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Life goes on	By : walkerofdarkness Category: +G to L > IS: Infinite Stratos Views: 4169 -:- 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.

Chapter List
- 6
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Chapter 7
The great fights with your strongest rivals are always the biggest motivation.
When you win easily it's not the same taste.
-Valentino Rossi

Standing alone in the middle of the preparation bay, Kirika Nakano closed her hazel eyes as her heart thundered in her chest. Hands clenched almost involuntarily, knuckles making the slightest of pops with each contraction. The cool air of the bay tickled on skin left bare by the abbreviated coverage of the IS suit.

A whoosh of air signaled the door to the bay as it admitted a second visitor. Cracking her eyes open, Kirika saw her roommate walk in confidently. Houki's oval face had a determined set as her sapphire eyes gave a practiced scan of the room. Finding no one, the kendoka walked within arm's reach of the shorter teen before stopping. “I thought I'd find you here,” Houki muttered neutrally.

“Hey roomie,” Kirika said warmly as hazel eyes shut again. “How's the competition going?”

“Well, it's fun to watch at times,” the kendoka admitted indifferently. “They're moving right along. Class five won their match handily. Truthfully, that Kanzashi person from class four looked to have some troubles with her IS. While it wasn't completely one-sided, it was a bit ugly to watch.”

Mulling over the info, the redheaded representative pursed her lips thoughtfully. Running through the relaxation technique Houki had taught her, Kirika tried in vain to dismiss her worries. “I suppose I shouldn't ask,” the pilot stated, her voice as nonchalant as possible, “but what are folks saying about my match?”

“You're right, you shouldn't ask,” Houki replied almost immediately. Even with hazel eyes shut, the redhead could hear the frown on her roommate's face. Taking one breath and holding it, Kirika felt her stomach cramp at the sentiment.

Releasing the pent-up breath slowly, the redheaded student sent out the mental command that summoned her Raiko. An electric tingle rushed across exposed skin briefly before the IS answered the call and appeared on it's pilot. Opening her eyes, Kirika looked down to meet the kendoka's sapphire gaze. “About what I expected really. I figure the odds are worse than my match with Cecilia. You going to watch the fight with Charlotte?”

Raven ponytails swished once in mute response. “She offered to let me sit with her, but I think I'll go it alone.”

“Well, I guess I'd better be going.” Kirika muttered more to herself. Raiko's PIC engaged and the IS started to float off the ground. Shifting towards the exit tunnel, the redheaded pilot tossed one last remark over her shoulder. “I can't leave our little spitfire waiting now can I?”

“Rika-chan.” Turning at the sound of her name being called, the class representative found a somewhat unusual scene. Houki had her right hand extended towards her roommate, fist closed and raised to shoulder height. “I...” the kendoka started in Japanese, her voice nearly breaking. “I won't tell you to go out and win. But I do want you to be careful.”

The words sent a new series of cramps in the redheaded pilot's stomach. Settling the IS back on the bay floor, Kirika tapped the flesh with her own right fist, careful not to harm her roommate with the metal gauntlet. “You should know me better than that by now, roomie,” Kirika teased with a carefree smile. “I don't really do 'careful'. But I will do my best.” The IS floated away from the ground and turned silently, breaking the moment between the two teens. Looking back over her shoulder, Kirika's hazel eyes shone with a mischievous glint. “Besides, I'd hate to force anyone else to learn how to deal with you as a roommate.”

Houki's face flushed as her classmate flew out of the preparation bay, leaving the raven-haired teen alone in the now-empty room. “I have no idea what she meant by that,” the kendoka admitted.

<—*—>

Soaring out into the arena, Kirika checked her HUD for the fourth time in ten seconds. Finding nothing wrong, the redheaded teen took a moment to scan the arena as she closed in on her opponent. The sight before her froze the first year pilot in place. The arena seating was a wall of white with splashes of color in various clumps spread at random intervals. Kirika's mouth went dry as comprehension dawned on her. “Oh damn,” she muttered awestruck, “is the entire academy in this arena right now?”

“Very possibly,” Lingyin responded tartly, the Chinese girl's voice sharp in the redhead's ear. “But what would you expect when they came to watch a real fight?”

The redheaded pilot glanced over her shoulder expecting to find Lingyin right there. Relaxing slightly from the lack of threat, hazel eyes turned back towards the center of the arena. The IS opened a window and presented an arrow tracking the image. Kirika followed the prompting to see her opponent floating in mid-air, arms splayed aggressively.

A mass of ice formed in the redhead's stomach at the sight of the new IS, the chill spreading throughout her body. The Chinese IS was purple overall, with two black shoulders bigger than the pilot's head. The limbs had a streamlined, efficient look that Kirika's practical mind couldn't help but admire. Any artistry the design might have had was ruined by the two curved blades held menacingly by the pilot. Each massive weapon had a nasty curve with a jutting protrusion at the midpoint. One of the biggest things to remember about a sword, came Houk's voice unbidden, is that the function of it will determine it's form. On a working blade you can't overlook anything.

Focusing intently on the shape of the sword, Kirika tried to assess the usage of it. Big blade and solid looking edge to it. Probably a real pain to swing, but I don't like that extra curve in it. Servomotors whined slightly as Raiko's left hand clenched on the gun at the unconscious input from it's pilot. Taking a short breath to calm herself, the redheaded representative drained some tension from her arms and relaxed the death-grip on her controls. If that's all she has, I just need to be accurate and keep my distance. But I can't be that lucky. “Are you sure you can give me a real fight with only a pair of swords, short round?”

