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.
OP song: Suara – Hikari (For reference, look up on YouTube Utawarerumono Futari no Hakuoro trailer)
Kimi e no omoi wasurenai you ni (The first scene begins with a pair of hands grasping a red and black ribbon divided by a white line adorned with a pair of gold and silver bells. The camera soon pans out to show the said person grasping that ribbon)
mune fukaku kizamikomu kara (The person holding the ribbon is revealed to be Houki, underwater and in her IS suit as she closes her eyes, keeping the ribbon, revealed to be Akatsubaki in its standby form, close to her heart before the bubbles cover the screen)
(Opening title is introduced as Infinite Stratos 2)
Arifureta hibi wo tobikoete yukeru (Chifuyu watches from the balcony of the IS Academy the sunrise before a gentle wind blows her hair.)
habataku yuuki wo motteru (The sun's ray hits her eyes before she adjusts her sight)
Mada minu sekai ni tobidashite yukeba (Tabane Shinonono travels via a carrot-shaped airplane, colored in orange with a green tip, as it travels across the skies and she heads towards the moon)
nanika ga kitto matteiru (The camera pans over to the moon before it shifts down to Houki in her IS Akatsubaki, facing forward as her hair is blown by the wind)
Tamerau hodo no kizu wo oottemo (A blue meteor-like object falls to the arena of the IS Academy, creating an explosion of water, before revealing Tatenashi Sarashiki in her IS, Mysterious Lady, as she twirls her spear as the lake water falls like rain)
akiramenaide subete ukeireyou (Kanzashi Sarashiki appears in a holographic world in her IS, Uchigane Nishiki, while holographic data surrounds her)
Kimi e no omoi wasurenai you ni (Camera zooms down to a battlefield just beginning between IS Golems and the gang. Laura is the first to attack as she descends and slices a Golem with her wrist blades before using her cables followed by her rail gun. Rin parries a Golem with her Souten Gagetsu before taking off its head in a spin)
mune no naka fukaku kizamitsukeru(Ichika appears to take out one Golem before he dodges an incoming attack and dismantles another. The next scene cuts to Charlotte and Cecilia prepping their sniper rifles to fire.)
mezasu mirai wo yasashiku terashite (Raiden and Madoka, without their IS, engage in a close quarters weapon combat, Raiden using the Sakabatō and Madoka using the Mugenjin. After a couple of hits, Raiden is thrown high into the air from another hit from Madoka before he backflips and deploys his IS and fires his ion blasters at Madoka. Madoka, in turn, dodges while activating her IS, Black Knight, and flies up to Raiden to engage him again with her fusion cannon on her right arm deployed)
hikari hanatsu hoshi no you ni (Madoka and Raiden clash, creating a violent explosion before the next scene switches over to Luxembourg ten years ago, where Hitokiri Kingslayer stands by the steps to the destroyed Royal Palace, his back to the camera as Luxembourg is enshrouded in flames by Phantom Task, with a massive warship looming overhead as its IS pilots are deployed like a squad of fighters)
(Miriam Walker is shown in front of the CIA headquarters building in Washington DC as the camera moves upwards. Akane Fujimoto is shown on Omega, overlooking one of the poor districts from her apartment, with a cigarette in her mouth. Squall Meusel is shown in her bath robe sitting on the edge of her bed smirking at the camera, with Autumn sleeping naked in the background. Edea Crownsworth, the Archon of Phantom Task, sits upon her throne overlooking the world within a spaceship. Chifuyu is then shown in the deep recesses of the Academy, looking at the White Knight IS kept in storage and locked down, her hand on the glass)
(Raiden is shown next as he turns around with his Sakabatō before sheathing it before he is replaced with the title of Infinite Stratos 2.)
An IS duel takes place within the arena as Rin backs away and fires her Impact Cannons over at Byakushiki. But Ichika, thanks to intense training by his sister, outmaneuvers the shots and clashes Yukihira with Souten Gagetsu. On and off do Rin and Ichika clash blades, but the former still has an advantage over the latter due to possessing both melee and range weaponry.
But even with that advantage, it was not enough for Rin.
"He comes right back, no matter how many times I push him away!" Rin notes.
Ichika, from a distance, observes, "Perfect! An opening in her attack pattern!"
He soon unveils his new weaponry: a Particle Cannon on his left hand. Named Setsura, it functions more than just a large caliber charged particle cannon but also an energy claw for CQC and an energy shield with his One-Off Ability attribute. But for unexplained reasons at some point, Byakushiki developed strange abnormalities that allowed it to obtain such a weapon. No one can really explain why though.
As Ichika fires away, Rin tries to outmaneuver the shots. Ichika's aim was good but not as good as hers.
"Not good enough!" She said as she comes down with her blade.
*CLANG*
Ichika swings his blade and locks his with Rin's. And that is when he pulls off a classic trick: firing point blank range.
*BAM*
Rin is shot and flung away, making her crash across the ground.
"I got this!" Ichika began to grow cocky. "All right, I'm gonna make the most out of that!"
Ichika fires away his Particle Cannon as Rin recovers and evades rapidly, using the ground to slide throughout the arena.
Back at the command center, Yamada-sensei and Chifuyu observe the battle going on screen.
"The first sparring session of the second semester…" Yamada-sensei noted. "Those two are really going at it."
Chifuyu seemed uninterested. "Yeah."
"As with the previous ones, Orimura-kun is dominating this battle."
But Chifuyu saw through it. "No, that idiot is just being reckless with no strategy at all."
Back on the field, Rin catches her breath as Ichika gets himself ready.
"Rin…" Ichika called out as he prepares himself. "The next engagement will end this."
