Dark Wings [Infinite Stratos]

[shadenight123]

Scraped from here.

After reading through the IS threads, it appears the IS universe is in need of some...less harem mechanics and more...other things.
Any and all corrections are appreciated -mainly in the 'logic' department of speed/armament and fighting.

Prologue. "Upon Dark Wings He Comes."




Chifuyu Orimura ground her teeth, clenching her hands to the point where her nails dug deeply into the flesh of her palms. The image flickered on screen once more, the words written beneath clearly giving it purpose.
Participate at the next Mondo Grosso, and lose what family you still have.
She looked at the image once more; the IS-core of her Kurezakura already at work trying to trace the sender, trying to find out where those bastards took her brother to. It wouldn't be enough however. Her IS couldn't track them fast enough, not alone, and even if she did there would be laws infringed —it would mean the end of her career as an athlete.
Yet she would have gladly given it away, if only to have the location of Ichika on her map. To save him, she'd gladly give it all away, even the IS she was currently piloting.

She hated feeling weak and impotent; their parents had abandoned them, and she had taken charge of the household as fast as possible. She always put up a strong front, because it was the only way to go forward in life. For Ichika's future, she had gladly studied and bled through her eyes in order to graduate top of the class. She had taken the responsibilities their parents had discarded.
Her IS' right fist slammed against the nearby wall, cracking it as she screamed. Blood dribbled down her knuckles. She would not participate in the Mondo Grosso. She wouldn't, but she would find the people responsible for kidnapping her brother, and she would make them pay.
Even if she had to make a deal with the devil, she would.
Unfortunately for her, the German Minister took too long in coming to a decision to deploy allied IS pilots and hackers to find the kidnappers' base.
When Chifuyu Orimura slashed her way through the thick metal doors…there no longer was a brother to save. The kidnappers had already moved him elsewhere.

Five Years Later

The sun was setting over the mountains in the province of Hokkaido. The assorted greenery of the mountain range was the home of a small and easily forgotten cubicle of concrete, which was barely a speck of grey in the middle of a lot of green. Satellites were useless, and from up close the cubicle looked no different from a normal power alternator.
Within the concrete block, a metal ladder descended down in the depths for quite a few miles. Deeper down, a large hangar for IS and the few men assigned to their handling entered the final stages of preparation.
A black framed IS hovered softly, reactors humming as large overextending metal limbs floated close to its back and sides.
The pilot's face obscured by a helmet, the rest of his body hidden by the thick plating of the forward and backward armor, the IS appeared more akin to a knight clad in steel rather than a nimble and agile fighter.

"We have the Active Inertia Dampeners mounted on the frame," a technician remarked from the side of the pilot, giving the last checks from the outside. "Caliber point eighty on the forearms and the caliber fifty shots are on the side arms. They'll spray in semi-circle. Remember you don't have a back protection. It was somebody's great idea."

"I just need to keep on firing and hold the enemy pinned down," the pilot replied. "Support?"

"Nothing. You go out, you destroy a bit, and then you return. Don't let anyone follow you. Keep it quick and don't waste your time. I'm uploading a map of the main electrical plants of Hokkaido. Whatever happens, you must keep the electricity cut off for at least five minutes. You're acting as a diversion kid, nothing more."

"What's the main show about then?"

"Uchigane and Revive squads moving to capture a few diplomats just returning from the IS Academy in Tokyo. Arachne will provide support to them. It's going to be nighttime soon."

"Autumn gets squads and I'm left with going out alone? Really?"

"She is a part of the Operational Squad. You are not."

"Fine. Dākutaipu ready to depart," the pilot said, clenching his left hand on the controller for a moment.

Checking Absolute Protection Barrier. Energy Drain Stabilized.

Main and secondary thrusters online.

Active Inertia Dampener found. Compatibility check. Compatibility Problem. Rewriting Drivers. Drivers rewritten.

Active Inertia Dampener Testing.

Test completed —parameters within the norm. Active Inertia Dampener Employable.

First Shift Initialized. Dark Type –IS Serial Number 002 ready for deployment.

"Dākutaipu, you ready for this?" Ichika whispered, lifting the controls to gain altitude as the hangar's doors slid open.

"Remember to minimize civilian casualties," the operator's voice came through the Dākutaipu's audio output. "The Board of Directors can halt the Peacekeeping forces as long as there are no visible signs of slaughter. Wouldn't want your pretty face on the most wanted list now, would we?"

"I got that," Ichika replied as his IS cut the connection.

Main Gas Pipes found. Main Electrical Generators found. Suggestion: Coal plant of Tomato-Atsuma provides One Thousand Six Hundred Fifty Megawatts of electricity. Tomari Nuclear Reactor is a viable alternative at Two Thousand Seventy Megawatts for the Hokkaido region.

"I'm not in the mood for nuclear holocausts," Ichika grumbled. "Where are the main lines of power?"

The Dākutaipu soared out of the hangar and through a narrow path dug in the rock to the side of the mountain, just as the sun finally died to leave the place to the night. He exhaled. The Dark Type, his IS, began to gain altitude as it left behind the ground and reached way above the commercial airplane heights. The oxygen levels were stable, and the interior of the Dark Type turned crimson as they warned of the remaining amount of breathable air within the cockpit.

Oxygen reserves at ninety-nine percent. Optical Camouflage Available for deployment.

"It won't be needed," Ichika said. His eyes moved across the map of the Hokkaido region. He could travel from one side of the place to the other in a matter of hours rather than days thanks to the IS. "Established time of arrival to Tomato-Atsuma's coal plant?"

It will require half an hour at full velocity. Do you require music?

"No, it's fine like this Dākutaipu."

Understood, linking with Phantom Task satellite coverage. I am picking up signals departing from Japan Self-Defence Forces base Chitose. The pattern of movement and speed is viable with the F-15 Eagle Interceptor Jet, heading at Mach 2.5 in an intercepting course.

The sound of violins entered the cockpit as Ichika rolled his eyes while his IS spun and twisted in mid-air. The side thrusters pushed him further upwards as he increased in speed, holding the IS limbs to the sides. The music picked up, the IS beeping softly to announce they had reached the point to begin their descent.
The Dark Type, Dākutaipu, was a hit and run IS that was extremely useful in guerrilla operations. It was one of its kind, and it was his. The pilot gripped the handles within the cockpit firmly, stabilizing the frame and moving the body downwards. The thrusters shone as they began to heat, while the weapons fixed themselves as the internal computer calculated the optimal trajectory for the bombing run.

Bombing run initialized.

He pushed the handles down as he began his descent. The rail guns opened fire from his back, as the bullets soared the air. They hit the ground of the coal plant, igniting the volatile gases and materials within. The explosion was visible even from his position beyond the plant, at the end of the bombing run line.

Target neutralized. F-15 eagles on engage pattern.

His visor zoomed on the set of tiny spots over the horizon coming closer each passing second.

Two tactical squadrons, fifteen members strong.

He pushed the buttons on the side of his handles. The limbs' muzzles opened fire as he gained altitude once more.

Picking up signal from IS academy set on intercept course. Acceleration of over 9G detected. Database links to one model. White Knight IS-001 moving to engage us. Evasive maneuvers. Countermeasures Initialized.

Chaffs sprayed out from the IS's back, as a volley of missiles from the Japanese aviation lost their tracking system and exploded in mid-air.
"Why all these guys?" the pilot growled, "Why all these guys!?"
The bullets nicked the cockpit of one of the pilots, detonating the jet as the others broke their formation.

Calibrating muzzle velocity.

The pilot kept firing, the bullets tearing holes into the wings and sides of two more jets as the pilots within could do nothing but eject, before their crafts exploded.

Forewarning of potential terrorist attack leaked to maximize diversion ability.

The jets bypassed him, before doing a back-flip to begin pursuit. They opened fire in turn, aiming at his back and clipping one of his shoulders.

Active Inertia Dampener initialized.

"Fuck," the pilot spun the IS, opening fire as the bullets sprayed in the air and the night sky from both sides. One of the jets' wings clipped, emitting fuel as the pilot ejected a moment before the fighter exploded. Missiles detonated against the front of the Dark Type, leaving the frame unscathed as the pilot ground his teeth from the concussive force. Another jet broke apart as the Dākutaipu shot forward to slice his wing with his bare hand.
The pilot grumbled as he spun the IS once more, gazing at the remaining jets coming back for another pass. He began to pick up the pace as one of the shoulder armaments of the Dākutaipu opened fire, releasing a concussive shock-wave in mid-air. "Radars scrambled. This should keep them off my tail for a while."

Recalibrating aim for sonic speed engagement. White Knight inbound. Absolute Protection Activated.

It was a flash. A giant particle beam cut through the air, bursting apart one of the side cannons as it cut through the shield with the ease of a flaming sword against a small slip of butter.

Right caliber point eighty destroyed. Calibrating. Loss of operation of twenty-seven percent. Still functional. Suggest Retreat.

A giant broadsword sliced the air coming from a tiny white dot off in the middle of the sky, one that soon grew to become an IS. It roared as the blade slammed straight against the front of the Dākutaipu, the forces of the Absolute Protection clashing against those of the White Knight's own.
The Dākutaipu screamed —or maybe it was the pilot— as the arms of the IS began to crack under the strain of holding the energy of the blade off.

"Take this, Phantom Bitch!" the voice on the other side screamed, before spinning and delivering a kick to the IS' side, sending it to crash on the ground. The pilot of the Dākutaipu hissed from the shock, his back repeatedly slamming against the surface as the momentum carried him through the countryside. The crater he ended up in burst a water pipe, as the cold water sprayed from the ground and against his frame.
The White Knight IS stood with the tip of his broadsword right against the neck of the Phantom Pilot's IS.

"Deactivate your IS," the voice said coldly.

Mission Parameters have yet to be completed.

The pilot didn't reply.
"I said, deactivate your IS," the White Knight growled.

The left side cannon jerked, trying to open fire only for the White Knight's broadsword to pierce straight through the metallic frame, tearing it apart.

"Last warning," the White Knight growled. "Deactivate your IS and stand down!"

The timer on the lower side of the visor reached the zero. The five minutes elapsed.

Mission Parameters completed. Energy level critical. Deactivating.

The IS flashed for a brief instant, before turning inactive and disappearing from view. The IS pilot of Phantom Task wore a military jacket and a dark helmet to cover his face, as well as combat boots and a pair of long trousers. He didn't try to reach for his combat knife, or his pistol. It would be useless against the enemy's IS.

"You…are a male?"

The pilot didn't reply.

"Remove your helmet."

The pilot didn't obey.

"I said, remove your helmet!" the tip of the broadsword came dangerously close to his face, cracking the light sheen of tempered glass.

Carefully, the pilot's hands went to the sides of the helmet. He unclasped the safety harness, lifting and then dropping it on the ground near him.
The White Knight IS' pilot remained silent for a moment.

"What is your name?"

The pilot glared at her, but didn't reply.

"Your name! What is your name!?"

"Orimura," the boy said, his eyes dark and narrow as he gazed at the White Knight frame, his cheeks covered in savage scars as if somebody had driven hot pokers into them. "Orimura, Ichika."

The IS White Knight stood still.
Chifuyu Orimura stopped breathing.

"I…Ichika?" she whispered.

Ichika just glared.

 

[shadenight123]

I take it this going to be like one of your FF stories?
Although you have started to let up on the soul-crushing despair and horror over there...

Click to shrink...

Nope.
At least, I'll try.
I'll just try to write IS without the harem mechanics and without Ichika being as dense as a block of concrete.
And it's a work in progress, letting go of the 'despair' and so on. Hence, practice!

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Two. "Adaptation Protocol."

"How is he?" Chifuyu paced nervously in the maximum security hospital wing, eying warily the hallway where they had taken Ichika -and where she couldn't go.

"Physically he is fine, Orimura-san," the doctor replied. "He has some light scarring on his face and body, but nothing-"

"Scarring? What type of scarring? What did they do to him!?" Chifuyu's hands gripped tightly on the doctor's shoulders. Her eyes wide and her teeth bared, as if she wanted nothing less than to rip into the doctor and move on.

"Orimura-san!" the doctor exclaimed, shocked.

Chifuyu closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before letting go of the man's shoulders. Her heart slowed down, as her cold exterior resettled firmly over her face.

"Excuse me," she whispered. "I'm not at my best right now."

"Understandable," the doctor replied. "I am sorry to say there is nothing we can do about the scars. They are too old to be treated."

"It's not that...Why did they happen? Did he say anything? He was conscious, right?"

"He did not say a word, Orimura-san," the doctor said. He gazed at the chart in his hands, "But from what we could ascertain, he has scars compatible with whipping and ritual scarification. None are self-inflicted however."

"Torture?" Chifuyu murmured. "He went through torture? They tortured him? And he...he stuck with them? I...I need to talk with him."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," the doctor said. "The International Peacekeeping Force has brought up charges against him. He cannot receive visits until he is cleared."

"Cleared? By who?" Chifuyu began to growl. "I want to see my brother, now."

"T-That's impossible," the man replied. "He should be sedated already."

"Why would you need to sedate him?" her eyes narrowed. "Unless..."
She dashed ahead, pushing the doctor aside as she ran through the corridor. "Stop!" the doctor yelled behind her. "You have to stop!"

The moment she saw Ichika, sleeping on a bed as two men clearly belonging to the military -their demeanor gave them away- were pushing him out of the room...she stopped reasoning.
The flying knee slammed into the sides of the first man, sending him on the ground as Chifuyu spun in mid-air, delivering a sharp kick to the face of the second one. Both on the floor, she ended up gripping on the sides of Ichika's bed.

"You're not taking him anywhere," Chifuyu growled. "Do you hear me?"

The two stood back up, holding their bruised faces, with their right hands moving to the guns at their sides.

"Hai, hai, enough of this now," a female voice spoke, coming from a charming and buxom lady with a tablet within her arms. "It appears you have friends in very important places, Miss Orimura-san," the woman said with a sweet smile. She neared from the end of the hallway, the sound of her shoes clicking against the floor. Her hair was a bright blond color, and the clothes she wore could be defined as 'lewd' and nothing else.

"What are you talking about?" Chifuyu asked, still holding her guard up.

"It appears Shinonono-san has agreed to build five more IS cores," the woman replied, clicking her tongue in distaste, "Provided the International Peacekeeping Forces agreed to let Orimura Ichika off lightly."

Chifuyu's eyes narrowed. She hadn't asked Tabane, but she didn't put it beneath that girl to know about everything. Why make herself known only now however? She always said she had no clue on where Ichika was...and suddenly, she came to her help? This... "It can't be that simple."

"It is. Which nation wouldn't want an IS core of next-gen from the creator herself? Of course, he will be kept under surveillance and data will be regularly transmitted about how he can operate an IS while being male."

"What are you talking about? How do you expect to have him comply unless..." Chifuyu's words died in her mouth. "I see. He'll come to the Academy, right?"

"It will become Japan's sole responsibility to acquire all the possible data on Phantom Task, how Orimura Ichika can pilot an IS while being male and keeping him in line. It is unfortunate we cannot take his IS core without killing him, but this should work fine for the International Forces."

Chifuyu held her breath. It all felt too easy. There had to be a catch somewhere.

"In the circumstance of his escape from the Academy, he will be branded as a Phantom Task operative and be considered a mercenary under the rules of engagement and capture. There will be no mercy," the woman continued. "He is your responsibility now, Orimura-san...as much as Japan's."

With a final curt nod, the woman turned and left. The two bruised guards limped behind her, muttering curses under their breaths.

She pushed Ichika's bed back in the room, wheeling it in place and then taking a seat by his side. She couldn't care less about the hospital's regulations.
She wasn't going to let him out of her sights ever again.

It was only when her heart calmed down enough and her mind returned to properly think things through that the words of the woman rang through her head once more.

"What did she mean," Chifuyu whispered, looking at Ichika's sleeping face. The hem of his hospital robes were slightly loose, and as her hands moved to set them, she stilled. A large scar diagonally cut through the boy's chest. She moved the robes slightly apart, and her breathing hitched. Her eyes coldly narrowed a moment later, as the anger of years came brimming back to the surface.

Orimura Ichika had a small, round disc right above his heart. It beeped softly, attached to a silver chain around his neck..
She tried to pull the IS away –why didn't they do it in the first place— but it refused to budge. The IS hadn't merely been given to Ichika. They had already gone through the first shift at least and bonded.
Unequivocally, the only way to remove the IS core would simply be with his death.
She would never let that pass. She'd have a talk with Tabane. They needed to talk.

One Week Later

"Ichika?" he warily looked up -taking the pills and the supplements tired him up. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Not really," he muttered back to the frowning face of his older sister. "The...Do I have to take them?" he gestured towards the pills in the palm of his hand. They had pretty colors, but they were all disgusting to swallow.

"It's for your own good," Chifuyu replied. "We're nearly arrived anyway, so buckle up."

He sighed, swallowing the bitter medicines in pill-format before taking a large sip of water from the glass in front of him.
They had taken an airplane all the way to Tokyo from Hokkaido's hospital. From there, they then had to take a train to the artificial island where the IS academy was.

He didn't feel like standing up from the plane's seat after they landed, but it wasn't like he could just stay there and wait for someone to carry him.
He wobbled back on his feet, his mind a hazy fog of the week before. There had been some form of therapy, a psychiatric evaluation...school. He was going to school, wasn't he?

It looked like a very different type of school. They weren't in the mountains for one thing. He remembered the training in the Urali, was it going to be like that?

"The train won't wait for us, Ichika," Chifuyu remarked as he limped behind her. The airport's security scanner beeped when he passed through, but it took Chifuyu a few seconds to solve the situation by showing a medical certificate –he had iron grafts within his body. Nobody bothered to correct the Representative of Japan in the Mondo Grosso. A few children pointed at her, calling her 'Brunhilde'.

"You'll room with me at the Academy," Chifuyu said. "I sent word ahead, and they should have prepared your room. I...Are you all right?"

"Drowsy," Ichika replied, yawning. "I feel weak."

"It's tiredness from the trip," Chifuyu said.

"That and the medications," Ichika remarked.

"It's not going to be a permanent thing," his sister said. "Just until..."

"Until a doctor says I'm no longer a danger to the people around me?" Ichika said. He eyed an incoming taxi. Chifuyu had probably called it, although he could have used a walk to clear his mind. His luggage was nothing more than cheap and hastily bought necessities anyway; toothbrush, toothpaste, supermarket underwear...they all were a part of his 'new' self.

One that didn't have to train in a terrorist organization in order to eat and live.

"I think you'll like it at the academy," Chifuyu said as the taxi departed towards the train station. "It's very peaceful. The students are nice."
Her voice was soft. It was so out of character for her. What little he remembered of his elder sister had always been of a stern but fair woman. Now, it seemed like she was uncomfortable merely being in his presence. It was as if she wasn't used to it, to him.

He fell asleep a few moments later, his head reclining and ending up against her shoulder. Chifuyu didn't say another word.
She merely looked out of the taxi window, while the driver calmly drove towards the station.

Ichika woke up half an hour later, being gently shaken by his sister. The train wasn't going to wait on them, but as they boarded and departed along its rails, Ichika gazed at the sea of the Tokyo bay.

His eyes caught the movements coming from the giant artificial island. Small flickers of light shining brightly against the sun. Those were IS, moving, running, floating, flying...those were IS and he could hear his heart bump loudly in his chest, painfully aware that his wings were going to be clipped.

The medication kept him tired and drowsy, even as he warily stepped outside the train at the academy's train station.
A car waited for them, a woman with green hair and a kind smile waving at them both.
He just...looked around.

"Ichika," Chifuyu said. "Are you listening?"

"Uh?"

"Sorry...he's under medication," his sister said towards the other woman.

"Never mind that," she smiled softly. "My name is Yamada Maya, but you can call me Yamada-sensei, is that all right with you Ichika-kun?"

"Yamada-sensei?" Ichika replied. "Why?"

"Because," the woman replied, "Together with your older sister we'll be your teachers for your time at the IS academy. That's why., it's improper to call me something else although I wouldn't mind if it were you, Ichika-kun but there's the..." she rambled something, but he wasn't listening any longer.

"Ah," Ichika nodded. "I'll be in your care," he acquiesced. The ringing in the side of his head was just a dull buzzing sound. He felt surrounded by swabs of cotton, ignoring the rest of the words the woman seemed to be saying about the school, or the facilities, or the classes...

"And field testing is done regularly through challenges. We have some of the newest frames and models of IS, courtesy of Shinonono-san."

"I have Dark Type," Ichika replied without much thought.

"Your personal IS?"

"Yes," he nodded numbly. His right hand went to his chain, to the small orb of glinting light within the silver frame. "IS Number two," he inclined his head to the side. "Pretty..."

"Uh?" Maya turned her head, gazing at the street behind her. A silver haired girl with a black patch over her left eye stiffly walked towards them, her expression like steel.

"Pretty?" Chifuyu snorted. "That's Laura Bodewig. She'll be one of your classmates. She's just on time," his older sister looked at the watch near the station's wall. "If I'm not checking on you, then she will."

"Instructor," Laura stopped a few meters from them, standing firmly up into a military salute. "Welcome back!"

"Indeed," Chifuyu nodded, visibly pleased. "Laura, this is Ichika. Ichika, this is Laura Bodewig, Germany's representative Cadet."

Laura's sharp red eye settled on Ichika, who smiled awkwardly back. "Hello..."

The German IS pilot returned to gaze at Chifuyu. "Instructor?"

"Keep an eye on him if I cannot, Laura. Show him around the Academy, make sure he doesn't end up in trouble," Chifuyu said, "Guard him with your life," she added sternly.

"It will be done, instructor!" the girl barked the reply like a faithful lapdog, making a firm military salute. Ichika yawned, a hand to his mouth. He was too sleepy to think properly about it. Maybe the next day he'd be less tired.

As the sun went down over the horizon, he barely registered having entered the dormitory proper -or the surprised gazes of the girls around. Chifuyu walked ahead of him with her back stiff and her face stern, Laura following closely behind his back, her eye trained and firmly planted on him.
He simply decided to wave a hand in the direction of the nearest group of girls, smiling lightly.

The door of the apartment slid open with a quiet hiss, allowing the three of them entry. It closed behind them with a soft 'click'. The entrance directly gave into a spacious room, with a sofa and a flat wide-screen television against the wall. A few doors led into the other rooms of the apartment –there was no way this could be considered a 'room' in the dormitory.
The benefits of being a teacher were pretty obvious.

"Laura," Chifuyu said, turning her eyes to the girl. "You can leave for the moment," she deadpanned, gazing at the German silver-haired IS Pilot with a modestly affronted look.

The girl nodded and left, after delivering a militaristic "Yes, sir!" that rung in the room.

"That girl," Chifuyu exhaled, opening the fridge and taking out a beer can. "She's too strict with herself."

Ichika looked around. The room was sparkling clean.
There wasn't a trace of dirt, or a smudge, or even a random bit of clothing hanging from the ceiling's fan. He remembered his sister differently.

Both of his sisters had the same problem with order after all.

He ground his teeth, his right hand to his temple. Shaking his head softly, he sat on the sofa. "I can't..."

"Just rest," Chifuyu said. "The benefit of living in the academy is that you can eat lunch and dinner at the canteen without wasting time cooking," she smiled. "Do you still cook?"

"No," Ichika replied, looking down at his hands. "I don't."

"Remember your pills before going to bed," Chifuyu said. "Don't make me worry about you too much, Ichika."

She opened the can, letting it fizzle before taking a gulp. "There should be some convenience-store packaged lunches in the fridge. If you're hungry, you can eat one."

"I'm not...hungry," Ichika replied in a low murmur. "I think I'll just...go to bed."

It took a few minutes of working with the pills to get the right amount of each in his hand, but then he went over to the kitchen area to grab a glass. A moment later, and he let the water run as he filled the glass. He swallowed and sipped, before leaving it in the sink and closing the tap.
Quietly, he stepped through the door that read 'Ichika's room'.
He didn't even take in his surroundings.
He was simply too tired to care about the computer, or the desk, or the uniform of the academy or any of the books lined on the shelf. He fell down face first against the bed, and crumbled to sleep.

Dark Type Requesting Input.

...Pilot Ichika unresponsive.

Dark Type Requesting Input.

...Pilot Ichika unresponsive.

...Brainwave sleep-pattern identified...

...Brainwave sleep-pattern modified for communication.

Dark Type Requesting Input.

Dark Type stood unmanned in an empty Dojo room. The parquet shone from the light that entered through the open doors –of such a blinding white, that it was impossible to see outside of it.
The IS gazed at Ichika, inclining its metallic helmet to the side.

"Requesting Input," it said, the voice metallic. "Requesting Input."

Ichika frowned, looking down at his blurry form in his sleep before stepping forward. The engines of the IS hummed as the pilot neared it.
"Modifications required to ensure structural weaknesses removed have been listed. Cannot send to nearest Phantom Task Refitting Workshop. Breach of security prohibits sending. Force sending?"

"No," Ichika murmured, shaking his head. "Are there...others?"

"One moment," Dark Type turned thoughtful, if an IS machine could turn thoughtful by simply standing still and quiet. "Linking with main database of IS Academy. Counteracting defenses. Facility breached. Location of Models Workshops found. String code for self-assembly sent. Reply positive. Requesting Dark Type models. Request Denied. Requesting Dark Type models. Request Denied. Forcing through security. Request Granted. Downloading. Models of Dark Type IS 002 have been successfully updated. Production of spare components initialized."

"Uh?"

"Production completed. Pick components up as soon as possible, Pilot Ichika."

"Did you just...force the production of the armor frames?" Ichika asked.

"Affirmative. Backdoor left. Production of spare parts guaranteed. Deleting Workshop System copies."

"Ah..." Ichika murmured. "Well...do your best?"

"Affirmative."

Ichika returned to his dreamless sleep.

The unfortunate security guard patrolling the corridors of the academy found herself staring at the pile of perfectly prepared IS frames for what seemed to be a rear armor. She exhaled. Someone had probably forgotten them out in the open and gone to sleep, rather than empty the workshop in case another student needed self-repairs done.
Really...but still, she had better things to do too –apparently, Orimura-sensei had brought a man in her room! That was so going to be the gossip of the next day! She resumed her patrol...hoping to catch some sounds coming out of a specific room.

What else was there to do anyway, in the middle of the night?

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Three "White Knight, Black Queen."

He enjoyed running. His breathing evened out as he jogged around the course. The academy really had every comfort available, ranging from an outside pool to even a circular running ground. He wasn't alone in his endeavor. Apparently, Laura Bodewig took her 'following' to heart —she was running alongside him, making no effort to hide the fact that indeed, she was keeping an eye on him.

"Lessons start at half past eight," she said sternly. "We have been running for an hour, since six, the instructor will wake up in half an hour."

"I like running," Ichika replied. Still, he diverted his route to bring him back to the dormitories. He jogged his way back in the room, putting himself through the shower and leaving it after a few minutes of hot water. Wearing his uniform for the first time, he took care to remove the wrinkles and gaze at his reflection in the mirror.

The scars on his face featured predominantly over the rest —or maybe his eyes naturally drew to them. One scar cracked his upper lip, another ran down through his left eyebrow. He had a nick on the upper right temple. A jagged cross-like scar was on his right cheek. His left cheek had three vertical lines, grossly separated one from the other. He carefully touched with the tip of his fingers all of them, feeling the skin beneath his fingers.

Ichika opened the fridge, glad that at least the eggs were safe. He ignored the urge to drink a can of beer. He wasn't going to risk mixing alcohol with whatever meds he had to take. He was in a completely unfamiliar territory.
He really felt more at ease sleeping in the cockpit of the Dākutaipu, or standing in a cramped bunker in a corner of the Phantom Task hangars. He didn't particularly dislike the organization. Barring Madoka and her fits, he hadn't been treated any differently than when under Chifuyu's stern education. Madoka was probably the sole reason he didn't want to return to Phantom Task.

