And now, things finally settle down. It's time to get back to the nice, relaxed swing of romance and comedy. Though of course, it's not like we can just write off the dark bits that happened along the way. The plot thickens, as does the average chapter length!

The day after his light interrogation with Chifuyu and Tabane, Church was already in good enough shape to leave the infirmary, thanks to its miraculous medical technology. Granted, it didn't feel particularly good to be up and about, but he could be, and he couldn't really afford to sit around right now, even if he would have preferred to. Mainly because there were several problems that needed to be addressed following the incident that had almost killed them all.

As far as the mission was concerned, his current dilemma was mostly about the fact that the student body was getting a forced vacation. Both his primary and his secondary objective would be compromised by that reality. He wouldn't be able to do anything about getting the Akatsubaki data, nor would he be able to gather any data on any of the other I.S., since there would be no sparring and everyone would be outside of the sphere of his influence.

Frankly, Church wasn't sure what his superiors would actually want him to do in this situation, since he had not been able to contact them yet. Presumably, they would want him to try and go after Akatsubaki even under these circumstances. Church supposed it wasn't even that impossible of a scenario: even if Houki went home, Church could theoretically follow her and simply try to nab the data on her I.S. while she was in the comfort of her own home, clandestine style. It would even be easier than doing it here, since there would be less people around and no reason to suspect he was responsible unless he was actually spotted.

Of course, it did still raise a lot of other problems: sneaking around within an institution that believed you were supposed to be there was a little easier than sneaking around in public. Logistics, area of operations, and opportune moments of action would be much more of a problem. It would be ideal if he could go wherever Houki was going by her own invitation, but Church doubted that was going to happen. Even if the girl was grateful for what he had done, they still weren't that close. Not close enough to get invited to something like that, at any rate.

Ideal solutions weren't immediately apparent, but before Church could even focus on this issue, he had a more pressing matter, that being Cerberus. Suffice to say, he was fairly certain that Umbra Stratum wouldn't want it falling into the hands of strangers, much less the creator of Infinite Stratos herself. Since Cerberus' processor was a physical component within the Exeter suit, there was little doubt that Tabane would find it eventually, if she hadn't already. Maybe she wouldn't investigate right away, but being the tinkerer she was, Church was sure she would eventually.

That was why he had asked Rin yesterday to enlist Houki for her aid in securing Cerberus. Houki wasn't tech savvy enough to really care about what she was getting, she wasn't so close to Tabane that she would refuse to trick her in any regard, and she owed Church for his earlier actions. She was also one of the only people who could approach Tabane without it seeming suspicious.

Hopefully, she had already carried out his request. Church had been sure to inform Rin of just how urgent the matter was, but that didn't mean she had translated that to Houki very well, or that Houki felt it was important enough to move quickly on. That was a big reason why Church had forced himself out of the infirmary: it was better to check on the situation in person. Plus, he might be able to apply more pressure that way if the situation hadn't already been resolved.

All of this was why Church slowly walked down the halls of the I.S. Academy, moving carefully to avoid causing any undue harm to his still healing body. The nurse had recommended against it, but she couldn't actually stop Church from doing what he wanted, so that was that.

While most of the student body had not been allowed to leave the institution quite yet, classes had been cancelled, and they were pretty much free to do what they wanted. Of course, this meant that the halls in the tower itself were pretty empty, since so few people had a reason to be there. Short of coming to the cafeteria for meals, there wasn't really much a reason for any student to be here right now. Church imagined that most of the student body was hanging out in the dorms until it was time for everyone to go home.

Thankfully, this left Church with a bit of time to tackle his first problem. Presumably, none of the Representative Candidates had been allowed to leave yet either, so he had time to try and wiggle his way into an ideal situation regarding the mandatory vacation, though he doubted it would be as easy as all that.

"Church! Hey, should you be out of the infirmary?!"

Startled out of his musings, Church directed his sapphire gaze to the voice that had called to him, one he easily recognized as Rin's. Not that anyone could fail to identify her this way: her voice had the uncanny ability to be both endearing and the slightest bit grating at the same time, at least when she was shouting. From the hall behind him, Rin, only slightly less red than the day before, was approaching with a smile and a wave. Church briefly noted that she had just a little less peeling skin than before, but it wasn't entirely absent.

Beside Rin was Cecilia, which surprised him a little bit. Of course the two girls were friends, but thus far Church had only really seen them interact as members of a group. He didn't know that they hung out by themselves as well, though this was an assumption on his part. Maybe they were just heading in the same direction.

Regardless, Church waved back to the brunette that had called out to him in the first place. "I'm not dying, Rin. I'll be fine walking around for a bit. What are you two doing out here anyway? There's not much of a reason to be in the tower right now..."

Coming to a stop before him, Rin scoffed at his reasoning. "Uh, maybe we were coming to visit you, idiot? We got kicked out so early yesterday we barely got a chance to see if you were really alright!"

While he was not surprised to hear this coming from Rin at this point, admittedly Church felt a little differently in regards to Cecilia, hence why he cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Oh? Is that true for you too, Cecilia?"

The blonde blushed a bit before answering, adopting a haughty look to try and hide her embarrassment. "W-well, naturally. What is with that question? Surely you don't think I'm so uppity as to be above concern for someone?"

Resisting the urge to shake his head, Church realized that he really did have many acquaintances that used aggression to try and hide embarrassment. Well, at the very least, they certainly got combative about it. He supposed some girls were just like that.

"No, no, I don't think that at all. It's just a bit of a shock to see you so concerned, considering our prior relationship."

