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Through the looking glass	By : walkerofdarkness Category: +G to L > IS: Infinite Stratos Views: 4540 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Infinite Stratos or the characters from it. I do not make any profit from this story. I do own my OCs though.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
Chapter 6

Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.

Mahatma Gandhi
Tabane Shinonono walked forward, the remote dropping to her side. “Hey Chi-chan. You don’t look so good right now.” Shifting her gaze to her younger sister. “And Houki-chan, you look even worse. Whatever drove you to do all this?”
Houki’s eyes flared at her sister’s intrusion. “What drove me to do this,” her voice rising with each word. “That...that BITCH told me SHE KILLED ICHIKA. Do you think I could ever forgive her for that!”
Her eyes closing as she bowed her head, Tabane started to mutter something under her breath. “Houki Houki Houki. You just don’t understand. I’ve been upset about losing Ik-kun too. It hurts me too, a little everyday.” Opening her eyes, Tabane tried to keep her focus to avoid breaking into tears. “But on a day when I was hoping to remember the good things about Ik-kun, I find my little sister trying to kill my friend.”
“Of course you would defend that murderous bitch,” Houki growled out with a snarl. “She is your best friend, after all.”
Tabane shook her head, the tail of her long hair bouncing from hip to hip with each movement. “I can’t deny Chi-chan’s friendship is part of the reason I defend her actions.” Tabane’s voice grew stronger, dropping octaves from her normal high pitched squeal to something suitable for an experienced woman her age. “But that’s not the only reason I defend Chifuyu. I know the whole truth about what happened with Ik-kun. Lastly, I know the kind of person Chi-chan is.” Tabane paused now, the last vestiges of sympathy fading from her eyes. “The simple fact is this: IF Chifuyu truly was the kind of person you really believed her to be, then you would be dead right now.”
A wry bark of laughter popped out of Houki at her sister’s statement. “You’re telling me that Chifuyu could have killed me if she wanted to?” Glancing down at Chifuyu’s bleeding form lying on the ground, Houki tried to find any truth in the declaration. “I think you’ve lived in your lab too long, away from the world. You’ve lost touch with reality. But you’re as responsible for what happened to Ichika as she is. After all, if you hadn’t built the IS in the first place, Ichika wouldn’t have been killed by people trying to steal them. And I would have been able to live a quiet, normal life instead of being constantly thought of as ‘Tabane Shinonono’s sister’. After I get done with Chifuyu, I’ll find a way to deal with you.”
New tears formed in Tabane’s eyes at Houki’s words. Her head fell forward, the rabbit ears pointing towards the ground as some loose hair covered her face. Chifuyu rolled along her numb leg, getting her good one under her and coming up to kneeling position. Keeping her focus on Houki, Chifuyu took an instant to glance at her old friend. Quiet sobs reached her ears, and Tabane’s slim shoulders shook as she cried. Tears formed in Chifuyu’s own eyes now, rage and frustration coming to a moment of clarity as she watched her friend crying.
“You know something, Houki, Tabane is right,” Chifuyu said, climbing shakily to her feet. She continued to favor her left leg, keeping most of her weight on the right side of her body. Blackness crept into her vision as her head swum from blood loss. “I could have killed you early on. But contrary to what you fantasize about,” Chifuyu paused, her mind struggling to come up with the right words, “But. I. Am. Not. A. Killer.”
“Chi-chan!” Both combatants glanced at Tabane’s rigid form, unchanged from when she had started crying. “Talking to Houki-chan won’t help things now. She’s not going to listen in her current state.”
Chifuyu glanced back once at Houki, then to her old friend. “Probably not. But changing her state...”
Tabane’s head came up, bringing her wet eyes to make contact with Chifuyu’s. “She has brought this upon herself. If you have to harm Houki to convince her, then that‘s what you’ll have to do. If you do, I will forgive you for it, even if she does not.”
Wiping away tears with a darting hand, Chifuyu felt tension drain away from her body. Whatever happens now, happens. Chifuyu brought up her hands into a standard defensive posture, her left side slightly forward to favor the numb leg. “Come on then, child. I don’t have all day, and if you can’t kill me with the next attack you never will.”
