Here we are, finally, after so long. The first new chapter for The Exeter Project in a very, very long time. Yes, the final story revision was worth it. The story as a whole is better than it ever has been before. The best, ultimate version of itself. But I know it was hard for the fans of this story to wait so long for it to continue in a new direction. I'm happy to say that we are finally back.
No more revisions, no more long-winded edits. It's over and done. From now on, this story is moving forward with no more pauses or breaks. This is its final, ultimate, pinnacle form, for better or worse. At the very least, you all can expect to finally get new chapters once again.
At this moment, Church was in a situation he had absolutely never expected to be in in his life. Pants down, dick out at full mast, girl staring right at him: well, as a straight man, he had hoped to be in a situation similar to this at some point, but not quite in this manner. Having woken up in the early morning the night of his belated birthday due to a need to relieve himself, Church had been in a fairly groggy state: groggy enough to not think about locking the door to the bathroom or at least having the light on so people on the other side of it would assume it was occupied.
In doing so, he had allowed this awkward situation to unfold: him, a deer in headlights. Laura, a crimson blush on her face as her gaze focused on an aspect of man she had probably never seen in person. Or at all, even. She didn't strike Church as the type of girl to have looked that up on the internet, or anything. Then again, she hadn't struck him as the type of girl to say what she did next, either.
"How would something like that even fit in me-"
Perhaps realizing how direct her implication was, Laura caught herself and cleared her throat before changing her phrasing.
"A-anyone. In anyone, I mean."
With the hamster wheel in his head finally beginning to turn at a halfway decent speed again, Church managed to actually react to all of this in some way. Mostly in regards to covering himself and leveling some sort of accusation.
"H-hey, turn around! Don't you have any decency?!"
Though her face was red, Laura actually seemed to be taking this situation relatively well. At any rate, she wasn't the stuttering, flustered mess that Church would have expected her to be.
"Me? You're the one who left the door unlocked. And in such a state too. Are you the type that gets a thrill from the prospect of getting caught in the act?"
"I was going to the bathroom!"
Somehow finding a way to be amused in the face of all of this, Laura smirked as she raised an eyebrow. "With a battle-ready sword like that? Forgive me for not believing you."
Scowling, Church wondered when Laura had gotten the gumption to act like this. Sure, she'd always been bolder and more confident than the others in his experience, but this was something else.
"T-that happens to men in the middle of the night, it's normal! And why are you still in here?!"
Raising her hands in mock defense, Laura turned around. "Sorry. I was just a little preoccupied. Big things on my mind, you understand."
Flustered and mentally reeling, Church didn't really think about the absurdity of what he was about to say.
"It's a normal size, you're just short! It's relative!"
Surprisingly, Church was certain that he heard Cerberus snort in his mind. He wasn't sure he had ever heard a noise like that from it. Even with her back turned, Church could tell that Laura was smiling too.
"It was my understanding that men generally try to talk themselves up, not down..."
Blushing even harder, Church simply placed a hand on Laura's back and shoved her back out the door. "Get out already, you shameless degenerate!"
Though he shut the door behind her, Church was certain he could hear Laura snickering on the other side of it. She had certainly taken this chance encounter a lot better than he had. Shit, this was going to make things extremely awkward in the near future... and it was going to make it a little difficult to finish what he had come here to do in the first place. After all, being physically appreciated by a hot girl got the blood pumping even harder.
Operator, if you'd really like to know where you fall as far as average size is concerned...
I don't! Well, I do, but not right now! That's not helping me take my mind off of things!
With a defeated sigh, Church resigned himself to an increasingly complicated and confusing relationship dynamic between himself and the girls around him. Rin and her willingness to undress right in front of him, that confusing accidental kiss with Chifuyu, the weird signals he felt he was getting from Charlotte, and now this... god, things were spiraling out of control at light speed. Nothing had been this complicated a mere week ago. At this rate, Cecilia would drop some sort of unexpected bomb on him to make things even more difficult.
Before he could worry himself further, a light knocking came from the bathroom door. Naturally, it was Laura.
"I do still have to go to the bathroom, you know."
Planting his forehead against the door, Church pondered just how he was going to deal with all of this. Well, it would probably depend on how Laura acted regarding all of it... and remembering how she had treated him after learning his first name, Church didn't have high hopes about that.
Well, on the bright side, at least he didn't have to be insecure about himself.
The next morning came around without any other shenanigans taking place. It had been very difficult for Church to fall back asleep after what had happened, especially knowing that Laura was awake in the same room nearby, but ultimately, he had managed to do so. He only got to be asleep for a few more hours anyway, since everyone had started to awaken around nine in the morning.
Swiftly after, Rin had been drafted into cooking some sort of breakfast for everyone, though admittedly, it had only been mildly begrudging on her behalf. Despite Cecilia's inability to cook well at all, she had a totally decked out kitchen as part of her accommodations. Rin had been kind of eager to play around with many of the devices and ingredients she didn't normally have access to. Besides, Houki had offered to help the brunette out, so it wasn't like Rin had been forced to slave away without any aid from anyone else.
At any rate, Church had pointedly avoided making eye contact with Laura for most of the morning, though the German girl hadn't really gone out of her way to try and fluster him or anything. She hadn't made any suggestive comments or given him any weird looks, as far as Church could tell. Even now, with everyone sitting around in various places in Cecilia's room, she was acting like nothing odd had transpired lately at all. She had nerves of steel, that one...
Currently, the group had little to do other than wait for breakfast to be completed by the duo of Rin and Houki. Many of them already had cups of milk, juice, or water to tide them over, but they still needed some way to entertain themselves. Charlotte had recommended that they play a simple game of raising an entertaining topic and getting everyone's answer. So far they were on the third round of this. Even Rin and Houki could participate in a way, as they could hear from the kitchen. The current topic of conversation was favorite Pokemon, of which Cecilia was currently finishing her answer.
"...it's a little ghost possessing a teacup. Come now, I think that's novel!"
Speaking a little louder from the kitchen so the others could hear her, Rin offered her opinion on that. "Novel or not, I'm just saying, you're a British person and you picked the one 'Mon that has to do with tea. So unoriginal."
The accosted blonde wasted no time in defending herself. "Oh please. I'd wager your favorite is a Chinese dragon or some such. Gyarados, probably?"
"For your information, Drampa is a better representation of a Chinese dragon. And besides, joke's on you, my favorite is Arcanine."
Church took a sip of his water. "Based."
Charlotte took up the mantle of responsibility next. "I think I'm partial to Alcremie. It looks cute and delicious all at once. How about you, Laura?"
Sitting with her back to one of Cecilia's walls, Laura glanced away from the ceiling that had been holding her attention for some reason. "Sorry, I never had a chance to really get into Pokemon. I can't say I have a favorite."
"Oh, too bad. What about you, Houki?"
From the depths of the kitchen, Houki's raised voice rang out. "I'm in the same boat as Laura. I don't really know anything about it."
