The biggest thing about revisions is how much attention you have to pay to the new string of events. Sometimes the original and the revision gets confused, and you can't remember if you need to mention something that didn't happen before or if you need to delete a reference to something that no longer happened.
Of course, keeping notes helps a little bit, but I won't be surprised if I ultimately end up missing something anyway.
Infinite Stratos was pretty great. But if there was one distinct advantage that Exeter had over it, it was probably the fact that it was relatively unassuming and convenient. By this, Church meant that he could pretty much fly wherever he wanted to without too many people noticing. An I.S. was big and bulky, and almost impossible to hide visually. Meanwhile, Church had free reign to fly to the stadium after he had collected clothes from his room and made it to an open window within the Academy tower itself.
Frankly, he was a little worried that he was missing out on valuable exercise, but saving a few minutes was worth it: after all, he had less than an hour now to shower, return the dirty clothes to his room, and get back to the stadium so Rin could take him to her room for dinner. He wasn't a quick shower kind of guy, so it was important to maximize the time he had available.
Right now, he was walking across the stadium grounds to the area that Rin had indicated, having already deactivated Exeter since he didn't need it at this point. That said, his thoughts were primarily occupied with a conversation between him and Cerberus in the confines of his mind.
I probably should have asked for clarification on this before now, but what exactly is the process to getting the Akatsubaki's data? Are we going to have to physically touch it? Plug into a port or something? Will we even be able to accomplish what we want while it's in standby mode?
Cerberus wasted no time in explaining this crucial aspect of their mission. Frankly, it was somewhat surprised that Church had taken this long to even ask for these details.
The process of acquiring Akatsubaki's data is simple on the surface, but deceptively complex, unfortunately. We will need direct access to the machine: if you cannot place your hand on it, we will not be able to glean the data we need. Moreover, it is not as if Infinite Stratos units are unlocked doors we can simply walk through. There will be many security measures in place that will require time to crack, and even after that, it will take some time to download all of the information we need. Suffice to say, it will not be as simple as laying hands on the Akatsubaki for a split second.
As he walked through some hallways on the far side of the stadium, Church briefly acknowledged a sign that said 'showers' on it in both English and Japanese. He missed the other half of the text while formulating a response to Cerberus, following the directions the sign provided subconsciously.
So we're talking several minutes of uninterrupted contact with Akatsubaki. Shit, that's going to be difficult to manage...
Indeed, Operator. Strictly speaking, the most effective option would simply be to abduct Houki Shinonono and restrain her while we went about our business. Naturally, we'd have to ensure that she doesn't identify us in the process.
Needless to say, Church wasn't enthused with that option.
I feel that there are many reasons that won't work. First of all, if we release her after that, it'll be pretty obvious that we were just after Akatsubaki's data. Second, we would be the prime suspects considering that we just got here. And third, if we managed to do that, why not just steal Akatsubaki from her altogether? Then Umbra Stratum could do whatever they want with it.
Cerberus was silent for a moment as it contemplated all of that.
I cannot deny some of those points, Operator. However, I am curious as to what you believe would be a better plan.
I'd look for an excuse to be near her during a sparring session or training exercise. Maybe I could come up with some strategy that requires me to be in direct contact with her unit... don't know if I could manage that for long enough, though.
Church walked up to a door on the far end of the hall, which he assumed were the showers. If he'd been paying attention, he would have heard running water on the other side, but he was a bit preoccupied. It was easy to miss some outside sounds when someone was literally talking in your head.
Operator, it would be possible to acquire the Akatsubaki data in increments. It is merely that we would have to consistently infiltrate its security systems, and successfully cover our tracks each time. This is within my capabilities, but runs almost as great a risk as our other options. Also...
Acting while Cerberus spoke, Church opened the door before him and stepped into the room beyond, only noticing now that he was in the tiled room that it was kind of steamy and that water was running, and that obviously someone else was in here. Cerberus finished his sentence about the time that Church made all of these conclusions.
This is the student showers, not the faculty.
Even though he knew that he was probably about to be in a bad situation, Church failed to immediately extricate himself from it. It was kind of like a deer in headlights thing: he knew there was about to be trouble, but was too stunned by his sudden reality to act on that knowledge. The feeling intensified when he heard a familiar voice that belonged to a certain French girl.
"Oh, who's that? I didn't think anyone else was out here at this hour..."
Church inwardly cringed as he recalled that Rin had said Charlotte and Kanzashi working on something out here at the stadium, but more importantly, he got the feeling that Charlotte, who was probably in a less than modest state right now, was about to check on the identity of their visitor. Admittedly, some not altogether small part of Church wanted to see that. He was a red-blooded man after all, and Charlotte was a beautiful girl.
But at the same time, he didn't want it to go down quite like this. He hardly thought of himself as a gentleman, but he didn't want to catch a girl in the nude against her will like this. It just didn't feel right. That was why he managed to gain control of himself just quickly enough to turn his back on the general direction of the present girls, though he didn't manage to get a full announcement of his presence out before it was too late.
"H-hold on, Charlotte-!"
Unfortunately, the girl in question leaned back out of the shower cubicle she was occupying before Church could tell her not to. Church knew this because turning around had proven pointless: it turned out that there was a mirror on the wall next to the door, and Church was glancing into it before he could tell himself to close his eyes.
Charlotte, leaning back out of the shower, was curiously looking in his direction as she worked some shampoo into her blonde hair, which fell down to the middle of her back. Thankfully, most of her body was hidden behind the wall. However, by the merit of being able to see her back, Church was also able to see quite a lovely peach peeking out at him from beyond the confines of the shower. It was a nice middle ground between petite and curvaceous: a cute and spankable derriere.
That thought crossed Church's mind before he could contain it, but when he met Charlotte's violet gaze, it was replaced with embarrassment and guilt more than anything else. At about the time Charlotte yelped in embarrassment, Church closed his eyes off to the world so he could avoid making things any worse.
"S-sorry! I'm so sorry, I thought this was the faculty showers!"
While her voice was still a little shaky due to the surprise, Charlotte did seem to acknowledge his explanation as plausible. "Ah, i-is that so...?"
Naturally, Church's eyes were closed so he didn't see anything, but he did hear Kanzashi's voice pitching in, with a very indignant and embarrassed tone that no one could mistake. Church could imagine the 'hiding all your naughty bits' pose even though she was behind a wall.
"Y-y-y-you pervert! As if anyone would b-believe that! The faculty and student showers are clearly labeled! W-why would you even need faculty showers!?"
