Infinite Stratos, Volume 8, page 1
Chapter I: Strange Days Again
“So?”
“Ah...”
It was after classes let out, in the café area of the dining hall, and Ling was staring Kanzashi down from across the table. Kanzashi didn’t know why she was there, or why she was being treated like this. She cringed backward into her seat, from the interrogation and her own natural shyness. Why... Why are they treating me like this...
It wasn’t just the two of them—Houki, Cecilia, Charlotte, and Laura were there too. If Ichika showed up, it’d be all seven first years with their own IS gathered in one place. Seven people. Meaning, seven IS. Enough firepower to take on a great power.
“C’mon, Ling. Calm down. Look at her, she’s terrified.” Charlotte stood up as she tried to calm everyone down with her natural kindness.
“Back off, Charlotte. If this doesn’t work, I’ve half a mind to try chains or Pentothal.” Laura, her arms and legs crossed and a deep scowl on her face, was having none of it. At least she didn’t have a knife or a Mauser in her hands. Yet.
“You don’t have to be like that, Laura. Here, Kanzashi. You must be thirsty. You can have my orange juice.”
Kanzashi nervously looked up at Charlotte; she responded with a smile. Well... At least she’s on my side... Kanzashi brought the juice to her lips as she thought.
A sip or two later, Charlotte, without dropping her gleaming smile, asked, “So, be honest with us, how’s it going~”
Kanzashi wasn’t sure what she meant by that. As she tried to politely play it off with an awkward smile, both Houki and Cecilia brought their fists down on the table while standing up.
“D-Don’t play dumb! She means, with Ichika!”
“Are, are, are you two going out?!”
“Ah—” Kanzashi gasped, blinking in surprise at the sudden question, and turned beet-red a moment later as it sunk in. “Ichika and I... Aren’t like—”
“‘Ichika,’ huh?!” Ling fired back.
What, she’s not even calling him Orimura anymore? There’s gotta be something going on then... Wait. Didn’t I just do the same? Okay, yeah, I guess that’s no big deal. Ling cooled off as quickly as she’d just come to a boil.
Then, as five stares pierced through Kanzashi, she began to speak timidly. “I... I mean, ummm... It’d be nice if we were, but we’re not... That’s how it is...”
Her voice, always quiet, was swallowed up by the pressure she felt from the other girls. The last few words couldn’t even be made out, but her blush, her stare at the table, her fiddling fingers, each put one shared thought in the minds of the five: ‘More competition, huh.’
Kanzashi quietly shrunk behind the glass of juice, trying to hide behind it like a scared kitten. As they realized she wasn’t going out with Ichika, the others took pity on her and tried to change the topic.
“Ahh, I see, umm. Sarashiki?”
“You... You can call me Kanzashi...” Houki asked nervously, and Kanzashi answered just as nervously.
“All right. Same goes for us, then.”
“Y-Yeah...” Rin, meanwhile, was as blunt as ever, and Kanzashi was a little more firm in reply.
“Anyway, ah— I apologize. It was unbefitting of us to simply bring you here without warning.”
“I... It just surprised me.” Cecilia forced a friendly smile, and Kanzashi, embarrassed to have worried her, awkwardly smiled back in return.
“Er, anyway. Would you like another juice?”
“I’m fine.” Kanzashi gently waved away the menu Charlotte held out.
“Oh, I know. We’re all in the same year. Why don’t we practice together sometime?”
“Y-Yeah. Thanks.” The mixture of force and tenderness in Laura’s voice, as she sat back down with her arms crossed, made Kanzashi gulp as she nodded twice in response.
“Phew...”
All six let out a sigh of relief at the same time. They each looked around at each other in surprise, then broke out in laughter.
“Hahaha, we’re so silly.” Charlotte, with impeccable timing, held out her hand to Kanzashi. “Anyway, it’ll be nice to have you around.”
“Y-Yeah... You too...”
