Infinite Stratos: Volume 9 Read online

  ◇

  “Looks like I’m not going to be able to just sit around waiting for it to repair itself.” Tatenashi, in her IS suit for once, hopped out of the fully-opened Mysterious Lady for a quick break. She was in the IS hangars, and the time was coming up on 8 P.M. “The internals are coming along fine, but the armor and weapons are still a wreck. There’s no way I can call myself the strongest in this state, now, can I?”

  Her soliloquy was interrupted by the sound of a door sliding open.

  “You look like you need a break, Tatenashi.”

  The sudden appearance of Ichika, holding a tray, spooked her, “Wha— I-Ichika?! What are you—”

  Not wanting to deal with Ichika or the meal he’d brought, she put the Mysterious Lady between them, then spun away from his accusing stare.

  “Kanzashi told me you were here. I brought some light potato salad sandwiches. You like those, right, Tatena—Katana?”

  Ba-dum. That was a low blow. Hearing her real name out of nowhere flipped her world upside down.

  “...You’re such a brown-noser,” she shot back quietly, but Ichika didn’t hear. And since she’d skipped dinner, the smell wafting up from that midnight snack was irresistible. “I’ll have it later. Just leave it there.”

  She jerked her head up and to the side, motioning for him to leave, but he replied, “We never get to eat together anymore, so why don’t we tonight?”

  ‘No thanks!’ was what she wanted to say, but that would be wasting the chance. Tatenashi ran her fingers through her hair, stealthily activating the hangar door’s lock.

  “Let me set it up on the tab—”

  She suddenly cut herself off. I don’t want to be looking into his eyes while we eat! That would be bad. Really, really bad. A disquiet she couldn’t quite put her finger on ran up on her spine.

  “Let’s sit on the floor!”

  “Huh?”

  “Let’s eat sitting on the floor. We can sit back-to-back.”

  Argh! What am I saying? No... Actually, that was a really good idea. Huh? I think that’s actually the best idea I could’ve had. Go, me! She couldn’t cheer herself on or give a thumbs-up visibly, but she definitely was in her head.

  “Oh, uh, okay. I guess.”

  Ichika sat down on the floor, pulling his knees up. Tatenashi then sat behind him with her knees up too. This way, they couldn’t see each other’s faces, but they could still feel that the other was there. The combined closeness and distance had its own appeal.

  You know, I think I like this..., Tatenashi thought to herself, as she leaned back into him and felt him respond. He must be getting embarrassed, she thought. She was close enough to him, now, to feel that. She wanted to nod to herself.

  “Hey, Ichika.”

  “Mm?”

  “How have things been going?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You know, how’s it been?”

  “Like, really, what? Hahaha.”

  She turned bright red at his laugh and she replied, “Oh, just everything! How’s everything going?!”

  Her face wasn’t that of the head of the Sarashiki family. It was that of an average 17-year-old.

  “Everything? Well, not bad, I guess.”

  “And what’s that supposed to mean?” It was Tatenashi’s turn to laugh. “Haha. You’re so silly.”

  “I am not.”

  “You totally are.”

  “Really, I’m not! C’mon, let’s eat.”

  Tatenashi, her mood improved, took a bite from her sandwich wedge.

  “Mmm, this is delicious.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Oh, are you mad about something?”

  “I-I am not!”

  “You definitely are.”

  “No I’m not!”

  Leaving it at that, Tatenashi reached out for another sandwich wedge.

  “Ah—”

  Her hand brushed against Ichika’s, and their mouths both opened at the same time.

  “.........”

  “.........”

  The two fell back into silence. Tatenashi used to be able to brush things like this off effortlessly, but now she couldn’t. What do I say? I need to say something... All the initiative her age advantage normally gave her was gone. Now she was just a girl in love for the first time.

  Ugh... She couldn’t even glare at him when they were back to back. Now that she thought of it, she couldn’t help but wonder what expression was on his face. He wasn’t angry, she thought. No, now that the idea was in her head—

  Ugh! She couldn’t stop it from racing through her mind. Suddenly, she spun around and wrapped her arms around him.

  “Wha?!” Ichika yelped in surprise. “What are you doing?!”

