I do not own Infinite Stratos nor do I own Rurouni Kenshin. All rights respectively go to Izuru Yumizuru, the author who created Infinite Stratos, and Nobuhiro Watsuki, the author of Rurouni Kenshin.

(Insert OP: A Cruel Angel's Thesis by Yoko Takahashi)

Zankoku na tenshi no you ni (After a drop of water hits the black screen, it brightens up to a red sky with clouds and stars as it shows the IS Academy symbol)
Shounen yo, shinwa ni nare... (Camera pans upwards as it shows the schematics of an Infinite Stratos before it shows its heart, the IS Core and then everything tuns white)

(Title of the show appears as Infinite Stratos)

Aoi kaze ga ima mune no doa wo tataitemo (Raiden is shown fully clothed and carrying the Sakabatō on his left hip)
Watashi dake wo tada mitsumete (As he watches the waters surrounding the IS Academy Island, the shadowy silhouettes of Akane Fujimoto and Miram Walker appear at the side of the screen going up and down respectively)
Hohoenderu Anata (As the silhouettes fade away, Raiden gives a small smile as if content with something of his life)

Sotto Fureru mono (A shadowy hand is shown pointing to the ground before an IS blueprint of Akatsubaki appears)
Motomeru koto ni muchuu de, (And then Houki is shown next as her image looks up at the sky)
Unmei sae mada shiranai itaike na hitomi (Houki's shadowy image sits on the ground with her arms around her knees as if crying before she looks up while Raiden is in the background and then Houki's image is replaced with that of Tabane, staring out of a window and her eyes blinking twice)

Dakedo itsuka kizuku deshou Sono senaka ni wa (Raiden is seen in his IS, looking upwards as he prepares himself for a fight, embracing his persona of Hitokiri Kingslayer. Four brief images of Hiko Seijuro XVIII, Akane Fujimoto, Miriam Walker, and Chifuyu Orimura are shown in order)Haruka mirai mezasu tame no hane ga aru koto... (Raiden cannot contain the darkness he kept within himself any longer as Hitokiri Kingslayer emerges and the background is shrouded in flames of Kyoto)

Zankoku na tenshi no tēze (Ichika duels with Raiden, clashing his blade, Yukihira Nigata, against Raiden's Sakabatō, fighting on even ground)
Madobe kara yagate tobitatsu (Raiden and Ichika break away as Rin comes in to assist the latter against the former with her Souten Gagetsu. Brief images of the various cast of IS, including students of the Academy, Liu King-Sang and members of the Righteousness Union, and members of FEISAR, are shown in quick timeframes)

Hotobashiru atsui patosu de (Laura was next as she unleashes her cables at Hitokiri Kingslayer, but he dodges in the air and attempts to cut her down but is blocked by Charlotte's shield)
Omoide wo uragiru nara (Raiden backs away as Cecilia unleashes heavy firing onto Raiden, making him move and slice down her BIT drones. Brief images of the various cast of IS, mainly the main antagonists are shown in quick timeframes, in order of Udo Hina, Squall Meusel, Autumn, Madoka Orimura, and the shadowy form of the Dark Lady)

Kono sora wo daite kagayaku (Raiden in his IS takes a Battojutsu stance and charges forward as executes a Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu attack)
Shounen yo, shinwa ni nare (As Raiden comes in and slices at the camera, everything flashes white as the title of the story, Infinite Stratos Hitokiri Kingslayer, comes up on screen)

All of Class 1 and Class 2 were assembled at the arena, doing practice swings in their Uchigane. For those with a Personal IS, they were tasked with refurbishing on their skills and assisting other students when needed to. Raiden did not require much teaching as he already knew how to fight with a sword. The same held true for Rin with her Souten Gagetsu and Cecilia with her Starlight Rifle Mk. II.

In the meantime, a certain male IS pilot was having three other students tutor him. With mixed results as a consequence of their different styles of teaching. Such as…

"So you do it like 'whoosh,' then 'clang,' then 'bang!'" Houki said while flailing her arms.