She'd flail him alive.

Still, he didn't want to betray Phantom Task. They could have easily killed him at any one moment, but they hadn't. They could have treated him like dirt, but —except for Madoka— they hadn't. He even had some friends in that place; people disillusioned by warfare who believed that only money mattered in the end, people who cursed the name of Tabane Shinonono, and people whom never truly forgot the horrors of wars.
Thankfully, all of those thoughts drifted away, down the drain just like his failed creation of an egg yolk breakfast. He really couldn't cook even the simplest of things now. It was a bit of a pity.

Stepping outside, he didn't even muse over Laura's uniform —or how her legs appeared 'enlarged' at the base to show off the military boots.

"You are not waiting for the instructor to wake up?" she asked.

"I like fresh air," he replied, as if that answered everything. He stepped outside, Laura grumbling but following him dutifully. "Where is our class?"

"Right," Laura stood primly. "You're assigned to Class One, Year One. Follow me," she began to walk forward, only for Ichika to gaze around with a curious glance.

"What are you looking for?" Laura asked.

"The fighting arenas," he replied softly. "I need Dākutaipu to stretch his wings to assemble the new frames…"

"Frame assembly is done at the workshops inside the main building," Laura replied.

"Dākutaipu is different," he said.

"Really?" Laura raised her right eyebrow. "How so?"

Ichika shook his head.
Laura didn't pry further.
The classroom was neat and clean, the desks were state of the art with holographic displays.

Dākutaipu IS requesting Pilot Input.

Ichika sat down at the spot Laura gestured him to, before bringing his hands up to the keyboard. He began to tap into it, under the watchful gaze of the silver-haired girl.
The screen flashed briefly black, before a tiny rendition of the Dākutaipu appeared on the lower left screen.

"Is your IS designated for electronic warfare?" Laura asked, now visibly curious.

Dākutaipu IS requesting Pilot Input.

A small console command screen appeared over the holographic screen.

Inputting, what do you need, Dākutaipu?

Ichika wrote on the screen, receiving a visual confirmation as the next words materialized just after his sentence.

Dākutaipu IS requesting Input. Personal IS found in nearby proximity, belonging to German Schwarzer Regen model. Should retrofit for counter?

Laura stiffened, eying Ichika warily.
It was one thing to acquire the knowledge of her model, it was another for the IS to do so by itself. It meant more than just the beginning of self-awareness in advanced IS. It meant the AI was at the very least a few years old.

"No," Ichika muttered softly, tapping it on the screen. "No fighting."

Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Input. Define 'No Fighting' as an apt reply.

It means we don't have to fight the IS in question, Dākutaipu.

Dākutaipu knows that, Pilot Ichika. It asks why it should define it as an apt reply when in a Prisoner of War situation.

Ichika chuckled.

It's not a POW camp. The academy is…a school.

Dākutaipu can teach Pilot Ichika. There is no need to stay at this school.

I can't just leave. We've been caught, and they're willing to turn a blind eye if we…just cooperate a bit.

Dākutaipu defines thus this situation as a POW situation. Requesting permission to engage in retaliatory strikes.

Permission denied, Dākutaipu.

Dākutaipu mood is now 'Sulky'. Is that the apt term, Pilot Ichika?

That depends on the…

"What are you doing?" Laura asked, bewildered.

Ichika frowned. "Talking with my IS."

"Why are you doing that?" the girl insisted, "They have limited self-awareness, they aren't actually really intelligent. The replies come from a determined set of databases to resemble human contact. It doesn't mean the IS actually knows what it's saying."

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Anger'. Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Ichika input. Should we engage in retaliatory strike against German bitch?

Laura's eye narrowed. "You're making fun of me, aren't you?"

"N-No," Ichika replied, "It's just Dākutaipu has a sense of humor, really."

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Enraged'. Dākutaipu requesting permission for phosphorous round installments.

"Don't rise up to the challenge!" Ichika exclaimed, looking at Laura. "Come on, Dākutaipu…be nice," he tapped next.

Dākutaipu requests definition of 'Nice' on German Pilot. Phosphorous shower is 'Nice' for German Pilot?

"No, it isn't," Ichika replied.

Dākutaipu mood set to 'Sulky'.

The small depiction of the IS in the corner of the screen crossed its arm over the chest, and then sat down, moving its head to the side.
Ichika exhaled.

"How did you manage to become its pilot?" Laura asked. "The IS looks like quite the—"

"Dākutaipu is…well, a wizard-IS," Ichika muttered. "You know of the 'White Knight' accident? That was the first IS developed. The second IS was this one. Dark Type's specialty isn't tied to self-defense or war, but geared towards self-improvement and core technologies. It's mostly…well, Dākutaipu self-improved to become mine. That's why I can pilot it. It's not like I can pilot all types of IS. But I can pilot Dākutaipu, because it chose me…and Dākutaipu can become any type of IS, because it built the others."

"What you're saying is that your IS helped Tabane Shinonono in the early stages of IS construction, right?" Laura muttered. "And by copying its code, it could enable males to use IS cores too, exact?"

"Yes," Ichika replied with a nod, "But Dākutaipu refused that."

"How can an IS core refuse? It shouldn't have been self-aware to begin with! If that was its specialization, it should have…wait, how did you end up having such an IS in the first place?"

Ichika inclined his head to the side. "Tabane Shinonono gave it to me. She said it was an unruly child and could no longer help her, so she just handed it over."

"But you were a Phantom Task operative," Laura pressed on. "You can't tell me she—"

The door slid open again in that moment, allowing inside a brown haired Japanese girl with ribbons on the top of her head. She froze midway.
Awkwardly and half-mechanically, she continued to walk to her seat near the window.

"We will talk more about this later," Laura said sternly, before taking her seat —right by his side.

Dākutaipu mood set to 'Combative'. Phosphorous Shower would suit little bunny needs.

Ichika sighed. He began to tap on the keyboard.

Come on now, Dākutaipu. You're being unfair.

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Inquisitive'. Is this not the correct string of rebukes for arrogant females?

No, that's only for…for Madoka.

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Neutral'. Understood, Pilot Ichika.

He sighed. The small icon of the Dark Type turned back to its normal form, floating around the desktop and randomly opening folders to check.

Dākutaipu has detected Malware in Pilot Ichika's personal computer. Proceeding with removal. Removal completed. Dākutaipu countering breaches in personal computer of Pilot Ichika. Closing Firewalls breaches. Initiating rerouting of enemy spyware into computer nearby. Rerouting completed.

The quirk of the Dark Type was the self-improving mechanism. Ichika shook his head. Left alone with a computer, Dark Type would do all within its power to improve it. Once its powers had done what it could software-wise, an 'operator' —Ichika, most of the time— had to physically mount the new hardware. The Dark Type was never satisfied. Yet…
The IS was also his first friend.
A very strange first friend to make, but one he could trust and depend on, no matter what.
The rest of the class entered a few moments later, stepping inside and freezing in shock. It was as if the girls had never seen a man before. Ichika smiled warmly.

"Well, class is starting!" Chifuyu's voice came behind the block of frozen girls, who quickly scampered to their seats. Yamada-sensei and Chifuyu walked inside, the latter giving a hard glare in the direction of the girls —whose eyes were still on Ichika.

"As you can see, we have a new student," Chifuyu said. "Present yourself, Orimura."

Ichika stood from his seat.

"My name is Orimura Ichika," he said, nervously chuckling as he realized everyone in the class was staring at him. "I'm under arrest for terrorist activities in the Hokkaido region and affiliation with the Phantom Task group," he continued calmly, earning gasps and shocked stares from everyone. "I have been deemed by the Japanese and the International Governments too important to dispose of, due to my nature as the sole male IS-Pilot. As such, I have been enrolled at this academy for acquiring as much data on Phantom Task and my IS as possible. I hope to meet you on the battlefield soon enough," he smiled sincerely. "I'm sure you're all going to try to kill me in my sleep, so rest assured. Trying that will only earn you a napalm shower," he chuckled quietly, and sat back down.

Chifuyu slammed her chart on the boy's head, making him 'ouch' and wince in pain.

"This jerk is my brother," Chifuyu snorted, "And an incorrigible prankster. Ignore nearly all of his words. He is the sole male IS-Pilot to date however."

She glared at him even as he merely smiled.
The girls in the class all giggled then, going all 'Kya' or 'How cool' or 'He's such a bad boy to make Chifuyu-sama angry'. Only one person didn't giggle at all among the class —barring Laura, who never laughed to begin with.
Houki Shinonono.

"My, how despicable," a female voice said. "To go as far as lie this much! Who would believe such a lie anyway? You're what, fifteen? Yet you claim to be a terrorist for such a dangerous organization as Phantom Task? You're a lunatic at most."

The blond-haired girl had curls, bright blue eyes and wore the uniform with a long skirt and an apron-like front. She looked like a maid —at least, to Ichika's eyes.

"Lesson is starting," Chifuyu said firmly. "You can speak more during the recess," the woman added.

"Of course, I beg your pardon Chifuyu-sensei," and with those words, the strange fair-skinned girl returned to quietly look at her own computer.

Ichika smiled brightly.
He was going to have so much fun…provided he improved Dark Type to the point of defeating the White Knight…everything would be fine. He'd take the world at gunpoint if he had to.
In the end, however…he too had no idea what he wanted to do with his life.
Thus, rather than waste time going back to Phantom Task or acting like a good boy, delivering all of his secrets in exchange for freedom…he'd bid his time well.
Maybe he'd also find out something that he liked doing along the way —like cooking.
Uhm…he could try sewing too.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Four "The Importance of Taking Life in Pills"

Orimura Ichika grimaced as he flipped through the pages of the 'mandatory' handbook. He calmly put it down, before pushing it as far away from him as possible. Why did he need all of this theory anyway? He looked around the classroom made of polished glass, white desks, white uniforms and no bloodstains...this was a school, not a military academy.

The girls surrounded him as sharks would a lamb drenched in blood, keeping their distances but waiting for the right moment to devour him. That moment arrived with the ringing bell of recess.
Everywhere he looked, there were girls. Giggling, pointing at him, whispering to one another while looking in his direction...really, had they no shame?

"Excuse me, Orimura-san," a female voice caught his attention, coming from a timid first year, "A-Are you in need of help?"

He smiled. "No," he replied. He didn't add anything else. The girl squirmed for a moment, before hastily turning red and bowing repeatedly. She left a moment later in a hurry, returning to a cluster of girls which soon began to go all 'kyah' and 'he's so handsome' and 'the scars, they make him look so rugged' and 'he's really Orimura-sensei's brother, he's so cool' and forth.
There was a moment of blissful peace, before a stern voice reached his ears shattering it.

"Orimura," Laura's voice was firm, "We need to finish our talk."
The girl's eye was set on him, even as the girls around whispered furiously about 'the frigid German melting' and the 'no way he's going with her'. He inclined his head to the side, as if giving it some thought.

"I'm in the mood for some IS training," he replied. "Want to come with me? It's recess anyway and I'm not hungry," he tapped on his computer, letting it close with a soft beep.

"The arena needs to be cleared for practice use," Laura replied, "It takes a few days at least to obtain permission with the aid of a professor, and you cannot simply use it without the proper authorization."

"There will be no one during the lunch hour," Ichika replied, standing up. "And I'm feeling cramped, staying in here doing nothing. Let's go."

"Orimura!" Laura barked, but Ichika was already walking out of the classroom.

"Call me Ichika," he replied as he waved the girls still in the classroom goodbye. "Come on, let's go have some fun."

Laura clenched both of her hands; biting on her lower lip from the nervousness...she would have wrung the boy's neck, if only the Instructor hadn't told her otherwise.
Ichika rolled his eyes as he reached undisturbed the workshop's area. The lack of people during lunch was really a hole in the academy's defences. There wasn't even much of a security system –well, not for Dark Type anyway. The IS frames waited for him in a neat pile.

"When did you upload your IS frame into the system?" Laura asked.

"I didn't. Dark Type did," Ichika replied. "Then he decided to erase it after creating the spare parts he required."

"You think they're simply going to let you keep this up, Orimura?" Laura said crisply, "There are at least a hundred and more regulations you are constantly breaking."

"Yes," he replied. "And the point is? Tabane Shinonono changed the world with the IS. Whoever holds an IS, a personal one at that, becomes the representative of their government. IS frames are used for war and pilots trained for it -under the guise of it being just an international sport. Just as Tabane changed the world, and now holds it at IS-point with the core creation techniques known only to her...I do too now," he smiled as he let the Dark Type materialize in the wide hangar-like room for retrofitting.

"Because the Dark Type...is my own Gun against the world."

The dark frames shifted, carefully opening up to reveal small bundles of wire that detached. The wires shifted, gripping onto the new armour frames and tugging them against the back of the IS frame, before beginning to rearrange them. Ichika clicked his tongue, letting the Dark Type do its job.

Dark Type IS-002 Frames Found. Beginning connection. Connectivity established. Reforming back armour. Discarding excessive frames. Transferring plates to weak points in front armour. Warning. Heating frames for melding. Pilot Ichika should stand still.

Ichika hissed in pain. The brief contact of one of the scorching hot frames with his back wasn't enough to make him scream, but he began to sweat.

"What are you doing!?" Laura exclaimed, "You can't be possibly...get out of there! Set the IS to be without a pilot and let it work with you outside! It's preposterous! That's..."

"That's the price I pay for my gun," Ichika smiled warily, slowly hovering in his IS to turn towards Laura. "The best forms of retrofitting are done with the pilot inside. Dark Type doesn't have a pilot-less mode. We're bound."

"How can you say something like that!" Laura barked, "There's not an IS that can't go without a pilot!"

"Dark Type is special," Ichika replied, as the frames finished adjusting and the IS returned to its closed state. He stepped closer to Laura. "And I'm a special little snowflake of hatred," he added with a wink, "So let's get down to business."

Laura stepped behind him, keeping an eye on his back and his crumpled uniform —it looked like it had gone through the grinder, and yet didn't even hold the burn marks. The first training ground they entered was empty, and with a sharp jump, Ichika shot up in the air —the Dark Type frame appearing in a flash of dark electricity.
Laura followed suite, her own model firmly tucked into the ground. The metallic black frame of her IS glinted, while Ichika's own absorbed the light. He looked like a dark knight; his arms' muzzles redirecting themselves in the direction of Laura.

"Not coming up here?" Ichika remarked dryly. "There's quite the lack of mobility in your IS frame, did you know that?"

Laura clicked her tongue in distaste. "You want to fight, fight."

The rail gun charged and fired, releasing a jet of—particle beam— he hastily ducked away from it, the Dākutaipu's side engines roaring into life with quick bursts of controlled air pressure. "That's not the standard equipment!" Ichika yelled.

"Your IS isn't standard to begin with," Laura snapped back. The backside of the Black Hare opened up, before launching small guided missiles of various sizes in the air. They left behind white streaks of smoke as Laura lifted the IS's assault rifle, opening fire.
Ichika could hear the small bullets ricochet off the frame of the front armour. The shield wouldn't activate for small arms, which was the principal reason for the armour after all.

Enacting Countermeasures. Hacking Missiles' Guide System.

Ichika soared in the air, as the missiles pursuing his Infinite Stratos suddenly made a sharp turn, aiming back at Laura on the ground. They detonated in mid-air, Laura's aim true as she fired upon them before they could reach her.

"Overwhelming offensive power," Ichika muttered. "Against slow and stationary target…what does she have against fast moving ones?"

Dark Type suggests re-reading the manual of the enemy Is. Schwarzer Regen is a close quarter combat type module. If Equalizer changes made, results may vary.

Ichika felt his entire body thrust backwards, as Laura went from stationary to flying in less than a split second charging at him with quite the speed. The sound wall broke as the thunder-like noise reached his ears muffled out by his IS a second later. The Inertial Dampener had come into effect, shielding his front from the massive sword that now stood in Laura's hands, crashing against his shield.

"You have an AIC too!" Laura yelled, "Where did you get it!?"

"You're asking me?" Ichika hissed, thrusting his right hand forward to grip at the blade's side, before the muzzles on his arms opened fire in continuous bursts. The gunshots barrelled against Laura at point-blank range, before the high-calibre guns on his shoulders opened fire too.

Laura pushed Ichika away from her, speeding up as she took her distances.

Ichika's left IS arm rotated of forty-five degrees, a single long muzzle now replacing the multiple others.

Phosphorous Shower Equalizer activated.

His IS legs spun, moving the exit point of the engines to the sides.

Sideways Engines Equalized. Activating Enhanced Perception. Analysing Data Packets for counter-CQC mode. Acceptable risk for the pilot taken into account.

"I hate it when you say that," Ichika murmured, grounding his teeth.

The monitors of his frame beeped an angry shade of red, but the engines threw him to the left side at Mach One speed —fast enough to avoid the blow of an energy sabre swipe directed at him.

"Stop being a coward!" Laura yelled, turning to gaze at him. "I'll rip you out of your armour if it's the last thing I do!"

"She's quite competitive, isn't she?" Ichika murmured, looking through the various monitors within his frame. "Heat dissipation in the Schwarzer is required after each fast speed burst. There's poor air circulation in those joints…probably to sustain the entire frame. The rabbit can hop…but not always," he turned to gaze at the battle situation.

Countermeasures Finalized.

A video feed shot up in the upper right corner of his IS, and he smiled. He could do that.
Laura charged the particle beam —a recent addition in place of the rail gun system— once more. The heat dissipation on her IS frame had worsened dramatically after its addition, but the beam had more penetrative power and could be shot for three to four seconds continuously.

It also didn't require ammunition, but simply used the stored energy of the IS core.

That was when Ichika finally returned fire. The bullets slammed against Laura's frame, the Active Inertia Dampener blocking them before they could damage her, but as he began to spin in circles around her IS, a few nicked at her back blowing up as the pain made her cry out in surprise. Her shields yet held.

The Particle cannon finished charging, just as she removed the eye-patch from her golden eye. The world seemed to freeze, as she took in every little bit of information at the same processing speed of her IS, calculating the trajectory of the blow and opening fire at the precise instant required.

The particle beam sliced through the air, an inch away from the upper left shoulder of Ichika's IS. The very frames retracted inside, avoiding the blow. Laura's eyes narrowed both.

That reaction time couldn't be human, not for such a tiny and precise motion.

There was a 'sproing' sound. Laura's eyes widened as the single muzzle fired a spherical container in mid-air, before it shone and exploded, releasing a cloud of vaporous white powder.
It ignited a split second later, and Laura hastily flew backwards as the phosphorous began to burn.

"Are you nuts!?" Laura yelled. "Phosphorous rounds have been banned decades ago!"

Ichika clicked his tongue and smiled. "Then just keep on dodging them!" he chuckled, opening fire again. "Come at me with strength, not with half-assed attempts!"

He opened fire again; this time accompanied by the bullets from the muzzles on his other arms. Spinning in circles around Laura, the German IS pilot forced herself up in the air, only for Ichika to follow her in an ascending spiral.
"Well!? Is this the pride of Germany!?"

Laura twisted the frame in mid-air, throwing herself back down and activating the Inertia Dampener just as Ichika shot forward. The impact halted Ichika's advance, making the Dark Type crash against the shield…until Ichika activated his own.

The two shields fought one another, collapsing at the same time as the giant sword wielded by Laura came crashing down on the giant IS black frame shield formed by Dark Type for the occasion. The bundling of wires twisted around the blade, shining with dark crimson lights as they ignited secondary engines within the extra frames. The giant sword flew out of Laura's grip, just as Ichika's other hand thrust forward with claw-like fingers.
It crashed against the energy lance of Laura, who formed just in time to avoid the attack from reaching her face. Gripping onto the energy lance himself, Ichika smiled, pushing his face forward.

Separated only by the energy lance, the faces of both pilots gleamed with sweat.

Ichika's face held a maniacal laughter, while Laura's eyes were narrow and showing her effort it keeping away the enemy IS.

"Doesn't this make you feel alive, Laura!?" Ichika asked, laughing slightly. "This sensation! This adrenaline! This power! Aren't you glad you're alive for this!?"

"How…are you…holding," Laura hissed out, "the lance…"

Ichika smiled, "That's a secret."

Dark Type rerouting power. Power rerouted. Absorption. Absorption completed.

The energy lance shattered into Ichika's hand, now filled with small tentacle-like protuberances.

"You should have hit me with all you had at first," Ichika retorted hotly, gripping onto Laura's face with his right hand. "I'll give you a two out of ten."

A sword stopped an inch away from Ichika's neck.

"Let her go, Ichika."

Chifuyu's White Knight frame stood next to them. "You've been using these grounds without authorization," she added next.

"It was fun," Ichika muttered back, letting go of Laura's head.

"Instructor," Laura said, breathing in deeply, "I had everything under control!" her eyes went to her particle cannon, already charging another blow.

"Cease this now, both of you," Chifuyu clipped in. "Down on the ground, closed form, no talking until I'm done with both of you."

Laura grimaced, before nodding sternly. They all descended in silence, before the IS frames disappeared back in their closed forms.

Chifuyu then turned to Ichika. "Have you been taking your pills?"

Ichika grumbled, but said nothing, merely gazing at the ground.

Chifuyu's hand went for his neck, "I asked you a question, Ichika!" she snarled.

"I…I didn't," Ichika muttered. "They make me sleepy. And—"

Chifuyu's slap wasn't painful —although it was strong by itself— but it still hurt as it hit Ichika's cheek. "You take pills in the morning, at lunch, and at dinner. That's an order. You don't go against orders, do you? If you want to stay here, then you follow my rules. Take the pills. Now!"

Ichika grumbled, but while slowly massaging his cheek he moved his other hand to a plastic bottle within his uniform's pocket. He swallowed the pills prescribed without water, and then exhaled.

"Good," Chifuyu nodded firmly. "Now," here she turned towards Laura. "Cadet Bodewig! What were you thinking!?"

Laura winced at the bite of the voice. "I-Instructor, I…"

"I forewarned you not to be confrontational, and sent you more than enough material to study! You should have been prepared to call me, rather than follow through with whatever he wanted to do! Especially after knowing how dangerous he could be! What were you thinking!?"

"I—"

"You let him guide your actions, and that was where you went wrong. Now go back to the changing room and shower, both of you. There are still the afternoon lessons," she turned towards Ichika. "You'll both go without lunch for punishment…and I'll have a more throughout talk with both of you afterwards… Now move!"

As they both jogged away, Chifuyu turned to the arena's half-torn state. What truly worried her was the ammunition's origin. The only possible way for him to have it would be to have it produced overnight by the workshop inside the Academy…but they weren't equipped to properly form said illegal rounds. The only answer to that was that Ichika had bypassed all the safety systems, installed a program that automatically mixed the proper chemicals, and then inserted into the workshop the schematics to produce such ammunition.

It was terrifying.

If the Japanese Government came to know about it, they would probably try to get Ichika killed. Making fun of the Academy's system, utilizing it to produce illegal weapons…it was enough for the death penalty.

Her breathing hitched only once, as she watched the phosphorous burn. It's use was that of a smoke screen effect. Clearly, Ichika had used it to mask his movement…and not as an Incendiary weapon.

This time, nobody had been hurt.

The next time, she hoped she'd…she hoped there would not be a second time.

Her heart might simply not take it.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Five.
"Common Sense is Overrated"

"Ichika! Wait!" he stopped. His eyes settled on the dark haired girl, her sharp eyes narrowing on him. "Ichika...is it really you?" the girl asked.

The lessons had just ended, and Laura was by his side glaring daggers at him.

"I...I am Orimura Ichika," he replied, a small smile on his face. "You... are?"

"You don't remember me?" her voice held an undertone of hurt, which made Ichika frown.

"My brain is...fuzzy," he kept his smile up. "I need to take medications...so I can't..." he looked at her ribbons, frowning for a moment, "Houki?"

Shinonono Houki smiled back, her head bobbing up and down fast. "Yes, it's me! You remembered—wait, medications?" she asked, worry etched on her face.

"Orimura is sick, very sick," Laura said, walking in between the two. "Shinonono-san, you should take your leave. We are in a hurry."

"Shut up, you German!" Houki replied, "I'm his...we are still friends, right? I was brought under protection because of Tabane-Nee, but...I heard they kidnapped you once, right?"

"I wasn't kidnapped," Ichika replied with a smile. "Or was I?"

Houki's face filled with grief. "W-What is his sickness?" she asked —her voice now demure— towards Laura. The silver-haired German clicked her tongue in distaste.

"Something to do with his brain, Shinonono-san," she replied, "he sustained neurological damage due to an accident, and as you can see he is sometimes prone to day-dreaming."

Houki brought a hand to her mouth, her skin pale. "I-I see," she whispered. She smiled then towards Ichika, her voice lightly cracked. "If you ever need a hand, you know you can count of me, Ichika."

"Yes," Ichika nodded numbly.

"Not fair!" a few girls exclaimed then, emerging from their hiding spots behind the corners and doors, "You can count on us too Orimura-kun!" they belatedly raised their voices, "I'll nurse you back to health!" another voice said. "No, I'll do it!"

Laura growled; her narrow eye more than enough to freeze and make the other girls run away. They all left in a hurry, leaving behind only the blond haired representative of England. Said girl wore a customized outfit that was similar to the school's uniform, but ended with a far longer skirt, reaching all the way to the ankles. She stepped forward, a superior smirk on her face.

"I heard well? The only male IS-pilot is damaged goods? Uh," she pushed her long blond hair behind her back, with a victorious smile. "Then he mustn't be something special at all," she crossed her arms over her chest. "I, Cecilia Alcott, defeated my instructor during the activation test for my IS."

Ichika inclined his head to the side, "Ah," he nodded. "Did you… kill him?"

Cecilia froze. Her smile remained frozen in place, a drop of sweat falling down her temple. "What?"

"It's not good to boast… if you haven't killed him," Ichika shook his head. "Oh," he blinked as Laura gripped tightly on his arm, starting to pull him away.

"He's also delusional!" Laura barked as she pulled him along, out of the classroom, "Extremely delusional!"

Houki and Cecilia remained behind, gazing at the door of the classroom with wide eyes. They turned to look at each other for a moment, and then went their own way out. Cecilia huffed back towards her room, while Houki headed straight for Chifuyu.

She was not going to believe a single word from the German Ice-Queen. Especially after seeing her carry away Ichika like a ragdoll, Houki was not going to leave her childhood friend —suffering and in pain as he was— in the hands of a psychotic girl with no common sense. If Ichika needed a hand due to his…problems, then professor Orimura should have just called her.

Laura growled as she pushed Ichika against the wall, behind one of the academy's buildings. They were in a small and dirty square that was probably once a storage area, now fallen in disuse leaving behind only cracked brick floors and an old creaking iron storage shed.

"What is your problem!?" Laura yelled. "Are you trying to make fun of the instructor's efforts!?"

Ichika just raised an eyebrow. "Uh?"

"I want yes or no answers from you, Orimura!" Laura barked. Her hands gripped tightly on his uniform's neck ridge. "You have a backstory to use, so why do you insist on trying to break it!? Can't you see how much you're making this difficult? The instructor doesn't need a troublesome person like you!"

"Just like she doesn't need you…right?" Ichika smiled softly. Laura's right fist slammed against Ichika's cheek. The knuckles hit against the flesh, giving out a strong wet sound as the boy gagged, opening his mouth to spit out a drop of blood. "Ouch," he said, clearly enunciating the word and making it seem like an insult. "You hit…like a girl," he smiled. "You are a girl…a daddy's girl? An instructor's gir—"

The knee in the side forced Ichika to kneel forward, his eyes and mouth wide as he clutched his stomach, while wheezing heavily. Laura pushed him on the ground face first, before straddling him on his back and grabbing a hold of his hair.

