Infinite Stratos: Hidden Trump V2

by Blackshadow999

My life was going the way I wanted, then the Bunny called me, to get her kicks by messing with my life again! Now, I'm going to the IS Academy, all my classmates are my age and females... This'll be some of the hardest challenge I've faced! That Rabbit will pay for making my life HELL and that's a promise I'll KEEP! No Ichika in this story. OC main. Redone

2. Chapter 2

A/n

This story is coming intermittently, but somewhat sooner than I anticipated. I hope that you readers don't mind that while I work on my Gundam Seed story. I hope you like this enjoy.

Chapter 2: No Matter which Way He Turns

The week before the semester flew by far faster than Sai would've liked or wanted. He hadn't heard any more news on living arrangements for him for the semester yet. It was one of the things which he was kind of dreading with the chance of getting a problematic roommate. And with the large "pool" of girls which could be his roommate, he was more than concerned. The point had been made clear in such a way to Sai that he would have a roommate which would be a female which wasn't nice for him. He wanted to know who his roommate could be so he could do research on them. The sooner he could know more about his roommate, the quicker Sai could plan contingencies as needed. Sai wasn't going to count on assumptions while he was here at the IS academy, he would do research and make plans. That was the best means of defense for him that Sai could come up with.

Sai had been promised by the headmistress that he would be getting an access key card for the image transmission and projection system. He would need that for his college courses that he wouldn't give up with what the bunny had put him into. According to the message he'd received, a member of the academy's student council would find him to give him the card soon enough. Sai would've loved to get the card earlier, but he didn't voice that as he was already getting accommodations which he felt most wouldn't get. He'd already reached out to his professors and informed them of the standing he was in. Sai had gotten the okay for using the system to attend classes by his professors and Cornell's administration already. He just wanted to familiarize himself with the academy's system before relying on it for classes.

The other thing which occupied Sai's mind for the week was the bunny. He may hate her for putting him into the situation and even that didn't say the point accurately. The woman had essentially put him in an environment he detested in ways words couldn't say properly. High school wasn't a place Sai waned to go back to if there was a way to avoid it, yet here he was. There were several other things the IS Academy would provide for him to have to deal with, but that was besides the point for the time being. But Sai was really starting to wonder if the woman did have something else in mind other than her entertainment for him to go to the academy. The bunny may enjoy his suffering, yet the way she had delivered this one suggested there could be something more to her plan. What that could possibly be, Sai hadn't been able to figure out with what he knew thus far.

The point was nagging and annoying Sai so wouldn't leave him alone. He wasn't happy the bunny had shoved him into this, but that she could have a hidden motive worried him. Being sent to the IS Academy was bad enough in the ways it would screw him over, Sai wouldn't sugar code that point. However, the bunny was capable of screwing him over more than she already had with forcing him to go to the academy. Sai didn't want things to be worse than they were, that would cause levels of chaos that he hadn't had to go against for a while. His situation could be much worse than it already was, and he was dealing with it the best he could. He wasn't going to ask for the bunny to do more than that even when he wanted to hunt her down and make her pay.

When Monday the semester started came, Sai put on his uniform and couldn't help the shutter that ran through him being in it. The outfit was not that comfortable, even if it was made to look more formal, but that wasn't the main issue Sai had with the thing. It made him look both ridiculous and of a lowly positioned individual. Being the only guy at the academy would put a clear target on him for all the other students to see, Sai would be happily shocked if that wasn't the case. Should his appearance inspired others to treat him less than a person, then Sai expected things would be worse than he already figured they would be. There would be some that would take bullying him as their right and prerogative to do. Sai was starting to feel like his time at the academy may turn out to be similar to his during high school. That point alone was something which made the academy a place Sai didn't want to be. Thus, he wasn't looking forward to the first day off the semester.

Finding his homeroom was simple enough, Sai had learned the general layout of the academy as he could over the week around the place. He was assigned to the first year's class one which didn't mean a great deal to him. He'd also found out that he would have two "homeroom teachers" that would be over the class he was to be in. He'd been able to look into one of them, but the other hadn't been so simple. The teacher Sai had been able to find data on what Maya Yamada. The data hadn't shown anything that Sai felt he needed to worry about with her. However, not being able to get much if anything on the other teacher concerned Sai. He'd made the efforts to see what he could find and had gotten nothing which was odd. He hoped on the first day he might get something which could lead him to get more data.

However, the first step Sai made into his homeroom had him questioning if hunting down the bunny wouldn't be a better use of his time and efforts. Before him in the room was twenty-nine girls, which would make up Sai's class while at the academy. Some turned their heads when he opened the door and went silent at his entry. Sai took a breath and moved forward to the one open seat that was in the front row. The chatter that had been going in the classroom died down as Sai moved forward. That changed into the girls whispering to one another. Sai caught a little of what was being said about him. It was reminiscent of what he'd dealt with during his first few weeks of high school which had been his "introduction" to the public school system. He'd expected rumors and gossip to go around about him the moment the students of the academy found out he was attending. It would be odd if they didn't gossip about him to tell the truth. It would just be nice if they didn't do that said gossiping while he was close enough to hear them.

The whispering reminded Sai how much he didn't like being in the "spotlight" like he was right now. Sticking out normally caused complications and problems from Sai's experience, so he avoided the idea when he could. Sai decided not to react to the gossiping his classmates were doing. He didn't want to encourage them to do more or worse through a visible response. Most of what he was hearing had to do with him being a guy and "supposedly" being able to use an IS. Sai being a male was a subject he'd known would come and he would get while being around the academy. It came from ISs being piloted exclusively by females with the exception of himself. He knew there would be questions asked when the fact he could pilot an IS became public. It was why Sai had worked to not be publicly known or let the point he could pilot an IS be common knowledge. It was much simpler to not have fame and work quietly out of the spotlight in Sai's opinion. But he wouldn't get that option at the IS academy, he knew that was no longer possible thanks to the rabbit's work.

The girls of first year class one had been discussing the rumors when the door slid open. All the girls had taken notice of Sai coming into the room, he was impossible to miss. All of them had heard the rumors that a "guy" would be attending the academy this semester. Most hadn't believed the rumor about a guy being around the academy as ISs could only be used by females. But the rumors had gotten stronger when some girls said they had seen the guy on their way to class. Those in class one had been discussing what a boy being around the academy could mean when the said guy appeared. None in the class had thought the guy would be in class one with them. Most thought he was either okay or good looking with his appearance now that they saw him with their own eyes. For most of them, it would be the closest they would be to a guy and not be outside the school environment. Most of the girls kept staring at Sai and whispering to one another as they kept looking.

Sai put his messenger bag beside the desk before he took a seat at the only free desk in the classroom. He didn't pay active attention to the continued whispers going on around him.

Bus as the minutes kept moving on, Sai had to work hard to ignore the whispers and stares since it wasn't as easy as some would think. It wasn't like he didn't understand the fascination of a new student and what came with such. It was amplified with him being a guy at essentially an all-girls school and Sai didn't fault any of the girls in the classroom for their interest and questions. Yet, the nagging of him needing to fear for his safety and virtue he'd been having from the start of the morning had strengthened quickly.

It was one of the things he'd been seriously concerned about while he would be forced to be at the academy. The chance of him being assaulted and smothered by the girls here was high, much higher than he was in anyway comfortable with. He would fight any that may try by whatever means he felt necessary, including using martial arts in his defense. Sai hoped it wouldn't come to that, but he wasn't going to leave things to chance if he didn't have to. The issue with that "loose plan" was the sheer number of girls that he would have to face. He was one against the rest at the academy, and that was just something Sai couldn't deny as much as he wanted to. Tactical planning was the only way he could potentially overcome the force he was going to face here.

T he attention Sai was getting also fueled his wish to hunt down and make the bunny pay for this crapshoot she'd shoved him into. He was starting to not care what possible motive she had other than entertainment for putting him here with the attention he was getting. Sai was even thinking about how he could put aside some time regularly to the task of searching for the rabbit with the stares coming his way. The bunny would regret blackmailing him, he would make sure of that somehow for each and every day he was at the academy. Sai ended out exhaling slowly, "Why couldn't I just been left alone to my life choices," he muttered while keeping his breathing even. "Is peace and quiet too much to ask for? I don't want the spotlight on me." The time ahead of Sai was looking harsher and harsher the more he considered it. He would do what he could to make the more workable, but he wasn't a miracle worker on demand. Sai's right eye began twitching a bit, a sign of how stressed he was with his situation. "This is going to be one of the longest semesters I've done in a while. It brings back real unpleasant memories of the horrible days back in the public schooling system." Sai sighed reluctantly, "I really thought I had been liberated from that system for good."

The classroom door slid open again and a woman entered the room. T he woman was named Maya Yamada, and she was twenty years old. She had a height of five feet and almost an inch by most estimations. Her hair was seen as kind of loud to most because it was green of all colors, and it went down to her neck. Her eyes were the same color as her hair which were visible behind her silver-rimmed glasses. Maya was wearing a yellow dress with black frills on the sleeves and at the bottom of the skirt portion of the dress. The dress was the one she'd picked out for the first day of the new semester. The dress had a pink shirt covering her chest area which she found cute. Maya also had her knee-high boots on which she'd had for a time now.

Maya was to start the class for Miss Orimura who was in a meeting for the staff at the moment. She was kind of nervous about doing that as the class this semester would be different for one main reason. Maya had been told yesterday that class one which she was over would include the academy's newest student who was also its first male student the academy had ever had. She hadn't heard that much about the young man other than the headmistress saying he was a "well-behaved" guy. Maya hoped that was true of this Mr. Taichi with him being the first and only guy at the academy for the next three years. However, the moment Maya entered the classroom, she came to a stop as the feel of the air was not nice. And the atmosphere didn't really change when she came but it was focused on the boy in the front row of desks.

M aya moved to the front of the room to the lectern and faced the class. She did take a moment to look at the male student she now had in the class, Mr. Taichi. He appeared rather good-looking for a teenager his age, Maya would admit. He was taller than the average height the girls at the academy possessed. His figure was lean, but still quite fit compared to the average person. The guy's thick mop of black hair looked to be well kept with its many straight spike-like follicles Maya did get a brief view of Mr. Taichi's eyes which were a dark reddish color with a tint of brown in them.

Maya had heard some of the whispers of the girls which had involved the guy's appearance. She couldn't exactly disagree with the whispers. She didn't doubt that Taichi would be popular with women when he got older with his looks. But she was a teacher so couldn't get involved with a student. Instead, Maya focused on starting the class, "Congratulations for making it to this school," Maya began putting on a cheerful tone. It was her hope that it could dispel the tension in the room. "I'm your first-year sub-homeroom teacher, Miss Maya Yamada." She then displayed her name on a holographic screen to her right.

Sai would applaud the teacher trying to clear the air in the room. She didn't manage to do the point, but she did really make the effort to do so. The response to the teacher's attempt was Sai's "classmates" continued staring at him rather than the teacher. It did nothing to dispel the tense air in the room. That the woman was his "sub-homeroom" teacher had him wondering where the main homeroom teacher was currently. He still didn't have much on the other teacher and he was getting all the more curious about them. Sai kept facing forward, ignoring the stares from his classmates. He would not give a reaction to the girls for them to work with. That would serve more as an encouragement for them to keep going and push for more which was the last thing Sai wanted.

Maya glanced around and found her attempt to lower the tense air in the room hadn't gone as she had hoped. All the girls were still staring at Mr. Taichi and his lack of reaction to that was creating the tense air. The whole feel of the classroom was putting off Maya and making her somewhat nervous. That caused Maya to stammer a bit as she continued, "Um, starting today you are all now students of the IS Academy. As you know, this is a boarding school, students are together during and after school hours. So, I hope you get along and help each other making the next three years enjoyable."

Being told the expectation Sai was supposed to be under was being around the girls in this room and others for most of his days for three years didn't sit well with him in the slightest. Even in college, he didn't spend most of his time around the same collection of people every day. If it were his friends, then Sai wouldn't mind the idea at all, but it wasn't them he was stuck with. And with him being forced to live in the dorms wouldn't allow Sai to escape the first-year girls easily. None of what had just been said by his "teacher" was something he would accept without a serious fight against it. The bunny may have shoved him into this for the time being. Yet, Sai would be working to get out of it as soon as he could, but he knew it would take some time to do it right. However, it wouldn't take him three years to get away from the academy, of that, he was sure. If it came to hunting down the bunny and punishing her to get out of this situation, then Sai would be motivated to do just that.

Being around girls his own age wasn't a good thing to Sai any more than his other same aged peers. The overall problem Sai saw with the academy being the boarding school it was, and an all-girls one at that. That just screamed misunderstanding and wrongfully being blamed for things he didn't do to any of the girls or what they could do to him. Sai wasn't gay as some may think, he was a straight guy rest assured. Add to that, the girls Sai would be around have raging hormones, but unlike Sai they don't have the control he had developed. Sai's experience which helped that control develop was his time around college and his female colleagues he had there. He'd been dating and having fun outings there for close to a year and a half. However, Sai feared he would be mobbed by girls here given enough time if he didn't plan and put in place defenses for himself and his virtue. And he didn't count on the academy staff being able to help him when he needed it.

Frankly, he shouldn't be at the academy which was a high school after the classes on Infinite Stratos to begin with. Sai was a college sophomore, almost a junior, not a high school freshman like the girls in the classroom were. He was far smarter than his "classmates" and he wouldn't deny that, even if he wouldn't say it out loud. Broadcasting his intelligence had never helped him, more got him into trouble throughout his life. And it wasn't that he was academically farther along than his peers which was irking him. He would be keeping that to himself so most of them wouldn't know about that. It was the stares he was getting which made him feel like he was being seen as something less than an individual. But there was little he could say to the girls that would change the point right now by what Sai could guess. He hated being unable to improve his situation and making it more manageable.

Maya could see the tense air was only getting worse instead of better as she wanted. It was making it harder for her to do her duties as a teacher. Professor Orimura would be able to work with this, but she had a strong personality. Maya would try her best, but she didn't know it that would be enough. "Now, moving on to self-introductions um, let's go by numerical order on the class roll." Maya started going down the attendance roll calling out the names. The girls responded when their name was called, but they kept staring at Mr. Taichi. Not that she wouldn't expect that from the girls, they didn't see a boy their own age around the academy before this. But their intense staring was making the whole feeling in the room awkward. Maya kept going with attendance trying to keep herself calm and not give into the awkward feeling. However, taking roll and introductions came to a halt when Maya called Mr. Taichi's name and there was no immediate response from him. "Hello, Sai Taichi," called Miss Yamada.