"You kind of understand what she's getting at right?" asked Rin. "It's all about the gut feeling. What? What part of it don't you understand, you idiot?!"

"On the defense, you tilt the right side of your body at a 5-degree angle forward," Cecilia instructed. "When you maneuver around, tilt your body backward at a 20-degree angle."

Ichika was getting pretty ticked off at this point and in frustration, said, "Let me be straight with you. I don't get it at all!"

"Why don't you understand?!" Houki groaned incomprehensibly.

"Pay attention when you're supposed to!" Rin criticized.

"I'll explain it to you one more time! Just tilt your body at a 5-degree angle forward and…"

Ichika could only sigh in frustration. He turned to Raiden for help, but the blind boy simply shrugged his shoulders and smiled rather sheepishly, making Ichika further frustrated. Raiden couldn't help but chuckle and smile.

"Ichika!"

Ichika turned to see Charles deployed in his Personal IS, ready to go.

"Will you have a quick match with me?" He asked. "I want to fight your Byakushiki."

"Sure! No Problem!"

Ichika turned to the other three girls and said, "I'll see you guys later."

With that, Charles and Ichika flew higher, leaving the three girls with an unsatisfied frown and Raiden looking indifferent.

The fight did not last long as Ichika had, unsurprisingly to Raiden, lost. And that is saying something.

Once the two boys returned to the ground and Raiden joined in on them, Charles began giving a lecture of detailing Ichika's weaknesses.

"Basically, the reason you cannot win is that you have little grasp of the shooting weapons' characteristics," Charles said.

Ichika could only cross his arms in disappointment and said, "Mmm…I thought I understood them though…"

"Byakushiki doesn't have an equalizer, does it?" asked Charles.

"No," said Ichika. "They said there's no vacant bus slot."

"I'm only speculating this, but that's probably because it's using the space, but that's probably because it's using the space for the one-off ability."

Ichika could only tilt his head in confusion along with some curiosity. "One-Off?"

Raiden explained, "It's the ability that naturally emerges when the IS and its pilot are in their best condition together. I believe Byakushiki has something called Reiraku Byakuya, does it not?"

"I see…" Ichika smiled at the two boys' detailed and simple explanation. "You two explain things very simply, don't you?"

The three girls barged into the conversation from behind and gave their complaints.

"You don't even listen to my advice!" said Houki.

"After I very kindly tried to teach you…" said Rin.

"What was wrong with my very articulate explanation?" asked Cecilia.

Raiden remains silent yet smiles so casually, seeing that compared to the girls who were teaching Ichika so well, Charles' was simple and straight forward. It wasn't so specific like Cecilia's, nor gut feeling like Rin's or bombastic like Houki's. This teaching style was one that was a little more hands on.

"Charles-dono, I think it's time for Ichika to learn how to use range weapons, that it is. What do you think?" asked Raiden.

"I thought I couldn't use someone else's IS equipment?" asked Ichika.

"Normally, no," said Charles. "But if the user unlocks it, anyone can use it as long as they're a registered user."

Ichika nods understandingly and takes his stance with one of Charles' rifles. The stance was a bit awkward, so Charles decides to step in.

"Hold it more like…" He hugged Ichika's back and readjusted the stance with his hands for Ichika to get a better grip, look, and feel of the gun.

"Hey," said Rin. "Don't you think those two are getting along too well…?"

Ichika took his shots as soon as the targets shot up. They weren't bullseyes but he had at least got a decent score.

"43 points! Not bad," commented Charles. "So what do you think?"

"I don't know, but it sure felt fast!" said Ichika.

The targets soon reset themselves. However, before the boys could proceed with more shooting, a black IS unit stood atop the barracks. The other classmates seemed to have noticed it too and started to murmur amongst themselves in awe.

"Hey, look at that!"

"No way! Isn't that Germany's third generation?"

"Eh? I heard that it's still in its trial period in the country."

The atmosphere felt tense, and the group felt unwelcomed.

Cecilia frowns while crossing her arms and said, "Laura Bodewig."

"So it's her? The one who tried to kill Raiden?" asked Rin.

