Infinite Stratos, Volume 2, page 3
Setting out back toward my room, I gave no thought to what tomorrow held in store. Honestly, there was no way I could have expected it.
◇
“Hazuki’s really are the best.”
“Really? I thought they were all show.”
“But they look great.”
“Murray’s seem like like the most functional. Especially their smooth model.”
“Oh, yeah, that one. It’s nice, but it’s a bit pricey.”
It was Monday morning. The girls in my class were chattering loudly, passing around a catalog as they traded opinions.
“Where did you get your IS suit, Orimura? I’ve never seen that kind before.”
“Oh, mine was a special order. There aren’t any mens’ suits, so they had to put it together in a lab somewhere. I heard it was based on Ingrid’s straight arm model, though.”
I remembered well. Recently, all the hard study had paid off. Good job. Anyway, IS suits were exactly what they were called: a special, body-fitting suit worn while your IS was materialized. While they weren’t specifically required to pilot an IS, without one its reaction time slowed significantly. I didn’t get why, though.
“IS suits sense the subtle electrical charges carried by the skin, and directly convey the pilot’s movements to each part of the IS which can then maneuver as required. The suits are also designed with durability in mind, and they’ll completely stop most small-caliber handgun rounds. Don’t get the wrong idea, though. It won’t protect you from the impact.”
Ms. Yamada announced her arrival with a smooth explanation.
“You know everything, Yamster!”
“Well, I am a teacher. Wait... Did you just call me Yamster?”
“Oh, I meant Yamapi!”
“Anyway, today is the first day you can order your own suits. So I had to be prepared, y’know? Err... Did you just say ‘Yamapi’?”
It had been around two months since my enrollment. Ms. Yamada had already had eight or so separate nicknames. If nothing else, it was proof that she’s well-liked. Personal magnetism counted for something, I guess.
“Um. You’re really not supposed to give your teachers nicknames,” she protested.
“Well, why not?”
“We wouldn’t have to if you weren’t so serious, Maayan.”
“Really, I’d rather you didn’t...”
“Oh? Would you prefer Mayamaya, then, Mayamaya?”
“Not really, just...”
“So then you’d like to change it back to Yamaya?”
“Just stop it, now!”
It was rare for Ms. Yamada to be so insistent. This wasn’t the first time that I’d noticed, but she seemed to have some issues with being called ‘Yamaya’ in particular.
“Anyway, back on topic. At least remember the ‘Ms.’ Understood? I know you guys can do this.”
The chorus of ‘yes, ma’am’ from the class belied the truth that Ms. Yamada would only acquire more nicknames as time went on.
“Good morning, class.”
“Good morning.”
In the blink of an eye, the lively classroom transformed into a strict drill formation. Well, not literally, just metaphorically. Our homeroom teacher, Ms. Orimura Chifuyu, had arrived.
Orimura Chifuyu... My older sister, and Japan’s former IS representative. Now, she was a teacher at IS Academy. She was as harsh on herself as she was on others. She stood like a soldier, sat like a samurai, and walked like a main battle tank—and if she heard you say that, you’d more than likely be dead as a doornail. Well, more like “most likely.” Anyway, enough speculation.
—Hm, she’s wearing the suit she had me get.
While I was home yesterday, she’d thought to bring her summer suit out of the closet, and it looked like she had changed over already. It was still a black pencil skirt, so she didn’t look much different, but the lighter fabric makes it cooler to wear.
—Ah, right. After the grade-separated tournament, we’ll all have change into our summer uniforms, too.
“We’ll be conducting live-fire drills beginning today. The IS you’re using may be a trainer, but it’s still an IS. Stay on your toes. Do not forget your school-issued IS suit until your own arrives. If you do happen to forget yours, you will be asked to complete the drill in your school swimsuit. If you have neither, no one is going to care if you have to do it in your underwear.”
I was sure that “I do care!” would be the reaction of most of the girls here, not just mine. It would be bad enough being just in your underwear, even without a guy around. Oh, and by the way, IS Academy’s school swimsuits were old-school school swimsuits. The navy blue ones. They’ve been described as an endangered species, but surprisingly, they’ve somehow found sanctuary here. Dan would have loved it. On the other hand, I didn’t really care.
—Actually, our gym uniforms are bloomers, too...
That was another thing he’d love. And of course, I was just in gym shorts.
