"Speech"

"Flashback Speech"

'Thoughts'

/Speech over communication tech/

Infinite Stratos: The Iron-Blooded Devil

Chapter 9: Trial and Tribulations

The Orimura siblings strode down the hall, students and faculty alike giving them a wide berth. Seeing the first Brunhilde and Class 1's Iron-Blooded Devil walking together was no surprise to anyone, they knew where the two were headed and why; some were even happy that this day had finally come:

Izumi Kobayashi's Tribunal

Members of the now defunct Hall Monitors' guild, as well as the technicians who had installed the device, came clean about Kobayashi's scheme to use the VT system against the younger Orimura in the tournament. The students were let off lightly as while they knew about the girl's plan, they didn't know about the VT system, the technicians, however, were not so lucky. It wasn't hard to figure out that the girl had crossed a line what with using an illegal weapon on a foreign machine in full view of the public; this may have nearly caused an international incident between Japan and Germany. Fortunately, Chifuyu had managed to smooth things over between the two nations but Germany still wanted restitution for Kobayashi's actions and Japan was all too happy to oblige.

The government has had it with her and she was not gonna worm her way out of this one. Even the ISRC Chairwoman had been asked to attend but not be on the panel; reasoning be that they felt she could not present an unbiased judgment.

"What if they ask about how I did all that?" Ichika asked Chifuyu as they stopped in front of the door leading into the trial hall.

"We're stuck between a rock and a hard place in that regard. After seeing you go all out like that, they'll no doubt ask questions and 'proprietary confidentiality' can and will be suspended during this hearing."

"So my best bet is answer truthfully but keep as vague as possible?"

"Better than everyone questioning why you have technology that, by all rights, doesn't exist."


The opening statements went by fast since everyone knew why they were here. When asked how she plead in regards to the allegations of using an illegal weapon and jeopardizing lives during the tournament against her, Izumi claimed 'Not Guilty,' the way she said it gave all those present the impression that she thought she was gonna get her way with this one, too. The defense was then given the floor to justify their client's 'innocence.' What followed had to be the most transparent, biggest load of bullshit the judge and the panel had ever heard in their careers.

When the lawyer sat back down, slightly smirking at perceived victory, not a single person made a sound; that was a red flag to the lawyer. The judge then called for the prosecution's side who then produced the testimonies of Kobayashi's Hall Monitors' guild, the technicians who had installed the device and Laura Bodewig; as well as reports of the device in question originally being confiscated by the ISRC, to which her mother is the chairwoman of, and video footage of Izumi handing the device to the technicians for installation. Then came the numerous instances of foul play and unsavory conduct that had put the girl on notice not long before the incident. When the prosecutor finished, all eyes were on the defense team who were now visibly sweating, it was now clear to them that Kobayashi was not getting away scot-free; the prosecution was out for blood. Upon this realization, the lawyer frantically tried to think of a change in strategy before immediately called Ichika Orimura to the stand.

"Mr. Orimura, you were present when the VT system activated, were you not?" the lawyer asked pointedly.

"I was," Ichika answered plainly.

"Then perhaps you'd like to explain why your own machine went berserk?"

And their new strategy: trying to spin the story that Ichika was the threat.

"I understand how it looked but contrary to belief I was in full control of its and my own actions."

"You'll understand if that seems a little hard to swallow, your machine was moving and reacting at speeds that were practically superhuman. The hyper sensor system on even the most advanced IS in the world is nowhere near that efficient, so how could yours be?"

"That's because I don't have a hyper sensor system, I use something else."

"What would that be?"

"The Alaya-Vijnana system. Through the use of an artificial brain lobe; I'm able to process the machine's data, have enhanced spatial awareness and control Barbatos as if it was part of my own body."

"But how can you do that without any sort of lag between giving mental commands and the equipment executing them," the lawyer's tone shifting to curiosity.

"The short answer is I'm hardwired to it. The long one is that I'm physically connected via special equipment that allows me to control almost everything through will rather than thought. This means I can fight more instinctually since I'm using my heart, not my head. It also allows me to operate parts like as they were extra limbs, such as my tail blade."

The prosecutor then stood up.

"Your honor, while this discussion is interesting, I believe we are getting off track."

"Agreed"

The lawyer took the hint while Ichika got to the point.

