Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

-CONNECTION LOST-

These words, colored a flashing crimson on a large screen, were all that could be seen by the half dozen men and women gathered deep underground in a top secret facility. The room they stood in was merely an observation deck; it served no purpose other than providing a massive screen through which they could receive transmissions. Just moments prior, that screen had been displaying the visuals of the Silver Gospel as it fought to the death with a human pilot on a sun-kissed coast. The connection had ended rather abruptly, the moment its human opponent, the only male pilot of Infinite Stratos, rammed into it with his machine's primary weapon, a high-powered energy blade. Knowing that the connection would only be terminated if the Silver Gospel had been rendered completely nonfunctional, only one thing was completely certain; the experiment had failed.

The man nearest the now useless screen turned to face all of those behind him, his middle-aged but wrinkled face creased with lines of frustration and anger. His military-cut black hair was too short to hide the mounting discontent in his equally dark eyes.

"This is it? All of that work, all of that time and effort, and this is the best FAIRCHILD could do? Beaten by some brat with a god damned lightsaber?!"

One of the accused, a woman with long red hair framing sky blue eyes, seemed unperturbed by the result. "With all due respect Commander, FAIRCHILD did extremely well. It went toe to toe with several cutting edge I.S., and even that new model that surpassed all the others. Ultimately it failed to win-"

"It did less than that, it failed to destroy a single enemy!"

"-but that's about all we could expect from Natasha's progeny."

Everyone in the room fell silent as they contemplated the implications of this, though the 'Commander' was the only one to comment on it. "If that's the case, then I'd daresay we're up shit creek without a paddle. Natasha Fairs was the best candidate we had for this! If this is the best her 'progeny' can do, we'd damn well better find someone else, and fast!"

A cough from the side of the relatively bare room brought attention to another member of the present company; Marcus Dougley, a bespectacled slouch of a short-haired blonde man who rarely spoke up unless spoken to. Naturally, the Commander wasn't happy about the interruption.

"What?"

While clearly nervous that all eyes were on him, Marcus managed to find his voice and say his piece, shifting glasses that framed green eyes.

"I uh, k-know you probably don't want to hear this, sir, but... I think we're going to have bigger problems now. With the Gospel destroyed and all witnesses alive and accounted for... this is going to be an international incident. Who knows how severe the repercussions are going to be?"

The redhead spoke up again, lending her aid to Marcus' cause. "Good point... I wouldn't be surprised if the U.S. received sanctions on Infinite Stratos for this. We might not even have any I.S. to use for the project in a few weeks, never mind a template to base their operation on."

The mere notion of it seemed to agitate the Commander. "The UN wouldn't dare! We're the God damned United States of America! They can't enforce something like that, they don't have the firepower!"

"Whether or not they can enforce it doesn't affect whether or not President Howe will give in to their demands. He's done everything in his power since taking office to establish and maintain 'friendly' relations with the rest of the world. And he claims to despise war. He might think we don't need I.S. in the first place."

With a sound of disgust, the Commander turned back to face the screen in the room, still flashing its error message. "So what then? I need solutions, people."

While it was obvious that he was afraid to say anything before he even said it, Marcus nevertheless did so. "We... still have the X Platform, Commander..."

The oldest man in the room scoffed, clearly finding the idea distasteful. "Again with that thing? It's a damn infantry power suit, Dougley. It can't do what we need."

Once again, the redhead came to Marcus' aid, though mostly for practicality's sake. "It doesn't have to stay that way, Commander. Retrofitting it for aerial operation and I.S. combat is perfectly feasible. And if things go the way we fear they will, I'd say it might even be our only option."

Silence engulfed the room as the Commander loosed a heavy sigh. After a few moments of quiet contemplation, he shook his head and made up his mind.

"Fine. We're officially launching the Exeter Project, effective immediately. I want that platform optimized for air-to-air combat ASAP. And somebody find me a God damned pilot!"

Over the course of the next six months, everything the overseers of FAIRCHILD and the Exeter Project feared came to pass. When the Silver Gospel was identified as a United States I.S., the whole incident became a huge scandal. Countries from around the world were outraged that an American machine had nearly murdered their Representative Candidates and destroyed their I.S. cores. When pressed for an explanation, the official story was that the Silver Gospel had been hacked by a terrorist organization. The artificial intelligence rooted in the machine, code named FAIRCHILD, had absolutely nothing to do with it.

It was an excuse the world readily bought, but not one that freed the U.S. from penalties or blame. Ultimately the Stars and Stripes were accused of gross negligence in the protection and security of their all-powerful war machines. Demands for some sort of penalty to be inflicted continued to mount until the United Nations actually complied with them. That penalty? The United States had to forfeit all of their I.S. cores to more 'responsible' countries, and were prohibited from acquiring any replacements for the next decade. As predicted, President Howe had complied with these demands without any resistance, unwilling to deal with the sanctions and other political backlash that refusal would have invited.