A roar of rage covered the entire graveyard as Houki snatched up the katana from the ground and charged. The blade came up high, gripped solidly in her strong hands as the distance between them closed. Sunlight glinted off the killing edge as Houki started to bring the ancient sword down as Chifuyu raised her left hand, palm out towards her opponent.
The centuries old katana came down fast, Houki’s rage giving it extra speed. It would have cleanly cleaved the arm off, followed an instant later by easily passing through Chifuyu’s skull.
Instead, it clanged loudly off a gauntlet, the black metal shrugging off the blade without a scratch. Oversized fingers ending in pointed tips made a fist around the katana’s guard to the accompaniment of a slight whine. Houki had barely enough time to comprehend that her blade was caught before Chifuyu’s right fist slammed home in a brutal hook punch just behind her left temple. Stars flashed through Houki’s vision and pain darkened the edges, but her kendo training reasserted itself and she started to pull against the obstruction holding her sword.
Chifuyu’s shifted her weight with her punch, fighting Houki for possession of the katana. Her right hand retracted from the blow, and as it started to track forward, a blur distorted the air. The blur resolved itself into a second metal gauntlet, the black metal connecting to a white forearm trimmed with silver and black highlights.
Feeling fresh energy coursing through her, Chifuyu jabbed her right hand hard at Houki’s midsection again. The deployed IS gauntlet landed solidly, getting a sharp burst of air from Houki. Chifuyu kept pounding a series of short punches into Houki and applying torque against the smaller woman’s grip. Houki stepped closer towards Chifuyu to assert control on the sword, only to receive a second hook to her head. The punch, delivered by the heavier IS gauntlet, staggered Houki, relaxing her grip on the sword.
Chifuyu punched the younger woman in the chest with her right hand, the force of the blow separating them. Houki, her brain reeling from the punches, tripped over her own feet and crashed hard against a gravestone. Slamming her right arm against the solid marker, Houki felt a blinding pain near her neck and collapsed onto her chest.
Standing stronger now, Chifuyu flipped the sword in her left hand, using a dagger styled grip on the ancient weapon. Stabbing the katana into the ground, Chifuyu buried the top four inches into the dirt. Houki looked up from her near-fetal position to see Chifuyu bring her right hand into a palm strike against her family blade. The ancient metal snapped with a shriek, the hilt separating from the blade a handsbreadth above the guard. Chifuyu tossed the ruined weapon towards Houki, the broken pieces landing on the grave base with a clatter.
Focusing to push through the pain, Houki’s eyes locked on to two metal forearms Chifuyu now wore over her own.   It took a moment for her dazed brain to make the connection. “Those....you....” Houki started, trying to put together a coherent thought.
Nodding slightly, Chifuyu let her eyes drift close. An instant later, a white shimmer appeared across her body. Where the white faded, things changed. The damp, bloodied clothes were gone, replaced by a skintight outfit that emphasized the charms of the woman who wore it. The new cloth was white, with black trim along the edges of the sleeves.   A silver bird spread it’s wings across the breasts, the design almost invisible against the background. A metal harness wrapped Chifuyu’s chest and shoulders, leaving her arms maximum mobility while securing her firmly into place. A metallic quasi-belt was next, the pieces of it riding high on her hips, while an oversized sword’s grip rested comfortably on her left side. Her long legs disappeared below the knees, swallowed up by contoured extensions that raised her up to the IS’s full ten foot height. Pauldrons shaped into the graceful design of mechanical wings floated above each respective shoulder, the thrusters on the edges giving the appearance of feathers. The white metal shone in the soft sunlight, while the black and silver trim on the armor served to emphasize the lethal nature of the machine.
A quick message flashed across Chifuyu’s left eye. The pain in Chifuyu’s chest started fading immediately as Kurazakura’s computer proceeded to apply medical treatments. That’s another one I owe you Tabane. “This is the reason you couldn’t beat me, Houki. I had Kurazakura with me the entire time, ready to respond at a moment’s call. If I had wanted to fight you, to KILL you, then I could have summoned it here at the start.” Taking a knee next to her friend’s sister, Chifuyu softened her tone, “And while you’re good with a sword, you don’t have what it takes to beat me with an IS. I doubt you ever will.”
