Chapter SIxteen
"Chamber hollow point rounds," Ichika said calmly, his IS' arms raised with a gun his size within their arms.
Dakutaipu beeped an affirmative, and with a few seconds of whirring, the change happened.
"Chamber phosphorous rounds," Ichika said next.
Dakutaipu obliged.
"Chamber EMP charges," Ichika said.
Dakutaipu did just that.
"It's two seconds per magazine change," Ichika said in the end. "Can't it be shortened?"
Dakutaipu requests pilot Ichika input. How much do you value your front shields?
"A lot," Ichika said bluntly.
Dakutaipu cannot remove front shield deployment plates to make room for magazine feeds. Two seconds is the time required. Why not use energy rounds? There is no reload time. I do not understand the downgrade of my capacities.
"We'll need the energy for second shift," Ichika replied. "And we won't be able to waste time with it either."
The IS arena was a large, oval area covered in sand and dirt, with tall walls surrounding the enclosure but with the sky freely in reach. Propped against a wall, with holes drilled on it, an IS-sized target stood still.
Dakutaipu requesting pilot Ichika input. Why have my capacities been lowered? Where is my armor? Where are my energy blade and my hooks?
"We'll be in a tournament with other first years," Ichika said. "The majority of them will be using the default Academy IS, with a concentration on short range attacks with the default katana, and probably a mid to long range assault rifle like the one I'm using now. The representative cadets on the other hand..."
Ichika sighed. "Dakutaipu, what's the point in playing war?"
Dakutaipu's mood set to 'Theorizing'. It is probably about practice.
"As if war had rules," Ichika mumbled. "But to answer your question...I want them to think I'm using the default equipment of the Uchigane, but with a focus on shielding."
Dakutaipu didn't answer at first, but when she did, the entire frame grew slightly hotter.
Dakutaipu requesting pilot Ichika input. Are you expecting to be sniped?
"Yes," Ichika said with a heavy sigh. "I expect a sniper to be in position the moment the shields fail."
Dakutaipu mood set to 'Resolute'. I will not allow pilot Ichika to be harmed ever again.
"Thanks," Ichika said, and then hoisted the rifle once more, taking aim. The three-shot controlled burst was familiar to his ears, as was the sound of bullets impacting against the reinforced walls. The magazine emptied in little more than a minute, and by the time he was done, another propped in to replace it.
"Yoh, Ichika!" Charles said, making Ichika turn. Charles was standing inside a bright orange IS, the outfit he was wearing similar to that of the girls, if surprisingly less skimpy.
"Aren't you cold?" Ichika asked calmly.
"Why should I be? The temperature's regulated," Charles replied, before cocking his head to the side. "Are you practicing for the tournament?"
"Yes," Ichika replied. "You too?"
Charles nodded, a smile on his face. "You'll be using an Uchigana type like Houki?"
"You're on first name terms already?" Ichika asked. "Do you like her?"
Charles blinked, and then blushed slightly, before shaking his head. "Ah! No, well, she is a likeable person, but that's not what I meant with that! I forgot Japanese have a first name-surname difference in addressing persons."
Ichika shrugged. "I'd think your fanclub would have taught you that."
"That would explain why they giggle when I call them," Charles whispered, and then his eyes widened. "Wait. I don't have a fan club! Well, more of a group of friends who...muh! Ichika!"
Ichika laughed, as Charles neared with his Raphael Revive and a grumpy expression on his face.
"Sorry Charles, it's just fun to tease you."
Charles pouted, and smiled after a moment. "Ah, I see. Anyway, I wouldn't know about me having a fan club, but you most certainly do."
It was Ichika's turn to blink. "I do?"
"Yes," Charles said. "You saved the Academy from an asteroid, of course you've got a fan club. I overheard them saying they'll cheer you on at the tournament."
"Oh," was all that Ichika said. "Do you want to spar?" he asked.
Charles hesitated. "Shouldn't you practice with Laura?"
"Your model's a Rafale Revive, isn't it?" Ichika asked. "It's an all-around solid IS which is borderline third generation, and mass-produced for usage all around the world."
"You did your homework," Charles remarked. "And you aren't much off, but mine's a special model. Custom built as the evolution of the second generation into hopefully the third."