  “Hehe...” Tatenashi was a little surprised at her own embarrassed grin in reaction. “Ichika, your shoulders are so broad!”

  “Huh? What are you... Of course they are, I’m a guy.”

  “You sure are, aren’t you! Ahaha!” While Ichika brushed it off as her usual teasing, Tatenashi freaked out and began to babble to herself.Hehe. He’s definitely a guy. She smiled even as she could feel her heart twist in knots.

  “Anyway, I should get going.”

  “EHH?!” she unintentionally shouted in surprise. She hadn’t even done anything yet! More importantly, he hadn’t done anything to her yet! Her mind raced in the way only a maiden’s could. “W-Wait! I need you for something.”

  “Mm? What?” Ichika asked back. If he turned and they came face to face, it would all be over.

  Tatenashi was silent, her cheeks turning redder and redder. Almost bashfully, she searched for the right word.

  “......S-Se—”

  “Huh?”

  “Se-Service! I need you to help me service my IS!”

  It took everything she had to finish her sentence like that, but Ichika just smiled back and said, “Oh, sure, fine. Not sure how much help I’ll be, but I’m up for it.”

  Gleaming, carefree, pure, the smile of a little boy.

  “Mm...”

  It was so bright she couldn’t look directly at it. Tatenashi gazed down at her shoes, turning back to the Mysterious Lady without making eye contact with Ichika. I’m an idiot! A total idiot! It was all she could do to keep from stomping her feet.

  ◇

  The next day, Cecilia walked up to Ichika as soon as class let out for lunch.

  “Shall we have lunch together today, Ichika? There’s no need to answer, I already know your answer is ‘yes.’”

  As Ichika wondered why she was suddenly being so bossy, astounding words left her mouth, “I packed my own, and I’ve already taste-tested it.”

  A shiver ran up and down Ichika’s spine.

  “Cecilia! Are you feeling okay? Does anywhere hurt?!”

  “Hmm? I’m perfectly fine.”

  “Ugh... You’re already past the point where you can feel pain... Why would you...”

  He cursed his own powerlessness. Why couldn’t he have stopped her before it was too late? Ichika couldn’t help but feel that it was all his fault.

  “Ichika, you don’t happen to be pondering something extremely rude, now, do you?”

  “You don’t need to strain yourself talking. Don’t worry. I’ll never forget you...”

  “As. I. Was. Saying. This time, I measured my ingredients carefully and paid close attention to the recipe.” A shocking statement. But one which didn’t seem to be a lie.

  “Uhh... Uh, really?”

  Charlotte put Ichika’s remaining worries to rest, “It’s fine. I lent her the cookbook.”

  “I see... Good... She’s gonna be okay...”

  “Hahaha,” Charlotte couldn’t help herself, and let out a wry giggle as Cecilia pouted with puffed cheeks.

  “This is simply beyond rude!”

  Cecilia had learned to cook. News spread rapidly, first through the classroom, then the floor, and finally the entire school. To top it all off, even the intercom opened up with [This is not a drill. Repeat, this is not a drill.]

  “Ugh!” Cecilia glared up at Ichika, tears in her eyes.

  In response, he gently patted her head while smoothly calming her, “Thanks, Cecilia. Let’s have lunch together.”

  “Yes! Oh, yes!” Even Houki and Laura were content to let her bask in her small victory. “Then! To the rooftop!”

  Cecilia spoke as if singing, grasped Ichika’s hand and strode as if waltzing.

  A change of scene: the school rooftop. The autumn wind had grown chill, but the sun’s rays were still pleasantly warm.

  “Today, I made tomato soup and ham salad sandwiches!”

  Cecilia and Ichika sat side-by-side on a bench. Ichika apprehensively opened the lunch box she offered, only to find nothing unusual. Is there a hidden trap? he pondered, but Cecilia’s blissful smile wiped his worries away.

  “Enjoy!”

  “Thanks.”

  Munch.

  Sip, sip. Gulp.

  “Wow, this is good.”

  Cecilia giggled, “But isn’t it!”

  She seemed truly happy as she pulled out the tomato soup. It was excellent, salted just right.