Houki rolled into a sitting position, her right arm hanging useless at her side. Reaching across her body, she pulled her hand into lap and got her knees under her. “So...what now? Are you going to call the police, have me locked up?” Her eyes settled on the sword hilt at Chifuyu’s side. “Maybe kill me, just so you can sleep knowing I’m dead like Ichika?”
Pain flicked across Chfiuyu’s face at the mention of Ichika’s name. Standing up, she started to walk towards her old friend. Standing close to Tabane, Chifuyu dropped her voice to a confidential whisper. “So how are we going to handle this?”
Tabane tapped a single finger against her chin for a moment, her eyes screwed shut in concentration. Popping them open, she glanced up to meet Chifuyu’s gaze directly. “Well, I think the only real solution here is to give her the entire story.”
Eyes widening in surprise, Chifuyu looked down at Tabane skeptically. “I doubt she’d believe anything we tell her.”
Tabane broke into a wild smile, the childlike expression natural on her face. Chifuyu felt some of the tension drop from her shoulders only to settle in her gut. “That might be Chi-chan, but Houki-chan should believe it when I show her the videos.”
Prancing over to Houki’s kneeling form, Tabane sat down smoothly next to her sister, pulling the hem of her dress away to keep from sitting on it. "Houki-chan, I have something I need to show you. In all honesty, I should have shown you this four years ago, but..." Tabane's finger came up to tap on her chin again. "But at first I wanted to respect my friend's privacy. So I chose to keep this from you, which I see now was a mistake." Tabane's firm gaze locked onto Houki's teal eyes. Houki tried to look away, but the purple eyes kept pulling her back to it. "Houki-chan, please understand that what you are going to see is the truth, and try to keep an open mind."
Motioning to Chifuyu to come over, Tabane poked at her sister's injuries eliciting grunts of pain from Houki. Pulling out her remote again, Tabane tapped a few buttons with her thumb. A box and an oversized bag shimmered into existence between Chifuyu and Tabane, separated by a couple of feet. Noting the red cross on the side of the bag, Chifuyu grabbed it and carried it to her friend. Tabane did not take her eyes off Houki as her hands reached into the bag and produced assorted bandages and a couple of odd devices.
Placing a firm hand on Houki's left shoulder, Tabane gently guided her sister down to the ground. Grabbing up a handful of Houki's shirt, Tabane pulled it up, revealing sports bra covering an impressive chest and a number of gashes on the younger woman's chest and abdomen. Whistling quietly, Tabane started to apply antiseptic laden pressure bandages to the wounds.
Chifuyu watched her friend working, hearing each little gasp from Houki as the treatment went on. Seeing the cuts and gashes on Houki, she glanced down at her right hand. The metal was shiny and wet, the blood barely visible on the black gauntlet. Fixating on the sight, Chifuyu missed out on her friend calling to her. Coming back to her senses, she looked up at Tabane, still working on Houki. "Sorry Tabane," she said, her voice distant and a little tight. "I...missed what you said."
Tabane's voices had only a trace of worry in it. "I said, while I'm working on Houki-chan, can you access Kurazakura's flight recorder and pull up the day Ik-kun died?" One hand came up and pointed vaguely at the large box next to Chifuyu. "The projector there is programmed to receive on channel one-one-seven-nine. It'll give Houki-chan something to do."
Complying with her friend's instructions, Chifuyu accessed the recorder data and watched the projector start to replay the last day she felt truly alive.
Houki watched the video play out, seeing the fight from Chifuyu's point of view. Banking and climbing, fighting the big guns and the people holding Ichika. I guess she really deserved the title of Brunhilde, she thought, watching people fall at Chifuyu's hands. Her ribs ached where Tabane was tightly wrapping them with the bandages, and her shoulder screamed in agony holding her arm up. The pain distracted Houki, but it did not prevent her from watching the video to it's bloody conclusion. Tears clouded her eyes as she saw Ichika getting rescued, and when he died she leaned forward and cried into Tabane's chest.