Ichika glanced at the IS frame a bit more. "Less armor plating, more speed," he remarked. "Multi-Directional thrusters rather than wing-thrusters. Maneuverability, speed, but lower armor and...a stronger shield to compensate for it?"
Charles pouted. "What about you?"
"I'm using Dakutaipu," Ichika replied.
"Yes, but what are its strengths?" Charles asked, a light whine in his tone.
"Why don't you find out?" Ichika retorted, a smile on his face.
"You've taken the Uchigana's frame model," Charles said. He remained silent, his eyes glazing over the dark colored forms of Ichika's IS with a furrowed brow. He seemed to be concentrating very hard on the visible equipment. "You're leaving the close combat to Laura?" he asked next in disbelief. "You don't have the standard katana which comes with the frame."
"Uh-uh," Ichika said. "It's best that way. Laura will go in, and I'll follow her. I'm more suited for mid-range anyway," he grinned. "And I've got to behave for the tournament."
Charles raised an eyebrow in a silent query, but when Ichika didn't answer, he merely began to float back a bit. "Want to get started on the spar?"
"Sure," Ichika said. "I'll load blanks in the rifle," with a whirring sound, the bullets changed quickly, Dakutaipu humming as it began to fully power up.
The hair at the back of Charles' neck rose as she watched the metallic form of Ichika's IS assume a slightly luminous crimson color along the main connectors. Ichika flew at a sedated pace towards the other side of the arena, taking position at the 'starting' point of every match. He made his rifle disappear -the matches always started with no weapon visibly in hand, because 'extracting the weapon' was as much a part of a pilot's skills as the actual fighting.
"At the count of three?" Ichika remarked. "Until the shields go halfway?"
Charles nodded. "Sure! Winner offers dinner to the loser?"
Ichika frowned, "But isn't the mess hall free?"
"I meant in a restaurant!" Charles said. "Or a bar out of the school! The Academy's big! Come on, last time you ran away with the president, but this time, if I win, we'll go and eat together somewhere nice I found!"
"Ah," Ichika blinked. "I'm sorry about that, Charles."
"Don't worry about it now," Charles said, before smiling brightly at him. "Let's get this started on three!"
Ichika nodded, and began to count in unison with Charles.
"One," they said, and Ichika's shoulders tensed. "Two," Charles brought his left foot backwards, hands of his IS frame wide open, "Three!"
The Rafale Revive's hands immediately filled with the materialized assault rifle, which opened fire with absolute prejudice as it began to gain altitude. Ichika followed suite, but rather than moving backwards or to the side, it neared the orange IS as fast as it could, before opening fire directly above itself.
This forced Charles to move sideways, trying to recenter his aim on Ichika, who meanwhile had taken to circling beneath Charles' shadow like a shark beneath the water surface would a boat filled with bleeding goats.
The gory image was surprisingly fitting, in Charles' mind, for the sheer look of smugness and wicked smile that Ichika had on his face. It was as if someone had flipped a switch, and now Ichika could only think about the fight.
The bullets were blank on both sides -even though it was an unnecessary precaution, due to the IS' absolute defense as long as it was powered, but they still did sting a bit when they hit.
And somehow, Ichika seemed to enjoy shooting at the tip of her wing thrusters, rather than at her body.
His body.
Not 'Her' Body.
Charles was a He. She was a He.
It was the only way to make it work.
They danced until the magazines emptied, and when they did, Ichika went for a full-out brunt contact, forcing Charles to bring out his close quarters combat knife, which was quickly halted by the firm grip of Ichika's IS on his frame's wrist, and with an abrupt movement, Charles was thrown against the ground.
Ichika's frame right foot stomped down on where the Rafale had been a moment before -if not for the multi-directional thrusters still working. A cloud of dust lifted from the ground, before Charles materialized a light machine gun and opened fire from the side, forcing Ichika to bring up his left hand, which extended large steel-like walls around its wrist, forming an impromptu shield.
"Oh," Charles said, "You do have tricks hidden under your sleeves!"
"How many weapons do you even have?" Ichika asked, bringing his assault rifle to bear and opening fire once more.