In that brief span of time, the once strongest global military power had been utterly embarrassed on the world stage, on top of being declawed. Sure, ultimately it still had the most effective and well-equipped military in the world, but without any I.S. of their own, that didn't mean nearly as much as it used to. Fact of the matter was, the United States was in a weaker position globally than it had been in a hundred years, and certain shadowy elements of its government had a problem with that.

Umbra Stratum was the name of the predominant element in that category, and they were pouring all of their resources into fixing the problem, though perhaps that should have been expected of them since they had caused that problem in the first place. Not that their actions hadn't been condoned by their benefactors in the high seats of government, but still. They had several plans in motion to restore the power balance that had been disrupted. Most of them were illegal. But of course, paramilitary black ops organizations didn't care much for that sort of restriction.

Marcus, half a year older than before everything had hit the fan, was standing outside the only hangar that this Umbra Stratum base possessed. Behind him were scores of aircraft, many of them traditional planes parked in nice little slots, but just as many were folded and tucked into neat little launch tubes that could fire them into the sky on a moment's notice.

The latter were ADU-1's: Autonomous Defense Units, drone aircraft that resembled angular torpedoes, with their pointed fuselages and relatively stubby wings, and something that Umbra Stratum was keeping under wraps for the most part. At this very moment, Marcus had his dim green gaze focused on the clear skies above the Nevada desert, following two of these ADU-1's as best he could as they zipped around, chasing a target that was impossible to see from the ground. The programmer had an electronic tablet that was tracking all of the relevant data of the dogfight, but he preferred to watch events unfold when he could.

His vigil didn't last too terribly long. Within another minute, the two drones began their descent back to Earth and the hangar they had been launched from, though they didn't arrive before the target they had been engaging in a mock battle; a human sized suit of silver metal and black underlying material that soared down to the dusty ground in front of Marcus before landing with grace that belied its intimidating appearance.

This silver suit, mostly smooth save for knight like plates of armor in the torso and its rubberized joints, cast its obscured gaze at the blonde that eyed it, before allowing its blackened, chevron-shaped visor to fade away and its angular helmet to pull back and reveal the person within. That person was just a man. A young one, granted, at a mere age of seventeen, but nevertheless just a man with chocolate brown bangs that settled over deep sapphire eyes. An easygoing smile graced his features.

His name was Church. He'd refused to tell anyone what his first name was, and no one in Umbra Stratum cared enough to force it out of him. Of course his first name was on file somewhere, but few people had access to that kind of information. Besides, the only thing that mattered was that Church was their pilot for the X Platform; more commonly being referred to as the Exeter suit these days.

Returning the smile his friend was giving him, Marcus broke the silence just in time to nod his head towards the two matte gray ADU-1's that had reached the ground.

"So? How'd they fare?"

Church cast his gaze at the two drones as they used their engines to hover into the hangar and perfectly land themselves back into their open launch tubes, disappearing when their launchers closed back over them.

"For all the things they can do that human pilots can't, they're still too predictable. All the ridiculous high-G turns in the world doesn't solve that problem."

Marcus could only nod in agreement as he motioned for his mildly younger compatriot to follow him back into the base. No need to stand out in the desert heat.

"There's a limit to what dumb AI can do. They have patterns and they follow them. I wouldn't even really call them AI, they're basically just computers doing what they were told to do in advance. Don't tell Strelka I said that."

"She already knows you feel that way, Marcus, whether or not I tell her won't change that. Besides, you know I don't take sides; I have to stay partial to all parties in the organization so I can keep getting my very nice benefits."

The brown-haired teenager's recruitment into Umbra Stratum had been an... unorthodox affair. In dire need of the ideal pilot for Exeter, the shadow organization had posed as your typical government agency, establishing locations across the country where they were offering significant monetary compensation for anyone willing to come in and participate in some 'mundane' tests. They had screened hundreds, even thousands of individuals for well over a month, finding a few promising candidates along the way, but no one in that time that really surpassed expectations.

Church had come to them in Bethesda, Maryland. Clad in unassuming jeans and a red leather jacket, his only concern had been receiving the money Umbra Stratum was offering for participation in their experiments. Their expectations for someone so ordinary had been low, and yet the initial testing had revealed his potential compatibility with the X Platform to be higher than anyone they had tested previously. Naturally, everything that happened after that was set in stone. The Umbra Stratum operative in charge at that location had informed her superiors of the situation and gotten clearance to offer the candidate even more money for even more tests, so they could determine just how good of an option he was.

