Infinite Stratos - Volume 2 Read online

  Okiura

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  CHOCO

  Chapter 1:Boy meets Boy

  On the first Sunday.

  I went outside IS Academy--or more accurately, I went to Gotanda's residence.

  "So?"

  "So? So...what?"

  Ugh, talking to me while we're playing a fighting game! Cheh, UWAH!! A super move on me! Damn you, don't get cocky!

  "C'mon, of course I'm talking about the all-girls school. There should be many good things over there, right?"

  I've told you so many times, no! How many times must I say it before you get it?

  Let me explain. Gotanda Dan here, is a friend of mine from middle school. The day we first met, we kicked it off quite well. Also, during those 3 years, Rin and us were in the same class, so during middle school, the 3 of us often hung out together...

  "Stop lying. I can tell that you're lying from those messages! What, don't you have a ticket to that kind of Heaven?"

  Who would, you idiot?

  The school I'm studying at right now is a special independent High School that's managed by the country--'IS Academy'.

  IS--formally called 'Infinite Stratos', is a multipurpose unit that was designed for space exploration, but right now, it's used on earth, and it's even used by many countries for military weapons.

  The person who invented the IS was the older sister of that childhood friend of mine, who seems to be hiding something. It's really hard to explain it, so I won't. The thing is that IS can 'only be used by women'.

  On a side note, I'm just a normal boy.

  But for some reason, I--Orimura Ichika, am half-forced to study in IS Academy as the only 'male' in the world who can pilot IS, so right now, I'm living a dormitory life with all the students, teachers and staff, who are female.

  "Speaking of which, about that, it's great that Rin transferred in, otherwise i wouldn't have many people to talk with..."

  "What? You're talking about Rin? Rin..."

  Hm? What? Why is this he sneering at me? He's so weird.

  "Alright, I win!"

  "WAH! USELESS STUFF! WHO WOULD USE SUPER MODE TO KILL AT THE END~~..."

  On a side note, we're playing 'IS/VS'. It's a game that broke a million sales within one month. Oh yeah, the game uses the second Mondo Grosso data.

  ...Well, for some reason, Chifuyu-nee's data wasn't included in it.

  "Italy's Tanbesta's really powerful! Or rather, really violent."

  "You should change characters once in a while. Like England's Milton or something?"

  "Nope. That one's ridiculously hard to use, her moves are weak, and even the combos are weird."

  Oh yeah, as the company that produced this game was from Japan, one could expect the other countries to voice their discontentment, saying 'Our countries aren't that weak!'.

  Thus, the harassed video game company actually increased the specs of each IS in its respective country, and sold them separately in 21 countries. They managed to sell it well just because of that.

  Speaking of which, to actually manage to make 21 versions of the same game just by tweaking the specs, they sure can earn lots here.

  But in the World Cybergames Tournament, every country wanted to use their own country's version and started arguing over it until the tournament was terminated.

  "Then, let's get back on topic. As for Rin--"

  Just as Dan, for whatever reason, brought Rin up again, someone interruped him.

  "Onii[2A 1], hurry up and come eat already. Lunch is ready--"

  Kicking the door down and walking in is Dan's little sister--Gotanda Ran. She's a year younger than him, and is now in her senior year of middle school. She's said to be an honour student in a prestigious private girls' school. Hm, she's really different from her older brother.

  "Ah, hi, long time no see. Sorry for disturbing you here."

  "I-Ichika...san!?"

  As expected, girls dress up like this when they're at home, huh? Ran's shoulder-length hair is tied back with only a hair clip holding it from behind, and she's wearing shorts and a sleeveless vest. It's really a get-up that focuses on functionality.

  But maybe I've gotten too used to it, since at IS Academy, I sorta see everyone dressed up so skimpily.

  And maybe because the weather's been getting too hot lately, the girls have been wearing clothes with a low neckline, and besides, in such an environment where there's no guys other than me looking, it seems like no one wears any bras indoor, either due to liberty or to openness. To be honest, the awkwardness of having 'girls finding me blocking my eyes while being unable to decide on where to look' can't be described.

  "I-It's not that, well, you were here...? I heard that you went to a boarding school..."

  "Oh, that's right. I had something to do today, so I went out. I wanted to check up on my house, so I thought that I should drop by."

  "I, I see..."

  However, Ran's always been like this. Why is it that she would stutter and sound so respectful all of a sudden? That's weird.

  "Ran, you could at least knock, right? You'll be considered a shameless woman--"

  *Kling!* Ran instantly shot a glare.

  Oh! Dan curled up already like Super Ma**o. The difference in battle prowess between those two is obvious.

  "...Why didn't you tell me that he would be here..."

  "Oh, wait, I didn't tell you? Sorry, my bad. Ah hahahaha..."

  "..."

  *Klong!* Ran again shot a glare at Dan with the intensity of a knife being thrown at a corpse, and then frantically left the room.

  "If, well, if it's alright, please join us for lunch, Ichika-san! You aren't leaving yet, right?"

  "Oh, sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks."

  "It, it's alright..."

  *BAM!* After Ran slammed the door shut, silence then filled the air.