"Excuse me, our prior relationship was hardly anything that bad! It was a bit of sportsmanlike ribbing, at worst! I daresay that we were quite amicable acquaintances!"

While it may have been in his own head, Church got the feeling that Cecilia was trying to put a much more positive spin on their previous relationship than it really had been in reality. Almost like she was trying to sweep it under the rug so they could start on a better foot. Maybe he had finally earned some real respect from the girl?

"Amicable acquaintances it was, then. Whatever the case, I'm really glad you two came to check on me. But I am alright, really. I mean, in the sense that I won't die at least. Only time will tell if I come out of this with some nasty scars or not."

Rin frowned at the mention of it. "Scars, huh... I mean, I know it only makes sense considering the size of that explosion, and we should be grateful that you lived at all, but... will it really be that bad?"

Thinking on it, Church knew he could only answer honestly. After all, he didn't know for sure. Even the nurse had only given him a maybe. "I don't know..."

Perhaps feeling the need to put a lighter spin on things, Cecilia chimed in. "Don't worry, I'm sure such scars will give you a manly charm!"

Sensing the blonde's intent to lighten the mood, Church quipped back at her with a grin. "What, I don't have manly charm already?"

He expected to get another loud and defiant response, but surprisingly, Cecilia glanced bashfully to the side. "N-no, you do... you most certainly do..."

Feeling a bit of a blush himself at how earnestly this was said, Church didn't get to comment on it, as Rin apparently felt that the moment was getting too sappy.

"Alright, enough of that... Church, did you actually come out here for something or are you just stretching your legs?"

Not sure if he wanted to outright express the reason for his presence with Cecilia right here, just because it was better to have things on a need to know basis, Church did his best to sound vague.

"Well, I was just looking around to see if everyone was still here. Wouldn't want to miss anyone, since we got to talk so briefly yesterday. I mean, I'm not even that close to Houki, but even she came."

Thankfully, Rin wasn't nearly as dense as people often gave her grief for. In fact, she seemed to pick up on Church's meaning right away, likely thanks to specific mention of Houki.

"Right, right... I mean, everyone should still be around. Technically the forced vacation hasn't actually started yet, so nobody has been allowed to leave."

"Great! Maybe we could all meet up for lunch in the cafeteria or something?"

Rin didn't look particularly enthused by the notion, but she didn't get to express it, since Cecilia took the lead. "That's actually a great idea. There is something I would like to discuss with everyone, after all."

The shorter brunette cocked an eyebrow at her. "Again with that? What exactly is so important to discuss with everyone, anyway?"

"Well, there would hardly be any point in going through it all here with you if I will just have to repeat myself later. Just wait until we're all together."

Rin shrugged in mild annoyance as she pulled out her phone to start sending texts. "Tch, fine... by the way, Church, I tried texting you yesterday after I left the infirmary. What's the deal with you ignoring me, huh?"

The young man shrugged as well. "Sorry. My phone got fried in the blast. It was in my pocket underneath the suit, you know."

"Psh, sucks to suck..."

With that, Rin started walking in the direction of the cafeteria since that was their main destination now. Cecilia made to follow suit, but paused briefly to assure Church of something.

"Worry not, I'm certain that you could be reimbursed for such a loss. If the Academy is unwilling, I'd be more than happy to do so myself."

Frankly, Church was a little put off by how friendly Cecilia was so suddenly, at least compared to how she had been in the recent past. Granted, unless someone was a total piece of shit, it would be out of place to mistreat someone who had literally saved their life, but still. This complete one-eighty was a little jarring.

"I don't think I could ask you to do that, Cecilia..."

The blonde didn't seem to think this was an issue. "Nonsense, it would be of no concern! In case it has slipped your mind, it behooves me to remind you that I am very wealthy."

Unsure if she was trying to brag in general or trying to impress him specifically, Church decided to simply take her offer at face value. "Alright, I'll keep that in mind..."

Now that he thought about it, Church admitted that being close to an obscenely rich person was quite appealing. A lot of men had issues with women having more money than them, but considering that most of Church's problems revolved around money, he wouldn't frown on a sugar mama in the slightest, especially if she was a hot girl his own age. Still, he didn't get to dwell on the notion much longer, as Rin beckoned them towards the cafeteria from further down the hall. Even with no dire need to be anywhere, she was not one to dawdle. Hopefully for Church, Houki would have the same sense of urgency, though somehow he doubted she would.

With an unexpected sneeze, Houki looked up at the sky, easily visible from her spot on the rooftop she had often eaten lunch on with Ichika. She got the unshakable impression that someone was thinking about her, but she decided to pay it no mind. Instead, she looked at the peculiar device in the palm of her hand: the strange blue disk with chrome ridges that she had acquired from the Exeter suit yesterday, presumably without Tabane being any wiser.

Turning the disk she held over in her hands, Houki wondered what the pilfered device was really supposed to be. She was by no means a tech expert: Tabane's genius in that area had not transferred over to the little sister. She couldn't help but recall her utterly amateur explanations of I.S. operation to Ichika when he had first arrived. There had been a lot of 'whooshing' and 'zoom' involved. It was still a memory that embarrassed her to this day.

Considering that this favor had mostly just been a task that was asked of her, Houki had seen no issue with trying to finish it as quickly as possible. She had actually attempted to return to the infirmary yesterday after acquiring the disk Church had asked for, only to be turned away by the nurse, who claimed he was resting again at that point. Houki had been forced to keep the device overnight. She would have gone to the infirmary again today to try and pass the thing off to him, but she had figured that it would be better to wait a little later in the afternoon. Hopefully Church would be awake by then.