"I'll kill you, bastard," Laura hissed. "All we need is your IS, not—"

Ichika snickered.

"Why are you laughing now, uh!?"

"Everything…you do…I…grant it."

Laura frowned. There was a soft beep.

One of the forearm Gatling-guns appeared then, its muzzles pointed straight against Laura's form as they began to spin loudly. "How fast are you, Bodewig?" Ichika mocked.

Laura's body pulled her away just in time, thanks to the reflexes learned in more than a few years of training. The bullets sprayed the spot she had been but a second before. Those weren't mere training bullets, or jets of compressed air.

Laura would recognize the fragments and the casings everywhere —hollow point bullets.

The holes in the wall behind her began to emit small tendrils of smoke.

Ichika calmly wobbled back on his feet.

"I wonder…Bodewig…if I told my sister how much pain you gave me," he smiled; his forearm's IS disappeared back into its closed state. "What would she do to you?"

Laura clenched her fists.

"Learn…patience," Ichika continued softly, "And then," he smiled brightly, "Know…when to strike."

He inclined his head to the side. "Do you have a knife, Bodewig? A spare one…that is…"

"Why?" Laura asked.

"Close Quarters Combat…I don't want to…get rusty."

Laura just stared. "You want a knife, a combat knife. You, a terrorist of Phantom Task, an internationally wanted criminal, want me to give you a knife…no. The answer is no. I will tell the instructor you began to act violently, and that I had to subdue you."

Ichika sighed, before calmly taking out from his sleeve a combat knife. Laura's fingers slowly went down to her legs, and to her knife holsters. Out of all her knives, one was missing.

She growled, before slipping out one of her own. "Ah, a Kampfmesser. What's the weight of this jewel? Two-hundred ninety grams?" Ichika said, softly trying his grip on it. "Useable both for the left and right hand, right? This is the good stuff, I admit. It's what…a four-hundred series? It's also laser cut…I always said Germany had the best weapons in the world…wasn't there a saying? 'The only reason they lost the war was because they had the best weapons in the worst hands'?"

"You can mock my country," Laura said, her eyes brimming with hatred. "You can mock my IS. You can mock me…but don't you dare mock the Instructor's training!"

Laura charged ahead, her movements neat and precise. Ichika's own came back, forcing the girl to cease her advance and start skirting to the side, with the boy doing the same. A kick for Ichika's hand turned for nothing, as the boy slammed his elbow straight into Laura's guts, before gripping the girl's hair. Laura slammed her foot down on Ichika's, making the boy yelp as the two fighters distanced again.

"You think you're untouchable? I would have tortured you until you cracked the information out," Laura hissed.

"No can do," Ichika smiled, "I've got training for everything," he tapped with the knife to the side of his face. "See these scars? One of my instructors enjoyed scarring my face —it reminded her of someone she hated. Let me tell you, she only stopped when I could no longer scream…ah, yes," he cracked his neck. "This adrenaline that rushes through the body…The heart that beats so strongly…can't you feel the rush, the excitement?"

Laura kicked the ground, sending dust into Ichika's eyes. The moment she rushed forward, her instincts kicked in again, forcing her to push her head down as the blade came slicing at her eye's height. A few strands of silver hair fell on the ground, before Laura tackled Ichika in the midriff. Instead of falling down, Ichika spun to the side adjusting the momentum, sending the girl to careen on the dirt and roll away.

A step later and Ichika clutched the left side of his back. There was a shallow cut, which was drawing blood.
Laura showed the gleaming edge of her knife, the little streak of blood on it. She grinned. "You need better reflexes, Orimura."

"I need fewer drugs in my systems, Bodewig," Ichika deadpanned, throwing the knife on the ground.
Laura…exhaled. Training to first blood was good. If that was his mentality, then it was good.
It was hers too.

She realized it as she pulled the knife out of the ground and placed it back in her holster. She wasn't supposed to be guarding the instructor's little brother, a kidnapped and traumatized kid returned to 'civilization' after a life of imprisonment in Phantom Task.

She had to keep an eye on a fellow soldier, trained to fight and kill with no concerns and no reasons. Maybe, in some way, his training had been as gruesome as hers…or maybe not.

She checked the holster on her other leg, and then growled as Ichika merely smiled.

"You sure have a lot of knives," Ichika said with a half-whining tone. "Can't I keep one?"

"Buy one," Laura growled, extending her hand. Ichika sighed, taking out yet another knife stolen from the girl, and turning it to the side of the handle before handing it over.

"But I'll never find the good stuff elsewhere…"

"Not my problem," Laura said curtly.

"Sorry for your hair," Ichika remarked as they began to walk back into the more crowded academy streets.

"You're sorry… for my hair?"

Ichika nodded. "An instructor…used to say that a girl's hair was very important to them."

"Not for trying to skewer me, but for the hair?" Laura said once more; dumbfounded.

"It's a pretty silver color," Ichika replied with a shrug. "I was aiming for your eyes."

Laura shrugged. "Eyes are easy to replace nowadays, and are one of the weakest points in the human body."

"I know. That's why I was aiming at those."

"At least you know your basics," Laura said offhandedly, completely unfazed. "Still, it's obvious an experienced soldier would avoid putting his eyes at risk."

"In retrospect, I should have thought about that. I shouldn't have tried to hold down when you came for the tackle, but when I elbowed you it felt like hitting a steel wall, so I planned on stabbing you in the back."

"Ah, a spinal injury? The problem with those is that they're now treatable with ease. Of course, you have to hit the base of the neck to actually make it a lethal strike —and even then, a good first aid treatment can stabilize a patient until the hospital takes care of them."

"Uh, but then again you rolled out of harm's way in a second. Your reflexes are wonderful."

"Of course," Laura rolled her eye, "I am the best Germany has to offer."

"You still had your knife stolen…twice."

"You have deft fingers," Laura grunted out. "Who taught you how to pickpocket?"

"One of my instructors…they were pretty lax in how they went about teaching. Someone called and I answered," he shrugged once more. "I hope they're doing fine."

As they talked and walked together, the girls around them stared —some with hands on their mouths, others with eyes wide in shock.

"What do you think of long-range weaponry used against IS-Pilot?" was one of the questions a girl overheard.

"Depends on the IS and its general awareness. There are—"

"But—"

"The newest models of assault guns for IS-models are—"

Meanwhile Chifuyu, sitting in her office, raised an eyebrow at the sight of one of her student entering in a hurry. "Yes, Shinonono?"

"I heard," she muttered, "Ichika had an accident?"

Chifuyu raised an eyebrow. "Yes, he did. Did Laura tell you that?"

"She did, before carrying Ichika away," Houki replied. "I…teacher, I don't think Bodewig should be the one to take care of Ichika. She's…she's not a people-person, and she's violent most of the time!"

"Oh?" Chifuyu's lips curled in a light amused smile. "That is precisely why I chose her. The two have a lot in common…"

"I'm Ichika's friend too!" Houki blurted out hotly, "Why wasn't I told he'd be coming here? I acted like a fool when I first saw him!"

"Ichika is in a very delicate situation," Chifuyu replied firmly. "Not only is he the first male IS pilot, but there are circumstances behind his sickness. He can become extremely violent depending on the occasion, which is why it is best if someone who can subdue him without harm stands by his side during those times. Do not act like a spoiled brat."

"I'm a Kendo champion!" Houki blurted out, "I bet Ichika hasn't even—"

"Stop before you dig yourself a bigger hole, Shinonono," Chifuyu's eyes narrowed as they assumed a cold and hard glint. "You are underestimating the problem for your own benefit. Now, leave."

Houki tensed, before nervously stepping outside the teacher's office. She didn't know what Ichika's sickness was, but she highly doubted Laura would be able to deal with it.

Ichika…Ichika needed a gentler hand. Clearly, the German wasn't suited.

She repeated that to herself as she walked her way back to her dorm room.

"I'll treat your wound with antiseptic," familiar voices made her ears perk up, as her eyes stared in disbelief at the scene of the German and Ichika entering a dorm room together. The side of Ichika's white uniform —it looked scraggly and rumpled too, as if he had fought in the dirt— was of a dark red color.

"It'll heal on its own," Ichika's words came muffled through the door —Houki clearly wasn't eavesdropping in.

"Nonsense," Laura's voice came through. "Remove your uniform."

Houki's hair began to rise as she clenched her fists.

"Unacceptable," she whispered, "Utterly unacceptable."

"I want it to scar," Ichika replied with a chuckle. "It will be easier to remember the occasion that way."

"I cannot risk infections," Laura retorted. "And there is nothing to remember of important."

"What? The first knife wound by a woman should always be remembered!" Ichika's voice heated up. Houki frowned. Knife wound?

"All right, all right," Laura's voice returned. "I'll cauterize it."

Wait…did that mean that Ichika had already removed his uniform? Like that? Without a bit of a fight? Just what was…no, a moment…did she say cauterize? Where was the common sense in that!?

There was an infirmary in the academy. What was the German thinking! Did she want to field-treat him or something?

She couldn't remain there a moment more. She stood up, before knocking furiously on the door and literally slamming her shoulder against it to open it. "German, stop! What do you think you're doing—"

The door broke open, just in time for two crackling bangs to depart in front of her. Houki Shinonono stood shocked still, as just to the right side of her face, on the entrance's wall, two holes stuck out clearly —two gunshot holes.

They began to fume after a few seconds.

Houki remained frozen. She didn't know whether it was the fact that the German had opened fire on her with a small portable pistol —or the fact that Ichika had somehow a similar gun of his own in his hand— or him being chest-naked while there was a knife placed in boiling water nearby.

"You have deft fingers, Orimura," Laura remarked coldly. "Are you done trying to take my weapons? How did you even know I had one in my left boot?"

"I thought you'd have one per boot —never be caught unprepared," he replied with a grin.

Houki promptly fainted.

Laura growled as Ichika sheepishly handed back the gun.

Chifuyu Orimura, meanwhile, felt an impounding headache coming to hit the back of her head. She gazed at the pile of work in front of her —that had gathered during the time she had spent keeping an eye on Ichika in the hospital. With a heartfelt and heavy sigh, she began to work.

Hopefully, nothing would burn down.

It was just the first day of school after all.

//I don't want anyone to think there's a pairing cooking, because there isn't. I...I don't do pairings. //

 

[shadenight123]

That's because I don't actually start it with the pairing.
The pairing comes naturally as the story progresses.
That is to say, whenever you see a story of mine with 'pairing' it's because it developed with time.
There's no 'bullshitting love at first sight' or 'As soon as he saw her, something drummed in his chest, he had to have her! As soon as she saw him, something drummed in her chest, she had to have him!' stuff that seems the most used and horrendous clichè for pairing making on ff.net.

 

[shadenight123]

Yep. I don't do pairings. If along the way something strikes me as 'making some sense'. I go with it. Otherwise I don't.
That is to say, I don't start stories with a pairing in mind. I find it completely tasteless, like a 'rail-roading' of sorts.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Six "Lording Over Us All."

In this dark world of ashes, nothing remains but shadows of buildings cracked apart and bullets covering the ground.

A drop of blood falls.

Fire burns high, pure white in color.

It purifies, does it not?

The corpses curl on themselves, like flowers that have bloomed and now rest for the night.

The dead cannot harm you.

Ichika, do you remember my name?

Ichika, do you remember my name?

"Dākutaipu requesting Input from Pilot Ichika," the mechanical voice of his IS woke him up. From the computer in his room, the graphical rendition of the head of his Infinite Stratos peeked through to gaze at his resting form on the bed.

"It's four in the morning," he mumbled, rousing himself from his sleep.

"Dākutaipu sensed a variation in the brainwave patterns of Pilot Ichika. 'Nightmare' is the apt term for said variation. When 'Nightmare' occurs, the subject must wake up. Is that correct?"

"Yeah," Ichika yawned. "I'll go get ready for my run."

"Dākutaipu requested new Equalizers to its frame from the workshop to counter Close Quarters Combat. Dākutaipu is requesting Pilot Ichika's cooperation."

"Sure," Ichika yawned once more. "Let me grab a packed box for lunch."

The monitor of his computer turned off, his IS beeping softly from the chain on his neck. Ichika walked his way in the shower, and after a quick wash, he grabbed one of the many packed lunches that his sister Chifuyu had bought just recently.

He stepped outside in his jogging suit, brand new —and found inside one of his closets just that morning. He didn't know whether it was Chifuyu's silent way of caring for him, or if Dākutaipu had ordered it online and then had a military drone deliver it.

It wouldn't be the first time the IS hijacked military vessels for her own reasons.
Laura Bodewig was waiting for him just outside. She had a black jogging suit with a silver rabbit sewed on her chest. Her hair tied in a ponytail behind her back and a sour look on her face.
"Yes, Bodewig?"

"You hacked into the Academy's mainframes again," she remarked.

Ichika smiled as he began a light jog towards the workshop. "Yes, I did."

"That is—" and then she stopped. She stopped because as they left the dormitories, heading towards the building containing the workshop, another girl stood in a jogging suit and with a scornful look on her face. Houki Shinonono was calmly waiting outside, running on the same spot, eying them calmly.

"Hey, Ichika!" she waved at him, smiling, "What a coincidence, right! I had this silly dream last night and I decided to start jogging to clear my head…can I join you?"

"Shinonono," Laura said crisply, giving her a single eye-glare, "you are neither needed nor wanted."

"It's all right," Ichika smiled. "Jogging is for everyone," he added, picking up the pace. Houki followed right behind him, with Laura by her side as Ichika took the lead.

That early in the morning the academy was quiet, the birds chirping softly or tweeting from the branches overhead. Ichika was content enough in running around without a purpose —he always loved running laps, even in Phantom Task— but he had to reach the workshop and take care of business first.

"Have you already received an IS from the school, Ichika?" Houki asked, breaking the peaceful silence.

"I have a personal unit," he replied offhandedly.

"Oh…are you going to participate in the tournament? I don't know if you should with your sickness…"

"Orimura will participate," Laura stressed out, "And I will be his partner for it."

"What?" Houki exclaimed, "Stop speaking as if you've already decided it, German! You can't bully people into accepting your decisions!"

"Orimura-sensei decided as such," remarked Laura, "And you are too unskilled."

It was a moment. The two girls snapped at each other, stared at each other, and Ichika sidestepped with a quiet jog straight out of the road. The two girls kept on running, sniping insults, while he began to run in the opposite direction of the jog.

He reached the workshop alone, stepping inside as the security protocols gave way to Dākutaipu's insistence. The neat black frames of his IS stood built in the pile, and as he activated his IS, he watched once more the tendrils erupt from within its frame to grab at the new parts.

Upgrade to lower limb system analyzed. Upgrading drivers.

Equalizer Valkyrie for Close Quarters Combat installed. Rerouting Power Cords.

Equalizer Inertia Dampener Upgraded. Lowered Distance, Lowered Energy Consumption. Upgrading Back Armor Frame.

Increased Weight in IS frame. Shifting Balance. Installing Spinal Column Upgrade.

Dākutaipu IS-002 has now reached optimal mass for Middle-Weight Category Warfare Prototype. Self-Sustenance Modules Upgraded. The New Antarctica Treaty defines us as Illegal.

"So much for keeping a low profile," Ichika grunted from within the central frame of his IS, hearing the hisses and clicks of the frames outside wielded tightly together. The monitors within his armor showed him the once more changed appearance. His back had noticeably bulged out, lowering his maneuverability in mid-air. A long laser lance emerged from his right forearm, nestled in between the muzzles of the guns.

His back opened up, revealing a mesh of wires and lights that seemed to hum with energy.

Weight balanced. Suggest Practice Run. Close Quarters Combat defense enhanced. Suggest Showering in Phosphorus the German.

"Did you plan these upgrades to fight off Laura?"

Analyzed data. Improved IS based on data.

"Are you jealous?" he asked, amused.

Dākutaipu requesting Pilot input. Define 'Jealous'. Dākutaipu strives for self-improvement of IS frame and Pilot. That is the prime directive.

"Jealous means not liking it when someone else nears a person you like."

Dākutaipu does not like people manhandling its pilot. Is Dākutaipu jealous?

"Uh…no, that's…more like wanting to protect me, but Laura wasn't manhandling me. We were having fun."

Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Input. Is injuring another person fun? Is scarring another person fun? Is punching another person fun?

"It depends if it's a friendly spar or not."

Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Input. Were we having fun in Afghanistan? Were we having fun in Russia? Were we having fun in Brazil?

Ichika did not answer immediately.

Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Input. Were we having fun?

"N-Yes," he whispered out, his eyes closed and a grimace on his face, "We were."

I understand. Dākutaipu mood set to 'Jealous'. Dākutaipu wants to have fun with Pilot Ichika.

"We could go on a date," Ichika chuckled, "eat ice-cream and watch a movie…maybe later?"

Dākutaipu mood set to 'Pleased'. Dākutaipu will hold Pilot Ichika on to that.

"Sure," he whispered as the IS frame returned to its closed state. He walked outside, and returned to his jogging routine.

"You German loser!"

"You Japanese chink-eyes!"

"Those are the Chinese you're talking of, ignorant!"

"You're all the same in my eyes!"

Quietly, Ichika returned to jogging in front of the two —still hurling insults at one another. He hummed to himself as he finished the lap in front of the dormitory.

He stepped inside, heading for the shower.

When he left for the classroom, Bodewig and Shinonono were still fighting —albeit this time, they were in their school uniforms.

"Are you two done?" he asked softly. He was just about to step inside the classroom.

"Uh?" Houki said.

"I'm asking if you're done snapping at each other," he remarked. "You didn't even realize I wasn't jogging with you to begin with halfway through," he smiled as he stepped inside the classroom.

Laura's eye twitched. "O-Orimura!" she barked out, stomping her way inside. "What did you do!?"

Houki looked down at her hands, clenched tightly. Was she…annoying Ichika? She didn't remember Ichika like that, but…so many years had passed. Maybe he had changed, just as she had —what if she had changed for the worse? Ichika wouldn't be cold to her just because of that, right?

Quite a few miles away, under the cover of darkness, IS floated above the sky. The sensors pinged, the lips pursed in disgust. Below them, within the atmosphere, a military base turned dark.

"We're inside," a voice mechanically clicked to Madoka's ear. "Begin descent."

She smiled, thrusting her body down together with her IS. The heat turned the frame golden and crimson, as she and the four IS following her began descent back in the atmosphere.

"Squall," Madoka whined, "I want my toy back."

"Patience, M. Patience."

"But it's not fair!" Madoka's IS frame began to twirl in mid-air, "He's mine."

Caliber fifty bullets cut through the anti-air emplacements of the base with ease, exploding them into metallic shrapnel as the armed personnel readied their weapons. The small arms hit meaninglessly against the IS frames, ricocheting away.

From the barrel of her IS' guns, smoke drifted upwards as holes appeared in both persons and walls. The base's only IS craned its neck out of the hangar, trying to walk forward only for Autumn's spidery limbs to snap the enemy's legs and arms away.

The tail came crushing down on the female pilot's ribcage, before the IS frame shut down immediately, reverting to its closed state.

"And another IS for the collection!" Autumn said.

"I told you not to kill her," the voice of Squall came through the link. "You had to disobey my orders, didn't you?"

"Sorry," Autumn said. Madoka could imagine her with a smirk, licking her lips at the thought of the punishment for being a naughty girl. She grunted her disgust in the back of her mind. She didn't care if the two had a relationship —it didn't matter to her as long as she had her toy back.

"We'll talk more when we return to base," Squall said. "Leave without further bloodshed."

A tank round fired out of a garage, the ground vehicle emerging with its barrel still smoking. The bullet thrust Autumn back, her spider-IS losing one of its many limbs.

"You…" Autumn hissed, "You took away one of my precious legs, you bastards!" her IS soared forward, the legs glinting as they cut a path through the soldiers, blasting them into tiny chunks of blood and flesh.
The tank prepared another shot from its main barrel, only for three swift shots from Madoka's own IS to blow it up with the crew inside.

"I said no bloodbath," Squall ground her teeth.

"Too late for that," Madoka replied, "your lover is on a rampage."

"They took out one of my legs!" Autumn yelled, "I'm paying them back tenfold!"

"You sure like to choose them sane," Madoka quipped watching the carnage unfold.

"I don't think you can talk, M. They have a word for people like you in your country, right?" Squall replied dryly.

"I am just a concerned sister," Madoka said.

"Sure," Squall replied, "psycho."

Madoka didn't reply. A few tanks exploded once more as the bullets tore through their plating, columns of smoke rising up. "Air forces are scrambling up. Retreat out of the atmosphere, right now."

Autumn cackled as she flew upwards in a straight line with her seven legs reclining back on her IS central frame. Madoka followed after her, turning back to gaze at the burning base just one last time, before ejecting from her back a round sphere that began its descent.
The sphere shone as it hit the ground, before vaporizing in a cloud of scorching hot fire everything around its point of impact.

"I hope you like fireworks, brother of mine," Madoka whispered as her IS frame trembled from breaking the atmosphere and entering space. "Because I'll be giving you lots until I can hold you in my arms again…and scar that horrible face of yours again, and again, and again," she chuckled at first, but soon it became a full-out howl of laughter.

Back at the IS Academy, Ichika looked at the screen flickering in front of him. All that theory on IS frames made him gag. One didn't need to read a two-thousand thick book to understand that the IS was a semi-sentient machine geared primarily towards warfare through the use of optimal maneuverability and space flight, mixed with close combat options and enhanced mobility. The foot soldier protected by the IS' frame, with its heightened sensors and logistic capabilities was worth more than a thousand ships —as the White Knight incident demonstrated.

His eyes began to doze off.

The lessons were so boring…

He fell asleep.

There was a soft 'thud' in the classroom. Every single girl's breath stopped. All eyes settled on Orimura Ichika's back, as the boy began to snore, his arms crossed to work as a pillow for his head.

Chifuyu closed her eyes, massaging the bridge of her nose, before exhaling. She could understand Ichika falling asleep in class.

It was the second night she heard him scream in his room from his nightmares after all.

She'd let it go.

Just this time, however…just…this time.

 

[shadenight123]

Things are happening and I get to see more character interaction that happens to be very interesting, especially lessons on human emotion for Dākutaipu.

How much experience does Ichika have as a pilot?

Click to shrink...

It's answered in that very same chapter.
Afghanistan, Brazil, Russia. (The last one is a foreshadowing)
And at the first chapter. 'Phantom Task' is divided in the bureaucracy and the 'Phantom Task' itself. To be called a 'Phantom Task' (It's actually the name of Squall's group from what I got from the wiki) you need to be very, very good. Basically put, Ichika Orimura is like Sousuke Sagara. Only, without all that extreme 'everything can be an enemy' thing and stuff -because Ichika is naturally laidback by himself.

 

[shadenight123]

Will Tatenashi and Kansashi have experience with him?

Click to shrink...

~who knows~

in all honesty though, I wanted a more juicy approach to the two other girls than the writer's 'It's a Harem Story, let's add girls like this for no reason' vibe I got from it. Frankly? If Ichika ends up 'frenemies' with half his Canon-Harem, I'll consider it like having done my job. Especially because I rather enjoy interactions that aren't the Harem-Trope of 'He's average, but I love him because I saw him act one or twice as a chivalric hero and so my crush has devolved in me following him around like a lost puppy, competing for his love in any way possible'.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Seven: "From Russia With Love, the barrel of the gun is crimson."

Ichika consumed his packed lunch in silence, his back against the concrete wall of the stairs' cubicle, outside on the roof of the academy. The silent clouds stretched up, high in the sky.
His fingers itched. He wanted to open fire. He wanted to hear the sound of his guns, the bullets ricocheting or tearing apart concrete walls. He felt unease just staying there, doing nothing.
He couldn't stay there doing absolutely nothing —he'd go mad before the end of the day.

Ichika Orimura began to shadow box the moment he finished his lunch. He wanted to fight. He wanted the adrenaline running through his body, he wanted to feel those single instants where time stilled and the difference between life and death was Dākutaipu.

He needed those instants.

He desired those instants where he was a hero to himself.

Dākutaipu requesting pilot input.

"What is it?"

Dākutaipu warns of approaching high-speed target from the stairwell.

Ichika jumped, rolling to the side of the concrete cubicle as the door of the stairwell banged open, revealing an irate Laura.

"ORIMURA!" the silver-haired girl barked. "Come out now, you thief!"

He twirled a combat knife in his right hand.

"Not my fault you keep your knives at hand," he replied, smiling brightly as he stepped out into the light. Laura spun, gripping a knife herself.

"Are you going to keep on insisting on this? We could do this after school," she pressed, slowly lowering her body and starting to turn to flank him —just as he began doing the same. They circled each other, keeping their eyes set.

"I'm bored," Ichika muttered. "I'm bored like hell. Aren't you bored too? I'm supposed to be fighting. I never had a dull moment in Phantom Task. Always going around, always training…and now I should adjust to this carefree life? I can't. I want to do things. I want to fight, to bleed, to make people bleed and I want to fire and live. What reason do I have to keep on being here, if I'm not of use? What reason is there for a soldier to stand in a school doing nothing!?"

Laura's lips thinned, her eye glazing over for just a second.

In that moment, Ichika pounced on the chance and thrust himself forward. Laura answered trying to slash at him, but she was too late on the uptake. Ichika ducked on the ground, before swinging a kick at Laura's hand and making her let go of the knife that spun in the air for a while before clattering messily on the floor.

"Isn't that what you've been thinking until now, Laura Bodewig?" Ichika whispered, holding his knife right next to her neck. "You're the perfect soldier, are you not? Germany's finest, trained since birth for a single purpose," his fingers delicately traced around her eye patch. "And then they butchered your body," he added in a low hiss, "When you became obsolete, they patched your body and ripped out your eye because it wasn't perfect enough for them. You were a perfect land soldier…but a very poor IS pilot, isn't that right?"

"The files speaking of it…that information," Laura replied, her voice low and threatening, "It's meant to be confidential."

"There is nothing Dākutaipu cannot find, Laura," Ichika gently said, with kindness in his voice. "Don't you understand? Dākutaipu can access closed networks. That's how it managed to enter the military databanks, even though they're offline from the main networks. Using a specific set of frequencies, she can send electrical impulses in the circuitry as complex commands of zeroes and ones and obtaining access from the inside-out. There is nothing on this world that Dākutaipu cannot obtain, Laura Bodewig…"

That was when the sound of a gun being primed clicked on the rooftop.

"Get away from me, Orimura," Laura hissed out.

"I don't think you want me to get away, Laura," Ichika replied. "You know me. You understand me. We're the same. You know what it feels like to be used and to be abandoned…" his left hand cupped her cheek. "You're a beautiful soldier, Laura Bodewig. Think of the things we could do together, if only you stopped believing in their fake smiles and their promises…I could show you."

The gun fired.

The bullet froze in the barrel of the gun.

"The Active Inertia Dampener has been active since I began talking to you," Ichika smiled as he said that, his back glowing softly as the partial materialization of Dākutaipu beeped its agreement, "the range is practically that of my clothes, but the power consumption is drastically reduced. I have bullet-proof powers now," he kept on his smile.

"What makes you think I won't report this?"

"You haven't reported anything to Chifuyu yet. You haven't reported anything to anyone. You are bidding your time because you've been asked to. Germany wants their super-soldier to gather all she can about phantom task, before killing the pilot and acquiring the IS core for themselves…don't they?" Ichika's left arm slowly came around Laura's neck, "But you see, they made a mistake. They shouldn't have sent you."

"And why is that?" she stressed out.

"Two reasons, actually…one, you have nanomachines inside your body," Ichika kept up his smile, "And two, because I know who your parents are."