  Speaking of which, what about a skit of the 'Hot-blooded Siblings Dan and Ran?' Can't they air it on the Sunday morning timeslot? Most likely not.

  "But I have to say, I've known Ran for 3 years, and yet it seems like she won't open up to me."

  "Ha?"

  Allow me to go off-topic for a while. Don't you feel that guys who call younger girls with a 'chan' are impressive? I can't do it, even if it's my friend's little sister. I have reservations about it, which is why I prefer to call them by their names.

  Now that I recall it, the person involved did say 'It-It's okay' and agreed to it.

  "That's not it. Don't you find that she's rather courteous to me? She just left the room so quickly."

  "..."

  Well, Dan sighs, and then exhaled.

  "...What?"

  "Nothing. Sometimes, I really wonder if you're like this on purpose."

  "?"

  "Well, it's good if you don't notice it. I don't wanna have a younger brother at my age."

  "What are you talking about a younger brother, that came out of nowhere? That's ridiculous."

  "Oh well, it's nothing. Anyway, wanna go out after lunch?"

  "Oh, that's great. So you're treating me to lunch? Thank you~[2A 2]"

  "What are you getting so worked up for, we're eating the leftover set meals."

  I see. So we're eating that super sweet pumpkin stew set meal. But even so, I won't throw it away; things like rice are earned with so much hard work, so I have to be thankful to the uncles who worked in the fields.

  "Let's go downstairs then."

  We left Dan's room and headed downstairs, through the back door and then took a turn to the front door of the dining area.

  Even though it's troublesome, Dan did say before that 'thanks to this set-up, our private lives won't be affected by the business'. Normally to people, the definition of a family is just to make the people who're staying in the house feel comfortable. Doesn't anyone feel that a house that's set up so nicely in TV is hard to live in? No wait, the most important thing is that the residents find it comfortable. I'll leave out the rest.

  "Eiyah!"

  "Hn?"

  "..."

  Dan let out that voice of disgust, and I peered over from behind him to look.

  Our lunch's already prepared and laid out on the table, and someone's already sitting there.

  "What? You have some complaint? If you want to, onii can go eat alone outside."

  "Did you hear that, Ichika? Those super gentle words make me wanna cry!"

  Sitting over there is Ran. And I suppose it isn't really brotherly of me to play along with Dan who's acting like he's wiping his tears off.

  "It should be alright for us to have lunch. Besides, there are other customers around. Let's hurry up and sit."

  "That's right, baka nii[2A 3], hurry up and sit down."

  "Okay okay..."

  And thus, I, Dan, and Ran sat down in order at the table...hm? That's weird.

  "Ran."

  "Wh-what is it?"

  "You changed clothes? Are you going out later?"

  "Ah, it's nothing. That's because...well, this, that..."

  Ran's home get-up disappeared, and she let her hair down, giving off an impressive shine. As it's June, she's wearing a short-sleeved dress. The body that's covered by a thin clothing gives off the radiance of a teenager's youthful legs unde
rneath the dress. As for the black stockings that look like some decoratives, those who are into that should really like this, right? Well, I'm not really sure about it.

  "I got it!"

  I thought of it, and a light bulb seems to light above my head.

  "Are you going on a date?"

  *BAM!*

  "That's not it!"

  Woah! She stood up to deny it! This is bad, did I step on a landmine or something? They say that the Japanese lack awareness in terms of danger; I will die if this is a battlefield. I really lament my own immaturity.

  "So-sorry."

  "Ah, it's nothing...an-anyway, it's not a date."

  "And you say that you're not. As your older brother, that's the last thing I want to hear from you. Besides, it's only once in a few months that you would dress up like that--"

  *PA!*

  The iron claw strikes over. Is that the so-called shut-up attack? She's actually holding down Dan's breathing; that's a scary technique, where did she learn it from? The famous private girls school even teaches assassination skills to go along with self-defense?

  "...! ....!"

  "(Klu klu klu!)"

  And then, both of them exchange looks. Dan's giving a painful look of a criminal begging for forgiveness, nodding away at Ran, who's glaring at him with an ice queen glare.

  Even so.

  "Well, you two have quite the nice relationship here."

  ""HAA!?""

  Ohh, their voices finally overlap! On a side note, the word 'harmo' (overlapping voices) came from the word 'harmony'. Well, can't they just use the word 'mony' (resounding voices)? Or if they want to, 'harmy' (overlapping sounds) can do.

  "You brats, if you don't want to eat, hurry up and get out."

  "Ku, we're eating, we're eating!"

  Silently appearing without anyone notcing is the head of the Gotanda family that runs the Gotanda eatery, Gotanda Gen, who's still in great shape despite being over 80. His long-sleeved cooking uniform is rolled up to the shoulders, revealing his muscular biceps. He can move two Chinese woks at one go, and those biceps are tanned due to the exposure to heat after so long. This really feels healthier than going to the beach 100 times.

  On a side note, I've gotten punched by him a few times, but the power definitely can't lose to Chifuyu-nee. Well, better start eating.

  "Itadakimasu."

  "Itadakimasu."

  "Itadakimasu..."