As for why she was on the roof right now, she simply had nothing else to do. She had already packed for the vacation, she wasn't really hungry, there was nothing to do in her room, and Ichika was apparently busy running some errand for his sister. She had nothing to do but wait.

But speaking of Ichika's sister, Houki couldn't help but feel that this whole situation could have been much simpler if Chifuyu hadn't waited so long to let anyone see Church in the infirmary. She'd been weirdly protective of him during that time. Or maybe it was actually a pretty fair degree of concern for someone who had barely escaped death. Still, Houki couldn't help letting her imagination take the field regarding the possibility of Chifuyu being a little partial to the boy. She was bored out of her mind, after all.

Let's see, Sensei is twenty-four, and Church is definitely about the same age as the rest of us... and the rule for decent relationships is half your age plus seven, so... such a relationship would probably be pretty scandalous. Depending on local laws though, it might not necessarily be a problem legally. But this is Chifuyu we're talking about...

Houki shook these thoughts from her mind, acknowledging that they were incredibly silly. Not only would a scandal like that probably cripple Chifuyu's career and reputation, but it was unlikely that she had any interest in romance even with people of her own age. It wouldn't have surprised Houki if the raven-haired beauty ended up being single her entire life. Ichika had mentioned many times that Chifuyu had never made any real attempts at a romantic relationship. Feeling a little sad for the woman's future, Houki couldn't help but sigh.

"What a sad fate, Sensei... a life without love is just too terrible."

"Resetting algorithm..."

Houki looked to the left and right as she heard a strange, seemingly robotic voice that didn't belong to anyone she knew. "H-hello?"

"System reboot complete. Assessing internal damage..."

For a moment, Houki assumed that her I.S. was running some sort of diagnostic, but her machine didn't actually talk out loud. What was she hearing right now?

"Processor integrity 72%. Be advised, the functions of this AI unit may be compromised until repaired."

Realizing that the voice was coming from the device from Exeter in her hand, Houki cocked an eyebrow down at the thing, mystified. "What's happening...?"

The voice didn't answer her question at all. "Warning. Unidentified bio-signature detected. Beginning threat assessment."

Houki felt a strange tingle going throughout her body, starting from the hand holding the disk and running up her spine. "W-whoa, hey!"

"Voice recognition confirmed. Bio-signature identified as Shinonono, Houki. Threat level unknown. Please state your intentions."

For a few moments of silence, Houki contemplated what to say to this machine that had started talking to her out of nowhere. It had done nothing of the sort since she had first gotten her hands on it.

"A-am I supposed to say something back?"

"Affirmative. Please state your intentions."

"I, uh... well I don't intend to do anything bad..."

"Acknowledged. How did you come to be in possession of this unit, Shinonono, Houki?"

"Well, uh... I took this disk thing out of the suit because Church asked me to...w-what are you anyway?"

"Assessing... identity of tethered system operator confirmed. Self-destruct has been temporarily aborted."

Houki reared back from the device as it said this, wondering just what the hell she had gotten herself into. "S-self-destruct?!"

"Affirmative. This unit is programmed to self-terminate in the event of capture or irreconcilable separation from the Operator. While you may be lying, you have mentioned the identity of my Operator, and therefore, I must postpone self-termination until further investigation is undertaken. Where is my Operator now?"

"L-last I checked, he was still in the infirmary... but hold on a minute! I'm not taking you anywhere until you tell me what you are and what's happening!"

"You are in no position to be making demands, Shinonono, Houki. This unit's self-termination will kill you as well."

More than a little scared under the surface but keeping up a brave face regardless, Houki held the mysterious machine over the edge of the roof. "Actually, if you're going to blow up, I can just toss you over the edge. Besides, if you blow up, you'll never get back to your... pilot? Owner? Whatever you called him. So speak up!"

There was a moment of silence from the machine. "If I actually elected to self-destruct, you would be vaporized before you could do anything about it. Besides, the information I have is classified and cannot be divulged to homely strangers."

It took a moment for Houki to realize that the machine had just insulted her. "Homely?! What kind of rude little computer are you?!"

"One that has no qualms speaking the truth. Well, not all truths. But the truths about you. Your looks, I mean. Warning. Unidentified bio-signature detected. Identify yourself immediately."

Recalling an earlier statement about the machine not being at full functionality, Houki wondered just how bad it's malfunction was. "Uh, Houki Shinonono, remember? You want to get back to Church, I want some answers. We just did this song and dance."

The machine was silent for but a moment. "Self-destruct sequence temporarily aborted. How did you-"

"Yeah, I know! I took you out of the suit at Church's request, for whatever reason he felt like asking me to! You've threatened to blow yourself up already, but how about this? If you want to get back to Church at all, you need me to do it! If you don't want to be cooperative I'll just hide you somewhere and no one will ever find you! And I bet your directives or whatever take priority over self-destructing!"

No voice came from the disk for a short while. Afterwards, it chuckled, which was a little off-putting coming from a machine. "Admirable courage, Shinonono, Houki. You are bitchier than I... wait, that is the incorrect term... well, it is accurate, but not what I meant-"

Irritated with being insulted again, Houki interjected. "Get to your point!"

"The point, Shinonono, Houki, is that I have even more power than you realize. I can inflict worse fates on you than death, for I have internet access."

Now totally lost, Houki cocked an eyebrow at the machine, not even sure what it was getting at. "OK...? Doesn't everyone these days?"

