Infinite Stratos - Volume 2, page 13
Utter silence...the sudden silence caused me to back away somewhat. Ugh, so this idea can't work?
"Well, can't be helped if that's the case..."
"It's better than teaming up with other girls..."
"A picture of two guys together is more beautiful...ahem."
It seem like they accepted it, and as the girls continue to say that it can't be helped, they leave the infirmary one by one. Trying to look for the door, I can still hear a commotion on the corridor.
"Hoo..."
"Well, about that, Ichika--"
"Ichika!"
"Ichika!"
Charles started to speak as I finally heave a sigh of relief, but Rin and Cecilia jumped off the bed and overpowered her with shocking pressure.
"Pa-Pair up with me! Aren't we childhood friends?"
"No, I'm your classmate!"
Both of them seem like they're about to strangle my neck. Hey, injured people should rest in bed, or else the injuries will get worse.
But what should I do? They're not like the girls from before, and it seem like I can't shake them off easily...haa.
"You shouldn't."
Wha? It seem like I'm not the only one who's shocked by this sudden voice, as Rin and Cecilia blinked, stunned by Yamada-sensei's sudden arrival.
"I just confirmed the state of both your ISs. The damage level sustained by both of your ISes have exceeded phase C. If you don't focus on recovering, there will be fatal problems later on. Take it as rest for your ISs, I won't allow you two to participate."
Can the two representative candidates with burning will accept this? I guess not...
"Ugh, ku...! I-I got it."
"I'm not willing...not, not at all! But I'll withdraw from the tournament..."
What? They actually accepted it...why?
"Sensei's happy that you can accept it. If you use the IS past the limits, you have to pay the price. It'll be bad if you lose the chance at the opportune time, and sensei doesn't wish for you two to become like that."
"Yes..."
"I got it..."
Though both of them look like they can't accept Yamada-sensei's serious lecture, at least they recognize that they can't participate in the tournament.
"Ichika, what's the third point of gaining experience in IS basic theory?"
Huh, huh...
"...'The IS will gather all the experiences from the battles and cause to it evolve faster. As experience gained is also done while the IS is damaged, if the IS is damaged past phase C, the incomplete state will cause a surge in energy, which will be bad for normal operations.'"
"Ohh, that's right! As expected of Charles!"
Charles gave the explanation that I couldn't remember.
In other words, it's like 'there will be muscle aches when one tries to move during a fracture', and that should be right.
Anyway, back on topic, I asked Rin and Cecilia what I wanted to ask,
"So why did you two fight against Laura?"
"What, nothing, that's because..."
"Eh, well, how should I explain this...because we females got our pride hurt."
"Hm?"
Why is it that both of them look like they can't swallow it? I suppose one side started battle after a taunt, but as representative candidates of different countries, isn't it bad to act after a taunt? Hm.
"Ah, don't tell me it's about Ichika--"
"Ahh! You're being a loudmouth, Dunois!"
"Tha-That's right! Really! Ahhahaha!"
Charles seemed to finally thought of something, but those two girls quickly stopped her from saying it. Charles' mouth is cupped by those two as she struggles painfully.
"Hey hey, stop it. Can't you tell that Charles' really sad now? You're wounded here, and yet you were moving non-stop since just now...hey!"
Trying to calm them down, I reach my hands out to grab Rin and Cecilia on the shoulders.
"EEEKKK!!!"
As expected, it's painful. I just saw them shriek out and freeze.
"..."
"..."
"Ah...sorry, I didn't expect it to be that painful."
Seeing them remain silent as tears well up in their eyes, I can roughly understood how painful it is. I feel that I overdid it and immediately apologized
"I-I-Ichika...you..."
"Yo-You...you better remember this..."
Wah...they'll punch me once they recover, I guess? And then they'll demand set after set of set meals, and maybe even dessert. Drinks? That would be unlimited.
◇
"Th-Then, about that, Ichika."
"Wha?"
After dinner, as we headed back to the room, Charles finally spoke. Maybe it's just me, but she sounded really forceful. What's going on?
"Well, it may be a little late, but...thank you for helping me."
"Hm? What did I do? I feel that you helped me out at the arena."
"It's not that, I'm talking about what happened at the infirmary. You said that you would be my partner for the tournament. I'm really grateful about that."
"Ah, about that? Hn, no need to worry. I'm the only one who knows the truth, so it's right for me to support you, right?"
I didn't really think that it was somewhat special, but Charles didn't seem to think this way as she thanked me with much enthusiasm.
"That's not it. It's because you're so kind, Ichika, that you naturally did that. I always felt that it's great to stand up for others. Thank you."
...Hm, as expected of a blond royal prince, even the wording used is really elegant, causing me to feel somewhat embarrassed. I used my hand to slap my face and fan it.
"Th-That's right, well, Charles, you don't have to deliberately use such a boyish-tone to talk to me when I'm around."
"Hn, hn, well I-I do think this way, but before I came here I had to study a boy's movements and speaking habits in order to 'avoid showing my real identity', so it may be impossible for me to change it back."