  In order, the ones who said those were me, Ran, and Dan.

  "Oh, start eating."

  Grandpa Gen nods in a rather satisfied manner as he continues to fry another dish. It seems like some customers ordered a Gotanda's eatery specialty 'Wildfire Roasted Vegetables'--and there's a double entendre to it. *Tatatatatatatata*, the light-hearted sound of the vegetable knife being knocked down can be heard from the kitchen.

  With the sound of the vegetables being fried acting as background music, we start to talk while eating. If we continue to eat and talk, the iron wok will fly over, so we have to follow the customs here.

  "Oh yeah, Ichika. You said you and Rin...eh, and who else? The first childhood friend? So you reunited with her?"

  "Oh, Houki."

  "Houki...? Who's that?"

  "Hm? She's my first childhood friend."

  And so Rin's the second childhood friend.

  "Ah, that..."

  For some reason, Ran's expression just got somehow stiff. Was there a same-sex repulsion because their names are so similar? Hold on, does same-sex repulsion refer to this?

  "Oh yeah, Houki and I once lived in the same room, but we are no longer--"

  *BAM!*

  "IN, IN THE SAME ROOM?"

  For some reason, Ran got confused and stood up without a warning, as the chair behind her collapses backwards.

  "What, what's going on? Calm down."

  "Yeah, you should calm down there."

  *Klang!* With another sharp glance, Dan seems to have shrunk like Super Ma**o.

  On a side note, grandpa Gen really dotes on Ran. If we were to flip the chair like what she did, the ladle would have flown over.

  "I-Ichika-san? Living in the same room...that means, you ate and slept together?"

  It's really an old saying, but Japan has always been a country that values traditions, so Ran's actions can be considered a virtue--report over, I end this report without even understanding what I just said.

  "Hm, maybe. Ah, but that was until the end of last month. We aren't staying in the same room now, and that's to be expected."

  Today's fried beancurd's really good--

  "You, you two stay--stayed together for more than one and a half months?"

  "Mn, sort of."

  *BAM*... I seem to hear a huge blow, or maybe that's my imagination.

  Speaking of which, Dan-kun, can you please tell me why are you sweating crazily? Do you really have skin that sweats a lot?

  "...Onii, we'll talk later..."

  "Well, I-I'm going out with Ichika later, so...hahaha..."

  "Then, tonight."

  A tone that doesn't allow any refusals. I remember that Ran's the student council chairman in the school of ojous[2A 4], so she got affected by them? Anyway, for some reason, I find her intent really sharp.

  "...I've decided."

  Yes, what did you decide on?

  "I'm taking the IS Academy entrance exam next year."

  *Gakunk!*

  "What, what are you saying--"

  *Bikonsu--gan!*

  Wow! The ladle hit Dan directly on the face, and the floor trembles due to the chair falling backwards.

  "Wha? Why do you want to go there? Isn't Ran's school a direct path to university? Can't you get into some super good university?"

  It's just that I can't remember the name of that school.

  "No problem. I can get in with just my grades."

  "But IS Academy doesn't accept school recommendations..."

  Dan wavers as he stands up. Though his Hit Points are low, he recovers fast--that's the hidden skill of Dan. However, that's meaningless anyway.

  "Unlike my onii, I just need a notebook."

  "No, but...that, that's right, Ichika! They have a practical test right?"

  "Hm? Ohh, that's right. There's a 'IS initiation test', and it seems like those who aren't suited at all will be rejected."

  On a side note, the initiation test basically estimates how the candidate would start, and then uses the result to set the level of the candidate when they enter the school. My battle with the instructor (and apparently, it was Yamada-sensei) was like that.

  "..."

  Ran silently takes a piece of paper from her pocket, and Dan receives it and opens it.

  "Gack!"

  What, what just happened? Did Guan Yu just arrive? I haven't even heard the gong!

  "IS suitability test...result--A..."

  "Problem solved."

  Wooah! That's a cool line! I want to say that at least once in my lifetime.

  "That seems to be some test for those interested, right? I remember the government used it to gather IS pilots."

  "That's right! It's free."

  It's free. It doesn't matter whether there's too much of it as long as it's free. Grandpa Gen continues to nod away.

  This person really dotes on Ran...

  "So, so then,"

  Ahem. Ran clears her throat and gently returns back to her seat.

  "So, so Ichika-san, please guide me through as my sempai..."

  "Oh, okay, that's if you get in."

  The moment I agreed heartily, Ran happily stood up.

  "Then, it's a promise. You must, definitely, definitely abide by it!"

  "Oh, okay?"

  I got held down somewhat by her pressure and nodded twice.

  "Hey, Ran! How can you just choose to transfer schools like that!? Isn't that right, mom?"

  "It's okay, there's no problem. Ichika-kun, I'll leave Ran to you then."

  "Oh, okay."

  Speaking of which, Gotanda Ren-san's the self-proclaimed mascot of the Gotanda eatery. Her age's a mystery, and it's said that 'my age won't increase after 16'. She still maintains a smiling face--people would say that a smile can make them prettier than their actual looks, and that's true. She's really a huge beauty today.

  "WHAT'S WITH THAT!?"