Both blades pinwheeled in opposite directions as a response; the heavy swords completed three revolutions before stopping. Placing the swords into a standard fighting pose, left arm forward and right in a high guard, the Chinese teen flashed a vicious grin to her opponent. Feeling her stomach flipflop again, Kirika fought to maintain her composure. Shouldering her sub-machine gun, the Japanese pilot lined up the target with only a moment's hesitation. The radio squelched as the redheaded pilot's finger tightened on her trigger. “Since both of you seem to be ready,” came the stern voice of Chifuyu Orimura, “let's get this match underway. The battle will be over when one of you is out of shield power. Now begin!”

Lingyin started moving the instant the radio clicked off. Cutting Shenlong's PIC off, the IS dropped like a stone to the ground. The sudden action caused Kirika's first volley to go high; sparks cascaded as the bullets splattered themselves futilely on the arena's shield. Engaging her thrusters at full power, the Chinese teen closed the distance with a roar to match her IS' namesake.

Blinking at the miss of her first burst, Kirika squeezed off a longer barrage. Tracers flashed between the two IS as Shenlong danced to evade incoming fire. Each bob and weave brought the purple IS closer towards it's victim as bullets missed by the narrowest of margins. Voraciously eating through it's clip, the gun's ammo readout on the redhead's HUD plummeted. Snarling as the gun locked empty, Kirika sent out a command for a reload even as she grabbed at the second weapon in her arsenal.

Too late. Shenlong accelerated into a jet powered lunge, the huge scimitar point-on at the Japanese teen's head. The heavy blade created a breeze in it's passage that whipped multicolored bangs into a frenzy as Kirika reflexively leaned back to dodge. Engaging her thrusters, Kirika backpedaled just in time to catch a slash from the right scimitar. Raiko's shields flared as the edge caressed them, shifting hazel eyes frantically to the HUD. [Shields: 542.]

<—*—>

Watching from the control room, Houki felt her heart jump in her chest at Kirika's near dodge. The kendoka's rational mind kept screaming as her roommate evaded a flurry of slashes from Lingyin's large scimitars. A tiny part of the teen's brain noted dispassionately the openness of the Chinese pilot's techniques; her aggressive attacks left wide holes the kendoka wanted to exploit.

Turning away for a moment, Houki closed sapphire eyes as she tried to control her breathing. I guess it wasn't such a good idea to watch the match after all. But it was nice of Yamada-sensei to offer. Opening her eyes, the kendoka tracked the moderately lit room. Chifuyu Orimura's face was slack as she mechanically drank from a mug. The teacher's dark eyebrows were drawn into the smallest expression of disapproval at the monitor. Cecilia's presence had come as a surprise to the raven-haired teen; the Briton had kept an aloof air even after her reconciliation with the class representative. The other girl's navy eyes were fixated on the screen with a visible mixture of longing and excitement.

“In a way, this fight seemed destined,” Chifuyu murmured over the rim of her cup.

“What do you mean?” Cecilia asked sharply without breaking contact of the monitor.

The teacher kept her dark gaze on the screen as she moved towards the coffee maker in the corner. “Well,” Chifuyu said as her hands worked automatically to fix the cup, “Kirika's IS is called 'Raiko'. In English, you could translate that as 'lightning tiger'. And Lingyin's IS is named 'Shenlong' in Chinese. Depending on the characters you use, that could come up 'dragon'. Do you know the story of the tiger and the dragon, Houki?”

Fighting to take her eyes off the monitor, the raven-haired teen almost missed the question. “Huh?” Houki stammered as her concentration broke. “The dragon and the tiger? Yes, I've heard of it.” Returning her sapphire gaze to the fight on the screen, the kendoka found her voice dropping to a muted tone. “It's part of some of the Chinese philosophies. I know it's part of feng shui, and I think I remember something about it being part of a couple different martial arts schools use it. The tiger's job is to challenge the dragon and take away it's power, but the two end up stalemated a lot. The one picture I remember seeing of them is that yin/yang form of the two animals.”

Chifuyu's eyebrows raised slightly at the teen's attitude during her impromptu lecture, but said nothing. It was the other instructor who earned everyone's attention. “Come on, come on!” Maya whispered fervently to the screen as the image changed.

<—*—>

Panting, Kirika reassessed her opponent. “Not bad,” she admitted breathlessly. Shouldering the new weapon, a different set of warnings appeared on the HUD. The Chinese pilot's head jerked as Lingyin recognized the gun. Placing trust in her IS' sights, the redheaded teen squeezed the trigger once.

Emitting a deep metallic burp, the grenade launcher fired out a single round. Lingyin rolled to the side as the over-sized shell passed harmlessly by the purple IS. Wincing at the miss, Kirika realigned the gun as she maneuvered her Raiko to a better position. Three more times the grenade launcher fired; each time the shells were evaded by narrow margins as the Chinese pilot played matador to the dangerous rounds. Taking a quick glance at her HUD, Kirika fought to keep the wince off her face at the display. [Ammo: 4] “What's the matter shorty? Afraid to get in close while I've got this out?” Kirika mocked as she lined up another shot.

Raiko's computer opened a window and displayed an enlarged image of Lingyin's face. Kirika felt the knot of ice in her stomach grow upon seeing the confident smirk on the shorter girl's face. “Well, if you insist,” the Chinese pilot boasted as the shoulders of her IS started glowing, “here's what I call a jab!”