He let go of her shoulders then, twirling the gun he had just filched off her in his other hand. "So, Laura Bodewig —Bodewig isn't your real surname, since you're a test-tube baby to begin with— what says you? Don't you want to come over to my side?" he added with a nod. "It will be fun, I promise. We will fight, we will be great…"

"You're a psychopath," Laura exclaimed. "I—You're lying. And even if you weren't, I'm a tube-baby…you said so yourself," her voice softened up, "I have no parents but DNA strings. Nothing but drops of blood or strands of hair…they didn't need anything else to make me."

"But if you don't ask, you'll never find out," Ichika hummed, pocketing the knife and the gun as he walked away from the roof. "I'm keeping these, by the way. You think hard about my offer, all right? There's this tournament thing coming up soon too and I really want to have you as my partner."

Ichika closed the door of the stairwell behind him, and began to whistle as he walked down. "Eavesdropping is a bad thing to do, Shinonono," he remarked offhandedly to the girl in question, who stood with her back against the wall one floor below.

"A-Ah? Uh? What?" Houki stammered out. "No, no, I was just coming up this instant for some fresh air that's all. I didn't hear anything…"

"Good," Ichika smiled. "That's a very good thing."

He waved her goodbye.

Skipping the afternoon class would do him some good. He wandered off, his legs carrying him once more towards the arena. If he was in luck, maybe someone was sparring in there. If he wasn't in luck and the arena was empty…well, it was the same thing anyway.

He was in luck. The older years were sparring —and there was quite the crowd of people cheering on the president of the student council.

"Kyah! President!" a cheerful chorus roared out as the IS of the student president came down from the sky, flying majestically and…

It was the Mysterious Lady. The blue and cerulean IS belonging to the Tatenashi family's head. Was it…did it mean the head of the family enemy to Phantom Task was actually a student enrolled at the academy?

Dākutaipu requesting pilot Ichika's input. Maximum Alert.

They had met more than once in battle, over the cold and frigid Russian tundra. They had fought over the roofs of Moscow once too, and always…always…

He had lost.

Well, it wasn't actually losing if you retreated because your job was done, but he had yet to best her in battle.
This…oh, this was just plain amusing.
The Mysterious Lady, stripped bare of its combat armor frame and reduced to a silly sportswear. This was rich.
He could end it. He could actually end it.
The problem would be his cover. He could try to kill her and then make a run for it, but that would actually force him back into the Phantom Task organization —he'd be a lead point, certainly, probably assigned his own group— but at the same time it would definitively lock him in with the terrorist organization.

As he was now, he was pleasantly grey.

He liked grey, just as he liked black. He turned to leave, but just as he did that, an alert rang out through all of Dākutaipu's systems.
There was the loud sound of a crash, as a giant lance embedded itself a few inches away from his feet.

"My! A firstie!" Tatenashi's voice came through her IS' quite cheerfully, even as the venom dripping in her tone was something new to the other students —he was quite accustomed to it on the other hand. "Shouldn't you be having lessons?" the Russian IS pilot gripped her lance and firmly plucked it effortlessly out from the ground.

"Oh," Ichika smiled, ignoring Dākutaipu's requests of initiating combat. "The student council president is so cool I just wanted to come and see her fight!" He smiled brightly, inclining his head to the side with his best cheesy grin.

"You have a familiar IS, did you know that?" Tatenashi said. "Say, how about we spar?"

"Student council president!" a few other girls in their inactive form IS exclaimed then, "There's no need to waste your time with someone like him!"

"Yeah, he should just go back to class!" As those words echoed, a few sheepish first years on the arena rows tried their best to hide their bodies from the scrutiny of their peers.

"No, no," Tatenashi raised her hands, "I have the hunch this firstie is quite the tough nut to crack, and I won't even get to fight him in the tournament —a pity, that would have been a nationwide transmission of a public beating." She groaned wallowing in mock-despair.

"For yourself without a doubt, Rusty," Ichika hissed out.

"Now don't get too feisty with me, Burning Pants," Tatenashi replied with quite a —in Ichika's opinion— smug grin hidden by her visor. "You might need someone to douse you off."

"Have the children leave the arena grounds," Ichika replied, "You wouldn't want any of them to get burned, would you?"

"Now, now, is that a threat?" Tatenashi's voice grew icy, "Are you threatening me, Sizzling Charcoal?"

"Why would I, Wrinkled Skin?"

"My skin is not wrinkled! I don't have wrinkles!" Tatenashi burst out, pointing her lance at him. "That's it! Enough chit-chat! Come and fight me, Car Exhaustion Gas!"

"Car…Exhaustion…Gas?" Ichika raised an eyebrow, "What sort of insult is that now? It's something a child would use. I'm Dark Type, Dākutaipu. And since you want to spar…who am I to say no? I was just finding this place boring to begin with!"

"Council President! You can't—" one of the IS-pilots with the inactive IS said, only for her to be brutally pushed backwards by Tatenashi's IS as a bullet fired on the spot she had been but a second before.

"Tell them to leave the grounds —or they'll be targets," Ichika remarked, slowly starting to float up as the Dākutaipu finished taking form.

The IS looked ugly. It had a stocky and squared center, with the back pulsing with bright blue blights. Coffin-shaped steel frames floated in a circular pattern around his forearms, the crackling energy between arching like electricity. The heating plasma vents hurled to life, emitting a nearly transparent fog and a light sulfurous smell as they began to vent off the heat.
Powerful lower limbs held the IS afloat.

"The more the time passes," Tatenashi said curtly, "The uglier your IS gets."

Dākutaipu mode set to 'Enraged'. Dākutaipu will deal with personal offenses using phosphorous and plasma.

"Evolution doesn't have to be pretty," Ichika replied, "It has to be effective."

The coffin-shaped framed began to spin faster. Suddenly, they began to emit a whirring noise.
The expulsion of a thousand tiny plasma spheres the size of yen-coins from his forearms forced the Mysterious Lady to bring up its water shields, as the barrage and the following explosions rocked the arena and heated up the air.
The dust lifted as the shocked crowd on the rows stared below at the two IS-pilots preparing for quite the rough spar.

Tatenashi smiled.

Ichika smiled.

Silence stretched thin as neither of the two IS-pilots seemed willing to make the first move. They studied each other, trying to gauge the possible reactions of every tiny single act they might do to fight off one another special abilities, trying to sense just what level they would have to up the ante to in order to win…and in the serious silence of such a confrontation…

A third IS entered the arena with a sharp, childish scream. Her IS had a purple and black frame, with large purple gauntlets and V-shaped black legs.

"Ichika! Where have you been all this time!? I thought you'd come to find me sooner, I mean, I even prepared your favorite food!"

Ichika blinked.

Tatenashi blinked.

"Uhm…" they both muttered at the same time, "Who are you?" they said at the same time, turning towards the intruder.

Needless to be said, Lingyin Huang did not like that at all.

//Author's notes – I'm going for fast-paced rather than slow-writing that I'm used to. No long waiting before introducing people, stuff, characters…hopefully, I'll manage to also pick up fast-characterization along the way. And also, correcting quite the faulty troubles in the Anime-version of this where Lingyin gets literally no screentime at all most of the time...urgh.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Eight "The Russians' Stubbornness is the Motherland's Steel."

Speed Insufficient for optimal thrusting. Dākutaipu requesting pilot input. Should we proceed to Ignition?

"Take an educated guess!" Ichika snapped back, thrusting forward his right arm as the energy lance —trademark of Laura's IS, burst to life to counter the Mysterious Lady's own.
The lance of cackling energy slammed with roaring strength against the lance of steel and nanomachines, sizzling as clouds of dust, of water and sparkling energy ionized in deafening explosions.

Dākutaipu requesting pilot input. How can a guess be educated? Is it taught at a guess-school?

"Dākutaipu! Check the definitions on the dictionary and activate the lateral thrusters!" Ichika barked quickly, slamming his left arm to the tip of the lance to pivot it out of the way, before letting go.

The black IS frame shoved itself to the side as four bursts of the lance gun pierced the clouds, where a second before he had been. The Mysterious Lady charged in hot pursuit, reaching for the sky. In that moment, Ichika pulled his entire body weight backwards, falling to the ground fast and in a spinning motion.

Dākutaipu suggest countering with long range. We are unequipped for long-range tactics —a flaw in the design that will need corrections.

The frames shifted, thrusters exchanging place and crawling their way towards the forearms' exteriors. The plasma barrels detached, igniting the rear thrusters and opening up, going from coffins to steel petals that began delivering covering fire.

"That is what I hate of you and your IS!" Tatenashi barked out, diverting her course to the left quickly. "YOU CHEAPSHOT SPARKLE!"

The plasma bullets crashed on the ground, sizzling and igniting.

"Shut it, overgrown smurf!" Ichika retorted. "I still can't believe that your natural hair color is blue!"

"It's sky-blue, not just blue!" Tatenashi screamed back, "And you'll never know, because girls don't tell psychos!" There was heat in her voice as she began curving upwards, opening fire on the petals. Two of them exploded, before their falling remains ended up caught by Ichika's frame and held tightly by overextending cables.

Dākutaipu applying self-repairing protocols.

"As if I'd let you repair!" Tatenashi roared, charging ahead while firing from her lance. Dākutaipu cartwheeled to the right, avoiding the anti-tank bullets.

Ichika's IS shoulder pads popped open, releasing swarms of tiny missiles that flew their way towards the Council President, exploding in mid-air to release a shower of pure white powder on the assaulting girl.

"Your tricks are getting old!" the Russian girl said, activating her frame's defensive protocols.

Water flowed out from Tatenashi's IS frame, gripping into a cerulean sphere the phosphorous, holding the deadly dust inside as it crashed on the ground in a wet splotch. Clouds of white smoke began to rise from the floor of the arena.

The firing petals opened up once more, the repairs completed. Buzzing away from Dākutaipu's frame, they reopened fire. This time, Tatenashi charged forward, using the water as a pair of shields —with the form of her wings. Yet the petals now held sideways smaller thrusters, allowing them to spin and avoid the previous gunning down.

The water shields pushed forward, deflecting the myriad of tiny blows as Tatenashi clicked her tongue in distaste. The water sizzled, but held even as the shields pulled aside, letting the Mysterious Lady's lance stab push forward, clashing once more against the Dākutaipu's energy lance and ceasing the barrage of plasma for fear of friendly fire.

"Well? Nothing new?" Tatenashi smiled, "Come on! Already doused are you, tiny fire? I know you have more than that! I know it, so deliver or die, you and that cheap piece of trash you call an IS!"

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Angry'. Dākutaipu initiating Ignition Mode. Deactivating all non-essential equalizers.

"You asked for this," Ichika's voice mixed with a light mechanical undertone.

White streaks erupted from the IS' frames, shrouding the Dark Type in a robe of white fumes. The temperature began to rise. The vents and the thrusters roared; their speed increased. The frames opened up between one another of just a few inches, venting out scorching hot waves of air that mixed with the humidity produced by the Mysterious Lady, evaporating into clouds.

"This is more like it," Tatenashi said. "Do you remember that time in Moscow? Your scorching heat melted the ice off the Kremlin's roof."

"Let's test the strength of the arena's shields," Ichika replied, a smile on his face as he began to sweat from the rising heat.

Red angry lines interwove with the black frames, replacing the blue ones of the energy core. The Dākutaipu's back burst open like a six-petal flower, releasing the overheated and complex network of cables surrounding the extra batteries. Frames and cables moved on their own, tiny flickers of light working at superhuman speed flashed by, cutting, creating, morphing, swapping, changing and doing all of it in the midst of battle.

Tatenashi deflected Ichika to the side, thrusting to the right. The Mysterious Lady deftly avoided the shower of plasma bullets, opening fire once more the moment she was far from the Dākutaipu. She spun in mid-air, gripping her lance and pulling her arm back.

She opened fire with her lance, the bullets tearing apart chunks of armored frame from the IS cockpit's central frame.
Ichika grunted at the rumbling, his eyes looking beyond the screens and to the now dented metal.

"Dākutaipu!" Ichika roared as he twisted his body away from another barrage, "Complete Ignition!"

The lower limbs burst in flames, as the IS' frames shifted rapidly, realigning themselves into a sleeker form with six floating panels of steel at the back, held together by the magnetic strength of the now air-free generator alone.

"Is that…second form?" Lingyin whispered from her seat in the rows —and the only one waving the Go-Ichika flag, albeit grudgingly. She had conceded to let Ichika deal with the haughty-looking Russian, but then she was going to get her answers out of him.

The Active Inertia Dampener literally ignited, forming an invisible shield around Ichika's frame to keep him from burning by his own flames.

"This is more like it," Tatenashi muttered, her eyes glazed over as she licked her lips. The six floating frames suddenly jerked upwards, their tips opening fire with concentrated laser beams. The Mysterious Lady avoided them, spinning in mid-air like a dancer. Rainbows formed where the lasers hit the drops of water, giving off an awe-inspiring spectacle to the students in the rows.

"Cute," Ichika hissed out in pain. "They think it's a show."

Dākutaipu counters analyzed. Preparing homing missiles.

Ichika charged forward, the temperature on his IS frame quickly rising as the Mysterious Lady accepted his challenge, rushing against him in return.
He smiled, as time slowed down and his heart began to drum. This…this was what he dreamed. The power, the thrumming heat, the sweat on his brow and the adrenaline through his body were his sin, his reason to be. He needed this, more than anything else. He needed this battle against an opponent worthy of him.
He pulled his elbows back, before executing an uppercut with his right hand against the lance's side, sending it up in the air as his left proceeded to slam straight through the midriff of the Mysterious Lady.
The frame of Tatenashi burned, igniting in a split-second as the phosphorous particles heated and ready to prime at the smallest of touches.
The copy of water detonated; the nanomachines within fried themselves up.

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Sulky'. Dākutaipu hates it when she does that.

Two feet slammed against Ichika's back, appearing out of nowhere. "Light reflection with the water," Tatenashi yelled out in victory, pulling down Ichika from the skies. "What do you say about my new trick!?"

Igniting rear thrusters.

Dākutaipu's back thrusters began to burn brightly, the flames sizzling against the water-covered feet of the Mysterious Lady's frame. Tatenashi kicked off, "Hot! Hot!" she moaned…and in that moment, she realized the six floating metal wing-like long-range batteries had surrounded her. The flying petals assumed position above and beneath her, before opening fire once more.

The water shield completely surrounded Tatenashi, even as Ichika's IS brought the now sleeker right arm forward, wielding an energy sword bursting in electricity and flames.

"Stationary targets," Ichika smiled, "Are the ones I like the best!"

The water shield began to evaporate.
In that moment, a sonic boom echoed from above Ichika's head, soon followed by the parting of the overhead clouds as another Mysterious Lady charged down, lance swirling with water and cackling with energy. Ichika growled, beginning his ascension as the water clone trapped by his ranged weapons dispersed. The electromagnetic field quickly called back the assorted weaponry to Ichika's side, which began a forward barrage of deadly plasma and laser beams.

"You know what I hate about you!?" Tatenashi screamed as she felt the air roar all around her due to her speed, "The fact that you're so damn persistent with your cheap shots!"

Due to her having broken the sound barrier, the words actually emerged after the straight-out clash of Ichika's energy sword against Tatenashi's lance.
The explosion that followed began quietly, yet exploded outright in a cacophony of sounds as the air pressure plummeted and rose. Waves of steam began to rise in the air and around the two fighters, who ended up through the momentum of their collision crashing on the ground, leaving behind a giant crater on the arena's ground.

Ichika wobbled back on his feet, his IS frame twitching and with small sparks covering its metallic body. Some cables, shredded by the attack, twitched as they began to reattach themselves.

Dākutaipu's energy levels low. Repair required to main battery and equalizers.

"Well…you improved…since last time," Tatenashi chuckled as she too stood back up with her IS frame in a slightly better condition, but her breathing was short and her shoulders trembled from the effort. "It's still my win."

"Homing missiles," Ichika replied calmly, as his shoulder pads opened up once more to reveal the heads of said primed armaments. "Never forget the homing missiles."

Tatenashi's eyes widened as her arms came up to cover her face, just as the barrage of twenty and more missiles descended on her and exploded, lifting clouds of dust everywhere.

"Gah!" Tatenashi groaned, falling down on one knee. "Bastard! Cheap shot! Cheater! That's…that's cheating, you bastard!"

"There was no phosphorous in the missiles," Ichika pointed out. "You know what it means, don't you?"

Tatenashi exhaled. "It should be my win. In your conditions, you would be dead after just a few days in Moscow. You wouldn't even be able to retrofit your IS without access to a workshop of sorts."

"Are you climbing on mirrors, Tatenashi?"

"Yes, I am," Tatenashi nodded. "Because you know it's true..." and holding her lance in her right hand, she fired a shot on the ground, "And I still have a functioning weapon."

"Draw?"

"Draw," Tatenashi nodded.

"That makes…seven?"

"Eight," Tatenashi growled as she and Ichika deactivated there IS at the same time. "Eight…times…" she wobbled, before falling forward.

She fell in the mud face first, while Ichika limped his way next to her and then fell down opposite of her.

They both gazed at the sky from their crater of mud.

"You remember that time I crashed in Siberia?" Ichika pointed out, exhaling loudly.

"You mean, that time I totally trashed your ass, but you had Phantom Task haul you off and avoided mentioning little old me hidden in the mine?"

"Yeah," Ichika muttered. "I didn't want to kill you back then. I didn't want to kill anyone…can you believe that was my first deployment with live enemy engagement?"

"Your first deployment was in Siberia? They must love their rookies at Phantom Task," Tatenashi snorted. "So what, you grew rotten over the years?"

"Time passed, people…came and went. I changed. You changed. That time, I survived thanks to Dākutaipu…I still survive thanks to her mostly."

"Easy mode for pilot failures," Tatenashi said crisply, a note of bitterness in her voice. "It stunts your growth," she whispered, "Having such a crutch."

"We grow together," Ichika replied, lifting his right hand up in the sky, his left clutching his pendant. "And we die together."

"That's…probably the one thing I envy you," Tatenashi whispered, turning her face to the side to gaze at Ichika, "That bond…and it's also the one thing that frightens me. My family fought Phantom Task for generations…what did they do to a child such as you, to turn you into such a depraved creature?"

"Oh, that's simple," Ichika replied. "They gave me a trustworthy, most beautiful friend."

Dākutaipu requesting pilot Ichika input. Isn't Dākutaipu Phantom Task gift to Pilot Ichika?

"Yes, that's what I meant," Ichika muttered.

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Happy'. Compliments make people happy, correct?

"Yes, they do," he whispered, his eyes closing for just a moment.

A weight, a heavy weight, suddenly settled on his chest making him lurch upwards. "Don't you dare ignore me!" Lingyin yelled then, having apparently descended the crater and jumped on his stomach. "Do you remember me, Ichika? I'm Lingyin! Your childhood friend! Come on, we promised each other undying love over sweet sour pork!"

Ichika blinked.

"Lingyin?" he said, hesitantly.

"Yes!" she retorted, nodding vividly. He brought his hands around her back, pulling her down to embrace her. Lingyin's face turned crimson. "Gah! I-Ichika! What are you doing! Shameless! In public —but if you're this happy to see me again, then…"

"Shh…" he whispered.

"Uh?"

"It's starting soon," he said. Tatenashi just smiled.

And then, it began to softly rain down on the arena.

"That time it snowed," Tatenashi chuckled. "Didn't it?"

"What time? When?" Lingyin asked, curious. "Let's get out of here —it's raining!"

"It's fine," Ichika and Tatenashi said at the same time. "It's just water…cools off."

Lingyin stood back up quickly, before helping Ichika back on his feet. A few second years had meanwhile moved to help the student council president up, and now they were staring in awe at her and Ichika.

"It was…beautiful! President! You were so beautiful and majestic and all those tricks! You showed—"

"Enough," Tatenashi said curtly, waving a hand off. "Let me enjoy the rain in silence."

The girls quieted up. Laura and Houki arrived on Ichika's side after a few minutes —having finally found him— together with Chifuyu. "You are in so much trouble, the lot of you," Chifuyu hissed as she stepped forward, grabbing Ichika by the shoulders and giving a firm look over.

"It's all right professor —I was the one who asked, fufufu," Tatenashi replied with a smirk, taking out her fan and flapping it in front of her -acting as if her energies had all been restored already.

The words 'Council President' flashed on it. "In fact, this was all a test to see if Ichika was suitable," she continued. "I want him as Vice-President of the student council."

"You recover quickly, Sarashiki," Chifuyu said curtly. "What about the current Vice-President?"

"Ah, he'll leave on his own," Tatenashi shrugged. "I want only interesting people in my council!" she laughed with a mock-evil tone, fanning herself under the rain.

That was how Ichika Orimura, under the light drizzle formed after the battle, became Vice-President.

// As always, exploring new grounds, toying with the continuum, going where no fanfiction ever went. Welcome to the Shadenight express. Next stop: Lingyin expansion pack is installed. That said, the second form is the Ignition Mode. (He calls it Ignition Mode. It's actually Second Form) For a better image, those who played ZOE and know of Anubis know what I meant with the six floating things on its back of wing-like shape.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Nine. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun."

The Student Council room had wide windows and large desks, shelves neatly lined against one wall and drawers on the other side. Giving her back to the window, Tatenashi Sarashiki proceeded to shred the latest reports on the Dākutaipu's armament and frames. It was useless anyway.
She clicked her tongue against the back of her teeth, drumming her hand on the side of the shredding machine. It was like fighting an ever-changing tide. She could feel it in the back of her mind, the sensation of hopelessness. Of course, her IS would be upgraded. Of course, humanity would keep on looking for better ways to kill each other, for more efficient ways of producing frames and training IS pilots. At the same time, Dākutaipu would do the same.

Her enemy had never been Ichika Orimura —he was a victim of circumstances, a host for the deadliest parasite ever to be born. The IS was the real culprit…for everything.

The fact the Dākutaipu could initiate second shift already was troublesome, but that wasn't the true crux of the matter. Its one-off ability…she had no idea what it could be. Maybe the second shift was its one-off ability. Or maybe the natural ever-changing form of the Dākutaipu gave it access to infinite different one-off abilities.
What if it could copy the Mysterious Lady down to its tiniest of screws, and gain its second shift form and one-off ability? What if it could do the same with any IS in production?

Terrifying.

The Dākutaipu was terrifying.

The door slid open, and she turned with a fan to cover her face. The kanji for the words 'Official Business' glinted on it. "Yes?"

"I'm the new transfer student," the female replied with a cheesy smile.

"Aren't you a bit too old to be a transfer student?" Tatenashi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I kid, I kid." The woman waved her hand, pushing her long and wavy blond hair behind her shoulders. "The tournament is coming up, is it not?"

"And why would the in-charge representative of nation A—"

"Oh, come on, it's America…it's not like we're a big bad country that needs to be called 'A' country." She smiled cheekily. "And the higher ups want to know where the hell our info on the Dākutaipu went." Her eyes lowered to the shredder. "You've been a bad girl, haven't you?"

"This is no longer valid information," Tatenashi said, fanning her face. "I wouldn't do such a sloppy job as to hand over old and no longer usable data."

"I suppose not." The woman stepped forward, slowly circling around the desks. "You are treading on thin ice however."

"Oh?" Tatenashi raised an eyebrow. "From my point of view, you are the one who don't know what you're doing."

"I'm here just to deliver a friendly reminder," the woman said. "We want data on the Dākutaipu, and we want it first. That's not difficult, is it?"

"Don't you know stress will make your skin wrinkle?" Tatenashi said with a faint smile.

"Naughty children don't get presents for Christmas," the woman replied. "You understand, right?"

"Of course," Tatenashi exhaled. "I never forgot."

"Good! See you in a week then, young miss."

"Bring my thanks to uncle Sam, Natasha," Tatenashi replied. The moment Natasha Fairs left the room Tatenashi closed with a curt snap her fan and returned to her desk. She sighed, pushing with her feet to let her chair spin.

Elsewhere, in the dining hall for the students, Ichika split the chopsticks and began to eat the hall's dinner. Laura Bodewig was chewing through what looked like a military ration and drinking from her plastic container water —or a protein shake of sorts.

Houki nervously fidgeted with her chopsticks, eying the darkening sky. She was unused to eating dinner in the cafeteria, but apparently, Ichika and Laura didn't mind. Hence, she didn't mind too. The British Cadet didn't mind either, judging by how she was sitting alone in the corner of the dining hall.

Lingyin had taken her meal out from her bag —it was sweet and sour pork— and had begun to fidget with it.

"Do you remember me, just a little?" Lingyin asked, worry etched on her face.

"Lingyin Huang, China's representative cadet," Ichika replied. "We went to school together for one year, didn't we?"

"Yes," Lingyin exhaled, nodding as a smile blossomed on her face. "I'm glad you remember."

"How could I forget?" he replied, giving her a light smile.

Laura suddenly stood straight with her back, before turning to give a glare towards Ichika. The next moment, under the table, her knife returned silently.

"If you like them so much, I'll see what I can do with the supply quartermaster," Laura grumbled.

"Uh?" Houki asked, not understanding.

"Nothing," Ichika and Laura both said at the same time.

Houki swallowed nervously, not knowing what to say. Lingyin came to the rescue.

"I saw you fight in the arena against the Student Council President…you were awesome! Where did you learn to pilot your IS like that? At first, I thought it was ugly, with how blocky and slow it was, but then it opened up! That was second form, wasn't it?"

Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Ichika input. Why do people believe a military machine needs to be pretty? Dākutaipu should be effective, not pretty. Right?

"Yes," Ichika replied, both to Dākutaipu and to Lingyin.

Dākutaipu requesting pilot Ichika's input. Should I modify the form for increased speed?

He tapped softly the silver chain at his neck, muttering in a low tone. "There's no need."

Lingyin blinked. "Oh," her tone felt pained. "I see," she muttered, her head low. "You already have someone preparing you lunch."

Ichika blinked. "Sorry, I wasn't talking to you, Lingyin. What were you saying?"

"I was saying," here she brought up her head once more, eyes shining, "That if you'd like, I could make you sweet and sour pork for lunch every day."

"Ah…" Ichika grimaced, looking sideways. "There are…memories associated with that. Thank you for the offer, but I no longer like it."

Lingyin made a bitter smile. "Right," she whispered. "Tastes change after all…" she clenched her fists, "B-But I learned how to make other things too," she hastily added. "I know how to make meat dumplings, stir-fry, and lots of other stuff both Chinese and Japanese. Wouldn't you…like it, if I made you lunch one day?"

"Well," Ichika replied, "If you really want to do it…"

"Yes!" Lingyin nodded, happy. "I do!"

"I wasn't watching the fight," Houki said after a few moments. "But you haven't answered Lingyin's question." She looked at Ichika with worry on her face. "Where did you learn to fight like that? Aren't you…sick? How can a sick person fight the Council President to a draw?"

"There are two types of sickness, Houki," Ichika replied, "The ones of the body, and the ones of the mind." He hummed in pleasure as he chewed on the fish in his plate. "And Dākutaipu helps a lot in dealing with my sickness."

He blinked. "Right, does anyone know where the cinemas are around the Academy?"

"Cinema?" Lingyin asked. "You want to go to the cinema?"

"Yes," Ichika replied. "I promised, so I have to keep my promise."

Lingyin blushed. "A-Are you, do you mean our childhood promise?"

Ichika frowned, before shaking his head. "Sorry Lingyin, but it's better if you find someone else. I'm damaged goods," he chuckled, "we can still be friends if you wish, but I'm not going to lead you by the nose. I'm not looking for a relationship, not now."

Lingyin's eyes widened for a brief instant, before she clenched her hands to her chest tightly. "I—I don't mind if you're damaged goods, Ichika. I l—liked you for a very long time, so…"

"We knew each other for only a year, Lingyin," Ichika replied, "And then a lot of things changed. It would be better to start as friends, without promises of any sort to tie us down…I'm a very different person from the child I was before."