Charles' own shield popped up, and as they blanketed each other with shots, the french boy simply laughed. "It's a secret!"
And then Charles flew nearer, the machine gun disappearing as another weapon-
Ichika dodged, with a wider distance than usual from the weapon.
An inch away from where his side had been, a large spinning pilebunker-type weapon was now drilling the air as it fired through the revolver chamber of Charles' shield. The sound echoed like large artillery rounds being fired, and to that, Ichika couldn't help but feel the tension rise all across his shoulders.
He knew the type of damage pilebunker-type weapons could do. They were the favorite weapon of the Chinese with their Close Quarters Combat style of fighting battles in their IS.
And apparently, the French had copied the idea.
Ichika smiled, and brought his IS' frame left hand forward. The arm opened up like a flower blooming, revealing hooks that shot out at the same time, clasping around Charles' frame, and holding him still as Dakutaipu's right arm drew back, sliding the upper side of the forearm armor around, to reveal a large broadsword-like weapon.
The slicing motion crashed against one of the pilebunker's shots, which impacted and sent the blade's swing sideways, crashing still against Charles sides.
The screeching of the IS impacting one another at such close proximity was nearly as loud as a car crash, and as metal met metal, Ichika's left limb began to pull back the hooks, forcing Charles to increase the thrusters' strength.
Within moments, Ichika stopped opposing resistance, and instead accelerated against Charles. The abrupt change of pace sent Charles reeling, and with it, the broadsword pierced through the French boy's IS guard, reaching all the way to his midriff, where it stopped an inch away from the skin, the absolute barrier of the IS halting the attack, if by a hair's breadth.
"My win," Ichika said.
Charles realized he had been breathing hard from the exertion of the spar, and blinked once, in disbelief, before giving back a shaky nod. "Seems so, Ichika."
"Well, you said you knew a good place, right?"
Charles blinked once, and then nodded. Both IS frames disappeared at the same time.
"How about we go there then? I'm positively famished," Ichika continued, and Charles couldn't help but grin at the suggestion.
"Sure, let's take a shower and then we can go," Charles replied.
Ichika nodded, and the two began to walk out of the arena, and into the changing rooms. He changed first, while Charles fidgeted a bit with the locker. "Sacre bleu," Charles grumbled. "The key's always fidgety like this. You go ahead, I don't want to compare sizes anyway."
"Of course not," Ichika chuckled.
Easily, the key slid in and opened the locker after Ichika had already left for the shower, and soon Charles stepped inside a nearby one, dropping the skin-colored sports bra on the floor nearby.
He had come prepared for any and all scenarios. He had been taught the best tricks, and the best ways to get through this, and he would be damned if he didn't manage to fool the entire world on it.
Ichika merely hummed. Phantom Task had the concept of 'turns' in taking showers, and when it was your turn, you went, irregardless of whether it was a male or female sharing the turn with you. Sometimes, you didn't have showers, and you had to use the nearby rivers, or lakes, and when that happened, you made your own hours.
Like the middle of the night. Ichika would never forget the day he had to wash in the middle of the night in plain countryside inside a river.
There was just...so much darkness, so little sound, and nothing but him and his 'fellows', although back then, they were still his kidnappers in his heart.
The shower done, he was already dressed and ready to go when Charles stepped outside. He could swear the French boy had a certain way of walking that puzzled him, but he let it go as a mere strange thing the Frenchies did.
He was pretty sure there was a stereotype of French men swinging whatever way they liked it, or something similar. He averted his gaze anyway -he wasn't really interested in a male's naked body, and when he resettled his eyes daring a glance to see if Charles was done, he grinned as he watched the french boy walk towards him, properly dressed.
"Took your time in the shower," Ichika said.
"I like taking showers," Charles replied.
Ichika shrugged, and walked next to Charles as they both left the changing room, their destination clear only to the blond boy.
It turned out to be a maid café, settled in a corner of the academy, with maids and butlers serving tea, sandwiches, and also lunch and dinner.
Ichika frowned. He'd never been inside one of 'those' places. Too neat. Too clean. Too...nice. There were pubs in the outskirts of cities that held a certain air of despair to them, with the fried food being the only one guaranteed not to kill you within the end of the night -because you could fry a shoe and eat it, but you couldn't teach someone to cook rotten fish into something edible.