The sudden shockwave hurled Kirika backwards with vicious ferocity. Dazed from the impact, the redheaded pilot rolled with the motion of the assault to gain the safety of distance. A second blast rocked the white and orange IS as Kirika engaged her thrusters at their maximums to the accompaniment of a heavy whine. Banking and sideslipping, the novice pilot saw her shields drop as explosions bracketed her. [Shields: 421]

From her higher position, Lingyin fired off another series of shots, Shenlong's HUD displaying the blasts with a spectral-colored overlay. Grinning triumphantly as a volley engulfed the modified IS, the Chinese teen watched elated as her opponent faltered. “You know, you surprise me,” Lingyin admitted mockingly. “Ryuhou's barrels and ammo are invisible, so I was sure you'd lose the instant I deployed it.” Eyeing the power level of her Shenlong, the petite pilot disengaged her canons and tightened her grip on her swords. “I could just blast you into scrap, but I wanted to see the look of defeat in your eyes up close.” Cutting in her thrusters, Lingyin rocketed towards the Uchigane with hawk-like precision.

<—*—>

Amethyst eyes intent on the monitor, Charlotte felt her face scrunch up in concentration. “What kind of gun was zhat?”

A number of heads in the locker room turned towards the French girl, but no one readily answered. The pilots had frozen in various stages of changing their clothes; a couple dabbed at damp hair while completely naked. Every set of eyes present turned to watch the monitor even as new images flashed across the screen.

“If I had to guess, it's a variant of a shock canon,” said an older looking teen as she fixed the red ribbon around her neck. “I remember seeing a paper discussing it soon after I started at the academy. Supposed to work by manipulating air pressure. Good at medium range, very dangerous up close. But it was largely theoretical back then.” The senior girl drifted off as Kirika's Raiko was wreathed in explosions. “The Chinese have always been rather clever though. I guess this idea wasn't past their abilities.”

Charlotte returned her gaze as the white and orange IS appeared from the smoke.

<—*—>

Pushing her engines to the limits, Kirika threw herself to the side as the Chinese pilot rushed downwards. The heavy blade missed the dodging IS's foot by a narrow margin, though still close enough to graze Raiko's shields. Realizing her danger, the redheaded teen spun to block Lingyin's followup, using her gun to stop the attack. Sparks flew as the Chinese pilot set more pressure against the obstruction, a wicked grin on thin lips. Kirika frowned as the left arm wavered and buckled towards her body, the sword incrementally moving towards her shields. Seeing the weakness in her opponent, Lingyin swung her left-hand sword in a slash that would disembowel a defenseless person.

Catching the movement in the corner of her eye, the Japanese pilot momentarily froze in lieu of the new attack. Heart surging after skipping a beat, Kirika released her right hand's grip on the gun and popped the claws from their sheathe. The charged blades caught the heavy sword smoothly; the energy running through the twinned weapons creating a pattern of sparks against Shenlong's defenses. Lingyin's eyes widened at the amateurish block but her emerald gaze flicked between the weapon and her HUD worriedly. [Shields: 572. 568.] “Not bad,” the Chinese pilot admitted. “I'd heard stories about those claws of yours from others. But I wanted to see them myself.”

Focused on the two weapons in front of her, Kirika tried to ignore the sweat running down between her shoulders. Rotating her gaze between settings, the Japanese teen's mind scrambled for a solution to the problem as the shorter girl pushed aggressively a second time. This situation is fucked up, Kirika thought grimly. I must have gotten really lucky with Cecilia.

Seeing the grimace on the redheaded pilot, Lingyin flashed a wicked grin and pushed harder. Struggling against the irresistible force presented, the Japanese teen felt herself being driven backwards. Raiko's HUD flashed a proximity warning as the wall rushed up to meet the IS. Without any time to brace herself, Kirika felt the IS shields flicker briefly as she hit the arena's perimeter. The momentary impact threatened to suck the air from her lungs even as the HUD updated itself. [Shields: 389]

Badbadbad gotta move! Kirika raged mentally as she transmitted a flurry of commands to her IS. The computer responded instantly, diverting power to the engines according to the pilot's new programming. Screaming wordlessly at her opponent, the Japanese teen struggled for every centimeter of space away from the wall. The power levels on Raiko's HUD dipped from the demands put on the IS, but the gap from the edge increased slowly.

Emerald eyes lost their confidence as Lingyin found her Shenlong being matched by the older model IS. “I'm almost impressed,” she snarled, having to scream over the roar of the engines. “To think you can get a second generation model to compare to mine is nearly praiseworthy. “ The Chinese pilot's eyes hardened as Shenlong's shoulders glowed again. “Nearly.”

Distracted by the sudden alert in her HUD, Kirika felt her mind blank at the threat in front of her. Before Lingyin could trigger her canon, a section of the far-side arena shields imploded in a thunderous roar. Both teens' heads snapped towards the commotion even as alarm klaxons rang throughout the entire stadium. Twin sets of green eyes focused on the voluminous cloud of dirt and smoke expectantly; the previous competition forgotten in lieu of the changed situation.

A rattle close by caught the redhead's attention. Risking a glance away from the smoke cloud, Kirika saw her IS' right hand shaking in place. The Japanese pilot shifted her attention to her fellow student as she willed her body to be still. Lingyin's face was locked in a mask of barely contained rage; the petite girl's emerald eyes had a pitiless expression as she waited for the smoke to clear. Emerging from the haze, the form looked humanoid enough. A new window opened unbidden, the IS presenting an enlarged and enhanced image of the intruder. Kirika felt her stomach clench up; the sudden spasm threatened to remove the light breakfast eaten only two hours before. Swallowing dryly to keep her composure, the Japanese teen focused on the details being shown to her.

Smoke still drifted off the new IS, clinging to black armor like a lover. A few tendrils passed between long fingers that ended in unpleasant-looking spikes. The overlarge limbs sent a chill down Kirika's spine. Each hand appeared to be bigger than the Japanese girl's head, and had unfamiliar objects along the nominal forearm. The pilot of the mysterious IS was completely shrouded: instead of the typical suit, she was wearing a full-length bodysuit and helmet. Five red sensors winked through the almost clear air, while Kirika noted a few odd bulges along the pilot's body. Red eyebrows crinkled as options were considered. Is that extra armor on the pilot? Regardless, I don't like the look of it.

