, she considered the Astray quite a spectacle to look at. It didn't have the angelic or fairy-like aesthetic that the Infinite Stratos typically displayed, rather, it had a more...stylistic approach to its overall form.
The V-Fin, especially, was reminiscent of old Samurai crests on their helmets and it brought a sense of uncanny valley to how expressive that single piece of metal seemed. The gold metal was eye-catching, distractingly so, but it was what it was meant for.
A bold display, like what Ephraim was doing by participating in this duel.
"Sahaku-san," Maya spoke up from beside her, fingers dancing on the keys as her own screen displayed various read-outs of the mobile suit. They had Davion do the software patching on that end, as their current system simply didn't read the status of the Astray right. "Do you want a refresher on what an IS can do?"
〈 I think I'm good, Yamada-sensei. 〉 The helmet of the Astray looked up at them at the booth.〈 I have no clue how much the Gae Bulg or my Type 71 would take from her shield energy though, so I'll need constant updates on my opponent's status. 〉
"Got it."
"Sahaku." Chifuyu looked down at him, a warning in her eyes as she spoke. "Need I remind you that you don't have an energy shield to defend yourself from her attacks? Don't get overconfident just because you get to show off the suit."
〈 I'll try not to be too wimpy. 〉 The pilot of the Gold Frame clarified in a wry tone. The homeroom teacher quickly understood what he was getting at, and frowned at him either way.
"Alright!" Davion stepped back from the suit, with a harsh exhale. "Now it can magnetically secure itself to the launch catapult." He patted his gloved hands, giving a bright grin and a thumbs up, "You're ready to launch!"
〈 My thanks. 〉
Brown eyes watched the Astray step onto the catapult, sparks of electricity arcing at its feet as it attached to the metal. The shield materialized on its left forearm, but he kept his right hand empty for now.
《 Ephraim Sahaku...》
Both Chifuyu and Maya watched the Gold Frame as its thrusters spooled up, blue flame spurting from the ports occasionally. This felt like a momentous occasion, which it technically was. It would be the first reveal of the Professor's 'Project' to the students of the IS Academy.
《 Gundam Astray Gold Frame...》
The mechanic stood to the side, waving his arms not unlike a catapult officer on an aircraft carrier. A wide grin was on his lips as he went to a knee, throwing his arm forward.
《 Launching!》
Woosh!
The steam catapult hissed, the sea green optics leaving a streak as it was jettisoned forward.
And so the Gold Frame went, glittering in all its glory as it became a blur.
Davion let out a loud and joyous whoop, jumping with his fists raised in the air.
"Hell yeah! He said it, baby! He said the words!"
Ichika and Houki were amidst the crowd in the bleachers, waiting for the duel to begin. This had been the most hyped up match since the first day of class, with betting pools and factions of supporters practically at each other's throats on who would win. The childhood friends were highly curious on what suits the three boys were able to pilot. It wasn't going to be an IS, that's for sure, or else the world would have blown up at the news of three more male IS pilots.
《 Ephraim Sahaku... 》
The arena quieted down as the loudspeakers broadcasted the pre-launch audio. All eyes were locked to the opposing Launch Bay, and some could see the faint glimmer of gold within.
High above, Cecilia narrowed her eyes as she prepared herself for combat. Her mastery of the Blue Tears would prove superior than whatever her opponent could muster, she would make sure of it!
《 Gundam Astray Gold Frame... 》
"Gundam...?" Ichika wondered, a brow rising in confusion.
"Gold Frame..?" Houki tilted her head at the curious name.
《 Launching! 》
Many of the girls watching had pulled out their phones, intent on capturing their first glimpse at one of the suits the Professor has been working on in secret. This was a big moment after all, an IS fighting against something new. They had to have some sort of memento of this duel!
Ryo merely crossed his arms as he leaned back in his seat, green eyes half-lid as he tuned out the cheers and excited whoops around him.
"Hope you don't mess this up, Ephraim..."
The luster was what caught her attention first.
What launched out was a white armored suit, with its gold inner frame poking out. It had a black chest plate, once more having bits of gold exposed. A large shield was attached to its left forearm, and the golden right was empty. Sea-green optics glared up at her as it left a streak in the air behind it, a trick of the light of sorts that only made it all the more eye-catching.
Cecilia readied her rifle as her opponent...
...Landed on the ground?
"What in the..." She mumbled in disbelief, before a smirk grew on her lips. "This will be easier than I thought!" She boasted loudly, a haughty laugh escaping her throat. "You mean to face me in some inferior IS-mock that can't even fly?"
《 This is no IS, my dear. 》 Ephraim responded, clenching the empty right fist right up at her. 《 No IS! 》
"No matter! It's already obvious that I'm going to win this handily!" She grinned down at him with a predatory look in her eyes. "I'll make you eat your words, upstart!"
《 Come and make me! 》 The Astray defied, the backpack lowering to its back skirt armor.
