Infinite Stratos: Volume 9, page 9
Maybe love could bloom on the battlefield. —Just kidding.
“...Ichika.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re not jet-skiing.”
“Huh?”
“So try not to be a drag.”
Badum-tsh.
◇
“All right. We’re making good progress,” Tatenashi nonchalantly intoned as she shook the water from her hair. The two had successfully boarded the carrier and made their way to the ship’s galley.
“Ahh, hold up... Let me catch... My breath...” Meanwhile, Ichika was gasping for air.
“Is that all you have in you? All we’ve done is go for a quick swim and then climb aboard.”
“All we’ve done? Really?” Ichika panted.
“C’mon. Snake has to do this pretty much every time.”
“Are video game characters really a good example?” Plus, Ichika was always more a James Bond fan, anyway.
“Listen. Sneaking missions may sound boring, but they’re pretty hard, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, you don’t have to tell me that.”
Tatenashi rolled her eyes as Ichika continued to pant, “Get a hold of yourself, kid.”
She spanked his butt.
“Wait... Just... Just let me catch my breath...”
“I’ll leave you behind.”
“Wait... It... It’s dangerous here... Don’t leave me...” This was an American carrier, so who knows what might happen? An ex-SEAL cook? An exploding microwave? It was certainly nowhere to hang around waiting.
“Now that I think of it, something’s not right.” They hadn’t encountered a single person yet. Is this really good luck, or... Really bad luck. Definitely really bad luck.
“I’m starving! Make me something, will ya— Huh?” The person who announced her entry to the galley with a brusque demand for dinner was none other than that American IS pilot, Iris Calling. She was wearing a full-body IS suit which looked almost like a wetsuit.
Dammit! While Tatenashi dove for cover, Ichika stood out in the open.
“Who the hell are you?” Iris had grown her hair out recently, a choice which was appreciated—though they’d never admit it out loud—by the other sailors aboard. His mind focused on that pointless fact, Ichika stuttered an obvious lie, “I’m the new cook.”
“Oh, I see.” Iris slapped her hands together, as if everything made sense now. “...Like hell you are, Orimura Ichika!”
A knife flew by his face, scoring a line along his cheek. A beat later, blood welled up and out of it.
“Ahaha...” Ichika’s face was known around the world. Not a single IS program had avoided covering him at least once. If anything, it would be strange for a pilot not to be recognized on sight.
“What are you doing here?! This isn’t even a normal ship, it’s an Erased secret mission... I’ll bet there’s someone else here with you.” Ichika’s heart skipped a beat. “And if I had to guess, it’d be... Sarashiki Tatenashi, wouldn’t it? No way, it’d be Orimura Chifuyu.”
Smacking her right fist into her left palm, Iris loomed over Ichika. He looked over to Tatenashi for help, and—
“Wait, what?!”
She was already gone.
All that remained was a fan lying on the floor, reading “good luck!” in thick, bold letters.
“No fair!”
“What the hell are you going on about, Orimura?!” Dash, jump, and stride. Closing the gap in an instant, Iris unflinchingly pulled out a pair of pistols and fired.
“Whoa! I’m gonna die! You’re gonna kill me!” Leaping backwards, Ichika managed to barely avoid the shots, but he still didn’t want to go straight to the last resort of using his IS. Meaning, his only option was the ultimate attack Chifuyu had taught him herself.
“I didn’t want to have to use this, but...”
“Huh?”
Ichika’s breaths grew shallower. Noticing his change, Iris cautiously backed off.
“My ultimate attack... RUN AWAY!” Turning his back on Iris, Ichika fled.
“Hold it right there, moron! Natasha promised to make my week if I caught you! Are you listening, you idiot?!” Chased by yells almost as angry as Rin’s, Ichika ran through the ship’s passageways. He ran. And ran. Then ran some more.
I can hide in that compartment! Narrowly dodging a hail of fire from behind, he leaps, slamming the hatch behind him and locking it.
“Phew. I can catch my breath in here.”
He turned in relief... And Iris stood before him.
“Good, good. Worn yourself out yet?”
“What the hell’s good about this?!” Ichika wanted to scream.