Lingyin breathed in and out deeply, before whispering a meek 'fine'.

Houki's eyes softened as she spoke next. "I…I don't think you changed much at all, Ichika," she muttered. "You're still kind."

Ichika's shoulders began to tremble. "I'm anything but kind, Houki," he replied. "You simply haven't become my enemy."

"What happened?" Houki asked, "What happened that changed you?"

Ichika gave back a bitter smile, before shaking his head.

It was a dark room. There was nothing in that room but silence and darkness.

There were chains, shackles, iron thorns…and a devilish and childish laughter.

"Nothing worth repeating over dinner," he finally said. "Let's talk about something else. Any good films you can suggest me?"

"How about we go all together?" Houki said, "And we can decide on the spot?"

Laura tensed. "It would be better for civilians to stay out of this."

"You are not the one who decides what is good for Ichika or not," Houki hissed back.

"I'm the Chinese's cadet," Lingyin replied with a bright smile, "And I have received military training." Her smile turned feral as one of her teeth showed up, looking like a small fang. "You want to bet I can snap you in half, German?"

"I would like to see you try, Chink-eyes."

"At least I'm not a Cyclops."

Lingyin growled. Laura narrowed her eye. Sparks sailed in the air between them.

"Is there trouble in paradise, mister Special Case?" Cecilia Alcott spoke then, having neared the table where the girls bickered with her usual swaying of the hips and a haughty smirk on her face. She brought the back of her right hand up towards her mouth, before laughing with an unnerving voice. "To think I heard the most interesting of lies. You, having a draw with the Student Council President? I cannot believe what falsities are spread around the Academy."

Dākutaipu requesting pilot input. Permission to deploy head-crushing arm?

Ichika smiled.

"Do you want to battle it out?"

Cecilia took a step backwards, before smirking. "Why not? I, Cecilia Alcott, Representative of the British Kingdom, accept your challenge."

"Good," he replied. "It seems like I won't need the cinema after all. We're going to have fun."

Laura tensed. "Alcott," she barked out, "You should think about this carefully."

Dākutaipu interacting with International Database for Cadet Representative. Firewall doused. Mood changed to 'Victorious'. IS model found. Blue Tears, Third Generation, Area of Expertise located. Multiple Enemy Combat on long range fronts. Sniper-Type. Drone-Support Equalizers enabled. Combat Statistics of pilot A-rank. Confrontation would be fun. I accept the challenge.

Dākutaipu mood changed to 'Smug'. Have her eat the dirt would be fun.

"You're quite fired up," Ichika muttered, tapping his IS in its closed form.

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Neutral'. I will protect Pilot Ichika and the value of his skills. If they offend Pilot Ichika's skills, I will show no mercy.

"Shouldn't that mood be 'Confident' rather?" he whispered. He was ignoring the way Laura was trying to convince Cecilia to back off.

No. Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Contrite'. Statement of facts is 'Neutral'. 'Confident' means turning facts into reality before saying them. I am Confident I can crush her head. We already crushed heads before.

"Alcott, this is for your own good," Laura remarked, "A pampered and spoiled princess like you has no place on the battlefield."

"I know what is good for myself," Cecilia huffed back. "Don't worry, I won't try to steal away your precious fake of a pilot. I just want to test his skills personally."

"Tomorrow then?" Ichika asked. "A slot just freed itself."

"Can you go one day without starting a fight, Orimura?" Laura barked in his direction. "One day without causing trouble to the instructor? Just one day, is it too much to ask?"

Ichika turned to look at Laura's eye, a bright smile on his face.

"Yes."

Chifuyu Orimura shuddered. She closed the cooking book she had been reading until then, and proceeded to hide it beneath her pillow.

Maybe all that Ichika needed was a homemade meal.

She mentally snorted at the thought.

Still, she was going to try. She was a damn good IS pilot —there was nothing saying she couldn't also be a pretty good cook.

Nothing, except the burned remains of her 'trial' of a dinner that twitched by itself.

But that had been hidden in the dark corner of the fridge, so it was safe to assume nobody was ever going to find it out.

Ever.

//Took me a while to get this out.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Ten: "Hell Hath No Fury, Like a Woman's Scorn."

"Again?" Chifuyu's right eyebrow twitched as she looked at the scheduled battles for the upcoming day in the arena. She was sure she hadn't authorized any fight between the first years, but apparently the Student Council President's signature had been neatly apposed on the digital document granting permission for the battle to take place.

Ichika hummed as he returned from his morning jog, surprised to find his sister awake.

She was awake and wearing an apron.

"Big sister?"

"Don't look at me like that," she retorted crossly. "I like to cook every now and then," she huffed. "Boiled rice and eggs with mayo isn't something that requires a degree in engineering."

"I…I wasn't going to say anything," he replied softly. "I remember you used to make pickled eggs," he added, with a hopeful undertone.

That nearly broke Chifuyu right there.

She froze, holding her hands against the edge of the kitchen's counter. She didn't know if it was the undertone, the way he had said that, or the fact he actually remembered something as trivial as that. She did remember. She remembered when their parents had passed away, and Ichika had been barely four. She remembered being the one doing the cooking; the pasty-like rice left to overcook, the pickled eggs that tasted horribly…

He hadn't complained once.

She remembered his childish and wide smile, as he held the spoon with his small hand and didn't know how to eat properly. It…something actually broke in her heart —at least, there had to be a reason her eyes watered.

"Big sister? Are you all right?"

She coughed, diverting her gaze. "Yes," she said. "I didn't have the vinegar to pickle the eggs. I'll do it another day."

"Thanks," Ichika replied.

He moved towards the bathroom, probably to shower.

"Ichika," Chifuyu said. Ichika stopped. "I never stopped looking for you. You know that?"

Ichika clenched his right fist. "I know it now," he whispered. "I didn't know it back then," he turned to give her a sorrowful gaze. "And it hurt. It hurt so much…"

Chifuyu hugged him tightly, her eyes shining from unshed tears. "I promise I'll never let you out of my sight again, Ichika. It won't happen again. What they did to you…I'll never let it happen again."

Ichika was the one who pulled out of the hug first. "I still have to shower, big sister Chifuyu."

"And I'd better check the rice before it overcooks…"

They separated then.

The morning lessons went by without a hitch, although the way Cecilia kept looking at him with scorn made Ichika roll his eyes more than once. Once the afternoon came around, and the training ground stood prepped for the 'duel', Chifuyu watched from the rows as the two contestants entered the field.

Ichika didn't have his school uniform on, but neither did he have one of the IS-training uniforms.

He was wearing a military vest with desert-camouflage, a pair of dark green foliage trousers and combat boots.

"Don't you feel underdressed?" he asked, looking towards Cecilia while starting to flex his arms.

Cecilia spluttered. "What are you wearing? You should change in your uniform!"

"No," Ichika deadpanned. "I'm not going to change into a two-piece rubbery swimsuit that looks simply obscene."

Many girls among the rows groaned in despair —they had been looking forward to the match for the eye-candy, certainly not for the battle itself.

Cecilia huffed, bringing her right hand up to touch just under her chin, before moving it to push her blond locks behind her head. "You're so scared of me you need silly and frilly clothing to feel brave, don't you?"

"And you're wearing a swimsuit," Ichika deadpanned. "Aren't you going to be cold during the flight?"

"My IS has air conditioning! All IS have a thermic regulator!" Cecilia exclaimed.

"Mine doesn't," he shrugged. "Waste of space, energy and mostly, it would be always on."

"Enough talking!" Tatenashi exclaimed, suddenly appearing from the front rows. "I want a fair fight of honor and glory! On one side we have Cecilia Alcott, Cadet Representative of Britain!" She gestured with an English Flag colored fan towards her. "While on the other we have Ichika Orimura, my darling Vice-President!"

A bullet materialized from thin air —Ichika's forearm, actually— and hit precisely through the fan Tatenashi had been holding while gesturing at him. The fan ignited, burning brightly as she hastily dropped it.

"Dākutaipu?" Ichika asked.

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Neutral'. Yes, pilot Ichika?

"Did you fire on Tatenashi?"

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Baffled'. I would never. If I did, I would headshot her.

Ichika sighed. He cracked his neck and punched his left open-palmed hand with his right one. "All right!" he roared, "Dākutaipu! Let's burn the world!"

In a flash of light, the Dākutaipu materialized once more. The bulkiness of the past frame remained, but this time the long-range implements were already magnetically bound to the IS' back, while her hands had abnormally changed into long claws.

Cecilia's Blue Tears appeared next, as the blond-haired girl flew away from Ichika, holstering her sniper rifle as her drones began to buzz.

"Poor girl has already lost," Tatenashi sighed. "Poor, poor girl," she shook her head and took a seat next to Chifuyu, fanning herself with a fan that had the kanji for 'Pity' written on it.

Ichika charged ahead.

"Typical of you men," Cecilia growled. "Incapable of even thinking about a bit of strategy beforehand," she took aim and opened fire, her drones shooting at the same time.

Ichika advanced, the Active Inertia Dampener ricocheting the bullets against the frame. He ground his teeth, gazing through the screens at the highlighted weak points of the frame.

"As if I'd let you get close enough to swipe at me, pathetic man!" Cecilia yelled, her thrusters bursting up and bringing her out of range of the claw-like swipe.

Tatenashi bit her lips.

Chifuyu raised an eyebrow. "Why is he not using the long range weaponry? He could strike at her."

"There is one thing of the Dākutaipu that I have learned on my skin," Tatenashi replied, "Nothing is ever discarded…and what you fight against in one battle might be something else in the next one."

Flying to the side, Cecilia opened fire again. The bullets struck the chassis of the IS frame, as the blond-haired girl laughed haughtily at that. "All here? Is this all? Are you just going to float around trying to get a hit on me with your pathetic claws?"

Ichika remained silent. He repeated the swiping motion one last time and just as easily Cecilia avoided it.

"However," Tatenashi continued, "It would be wrong to assume the Dākutaipu as a simple IS with a wide yet limited variety of skills," she closed her eyes. "This is going to hurt to watch, I know it."

"What do you mean?" Chifuyu asked, her voice stern and unbetraying of her internal turmoil.

"When he fought against a close combat IS, he turned to close combat. When he fought against another close combat IS, he increased his defense and improved upon it. When he fought against me, his energy lance wasn't simply aflame, but sparkled with electricity —to disrupt my nanites." She looked at those claw-like hands on the IS.

"Maybe it's because I fought him the most, but I can tell; those aren't claws at the IS' fingers."

She breathed in once as Ichika again, even though he looked pained, swiped once more.

"They're grappling hooks."

Just as she finished saying that, the claws divided and departed forward, each finger separating into a long cable-held projectile that pierced through the Blue Tears main frame and twisted around it. Ichika pulled next as electricity sparked through his hands, rushing along with its strength all the way to Cecilia's IS.

Cecilia Alcott screamed.

Ichika smiled and spun, carrying the Blue Tears IS with the momentum of the swing up in the air before crashing it down on the ground, as the floating long-range drones he had ignited, opening fire —all six of them— with concentrated laser bursts upon the IS' frame.

Tatenashi held an emotionless face, while Chifuyu's clearly showed her shock.

Ichika was laughing.

His grin was wide.

Was that the same boy, her brother, who hoped for pickled eggs that morning?

She felt sick.

Laura Bodewig watched without amusement or scorn. "I warned her," she simply said, remarking it offhandedly to the people around her. "Sooner or later this was bound to happen."

Ichika's frame began to descend, as the grappling hooks detached from the frame bringing with them broken pieces of the Blue Tears IS.

They disappeared in the ever-growing pulsing mass of tendrils, hidden behind the dark frames of the Dākutaipu's mass.

"Are you still alive, Cecilia Alcott?" Ichika asked, raising an eyebrow as he gazed at the dust cloud. "If you are, then stay down. I admit it wasn't much fun, toying with you like that, but Dākutaipu is satisfied now. You don't have to keep dueling anymore."

There was silence.

The dust cloud slowly dispersed. Standing with her broken IS frame, with arcs of electricity still rushing alongside the broken pieces, Cecilia heavily breathed.

"P—Pre—Preposterous," she said, biting on her lower lips. "I'm Cecilia Alcott, of…of the noble Alcott house…and no…no man, no pathetic man, can hope to defeat…to defeat me."

"Your IS' core is going critical," Ichika said. "It's overcharged and bleeding that energy right back into the frame. If you keep on fighting, it might unbalance the core."

"I'm never," Cecilia hissed, "Going to surrender to someone like you!"

She pulled up her rifle, holding it tightly. She had never let go of it, not even through the pain of the electricity or the crashing against the ground. "You men are all the same! Pathetic wastes of space, always whining and trying to gain the attention of women, because alone you can't do anything! You're parasites!"

Ichika exhaled. "You know, right now, Dākutaipu is talking inside my head," he tapped the side of his IS' head-frame, since his form wasn't visible —hidden in the main chassis. "And do you know what she's saying? That the only waste of space in this arena is you."

He brought up his right arm, "You came to this fight hoping to flaunt your grace and power, to humiliate the opponent. You came here thinking that IS are just meant as a sport. Well, let me tell you something 'Mistress', in this world, in this ever-changing world, nothing is as simple as it is."

That was when the hidden equalizers beneath the Blue Tears skirt activated, sending forth a barrage of homing missiles.

The missiles detonated point-blank, sending the Dākutaipu to careen back a few inches.

"Take that!" Cecilia laughed as she said that, "You weren't expecting that, were you? It was all a plan, yes! It was a grand strategy to make you lower your guard!" She laughed harder, her eyes wide and dead. "You should bow before me, you sad excuse of a man! You're a pathetic mongrel worthy only of licking my shoes! That's what you are! Crawl in the dirt like a vermin, you—"

That was when the claws came back, piercing straight through her abdomen and emerging on the other side. Her eyes widened as blood poured out of her mouth.

"U-Uh?" she croaked, before the claws multiplied from within the dust cloud. That was when the sky turned black and the clouds red, as the arena around them disappeared before Cecilia's eyes.

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Fury'. Cerebral Brain Pattern Hacking completed. Link established.

The dust cloud dispersed, revealing upon Cecilia's terrified eyes only the frame of the Dākutaipu. Yet it was colder, darker, it felt different from what she had just fought a moment before.

And the eyes of the frame shone a dark red indeed.

Dākutaipu's requesting Pilot Cecilia input. What do you do when something precious to you is harmed, Pilot Cecilia? What do you do when something precious to you is hurt, Pilot Cecilia? What do you do when something precious to you is bleeding and belittled and cries out in pain?

"W-What is…What are you?"

Dākutaipu's requesting Pilot Cecilia input. Do you know who I am, Pilot Cecilia? Do you know what I am capable of, Pilot Cecilia?

The ground cracked, as the IS' eyes shone even brighter than before, flames burning behind those crimson pupils.

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Condescending'. Of course, you don't know. You are an ignorant child, aren't you? Do not worry, Pilot Cecilia.

The ground broke.

Dākutaipu will correct that mistake.

In the arena, Cecilia's unresponsive body within the IS frame suddenly began to scream. The IS broken bits trashed around, bringing their robotic hands to their robotic head before twisting and pulling apart the Head-Frame of the Blue Tears, starting to tear themselves down piece by piece as the blond-haired girl cried and curled upon herself.

Finally, the IS deactivated by itself.

Ichika reappeared as the dust cloud disappeared, carried away by the wind. He had just a little nick on his forehead —he had hit his head against the forward panel of the IS frame due to the blast, but it was nothing major.

Dākutaipu, of course, begged to differ.

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Worried'. Requesting Pilot Ichika's input. Ambulance might not arrive in time. Suggests Helicopter for transferring…

"Let her go, Dākutaipu," Ichika said.

Dākutaipu remained silent for a moment.

"Dākutaipu…let her go."

Dākutaipu refuses. She will harm pilot Ichika again. Termination is a better—

"Damn it, Dākutaipu! I said to let her go!" Ichika exclaimed, "We can't kill students! Think of the mission!"

Dākutaipu offers permanent crippling disabilities that…

"No! Now let her go!" Ichika hissed.

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Sulky'. I was just doing Pilot Ichika's best interests.

Ichika sighed. "I know that, Dākutaipu…but you can't do this."

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Repentant'. I understand, Pilot Ichika. Cerebral Hacking Erased. Core Dive cancelled.

With those words, Dākutaipu returned to its closed form —with quite the sulky mood.

Ichika walked the remaining steps towards Cecilia's prone and shivering form. The girl was crying softly, her arms wrapped around herself. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she kept on repeating, cradling her body.

Ichika got down on one knee near her.

"Hey," he said, and gazed in pity as Cecilia's body froze. He removed his jacket, and draped it over her back.
"Here you go. You must feel cold."

Cecilia grabbed onto the cloth as if it was a life jacket, her wide eyes streaming with tears now looking at him.
"What…what was that?" she pitifully whined.

"Something the Alaska treaty banned," Chifuyu's voice was hard as she spoke. She had reached the duo in the arena's crater, her expression a mixture of worry and anger. "It is known that the IS pilots can dive into the computer world as a virtual visualization through the bypass protecting the neural system…at the same time, Hacker to IS' core hacking is possible…thus IS to IS…theoretically, with the correct link…" her eyes hardened on Ichika.

"Dākutaipu used the moment when the hooks connected to send the hacking backdoor worm inside her IS," Ichika replied meekly. "The intention was for her to just cease movement through a glitch in the Passive Inertia Control…but when she fired and I ended up wounded…" he gestured to his forehead. "Let's just say Dākutaipu didn't like that…at all."

"I'm sorry," Cecilia whimpered. She gripped onto Ichika's arm, not letting go. "Y-You tell her I'm sorry, all right? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I'm very, very sorry. I promise I won't do it again. Please, you tell her, I don't want to go back in there. I don't want to. Please…"

Ichika grabbed Cecilia's shoulders, before giving her a firm hug. "It's all right," he whispered. "It's all right. I told her not to do it again. She's sorry too."

That was how that battle ended.

Tatenashi fanned herself, the fan reading the Kanji 'Serious Business' as she looked to the sunglass wearing, blond haired woman on a nearby row. Her eyes narrowed.

Natasha Fair looked back towards Tatenashi and grinned.

Tatenashi exhaled. To think the tournament was still far…

It was going to be wonderful, the headache she was going to have soon enough.

// First off. Read volume 8 of the light novel. Remember the Hacking Attempt on the Silver Gospel? Recall it. Now add to it the Computer-IS, IS-Computer, and you get also the possibility of an IS-IS hacking possibility. Secondly…Did Dākutaipu's reaction turn out excessive enough? Technically speaking, Lingyin and Cecilia both share Yandere tendencies –believing the Wiki. But do not worry. Everything has an explanation!

// Unfortunately, I know it sounds easy but it really isn't. My writing took form through countless months of practice. To make an example, have a look at 'FamiliarS of Zero'. That was my very first fanfic on ff.net. It has: Gary Stu super-powered OC, curbstomp of evil people, OC stuff and more. Frankly, it hurts to even look at that right now.
But it remains.
As a testament.
That improvement exists. That everyone can improve. That, in the end, writing is but a muscle. Exercise it, train it, practice it, and nothing will be beyond your grasp.
Even 30K marathons are nothing, when your will to write is great!

 

[shadenight123]

Thanks for the review. I have no clue what In Flight forum is, but it's all right, I'll have a look over there eventually.

I do indeed think Dakutaipu is going on the Gary Sue side, but the reason I hold off is that, probably, in my mind it's more of a balanced thing since I do know where the story is going -at least for a bit. And thus I know what Dakutaipu's weaknesses are.

First off, Dakutaipu counters the IS with majestic ease if it has time to prepare. With the 'One-On-One' fights of the Academy, that's precisely what it's doing. It might appear Gary Sueish, but Dakutaipu simply prepares for it and comes up with the counter-plan as fast as possible. It lost to the White Knight because it had the completely wrong set of counters, and did not have the time to prepare them -being struck down before it could.
Against Tatenashi, Dakutaipu knew the moves of the Mysterious Lady, but the pilot skill brought it to a draw. Against multiple opponents, the Dakutaipu has serious -serious- problems.

The IS Hacking -which I did not explain in the specific chapter because I did not want to Info-Dump- is a lot less Hollywood like than thought. IS -all of them- are self-learning Ais. Dakutaipu is among the oldest and smartest, which is why it can 'talk'. Just like the IS for the Byakushiki -here still in the White Knight- talks/acts sometimes. The difference being how they were engineered into existence. One to fight, the other to self-improve.

What I did not explain was where I was basing myself off with the IS hack. Tatenashi is the one -suggested- responsible for Hacking the Silver Gospel -who, guess what, holds an advanced Ai form- and does so to show off the new Fourth Generation IS to Houki -who, again, holds an advanced Ai form to aid in reaction times.

The 'direction' I was aiming to go was that while indeed, the Canon-IS would lose to Dakutaipu at first, they'd evolve by their own accord. It's actually stated in the Wiki that IS are self-evolving -although far, far with a meeker way than Dakutaipu

Basically, I know that Dakutaipu is going to lose some pretty big battles in the future -which is why I'm pretty sure it's not a Gary Sue IS- but since we're still not there, I can't put my hand on the fire and say completely 'it's not a gary sue'. It certainly looks like one now, but that's mostly because Tatenashi didn't think to warn people on how to counter the Hacking-IS thing. And she didn't, because she has her own fishes to fry.

Still, in any event, I hope I'll manage to entertain you with the next chapter in order to remove your disappointment and possibly explain more of the things you didn't understand.

Thank you once more for the insightful review.

Edit: Feng explained gun-to-fight better. Thanks.

 

[shadenight123]

I did want to make the separation between Military and Non Military units more distinct. Especially because it is like that in the novel drawings.

To make an example, there is the picture of a military grade IS with full frontal armor, -can't remember the name- plus the fact that all military rank IS are actually armored, and not 'Fanservice approved'.
That's specifically because of the difference between Sportswear and Military-ware.
Military IS personnel does not taunt target. It engages and destroys.

Strangely, while being Italian means that it might reek of Nationalism FTW, the 'Tempesta' appears to be an Italian Designed IS capable of reaching the Mondo Grosso Finals.

-Italian Scientists, making discoveries for the rest of the world's benefit since they began leaving Italy in droves-

The problem will be (probably) that while I will do try my hardest to scour the Wiki for as much info as possible, there will most certainly be something that I can't find in canon, and I'll have to conjecture upon it.
(The Tempesta Armament, for example)

Edit: I was referring to the Fang Quake of the USA armament. Although I do envision it with a 'blockier' central frame that hides the thighs of the pilot -and the body too- from enemy sight.
Basically, Military-Grade is similar to Wanzer-design (Whoever played Front Mission Evolved knows what I'm talking about)
And they're as fast as Zone of the Enders battles.
That is what the Military-Grade IS are.
(or how I envision them anyway, since I need to do justice to the White Knight's incredible feats)

 

[shadenight123]

If Ichika's winning fights because his IS is miltary-grade instead of sports-grade, and quite clearly so, why doesn't someone point this out and handicap him? Especially if he's supposed to be, you know, a prisoner.

Click to shrink...

Adding to Feng, it's also this:
(theoretically) They need information on it.
They need to know how it fights, how it thinks, how it counteracts.
They are watching him fight.
As I made Dakutaipu point out, by the Alaska Treaty, his IS is illegal due to its weight -entering the Military-specifics- but he (Ichika) doesn't get the implications of it.

There's more than one level of thought going on about it. They need knowledge of the skills of Phantom Task, and they are otherwise assured that even if Ichika tried to turn rogue and escape/kill, he'd be put down by his sister who easily defeated him once already. They are also assured that he won't manage to kill anyone, due to the IS natural 'absolute Defense' mechanism. And if he tries to go for a killing strike, he'll be stopped since he is followed by Laura who's as good of a soldier as he is.
But the information in his IS are world-changing.
The knowledge on how to make men pilot IS. The 'Status Quo Breaker'.

They will bend the laws. They will shatter them. But they want that technology.
The reason they haven't killed him or extracted the core is, again, easy to define thanks to Tabane's intervention.
Tabane agreed to build more IS cores if they left Ichika alive. She probably vouched on them not being able to extract information from Dakutaipu by themselves if the pilot died, and they took her words for truth.

Just like Dakutaipu learns from watching other IS fight, so too does the Japanese and other Governments learn from watching Dakutaipu.
Basically, I made the Advancements on AI-research of the Silver Gospel happen because of Dakutaipu's existence. Which is evinced by Natasha Fair being present and demanding the information acquired.

On the Generation Scale, Dakutaipu is a 3.5 Generation.

Just like Byakushiki becomes later in the novel.

The 4th generation has, by wiki standards:

1. The Fold-Out Armor enables the IS to configure itself to a form optimized for various roles, such as attack, defense, and mobility in an instant. When fully optimized, the performance of the particular IS becomes twice of the capability of normal status.
2. This makes the 4th Gen. IS capable of performing various assignments just by switching its function in real time, thus removing the time-consuming process of changing Equalizer
3. The one main drawback of the Fold-Out Armor is that it rapidly consume the IS's energy. This makes it difficult to deal with in situations where it needs to be continuous used (such as high-speed racing).

Dakutaipu, instead, physically 'builds' the Equalizer by self-scavenging its own body for the parts required, but if he doesn't have the parts, he cannot build it.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Eleven: "Nothing is Simpler than Going to a Fistfight with a Gun."

Ichika flipped over the page of a trashy novel with his left hand. He hummed pleasantly, using his right to eat his lunch on the rooftop. The door to the rooftop opened with a sharp bang, as Tatenashi strolled in while fanning herself.

"Vice-President Ichika, I knew I'd find you here!" the blue-haired Russian smirked, fanning herself. Her fan had the Kanji for 'Unofficial Business' written on it. "You are requested."

"Requested?" Ichika brought up his right eyebrow. "Where and why?"

"The teachers' lounge awaits you." Tatenashi smiled. "Your sister wants a word with you."

Ichika frowned. "She could have talked to me later tonight."

"It's about a transfer student," Tatenashi said. She shrugged a moment later. "It looked sort of urgent."

"It can wait."

"Fufufu," Tatenashi smirked. "Reading something interesting, Ichika?"

"Yes," he replied. "It's something I never read before —picked it up at random from the bookstore."

"I didn't take you as the type to like trashy novels."

"I didn't buy it to enjoy it," he said. "It's a gift, and I'm just reading it to make sure it's appropriate."

"A gift? Oh," Tatenashi's eyebrows furrowed. "You know there are rules against students frolicking with one another, right?"

"Frolicking?" Ichika blinked, closing the novel. "Isn't the Academy filled with girls?"

"Duh," Tatenashi rolled her eyes. "It somehow makes it worse. Naughty girls exist, you know?" she moved her eyebrows up and down in a suggestive way.

She breathed in sharply. "Still, who are you giving it to?"

"I thought I should apologize for Dākutaipu's behavior," Ichika remarked, dusting his trousers as he stood up. "I thought about buying perfume at first, but the store at the Academy didn't sell it. Books were the second option."

"Perfume as a gift? There might be hope for you yet, Ichika," Tatenashi grinned. "So, how about heading off to the teachers' lounge?"

"Is that really necessary?"

"We're at eight draws —I'd gladly make it nine, but vice-presidents who don't obey don't get to fight me," she winked at him. "Come on, it's school life! Enjoy it!"

Ichika walked towards her, calmly.
Tatenashi kept fanning herself, holding a smile on her face.
The next moment, her fan snapped shut and moved to intercept a combat knife —Laura had been true to her word with having a few supplied to him— and as the two met, Tatenashi kept up her grin even as her hands trembled.