Tabane stopped working when her sister pressed into her, lightly draping her arms around the younger woman to avoid increasing the injuries. One hand drifted up to pat Houki on the head, the other wrapping her shoulders. Houki's sobs got muffled as her face buried itself into her sister's bosom, the sounds barely reaching Chifuyu only a few feet away.   Turning away from her friend, Chifuyu walked away to give the kneeling women some privacy in a moment of grief, and to hide her own tears from both of them.
The two Shinonono sisters remained in that position for a time, with Tabane's dress getting damp from her sister's tears. Houki slowly stopped crying, her breathing growing less ragged as she managed to get her emotions under control.

Houki pulled herself away from her sister, locking onto Chifuyu with bloodshot eyes. “The last time that we were here,” she started, her voice breaking, “you said you had killed Ichika.”
Tabane pulled out a small pair of devices and attached them to Houki’s shoulder. Switching them on, she produced her remote and started tapping quickly with all the fingers on her right hand. The pain in Houki’s shoulder flared hard for a moment and then started to fade as the hum increased in octaves. Finished with her sister, Tabane climbed to her feet and picked up the medical bag, walking over to her friend. Chifuyu hunched over a little as Tabane raised up the bottom hem of the top of her IS suit, exposing the deep cut. Blood started to flow again as the pressure from the IS suit was removed, causing Chifuyu to get dizzy.
The silence hung in the air a moment longer before Chifuyu answered the accusation. “In a lot of ways, I did kill Ichika. I could have let the military guys go in without me. I should have picked up Ichika and flown away. I should have properly neutralized the guards,” she paused, letting the thought finish itself, “maybe made sure they couldn’t hurt anyone before I got Ichika out.” Her voice started to break again. “But Ichika died because of the mistakes I made. So when I told you I killed him, that was the truth.”
Tabane looked up from Chifuyu’s chest to glance at her friend’s face. One hand pressed down hard on the bandaged covered cut, causing Chifuyu to gasp in pain. Her face pale from the pain, Chifuyu looked down at Tabane, whose purple eyes were focused. “Chi-chan isn’t telling you the entire truth, Houki-chan.” Pulling down the IS suit, Tabane turned to face her sister. “From a legal standpoint, Ik-kun’s death wasn’t her fault. She made a mistake, yes, but Chi-chan didn’t put her brother in direct danger.”
Houki’s blue eyes flared in anger, growing colder in a moment. Tabane caught the look, trying to let it not bother her. “I know, you’re thinking I’m making technicalities on something as important as this. But I said, ‘Chi-chan didn’t put her brother in direct danger’. That is the truth.” Watching her sister closely, Tabane chose her next words carefully. “The plan to kidnap Ichika came from someone else, and they would be the one responsible for his death.”
Houki’s face went slack, her jaw hanging opening from the shock of the message. Tabane heard a sharp intake of breath from behind her, knowing that Chifuyu was just as surprised. Recovering first, Chifuyu managed to get the first question out. “How...how did you know about that?”
Spinning around on one foot, Tabane’s dress billowed out as she came to face her friend. “I learned about it at the same time you did, Chi-chan.”
Her mind trying to wrap itself around this new fact, Houki closed her mouth with an audible snap. “Nechan, you would say anything to help out your friend. I know it, and you know it too.”
Tabane glanced back over her right shoulder, the grin on her face partially visible. “Yeah, I probably would say anything. But I told you I would tell you the truth earlier, and I will not go back on that statement.” Grabbing her remote with both hands, her fingers blurred as they flew across the controls. “Here, watch this.”
The projector came back to life with a different, but still familiar, scene.
Watching Houki running away, Chifuyu felt her energy start to drain away. Collapsing next to her brother’s gravestone, she proceeded to start crying again. Thunder rumbled overhead and the sky started to darken as storm clouds pushed in. Chifuyu kept her head down, letting her hair drape across her face, trying to push all of her grief into the cool stone where it touched her cheek.
The crunch of gravel close by got Chifuyu’s attention, but she kept it from showing on her body. Believing it to be a graveyard caretaker, she just continued to cry as the sounds come closer. A feminine voice, high pitched and young carried to her ears. “How pathetic.”
Chifuyu’s reverie was broken instantly at the insult, her eyes snapped up to look at the new person. “The undisputed IS champion, now bawling like a baby in the mud,” the voice continued, a cruel parody of her own. “I can’t believe just how fast you fell.”