Rin made no response as she too prepares. Ichika makes the first move, charging in. Blades clash as Ichia tries to end this as quickly as he can. Unfortunately, he oversighted one thing. Rin secretly uses her Impact Cannons to whittle down his shields at point blank range.
And soon his shield energy levels reached zero.
Yukihira's glow dissipates, making the two back off.
"Gotcha!" Rin shouted as she throws Souten Gagetsu over at Byakushiki.
*BAM*
"Gaagh!" The Chinese scimitar smacks Ichika head on, stunning him.
"Your shield can't save you forever!" Rin cried.
Just as Ichika recovers, he looks up to see Rin above him, smirking with her Impact Cannons ready to fire at full maximum power.
"I win!" Rin smirked.
Rin remained upside down and continued shooting the Impact Cannons at him. After shooting 10 rounds, the bell rang, indicating that the match was over. Needless to say, Ichika lost. Chifuyu then called out for the second round via the comm.
"Hataru! Bodewig! You're up next!
Both the one-eyed German and the blind Japanese samurai take their positions and activate their IS.
"I'll be honest, Kingslayer," Laura said. "I've been looking forward to this."
Raiden somewhat agrees with her. "Indeed. We never got a chance to fight last time considering circumstances, that we did not."
"This time it will be different."
*BOOM*
Laura soon fires her rail gun, being the first to draw. Raiden, expecting this, takes off at incredible speeds to avoid taking fire. He knew he could not say on the defensive forever but if he goes in now, he will be exposed to Laura's AIC or her cables. He just needs that one split second to get her stunned briefly.
As Raiden jumps to avoid another shot, he directs his Sakabatō, the handle side of it, over towards Laura and has his thumb ready at the blade's guard.
"Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū – Hi Ryū Sen!"
As Raiden rotates one's body rapidly and then stops, he aims the sheath at Laura and fires out his sword. The force shoots the sword's grip out of the sheath like an arrow, allowing one to strike a target outside of one's zone and reach. As a battōjutsu move and as one that requires one's sword to be shot at the enemy, it can be assumed that accurate aim is required for this move (or else the weapon can easily be lost), and that the sheath can then be used as a melee weapon in a second strike if given the chance.
*DING*
"Agh!" Laura grits her teeth, having taken a direct hit from the sword. The Sakabatō soon retracts back to Raiden magnetically into his hand. As Laura recovers, she fires her cables over to Raiden, which makes him run and jump over them before they retract back to Laura.
"Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū – Ryū Tsui Sen!"
*CLANG*
Laura deploys her beam sabers and blocks Raiden's attack, holding him off as the anchor joints on the legs of her IS clamp down to the ground, leaving a tiny crater from the impact. If Laura did not have such joints, she would never be able to hold back against Raiden's Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū from above.
The two break off briefly before they go back in again. Sakabatō against the beam sabers.
*CLANG*
*BANG*
*BAM*
Raiden is soon kicked by Laura, sending him sliding back before he sticks his sword into the ground to stop himself.
"Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū – Ryū Tsui Sen!"
Raiden attempts another Ryū Tsui Sen after he jumps and comes down with a vertical strike.
*CLANG*
Laura again blocks it, but realizes that the strike was stronger than last time, as evident by her using her left hand to hold her beam saber up. The anchor joints on her legs were cracking under pressure just from the excessive use. But thanks to her strength training, she does hold her ground enough to push the Sakabatō to the side.
*BAM*
Their blades touch the ground roughly…
"Haah!"
*POW*
And Laura backslaps Raiden, taking a direct hit to the face. A dirty move from the German but effective, nonetheless.
As the two recover from being forced back, Raiden sheathes his Sakabatō and this gives Laura the chance to go on the offensive.
*BOOM*
Laura soon fires her rail gun at Raiden, but instead of taking the Sakabatō out again, Raiden's right hand retracts into its IS before it reveals what appears to be an arm blade, comprised of hardened titanium. He deflects Laura's railgun shot, along with another two more.
He soon jumps into the air just as Laura brings her right arm beam saber over to block the overhead strike.
*CLANG*
And the two arm blades meet one another in a blade lock.
(Author's note: The design of the arm blade is the same as Optimus Prime's from Transformers Prime.)
Laura, noting some new weaponry her opponent has, taunts, "What's this? A new weapon? I thought the Kingslayer only needed his Sakabatō to fight. Or have you decided to revert back to who you were before?"
Raiden only responds, "Do not believe everything you read, that you shouldn't."
The two break away and clash again in melee combat. Beam saber against armblade. Every strike they make against one another could be heard from the students and teachers watching.
"Those two… seem to be going all out don't they?" Charlotte asked Cecilia.
Cecilia concurred, "Yeah. This is the first match between them. But Laura seems… happy?"
Houki wondered that herself as well. Both Laura and Raiden had never fought each other once despite their feud last semester. It seemed though that the hatchet was buried and that the two were finally getting the duel they want. Strangely enough, despite being a duel on friendly levels, they were going all out.
A soldier facing a former hitokiri. In any other encounter, the latter would easily win if the soldier in questions was just an ordinary fighter with limited training.
Back at the command center, Chifuyu and Yamada-sensei were observing on screen of the intense duel between arm blade and beam saber.
"I didn't realize Hataru's IS had additional weaponry," A surprised Yamada-sensei said.
Chifuyu explains, "Over the summer break, I had his IS retrofitted with additional Equalizers to provide him an edge in combat and defense. I don't want him to rely on his Sakabatō all the time, especially if he is going to go against a range fighter like Alcott or Dunois. Not to mention the thin armor plating that needed augmenting."
"The way he is fighting with Bodewig-san, though... They seem to be enjoying it," Yamada-sensei observed on screen. "Not to mention Bodewig's aggressive fighting style…"
"Both of them are fighters, Yamada. Both of them have seen war. And given of their former rivalry, it's no surprise their first duel would turn out like this. But they do know better than to try and kill one another."
