Chapter 2: The Challenge
It was the morning of the next day and I was down at the cafeteria for breakfast. I was feeling pretty sleepy because I was up reading last night. I was able to finish "IS: The Basics" but I still had other books to read which meant more long nights, great. One week in and I'm already being worked to the bone. After filling my tray with food I looked around for a place to sit which is when I spotted Houki.
"Mind if I sit here?" I asked
"Sure," Houki replied in her indifferent tone.
We sat in silence eating. It was pretty awkward, especially since students were whispering behind us.
"Look It's Orimura"
"He's sitting together with Shinono"
"Do you think they're together"
Houki seemed to be getting more annoyed by the whispers.
"Hey Orimura-kun, mind if we sit with you"
A group of girls approached us. One had long brown hair flowing below her shoulders with dark blue eyes, another had brown hair tied into two ponytails with brown eyes and another had long pinkish hair, sleepy eyes and was still in her yellow pajamas. Was she even allowed to wear them now?
"Yeah, sure," I replied.
"Great" they exclaimed in unison as they sat down.
"Wow Orimura-kun, you sure have a lot for breakfast" the black haired girl exclaimed.
"Well if you ask me you all have too little. You sure that will be enough for you guys" I commented. Seriously, how can these girls survive on so little food
"Oh, us?" the black haired girl said.
"We're fine," the brown haired girl said.
"Yeah cause we eat lots of snacks!" the pink haired girl exclaimed.
"I'll catch you later," Houki said as she got up.
"Oh, right. I'll see you later" I called after her. She still seemed cold for some reason.
Later on the homeroom started. All the students were busy chatting away until Chifuyu-nee walked in and slammed her hands on the desk. At this the whole classroom went quiet.
"All right, listen up!" she spoke with her commanding voice.
"We will now be choosing the class representative. They will be participating in the inter-class match taking place in two weeks and will also attend student council and committee meetings. It's no different from a regular class rep. Nominate yourself or nominate others" One girl put her hand
"Yes?"
"I nominate Orimura-kun"
What?
"I second that!"
"M-me?"
Why me? I mean I know that I'm the only male capable of piloting an IS but that doesn't mean I'm good. I only learned this fact recently and up until then, the thought of doing anything IS related was nowhere near my mind.
"Yeah! Orimura for pilot!"
"Any other nominations?" Chifuyu-nee asked. "If not, Orimura will be elected by default"
"Hold on, I don't want t-"
"I won't accept it!" a voice from behind yelled. I turned to see Cecillia who was not standing up and glaring at me (as usual).
"I won't accept an election like this! It would be a disgrace to have a man as our class rep let alone one this ignorant and incompetent. I, Cecilia Alcott will not accept this shame! Having to live in an undeveloped country is enough of a burden on me!" It was my turn to glare at her. I had enough of her snobby rich girl attitude.
"You're not in a position to speak. England doesn't have much to brag about. How many times have they won the world's most disgusting food championship" I said angrily. This seemed to tick her off even more.
"How dare you! We have plenty of delicious dishes. You dare insult my nation!"
"Don't dish out if you can't take it"
We were both staring each other down. Meanwhile, Chifuyu-nee was smiling. She seemed to be enjoying our dispute.
"That's it! I challenge you to a duel!" Cecilia exclaimed.
"Fine! It's better than debating"
"If you're sure about this then the match will take place next Monday in the third arena" Chifuyu-nee exclaimed with a smile.
"Perhaps I should offer you a handicap to make it more fair?" Cecilia said smugly.
"Perhaps I should offer you a handicap!" I exclaimed, not backing down. At this the classroom broke out into snickering
"Orimura-kun, was that serious?"
"You know, boys aren't stronger than girls anymore"
"It's said that if a war broke out between boys and girls it wouldn't even last three days" Perhaps my confidence may have been a little misplaced. But It was too late to back out, plus, I wasn't going to let Cecilia keep talking down to me.
"I won't back down. I will take you up on your duel Cecilia-san!"
"Then it's settled!" Chifuyu-nee proclaimed. "Orimura, Alcott, prepare yourselves"
"Fine! I can't wait to see you beg for my forgiveness when you lose" she proclaimed smugly.
"Orimura!" Chifuyu-nee called. "Regarding your IS, we have ordered your a personal unit for you but it will take some time to make it operational but it will be ready for your match" Her statement caused the class to break out into chatter.
"A personal IS!"
"For a freshmen"
"So lucky!"
"I'm jealous!"