"My increased performance was due to my temporarily disabling the Alaya-Vijnana's output limiters. The amount of data the pilot is processing controls how much power output the machine gives. There are two limiters, one in the AV system and one in the machine itself but I normally keep the latter one turned off."

"Seems a little arrogant not to fight your opponents at full strength, do you believe them beneath you?" The lawyer's tone taken a more haughty attitude.

"I keep it on out of safety for my opponents and myself, not out of arrogance."

"It certainly sounds like arrogance to me."

"The best way I can describe it is like using a hammer and chisel to delicately carve wood. Turning off the limiter changes that little nail hammer into a huge sledge hammer, my opponent could get seriously hurt with all that power all the time. And I'm not safe myself because prolonged use could fry my cerebral nerves. I was lucky just get off with symptoms similar to a hangover after the incident."

"If it's so dangerous, why didn't your machine advise against it? Any IS would have."

"Mine did advise against it but at the same time the machine recognized the threat presented and was preparing to go full throttle; the two systems started fighting each other so I had to be the tie breaker."

Off to the side, Chifuyu silently praised her brother for that cover story for the Gundam mistaking the VT for a Mobile Armor. Ichika continued his statement.

"Considering that the teachers were having trouble subduing it and the safety protocols in the stands had been disabled, I chose to go all out before someone got seriously hurt."

Before the lawyer could try another question, as this strategy was failing spectacularly, the judge banged the gavel.

"I believe we've heard enough, we will have a 30 minute recess while all the evidence presented is looked over," the judge declared.


Later

The two Kobayashi women then found themselves standing before the judge and panel.

"Izumi Kobayashi, you have been found guilty on all charges. The IS Academy board has ruled that you be expelled, the government has ruled that you are stripped of your Representative Contender status and banned from IS related activities indefinitely, do you understand?"

The girl said nothing as she hung her head in shock and shame. Her mother approached to try and console her before the judge spoke up again.

"On another note, Chairwoman Mieko Kobayashi?" The woman looked up, "How this girl acquired the banned weapon is still being investigated but consider this your only warning: keep your nose clean or your tenure within the ISRC will be the least of your problems. Do I make myself clear?"

Mieko wanted to retort, to object, but it died in her throat. The judge and panel members glared down at her, daring her to do something stupid. She had limits to her political clout and they knew it now; they were growing weary of her antics as they had of her daughter's and they weren't going to put up with it anymore.

All she could say at that point was "yes."


Chifuyu sat down at her desk in the teacher's office. She leaned back and let out a sigh, thankful that that ordeal was finally over. Maya Yamada then sat down next to her, welcoming her back from the tribunal and, of course, asking about the ruling. The elder Orimura relayed all the pertinent information regarding the former top rep contender of Japan. While Maya had some pity for the girl's predicament, she nor anyone else would argue that Kobayashi brought it on herself.

"Well, maybe things will quiet down around here now," Maya suggested.

Chifuyu shook her head, knowing otherwise; regarding other parts of recent events.

"If you can make God bleed, people will cease to believe in him."

The glasses-wearing woman glanced at Chifuyu.

"Whether he realizes it or not, Ichika has stirred up one hell of a hornet's nest."

Maya looked at her questioningly, to which she elaborated.

"Strength brings many things: respect, honor and fame are some of the positive ones. However, one of the darker aspects it brings is fear. Fear leads to anger then to hatred and then that same strength invites challenge. For six years, the IS had remained uncontested as the most powerful weapon in the world. And by extension, since they are the only ones that can pilot it, females have come to accept the idea that they are the most powerful as truth. Now, a male with an unknown machine is challenging that truth."

Maya grimaced as she caught started to catch on to her senior's point.

"With just two matches, Ichika has shown the world that the IS isn't invincible; he's even gone as far as defeat the most dangerous weapon an IS can have. There are those who will no doubt question their beliefs on female superiority while others will deny what they had seen and try to destroy that which threatens their worldview."

"You think someone might come after Orimura?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if someone was already drafting plans for such a thing."

There was a beat of silence before Chifuyu spoke again.

"Well, gonna have to cross the bridge when we come to it. In any case, we had best start making preparations for the summer trip."

Chifuyu was well warranted for being concerned about her brother, for one doesn't display great power…


…without attracting attention.

"Find out everything you can on this machine!"