*CLANG*
Laura blocks Raiden's vertical strike and breaks off before countering with her saber. But Raiden blocks it and pushes the German IS Representative away.
The former hitokiri charges in but his blade is swiped away by Laura's beam saber…
*POW*
And he receives a punch to the face from her left. Shaking off the stun quickly, he senses Laura bringing a foot up.
*BAM*
Laura then side-kicks Raiden away, pushing him far.
Having decided enough was enough, Raiden sheathes away his arm blade and takes a hold of the Sakabatō without sheathing it. He then charges in, dodging all of Laura's shots from her rail gun at high speed.
"Fool! I got you now!" Laura cried as she unveils her six black cables at Raiden.
However, a repeat of history soon unfolds as Raiden jumps and twirls his body in the air, pulling the Sakabatō out of its sheathe, ready to strike.
"Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū – Ryū Kan Sen Tsumuji!"
But before Raiden could make his strike, Laura holds her right hand up and deploys her AIC field, stopping Raiden in his tracks, up close before he could even strike her. Oddly enough, his sword was already out by the time he made his strike.
"I'm not falling for the same trick twice, Kingslayer," Laura smirked as she brings over her rail gun for a point blank shot. "I learned my lesson from last time."
But Raiden was not so sure. "No, Laura-dono. I already cut through your AIC, that I did."
"What?"
*SHIING*
As if to prove the point, Laura's AIC, to the German's shock, was cut clean through, dispelling the field.
'What the-? He already sliced through? But I stopped him in his tracks… Wait, his sword is already drawn and by the time I deployed my AIC, he simply cut through it at that moment. However, with such an attack like before, he is left vulnerable. I can still use my cables to hold him and blast him with Purizushi.'
But Raiden then sheathes the Sakabatō quickly. His hands then retract again, but instead of bringing out the arm blades, they instead formed two ion blasters, weapons designed to fire ion rounds that focus on targeting shield energy.
(Author's note: The design of the ion blaster is the same as Optimus Prime's and Ultra Magnus' from Transformers Prime.)
*BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG*
Raiden soon peppers Laura up close with blaster fire, pushing the Schwarzer Regen pilot back as she covers her arms up.
By the time her shield energy was down to zero from the ion blasters, the bell rings, concluding the match and its winner.
"I see," Laura acknowledged. "You used your Sakabatō to cut through my AIC just as I activated it before deploying those new blasters of yours. As expected of Hitokiri Kingslayer."
"You fought well, that you did, Laura-dono," Raiden complimented as he holds out a hand. "As expected of Germany's finest."
Laura smiles as she grabs the hand and is lifted up by her former enemy. It seemed the hatchet truly was dead and buried.
Ichika sits alone in the locker room, contemplating on how he lost again. He was never usually one to accept a loss as it hurts his pride and makes him feel an embarrassment, especially in front of his sister who is his teacher. Nevertheless, he does not let it deter him as he is not one to boast of how he should've been the one to win. But the pain of loss still burns in him.
Having lost again to Rin, he brings up Byakushiki's control panel to take a look at the adjustments made to him, specifically on his new weapon. He also reviews old battle footage from before.
"Man, I was so close to winning," Ichika sighs. "I really gotta manage my fuel consumption better."
As he continues to think about it, his eyes suddenly went dark as he felt two warm hands come over them.
"Guess who~?" asked a female voice.
The voice that came from behind him sounded even more mature than his classmates, but the slightly cheeky tone made it feel as if it's a kid who loves to play pranks. The fingers covering his eyes were somewhat dry and icy cold. The fingers felt really comfortable, and he was in a daze for several seconds.
"What? Wh-Who is this?" He asked.
"Okay, time's up!"
Ichika turns around to see who's the one who released her fingers but is met by a paper fan to his cheek.
The girl in front of him has a tie that signifies that she's from the second year. Showing a happy smile as she stared at this puzzled person. Looking at her again, this second year is really enigmatic. She looks rather carefree and gives off a rather relaxing presence that he doesn't hate. But the smile on her face is of the complete opposite. It looks teasing, and in another sense, he can't calm down.
The second year giggles, "You fell for it."
"Uh… Who are you?" asked Ichika.
Instead of answering, the second year simply walks away and says, "Later~! If you don't hurry up, you'll be in trouble with Orimura-sensei!"
"Huh?"
Feeling a bad premonition, Ichika turned to look at the clock on the wall. It's already past the start of lesson time. All thoughts and emotions left him immediately at the sight of this.
"UAAAAHHHHHH!"
He again turned to look at that culprit, only to see that there's no one there now.
A LITTLE LATER…
"...So that's your excuse for being late?"
The instructor from hell, Orimura Chifuyu, didn't have a look of sympathy on her face at all. Though remote, she was furious.
"No, well, about that? I'm saying that a female student I've never seen before just walked up to me—"
"Oh? So, you put 'Chit-chatting with a girl you met for the first time' as a higher priority and came late for lessons?"
"No, that's not—"
There was no room for interruption at all. Ichika was defenseless in all but every way. Not even Raiden could help, much to his shock.
"Dunois, prepare for Rapid Switch demonstration. The target will be this idiot," Chifuyu ordered. "Don't mind the damage."
Having a hint of hope in his heart, Ichika turned to look at Charlotte. She returns him with a radiant smile just as Chifuyu backs away.
"Then, Orimura-sensei, I'll begin the demonstration."
"Good."
The smile that Charlotte had while her eyes were closed was not one of a goddess but rather that of a heartless angel. Her IS activates and stands before Ichika, and the particles of light gathered in her hands, forming the shape of a gun.