Sai had been working on ignoring all the stares he was getting from his classmates. The girls hadn't stopped from the moment he'd entered the room. Not that Sai didn't know how to deal with stares and attention as he'd gotten such before now. Not acknowledging the attention had been the best response that Sai had seen from experience. But the girls were making it clear it would take time for them to get used to him being there and them not stare. Focusing on ignoring his classmates was taking most of his attention with all the girls staring at him so intently. So, Sai didn't register Miss Yamada calling his name right away. It was on the third time his name was called that Sai looked up and responded without thinking, "Yeah, I'm here." Sai blinked as he found Miss Yamada was right in front of his desk. The woman was leaning over the desk putting her hands together as she was addressing him. Sai took the woman's gesture she was having issues with the atmosphere in the room much like Sai was.

Maya was glad she had finally gotten a response from Mr. Taichi. Granted, it had taken her getting in front of his desk and leaning forward close to his face, but that was okay. She hoped that Mr. Taichi's introduction would help lessen the tense air which was hanging in the room. So, Maya spoke again, "I do apologize for being so loud a moment ago, but we started at the top of the attendance roll and now gotten all the way to the T's. So, if you wouldn't mind introducing yourself now, pretty please."

While Sai could understand and sympathize with the awkwardness the girls staring at him created for Miss Yamada, he didn't think the woman needed to "beg" for him to introduce himself. And yet, Sai had to admit that he hadn't had a teacher or professor like Miss Yamada before. He'd had some "interesting" teachers and/or professors before now, but none quite like his current sub-homeroom teacher. Sai had no issue doing an introduction, he just felt the girls may not accept it as he gave it. He exhaled heavily before he gave his reply, "While I appreciate you trying to be accommodating, you really don't need to be so apologetic ma'am." Sai rose from his seat and turned to face his classmates. He wanted to make a decent first impression at least since he would be around these girls regularly for a time. He would put up a strong face so the girls would get the hint he wasn't a pushover or an object they could own. "The name is Sai Taichi ladies. A pleasure to meet you all and that sort of thing."

The silence deepened after Sai gave his introduction, making the room even more uncomfortable than it had been. The stares coming Sai's way had somehow intensified which he couldn't explain how that was possible. Sai's gaze swept the room, and it became obvious to him his classmates were wanting more than he'd given for his introduction. Now, Sai felt he'd given a proper introduction and there was no need to give further details about himself. He wouldn't let himself be "intimidated" into doing things by his peers like some might be. If there was information he wanted those around him to have, then he would give them it when he was good and ready. So, Sai folded his arms, "If you are hoping for something more ladies, then you'll be disappointed. I gave a proper introduction as would be expected, that's what you get for now."

As Sai was turning to take his seat again, he saw some girls hit their desk in response, others just stared at him with confused expressions. That wasn't Sai's issue to deal with, the girls could react to him as they wished, he wasn't going to encourage them. He took his seat and faced forward and went back to ignoring the stares of his classmates. Sai would work with being at the academy until he could figure out a way to change his standing effectively. That didn't mean he had to encourage undesirable behavior from his peers while he was here. Sai would be on his guard for his safety and his virtue. He felt those would be at risk during his time at the IS Academy, so he would defend them the best he could.

Nevertheless, it wasn't more than a moment of Sai taking his seat that the instincts he'd developed with learning martial arts blared a warning at him. The instinct had served Sai well thus far and he didn't see a reason that would change. So, he heeded the warning and shoved his seat back from his desk without hesitation. Sai saw a fist moving through where he'd been and would've connected with his head had Sai not moved. It was proof that Sai taking up martial arts and what had come with it had been beneficial to him once again. Sai made a note to himself to thank Jia again for her insistence on letting her teach him martial arts. His friend's insistence had saved him multiple times by now. Sai shifted his attention over to answering the question of whom it was trying to do him harm. He'd done nothing to deserve a fist being sent his way, targeting his head if he wasn't mistaken. At least Sai hadn't done anything yet which should have him in the position to receive punishment. None of his classmates had shown signs that they had something against him already. And Miss Yamada didn't seem the type to resort to violence like hitting another that Sai had seen.

Sai got his answer when he glanced to his left and saw another woman there. H e instantly recognized the woman there even if Sai hadn't seen her for over three years. The woman by the name of Chifuyu Orimura was one he'd known since he had been an older kid before his teenage years. She was a tall woman that stood at a little over five foot four with long black hair, which splits into parts so that her face isn't obscured at all. Currently, she was wearing a black business suit coat over a white dress shirt, along with the matching black skirt that goes midway down to her knees. Chifuyu had a green tie and by the sound of it, was in high heels. Chifuyu still looked to be carrying herself in an almost regal manner you would expect from someone of high-born status from what Sai could see. And yet, Sai couldn't think of any reason for his "adopted older sister" would be doing around the IS Academy that made logical sense to him.

Meanwhile, Chifuyu had arrived in the room class one used for homeroom after getting out of the staff meeting she'd been required to attend. The staff meeting had been much like the others she had to be at, with one small exception. That exception had been the omission of the fact there would be a male attending the academy this semester. The moment Chifuyu had heard the name Sai Taichi, she had been ticked off. She had heard nothing, not a peep from Sai since he'd left Japan after Ichika's funeral. And now he suddenly pops up around the IS Academy without saying a thing to her at all? Sai had a lot to answer for with him not communicating at all with her, not even a letter sent to her in over three years. And the other point she'd learned in the staff meeting was Sai would be in the class Chifuyu was over.

With that in mind, should it have been a surprise that Chifuyu was not pleased when she had gotten to the classroom in time to see Sai giving his "introduction." The introduction was merely him giving his name and saying it was a pleasure to meet the girls in the class. That wasn't the issue Chifuyu had as the greeting was proper enough to pass with her. It was what followed or rather the firm tone it was given in which irked Chifuyu. His statement of giving no more info was kind of annoying, but she wouldn't hold that against him. No, it was him setting a tone of calm defiance which Chifuyu wouldn't let stand. It was what motivated her to move forward and "smack" some needed sense into Sai. However, Sai shoved back from his desk just before Chifuyu could make contact with his head.

Sai's gaze had gone from a momentary glare to a passive expression as he continued to gaze at Chifuyu. Sai respected Chifuyu for a couple of reasons which most wouldn't understand without knowing the background Sai didn't go into. The major reason was she very often saved him from the clutches of the hasenpfeffer and the porcelain life-sized doll. The two women had taken a "shine" to Sai after meeting him. That shine was responsible for some of Sai's issues with intimate gestures among other things. So, with the things the two before mentioned women had done to Sai, Chifuyu's intervention had been as a godsend. Then taken Sai into her family that was her and Ichika had done wonders for Sai. Yet, seeing Chifuyu again was nice as he'd not seen her since Ichika's funeral. His efforts to track down where Chifuyu was had been frustrating with nothing to show for it. Sai had tried to find Chifuyu to get a letter to her at the very least, but without knowing where Chifuyu was, that hadn't done anything. Thus, he wasn't happy that Chifuyu had attempted to hit his head. There was nothing he'd done or not done that his sister had a reason to strike him, so he wouldn't take the punishment she was sending. "That's quite the greeting, Chifuyu," Sai remarked calmly. "Most people would call you out on trying to strike them you know."

Chifuyu was further ticked off with Sai's response to her trying to help shape him up as he needed. He may have dodged her first swing, but she would put some sense into him. His behavior was lacking since the last time she'd been around him by what she could tell. Chifuyu wouldn't let Sai act up around the academy without correction being served to him. So, she tried striking him again, but Sai once more moved out of the way. It was on the fourth strike that Chifuyu's fist made contact with Sai's mid-section. All the air left Sai's body and he sank to the chair at his desk before he was breathing with effort. "You will call me Miss Orimura at school, Mr. Taichi" Chifuyu stated firmly, to which Sai nodded. Chifuyu left Sai like that and headed to the front of the room to do her duties as the homeroom teacher.

Sai was trying to catch his breath after taking the blow Chifuyu had given him in his mid-section. He'd known that when his and Chifuyu's paths would cross again things would unlikely be pretty. Sai knew the two of them should've talked before going their separate ways, but they hadn't. Things had been painful at the time with losing Ichika which had been weighing on them both. However, the distance which had developed wasn't entirely Sai's fault as he'd tried to reach out to Chifuyu. But Sai was sure his chosen path in life would intersect with Chifuyu's at some point. Yet, he hadn't wanted it to be in this kind of environment that the Academy provided. Heck, Sai wouldn't have guessed nor believed that Chifuyu would take a teaching job at a place like the academy. Nonetheless, Sai couldn't help but wonder if this didn't have something to do with the bunny's underlining motive for having him go to the academy. It would be a little out of place for the rabbit to try and get Chifuyu and Sai to make up with one another. Sai sent a glare back at Chifuyu to tell her that he wasn't amused with her actions.

Maya was relieved to see Miss Orimura arriving. The air in the room had been getting harder to deal with the long Maya had been in it. Miss Orimura was better at dealing with a tense air than Maya could ever hope to be. There had been a question if Miss Orimura would be around to manage the homeroom class with the mandatory staff meeting this morning. There hadn't been much as to what the meeting would be about that Maya had heard. However, as it had been for non-sub teachers, Maya figured she would be told about the subject matter later. "Oh, you're back," Maya remarked, "does that mean that the meeting is over already?" Chifuyu nodded, "That's right Miss Yamada," she said in a nice tone. "I'm sorry about having to make you welcome my class for me."

Sai was getting somewhat irritated as he watched the exchange between Chifuyu and Miss Yamada. He knew things weren't the nicest between him and Chifuyu since they had parted ways. Yet, Sai would've thought Chifuyu would at least be kind of understanding and not cold to him. However, that was what Sai was seeing, to others Chifuyu's behavior ranged from nice to tolerant. But with him, she was cold, no hint of anything which could point to her caring about him at all. Sai knew their relationship was strained at the very least, but he hadn't thought they had become this bad. Granted, Ichika's death had hit them both hard, but that shouldn't lead to what there was now. Looking back, Sai once again wished Ichika was still alive as he'd been what had held their family together.

The point of Chifuyu's behavior, it translated into Sai having to take care of himself and not be able to rely on any for assistance, even the one who was supposed to be his adopted sister. To understand that hurt Sai a bit as he really wanted to get back on good terms with Chifuyu, but that wasn't looking likely for the time being. Sai was used to taking care of himself in the circumstances he was in. He'd been doing that for close to three years while he'd been studying in the US. The IS Academy would just be a more stressful environment than Cornell University had been. Sai had expected that point, but he'd hoped there could be some which could be of assistance sometimes. He kept his silence as Chifuyu faced the students in the room, "Alright class, I'm your homeroom teacher Miss Chifuyu Orimura. It's my job to train you well enough to stand on your feet in one year."

Sai didn't know whether to laugh at how absurd this was becoming or curse the bunny for shoving him into this. He could go either way truthfully. This was unfortunately reminiscent of some of what Sai had faced back in high school to an extent. That was expected by Sai with him going to the IS Academy. However, with Chifuyu here, Sai would've thought she wouldn't make things horrible like he'd faced back in high school. The woman knew somewhat what he'd faced back at the time, so she would understand what him being here would be like. Sai wasn't worried about the general course on Infinite Stratos, that would be an easy A class for him. The practical would be similar as he'd been working toward testing his unit anyway in this semester. Sai wouldn't be put off by Chifuyu's way of managing things. She was the kind of training that would make a tough American drill sergeant retire due to embarrassment of being outdone.

While the time Sai would have to spend here wouldn't be the most pleasant, perhaps it wouldn't be all bad. The chance to reconnect with Chifuyu was something Sai wouldn't say no to given the opportunity. Whether he would get that opportunity, he couldn't say with things as they were right now. Sai would try and be optimistic in this as Ichika would say he should be. He didn't know how far that could go, but he would still attempt to do his best. Sai suspected the girls at the academy would be what would test his control and "optimism." But Sai would manage to look after himself as he had been for the last few years.

Sai glanced around the room to take in the reactions of the girls to Chifuyu's opening to them. From what he saw, all but two girls reacted with excitement to varying degrees. The two girls which didn't follow the rest in their reaction stood out to Sai. One was a girl with long blonde hair that was in curls and had blue eyes. The other girl which was to Sai's left on the same row Sai's desk was on held Sai's attention for a moment. The girl reminded him of something, but he couldn't put his finger on what. The rest of the class screamed with excitement at Chifuyu's greeting and statement. Sai couldn't help himself but shake his head at the girls' response to Chifuyu. They had no idea what kind of person Chifuyu Orimura was that Sai had gotten to know. Outside of the public eye, she wasn't a bad person, nice around family, or used to be at least. However, while around the public, Chifuyu was the serious type which one didn't cross unless they wanted trouble. Such types of people shouldn't incite excitement from those they were around in Sai's opinion.

" Oh, it's lady Chifuyu, that's really lady Chifuyu," said a girl a row behind Sai and to his right.

"The one who inspired me to come to this school from Kita Kyushu! I'd die for you!" said another in the row behind the first.

Chifuyu had done a lot of different jobs in her life, some dangerous and others just plain tedious. This teaching job felt more toward the tedious end of the spectrum. She was still unhappy that Sai had suddenly popped back up into her life without a word, but she could confront him later about that and other things. The reaction of the girls in the class Chifuyu was over were some of the more foolish ones that she'd seen. At least Sai wasn't making a scene like they were, she would give the boy that much. If it was just dealing with these girls in class, then Chifuyu wouldn't have as much of a problem. But no, she would also be forced to look after them somewhat as the dorm manager for the building they were in. That was one of the things which had been discussed in the staff meeting which Chifuyu hadn't liked. So, Chifuyu just sighed, "It's amazing how many nut jobs come to this school every year," she commented. "Do they put all the loonies in my class on purpose?"

Sai heard Chifuyu's remark and couldn't help but agree with the sediment she had. The girls may not be outright insane or majorly crazy, but their behavior was odd to say the least. And that Chifuyu wasn't doing anything about that was even odder to Sai. The woman wasn't one that took flak unless she had to, which was rare from what he'd seen. So, why would Chifuyu take a job which she dealt with gushing girls? Sai himself didn't have much of a choice at the moment than to take this crap, thanks to the bunny blackmailing him. But Chifuyu being here didn't make any real sense to Sai and that was bugging him. He would love to get Chifuyu alone and ask her why she was here and taking what she was. Maybe he could arrange something later to get that, he couldn't say at the moment. All but the two previously mentioned girls and Sai, screamed some more hearing Chifuyu's response. Sai merely rolled his eyes in annoyance and said nothing of his thoughts of how foolish the girls were acting.