“Are you ready?” Glimmers of light swarmed around Iris, and soon, the IS Fang Quake clanged to the deck. “I should warn you, I’m more into older guys.”
Meaning, she had no intention of holding back.
“Dammit! If I have to—” Ichika opened Byakushiki. In the narrow confines of the compartment, two IS smashed together with twin Ignition Boosts.
“Not bad, for a kid!”
“You’re not gonna overpower me!”
Right hand grasping the other’s left, left hand grasped in the other’s right, they grappled. Shoving with all their might, neither gave an inch.
“I’ll smash you into the wall!”
“Not if I do first!”
Again, simultaneously, they fired off Ignition Boosts, pushing their leg thrusters to the limit as well. Their armor creaked as it pressed together.
“Get—”
“—Outta here!”
As the fight heated up, they slammed their heads together viciously.
“Eat dirt, Orimura!” Gaining the upper hand for a moment with a Revolving Ignition Boost, Iris swiftly inverted Fang Quake. Directly over Ichika.
“Wha—”
“Got you!”
Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Roars filled his ears as she fired off another Revolving Ignition Boost.
“Gwah!” Ichika, nearly at his limits, was pushed to his knees. With a satisfied grin, Iris... Flew off. Under her own power. By her own will. Toward the wall.
“...Eh?”
With an almighty, wrenching crash, she tore through. As Ichika watched in silence, another hole blew open in the wall next to the first as Iris returned.
“Gah?!”
“You’re not getting away!”
Again, the sounds of steel on steel, composite on composite, echoed through the ship’s passageways.
◇
Listening to the booming explosions from far away, Tatenashi’s expression twisted into a confused scowl.
“They’re making that much of a scene, and still no reinforcements? Something’s not right here.”
As she trode the cold steel of the deck, she thought to herself. Iris Calling’s presence... Must have been a coincidence. It wasn’t just possible, but likely, that she really had encountered them in the galley by chance while looking for rations.
This ship is dead in the water... And someone had done it. No, not just “someone.” She knew who.
“Phantom Task... I knew it! They’ve already made their move!”
Remembering the layout of the ship she’d committed to memory, Tatenashi made her way toward the CVIC, ready for combat at any moment.
It’s even creepier for the lights to be on with no one here than if they were off... Her thermal sensors revealed no signs of life.
“It’s unlikely that they’ve killed the crew. They’d gain nothing from that. They have to be locked up somewhere. Meaning...”
Meaning, this had to be a trap.
“I’ve got to hurry.” Just as she lengthened her stride, an uncanny whistling rose, then fell deep, and her jaw clenched.
[Alert. The emergency scuttle system will now activate. All hands, prepare to abandon ship. Do not provide. Repeat. All hands, prepare—]
Gah! Is this some kind of bad joke?! Covert mission or no, this was still an American carrier. If it went down, anti-terrorism squads would be swarming like wasps. And the “Phantom” in Phantom Task may as well referred to their habit of coming and going like ghosts.
Could they... What if they had some sort of deal with the Americans? Or wait, what if their existence was the result of some sort of deal with the Americans? “Well, this has gone from bad to worse.”
Tatenashi bit her lip, imagining the worst. Why would an American carrier on a covert mission have data on Squall Meusel, leader of Phantom Task’s “Monochrome Avatar” direct action cell? As she realized she may have made a fatal oversight, the color drained from Tatenashi’s face.
“I need to hurry.”
Throwing caution to the wind, she ran through the twisting passageways of cold steel. Most unnerving at all was that she encountered no resistance on the way there. I need to get that info! Quickly hacking the computers, she opened up a display.
Search: Squall Meusel.
......
.........
............No records found.
“Impossible!” Even as a look of shock rose to her face, Tatenashi thought of another option, “Search casualties list.”
It was by no means unusual for special forces operatives to be dead on paper. But something wasn’t right.
“There she is.” Why was Squall listed as an American KIA? “Hold on... Squall Meusel was...”
Killed 12 years ago. Not as a cover story. For real. What was going on here? The photos from the autopsy were dated 12 years ago, too.