As Kanzashi and Charlotte shook hands, the others nodded. And thus, a cloud over each of their hearts faded away, with the arrival of a new rival—but also a new friend.
◇
“Zzzzzzzzzzz...”
Ichika was asleep in his room, minutes before the rays of the sun would begin filtering in through the window. A shadow, with breath bated, loomed over him.
Her name was Laura Bodewig. This wasn’t the first time she’d infiltrated Ichika’s room while he slept—but it was the first time she’d tried it in her black cat pajamas. The idea of this new twist made her pulse pound. Calm down, calm down. Just do it like you practiced! She ran over the plan in her head to stay focused as she wormed her way under Ichika’s blanket.
[Beeeep. Intruder detected. Intruder detected.] Suddenly, a mechanical voice rang out.
“What’s going on?!” With a pop, his blanket suddenly inflated, pressing her against the mattress. “Grrgh...”
The pressure was too much. Her arms were trapped, unable to reach her knife so she could cut her way out.
“Damn you...”
Laura knew of only one person who would set this sort of trap.
“Ahahahaha! Caught you, Laura!” She could hear a loud laugh from the attached shower.
“Sarashiki Tatenashi...”
“That’s right! It’s me, Sarashiki Tatenashi! IS Academy’s student council president, and the strongest—”
Tatenashi’s voice was drowned out by Ichika’s groans of pain, “I’m gonna die if I don’t get unstuck from under here...”
“Ah!”
Pop! The sound of a bursting balloon echoed through the first year dorms.
◇
“Ugh... That was terrible...”
I rubbed my neck, trying to take off some of the pain, as I changed into my uniform. We were having physicals today. And there was a problem with that. The problem was that I was assigned to help out with the measurements. Whyyyyyyy.
I could just imagine Tatenashi’s giggle and the look on her face. ‘Measurements’ doesn’t just mean their height, either, does it. Why are the teachers even allowing this?! I waited, alone, in classroom 1-A. Soon—
“Oh, sorry to keep you waiting, Orimura. I needed to get all the paperwork together.”
“Ms. Yamada?!” Yamada Maya walked into the classroom as she spoke. In my mind I’d thought she’d come back with good news. “Oh, good! You’re doing the measuring? I guess the adults did decide to step in.”
“Mhm. I’ll make sure everything gets noted down correctly!”
“...Whaa?”
“Hm? I’m just writing everything down.”
Wh-Wh-Wh...
“WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY THINKING?!” My scream fell on deaf ears, as the girls of class 1-A energetically filed into the room.
“Oh, it’s Orimura!”
“Is he really going to be measuring us?”
“No way! I shouldn’t have had seconds at dinner last night!”
“Heeeey, Orimu! Hehe, looks like Tat’s secret plan is a hit!”
Oh, I definitely knew who I wanted to hit right then.
“All right, now quiet down, everyone. Today’s measurements will be used for IS suit fitting, so remember, don’t wear any more than you have to during them!” Ms. Yamada was obviously enjoying this. But for me, it was like hearing my death sentence read out. “Be sure to take off your gym uniforms! You shouldn’t be in anything but your underwear!”
Yeah. I’m dead. D-e-a-d, dead.
“Of course, we have a curtain, so you can step inside, undress, be measured, and then redress. That way, no one else will see you in your underwear.”
“Won’t you see them, Ms. Yamada?!” I exploded in rage, determined to escape the tyranny of the physicals.
But Orimura Ichika did not understand the female heart. Orimura Ichika was a boy. He had spent his youth hanging out with other boys, playing games with them. Yet still, he was more sensitive than most to girls—or at least, to their physical attributes.
Run, Ichika. Dazai Osamu, my favorite author. It would be an honor to meet him, soon, in heaven.
“I’ll be just on the other side of the curtain. You can just read the numbers over to me.”
“WHAT THE HELL?!” I was beyond rage, beyond fury. My senses had left me.
“What’s your problem?”
“HEY! Is that you, Chifu—”
“Call me Ms. Orimura.”