The restaurant probably catered to the Western crowd, because rather than having chopsticks, they had forks and knives as cutlery.
"Fish and chips is tonight's specialty, masters," the waitress dressed as a maid said, a big smile on her face. "We also have omelettes filled with our humble selves love if you prefer," she kept the smile on, and Ichika had to blink at that.
"Uh..."
"We'll take the specialty," Charles blurted out, "Both of us. And water."
"Very well," the maid jolted it down on her bloc notes, and then sauntered away.
"Where did you bring me?" Ichika whispered.
"I was told this was a nice place with cute girls," Charles whispered back in a barely heard whimper. "They said I'd like it...I don't think they understood what I was looking for."
"You're blushing," Ichika stated.
Charles fidgeted with his fingers and lowered her gaze to the empty plate.
Ichika blinked a moment later. "Wait. Wait. I got it. You've spent your entire life cloistered, haven't you?"
Charles' blush intensified. "I didn't have many occasions to go outside my family's mansion," he whispered.
"Then we've got to correct that," Ichika said firmly. A moment later, he gestured for the waitress.
Charles' eyes crossed. He hadn't just asked what he thought he had asked.
He had.
Oh god.
He had.
"The way I see it," Ichika said, "You need to ask people if you want things done."
"I can't believe you told her I thought she was cute and wanted to know if she had someone or not," Charles said a hand to cover his face as they left the diner, "She could have said no!"
Charles did have a telephone number on a piece of paper, and Ichika smiled. Wasn't that nice? It was what friends did with one another, right? They helped each other, even 'scoring' was something they did.
"Well, why not? You're one of the only two IS male pilots," Ichika said. "Who wouldn't want to date you?"
"I don't know. Really though, why?"
"You were blushing at her words, isn't that a sign that you liked her?" Ichika remarked, a frown on his face.
Charles spluttered. "It's because the thought of doing something like that was embarrassing!"
"Ah," Ichika said, the frown still on his face. "No, I don't get it. She even drew a heart with foam on your coffee. And winked."
"C-Can we change argument?" Charles said.
"Sure," Ichika smiled. "Are you ready for the tournament day?"
"I don't know," Charles said. "Honestly, I have to put up a good show for my father's industries, but the fact is I'm worried, because if I lose, then they'll take a hit. My father pitched everything on the Rafale Revive new model, and if it fails..."
Ichika shrugged. "I think you've got a faster weapon materialization than the Uchigana, at least. And if you can really equip a lot of weapons, it means you've got a huge quantity of equalizers, right?"
"More than twenty," Charles said.
Ichika whistled. "That's a lot. What was cut?"
"The armor thickness," Charles replied. "The shield's there to cover it up, but for the most part, the Rafale's frame so light it can easily be carried by hand by a group of ten people."
"I see," Ichika whistled. "And with all those equalizers, you're practically a Swiss army knife."
"More of a French army knife," Charles said with a small smile.
Ichika yawned, and massaged his right shoulder with his left hand. "Hey Charles," he said, "You know what I like about you?"
Charles blushed slightly, and remained silent, probably in wait for Ichika to continue.
"You're nice, and considerate," Ichika grinned. "If you were a girl and I didn't have my problems, I would date you."
Charles laughed nervously, slapping Ichika's back hard, while bringing his other hand to cover his mouth. "Ichika! You say the strangest of things! Come on now, tomorrow's an important day!"
Still laughing like a madman, Charles set off for bed first.
While still wearing his clothes.
Ichika merely frowned, shrugged, and changed before going to bed.
Dakutaipu requesting pilot Ichika input.
"Yes?" he whispered softly.
Dakutaipu's mood set to 'Curious'. If Dakutaipu was a girl would Ichika date her before Charles?
"Uh..." Ichika mumbled, perplexed. "I don't know, maybe?"
The IS didn't ask anything else, and soon, Ichika slumbered, his dreams devoid of everything, a small mercy of the pills he took.
It was somewhat nice, to have his head covered in a metaphoric blanket. It felt good.
Life was good.
It wouldn't last, but it was good while it lasted.
He had made his choice.
He just hoped Chifuyu would understand.