The one who taught her all these would be Charles' father, who I've never met. Though I'm really angry about this, seeing her just mention this nonchalantly, I can only endure--who am I angry for? For myself? I can't mistake this now.
"Bu-But that's...not really like a girl, is it?"
Looking dejected, Charles looked around as she asked me timidly.
"Hm? Are you talking about how you keep using 'boku'[2C 6]?"
"That, that's right. It's not what a girl would say, so I'll try my best to use an ordinary method to speak while we're alone."
"Ah, there's no need to try so hard, right? You're rather feminine anyway. I think Charles' rather cute already anyway."
"Cu-Cute...? Me? Re-Really? You're not lying to me?"
What's going on? Charles seemed to be even more panicked than before as she continued to ask me, but I didn't intend to lie to her as I answer honestly.
"I'm not lying. Trust me."
"Re-Rea...Really--that's alright, I guess."
Though I didn't really know what was going on, it seemed like she felt that it was alright. She just gave a reply and nodded her head.
"Oh yeah, a lot of things happened today. Let's change then."
Hearing her say this, I suddenly realized--Charles' a girl, so it couldn't be helped that she had to wear the IS suit inside the changing room, but when we were in our room, she had all the time and space to do whatever she wanted. I should wait outside for her to finish changing.
"I'm going out then."
"Huh? Why?"
"Well, you can't change when I'm around, right? It would be hard to remove the IS suit, so I'll leave the room for now."
Speaking of which, I remember that the same thing happened while I was with Houki. I'm still rather uneasy when I'm living with girls, and things are a lot more complicated with Charles acting like a guy.
"Huh? It's fine. I feel bad for Ichika. Well...I don't really feel bothered..."
"But even if you say that, I'm bothered by that myself..."
"Bu-But...well, since we're both guys, people might think it's weird if one of us were to go outside, right?"
"Well, that's true...well, I'll go to the sink then. Call me when you're done."
"I, I said that you don't have to mind me. We, can change like normal, and Ichika, you have to change anyway, right?"
Hm...anyway, it seems like I don't have to go out of the room. I don't know why Charles' trying so hard to make me stay here, but since she said so, I can't just leave it as it is.
"I'll change as well then."
"Okay, let's do that."
Charles smiled. Her face must be getting somewhat hot as it's flushed to a certain extent, probably because she was working so hard to find an excuse.
"Okay, it's about time to wear short-sleeved clothes. H-uh, where's my change of clothes...ah, found it found it."
"..."
"Hm? What's wrong?"
Though Charles had just told me that I didn't have to go out outside, she wasn't changing at all, so I stared at her in a puzzled manner.
"Wha, Ichika, I can't change if you continue to stare at me like that..."
"Th-That, that's right, sorry."
I turned around. Why do I find this familiar? It was the same feeling when I was with Houki--
"I, I'll be changing then..."
"O-Okay."
I was thinking, and after I heard her call, I curled up in shock. After a few seconds of silence...I started to hear the sound of clothes being taken off.
(Ugh, not good...that's a sweet smell over there...)
Though I felt nothing when she was a guy, ever since I knew that Charles was a girl, I could feel a seductive gentle aroma as long as I remained in the same room.
That's right, it's the aroma a girl has.
(What is this...guys don't have this smell at all. Is it the so-called pheromones?)
"I-Ichika, aren't you changing?"
"O-Oh, oh yeah, I'm changing now."
Hearing her say that, I suddenly realized that I was spacing out. Anyway, better get up from the bed and begin taking off my clothes.
"..."
Stare--
Is it my imagination? For some reason, I feel that someone's staring at me from behind.
"Charles?"
"Wah! Wh-What's wrong?"
Hearing her being extremely shocked, I started to feel shocked. As it seemed like I was getting panicky while looking for something to say, it became a problem when I couldn't even think of what to ask.
"I'll apologize first if it's just a mistake, but are you staring at me?"
"No, of course not!"
"I, I see."
She vehemently denied it. Maybe it's just me being too self-aware. I'm a guy and yet I'm so mindful of others looking at me. Why am I so vain?
(Never mind, let's just hurry up and change.)
"..."
Stare--
...Well--Charles-san?
"No peeping."
"Ah? I-I'm not, I was--ah!"
Charles' awkward voice became a soft whimper, and I instinctively turn around to look at her.
"Oww...I tripped...huh?"
"Huh?"
""WHAAT!!!""
Charles got tripped by the pants and fell onto the floor. The problem was her posture; she was wearing the tight bra she would normally wear while she's in guy's clothings, and at the bottom, besides the pants that are pulled down to the knees, there are the panties--and girls ones at that (although that's obvious). As Charles lost her balance and fell onto the floor, her hands and legs were on the floor and her butt was slightly lifted up. That perfectly-shaped butt and the pink panties that were slightly curled in were really alluring--not good, not good at all! At least for me anyway.
"WAH--"
Damn it! It's bad for us both if there's a girl's cry in here!
I thought as I jump onto Charles, who was taking off her pants and stuffed her mouth up.
In fact, Charles got shocked by my sudden action and stopped screaming, but as my body was in mid-air, the scream stopped for a while, and then I continued and landed on Charles.