The person standing before her was a teenager, a few years older than Houki. She had the gangly appearance of a teen in her early years, at the stage of awkward development. Long limbs gave an almost coltish appearance, but the swell of breasts and curvy hips clearly defined her femininity. Chifuyu’s brain noted the dark colored casual clothes, the misshapen sack resting at her feet. Tracking upwards, Chifuyu felt an electric shock when her eyes landed on the girl’s face. Black hair framed the sharp, angular lines of the teenager’s face. A slim but strong chin lead into delicate cheekbones, making her seem younger still. Brown eyes stared down at Chifuyu with a reptilian intensity, devoid of any emotion.
Her brain racing to process what she was seeing, Chifuyu leaned away from Ichika’s headstone. A pair of heartbeats brought a single thought to the front of everything. I’ve seen that face before.   Another heartbeat brought the solution to her problem. In the mirror. She looks like me from some of my old school pictures. “You...” she started, her mind still reeling from what she was seeing. “You look like I did, a few years ago.”
The stranger’s face broke into a mirthless smile, the lips peeling back to revealing gleaming teeth. “I should hope I look like you,” she paused to break into a bigger grin tinged with malicious glee, “onesan.”
Chifuyu’s head recoiled with the intensity of a punch to the face. Her mind kept repeating the word ‘sister’, trying to reconcile the implications. “Who are you?”
The young woman’s face broke into a genuine smile, enjoying the moment. “You mean you don’t know, nee-san? I’m Madoka. Madoka Orimura.”
“You can’t be my sister,” Chifuyu said, punctuating her statement with a shake of her head. “I only have one sibling, and that was Ichika.”
Madoka’s smile faded slightly, dropping into a conceited smirk. It was an expression that seemed all too natural on her face. “Well, I guess I can’t blame you for not knowing who I am, nee-san. I was never really introduced to the family, after all. But I’m not here to be introduced to the family. Or even to you.” The smirk faded completely away now. “You see, I’ve been a bad imouto.”
Chifuyu felt a solid chunk of ice form in her stomach. “What have you been bad about?”
“It’s simple enough, really. I don’t like you, nee-san. You’ve gotten the fame, the friends, the family. Things that I should have had.” Madoka paused momentarily to pick up the sack one handed, never taking her eyes off Chifuyu. “So I went out and...made some friends.   People who didn’t like you for various reasons, for the changes to the world they had been running. They didn’t trust me at the start, but I managed to convince them eventually. After earning their trust, I convinced them of a plan I had.”
“What plan?” Chifuyu roared, rising to her feet in outrage.
Madoka smirked again, an almost devilish grin. “Well, it was a plan to replace you. I was going to take everything that mattered away from you. Our brother, your IS.   Even your life, when it was all done.”
All the color drained from Chifuyu’s face, turning her fair complexion ashen. Feeling gut-punched, she staggered back against Ichika’s head stone. Her next words came out just above a whisper. “You mean you had Ichika killed?”
Madoka’s eyes flashed indignantly at the accusation and a shake of her head. “No no no, nee-san,” she purred, trying to keep Chifuyu calm. “My plan was to merely kidnap Ichika, to bring him to me. Then I’d introduce myself and....convince him that you were in the wrong.”
Tears clouded up Chifuyu’s vision, running down the sides of her face. “If that was your plan, then why is Ichika dead?”
Dropping her head, Madoka averted her eyes from Chifuyu’s scornful gaze. “The...people I was working with decided that it would be better to have Ichika killed, instead of just kidnapped. They changed my plan, added orders to kill Ichika if they couldn’t get away with him.” A sigh escaped her lips as they dropped down into a frown. “They should have known better, they really should. I told them when I brought up this plan that if they didn’t give me what I wanted they would have to pay the price.”
Grabbing the bottom of the bag with her right hand, Madoka flipped it over. The contents of the upended sack fell out with solid thuds as each misshapen object hit the ground. Chifuyu’s eyes tracked in on the first, noting the different colors as it rolled to a stop at her feet. Her breath caught in her chest as she realized what it was.