A beautiful chop to my neck. It felt great. A comfy 32 degrees.
“Can’t you be proud of your work?”
“No, wait, this is all wrong! It’s a trap!”
“Why don’t you just grow a pair.”
“Grr...”
“I wanna hear an ‘All right, I’ll do this!’”
...OK, Chifuyu!
“I’ll do this! My bestial instincts have awakened!”
“Good. Do your best, then.”
“Wait, what?”
“You just said you were going to do it, right?”
“Y-Yes...” I couldn’t argue with the glare she was giving me. I could hear the Reaper’s scythe, whistling toward my neck.
“You look like you’re going to hang yourself. Here, you can use this blindfold.”
“Oh, thanks!”
What a lifesaver! She was the best!
All right, then, blindfold on. I pulled it tight around my head.
“Wait, I can see right through this!”
I heard Chifuyu’s laugh from all the way out in the hallway. Everyone was against me!
“Seat number one, Aikawa Kyoko!”
“Wait, waaait!”
“Tee-hee, too late!”
She stepped inside the curtain with me, wearing only a bra and panties. I know! I just have to look away! The mind’s eye! The third eye! I squeezed my eyes shut, and stretched out the measuring tape in my hands.
“Here goes.”
“Okay!”
Squish.
“Wait...”
“Eek! Don’t be so sudden, Orimura!”
“No, wait, I was just—”
Squish, squish. My hand sunk into something soft.
“.........”
Squish, squish, squish.
“Wait, that’s... Oh... Oh God, yes...”
Ah... I was dead.
“ICHIKAAAAAAA! YOU SCUMBAAAAAAAG!”
One Houki,
“What on earth are you doing, Ichika?!”
One Cecilia,
“Ichika, you pervert! I can’t believe you!”
One Charl,
“Ichika. How would you like to die?”
and One Laura appear!
Your foes suddenly mount an attack!
⯈[FIGHT] [SPELL] [PARRY] [RUN]
[FIGHT] [SPELL] [PARRY]⯈[RUN]
“I’ve gotta get aw— GYAAAAAAH!”
Ichika is dead.
Na-na-na-na na-na-na-na naa naa naa naa naa naa.
◇
Oh, for shame, Ichika! You died!
W-Who are you?!
“Dazai Osamu.”
Ehh?!
“I’m just kidding.”
Oh, right...
“Still, it’s shameful for you to panic just from seeing a girl in her underwear. You’re No Longer Human.”
Huh. Maybe this really is Dazai—
“Ichika... Ichika, open your eyes...”
Someone was calling out to me...
“C’mon! Wake the hell up, Ichika!”
“Wuh?!”
Smack! My alarm clock was a punch to the face.
“What are you doing, Rin?!”
“I should ask you that! I’m stuck here until we measure you too, and you’re just sitting there dozed off!”
Rin was visibly angry. Oh, and I was in the nurse’s office.
“Now hurry up and strip! I’ll measure you just this once!”
“Er... Okay.” I stumbled, still a bit dazed, out of the cot, and began to undress.
“W-Wait! You can leave your pants on, idiot!”
“Oh, okay.” I wobbled.
“C’mon, what’s wrong with you? Put your arms up!”
“Okay...”
Rin was in the shirt and bloomers that were the IS Academy gym uniform. The lithe, fit lines of her body were almost feline. Her thighs, curved in all the right places, hinted at the energy within. It was quite a sight.
“All right, your chest is— Wait, Ichika!”
“Bwuh?”
“Your face is all red, and you have a nosebleed! Let me take your temperature.”
“’Kay...”
Something wasn’t right. I couldn’t... Move...
Thud.
“Hey, c’mon. C’mon, Ichika! What’s wrong?!”
◇
“I told you, I’ll watch over him!”
“Why do you have to hog him for yourself, Houki?!”
“Like you have room to talk! You had your turn in the nurse’s office! Share!”
“Can we all just calm down?”