The school-issued IS suits were a simple design, form-fitting like a tank top and bike shorts. As for why there was a school-issued suit when we were all ordering our own? IS units were heavily customizable, so we were told it was important for each of us to develop our own style as soon as possible. Of course, not everyone was going to be issued a custom IS, so it was hard to call it necessary, but I suppose they were also putting the emotions of these blooming maidens first. Who was it that said that women are slaves to fashion? Hmm. Probably Cecilia.
Oh, and one of the best parts of having your own personalized IS was that it also materialized a suit along with itself. It saved you the time of having to change. It seemed like when the personalization process occurred, the clothes you were wearing were broken down into elementary particles and stored in the IS’ databanks. Honestly, I didn’t remember much of the explanation, so let’s not think about it that much right now. Just think of it as a glowing light, and then ‘poof,’ and I transformed. Yeah. That made it a lot simpler. However, any kind of direct form change, including of suit, consumed energy. So, outside of emergencies, it was better to put on a suit and materialize the IS normally.
“Now, Ms. Yamada, if you could take care of homeroom?”
“Of course.”
Chifuyu passed the baton back to Ms. Yamada as soon as the important matters were taken care of. Caught unaware while cleaning her glasses, she placed them back on her face with a start like a surprised puppy.
“Well, er. Today we have not one, but two, new students to introduce!”
“Eh...”
“Ehhhhhhh?!”
The room hummed with whispers as we awaited their sudden introduction. Of course it did. Teenage girls fed off rumors, and the three meals a day were just an afterthought. Never mind two, it was shocking that even one new student had escaped their notice.
—But why are they both in my class? Wouldn’t you normally spread them around?
As I pondered that obvious question, the door opened.
“Pardon us.”
“.........”
The class fell silent as they saw the new students.
It was only natural, though. After all, one of them was a boy.
Chapter II: My Roommate is a Blond Gentleman
“I’m Charles Dunois. I come from France. Please bear with me as I adjust to life in Japan.” The first new student, Charles, introduced himself with a smile. The entire class, myself included, were shocked.
“Are... are you a boy?” someone asked quietly.
“Yes. I’d heard that there was someone here in the same situation, so of course I—”
A friendly-seeming face. Polite manners, and almost androgynous features. His hair was a honey blond, tied back behind his neck. His build was lithe, almost fragile, with slender legs. In short, the very picture of a young gentleman, especially his nonchalant grin.
“Squ—
“Hm?”
“Squeeeeeeeeee!”
So that’s what a sonic boom felt like. Seriously. The shrieks of joy propagated outward from the center of the class.
“A boy! Another boy!”
“And in our class!”
“He’s so adorable! I just want to spoil him!”
“I’m so glad I was born on Earth!”
The thirst was real. It was probably only due to it being homeroom that no one from the other classes, or even the other years, came by to take a peek. Good work, teachers!
“Enough. Quiet!” Chifuyu barked, visibly annoyed.
It seemed like she was bothered by the girls’ reaction even more than the disruption. Even when she was in school, she didn’t seem to get along with normal girls very well.
“Everyone, quiet down. We have another introduction to make!”
The other student, not so much forgotten as driven out of our minds, stood visibly apart. Her hair was a shimmering silver—almost pure white—and it hung down to her waist. While she was beautiful, it was obviously not from any excess of preening. She wore a patch over her left eye. Not a gauze one from the doctor’s or anything, but an old-school black eyepatch. Like the one on the Oberst in that 20th century war movie. While her visible right eye was a flame red, it exuded anything but warmth. From head to toe, she seemed a soldier. While she was obviously shorter than Charles, the chill and sharp aura she exuded made them seem the same size. And while Charles may have been small for a boy, the other new student was short even compared to the other girls.
“.........”
Standing with her lips sealed and her arms crossed, she glared at the class. However, this only lasted a moment before she fixed her gaze on a particular point... In Chifuyu’s direction.
“Introduce yourself... Laura.”
“Ma’am! Yes, ma’am.”
The transfer student came at once to attention with a swift response, as the class’ jaws dropped. Chifuyu’s face twisted into a slightly different grimace as she received the foreign salute.
“Don’t respond to me like that here. I am not your superior officer, and you’re a civilian student. Refer to me as Ms. Orimura.”
“Understood.”
With that response, Laura returned her arm to her side, brought her heels together, and straightened her back.