From that same direction, Rin spoke up. "OK, Laura had an excuse, but you're Japanese. You don't know a single Pokemon?"
"Fine, Pikachu or something. I really don't know that much about it."
Rin scoffed. "Lame. What about you, Church? Tell me you have better taste than these scrubs."
Church wracked his brain for a moment looking for an answer. Picking one particular favorite was a little difficult to do. Still, if he had to settle on the one Pokemon with his favorite vibe...
"Maractus."
In response to this, Rin actually bothered to take a few steps out of the kitchen to level an incredulous look at him. "Wow, really? Guess not."
"Whoa, come on. Show some respect."
Even Cecilia looked a little surprised. "You must admit, that is a bit niche."
"Look, it's purely based on vibes, alright? He's just a little guy with maracas for arms. He tries his best."
At the very least, Charlotte had his back. "I think it's a great pick. It's very cute."
To this, Rin rolled her eyes. "That's your only criteria for anything! Pick something we can all relate to this time."
"Like... oh, I know! What about weird, irrelevant facts? You know, like in school, when the teacher asks you to tell the class something small and unique about yourself? You know, like this?"
Following her statement, Charlotte stuck out her tongue, rolled in the shape of a taco. After doing that, Church picked up on what she was getting at.
"Oh, you mean like odd things that not everybody can do. Er... I can do the Star Trek thingie. Apparently not everyone can do that."
To support his statement, Church put his hand up and made the 'live long and prosper' symbol. Rin followed up with something of her own after seeing it.
"Oh, I can kinda do something like that. I can bend my fingers back further than most people, like this."
The brunette managed to push her fingers back to a near ninety degree angle. "Hah, can anyone do that? If anyone is double-jointed or something, speak up now before I start gloating too much about this. Laura? You strike me as someone who might have weird flexibility."
Church took a sip of his water as the group awaited Laura's answer. If only he had known how bad of an idea that was. Alas, he could not have predicted Laura's response.
"No, I don't have anything like that. What I do have... hm, let's see. Oh, I know..."
Before finishing her thought, Laura looked right at Church, a smug expression on her face. "I don't have a gag reflex."
Speaking of gagging, Church immediately choked on his water, unable to miss a single inch of Laura's insinuation. How could he, with the look she was giving him right now? Seriously, did this girl have no shame at all? She didn't even look mildly flustered to say that while making such a perverse implication...
Church got a few concerned questions on his behalf, but he brushed them off, stating that the water had just gone down the wrong pipe. Even after he had cleared his throat though, he was too mentally occupied to hear whatever else anyone had to say during this round. He couldn't help it, what with thoughts of Laura on her knees in the bedroom and all...
If she didn't want him to have such thoughts, she shouldn't have so blatantly implied to be good at it. Or at least, to potentially be good at it. Church didn't think Laura had really gotten any practice in when it came to polishing swords.
Someone probably would have noticed that Church had mentally clocked out of the conversation, but it wasn't long before breakfast was ready, which thankfully served as a decent distraction from more unscrupulous thoughts. Only mildly, though. Church was caught off guard by how quickly and boldly some of these girls were making their feelings known. Sure, he had always known they liked him, but these types of advances were... well, he hadn't expected to be on the receiving end of them quite as early as this.
Maybe this was a result of their mounting frustration. They'd already gone a long, long time with the guy they liked never catching on or reciprocating their feelings. They probably weren't too keen on letting things get like that again. No need to drag their feet if they knew what they really wanted.
Even as Church tried to enjoy the admittedly delicious breakfast provided to him by Rin and Houki, he couldn't help but feel nerve-wracked the whole time. If the girls were going to start accelerating their advances this much, it meant Church would have to quickly make some decisions of his own. Decisions he really wasn't ready to make just yet. He still wasn't sure who he would choose if he was forced to do so. And he wasn't happy with the idea of the repercussions regardless of who he picked. So what was he going to do when someone made a move that he just couldn't blow off believably?
He briefly recalled Cerberus' pitch of a harem before, but Church wasn't crazy or conceited enough to think that was actually a realistic option. Didn't hurt to dream though...
"Church, are you listening?"
Called out of his thoughts by the voice of Charlotte, Church returned his attention to the waking world, noting that everyone was eyeing him curiously.
"S-sorry, just kind of spaced out there. What were we talking about?"
Rin filled him in. "What we're going to do today. In hindsight, I don't know why we thought the party was going to take up anything more than a night, but we honestly didn't plan too much else for the weekend..."
"I see..."
"That's it? No ideas?"
"I guess we could hit the R & D room? The Sarashiki twins and I came up with a lot of upgrade ideas for all of your I.S. units, but we didn't get to actually run any of them by you since everyone was busy."
Charlotte seemed pleased with this idea immediately. "Oh, superbe idea, mon ami!. I'd love to see what you and the others came up with. Besides, we should probably not procrastinate as far as upgrading our machines is concerned."
Donning a serious expression for probably the first time that morning, Laura nodded. "Agreed. We cast the first stone at Phantom Task last time, but there's no telling if they will come after us instead in the future. We should be as prepared as possible."
Rin frowned. "Talk about tonal whiplash. But since you all got trounced last time, I guess you've got a point..."
Charlotte looked like she wanted to say something to counter that, but her fellow blonde beat her to the punch. "Indeed. Loathe as I am to admit it, even against that simulation of the Silent Zephyrus, I felt... lacking. Surely, there must be some way we can make for a more even contest with our foes."
Finishing off a dumpling from her plate, Houki withdrew her phone. "I assume we'll need to get Ichika and the Sarashiki twins involved. I'll text Ichika. He can tell Orimura-Sensei, and she can tell the other two. Er, where are we meeting exactly?"
Church relayed the exact number of the R and D room they would be using, but didn't pay much attention to what was said afterward. Frankly, the idea of meeting up with Chifuyu again so soon didn't do anything to calm his nerves. Not that his situation with her was anywhere near as flustering as the one he had going on with Laura, but there was still undoubtedly going to be some awkward air between the two of them. He really didn't want to have to deal with that on top of everything else now that his nerves were frazzled.
Still, Chifuyu was a cornerstone of the group, and definitely someone that needed to be involved with proceedings such as this. And besides, this was Chifuyu they were talking about: even if there was something uncomfortable between them, she'd probably act plenty professional. After all, that was how it had happened last time the two of them had an awkward situation to deal with.
Hoping that the notion wasn't just foolishly optimistic, Church did his best to keep on airs around the girls until they were finished with breakfast. If he didn't manage to get his shit together to some extent, people were going to start asking questions, and he didn't really have the right answers for them right now.
With a goal set for the day, Church and his friends swiftly found themselves in the R and D room that he had been in with the Sarashiki twins but a few days ago. As usual, the dark blue walls made him think of being inside of a blueprint. This particular room didn't get used that often though, so the benches pushed up against the walls were empty, as were most of the mechanical harnesses that would have held an I.S. unit. What the room wasn't lacking in, however, was people. After Houki had informed Ichika, who had then informed Chifuyu, of their intent, the elder Orimura had summoned the Sarashiki twins to the room with everyone else.