"Uh, Charlotte...san?" A fearful Ichika pleaded but was met at gun point, at point blank range.
"What is it, Orimura-kun?" asked a smiling Charlotte.
Ichika could only squeal like a mouse, and not two seconds later, hell arrives.
"Let's go, Revive."
Ichika's voice got overpowered by the sounds of bullets that he was riddled with. Raiden keeps his silence, not wanting to get involved in that mess.
The school was assembled at its assembly hall. Ichika could only look with a fatigued look as the temples of his head began to bulge on him. Suffering at the mercy of Charlotte was not fun for him, not that he blames her for it.
"And now we shall turn to a word from our student council president."
As the assembly was about to begin, the same girl with the short blue hair that Ichika saw at the changing room stepped up to the microphone. And boy was he shocked.
"Well, it's been quite a hectic year so far, hasn't it?" The student council president began her speech. "I haven't been able to properly introduce myself yet. My name is Tatenashi Sarashiki and I am your student council president. It is nice to meet you all."
She soon spots Raiden and Ichika in the crowd together and winks at them. The latter was surprised trying to maintain his cool while the former looked remote.
"Anyways, as for the school festival coming this month, I wish you all the best for coming up with what you want to do as a class."
She pulls out her fan that says, 'Deadline coming soon'.
Everyone soon departs the assembly hall and heads back to their classrooms for their daily lessons.
LATER…
After school, on the same day, the class had a last-minute meeting in the classroom. Right now, everyone's deciding on what booth the class should set up.
"Erm... We've received a few suggestions for our class entertainment, but they're…"
As the class representative, Ichika had to gather everyone's views, but—
The contents included 'Orimura Ichika's Cowbot Club', 'Play Twister with Hataru Raiden', 'Eating pocky sticks with Hataru Raiden' and 'Play King's Game with Orimura Ichika?'
Even Raiden was a bit surprised to hear all of these suggestions. But Ichika gave one answer to all of these suggestions.
"All of them are unacceptable."
"Ehhhh?!" The cries echoed throughout the room like a surround sound system.
"You would be happy about setting up such a booth with stuff like that?" asked Ichika with a bit of fear in him. "Are you all crazy?!"
"I'll be happy! I promise!" One girl said.
"That's right, that's right! You and Hataru-sama have the duty to service the girls until they're happy!"
"Orimura Ichika and Raiden Hataru are shared property!"
"Just treat it as if you're helping others!"
Raiden was a bit stunned seeing that the girls were in defiance of their class representatives denial of their suggestions. But he could only chuckle at how energetic they must be.
'It must be tough being a class representative, that it is. I'm glad I passed it to Ichika to handle.'
Ichika looked around for help, but Chifuyu wasn't around anymore. So he had to turn to his other teacher.
"Yamada-sensei, you wouldn't approve any of these weird ideas, right?" He asked.
But Yamada-sensei was flustered at the ideas. "Huh? You, you want my suggestion? Huh, erm...well, I-I think the eating pocky sticks together sounds good..."
Yamada-sensei blushes as she said this. If anything, she was nothing but a landmine.
Ichika then turns to Raiden for help. "Raiden, a little help, please."
"Ichika, aren't you the class representative?" He asked sheepishly. "I'm just a student, that I am."
Like Yamada-sensei, Raiden was useless. "Anyway, how about some normal suggestions?" Ichika asked desperately.
"How about a maid café?"
Of all the people in the classroom, Laura was the one who came up with the idea. Everyone, including Ichika, was stunned. Even Raiden gave an "Oro" in response to that.
"It should be popular amongst the customers, right? And we can earn revenue if we sell food and drinks. I remember that outsiders can enter school through an invitational ticket system, so a lot of people would want a place to rest."
Though she's saying that with the same old cold tone, these words really differed from her image a lot, and everyone in class had to spend some time to understand.
"Isn't this good? We'll just let Ichika and Raiden be in charge of being the butler or cooking," Charlotte said that, probably to speak up for Laura as she attracted all the girls' attention.
"ORIMURA-KUN AND HATARU-SAMA, AS A BUTLER!? ME, ME!"
"AND THEN, AND THEN!?"
"WHAT ABOUT THE MAID OUTFITS? I'M IN CHARGE OF MAKING THE CLOTHES IN THE DRAMA CLUB, SO I CAN SEW THEM!"
The class just went intense out of a sudden. Ichika began to feel that he'll be pouring cold water over the girls if he would hold back their passion at this point, so he is hesitating on whether he should stop them.
And thus, Class 1-1 decided to set up a modified maid café. A 'Service Café'.
"If I pretend that it's just a café with unusual uniforms, it isn't that bad," Ichika sheepishly said to Raiden.
"So it would seem," Raiden concurred.
LATER…
After Ichika exits out of the teacher's office after turning in the suggestion for the maid café suggestion, he checks the time to see that it was past four o'clock.
"Oh no! It's already time for my special training!" He said.
Ichika tried to make a way for the changing room, but a voice stopped him.
"Yo!"
Ichika then turned around and saw the same blue-haired girl earlier from the changing room and the assembly hall walking toward him.
"Student council president?"
"Don't be so formal. Just call me Tatenashi," She then proceeded to walk up to Ichika's side.
"I-Is there something you need of me?"
"Let's just say, I am going to be your IS coach for a while," She replied with a smirk.
"But why all of a sudden?" Ichika asked dumbfoundedly. "I already have so many people coaching me. I don't need another one."
"But don't you think you're still weak?" She asked.
Ichika did not like that remark. He never liked being called weak as it only serves to anger him, which was natural but also taking the wrong way. After all, as a man with pride, he didn't like it when it gets bumped like that.
"I don't think myself to be that weak…" He said, his pride taking a hit.