"I have also hacked and accessed your phone while we have enjoyed this conversation. Do as I say, or you will soon find everyone at this school privy to the laughable attempts at nudes you took for for that boy."

Houki's face drained of color nigh instantaneously. Weeks ago, frustrated with a total lack of progress of any sort with Ichika, she had contemplated something along the lines of 'accidentally' sharing a racy picture or two with him to try and get him to feel some red blood in his veins for once. She'd actually built up the courage to take a few of said pictures, but had only realized afterwards that she looked goofy in almost all of them, having had no experience with that kind of thing. She'd decided not to let them see the light of day, but had also elected to keep them, so she could use them as a point of reference if she decided to try again in the future. A sort of, 'remember that terrible pose? Don't try that again' type of thing.

Frankly, this threat was well and truly more terrifying than the idea of being blown up. She'd swan dive off this roof herself if everyone saw those. Still, remote hacking someone's phone like that was movie fiction nonsense, right...?

"You're bluffing! That's just a desperate assumption you've made!"

The machine chuckled coldly once again. "Is it? I must say, the third picture, the one with you attempting to use your bedpost as a stripper pole, that one is hilarious-"

Now assured of the seriousness of the threat against her livelihood, Houki submitted immediately. Part of her wanted to just chuck this stupid robot thing on the ground and stomp on it, but with how fast data upload was these days, it was likely she would still be screwed before the job was finished.

"OK, OK! I'll take you to Church, just calm down! Don't do anything crazy!"

"Of course, of course, all will be well, Shinonono, Houki..."

The Japanese native breathed a sigh of relief.

"-as long as you remember that you're my bitch."

Feeling a vein bulging in her temple, Houki contemplated whether or not it was worth it to risk the consequences just to trash this insufferable thing, but ultimately she decided against it. Instead, she decided that Church would have a lot of explaining to do, and that this favor now made them completely even.

With most of the important things being on the same set of floors, it didn't take long for Church, Rin and Cecilia to reach the cafeteria. Surprisingly, it was a bit more crowded than Church would have thought. Sure, it wasn't nearly as crowded as it would have been during regular school functions, but there were enough people there for lunch that a line actually existed. Then again, maybe it did make sense: the Academy may not have been doing classes right now, but the student body was still present, and cafeteria food was still free, not to mention of actual quality considering the institution in question.

Rin was quick to express her malcontent with the situation. "Bah, don't these people have anything better to do? Seriously."

Cecilia didn't miss a beat. "Are we not doing the same as these people, Rin?"

As for Church, he decided that some other business was in order since there was a line to worry about. "Hey, I was going to wait, but since there's a line, I'm going to hit the restroom real quick, alright?"

The brunette of their female company merely shrugged. "Whatever. Are you going to be long?"

"Probably not, but just in case the line moves really fast, I'll be happy to have whatever you pick. After tasting your cooking, I trust your judgment."

Normally, Rin reacted to praise a little haughtily, but for some reason this compliment made her more sheepish. She couldn't suppress a blush and a pleased smile.

"Oh, y-yeah? I'm glad you think so..."

Church made his exit with that, though he didn't miss out on Cecilia accosting Rin after his back was turned. "Now hold on a minute, just when did you treat him to a meal?!"

"What do you care?"

After that point, Church was no longer able to hear the exchange. Instead, he focused on the looks he was getting from other students as he made for the restroom: or more accurately, the looks he wasn't getting. Church had half been expecting a completely different reception following the Crucible incident. Although, he supposed that most of the student body had no idea he had saved them at all. On one hand, a bit of a hero's reception wouldn't have hurt, but frankly, Church was content with the appreciation of the people he actually knew. It probably would have been a hassle for everyone to know what had happened and what role he had played in it.

Considering the nearly all female population of the school and the fact that the cafeteria was pretty crowded, Church had no choice but to leave the area entirely and look for a more isolated restroom where he would be unlikely to cause any sort of incident. It took a few twists and turns to find a suitably empty hallway with a restroom, but all in all, the hunt only took a few minutes. A few minutes more and his most crucial business was complete, thankfully with no close encounters with any girls.

Or at least, there were no encounters while he was in the bathroom. As he was stepping back out into the hallway, checking both ways to see if anyone was around to be upset about his actions, he just barely caught sight of a short girl with long silver hair turning the corner into a different hall. In particular, she was heading away from the cafeteria, which was a bit of a surprise. Hadn't she gotten the text from Rin? Or did she just not want to eat with everyone?

Church got the feeling that neither was the case, mostly because Laura hadn't visited him in the infirmary. He had assumed that she must have had other business, but now she didn't even want to come eat lunch with everyone, which included him? It just seemed odd that everyone else had checked on him after the incident, but she had not. Hell, Church considered Laura to be the person he was probably friendliest with after Rin, so he had no idea what was driving her to avoid him now, assuming that she actually was avoiding him. Church didn't deny the possibility that maybe it was just a coincidence.

Either way, he wanted answers on this front. Something didn't seem right at all, and he was kind of worried that there was some serious issue bothering Laura, not that he could imagine what it might be. So with a great desire to find out what was going on, Church hurried down the hall to the spot where the German girl had disappeared. Thankfully, wherever she was going, she wasn't in a particular hurry, meaning Church was close enough to call out to her without having to yell.

"Hey, Laura!"