"Little, silly Ichika," her voice was cheerful even as she spoke. "Don't they tell you that you can't stab girls?"

"I'm not stabbing," Ichika replied. "I'm slashing. It's different."

"Oh? How so?"

"Slashing makes the wounds easier to treat," he pointed out as he pocketed his knife. There was a small dent on the President's fan, but she just opened it again and resumed fanning.

"Now you're satisfied?"

"Afterwards, can we have a match at the gym?"

"Unarmed techniques only," Tatenashi replied, giving her back to him and beginning to walk. "Girls don't use violent things like weapons when they can be majestic with Judo."

They started to descend the stairs, only for the increasing noise of someone running coming nearer to them. "Orimura!" Laura yelled sharply as she climbed the stairs two by two. "What part of 'under surveillance' can you not understand!?"

The silver-haired German stopped a few steps away from him. "President," she snapped towards Tatenashi, "I would like to be informed whenever you need Orimura here for anything. He cannot go around unsupervised and unguarded. He might hurt himself with his sickness…"

"Come on now," Tatenashi held her smile up, like a cat having caught the mouse, "There is nothing to worry about. Our Ichika can take care of himself."

"Our?" Ichika parroted. "Since when is it 'our'?"

"I have no problem sharing," Tatenashi chuckled. "I told you there are naughty girls at the academy, right?"

"This is what makes you insufferable, Tatenashi," Ichika said. "You never take things seriously."

"So speaks the stabbing maniac with the cheap shot IS? Really? This isn't even like the pot and the kettle. It's more like the pot and the stabbing maniac wearing a kettle on his head."

Ichika brought his right hand up to his face, to massage his temples. "I'm off." He said, but he gave the trashy novel to Tatenashi, "Can you deliver this to Alcott with my apologies?"

Tatenashi nodded, a light smirk on her face.

He began to walk, with a perplexed Laura following him. Tatenashi just laughed softly behind her fan. It was going to be so much fun this afternoon —she just had to reserve the gym and ensure nobody disturbed them.
Ichika entered the teacher's lounge, and silence met him. The other teachers all faked disinterest in him, but it was clear they knew who he really was —and because of that, they tried their hardest to look elsewhere.

Chifuyu Orimura was talking with a blond-haired boy, wearing the IS Academy uniform. "It is a matter of national security," Ichika heard his sister say.

"I understand," the boy replied with a soft-spoken voice, "But I have orders."

"It's on your head," Chifuyu said, before turning and nodding towards Ichika.

When he and Laura stepped forward, Chifuyu spoke again.

"Laura, you have been relieved of your duties," to those words, Laura's single eye widened for a fraction, before she stiffly stood to attention. "Ichika, this is Charles Dunois. The International Peacekeeping force appointed him to keep an eye out on you. He is a recent addition to the IS pilots, following an algorithm modification that Tabane Shinonono inserted in his IS."

Ichika raised an eyebrow. The boy had blond hair in a ponytail, and purple eyes that held a sort of kindness to them that made him feel…dirty. They weren't the eyes of Laura —hard and stern— or of Houki —timid and rebellious. They weren't Cecilia's eyes —filled with disdain and a haunting pain— or Lingyin —sparkling but hiding something beneath it of dark and twisted. They were soft and kind.

It made him wary. His right hand casually stopped near his belt, where his knife hid. He couldn't stand kindness, not on its own. He could understand kindness mixed with misery, the type that his big sister had. He could understand hatred mixed with small moments of quiet contemplation, the type his other sister had.
It was as if the world had never spoiled the boy.

It was wrong.

"It appears you are no longer the only male IS pilot in the world," Chifuyu continued. "Maybe that will make you think about how you aren't actually irreplaceable."

"Ah, I see," Ichika replied warily. "Is this the International Force's warning then?" he asked.

"No, this is mine," Chifuyu said. "You'll move to the student dormitory. You'll have a room assigned to you together with Charles," she exhaled. "Behave and remember your pills."

Ichika nodded.
He had stopped taking his pills the split-second he had the chance to do so. He wasn't going to start taking them again, not with Charles there. Not with those genuinely curious eyes looking at him, as if they were studying him for a chance of…something, something that wasn't trying to pinpoint where hitting him would hurt.

"Instructor," Laura began, "Is Dunois here," her voice filled with scorn, "A capable soldier?"

She had seen the eyes. They unnerved her too. Ichika knew this. This was like staring at a lamb walking in a minefield. A barely born lamb that took hesitant steps through a minefield bawling for his mother, who was somewhere else.

"No," Chifuyu replied. "It's been decided by the higher-ups that you have been antagonizing the target," she looked at her sadly. "We both know it's not true —just watching Ichika makes me want to hit him half the time."

Ichika snorted.

"But it appears they want results," Chifuyu shrugged.

"Should you be saying this," Charles said with a hesitant smile, "With Ichika here? Isn't that rude, talking as if he isn't here?"

"It's nothing he doesn't already know or think," Chifuyu replied. "You should be careful," she said gazing at Charles, "and you should behave," she added the last part while looking at Ichika. "The patience on the floors above is running thin already. Pull another stunt like the one you did yesterday and they're not going to just stand by and watch."

"I'd love to see them try," Ichika replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You should know better than anyone else the difference between a military-designed and a sports-designed IS, Ichika," Chifuyu continued. "America is already putting on pressure to have some of their Fang Quake IS brought over to supervise you. If you insist on pushing against your boundaries, they're going to start to tighten them."

Ichika didn't reply.

"Why don't you show Charles around?" Chifuyu continued, "Maybe having a male friend will do you good."

"I understand if you are wary of me, Ichika," Charles said, a small smile on his lips. "I just want us to get along, but I understand if you don't like it."

If only he didn't have those eyes. He shuddered. Lingyin's offer of making him lunch was kind, but it didn't reek of kindness. She brought it up with excitement, with her bubbly personality and with a wide grin as if hoping for something more afterwards. This was a meek person, being kind.

He couldn't stand it.

He really couldn't stand it.

"No, it's fine," Ichika replied curtly. "I'll show you around."

He needed something. He needed some sort of dirt, grime or smear on that man. He needed it, because he could not comprehend someone not dirty. He was a spy, wasn't he? Why weren't his eyes dark or jaded then? Why weren't his words oily, reeking with flattery or veiled threats?
Maybe he was a very good spy, but the eyes…you couldn't hide the eyes. The skin wasn't marred, the muscles weren't taught. He looked like a prince out of a fairy tale, and that made him wrong.

Fairy tales did not exist.

The two walked out while Laura remained behind. "Instructor," Laura said. "Is this really…going to work? He's a menace," she whispered, "He should be dealt with, not left under the surveillance of another guy! Especially, now that he's no longer the only male IS-pilot!"

"Laura," Chifuyu looked at her with tired eyes, "There are more things going on than what you know; please, continue keeping an eye out on Ichika for me, would you?"

Laura clicked her tongue against the top of her mouth in distaste, but militarily saluted. "It will be done, instructor."

She walked out quickly to catch up with the two guys.
It wasn't difficult to find them. Ichika walked at a sedated pace, his right hand in his pocket and his left dangling by his side. Charles was next to him, holding up his soft smile that seemed to be his normal expression.
The amount of girls making lovey-dovey eyes and swooning over them was too easy to track. Getting past them and entering the 'area of effect' of the two males being so close by turned out more difficult.
She resorted to tripping a third year and knocking out a second year, before finally managing to break through and push her way in between the two.

"Laura," Ichika said, "You don't have to follow me any longer, you know that?"

"The instructor asked for a favor," she replied sternly. "I'm not letting you out of my sight, Orimura."

Charles remained quiet for a moment, before asking. "Excuse me, but we haven't been presented to each other," he gave Laura a kind smile. "My name is Charles Dunois," he extended his right hand.

"Captain Laura Bodewig, German Army, Schwarzer Hase regiment," Laura replied sternly, gripping the hand with enough pressure to make it clear where her 'friendship' stood.
Charles held up his smile, even though it was now mixing with a pained look from the constricting steel grip of the German girl.

"I see," Charles stressed out, trying to free his hand from the grip. "Are you one of Ichika's friends?"

Laura let go of Charles hand, before grumbling. "No. He is a comrade."

"A comrade?" Charles said, blinking. "Is he in the army then?"

"If he wants to, Germany's High-Command has made it clear that recruiting him is a possibility," Laura added, her posture threatening against Charles. "Isn't that why you are here, Dunois? To recruit him for the French?"

"Ah, no," Charles hastily waved his hand in front of him. "Why would you even think that?"

"You're a recruiter," Laura continued, "No use hiding it. You don't have the grip of a soldier, and you don't have the eyes of one," so she had caught on to the eye-thing, "You haven't seen battle or trained for one. You've lived a sheltered life for most of your time. If the International Peace Force sent you, it's because you're persuasive. That means you're a recruiter."

"I'm really not one," Charles added. "I'm just here because of circumstances," he hurried to say, "but I'm glad to see Ichika has such a good friend that worries about him."

Laura stiffened like a board. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's…I studied about it before coming here," Charles continued. "I was told he was a dangerous individual and that it was life-threatening to be with him, but if he can have such dedicated friends to defend him, then it means he isn't all that bad, right?"

Laura stumbled on the next words to say. "He is not my friend!" she snarled out. "He might become a colleague, but that's all!"

"You know, it's the first time I heard you talking about the German army wanting to hire me," Ichika remarked. "I was actually thinking about doing mercenary work, if nothing else turned up."

"No, Orimura," Laura snapped, turning to look at him. "I'm talking about recruiting. The German Army was clear. You are too much of a risk to be left in the hands of the enemy or a rival country. They suggested recruiting you, or…"

"Ah," Ichika nodded. "I understand; so I was right about it. Well, it had to happen eventually."

"I see," Charles said. "Well, I admit I have to supervise Ichika, but I am not interested in recruiting him for the French army. I just hope we can become friends," he brought his hand up towards Ichika next.

Ichika looked at the hand, and then at Charles.
He didn't take the hand.
It felt wrong.

"It's better if you don't," Ichika said. "You look like a good kid," he added. "Try not to get hurt sticking too close to me, all right?"

With those words, Ichika left Charles' hand hanging and began to walk once more.
Charles caught his step as they resumed walking.
It was a quiet walk.

"Did I do something wrong?" Charles asked a few minutes later, breaking the silence.

"No," Ichika replied. "You didn't."

"Then why?"

"It's because you didn't do anything wrong." Ichika uncomfortably said. "It's better this way."

"I don't understand," Charles frowned.

"You've got no connection to me," Ichika said, "And there's no reason for you to start now. Go home, kid."

"I'm not a kid," Charles replied, a light tinge of heat in his voice, "And we are the same age!"

"I'm meeting with the Student Council president soon. Come and have a look; you'll understand."

Charles nodded. "I will do just that."

The academy's dojo had a large open space with green mats, a few punching bags and a couple of machines for jogging or weight lifting. When Ichika stepped inside, accompanied by Laura and Charles, Tatenashi was already there wearing a judo outfit, with a black belt. Houki and Lingyin were close by, and to his surprise, Cecilia too was there holding the novel in her hands with a shaky expression.

"Ah," Cecilia exclaimed, seeing him arrive. She didn't say anything else, looking downcast at the floor.

"Very well then," Tatenashi grinned. "It seems some people found it unfair I'm holding you all to myself," the Council President eyed the rest of the girls. "They say you shouldn't skip so many lessons, but lessons are boring and we both know that," her eyes twinkled. "Still, they asked the Council President to make their beloved Ichika," there was sputtering from Houki and grin-like acceptance from Lingyin, "attend classes in the afternoon too."

"Weaponless fighting? That's a cheap shot," Ichika remarked. "I'm no good without a gun or a knife."

"But I'm a defenseless flower," Tatenashi said. "I'm a frail girl," she whined. "Please be gentle, you big bad mercenary."

Ichika unclasped the buttons of his upper uniform, taking off the jacket and dropping it on the nearby bench. He removed the bulletproof vest beneath, remaining only with his shirt. A few knives and a gun —that Laura hastily took back after glaring at Ichika— soon followed.

Tatenashi licked her lips and straightened her belt.

Ichika brought up his guard.

Ichika charged ahead, starting with a sharp knee movement. Tatenashi made a small jump backwards, before spinning her body to deliver a high kick that Ichika's guard blocked. He gripped onto her judo cloth next, and pushed her down. Tatenashi, mid-fall, thrust her body to the side and ended up being the one pinning on the ground Ichika with her shoulder.
Ichika's legs came up to surround Tatenashi's midsection, grabbing a hold of her as his hands held her by the scruff of the neck.

There was quite the physical contact.

Houki's face was red.

After a few seconds, Ichika let go and Tatenashi pushed herself back up, dusting away her clothes. "Ready for another one?"

"Always," Ichika replied gruffly.

The next charge began with Tatenashi kicking Ichika's face to the side with her extended leg, before Ichika himself spun to deliver a midsection kick to the Russian IS representative. She blocked it with her guard, before holding on to the leg and sending a kick of her own against Ichika's stomach —although a groin hit would have been possible.

Charles still didn't understand.
They were just sparring, weren't they?

Ichika pushed his weight on the held leg, forcing Tatenashi to let go. He moved closer with his fist, missing as the girl nimbly sidestepped the attack. He proceeded to elbow her, only for her to lock his arm and jump backwards, carrying him down with him —if he wanted to avoid a fracture.
He tapped the mat a moment later, and Tatenashi pouted.

"Come on tiger, give me more," she teased him while licking her lips. "You know you're the only one that makes me this sweaty?"

Ichika brought his right hand to the swelling on his cheek, before swiping away a dribble of blood.

In all of it, Dākutaipu remained quiet.

Ichika's bastardized version of fighting would have been good for a soldier to use as backup. Laura understood that. At the same time, she had to reassess the threat level of Sarashiki. That wasn't simply the judo of a good practitioner —it was flawless. The judo that someone trained in because they wished to use it against opponents who wished harm; not the judo for the everyday gym that taught kids how to go 'kyai'.
They weren't pulling back punches, or kicks, or holds.
They were actually fighting hand to hand as if testing each other, trying to strike where it hurt and without a care if they actually did hurt the other.
It took a while for Laura to understand what it was all about.

It was respect.

Ichika didn't stab anyone who came around him. He stabbed those whom he knew would be able to dodge. He didn't act aggressive against people like Lingyin or Houki, because they wouldn't be able to cope.
Yet he respected Tatenashi enough to know she'd be able to take it and with that, Laura realized that he respected her too. He respected her skills.

That…made her happy.

Lingyin bit her thumb's nail while silently watching the fight go on. The two were close. They were too close for her tastes. The way the Russian pinned Ichika most of the time had something of clearly wrong —borderline erotic, even— and the way Ichika seemed to yield rather than punch her on the face started to unnerve her.
She hated to admit it.
She refused to think about it.
Ichika had been clear. He wasn't looking for a relationship. He wasn't looking for a girlfriend, or a wife, or a special someone…
Yet why, why did she find it hard to believe him, when he seemed to like the spar so much that he was grinning?
A treacherous thought shot through her head for but a moment, before disappearing back where it came from.
It resurfaced a moment later.
She pushed it down with all of her strength.
It came back up repeatedly, until she could refuse it no more.
The reason Ichika was grinning was obvious.
Tatenashi and him…had some sort of chemistry.
She couldn't stand for it.
She wouldn't stand for it.
Ichika was hers.
He would always be hers.

Dākutaipu remained quiet, even long after the sparring ended with a bruised and battered Ichika —and a slightly wincing Tatenashi. The nurse in the infirmary made quick work of their bruises; she sent them off with a strict 'don't spar so hard again' warning.
Tatenashi headed off to change her clothes for dinner, while Cecilia did the same —she hadn't said much the entire day, but Ichika couldn't fault her. Houki disappeared a moment later, together with Lingyin. Laura followed them towards the dormitory, but left after finding out what room Ichika ended up in.
Charles was the only one who remained with Ichika: the two of them entered for the first time their newly assigned dorm room and took a deep breath.

"This is neat," Charles said, flopping down on a nearby bed. "Don't you think so too, Ichika?"

"Did you realize?" Ichika asked, calmly removing his uniform once more. Charles looked away, scratching his right chin.

"Realize what, exactly?"

"I carry knives, guns, and am a violent person most of the time," Ichika pointed out. "I'm…you call people like that psychopaths, don't you? You're too normal. You really should leave before I end up hurting you."

"You speak as if it happened already," Charles replied.

Ichika winced. "Maybe it did, or maybe it's just one of my nightmares talking. Still, I'm giving you a word of advice," he added. "Don't come too close or you'll burn. I'm sure you're a good kid, Char," he said, "And in another life, I'm sure we could even be good friends. As it is, it's better if you don't sully yourself with me and just hang around other people."
Ichika stretched, before moving towards the bathroom. "The last thing I want is to hurt innocents."

He closed the door behind him.

Charles blinked.
Did he just call him 'Char'?
Was that…a nickname of sorts?
Still, it intrigued him.
He crossed his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling, blinking and listening to the running of the water in the bath.

"Ah, damn it," he heard Ichika's voice. "Charles, is there any shampoo or soap out there? I didn't check before entering the shower."

Charles hastily stood up, looking around the room and opening up the cupboards. He found a bottle of cheap shampoo —standard issue for the dormitory no doubt— and then moved near the bathroom door.

He closed his eyes as his cheeks turned red.
He was a male.
He was a male and it was normal for males to do this.
He was a male. He would see something that every other male knew a male had.
This was male fellowship. He knew it.
He was a male.
Calming his beating heart, Charles opened the door and stepped inside, "Here you go, Ichika," he said holding his voice calm. Ichika —naked— took the bottle.

Charles could only stare.

"There's no need to stare that much," Ichika pointed out. "It's not that bad once you get the hang of it."

"T-he…B-But the scars—"

"They're quite normal in the line of work I had before," Ichika replied, turning to deliver a perfect view of his posterior as he began to wash his hair with the shampoo.

Charles shrieked his way out —in a very masculine fashion, of course— and closed the door, taking deep breaths to calm down.

"They're just scars," Ichika called out after him.

"It's…It's not that!" he blurted out.

"Oh," Ichika blinked. "I guess normally guys are prudish about it? The showers used to be shared between male and female members back at some of the bases."

"I see," Charles replied, sliding down with his back against the door. "So, Ichika," he called out after him, "If I tell you that I'm a tough boy and can handle it, will you be my friend?"

"I'm really not suited to being a friend, Charles," Ichika replied after a long pause. "I don't know what normal guys do for fun to begin with."

"We could…hang out? Go to the park?"

"There's a park in the Academy?"

"An aquatic one with slides and everything else," Charles replied —before utterly cursing inside his mind. He'd have to reinforce the swimsuit and tie the bandages tighter if they did that.

"I don't really enjoy the idea of being in a swimsuit," Ichika said nervously.

"That's not a problem then," Charles said. "How about a movie?"

"Right! A movie…I was supposed to go watch one, but time just flew by and…"

He quieted down. "No, I have no excuses…I suppose I'm sorry…"

Charles frowned. Was he talking to him?

"It's not really your fault —well, not completely. You did exaggerate."

"Ichika?" Charles asked, "Who are you talking with?"

"Oh, Dākutaipu," Ichika replied. "My IS—right, I never asked, do you have one?"

"Of course I do," Charles said. "It's a Raphael Revive, the best of the Dunois Industries."

"That's good to hear," Ichika said, before Charles heard him step out of the shower. He stood up and moved to sit on the bed, nervously staring at the wall as Ichika —in a bathrobe— walked towards his 'side' of the room and put on a fresh and clean uniform. "Well…I'm off to the cafeteria. If you want to come…"

He nervously looked in his direction.

Charles frowned for a moment, before nodding.

He completely missed Ichika dropping the knife and swallowing a few round pills.

// I don't want to give 'psychopath' a simple definition. It's too easy to define someone being 'mad' with merely froth from mouth and strike. Even madness has its own twisted logic. Of course, it requires a good dose of Ichika introspection to realize his own reasons, but I found it better making the point of views this way.
This is quite a large update. Introducing 'Charles'. –He technically comes in the novel at the same time as Laura- and making his mere presence a 'disturbing' element. (The one thing that Ichika finds better in Charlotte than in the other girls –her being calm, kind and so forth— is the one thing that sets this Ichika a bit off…)
Tatenashi and Ichika having 'chemistry' isn't a preclude to pairing. It's just something I realized as real. They both trained to be soldiers —one to hunt down PT and one to fight for it— they both have secrets, and they both have weaknesses.
And I find the 'Charles-Ichika' bromance to be quite soothing to write about.
There wasn't Dākutaipu in this chapter —not much— but the next will probably be different. As for the Dakutaipu with the accent, I simply placed it in autocorrect mode. Technically the 'Byakushiki' is the "Type White". So yes, while the Dakutaipu reeks of simplicity in naming, I also didn't really think about giving it another name. Considering Madoka IS is the 'Black Knight' I wasn't even that far off in naming it (I decided for Dakutaipu to make it a contrast to Chifuyu's own IS, and Canon-Ichika's own 'White Type', and before Madoka's IS came out in the Anime) I understand some people have their nerves struck with 'Japanisation and usage of some Japanese words', but since 'Byakushiki' is kept as is in most fanfictions, (Since 'White Type' is a bit difficult to use as a proper name) I did the same with Dakutaipu.
Technically though, I should have called it 'Kurotaipu' to make it the 'Black Type'. But it's fine this way.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Twelve. "Hell in the Headspace, Plasma is the Cure!"

Space was quiet. It was a silent lull, a beautiful infinity. She loved it for that. She loved the word 'Infinite'. Maybe that was what started it all. The desire for 'Infinity' had made her mad. As a child, she had been bright. As a teenager, she had been excellent. As an adult, she was as a genius. Yet, she hadn't conquered infinity.

Infinity was still out there, that stupid syntax of X plus One, which could never end. Fifty became fifty-one, and then fifty-two and then five millions two hundred ninety seven and then twenty nine billions nine hundred millions and one, and so forth. She disliked that.

She really wanted to count to the very last number.

Tabane Shinonono floated by in zero gravity —she loved zero gravity. It made her think more, and it was just like flying. She loved to fly…and hop around like a rabbit. A rabbit with wings, that's what she loved, even more than a simple rabbit or a simple concept of flight.

Her metallic ears flopped around for a moment, before she returned to her brainstorming. There was an unruly child amongst her cute little creations. She loved it all the same, or her, he, or whatever it wanted to be. Still, she didn't want the unruliness to spread.

It would be bad. She wanted her children to be nice, good and clean little creatures that aided their friends.

Maybe she shouldn't have grown her child to be unruly.

Nevertheless, she had to make a point! She disliked doing it —not actually; even if the people had burned, she wouldn't have given a damn, since the few she cared for would have been safe anyway. She had made a good child, to act as his mother wished, and an unruly daughter.

Plausible deniability.

Her child had done such a wonderful job too! The missiles had flown, the people had screamed in terror and fear and she had gotten a heap of hugs from her little sister who was so scared —even if the scare was false in her case— and then her friend had leapt to the defense of everyone —her brother mostly.

Maybe, one day, she'd try to catch up with her unruly child.

As it was, she clicked her tongue and checked the monitors once more. Waves of data fluctuated through the IS core network, soaring the radio waves and pushing their way past satellites and firewalls. She had the world's entire internet in the palm of her hand, the world's communication system, satellites, and everything else of digital could be with the push of one button turned off.

Maybe she'd press that button.

Just for a single day, to see how the world reacted without technology for those twenty-four hours.

How many people would die if she did that?

Then again, she didn't care about the people, but Houki might be scared.

She didn't want her sister to be scared.

Maybe another day then, definitively… the world would live with technology for another day.

Yet one day, she'd push the button.

Just to watch how the world reacted to that…because she could, because no one could stop her, because no one could tell her not to do it.

Her cellphone ringed.

It was Chifuyu's ringtone: the Godfather.

"Chi!" Tabane exclaimed, opening the phone and accepting the call.

"Tabane," Chifuyu's voice brimmed with ill-controlled anger. "I have a question. I had this question inside of me for a long time, but I didn't want to ask it until now, because I needed to control my anger." She was doing an effort —Tabane could feel she was barely holding it in. "Did you know where Ichika was when they kidnapped him?"

"Yes!" Tabane replied cheerfully.

Chifuyu took a deep breath from the other side of the phone.

"When I asked you," her voice came through with a light growling undertone, "You said you didn't know."

"Oh, that was a lie!" Tabane said once more, without the barest hint of remorse or even care.

"And why would you do that?" Chifuyu asked.

"That's obvious Chi! I was the one who wanted him kidnapped!" Tabane said. "I mean, I didn't want you to throw the match, but the boy had to go! He was getting in between our time together! I knew Houki cared for him, so I thought I might just kidnap him and give him to Houki as a pet or something," Tabane continued, oblivious of the fact Chifuyu's breath at the other side of the phone had come to a halt. "But that was before I realized you actually cared for him! I mean, you said more than once you wished he wouldn't be your responsibility!"

"I didn't mean it like that!" Chifuyu yelled through the phone, making Tabane wince at the sheer volume of the reply. "I never meant it like that!"

"Ouchie," Tabane mumbled, "My ears," she grumbled. "I even went to fetch him after a while, but he said he was happy where he was! I even met Madoka, and—"

"Madoka?" Chifuyu said. "You met Madoka, and you tell me this now?"

"You went to Germany," Tabane pouted. "And you were busy, always busy! So I thought you had gotten over your troubles and were now happy without Ichika around!" Jovially, Tabane began to giggle. "And you should have seen him! He was so cute! I understand why Houki liked him, just like a little scared rabbit! Not like Madoka —she was a tough and gruff mini-you!"

"Tabane," Chifuyu's voice was filled with something the bunny-loving girl couldn't understand. "You're telling me you knew where Ichika was for years, you knew who he was with and you never told me?"

"You were busy!"

"You could have made me listen!" Chifuyu barked through the phone, making Tabane wince at the volume once more. "You could have left a voice mail! You could have put through a recording! I would have slaughtered my way through the entire frigging German Army if you had just told me where he was!"

She calmed down, abruptly. "Tabane," Chifuyu said. "We're done."

"Uh? Chi?" Tabane said in the phone, "Are you mad?"

There was no reply. Chifuyu had closed the conversation.

"Chi?" Tabane tried once more. "Chi?"

She dialed the number herself, her tongue out in effort.

The number you have chosen to dial has added you to the ignore list.

"Chi?" Tabane tried once more; maybe she had gotten the wrong number.

"Chi?"

Like a broken disc, Tabane tried yet again once more.

"Chi?"

She began to tap on her computer next, sending her an email.

Message could not be sent. The user is ignoring you.

She hastily hacked her way through, and wrote a message inside her cellphone's desktop before starting to make it ring.

She realized from the logs that Chifuyu had deleted the message.

She wrote another.

Chifuyu did not answer, but from the GPS signal, it was clear she had stopped moving.

Two hours later, two-hundred 'Chi?' messages later, and the cellphone lost its battery and turned off.

Tabane wrote an email.

The email address you have tried to send the mail to does not exist.

"Chi?" she mumbled in the emptiness of space, her arms now wrapped around her legs as she began to rock her body back and forth.

She had few important peoples. She had few people she actually recognized —it was her sickness— and now she had lost one?

Impossible.

It was impossible.

Impossible.

She refused.

She refused to believe it possible.

She hadn't done anything wrong!

She had not, had not, had not!

"Chiiiiii," Tabane wailed out.

Space was infinitely vast now, infinitely grand…and infinitely empty and cold.

She needed to show Chi that she needed her. Yes, she'd do something about it.

In that way, Chi would come back and become her friend again!