Trying to purge any unscrupulous thoughts from his mind since it was hard to communicate clearly with a girl that you were vividly imagining in the nude, Church tried to give a concise explanation.
"My accommodations don't have any showers available, a-and Chifuyu said I could use the faculty showers here at the stadium! I'm really sorry, I just wasn't paying attention!"
Church heard some sort of disgruntled grumbling from Kanzashi, but Charlotte appeared to be a little more forgiving. "I d-don't think Church is the type of person who would do this on purpose, Kanzashi... plus, it would have been very foolish to walk right in here if he had nefarious intentions, oui?"
Personally, Church thought this argument in his defense was pretty solid, but Kanzashi didn't seem to think so. "W-well maybe he's just an idiot!"
This girl really isn't earning any points with me, damn.
Still, Kanzashi might have had a point. Even though he had been distracted by a conversation with Cerberus, there had still been obvious signs with plain English on them telling him where to go, and he had gone the wrong way.
"Yeah, uh, m-maybe I am. I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to violate your privacy like this."
Proving that she really was an angel, Charlotte said her next words. "It's alright Church, I forgive you. I think it's very clear that this was an accident."
Naturally, Kanzashi did not have the same degree of mercy and graciousness as her French shower buddy. "Well I don't! Why are you still here? G-get out already!"
Once again, Church figured that Kanzashi had a point, and that he probably should have made an exit much sooner than this. Although, wouldn't it have been worse if he had just bailed without any explanation at all?
Either way, he fumbled for the handle to the door since his eyes were closed, at least until Charlotte was kind enough to direct his hand towards its intended target. Once that had been accomplished, the young man swiftly made an exit, while offering one last genuine apology for the intrusion. Once he was outside, he transformed his ire into anger and directed it at Cerberus.
Cerberus, you fucking twat! Why'd you wait to tell me I was going into the wrong showers until after I was already in them?! You clearly noticed beforehand!
The resident AI did not seem troubled by the insults or the irritability.
We were in the middle of a far more important conversation regarding mission parameters. Why would I interrupt it for something as negligible as a social faux pas?
Church was certain that he was gritting his teeth.
Well, Cerberus, it gets harder to ingratiate myself with the locals if they become awkward and uncomfortable around me, did you think of that?! Charlotte was probably the second best way into Houki's social circle after Rin, so this is not good!
Cerberus was quiet for a moment.
I did not consider that.
No shit.
Now flustered and seeing peaches in his mind's eye, Church stalked towards the faculty showers on the opposite end of this long hallway, certain that this awkward encounter was going to come back and bite him somehow in the near future.
Electing for a cold shower to clear his head of questionable thoughts involving a girl he was probably going to be seeing fairly regularly around here, Church ultimately didn't spend much time cleaning himself, since only psychopaths liked standing around in cold water. He was used to taking quick showers even if he didn't prefer them, since Umbra Stratum didn't like people standing around in their facilities and not doing anything.
By the time he was done, Charlotte and Kanzashi had thankfully already left the area, so he didn't have to cross awkward paths with them again so soon. Having taken a brief shower, he had enough time to return his dirty clothes to his room, a process that would have been a lot faster if said room had a window. Even so, he managed to make it back to the arena entrance where he was supposed to meet Rin with a little time to spare, though he was now wearing mere shorts and a form-fitting black T-shirt. He hadn't splurged on anything too fancy when procuring more clothes the other day.
Because he had spent much of the waiting period doing other things, Church didn't actually get to spend too much time just sitting around, as Rin showed up at the arena herself within five minutes of him taking up residence there. She too had changed clothes over the past hour, ironically in a similar manner to Church. She was without her uniform now, instead wearing a dark pink tank-top and black athletic shorts of her own. Naturally, she still had one arm in a cast.
Church was briefly surprised that she was willing to present such a casual appearance to a mere acquaintance like him, but then again, maybe Rin wasn't the type of girl to even care about things like that. It wasn't like she was dressed inappropriately, and there was nothing wrong with being comfortable. Besides, Church was dressed in a pretty similar fashion, so it wasn't like he could say anything about it.
Of course, maybe she would have put more thought into her dress if it was Ichika that she was meeting, but Church was not he. One way or another, Rin didn't seem to put any thought into it as she spoke to him once getting close enough.
"There you are. You're, uh..."
Rin fell silent for a moment as her eyes drifted away from his face, prompting Church to follow her gaze in confusion. Doing so revealed that she was caught off-guard by his arms, or more accurately, the muscle definition one could actually see since he wasn't wearing a jacket for once. Frankly, Church was surprised that she even considered it noteworthy, since from his perspective, it was nothing special: just the result of physical conditioning for the operation of a human exoskeleton. Exeter may have done most of the work, but that didn't mean there was no stress at all when using it. Besides, if there was ever a mechanical malfunction, he may have had to lift those robotic limbs with his own strength, so he couldn't afford to be out of shape.
Still, he supposed that did make him more built than the average guy. Not that he was giving action hero actors or bodybuilders a run for their money, but more built than most. And considering that Rin probably didn't see many guys around, all things considered, maybe it was understandable that she took notice.
A little bashful to be noticed in such a way, Church put on some false bravado to put the awkward pressure on Rin instead of himself. He was actually quite good at acting confident under pressure.
"Devilishly rugged and handsome? I think that's what you were going to say."
Caught in the act, Rin blushed slightly as she cleared her throat and averted her gaze. That said, she too was pretty good at deflecting embarrassment: she just happened to do it with sarcasm and mockery instead of illusory confidence.
"What I was going to say is that you're 'surprisingly passable.' You don't exactly give off this kind of energy, if you know what I mean."
Church frowned at this, not exactly sure what to make of it. "No, I don't really know what you mean. What 'energy' do I give off, exactly?"
Because Rin's method of pushing down embarrassment relied on putting the heat on someone else, she didn't say what she was really thinking: that Church struck her as a reliable, charismatic person that was fun to talk to. No need to stroke his ego that much.
"Eh, I don't want to say 'negligible', which is a little harsh... but you do strike me as 'just that guy.' You know, people occasionally remember you exist, but it's usually on accident. Otherwise you're kind of forgettable."
Admittedly, Church wasn't absolutely positive that Rin was joking, which bothered him more than he cared to admit. Surely he had more of a presence than that, right? Then again, she had to be kidding, because there was no way he could be a negligible existence around here when he was but one of two men on the whole campus.
Still, he felt the need to retaliate, mocking though it may be. "Well, if the guy who saved your life is so negligible, what does that say about you? You'd better hope that forgettable guy is around to save you next time you're in mortal danger."