Madoka broke into a devilish grin. “I made damn sure to collect that price.” Waving a hand at the collection of human heads on the ground now, the grin graduated to a full smile. The heads of four men and two women, their faces all locked into the final moments of agony, spread out before Madoka. The stench of decaying flesh hit Chifuyu and her knees buckled as she felt her stomach tighten up, trying to bring up the meager breakfast she had eaten. “The heads of the three people in charge, and their lieutenants, who were responsible for Ichika’s death.”
Chifuyu looked up to see the proud expression on Madoka’s face and lost control, retching hard on to the ground. Vomit splattered on the soil, droplets hitting her shoes and the nearest head. Closing her eyes, Chifuyu took a series of shallow breaths to calm her stomach and mind. Wiping her mouth with a sleeve, she opened her eyes to glare at the younger woman. “You, you’re a monster.”
Eyes flashing with rage, Madoka darted in at Chifuyu with lightning fast speed, feinting a punch at the older woman’s head. Chifuyu reacted with honed reflexes, jerking her head back away from the strike only to feel a hand grab onto her chest. Planting one foot behind Chifuyu’s, Madoka took her through a classic hip throw. Chifuyu tried ease her fall, only to slam her back onto one of the severed heads. Pain flashed across her eyes and Chifuyu felt the world go white for just a moment.
Taking advantage of the situation, Madoka slammed down onto Chifuyu, pinning the older woman’s arms between her legs. A folding knife materialized in Madoka’s hands, the blackened steel pressing up against Chifuyu’s carotid. The pulsing artery throbbed rapidly, each vibration causing the skin to rub against the razor edge. Blood welled up around the knife’s edge, trickling down to the ground.

“Make no mistake, Chifuyu-nee,” Madoka started, her voice frightening from it’s lack of emotion. “I did not want Ichika dead. But I absolutely want you dead. Right here, right now, I could kill you. But the problem is that you’re just too pathetic in your current state. It wouldn’t be any fun for me, and that’s my biggest concern. When I come for you, I want you at your best.
“So go ahead and live your life, but know that one day I will be back. On that day, you and I will finish this business, and when that happens you will die.” The pressure of the knife vanished from Chifuyu’s neck, and Madoka brutally slammed the handle into her forehead, stunning the older woman. Smoothly disentangling herself, Madoka took one last look at Chifuyu lying dazed on the ground. Returning the knife to it’s place in her pocket, Madoka turned and briskly walked away, never looking over her shoulder.
Coming to her senses, Chifuyu slowly rolled into a sitting position. Gingerly touching the cut on her neck, she examined the severity as her mind sorted out everything that had happened. Eyeing the six severed heads, Chifuyu pulled out her cell phone and made a call.
The screen faded to black as the projector clicked itself off. Houki turned to face the two older women, eyes wide in disbelief. “Is it true? Is Madoka your sister?”
Dismissing Kurazakura in a shimmer of light, Chifuyu dropped down to the ground. “Is it true?” she echoed, a weak imitation of Houki’s voice. “I’m not sure. I checked the family records I could find, and there’s no mention of a Madoka. Her age seemed to be between me and Ichika. I don’t remember my mother being pregnant around that time, and she was pretty much a homebody.”
Exhaustion setting in, Chifuyu plopped herself down on the ground, careful not to dislodge her bandages. “Is it possible Madoka is my sister? Sure. You saw the playback there. She looks too much like me that it wouldn’t be a big leap to accept her as my sister. But I can’t accept that fact.”
“Why not?” Houki demanded, confusion giving way towards anger.
“Because Chi-chan can’t accept that she could have a sister who is responsible for Ik-kun’s death,” Tabane stated simply.
Nodding agreement, Chifuyu focused in on Houki. “There’s a bit more to it than just that. You saw the playback, Madoka is ruthless and prone to violence. She’d probably be best described as nearly bat shit crazy. If she’s my sister, then who’s to say I won’t go the same route.” Chifuyu paused, her voice dropping to a whisper. “There are times I think I’m crazy already.”
Tabane walked over and wrapped an arm around her friend’s shoulders, pulling them together. “Don’t worry Chi-chan. Remember, in our friendship, I’m the crazy one. You’re the strong, responsible one.”