She had to be either a soldier, or at least a civilian contractor. And her bearing toward Chifuyu was unmistakably German. I’d heard that Chifuyu had spent a year as a military trainer in Germany. It seems like after that and a gap year, she became an instructor at IS Academy. I say “it seems like” because I’d only heard it from Ms. Yamada and other teachers. She hadn’t told me anything myself. I suppose there was a reason, but still...
—She could have at least told me where she was and what she was doing.
For whatever reason, the girl looked tense, or perhaps vulnerable.
“Bodewig. Laura Bodewig.”
“.........”
My classmates were silent. They waited for something more, but as soon as Laura’s name left her lips they clamped shut like the shell of a clam.
“U-Um, is that all?”
“Affirmative.”
Ms. Yamada attempted to prompt Laura with a smile, but received nothing but a harsh acknowledgement.
—Don’t be mean to your teacher like that. Look at her, she looks like she’s about to cry. Jeez.
Maybe it was because I thought that that I met her gaze.
“You! You must be—”
—Huh? What’s with her? She’s walking straight at me...
Smack!
“.........”
“Huh?”
She suddenly slapped me. A full-force palm across the face.
“I can’t believe it. I refuse to accept that you’re her brother.”
The pain from my cheek seeped through my confusion.
—Why? Why’d she hit me? What did I do to deserve this?
Now the entire class was staring. Even Houki was agape.
—Now’s not the time to be thinking about her!
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“Hmph.”
Laura left as abruptly as she had walked up to me. She strode to an open seat, she sat down, crossed her arms and closed her eye, before becoming perfectly still.
—Wow, she ignored me. Did she really ignore me? What’s wrong with this girl? Is she some kind of alien from the planet Incommunicado? Do Germans slap each other when introduced as a sign of friendship? I never want to live there.
“Ah, ahem! Homeroom is over. Get changed and meet up at Field #2. We’ll be conducting a joint mock combat exercise with Class B. Dismissed!”
Chifuyu clapped her hands to spur us from our seats. I was nearly beside myself with rage, but I couldn’t make a scene right now. After all, if I stayed in the classroom much longer, I’d have to change with the girls. That would go badly. Very badly. I had to get out of there, and fast.
—Hmm, today the second arena’s locker room is free...
“Orimura! You two are both boys. Show Dunois what to do.”
Oh, right. Yeah, that made sense.
“You’re Orimura? Pleased to meet you. I’m—”
“Honestly, let’s get going and save it for later. The girls are already starting to change.”
I explained as I took Charles’ hand and led him from the classroom.
“Anyway, us guys are going to change in the second arena’s locker room. You’ll be doing this a lot, so try to pick it up quickly.”
“O-Okay...”
For some reason, he seemed nervous all of a sudden. Was something wrong?
“Do you have to go to the bathroom?”
“Bathr— No, that’s not the problem!”
“Oh, that’s good.”
We descended the stairs to the first floor. We couldn’t slow down, or—
“There he is! There’s the transfer student!”
“Orimura’s with him, too!”
Yes. Homeroom was over. Advance scouts were arriving from every year and every class to get all the information they could. If we were caught up in that wave, we’d be so bogged down by their questions that we’d be late and have to stay after for “the special curriculum.” Anything but that.
“There they are! Over there!”
“To arms! To arms!”
—Wait. What am I doing in a samurai movie? Or are they trying to get the conch shell from me?
“I don’t mind Orimura’s black hair, but a blond is fine, too.”
“And those amethyst eyes!”
“Squeeeee! Look, look! Their hands! They’re holding hands!”
“I’m so glad I was born in Japan! Thank you so much, Mom! For Mother’s Day I’m going to have to get you something more than just picking wildflowers for you!”
Weren’t you supposed to give her a present every year?
“What’s going on? Why is everyone so excited?”
Charles, utterly blindsided, asked me with a confused look.
“It’s because we’re the only boys here.”
“Huh...?”
Huh? Why did he seem so confused?
“What’s so odd about it? Aren’t we the only two guys who can pilot IS?”
“Ah! Yes, that’s right. That makes sense.”
“So yeah. The girls here almost never have any contact with boys, so when the do, they go full axolotl.”
“Axo... Axo— What?!”
“An exotic pet from the 20th century. They were a fad in Japan.”
“Hmmm.”
Anyway, whatever. Right now we needed to break through their lines.
[I shall not perish ‘ere I reach my mark. E’en must I carve a trail of gore.]