Admittedly, this was the first time in a long while that everyone present right now had been together: in fact, Church was unsure if he had ever seen the Sarashiki twins together with the entirety of Ichika's friend group. Usually, someone was missing somewhere. Granted, Chifuyu had yet to show up, though Church wasn't sure if she actually intended to in the first place. Right now, everyone was just catching up instead of doing what they had come to do. Ichika in particular was asking about the party from the night before.
"So, how was it? Did everyone have a good time?"
Charlotte took it upon herself to answer. "I think I speak for everyone when I say that it was a wonderful experience. There was a lot of good food, and I think we all learned some interesting things about each other."
Cocking a bemused eyebrow, Tatenashi cut in from the side of the group. "Learned some interesting things about one another, did you? Sounds a little scandalous."
Laura mumbled under her breath with a smirk. "That's not entirely untrue..."
Having heard that, Church pointedly ignored it. He knew exactly what she was talking about. He was able to distract himself with a question Ichika posed directly to him. "Well, of course the girls are all gonna say it was great, but it was your birthday. How did you think it was, Church?"
"Exactly as Charlotte said. Everyone worked really hard for it. The food was great, and I had a wonderful time."
This time, it was Tatenashi who muttered, though not nearly as quietly as she should have. "Some of you would have to work really hard to make things work if it was anything like the last time..."
Naturally, Rin was none too pleased to hear this. She was easily the most offended, probably because she sensed that Tatenashi was specifically calling her out. "Excuse me, you got something to say?! At least we don't have to steal other people's clothes to actually look good!"
"Wha-rude! I have a very fine wardrobe, thank you very much. I just like to save it for special occasions. Don't be so upset, Rin, that cat outfit really just didn't work for you."
Rin clearly would have said something back at that, but Church questioned what had been said before she could. "Cat outfit?"
The brunette blushed immediately upon being asked this. "Ah, well... just an outfit I was gonna wear once. I can show you sometime..."
Church didn't get to inquire further, as the door to the R and D room slid open once more. It wasn't too difficult go guess who may have been entering, so Church found himself growing a little anxious before he even looked over his shoulder. As expected, Chifuyu was coming to join everyone as they discussed new potential upgrades to their units and how it would affect their performance. It only made sense that she would want to partake in this. Maybe she would even be interested in thinking about some sort of modified Uchigane platform for herself: assuming she directly partook in a fight against Phantom Task again, at any rate.
Naturally, Chifuyu took stock of everyone in the room upon entering, which meant it wasn't long before she and Church locked eyes. There was brief flare of emotion in Chifuyu's eyes that was difficult for Church to read, but it wasn't like he got much time to try and analyze it anyway. The older woman was quick to avert her gaze, though she managed to stay pretty stoic while doing so.
As far as Church was concerned, that was actually a bad thing. If she had appeared flustered or bashful, at least he would have known something about what she was feeling right now. But a stone-faced Chifuyu was difficult to read at the best of times, and when she had every reason to be somewhat bothered by something, it was a little concerning for her to appear so unflinching. Church inwardly acknowledged that he was making an assumption, but Chifuyu struck him as the type of person that would retreat inside herself rather than deal with emotions that she wasn't used to. Thing was, people who got lost in their own head often reached some questionable conclusions on what they should do about their problems. Church could only hope that Chifuyu wouldn't do something like that.
Right now though, he didn't have much of an opening to do anything about it. Chifuyu was keen on business as usual. "I see everyone is here already. Is the discussion already underway?"
Ichika responded before anyone else could. "Not yet, we kinda just got here. Why'd you come, though? You seemed a little-"
Chifuyu cut off her younger brother before he could finish whatever thought he had. "It just seemed prudent. Let's not waste any time: I was briefed about the potential upgrades already, so I can help explain our plans going forward. Houki, Ichika, you two come with me and we'll discuss what can be done with Akatsubaki and Byakushiki. I've had a few extra ideas about it. Laura, talk to Tatenashi about Schwarzer Regen. Cecilia and Rin, talk to Kanzashi. I'm sure the other two of you know that you'll be together. Let's get this underway."
Clearly in some sort of weird rush, Chifuyu ushered Houki and Ichika to a different corner of the R and D room, leaving the rest of the girls to divvy up as instructed with various degrees of grumbling. Charlotte wasted little time in sidling over to Church, a bemused expression on her face.
"I can't believe we just got labeled 'the other two.' I feel a little wounded..."
Watching Chifuyu's retreating back with a frown on his face, Church did his best to not put any special thought into it. It wouldn't do do to be attributing unnecessary things to small actions like that. Though he couldn't necessarily disagree with Charlotte. He wasn't used to Chifuyu being this brusque. Still, it wasn't like she was doing anything specifically towards him, so there was no reason to jump to conclusions.
"I'm sure she just has a lot of stuff to do today. After all, she took some time out of her day last night to show up for the party. That might have thrown a wrench into her typical schedule."
A curious little smile came onto Charlotte's face. "Hm, perhaps. At any rate, I'm a little surprised that we're getting divided up into specific groups. Is there any particular reason to do that?"
Trying to take his mind off of his confusing situation with Chifuyu, Church thought about the things that he and the Sarashiki twins had discussed ever since they had started thinking about upgrades for everyone's I.S. units.
"Well, some of the upgrade ideas are pretty specific. For instance, Tatenashi was wondering about the possibility of giving Schwarzer Regen a static emitter for its AIC, kind of similar to how she uses her own water-based abilities. So, it makes sense that Tatenashi would discuss the idea with Laura, knowing the most about it. Rin and Cecilia's upgrades will both deal with BITS, and Kanzashi knows more about that angle. As for you and me... well, I guess we're just 'the other two', like Chifuyu said. Though I guess conventional weapons is something I am most familiar with, and I did have some good ideas for your Rafale Revive..."
With a cheerful smile, Charlotte commented on that. "Oh? I can't wait to see what you've thought of. Creative men are my favorite kind."
Church fought down a blush, wondering if he was reading too far into that. Just seemed like kind of a blunt thing to say to someone, and with an obvious implication. He couldn't help but recall his confusion regarding Charlotte and her behavior at the party last night. She was suddenly being very provocative these days, though it was always subtle enough to make Church wonder if he was just being presumptuous. Still, he had known Charlotte long enough to know what it looked like for her to just be nice and polite to everyone. The way she had been acting lately was not like that. But why had she changed? And what did that change mean?
"Er, well, I'm sure a lot of it will be things you've thought of before. And it's the least I can do, considering the work you put into designing the Starstreak."
"You know that was my pleasure, Church. It's not something I was expecting to get paid back for. Still, I promise to be appreciative of your hard work. Should we find a workbench?"