"Gladly!" She hefted the Blue Pierce and shot a bright beam towards the golden suit.
Fyoom!
Ephraim raised his shield as all of his thrusters ignited, making his suit hover as he boosted back, the beam impacting the ground and causing a large dust cloud to engulf him.
"All systems are normal, minimal damage." Maya reported, though there was an undertone of nervousness. This was the first time they would have the Astrays participate in combat against an IS in the Academy, and anything could go wrong would lead to someone getting seriously hurt.
Chifuyu continued to watch, fully aware that her assistant was dictating the flow of battle.
Everyone else just didn't know it.
"...That was too easy." Blue eyes narrowed as the cloud hung in the air. There was an oppressive silence in the arena, one that even she could feel all the way up in the sky. The teacher's weren't saying anything on the status of her opponent, so what was—
A flash of gold.
The Astray burst out from the cloud, hovering across the ground rapidly as it spun in place to right itself. Its movements were clumsy, as if the pilot was concussed of sorts. Seeing it move so pathetically only made her grin, raising her rifle at the bumbling buffoon.
"Got you!" She fired again, and her opponent dodged it by a hair's breadth.
The shield was raised but Cecilia cared not, knowing that her opponent was as helpless as a crippled mouse. It only delayed the inevitable!
She continued to fire, watching as the Gold Frame barely dodge her attacks.
"You may have surprising mobility while on the ground, but with me in the sky, you have no place to run!" She laughed haughtily as she led her shots a few feet in front of the stumbling suit. "Dance, mongrel!"
"Dance to the beat set by Cecilia Alcott and the Blue Tears!"
(BGM Start: Gundam SEED Destiny - Ghostly Air and Smile)
"What is he doing?"
"Can all he do is dodge?"
"Man, I was expecting something cooler..."
Ichika looked around him at the rather disappointed spectators. Their lips were set into frowns, and some were mumbling about how 'this was a waste of time' or 'I expected better'.
"Sahaku-san might be in danger..." The male IS pilot mumbled, worry for the blonde setting in.
While the taller boy may have been cold and polite, he wasn't necessarily hostile or made a point to push him away. The brown-eyed teen merely attributed this as some sort of coping mechanism.
Houki, however, felt that something was off. The Gold Frame's movements were...deliberately clumsy. She had seen similar acts done by her opponents during the National Kendo Competition. Coupled with how the British woman seemed to be high on pride...
Her eyes widened as she saw motes of light coalesce in the right hand of the Astray.
Due to the shield being raised in the specific angle it was in, Ephraim managed to hide whatever he was doing. Cecilia being high up didn't help her either, as the erratic maneuvers of the hovering suit and its golden inner-frame were good visual noise.
A strange carbine-like weapon appeared in its right hand, and as another debris cloud engulfed the suit, Houki saw its sea-green optics flash.
He raised the rifle, remembering his opponent's last position and set the output to 'High'.
It would be a drain to his battery, but he only needed one fast shot.
The rest would fall into place.
The trigger was pressed...
In an instant, she was blasted back, flipping head over heels before both she and the Blue Tears righted themselves in the air.
"What?!" She cried out in shock, looking around in a panic before looking back down to where her opponent was. "What was that?!"
Jet wash blew away the cloud, revealing the dirty but undamaged form of the Gold Frame. It was raising a carbine-like weapon, the end of its barrel somewhat having a green glow that was slowly dying down. It was obviously a beam rifle of some sorts, but the speed..!
She glanced at her shield's energy monitor, eyes widening at the fact that a single shot of that carbine took out almost 100 points.
"Blue Tears shield strength is at 527 out of 600." Maya reported over the loudspeakers.
The crowd cheered.
"Lucky shot..!" Cecilia growled, returning fire with her rifle as Ephraim dodged once more. This time, there was no unnecessary flailing or stumbling. The Astray was methodological, almost graceful, in its movements as it danced around her shots. The golden luster seemed almost taunting in how shiny it still was, as if telling her that she couldn't hit him.
Green beams passed her and she began her own evasive maneuvers, firing her Blue Pierce in between twists and turns. If she was a bit more sound of mind, she would have noticed the slower speed of the succeeding beams.
"I'll have your head, mongrel!" The noblewoman seethed amidst the skies, letting off shot after shot to little effect.
Her opponent was mockingly silent.
'This pest..!'
The Blue Tears and the Gold Frame were locked in a deadly dance, dodging and firing back in a battlefield waltz.
"Wow!"
"Now that's what I'm talking about!"
"Shame it can't fly though..."
Ichika gaped at what he was witnessing. Brown eyes tracked the movements of the two duelists, committing to memory just how agile both seemed and how accurate their shots would be against opponents that were less skilled.
'Was this a battle between real pilots?'
Houki, however, merely nodded to herself. "Clever. That golden sheen of his actually makes a good distraction during combat, especially when the suit is moving rapidly and as erratically as he did."