"H-hey, that was a one time thing, a freak accident! It's not like I fall out of windows on a regular basis!"
"For some reason, I'm not inclined to believe you."
Fuming, Rin crossed her arms. "What's that? Sounds like you don't want to eat a meal at my expense after all."
Since he was actually looking forward to that, Church forfeited immediately. "Whoa, no need to go that far. Excessive force, Rin, really."
With a shake of her head, the Chinese brunette did manage to put a slight smirk back on her face. "It's kind of sad that you'd give up that easily, y'know? Though my food is worth it, so I guess I can't blame you. Let's get going then, we're not getting any younger."
Beckoning for him to follow her, the two were soon heading for the dorms. Rin used this time to explain the game plan for getting into said dorms without causing a commotion.
"Alright, it's a little late, but not so late that we can expect no one to be around at all. That said, you can't just walk in the front door, especially not with me, 'cuz people will absolutely get the wrong idea. Thankfully, everyone has a room with windows, and you can fly around pretty quietly, as best as I can tell. So you're going to hang around behind the dorms, and I'll pop open the window to my room on the third floor so you can get in all sneaky like. Sound good?"
"Yeah, is all of that really necessary? Ichika has a room in the dorms, right? Is there some rule against me being in there to warrant all of this sneaking around?"
Rin apparently thought his question was stupid, since she gave him an annoyed look. "Of course it's necessary! If anyone sees me taking you into my room they're going to assume the worst!"
"Gee, thanks."
Perhaps realizing that her words sounded much worse than she intended, Rin rephrased the sentiment, with only a mild blush. "Look, I don't mean that it's some disgusting idea I can't even fathom or anything... but it would be a big problem for both of us. Do you really want half the school hounding you over a relationship that doesn't exist the whole time you're here? That just sounds like a big hassle to me."
Church had nothing to say to that, since he supposed that Rin may have had a point. He was already going to be the source of attention for a lot of girls, but it would be even worse if there was some unsubstantiated gossip going around about him being in a relationship with someone. Besides, he wasn't sure if that kind of thing would be frowned on by the people in charge of the Academy. He was here as a professional representative, after all.
All in all, he figured that he would just concede. "Alright, fair enough. Cloak and dagger it is."
With a satisfied nod, Rin said nothing else to that. The dorm wasn't all that far away anyway, so it was only a minute or two of silence before Church had to break off and head towards the back of the dorm building, at which point he manifested Exeter and headed for some bushes. For extra safe measure, he had Cerberus select a camouflage for the suit that would blend in with his surroundings.
While waiting in that situation, Church couldn't help but analyze his surroundings, namely the many windows at the back of the dorm building. He was surprised by how many of said windows were completely exposed: lots of girls didn't have their curtains drawn, or even had their windows completely open. He could see right into some rooms, which naturally included the sight of some girls in the comfort of their own space. There was nothing particularly scandalous to see at the moment, but the notion of infringing on anyone's privacy brought the recent incident with Charlotte and Kanzashi to mind.
I'm honestly amazed by this. No sense of fear or danger at all from so many of these students.
Cerberus had been a little quiet thus far since Church had been busy communicating with people, but it spoke up now, perhaps sensing that Church was actually looking to initiate a conversation.
It's not so strange, Operator. They live in a relatively restricted and secluded area where crime of any sort is not a major threat. Moreover, they didn't have to worry about men spying on them in their rooms until right now.
Hey, I'm not spying on anyone! I have to be able to see Rin when she's ready to let me in, it's not like I can look away from the building! I didn't force them to leave themselves exposed to the outside like this.
Cerberus didn't seem convinced.
If that helps you sleep at night, Operator...
Church said nothing to that, instead shaking his head. There wasn't much room to say anything else anyway, as he saw a window on the third floor being opened. Soon after, Rin just barely peeked out of it. It was pretty clear by the way she was looking around that she didn't actually know where Church was at the moment.
Seeing an opportunity, Church ignored the thrusters entirely and dashed out of the bushes towards the base of the dorms, relying solely on Exeter's impressive sprinting ability to cover the distance before anyone could see him, including Rin. Once he got to the foot of the wall, he simply leaped up towards Rin's window: there was no need for engines to cover that distance.
Naturally, the sudden appearance of a motley green and brown Exeter in her face caused Rin some alarm, and she stumbled backwards. "Gah! What the hell, you asshole?!"
Chuckling to himself, Church couldn't help but tease a little. "Sorry, Rin, it's just that you looked a little scared of that window, so I wanted to get you back inside and away from it."
Scowling, Rin got back to her feet to express her malcontent with that joke. "Haha, very funny. You're really testing my good graces, you know?"
Church replied to that as he allowed Exeter to dissipate from his body. "Alright, alright, that's the last window joke at your expense, I promise."
Rin smoothed her shorts as she got back to her feet, her expression mildly less annoyed. "I didn't know your suit could change colors like that."
"You like it?"
"Just wondering why you settle on a plain silver-gray if you could be any color you want."
To that, Church shrugged. Maybe she had a point. "I guess it's about the difference between a distinctly military machine and a sporting one. Bold colors are better for the audience, but it's a bit too flashy for the military's taste. Although, I guess I could play around with it. You think your I.S. color scheme would look good on me?"
Rin scoffed. "Shen Long's color scheme would look good on anyone. Even Cecilia's Blue Tears could benefit from it."
Certain that Rin didn't hate blue and that she just had a petty rivalry with Cecilia over everything, Church glanced around the room he had entered. He'd never been in a girl's bedroom before: according to the media, this area was supposed to be hallowed ground or something. That said, Rin's bedroom was surprisingly normal.
She had no particularly interesting blankets or pillowcases, no fancy rugs or anything: the most that he could spot that would identify this place as Rin's room at all was a picture of her and two adults on the wall, which he assumed was her family, and a Chun-Li digital alarm clock. That one was actually kind of funny.
"Pretty spartan in here."
Rin merely shrugged. "I packed pretty light when I came here, that's all."
If that were true, Church wondered what Rin could have possibly needed to tidy up in here before he was allowed in. Maybe she was the type to leave underwear lying around or something. Instead of commenting anything like that, Church took note of the second bed in the room, as well as some items that didn't look like they would have belonged to Rin.
"So, where's your roommate?"
"Oh, Tina? She's gone for the night, hanging out with her friends on the floor beneath us. Seriously, you didn't think I would actually bring someone like you here if she was around, did you?"
Church folded his arms as he gave the girl a questioning look. "Someone like me? Care to elaborate?"