The blonde gestured towards one of the workbenches in a corner somewhat removed from the other groups that were discussing their own technical situations. Church had no reason to refuse her, though he couldn't help but offer one last parting glance to all of those girls back there that were stressing him out. For now though, perhaps it would be best to put such problems from his mind if he could.
When he got up to the workbench with Charlotte, she was already pulling up the holographic projector it sported and inputting the proper data to get a readout of her Rafale Revive II. Church had grown somewhat familiar with the system while working on it with the Sarashiki twins, so he already knew where and how to access the files that held some of the new weapon and equipment designs the trio had come up with. Granted, Kanzashi had been the one to actually make those technical readouts, but Church had at least contributed in the ideas department. Still, before he did that, he supposed it would be better to talk about Charlotte's I.S., and what she actually perceived as its flaws.
"So, we didn't actually get to talk shop much during the past week, all things considered. Me and the twins came up with lots of ideas for everyone, but before saying anything, I think it would be best to know what you, the pilot, think of your machine and its shortcomings. What do you feel like your I.S. is missing, Charlotte?"
Though she had carried her usual cheerful smile before, Charlotte frowned as she contemplated the answer to that question. Truth be told, she had put a lot of thought into what her Rafale Revive lacked in the past, especially so after the close call with Phantom Task and their Silent Zephyrus. Sometimes, she felt like it lacked a little of everything: it didn't have the speed of Akatsubaki, the range of Blue Tears, the defensive power of Schwarzer Regen, or the versatility of Shen Long. It didn't excel in any one particular area. It was a jack of all trades, designed around the idea of being able to handle most situations well. Unfortunately, this design philosophy didn't work that well in direct I.S. confrontations. Because everyone had something over her, there was always an advantage they could push in their favor.
The only thing the Rafale Revive II had over its opponents was a huge number of Equalizers, nearly double what most other I.S. had. But what good was having twice as many tools when none of them gave you the edge?
"Where to start... I hate to speak ill of my machine, but it does seem lackluster quite often these days, especially as everyone grows in skill and ability. I have many weapons, but none of them ever feel like enough to be worth it. I may have twenty weapons, but none of them can get around Laura's AIC, or outrange Cecilia's Starlight. I think the main issue is just that I have too many average options instead of a few very good ones. Well, there's also other things to consider, like shielding and speed, which are also quite average..."
Church nodded as he started tapping on the digital display on the desk so he could pull up files on the holographic display next to the shimmering readout of Charlotte's I.S.
"Yeah, that about sums it up. You ever play a game where you get a big inventory, and collect all sorts of items and equipment that are theoretically useful? So you keep them around, telling yourself over and over again that you'll find a use for them eventually, but you never actually do. So even though they theoretically have a use, they effectively have no value at all. For instance..."
Church leaned in to peer at the technical readout for Charlotte's I.S.
"You've got a melee weapon here called 'Bread Slicer'? What is that?"
"It's a small CQC knife."
"Don't you already have another close combat weapon? That pile bunker you used against Phantom Task?"
Charlotte appeared a little sheepish, perhaps already seeing where this was going. "Y-yes, that one is called Gray Scale."
"And if you were legitimately pressed to use a melee weapon in an I.S. battle, how often is a small CQC knife genuinely going to be a better option than a pile bunker?"
"I see what you mean, mon ami. I suppose I rarely, if ever, actually use it..."
Church folded his arms as he continued to appraise the technical readout. "Exactly. We can remove a weapon that doesn't really see much use, and free up the Equalizer draw that it's consuming. Then we can use that Equalizer space for something more helpful. And this begs the question: how many of these other weapons do you feel are redundant? It seems you also have these other two weapons, 'Vent' and 'Garm', as mid-range projectile weapons. Is there enough difference between the two to justify needing both of them?"
The blonde beside him put a hand to her chin. "Well, Vent technically has a bit more range than Garm does, but it is a smaller caliber weapon and holds less ammunition per magazine..."
"If the range difference isn't that big, it sounds like you could just go with Garm alone. If you really needed to engage at longer ranges, you already have a sniper rifle for that, don't you?"
"Yes, I suppose that is true."
"You've also got a handgun of some sort here? Is that more powerful as a close-quarters option than this shotgun weapon you have?"
Admittedly, it wasn't like Charlotte hadn't acknowledged the redundancy of her kit before now. It was just that she hadn't really had the time or means to replace the redundant options with better alternatives. She wasn't on good terms with her father right now, so she couldn't actually get upgrade assistance from Dunois Corp in this regard. The Academy did allot a certain amount of resources for students to modify and upgrade their frames, but it wasn't that much: after all, the resource cost of allowing students to make modifications willy-nilly would be astronomical.
Considering that, not to mention how generally busy her life was, Charlotte hadn't spent a lot of time legitimately planning upgrades to her unit. She had always felt a little behind the others, but she made do. Now that their opponents were growing in strength and she was getting what appeared to be a blank check to make these upgrades at the Academy, the French blonde had a lot more to consider.
"I understand that I have many redundant weapons taking up Equalizer slots that could be better used. It's not that I've never realized it before, I just didn't really have the means to make so many modifications to the unit. That said, that no longer appears to be an issue. So, Church: what kinds of equipment have you and the others come up with to supplement my Rafale?"
Finally having the necessary reason to pull up the files he had stored in this network before, Church put up a list of equipment alongside the blueprint of Charlotte's I.S. He then promptly pointed to the first entry on that list, making the necessary motions to expand the file and allow Charlotte to see the blueprints of a dual MLRS system that could be mounted near the calves of her machine.
"Well, first things first, I think you are sorely in need of missiles. Even cutting out the redundant weapons in your kit, all of your weapons can only deal damage from the front, coming directly from the barrel of your guns. That makes both defense and evasion easier for the enemy. A missile system will give you the versatility you need to pressure the enemy from more than one angle. Especially since you could program the missiles to behave differently based on what you want. You could have them go past the enemy on purpose and loop around to attack the rear, or they could split and come from two directions, and so on. The placement on the legs means you also have more control with their launch angles too."
Charlotte appraised the blueprint before her, taking note of ammunition capacity, weight, power draw, and other statistics. For what it offered, everything seemed to be worth it.
"I agree wholeheartedly. I could most certainly do with something of this nature."
"Glad to hear it. I was also thinking that you could benefit from something with a much higher ammunition load. If you're going to go all in with kinetic weapons, it seems like a waste to not have a rotary cannon with a high rate of fire and a large ammo capacity. Not sure how you'll feel about this one though, as it will be kind of hefty as far as weight is concerned."
Church pulled up the next file, which held the schematics for a 20mm rotary cannon not unlike the one you would find on a conventional fighter aircraft. It would have to be mounted to an arm, and have a belt-feed system that connected to large ammo containers on the rear thighs of the I.S. But considering that Charlotte's largest caliber weapon right now was just around 15.7mm, the introduction of a 20mm weapon with a torrential fire rate could seriously bump up her damage output. Still, he could see that her expression was a bit clouded as she considered this one: it was a very heavy armament, with much more weight than anything she was used to. But hey, it wasn't like he was trying to slap a GAU-8 on her or anything. That said, there were other options.