"Lady Chifuyu, scold us more," exclaimed another girl, "Cuss us out!"

"Train us so we don't misbehave," called another.

Sai shook his head again in a gesture of annoyed acceptance in response to his classmates' behavior. He felt he would be doing that often while around the IS Academy unfortunately. Once again, Sai couldn't for the life of him explain why girls seemed to be weird until they matured later on. It wasn't the first time he'd seen girls act in a manner that didn't make sense to him at all. This was just one of the more extreme examples of odd behavior to Sai that he'd seen in a while. The teenage years seemed to be the worst for the odd behavior from what Sai had seen. He'd stopped trying to understand why girls did what they did, it wasn't worth the work and time it would take to get a potential answer.

There was a sharp pain in Sai's heart again which was him missing his friends back at Cornell University. Sai was sure he would be having these sharp twinges of pain while he was at the academy. He longed for sensible company which wouldn't put him in the spotlight like these girls were doing. Sai felt he was one of the few sane people in a sea of craziness which he couldn't seem to get out of right now. He hoped there were a few girls that might be "normal" and not see him as something other than what and who he was. However, his hopes for that weren't especially high at the moment with what he was seeing. Not with their idolizing of Chifuyu which was a mistake with how Sai knew the woman.

To put Sai's current circumstances in another way, the "teacher" he would have to deal with was a woman he knew would be hard to get stuff past. He would have to work to earn his grade, which wasn't a bad thing in the end. Sai had professors before at Cornell that made their students work for the grade they got, and Sai was okay with that. His classmates would cause him trouble for however long he was at the academy, he had little doubt about that. Sai had heard the phrase "giggling high school girls" before, but this was more extreme than he'd seen thus far. He would definitely be busier here at the academy than he'd been at Cornell. It wouldn't be the schoolwork though he felt that would be challenging with the classes he was taking. It would be time management with the girls pestering him in whatever way they would. Sai couldn't stop the sigh that escaped him, "I knew this would be a long and grueling semester coming here," he muttered. "Chifuyu being here makes it not as bad as I thought it would be initially, but still, this is going to be rough."

Chifuyu twisted around and glared at Sai at the line he'd just uttered. She may not know what brought him to the IS Academy yet, but she wouldn't be going easy on him. Sai looked back at Chifuyu and tensed up a bit at seeing her glaring at him flexing her hands together. He knew the signs, she'd heard him and wasn't pleased with the line he'd said even if it was the truth. Sai hadn't missed Chifuyu insisting that he address her formally as a teacher. He just didn't see a reason to heed that instruction as formalities hadn't really been a thing between them before. Plus, Sai didn't intend to let Chifuyu tell him what to do without giving him a valid reason why he should listen to her. He'd been doing just dandy looking after himself for more than three years without anything from her. "So, have the instruction regarding addressing your instructor not taken root yet, Taichi," Chifuyu demanded. "I can hammer them in more if that is required."

Manners was a subject that Sai used when he felt there was a need for them. Addressing Chifuyu wasn't one of those times which manners were needed in Sai's mind. However, this was a chance to establish standing and show Chifuyu he wouldn't just do what he was told. Sai knew it was best to set standing with Chifuyu as early as possible. Granted, she may not agree with said standing, but it set the tone which things tended to work by. Thus, Sai didn't shrink from the glare coming from Chifuyu, "Oh, I heard your instructions," Sai replied. "I just choose to not follow them Chifuyu, that should be clear enough by this point. You may think there isn't a difference in listening to instruction and following them, but I do." Sai paused for a moment glaring back at Chifuyu, "So, don't go thinking you can tell me what to do without explaining to me why I should listen to AND follow instructions from you."

Chifuyu would applaud Sai for making a stand for himself, he had some issues with doing that before. He was showing signs that he had improved himself in some ways and Chifuyu was all for that. Yet, he had developed an argumentative attitude which wasn't helpful at all for him. He would follow instructions from her whether he thought he should or not. Regardless, whether they had been family or not, he would behavior properly while around the academy, Chifuyu would make sure of that personally. Chifuyu moved to be in front of Sai's desk, "You care to say that again and correct your statement," she posed. Chifuyu wanted to give Sai a chance to do what was best for him in this.

Sai assumed that Chifuyu wouldn't have changed much since the last time he'd seen her. She was good at the art of intimidation, Sai wouldn't deny that. However, Sai wouldn't buckle under that said intimidation without fighting back against it. He was forced to be at the IS Academy by the bunny blackmailing him. Sai wasn't here to have fun or live things up as some might think. If that's what Chifuyu thought of his presence here, then he would correct that view. "I leave my statement to stand," Sai returned, "I see no need to correct anything I've said to you thus far. Should that be an issue for you, then feel free to try to change my mind Chifuyu."

Chifuyu had extended a chance for Sai to correct himself on the way he'd addressed her, and he'd declined. He would now have to face the consequences of his choice. Chifuyu sent her right fist at Sai, to which he dodged. The next shot Sai caught and held her from pushing forward. Chifuyu hadn't expected Sai to block her as he had. It suggested that he could've learned some sort of martial arts or other combat style. She wouldn't let that allow Sai to get away with things while he was around the academy. Chifuyu kept pushing forward slowly, yet Sai didn't back down under that. Chifuyu didn't like the smile that came to Sai's face as he didn't back down to her. "Don't think you will be able to roll over me to get what you want," he remarked. "I will stand my ground even against you."

Chifuyu may not like that Sai had developed some sort of defiance to authority. It would take time and work to correct that with him. However, she couldn't help but be a tad proud that Sai was standing up for himself. It was a good change from what he'd been like during his high school days. But while he was here, he would show a minimum amount of respect to the staff of the academy at the very least. "You meant to say Miss Orimura right," Chifuyu insisted in the threatening tone she used when she was getting a point across. "That's what you meant to say when addressing me, correct Taichi?"

Sai got the point that was being put across by Chifuyu. While he was here, he would need to show some respect for the staff of the academy. If he did not do that, there would be consequences given by Chifuyu herself. The consequences from his sister were always harsh and normally worse than what could be received from others. Sai didn't have issues addressing the academy staff with some manners, it was more the girls around the academy that Sai wouldn't do that with. He wanted that to be clear and he hoped that Chifuyu had gotten that point with what he'd said to her. Plus, the force which Chifuyu was using against him increased notably after Chifuyu had given her threat. That increase made it much harder for Sai to keep her at bay and not hit him again. He would lose if he didn't give Chifuyu what she wanted to some degree, and he didn't want that to be witnessed by his classmates. "If you insist, Miss Orimura," Sai replied, enunciating her name to make it clear he may be complying but not giving in. "But what I've said still stands as I won't retract any of it."

Chifuyu wanted to discipline Sai for his defiance, but it would be best that not happen in the classroom. She would have to seek him out and teach him the need for proper manners being used around the academy later. Him addressing her as stated was good enough for the moment. So, Chifuyu backed off before she returned to the teacher's lectern. Sai lowered himself back into his chair, still gazing at Chifuyu to make sure she knew there hadn't been a winner in their face-off. Sai considered the ending as a draw, not that either side won over the other.

T here had been silence in the room as the two had been interacting with each other, even Miss Yamada hadn't said anything. While it wasn't unheard of for Miss Orimura to confront some of the students of the academy, it was rare. Normally, it was with students that would act up or break several rules. Miss Orimura was unofficially the head enforcer of the IS Academy's security and rules personnel. Because of that, for another to stand up against the woman was something that didn't usually happen. And it wasn't just that which was odd about the interaction between Miss Orimura and Taichi. It was also that they seemed to know one another more than if acquaintances. So, many of the girls in the room gasped, "Wait what," one piped up. "You mean that Taichi knows lady Chifuyu on a friendly basis?"

"I wonder if that has something to do with the fact that he is the only male in the world who can control an IS," said another.

Sai held in the flinch at that question which came from one of his classmates. It was a reminder of why he hated the spotlight among other things. Sai had put forth efforts to have the world not know about him or that he could use an IS unit. He'd found it was much less hassle to live out of the notice of the general public. Sai was well-aware that the rabbit would completely disagree with his sentiments, but she was an idiot in that respect. But all that work he'd done to have the peaceful life was undone by none other than the bunny herself. Sai had found that out a day after the call from the woman, she had put info out on the net which said he could use IS units. If he argued that, it would cause more trouble which he didn't want to deal with. It was yet another reason he wanted the bunny to pay for what he'd roped him into.

The point had already caused him to deal with things which he'd hoped to avoid. While some in the US government knew Sai was knowledgeable about Infinite Stratos, they hadn't been fully aware that he could use one. Granted, there were a select few that were aware of the point, but not enough to get Sai out of the interrogation he'd been treated to. The one interrogation had been enough to last him a lifetime, and that was before the one he'd gotten doing the favor for the bunny the last time she'd popped up in his life. He wouldn't be answering any of the question the girls had asked about him thus far, and this one would be at the top of the list. It was more a reminder of why he was here at the academy and the one he would find and punish.

Chifuyu wouldn't let rumors about what could be between her and Sai go around the academy. Chifuyu may not know the exact reasons Sai had to come to the academy, but she would doubt it was for being around the girls. Sai didn't like being fawned over and the like, Tabane and Alice had made absolutely sure of that. Chifuyu may not be able to help Sai directly with what the girls may try doing to Sai, but she could do some things for him. "That's enough," Chifuyu barked to get order back in the room. All in the room went quiet at that and listened to Chifuyu as she went on, "Your syllabus for the next six months begins with memorizing all data concerning the IS. After that practical training, where you'll have two weeks to master the basic maneuvers. So, have you got that? Even if you don't, say yes ma'am."

The girls answer her of course by saying, "Yes Ma'am!"

With Sai having established his position for the time being, he relaxed a bit. Chifuyu shouldn't push him for things for the time being as far as Sai could figure. Sai hoped his classmates would leave him be for a day or two so he could prepare for potential situations that could come up. Sai didn't think all the girls would be nice enough to do that, or even the majority would give him that to work with given the opportunity. But hope and preparation were the best two things Sai had to work with around the academy. He already planned to get out of the classroom as quickly as possible when the break came. He would employ all the skills he'd acquired to vanish as he found necessary.

As for the course which Chifuyu would "oversee" was as Sai had suspected, an easy A class. Sai assumed that Miss Yamada would be teaching the material for the technical class for the IS. Chifuyu would be in charge of the practical, and that was fine by Sai. The technical class would be tedious since Sai knew the manual it used. He'd glanced it over in the week before the semester started. He recognized the manual as he had written parts of it under an alias. So, he knew as much if not more than Miss Yamada did from the manual. Heck, Sai knew more about the IS which wasn't in the "official" manual. The students would unlikely learn things he knew about the IS, but he was one of the inventors, so that was expected.

Maya was glad that Chifuyu had managed to calm things down. Her confronting Mr. Taichi had made her worried for a bit, but it had ended okay. She could move onto the lesson and hopefully things would not go out of control as they had. So, Maya took the spot in front of the lectern, "Now, as I'm sure you're all aware, IS actually stands for Infinite Stratos." Maya brought up the images for the lesson and continued, "It's a multi-form suit originally developed in Japan."

Sai stopped paying active attention to the lesson as it was stuff he was already well aware of. Most in the world knew that IS means these days, it was a household name after all. Yet, technically, Sai knew it wasn't exactly developed in Japan as history says it was. The bunny, doll, and he did the work on an island to the south of the Japanese mainland. The island may be in Japanese territory, it wasn't officially owned by the nation. As far as Sai knew, the island was thought to be uninhabited, which was the story that he and the other two women put out to keep others away. As the majority of the funding at the time came from Japan, they were given the credit for the place the IS came out of. And to save face with the global community, it's just said that the IS was developed in Japan rather than being more specific.

"It was believed to be first conceived almost eight years ago and was presented a year after that." Maya stated. "It was originally designed to be used in outer space, however, those ideas are currently on hold."

Sai held in the sigh that wanted to get out of him at the mention of outer space for the IS to be used for. That had been one of the ideas which had been thrown around during discussion between him, the bunny, and doll. He'd been in favor for applying the IS to stuff in space. It came from a dream to reach for the stars that Sai had as a kid. However, in the end, Sai had been outvoted by the other two in the IS's main application. They had said there were far more interesting uses the IS could be used for as their argument. The two had never called him a dumb kid or anything, but it had felt that way sometimes with Sai when they didn't appear to listen to his opinions.

"Due to the Alaska Treaty, the IS is also prohibited from being used by the military," Miss Yamada iterated. "Therefore, it's used solely for competitions and sporting events. And our IS Academy is the only educational institution in the world established with the objective of training IS pilots."

The Alaska Treaty was a necessity in Sai's opinion. He feared that there would've been a horrible development war for the IS to be used as weapons and bring war around the globe. History made it clear that new technology tended to be employed for military purposes if given the chance and rules not in place to stop that. Sai didn't admit the point to others, but he'd had a bit of a hand in the drafting of the treaty. It hadn't been directly, but he'd still done things to make sure the Alaska Treaty covered as much as possible. Sai would neither confirm or deny that he had worked on the point to get back at the two women that had insisted on other applications for the IS. He didn't think the competition with ISs was much different than military applications, but that was beyond what he could do about it. At least there wasn't IS used for outright wars around the world and Sai would take that for now.

"Students from all around the world come to this school where young people from a multitude of different countries get to live, work, and study side by side every day as they hone and perfect their piloting skills." Miss Yamada smiled, "So, starting today let's all get along and study hard over the next three years."

Sai had no intention of sticking around the IS Academy for three years if there was any way to get out of it. He would spend the time to figure out where the bunny was hiding and how to properly punish her. The rabbit should know that Sai had no interest being around those his own age since he didn't get along with them normally. She should also be well-aware that he had issues with intimate gestures because of the cuddling she and the doll had done to him. Sai couldn't say if he could get Chifuyu to help him if he told her the truth. It was questionable as it would bring up other things that Sai would rather not bring up with his sister. Chifuyu wouldn't condone what the bunny had done to him the last time, Sai was sure of that. But she wouldn't have let him do what he wanted over in the US either if he hadn't left Japan when he had.

"Yes Ma'am," the girls in the class collectively replied.

While the technical course may be easy subject matter, Sai had the nagging feeling it wouldn't be so simple in the end. He wouldn't say no to an easy course if that was how things come out for the semester. It could help him keep up with his college classes that he was still taking. And yet, it seemed too simple for something the bunny had roped him into. Sai had found that anything the rabbit was involved in was anything but simple. The bunny never ever made things simple, for herself or for anyone else. So, everything was going too well for Sai for him to be comfortable with the circumstances as they were. His intuition was telling him to be on-guard for some sort of curveball to come his way. It would be the classic situation the bunny would throw him into. It started okay, and sometimes simple, but then took a turn for the worse and went south faster than Sai could ever predict.