Rin shrugged with her one good arm as she headed out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. "Not really, no. I'd rather let you wonder."
Her male visitor shook his head as she left, Cerberus speaking up in his mind as Church made to follow his hostess.
Is this level of deprecating affection what one would call 'tsundere?'
Uh, not quite... I'm honestly surprised you know that word.
Cerberus almost sounded offended by that comment.
Operator, I'm a state of the art artificial intelligence unlike any the world has ever seen. I know every word.
Right... anyway, we can't label her a tsundere until she says something like 'it's not like I like you or anything, baka!' I think that's mandatory.
Is that how it works? Humans have such odd criteria for their labels.
Church decided to end the mental conversation there, mostly because he didn't exactly have anything to say that could refute Cerberus. Taking stock of the rest of Rin's dorm, he found that it wasn't actually extravagant as he would have imagined for a room at the I.S. Academy. Sure, it was obviously nice: everything was up to date and modern, from the paint to the lights to the appliances he could catch a peek at in the kitchen, but he'd half been expecting something akin to a rich person's suite. Maybe that was a little silly, since it would have been a significant and unnecessary expense considering how many students there were.
Church spotted a nice table he could take a seat at in the center of the common area, but took note of the increasingly noisy sounds coming from the kitchen before moving to do so.
"Rin? Do you need any help? Sounds more like construction than cooking in there..."
"Don't be ridiculous, having an amateur like you lend a hand would spoil the whole thing! Cooking of this level is an art form for experts only, y'know?"
While it was probably just a phantom feeling, Church felt like his eyebrow was twitching. "Well, I know now... fine then, how long is this gonna take, Picasso?"
Church tried to mentally picture Rin cooking with just one arm as she answered him. Honestly he couldn't see how she was doing it. "Hey, doing this with one hand isn't exactly easy. Just be patient, I promise it'll be worth it."
With a sigh, Church decided to take the seat he had scoped out a moment ago, leaning back in the chair as he contemplated how to keep some sort of conversation going while he waited for dinner to be completed. As he imagined Rin's one-armed struggle a second time, he figured that he would question that.
"I know we talked about it briefly before, but it really is crazy that you're in good enough shape to even use your arm right now, considering how recent your accident was."
Still too busy in the kitchen to reveal herself, Rin continued to reply from out of sight. "Well, there are some nice perks to attending the most prestigious school in the world, aren't there? What gets me is the fact that Tabane Shinonono invented the medical substance that made it possible on accident. Like, what level of witchcraft are we getting into once you're accidentally revolutionizing medicine while intentionally revolutionizing warfare? I find it hard to believe that she's actually human."
Now that she mentioned it, Church figured that Rin had a good point. There was no question that Tabane was a genius, but you had to be on an entirely different level to make the kind of impact she had. What was such an intelligent person even like? The woman's personality wasn't exactly public knowledge.
Instead of dwelling on that, Church focused back on the conversation at hand. "Well as amazing as medical technology might be these days, you've still got one arm in a sling. Why is that?"
"Well the fractures my right arm suffered were really severe, so it's taking a bit more time to heal even with that super science medical stuff. The nurses did say it'd be finished healing in another week or so though..."
Church recalled the many band-aids and bandages that Rin still had plastered all over her face. "Alright, so big, serious injuries still take some time even with the pseudoscience fiction healing stuff we apparently have now. But what about all those cuts and scrapes? Those should have been healed extremely quickly, right?"
"What, you think it's easy or cheap to make this 'pseudoscience fiction healing stuff?' No one in their right mind would waste it on a bunch of harmless cuts."
"Rin, some of those cuts were pretty deep..."
Finally sticking her head out from behind the small wall that separated the kitchen from the rest of the common area, Rin smiled cheekily at her guest. "Aw, are you that worried? How sweet. Maybe I won't poison your food after all."
Church had been halfway through thinking that Rin had a wonderful smile before her words had cut him short.
I'm troubled by the fact that I can't identify that as a joke for certain.
Cerberus cut in at the mention of this.
Even if it is a joke, you know most jokes have an ounce of truth to them.
Shit, you're right. You don't really think she would do that, do you?
Who can tell, Operator? Who can tell?
Church tried to allay his irrational fears over the next several minutes, a process which wasn't helped at all by his AI, but thankfully Rin was apparently skilled enough to hold a conversation while cooking, so a simple distraction was available. A discussion regarding how she totally would have demolished the competition in the tournament today if only she had been allowed to participate helped take his mind off of his worries.
They had just finished discussing how Rin would have dealt with Laura's AIC when the diminutive chef finally stepped out of the kitchen. Apparently, she had finished crafting her master meal, and was now finally bringing Church their food. Rin had donned an apron in the kitchen at some point, which was oddly cute with the casual shirt and shorts. Something about casual attire looked really good on her. Kinda felt like the girlfriend who was always walking around your house in only one of your t-shirts.
Ignorant to Church's thoughts, Rin placed a steaming hot plate of meat and vegetables in brown broth in the middle of the table, smirking confidently. "I'm about to change your world forever; I hope you're ready for this."
Cerberus felt the need to comment on this. The AI was getting weirdly chatty these days, particularly about things Church thought would strike Cerberus as unimportant.
I do believe that could have been a sexual innuendo.
It took all of Church's concentration to ignore the thoughts Cerberus brought to his mind. The last thing he needed while eating dinner in a girl's room was sexual innuendo, especially after the thing that had happened in the showers earlier. It was a miracle he'd managed to keep that debacle out of his mind thus far.
So, is the personality archetype you settled on the 'annoying, quipping sidekick?'
The real question is, will you be able to do anything about it?
Refusing to give that comment a response, Church focused on the food in front of him. Even on a purely aesthetic level, it looked really good. "So, um… you first?"
After several moments of untying her apron with one arm, Rin tossed it over her chair and plopped down into it. Following that, she reached into one of the apron pockets to withdraw a pair of chopsticks for her guest.
"No, you first. I already know how awesome it is, you're the one that needs to taste it. Hurry up, I can't let your heretical beliefs tarnish the name of good Chinese food for another second!"
Church accepted the timeless utensils from Rin and proceeded to take hold of the most appealing piece of pork he could spot. He was painfully aware of the intensity that Rin was watching him with. He had always heard that cooks were ultra serious when it came to having their food tasted for the first time, but Church had never witnessed it firsthand. It was kind of weird to see such a serious side to this rather carefree girl so suddenly.
Should I scan for poison, Operator?
Forgetting about Rin's poison comment until just then, Church almost said yes. In the end though, he decided against it.
I think I'll at least trust her to this extent...