“Honestly, I’m glad you’re here.”
“Why?”
“It’s pretty tough to be the only boy at school. It’s always weighing on my mind. Even just one more makes me feel a lot better.”
“Really?”
—What do you mean, “Really?” Aren’t we in the same boat together? Come on, dude!
Maybe foreign IS schools were attached to a coed gen-ed program? But I thought this was the only place in the world where you could get IS training. Interesting.
“Anyway, pleased to meet you. I’m Orimura Ichika. Call me Ichika.”
“Got it. Pleased to meet you, too, Ichika. You can call me Charles, too.”
“Got it, Charles.”
Somehow, we had managed to break out of the school building.
[Fortune smiles upon us. Onward to our destination!]
“All right, we made it!”
The door slid open as a gust escaped with a whoosh. We’d safely made it to the second arena locker room.
“Wow, it’s getting late! We need to hurry up and get changed.”
I glanced at the clock, and realized how much time had passed. IS suits were a pain to put on, so I was in a hurry. I had already undone my uniform’s buttons while I spoke. I went and sat on a bench, inhaled, and pulled off my T-shirt.
“Whaa—”
“Huh?”
Why was he surprised now?
“Did you leave something behind? Why aren’t you changing? If you don’t hurry up, you’re going to be late. You probably weren’t told, but our teacher is a real stickler for punctuality.”
“Okay, I’ll get changed. But, uh, could you look the other way?”
“Huh? I mean, it’s not like I’m gonna be staring at you... Like you are at me, for example.”
“I am not! Not at all!”
Charles raised his arms while looking toward the floor. Why was he acting like this? It made no sense.
“Whatever, just hurry up. Being late on your first day is no joke... At least, she isn’t gonna be laughing.”
Really, what I wanted from that flame-wreathed demon, teacher Orimura Chifuyu, was enough leeway to tell a joke. Can’t we ever get on close enough terms that she’d blow one off with “Hahaha, you little scamp?” Nah, probably not. Honestly, Chifuyu was weird sometimes.
“.........”
I felt a gaze upon me.
“Charles?”
“Y-Yes?!”
As I turned toward him, I saw Charles suddenly spin toward the wall, as he pulled up his zipper.
“Wow, you change really fast. How’d you do that?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Aren’t you done yet?”
◇
“Hazuki’s really are the best.”
“Really? I thought they were all show.”
“But they look great.”
“Murray’s seem like like the most functional. Especially their smooth model.”
“Oh, yeah, that one. It’s nice, but it’s a bit pricey.”
It was Monday morning. The girls in my class were chattering loudly, passing around a catalog as they traded opinions.
“Where did you get your IS suit, Orimura? I’ve never seen that kind before.”
“Oh, mine was a special order. There aren’t any mens’ suits, so they had to put it together in a lab somewhere. I heard it was based on Ingrid’s straight arm model, though.”
I remembered well. Recently, all the hard study had paid off. Good job. Anyway, IS suits were exactly what they were called: a special, body-fitting suit worn while your IS was materialized. While they weren’t specifically required to pilot an IS, without one its reaction time slowed significantly. I didn’t get why, though.
“IS suits sense the subtle electrical charges carried by the skin, and directly convey the pilot’s movements to each part of the IS which can then maneuver as required. The suits are also designed with durability in mind, and they’ll completely stop most small-caliber handgun rounds. Don’t get the wrong idea, though. It won’t protect you from the impact.”
Ms. Yamada announced her arrival with a smooth explanation.
“You know everything, Yamster!”
“Well, I am a teacher. Wait... Did you just call me Yamster?”
“Oh, I meant Yamapi!”
“Anyway, today is the first day you can order your own suits. So I had to be prepared, y’know? Err... Did you just say ‘Yamapi’?”
It had been around two months since my enrollment. Ms. Yamada had already had eight or so separate nicknames. If nothing else, it was proof that she’s well-liked. Personal magnetism counted for something, I guess.
“Um. You’re really not supposed to give your teachers nicknames,” she protested.
“Well, why not?”
“We wouldn’t have to if you weren’t so serious, Maayan.”
“Really, I’d rather you didn’t...”
“Oh? Would you prefer Mayamaya, then, Mayamaya?”
“Not really, just...”
“So then you’d like to change it back to Yamaya?”
“Just stop it, now!”