Laura glares down at the person in question, "Hitokiri Kingslayer… So you have a personal unit… That makes things easier. Fight me."

Raiden merely looks back at her and asked, "I have no desire to fight, Laura-dono, that I do not."

"You dare say that after all you've done?" insisted the one-eyed German. "You took everything from me. And I will make you pay for it."

Raiden kept his stern composure and said, "I cannot allow you to chaos havoc here, that I cannot. We'll settle it at the tournament, that we will."

"Well then…"

*BAM*

Laura charges up her railgun on her right and without warning, fires a shot at Ichika. But Charles quickly gets in front and deflects the shot away with her materialized shield.

"Charles!" cried Ichika.

Charles could only glare up at Laura and say, "To challenge someone just like that out of the blue…You Germans must have a very low boiling point!"

"You think you can challenge me, lowly French scum?" asked a smirked Laura. "Then let me show you what we Germans are capable of!"

Laura attempts to fire again with her railgun at Charles and Ichika at maximum power, intent on severely damaging them both but before she could fire, she saw to her right someone coming in at her at full speed.

*SSHDING*

Lion Heart was deployed and Raiden charges forth fast and makes a cut on Laura's IS, making her back off a little bit before she found herself being pointed by the Sakabatō.

The one-eyed German could only grit her teeth in response. "Hitokiri Kingslayer!"

Raiden could only be silent as he pointed his Sakabatō at the mark on Laura where he made the cut. Until he spoke as he had a crucial question to ask.

"Tell me, Laura-dono, why do you fight? Is it really out of blind revenge out of something of the past? Or do you just want to prove you're the strongest?"

"What is it to you?" Laura asked venomously. "You took away four of my beloved comrades, people I had called my sisters-in-arms. Ever since, I have been searching for the one murderer who got away. I wasn't there when it happened, but now that I have found you, I can finally put their ghosts to sleep, even if I must harm everyone else in the way that sides with you, no matter what you've become."

Although Raiden knew it was obvious, he needed to know exactly what he was dealing with. Now there was nothing more left to say. To put people in pain all because of a vain cause… As a wanderer, even Raiden could not tolerate such a vile act.

"You students over there! What do you think you're doing?" A loud voice over the microphone boomed in the arena.

Laura clicks her tongue in disappointment and said, "I'll let you off."

She deactivates her unit, making the IS disappear and prompting Raiden to do the same. Before she left, Laura gives a glare at the blind boy.

"This isn't over, just so you know. I will be back for you."

Laura takes off as Raiden puts away his Sakabatō, keeping a close gaze on her.

Raiden then jumps down to the arena floor where one would normally expect to end up with broken legs, but Raiden lands perfectly and without injury before reuniting with the group.

Raiden however remained silent for the rest of the training period, continuing to stare at the spot where Laura was with a look like he was ready for a duel.

With training day over for the day, Ichika, Raiden, and Charles returned to the locker room. While two of the boys changed, Ichika was merely sitting on the bench in deep thought.

Charles asked in concern, "Ichika, are you alright?"

Ichika notices the boy's worry for him and nodded, "Yeah, thanks for saving me earlier." He then looks over to Raiden and asks, "Looks like Laura is really gunning for you, isn't she, Raiden?"

Raiden had just put on his uniform shirt and said "So it would seem. I'll take care of it though, that I will."

"Well, I'm going back to the room now. I'll take a shower over there," said Charles.

"Huh? You're not taking a shower here, Charles?" asked Ichika. "You never do, to be honest."

Charles could only sweat drop nervously before Ichika asked, "Why does it bother you so much to get changed around us? C'mon, let's get changed together for a change!"

Raiden quickly took notice of how helpless Charles was and said, "Charles, if you're going to take a shower, make sure it's quick. Orimura-sensei is looking for you, that she is."

That statement made Ichika regain a composure and urged Charles, "Eh? Really? Oh man. Forget changing then. You better get going, Charles. She's very strict with time."

Charles nodded furiously, "Y-Yeah, I really should! Thanks for reminding me, Raiden."