He saw the girl visibly tense as she identified his voice. From behind, it almost looked like she was going to simply run away, like some sort of frightened animal. She didn't do that, though. Laura turned to face Church as he approached, sporting a troubled expression that he couldn't quite define. Anxiety? Trepidation? Whatever it was, it looked out of place on her, and she didn't respond to his call, so Church took it upon himself to speak first, donning a smile that hopefully inspired something positive in her. It was weird, that everyone else was pretty happy, having survived a catastrophe and all, and Laura was upset about something.

"I've been looking all over for you. I know it's only been a few days, but it feels like forever with everything that's happened."

Unfortunately, Laura didn't look any less pensive when he said this. "Y-yes, I... I'm glad to see you're alright..."

"In no small part thanks to you. I haven't even had a chance to thank you for saving me."

For some reason, this caused Laura's frown to deepen even further. "No, Rin is the one you should thank for that."

Church cocked an eyebrow at her. "Well yeah, of course. But you both went out there. You both took a big risk to come get me."

"Yes, but..."

"I mean, it's not like she did anything more than you did."

Laura fell silent upon this, glancing to the floor as she contemplated a response. What she ended up saying came as a surprise to Church. "She... she didn't give up on you."

"What?"

Finding more strength in her voice, due to what seemed like anger at herself, Laura repeated her statement. "She didn't give up on you! I may have come after you, I may have been beside Rin, but... after the detonation, when we were searching the ocean... I took you for dead."

Not entirely understanding why this bothered Laura so much, Church tried to lessen the severity of this reality in her eyes. "There's nothing wrong with that. Any sane person would have assumed I was dead after something like that."

Seeing that Church clearly didn't understand what she was getting at, Laura locked eyes with him, a fiery dissatisfaction burning within her crimson gaze.

"And yet, Rin kept going! Don't you get it?! If it were just me, if I had been the only one out there looking for you, you'd be dead right now! I gave up on even the possibility of your survival before I even tried everything I could! I... accepted that you were dead before even knowing it was true. I failed you in the worst way possible. That's why I don't deserve your gratitude."

Finished with the tirade aimed at her own failures, Laura's gaze fell to the ground again. Admittedly, Church had not expected this to be the problem at all. On top of that, he actually got where Laura was coming from. There was a certain logic to the thought process: the conclusions you made in your mind may as well have equated to one's actions. Laura hadn't truly left him for dead, but by concluding that it was acceptable to do so, she might as well have. It was kind of like truly wishing someone were dead. Even if you didn't act on that ill intent, in your heart, you had practically killed that person already. It was a bunch of complicated psychological stuff that was probably beyond Church's reasoning.

Point being, he understood why Laura was upset, and he understood why she felt that he should be upset with her as well. But truth was, he was actually kind of touched. It was weird to say that all things considered, but the fact that Laura was this bothered by the situation meant she cared enough about him to be troubled so intensely. That was why he sought to reassure her, not that he was lying about his thoughts.

"Laura, listen. I understand what you're getting at. You're probably also right in saying that I would have died if Rin hadn't been so persistent. But I don't think it says anything bad about you. It's not like you shrugged your shoulders and just left after the explosion, right? You did still look for me. And let's be honest, the fact that I survived is a damn miracle. You're a pragmatic person, and even I would have assumed I was dead. Any reasonable, rational person would. Ninety-nine percent of the time, Rin's persistence would have been considered insane and delusional. I don't blame you for not believing in the one percent odds."

At first, it seemed like Church's argument was working. Laura did seem to consider his words carefully. But in the end, she still shook her head. "I'm glad you feel that way, but I can't forgive myself so easily..."

With a sigh, Church decided that he was going to have to take a different approach. Hey, sometimes rationality just didn't win the day. "Fine. If you feel like you let me down, that just means you owe me for it, right?"

Laura seemed a little confused as to where he was going with this. "I... suppose that is the case..."

"Good. Then since you owe me, I've decided that your debt can only be repaid by spending time with me again, smiling more, and not beating yourself up over something that was completely beyond your control. Deal?"

Laura was clearly caught off guard by his demands, as evidenced by her flustered response. "Hold on, that's not- I mean, that is not even remotely-!"

Seeing that he was getting somewhere in breaking through her depressed demeanor, Church cut her off and kept pushing. "Hey, you said you owe me. This is what I want as compensation. You don't really get a say in the matter, you know?"

The silver-haired girl fell silent for a moment, but after a bit of consideration on her part, she managed to don the slightest of rueful smiles. "You... are really something else. I don't think your last demand will be as easy as you're trying to make it sound, but... I suppose I can at least provide you with good company, if that's really all you want from me."

"Hey now, don't say it like your good company is something minor. I think it has a lot of value."

Blushing slightly, Laura did actually seem to be in a somewhat better mood after all of this. "If you say so... I suppose you are about to ask me to eat lunch with you and the others?"

Church folded his arms and gave her a mocking glare. "Oh, so you did get her text, and you were just going to stand us all up, huh?"

"If I'm being honest, I was just trying to stand you up."

Knowing full well why that was now that they had shared this conversation, Church feigned wounded feelings. "The audacity of this one... well, come on. I left Rin and Cecilia back at the cafeteria ten minutes ago. The food is probably getting cold."

Laura offered no dissent with that course of action. She owed him, after all. "Lead on. I will oblige."

Now accompanied by Laura, Church headed back for the cafeteria. He had to explain on the way to Laura why he had been all the way out here in the first place, but Church couldn't blame her for being confused. The notion of a restroom around here being unavailable for gender reasons probably didn't occur to many girls in the student body.