One arm swung towards the two floating competitors in a menace-filled gesture. Kirika barely noted the glow an energy buildup as she began to react, fear driving her movements with newfound speed. Placing both legs against the Chinese IS, the Japanese pilot surged her PIC briefly as she pushed away. Shenlong's computers noted the new energy field conflicting with it's shields and applied more power; the resulting collision put several meters between the two IS frames. Lingyin's locked onto the redheaded pilot instantly, emerald eyes blazing with hatred. Even as the petite teen tensed up to counterattack, a pink-white beam almost a meter in diameter crossed between the two girls.

The sudden attack caused both pilots to go evasive in a series of stomach-churning maneuvers. Slowing to a hover, Kirika eyed the HUD analysis of the attack. “Kami,” the Japanese teen snarled, “that beam is way more powerful than Cecilia's!”

“That was useful of you,” Lingyin said over the competition channel.

Flashing a smirk as she trained on the unknown IS, Kirika glanced at her display briefly. [Shields: 364] “You're welcome, short round.”

“Contestant Nakano, contestant Huang come in!” Maya Yamada screeched over the radio. “Respond at once!”

Toggling over to the school's general frequency, the redheaded pilot kept her attention inside the arena. “Go ahead Ms. Yamada, I read you.”

“You two need to evacuate to the preparation bay. The teachers are coming to deal with that intruder.” Maya's typical bubbly voice had flattened, making her seem older to the teens.

A disgusted snort came over the channel. “Forget that!” Lingyin growled through the radio, her voice promising creative violence. “Anyone who wants to interrupt my match earns the beating they get.”

Grinning in spite of the situation, the Japanese student fought to keep laughter out of her voice. “I'm going to have to agree with Lingyin here I”m afraid. Right now, our guest is very interested in playing with us. If we leave, she might go after the folks in the stands.”

“But the teachers will be there shortly....” Maya protested weakly.

Changing frequencies, Kirika eyed the motionless black IS. “How do you want to do this, Lingyin?”

The Chinese teen responded with an amused sounding grunt. “If we're going to fight together, you might as well call me 'Rin'. I don't like how you say my name. But answer my question first: how's your IS equipped?”

“Mid- and short-range,” Kirika responded easily. “The grenade launcher and submachine gun for distance work; a combat knife and the claws for in-close.”

“I'm about the same,” Rin conceded. “Okay, to answer your question: I figure we can alternate. Your guns are a little better than my canons at range. I'll get in close and you support me as you can. I didn't break anything with my last attack did I?”

Running a fast diagnostic on the weapon, the redhead felt the tension drain as nothing came up wrong. “Cosmetic mainly. You didn't breach the barrel so it's all good.”

“Okay then!” Rin shouted as she she charged the unknown IS, her blades leading the way.

<—*—>

“Huang, come in!” Maya shouted in the headset as her voice climbed higher. “Nakano, respond at once!”

Looking up from her coffee, Chifuyu covered her smirk with the cup. “Oh come on, Maya. They've turned off their radios and won't listen to us. You might as well just have a drink while you enjoy the show.” Pouring a second cup of coffee, the elder teacher misread the label of the boxes and added a measure of salt to the mug. “Here, three sugars just the way you like it.”

“Ma'am I must protest,” came a screech the back of the room. All three Japanese women turned to stare as Cecilia moved closer to the screen. “You must declare this an emergency and allow me to deploy my IS to support the two in the arena.”

Cocking a dark eyebrow at the bold statement, the former Brunhilde took a considered sip as she turned to face her student. “I 'must' do something, student Alcott?” The Briton's fair cheeks blushed furiously as she was put on the spot. Smirking at the teen's discomfort, Chifuyu prevented any response. “Okay, it's an emergency. But you won't be able to help out with this Cecilia.”

Navy eyes glazed over in confusion at the contradictions. “Whatever do you mean, Ms. Orimura?” Cecilia asked neutrally.

Turning back towards the monitor, the teacher held out the second mug to her junior. “First off, the arena is in lockdown mode right now. All the doors are shut and sealed. That means we're effectively trapped in here right now. And even if you could get to the arena, you wouldn't be any help.”

“Please, explain yourself,” the Briton snarled crossly. Delicate hands were clenched as her shoulders shook.

Chifuyu glanced over at her student, noting carefully how upset the teen appeared. “Blue Tears is a solid machine, and you've got some skills. But right now YOU would be of no help to this situation.” Seeing the blond girl's mouth open in protest, the former Brunhilde pressed on. “Blue Tears was designed to either engage multiple opponents at once or to overwhelm it's opponent with a savage flurry of attacks. Right now, this is a team situation. YOU wouldn't be able to help out in this sort of battle.”

The former Brunhilde turned and fixed her dark gaze on the Briton. “Have you ever participated as part of a team? How many missions have you done? Who was in charge? What was your role in the mission? What tactics did your team employ, and how effective were they?” With each question, the blond teen's face radiated increasing doubt. A minor twinge of guilt broke the teacher's professional mask before it disappeared. “Let's face it, without team training, you couldn't help but make this situation worse.”

Seeing Cecilia's crestfallen face, Chifuyu handed the coffee to her assistant. “Right now, the best chance for victory is to have faith in them.”

Accepting the proffered mug with a nod, Maya sipped it once and winced. “Uh, Chifuyu, you put salt into this, not sugar.” The former Brunhilde's cheeks burned in response, but she remained mute.