Charles then took off and by the time he left, Raiden was already fully dressed.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, Ichika."

"Yeah. Have a good night."

LATER…

Dusk had come upon the Academy. The sun was almost gone from the horizon during its setting and Raiden was walking silently back to his dorm. In his mind, only one thing lingered.

'Hitokiri Kingslayer… I will never forgive you for what you've done!'

As he walks, Raiden contemplates on Laura's words. In the past, he had indeed killed many people. The legend of the Hitokiri Kingslayer was shrouded in such mystery, but only a few people, including himself, know the truth of it all. All that the public knows was that there was an infamous assassin ten years ago who evaded capture and who assassinated the king and queen of Luxembourg.

Liu King-sang was the first to address him as such, and the only ones to hear it were Raiden, Rin, and Ichika. But the three do not truly know if what he said was true or not considering how Hitokiri Kingslayer left no evidence of his trail. Despite the description matching Raiden, they were still unsure if that was really true. Wherever the Kingslayer went, fear and death were quick to follow, and trails of blood soon became rivers. When the Kingslayer disappeared in the aftermath of the chaos, nobody could find him.

But now there was a student who called him by that name, a name he neither deserved nor intends to give away. It was a curse he would carry for the rest of his life. But one that will not slow him down and make him sink into depression. It was only a matter of time before the real truth comes out.

"Please answer me, Instructor! Why are you at a place like this? With HIM in it?"

"Don't make me repeat myself over and over. I have my own role. That's all."

Raiden hears voices from the other side, so he hides behind a tree and peeks over to see Chifuyu and Laura speaking to one another, the former ignoring the latter as she looks out at the lake. A few trees down the lane though, he could see Ichika beginning to eavesdrop as well.

Laura could only vent her frustration and asked, "What role do you have at a place like this in the Far East?! Please, Instructor! Teach us in Germany once again! Your wasting even half of your ability here!"

"Oh?" Chifuyu could only slightly raise her eyebrow in amusement.

"If you had just entered the tournament, you would definitely have won back-to-back championships!" Laura berated. "The title of Mondo Grosso – the winner of the greatest tournament on Earth and most powerful human being alive – should belong to no one other than you, Instructor! The students here at this Academy don't even deserve to be taught by you, especially Hitokiri Kingslayer! They lack a sense of the danger and mistake the IS for some kind of fashion or something! It's unbelievable that you give the time of day to people like that!"

"That's enough, little girl."

Laura stopped immediately when she felt a certain coldness in Chifuyu's voice, if not an aura of rage at the mere mention of a certain student who is blind.

"Looks like you've grown arrogant since last I saw you," Chifuyu said. Her next sentence had a little bit of sarcasm to it. "I'm surprised that you're already acting like a chosen one when you're only 15."

Laura was stunned as her voice stutters. "I-I was just…"

"Furthermore, Hitokiri Kingslayer no longer exists," Chifuyu continued. "Now return to your dorm. I'm busy."

Laura could only look down silently in frustration after seeing the stern look on Chifuyu's face. She then turns and runs off, leaving Chifuyu staring out into the lake horizon as the orange color of the setting sun painted the area.

"Male student over there, eavesdropping? Aberrant sexual propensity is distasteful."

Ichika jumped out of the hiding spot and retorted, "Why does it turn out like that, Chifuyu-nee!"

"Call me Orimura-sensei at school, you idiot," Chifuyu commanded in a strict voice.

"R-Right…"

Chifuyu then said with stern yet caring look, "If you've got time to do stupid stuff like this, you should be out training. At this rate, you'll be defeated in the first round of the tournament."

"I know…" Ichika nodded to his regret. He then changed the subject asking his sister, "Hey, about what Laura said... She was talking about how you missed the opportunity to win the second championship because of me, wasn't she? And what did you mean by Hitokiri-" Ichika looked away and slightly cringed with guilt.

Chifuyu could only answer indifferently and said, "That's all in the past. There's no need for you to worry about that."

"But—"

"Besides," Chifuyu said, "What she said about Hataru is none of your concern. Hurry up and return to your accommodation. It's already past dinner time."