The rest of the technical class went by without incident. Sai was almost bored out of his mind as a result of the class, but that was a different point. Most easy As were boring since they didn't tend to teach things one didn't already know. There had been two times that Sai had been tempted to put his head down and nap. But he knew that wouldn't end well for him with Chifuyu observing the students. Sai kind of figured he would be held to a higher standard than the others at the academy. He'd been planning with that point in mind, but it was somewhat worse than he had expected from the get-go. And it was harsher still with Chifuyu being the one watching him so he couldn't act up in any way. Chifuyu wouldn't let him get away with a great deal and she knew of his capabilities that others weren't aware of.

In fact, Sai would say that he felt singled out as he was under observation and not allowed to act up at all. However, the rest of his classmates were allowed to stare as much as they wanted at Sai and not pay attention to Miss Yamada. And they weren't getting called out for not paying attention as Sai felt he would. The girls could get away with crap that Sai couldn't with his sister watching him, and it wasn't fair in his opinion. Sai couldn't help but wonder if his sister had somehow conspired against him with the girls. That was the last thing Sai needed, Chifuyu as an enemy to his safety. That woman could do him harm better than others could do potentially.

The chatter or rather the gossip which the girls got down to after class had been dismissed didn't help Sai's mood. He wasn't deaf at all, so he could hear what his "classmates" were whispering about him. It wasn't that much different than what they had before class. "Look that's him, he is the only guy in the world that can use an IS," one girl said. Sai glanced around and saw there were more girls plastered against the windows of the room from the hall. He knew his popularity would be high, and he wanted none of it. To Sai, popularity equaled attention from many around the individual and the spotlight on said individual. He desired that kind of thing as being humiliated by choice in public.

As for their questions as to why he could pilot an IS, there was nothing that would get Sai to tell them the truth. The fact of the matter was Sai happened to be one of the two original test pilots of the prototype units invented. One had worked so well for him which had been a surprise at first, but later had made some sense. But that unit never "officially existed" so wasn't talked about by the four who knew of its existence. Chifuyu had never liked that prototype Sai knew, and he doubted that had changed at all with what she had done to it. Then with Sai being one of the three inventors/creators was a subject which was an even worse subject for him. It would ruin the "semi-normal" life Sai had worked hard to create for himself. The bunny did more than enough of that in Sai's opinion, he didn't want others helping in that crap.

Sai so wanted to spin around and snap at his classmates and the other girls to mind their own damn business and leave him alone. If there was even the slightest chance for him telling the girls off would help him, then he would've done it already. But he didn't do it since it wouldn't help his circumstances as it was a nearly zero-percent chance any would listen to him. Sai was of the mentality that if something is almost impossible to happen regardless of what he did, then don't waste the time on the point. That mentality had served him extremely well so far and he didn't see why it would change.

"I heard that he operated an IS during the entrance exam set up for him," another girl said. "He did that before the exam which was why it was set up for him right away."

Sai shook his head at the memories of the "exam" which had been set up for him before coming to the academy. He'd hoped to get out of the exam, but there had been some in the US government that had insisted he be put through one. Sai had understood the idea of needing a way to measure his skill and abilities, he didn't have an issue with that. It had been short enough that it hadn't been so bad even if it had been a waste to him in the end. Yet, that was how some tests were, Sai had learned that from school. No, it was the exam that was put out for the public to hear about which irked Sai. That had encouraged the media to bother him after the exam, which had been more than annoying and irritating. As if Sai needed to be reminded of the media attention he'd gotten, the next thing he heard gave him that. "Yeah, it was big international news," one of his classmates remarked.

Sai tried to ignore the gossiping that was going on between the girls, oh did he try. However, there was just something about teenage girls gossiping that touched a nerve with Sai, more so when it was about him. He had a pet peeve about others gossiping about him while they were around him as if he wasn't there. It had happened often when Sai was young, it had been the start of the ostracizing that he'd faced. His high school years had shown that listening to such only irritated Sai more. Normally, he could ignore and dismiss the gossip, but when it was done when he was around and hearing it, the point become much harder to ignore.

The subject of the news didn't help Sai to not snap at the girls. The reminder of the media making things frustrating for a time after the exam wasn't pleasant. Reporters bugged him for a solid week, making getting work Sai had to do done harder. Sai had been forced to go to the Cornell Campus security along with members of the university administration for help with the media. After that, the media hadn't bugged Sai while he'd been on campus for the most part. There had been a few reporters and journalists that had been persistent and had Sai getting more creative to get them to leave him alone. It had come down to restraining orders and the paparazzi that Sai had given a left hook and right uppercut. Those two things got the media to leave Sai alone overall and be more polite in asking him for time and questions.

"So, he did come to this school after all," said yet another girl.

Sai was already developing a headache from the annoyance he was feeling. He put a hand to his temple and tried to massage it to get the headache to lessen for the moment. Sai would curse the bunny for all the good it would do. He would make her pay for putting him into this situation somehow given enough time. If Sai could do that and go back to Cornell, he would give a great deal to get that to happen. Instead, he thought of his friends to attempt to calm down and not lose his temper around the girl. Remembering times with his friends had always helped Sai get through hard times. It was why he valued them as he did, they were literal life savers for him.

"You should go talk to him," a fourth girl suggested.

Sai wasn't interested in speaking with the girls gossiping about him like he wasn't there. They would have to approach him later if they really wanted the time. Perhaps if the teenage hormones settled down, things would go smoother for them. Sai didn't have much issue controlling the hormones he dealt with. He couldn't say why these girls were letting them influence them unlike his doing for him. Yeah, he'd been forced to grow up and take care of himself at an early age, but that shouldn't be the only contributing factor. "Maybe I should," said the third voice. "Wait a minute! Are you trying to get ahead of us," said the second voice.

Sai exhaled heavily at the argument he was hearing. Once again, Sai felt that teenage girls were odd creatures that he would unlikely ever understand even if he tried. His thoughts began turning to possible paths and methods to slip away from the classroom and away from the girls. Sai could do it. It was a skill set he'd developed and kept sharp. Disappearing was something he'd learned as a means of survival around the bunny and doll. Escaping those two Sai had found had been extremely difficult. And if Sai could slip away from those two when put to it, then he could get away from pretty much anyone. He'd used the week before the semester to explore the academy enough to find some great spots he could slip away to and get away from those that would chase him.

The gossip he'd been hearing was irritating and he'd had enough of hearing it for the time being. Sai put the IS manual into his back and slid out of his chair, not standing at his full height. He was making himself as inconspicuous as possible so he could vanish and move through the girls and not be noticed. Yet, before Sai could blend into the crowd and head for the door, another came up to him and blocked his path. Sai was a tad surprised that a girl had approached him already. And that said girl had managed to catch him before he could slip away from those gossiping about him. So, he glanced at the one who had caught him before he could disappear.

The girl's height was approximately five-foot-three give or take less than an inch either way. She had long hair that was colored a dark purple that had a tint of brown and it went down past her waist. Currently, it was tied into a ponytail with a green ribbon and her hair seemed to naturally split into two separate tails. Sai's gaze halted for a moment on her chest as it stuck out, both figuratively and literally. He was surprised that a girl his age was as well-endowed with her bust as the one he was seeing. From his estimate, the girl was around a healthy D, perhaps an E honestly if Sai would state his observation. The girl was pretty if Sai was honest, more so than the gossipers that were still going on. However, the most notable feature right now would be her dark blue eyes, which were staring at him.

The clothing she was sporting happened to be the standard academy's uniform if Sai were to guess. It was similar to what Sai had been forced to wear at least, though there were a few differences. Instead of a "dress shirt" the girl had a blouse which was an equivalent. Then there was a blue ribbon tied around the neck rather than a tie as Sai had. But there was the same kind of white blazer, including the red embroidery Sai's blazers had. Yet, as Sai studied further, it wasn't a blazer the girl had, more a combo of a blazer and skirt with the skirt stopping at the mid-thigh with a black inch thick stripe at the bottom. The sleeves' cuffs began with a thick red stripe at the wrists with three-inch slits on the outsides. Then, there was a "belt" that sat at the waist and appeared decretive. She was wearing thigh-high socks and mid-calf length boots.

At the same time, Houki Shinonono was left to wonder several things about Mr. Taichi. She'd been watching him during class and had several questions about him. From what she'd seen, Houki wanted to know more about the boy which was odd for her. It was clear to him that Taichi was different than any guy that Houki had met before now. She couldn't exactly place what set him apart from other guys, but there were subtle things that Houki had seen which had stuck out. Yet, watching him hadn't done much to answer the questions that were coming to Houki's mind. Because of that, Houki had decided to approach him and ask him some things so she could assess him better.

His greeting to the class had been different than what any of the other girls had given. Yet, there hadn't been anything wrong with his greeting as he'd given his name and said it was nice to meet them. But he had made it clear he saw no reason to say more about himself unless he felt inclined to. His interaction with Professor Orimura had been odder as he'd stood up to her. It was rare for any to stand up to Chifuyu Orimura Houki knew. It made her wonder if the two somehow knew one another, though Houki couldn't begin to guess how the two could've met. As Houki recalled Ichika saying, Chifuyu traveled a lot, so the two crossing paths was possible.

The other thing which Houki had noticed about Taichi was he didn't want the attention he was getting from the other students. He may not snap at others or lose his temper with all the gossip going on about him, but he had shown signs he didn't like the girls talking about him. It appeared to Houki that he was trying to ignore what the other girls were saying and doing in relation to him. Houki hadn't missed some flirting with Taichi already, it had been kind of disgusting to her. The academy was a school, not a love hotel or something like that. However, Taichi hadn't acknowledged the flirting at all, merely ignored it like he was the gossiping and stares.

Houki would admit Taichi's appearance wasn't bad on the eyes, he was rather handsome. He was taller than her by several centimeters, but he didn't tower over her. His figure was lean yet fit compared to most guys that Houki had seen, even several that came around her family's dojo. The guy's thick mop of black hair looked to be well kept with its many straight spike-like follicles. The style was kind of odd with it looking well-kept to Houki. His eyes were a dark reddish color with a tint of brown in them which held her attention for a moment. He was in an academy uniform though it wasn't the same as what the girls wore. Houki noted that Taichi's uniform was very well-kept, she couldn't spot a single wrinkle on the clothing. That was a tad surprising as Houki hadn't really met a guy her age that appeared to take care of his appearance like Taichi seemed to.

As Houki approached him, she saw that he was putting things into his messenger bag. He slid off his chair and was keeping kind of low. Houki figured that Taichi was trying to slip away, which she couldn't exactly blame him with what was going on around him. But Houki wanted to talk to Taichi before he vanished to wherever he did. Taichi seemed to notice Houki's approach as his gaze shifted to be on her. The expression that came to Taichi's face was not the one that Houki normally got. It said that something about her had Taichi trying to figure out something, what Houki couldn't say. However, after a moment, Taichi did speak, "Hello Miss is there something you wanted?" Houki took a breath, "Can we talk for a minute," she asked. "I had some questions that I hoped you could answer."

Sai had been curious why the girl had been coming up to him. She hadn't been among those that were gossiping, which was a good thing to him. However, there was something about the girl that he just couldn't place which was vaguely familiar. Sai was sure he'd never met the girl before, he would remember one like her enough to not forget them so quickly. Yet, there was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind which wouldn't leave which said something was familiar. It was a form of déjà vu which didn't make sense with him never having met her. Sai pushed the feeling to the back of his mind for the time being intending to look into it later. That the girl had approached him by her own accord was to be applauded. And it sounded to Sai she genuinely wanted to ask some questions about him which he wasn't against.

Nonetheless, a conversation in the classroom wouldn't go well as there would be many that would be listening in and not give any privacy. Thus, the conversation would be better if it happened elsewhere away from the other girls. The problem with doing that was there weren't a lot of places around the academy that one could go for private conversations. The closest spot that Sai knew of was the roof. He didn't think the girl that had approached him would have an issue going to the roof to ask whatever questions she had. "I have no qualms with answering questions," Sai remarked then paused glancing around the room. "However, I would think that would be done better elsewhere where others aren't inclined to listening in."

Houki's gaze swept the classroom and saw what Taichi was referring to. There were already several girls paying rapt attention to what they were saying to each other. She would agree with Taichi that it would be better to talk in an environment where others weren't listening in. Not that any of the questions she had were private ones, but she didn't want others to interpret such. But there weren't many places that Houki could think of which a conversation could occur without others potentially listening in. "Did you have somewhere in mind," Houki inquired evenly. Taichi nodded, "I happen to know a few spots that others don't frequent which a conversation can take place and others not eavesdrop in on." Sai gestured for Houki to follow him before he began heading for the door.

Houki quickly began following Taichi as he was heading for the door. She couldn't say where he planned for their conversation to take place, but he seemed to have somewhere in mind. As they traveled, Houki noticed that Taichi appeared very good at getting through crowds, and he made it look easy. At least, Houki was kind of surprised at how simple Taichi made weaving through the girls look. And most didn't even seem to realize he was passing them by, which was odd. Houki couldn't help but wonder if Taichi had developed some sort of skill to move through crowds unnoticed. How and why, he could've developed such a skill set, Houki couldn't begin to guess. It was yet another question which led to others about Taichi which Houki would like answers to if she could get them.

It was a little over five minutes before Sai had led the girl to the stairwell which would take them to the roof. As far as he could tell, his travel hadn't been noticed by any in the crowds he'd passed through. Blending in and being invisible among crowds was a skill set that Sai had developed and refined for his own defense. The skill had served him well and he felt it would be a required and frequent lifesaver for him around the academy. It would be one of the many skills that Sai felt he would be using to keep girls from assaulting him in various forms. And he had no issue doing what it took to protect his virtue and other things. Survival was something he knew well and would manage it as he needed to. Sai would prove to the bunny that whatever had her shove him into this situation wouldn't screw him over completely.

Sai opened and held the door to the roof for the girl before he came onto the roof himself. As Sai faced the girl, he realized he hadn't asked or gotten her name yet. He hoped that she would give her name and introduce herself. Sai hadn't really listened to the self-introductions his classmates had done at the behest of Miss Yamada. He knew he should have paid a little attention so he could learn names, but his mind had been occupied with other things at the time. So, he faced the girl and waited for her to say something, give her name and hopefully introduce herself to him. However, silence filled the air, and it quickly became awkward which Sai didn't like. Sai waited a painful minute before he decided to speak first and get the conversation moving. "So, I still haven't gotten your name, Miss," Sai began, "care to inform me?"