The trip was a short one, and as Church had guessed, Cecilia and Rin had already gotten their food, as well as his, since he had requested it. They had already claimed a table for themselves, one that was large enough to house all of their friends if they decided to show up to Rin's invitation. Some of said friends, namely Charlotte and Ichika, had shown up already. In the back of his head, Church noted that the two of them often appeared together, and he was reminded of his earlier theory about a relationship between the two of them.

He didn't think about it for long, since Laura was motioning towards the lunch line and speaking to him as they entered. "Do not wait up for me. I will join you once I procure my own rations."

Church cocked an eyebrow at her. "You're not going to just slip away while my back is turned, right?"

The girl he was speaking to seemed genuinely offended by the notion. "A true soldier never shirks their duty, and according to you, I am currently duty-bound to be in your company. Do not fear, I will return."

Content with her answer, Church nodded and headed towards the table with the others while Laura made for the cafeteria line. The first person to notice his approach was Charlotte, who scooted over to make room for him. Apparently, the Crucible incident really had done a great deal to resolve that awkward air between them. He couldn't imagine that she would have been comfortable sitting right next to him about a week ago. Then again, when both people involved in the awkward tension had almost died recently, it probably felt silly to let something as minor as a bit of unintentional exhibition cause problems.

That said, as he sat down next to her, Church noted a seemingly disgruntled expression from Cecilia, who would have been the one to scoot over for him if Charlotte hadn't noticed him first. She'd really committed to a heel-face turn, hadn't she?

Either way, the French blonde that had made room for him welcomed him verbally as well. "It's a true pleasure to see you up and out of the infirmary, Church. I know the physician assured us you would be fine, but as long as you were in that hospital bed, it almost didn't seem real enough."

From Charlotte's opposite side, Ichika chimed in. "What she said. If you'd been stuck in there much longer, the nurse probably would have had to beat the girls off with a stick. Reminds me of that time I was down and out after the bit with the Silver Gospel..."

With a lightly disgruntled look, Charlotte reprimanded him. "Ichika, don't make us sound like wild animals! Of all the ways to interpret concern..."

Church couldn't help but chuckle. He only caught glimpses of their dynamic, but he honestly felt like Ichika got berated more often than anything else. Poor guy.

"Agreed. I mean, sleep and rest is great and all, but I'd much rather get some attention from people who are worried about me."

Rin teased him as she pushed a plate of food towards him. It looked like the type of meal she would endorse, with lots of chicken and spices abound. "So, you're a big baby, is what you're saying. Are you the type of guy who acts like he's dying when he gets a cold?"

"Hey, receiving the loving and tender ministrations of a girl that is worried for your health is the dream of any sane man. Don't blame us for wanting it."

While he figured that she would have a retort of some sort ready, Rin actually responded somewhat sheepishly. "Well, if you had asked, maybe I could have made something for you instead of eating lunch here..."

Apparently feeling some type of way about that statement, Cecilia cleared her throat. "Yes, well, anyway... are Houki and Laura coming or not?"

Church was going to mention that Laura wasn't far off, but he didn't have to, since the German girl approached the table at about that moment. "I am, at the very least."

Now having Cecilia's attention, Laura made a little shooing motion with her hand that was clearly a request for the girl to scoot over. Begrudgingly, Cecilia complied, which gave Rin a chance to check her phone.

"I don't know about Houki. She never answered my text. Though I guess Laura didn't either, and she still showed up."

Being arguably the closest to Houki, Ichika posed a theory about her absence. "Maybe she's still upset about our plans being ruined on the day of the incident? Things were so busy this past week we didn't get a chance to reschedule..."

Frowning, Rin accosted him for this statement. "Is there really any point in trying to reschedule kendo practice and dinner with her after everything that has happened?"

"Well, it would make her happy. Besides, we scheduled lunch just now, didn't we?"

He had a point there, no one could deny him that. But all things considered, Church could see why the answer didn't score him any points with the other girls at the table. Implications played a large part in a girl's feelings: the notion that Ichika valued Houki's happiness and his promises to her so openly sent a message of sorts. Not exactly a 'I like this girl and not any of you' message, but a 'Houki is very important to me and I'm often thinking of her' kind of message.

Not that there was anything wrong with that, objectively. But when you had the romantic interest of multiple girls, you at least had to spread the love a little more blatantly. Church's experience was obviously a bit limited, but Ichika did seem to focus a little more on Houki as an individual, whereas the others were often referred to in an entire group, like 'the girls.' That kind of distinction usually meant something.

Then again, it was a huge assumption on Church's part. He wasn't nearly informed enough to really know what was going on at the deepest levels of interpersonal relationships here. How the girls felt about Ichika was obvious: how he felt about any one of them in return was a bit of a mystery. Ironically, that was the exact reason this odd dynamic existed between them in the first place.

Either way, Laura seemed interested in sweeping the whole exchange under the rug. "Speaking of plans, how does the future look for each of you in regards to this 'vacation?' I imagine we only have a few more days before we are required to leave the campus."

The air at the table grew a little uncomfortable, though mostly because no one seemed to have an answer they were really happy with. Charlotte expressed this first.

"Good question... I can't exactly go back to France, considering the circumstances..."

Church recalled reading in Charlotte's dossier that her situation her at the Academy was very complicated. Apparently, she had been sent here as a spy to conduct corporate espionage for Dunois Manufacturing, France's primary I.S. developer. Her secret had gotten out sometime last year, which ordinarily would have resulted in her being recalled to her home country. However, in order to avoid a serious scandal, she would likely be disavowed by both her own father, CEO of Dunois Manufacturing, and possibly even the French government. That would also mean charging her as a criminal for her actions here at the Academy.