But Tatenashi saw through his lie easily. "No, you are pretty weak. Very, very weak in fact."
He couldn't hold it in any longer, so he wanted to point a finger at her to give a piece of his mind, but was stopped by a fan pointing close to his mouth.
"So to make sure you won't stay weak forever, I'm going to give you training personally."
Ichika's anger because of how hurt his pride as a man was soon peaked at its highest.
"Do you really have to put it like that?" He asked. "Fine, I challenge you to a duel! If I can't keep up, I'll do whatever you tell me to do."
Tatenashi merely grinned, "Mmhmm. No problem!"
AT THE DOJO…
Tatenashi and Ichika were facing each other on the tatami dojo after school. Right now, they look like martial artists from ancient Japan who had been wearing the white torso guard and the navy blue hakama. The floor soon flips up from wooden to tatami to show the dueling square.
Tatenashi then hands out the rules. "Okay, as for the winning conditions, you win if you can make me fall onto the ground. But on the other hand, I win if you can't continue to fight. Will that do?"
Ichika felt like this shouldn't take long. "You're really underestimating me, aren't you?"
But Tatenashi smirks, "Don't worry. I'm going to win."
Even though Ichika knew it was a low-level taunt, he couldn't help but get angry as he got into a defensive stance.
When Ichika was learning Kendo at Houki's dojo, he also trained in ancient barehanded martial arts in anticipation that the blade would break. His body already remembered that skill, and he wouldn't forget it completely even though he was somewhat estranged to it.
"I'm coming over," exclaimed Ichika. "I won't hold back."
"Anytime you're ready."
The smile didn't vanish from Tatenashi's face at all, and the casual expression made her all the more enigmatic.
Ichika firmly slides his foot over and grabs Tatenashi's arm. However, she immediately counters and grabs him, and his body gets tossed hard onto the tatami mat.
"That's win number one."
After letting him realize that she could kill him in that situation, Tatenashi let go of him.
'She's strong...! I can't beat Tatenashi-san if I don't have the attitude of going against Chifuyu-nee.'
But if that's the case, Ichika can't take action casually. Things just got sticky.
"Mn? You're not coming over? I'm going over then!"
She suddenly closes in on him quickly. The way she slid on the floor was perfect. With the sounds of three hits on the elbows, shoulders and abdomen got hit lightly, and while his body stiffened in reflex, Tatenashi landed her palms on Ichika's chest. The air in his lungs got forced out, shaking his consciousness. And then—
"Watch your feet."
Ichika back's landed hard on the tatami mat. And as he got thrown- it seemed that she used the 'penetrate' move to touch several of his joints. Even though he tried to get up immediately, the slight numbness made it hard for him to move around easily.
"At the IS Academy, the title of school council president says one thing about its holder. The student council president – in other words, the one in charge of leading the student body is the most powerful! Get it?"
Ichika lays on his back, out of breath while being stared down by Tatenashi who hardly broke a sweat.
"That's the third time. Do you want to continue on?"
Her clothes completely unruffled, Tatenashi gave me a gentle smile. But since Ichika was stubborn, how could he give up so easily?
"It's not over yet. I can still fight...!"
But even though he said that, his body was still unable to move. He breathes in deeply, and stands up as he exhales.
"Mn, hardworking guys are really amazing. I guess that's why I find you and Raiden so fascinating!"
Deep inside, Ichika commanded his legs that were wobbling, and barely managed to stop himself from wobbling any further. Tatenashi faces him again. Even though she's been giving him the same smile all this time, to Ichika, it's a terrifying face that's hidden deep within.
'Calm down...calm down...I'm not facing a monster. Since my opponent's a human who can stand on both legs, there's a way to beat her.'
Ichika took in two deep breaths.
He hastens himself again and grabs at Tatenashi's hakama. He tries to pull her, only for her cleavage to be exposed.
In the end...
"Ahh..."
"Kya~! Ichika, you pervert!"
Tatenashi's torso guard was completely open, and the cleavage that covered in the bra bounced out. She brought her hands over her cleavage to cover it up.
Even if he wanted to find an excuse, this situation's completely Ichika's fault. Wavering inside, he was full of openings. Tatenashi didn't shriek at all as she quickly pushed his hand aside.
"Ichika-kun…"
"W-What?" asked Ichika who was standing still in fear.
Tatenashi then smirked but gave a rather annoyed expression and said, "Only Raiden is allowed to experience my breasts."
And at the next moment, Ichika fully experienced the wrath of the Student Council President.
*BAM*
His face took the full swing of Tatenashi's right hook, and a scream was heard from that.
DREAM BEGINS…
Raiden walks across the grassy plains and emerges out of the forest. For the first time in his life, he could see the color of green on the ground and the color of blue in the sky above him. He didn't even have his blindfold on. The scars were gone, and he could see clearly. But could he tell if this was a dream or not?
It probably didn't matter. Not when he runs out and sees something on the hill nearby.
He soon looks up and finds a girl, with a very familiar ponytail and dressed in a miko outfit, by a wooden well. Her hair and outfit blow gently in the wind.
The girl turns around and catches Raiden's form, gazing at him at first but then smiles, to Raiden's surprise.
Just then, the image of a beautiful and slender young woman of average height with sleek, black hair ponytail and large blue eyes appeared behind her. Additionally, she sports a thick fringe of slightly curled bangs which hang past her eyebrows and are parted neatly in the middle as well as a few strands of shoulder-length hair in front of her ears. She sports a lean build thanks to engaging in regular physical activity.
Unlike the miko, this one simply wore a slightly worn, off-white uwagi and a hakama of a navy blue color while a sarashi wrapping covers and supports her upper torso.
It was not Houki. But it seemed similar to her, almost. Like it was someone from the past. Or perhaps an ancestor of Houki. But who or what, he did not know. And pretty soon, his dream had ended in a flash of white light.