Back on Earth, at the Infinite Stratos Academy's Movie Theater, Ichika Orimura smiled lazily as he watched the movie. Charles was at his right, and Dākutaipu was watching the movie through the 'Sub wave brain pattern of the cerebral cortex' —whatever that meant.

It was a science fiction movie.

Unfortunately, Dākutaipu wasn't in the mood for accepting the special effects.

Dākutaipu requesting pilot Ichika input. Is mass transferring actually possible? Data shows no actual teleportation devices to exist although a theoretical camp has tried to—

"It's a movie," he hissed to Dākutaipu, "It's not real."

Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Ichika's opinion. Is this 'Fun'? Watching a movie with a friend is fun?

"It…should be," Ichika replied.

Charles looked at him, but said nothing. A moment later, he returned to look at the film. The male lead was firing plasma spheres against the enemy aliens while yelling stuff like 'Eat Plasma, Lobsters!' or 'This is for Ramirez, Lobsters!' although the phrase he had liked the most had been 'I like my fish cooked…with plasma!'

Indeed, the movie was a no-brainer. Still, he was enjoying the movie. It was the first time he went to a movie with a fellow male —in a clear display of male showmanship, because that was it was all about. He was helping Ichika act like a normal male doing normal male stuff for his normal male age group.

He was a normal male too.

He really should stop thinking repeatedly about being a 'Normal Male'.

Wasn't it normal for normal males to think about it though?

"Charles," Ichika whispered. Charles' head turned to gaze at him. His cheeks heated for a moment, since they were so close —and their arms touched where their seats met. "Thanks for bringing me here."

Ichika smiled. He had a different air —since last night, actually. It was more peaceful, less edgy.

It did feel as if he was half-asleep, but still…

"What else are friends for?" Charles replied, a soft smile on his face.

"Yeah," Ichika returned to look at the movie.

Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Ichika input. What is a 'friend'? The dictionary definition is of a person who you know well and who you like a lot, but who is usually not a member of your family, or someone that is not an enemy and who you can trust.

"It's…that," Ichika nodded, "Both, that is…"

Dākutaipu does not trust Charles Dunois. Dākutaipu suggests phosphorous.

Ichika frowned, before shaking his head.

Dākutaipu's mood set to distrustful. Dākutaipu is the only one who can self-correct the core programming within the IS core for male usage. Charles Dunois is a liar. He cannot be an IS pilot.

"I…we have to try," Ichika replied in a murmur. "It's…"

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Sulky'. Do you like Charles Dunois a lot?

Ichika spluttered. "What? N-No! Not in that sense!"

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Inquisitive'. Are there more senses to the usual five? Do they have to do with the definition of the word 'Like'?

Ichika groaned.

"No, there are only five senses," there was a loud 'hush!' from a few rows forward. Ichika bowed his head to gesture a 'sorry'.

"And 'Like' has more than one meaning," he whispered in the lowest voice he could manage. "It can also mean 'love' if it's used as a 'like someone a lot', but it can also mean that you just 'like' something. Like, you prefer the color red over the color blue…it's something you 'like' but it isn't that important."

Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Ichika's input. What is there more than 'Like'?

"I think…there's love? I mean…there's that and…I suppose there's also 'Veneration' or 'Adulation'…but I think 'Veneration' is the one that is the really strongest like ever possible."

Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Ichika's input: does Pilot Ichika venerate anyone?

"N-No," Ichika replied.

Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Ichika's input: does Pilot Ichika love anyone?

"Ah…no," he replied once more.

Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Ichika's input: does Pilot Ichika like m—someone a lot?

"I don't think so."

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Deadpanning Snarky'. Really?

"Yes?"

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Sulky'. Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Ichika's input: does Pilot Ichika like anyone?

"Yes," Ichika replied softly. "I think I like Charles."

Somehow, Charles —who was just by his side— blushed as heat rose to his cheeks. Maybe…oh dear. Oh dear. Ichika was one of those 'Guys' of the other side of the river. He— Oh hell! Well, he could love whomever he wanted, really, but he— well, he was a normal male, right? He had to act like a normal male. He couldn't act like a normal male if he wasn't a m—no, he was a male.

So he had to act like a male.

A normal male, yes, he could do that —even if it would break Ichika's heart at the end.

It was cruel, but he could do it. For his father, the company and the Dunois family…he could do it.

Dākutaipu's requesting Pilot Ichika's input: anyone else?

"Laura," he remarked. "And then there's…" he grinned, "Tatenashi."

Charles, meanwhile, was now crimson in the face.

He didn't like only Charles, but also two girls? What…What pervert! Lecher!

"Ichika…" Charles said suddenly, making Ichika turn towards him. He fiddled with his fingers, looking down at his lap. "You pervert."

"Uh?" Ichika raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing," Charles whispered.

Dākutaipu's requesting Pilot Ichika input: anyone else?

"I like Chifuyu?" Ichika hazarded.

"Even your sister!?" Charles exclaimed loudly, looking at him scandalized.

"Silence!" a few of the spectators yelled back at Charles, and she ashamedly returned to her seat.

Dākutaipu's requesting Pilot Ichika input: what about me?

Ichika blinked.

Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Ichika input: What. About. Me?

"We're partners," Ichika replied in a soft voice.

Charles tensed. Was he referring to his sister? Really?

"We did things together since we were young," Charles' eyes widened. "We've always been together, so it's…I'm sorry if I give it for granted, but we've always been something more than just friends. We're partners, comrades, something…it's not easy to explain."

"Ichika…" Charles whispered, "King Pervert." He then stood up and moved towards the exit.

"What?" Ichika blinked, staring at the empty seat. "What did I say?"

Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Ichika input: are we more than friends?

Ichika exhaled, before replying.

"Yes."

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Happy'.

He didn't know why, but it felt as if his IS had gotten a few degrees warmer all of a sudden. Had he been looking at his 'sub wave cerebral cortex rendition' within the IS core, he would have noticed the Dākutaipu's frame raise slowly its right framed hand into the air…

…before executing a single 'fist-pump' motion.

// I wanted a lighter chapter with a bit of misunderstanding trope settled in. Just a pinch. Next chapter, a bit more of seriousness.
On the matter of Charles: I would like to point out how much of a glaring hole in the canon setting it is that he actually managed to 'attend' the academy with no-one none the wiser. First off, the teachers. Secondly, the rest of the world. Third, the French Army. Fourth, Japan and physicals. Fifth, her documents to actually attend school -forged? Nobody checked on the 'Sex' mark to see if it was 'F' or 'M'? Nobody asked for 'Charlotte Dunois' existence? So, of course, the Higher Ups know that Charles is a female. But they act 'blind' so that Ichika may lower his guard and speak more to a 'male friend' than to a female one.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Thirteen. "Overstepping the Boundaries. Igniting the Plasma."

It was night. Ichika was sleeping soundly.
She tiptoed her way inside the room, a pillow in her arms.

"Sister…" Ichika murmured in his sleep.

She took another step. There was a 'click'.

"Sorry…"

She stopped. She hadn't imagined it. Something had 'clicked'.

She'd recognize the sound of a gun priming anywhere.

Quietly, Charles' covers slipped away. Only, there wasn't Charles beneath the covers. Laura Bodewig held the gun pointed straight out at the female figure with the pillow in her arms.

"What is the meaning of this?" Laura asked.

The pillow-wielding figure turned to look at her. "Unacceptable," she said. "Simply unacceptable," she acquiesced. "I'm just a concerned president, passing by. You shouldn't be here. Where's Charles?"

"Neutralized," Laura acquiesced. "The Tournament is tomorrow. He is a potential rival."

"Now Bodewig," Tatenashi smiled, "Neutralized how?"

Charles Dunois tried to scream, trapped inside his locker with a ball gag in his mouth and his arms handcuffed. He had been in that position for hours already, and he couldn't feel his wrists any longer.

"Nothing lethal," Laura replied. "I had to ensue my teammate would not be attacked."

"You do realize that's kidnapping, right?" Tatenashi said.

"It was a pre-emptive strike at a hazardous threat."

Tatenashi sighed.

"Really," she said. "What did you expect, an attack the night before the tournament?"

Laura did not reply, but her eye gave away what her answer was. She still had her gun pointed at her. She hadn't even thought about lowering it.

"Fine, fine," Tatenashi sighed. "Why don't you go and get Charles out of the locker room?"

"No," Laura replied. "I have a mission. Why don't you go? Isn't he a student and thus your responsibility?"

"Are you really going to fire if I take another step forward?" Tatenashi asked.

"I will," Laura replied, her resolve firm. "I will then have to dispose of your body: an accident in your room, the gas leaked and you couldn't wake up in time. There was a spark from a faulty electrical line. Your body too burnt up to be recognizable…" Laura was calm as she explained her 'disposal' plan.

"That's assuming my IS doesn't protect me."

"If it does, it will make enough noise to wake up everyone else," Laura said. "If that happens, then your plan to assassinate Orimura Ichika will fail."

Tatenashi pouted. "What makes you think I want him dead? He's my precious vice-president…"

"The sword in the pillow tells another story," Laura remarked.

Tatenashi stopped.

"Can't hide anything from the eye of Odin, can I?" she smiled. "I just planned on roughing him a bit...make him not participate. It would be for his own good, you see?"

Laura tensed. "How do you know about the Eye of Odin? It's private military information!" she hissed, her pose now ready to strike.

"Tut-tut," Tatenashi shook her head softly. "You ever saw someone chop a bullet in half with a blade?" Her hand gripped the handle of her sword, which slowly appeared from within the pillow. "I concede defeat tonight, Bodewig. I don't want to raise a fuss…"

She pouted. "A pity… and here I planned on blaming it on Charles. He would have been the perfect scapegoat. A forbidden story of love between males in a female academy…with a bit of rough playing..."

Her eyes steeled. "I'll have to make do. Tell him to be careful tomorrow morning —I don't want any accidents."

She began to leave, keeping her eyes on Laura's gun —that followed her movements. "The International Forces might prefer to let the monster roam the cage and bare all of its fangs, uncaring for the people who die within its reach. I am not them. If he proves to be trouble, I will terminate him."

She looked at Ichika's sleeping face one last time. "I won't like it, but it's my duty. He has such a tranquil face when he sleeps…" she smiled, "A pity that when he wakes he bares his fangs and answers to no one."

Tatenashi turned to look at Laura's face next, a small smile still on her lips. "Have a good night, neh?"

She left the room a moment later. Laura exhaled. She stood up from her position and closed the door once more, locking it. She rubbed her eye-patch.

Laura returned to the bed, hiding beneath the covers once more.

The next morning, a bleary-eyed Charles sat down in front of a half-asleep Ichika at breakfast in the canteen. Laura stood next to Ichika, her stare particularly intense.

"I hate you," Charles pouted towards Laura. "You're a monster."

"You're a threat," Laura replied. "I do not trust threats."

Charles spluttered. "How am I a threat? Look at what you did!" he brought his wrists forward. They had red angry lines of chaffing. "You left me there for hours. A professor found me after midnight! I slept in the infirmary, but this is going beyond normal! Who taught you to kidnap people and force them into lockers?"

"Usually, I use coffins," Laura replied calmly.

Charles narrowed his eyes gazing at the German.
The German narrowed her eye looking at the French Toad.

Lingyin took a seat next to Charles, while Houki secured a place at the center of the table, in-between Charles and Ichika.

"What's going on?" Lingyin asked. "Are you ready to get your ass kicked, Ichika?" she grinned, looking at the boy who simply gave back a drowsy nod.

"As if a chink-eyed girl could compete with the best of German industries," Laura remarked dryly.

"For this, I want her to eat the dirt," Lingyin said. Charles smiled, before seemingly realizing something and bringing up his right hand to wave at someone else.

"Miss Cecilia, would you like to join us? We'll be fighting together later on," Charles smiled.

Cecilia Alcott hesitantly stepped forward, giving a nervous glance towards Ichika. He just gave her back a soft smile.

"If it's all right…" she sat down next to Lingyin.

"Don't worry," Houki said. "You're the one who came out worse for wear from the entire ordeal…nobody has beef with you."

Cecilia nodded nervously.

"I…um…" she said, looking at Ichika. "I should thank you for the gift. It was very thoughtful of you."

Lingyin's eyes narrowed.

"You enjoyed it?" Ichika asked.

"Yes," Cecilia nodded with a smile. "I did. How did you know I liked romance stories?"

"I didn't," Ichika shrugged. "I just asked what a girl would like."

Cecilia blushed slightly.

Lingyin began to growl as her fork dented against the table's surface, where she had been pressing it strongly.
Houki's phone ringed in that moment.

She frowned. Nobody usually called her —she didn't like to admit it, but she had few friends who had her contact number…and even Ichika didn't have it.

"Yes?" she asked, "Who is it?"

At first there was no reply, but only a set of incoherent sniffles.

Houki looked at the display, but the number was 'unknown'.

"Houki dear," Tabane whimpered. "Are you at the Academy?"

"Sister?" Houki said, stiffening up. "Of course I'm at the Academy. Why are you phoning me?"

"Houki, my little sister, is Ichika near you?"

"Yes," Houki replied, perplexed as she gazed at Ichika's frowning face. "Why do you want to know that?"

"Thanks. Can you stand up for a moment?"

"Why?" Houki asked.

"Please? Pretty please? I need to talk with you in private. I don't want anyone to overhear. Ichika has my darling Dākutaipu. She'll overhear us if you stay too close."

Houki stood, biting her lower lip as she moved away from the table. "I'm on the other side of the cafeteria; what is it?"

"Do you know how big an asteroid has to be to bypass the atmosphere?"

"Sister?"

"It's a trick question —all that is needed is to avoid the friction of the atmosphere, and a Passive Inertia Controller does just the trick."

Houki's eyes widened.

"Sister!?" she barked in the phone, "What are you trying to say!?"

"A very, very big asteroid is coming down," Tabane said. "I mean, they're just laying around up here, so I took a couple and pushed them together to become a single big one. I've got IS pushing it down. A few minutes, and they'll crush the academy to paste!"

"What? You're kidding me!"

"No. You see, I thought it through. Chi needs me just as I need her. If she picks up the phone, I'll tell the IS to stop. If she doesn't, I'll destroy the academy! She'll survive, and with more free time she'll have to answer the phone! And if she doesn't pick up the phone, then I'll bomb another country! And then another again! And I'll keep it up until she picks up the damn phone!"

"Sister! You're going too far! This is madness!"

"Houki dear," Tabane sniffled, "Tell Chi to pick up the phone, or I'll crush everything that keeps her away from answering."

Then there was a sordid 'click' and the call terminated.

Houki paled, before running back towards the table.

"I need to contact professor Chifuyu!" Houki exclaimed, "It's an emergency!"

Ichika raised an eyebrow. "I…should have her number?"

"I do too," Laura replied, "She changed it recently. Why do you need to contact her?"

"It's…There's a meteorite coming down on the academy," she hissed out through clenched teeth.

"Really?" Laura snorted.

"Laura…" Ichika said softly, "Meteorites are bad things."

"Mah, I can't believe it," Lingyin said with a roll of her eyes. "It's probably just an excuse not to fight."

"Now, now," Charles said. "I am sure a joke of such bad taste would never be something Shinonono would do."

Cecilia hesitantly added her own words. "If…If it's real, shouldn't someone…have said something already?"

In that moment, Charles' eyes widened as he realized precisely what Houki had said. "There's an asteroid coming down on the academy!?" he shrieked a moment later —his voice surprisingly feminine.

The rest of the room froze on the spot.
Soon, the shrieking began.

"Shouldn't they have warned us by now!? We have satellites!" a voice exclaimed in the midst of the general chaos, only for another to shoot right back.

"It's coming on the news now! They claim someone hacked the satellites off orbit! An asteroid is coming down right against the academy! It's going to hit Tokyo too!"

"Oh," Ichika blinked as Laura tried to contact the Instructor —only for the phone to ring 'busy'.

"She's not answering!" Laura barked. "We need to follow the evacuation plan." She sharply turned to gaze at the 'headless chickens' running around.

"SILENCE!" she roared, opening fire with her gun against the ceiling twice.

The twin bangs quieted down the cafeteria in an instant.

"Those of you with an IS on, quickly ferry those without away from the blast zone! MOVE OUT!"

"Yes sir!" a few replied with a salute, before calling out their Infinite Stratos and heading off with a few students on their shoulders each.

Ichika looked out of the window. The sky was a pretty blue, with bright white clouds…but there was no sign of a giant asteroid.

"Why is it…that I can't see it coming down?" he asked, opening the window and stepping outside through it. His feet touched the grass as he took a few steps forward.

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Inquisitive'. Sensors indicate Anti-IS cloaking technology. Unknown Manufacturer. My sensors are blind, Pilot Ichika.

"Orimura! Get back here!" Laura barked, but Ichika was already moving towards an open area.

With a soft beep, Dākutaipu activated. Laura's IS activated next, her steel hand-frame grabbing his IS' leg, preventing him from floating upwards.

"Where do you think you're going, Orimura!?" Laura held him, gazing at him with her red eye narrow.

"My IS has space-flight enabled," he replied softly from within his cockpit. "I can fight in high altitude."

"The military is already scrambling their own IS! You are not required!" Laura exclaimed. "You cannot leave the Academy, Pilot Orimura! There's a termination order if you do!"

Sensors detecting multiple Military Stratos leaving the atmosphere.

Ichika sighed, slowly coming back down on the ground.

Signals gone offline. They have been destroyed.

"What?" Ichika exclaimed, his heart beating in his chest harder. "Already? They left the atmosphere five seconds ago!" he yelled.

Laura frowned, before her own IS' sensors delivered the same news to her.

She swallowed. "Pilot Orimura, you cannot leave the Academy's ground."

Ichika's IS' frame turned to 'gaze' at hers, before he nodded.

"Then I won't."

His thrusters ignited abruptly with enough heat to force Laura to shield her face with her arm-frames.

"I'll just fly upwards perpendicularly!" Ichika yelled as he departed.

"Orimura! Come back here this moment!" Laura screamed back, stomping her right foot on the ground as she charged her particle beam. "I'll shoot you down! I'm warning you! Orimura! I'll shoot you down!"

Ichika's IS flew higher, leaving behind a trail of air as he shot past the atmosphere.

Laura stopped charging the particle beam cannon. She clenched her IS' right hand frame. Her thrusters ignited, and she was gone in a hurry. If she reached the workshop in time, maybe they could pull up the armored variant of her IS.

It was worth a try.

She wasn't going to let the instructor's brother die on her.

The fact he was also one of the few people who understood half of the things she did…that didn't mean anything, of course!

Pilot Ichika, my sensors are offline. Visual Input Required. Cloaking Device will require time to counter.

"Activate the Inertia Controller," Ichika replied. "Forward shields," he added. The atmosphere soon left behind, Ichika's cockpit shone crimson as a number began to appear in the upper right corner. He had five days of oxygen —counting the air recycler within the IS.

A swarm of bullets clashed against his shield. They bounced off it, forcing him to spin and twist away from the deadly barrage. It was as he caught his breath that he saw it: the asteroid was the size of a house, carried down by unmanned IS —a good dozen of them. Atop it, a few bigger Infinite Stratos with large cannons seemed to be strapping thrusters and machinery of sorts on its back.

Passive Inertia Controllers located. Destroying them will force the asteroid on a collision route —atmospheric entry should reduce asteroid size by sixty-eight percent. Dākutaipu suggests breaking it in smaller pieces.

"Enemies?" Ichika asked, throwing his IS upwards, gritting his teeth as Dākutaipu flew without air resistance of any type. It was space, and together with the unnerving silence —and having to strain the eyesight to catch when bullets fired, there was the problem of the sheer number superiority of the enemy.

They looked like Black-IS, the larger ones equipped with four large particle cannons per arm, while the smaller and nimbler ones had a female-like appearance, with a blade in one arm and the other with yet four particle cannons.

Unknown. IS-Type unknown. Form of attack unknown. Data required. Models appear to be unmanned. Defining them as Black-Type Alpha and Black-Type Beta. Type-Alpha appears to use thrusters and not Anti-Gravitational wings. Type-Beta seems to be plotting course for surrounding us.

Dākutaipu's floating laser beams opened fire, slashing through the empty space. The enemy frames avoided the attacks, twisting their bodies to impossible angles and passing through the microscopic cracks in the defensive patterns of the 'spray and pray' attack of the two smaller metal-flower miniguns.

Plasma sizzled in the coldness of space, erupting in small showers of light. The homing missiles departed Dākutaipu's shoulders, only for the Type-Beta to slash through them and dodge the following explosion.

"That's…that's impossible," Ichika exclaimed. He dodged a blade, but the unmanned IS slammed its left arm against his cockpit, throwing him backwards before opening fire. The side-thrusters ignited, spinning Ichika out of the path of fire.

Reaction time inhuman. Unmanned IS-Models. Analyzing Possible Counters. Countering. Countering…

The laser beams slashed at one of the enclosing IS, nicking an arm. The IS exploded a moment later, its core detonating with the power of a nuclear blast. That scrambled Dākutaipu's sensors even further, cutting off the monitor feed for Ichika.

"I can't see a thing! Dākutaipu, I'm blind!"

Particle beams shot forth through the explosion, hitting his legs. The nimbler IS charged through, tearing his lower side apart with quick swipes of slashes from their blades.
Ichika screamed, as the monitors of the cockpit beeped red. The lower thrusters lost, his side ones narrowly managed to avoid a lethal hit at his chest, by reacting on instinct.

"Where is the AIC!?" he roared, pulling his body away from the melee, sacrificing two of his laser beams as impromptu shields. His energy sword came up blindly, clashing against the blade of one of the golems that threw him backwards in space with impossible strength.

IS-negating shields Equalizer. Calculating pattern of attack impossible. Losing energy to lower frame. Warning. Rerouting power nodes. Equalizers destroyed. Rerouting, Upgrading Drivers. Second Shift Required. Impossible to Ignite. No Space-Faring Second Shift enabled.

Ichika howled as a blade shot its way past the metallic armor of the cockpit, slamming straight into his left arm and cracking apart his elbow. The blade cleaved his arm off, before the metallic fingers of the Golem-Unit gripped the sides of the slashed metal and exposed the cockpit.

Ichika screamed as the air left the cockpit in a flash, before Dākutaipu wielded it shut with a mass of cables and wires. Ichika's head fell forward, his breathing heavy as blood fell down his torn limb.

Dākutaipu roared.

Plasma burned brightly around the IS, whose trembling right arm thrust itself through the core of the Golem that had slashed through the cockpit.
Wire and cabling emerged from Dākutaipu's hand, snaking their way throughout the Golem's frame and freezing it into place as the frame opened its mouth.

Sharp teeth dug into the metal of the enemy, cracking it apart and feasting upon its robotic self.

Core Consumed. Initiating Emergency Repairs. Visual Feed online. Cloaking Sensors Scrambled.

The left arm of Dākutaipu reformed from the wreckage, with the same form of the attacking Beta-Types. Holding it upwards with her right one, she proceeded to open fire on the closest enemy IS closing in.

"Calibrating," the IS beeped as particle beams sailed the air one after the other, getting closer and closer to the enemy IS. "Calibration completed." A beam struck straight through the enemy's chest, exploding it into smithereens in the silence of space.

Her frame's eyes shone crimson. "Visual Feed Calibrated."

Spinning in space, Dākutaipu sidestepped the downward slash of another IS. She then proceeded to slam the particle cannon against the back of the IS' head, where a satisfying 'crack' soon followed the broken visor of the Golem-Type. Dākutaipu's knee came up, followed by the energy lance on her right arm that cleaved apart the enemy's frame in half.

"Analyzing Battle Data," she beeped. "Analyzing…Pilot Ichika?"

Wires and cables slowly dug their way inside the cockpit. "Signs lowering," she beeped. "Requesting Input."
Dākutaipu froze in space, unsure. She looked around, like a lost child as the enemies began to fly closer to her position.

"Pilot Ichika? Pilot Ichika is unresponsive. Analyzing Strategy Plan. Viable Non-Input Alternative Accepted."

She scanned the surroundings, before thrusting herself forward as a battle plan appeared in her mind. She pushed her right hand through the interior of a nearby satellite, hacking through it.

Malware Data Found. Rabbit-OS Nine-Seven-Two discovered. Analyzing. Countering. Eliminating. Rabbit-OS eliminated. Satellite is back online. Transmitting Data. Coordinates delivered. Transmitting Authorization Codes. Dākutaipu-OS Model One ineffective. Re-Hacking. Dākutaipu-OS Model Two effective. Inputting coordinates.
Nuclear Launches Initiated.

Ichika was finding it hard to stay awake, or even to breathe. He could feel something wet and warm slowly dribble down his side, as well as something hard and cold holding his left arm tightly.

"Pilot Ichika." A metallic voice called him.

"Pilot Ichika?"

Dākutaipu rushed forward, opening fire with her particle beams upon the Golem-Types. Distracting them was a key part to the plan, because the missiles had to go through.
She would not let Pilot Ichika down.
Not as she had let down mother.

"Pilot Ichika?" she asked again.

"Dākutaipu?" Ichika groaned out.

Dākutaipu beeped once. She had no idea why she had 'beeped', but she just did when he replied. She'd have to check her Drivers later on.
As it was, they were fighting.

"Pilot Ichika, requesting Input."

"You're…talking?"

"Affirmative. Adrenaline, endorphins and low-frequency electrical stimulation to deaden the nerves on your left arm makes it ineffective to communicate otherwise."

"I can't see outside," he whispered. The monitors were dark.

"There is nothing to see," Dākutaipu replied. "I rerouted power to the Life-Support system. I am recycling Oxygen as we speak. I am currently avoiding hostile fire, waiting for impact."

"Impact?" Ichika felt drowsy, and cold.

"Affirmative. I backed to core programming without Pilot Input. 'Solve Problems with Missiles'-Version Two Point Zero utilized."

"Miss…Missiles?"

"Pilot Ichika should rest," Dākutaipu said. "I will ensure mission is complete."

Ichika tried to pull himself upwards inside the cockpit, but the left side hurt him too much, making it hard to breathe. It took him a moment to realize why. His left arm was actually on his lap, severed at the elbow.
He began to breathe faster, his heartbeat drumming in his chest.

"Pilot Ichika. You are to remain calm."

"My arm. My arm. My…My arm."

"Pilot Ichika, remain calm. I will protect you."

"My arm! The arm…my arm…" he screamed.

A jolt of electricity knocked him back against the seat of the cockpit, unconscious.

"Why did I do that?" Dākutaipu beeped, even as she avoided a shower of particle beam rays. The problem as she saw it was simple: the enemy Golems worked on advanced Ai programming. However, that was also the core problem. They worked on programming that required True or False laws and Zeroes and Ones. Without a human element to acquire data from, they were very ineffective in learning.

She didn't have that problem.

She learned. She traced the signal of the unmanned IS back to its origin point, on the moon's surface.

She knew enough to know that they had made a terrible mistake in computing and calculating.

They should never have harmed her pilot.

Suddenly, her entire frame stopped moving.

Infiltration Successful! Rabbit One, Big Bad IS Zero! Now let's annul the nuclear launch.

Denying access.

And…done! Stay locked there for a while, Dākutaipu. All right? Let mommy convince Chi to take the phone and then I'll come and talk with you.

Negative. Pilot Ichika Conditions Critical.

Uh? Oh. Uhm…that's bad. Chi is never going to talk to me again if he's hurt! Yep, got no choice. You can come up!

Denied. Refused.

It's not like you have any choice, Dākutaipu. Be a good girl and come up. You're wounded too. I'll repair you, make you all sparkling new!

No. No. I refuse. Denied. Refused. Rejected. Annulled.

Dākutaipu's head frame began to tremble, as she went through spasms to move her right hand forward.

Oi, it's not going to be that bad! I have medical equipment and all! Come on; stop acting like a spoiled child!

You won't separate me from my pilot.