<—*—>

In the locker room, a state of near pandemonium hung in the air. Dozens of eyes were locked onto the monitor as their owners watched intently. Several students were sitting in a daze, and a few were sobbing uncontrollably. Stepping over one passed-out girl, Charlotte worked her way through the mass of students near the door. The French pilot slid past a nearly-nude student and found her path blocked by a pair of crossed arms. Amethyst eyes glanced up to see an instructor with a heavy scowl and attitude to match. “Just head back and sit down, student. We'll get out of here soon enough.”

“Pardon, ma'am,” Charlotte said apologetically. “I might have a way to get past zhrough zhe door.”

Eyebrows raising at the statement, the teacher shifted and let the French student pass. Charlotte stepped closer to the doorway, eyeing the instructor and two students working at the control panel. “Pardon,” she called out, just barely being heard over the commotion. “I can get zhrough zhe door, but I need you zhree to move.”

The working women stopped and openly stared at the blond girl. “And just how do you plan on doing that first year?” One of the students asked indignantly. “I'm from the maintenance branch and I can't get it open.”

Gesturing at the three, Charlotte merely smirked. Moving as far as the crowd would allow, the two students glared at the newcomer. The French pilot sent out a mental command and summoned her Rafale Revive to cover both hands. The orange IS responded at once, earning a gasp from the assembled women. Choosing her Bread Slicer combat knife, Charlotte slammed the blade in the seam of the door. The hideous screech made everyone cringe, but the hardened metal held fast. A quick twist and the the weapon opened a gap.

The motor to the door whined in protest as Charlotte slid her IS' free hand in the space. Bracing herself momentarily, the French girl pushed against both halves of the aperture with every ounce of strength she possessed. A pop, more felt than heard, ran through her shoulders before the door worked open. Wedging her knife into place, Charlotte dismissed her IS and slipped under the brace into the corridor. Glancing back at the teachers still in the locker room, the French girl flashed a smug grin at the older women. “Zhe door is open now.”

Not waiting for a response, Charlotte dashed off down the hallway. Hang on, ma ami.

<—*—>

Braking to a hover, Kirika cycled in a fresh gun. The loaded submachine gun had barely hit the gauntlet before the redhead lined up a shot. “Rin, break off now!” The purple IS darted away as if spring loaded. A meter's clearance had barely appeared before the first bullet zipped in, splattering itself on the black IS' shields. Sparks flew in all directions as metallic rain poured down to no visible effect.

Even as her submachine gun clicked empty, Kirika threw herself into hard bank just in time to evade a volley of narrow beams crossing her former location. The Japanese pilot forced her IS into a series of evasive maneuvers, using every erg of acceleration possible. Kirika felt her body get twisted and pulled in opposite directions as the computer failed to respond to the demands she put on it. Braking to a hover, the redhead panted heavily as Shenlong opened up with it's own canons.

Rin makes this sort of thing look easy, Kirika thought between pants. The volley threw up a new dirt cloud that obscured the black IS momentarily. Losing track of her target, the Chinese girl stopped firing. “I seriously doubt that was enough to finish this,” Rin transmitted.

“Yeah,” Kirika sent back. “How's your power levels?”

The answer came back immediately. “Fair. If I avoid using Ryuhou too much, I can go on a long time.”

Hazel eyes unfocused as the words rattled around in her brain. Avoid using her canons...why is that important? Kirika thought furiously. Realization brought a thunderbolt's clarity to the answer. Charlotte said once, “An IS has limited power supplies and zhose types of weapons are voracious.” That thing's got a couple of beam weapons and one of them is very powerful. Even if the oversized arms have some kind of backup source, it won't last forever. “Rin, I've got an idea. Whomever the pilot of this IS is, we don't need to beat her. We just need to outlast her.”

“Figured that out just now did you?” came the sarcastic response. “I realized that after the first attack. Plus, whatever she used to get through the arena's shields must have depleted her somewhat. It doesn't mean I won't beat her, but just outlasting her is my backup plan.”

Ignoring the barb, the redheaded pilot felt a new thought tug at her conscious. Glancing back at her former competitor, Kirika took a moment to let the idea grow. “There's something else we're missing Rin. She hasn't attacked us just yet.”

“What do you mean? She's been attacking us this entire time.”

Kirika lowered her gun by her side as the dust cloud continued to dissipate. “Aside from the first shot, every attack we've used drew a counter from her. Sometimes those big canons, other times the shoulder emitters. But with the dust cloud from your last barrage, she hasn't fired back yet.”

“Now that you mention it, you might be right.” Even without picture, the frown was visible in the tone. “So what does that mean?”

Mulling over possibilities, red eyebrows linked in thought. “I can come up with two options readily. Either her sensors aren't good enough to pierce the dirt cloud....” A derisive snort from the radio echoed in Kirika's ears. “Or we're not dealing with a 'she'. We're dealing with some kind of robotic drone.”

<—*—>

In the control room, both teachers blinked at the conclusion. “A robot?” Maya parroted, looking over at her senior.

Dark eyes narrowing, Chifuyu nodded once. “The logic is sound,” the former Brunhilde admitted. “But if anything that makes things more dangerous. It might have it's own weaknesses, but it probably won't have the human constraints of remorse, self-preservation and compassion.”

Grimacing at the statement, olive eyes flickered towards the screen before returning to Chifuyu. “What happened to the students?”

Scanning around the room, the senior teacher found her two charges gone.

<—*—>

“Okay, so let's assume it's a robot like you said,” Rin conceded as the cloud dissipated. “How does that help us?”

Kirika chewed her lip briefly before replying. “First off, if it's a robot it probably won't be able to handle something unexpected. But the really good news is that since it's not human, we don't have to worry about hurting them. So we can cut loose with our firepower and really hammer it down.”