"Is having a personal IS that big of a deal?" I murmured out loud. Suddenly, Cecilia appeared in front of me, her eyes gleaming.
"Glad to hear the news. It would be unfair for me to be in my personal unit and you in a training unit. So when I beat the victory will be unquestionable"
"So I take you it you have a personal unit too" I asked.
"Obviously! Were you unaware? I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this point. Allow me to once again educate you" Did she really have to act so snobby every time she explained something. "I, Cecilia Alcott, am a National Representative Candidate, therefore I have a personal IS unit. There are only 467 IS units in the world and only the elites of the elites like myself are allowed one. But I guess they made an exception for you since you're the only male who can use one. But still, a monkey piloting an IS is still a monkey" She was really getting on my nerves but something she said caught my attention.
"467 units only? Why not more?" I asked out loud.
"The "CORE" technology that is key to the IS has not been disclosed" another female student spoke up. "All the IS cores were made by doctor Dr. Shinonono Tabane who only made 467 cores and refused to make anymore. Many have tried but no one has succeeded in reverse engineering the IS core"
'Tabane?' I thought as I turned to Houki.
"Nations, countries and organizations have cores allocated to them and are having to make do with what they are given to conduct research and development" Chifuyu-nee chimed in.
"Personal IS units are usually given to those who work for nations or companies. But, given your unique status, I personal IS has been allocated to you for data collection purposes. Do you understand your position is?" Chifuyu-nee asked.
"Yes," I replied firmly.
"Uhm Orimura-sensei?" I girl asked. "Is Shinonono-san related to doctor Shinonono Tabane?"
"Yes, Shinonono-san is her younger sister," Chifuyu-nee said. This caused the class to break out into excitement.
"Is she really your sister?"
"Isn't doctor Shinonono missing"
"Yeah I heard nations and companies are searching for her"
"Do you know where she is"
The students were all bombarding Houki with questions. Houki remained silent for a bit until she stood up and finally spoke:
"I have nothing to do with that person!"
The room went silent at her response.
"There is nothing I can tell you, I am not her"
Houki finished and sat down. There was a tight silence as no one dared speak.
"Yamada-sensei, the class please" eventually Chifuyu-nee broke the silence.
"Huh, oh, yes," Yamada-sensei replied.
Yamada-sensei started her lecture but I wasn't listening to her as I was focusing on Houki. 'Why are Houki and Tabane on bad terms?' I wondered. Sure they weren't the closest sisters growing up but for their relationship to be this strained was weird. 'What happened Houki?'
Eventually, class was over and it was time for lunch. As everyone was scurrying out I tried to talk to Houki but she was already gone. She had been quiet ever since her short speech and was even more distant than before. When the bell rang she immediately rushed out of the classroom before I could reach her. I guess I'll just have to catch her at lunch.
Upon reaching the cafeteria I got my food and looked for a place to sit. After looking around for a bit I found Houki sitting alone at a table. Upon reaching her table, her eyes turned to look at me but then turned away.
"May I sit here?" I asked. No response. I decided to put my tray on her table and sit down anyway. We sat in silence for a bit.
"Uh Houki?" I asked but she showed no reaction to my question.
"Can you help me prepare for my duel?" I pleaded. She directed her gaze to me.
"At this rate, I will lose to Alcott without even putting a fight"
"Why did you accept her challenge if you feel so unprepared?" Houki finally asked.
I thought for a second.
"I hated the way she was talking down to me like I was worthless. I want to prove my worth not only to everyone but also to myself"
"I see," Houki said, seemingly pondering my statement.
"Hey, you're the boy everyone's talking about?" asked a voice grabbing both of our attentions. Standing in front of us was a girl with short light brown hair and brown eyes.
"I heard you have a match with a National Representative Candidate, but you're a total beginner right?" My silence seemed to confirm her statement.
"Would you like me to teach you about the IS?"
"That won't be necessary, I am teaching him!" Before I could reply, Houki spoke up. I turned to look at her in surprise. Where was this eagerness earlier?
"You're a freshmen too, right? I am a senior. I believe that I'll be a much better teacher" she proclaimed proudly.
"I am the sister of Tabane Shinonono" Houki proclaimed furthering my surprise. This seemed to fluster the senior.
"So we'll be fine"
"O-okay then" the senior muttered seemingly annoyed as she walked away. I turned back to Houki.
"But I thought-"
"I only said that to make her go away" Houki interrupted me quickly.
"Does that mean you will teach me?" I asked hopefully.
"Yes" Houki said.