  “Wow, Cecilia! You really did it!”

  “It took some doing, but frankly, I’m quite pleased with myself.”

  “No, really, I’m amazed. I’d always heard that the English were, like, tone-deaf but for tastes instead.” Remembering his complaints earlier, he sunk his head apologetically and continued, “Oh, it’s fine. I share in the fault, at least.”

  She remembered her own initial suspicion of Ichika, and was nothing but embarrassed.

  “Can I ask, though? What prompted the change of heart?”

  “Eh?”

  “I mean, why did you decide to fol
low the recipes and taste them before you put them on the table.”

  “It was because of Chelsea.” As Ichika wondered how she was involved, Cecilia continued, “I sampled both something I made my way and something I made following her suggestions.”

  “Wow, that’s—” He cut himself off before he could finish with “pretty reckless.”

  “And I found that Chelsea’s tasted better than mine.”

  ‘Well obviously,’ he whispered to himself.

  “And naturally, an Alcott can’t accept defeat. So, when faced with an opportunity to march forward on the chef’s path...”

  “Wow, and that’s all it took? I’m impressed.”

  “Well... I also needed someone to feed...” Cecilia pressed both palms to her cheeks, demurely. Together, Ichika and Cecilia enjoyed their lunch, looking up at the wide blue sky.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “Truly.”

  A peaceful respite. A gentle respite. Until Tatenashi noticed... Tatenashi, a home-cooked lunch in her hand, quickly hid it behind her back when she noticed Ichika was looking.

  “Oh, hey, Tatenashi. What’s up?”

  “Nothing much. I just like to come up on the roof sometimes. Ahaha...”

  Forcing a smile, she turned about-face and fled. I’m an idiot! A total idiot! Ichika, with no idea of what was going through her head, could only watch in confusion.

  Chapter II: Fighting Now

  A week later, the upperclasswomen had been run ragged preparing for the sudden, first-years-only, Field Day. Some among them had caused quite the disturbance with their insistence that, as national cadets, they should be allowed to compete for Ichika as well. In the end, Tatenashi had managed to calm them by promising that all who contributed enough would earn “backstage points” good for... certain privileges... relating to Ichika. And now it was the big day.

  “The First Year National Cadet Field Day will now commence!” The crowd responded to Tatenashi with a cheer. “And here’s Orimura Ichika with our Pledge of Fair Play!”

  Her finger plunged forth, thrusting at the only person present wearing shorts.

  “Me?!” Ichika was bewildered by the sudden voluntelling, but once Tatenashi’s fangs sunk into her prey she’d never let go.

  “C’mon, hurry it up.”

  “Ouch!” He was dragged to the podium forcibly. “Um...”

  Ichika looked out across the crowd of girls. Each of them were wearing bloomers which showed off their legs and hip lines almost dazzlingly. I can barely keep my eyes off them... For some reason, even Tatenashi and the other upperclasswomen were wearing them. Shyly, Ichika struggled to form his sentences, “Err... I’m Orimura Ichika.”

  “And?” Tatenashi leaned in to whisper. Her bosom barely brushed his elbow, but he was intensely aware of its soft springiness.

  “Th-The Pledge of Fair Play!”

  Cheers of encouragement arose from the crowd as he tried to steady his voice.

  “You can do it, Orimura!”

  “Do your best! Show us something awesome!”

  “Smile, Orimu! Smile!”

  Ichika’s face reddened from the high-pitched voices even as he struggled on, “We... We pledge to play fair and play hard!”

  Waves of cheers spread through the crowd as he began. But among them, six failed to join.

  Red team leader, Shinonono Houki.

  “I won’t let anyone beat me. I’ll win, and Ichika will be mine.”

  Blue team leader, Cecilia Alcott.

  “Elegantly and precisely, I’ll make you mine, Ichika.”

  Pink team leader, Huang Lingyin.

  “I’m gonna win! I’m definitely gonna win! Just you wait, Ichika!”

  Orange team leader, Charlotte Dunois.

  “I have every right to be assertive too. Right, Ichika?”

  Black team leader, Laura Bodewig.