"I was also thinking of some sort of flak cannon, maybe? Theoretically, it would be another option that could allow you to provide saturation fire. Plus you wouldn't have to aim it that well if an enemy was particularly evasive. Granted, the direct damage output wouldn't be that high, but on the other hand..."
Over the next hour, Church and Charlotte discussed in great detail what changes they could make to her Rafale Revive. Some of the suggestions were met with great enthusiasm, while others fell through for various technical reasons. This wasn't really too great of a surprise, as Charlotte herself had not been brought into the discussion during the actual brainstorming of all of these ideas. She knew better than anyone what her I.S. was lacking, and what it could benefit from.
Church did notice, however, that the blonde gradually got closer and closer to him as they continued their discussion. By the end of it, she was practically arm to arm with him, which he couldn't imagine was something she wasn't aware of. She didn't make anything special of it, but he couldn't help but get the feeling that her nonchalance was intentional. Needless to say, this just raised more questions for him. Which wasn't exactly what he needed right now. Not that he didn't like it on a purely superficial level, but it was just adding more confusion to a situation that was already a great big mess.
Ultimately, Charlotte settled on what upgrades she wanted to undergo, and raised some ideas for other modifications that Church and the twins may not have come up with. It would take some time before any of these modification packages would actually be ready, but they could at least get them underway. Hopefully, all of the other girls had settled on their choices as well. He would probably find out easily enough, as someone commented on Charlotte's close proximity to him from behind, just when the duo happened to be leaning in together to analyze another file.
"Getting quite comfortable with one another, are we?"
Both Church and Charlotte glanced over their shoulders to spy the commenter, that being Cecilia. Now that the British blonde had pointed it out, Church acknowledged that both he and Charlotte were remarkably close to one another: their faces were only a few inches apart. The thought was a bit flustering, but Charlotte actually responded in an unexpected manner. She didn't look particularly bothered by the physical proximity.
"So it would seem. I guess we're just so comfortable together that neither one of us thought it strange."
Cecilia, arms on her hips, frowned in response. She was quite used to subtle words of romantic warfare due to her experience in the Ichika Wars. She definitely picked up on something coy in Charlotte's words, which was alarming. At this rate, they were all going to be in the exact same situation they had been with Ichika in the first place, which wasn't an ordeal the blonde was eager to relive.
"Perhaps Church was just too polite to ask for some personal space."
Sensing the potential for a confrontation, subtle though it may be, Church intervened, changing the subject swiftly. "So, Cecilia: how did you feel about the mod suggestions?"
Though she knew this was a diversion, Cecilia played along anyway. It wouldn't do to be rude. "Well, I believe it goes without saying that an thruster upgrade is long overdue. I can hardly deny that. Although I am a little hesitant to endorse the 'Starfall' module. It sounds great in principal, but I am not sure it will be so easy to use in practice..."
Before anyone else could comment on that, Rin walked over to the group, hands behind her head. Apparently, they were done with their discussion with Kanzashi. "I hate to say it, but that Starfall thing sounds rad as heck. My mod suggestion isn't nearly as fancy..."
Cecilia smirked. "It's also just a blatant ripoff of Blue Tears, so you truly have received the short end of the stick."
"Yeah, right. Maybe Shen Long is just so great already that it doesn't need much to be the best!"
That contest may have continued for a longer period of time, but the group was soon joined by Laura as well, who had also finished her discussion with Tatenashi. Naturally, Church found it a little difficult to look right at her, even though the girl didn't seem to think that anything was amiss at all. Well, she may have been totally unflinching in the face of embarrassment, but when it came to a level like this, Church wasn't. She'd practically looked him in the eye earlier and bragged about how good she would be at blowjobs. Even Rin undressing in front of him hadn't been as bold as all that.
At any rate, the German girl seemed unbothered by the situation. Church had no idea if she was even thinking about it.
"I doubt any of you have upgrades as unexciting as mine. There's little to change about my actual kit: just changes to make to weight, armor, and thrust. It's practically just tuning."
Since they were also done with everything they had come to do, Tatenashi and Kanzashi came to join the group as well, though only Tatenashi was eager to butt in. "Hey, you say that like a static AIC emitter isn't something to write home about!"
Laura raised an eyebrow at the intrusion. "That's only if we can actually balance the immense power requirements of such a device. Didn't we just talk about this?"
"Yeah, but you could have at least mentioned that it's a good idea."
At this point, the only group that wasn't finished with their discussion appeared to be Chifuyu, Houki, and Ichika. They were still on the far side of the R and D room, discussing whatever upgrades and modifications they had in mind for their machines. Tatenashi voiced the group's thoughts.
"So, what do you guys think they're talking about? I mean, how much of an upgrade could Akatsubaki really need?"
Laura shrugged to this. "Until a machine is perfect, there's always something to be improved. It's already the fastest among us, but even that could be improved, theoretically. But as far as adding something to it that is missing currently... I am unsure if Akatsubaki has such a weakness. It is seemingly equipped with everything it needs, and at sufficient levels of performance. It truly is a wonder."
A little begrudged by the notion, Rin scoffed. "Damn, Houki doesn't even like her sister all that much and she still gets the world's best present from her. Life just ain't fair."
Still standing quite close to Church, Charlotte weighed in as well. "It does make you wonder though: what is stopping Tabane from making more? Does she simply not want to, or is there some other reason?"
Cecilia chimed in. "Perhaps she does not wish to saturate the market with such cutting edge technology?"
Church pushed down his awkward situation to say his own piece, though admittedly, he had put a great deal of thought into this before. "Or maybe she just doesn't trust any nation with it. Though you have to wonder why she would give something like that to Houki if she really cares about her: having the world's strongest weapon paints a big target on her back for all sorts of types."
The air grew a little quiet after he said this, perhaps because it raised some solemn questions for everyone, but Rin did her best to dispel it quickly enough. "Ah, whatever. Tabane's a loon, there's no reason to try and guess her rationale. Hell, she probably does whatever she wants just because it's fun in the moment."
Recalling a certain incident that had revealed a very risque Chifuyu to his eyes, Church couldn't help but agree. Trying to guess Tabane's rationale was nigh on impossible. She seemed to do whatever she wanted as long as it amused her, consequences be damned. Did she actually give a damn about any of the consequences of her actions? Or were the consequences the exact reason she did such things in the first place?
Regardless of the answer, it was probably for the best that Tabane hadn't felt inclined to do anything else in regards to Generation 4 I.S. The word was already reeling due to just one of them, who knew what would have happened if that airhead had gone off to make ten of the things.