"Sweet!" I replied
"OW!" We were in the school's dojo, both dressed in kendo equipment. I was having sparing matches with Houki which were more like a one sided beating. I hadn't done kendo in a long time and Houki was as sharp as ever. I sat defeated on the floor, catching my breath after Houki's 10th beating.
"What is the meaning of this?" Houki exclaimed angrily.
"Huh?"
"Why are you so weak? What club have you been participating in these last years?"
"Go straight home club, never missed a day in 3 years" this seemed to be the wrong answer as it only made Houki frown harder.
"So you haven't been practicing kendo huh? Tch, I am going to have to retrain you!" she exclaimed.
"Uh, shouldn't I be training with the IS?" I questioned.
"How do you hope to beat her with an IS if you can barely fight? The IS is like a multiplier in power. The stronger your body is the stronger you will be with an IS. In your current state, you will be lucky if you can even scratch Cecilia's IS!" Houki spoke. Ok you didn't have to be this harsh.
'Oh so that's what Yamada-sensei was talking about!' I thought.
/
"The Infinite Stratos covers the pilot's body with a special energy barrier," Yamada-sensei spoke.
"Each IS has something similar to a consciousness of their own. Communication occurs between the IS and Pilot. The more time one spends in one, the more the IS learns how one thinks"
I was still having trouble understanding what Yamada-sensei was saying. What communication was she talking about? Do we have conversations with the IS?
"Think of the IS not as a tool but as a partner. An extension of one's self. Questions so far"
"Question!" One girl raised her hand.
"Yes!"
"When you say partner, do you mean like boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"Uhm, I'm not sure," Yamada-sensei said flustered.
"I don't have the experience to answer that" she muttered.
'So this is what going to an all girl school is like' I thought as I sighed.
/
"Every day after classes, I will train you for 3 hours!" Houki declared.
"Orimura is pretty weak huh"
"Can he really move and IS?"
A group of girls were watching us. This week keeps getting longer.
After 3 hours of being beaten by a wooden sword, our first training session concluded. Me and Houki were on our way back to the dorms.
"Hwo, that was a tough training session" I commented as I dragged my sore body forwards, each step feeling like my bones were put in a grinder.
"It had to be! You only have one week until your match and you're still rusty" Houki exclaimed.
"I know, I know" I sighed.
There was a brief moment of silence between us.
"Why did you quit kendo?" Houki asked.
"Huh?"
"You used to be really good"
"Well" I thought for a second.
"I didn't have much time for clubs. Chifuyu-nee was rarely home so someone had to take care of the house and I didn't want to be a bigger burden on her" Houki listened attentively as I spoke.
"I think that's also why I want to do well in the upcoming match. To make her feel proud that I'm her brother" I laughed after finishing my sentence. Houki seemed to ponder what I said before saying "I see"
Now that we had this moment I wanted to know more about what happened to her in those 6 years. Why she was so distant with Tabane, but I didn't want to ask her directly about it. So after thinking about it for a while I finally spoke.
"Why did you transfer to the IS academy" I asked
"Huh" she seemed taken aback by the question.
"You never seemed to be very interested in technology. I thought that you would have focused more on kendo since you were so obsessed with it. I said with a laugh at the end to try and lift the mood. We walked in silence for a moment before Houki spoke up.
"I wanted to prove myself, my strength, my competence. Carve a name for myself other than the "Great Doctor Tabane Shinonono's younger sister". But" Houki trailed off for a bit.
"It's hard to do that when she's the inventor of the IS. I could become the world's kendo champion and people will still see that as nothing compared to what Tabane achieved. So I hoped that if I become a top IS pilot people will be able to appreciate my accomplishments more since, you know, IS is all the craze in the world now" Houki said with a small grin at the end.
"Yeah," I said with a smile.
"Anyways" she spoke her face turning to her common expression of indifference. "My dorm is this way"
"Oh, ok, my dorm is that way, I guess I'll go now"
"See you tomorrow"
"Yeah, see you tomorrow"
And with that we both went our separate ways.
Author Note: Hello and thanks once again for reading. I still haven't made too many changes since I'm trying to keep the main premise plus I think the beginning of Infinite Stratos was good in setting up the story. Here I wanted to further develop Houki's inferiority complex which like many things in the series was set up but not really followed through on. I also wanted to develop Ichika by giving him a goal that motivates him through the series. I do plan to do more with his character but that I have to first lay down the building blocks. I hope I did a good job and like I said, reviews both good and bad are welcome so feel free to leave one.