Without being able to say another thing, Ichika obeyed and continued on his way back. However, he could not hold back from making a guilty frown as his thoughtful memories came back to him.

'That's right; the 2nd Mondo Grosso, the world championship of the IS championship. On the day of final match, I was kidnapped. I still don't know why. I was detained and imprisoned for who knows how long. But Chifuyu-nee abandoned the final match in order to come to my rescue. Of course, she lost the finals match by default. Everyone had no doubt of her back-to-back victory, so it caused controversy when she abstained from the match. And in order to repay the German Army, who provided the information on the location where I was being held during the incident, she worked as an instructor for Germany's IS unit for about a year; of course, this was a deal that was negotiated under the table, so that the Japanese government wouldn't notice.

It's simple really. It was my fault for being weak in the first place. What a pathetic brother I am…'

Ichika's thoughts then turned to Raiden. He noticed that he and Chifuyu had talked a lot ever since he came to the Academy. Not only that but ever since the first day he arrived, Chifuyu had kept a close eye on the blind boy. For Ichika though, he could not figure out why she would do such a thing.

'I wonder how Raiden would feel if he were kidnapped? But it doesn't matter. I can't continue to have Chifuyu-nee watch out for me all the time…'

With these thoughts swimming around his head, Ichika heads back to his room.

Meanwhile in another location, Chifuyu remained in the spot where she was but that is when she calls out to another eavesdropper behind another tree.

"Hitokiri Kingslayer. Have you come to kill me?" She called out.

Raiden pops out from behind a tree and approaches his teacher. "If I were to emerge and try cutting down at a simple teacher like that, I sure would be a rude chap, that I would."

Chifuyu could only scoff. "You know, I try not to think too much on it, but I think your mouth is slowly starting to be like Akane's every time you speak."

"That's a little harsh to one of your students, isn't it, Orimura-sensei?" asked Raiden.

"There you go," Chifuyu replied to that remark.

She had not thought about those days in a long time. Back when she and Akane had become bitter rivals not through the IS but rather in their school days. Granted this was long before the IS was ever made, back in middle school. Where the two were like oil and water, and often did they get involved in some competition that involved in dirty fighting. When they left middle school, the two went their separate ways but Chifuyu did not ever think she would have to meet her again, this time as Raiden's guardian.

Wanting answers, she gets straight to the point with her next question.

"So, tell me…" Chifuyu said. "How did you and Akane meet? And how the hell did she become your guardian?"

"Long story, that it is," Raiden said. "But she found me when I was alone in the forest, cold, starving, and barely escaped from the life of my handlers. She then took me in and raised me, along with her best friend Miriam Walker."

"Raised you?" asked Chifuyu. "Somehow I have a hard time believing that."

"She instilled back into me the emotions that I had sealed away when I was Hitokiri Kingslayer. One by one, she taught me how to be happy, angry, sad, even made me cry a few times. She wasn't like a mother or a sister to me. More like a mentor."

Chifuyu, for some reason and perhaps irritable as it is, found herself similar to Akane. She had to raise her brother Ichika all alone when he was just a small child. And a middle school kid raising her little brother with no parents was no small feat.

"Well, except there was that one time she took my virginity when I was twelve for my birthday, that she did," Raiden revealed.

*SNAP*

That was one cross-pop vein on Chifuyu's head. Her eyes were closed and her eyebrow twitched, along with her expression bearing a scary smile.

"Say what now?" She asked angrily and in a shocking mood.

"She said something about a superior's job to teach recruits about womanizing. So she used herself on me and well… we had sex, that we did."

*SNAP*

And there goes another cross-pop vein.

"Miri was also part of it, that she was, though not by choice. Akane forced her into it, that she did. She said that when you have a woman and a man living under the same roof for two years, things like this are bound to happen. So from then on, we probably had…" Raiden begins counting his fingers. "Sex every week, that we did? About… six times a week?"

*SNAP SNAP SNAP*

Three more cross-pop veins emerged and that about did it.