"Battery level is at 85% and dropping." Maya reported with a worried frown, her fingers dancing on the keyboard as her eyes darted this way and that to monitor the Astray's status. "That initial high-power shot nearly took 10%!"
"How long until his battery runs out?" Chifuyu asked, eyes still fixated on the duel.
Her assistant was holding back, that much was clear to her. He could have hit her with all those stray shots, but instead he was letting the noblewoman think that she still had a chance of winning by intentionally missing.
"If he fires his Type 71 with another high-power beam like that, on top of how much he's shooting right now, he'll reach critical levels in less than 10 shots!"
Chifuyu frowned slightly.
"Hmph! Fighting a sniper with that carbine of yours!" Cecilia huffed as she dodged more of the green beams, not noticing that they seemed to be of a lower intensity. "I will admit, you're the first one to last this long and fire back!"
Ephraim stayed silent, the tower shield covering his chest as his Type 71 was braced against it. There was a lull in the duel, both of them holding their fire as she began to banter with him.
Or at least, she tried to banter.
Narrowing her eyes at the insulting silence, she unleashed the Blue Tears' Optical Drones. "Fine! It's time to end this!"
They separated from the wing binders of the IS, quickly zooming towards and around the Astray.
"Tear him apart!"
Blue beams began to rain around him, and Ephraim narrowed his eyes as he began more erratic evasive maneuvers. Royal purple tracked the drones on their flight paths, the Astray's systems a few milliseconds slower than his own enhanced reflexes.
He's going to have to ask Davion for a way to solve this issue the next time he is able to. A few milliseconds of lag between his biological senses to that of the mechanical suit could prove fatal one day.
"God damned DRAGOONS." He muttered, taking a sharp turn to dodge a lead shot. Turning his head towards where he predicted one would be, he let loose the Igelstellungs.
Brrrrt!
In the span of a single second, one of the optical bits was shredded into scrap, the High-Velocity Armor Piercing 7.62mm bullets ripping straight into the metal and circuitry of the intricate device.
Purple eyes glared to his side and he raised his rifle, letting loose a low-powered shot which melted a Bit that was about to fire. Then, suddenly–
A white bolt!
!
Trusting the sudden gut feeling, he stopped his forward motion with a flare of his thrusters and by digging his heels into the ground, stomach lurching somewhat at the sudden arrest. A flash of blue above caused him to raise his shield in order to tank a shot from the Blue Pierce.
Slam!
The kinetic energy of the beam sent him to his knees, with the ground visibly cracking from the sheer impact force. The beam itself seemed to splash all over his shield, and it was only then that he remembered one crucial detail concerning the shields of the Cosmic Era.
'Anti-Beam Coating! Shit, but for how long is this gonna last..?'
The edges of the shield began to heat up and glow, answering his question almost mockingly.
'...Alright then, let's go with Plan Mu.'
The blonde smirked to himself as more and more of his bulwark began to melt into slag.
The world slowed down...
...And the shield detached.
Boom!
(BGM End: Gundam SEED Destiny - Ghostly Air and Smile)
Ryo narrowed his eyes as a bright pink explosion rocked the arena, at the same time a just as pink debris cloud spread out in the resulting shockwave.
"What happened?!"
"Why did he explode? Where was his energy shield?!"
"Don't tell me that they didn't have it!"
The whole arena seemed to panic, cries of shock and fear sweeping like a wave over all the attendees.
Houki and Ichika's face paled at the apparent fatality out in the arena grounds. However, they held on that sliver of hope that the tall blonde was able to escape the attack.
Cecilia's eyes widened in shock, her heart briefly stopping at the sight of the bright pink explosion. Her preceding shot had washed over its shield, almost akin to what would happen if she hit an IS. But then this explosion would have meant that..!
Her opponent didn't have an energy shield?!
"Oh, God..." She whispered, paling at the prospect of having killed someone. Military trained she may have been, there was a wide divide between being trained for war and being trained for arena fighting. The Infinite Stratos was banned from ever participating in warfare, so her instructors never taught her anything regarding kill shots or even talked to her about the heavy feeling of guilt and various emotions that would come with taking a life.
Did she let her anger blind her too much?
"S-Someone stop the match!" One of the spectators cried out and immediately it was followed by similar demands.
Maya's green eyes narrowed as her fingers danced on the keys, the screen before her displaying several warnings from the suit.
"The Astray is..!"
Chifuyu smirked, a tad bit satisfied at the competency of her assistant. "I know. He's completing the set."
(BGM Start: SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays - Chosen One)
《 I must admit, that last shot impressed me. 》
All eyes turned to the pink cloud in shock, just as a silhouette leapt out from inside. The figure landed cleanly from its backflip and sea-green optics flashed as whatever cloud that clung to it was blown away by the jet wash of its backpack.
Though the white armor may have been partly melted and chipped off, the Astray Gold Frame still stood tall and proud. The inner frame was unmarred, ever defiant in its lustrousness in the face of what should have been death.