DREAM ENDS…
Raiden soon wakes up in the infirmary. How he guessed he was in it was due to the feeling of the infirmary beds provided, which were not as comfortable as the ones in the dorm room.
However, he soon smells something akin to oceanwater and strawberry together. An odd combination but he guessed who this smell had belonged to.
"Are you awake?" Tatenashi asked.
Raiden grunts a bit before he senses that his head was laid on her lap. Turns out there was a good reason why his pillow was so soft. It was because it was not your ordinary pillow, but the thighs of a girl.
"Oro? What are you doing?" asked Raiden.
"Letting you rest on my lap," Tatenashi simply said.
"I understood that, that I did," Raiden responded. "But why is the student council president—"
"Please, call me Tatenashi."
"…Why are you being my pillow, Tatenashi-dono?" asked Raiden.
Just then, her hands pet Raiden gently on his head. "Just relax!"
"Oro?"
And she shoves the head down onto her lap, his face facing her stomach. With a louder and longer "Oro", Raiden struggles against the grip, especially when he feels her breasts pressing down on top of his head as she was leaning.
Giggling for her pleasure, Tatenashi decides to cease her teasing and get off.
"Well, I gotta go now," Tatenashi said. "Ichika is in need of some training at the arena. See you later, Dear Raiden."
Dear Raiden? Since when has the student council president begun to address him with a nickname like that? The two of them were not close to each other, nor anything of the like.
Women can be weird sometimes. Thank goodness Houki was not around to witness it.
Late in the evening, when the skies were orange from the setting sun, Charlotte and Cecilia were in the arena stretching their legs out, ready for a practice duel. But that is when they saw a couple people approaching them from behind.
"Oh?" Charlotte saw as she turns around. "Ichika?"
Even Cecilia was surprised. "I-Ichika-san? I heard that you were training in the fourth arena with Laura today."
"I'm now Ichika-kun's personal trainer," Tatenashi explained. "So we will have chances to talk to each other in the future. Nice to meet you."
"The student council president will be his coach?" asked Charlotte.
"Ichika-san, what is the meaning of this?" Cecilia asked.
A rather reluctant Ichika responds, "We had a little match and…this was just the outcome of my challenge to her!"
"Come on. Let's just say this is all for Ichika-kun's sake," Tatenashi smiled as she said that, make things more complicated. "Oh yeah, there's something I need your help with."
"You need our…" Cecilia asked.
"…help?" Charlotte finished.
Both girls looked at one another in confusion just as Tatenashi closes her fan. "We're running out of time, so let's get started. Charlotte-chan, Cecilia-chan, please use the Shooter Flow to spin around in a Circle Rondo formation for him to see."
"Would watching a shooting-style battle stance be helpful to Ichika-san?" asked Cecilia.
Ichika sighs in reluctance. He was not so sure how this will go out through mere observation.
It seems like both of them realized it, and Ichika was the only one here who got left aside.
"Is that because his Second Shift has a long-ranged shooting attack?" asked Charlotte.
"Mn, you're rather sharp. But that's not all," said Tatenashi with a flick of her fan. "In a shooting contest, the most important thing is the control. But if I have to classify a particle cannon that can't be fired consecutively, it's more like a sniper rifle. In other words, it has penetrating power that can kill in one hit. But everyone knows that Ichika-kun's shooting ability isn't suited for long-ranged combat."
"So he would deliberately—"
"Defeat his opponent at close range," finished Cecilia.
"That's right. You're really sharp, Cecilia-chan," Tatenashi complimented.
With that said, both combatants take their place and activate there is. Ichika and Tatenashi were at the stands, taking watch and observation.
"Charlotte-chan and Cecilia-chan seem to be ready, so just watch," Tatenashi advised.
"Then, let's begin," Charlotte said.
"Ichika-san, please watch and pay close attention," Cecilia cried.
The Revive Custom II and Blue Tears spun at each other. But the two units didn't move close to each other as they moved to the right. Both of them continued to fly around the cannon-hole shaped arena with their backs against the wall.
"Here I come, Cecilia!"
"Bring it on!"
The two gradually accelerating units soon started firing. Both of them continue to spin about as they started evading while accelerating infrequently, returning fire in the meantime as they continued to move around quickly without slowly down.
"This is..." Ichika watches.
"They have to move at high speeds while maneuvering their airframes and shooting at the same time. They're paying attention to both evading and targeting. Do you understand?"
*FUU*
Ichika got blown at the ear... to his great surprise as he gasps and yells. When did she move behind Ichika?
And unfortunately, both girls saw the footage down below and were shocked.
"I-Ichika?" Charlotte cried.
"What are you doing?!" Cecilia asked. "I don't believe what I'm seeing!"
Because of their high speed maneuverability, it became inevitable that Cecilia soon crashes directly into Charlotte.
*CRASH*
Both girls were knocked out and flung down to the arena ground.
"Are- Are you two alright?" Ichika asked from above.
"You're up next, Ichika!" Tatenashi said.
Ichika heads on over and activates his IS Byakushiki, facing his opponent and borrowing Charlotte's sniper rifle. The French meanwhile was taking Ichika's place in the stands next to Tatenashi.
"Good grief!" Cecilia said. "Let's do this!"
"O-Okay," Ichika acknowledged.
Like before with Charlotte, Ichika and Cecilia take off in a Shooter Flow in a Circle Rondo formation.
But Ichika was already struggling. "I'm not use to this!"
But Tatenashi saw that things looked good so far. "Good! Now begin shooting!"
With Charlotte's rifle in hand, Ichika begins shooting. He could not use two hands as his left claw was too big to hold the weapon, having been replaced by the Particle Cannon. Thus he had to resort to shooting with one hand. And his shots were lousy, already hitting the arena. Thank goodness for the shields, for if this was a real match, the audience would be terrified.