If you say so, Operator. Do not blame me for whatever happens.
Church tuned out whatever else Cerberus had to say. Instead, he tried his best to look natural as he consumed his first bite of gourmet Chinese food. It was extremely difficult to do, as he felt like squirming under the intensity of Rin's emerald gaze. Still, he managed to bite into the pork without accidentally missing his mouth or anything, and his senses were soon engulfed by an incredible blend of savory and sweet, so Church was briefly distracted from his nervousness.
W-wow... I was kinda worried that Rin's lauded cooking skills were from her own perspective, but this is incredible! It's such an amazingly bold taste, yet really gentle too... I haven't eaten anything this great in... well, a long time.
Cerberus had no emotion in his response, which came in an actual-factual manner.
That is an excellent observation, Operator. However, as a machine with no taste buds of my own, I cannot verify your statement.
Not sure what he could have possibly said to a statement like that, Church simply decided to leave it alone, instead choosing to focus on Rin, who was clearly waiting for some sort of feedback. Under normal circumstances, Church wasn't a particularly gushy type of person, but he was willing to make an exception in this case.
"Rin, this is really amazing! I can't believe you made something this good so quickly. Guess you really are an experienced chef, huh?"
The girl across from him offered a wide, cheerful smile in response to Church's compliments: admittedly, compliments on her food were the one thing she could get from anyone, even Ichika, fairly easily. That said, she certainly had no qualms about hearing it from someone new. She never got tired of hearing it at all really.
"Well yeah, but it was also my dad's favorite dish, so he made sure that I knew how to make it perfectly every time. A lot of my spare time with him in our restaurant was spent learning that recipe, so I'm glad you like it. I told you that my genuine Chinese food was infinitely better than your American fast food garbage, didn't I?"
Church nodded as he grabbed another piece of the delicious cuisine with his chopsticks. "Yeah, I can't believe I even doubted you at all. I didn't know your family had a restaurant though. I'm sure you had a hand in it, but did you really have a lot of time to help out between school and all that?"
While he had expected this to be an easy follow-up topic for conversation, Church was only met with confusion as Rin fell silent, a certain look of uncomfortable anger dominating her usually adorable features.
Instantly aware that he had made some sort of mistake, Church could only wonder what nerve he had struck. For once, Cerberus offered advice that was actually helpful, even if was also kind of obvious.
We can logically assume that the most sensitive part of what was said is the cause of this problem. It must have been your comment about the family. Be very careful how you proceed from here.
Am I getting relationship advice from a soulless machine?
Cerberus replied dejectedly., though there was a certain insincerity to it.
That hurts, Operator. This is my existence you are talking about.
Mentally sighing, Church focused on his human companion instead of his 'soulless machine' one. "Rin, I can tell that I've upset you. Whatever I said, I'm sorry. I should have been more careful."
Surprisingly, Rin smiled sadly at him even as she shook her head forlornly. "It's… not your fault. You couldn't have known that it was a sensitive subject, and I kind of brought it up in the first place. But still, I'd… prefer if we talked about something else."
"Of course. Or I can, you know... leave, if you'd prefer?"
Rin seemed to seriously contemplate this idea for a brief moment, but she quickly refuted it in favor of a somewhat insincere cheerfulness. "You don't have to do that. It was just an accident and it's not like you're psychic. Now hurry up and keep eating! The food's gonna get cold and I didn't work so hard on it so it could go to waste!"
Church knew that his hostess was merely forcing herself into a more cheerful mood, but he was glad that she was not angry with him for accidentally grazing a sensitive topic. Even better, he was glad she was reasonable enough to not take any frustration out on him for something outside of his control. Firecracker though she was, Rin obviously had a rational side to her.
For now, he was content to enjoy her company as it was, even if it meant avoiding any meaningful personal topics. Maybe it was something she would share with him down the line, provided their relationship actually grew from this point forward.
"It just doesn't feel right. A weapon of that caliber is intended for killing, and little else."
Ichika sat up in bed in his room, listening to Laura's appraisal of his earlier duel with Church, along with four of the several girls whose affections he had unwittingly garnered beyond the student body as a whole. Namely, Houki, Laura, Cecilia and Charlotte, the latter of which had only recently returned from the arena due to something she had been helping Kanzashi with. Frankly, Ichika was surprised that Tatenashi's little sister hadn't shown up in his room as well, but maybe something had happened? Charlotte had been acting a little uncomfortable when she had first returned, though Ichika hadn't questioned why that was.
He understood that, as her boyfriend, he was probably supposed to investigate, but that seemed like a risky idea when all the other girls pining after him were present as well.
Contrary to popular belief, Ichika wasn't actually blind to what they all wanted from him. He just didn't know how to give what he couldn't give. He thought of them all as precious friends that he'd do anything for, but somehow that wasn't sufficient in their eyes. He'd long pondered how to handle that situation, but before he was able to reach any conclusion, Charlotte had ultimately confessed to him in very clear, explicit words how she felt and what type of relationship she desired from him, just a few months ago.
Frankly, that had only made things more complicated for the younger Orimura. He had a very strange set of ideals that often made life difficult for him even if they were self-imposed. He firmly believed that it was his duty as a man to take responsibility for the feelings he had garnered, provided the person in question was honest about it. That was why he played dumb with everyone else but had agreed to date Charlotte: she was the only one who was outright honest and clear with her feelings and desires, and Ichika believed that was necessary for two people to be together romantically.
That being the case, he had agreed to dating Charlotte in hopes of perhaps reaching the emotional state she desired from him, maybe out of some misguided notion that changing their official status would also spark some development in his feelings. But honestly, Ichika didn't think it was working. He liked spending time with Charlotte and enjoyed being around her, but not in any different way than he had before, or in a way different from any of the others.
Now he found himself in a situation that was arguably worse than before. He was positive that he wasn't really giving Charlotte what she wanted out of their relationship, and that probably wouldn't change anytime soon. But he hadn't exactly told her that his motivation for agreeing to a romantic relationship was less about romance and more about a sense of obligation. Now that they had been dating for several months, he didn't want to crush Charlotte with that revelation. Needless to say, between a rock and a hard place was an understatement. He had no idea what to do about it, and by doing nothing he was also perpetuating the situation.
Romance was hard.
Engulfed in these thoughts, as he often was when he was surrounded by everyone who liked him, Ichika nearly missed the conversation everyone else was having around him. Houki was responding to Laura's statement on the weapon Church had used during their fight.