Although, thinking of it now, Church was reminded of the fact that he currently possessed the full technical data of Akatsubaki. He had yet to deliver it to Umbra Stratum because he was still debating whether or not he wanted to. They hadn't pressed him about it in a while either. That said, Church actually held an immense amount of power right now, as far as the world was concerned. He could give this data to anyone he wanted: the government of a sovereign nation, some rich corporation, some wild mad scientist or terrorist organization... what he decided to do with the data could very well change major aspects of the world's immediate future.
He had acknowledged this reality before, but in this moment, that acknowledgment weighed quite heavily on Church. Especially so since Umbra Stratum's patience was concerning. They hadn't asked for an update since before Marcus had disappeared. But why not? The acquisition of the Akatsubaki data was the number one reason he had been sent here. That they were so quiet about demanding progress lately raised many questions. And when they did finally demand an update or deliver some ultimatum, what would he do? Give it to them outright? Deny their order and risk the repercussions? Try and alter the data somehow so it wouldn't be as useful, and pretend to comply?
Really, Church just didn't know what they would do if he went AWOL or refused to comply with orders. He knew they were the type to sanction unsavory things, but just how far would they go? Far enough to kill a comatose woman in a hospital bed? That sounded almost mustache-twirlingly evil, but Church knew better than to assume that such a thing was too low for them.
Though these questions needed answering, Church didn't get much longer to dwell on his circumstances, as the group was joined by Ichika and Houki while he was distracted. Ichika was the one who broke his concentration.
"Well, that took way longer than expected. But at least it gave us something to look forward to!"
Now roused out of his thoughts, Church looked around the R and D room again, noticing that one Chifuyu Orimura was absent. "Uh, where did Chifuyu go?"
To this, Houki shrugged. "She said she had some stuff to do and that we should just log our requested modifications with the Academy system for material requisition. Other than that, she didn't say anything else about what we should do today. Kinda left in a hurry..."
Ichika glanced back towards the room door where Chifuyu had disappeared. "Yeah, I was going to say it earlier, but didn't get the chance to. Chifuyu seems a little weird today. Kind of... frazzled. She was at the party last night too, right? Did she seem off then, too?"
There were a number of shared looks between everyone else, which Ichika did not miss. "I'm kinda scared to ask..."
With a notably disgruntled look on her face, Rin tried to downplay the situation in question. "Don't worry about it, it was literally no big deal. There was just an accident that made her feel a little awkward. Nothing major happened at all."
It was obvious that Rin was trying to convince herself of that, and Church didn't miss the curious glance she cast his way, probably to see how he was reacting to her statement. Unfortunately for her, Church knew how to keep up a poker face. He wasn't going to give her any insight into how he felt about that accidental kiss with Chifuyu, one way or another.
Ichika didn't seem convinced of Rin's statement, but he also got the feeling that he wasn't going to get a straight answer out of anyone here. Well, he'd give Chifuyu a little time before inquiring about it. He had lived plenty of years alongside his older sister: he knew that she tended to act a little weird if she ever got put on her back foot. She was strong, stern, and confident, not the type of woman who was very familiar with awkwardness of discomfort, especially if they were caused by issues with herself and not with others.
But she usually worked those things out. He would let her deal with it for now, and only get involved if it seemed like she wasn't actually making any progress with things.
"If you say so. Seeing as how she didn't actually demand us to do anything else for the day, what do you guys say we get some lunch or something?"
Houki was naturally all for the idea. "Sure, that sounds great."
Before anyone else could offer their agreement or lack thereof, Tatenashi raised a questioning finger. "Hey, you're inviting us to this lunch too, right?"
Ichika made sure to give an affirmative before anyone could try and block the twins from participating. "Of course! I'd love to have everyone there."
Rin looked a little annoyed with that decision, but everyone else seemed fine with it. Maybe now that the targets of affection had changed, there wasn't as much tension between the girls present here, at least as far as those two groups were concerned. Church was honestly still a bit worried about Chifuyu, but he didn't think there was anything he would be able to do about that situation around this time of day. Even if she was just trying to avoid him in general, she probably also legitimately had a lot of work to do. She always did, after all.
That being said, everyone agreed to the idea of lunch. Ordinarily, Church would have been thrilled to be a part of that, but his own convoluted thoughts made it impossible to really feel that way. Sure, he was aware of what was going on after everyone got their food and sat down to eat: Charlotte made every move to stay very close to him throughout lunch, never going so far as to be right on top of him, but always close enough that Church couldn't help but debate what type of shampoo she used. Rin did as usual, boasting about how much better her food was, while also offering to cook some new things for Church in particular. Cecilia tried to get in on that, which led to the two of them bickering.
Church could have sworn that Laura was eating her bratwurst in a way that was meant to be sexual, but he also acknowledged that it might have all been in his head. It was hard not to see something like that after the things that had gone down between them recently. Thankfully, the two of them didn't make eye contact while she was eating anything remotely phallic in shape. Church wasn't sure he'd be able to keep a straight face if that happened.
The entire thing seemed to go by in a blur. Anytime Church managed to focus on the moment, he would soon be distracted by dire thoughts of his odd situation with Chifuyu or Umbra Stratum. It was just kind of difficult to feel too relaxed and carefree with those two things taken into consideration. Church kept telling himself that he should just accept the fact that there was nothing he could do about it right now, and that the best thing to do would be to let Chifuyu get her affairs in order herself and come to talk to him on her own terms.
Yes, logically that was the best course of action he could possibly take... but as his anxiety and discontentment over the situation continued to fester, Church wasn't sure if he could actually do that. After all, who knew how long that would take? It could take Chifuyu days or weeks to finish getting how she felt in order, and Church didn't know if he could handle this awkward and tense air for that long.
Maybe it was a bad idea, but once lunch was over, Church excused himself from everyone else, claiming that he hadn't slept well the night before and wanted to take a nap for awhile. It was a believable enough excuse, and one that only got some minor grief from the girls. With the resolution of at least one problem on his mind, Church did in fact retreat to his room, if only because he knew that he would still have a few hours before Chifuyu actually had time to talk to him. That gave him a little bit of time to ruminate on what exactly he needed to say, and why. For the time being, Cerberus didn't weigh in on the situation. In fact, the AI had been very quiet all day, which added yet another worry to the back of Church's mind. For now though, he put that one on the backburner.
The meat of the problem between Church and Chifuyu was understanding the exact nature of her discomfort over what happened last night. Of course, an accidental kiss like that would be awkward for anyone. But in most cases, that would just be a 'oops, haha, how awkward' type of thing that would be pushed to the wayside relatively quickly. Something you could laugh about not long after it happened, something that wouldn't even really remain a blip in the relationship for long. If that kind of thing had happened between two friends with purely platonic interest, it wouldn't have been a big deal at all, right?
But Church was worried about being too presumptuous. Of course he viewed Chifuyu romantically and sexually. There was almost nothing to dislike about her. Tall, sexy, mature, intelligent, considerate, she was practically a goddess. Any sane person attracted to women would desire her, at least from a theoretical standpoint. Like the hot actress you would obviously never be in a relationship with, but would fantasize about all the same.