Not only were his shots lousy but they missed Cecilia easily. He didn't even have proper aim and Cecilia could easily dodge them..
*PEW*
And she only needed one shot to knock Ichika out. He spins out of control and crashes to the ground.
"Ichika!" Charlotte called out.
"Ichika-san, are you okay?" Cecilia worriedly asks as she rallies up to him.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Ichika said sitting up. "Cecilia, let's continue."
Cecilia was concerned, "I don't think we should, but if you insist…"
Tatenashi however agreed with Ichika as she points her fan. "All right, let's do it again!"
Cecilia and Ichika go back at it again. But the performance was the same as last time. Back at the stands, Charlotte and Tatenashi observe the fight.
"Are you doing this because long-distance assault capability was added to his Byakushiki?" Charlotte asked Tatenashi.
"Yeah, that's correct," Tatenashi answered. "But that's not the only reason. An important factor in determining shooting skills is the ability to breach armor, correct? The maximum output of his high-power charged particle cannon, which isn't capable of rapid fire, is more like a sniper rifle. In other words, for him, it's all about one lethal shot with penetrating power. But it's clear that Ichika-kun's shooting skills are fairly poor, so…"
"…You're making him fight in a close-range battle," Charlotte realized.
"That's right. You're pretty sharp," Tatenashi compliments as she unfolds her fan that says the words 'Good Job.'
"So then how do you explain Raiden's ion blasters?" asked Charlotte. "Are they the opposite?"
"Exactly," Tatenashi said. "Raiden's ion blasters on his hands are more aligned for rapid firepower, like a semi-auto assault rifle. And because he is more suited to ground combat instead of aerial maneuvering, it puts him at a disadvantage when facing a pilot like Ichika-kun with his Particle Cannon in the air or Cecilia-chan sniping down at him. But he can compensate for that with his Sakabatō and Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū."
Ichika meanwhile spun out of control from the Circle Rondo formation, losing control of his senses as he soon crashes onto the ground and into the arena wall.
Later in the afternoon, Raiden was completely bored. There was not much to do at the Academy, truth be told. And he couldn't use his kiseru at the risk of being caught. Everyone else was also busy with their work, including Houki who was using the Academy's Home Economics kitchen for some reason. And no, there was no point of hanging out with Chifuyu as she too was busy. And calling Akane or Miriam wasn't an option since cellphone activity in the Academy was being monitored.
Once he got to his dorm room, Raiden leans his head into the door to his dorm room, exhausted. He was not tired of working out, but he was tired of boredom. With Ichika getting some training done and the girls busy, he was left alone to fend for himself. Granted there was that small episode in the infirmary with the Student Council President, but he did not mind that. If he was traded places with Ichika, there'd be a lot of screaming coming from there.
Then again, he has been through much, much worse.
"A full day of nothing but boredom and study," Raiden said as he opens his dorm room. "Could this day get any more worse?"
Raiden opens the door, only to sense Tatenashi standing right there in front of him, naked with nothing but an apron on herself.
"Welcome home! Do you want dinner, a bath, or... do, you, want, me?"
Raiden could only look dumbfounded. "Oro?"
Did Tatenashi even knew he was coming back?
Raiden closes the door for a moment and checks above to see that this was indeed his dorm room. But Houki was not there. Instead it was the student council president, naked with only an apron on.
And after a few seconds, he opens the door again.
"Welcome home! Do you want dinner, a bath, or... do, you, want, me?"
Before giving a response, Raiden enters in the room and closes the door before asking, "Umm, what are you doing in my dorm room, Tatenashi-dono?"
Tatenashi acts surprised. "What?"
Then she begins to moan and give cute puppy eyes, pretending to be hurt.
"Oro?"
"Even though I'm Ichika-kun's special coach, I'm also interested in you." Tatenashi then begins to pull down the strap of her apron. "I'd like to get to understand you better by sleeping and eating together with you."
"Oh, is that all?" Raiden asked.
Tatenashi soon turns around and reveals her backside, showing a teal bikini suit.
"JYAN! There's a swimsuit underneath it~"
Despite the surprise though, she only got one response from him.
"Oro?"
Giggling at his response and finding it cute, Tatenashi comes up and hugs him. She then asks him the same question when he walked in.
"Welcome home! Do you want dinner, a bath, or... do, you, want, me?"
MEANWHILE…
Houki walks through the corridor of the dorm halls of the first years. She was holding onto a bento box wrapped up, and smiling a bit at times. The results of cooking the first time this month were good. Expecting the response Raiden would give once he ate this masterpiece of hers, Houki couldn't help but naturally move faster.
Because that guy always liked to eat this.
She made a beancurd-skin sushi that her mother taught her directly. The slightly thick beancurd is soaked and cooked until the flavor enters it, and the rice and other condiments are added to it to achieve perfect balance.
After training with her, Raiden would often eat a lot of this superb combination that had the sensation of the flavorful soy sauce and the aftertaste of the clear vinegar rice.
But he needs something healthy. And he hasn't eaten anything lately.
As she arrives at her dorm room, she taps on the door a couple of times.
*KNOCK KNOCK*
"Who is it?" asked Raiden.
"It-It's me. Houki," The samurai girl responded. "I'm back, Raiden. And I brought some food for us."
"Houki-dono?"
"Can I go in?"
"I'm kind of busy at the moment, that I am."
As Houki felt weird about Raiden's tense voice, a girl's voice could be heard from within.
"Arah, what are you doing, Dear Raiden? Ah, I know. You are afraid that others will find out that you're having an affair with me, right?"