It was rare for Ms. Yamada to be so insistent. This wasn’t the first time that I’d noticed, but she seemed to have some issues with being called ‘Yamaya’ in particular.
“Anyway, back on topic. At least remember the ‘Ms.’ Understood? I know you guys can do this.”
The chorus of ‘yes, ma’am’ from the class belied the truth that Ms. Yamada would only acquire more nicknames as time went on.
“Good morning, class.”
“Good morning.”
In the blink of an eye, the lively classroom transformed into a strict drill formation. Well, not literally, just metaphorically. Our homeroom teacher, Ms. Orimura Chifuyu, had arrived.
Orimura Chifuyu... My older sister, and Japan’s former IS representative. Now, she was a teacher at IS Academy. She was as harsh on herself as she was on others. She stood like a soldier, sat like a samurai, and walked like a main battle tank—and if she heard you say that, you’d more than likely be dead as a doornail. Well, more like “most likely.” Anyway, enough speculation.
—Hm, she’s wearing the suit she had me get.
While I was home yesterday, she’d thought to bring her summer suit out of the closet, and it looked like she had changed over already. It was still a black pencil skirt, so she didn’t look much different, but the lighter fabric makes it cooler to wear.
—Ah, right. After the grade-separated tournament, we’ll all have change into our summer uniforms, too.
“We’ll be conducting live-fire drills beginning today. The IS you’re using may be a trainer, but it’s still an IS. Stay on your toes. Do not forget your school-issued IS suit until your own arrives. If you do happen to forget yours, you will be asked to complete the drill in your school swimsuit. If you have neither, no one is going to care if you have to do it in your underwear.”
I was sure that “I do care!” would be the reaction of most of the girls here, not just mine. It would be bad enough being just in your underwear, even without a guy around. Oh, and by the way, IS Academy’s school swimsuits were old-school school swimsuits. The navy blue ones. They’ve been described as an endangered species, but surprisingly, they’ve somehow found sanctuary here. Dan would have loved it. On the other hand, I didn’t really care.
—Actually, our gym uniforms are bloomers, too...
That was another thing he’d love. And of course, I was just in gym shorts.
The school-issued IS suits were a simple design, form-fitting like a tank top and bike shorts. As for why there was a school-issued suit when we were all ordering our own? IS units were heavily customizable, so we were told it was important for each of us to develop our own style as soon as possible. Of course, not everyone was going to be issued a custom IS, so it was hard to call it necessary, but I suppose they were also putting the emotions of these blooming maidens first. Who was it that said that women are slaves to fashion? Hmm. Probably Cecilia.
Oh, and one of the best parts of having your own personalized IS was that it also materialized a suit along with itself. It saved you the time of having to change. It seemed like when the personalization process occurred, the clothes you were wearing were broken down into elementary particles and stored in the IS’ databanks. Honestly, I didn’t remember much of the explanation, so let’s not think about it that much right now. Just think of it as a glowing light, and then ‘poof,’ and I transformed. Yeah. That made it a lot simpler. However, any kind of direct form change, including of suit, consumed energy. So, outside of emergencies, it was better to put on a suit and materialize the IS normally.
“Now, Ms. Yamada, if you could take care of homeroom?”
“Of course.”
Chifuyu passed the baton back to Ms. Yamada as soon as the important matters were taken care of. Caught unaware while cleaning her glasses, she placed them back on her face with a start like a surprised puppy.
“Well, er. Today we have not one, but two, new students to introduce!”
“Eh...”
“Ehhhhhhh?!”
The room hummed with whispers as we awaited their sudden introduction. Of course it did. Teenage girls fed off rumors, and the three meals a day were just an afterthought. Never mind two, it was shocking that even one new student had escaped their notice.
—But why are they both in my class? Wouldn’t you normally spread them around?
As I pondered that obvious question, the door opened.
“Pardon us.”
“.........”
The class fell silent as they saw the new students.
It was only natural, though. After all, one of them was a boy.
Chapter II: My Roommate is a Blond Gentleman
“I’m Charles Dunois. I come from France. Please bear with me as I adjust to life in Japan.” The first new student, Charles, introduced himself with a smile. The entire class, myself included, were shocked.
“Are... are you a boy?” someone asked quietly.
“Yes. I’d heard that there was someone here in the same situation, so of course I—”
A friendly-seeming face. Polite manners, and almost androgynous features. His hair was a honey blond, tied back behind his neck. His build was lithe, almost fragile, with slender legs. In short, the very picture of a young gentleman, especially his nonchalant grin.