  “Living with Ichika... Spending every night in the same bed as Ichika... Haha, hahaha. Bwahahaha!”

  Iron team leader, Sarashiki Kanzashi.

  “Is iron even a color? I guess it is...”

  Fighting spirit blazed in their eyes. And suddenly, as Ichika stepped down from the podium with a sigh of relief, Tatenashi embraced him from behind.

  “You’re the star of the show! No slacking off!”

  “Whaa?! Hey, knock it off! They’ll kill us if they see this.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m strong.”

  “You might be safe, but I’m not.”

  “It’s fine, it’s fine! They can’t see us.”

  “Jeez...” Just as Ichika gave a resigned smile, Tatenashi, who had previously been in complete control, turned beet-red and jumped back. “Huh? Tatenashi?”

  “A-Anyway! I have to go announce!” With that, she sped off.

  “Huh? Hey, wait!”

  As Tatenashi’s feet pounded on the ground, her face reddened as she remembers Ichika’s feel, his smile, and his faintly musky smell. I can’t believe I let myself get carried away like that... She’d lost all control, carried away by the untameable swings of a maiden’s heart.

  ◇

  It was finally Field Day, and the first event was the 50-meter dash. Ling, fired up and ready to go, immediately made her way over to the announcer’s stand and caught Ichika.

  “Hey, hey, Ichika! Help me out stretching, okay? I need you to press on my back.”

  She sat down, spreading her legs to stretch, and as she did he noticed she was wearing bloomers too. He was dazzled by the beautiful curves of her legs. Man, what’s wrong with me? World Purge must’ve really knocked something loose in my head. All the girls around him seemed different from before, more like women. And not just in the way Chifuyu was. In a way that made his pulse pound.

  “Ichika? What’s the holdup? Hurry it up!”

  “Oh, sure.”

  He pressed on Ling’s back. It was soft, in a way no boy’s was, and this only added to his nervousness, as did the feel the stitching of her bra left on his fingertips. So even Rin’s wearing one now, too... Ichika stared off into space, pondering the obvious. Push, push, push.

  “Ow! Ichika! That hurts!” Without even noticing, he’d bent Ling double with the ground, and she cried out in pain. “What the heck is wrong with you?!”

  “Oh, sorry. I got distracted.”

  “Huh? Whaa...?”

  A befuddled Ling. An equally befuddled Ichika. Eventually, their confused gazes met.

  “Sorry. I should get going.”

  “Ah, um... Okay...”

  “See you later.”

  “Yeah.”

  As they shared a moment of embarrassment, the other five watched with unusual intensity.

  “Ugh, that Ling...”

  “Simply unforgivable.”

  “No trying to get a head start.”

  “She needs a good punching.”

  “That’s ten million times unfair.”

  And then, it was time for the 50-meter dash.

  Bang! The starting pistol roared.

  “Move it, move it!”

  Leaping forth, her pigtails swinging in time with her stride, was Ling. She ran as if she’d been trained by a ninja, never letting them droop toward the ground.

  “And the first point goes to Ling’s team!” The announcer was not Tatenashi, but Kaoruko from the newspaper club. The lens of her camera, and the lenses of her trademark glasses, gleamed in the sun. She swiftly turned the mic on Ichika and said, “All right, Orimura! What do you think?”

  “Umm, Rin’s light and nimble, which I think is working out for her.”

  “That’s it?! C’mon, you’re the star of the show! Get more into it!”

  Ichika wasn’t sure whether he really could, but he did realize that he was expected to shower praise on the girls today. He leaned back into the microphone and said, “Oh, and she’s cute, too. That helps.”

  This was enough to fire up the crowd. Ling blushed as she wiped the sweat from her face.

  “...All right! This is Houki! I’m up next, and I’m gonna show you what you’re up against!”

  “Ah! You just want to make yourself look good!”

  “Wha— No, no way! I just don’t want Ling to get too far ahead!”

  “See, you’re doing it again!”

  As Houki’s friends mercilessly elbowed her, Cecilia was absorbed in her stretch routine.

  “I will wear the laurels. I was born to wear them!” She tossed back her hair to the side, and the aroma of expensive perfume spread through the air.