For reasons that Houki couldn't understand, she was having issues coming up with what she could say. Her voice wasn't working as it should, which was something that didn't happen to her often or much at all. Houki hadn't had this kind of trouble talking to a guy before, it made no sense. But there was something about Taichi that had her tongue tied and her voice not working properly. The other problem Houki had was the questions she'd wanted to ask had vanished from her mind. She couldn't think of them while being so close and alone with Taichi. This had never happened around any guy before, and it confused Houki. "Umm," Houki uttered, "well…"

The signs that Sai was seeing said the girl was having trouble of some kind. It could be she was tongue tied around him, she wouldn't be the first female to have that issue. Sai didn't think himself as hard to approach, but others had said he could be. He saw the value such could provide for him around the academy. However, Sai didn't want to count on that as a defense as it wouldn't apply to all the girls at the academy. Yet, this girl had approached him by her own initiative which others hadn't. So, Sai wanted to give her a chance to give her name and present whatever questions she had. Thus, he spoke again, "As you probably heard, my name is Sai Taichi," Sai stated. "And you would be?"

Houki had never had issues like she was talking with a guy like she was with Taichi. She couldn't understand why she was reacting the way she was to him. Sure, Houki thought Taichi was handsome to an extent. But that shouldn't make her tongue tied around the guy, that would be stupid. And yet, her body wasn't responding as she wanted, and the point just kept confusing her. Houki had to take a deep breath and forced herself to calm down and face Taichi. "My name is," she hesitated for a moment. Houki's last name normally got her into trouble. It was all because of her sister Tabane and what she had done with the IS. Most that learned of her name would ask about Tabane which Houki knew little to nothing about these days. "Houki Shinonono," Houki finished.

At hearing the name "Shinonono," Sai was forced to pause. He remembered the bunny mentioning she had "family" a couple of times. The woman hadn't given much on the point of details about that said family overall. Sai recalled the rabbit had on two occasions said something about a sister she was supposed to have. From what he could remember, the bunny had given the impression she had some sort of a "sister complex" with how she talked about the other individual. Sai hadn't really cared all that much back at the time, but he had felt a tad sorry for whoever was the bunny's sister. He couldn't help but wonder if this Houki Shinonono was that said sister. If she was, then Sai could certainly sympathize with the crap the girl had to be handed because of what the rabbit would do and had done. But Sai figured it would be a good idea to confirm if his guess was right or not. "I'm sorry, did you say Shinonono," Sai asked. "As in possibly being related to Tabane Shinonono, the scientist who created Infinite Stratos?"

Houki hadn't missed the awkward pause that Taichi had when she had given her name or rather her family name. That part wasn't unexpected, most people would have a pause wondering if they had heard right with Shinonono. His question was also an expected one which Houki had received many times after giving her name. However, what had stuck out to Houki was the way which he'd said Tabane's name. The way Taichi had said Tabane's name inferred strong negative feeling with her, which Houki did understand. She wasn't the happiest with Tabane with how she had vanished from the family without a word one day. Then with the announcement of the Infinite Stratos, that had ruined the family's chance at a peaceful life. There had been little word from Tabane since then that Houki had heard from either of her parents.

However, the other thing which came with the way Taichi had said Tabane's name suggested he could know Houki's sister. As far as Houki knew, Tabane had few if any friends which she had talked about. In fact, there was only one that Houki could recall her mentioning and she couldn't say if the said individual was a friend. Houki had never met or seen the "friend" which Tabane had mentioned that she could recall. And with Tabane staying out of the public eye and in hiding, Houki could only imagine it was rare for others to meet her sister. It was possible that it could've been something Tabane had done to create the negativity which Taichi felt. It wouldn't be a surprise at all to Houki, Tabane wasn't one to think of what her actions did to others. That was more likely than Taichi actually meeting Tabane. Still, Houki nodded in reply to Taichi's question about her relation to Tabane.

Sai couldn't say how sorry he felt for Miss Shinonono for having the bunny as a relative. If the girl was the rabbit's sister, he would be even more sorry for the girl, that would be beyond rough for several reasons. Sai dealing with the woman was harsh enough with past experience. The bunny showed signs she liked him, even when he wouldn't allow expressions of affections from that woman anymore. He could only imagine what the bunny had done had affected her family, and pretty much none of it would be good. Sai may accept the rabbit didn't care about what her actions did the vast majority of the time, but he doubted few others had done the same. He couldn't stop the sigh that escaped him, "You have my condolences for having that woman for a relative." Sai shook his head, "It has to be extremely rough I imagine."

Houki's gaze fell at Taichi's reply as it was truer than he could understand. To say Houki had things hard after Tabane had announced the IS would be an understatement. It was nice for another to say they could sympathize even when they wouldn't understand what position Houki was in because of her sister. Houki didn't get that as often as she used to when she was younger. "That is kind of you to sympathize," Houki remarked. "But she is my older sister truthfully."

Sai had suspected Miss Shinonono could be the sister the bunny had mentioned. He'd hoped the girl wasn't, more for her benefit than anything else. Sai's relationship with the rabbit had been troubling enough and he was a closer to the woman than almost any other besides the doll. Yet, being immediate family couldn't be all that much less harsh than what Sai had to deal with by what he could figure. And he was one of those select few which could genuinely sympathize with what Miss Shinonono dealt with in regard to her sister. "I see," Sai commented. "Then my heartfelt condolences for having her as a sister. That has got to suck badly in more ways than many would understand."

The last line got Houki to look back up at Taichi. It implied he could have met Tabane in some way. It was still possible that he had just been affected by something Tabane had done. But something in Houki had her leaning toward Taichi somehow having met her sister. She still couldn't begin to guess how the two could have crossed paths. The two had little to nothing in common with one another. The little that Houki did get from Tabane, rare and little as that was, hadn't mentioned or implied she knew a guy potentially on a personal level. "Wait," Houki began slowly, "Then do you maybe know my sister?"

Sai said nothing at first, as that was a form of one of the questions he refused to answer truthfully. The connection that Sai had with the bunny was among the darkest secrets he had in his life. But Sai didn't like to lie to others, it was something that tended to differentiate him from the rabbit and doll. And with the bunny rarely out in the public eye, he couldn't play this off as he had just crossed paths with the woman. However, there was a "standard" answer which he'd used before, and he figured it would work in this. Sai could say that something the rabbit did had screwed him over, which wasn't untrue at all. If things changed with Miss Shinonono, then maybe Sai could tell her more. "I know of her," Sai admitted. "It's mostly because of something she did which created a mess that I then was left to clean up to tell the truth. I would rather not get into what mess the woman shoved onto me to screw me over. I will say that cleaning up after one of her messes is never simple or nice, no offense intended toward you. So, please don't ask for details on that."

Houki exhaled heavily at the answer Taichi had given. It had been the most likely scenario of how he could know of Tabane. With how Houki's sister kept hidden most of the time, the chances of Tabane meeting another was slim. And Houki could easily see Tabane doing something and then expecting another to clean up the mess created. That was unfortunately one of the bad habits Tabane had. She now felt bad that she suspected Taichi could be somehow in league with Tabane or something similar. With Taichi having to clean up one of Tabane's messes, he knew Houki's sister about the same way she did. And with that in mind, Houki felt the condolences and sympathy Taichi had been offering meant more than it had before. His understanding made the sympathies more genuine for her than others just saying the words.

Houki looked back at her conduct and suspicions hadn't been fair for Taichi. She wanted to apologize and clear the air between her and Taichi. He really was one of the nicer guys that Houki had met. Something in her said a potential friendship with him would be something she would value. So, Houki bowed to Taichi, "Please let me apologize for my behavior in this conversation thus far," she stated. "It was wrong of me to think you had something to do with my sister. I can understand being affected by her actions and have to deal with a mess that comes from that personally. So, allow me to introduce myself again but properly this time. My name is Houki Shinonono, I look forward to being able to study alongside you."

Words couldn't say properly how grateful Sai was that Miss Shinonono wasn't like her sister. Sai had enough issues with the bunny and that was before her forcing him to attend the IS Academy. If Houki had been similar, he would be in trouble if he had to deal with the same kind of antics. If only the rabbit could be a little more like her younger sister, that would vastly improve the woman's behavior. But that was wishful thinking and Sai knew that for a fact as it had been proven time and time again. Yet, perhaps, Miss Shinonono could be a girl he could talk to and not have to be completely on guard for his safety. Sai wouldn't say no to having one or more of the girls to talk to and they not threaten his safety in some way. So, Sai returned the bow, "The same to you Miss Shinonono," he said amicably. "But please, I prefer to just be called Sai rather than Taichi."

Houki felt a small smile come to her face as Taichi said he would rather be addressed by his first name. He'd seemed unapproachable with his self-introduction that had been done in class. The gossip going around didn't help the reputation which Sai was building whether he meant it to be that way or not. But after the conversation, the guy seemed much easier to talk to than he had been before. It proved to Houki that Taichi was different than any of the guys she'd met previously. And if he wanted to be addressed by his first name, then Houki would prefer the same be done for her. "Well then, just call me Houki," she replied. "That is if you don't mind calling me by my name."

Sai was a tad surprised that the girl he'd been talking to already wanted him to address her by her first name. He hadn't expected that to happen when he agreed to the conversation. Japanese traditionally wouldn't have two so informal after one conversation that Sai knew of. He didn't have an issue calling Miss Shinonono by her first name. Sai didn't miss the smile that had come to Houki's face when he'd told her to call him by his first name. He would admit that the smile did make the girl look quite pretty. Still Sai inclined his head, "If that's what you want," he began, "then sure, I can call you by your name, Houki."

Sai calling her by name sent a warm feeling through her heart. Houki couldn't say exactly what it was about Sai saying her name which got her to feel that way. She kind of wanted to know more about Sai now, as he seemed like such a nice guy. Houki had never felt this way about a guy before this, not even close besides perhaps Ichika. But before she could ask more, the academy bell sounded signaling the next class would soon begin. "Well, the school bell is a-calling." Sai said nonchalantly. "We probably should head in that direction." Sai led the way back into the building and toward the classroom. Houki followed behind him still with questions about him going through her mind.

The rest of the morning seemed to pass by slowly for Sai. The IS classes, including the practical one were boring to him. In the practical course, he could do little for the moment. Without his unit there, there was much less for Sai to do. He didn't see a reason to use a mass-production model even when he'd been offered the chance. Then answering the questions that Chifuyu kept sending his way got annoying. He couldn't argue with her as he wouldn't win, and it would bring up other questions from his peers. So, the time before lunch was boring and slow for Sai and he wished they had gone by faster. Yet, he was grateful when lunch came, and he was freed from being trapped with his peers.

Sai was approached by a girl who identified herself as a member of the Academy's Student Council. She gave Sai the access key card he would need to use the image transmission and project system. The girl also gave him a key which he was told was for the dorm room he would be assigned to for the semester. A piece of paper came with the key which had the building and room number of his assigned dorm room. There was no information as to who his roommate could be from what Sai saw. He would like data on who he would be sharing a room with before meeting them, but it appeared he wouldn't be getting that. Sai didn't have the best feeling with the event he would meet the girl who would be his roommate before knowing anything about them. However, that was out of his hands right now as much as he didn't like it. He thanked the girl for the card, key, and paper he'd been given.

The afternoon had Sai beginning his college courses he'd managed to keep after rearranging his schedule. The classes were far more challenging for him than the morning classes had gotten close to. It was what he was far more used to and wanted to attend than the high school classes. The other part which came with the classes Sai took in the afternoon provided was the time away from his peers. Words couldn't say how much he wanted time away from his "peers" the moment he stepped into his homeroom. The gossiping had concerned him as it gave hints of things to come for him to have to deal with. So, his classes in the afternoon gave him time to decompress from all his peers pressing around him.

When his classes ended, Sai headed back to the cafeteria. He found his classes let out before the high school classes did. Sai had nothing against that point, for it gave him the potential to get dinner and eat the majority before the girls swarmed in. He was looking for patterns he could use to slip away as needed while he was here at the academy. It was one of the skills he used for his own survival in the world he had to work with. So, Sai went and got dinner for himself and sat at one of the tables and began eating. And it was when he was close to finishing the food he'd gotten when some of his peers began streaming into the cafeteria. That got Sai to speed up his eating so he could move to slip away from the room and his peers. More of Sai's pears were coming into the cafeteria as he finished up and took his tray to the kitchen. He then employed his skill he used to blend in and vanish from notice. Slipping away from the cafeteria was simple enough, and none of Sai's peers had shown signs they noticed him.

Sai headed for the area of the academy grounds where the dorms were located. It was an area that Sai had been hoping he could avoid, but that hadn't worked out with his discussion with the headmistress. Yet, Sai was hopefully with his peers around the cafeteria, he wouldn't encounter many in the dorm building he was assigned to for the moment. And as he entered the building his room was supposed to be in, Sai found it essentially deserted. Sai exhaled heavily as he saw he was in the clear for the moment. That would just leave him meeting his roommate and what came with that. Sai would love to end the first day at the academy in a somewhat quiet manner if he could.

Sai made his way down the hallway on the first floor as the room number he'd read on the paper implied the room was on the second floor. He prayed that whoever his roommate was wouldn't actively flirt with him as they could. Sai expected to get the flirting from his peers during the day as they could get away with and the staff not stop them. He was hoping the room he was assigned to would be sort of a sanctuary for him to some degree. Sai already planned to make alterations as he could to the room to keep out some of the more insistent peers that would be around the academy. He figured he would have to get permission from some to do that kind of thing, but Sai could convince who he needed to.

When it came to his roommate, Sai didn't know what to think of who they could be yet. With him being the only guy at the academy, he was essentially public target number one in several ways. It was reminiscent of what he'd faced in high school which he didn't like. There was the difference of him not being younger than those around him as he was the last time, but Sai didn't see that making much difference for him. Being the singular male, that also meant his roommate would be a girl, there was nothing he could do about that. He'd already tried to get some sort of exception with the headmistress, but that hadn't worked out the way he'd hoped for. And there were some girls which Sai had seen that he would definitely not want as roommates if given the choice in the matter. Those would be the ones that had already tried flirting with him on day one. If any of them turned out to be his roommate, then he would have to do something to change rooms and hope that could help him. That was Sai's main concern about his roommate that he'd not met yet.