《 It was powerful enough to send to my knees. 》 Ephraim chuckled to himself, the Gae Bulg appearing in its now vacant left hand in motes of white-gold. In its right hand was the trusty Type 71 beam rifle, ready to fire should the need arise.
《 But I'm not out just yet. 》 He added as an afterthought, turning his head so he could lock eyes with the noblewoman.
《 Come! Show me what it means to be an IS Pilot! 》
Ryo leaned back, sighing in relief but shaking his head at his friend's antics. "It's just so like him to do that..."
'That showboater...'
As the crowd went wild around him, a certain pair a few rows down recovered from their shock.
"He...used the shield's explosion as a distraction." Houki mumbled, still reeling from the emotional punch of potentially seeing someone die. "How...how does a shield explode? And why pink of all colors?"
"O-Okay...that was...kinda cool." Ichika admitted, closing his gaping mouth as he leaned back in his seat. "Like a scene from one of those movies Dan likes to watch..."
Cecilia quickly aimed her Blue Pierce-
Fwoom!
She was blasted back, once more flipping head over heels as something impacted her shields.
"Blue Tears shield strength is at 402 out of 600!"
A green beam followed it, and she barely got out of the way as her remaining two bits reactivated. Growling to herself, she began evasive maneuvers as green beams filled the sky once more.
Fwoom!
For her trouble, she was once more flipped head over heels.
"Blue Tears shield strength at 283!"
The Bits zoomed towards the Astray, erratically moving as they dodged the carbine's shots. They returned fire with their own thinner blue beams, no less deadly than the Blue Pierce against the Gold Frame.
"Gold Frame energy levels at 50 percent!"
Zig-zagging backwards, the Astray evaded the Optical Bits' attacks with gradual ease, the Neo-Type finding a rough pattern of attack. The beam rifle dissipated in his hand and he suddenly dashed to the side, his right fist swinging in a backhand that smashed into one of the Bits with a loud crunching noise.
"Submit!"
Another shot was fired from the Blue Pierce, the blue beam far larger than the last. She had used one of her Bits as bait in order to draw him right into her sights. The noblewoman wasn't going to underestimate him now that he revealed his capabilities!
Fyoom!
Purple eyes sparked and he spun around just as his backpack snapped back up to its original position. His empty hand reached up and over his shoulder, golden manipulators wrapping around one of the white handles. In the brief split-second before the beam came within close range, he increased the energy output into the weapon by nearly three times.
Slash!
In a large, bright, pink-crescent slash, the beam saber's energized particles clashed with the Blue Pierce's shot. Stray electricity sparked at the microsecond-long contact between the two energized particle streams, and Ephraim used that momentary clash to do a great leap back, letting go of the beam saber in the meanwhile.
Boom!
With the sudden cut-off of energy, the makeshift beam deflection ended and the Blue Pierce's shot continued its path. The saber's handle was quickly melted into slag, and the intricate tech inside it exploded in a volatile cloud.
"Got you!"
A swarm of missiles rocketed out from the two tube-like rear skirt armor of the IS. Cecilia was not letting him snatch her victory that easily!
The screaming ordinance zoomed towards the Gold Frame, who snapped its head up towards the missiles.
Brrrrrrt!
Two streams of 7.62 spewed forth from the vulcan ports, impacting the missiles and shredding the metal casings that held the explosives.
BOOM!
A series of explosions erupted in the air, the shockwaves sending dust and debris flying, which was thankfully caught by the shields meant to protect the spectators. Cecilia shielded her face with a claw, scowling as she flew up higher to dodge any errant debris. He managed to have a counter for anything that she did, and now that she revealed the trump card that were her missile launchers, she wasn't quite sure what to do next.
She glanced at one of the larger holographic screens and saw that instead of a shield energy gauge, the Gold Frame's side had a barebones energy indicator that was halfway to empty.
'He and I are almost equal in terms of energy levels now. I haven't been pushed this much ever since I first became an IS Representative Candidate.' The noblewoman thought with some begrudging respect. 'And he's using an inferior machine…He's quite skilled-!'
!
There was a tingling in the back of her mind, and she saw what looked like a yellow blur shooting up ahead of her. Throwing her legs forward, she let the leg units' thrusters boost her back.
Fwoom!
And just in time as what she could assume was a railgun slug shot past where she had been previously at. With a snarl, she aimed her Blue Pierce down towards the circular tunnel made by the shot in the debris cloud, her angry royal blues locking on to the cold sea-green of the Gold Frame as it aimed its Gae Bulg up towards her.
"It's over!"
Squeezing the trigger, she fired off a large, continuous beam from the Blue Pierce. This was her last ace up her sleeve. It was recommended against firing the Starlight medium-range laser rifles continuously, as it would distort and melt the focusing crystals within due to the sheer heat of such an attack. There was also a chance of it exploding in her hands, but she was willing to take such a chance if it meant that it would bring her one step closer to victory!