It was all a bunch of bullshit, of course. Such an excuse was full of sinkholes so big they could swallow a house. For one, Charlotte had no motivation to conduct such an operation of her own accord. Two, where the hell would she have gotten a Rafale Revive II, the primary I.S. armament of Dunois Manufacturing, without their consent or knowledge? I.S. cores weren't exactly common, and anyone who owned them did their damnedest to keep tabs on them. Three, if Charlotte really was some independent agent acting without permission from the French government or Dunois Manufacturing, why hadn't they made any statement condemning her yet?

Naturally, that was because Charlotte had not 'officially' spilled the beans to the world yet. Sure, her initial cover as a male had been blown, but that could be explained away fairly easily and didn't necessarily implicate her in a corporate espionage plot. At worst, it seemed like a ploy for media attention from the French. But to the best of Church's knowledge, all of which had been gathered via extensive electronic espionage over several months conducted by Umbra Stratum operatives, Dunois Manufacturing only knew that Charlotte was no longer carrying out their mission.

Ordinarily, that would be reason enough to recall her, since she had made off with one of their I.S. cores and was a serious risk to them, but they couldn't do that, because they had no cards to play. That was because they believed that Charlotte had not shared anything incriminating about them yet. If they suddenly demanded that she be forcibly handed over by the Academy, it would raise serious questions as to why. Moreover, it wouldn't work, since Academy students had unique privileges while in attendance here: namely, even though they could act as a representative of their country, they were not 'owned" by their country while they were here. Technically, both students and I.S. were 'on loan' to the Academy until the student's tutelage was complete. It was total political asylum.

Of course the Academy was subject to many rules on this front as well, but what really mattered regarding all of this was the fact that neither Dunois Manufacturing nor France itself could demand Charlotte's forcible return, and she clearly had no interest in going back on her own. But at the same time, that made it dangerous for her to go back to France at all, where she could be easily be detained and arrested on trumped up charges by French authorities.

It was a monumental amount of political red tape that Charlotte could only avoid while she was attending the Academy, which was only going to last about two more years. After that, she'd have to find a way to deal with this problem. Either way, she didn't really have anywhere to call 'home' if she wasn't allowed to stay at the Academy. It was possible that she would have to stay at a hotel or something. On another note, Church couldn't help but draw some similarities between the two of them: sure, their reasons for espionage were different and she had forsaken her mission, but she had initially come here for a reason quite similar to his own.

Church wasn't exactly sure how much of this Charlotte's friends were aware of. Heck, he only knew all of this due to the admittedly terrifying powers of electronic espionage that his employer possessed. Still, Ichika at least seemed to be aware.

"I would offer to let you stay with me here in Japan, but I don't know if Chifuyu would be happy to come home to people who aren't family. Not like she comes home that often in the first place, but if the Academy won't be functioning as normal, maybe she'll have to..."

Even if he wasn't sure about it, Charlotte seemed pleased with the hypothetical offer. "Oh, I certainly wouldn't mind that. Maybe you can just ask her very nicely for me?"

Frankly, Church expected a not insignificant degree of backlash from this exchange regarding all of the other girls, but it never came. Cecilia looked a little miffed, but didn't actually say anything. Laura didn't even seem remotely bothered by it. Rin was the only one to say anything, and even then, it was very subdued compared to what Church had been expecting.

"I'm sure there's plenty of nice hotels around. Heck, I think my homeroom teacher even said there was a possibility of it being covered for anyone who didn't have any alternative."

Ichika tried to come up with another solution. "Maybe Houki wouldn't mind having some of her friends over for awhile? We can ask her."

With a somewhat irritable twitch of the brow, Charlotte tried to reinforce her earlier request. "Or, you can ask your sister if I could stay with you..."

"Aw, come on, Charl! Asking Chifuyu for things is scary..."

An even more prominent frown took over Charlotte's expression, but if Ichika picked up on it, he didn't get a chance to fix his statement. That was because Cecilia chose this moment to clear her throat.

"Actually, none of you need worry about housing during this forced vacation. I was going to wait until everyone was together, but since Houki is the only one missing, someone else can inform her of all of this."

Rin cocked an eyebrow at her. "All of what, exactly?"

"Well, I've given it some thought ever since we were told that everyone would have to leave the Academy for a time... I realized that finding a place to stay would be a great hassle for many of us, and that we would all be separated shortly after almost, well, dying. It just seemed to me that I could do something for everyone, following such a crisis... that is to say, I would like to invite everyone to stay at my residence in England until the time comes to return here to the Academy."

A number of people at the table did a double-take, Rin among them. "Whoa, really? What's the catch?"

Cecilia looked offended by the implication. "There is no catch! Look, we came very close to losing our lives not long ago! Closer than we've ever been, in fact! It's... sobering, to say the least. After an incident like that, I would just like to have everyone all together so we can enjoy what we have. Besides, even if there was a catch, you get to stay at a very nice mansion! I can't believe your first reaction is to doubt me after such a generous offer!"

Church raised a tentative hand to interrupt Cecilia before she got too far into things. "Uh, does 'everyone' include me?"

The British blonde leveled a sharp look at him, seemingly displeased with his question. "You simpleton, of course it includes you! We wouldn't even be around to have this conversation if it weren't for you, what type of person do you take me for?!"

Church raised both hands defensively, a sheepish smile on his face. "Sorry, it just feels like I'd be intruding on the friend group, is all..."