"But it can't really be all that powerful, can it? Neither he nor Ichika was seriously injured, and Byakushiki only suffered minor damage. There are a lot of weapons more powerful than that. Your Railgun could probably do more."
Being the one who had actually been hurt a little bit, Ichika frowned at Houki's quick dismissal of his pain. "I wouldn't call a minor concussion and severe bruising 'non-serious injuries,' Houki."
The girls ignored Ichika's complaints, allowing Charlotte to build off of Houki's comment. "The outcome of the attack was misleading. Church pointed the weapon away from Ichika instead of hitting him directly with it. Based on the size of that crater, the results of a direct hit would have been... troublant."
Folding her arms in some display of disgust or anger, Cecilia made it clear how she felt about that. "Using an absurd and unnecessary amount of force just to stroke one's ego: how typically American."
Feeling that they were straying too far from the point she was trying to make, Laura tried to rein everyone back in. "What I'm trying to say is that the American's machine is not what it seems. It's not merely a competitor for Infinite Stratos in the public eye. It's a war machine. No one puts a weapon like that on a machine that is not intended for violence."
Ironically, since they were good friends at this point, it was again Charlotte that countered her. "But Laura, couldn't you say the same for Infinite Stratos? I know it's not used for war now, but there's no denying that it's a weapon. The weapons on all of our I.S. could kill hundreds of people easily. It's really no different. Besides, technically there's nothing forbidding the United States from making new weapons."
"Charlotte, that's not the point! The only reason for making new weapons is to overcome an enemy, or someone you expect to be an enemy. Nuclear weapons were not invented for any other reason than to crush an opposing force."
"But now that they can't have I.S.-"
"The lack of them is irrelevant. The few enemies America still has left take the form of terrorist cells, most of which have been obliterated by joint forces by now. That said, there is no enemy for America to fight that would require a weapon of that caliber, unless they plan on making enemies with someone that would call for it. That means nations with Infinite Stratos."
Both sore and tired, Ichika saw no reason for everyone to have this debate right now. Nothing bad had happened right? What was there to really be afraid of?
"I think Charlotte's right, Laura. I know it's probably normal for you, but you shouldn't assume the worst like that."
The petite young soldier shot a searing glare his way. "Oh, I see. Because I was born and raised as a soldier it's normal for me to see war everywhere, is that it? I suppose if I were 'normal' like the rest of you I wouldn't be worrying about this, would I? Please forgive me for being concerned for everyone!"
Not quite sure what nerve he had touched or how he had done so, Ichika tried and failed to diffuse the tension. "H-hold on, I didn't mean anything like-"
Not even waiting for an excuse, Laura made for the door. "Forget it. I... I'll see you all tomorrow. Good night."
Just like that she was gone, but contrary to what Ichika believed, he was the only one confused on the matter. For the life of him he could not see how anything of that nature had been inferred. The girls, on the other hand, seemed to completely understand Laura's reaction, like a shared symbiotic mind. Apparently Houki felt the need to be their voice.
"Ichika, how can you be so stupid?"
"But I didn't-"
Cecilia jumped him next. "Honestly, to be so insensitive to a girl's feelings~"
"But that's not even-"
Instead of finishing his defense, he simply looked to Charlotte for aid. The pleading look he gave her made the blonde wince, because honestly she agreed with the others.
"You... could have, y'know, possibly worded it a little better..."
Seeing that he had no support from anyone, Ichika merely laid back in his bed and sighed. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried or how well he thought he understood women, he was always falling short somewhere.
"Damn, I forgot that Tina took the last of the soda with her!"
His curiosity piqued by this exclamation, Church glanced into the kitchen from where he sat. Rin's petite frame was hidden behind a small refrigerator door.
"I'm sure we can just drink water. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"
Rin leveled her emerald eyes over the edge of the fridge door in order to cast an incredulous glance at her fairly new friend. "Did I seriously just hear an American say that he'd rather drink water instead of soda? Doesn't that make you a Communist or something?"
Rolling his azure eyes at the girl, Church lamented over the now empty plate before him. "Very original, Rin."
"Who said I was joking? Anyway, why don't you go get us some drinks? There's a vending machine outside at the back of the dorm. You can pay, since I treated you to a meal."
Seeing no valid reason to refuse, Church rose to do as Rin asked, but he still made a jab as he made for the door. "Isn't a drink usually a part of a meal?"
"Just shut up and go you ingrate! This is the least you could do for a girl with a broken arm you know!"
While he knew she was just manipulating him in that regard, Church couldn't help but fall victim to it. After all, Rin was a cute girl in distress, so he was obligated to aid her...
Defeated, Church briefly manifested Exeter so he could safely make the jump from Rin's third story window to the ground behind the dorms. Taking a few steps away from the building so he could see more of it at once, Church swiftly found the vending machine Rin had mentioned.
As he made his way across the grass, Church came across quite a few open windows, though he avoided getting spotted by any girls with a combination of stealth and luck. He did notice, however, that many of the rooms he peeked into lacked the same amenities that Rin's had. The kitchen part, specifically.
That's weird... I guess that isn't standard for all rooms...
It is very likely that Representative Candidates can make special requests for their rooms.
And what, the normal roommate just gets lucky?
Apparently so.
Shrugging off the curious conversation, Church also had the sudden realization that he didn't have any money on his person to purchase drinks with as he approached the vending machine. However, he was confident that Cerberus could figure something out. If it couldn't hack a vending machine of all things, how much was it really worth?
As he reached the vending machine, Church made his intentions clear even as he allowed Exeter itself to dissipate. His presence here would be even more suspicious than it already was if someone saw him with his suit on.
Cerberus, work a little science here, would you?
The machine voice in his head didn't immediately comply with Church's implications.
Are you suggesting that I use my abilities for the purposes of common theft? You should be ashamed of yourself, Operator.
Ah, so now you have a moral code? Or is vending machines just the one thing that crosses the line?
Cerberus made a little metallic sigh.
Touche, Operator. Very well, please wait while I connect to the machine's primitive computer system.
Church did as he was instructed, while wondering how a machine could have more personality than some of the people he had met during training. As he pondered this, something in particular occurred to him.
Hey, Cerberus, is it just me, or have you just made a personality conglomerate rather than settling on one archetype like you were supposed to?
Without missing a beat in its own processes, Cerberus offered an explanation.
If you recall, I did state before that I would likely choose an amalgamation of traits. I was designed to be as compatible with my Operator as possible. Though I was not intentionally destined to achieve this through a personality cycling process, I settled on it myself as the most efficient choice. That said, you are the first human I have truly interacted with at length in this manner, and it seems to me that no personality 'archetype' can be fully compatible with another human being, as humans are more than just one aspect of personality to begin with.