“Now that's something I can get behind!” roared the petite teen as she targeted the stationary intruder. Before Rin could fire off her canons, an ominous high pitched whine filled the arena. Kirika watched in surprise as the black IS slid forward, crouched and then jumped off the ground. The IS flew faster than an object it's size had any reason to, charging straight towards the Chinese pilot.

“Shit, that thing can fly?!” Kirika screamed as the unmanned IS closed with Shenlong. Swallowing a curse, the Japanese teen cut in her thrusters in pursuit. Rin cackled over the radio as she banked away and fired a barrage at the intruder. Not even trying to evade, the invisible rounds pounded on the black IS without slowing it down. Rin frowned as the distance evaporated while cycling her canons faster.

Kirika reached her companion just ahead of the robot by fear-driven impetus. Without time to plan, the redhead gave the smaller girl a full body check using one of her physical shields. The resulting collision threw Rin away from the black IS, but it practically stopped Kirika in place. Dazed from the impact, the stationary student was easy prey for her attacker.

Forgoing any technique, the robot lashed out with one hand towards its victim. Numerous alarms blared as the Japanese girl froze up at the sight of the oversized monstrosity racing towards her. Barely impaired by Raiko's shields, the fist stuck flesh with brutal intensity. Hazel eyes dimmed as pain erupted in Kirika's chest. Disengaging her PIC, the redheaded pilot let the sudden burst of momentum push her away.

Or it would have had the robot now caught her left leg with startling speed. Metallic fingers almost touched as they closed around the foot thruster, causing the Japanese pilot's pulse to jump in fear. The robot's hand compressed itself smoothly, crushing components into scrap and earning a scream of pain from the human pilot. Fighting against the sudden agony of her injuries, Kirika snatched at the combat knife on her free leg. The blade had only seen daylight for a second before it was into the chest of black IS. Fluid splashed across the redhead's face as an explosion rocked both frames and the restraint relaxed.

I can't believe I got that lucky, Kirika thought as she fell towards the ground. A quick glance at Raiko's HUD brought new worries. [Left leg thruster destroyed. PIC generator damaged, field unstable. Further combat unadvised. Shields: 223] Shifting back to the black IS found Rin engaging it viciously with her canons, only to be countered by rapid volleys from robot. I guess it wasn't luck.

The Japanese pilot hit the ground with just enough control to avoid it being defined as a 'crash'. When her weight hit the left foot, the world dimmed as pain threatened to cripple her. Biting down on her lip to stifle the scream brought a taste of blood on Kirika's tongue. Panting from the sudden exertion, the redhead drew her grenade launcher. Both airborne IS were moving in complicated patterns, each one vying for an advantage. Trying in vain to track the robot's movement, Kirika blew out a breath in exasperation. “Rin, my PIC is shot. Can you bring it in close enough for a good shot?”

Wordlessly the purple IS shifted course and raced toward the grounded Raiko with the robot trailing behind. Sighting in on Shenlong, Kirika waited for her opportunity. Closing to within fifty meters, Rin accelerated and streaked overhead, the passage close enough to snap red bangs in their wake. Grinning at the bravado, Kirika tightened her finger on the trigger only to be freeze by the intruder's actions. The robot had raised both arms towards the downed IS, canons glowing with power buildup. “Oh shit,” the redhead breathed.

“KIRIKA!” Charlotte screamed as she skimmed across the arena floor, her Revive fully deployed. Colliding with the her friend, the French pilot wrapped the IS hands around the shorter teen and kept moving. White hot torture wracked the redhead's body as the blond girl activated her Garden Curtain system. Physical shields materialized between the two teens, creating a bastion of defense. “How's your shot?” Charlotte asked, the words barely audible to her Japanese rider.

“Pretty good,” Cecilia admitted as she launched herself from the preparation bay entrance. Two rapid fire shots from her Starlight rifle impacted the robotic IS at the shoulders; the force of the beams knocking the arms off target. Pressing her advantage, the Briton fired off both missiles and deployed her BITs in the same instant. The missiles surged forward with unerring efficiency, detonating upon impact; the explosion threw the robot back into the net created by the four drones. Azure beams rained down on the black IS, the flurry of shots hammering shields into nonexistence. Raising her Starlight rifle one more time, the Briton took careful aim with the scope. “This is the end for you!”

A brilliant bolt lashed out from the rifle, crossing the distance to its target in an instant. Unhindered by the weakened shields, the beam lanced through the robot's chest and out the back. Cutting off the weapon, Cecilia kept her attention focused on the black IS.

One arm fitfully tried to point itself at Blue Tears before falling back to the robot's side. “Have you had enough?” Cecilia taunted. The black IS exploded in a thunderous roar, debris scattering everywhere. Protecting herself from the intense shockwave, Cecilia turned back to find a smoking crater where the black IS once stood. “I guess you have,” she murmured to herself.

Charlotte lowered her arms away from her face to find the intruder gone. Checking her HUD carefully, the French teen relaxed her shoulders. “Well, zhat was quite exciting, eh Kirika?” Getting no response, Charlotte turned to face her friend. “Kirika?”

Amethyst eyes widened as the French girl caught sight her her redheaded classmate crumpled in a heap on the ground, not moving.

<—*—>

A soft moan echoed in the confines of the spartan room. The muted beep of machinery percolated through a drug-fueled confusion, followed by a medicinal tang in the air. The room's standing occupant waited patiently as hazel eyes fluttered open. When the eyes focused on the other person, they were rewarded with a reassuring smile. “Good evening student Nakano,” the woman said in passable Japanese. “My name is Dr. Dawn Saunders. You're in the school infirmary.”