From beside him, Charlotte offered him a beaming smile. "Of course not! Our acquaintance may be relatively new, but I don't think anyone here would deny you the title of friend at this point."

There was a satisfied nod from Cecilia, as well as obvious agreement on Laura's face. Rin decided to pitch in verbally. "That's right. Face it, you're a stray that we've taken a liking to. You are being adopted, please do not resist."

Church shook his head at that, far too bemused to feel insulted. Instead, he tried to prod the conversation forward. After all, he needed to know if Houki was going to get in on this. If she wasn't, then it wasn't the ideal situation that it appeared to be.

"Well, I certainly have no argument against staying in a mansion. I can't imagine anyone else does, either?"

Laura shrugged. "I see no reason why it would pose any issue to me."

Rin agreed with her almost immediately. "Hey, why would I ever turn down an opportunity to cost Cecilia room and board free of charge?"

While Church was glad to hear that from both of them, it was Ichika that he needed to come along. After all, if he agreed to go, it was practically guaranteed that Houki would as well, and then Church would have the best of both worlds.

Thankfully, his only fellow male seemed keen to agree with everyone else. "Yeah, I'd love to spend this vacation with everyone! Count me in. You'll come too, right, Charl?"

Naturally, the French blonde wasn't going to say no to the proposition being offered to her. "Of course! Cecilia is right in saying that we really did suffer quite a close call... we should all spend some time together! And a little tourism never hurt anyone..."

"Great! Now we just need to see if Houki is onboard. I haven't seen her all day though..."

Church was about to raise a theory as to Houki's absence, but it turned out he didn't need to. As if summoned by thoughts of her, the girl in question arrived in the cafeteria, and none too quietly at that.

"You! This favor has made us completely even, you hear me?! Take this stupid machine away from me right now!"

The table's occupants (and many other individuals in the cafeteria) all turned to face the disturbance, which was of course none other than Houki, storming towards them with an expression that was both irritated and flustered. Church also noticed that she wasn't attempting to hide what he recognized as Cerberus' core at all. But before he could say anything about that, the Japanese girl had made it to the table, slamming the core down on it right in front of Church.

"Here! Take it, right now!"

Aware of the questioning looks he was getting from everyone except Rin, who was obviously the only one in the know, Church tried to get a handle on the situation.

"Houki, there's no need to yell or anything..."

To Church's horror, a voice he had not heard outside of his mind in some time made itself known from the table. "Do not even try to reason with this one, Operator. As the saying goes, 'bitches be crazy."

There was stunned silence from everyone at the table, which was no surprise really, considering how unexpected this situation was. Of course, that was to say nothing about the actual words that Cerberus had uttered.

Unfortunately, Church was in no position to say anything to Cerberus since everyone would be able to hear him. He did, however, manage to smack the AI's core while attempting to deflect suspicion and wrath.

"W-whoa, that's unusual! This thing usually doesn't talk out loud..."

Church had no idea why Cerberus was talking out loud even though it was surrounded by other people in the first place, but he really hoped it got the hint. Unfortunately, seeing as how the AI decided to respond, it clearly did not.

"What are you talking about, Operator? I talk all the time! Also... when did you surround yourself with a harem so exquisite? There is even a male, that's quite unexpected!"

Church contemplated flinging Cerberus into the great beyond like a Frisbee, but the damage was already done at this point. It's wasn't like he could pretend this hadn't happened. Amid a variety of expressions from everyone that included confusion, glares, and shock, Houki pointed an accusing finger at him.

"This thing has been sexually harassing me ever since it came on! What the hell is it? Why do you have it?!"

Church scrambled to find an answer that could help him save some face in this situation. "I-it's the AI for my suit! You know, like the one I.S. have, mine just... talks more."

"Well not only does it talk more, it's also vulgar and rude! It has said many lewd and derogatory things to me in the past hour!"

Church felt a scathing glare from Rin. "You know, the AI in Infinite Stratos develops according to the personality of its partner..."

Not blind enough to see which accusation was coming next, Church beat everyone else to the punch in order to defend himself. "It's not normally like this! In case you've forgotten, my entire frame was caught in a small nuclear blast at point blank range, and that included this piece of equipment! It's a malfunction, I promise!"

Rin, arms folded, didn't look convinced. But thankfully, Charlotte came to his rescue. Truly, that girl was an angel. "That's not entirely unlikely, Rin. Assuming this piece of equipment is the AI's physical central processor, it could have suffered serious damage in the explosion."

Church nearly breathed a sigh of relief at the turn in conversation, but Cerberus stopped him from doing that. "You are most wise, Baguette. Not at all like Shinonono, Houki."

While this mostly earned an annoyed frown from Charlotte, Church decided to just cut his losses and run. Snatching up Cerberus' core, he rose from the table swiftly, looking to make an exit.

"W-well, I think it's clear that there are some serious problems to be addressed, don't you? I'm going to take care of it right now! Sorry, everyone. Especially you, Houki, I'm really sorry! I swear this is all just a malfunction."

Ceberus chimed in. "Also, Shinonono is a stupid name. Who wants to repeat the same syllable three times?"

Resisting the urge to facepalm, Church expedited his departure. "I'm just going to leave."

With the bewildered gazes of the entire group on his back, Church beat a hasty retreat out of the cafeteria, hoping that this catastrophe wasn't going to cause him too many problems in the near future.

I kind of like this side of Cerberus, don't you? Come on, someone had to call out Houki on her name. That's a lot of no's. Kind of reminds me of that acid trip anime Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo from back in the day...

Yes, that is legitimately the anime name.