Her pride as an IS Pilot and as a woman was on the line!
《 Not yet! 》
Fwoom!
The shell and the beam passed by each other...
Boom!
And the hypersonic shell impacted her shields first.
The Blue Tears was sent spinning, the constant beam of its rifle following its erratic movement. It impacted against the arena shields, scaring those in the bleachers as the attack crashed against the energy barrier that protected them.
"Blue Tears shield strength is at 150!"
The beam swept towards the Gold Frame, and its thrusters ignited as Ephraim leapt over the runaway attack. The suit's backpack thrusters roared with all their might, keeping him aloft as he aimed the Gae Bulg at her, having switched hands as he braced his left manipulator on his right arm's bicep in preparation for the inevitable recoil.
The cold sea-green optics of the Astray locked on to dazed and nauseated blue.
《 Jackpot. 》
Fwoom!
Cecilia saw the shell just a split second before she was blasted back, the shockwaves from the series of explosions rattling her brain. They once more overrode the Passive Inertia Control with their speed, the system not having accounted for shells traveling at hypersonic velocity beyond its current stock of knowledge and their accompanying detonations.
Her vision darkened...
"N-No..."
(BGM End: SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays - Chosen One)
Green eyes watched as the Blue Tears fell from the sky, noting the closed eyes and sickly pallor of the girl.
The crowd gasped and screamed before the Gold Frame's backpack roared once more, white jets of blue-white flame expelling from the thrusters as it sent the Astray higher up into the air. While the thrusters themselves were incapable of supporting the suit in independent flight, they were strong enough to send it high enough past where the arena's physical ceiling would be if they were closed.
The Gold Frame then caught the larger machine in its arms and held her close as they began to fall, the thrusters gradually dying as they did so. Several meters before they hit the ground, he reactivated the thrusters again, kicking up another cloud and dust and debris, and landing in a loud crash as the ground around them cratered from their combined weight. The cloud of dust kicked up obscured the duo from searching eyes.
All were silent as a dull flash went off in the cloud, only for it to be blown away by the jet wash of the Astray's thrusters. In its arms was Cecilia Alcott, clad in the swimsuit-like pilot suit of the Infinite Stratos. The Blue Tears had gone into its Closed Form, a pair of blue earrings that were dangling limply as her head was gently cradled by the cold hands of the suit.
Ichika was almost at the edge of his seat as he leaned forward, squinting as he tried to spy the condition of the noblewoman. Besides him, Houki had a hand over her mouth to muffle her gasp.
"The Blue Tears no longer has any energy left to continue! The Astray Gold Frame is the victor of this duel!"
Then came the cheers, the spectators giving their praises to a wonderful match and to the near storybook-like ending where the knight would hold the princess in a bridal carry.
"That was AWESOME!"
"It was so tense too! Like something from a movie!"
"Did you see how Sahaku-san seemed to cradle Alcott-san? Do you think that this could be the start of some romance?!"
"Another act of kindness brings you three a step closer to being approachable, Courier-kun~"
Ryo froze at the familiar voice before he turned his head to look over his shoulder.
Amidst the cheering crowd, Tatenashi stood there with her fan open. A satisfied smile peeked over the accessory as she sat down next to him. Her eyes were locked on to Cecilia as the Gold Frame began to walk towards one of the Arena ground's exits. A medical team was already there, scrambling to put the exhausted and possibly wounded IS pilot onto a gurney as they and the Gold Frame disappeared down the tunnel.
Huffing, the green-eyed student assistant turned his sights back to where his friend was. "Ephraim is canny when it comes to his image. He knows what he did, though I doubt he'd realize the far-reaching consequences of his action. He can get so caught up in his own vanity that he'd be blind to see what would be in store for him."
The Sarashiki heiress chuckled, closing his fan with a snap. "Then I do hope that you'll be able to control yourself during the Inter-Class Tournament. Wouldn't want you to scare the ladies, hmm~?"
Ryo didn't reply for a good minute, distant memories of a dark titan amidst dirt and rubble flashing through his head.
"...I hope so too."
Later...
Ichika and Houki entered the Engineering Bay, as the former had gotten the message that his personal IS had just arrived. They walked down the hall, Ichika checking his phone and up at the individual room numbers. This continued on for a few more minutes until they walked down an older hallway, where the rooms were replaced with hangars and similar old storerooms.
Finally stopping before the hangar that had the same numbers as one in the message, he input the security code and stepped in once the double doors opened.
The room was large, larger than their classroom for sure. It was probably around twice or thrice the size of said classroom, and despite the amount of machines against the walls, there was still enough space to comfortably run around in.
There, they saw Chifuyu and Davion inside the expansive room. The latter was before the Gold Frame, alongside a girl with odd clips in her blue hair. The two were near the center of the room, where there were three berths that were around 7-8 feet in height. In one of the berths was the Astray itself, robotic arms latching on to the limbs and body of the suit as it secured it for maintenance.