Raiden turns to see Chifuyu was quiet. Really quiet. And shaking like mad. "Oro? Are you okay, Chifuyu-dono?"

Scaringly enough, Chifuyu began to laugh. Quietly. And a scary purple aura emerged out of her form. "So… hehe, that's how it was, huh?"

"Oro?"

Chifuyu's laugh only got more sinister and scary with that purple aura and scary smile on her. "Well, Raiden. Looks like you need not just a lecture, but pure punishment. As does your guardian."

With a few cracks of her knuckles, Chifuyu was ready to give the most painful punishment one could not even think she could inflict.

Raiden sweats upon feeling the aura. "Oro?"

*POW*

And to sum up the scream of the lion…

"OOORRRROOOOOO?!"

Ichika had just returned to his dorm room. As he entered, he heard the shower going off. Charles was already inside taking a shower.

"I'm back. Are you taking a shower, Charles?" called out Ichika.

Ichika remembered that there was no body soap left in the bathroom. Luckily, the Academy always keeps extras of the same stuff that lasts for the whole year. Ichika grabbed a bottle from the closet before entering into the bathroom.

"Charles, the body soap is out, right? Here's a replace—"

But as soon as Ichika entered the bathroom, he saw a naked Charles, who apparently displayed a very feminine figure. Not to mention that his blonde hair was quite longer than usual along with…other assets, especially among the chest. Sensing this, she embarrassingly covered her chest and…lower front.

Ad just like that, Charles was revealed not to be a man. But a woman. A girl.

The two could only stare in silence before Ichika broke it and handed over the body soap.

"Um…Here's the body soap."

"Y-Yeah," said Charles as she took the body soap. "Thank you."

"Catch you later," said Ichika as he awkwardly walked out of the bathroom while remaining stunned.

"Yeah."

The door closed and as soon as it did, Ichika let out a loud gasp of shock.

Once night had fallen, Ichika was changed into his casual clothing and sat on his bed. Charles soon came out with a towel and sat on her own bed facing away. The atmosphere was nothing but dead silence, like what you would find at a graveyard or even a dead forest.

Ichika once more broke it and said "So, um…Let's have some tea."

"I'll have some, too," said Charles. At this point, she was nothing but a squealing mouse.

Ichika poured some green tea into two cups and approached the blonde girl to hand one of them over.

"Here."

"T-Thank you."

When she reached for her cup, her fingers made contact with Ichika's hand, which made her jump slightly.

She blushed and gave a small "Eek!" while pulling her hand back. The cup had dropped and Ichika was able to catch it, albeit spilling the hot tea over his hand with a sizzle.

"Ow! Hot, hot, hot, hot!"

Ichika scrambled over to the sink and ran cold tap over his hand. Charles' eyes widened and covered her mouth to hide the shock while coming to his aid. It was then that she walked over to examine it.

"I'm sorry. Are you okay? Let me look at it! Oh no, it's all red. I'm really sorry."

"It's nothing. Rather than that…" Ichika could feel a pair of something pressing up against his arm whose hand was being washed. "Could you...Y-You're pressing against me."

"Huh?" Charles looked down and saw her chest touching Ichika and pulled away in embarrassment. She then turned around and said,

"Ichika, you pervert."

"How so?!"

After that debacle, the two roommates sat on their respective beds and faced each other.

"So, why were you pretending to be a guy?" asked Ichika.

Charles had answered "My father told me to."

"You mean the Dunois CEO?"

"Yes. It was a direct order from him."

Ichika got slightly aghast.

"You see, Ichika…I am an illegitimate child of his."

Ichika was further shocked of this confession. Charles continued to explain her background.

"I lived separately from him for many years, but I was brought into the family two years ago when my mother died. People from Dunois came to fetch me afterwards. After doing many tests, they discovered I have good compatibility with the IS. So, unofficially, I became a test pilot. But I've only met my father twice. I've talked to him for maybe less than an hour total. After that, the business fell into a financial crisis."

"But I thought Dunois Corporation was the third largest mass producer of the IS in the world." said Ichika.