“Squ—
“Hm?”
“Squeeeeeeeeee!”
So that’s what a sonic boom felt like. Seriously. The shrieks of joy propagated outward from the center of the class.
“A boy! Another boy!”
“And in our class!”
“He’s so adorable! I just want to spoil him!”
“I’m so glad I was born on Earth!”
The thirst was real. It was probably only due to it being homeroom that no one from the other classes, or even the other years, came by to take a peek. Good work, teachers!
“Enough. Quiet!” Chifuyu barked, visibly annoyed.
It seemed like she was bothered by the girls’ reaction even more than the disruption. Even when she was in school, she didn’t seem to get along with normal girls very well.
“Everyone, quiet down. We have another introduction to make!”
The other student, not so much forgotten as driven out of our minds, stood visibly apart. Her hair was a shimmering silver—almost pure white—and it hung down to her waist. While she was beautiful, it was obviously not from any excess of preening. She wore a patch over her left eye. Not a gauze one from the doctor’s or anything, but an old-school black eyepatch. Like the one on the Oberst in that 20th century war movie. While her visible right eye was a flame red, it exuded anything but warmth. From head to toe, she seemed a soldier. While she was obviously shorter than Charles, the chill and sharp aura she exuded made them seem the same size. And while Charles may have been small for a boy, the other new student was short even compared to the other girls.
“.........”
Standing with her lips sealed and her arms crossed, she glared at the class. However, this only lasted a moment before she fixed her gaze on a particular point... In Chifuyu’s direction.
“Introduce yourself... Laura.”
“Ma’am! Yes, ma’am.”
The transfer student came at once to attention with a swift response, as the class’ jaws dropped. Chifuyu’s face twisted into a slightly different grimace as she received the foreign salute.
“Don’t respond to me like that here. I am not your superior officer, and you’re a civilian student. Refer to me as Ms. Orimura.”
“Understood.”
With that response, Laura returned her arm to her side, brought her heels together, and straightened her back.
She had to be either a soldier, or at least a civilian contractor. And her bearing toward Chifuyu was unmistakably German. I’d heard that Chifuyu had spent a year as a military trainer in Germany. It seems like after that and a gap year, she became an instructor at IS Academy. I say “it seems like” because I’d only heard it from Ms. Yamada and other teachers. She hadn’t told me anything myself. I suppose there was a reason, but still...
—She could have at least told me where she was and what she was doing.
For whatever reason, the girl looked tense, or perhaps vulnerable.
“Bodewig. Laura Bodewig.”
“.........”
My classmates were silent. They waited for something more, but as soon as Laura’s name left her lips they clamped shut like the shell of a clam.
“U-Um, is that all?”
“Affirmative.”
Ms. Yamada attempted to prompt Laura with a smile, but received nothing but a harsh acknowledgement.
—Don’t be mean to your teacher like that. Look at her, she looks like she’s about to cry. Jeez.
Maybe it was because I thought that that I met her gaze.
“You! You must be—”
—Huh? What’s with her? She’s walking straight at me...
Smack!
“.........”
“Huh?”
She suddenly slapped me. A full-force palm across the face.
“I can’t believe it. I refuse to accept that you’re her brother.”
The pain from my cheek seeped through my confusion.
—Why? Why’d she hit me? What did I do to deserve this?
Now the entire class was staring. Even Houki was agape.
—Now’s not the time to be thinking about her!
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“Hmph.”
Laura left as abruptly as she had walked up to me. She strode to an open seat, she sat down, crossed her arms and closed her eye, before becoming perfectly still.
—Wow, she ignored me. Did she really ignore me? What’s wrong with this girl? Is she some kind of alien from the planet Incommunicado? Do Germans slap each other when introduced as a sign of friendship? I never want to live there.
“Ah, ahem! Homeroom is over. Get changed and meet up at Field #2. We’ll be conducting a joint mock combat exercise with Class B. Dismissed!”
Chifuyu clapped her hands to spur us from our seats. I was nearly beside myself with rage, but I couldn’t make a scene right now. After all, if I stayed in the classroom much longer, I’d have to change with the girls. That would go badly. Very badly. I had to get out of there, and fast.
—Hmm, today the second arena’s locker room is free...
“Orimura! You two are both boys. Show Dunois what to do.”
Oh, right. Yeah, that made sense.