"Aw, man! The shield'll take me at least a day to remake!"
《 I doubt that I'll be entering into another fight so soon, Davion. 》 Ephraim groused, the sea-green optics of the Gold Frame flickering as he spoke. 《 You might also need to replace one of my beam sabers. That gamble of mine paid off buuut… 》
"You..! This better not be a habit of yours!"
Chifuyu, as if sensing them, turned away from the bickering pilots and narrowed her eyes.
"Orimura. Good, you're here." The homeroom teacher nodded at them. "Your personal IS is arriving in a separate area in a few minutes. I called you here because Maya is escorting Alcott to the infirmary and I wanted to quiz you on what you've observed during the duel. Think of it as a preparatory crash-course on what I'll expect you to do."
Ichika gulped.
Houki merely shook her head, eyes glancing every now and again at the battle-damaged armor of the Gold Frame.
The suit itself was around a foot or more taller than Davion, who definitely was taller than her at around 5 '10 feet. In fact, the three pilots towered over all of them, including the teachers. That meant that the Astrays were around 7 or so feet tall, near the height of someone in an IS.
Looking around, she spotted machines and work tables that had numerous blueprints on them.
Was this the test pilots' personal hangar?
"I'm still in awe that you managed to dodge all of those lasers, Sahaku-san." The blue haired girl spoke up quietly, seemingly transfixed by the mechanics of his suit. "Especially when you don't have an energy shield."
Ephraim chuckled as Davion connected a series of cables and pipes to the suit's back, the backpack, and into the calves. 《 It is especially because I didn't have an energy shield that I was focused on dodging. 》
The gray-eyed mechanic slapped his shoulder armor with an annoyed frown. "Alright, everything's hooked up. You can get out now." At this, the front of the Astray began to unfold, not unlike a cocoon with a butterfly emerging.
The purple-eyed blonde hopped down, clad in a black and purple armored pilot suit. He landed in a slight crouch, cracking his neck as he stood and towered over the smaller girl. To her credit, the bluenette didn't flinch or back away, merely gawking at how much she had to crane her head to be able to look him in the eyes.
"I guess I can also thank...uh, the Professor's training regimen." Ephraim explained a bit awkwardly as he unzipped the suit from the front, shrugging it off and exposing the black compression shirt underneath. He let the top half of the pilot suit hang at his waist as he idly stretched his arms and torso.
Blue eyes narrowed in suspicion.
Her sister was too lazy to do anything of the sort.
"O-Oh...um...I don't want to be rude b-but..." The blue haired girl pointed at the series of burn scars that crawled up and around the blonde's neck as well as the ones that circled his wrists.
Without that golden choker of his and the long concealing sleeves, the burn wounds were far more prominent now. The scars themselves were the talk of the whole school when it concerned Ephraim, and almost everyone had their own theories as to why he had them.
The most popular theory was that he got them from rescuing an idol from a villain's arctic base and escaping through searing fire and bone-chilling cold waters, all the while carrying the fainted heroine on his back the entire way to the rescue ship.
The swordswoman wondered what led those girls to create such vivid imagery.
"...uki..."
"These?" Ephraim traced the scars gently, a small frown marring his lips. "Oh, I got these before I was found by the Professor. I...uh...kinda bit off more than I could chew that one time."
"Houki..."
"Don't buy his words, Sarashiki-san, this guy always bites off more than he can chew." Davion quipped as he connected a cable to a nearby laptop, said cable having been attached into a hidden port in the back of the Gold Frame's neck. "And yet he somehow gets out of them practically whole."
"Houki!"
She turned her focus back on Ichika and Chifuyu, the former staring at her in worry and the latter merely raising a brow. "You were spacing out, did you hear what I said?" The younger Orimura asked, a thick book in his right hand.
"Um...I was kinda...distracted by the golden frame of the Astray." She nervously lied, but was relieved when Ichika nodded understandably.
"Yeah, I get you. I mean, it's so shiny, isn't it?" He grinned, and Houki could only thank the stars that Ichika had the perception of a mole rat.
Clearing her throat, she crossed her arms. "Anyway, what were you saying?"
"Oh, right." Ichika's expression became serious as he bowed. "Please, train me on how to wield a sword again!"
Chifuyu pushed his head down with a glower. "Lower! You're asking her a pretty big favor! Wasting her time on you and all..!"
"A-ah, right!"
The younger Shinonono merely sighed, shaking her head as she contemplated training her childhood friend.
"...Fine."
'At least I can get more private time with him...'
Location: Infirmary
Blue eyes weakly opened, almost closing once more as the orange rays of the sunset entered her iris. Awareness slowly returned to her and amidst all that, a splitting headache wracked her skull.
"Wha...?"