“No! I won’t let any of you take my bride!”
I could hear people arguing, but what they were arguing over, I didn’t know. What I did know for sure, however, was that they were being awfully loud.
“Urrrgh...” I forced a sound out.
“Oh, Ichika! You’re awake!”
“Are you okay?!”
“Ichika! Hold on!”
“Are you all right?”
“Do you need hydration? Nutrition?”
Ugh. My head...
“Quiet down...” I slumped out of the bed, down to the floor.
“All of you! You’re just getting in the way! Get out of here!”
“You first, Houki!”
“Quiet down, both of you!”
“Ichika, I’ll help you get back into bed.”
“My bride’s care is my responsibility, my privilege!”
They started arguing again. As the world swam around me, I heard the door open.
Click. Step, step step.
“All of you.”
Slap.
“Stop this.”
Slap. Slap.
“Now.”
Slap. Slap.
“Now get out of here. Kanzashi, can you lift his legs for me?”
Ah... This must have been Tatenashi and Kanzashi... The crowd quieted down, no doubt rubbing the welts her fan had left on their foreheads.
“The last thing he needs is a commotion like that. Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am...”
“All right, if you realize that, you should realize that it’s time to leave.”
The five shuffled out, their enthusiasm punctured. I could barely tell what was going on, but it seemed like Tatenashi and Kanzashi were caring for me. Tatenashi brought food and water, while Kanzashi kept my face cool with a damp cloth.
“Um...” I tried to pull myself upright and speak.
“You don’t have to push yourself. Just get some rest.”
“Okay... Um. About the others...”
“Yes?”
“Don’t be too hard on them... They have their differences sometimes, but they’re good people...”
I wanted to at least clear that up.
“Mhm...” Tatenashi sighed, rolling her eyes. “Did you five hear that?”
I heard my door rattle as some sort of response.
“Tatenashi, should I let them in?”
“I suppose. They’ve learned their lesson by now.”
After she spoke, the five entered, slowly and timidly.
“I’m sorry, Ichika...”
“I shouldn’t have done that.”
“My apologies, Ichika.”
“I’m sorry...”
“Sorry.”
Houki, Rin, Cecilia, Charl, and Laura, in that order. Each bowed apologetically. I replied with a wan smile and let out a quiet “It’s fine.”
“I guess this is the bond you’ve forged.” Tatenashi smiled, even more beautifully than usual.
◇
A few days later, during a joint training exercise for the first years...
Chifuyu, her arms folded like usual, faced the entire first year lined up in a straight row.
“Orimura, Shinonono, Alcott, Dunois, Bodewig, Huang, Sarashiki! Step forward!” First up on the agenda were the students with their own IS. “Each of your IS took heavy damage during the recent attack. While they’re regenerating, you’re strictly forbidden from any use of them.”
“Yes, ma’am!” They’d known that much even before she told them, and their lack of hesitation in agreement showed as much.
“Therefore... Well, I’ll let Ms. Yamada explain.”
“Yes! If I could have your attention over here, please.”
Ms. Yamada motioned to a row of shipping containers behind her, as if inviting them to take a closer look. Everyone had been wondering what those were since they filed into the fields, and now, the class was abuzz with anticipation. The drive to make conversation at any opportunity must be unique to teenage girls.
“What are those?”
“Wait, are they new IS?”
“Really? Wouldn’t those be set up in hangars instead?”
“Y’know, I wonder. Something’s pretty funny about this.”
That last one was Miss Casual, as if there was any question.
“Quiet down! Don’t you know how to keep your mouths shut for a minute?” Chifuyu barked. “Ms. Yamada. Open them up.”
“All right! Open sesame!” The assembled first years looked around in confusion, and Maya’s eyes glistened as she pressed a button on a remote controller. “Ugh, it sucks getting old...”
With a whirr, motors inside the containers began to push the containers’ covers open.
“These are...” Ichika sounded shocked. “...What are these, again?”