“But she looks so young... That must mean...” Tatenashi was so focused on the images that she didn’t even notice the ball of flame bobbing behind her.
“—?!”
Wracked with a sudden premonition, Tatenashi spun around—only to be swallowed by an explosion.
◇
“Hahaha...” Squall looked down at the sinking carrier sink from the pitch-black skies. She looked almost angelic as her blonde locks waved over the gleaming armor of her IS Golden Dawn. “And that should put an end to that. Goodbye, Sarashiki Tatenashi.”
Just as Squall turned to leave, the point of a lance caught her.
“You’re not getting away this time, Squall Meusel!” Tatenashi, her IS Mysterious Lady fully deployed, was on the attack. The time for worrying about diplomatic blowback was over. Tatenashi’s instincts screamed that Squall was too dangerous to be allowed to live. “Haaaa!”
Squall watched the incoming hail of super-pressurized water with a bored expression.
“Don’t waste your time. That IS could never take down my Golden Dawn.”
Looking closer, Tatenashi could see a faint web of heat rays around the Golden Dawn.
“Little squirts like that will never break through my barrier of flame, Prominence Coat. And—” Squall stretched out a hand toward Tatenashi. As Tatenashi watched, sparks condensed in Squall’s palm into a sphere of flame. “Mysterious Lady’s Aqua Veil can’t hold against my Solid Flare.”
The ball of flame shot forth as she finished speaking, piercing Tatenashi’s own barrier and scoring a direct hit on her armor. Somehow, the life support systems held together, but her shield energy was already drained.
“Ugh...!”
“And what will I hear next? ‘I won’t lose?’ or ‘I won’t let you get away?’ I’m not sloppy enough to lose to tough talk.”
Tatenashi fled, looking to put distance between herself and Squall, but a barrage of Solid Flares pursued, their bursts lighting up the night sky. If I just keep running, she’s going to get me eventually! Turning and swiping one away with her Azure Gyre gatling lance, Tatenashi tried to use the explosion to propel herself toward Squall.
With thrusters at full power and Ignition Boost firing, she closed the distance in an instant. But Golden Dawn, as if waiting, spread the tip of its gigantic tail open, wrapping around Tatenashi’s armor like a venus flytrap.
“Ugh...!” Her chest caught in the machine’s grip, a look of panic entirely unlike Tatenashi set in on her face. Meanwhile, Squall languidly contemplated her prey.
“Just what has gotten into you? Ohh, I see. Orimura Ichika must be on that ship. Then—” Squall raised both hands over her head. “I wonder what would happen if I sunk it straight away? Ahahaha.”
A huge ball of flame began to form between her palms. Realizing that a direct hit of it would send the carrier straight to the ocean floor, Tatenashi screamed involuntarily, “Stop! I won’t let you do that!”
The jaws of the gigantic mouth clutching Tatenashi’s torso creaked as she began to force them apart. But—
“Too late!” With a gleeful shout, Squall released the orb of fire.
“GRAAAAAAHH!” With a clang, Tatenashi tore the jaws surrounding herself open, but before she could disentangle herself, Squall’s blast exploded.
“Such a pity.”
“Ah... Ahhhh...”
But then—
“Are you okay?! Tatenashi!” Rising through the smoke was Kanzashi, her Fudouzan “Unmovable Mountain” shield package fully deployed. Somehow, it had endured the blast.
“Kanzashi?! What are you doing here?!”
“I heard! About your determination... About what your name truly means...”
Tatenashi knew who from as soon as the words entered her ears. That old fool... Jeez... The old man’s cheeky grin rose up in her mind.
“I don’t want to just be protected anymore! I want to protect someone else! I want to protect you! I want to protect everyone!” Kanzashi’s eyes gleamed with determination, shorn of all doubt. Short of all reason to be doubted. “Here!”
This was the true potential of the Haute Couture packages for personalized IS. Its name, “Beautiful Krasnaya.” Wings of a deep crimson red spread, swooping to settle on Tatenashi’s back. As it latched on, her Aqua Veil, too, turned red, proof that it had switched to high-output mode.
I accept. Your hopes. This duty. This power!