"Oh my..." There was a soft gasp and a blurry white silhouette appeared to her left. "Don't try to get up, dear, you've suffered a blast concussion. It'll die down after a good night's rest after you take your prescribed medicine. You're very lucky that you didn't get a Traumatic Brain Injury…"
"Infir...mary?"
"Yes, you are at the Infirmary, Miss Alcott." The nurse seemed to nod as Cecilia's vision began to clear up. "You've been unconscious for half the day."
The noblewoman blinked up at the medical staff before looking down at her hands despondently. "So...I lost then..."
She lost.
She lost.
One of the British Representative Candidates, the one with the Personal IS, lost.
Against a man.
"Think of it as a learning experience."
The blonde's glistening eyes widened minutely, the unbidden tears threatening to streak down her cheeks as the masculine voice echoed in the room.
The nurse looked up, her expression one of shock before it softened into a slight disapproval. "Sir, I don't think she would like to see you right now."
"No, I..." Cecilia croaked quietly, pushing a nearby button to tilt half of the bed so she was mostly sitting up. "I want to...hear what he has to say. As the victor, he has the...the right."
Defeat tasted bitter.
Very bitter.
She was supposed to be stronger, she had the IS! Her opponent had some ground-locked armored suit that couldn't even fly to begin with. She was an angel and he was a beast wallowing in the muck!
For him to achieve victory was...
Humbling.
The medical staff looked at her then at the visitor before she sighed. "Just don't provoke her, got it? She's still recovering." With that, the nurse stepped back, allowing Ephraim to enter her field of vision.
The purple-eyed blonde was wearing half a pilot suit of black, purple, and gold coloration. The upper half hung limply around his waist, the sleeves tied together to form a makeshift belt to keep it hanging on. A black compression shirt hugged his torso, and its short-sleeved, round-collar nature allowed her to see the faint burns that dotted his skin.
They were located around his neck, around his wrists, and some were peeking out from underneath his right sleeve. Even through her queasy mind, she noted that the ones around his wrists looked akin to manacles, as if he had been...
'What in the world..?'
He held a thermos as he pulled a chair closer to her bed. "How are you feeling?" His voice was soft, and Cecilia almost found it insulting were it not for the concerned frown on his lips. There was no false worry in his eyes either, just raw disappointment and...shame?
"...Not too good after what you put me through." She admitted, sighing as another headache made itself known. What kind of weapon did he have that was able to penetrate the PIC and affect her brain? Were the explosives packed in those shells of his that powerful?
"I would apologize, but I think we both know that this could happen during a fight." He opened the thermos, pouring hot liquid into the cup. The familiar scent of chamomile tea entered her nose, and she took a deep breath of the relaxing smell. Almost immediately, a majority of the headache went away and she nearly drifted off into sleep just from smelling it.
"...Why are you not gloating? You should be...holding your victory over me..." The noblewoman wondered, watching as he set the thermos of tea on the nightstand, just close enough for her to grab. She looked up into his eyes for any hint, any sliver of deception, that would reveal this whole gentle routine of his was merely fake.
Nothing.
It was genuine.
Ephraim sighed as he extended his hand, waiting for her to grab the offered cup of tea. "Because...despite what just happened, despite what had happened the day before, I know you're a good person."
Cecilia weakly took the cup of tea, the test pilot's hands helping her fingers slowly grip around it. "A good person? Would a good person insult those around her?" She mumbled, looking away as she placed the cup on her lap. "Would a good person willingly hurt others because of a mere slight?"
"When blinded by something as muddy as pride? People make mistakes, you're not exempt from it, nor am I." The older blonde crossed his arms, a finger tracing a darkened patch of flesh on his right bicep. "These scars, these burns..." He tilted his head, revealing the pale scar tissue that wrapped around his neck. "They were a result of my own pride inviting...bad happenings."
Cecilia listened, eyes on the cup of tea as she slowly raised it. "Are you only here to...lecture me or something? Is this your way of holding your victory over me?" She whispered, looking over at him as the rim of the cup touched her lips. There was little heat in her voice, she couldn't really afford to vocalize it. Getting mad right now only brought sharp stinging pain from her headache, so it wasn't worth the effort to be mad.
"Partly." Ephraim admitted with a sheepish smile and a closed eye. "But it's mostly because I wanted to check up on you. I was worried that I hurt you more than I should have."
Her heart skipped a beat at the shameless confession, cheeks flushing in embarrassment.
"W-What?"
"You're the first opponent I've fought that was in an IS." He shrugged, running a hand through his hair idly. There was no lie in his words, she was the first IS user he ever fought. "I had no clue how the Astray's weapons would affect a unit with energy shields. I anticipated the Gae Bulg's shells would take chunks of your energy but I didn't expect you to get a blast concussion because of it. So I wanted to check up on you after I left the suit for Davion to repair. And I'm glad that you're able to talk, to converse. I…don't know what I would have done if I had seriously hurt you."
Cecilia looked away, drinking her tea slowly as she processed his words.