“You’re Orimura? Pleased to meet you. I’m—”
“Honestly, let’s get going and save it for later. The girls are already starting to change.”
I explained as I took Charles’ hand and led him from the classroom.
“Anyway, us guys are going to change in the second arena’s locker room. You’ll be doing this a lot, so try to pick it up quickly.”
“O-Okay...”
For some reason, he seemed nervous all of a sudden. Was something wrong?
“Do you have to go to the bathroom?”
“Bathr— No, that’s not the problem!”
“Oh, that’s good.”
We descended the stairs to the first floor. We couldn’t slow down, or—
“There he is! There’s the transfer student!”
“Orimura’s with him, too!”
Yes. Homeroom was over. Advance scouts were arriving from every year and every class to get all the information they could. If we were caught up in that wave, we’d be so bogged down by their questions that we’d be late and have to stay after for “the special curriculum.” Anything but that.
“There they are! Over there!”
“To arms! To arms!”
—Wait. What am I doing in a samurai movie? Or are they trying to get the conch shell from me?
“I don’t mind Orimura’s black hair, but a blond is fine, too.”
“And those amethyst eyes!”
“Squeeeee! Look, look! Their hands! They’re holding hands!”
“I’m so glad I was born in Japan! Thank you so much, Mom! For Mother’s Day I’m going to have to get you something more than just picking wildflowers for you!”
Weren’t you supposed to give her a present every year?
“What’s going on? Why is everyone so excited?”
Charles, utterly blindsided, asked me with a confused look.
“It’s because we’re the only boys here.”
“Huh...?”
Huh? Why did he seem so confused?
“What’s so odd about it? Aren’t we the only two guys who can pilot IS?”
“Ah! Yes, that’s right. That makes sense.”
“So yeah. The girls here almost never have any contact with boys, so when the do, they go full axolotl.”
“Axo... Axo— What?!”
“An exotic pet from the 20th century. They were a fad in Japan.”
“Hmmm.”
Anyway, whatever. Right now we needed to break through their lines.
[I shall not perish ‘ere I reach my mark. E’en must I carve a trail of gore.]
“Honestly, I’m glad you’re here.”
“Why?”
“It’s pretty tough to be the only boy at school. It’s always weighing on my mind. Even just one more makes me feel a lot better.”
“Really?”
—What do you mean, “Really?” Aren’t we in the same boat together? Come on, dude!
Maybe foreign IS schools were attached to a coed gen-ed program? But I thought this was the only place in the world where you could get IS training. Interesting.
“Anyway, pleased to meet you. I’m Orimura Ichika. Call me Ichika.”
“Got it. Pleased to meet you, too, Ichika. You can call me Charles, too.”
“Got it, Charles.”
Somehow, we had managed to break out of the school building.
[Fortune smiles upon us. Onward to our destination!]
“All right, we made it!”
The door slid open as a gust escaped with a whoosh. We’d safely made it to the second arena locker room.
“Wow, it’s getting late! We need to hurry up and get changed.”
I glanced at the clock, and realized how much time had passed. IS suits were a pain to put on, so I was in a hurry. I had already undone my uniform’s buttons while I spoke. I went and sat on a bench, inhaled, and pulled off my T-shirt.
“Whaa—”
“Huh?”
Why was he surprised now?
“Did you leave something behind? Why aren’t you changing? If you don’t hurry up, you’re going to be late. You probably weren’t told, but our teacher is a real stickler for punctuality.”
“Okay, I’ll get changed. But, uh, could you look the other way?”
“Huh? I mean, it’s not like I’m gonna be staring at you... Like you are at me, for example.”
“I am not! Not at all!”
Charles raised his arms while looking toward the floor. Why was he acting like this? It made no sense.
“Whatever, just hurry up. Being late on your first day is no joke... At least, she isn’t gonna be laughing.”
Really, what I wanted from that flame-wreathed demon, teacher Orimura Chifuyu, was enough leeway to tell a joke. Can’t we ever get on close enough terms that she’d blow one off with “Hahaha, you little scamp?” Nah, probably not. Honestly, Chifuyu was weird sometimes.
“.........”
I felt a gaze upon me.
“Charles?”
“Y-Yes?!”
As I turned toward him, I saw Charles suddenly spin toward the wall, as he pulled up his zipper.
“Wow, you change really fast. How’d you do that?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Aren’t you done yet?”