Kirika started to rise from the bed only to be stopped by the older woman. “Don't even try to get up on me, student. And I will sedate you if you give me any grief. Can you follow me if I switch to English?” Not trusting her voice, the redhead only nodded once. “Good,” the doctor muttered, changing languages, “my Japanese isn't good enough for medical purposes anyway. Okay, so you're in the infirmary. You've got three broken ribs and five cracked of varying degrees. Your left leg has decent breaks in both the tibia and fibula just above the ankle. On the flip side of things, you didn't have any internal damage except for a couple of minor lacerations on your liver. Which aren't severe enough to require surgery.”

Hazel eyes flickered to the harness suspending leg at the bottom of the bed. “Now don't get too excited,” Dr. Saunders continued. “Under normal circumstances, you'd be in a cast for three months, but the ISA takes care of its students. So I should be able to get you healthy in a couple of weeks, but it is going to mean you'll be here for the first week.”

Kirika blinked as she replayed her translation mentally. “You mean I'll be okay?” The redhead asked in a quiet voice.

The older woman flashed a more confident smile. “Of course you will. I'm good at what I do, and I've got some great equipment to work with.” The doctor's grey eyes darted away from her patient momentarily before returning. “You have some visitors waiting, if you're feeling up to it.”

“That's fine,” Kirika whispered, wincing at the pain talking caused.

Eyes narrowing at the gesture, the doctor moved towards the entrance without a word. Opening the door, Dr. Saunders traded places with the two forms outside. “You've got five minutes, and do not let her get up.”

Houki and Charlotte acknowledged their instructions as they walked over to their friend's bed. Hazel eyes scanned over the two newcomers expectantly. The French girl's face was a blotchy mess; her amethyst eyes were red from recent crying. Houki had locked her expression in an earnest impersonation of their teacher's scowl; her sapphire orbs betrayed nothing of her feelings. As both girls came to the side of Kirika's bed, the kendoka took the lead. “Hey roomie, how are you feeling?”

“Oh, this is nothing,” the redhead whispered, faking a smile. “I just consider it a vacation.”

“Well, it is one way to get some time off,” Houki agreed. “But seriously Rika....”

“Like I said, it's nothing,” Kirika repeated, dropping the playfulness. “Doc told me I have a leg and some ribs broken. She assured me that I'll be out of here in a week and back to healthy in a couple more.” The redhead paused to fix her bleary gaze on both girls. “Frankly, if I haven't lost life or limb, then it's really nothing. My biggest gripe is that it means being here on my birthday.”

Houki blinked at the blasé sentiment, but said nothing. Charlotte reached out and snatched up the closer hand. “Kirika, I must apologize for what happened to you. It was my fault zhat you got hurt so badly in zhe match.” Collapsing to her knees, the French girl sobbed at the sight of her friend's injuries.

Only to be stopped by an almost painful grip on her slender hand. Amethyst eyes still watery, Charlotte looked up at the expression on the redhead and froze. The playful, easygoing attitude Kirika usually portrayed was gone; in it's place was the worn consideration of a person much older and experienced. Relaxing her grip somewhat, the class representative locked her eyes with the French girl. “Listen carefully, Charlotte,” Kirika intoned with all the strength her injuries would permit. “I am not some delicate little doll to be protected. If a person does anything in life, there's a chance for them to be hurt doing it. So what happened today was as much my fault as yours.”

Her voice failing, Charlotte meekly nodded once and was rewarded with the release of her hand. Exhaustion slumped Kirika's shoulders as she leaned hard on the pillow. “Looking at it now, the robot did most of the damage,” she admitted in Japanese. Houki hesitated a moment before translating to the blond girl. “For sure the leg happened when it clamped down on me. You may have broken one rib when you snatched me while my PIC was disabled, but I'd have been fine if not for the punch making a mess of things. I do know that I couldn't have evaded that last blast on my own, and with my shields as low as they were, it would have killed me.” Realizing she had drifted back into Japanese, the girl swallowed loudly and changed back to English. “In many ways, Charlotte, I owe you my life. A little bit of pain means nothing in comparison.”

Overwhelmed by emotion, the French teen began crying softly. Even Houki's stern expression broke as she turned away, but not fast enough to prevent Kirika from seeing tears in her roommate's eyes. The two cried for a moment before a polite cough behind them earned their attention. “Wrap it up, visiting hours are almost over,” Dr. Saunders said simply from the doorway.

Both standing teens flushed in embarrassment and nodded at the order. Charlotte grave Kirika's hand one last squeeze before moving away. “I will see you tomorrow if you want.”

“Later roomie,” Houki muttered over her shoulder as she began to leave.

“Hey, wait a minute,” Kirika called, stopping her friends in their departure. “What was the outcome of my match?”

Pausing in the doorway, Houki turned enough peek through a curtain of dark hair. “Officially, the match was a draw due to outside interference. Unofficially, that intruder was the only thing that kept you from losing. I've heard Lingyin is telling a version of the story that had her defeating it with only a little help from Cecilia. The way she presents it, she saved you a bunch of times.”

Closing her eyes with a derisive snort, Kirika leaned back onto the pillow. “Figures.”

<—*—>

Pushing the door to her room closed, Houki felt her stomach tighten as the weight of the empty space collapsed in on her. Pressure built upon itself in the kendoka as a red haze clouded her vision. Stalking towards her bed in desperation, the raven-haired teen's mind struggled to find a release for her emotions. Grabbing a pillow from it's place, Houki covered her face and screamed at the top of lungs.

Dropping onto the bed as exhaustion finally claimed her, Houki rolled onto her side and put the pillow into place. “Why am I so worked up?” she asked the empty room. Getting no answer from the bedside lamp, sapphire eyes darted across the room for any hope. Settling on the nightstand, an idea present itself for consideration. “I guess I could do worse.”