'He wanted to check up on me? Even after all I've done? After how he trounced me so utterly?'
"Why..?" She whispered, shame and indignation rising within her at his words. "Do you really pity me so..?"
This didn't make sense.
She lost, so she was weak!
Why was he, the victor, taking care of her when it should be the other way around?
"Pity would be the last thing I give you at this occasion, Lady Alcott." Ephraim frowned before it softened, the steely gaze easing into an understanding one. He let out a quiet sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not that cruel to gloat over an opponent who showed her skill and her conviction to win. I respect those kinds of people, even if they embody a few pet peeves of mine. I especially respect those who are quick to wizen up in battle and treat their opponents seriously. Because I would do the same, because it's all according to a principle that I adhere to."
Blue eyes turned, locking on to royal purple. "A principle..?"
"The Golden Rule." He smiled at her, spreading his arms out somewhat. "'Treat others the way you would want to be treated.'"
Her eyes slowly widened in realization, looking down at her cup of tea before she felt the waves of exhaustion coursing through her. Was something so simple and fundamental forgotten by her? She was a noblewoman and yet...
"I see...I fear that I...may have forgotten that..."
"Humans make mistakes, it's just a part of life. What matters is what you do with that learning experience. You embody the idea of Noblesse Oblige, even if you deviated from it in a moment of weakness, Lady Alcott." Ephraim smiled genially as he took her empty cup of tea, a hand rising to tap his temple with a finger. "Perhaps you just needed a knock on the noggin to make you realize and remember."
The noblewoman looked at him blankly.
"That was horrible." Cecilia deadpanned, even as her eyelids grew heavy.
The purple-eyed blonde only laughed, a genuine and heart-warming laugh that spread throughout her infirmary room. "I'm sorry, I just had to. I have a rather crude sense of humor, I must admit."
The noblewoman yawned, covering her mouth as she slowly fell into the embrace of sleep. His laugh echoed in her mind, a warm feeling settling in at the sound. "Truly, you don't...hold anything against me?"
"None. The battle is over, we are no longer opponents. The respect you gained from me remains. I acknowledge you, Cecilia Alcott." Ephraim smiled down at her. A small upturn of his lips that felt all the more precious as opposed to his usual smirk or the genteel curl. "Now go and rest. I chose chamomile for a reason, after all."
She gave one last haughty huff before she closed her eyes, heart a bit lighter as the guilt was dashed away with a smile and a cup of tea.
AN:
[Rewrite Date: 6/28/23]
*A drop pod crashes on top of a tank as an armored Future Cipher kicks a panel out, the bolter in his hands roaring*
I adjusted a few scenes to make a little bit more sense, a good mix of anime and realism. Revamped the later half of the Cecilia and Ephraim fight to make it a little less one-sided. Show that she's actually competent enough to warrant being a Representative Candidate. Also improved the conversation between the blondes so that it displays the respect that they have earned from the other.
Tokyo Vacation Update: Nothing of note has happened yet. I plan to visit Akihabara again tomorrow. I can hear my wallet crying again…
Future Cipher, out.
*gets rammed by an Ork Trukk*
Threw some references in there, hopefully you guys can see them and have a good giggle because of it.
And uh...you know how I said that only Episode 1 will be chunky? Er...turns out the condensed plotline I wrote during the pseudo-rp was upwards of 5k words per Episode. Did some polishing and...they average between 8k to 10k words. Yeah...expect chunky Episode chapters from now on.
So it is revealed that the Neo-Types aren't as knowledgeable as they seem to be. 2 out of the 3 have seen the anime and only one of those two have barely read the LN. They know the basic storyline of IS, but any curveball thrown in would be out of left-field, and that means that they would need to think smart.
Honne's two friends in the anime don't have official names it seems, so I gave them a pair just for convenience sake. They might pop up every now and again, maybe not.
Also, the manner in which the Neo-Types enter and exit their Astrays when they are in the berths are reminiscent of the Power Armor entry process of Fallout 4.
P.B.S: Thanks for your review! I'm glad you think my amateurish writing is decent since this is the first time I've released any of my fiction to the public. As I've said during Chapter Null, I'm no literary genius with a wide mental thesaurus to pick up from so my vocabulary is often repetitive. That doesn't mean I won't try to improve though! English may not be my first language but I'll continue to polish whenever I get the time in-between classes. As for the Gold Frame, don't worry, the Neo-Types aren't going to simply stay static with their Astrays. They have a fair few upgrades that are a bit unorthodox compared to the Cosmic Era suits.
Speaking of, the way I described the Trans Phase Shift armor here is my interpretation of what happens. The wiki or other sources don't really say what the exact process is when Phase Shift Armor is activated, other than describing that it uses electricity to nullify most forms of physical damage. So...yeah, there. Micro-vibrations in the same manner as a High-Frequency blade. It would explain the hissing sound when it activates.
With nothing else to say, this is Cipher signing out!