But that wasn't all. When it rains, it pours. While I'm in mid-air, the pants caught onto the bed and tangled me up, and I then lost speed like an object being thrown and crash onto the floor.
--And a second before I crash onto the floor, I instinctively reached out my hands, and they firmly grabbed onto something I shouldn't be grabbing.
"Ugh~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
The force bounced back on me, and the firm muscles, silky smooth skin and the intricate fabric...in other words, that means I'm grabbing onto Charles' butt.
My first thoughts were that it's soft and warm--ah, that's right, I can understand why people who are dying would be extremely calm. That's because they would think about everything.
Also, gravity won't forgive anyone. My body dropped down. In other words, Charles' underwear would also slide down--
"AHHHHH!!!"
MOVE!!!
On the floor, Charles' instincts told her to use her leg to kick, and it landed perfectly on my jaw. Just like that, I got a concussion and fainted--KU!
◇
"..."
Charles put the unconscious Ichika on the bed and blushed as she changed into her nightwear.
She was looking angry, embarrassed and somewhat happy, and it was rather complicated and weird.
"Re-Really, Ichika's always looked like this, and yet he's..."
Though she knows that Ichika didn't do it on purpose, Charles still can't hold back her emotions.
That was just an accident. It was nothing much, but she still felt angry treating it as a simple coincidence.
"A-Actually, I wouldn't..."[2C 7]
Saying up to that, Charles finally recovered, and after noticing what she was about to say, her cheeks blushed again. She looked like she wanted to shake off the redness on her face as she shook her head forcefully.
(Ah, whatever, I'm going to sleep! Yes! That's good!)
Looking away from Ichika, Charles turned off the lights in the room. As the room immediately became dark, her eyes couldn't adjust immediately.
And maybe because she couldn't see Ichika's face, Charles became unexpectedly daring.
(W-What am I doing...)
Charles thought as she closed in on Ichika's face and stared at him. Both of them are less than 5cm away from each other.
Charles could feel the breathing and even the body temperature of Ichika, and that caused her heart to pound faster.
"..."
Then, she remembered what Ichika said to her with a serious expression earlier.
"...If that's the case, just stay here."
--That was the first time someone said that to her.
Ever since her mother died, she had lost her only place of refuge. As her blood-related father only gave her a stifling ice chamber feeling, she could only pretend to live in the light.
She no longer felt that she was wanted, continuing to live through the grey cold life.
When the order her father gave her to go to Japan was finalized, she had no special emotions about it.
However--
(Why did Ichika cause my heart to waver?)
--She met the boy.
Sometimes, it felt like she got involved in a storm, but as she thought of that, he felt like a shamrock that blooms in spring and appeared beside her. However, when she tried to reach her hand out to get close, he would escape like a squirrel in a forest. Thus, she could only look in through the gaps between the trees, unable to close in.
"He's really sneaky, that Ichika."
He's just in front of her now, but he can't wake up, just like a 'sleeping beauty'. Thinking about this, Charles suddenly felt weird.
(Hoho, so the roles are reversed now.)
Charles again stared at Ichika for a while and showed a gentle look. Then, she kissed Ichika gently on the forehead like a mother kissing a child.
"Good night, Ichika..."
Charles hugged her body that continued to burn hot through the rest of the night.
Chapter 4: Find Out my Mind
It's now the last week of June. IS Academy had already gotten into the individual division tournament mode, and the panic far exceeded what was expected. It was about time for the 1st round, and all the students were still settling the admin matters, clearing the arenas and guiding the guests in.
The students who finally gained their freedom frantically headed into the changing rooms in each block, and the boys' changing room is still so large, and still occupied by 2 people. It's really generous for them, but the other changing room has to accommodate twice the capacity of the room, so the situation's rather serious.
"But this is really shocking..."
I looked at the state of things from the changing room's television screen. Government officials from all over the world, researchers, enterprise representatives and other people were all gathered here.
"There will be people scouting the third years and others checking the progress of the second years after their training. Though the first years shouldn't be affected, I guess they will be noticed if they get the top few positions in the tournament."
"Hm--that's hard work."
Though I just listened to something that I wasn't really interested in, Charles seemed to notice what I was thinking as she chuckled.
"Ichika, you just want to fight against Bodewig, right?"
"Well, that's right."
As expected, Rin and Cecilia weren't allowed to participate, so they had to forfeit. It would have been alright if they were ordinary students, but they're representatives of other countries, and have their own personal machine. They couldn't even take part in the tournament, let alone getting a good result. This would drastically affect their circumstances.
"It must be hard for them to be unable to test themselves."
I remembered the commotion from before and unconsciously gripped my left hand. Maybe I'm being too forceful, as Charles gently covers my hand with hers and soothes it.
"Don't be frustrated. I guess she's most likely the strongest among all the first years."
"Yeah, I know."
Ever since it was decided to be a double battle, and since we were living in the same room, Charles and I had gotten a lot closer. Normally, Charles would start to sense my feelings or detect things really quickly. But nowadays, I seemed to understand what she was thinking. Maybe this was telepathy. It's become normal to start action without saying anything first. It's practically as common as having meals...not just meals, but the basic three meals.