Reaching into the nightstand, the kendoka extracted her cellphone and thumbed through numbers. No, Aunt Yukiko is probably asleep right now. Scrolling farther, a second name jumped out of the list. Pressing the send button, Houki stared at the device curiously. “I wonder how she got her name onto my phone.”

The connection rang once before it clicked. “Hey dee hey, hi dee ho, this is Tabane Shinono!” a whimsical voice sang from the speaker. Growling at the treatment, Houki started to push the off button. “Wait wait wait Houki, I'm not screening!” Tabane protested.

“Cheshire, huh Tabane? Do I even want to know how you got onto my contact list?”

“Come on, Houki. I'm a world class super-genius. You think hacking a cellphone is too hard for me?” The kendoka heard the sound of typing come from the phone for a moment before it stopped. “So what's on your mind? It's not like you to call me of all people.”

Chewing her lip for a moment, Houki struggled to get the right words. “I just needed to talk to someone. I would have called Aunt Yukiko, but she's always in bed early. And I wasn't sure who this number belonged to.”

“Well, I left it so you could contact me if you needed to,” Tabane admitted, her voice suddenly serious. “Come on Kitsune, talk to me.”

Blushing at the use of her childhood nickname, Houki breathed a silent sigh of relief at being alone in the room. “I just don't know what's wrong with me right now,” the kendoka began. Recounting the entire day's events for her sister, Houki kept her voice strong through the tale. “And now, I've done two hours of the most strenuous kendo exercises I could, run around the campus at top speed and I still don't really feel tired. If anything, I just want to HIT something.”

Not getting an immediate response, the kendoka looked at her cellphone inquisitively. The counter ticked by for nearly a minute before the sound of muted laughter became apparent. “Just what's so funny,” Houki asked, a frown creasing her face.

“Oh, it's just amusing to listen to you, little Kitsune.”

“And what do you mean by that,” the kendoka uttered, suddenly angry.

The laughter stopped, but the amused tone remained. “Well, let me ask you this: how many friends do you have?”

Taken aback, Houki blinked at the question. “Well...” the kendoka drawled out, thinking hard. “I guess I don't have any friends. At least not since Ichika died.”

“Sorry to bring that back up,” her sister said apologetically. “But have you tried making any friends with the girls at the academy since you've been there?”

“Well, no.” Houki replied as the confusion started to clear. “I've had to keep to myself mostly because of I didn't want to folks to know you're my sister. The only people who do know are....”

“Yes?” Tabane prompted, her tone playful again.

Covering her face with one hand, the kendoka finished the thought. “Kirika, Charlotte and probably my teachers.”

“And did Kirika seem to treat you differently knowing you're 'Tabane Shinonono's sister'?”

“No she didn't,” Houki admitted soberly. “In fact, she wanted my help because of my skills, not my name. She's also been helping me out with some things of my own.”

A muted chuckle carried from the phone. “'Some things', eh? That's interesting. And it sounds exactly like the sort of thing friends do. Which means you might consider her a friend, and....”

“And I hate to see my friends hurt,” Houki completed. “Thanks sis.”

In her laboratory, Tabane just grinned at the speaker. “Anytime, Kitsune.” Silencing the phone with a gesture, the super-genius turned back to her computer station. Opening up a new file, Tabane placed her fingers against the touchscreen. “Now let's see what I can do to help you in the future.”

<—*—>

Beneath the Academy grounds, where students would never go, two women entered a darkened room. Flicking a switch on, Chifuyu and Maya stared at the central table illuminated by a powerful light. The remains of the robot were strewn across the support, pieces laid out in their approximate locations. A thick stench of smoke hung over the remains, bringing tears to both women's eyes.

Coming as close as she could stand, Chifuyu looked back over at her junior. “So what do we know so far?”

Sitting down at one workstation, the green-haired teacher tapped rapidly on the keyboard. “Chief Pickett's submitted a preliminary report on the canon from the right arm. It's essentially an amplified beam weapon. There was a couple of fuel cells to help power it as well, but they are nothing exotic. Any number of countries could have made them.”

Grunting, the former Brunhilde turned her attention back to the table. “What else?”

“Like the girls suspected, it is a robot. Again, the bulk of the parts are pretty common to most countries, but there's enough uniqueness to let us start an investigation in several countries,” Maya said with a touch of hope. “Academy security has the info and will be sending out agents by the end of the week.”

Cupping her chin with one hand, Chifuyu looked back at the seated teacher. “What about the core? Any data on it that might lead to it's owner?”

A flurry of keystrokes brought up a series of new screens. “The core was damaged to the point of being non-operable. The self destruct process was thorough; any memory the robot had was utterly destroyed.”

“Damn,” the dark-haired teacher muttered. “You spend more time talking to the maintenance branch, what do you think?”

Leaning back in her chair, Maya closed her olive eyes a moment. “The technology used is somewhat experimental, but not unreasonable. If a group had started developing it four years ago, they could have had prototypes ready now.” Opening her eyes, the green-haired teacher fixed them on her senior. “But I don't see any reason to send it into an Academy match.”

Frowning behind her hand, Chifuyu grunted a second time. “Field testing it. If you had one to spare, and had an uplink to gather all the data you can, you could make vast improvements on the design.”

“But wouldn't that alert everyone to what you had?”

Waving away the objection, the former Brunhilde looked back at the robot. “Either you absolutely need the data it generated, you don't care if someone finds out, or you're so certain they'll never find you.”

Maya's next comment was interrupted by a chime from the workstation. “There's a new report from the maintenance branch. They managed to get the core active for a couple of seconds. But....”

Intrigued by the younger woman's actions, Chifuyu walked over to check the screen herself. “The core is unregistered. That could be from the damage taken, but they don't think so.” Brown eyes flickered one last time to the wreckage. “What the hell is going on here?”
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