Smiling lightly at the encouragement, Chifuyu let out a quick bark of laughter. “Yeah, but with you people see it more as eccentric Tabane.”
Houki watched the two older women banter as only friends could do. “So, now what?” she asked, her voice sharp from her impatience. “What happens to me?”
Tabane shared a meaningful look with Chifuyu, exchanging ideas wordlessly. Coming to a conclusion, she faced her sister. “Well, Houki-chan, I guess the answer to that question is up to you. While yes, you did attack Chi-chan here with a lethal weapon and the intent to kill her, I doubt Chi-chan will be running off to call the police on you. You could turn yourself in to the police, but they would have no proof other than your statement.”
“And if they came to me, I would deny any such attack happening,” Chifuyu added, nodding at her friend’s assessment.
“But....why?” Houki asked, confusion apparent no her face.
Chifuyu thought about her response for a moment before coming up with the right words. “Because I don’t think you should have your life ruined over a mistake I made. I could have, no I should have shown you the flight recorder log from the day Ichika died. I should have made it clear what happened.” She paused, and when she resumed her tone had softened from an adult lecturing a child to one more suited between friends. “You’ve wasted four years of your life already because of me. I couldn’t let you waste more.”
Houki dropped her gaze to the ground as tears formed in the edges of her eyes. She closed her eyes as emotions overwhelmed her. A hand came up around Houki’s shoulders, pulling her into a soft embrace. Tabane just held her sister again, waiting for Houki to settle down.
After a couple of minutes, Houki finally raised her head away from Tabane’s chest. Normally blue eyes were now bloodshot and still glistened with tears. “I...I don’t know what to say. Thank you, Orimura-san.”
A soft smile broke onto Chifuyu’s face at the use of the term from Houki’s childhood. “I think ‘thank you’ is good enough. Houki-chan, you and I might not ever be friends like it is between Tabane and me. But that doesn’t mean we can’t at least be friendly, does it?”
An odd expression flashed across Houki’s face for a moment as she tried to comprehend what was being said. “I’ll try,” she stated simply, a half smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “Now if you’ll excuse me ladies, I need to go home and think about some things.”
Giving each of the older women a heartfelt bow, Houki gingerly turned and walked away. Chifuyu and Tabane watched in silence as the teenager strolled down the path before turning out of sight. Shifting her gaze to her old friend, Chifuyu cleared her throat quietly. “Sorry about breaking your family’s honor blade.”
Tabane waved away the apology absentmindedly, her eyes wandering around the area. “Don’t worry about it,” she said, her voice whimsical. “It wasn’t the honor blade, just a copy I made a while back. The actual blade is in storage at my place.”
“Which is...?” Chifuyu asked, her voice neutral.
Turning back to her old friend, Tabane just grinned. “Somewhere I feel safe. What are you going to do with Houki-chan? She did get into the IS Academy, you know.”
Now it was Chifuyu’s turn to grin. “Oh, I’ll treat her like any of my other students. No favoritism there, either for or against her. It’s the least I can do for her I think.” The grin faded away. “I need to thank you though, Tabane. You really helped me out there, probably saved my life in the process.”
A childlike smile crossed across Tabane’s face, the expression perfectly natural on her. “It was no big deal to me, Chi-chan. Losing Ik-kun hurt a lot, made the world a less exciting place. Losing you would have just made the world entirely too boring.”
Running one hand across the cut on her chest, Chifuyu tried not to dwell on what Tabane just said. “Don’t suppose you have a change of clothes I can borrow do you? I came here with someone, and she’ll worry if I come back to her in an IS suit.”
“Oooooo, ‘she’ll worry’?” Tabane teased. Whipping out the remote again, Tabane tapped a few buttons with only her left thumb. A small suitcase shimmered into existence near Chifuyu. Tabane ran over and unzipped it quickly, revealing a wide variety of clothes. Eyeing the dresses at top, Chifuyu watched her friend shift materials around to expose familiar items.
“Uh...Tabane...” Chifuyu started, shock tightening up her voice.
“Yes Chi-chan,” Tabane replied smoothly, not even looking up from her work.