“And I’ll show you! My determination... My One-Off Ability!”
Tatenashi’s warcry sent a shiver down Squall’s spine. They were still at a distance, yet, brushing on her fingertips—
“......?” Something was wrong. If anything was there, it would be on her sensors. Yet nothing was. She checked again with her eyes. Still nothing. What? What’s going on? This feels... Wrong... It was Squall’s turn to show uncharacteristic panic.
“Take this! My One-Off Ability! Sökkvabekkr!”
Squall gulped. She’d heard that name before. Sökkvabekkr, abode of the Norse goddess Sága, second wife of Odin. Meaning—
“I’m sinking?! Golden Dawn is sinking?!”
“Yes. This is Sökkvabekkr. A wide-area stasis field.”
Its power to grasp was far beyond even Laura’s Active Inertial Canceler. A perfect barrier inescapable and unavoidable, swallowing all around it.
“Ugh! And you’re trying to put out my flame—”
“Bingo! And just how long do you think you have left?” Relishing her revenge, Tatenashi grinned languidly while lifting Mistilteinn.
“How much energy do you have?!” Squall struggled against the field, trying to free herself. Unseen waters had already swallowed her to her waist, disabling her leg thrusters.
“You know, someone here had the perfect thing to say in a situation like this. What was it, now?” Tatenashi tapped her chin with a finger, then, as Mistilteinn finished charging, leveled its point at Squall. “Ahh, right. Too late!”
Tatenashi mouthed the words with every bit of glee that Squall had earlier, then burst forth in a breakneck charge.
“I... I’m losing? No! It’s not over yet!” Squall raised her right hand at Tatenashi as she swooped closer, rapidly forming another ball of flame.
“Is that all you’ve got?!” Tatenashi charged, unflinchingly, only increasing in speed until she became one with her lance.
“Pfft.” Just as she was about to be run through, Squall turned her own attack on herself.
“Wh—?!”
The full brunt of the strongest fireball she could muster blew Squall away. She had escaped the barrier, but not without cost. Sparking wires dangled from where her left arm had been.
“Looks like my little secret is out.” A smile drifted to her face.
“So you are a cyborg.” Tatenashi mentally underlined her earlier speculation. But in the confusion, Squall was able to slip away. Mysterious Lady lacked the energy to pursue.
“We’ll have to continue this another day, Miss Student Council President!” She fired off one last burst to cover her escape.
“Tatenashi!” Kanzashi barely blocked Squall’s final attack.
“Thank you, Kanza...” Tatenashi slumped over, at the end of her strength. Kanzashi held her upright. “You’ve gotten so strong, Kanzashi.”
“Don’t worry about that. Just rest.”
“Don’t mind if I do. The rest is up to you...”
Tatenashi passed out.
◇
“That’s what I’m tellin’ ya! Your Ignition Boosts are all over the place!”
“Like you’ve got room to talk, Iris. I’m not the one who flew myself into a wall.”
“Look at the brass balls on this kid.”
“Owwww! Okay! Okay, you’re right!”
Tatenashi opened her eyes to the sound of a lively argument. She was lying on a bench in the seaside park, her head resting in Kanzashi’s lap.
“Kanzashi...”
“Tatenashi! You’re awake now?”
“Listen, I know this is rude to ask, but...” She lifted a wavering finger, and pointed it at Ichika. “Can you swap out with him?”
Tatenashi winked at Kanzashi, who let out a suffering sigh.
“Well, if you’ve recovered enough to joke around like that, you should be fine.”
“Haha...” Tatenashi didn’t add that she wasn’t joking, but did seize on the idea, imagining what Ichika’s lap would feel like. Not bad, not bad at all. Absorbed in thought, she didn’t notice Ichika approaching. And for some reason, Iris was with him. She wasn’t quite sure how they had come to terms after their fight, but alas.
“Ichika.” She was suddenly worried that they’d miss their dinner date.
“Yeah?”
“Um... Well...” Reading the room, Kanzashi got up and left, motioning Iris away with her. It was night, in a park, looking out at the sea. The perfect situation to tell him how she really felt. “Umm...”
