Paladin (An Infinite Stratos AU/SI)

[HadesHerald]

Author's Note: I do not own the Infinite Stratos characters or universe. If you want to watch the series it is found here.

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The turbines turn over once, twice, then the machine roars to life. I smile, running my hand along the curved sections of armor, "my ticket is secure."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Orimura is an interesting specimen. He has not the brains or the tact to stay out of trouble. Yet he also possess a trait men everywhere would practically kill for. I, on the other hand, almost had to kill for my ability. He choose to sit in the front, showing either fear, hoping the teacher would protect him, or attentiveness, or maybe the fact he was 30 seconds from being late to class. On the first day. And he lives on campus. I huff, vaguely annoyed at his casual treatment of being able to learn about the usage of the most advanced piece of technology in the world. My attention flicks to the front of the class as the homeroom teacher walks in.

"Congratulations for making it to this school! I'm your substitute homeroom teacher, Miss Maya Yamada," my headphones seamlessly translated her speech from japanese to english. It struck me as odd that the first, and only, school for IS pilots, mechanics, and innovators was located in Japan, but everyone said Tabane Shinonono had a special love for her home country. Ms. Yamada apparently wasn't used to speaking in front of a class. The blank stares may have creeped her out slightly. "Starting today you are all all now students of the IS academy. As you know this school dictates that pilot trainees must board here. This ensures a maximum of socialization. Which is important, as IS piloting can be wearisome to the brain." She continued with her slightly stumbling speech, having students stand and introduce themselves by class role number. Is this highschool all over again? I turn back to my tablet, fingers rippling madly as a I type another section of code.

"Hello, Ichika Orimura?"

"H-here."

Laughter. That's what you get for not paying attention. But of course, your stolen glances at the student in seat 1-1 did not go unnoticed by all.

"I apologize for being so loud just then, but we've moved all the way to roll number 12," she has impressive cans, and really shouldn't lean over the desk like that, Orimura seems nervous.

"Ichika Orimura, nice to meet you all" the subject in question rose, then paused in sudden silence, "that's all." Most of the girls in the room gasp, then recoil as another teacher strides in and lands a solid blow on Ichika's head. "Sis?!" that slight cowering and hunkering suggest… fear maybe? One that isn't unfounded as a second blow strikes him solidly on the cranium-shell.

"You will call me Miss Orimura at school."

"Oh you're back! Does that mean the meeting is over already?" oh, Yamada was never meant to teach this class.

"That's right Miss Yamada, I'm sorry about having to make you welcome my class for me." she pauses for effect, "alright class, I'm your homeroom teacher, Miss Chifuyu Orimura."

And the crowd goes wild.
"It's the real Lady Chifuyu!"
"She inspired me to try to become a pilot!"
"I'd die for you Lady Chifuyu."

I back my translator up to the 'Lady' honorific. No kimi or の君 which means nothing to me. I believe it means she is honored as basically a samurai… or something, I missed the intended translation, I think.

"It surprises me that any of you nutjobs made it into this class. I swear the dean takes pleasure in admitting you all." the class drops to dead silent.

My headphones pick up a slight mutter from Orimura in the calm: "My big sister is my homeroom teacher?"

"So, did the directions regarding addressing your instructors not take yet?" Chifuyu seems to enjoy putting her brother through physical pain.

"W-well Chifuyu I was just-" ouch, head-to-the-desk.

"That's Miss Orimura, right?"

"Yes Miss Orimura," poor guy, didn't read the syllabus I take it.

"What? You mean Orimura is Chifuyu's younger brother?"
"Does that have anything to do with the fact that he's the only male in the world that can control an IS?"

And again with the whole class just now picking up on a subject. But really, check your facts before making a broad statement like that. The fact that I'm sitting behind you clearly disproves a lot of myths about the could-be war machines.

"That's enough. Your syllabus for the next six months begins with memorizing all data concerning the IS. Then, practical training, where you'll have two weeks to learn basic maneuvers and IS molding. So, have you got that? Even if you haven't, say 'yes ma'am'!"

"Yes ma'am!" the class echoes.