"I need you to investigate this Teiwaz group."

"Dig up anything about who this McMurdo Barriston guy is?"

Across the globe, various governments and corporations began to mobilize every resource at their disposals to uncover as much information as they could about the creators behind the now infamous Gundam Frame that was slowly gaining the moniker 'IS Slayer.' Within the IS pilot community, many praised the Ichika's bravery and prowess for taking on the VT head-on. Some were quick to dismiss the feat, claiming that they could either beat it and/or him with ease. Some grew curious about the machine that defeated the dangerous system. Then there were those who grew fearful of the ramifications of a male-friendly IS and the future of the IS and current society in general.


Mieko slammed her fists onto her desk in fury. It was bad enough that her daughter was defeated in an IS match… twice… but now she's been stripped of her title as Rep Contender, expelled from the top (and only) IS training school in the world and banned from the entire subject in every sense. Making things worse, Mieko herself was now under scrutiny for possible involvement in the recent incident and anything before then.

How dare they do this!

To add more salt in the wound, her own subordinates were starting to turn against her with words like 'corruption' and 'scandal' being thrown around. All this stemmed from one person: Ichika Orimura; she vowed to make him suffer for this indignity. Mieko then forced herself to calm down, as much as she'd like to 'teach' the upstart a lesson; she knew she couldn't do so without repercussions now. The government was now watching her with a magnifying glass, daring her to give them an excuse to remove her from office. She couldn't afford to be reckless now and go after the boy for revenge.

Not directly.


Houki nursed her cup of tea as the events of the past few days replaying in her mind.

"This seat taken?" a voice asked.

This drew her attention up to see Rin with a cup of her own.

"Oh no, go ahead," Houki answered with wave of her hand.

"Hell of a week, huh?" Rin asked as she sat down.

"Uh, yeah."

"How's Ichika?"

"He's fine, he had a bad headache after the fight but he's okay now."

"Must've been some headache, I thought I saw his nose bleeding," Rin said offhandedly, Houki almost choked on her tea at that.

"No, no he's totally fine," Houki hastily assured the Chinese girl, not wanting to explain what happened to the boy. Rin wasn't completely convinced but decided to drop it for now.

"Made any progress between you two?" Rin asked, changing subjects.

Houki blushed a little before shaking her head, "No, especially not with what happened recently."

"Understandable. Lucky for you, an opportunity is coming up."

"What do you mean?"

"In a couple of weeks, classes 1 and 2 are going on a trip to a resort for special summer training, a resort with a private beach. Sun, surf and swimsuits, what boy wouldn't enjoy that? It's the perfect setting: show off some skin, tease him, entice him; get him to come to you."

"I don't know if I have the courage or the looks for something like that," Houki bashfully muttered.

"We'll work on the courage, as for looks…" Rin glanced at the other girl's very sizable bust before looking back, "…you're not gonna have a problem; trust me."

Houki still wasn't fully convinced.

"I'll help you through all the steps for this but step one is very important and must be completed before we even leave on the trip."

"What's step one?" Houki asked, somewhat dreading the answer if Rin's catty grin was any indication.

"You are going to ask Ichika to help you shop for a new swimsuit."


Tabane leaned back into her chair, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Having spent a good few hours setting up countless more shell companies and dummy accounts to keep the curious busy in their search for Teiwaz, she was bushed. Ever since that VT system debacle, everyone has stepped up their efforts to find out who built the Barbatos and she couldn't blame them. She turned her attention to the damaged Reginlaze Julia then to two machines off to the side, their repairs around 80% complete; wondering if these also had that kind of power. She then let out a heavy sigh as grim realization crept into her mind. It would only be a matter of time before they gave up looking for 'creators' and go straight for the 'creation,' the ramifications of such actions could lead to war on an unprecedented scale and what that would mean for her little sister really made Tabane regret making the IS now.

"Chi-chan… we can't keep this up forever."


A/N: I deeply apologize for being late with this, we've only just started to return to any sort of form of normalcy at work. I couldn't go a week without being called in early or on my days off (still can't) and any that I did have off, I was too tired to even think of writing. On a positive note, this chapter is posted in celebration as this is my first story to hit 100,000 HITS! Thank you all so much for your patience and your continued interest in this story. Who knows, maybe this story will get a TV Tropes page.