It took a moment of studying for Sai to figure out the numbering system the dorm used for the dorm rooms. When he had the system down, he got a general idea where the room which had the number of the room he was assigned should be. So, Sai trekked down the wing his room should be down. Once down the wing of the dorm, Sai found the hallway the room should be down. Midway down the hall, Sai spotted the door with the number 1025 which was the one he was looking for. Sai stood in front of the door for a moment, readying himself for the event he was about to experience. He gave a quiet prayer, "Please God, let me finally have something go nicely for me for today. I'm tired of girls attempting to flirt with me or get away with more with me if they can as they have the majority of the day." Sai took a deep breath and reached for the room key he had his pocket. "Well, time for the moment of truth."

S ai unlocked the door and pushed it open measuring his breathing as he did so. He didn't see any from the door, so he took a few tentative steps into the room glancing around as he did so, taking in the room. With what Sai could see the room wasn't small per se, at least not as small as he had feared it could be. Yet, college living quarters were bigger than this which was what he was used to living in for the last two years or so. The place Sai and been living in back in Cornell had been a house made into an apartment of sorts. He hadn't expected that sort of thing, but dorms were still something he hadn't dealt with for almost a year. The room did have two beds on the left side with what appeared to be a pull-out wood separator between them. Sai was pleased to see there was at least some form to give privacy to a degree as there was a serious lack of that sort of thing. He didn't want opportunity for misunderstandings to arise between him and his roommate.

There was also a large desk with two seats against the right wall, providing a workspace to use for those living in the room. Sai would be using that desk for homework and planning his payback on the bunny among other things. He would be removing the terminal already there and putting his own in its place. The custom "work terminal" that Sai had built from scratch was much better and more capable than anything the academy could provide. Not that he would be mentioning that to any of the academy staff. Sai didn't see it going over well that his terminal was along the lines of what a supercomputer could do. His terminal didn't have as much memory and processing power as the supercomputer at Cornell possessed. But much like Sai's personal IS, the less the academy actually knew about the inner workings of his terminal, the better for him in the long run.

Sai glanced at the opposite side of the room from the door and saw there was a glass door on the far side. The glass sliding door appeared to lead out to a balcony of some sort. That could provide an escape or entry for Sai if the need came up. With it on the second floor, that would provide a complication, but Sai could work to get past that. He would keep the balcony in mind should that need to become an option to use for his survival. Then on one side of either bed was a wardrobe for the room's occupants. For the bed nearer to the balcony, the wardrobe was on the right side while the bed closer to Sai had it on the left.

Sai scanned the room once more in hopes to find his roommate or at least see something that could give him a hint about them. It was possible that the girl wasn't in the room at the moment which appeared to be the case upon first impressions. There had been many girls in the cafeteria so Sai's roommate could be among them. However, then he heard the sound of running water to his left. Sai glanced to the left and found the door which he guessed would lead to the bathroom. And the sound of running water implied the shower was in use currently, which Sai was rather concerned with. One of the misunderstandings that Sai feared would come up with a female roommate was catching them after they got out of the shower. It seemed that said misunderstanding would be coming up today unfortunately rather than potentially later. Sai thought about leaving the room for a bit, but that wouldn't solve the issue. This could come up in the future so Sai would need to face this and then establish rules, so this didn't happen again.

Meanwhile, Houki was finishing her shower to clean up after her kendo club activities. She turned the handle to turn off the water and stepped out of the shower. It was a habit for her to return to her dorm room and take a shower after kendo club. She came back to the dorm room as she wanted some privacy, which the club room showers didn't provide. It helped her relax and wind down after club activities. And with the day Houki had so far, she definitely needed the time to wind down and relax. Meeting Sai had been something completely unexpected for Houki. She hoped that she could learn more about Sai given some time, he was such a nice guy. Houki was worried for Sai as she had heard nothing to the effect of what Sai's living arrangements would be while at the academy yet.

There were some rooms in the first-year dormitory that only had one occupant as far as Houki knew. She was one of those that didn't have a roommate yet and she knew that could change at any time. The academy staff had assured her that was a real possibility and to be ready should that come up. And when she had gotten back after club activities, Houki had spotted two bags by the other bed. That would imply she would have a roommate by the end of the day as the academy stated could occur. As a courtesy, Houki hadn't looked through her roommate's bags, for that was rude. Houki did want to make a good impression on the girl she would be sharing a room with for the semester. Roommates could either make school better or much harder from what Houki understood.

When she had stepped out of the shower, Houki heard some noise outside of the bathroom. Houki took that to mean the girl which would be her roommate had arrived in the room. While she would've preferred to meet her roommate not coming out of the shower, that couldn't be helped. Thankfully, her roommate would be a girl so coming out in a towel should be okay. If it had been Sai, then Houki would be far more concerned with the situation. So, Houki wrapped a towel around herself and readied herself for meeting her roommate. Once the towel was secure, she took a deep breath, "Is someone out there," she asked to see if there was someone in the main dorm room.

There was no answer to Houki's question, though she was sure that she'd heard noise outside the bathroom. Houki headed for the door to the main living area so she could meet her roommate. "Hey, you must be my roommate for the year," she started, opening the bathroom door. "I look forward to having your company this year. Sorry that I'm meeting you like this, but I just got out of the shower," Houki greeted apologizing for her current appearance. She turned toward the living area where there appeared to be someone standing there. Then Houki continued her introduction, "My name is Houki Shino-no-no," Houki's voice caught in her throat as she recognized the figure in front of her. It took a moment for Houki to process the figure in front of her was Sai. He wasn't facing in Houki's direction, but he was still there in her room. "S-S-Sai," Houki uttered in an embarrassed tone.

Sai had recognized the voice straight away as Houki's. She had introduced herself to him earlier that morning after all. Sai wouldn't forget a voice like hers so quickly. Now, if it was her that was to be his roommate, Sai didn't have much of an issue with that. Of course, he wished that he wasn't meeting her again as he was with her just getting out of the shower. Other guys may be gawking at Houki with this type of situation, but Say wasn't one of those types of guys. However, there was little Sai could do about the circumstances as much as he wanted to. That wasn't to say that Houki wasn't a pretty girl, Sai and seen she was when they had talked on the roof. Yet, he hadn't wanted to come upon her in this kind of thing as others may like. The best he could do for himself was state things as they were, including his position and hope that Houki would accept it and understand. "Yes, I'm well-aware of your name, Houki. You did tell me it this morning after all on the roof." Sai paused and took a deep breath, "Now, before you react and do something that would make this whole situation more awkward and problematic, please take note of some things."

T he realization that Sai was in Houki's room was beginning to sink into her mind. Sure, she had known it was a possibility, a low one true, but still a chance to happen. As Houki kept thinking, she realized that she had nothing more than a towel wrapped around her torso. It put her in a seriously embarrassing position she had never thought she would find herself in at any point in her life. No boy had seen Houki as she was now, not even Ichika when he'd come around the dojo. And now the boy that she wanted to know more about and potentially be friends with could see her naked. Houki didn't want that to happen for she would never live it down. Granted, Sai wasn't looking in her direction right now, but that could change.

Sai wasn't hearing much of a response from Houki other than her breathing. He would guess the girl was embarrassed with how he was here, and she was just in a towel. Sai was just not as affected by this sort of thing, thanks to the bunny and doll with their unsightly habits. His life experience was so different from his peers that he couldn't compare the two. So, he kept going before Houki could think to do anything about the situation. "First, I'm being the respectful gentleman by not facing in your direction. Thus, I'm not staring, ogling, or viewing you in some way with either a towel wrapped around your body or you in your "birthday suit" as it is put. I would imagine other guys may do that given the opportunity, but I am not in order to show you a level of respect."

Houki had only glanced at Sai twice as she had been close to froze with him being there. She had seen he wasn't looking her way since his back was facing her. Houki was grateful that Sai wasn't staring at her with the towel around her torso. However, his last two lines reminded her that she was still just in a towel wrapped around her body. The towel felt like it was secured around her as it had been when she had been in the bathroom. Yet, a careless enough movement could have it slip, unwrap and fall to the floor. Having Sai in front of her was embarrassing for Houki already and she didn't know how she would come to terms with the point. But if her towel were to come off and Sai see her completely naked, she couldn't think of how she could overcome that. By instinctual reflex, Houki's left arm moved to shield her chest and hold the towel in place so it wouldn't fall. Her right arm shot down to cover her nether region so there would be no chance of Sai getting even a glimpse. Houki hoped that Sai wouldn't register her movements, but she couldn't be sure.

Sai heard movement from behind him, but he didn't turn to see what that was about. If he were to turn, there was a real chance that he would see Houki naked and in a towel if not that. Sai didn't want to make things awkward between him and Houki, not with the potential of a friendship with her. So, he wanted to respect her privacy and modesty thus wouldn't look her direction until she had something more than a towel on. Instead, Sai kept going, "Second, for the record, I had absolutely nothing to do with this arrangement. I was informed at lunch by a member of the academy's student council of the room I would be assigned to for the semester. When I looked over the information on the page I was given, it said this would be the room I would be in until further notice. However, in my defense, no matter what room I'm put in the result would be the same. I will have a female roommate at this school being the only guy. It is a given fact which I have no way to change. So, I would ask you to give me a bit of a break in this circumstance."

Houki had been listening somewhat while she had been making sure the towel remained in place around her torso. She couldn't exactly argue with the reasons that Sai had provided in his defense of him being here in her room. With him being the only guy at the academy and having to live in the dorm, it would be a guarantee he would have a girl as a roommate. And Houki was inclined to believe Sai was telling the truth that he had no say or influence in being assigned to the same room Houki was. She couldn't say what factors had gone into the decision of where to put Sai in the first-year dorms. The chances for him to end up in the same room as Houki didn't seem likely, but here they were. And Sai was still facing away from her even with her reactions thus far. She would've assumed that most other guys would have turned and looked at Houki as she was right now. But Sai wasn't doing that at all which showed he was different than other guys which Houki had encountered. While she had listened to what Sai was saying, Houki hadn't said anything to Sai's defenses yet. She didn't know what to say to him right now, her embarrassment was still freezing her.

Sai hoped that Houki was actually listening to what he was saying in his defense. He really didn't want things to make it harder between the two of them. They would be living in the same space for the semester or however long Sai needed to find the bunny and plan his payback on her. He'd learned from his friends that it was best to be on as good of terms as possible while you shared a living space. It made things much easier if that was the case than if there were issues between the two. However, Sai wouldn't just let another accuse him of something he hadn't intended to do and do nothing. He would defend himself should things came to that with his martial arts skills if needed. "And finally, should you feel the need to attack me for this situation that I had nothing to do with, I warn you I will be fighting back in self-defense. I have not done anything wrong that could've been prevented. I didn't come to this room with the intent of coming upon you right after you get out of the shower. You can respond as you see fit as is your right, but I would hope you don't think this is something I wanted to happen."

Houki has still said nothing other than the guy's name thus far and her voice was still not responding as she wanted it to. Controlling her breathing was difficult enough so she didn't go into a panic. This situation was something she had thought was out of a sick form of comedy that idiots would find funny. Houki was trying to think of how to respond to Sai being there and she coming out of the bathroom in just a towel. The two main ideas that were coming to Houki's mind were attacking him for entering the room without permission or knocking and finding a way to get to her wardrobe to get clothes on. However, her embarrassment was keeping her frozen and unable to move. She tried to get her body to move, but she couldn't do it with the embarrassment coursing through her.

Sai still didn't hear anything from Houki which concerned him that things were going in a bad direction. With his defense stated, she should be deciding to either try and strike him or go for clothes. The longer this standoff went on, the worse things would become, and Sai wanted to avoid that if possible. So, to attempt to move things along, Sai side-stepped into the space between the closest bed and the wall. He then faced the corner where the wardrobe met the wall. With him looking in that direction, there was little chance of him catching even a glimpse of Houki regardless of what she did. "Houki," Sai began, "now would be a very good time for you to get clothes on." He hesitated for a moment since he didn't normally let his libido have any influence on him in anything close to this. The bunny and doll had really done damage his libido and its chance of having a say in what he did. "You're pretty and everything, I won't deny that if pressed for an answer on that. Yet, this whole situation is just becoming beyond awkward for both of us. I would rather that not continue between the two of us if it doesn't have to."

Sai's movement and comment snapped Houki out of her frozen state brought on by her embarrassment. She made the snap decision before rushing forward to her wardrobe her clothes were in to get something to cover herself with that wasn't just a towel. As Houki was moving toward the wardrobe, her towel came undone and slipped. She caught it before it could fall to the floor, but it only stayed around her waist, leaving her breasts uncovered. Houki fervently hoped Sai hadn't gotten any sight of her towel coming undone as she had been moving. Her embarrassment was hot enough already without making it worse for her. Her cheeks were already a deep red, Houki didn't want them any more crimson than they already were.

Upon reaching the wardrobe, Houki ripped the doors open and pulled a drawer open with more force than she normally did. She pulled out panties and a bra right after she let go of the towel. Houki put them on faster than she could remember doing in a long while. She then yanked her yukata she used as sleep wear down off the hanger it was on. Houki then wrapped the yukata around her body and held it tightly shut. She didn't doubt her cheeks were tomato red by this point with the fear Sai could've seen her naked. Houki didn't think Sai had seen her since he was facing the corner. She would thank him for that later once she calmed down and got her emotions under control. She took a minute to breathe steadily to calm the rapid beating of her heart and try to cool the heat of her cheeks. Once Houki had herself calmer, she tied the yukata closed and turned to face Sai, "Okay, I'm dressed now," she said a tad shakily.

Sai took a deep breath and hoped what he had been hearing was Houki getting clothes on. He then turned around slowly to face his "roommate" that he would be living with for the time being until his circumstances changed notably. Sai released the breath he'd been holding when he found Houki was wearing clothes now. She was wearing a light yukata that was a soft pink color. The color and clothing seemed fitting for Houki in Sai's opinion. The girl did fit what some would think of if asked what they imagined a Japanese girl could be like. Houki being dressed now didn't dispel the awkwardness completely, but it certainly toned it down an amount from where it had shot to when Sai had come in and Houki came out in a towel. Sai moved over to the desk and took the nearest chair, spinning it to face the bed that Houki was by before sitting down in it. He figured it was best to let Houki speak first before he steered things toward ground rules that would need to be established for both of them. Then he could unpack and arrange things for himself the best he could for his living space.