Chifuyu Orimura has a bit of a reputation, piloting part of the first generation of IS and won the Mondo Grosso Singles tourney three times in a row, then retired and apparently fell off the map. So far off the map there are no electronic records of her in the last two years. That changed when she came onto the school payroll last year. Since then, she's almost lived on campus, only visiting her brother once or twice a month.

"Now as I am sure you are all aware, IS actually stands for Infinite Stratos. It's a multiform suit, originally developed in Japan."

I had checked out when the speech went back to Miss Yamada. The school servers had an unusually high level of security for a simple student list. I glanced up at the teacher, made sure she wasn't talking about anything important:

"Students from all around the world come to this school to study side by side everyday as they hone and perfect their piloting skills or mechanical knowledge. So starting today, let's all study hard over the next 3 years."

Nope. Fortunately I was familiar with their security program, I wrote part of it after all. All it took was a quick ping to the back door and- huh, someone found the backdoor, and patched it. Before I could initiate a second set of server tests the bell chimed. I've literally never had a school bell chime at me before. I'll admit it was a nice change from the traditional, and super loud, clanging of American school bells.

"We'll take a break now, stay nearby. When we resume, it'll be a short course on school edict and rules, then we'll break for lunch." If I didn't know any better, Orimura's tone would suggest we were in the military. Then the thunderous footsteps of the classes on either side of ours began echoing through the hallway. Crap and double crap.

 

[HadesHerald]

I should have bolted the absolute second I could've. But no I stopped to listen and am now trapped in a classroom, surrounded by females who think I'd be amenable to playing 20 questions.

"Did you really build your own IS?"
"Where do you live?"
"What's the tablet for?"

Ugh. It would be vaguely tolerable if they asked one by one. I open my headphone control program and turn down external mic noises and crank my music back up. Orimura and Shinonono just left the room. She has a very scary scary face. My attention returns to the tablet, studiously blocking the outside world from interrupting me. Until someone waves a hand in front of my face then pulls the headphones off the right side of my face. Rude. "Please put those back. I'm deaf without them." The headphones return to the side of my face, so I turn down my music and turn up the external mics on my hearing aids. I glance up and one of my classmates is standing over my desk, smiling at me.

"Howdy, I'm Sarah."

She appears to have dispersed the cloud of females surrounding my desk, but that has to be part of my translator program bugging. Nobody has that thick of an accent, even in Texas. I switch it off and dubiously greet her: "hello."

"What're ya doin'?"

I was wrong, that's her actual accent. That is a little scary. I look her dead in the eyes, "Hacking the school student records to figure out what Orimura did to get in."

"Cool, canna wat-"

A squeal interrupts her. "Hassha-dai ni atarashī sūtsu ga arimasu!" Crap. Really should've turned that back on. I glance at my screen and Text-to-Speech the girl's exclamation. Sarah follows suit in checking her phone.

"There's new suits in the bay she says."

I stand, gathering my pencils, tablets, and computer, "probably my suit, but no idea. You gonna check them out?" I make my way through the gathered girls, who are watching me now that that hübscher Junge Orimura isn't in the room.

"Already have my own slot down there, and Kosmitor Industries is building me a personalized unit." She checks her phone again, "eh, what the hell, we still got more than twenty minutes until class resumes so sure."

The door, good, still haven't gotten assaulted by anyone asking for my children, or to have them, and now I'm out of the classroom. The mechanics of the freshmen year appear to have scattered and only a few are left on this floor. One of them glances up from her conversation and her eyes light up as she spots me, "damn it." I whisper under my breath. She bounces over, really ought to wear undergarments with those, and starts following me.

Sarah glances at me, "friend of yours?"

"Fanclub."

"Mister Norhan!"

"No."

"Oh please? It might be yours that's arrived. You could show me how you did it."

"I built an IS whoop tee doo. You'll be learning how to do so as well soon enough."

"It's not the same though, you built one from the ground up, we'll be learning preconceived notions and limits."

I stare, "You-"

"And yours lets a male pilot it."

I bury my face in my hands, massaging my temples then look at Sarah, "Being a male is going to be the worst isn't it?" A confused shrug is all my answer.