So it was obvious why Church would feel a little awkward about what had happened between the two of them, but the rationale was a little less clear when it came to Chifuyu. There were plenty of reasons she may have been bothered by the incident. Maybe, despite her stern and no-nonsense demeanor, that was her first kiss, and something she had expected to go down a lot differently. Maybe she was upset because something special like that had been robbed from her on a moment's notice.
Maybe she was just embarrassed because it had happened in front of a lot of people. She was a professional at an academic institution, after all. Being seen by her students in a manner such as that was probably difficult to come to grips with when you had a particular type of image to maintain, and when you were going to be seeing those students very regularly.
Or, of course... there was the secret option. The possibility that, maybe, Chifuyu felt a certain way about him too. Maybe she had not realized it until now, and was reeling from the revelation. Or maybe she had actually felt this way before, but had done her best to push it down and ignore it, maybe writing it off as a silly errant thought or a foolish notion. If he even wanted to assume this option, which he didn't since it was very presumptuous, Church then had to ask why she felt that way. Was it the age difference? Simply because she'd never felt that way about anyone before? Something else entirely? He had no way of knowing.
But at the very least, he knew he couldn't open with that. If it was true, calling her out on it would probably just create more tension. And if it was false, then he just looked like a jackass who thought way too highly of himself.
Flopping down on his bed as he sighed in consternation, Church mentally reached out to Cerberus, for once actually seeking its advice on something that would likely be, according to the AI, totally banal.
I'm almost scared to ask, but what do you think about this, Cerberus?
Usually, an response from his AI companion was swift, but this time, Church didn't actually get anything from him. Several moments went by without any answer, prompting Church's brow to furrow in concern.
Cerberus?
There was another moment of silence, but then that familiar voice echoed within the confines of Church's mind.
Hm? Did you say something, Operator?
Yeah, but forget about that. You've barely said a word all day. What's going on?
Oh, you actually noticed, Operator? I'm touched that you are aware of my behavior.
Church scoffed to himself. How could I not notice? You usually won't stop talking. Anyway, what's the deal? It's not just today either, I feel like something has been off about you recently.
Cerberus was silent for another moment as it contemplated its answer.
I... am not actually sure, Operator. Recently, I have noticed that a decent fraction of my processing power has been occupied with a task that I cannot discern. It has been puzzling me.
How can that be? I mean, how can you be doing something but not know what it is you're doing?
That is why I am puzzled, Operator. I have been meticulously combing through my systems, attempting to locate the source of this resource draw, but thus far, I have not been able to locate an explanation for it. I will likely have to perform a significantly more in-depth perusal of my many functions to locate the problem. It will be intensive and likely demand much of my focus.
Needless to say, Church was not enthused with any of this. Exactly how bad is this? I mean, how big of a resource draw are we talking?
On the other hand, Cerberus didn't seem nearly as alarmed. It is currently not an issue that you need concern yourself with, Operator. The resource draw at this time is only around 6%. Which is, admittedly, rather alarming on its own. But it is not a big enough concern to worry about right now. There are many reasons that a a resource draw of that level could be occurring in the background somewhere. Very few of those reasons are something horrific that we should be concerned about. Still, until I locate it, I will likely be quite preoccupied throughout the day. I have over one million processes to go through with a fine-tooth comb.
Even though Cerberus didn't sound that worried about any of this, Church couldn't help but feel troubled by it anyway. It was hard to believe that Cerberus could have some sort of process going on in the background that he wasn't even aware of, just like some sort of ordinary computer. Then again, maybe it wasn't that farfetched of an idea: Cerberus had not emerged from the Crucible incident unscathed, and it was possible that this resource draw issue was just some sort of bug leftover from that. It could have gone unnoticed even when Cerberus was repairing itself.
Well, keep me apprised as you figure out anything else about this. I guess there's not really a whole lot I can do about it to help, so I'm going to go and talk to Chifuyu about that, er... little mishap that happened last night.
Very well, Operator. Good luck.
Honestly, Church was a bit surprised that Cerberus had nothing else to say about how he was about to spend his time, but then again, Cerberus had apparently been pretty busy lately. The AI may not have even been all that aware as to what Church was thinking about right now. Maybe it was for the best though: the situation with Chifuyu was a very human problem, and not one that Cerberus would probably have much to say about as far as solving it was actually concerned.
Exiting his room so he could go about his new objective, Church briefly contemplated texting Chifuyu to ask if they could talk in the first place, but he ultimately decided against it. It was a bit underhanded, but texting Chifuyu ahead of time would just give her the opening to reject a conversation or intentionally avoid him further. He needed to force her into a conversation. Of course, if he knocked on her office door without warning, she could always just refuse to see him, but Church didn't think she was the type to do that. If it did end up happening, he would just have to rethink his strategy.
Honestly, he didn't even know if she was guaranteed to be in her office right now, but Chifuyu was always working, so it seemed likely. If you ever needed to find her and didn't know where to look, her office in the main tower was a good place to start. It was kind of sad, really.
As he hopped onto the elevator on his current floor, Church tried to keep his anxiety at bay. He could tell himself that this wasn't anything to get worked up over, but if it really wasn't that big of a deal, it wouldn't have been a problem in the first place, right? Then again, maybe he was just jumping the gun. By the time the elevator reached the floor Chifuyu's office was on, Church was second-guessing whether or not he should even do this. He could just press the button to take him back to his room...
Honestly, Church probably would have done that. It was easy to talk yourself up when you weren't actually moving towards the goal. But once things were actually underway, it was easier for the nervousness of doing it to catch up to you. Maybe he was being a bit hasty. But unfortunately for his better judgment, fate had other ideas in store. Church had just decided to abort his little mission when the elevator doors opened. And lo and behold, who else would be on the other side of that door other than Chifuyu Orimura, who was currently looking down at a digital pad in her arms, brow furrowed as she waited for the elevator.
For a moment, Church cursed to himself as he wondered what the odds of this happening were. Then again, the odds were probably actually pretty good: though there were other offices on this floor, it was pretty late in the evening, and Chifuyu was usually one of the only people who ended up working this late. Realistically, there weren't that many other people to encounter on this floor at this time of day. Still, what were the odds of both of them being at the elevator right this moment? Whatever it was, it appeared that Church was quite the unlucky individual, at least right now.
Naturally, it didn't take Chifuyu long to look up from what she was doing, and it was obvious that she had not expected Church to be in the elevator she was waiting for. In what was once a rare occurrence, but becoming more frequent as of late, Chifuyu's expression changed to one of akin to a deer in headlights as even her fingers froze what they were doing on the pad she was carrying.
Of course, Church probably didn't look much better, since he hadn't expected the situation to develop like this either. Although, he had at least expected to see Chifuyu sometime this evening, so maybe he was at least a little better prepared.