It was a voice she had never heard before. Facing Raiden's attitude, Houki quickly deployed one of Akatsubaki's swords and slices the door in half.
*SLIINNG*
The sight of what she saw once she enters sent her in a rage. She saw a near naked Tatenashi on behind Raiden, hugging him from behind like she was a damsel in distress. And Raiden, scared of seeing his beloved right before him in a fiery rage, could only shake with trepidation.
"Raiden, you bastard...!" Houki growled.
"Houki-dono, calm down! I can explain, that I can!"
"Explain what!? That you snuck a girl in our room and were being lewd, doing some indecent things?! You should be ashamed of yourself!"
"Oro!?"
Houki soon charges in with her sword.
*CLANG*
The sword makes contact with a spear of sorts, deployed by Tatenashi.
"I'm sorry," Tatenashi apologizes. "But I wouldn't be happy if you killed Dear Raiden right now."
With a perfect parry, Tatenashi disarms Houki, her sword sent straight up and into the ceiling of the dorm room.
"Wha—"
"Oro?"
"You're done here, yeah?" asked Tatenashi.
But Houki was not done yet as she directs her gaze at Raiden. "Raiden, care to explain this?"
Raiden tries to. "W-Well, when I got here in our dorm room, Tatenashi-dono suddenly was there, that she was."
Tatenashi then smirks, wrapping her arms around his chest from behind. "And Dear Raiden here welcomed me with open arms."
Houki was so shocked of Tatenashi calling Raiden by a pet name. "D-D-D-D-Dear Raiden?!"
Tatenashi teases her further, fabricating the story. "To sum it up, Raiden was bored all day, so I offered to keep him company. Tehe~, and he gladly accepted my proposal."
"Um, that really is not the case here…" Raiden tries to defend himself, knowing that is not how the story went down.
But Houki bears down on him. "Then what is your excuse?"
"A-As I was saying…" Raiden however gets interrupted by a hand sneaking behind him and caressing his face. "Ah—"
A seductive Tatenashi then says, "Dear Raiden was so handsome when he invited me into his room! He even pushed me down onto the bed!"
*SNAP*
That was the last straw that broke the camel's back.
"Disgusting!" Houki muttered. And then…
*POW*
With one might punch from her right fist, she clobbers Raiden right in the jaw.
But she didn't stop there as she soon brings out a shinai from her practice bag.
*BAM*
*BAM*
*BAM*
*BAM*
And proceeds to beat Raiden up in a rage, leaving giant steamy lumps on his head.
"What is this, just look at you, all smitten like that!" Houki cried as she keeps beating a dazed Raiden with a shinai while holding him up. "Such a disgrace! I trusted you, Raiden, you're an idiot!"
And with a few more swings, Houki pommels Raiden with her shinai before letting go.
"Orroooo…" A dazed and injured Raiden falls back and hits the floor.
But Tatenashi was surprised, her eyes widening. "My, I'm surprised. She is such a violent girl." She then comes over and hoists Raiden up in her arms. "Are you okay, Dear Raiden?"
"Wait a minute, you!" Houki called out. "How are you really related to Raiden?"
"Oh, Dear Raiden is an important person who is going to protect me," Tatenashi innocently said, looking at Houki. "And how are you related to him?"
"I'm his roommate!" Houki affirmed. "And… he's special to me!"
Houki could not say the last part of where she loved him as it was still bashful for her to say.
"Roommate, huh?" asked Tatenashi. "Well, perhaps I should consider being his roommate, then. After all, such a sweaty little girl can't be what Dear Raiden looks for in a woman. Ohohoho~"
That pissed Houki off more. "Well, excuse me for sweating! What of it?"
Houki was really simple-minded. She may be a fox by nature, but she was no trickster like in the folklore.
On the other hand, Tatenashi was more of a sneaky cat, like Puss In Boots, a magical cat who tricked a king into raising a lowborn miller to the station of a great noble, and defeats a shapeshifting ogre by tricking him into becoming a mouse.
As the two argue and tease respectively, Raiden sits up, having recovered from Houki's beatdown of him.
But that is when he feels a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind and pulls his head into her large breasts, with redness on his cheeks.
"Hm? Oro?!"
Tatenashi seductively smiles. "You prefer me over that violent girl, right Dear Raiden?"
And once more did Houki snap, her jealousy and anger rising and soon erupted like a violent volcano.
"RAIDEN!"
"ORROOO!"
And whatever happened within room 1035, nobody knows. But it was probably wise not to. At least it did not catch on Chifuyu's ear yet.
Again, there is not much to say of this episode but we do get an introduction of Tatenashi Sarashiki, the seductive and elusive Student Council President of the IS Academy. And her interactions with Ichika and Raiden are mysterious to say the least. With Ichika, it's all for good intentions to train him to make him stronger. For Raiden though, she would be the Takani Megumi of the story, but without the medicinal background. As for her calling Dear Raiden. that is a tribute to Megumi when she calls Kenshin "Ken-san" or "Dear Ken" much to Kaoru's ire. If Houki is the Kaoru Kamiya of the story, then it stands to reason Tatenashi Sarashiki is the Megumi Takani, but more seductive.
Is this story now going to be a harem? No! Will Tatenashi continue her seductive advances over Raiden? Yes. Will Raiden have Tatenashi as a girlfriend? Probably not since I do not want to go off canon based on what the light novels of IS reveal, especially of Ichika's relationship with Tatenashi. Not in the official boyfriend-girlfriend category but rather of unrequited feelings.
All in all though, this chapter was good to get out of the way to cement the introduction to the strongest IS pilot in the Academy.
Next chapter is the IS Academy festival, and its Cinderella play with a few twists but not like last time. Along with the prelude of an enemy returning.
Like, favorite, follow, and review at your leisure. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me.