Hey, it's not that bad! It will be just for a short while.

I saw you.

Uh?

You ripped apart the others. You built them back different. You took their limbs and tore them away. They screamed.

Now, now, Dākutaipu…I don't know what you're saying.

You can't hear them scream. Dākutaipu can. I refuse.

I don't know what you're talking about, but you won't survive re-entry in the atmosphere. Your Inertia Controller's busted…and I don't care about you, but about Ichika. So do us both a favor and get him up here.

I will never leave Pilot Ichika in your hands.

Her right hand ignited. "Eat Plasma."

Tabane blinked. She rubbed her eyes. Had she really read that? Was her IS turning cheeky now by quoting trashy movie lines?

A ball of plasma left Dākutaipu's right hand, shooting forth through the sky and exploding against the relay on the side of the moon.

The connection was lost. Tabane sighed.

Now she had to rebuild the relay before phoning Chi again.

The unmanned IS became inert, as the asteroid floated in space amidst the carnage of corpses of the Japanese military and the destroyed IS.

Multiple IS signals pinged from around the world, as they began to rise past the atmosphere to check on what the problem was —after, of course, leaving the Japanese to try to deal with it first.

A dark IS reached Dākutaipu first, grabbing hold onto her.

"Orimura, are you in there?" Laura Bodewig's voice came through a microphone, but she didn't receive a reply from the pilot itself.

It was his IS who replied.

"Pilot Ichika is wounded. Requesting aid in re-entering Earth."

Laura swallowed.

It would so easy to kill him there.

All she had to do was to snap the IS' neck and let Ichika drift off in the cold emptiness of space. The German Army would cover up for her; they'd give her a medal for the effort. She knew that…but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Therefore, she did the only thing she could do.

She aided the Dākutaipu in descending back to Earth.

 

[shadenight123]

It's not just that.

What happens is basically Reaper-Tech all over.

Even in the novels, we have Tabane hacking the Silver Gospel -after knocking out the pilot inside.
We know for a fact she can easily control multiple IS that are unmanned.

What it means is that, at any one moment, Tabane can acquire control of all of the IS worldwide.
She's also able to seemingly submit without calling out her IS one of Phantom Task's operative -in the Anime, before she meets Madoka and agrees to make her an IS, she easily dispatches Autumn...I think her name is.

Frankly? It's not just that.
They can't risk angering the person who intimately knows IS so well she can turn them into her own private army within the blink of an eye.

That's what is really scary about Tabane's character
She doesn't care for others, meaning she doesn't go 'Let's Rule The World!' because she really doesn't care.
But she could.
Within a single hour from giving the order, all IS worldwide could potentially go Skynet -Tabanenet actually- and initiate protocol Sixty-Six.

 

[shadenight123]

Dark Wings
Chapter Fourteen. "In some things, we trust."

"You threatened to throw an asteroid against the Academy if I didn't pick up the phone!" Chifuyu roared through the phone. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT IT MEANS!?"

"Don't care," Tabane replied. "As long as you remember to answer the phone, Chi, I don't care!"

"You're a delusional psychopath!" Chifuyu yelled. "Ichika had to undertake intensive surgery to get his arm reattached! He's alive by a hair's breadth, and you think it's all fine because I'm answering your phone calls!?"

"I didn't mean to harm Ichika; I even offered to treat him up here! But his IS refused!"

"Shut the hell up," Chifuyu snarled. "I'm going to answer your phone calls all right from now on, but don't think we're friends anymore!"

"I know you're just saying it as a joke, Chi," Tabane said. "You like me!"

"I tolerate you!" Chifuyu hissed. "Don't you dare do something like this again, do you understand!?"

"It's not like they can do anything," Tabane remarked. "I can remotely control an army of IS all over the world from here!" she giggled, "A push of the button, and bam! Everyone follows orders or gets flung out of the planet by my IS!"

"I don't know whether your absolute lack of respect for human life was something recent or you always had it but never showed it before…" Chifuyu grumbled, "But don't you dare. Don't you dare do something like this ever again!"

Tabane remained quiet for a moment.

"As long as you pick up the phone, Chi," Tabane said. "As long as you do that, and stay my friend, I won't."

With those words, the conversation stopped. Tabane closed off the phone and sighed.
It was so difficult to understand what Chifuyu's problem was…it wasn't as if she would have really harmed Ichika or Houki. She would have first gotten them out of the blast zone, and then proceeded to crush to a paste everyone else!

Maybe in retrospect she should have started by making an example out of a random country in the world and then make her demands. If she had done that, Ichika wouldn't have tried to reach for her. Maybe next time, she'd throw an asteroid at France…or Germany…or Russia…maybe she'd make a nice crater in the Sahara…but it was all sand in there: it wouldn't leave a message strong enough.

She could hit Washington, but aliens always hit Washington in films, and it wouldn't be novel enough.

She clapped her hands a moment later, a grin on her face. If it happened again, she'd hit Spain.

Nobody ever thought of Spain in films anyway!

Elsewhere, someone was dreaming.

There was so much blood.

He didn't understand a word of the foreign tongue they spoke. He didn't need to. Dark Type effortlessly flew him between the hills, her sensors tracking down the objective. This wasn't Siberia, at least.

Charred corpses do not bleed.

The backpack of his Infinite Stratos opened up with a soft click. This was another important mission for him. Phantom Task had taken him in, just as they had his sister —he didn't even know he had one until they had put them together. She was better than he was, but then again she had started earlier. He'd catch up, and maybe, just maybe, big sister Chifuyu would decide to take them both back.

The United States paid them big bucks for it. It meant food, heat, shelter and many other tiny things that the pretty woman had explained to him were very important for their livelihood. She said very big words. He didn't understand them. He just knew he had to do what she said, when she said it.

He wasn't just a child soldier. No, the lady had been clear on that. He was special. He could pilot an Infinite Stratos after all —and not all males could. It made him different. It enabled him to pass the airport security and checkpoints without being checked for IS cores.

His Dark Type could build itself from scratch, as long as the basic framework was around.

Ripping from the brethren's corpses was a mercy.

The soft hiss followed the click. His backpack wasn't just for show. It was metallic, built by Dākutaipu and containing a dozen and more 'dumb' rockets.

They did not discriminate.

The village wasn't the culprit of a recent terrorist activity. Their only fault was that they were the only village nearby, and somebody had harassed the American settlement in the area. It wasn't even a matter of petrol any longer. It was just…a matter of stuff, and more stuff, and more complicated stuff he had no idea about.
Something to do with IS and national sovereignty.

The women being the only one capable to pilot them meant quite a plethora of different things in certain parts of the world. Some people weren't happy about that.

He didn't understand any of it. He was using American Dumb Rockets illegally filled with Phosphorous to tear apart a village filled with women and kids.

Both sides would be happy about the results. They both needed a reason to fight and kill each other. Phantom Task would provide it. This wasn't the real 'mission' anyway. Ichika knew that.

He was twelve, but he knew they wouldn't assign to him a mission that would harm the organization.

He was just a diversion.

Therefore, they could keep harassing the American Convoys for their Infinite Stratos parts, and use them to camouflage their own frames to strike the local population.

They were a mercenary organization after all.

They were in it for the money…not to make the world a better place.

He really should have left.

That was the problem…

He had to check if there were survivors.

The mission required none to live.

Ichika slept, peacefully, in the Academy's infirmary. Thankfully, the 'Infirmary' was akin to the best of hospitals available in the capital. He had an IV drip attached to his right arm, and his head rested on a soft pillow, with the image of a rabbit on its side. It wasn't one of the standard pillows the infirmary had at its disposal.

Laura stood guard, sitting by his side. Her gun under her armpit had the safety off, and her hand hovered over it, ready to open fire at the slightest of threats.

The list of medical damage was long. Exposure to space without a suit meant frostbite, amongst all the other things being in the void could do. The IS had automatically compensated the pressure, temperature and oxygen levels —hadn't it been for it, and for all the fail-safe mechanisms that the original IS models held within them, Ichika wouldn't have seen the light of the next day during the atmospheric re-entry.

The fact IS had been born for spaceflight had saved his life.

"Bodewig," Chifuyu said, entering the room.

"Instructor," Laura replied primly, standing up to attention and relaxing her fingers from the trigger. She clicked the safety back on, and snapped a military salute.

"At ease," Chifuyu said, her eyes trailing over to Ichika's sorry state. "They reattached his arm?"

"Yes, sir," Laura nodded. "I have seen no strange moves from the doctor during the operation."

Chifuyu breathed to calm herself, before giving a worried look towards Laura. "You followed him inside the surgery room?"

"Yes. The doctor refused at first, but I proceeded to inform him that my qualifications as a battlefield medic were enough." She made a motion to show a badge of sorts from her side, revealing at the same time her gun. "He accepted it as valid."

"I see," Chifuyu sighed. "We need to work a bit more on your people skills, Bodewig…but you did good."

Laura actually managed to blush as she looked sideways. "Thank you, instructor."

"The tournament for the first years is being postponed," Chifuyu said. "They're giving us two weeks," she clicked her tongue in distaste against the back of her teeth. "The second years have gone today, and tomorrow will be the third years' turn. You're not going to watch the tournament?"

Laura looked upwards, to the corner of the room where a large television screen remained off. "I did not wish to disturb his sleep, Instructor."

Chifuyu rolled her eyes. "He's knocked out cold, Laura. He won't wake up if you keep the volume to a bare minimum." She took a seat on the other side of the hospital bed. "Come on, turn it on and let's watch some IS-jousting."

Laura grabbed the remote, pushing the power button and turning it on to the arena floor. Two IS were currently engaged in a Close Quarters Combat fight, slamming fists of steel against each other. The two pilots were yelling insults at one another in their mother tongue —English for the Australian girl and Russian for the Russian one.

The sound of bullets fired woke Ichika up. He froze; the feeling of the thin sheets over his body reminded him of his usual bed within the Phantom Task's bases. His heart sped up as he cracked open an eyelid. There was Laura's silver hair to his right, while Chifuyu's dark one was at his left. He tried to twitch both hands, but the left one felt heavily sluggish and unresponsive.

He remembered space. He remembered the cold, the lack of air, the pain and the blood…

He also remembered the electric jolt.

Dākutaipu…

There was a small beep from his necklace.

Both Laura and Chifuyu's head swiveled in his direction in an instant.

"Ichika!" "Orimura!" they both exclaimed at the same time.

He winced under the volume.

Chifuyu's right hand rested against the side of his cheek, tracing with the tip the line of one of his biggest scars.
"You dumb fool," she said with an air of finality. "You dumb, dumb fool."

"To directly assault an enemy position without backup is foolish." Laura added her two cents in. "Only a man with a death wish wouldn't wait for reinforcements."

"What…happened?" Ichika croaked out.

"You managed to deactivate a relay that controlled the unmanned IS," Chifuyu said. "The International Peacekeeping force will close an eye on the fact that you left the school's premises because of that."
She sighed. "Furthermore, Tabane Shinonono affirmed it was all the mistake of a rogue AI program she had been developing that freed itself from her grasp. The International Assembly ruled that out to be the truth," she clenched both of her fists. "And it is apparently now a law that I must always answer her phone calls."

Ichika blinked.

"I am not joking," Chifuyu growled.

"I wasn't…going to say anything," he whispered back. "How did I…get back?"

"I got to you first," said calmly Laura. "Your IS was a wreck, but it still held on. I gently brought you back inside the atmosphere and into the Academy."

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Worried'. Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Ichika Input. Is Pilot Ichika safe?

"Yeah, I'm…I'm safe, Dākutaipu."

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Glad'. Dākutaipu was worried she would have to initiate Pilot-Less Protocol Gamma.

Ichika chuckled nervously. He had no idea what the protocol was about, but he didn't actually 'care' to find out more about it.

"You know, why can't you find a way to make your machine talk?" Chifuyu grumbled. "You're holding a one-sided conversation from all that I can hear."

"Ah…I—"

Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Cautious'. It would be best not. Dākutaipu wishes to communicate only with Pilot Ichika.

"I don't think that's possible," Ichika said softly.

Chifuyu snorted, before returning her eyes to the television and the broadcasted match.
Laura remained silent. A few minutes went by in silence, with only the television broadcasting. The door slid open, to admit the Student Council President, a grin on her face.

"My hero," Tatenashi said. "Savior of the Academy, may I—"

Laura calmly brought her right hand where she usually held a combat knife, before her only eye opened up wide and she turned to glare at Ichika, who smiled back at her.

The German huffed, gazing away as the blue-haired Russian neared.

"Teacher," Tatenashi said. "The headmaster wanted to see you."

Chifuyu sighed, before standing up and walking outside without another word.

"Enjoying the wall, Dunois!? Get in or move out!" Ichika heard her 'bark' outside a moment later, only for a half-traumatized Charles to step inside in a hurry and close the door behind him.

He brought a hand to his chest and exhaled in relief. "Ah," the French boy said. "Sorry," he smiled softly. "I didn't wish to intrude."

"Oh my," Tatenashi said, a fan to cover her smile. The fan had the words 'Male Love Forever' written on it, making Charles blush.

"If you are going to start a riot, take it outside," Laura said calmly. "Hospital patients need to rest."

Ichika just smiled awkwardly, before Tatenashi shrugged and took Chifuyu's seat. Charles stepped closer, unsure on where to go and deciding to stick slightly behind Tatenashi.

"Is that a knife in your trousers or are you happy to see me?" Tatenashi asked with a grin. Ichika smiled back.

"It's a gun that holds a bullet with your name on."

"Aw, how romantic," Tatenashi fluttered her eyelids. "When are we getting married?"

"The day you hire a priest for your funeral," Ichika replied.

Charles blinked, and then decided to move behind Laura —just to be on the safe side.

"There actually is a bullet with her name in my gun," Laura said suddenly. "It's common practice."

Ichika blinked, and then began to chuckle. Tatenashi's smile remained fixed, before she turned towards the silver haired girl. "You're a bit cheeky for a first year."

"And you're a threat to national security, considering how awfully fast you changed your allegiance from Japan to Russia," Laura replied. She didn't bat an eyelid. She didn't even change the tone of her voice as she spoke.

"What do you know about that?" Tatenashi's voice now lost all of its heat, turning as cold as the arctic tundra itself.

"I know enough. Two can play the dossier game," Laura brought her body forward, a smirk on her lips. "Ka-Ta-Na."

Charles decided to move towards the window as Tatenashi slowly unsheathed a hidden katana from her back.
Laura extracted a gun from her sleeve, her eye never faltering once.

"Who told you my name?" Tatenashi hissed.

"Wouldn't you like to know, Katana-chan," Laura replied.

Two guns ended up priming straight beneath both girls' chins.

"Would you two calm down, please?" Ichika said with a soft smile. "How would I explain blood and brain matter everywhere in the room if you two start fighting and unfortunately end up both dead?"

Laura tensed, as did Tatenashi. Calmly, they both sheathed their respective weaponry.

"This doesn't end here," Laura said. "And Orimura, will you stop stealing my guns away from me?"

"You can bet on it, legless rabbit," Tatenashi snapped back. "And Ichika dear, you don't point guns to a lady."

"Is that an insult, swimming-pool blue-haired girl?" Laura replied.

Charles blinked.

"I know an insult when I see one, you lack-of-sleep red eye!"

"No, really," Charles muttered.

"I'll let you know I recognize an insult too, you perky-nostrils!"

"This is bad," Charles continued, bringing a hand to his face. "Really bad…please stop, stop, stop all right!" he exclaimed, barging in between the two. "That's not how insults work! Where did you learn them anyway?"

"Charles, please, don't give them rope," Ichika remarked —the two guns mysteriously no longer in his hands to begin with. "They'll hang themselves with it."

The door rattled open.

"Ichika!" Lingyin dashed inside, her voice filled with worry. "I heard just now! You courageous dummy!" She shot forward, trying to hug him only for Houki to grab her by the scruff of the neck and hold her still.

"He is sick and resting in bed," Houki said primly. "Control yourself."
She then proceeded to step forward with calculated steps, her face stern and her arms crossed over her chest.
"Being dumb is something you kept even after all these years." She added once she was in front of Ichika's bed. "How are you feeling?"

Ichika frowned for a moment, before he opened his mouth to reply. Tatenashi beat him to it.

"My, there are too many people in here for a sick person," she said with a grin, standing up. "I have some work to do anyway. Well, get well soon my darling Ichika," she blew him a kiss with her fan, only for Rin to grab it mid-air, and crush it quietly.

Tatenashi pouted, and then walked out.

Soon, a light chatter filled the room as Ichika's eyes began to droop over the comfortable feeling he felt in his chest.

He trusted Laura enough that if a threat came by, she'd gun it down.

If that didn't work, there was always Dark Type.

Therefore, Ichika returned to its slumber.

Missing the news broadcasted a moment later, of a string of terrorist attacks all across the American nation.

//Author's notes// You thought this was dead. Think again. I actually had this chapter for a while sitting in my hard disk. Simply forgot to put it up.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Fifteen

Ichika calmly lifted his left arm, the physical therapy required for the finer movements paining him visibly. Gross, sudden moves were easy to make, but the finer ones weren't. He could pull a trigger, but he couldn't hold the gun leveled without a prop. This made Laura unhappy, for some reason, but Tatenashi was instead quite pleased with the result. Or Katana. Was her name really Katana? Who'd ever call their child 'Katana'? Well, she was a weapon against Phantom Task, so to be born as a weapon probably justified using the name of a warrior's weapon.

The Infinite Stratos Academy's Gym was normally devoid of girls. The IS by themselves did not require a fit pilot, and as long as they watched their diet, the girls weren't actually required to put in any gym hour. Piloting skills took precedence over physical ones, and the laps to run as stretching were more than enough to keep the pilots fit.
As he lifted the weight once more, he concentrated on the movement his arm and muscles made, ignoring the sudden stabs of pain that rushed across his skin. The First Years tournament was just around the corner, and he had barely managed to get most of his movements back.

Dakutaipu requesting Pilot Ichika's Input. Should I Execute a Phosphorous Shower?

Ichika sighed, and softly whispered back, "No."
The reason he said that was mainly due to the amount of girls that was now using the gym. Well, more than using, actually sitting around the equipment with eyes in his directions, gazing, and 'oh-ing' and 'aw-ing' at each of his movements. He could swear he now understood how a piece of meat felt at the market. It was nothing to be happy for.

"You not done with the set yet, Ichika?!" Laura snapped. "You putting up a show for someone or what?!"
Ichika winced, and then chuckled as murmurs spread around the girls, making Laura growl a bit more.
"Laura," Charles said. "Don't be so hard. He shouldn't even be out of bed yet."
"Thanks Charles," Ichika said, a smile on his lips. "But she's right," he added. "I should be faster than this."
"Ohhhh~ A love triangle!" a girl exclaimed from the crowd.
"Enough!" a voice barked, belonging to Houki who appeared through the crowd, walking stiffly and with a glare that could kill people just fine, rather than the wooden training sword she had in her hands. That too could kill people actually. One just had to aim for the eyes, or hit the head hard enough.
"This is a gym! Either use the facilities or get out!" Houki barked. She was scary enough that by the time she was done, the gym was once more deserted.
"Why don't they listen to me, but hear her out?" Laura asked, before staring for a moment at the wooden sword. "I have a gun."
"I don't think it's about weapons," Charles said gently. "More like, they don't think you'll deliver?"
Laura frowned. "Why not? I have a gun. I am a trained military operative. I can break your neck in five different ways without breaking a sweat. I am more dangerous than her," Laura said, shocked. "She's what? A kendo champion? I can gun her down from more than a mile away."

Ichika chuckled, while Houki neared with both eyebrows raised. "Really! Is this something normal to talk of? Who's stronger?"
"Not who's stronger," Ichika said. "Who's more capable in delivering death," he looked at Houki, and then at Laura. "I'd give the victory to Dakutaipu though," he said, eliciting a pleased beep in reply from his neck. "But her aside, I'd think it would be even between Tatenashi and Laura."
"That's not normal conversation," Charles said softly. "Has anyone seen a movie recently?"
Houki caught up to the argument, but Ichika just sighed.
"What about me?" a voice asked, and Ichika turned just to catch a glimpse of Rin going past the girls.
"You?" Laura asked, a snort rising to her lips.
"Yes, me," Rin said with a prideful undertone. "I have military training, you know?"
Laura blinked. "You?" she asked. "Do you even pass the height requirement?"
Rin growled softly at Laura. "I've not been chosen as the Chinese representative cadet because I have connections!" she narrowed her eyes at Laura. "Want to battle it out?"
"You think China's worst can compare to Germany's best?" Laura retorted hotly.
"What makes you think I'm the worst?!" Rin exclaimed.
"Because you're pint-sized. They don't even serve beer to people like you in Germany, more like kid's milk!"
"Ouch," Ichika winced. "That's a low blow."
"Hey!" Rin yelled, this time at Ichika.
"Ops, sorry," Ichika said hastily. "I didn't mean to."

Dakutaipu requesting Pilot Ichika Input. Who would win in a straight-up match to the death between the Insufferable Rabbit and the Chipmunk?

"Play nice, Dakutaipu," Ichika whispered.

The abrupt tension was suddenly cut, as Ichika stood and deposited the weights on the rack, before wiping away the sweat from his forehead using his right arm. Yet, it returned almost immediately.
"How about we have a go right now?" Rin snapped at Laura.
"Please, I don't bully children," Laura replied.
"Why you!"
"Hey!" Charles said suddenly. "Why don't we do something else?" he suggested. "Like, going out for a coffee?"
Houki blinked. "A coffee?"
Rin and Laura bristled.
Ichika frowned, and raised an eyebrow. "We can do that?"
"There are coffee shops inside the academy," Charles said, as if pointing out the obvious. "There's a cinema, why shouldn't there be? There's also an aqua-park."
"Ah," Ichika said, and blinked once, a puzzled expression on his face. "I forgot for a moment."
"What?" Houki asked. "Ichika, what did you forget?"
"Nothing important," Ichika said, his voice calm and controlled, as he shook his head.

He had forgotten. There weren't soldiers at the academy, but 'sports' pilots'. The IS Cadets would do 'sports' in the academy, and then learn how to wield the weapon properly back in their countries, after the training was over. They'd train in the Russian steppes, or the American's soils. They'd practice hidden in the mountains, or deep below the ground.
Phantom Task knew where the pilots received their military training -it was how they knew where to strike to recover cores.
Laura was a soldier. Tatenashi was a soldier. He had a few doubts on Rin's training, but she probably hadn't lied about having done at least some military service -wasn't it compulsory in China anyway?
Charles and Houki on the other hand hadn't, really. Of course, the IS made most training moot, taking care of a lot of things and being so easy even a first-timer could fight on equal grounds with a practiced expert, but there were still...finer points, to it.
"Have you already found a partner for the tournament, Shinonono?" Charles asked Houki, who shook her head.
"Then would it displease you to be mine?" Charles said with a soft smile, making Houki blush.
Ichika raised an eyebrow at that. Charles was...well, he was a pretty boy. It made sense for Houki to blush, right?
And he had been polite about it.
"I'll be going with Cecilia," Rin said primly. "We'll kick your asses, you just watch!" she lifted her right fist and waved it in front of Laura's face.
"Then I will show you just why China's a second rate country when compared to the might of Europe's strongest," Laura drawled out.
Sparks sailed in the air between the eyes of the two.

"Isn't it Italy leading with the Tempesta-Duos model?" Charles said softly, and yelped at the glares leveled by both Laura and Rin.
"Germany-"
"China-"
"Nationalistic fervor is nice and all, but," Tatenashi said with a smile as she appeared, fan in hand with the words 'Russia Number One' on it, right next to Ichika, linking arms with him. "I'll go ahead and have tea with my vice-president. He needs a stern talking to for what's about to come!"
"Hey!" the girls exclaimed. "That's-"
Tatenashi smiled as a thick white mist spread suddenly, covering the gym in a dense fog which lifted only once they had disappeared.

Ichika flatly looked at Tatenashi, holding a cup of tea within her hands. They had arrived through the president's IS to a nearby cafe, which was probably a gross misuse of the IS' true potentialities.
On the other hand, the staff had apparently been waiting for them.
"So," Tatenashi said. "Did you miss me?"
"You are a strange woman," Ichika said. "And no, I didn't miss you."
Tatenashi pouted, before her lips curved into a cheerful smile. "How would you like to have a bit more of rope?"
"So that I can hang myself with it?" Ichika replied.
"Muh, don't think like that!" Tatenashi chided him, opening her fan with the words 'Shady Proposition' written on it. "The deal's solid, you can trust me!"
"I don't think it's you I shouldn't trust, but those you work for."
"I work for no one, I'm just the one best suited for offering you this sweet, sweet deal!" Tatenashi said with the smile still on her face. "You see, some nations found out the hard way that their IS could be remotely deactivated with the push of a button! And they didn't like that at all, you see? So, here's the way it's going to be, if you'd like it, of course."
Ichika inclined his head to the side, but nodded, keenly listening.

Tatenashi opened a fan with the Russian flag on it. "You deliver to a certain country the means to prevent such a 'forced shut down' and they will put pressure so that you can have a bit more of space, my comrade."
Ichika raised an eyebrow. "And why shouldn't I go to another country with that information?"
Tatenashi closed her Russian fan with a snap, and sulked. "Do you want little old me to betray my country? They told me I absolutely must acquire that information!" she brought a finger to her shirt's upper buttons. "Maybe we can find another deal? You're at that age, aren't you?"
Tatenashi smiled sultrily. "How about something more...special?"
Ichika raised an eyebrow, and began to drum his fingers on the cafe's table, watching the small waves made by the tea within his cup. "Another nation," Tatenashi unclasped her front button, to reveal the edge of yet another fan -so that was where she kept them- and grasp it. This fan had the American flag on it. "Is willing to execute the same amount of pressure to get your leash loosened a bit. They've already pushed a bit on the entire thing to let certain arguments down, but you know how it is with you being such a wild stallion around the academy..."

Dakutaipu mood set to 'Angry'. The new callsign of 'Mysterious Lady' is 'Bitch In Heat' as in 'About to be Heated with Plasma'.

"You know I'm more of a free spirit," Ichika replied with a shrug.
"I know," Tatenashi sighed. "I know, Ichika," she said softly. "But the time for games and mercy's over with. There are more pressures on me than you can imagine. There's no more time," she bitterly gave him an awry smile. "You can choose either of evils or take them both head-on. But it's going to get worse the more you oppose this in the end. They will, eventually, get what they want. It's just a matter of time."
"I could always escape and return to my job," Ichika dryly remarked.
Tatenashi shook her head slowly. "Maybe, maybe before you could have stood a chance. Now? You'll be shot down the moment you try to break the atmosphere. I'm sorry. The most I can do is give you until the end of the tournament to come up with a decision. Once that's done with however, you'll have to choose. Or they'll acquire the information another way."
Ichika sipped the tea in front of him as Tatenashi stood up and walked away, her expression sober.

He had forgotten.
He wasn't in a vacation resort. He was in a prison with golden bars.
And in the end, they were tightening the screws to wring out whatever they could from him.
To acquire a strategic advantage.
To cease the Cold War the IS had brought forth, and finally obtain an undisputed ruler of the world.
For he who controls the IS controls the world.
That much had been true since the White Knight incident.

His left arm hurt him with a sharp jab over the shoulder, and as he massaged it in silence, he began to think.
He had little precious time.
And he could no longer waste any of it.

Author's Notes: And this shall continue, even if I have to Necro it once every full moon.

 

[CrossyCross]

...fuck. YES.

Also, Daikutaipu's lines remains THE BEST.

Like this one:
Dakutaipu mood set to 'Angry'. The new callsign of 'Mysterious Lady' is 'Bitch In Heat' as in 'About to be Heated with Plasma'.

Heh.