"Yes, but no matter how one looks at it, Revive is a second generation model. Currently, mainstream research is on third generation models, with a fourth becoming a theory. The reason why people like Cecilia or Laura transferred to this school is because they need to collect data for that development. The company has started working on third generation, but progress hasn't been going well. At this rate, production rights will be taken away.

"How is that related to you coming here and pretending to be a guy?" asked Ichika.

"Simple," Charles answered. "A marketing ploy to gather attention. And if pretending to be a boy, it would be easier to make contact with two special cases that came up in Japan. They thought they might be able to gather data on those individuals and their units, too. Yes. He told me to steal your data on your IS."

Ichika could only be shown in shock before Charles revealed another fact.

"However, you were only the secondary target."

"What?" Ichika asked in a slight confusion.

"Raiden was the primary target. According to my father, there was a good reason."

"Such as?"

"Do you recall when Laura attacked him on the day she transferred in and called him Hitokiri Kingslayer?"

"Y-Yeah…" Ichika said. "She said it again when she spoke to Chifuyu-nee. Is there something special about that?"

"There is," Charles nodded. "Hitokiri Kingslayer is the name of an infamous assassin ten years ago, who was tasked to murdering specific targets related to the IS, pilots and all. Nobody could figure out his identity because witness reports say it was a boy with long silver hair and a blindfold. Nobody could even kill or capture him because he was too elusive, leaving behind no evidence of his actions."

"And you think Raiden is this Hitokiri Kingslayer?" asked Ichika. "I mean, looking at him and hearing the description, he kind of fits the memo."

"According to my father, yes. Along with all other investigation sources. I was tasked by my father to confirm the identity of Hitokiri Kingslayer as Raiden, and steal whatever data he had on his IS if he had one. If the public ever learned that the infamous assassin attended the Academy…"

"We could get shut down. Raiden would be arrested. And there would be—"

Nothing more was needed to say after that. Rather, it was too gruesome to say. Any sane person would imagine what would happen in the aftermath. But now the burning question is whether Raiden is still that infamous assassin or not. But the answer to that will have to come later.

The two could only be in silence before Charles gave a sigh of relief and said, "Telling the truth makes me feel much better. Thank you for listening. Also, I'm sorry for lying to you."

"Are you really alright with that?" asked Ichika in a serious tone. "Are you really fine with this? No, right?!" Ichika got up and grabbed Charles' shoulders which jumped her a little.

"Ichika?"

"Without children, parents aren't born. Of course they aren't! But it doesn't mean they can do anything they want with their children!"

"Ichika…"

"I…Chifuyu-nee and I were abandoned by our parents."

Charles gasped a little at this revelation.

"Don't worry about that," reassured Ichika. "I don't want to see them, anyway. But, what are you going to do now?"

"Well…Since my cover's blown, I'm sure I'll be called back to my country. I don't know what happens after that. Best case scenario is that I'll maybe end up in jail."

"Stay here then!" said Ichika passionately. "I'll keep this to myself! Even if others find out about it, I'm sure your father and his company cannot do anything to you."

Ichika then pulled out a small book and turned to a certain page of it.

"IS Academy Appendix: The students of IS Academy, while enrolled, are not affiliated to any nation, organization, or group while in the school. So long as you remain here at school, you will be safe for at least three years. Think of a way out in the meantime."

"I'm surprised you remembered that," said Charles. "There are fifty-five items in the appendix."

"Despite appearances, I'm pretty good with books."

Charles stood up with a warm and sincere smile on her face. "Ichika. Thank you for covering for me."

Ichika could only smile before his eyes trailed down to her cleavage being shown, along with her IS necklace. He blushed immediately and turned his head away in embarrassment.

"Y-Your breasts. They're showing."

Charles could only cover them up in embarrassment after she found out that her cleavage showed more than what it seemed to show.

"Do they catch your eyes that much?" asked Charles.

"Of course!" said Ichika.

"By any chance, do you want to see them?" Charles asked embarrassingly which made Ichika gasp. "Ichika, you pervert."

"No! Why did you take it there?!"

A knock was soon heard at the door and a familiar British and chirpy voice came from it.