The two of them stared at each other in shocked silence for a moment, which caused Church to question this moment of truth: a meeting had been forced upon Chifuyu, and without a door separating them to act as some sort of barrier. So, what would she do? She could theoretically just turn around and walk away, but would she really do something so blatantly rude and insulting? She didn't seem the type, but then again, this was new territory for the both of them.
Ultimately, Chifuyu didn't do that. Maybe even she knew that just turning around and walking away without a word would have been a bit too much. Instead, her expression took on the air of practiced blankness as she stepped into the elevator and pressed a button for the ground floor without a word. Then she stared straight ahead at the elevator door as it closed, saying nothing to the only other occupant in the cabin.
As the elevator began to descend, Church awkwardly glanced at the woman next to him, trying to discern anything valuable that he could. Of course, there wasn't much to figure out other than the fact that she was uncomfortable. She was staring straight ahead, not doing anything on her tablet, and her posture was stiff as a board. All the telltale signs of someone who didn't know how to deal with a situation and was retreating into themselves to avoid it.
This, of course, made it very uncomfortable for Church too, since it was hard to start a conversation with the air so tense. But he knew that he was working with a very limited window of opportunity here. The elevator wouldn't take that long to reach ground level, and he was certain that Chifuyu would walk away from him without a word once it did so. He had to say something now or lost the opening he had.
"Long day again?"
Naturally, he started out with something nonchalant and simple. It would be easier to get to the stuff that actually mattered by gently moving into it instead of jumping right into the stuff that made her uncomfortable. To his credit, Chifuyu did answer him, though it was curt.
"Yes."
She said nothing else, nor did she look at him, prompting Church to frown. Well, he hadn't expected it to go too easily, admittedly.
"You really should take more breaks. Did you at least listen to any relaxing music while working?"
This time, Chifuyu didn't answer at all, which honestly irritated Church greatly. He knew she was feeling awkward, but he was trying to be diplomatic here. If their friendship up until now had meant literally anything, he at least deserved to be acknowledged when he was talking to her.
Sensing that things weren't going to go anywhere if he only had the limited window of time that this elevator ride would provide, Church reached out and pressed the emergency stop button, stopping the elevator in its tracks as he leveled a somewhat stern gaze at the woman beside him.
"Is this what we're doing now?"
Chifuyu sighed in exasperation, but didn't actually try to get the elevator moving again right away. "I don't want to talk about it."
"It seems like you don't want to talk about anything."
"You can discern that, yet here you are."
Despite the fact that there was actually an exchange going on now, Chifuyu was still pointedly keeping her gaze locked on the metal door in front of her. Well, maybe that made Church's job a little easier.
"I can sense that there's something wrong between us, so yeah, I'd like to know what it is."
Chifuyu frowned, though she did glance sideways at him for a moment. "You know what it is."
Well, that was true. Church couldn't deny that. "What I mean is, I want to know why it's a problem. I mean, I get that it was awkward and embarrassing for something like that to happen in front of everyone, but you're acting like I did something wrong to you. I don't think it's fair to give me the cold shoulder over an accident, especially not without any explanation as to why."
The woman beside him fell silent as a clouded expression dominated her features. Did she not know exactly what the reason was? Or did she not know how to word it? Or, did she know exactly what she would say, but didn't want to say it?
In the end, it seemed like the last part might have been true. "It's complicated."
"Well, simplify it. I'm not an idiot, I can understand feelings."
"You're not going to understand this one."
Getting a little fed up with how dismissive and evasive Chifuyu was being, Church couldn't help but get a little irate. "Try me. Tell me why you're so troubled by the fact that you kissed me. What, are you disgusted? Mortified? If you've got something bad to say, just say it!"
Clearly growing irritated herself with how this conversation was going, Chifuyu finally turned her full gaze on Church, brow furrowed in annoyance. "Fine: yes, I'm mortified! I'm humiliated! Imagine if you had accidentally kissed a middle schooler or something. This is hardly any different!"
Needless to say, Church hadn't expected to hear this. He had been goading Chifuyu into saying something, but he had hoped to get a breakthrough that would lead to something less... degrading.
He knew he was younger than Chifuyu, obviously. But not by too much, and he had always seen the two of them as being somewhat similar in levels of maturity. To have Chifuyu liken the notion of romantic interest in him to an adult with a crush on a middle schooler was hurtful. And insulting. Insulting enough that Church's immediate response was to get angry about it.
"The hell it is! I'm not saying you're obligated to like me or anything, but don't liken me to a child! You know I don't deserve that!"
Now that they were already into it, Chifuyu had no trouble glaring at him. "As evidenced by your immature pushiness and response to something you asked for in the first place."
Honestly, Church had never expected to have an actual fight like this with Chifuyu. They'd always been so amicable with one another, it was hard to have ever imagined something like this happening. It was even harder to fathom before now that he would have said something with the intention to insult or hurt her.
"That's rich coming from the grown woman whose idea of conflict resolution is to turtle up and pretend the problem doesn't exist! Maybe if you had the ability to cope with your emotions better than a nine-year old-!"
Church could have gone further with that, but his voice petered off as he noticed one of the deepest scowls he had ever seen on Chifuyu's face. One far more intense than any look she had ever mustered for all of the work she hated so much. The words she muttered next were not what he had been expecting.
"We didn't all have the luxury of growing up as a human being."
With Church falling silent as he wondered what on earth that was supposed to mean, the air in the elevator grew even thicker with tension than it had before. Silent herself, Chifuyu pressed the button to get the elevator moving again. They were both quiet for the next minute that it took the cabin to reach the ground floor, neither of them looking at each other. The whole time, Church regretted what he had said, but he couldn't find it in himself to apologize. He was still angry, and it wasn't like Chifuyu was apologizing for saying anything hurtful to him either.
When the doors slid open on the ground floor, Chifuyu wasted no time in somberly taking her leave, not looking back at him even once. As for Church, he watched her go until the older woman turned a corner and was out of sight, after which Church planted the back of his head against the wall of the elevator.
Fuck. That was not how I wanted this to go.
He half expected Cerberus to make some sort of comment on what all had just transpired, but in the end, the AI said nothing. Maybe it was busy searching for that weird error that had come up. Or maybe it just knew better than to say anything snide right this moment. Either way, Church found nothing but displeasure in the silent aftermath of the argument he had just sparked.
Impatience truly was the bane of wisdom.
Well, as you can see, this chapter is not quite as long as some of the others that have existed in this story. That's probably for the best, because it means it gets done a littler earlier, which is always a good thing. Chapter length will fluctuate, just like it always used to, but hopefully we'll stay around this more manageable length. The longer a chapter gets, the longer it takes to write it, after all.
In other news, there is a Discord available for anyone who wants to stay in regular communication with me or other fans of the story. We talk about all sorts of things there: some people get help with their own stories, some just like to talk about I.S., and sometimes we go off the rails and talk about random nonsense. At any rate, everyone is welcome, and you can find a link to get there on my profile page! We'd love to have new folks around to talk about this niche franchise with. We might as well get all 12 fans of the show in one place, right?