So you're saying that you created a process for yourself, despite it not being part of the original human design. Doesn't that mean you could just... I don't know, expand indefinitely or something?
Of course not, Operator. As stated when we first met, I cannot modify core programming. I cannot change the rules that govern my existence, only the things I may do within their confines. That is because-
As Cerberus dived into a lengthy explanation regarding the nature of its existence, Church found himself entirely lost. That being the case, he gradually tuned the machine out in favor of simply waiting for his drinks.
The process of attaining a few free-of charge drinks took Exeter's advanced AI practically no time at all: it was the long explanation that made it seem longer than it was. Since Church had forgotten to ask Rin what type of drink she would have preferred, Cerberus simply chose the most common: Coca-Cola. You couldn't go wrong with that no matter where you were in the world, right? Having acquired two cans of the refreshment from the vending machine, Church mentally thanked Cerberus for 'breaking his morality code' and prepared to head back to Rin's room.
Before he could do that though, he heard the sound of footsteps to his left, prompting him to glance in that direction. He wasn't sure why anyone would be back here at this time of night, but someone was rounding the corner, and it happened to be a very irate looking Laura Bodewig. Her presence caused Church to tense, if only because he hadn't been expecting her of all people.
Hardly blind, Laura didn't miss his presence a few feet away from her. Upon identifying him, she glared in suspicion. "What are you doing?"
Church held up the two cans of soda he had procured. "Uh... refreshments? What are you doing?"
The girl frowned at his reciprocation. "Walking."
With that, Laura turned away and continued her walk, Church watching after her with a cocked eyebrow. Her mood definitely seemed off, and it didn't appear to be because of him.
Cerberus interceded in Church's thoughts.
I know what you are thinking Operator. Do not forget that she is far from partial to you.
I'm aware. Now stop distracting me: I'm the moral compass in this relationship.
We have a relationship?
Yeah, I'm the suave hero and you're the annoying sidekick. I know what I'm doing.
Church called out to the potential danger before she could get out of earshot, and by first name no less. "Uh... Laura?"
Hearing her name uttered by a man who she was not particularly fond of stopped Laura in her tracks. However, she kept her reply neutral. She wasn't in the mood to get irritated about anything else right now.
"…what?"
Aware that he was playing with fire, so to speak, Church chose his words carefully. "Are you alright? You seem... upset."
The pause in-between the question and the answer was unfortunately long, leading Church to believe that he had screwed up already. Thankfully Laura did eventually give him a response, though it wasn't especially reassuring.
"…I don't need any simpering pleasantries or feigned concern from a stranger."
Irritated to have his good will dismissed so easily, Church struggled to maintain a friendly tone. "Who are you to determine whether or not my concern is sincere?"
"When you've experienced enough of such a thing, it becomes quite easy to identify it."
"Well you must not be as good at perceiving it as you think. Most of the time, people only offer false sincerity to maintain an image of politeness. I think we both know I'm not the type."
As much as she hated to admit it, Laura figured that was a good point. The last thing he had said to her prior to today was an insult, after all. "Fair enough. But why be concerned for me? We are complete strangers, and we didn't exactly part on friendly terms."
"It's called being a nice person. And you know, I actually spent most of our first conversation praising you. I only said something insulting after you grilled me so harshly for no good reason."
The German girl cocked an eyebrow at him, not agreeing with his sentiment. "You were spying on me. That seems like reason enough."
"Alright, fair enough. But seriously, you should let me make a second impression. I swear I'm actually a good person."
At first Laura's suspicious glare returned, but whether it was his nearly pleading tone or the sincerity in his voice, she ultimately dropped the visage. "I... suppose I have already learned that I should not judge people by my first encounter with them. Very well then: impress me."
Church offered a grateful smile for her forgiveness. "Whoa now, outright impressing a girl like you is asking a lot, isn't it...?"
Unfortunately this question already earned Church a sharp glare, though he didn't understand right away why this was. He figured it out pretty quickly though.
"OK, it's obvious that you didn't take that in the light I meant it. Why?"
"We just met, I'm hardly going to share something like that with you."
"But how can I understand you better if I can't talk to you about things that matter? I'm asking why it bothers you because I don't want to bring up something you find distasteful in the future. Is that bad?"
While her stubborn side demanded that Laura say yes, rationally she figured her newest acquaintance had a good point. After all, wasn't the biggest source of problems between men and women a lack of real communication? Or at least, Clarissa had said something like that. Besides, it was kind of nice for a boy to actually want to discern the problem for once rather than just get confused by it, only to throw up their hands and give up.
"...I am often referred to in the light of 'girls like you.' Why is that? Why am I considered some separate breed outside of the realm of a normal girl? It's..."
She petered off at that, not sure if she really wanted to go any further with this person who was effectively a stranger. Still, it seemed like she had said enough for Church to answer, though not with what she wanted to hear.
"Well, it's probably because you're really not a normal girl, right?"
For some reason the nonchalant way he said that really hurt. Laura found that silly since she barely knew him, but he made it sound like it was some fact of reality that she was stupid for not accepting already.
"That's-"
"I mean, c'mon. You're already an I.S. pilot, so that makes you smarter and more talented than most women on the planet, age notwithstanding. On top of that you're not just a pilot, but a Representative Candidate, meaning you're even still a cut above normal I.S. pilots, making you even more capable than others in a field already dominated by inherently talented people. You might not have been raised as a normal girl, but so what? You've got a unique perspective for someone your age that almost no one else does, with skills and experiences very few people of any age or gender can ever lay claim to. And well... let me put it this way: how many other girls with beautiful silver hair can you think of?"
Ironically, all of this praise was also offered rather nonchalantly. As if they weren't huge compliments that were incredibly embarrassing to hear. Not to mention super uplifting. And apparently, he wasn't even done yet.
"So yeah, I figured from last time we met that you're unhappy with the fact that you're short. And I mean, you really are, there's no denying that. But who cares? You're intelligent, talented, capable, and attractive. These are all things that set you apart from a normal girl, and wouldn't it be insulting to treat you like one, that being the case?"
Finally done with his spiel, Church actually turned his gaze on Laura again, since he had looked away from her while saying all that to maintain the courage to speak it. But it was rude to completely avoid looking at someone you were talking to, so he did return his gaze to Laura after he finished saying all of that, only to be met with something he had not expected in the slightest.
Holy crap, this is cute!