Houki was gazing at Sai, but he said nothing as she was doing so. He appeared to be waiting for her to talk first, perhaps as a form of courtesy. Yet, Houki didn't really know what to say to him with Sai coming into the room before she had come out in a towel. She certainly had questions about Sai both about himself personally and other things. And with him being her roommate, there were even more questions that were coming to her mind. Room pairings tended to be assigned in the first year and maintained unless there was a notable issue by what Houki understood. With that in mind, it would likely mean that Houki and Sai would be roommates until graduation from the academy. The idea wasn't all bad in Houki's view, with him as a roommate, Houki would have more opportunity to ask him questions without others listening in. There was a part of her that was kind of happy that Sai would be her roommate and the opportunities that could come with. It was a chance to get to know him better and Houki was all for that.

Nevertheless, the other part of her was more than worried about sharing the same room with a guy that she knew very little about beyond his name. There was some much that could happen with the two of them sharing a living space. And not all of the possibilities that could happen were things that Houki wanted to occur. Sure, she could learn more about him and make nice memories with Sai, even become friends with him which she was open to the idea. But there was just as much of a chance he could see her in her underwear or naked with them living together in the room among other events. That kind of event was something Houki was not okay with at all. They had just met this morning, so it seemed far too convenient a coincidence that they were now roommates. Thus, Houki couldn't help but ask the question, "Did you somehow request this?"

Sai blinked at the question for a moment. He thought he'd already answered this query when he'd said he had nothing to do with the room arrangement. It was the truth, Sai had no say or option in his living arrangements while at the IS Academy, and it wasn't from a lack of trying. Sai had attempted to have the headmistress make an exception for him not to live in the dorm. He'd even offered to find a place in town and commute every day if that would help him not have to live in the dorms. He'd gotten close to begging for something other than living in the first-year dorms. But Sai had been told it was academy policy that students had to live on campus during the semester during the first year. In fact, it wasn't until the second half of second year that there was even a chance for something other than the dorms.

Sai hadn't taken the potential shutdown to an exception of living arrangements stop him from trying to make things more manageable for himself. He had also asked the headmistress if he could have any say in the roommate, he would have to share a room with. Sadly, and frustratingly, Sai had as much luck with that angle as the previous one, which was nothing. The headmistress had stated his roommate would be selected at random through a lottery of the available rooms that only had one girl at that time. Thus, he had no say in the matter which had brought Sai to the room Houki was apparently assigned to. So, he sighed at the question, "I believe I said something to the effect of me having no say in the matter of living arrangements for myself. I assure you I made attempts to get some sort of exception made so I didn't have to live in the dorms." Sai exhaled heavily, "But that got shut down real quick much to my disappointment."

Houki was kind of surprised that Sai would've tried to do something, so he didn't have to live in the dorms. He also implied that he had done more than just trying to not live in the dorms as the students were required to do. Sai seemed to be aware of IS Academy policy somehow, so he would know it was required that first years would have to live in the dorms. However, it did make sense as he clearly didn't like the attention of girls on him if he didn't have to take it. Being in the dorms wouldn't let him avoid that easily, the opposite really if Houki were to guess. "I assume that means you were denied an exception due to academy policy," she posed. Sai nodded with a glum expression on his face, "Pretty much. The headmistress said there couldn't be an exception made for me at this time. I did try to see if I could have any influence in who I may be paired with, but that was denied as well. Honestly, I've been dreading finding out who my roommate would be."

Sai had been stressing about who he would be put with while he lived in the dorms. It had been haunting him, more at the back of his mind than in the forefront, but still there. However, for his roommate turning out to be Houki could be a blessing in disguise for him. From the girls he'd encountered thus far around the academy, Houki was the least worrisome in Sai's mind. She hadn't been flirting with him as others had been. Nor had she been participating in the gossip like most of the other girls had been which Sai had been forced to listen to. So, the ideal outcome of the unwanted situation that Sai was in happened to be having Houki as his roommate. He'd paused after stating his dread of finding out who his roommate would be before he continued. "That it turns out to be you makes this arrangement less concerning in my view. Should you have an issue with this, I will seek out the manager of the dorm and see what can be done."

Houki was kind of shocked with what Sai had said about him sharing a room with her. She could understand the dread of sharing a room with someone you didn't know. She had the feeling somewhat herself as she hadn't had a roommate when the semester had begun. Add to that he would have a girl for a roommate, there was no way around that. That would make it hard on most in Sai's position Houki would imagine with how he had shown he didn't want the attention from the rest of the girls. However, he had said he was fine with her being his roommate even when he didn't know all that much about her yet. That suggested Sai at least trusted her enough that he didn't think he would have to worry about what she could do around him like he clearly did with the other girls. Yet, he still thought about her feelings before his own which was something Houki hadn't see with guys her own age. He'd even offered to go to the dorm manager to see if other arrangements could be made if Houki wasn't okay with sharing a room with him.

Houki had to admit that Sai had the best manners that she'd ever seen with a guy or really the other girls their own age. He was showing more maturity than most teenagers were that Houki had met. It was the complete opposite of what she'd thought he would be like upon hearing the rumor that a guy would be attending the academy for the coming semester. She had been against the idea when the rumor had first began circulating. A guy being at a school where the rest there were girls was asking for trouble in Houki's view. But with the guy being Sai, that changed Houki's whole view about guys her own age. He was just so different than any other guy that Houki had encountered before. If to prove that, Sai thought of her feelings before his own interests.

There was another point which played into Sai being her roommate for the semester or longer. That point was the unfamiliar feelings which were coming to her when she was around Sai which she couldn't explain to herself. She couldn't say where the feelings came from or what they exactly were yet. Houki felt a warmth in her chest that she couldn't explain when Sai was near her. And yet, she also felt kind of self-conscious when he was around at the same time as that warmth was flowing through her body. The two seemingly conflicting feelings made little sense as it had never happened before to this extent. Sure, it had been a little similar when Houki had been around Ichika when they were kids. But this was different than that in a way that Houki didn't understand.

Sai had meant his suggestion of seeking out the dorm manager as an option Houki could take if she had some sort of issue. He would prefer she not insist he have to do that since it would make more work and stress for him. The day had been long, and he wanted it to come to an end and not keep dragging him on. Out of the possible girls that Sai could end up with for a roommate, Houki was a better one than others he'd seen so far. He wasn't concerned that Houki would assault him as he would be with others. Should Sai have to work on switching room, then he would go through the dread of who his roommate could be all over again and he didn't want to do that. He could very well get a girl that would be a danger to his safety rather than one like Houki. Yet, when Sai gazed back at Houki, he was slightly surprised that Houki was blushing in response to his offer. He hadn't meant it as a gesture of romance or anything like that, it had been intended as a kindness. Houki quickly looked away from Sai which wasn't helpful. It was best to get an answer for her on this in Sai's opinion. "Um, Houki," he started. "Do you or do you not have a problem with sharing a room with me?"

A feeling of shyness washed over Houki which hadn't happened for a long time. Ichika had been the last one this kind of thing had occurred with. That it was happening with Sai confused Houki somewhat and she didn't know why. Sai's question, simple as it was for some reason difficult to state the answer vocally for Houki. She didn't have a problem with sharing a room with Sai. Or at least Houki's wish to know more about him overrides any fears she had of what he could do with sharing a room with her. "I," came out of Houki's mouth before her voice cut out. Sai remained quiet waiting for Houki to say what she was trying to get out. Houki took a deep breath while putting forth an effort to translate her thoughts into words. "I have no problem w-with sharing a room with you Sai."

The answer was a relief to Sai as it was the one he'd been hoping for. It meant his long day could finally come to an end and he wouldn't have to be on guard to prevent an assault on his person. He'd been tense for the majority of the day and it had been taking a bit of a toll on him to tell the truth. Sai really needed a shower and some sleep to tackle the next day and what could come with it. Sai needed to unpack and check up on where his unit was before he could turn in for the night. "That's good to hear. It's been a real hectic day for me, and I was hoping for it to come to a close in a quiet manner," he said taking a breath and gesturing at Houki with a smile. "So, since you're the lady, which bed would you prefer to use? I'll give you first choice for which you want."

Seeing Sai smile made Houki's heart skip a beat and start racing along with her face heating up again. The response to the simple smile from Sai didn't make sense to Houki even as it happened to her. She couldn't help but wonder why Sai was seeming to go out of his way to be nice to her. Sai hadn't come off as the kind of person that flattered others to get something from them that Houki had seen. That was to his credit Houki would admit as it made him quite endearing. It brought warmth to her heart which felt more than nice to her which she hadn't felt before. But Houki was brought back to his question of which bed she wanted to use. And since he'd asked her which one she wanted, Houki pointed at the bed closer to the balcony and window. Houki already had her things in the wardrobe next to that bed so it would work out the best.

Sai nodded to the choice Houki had made and rose from the desk and moved over to his things. The bed closer to the wall was just fine for him since it didn't really matter which bed he would use. He lifted the duffle bag first followed by the suitcase and started unloading his clothes from the suitcase as it would be a place to start for him. He would put his clothes in the wardrobe then move onto unpacking the duffle bag. Sai would remove the terminal on his side of the desk and then set up his personal work terminal. Once that was set up, Sai would see if he had gotten any updates from his business associate in regard to his IS unit. Sai needed his unit at the academy as soon as it could get here. He would get seriously irritated with the boredom otherwise and that rarely went well. Sai had enough problems to deal with currently without making more for himself. Working on his IS would be a means to unwind and destress and he would definitely need that around the academy.

Houki had gone to her school bag and taken out her core class math book and gone back to her bed. Yet, she had been observing Sai as he went through and unloaded his things. She was curious about his organizational habits, that seemed to say a lot about a person from what Houki had seen. Houki expected as a guy Sai wouldn't be all that organized, most of them she'd met weren't. But to her surprise, Sai quickly proved that assumption wrong. The way he put his clothes away, especially the time he took to hang his blazer up said Sai had a system. That system of organization was clearly one that worked for him and was neat as far as Houki could see. Houki could only guess that Sai had developed this system over time, and the effort that would be needed made her wonder what had motivated it. Houki did see that Sai took books out of his messenger bag before hanging that up in the wardrobe.

Sai moved on from the wardrobe to the desk area taking his books with him as there was a book self on both sides of the desk. He also brought his duffle bag with him as the majority that was in it would go around the desk. Sai filed his books on one of the shelves, putting in pairs of the subjects he had on specific days. He filed the note binders next to his textbooks which took up most of the shelf. Sai then glanced at the desk terminal more closely to see what it would take to remove it. There was a monitor, which should connect to his terminal, so that could stay where it was. He had his own monitor, but Sai didn't see why he couldn't use both of them for the work he would do. However, the standard keyboard display, touchpad, and the terminal unit would have to go.

Houki was "pretending" to be reading her math book, but truthfully, she was watching Sai in fascination. Just trying to figure out his organizational system was intriguing to Houki. She had no idea how it worked, but he clearly had a place and method for where he put things, meaning he didn't have wasted space. Yet, when Sai picked up the desk terminal including the keyboard display and touchpad, Houki was confused. The academy provided the terminals in the dorms for homework, there was no reason for Sai to move it. But before Houki could ask what he was doing, he began bringing out things from the duffle bag. Houki blinked as Sai set up what appeared to be a custom-made work terminal on the desk along with a slightly larger keyboard display, touchpad, and monitor. The terminal unit was bigger than the academy provided one from what she could see. It reminded Houki somewhat of some of the stuff that Tabane built when she was younger and was still around the home.

Sai switched on the terminal, and Houki got a brief glance of data flying across the monitor Sai had brought out. Houki couldn't say what any of the data was since it had gone by so fast. Sai then sat down at the desk and linked the desk display to work with his terminal. Once the terminal appeared to be as Sai wanted, he put out other school supplies on the desk. Houki couldn't help but wonder how Sai knew where to put all the stuff he had. The terminal alone took up a notable amount of space on Sai's side of the desk. And yet, Houki watched as he filled the shelves above with other things.

When Sai had the desk area set up as he wanted, he took a step back to admire his work. The desk would serve him well with his college work and even IS development. Those two things were important while he was around the academy. He could work on seeking out the bunny when Houki wasn't around. With the desk arranged, Sai took out his phone to see if there were any updates on his unit getting to the academy. Sai was pleased for a moment when he saw that there was a message from his associate. However, that didn't last long since when he opened the message, Sai found it wasn't good news as he'd hoped. US customs were still causing delays in his unit's transportation to Japan. His associate said it would likely be Saturday at the earliest before his team could get Sai's IS to the academy. Sai couldn't help but shake his head, "You would think after all the help I've given the US government," he muttered to himself. "They would cut me some slack and not delay my IS getting here. This has become such a crapshoot that it shouldn't be." Sai went to his wardrobe, grabbed some clothes before he headed to the bathroom so he could get a shower.

While Sai was in the bathroom, Houki got up from her bed and moved to the desk. She wanted a closer look at the terminal that Sai had brought out of his duffle bag. When she got to the desk, she could only stare at it for a moment. Seeing it closer, she was reminded of the terminal that Tabane had built while she had been around home as it bore some similarities. It made Houki wonder if Sai was somehow tech-savvy in a similar way as Tabane was. The keyboard display looked more complex than what the academy provided, and the touchpad seemed the same. For Sai to bring a custom-made work terminal implied he could use it for things the academy's terminal may not be able to do. What he might need such for, Houki couldn't begin to guess. It could have something to do with his IS which had been mentioned by him during the practical IS class. After glancing over the work terminal, Houki returned to her bed as she had some homework to do which she may as well get to while Sai was in the bathroom.

Sai was grateful for the shower as he tended to be after a long day, especially ones that stressed him like the current one had. He felt that evening showers would be a regular thing for him while he was at the academy. The room's bathroom was the only one that Sai could use that he wouldn't have to fear girls walking in on him. It was yet another part of the room that he felt would contribute to it being a "sanctuary" for him to get time away from his peers. There wouldn't be many places around the academy that would allow Sai to get time away from them, that had become obvious. Thus, Sai would take those places he could find and use as he could get them. When Sai exited the shower, he put on the pair of shorts and the T-shirt he had brought with him. Sai knew it wouldn't be effective for him to do homework tonight with the crap that had gone down today. He would start the needed routine tomorrow and go on from there with his college classes.

Sai was still firm that ground rules established for Houki and him before either of them retired for the night. Such would help prevent potential future misunderstandings which Sai was all for. He would rather not repeat what had happened when he had come to the room this evening. With that in mind, Sai exited the bathroom and found that Houki was sitting on her bed. Sai took a seat on the end of the bed he would be using while at the academy. "So Houki, as long as we're sharing the same room, I think that it would be a wise idea for us to have some ground rules," Sai said in an equable tone. "Would you not agree?" Houki was kind of glad that Sai had brought up the subject of ground rules rather than her. She didn't disagree with the point since the two of them would be sharing a room. They were teenagers which was an age that came with its own set of difficulties. However, Houki didn't know where to start with potential rules to be made. "I wouldn't disagree with the need of rules between us," Houki replied. "But what kind of things did you have in mind?"