“Is there a REASON you have a suitcase packed with things that look like they came from my closet?”
Tabane paused now to grin at her friend. “Well, being a genius I figured I might need to have a guest over from time to time. So I prepared ahead.”
Touching one top with a pointed toe, Chifuyu’s voice hardened fast. “But I only got that particular top last month. And that bra there, I bought it a week ago.”
Grinning now with an almost roguish quality, a blush turned Tabane’s face crimson. “Umm.......”
Dropping her head in defeat, Chifuyu blew a slow breath out between pursed lips. “We’ll have to have this talk later,” she said with a frustration laden voice. “Do you happen to have a copy of that outfit I wore today in there?”
Tabane just smiled as she produced a dark suit jacket with matching skirt. “Are you okay to put it on, or do I need to do it for you?”
Muttering under her breath, Chifuyu snatched away the clothes as she started to get dressed.
A/N: This was stuff I wrote as I was working on it, but I couldn’t find a way to properly bring it into the story without it being too disruptive. It should NOT be considered essential to the story as I tell it.
Chapter 3 Bonus Scene
The stars shone brighter as Chifuyu crossed the border between atmospheric flight and orbital operations. Shirokishi flew comfortably, the engines purring smoothly through the frame, leaving a pleasant tingle in her stomach. Checking her HUD, Chifuyu saw the radio was still open. “Hey Tabane, you there?”
The reply was instant as a high pitched voice came back through the speakers.   “Of course I am Chi-chan.”
“I got so wrapped up in things earlier, I forgot to ask about you. How have you been?”
“Oh, I keep busy with my little projects. Re-tuning and modifying Shirokishi. Designing new gear for IS usage.” The sound of tapping on a keyboard came through the radio channel.   “Usually doing whatever I want to keep the world interesting to me.”
Making a minor course correction, Chifuyu smiled lightly as she listened to her friend work and talk at the same time. Tabane will always be the same. “And how is your sister....Houki? I haven’t seen her since you made the debut of the IS. I know Ichika still talks about her from time to time.”
The sound of typing stopped abruptly. “Houki-chan? She’s been good. I don’t see her as much as I could. Her grades in school are pretty fair, but I think that’s more of people’s expectations of her being too high.”
“You try talking to her about it?”
“Yeah, I visited her a few weeks back, but she wasn’t interested too much in school. ‘I’m not you, nee-chan, all that learning is boring. I just want to do my kendo.’ I decided not to push the point too much at the time.”
Chifuyu grinned as she found a problem even a super genius like Tabane could not solve. “Well, younger siblings are allowed to have a mind of their own. Eventually they’ll either come to the conclusion that we knew what we’re talking about, or things will work out for them on their own.”
“Well, I hope it gets sooner than later. After all, Houki-chan is a bit of a handful at times.”
Surprise rocked through Chifuyu, almost shifting her off course. “What do you mean?”
The radio stayed silent for a long pause, leaving Chifuyu to check and make sure it was still active. “Well, Houki-chan apparently got her hands on some pictures of me from a visit to one of the hot springs resorts I favored. She put them up on the Internet, made all sorts of trouble for me.” Tabane’s voice grew even more cheerful. “But I will say, I do look good in the pictures.”
Chifuyu’s head rocked as if she had been slapped. “Wait a second, this wasn’t that time I went with you to that resort was it?”
“Well...yes it was.”
“You bitch,” Chifuyu roared, hot rage pouring into the her voice. “You told me you didn’t save any of those pictures!”
“Did I? I don’t remember. But you were having so much fun in them that I just couldn’t bring myself to delete the pictures. And that one of me straddling your face while that guy fucked your ass always gets me wet. Anyway, I already sent out a virus to destroy all copies of the pictures. And it’s not like they could see your face in any of them. But I guess a clever person might figure it out.” Chifuyu’s bestial growl interrupted Tabane’s thoughts.

“Oops, gotta go Chi-chan.” The radio channel went to static before clicking off.
Chifuyu closed her eyes for a moment, trying not to let herself get distracted from her mission at hand. “After I’m done saving Ichika-kun, friend or not, I am thoroughly going to kick your ass Tabane.”
- 5
- 6
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Through the looking glass