Gone was the intimidating and stern visage of a trained soldier that took no shit from anybody. In her place was a young girl with almost no experience being called attractive in any way, never mind all of the other praise in regards to her character. In but a moment she'd devolved into a nervous blushing mess, failing to even look his way as she struggled to wipe away the blush that stood out so brightly among her pale skin and silver strands. The fact that she could barely get a sentence out only added to the overall adorable appeal.
Still, he didn't know that much about Laura. Not anymore than he had read about her and what he could tell by talking to her. That said, was she one of those girls that would get angry and try to punch him just because he had said something nice?
Thankfully this did not seem to be the case, as instead of choosing to attack him, the silver-haired girl decided to make a hasty retreat before she ended up making a fool of herself. "T-t-t-thank you for your time, but I-er, have to go! Somewhere! F-for something! Goodbye!"
Just like that she was hastily walking (it was obvious that she wanted to run but was restraining herself) away from Church and the vending machine at which they had shared this brief yet enlightening conversation.
As for Church, he couldn't help but smirk to himself as she left. She was definitely unique alright, but in some ways she really was just a normal girl. At this point though he wondered if she would even want to hear that.
Returning to Rin's room after his short encounter with Laura, an errant thought occurred to him about the time he made it back to her window and her bedroom. That thought was the fact that, reading her dossier not that long ago, he couldn't recall mention of any name that could be logically shortened to Rin. In fact, while he couldn't recall off the top of his head what name had been provided and he could have asked Cerberus for guaranteed confirmation, he figured he could just ask her about it when he stepped back into the common area to provide her with one of the drinks he had gotten. Not that he got a chance before she addressed him.
"For crying out loud, how did you get lost out there? You were gone for like, fifteen minutes! It's almost eight!"
Church just shrugged and allowed Rin to badger him, instead of revealing what had actually transpired between him and Laura. "I got lost on the road of life, what can I say? Anyway, I have a question to ask."
Seeing as how Rin couldn't easily pop open a can of soda with one hand, Church did it for her before handing it to the girl, who at least appeared grateful for the act even if she didn't verbalize it.
"Shoot, go ahead."
"Well this might sound a little weird, but uh... have I been calling you the wrong name this entire time?"
Rin cocked an eyebrow at her current companion, but ultimately didn't seem too surprised that this was his question. "I was wondering when this would come up. It always does. Alright, I'll make it simple. Straight-up my name is Lingyin Huang, but everybody here in Japan kept messing it up when they had to write it down or say it, resulting in all sorts of weird things. Tons of people messed up and kept calling me Rinin all the time, and I eventually got tired of correcting them. I've practically gone by Rin as a nickname since middle school, so don't worry about it, alright?"
Church inwardly admitted that he liked the name Rin as opposed to Ling, but he decided to continue anyway. "Seriously though, if you'd prefer me to call you by your actual name..."
Surprised that he was still talking about it, Rin waved off his concern. "Church, seriously. I don't mind. I actually like it even. Trust me, the only people who still call me Lingyin are officials and military officers back in China. I'd rather keep it casual."
Strangely, Church found that comment rather enjoyable. "So that means we're friends, right?"
Rin gave the boy in her room an amused look before shrugging. "Yeah, I guess so. And after only... what, a handful of conversations before now? Geez, you sure do work fast, huh?"
"I take pride in my ability to endear myself to others."
The Chinese Representative stuck her tongue out at him. "Well don't let it go to your head. You're still my least favorite guy around."
Not catching onto the joke, Church was actually dismayed to hear this. "What, really? How many people am I behind?"
Instead of answering, Rin merely gave him an incredulous look in return. Thankfully Church caught on quickly. "Ah, right... there's only one other guy here..."
"Exactly. Sheesh, I thought you were going to pull an Ichika there for a moment. I don't need two super dense dumbasses on my hands, you know..."
Church sighed as he glanced around the room, eventually laying eyes on a Chun-Li digital clock on Rin's nightstand, which served to remind him of the time.
"You're right about it getting kind of late... I know I'm going to use the back exit, but a lot of girls will probably be coming back to the dorms around now, right? It'd probably be for the best to leave..."
Though Rin seemed to agree with this, she nevertheless hesitated. "Yeah, that could be a real problem... but I'm sure you could stay for about ten more minutes."
Unwilling to place himself into a compromising situation with scores of girls, and more importantly, unwilling to unwittingly cause any problems for Rin, Church shook his head as he made for the same window he had been using to move to and from the room.
"Nah, I don't think I should risk it. I don't want to tarnish your reputation. But thanks for the m-!"
With a twitching eyebrow, Rin planted her good hand on the windowsill to keep Church from opening it. "Sheesh, you really are just as thick as Ichika... look, I was giving you ten more minutes so that I could think about how to word this..."
Despite his best efforts to the contrary, Church couldn't help the lewd thoughts crossing his mind at such phrasing. "W-word what?"
"If you'd like, you can sleep here tonight. That's what."
This relationship escalated quickly, Operator. Truly legendary!
"W-what?! B-but why?"
Rin fiddled with one of her twin-tails as she thought of the best way to word her explanation. "Hm... well, you really did save me from... well, dying, I guess. That's kind of a big deal, obviously. Treating you to dinner was really just to prove a point. So as thanks for actually rescuing me, you can -just this once- since Tina is gone, sleep here for the night instead of that barren dump you allegedly have to call a room. Then we can actually call it even, and you'll have no right to ask for any favors from me."
Church was rendered speechless at this fortunate turn of events. As the seconds passed, Rin gave him a curious look. "You don't have to accept the offer, if it really bothers you that much."
"N-no! I mean, I would be glad to accept your generosity..."
The Chinese Representative smirked at him with that wide, infectious smile of hers. "That wouldn't have anything to do with me being a girl, would it?"
"Of course not. Just a favor among new friends, right?"
Rin nodded as she headed back towards the interior of her room. "Sure, if that's how you wanna look at it. Anyway, the only rule is that if you see any part of me that I don't want you to, intentionally or not, I'll kill you. I have to save my marital purity for Ichika. So consider yourself warned!"
Church watched the ball of potential murder that was Rin leave for the bathroom. The problem with her statement was that he didn't know what she considered 'parts she didn't want him to see.' What if it was something weird? What if he saw her stomach and he got killed for it? He didn't know what this girl considered modest.
You know what, maybe we should just play it safe and not look at her for the rest of the night.
Well frankly, Operator, that sounds immensely boring and a huge waste of this opportunity.
Not as much of a waste as my life would be if I died before turning eighteen.
Touche, Operator. Touche indeed.
Other than the first half of the chapter, this one got mostly minor revisions on the back half.