That led to a small discussion and the establishment of ground rules between Houki and Sai. Houki was kind of surprised at how reasonable Sai was in many to most things that came up that needed rules defined. It showed that he likely had experience with rules and their definitions before this when it came to sharing living spaces. One of the first subjects that came up was to make some clear and definite do nots were to be. Houki appreciated that Sai wanted to agree upon what was not appropriate to happen in the room. Stuff like changing clothes in front of each other or going through the other's clothes without permission were the simple things which were stated. Sai also brought up not going through the personal belongings of the other without express permission of the owner. Those were things that Houki agreed with but she appreciated that he had mentioned them specifically.

After those, the discussion then turned to a subject that were more awkward to Houki even if Sai didn't show signs that he was put off by it. The major subject was "personal space" between the two of them. Sai was firm in saying it wouldn't be appropriate for either of them to touch or do something that made the other uncomfortable. Nor should there be potentially intimate gestures done without clear consent of the other. The only exception to the stated rule was to prevent harm or injury to the said individual. The way that Sai was laying out and defined the point felt to Houki that it was some sort of written agreement or contract. Houki wouldn't have thought Sai would know of or had any experience with such things. But Houki didn't disagree with the points that Sai brought up with this set of rules, those made logical sense to her.

Nevertheless, then came some rules which Houki did have issues with. A big one as an example was shower and bathroom usage or more the times set for one of them to work with. Houki wanted to have usage from 7 pm to 8 pm, more for the shower than the bathroom itself. That would allow Houki to clean up after Kendo club activities as she preferred. It let her take time to unwind from club activities which she had trouble doing in the club facilities with the other girls. She felt the hour in the evening for her to use was a reasonable expectation between them. Sai would then be aware not to walk into the bathroom while she was in it. Plus, it would have her taking clothes with her for the shower so they didn't have a repeat of what happened tonight.

Sai had brought up bathroom usage in the hopes to not have their meeting this evening be repeated and have things awkward between them. Yet, he needed use of the bathroom for the times of the day that he was around the room. It had the toilet he could use and not fear girls walking in on him, whether accidentally or not. He'd thought that Houki could understand that point with him being the only guy at the academy. But with her "request" on an hour of bathroom usage in the evening, apparently she hadn't. He wasn't happy with the request Houki was making. Sai was willing to compromise as needed with Houki as long as it was within reason. So, to try and be nice and extend an olive branch, he voiced a question to get more detail as to why Houki would request the hour for the bathroom. "May I ask why you want an hour in the evening with the bathroom, Houki?"

Houki looked at the floor at the question from Sai. He had every right to ask the point of Houki, and she didn't blame him for asking it. She simply preferred to use the room's private shower rather than the ones in the Kendo Club room. It wasn't that she disliked her fellow club members, they were nice girls. But Houki just had issues relaxing in the club room so came back to her room instead. "I come back after club activities to clean up," she stated. "And those end close to seven in the evening.

While it wasn't a surprise that Houki was in a school club, that didn't explain the request for the hour of bathroom usage. Heck, Sai didn't know what club she was in for sure, though the bokutō suggested Kendo to him. But as far as he understood from his research on the academy, the sports clubs all had shower facilities for members to use. So, Houki could use the kendo club's showers rather than come back to the room. "I assume that you are in the kendo club with the bokutō you used a little while ago," Sai remarked to which Houki nodded. "But correct me if I should be wrong, but don't the sports clubs have showering facilities for the members to use, including the kendo club?"

Houki had felt Sai would bring up the point of the club having showers for the members to use. She'd hoped that he would just accept her request and not ask for details. But the way he'd been laying out rules had hinted he was one for details. Houki's gaze fell to the floor as she gave her answer, "They do, but I prefer to use the room's shower rather than the club's. I have trouble relaxing and unwinding from club activities with other around."

Where Sai could understand having issues relaxing with others around, that wasn't his problem. He of all people could understand having specific preferences for one to relax, he had some himself. However, with the room being the only bathroom he could use without risk, that needed to be stated. That point took precedent in Sai's mind more than Houki's wish to shower away from other club members. "While I can sympathize with that," Sai began, "I must point out something which your request does make more difficult. As the academy is essentially an all-girls school, the bathrooms around the school are gear that way too. Thus, the dorm room's bathroom is the only one I can use and not risk other girls coming in on me. And I would rather not resort using a school bathroom if I don't absolutely have to for that reason. I wouldn't doubt you've seen girls that would take advantage of such a thing."

Sai's argument was sound on the face of it, Houki wouldn't deny that. However, the line of him potentially using one of the school bathrooms set off a feeling of anger and irritation in Houki. Merely imagining Sai sneaking into the bathrooms around the academy irked her. He had shown himself to be well-mannered, but apparently, he still had a dirtier side to himself. Houki lost her cool and didn't listen to what Sai had said after that line. She would later admit her reaction was not the best. But she went for her kendo bokutō to knock some sense into Sai before the discussion could continue. Houki twisted around raising her bokutō so she could strike Sai. She wouldn't do permanent harm to Sai, Houki didn't want to do that, but she would teach him a lesson about behaving properly.

Sai's martial arts sense gave him a warning of an incoming threat to which he weaved out of where he'd been. He viewed the bokutō slicing through where he had been and knew that the discussion would have to be put on hold for a bit so he could deal with this first. Houki swung at him again and he moved back before shifting into a defensive martial arts stance. Sai kept his calm as Houki began thrusting and jabbing her bokutō at him. He either weaved out of the way or slapped the bokutō out of the path where it would strike him. Sai wasn't going to let Houki strike him with her bokutō, he'd done nothing to deserve such a thing. He'd been keeping things professional between them, even if she hadn't noticed that. And he'd stated specifically to Houki that should she attack him, he would be fighting back in self-defense.

Houki had been caught off-guard for a moment with Sai being able to avoid her first two strikes. It showed that he may know fighting styles and could use them when he felt the need to. She swung her bokutō twice more before she felt her left hand smacked smartly, which forced her to release the bokutō. The practice weapons went flying and banged against the wall between the beds. Houki rushed to retrieve her bokutō while Sai remained where he was. While she was surprised that Sai had been able to counter her, she wouldn't let him not answer for poor behavior. She rushed forward with her bokutō raised, aiming for Sai's forehead.

Sai saw the opportunity for him to effectively end the current situation with him not being potentially injured. After Houki retrieved her weapon, she rushed him again with her bokutō coming down at him. Sai leaned to his right as the bokutō started coming down toward him, watching it pass his face with an inch to spare. Then he surged forward and sent his left palm into Houki's midsection, pushing her back as well as knocking the wind from Houki. Next Sai moved to be on Houki's left side, grabbed her arm putting it over his shoulder while he slid his other arm around the girl's waist. Sai used his weight to swing Houki around before sending her down onto her bed with force. He then shifted to have Houki's hands crossed at her waist before gripping her wrists with one hand and her right shoulder with the other. All this happened before the sound of the bokutō clattering to the floor was heard.

Houki blinked while working to catch her breath and comprehend what had just happened. She had been swinging for Sai's head, but he'd dodged that. However, then things became murky, so it was hard to be exactly sure what had occurred. She believed Sai had done something to knock the breath out of her. Then Houki had found herself on her bed not quite understanding how she had ended up there. Houki attempted to rise but found she couldn't do that. She glanced down and found Sai had her hands pinned by the wrists and a hand on her shoulder. Houki barely registered her bokutō clattering to the floor as her position began sinking in. Sai had countered her, that much was obvious now with how things were. Granted, he'd said something about fighting back in his self-defense, yet Houki hadn't thought he would be able to do all that much she wouldn't be able to deal with.

Sai noted that Houki was taking in her position. He saw nothing wrong with giving the girl the time to understand she had been beaten by him. It would be the best way for Houki to comprehend that he was capable of what he said he was. Sai felt that would be a lesson he'd be teaching to many girls while he was here at the academy in varying forms. He would defend himself when required to the best of his abilities. That was the case and would be whenever Sai felt he was under serious threat, flirting included. After a minute of letting Houki take in her situation, Sai decided it was time for him to speak. "You may not have been listening or didn't believe me at the time, but I said I would fight back in self-defense. I will do that whenever required as I see fit against any that should threaten me in whatever form it does. For your information, I know a few forms of martial arts as it should be clear to you now. The ways I evaded yours strikes and countered you should show I am competent in the styles I've learned."

With how calm Sai was while iterating what his point, Houki felt guilty with what she'd been trying to do. She had let her assumptions and imagination get the better of her for a moment. That moment had been long enough for her to make a mistake. Sai didn't deserve suspicion of him or his intentions. His behavior was exemplary to tell the truth and Houki couldn't really deny that. Losing her temper wasn't an excuse, and Houki knew that as much as she kind of wanted it to be. Houki knew it would be best for her to apologize and hope Sai would forgive her for doing what she had. "I'm sorry," Houki started, "I lost my temper and did something stupid."

Sai could tell that Houki did genuinely regret what she'd tried doing to him. He'd expected some here to misunderstand his logic and not sugar-coating things as he did normally. Sai saw no reason to hold such against those that would make mistakes when it came to him as long as they genuinely apologized to him afterward and tried to improve. So, Sai cut over Houki before she could say more, "While I appreciate that you are willing to apologize for a mistake made, it's okay. I don't doubt there will be several if not many here at the academy that will make assumptions about me which are wrong. I also will be shocked if this is the last time I am required to defend myself in some form for actions I wouldn't take. However, for your understanding and the record, I have no interest of walking in on girls while they are in the bathroom any more than them doing that to me. I don't like it when others here flirt with me hoping for a response for them to build upon. And yes, I have and do notice when the girls here flirt and the like around me. It's hard to miss some of those attempts sent my way today alone. I'm not a pervert or a guy that lets his junk direct what he does around girls. My logical brain is the one calling the shots the vast majority of the time, so you need not worry. It comes with the maturity that I have developed so far."

Houki was processing what Sai had just said. Sai saying he expected others to make mistakes around and about him was a heck of a sign of maturity. He was definitely more mature than any of their peers that Houki could think of, herself included. Then, for him to have noticed the flirting which others had been doing around him said he wasn't oblivious. Houki had to admit once again that Sai was unlike any guy that she'd met before. She could see that she clearly had much to learn about Sai. There would be the time to find out more with them being roommates, there was also the opportunity to do so. Houki knew she would need to not just assume things with Sai, and that would take work on her part.

Sai released his pinning holds on Houki and got off her bed. He turned to his won bed, intending to turn in for the night. He hoped that he'd given Houki things to think about so she could improve herself. That was the best he could do for the time being. So, Sai plopped himself down onto his bed and began settling in. Once settled, Sai turned out the lights in the room, "Goodnight, Houki," Sai announced. Houki couldn't stop the small smile that came to her face at Sai's remark, "Goodnight to you too, Sai."

A/n

Alrighty then, I'll cut this chapter off there and continue the story in the next one. I know this was a long one, but it was part of the last one so had to be split from what it had been before. Much like in Gundam Seed: the Federation, you readers are going to see original chapters split with the additional stuff that will go into this rewrite. With that point out of the way, let's get to the highlights as there are a couple I want to get into.

I would like to start with something that was told to me in the original version of this story. That would be Sai sometimes coming off as a whiny guy or something like that. I know that Sai can be seen as whining at times in this story, I won't deny that. However, I would point out that Sai isn't a normal guy that may see his situation as a good thing where Sai doesn't. Remember that Sai hasn't had what most would call a normal childhood or growing up as others. That plays a part in his personality and the way he sees and handles things. The reason I bring that up will be explained in the coming chapters in detail. But Sai has never had good experience with his same-aged peers to put it simply.

The other part of Sai's personality which I think makes him a fair replacement for Ichika is simple, Sai isn't the naïve and oblivious idiot that Ichika is. Say the point in whatever way you like, but for those that know this series, we know what I'm talking about. As good as Ichika is, his obliviousness and naïveté don't do him any favors, the opposite really most of the time. I didn't want Sai to be like that as I find such for a main character not great for them. Thus, I designed Sai to be his own character yet, be able to interact with the "main girls" as good as or better than Ichika. Say what you will about Sai as a character, but as the author, it is my decision what I do with my characters.

Next, I would like to cover the brief interactions between Sai and Chifuyu. I want to start off with stating that the two haven't kept in contact since Ichika died after the second Mondo Grosso. The two have made attempts to do so, not that they know that of one another yet, but still. Sai is surprised that Chifuyu is at the academy, more since the job isn't one that he sees as fitting for Chifuyu. Chifuyu is not pleased that Sai suddenly pops up at the academy without saying anything. As far as Chifuyu was aware, Sai had left Japan to pursue his own interests in America. So, the two were unaware they would be crossing paths at the academy. I have implied that Tabane had set up Sai going to the academy for more than one reason, even if I haven't stated that specifically. There are a few reasons, one of which is for Chifuyu and Sai to try and repair their relationship.

Let me next touch on the conversation between Sai and Houki on the roof. Houki is one of those that has noticed that Sai stands out somehow beyond just being a guy at the academy. Most of the other girls at the academy don't see much beyond Sai being a guy yet, though that will come given time. However, Houki is one of those that is willing to approach Sai to ask him things early on. In the conversation there is introductions of course, but there is somethings implied but not said. Sai won't be telling any about his connection to Tabane or Alice for a while. Yet, Sai isn't inclined to lie to others if it can be avoided. Thus, he tells her about knowing of Tabane after cleaning up a mess she had created which is true. I also wanted to give Houki some screen time to give her some depth in this story.

The final scene of the chapter is what takes place in the dorm room. I know there are some similarities between my story in this scene and canon. But this again is a display of the difference between Sai and Ichika. Ichika panicked, Sai did not when they faced much the same situation. Then, the other girls in the dorm don't learn of where Sai's room is right away as canon does to Ichika. That may be subtle, but it does play a part going forward for this story. I also want to point out that Houki while a tomboy at this point, is already experiencing the start of feelings in relation to Sai. That will be further developed, but I won't say in what way or to what end at this point as it would spoil what is to come.

In conclusion, this is turning out differently than I thought it would with this rewrite. I have appreciated the comments that I have gotten so far to this and encourage more to make them. Please write a review, and tell me what you think of the story's changes and the third-person style it is being done in. The reviews do help me make this the best I can for you readers. Peace out until next time!