"Ichika-san, are you there? It seems that you haven't eaten dinner yet. Are you feeling bad?" asked Cecilia from the other side of the door.

The sudden knocking and calling at the door made them jump up in shock. Both Charles and Ichika proceeded to the former's bed and came up with a plan.

"Ichika-san, I'm coming in."

Cecilia came in and by the time she entered, she saw Charles in bed with Ichika tending to her.

"What's going on here?" asked Cecilia.

Ichika sheepishly says, "Uh, Charles said he was feeling a little sick, so I was tucking him into bed."

Charles let out a fake cough to make the deception work. The next statement managed to give the two hope.

"Oh? That's too bad," Cecilia sympathized. "Would it be alright if I took Ichika away for a little bit?"

Charles gave another fake cough before she said, "Go ahead."

"I happen to not have had dinner yet, either. Would you care to join me?" Cecilia asked to Ichika.

"S-Sure."

She then clung onto Ichika's arm and led him out against this will. But as soon as they got out, another familiar girl with a familiar ponytail saw them while carrying a katana wrapped in traditional Japanese wrapping that covered the entire sword.

"Ichika! What is going on here?!" Houki asked with venom dripping from her mouth as she saw Cecilia clinging onto her childhood friend's arm.

"We're about to have dinner, together," Cecilia said with an emphasis on together.

"What's that got to do with you linking your arm around his and being so close to him like that?!"

"A gentleman is expected to escort a lady. Isn't that common sense?"

Houki could only let off a hmph! before she smirked and said, "You're at least lucky. I was going to find Raiden to have dinner with him."

"Oh my, Houki. You know excessive eating will cause you to gain weight. Not to mention the fact that you are going to take Raiden with you."

"It's none of your concern since I have been practicing Iai with this and burn some calories later," She said before unwrapping the string tying the katana and took out a shin-ken with her eyes sparkling in eagerness.

Without further delay, she wrapped it back up and asked, "Anyway, do you know where I can find Raiden? He hasn't had dinner yet."

"I haven't seen him since. Maybe he is in his room?" asked Ichika. The three then departed but Ichika could not help but wonder something.

How did Raiden ever manage to get Houki's attention on him?

Night had fallen with the crescent moon shining down and Laura Bodewig was standing at the edge by one of the hangars of the arena. She could only look at the moon with a face filled with revenge. The moonlight all the more made is very clear.

"Instructor. Your absolute strength is my goal and the reason why I exist," Laura said.

Laura then began to undo her eyepatch, which displayed a golden eye with a black pupil.

"Hitokiri Kingslayer, for the friends of mine you murdered in cold blood… I will make you suffer. No matter the means."

There is not much to say about this chapter, other than Laura's antagonism and hatred for Raiden growing ever deeper, Charles being revealing a girl, and Raiden and Chifuyu catching up and giving the latter the scoop about Akane. With hilarious results at the end. Speaking of Akane though, I will have her appear again near the end of season 1, preferably during the Silver Gospel storyline. From there, her rivalry with Chifuyu will be explored, along with her and Chifuyu's school days history.

This chapter is mainly an Ichika and Charlotte focused one as it reveals the true gender of the latter and why she was posing as a male in the first place. I may have her be the one Ichika chooses in the end but there is still Cecilia to consider. Rin will slowly drift away and be hooked up with another male OC whom I had already introduced earlier in the story about a couple chapters ago.

You'll notice that I didn't add the feeding scene of Ichika and Charles that occurred at the end of the episode. It's not that I had missed it on accident, but I had removed it on purpose because I don't want Raiden to be a side character all the time. At the same time, I am trying to follow the storyline and not give Ichika so much spotlight. And I want everyone to get involved when it comes to chapters heavily influenced by Rurouni Kenshin. While making it solely Raiden focused, I don't want to brush the other characters off to the side.

Next chapter, we get to see the fight between Germany, China, and the UK, followed by the swift timing rescue from Japan and France. And then we learn of a secret from a teacher that only Raiden knows of.

Like, favorite, follow, and review at your leisure. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me.