By the time the Commander had settled on Church as the pilot for the X Platform, it came down to roping the young man in somehow. Turned out it wasn't all that hard. He had been down on his luck, with many struggles that he lacked the power to overcome on his own. Despite being informed of the potential hazards of joining a shadow organization like Umbra Stratum, Church had agreed to do it in return for having his needs met. What those needs were, Marcus still had no idea. Church had never shared with him. It only made sense: their relationship, while friendly, was mostly rooted in their profession.

Considering that Marcus was the one in charge of the Exeter suit from the start, he'd gotten acquainted with the boy four years his junior fairly quickly. Having spent the last several years surrounded by people either dedicated to their work or too serious to interact with outside of it, Marcus had found his acquaintance with Church to be a completely alien affair at first. The fact that he had been recruited into a top secret black ops paramilitary organization to fly an experimental aerial machine that could potentially match Infinite Stratos didn't faze him at all. He'd spent more time complaining about how hot Nevada was in his first week than making any comment on his new affiliation and the implications it carried. Whether or not that attitude was just a front, Marcus couldn't say.

"Do you think the ADU-1's are ready for collective strategic assault programs? I'm sure Strelka will ask."

Church cast his gaze to the rows of drone launch tubes in the hangar as he and Marcus ventured deeper within the hangar, passing all sorts of combat aircraft, a few of which you would only expect to find in foreign countries.

"Hard to say against only two of them. It'd be easier to tell how well they're coordinating if I fought more at the same time. But from the experience I do have, they seem to operate mostly independently. Like two attack dogs after the same prey; they're on the same team in that they aren't shooting each other, but they don't really work together either."

Marcus typed in some notes on the tablet he was holding, pleased to hear Church's assessment. Being an advocate for smart, 'learning' AI, he was kind of glad to hear that traditional AI just wasn't cutting it. At this rate they wouldn't even stand up to human pilots in conventional jet fighters, never mind I.S.

The sandy blonde programmer was about to ask for some more insight on the drones, but a suave female voice barged in on their conversation.

"A better code can always be written, gentlemen. Besides, I know what you're thinking, Dougley, and for the cost of one of your 'smart AI's' we could have a hundred ADU-1's. Even in their current state that would match nearly any foe."

The two young men directed their gazes to a steel doorway at the end of the hangar, where a tall and thin woman with red hair and a lab coat was standing. Marcus' expression fell almost immediately.

"Ms. Volkov..."

Ironically, Marcus' face was the only one that fell out of the three of them. The redhead was smirking at him and Church actually smiled at her. It was no surprise, with her figure. The fact that she was twenty-six didn't seem to put off the much younger man at all.

"Good afternoon, Strelka. I hope the test results didn't ruin your day."

Strelka Volkov, the foil to Marcus in this organization due to her advocacy of mass-produced 'dumb' AI, leveled a slightly less condescending smirk at the boy that was just shy of a decade younger than her. When he had first arrived on the base, her beauty had never failed to turn Church into your typical smitten teenager, but he'd seemingly gotten over that at some point: perhaps around the time he realized that she looked at him like prey, or sometimes an obstacle.

She always had the air of a predator about her, yet she answered Church with some semblance of civility. "Not at all. Every failed test is an opportunity to improve the drones. I may even manage to make the next test exciting for you."

With a frown, Marcus cocked an eyebrow at her. "Learning from failure and experience is exactly what smart AI is all about, and you condemn that all the time. The Silver Gospel was even a great example of how effective it was!"

Strelka folded her arms as she countered this rather fair statement from her academic rival. "You'll recall that FAIRCHILD was only a semi-smart AI. It learned in the moment but most of its functions were simple programs and codes. Besides, it failed to take down a single opponent in that hacked rampage, so that reflects poorly on both of us."

As for Church, he only knew of the incident by second-hand knowledge: prior to enlisting in Umbra Stratum's ranks, he'd only even heard about the incident once on the news, since it had been a fairly big scandal for the country.

"I still find it strange that you two debate the effectiveness of an AI program that got hacked and used for terrorism..."

The two adults glanced at each other knowingly, once again reminded that Church was quite far out of the loop. Naturally, he had not been informed of Umbra Stratum's true hand in the Silver Gospel incident. They hadn't been able to hide the fact that they had developed the AI since that was a core piece of the Silver Gospel and the basis of many of their current projects, but it had been a simple matter to uphold the deception that it had been hacked by some unknown group. The Commander had made absolutely sure that everyone knew to keep Church in the dark on the matter. After all, he may have been cooperating with them for now, but there was no telling how much shady business was too much for him. The kid wasn't an idealistic simpleton, but he didn't strike anyone as being the hardened and unsympathetic type that would do anything to get ahead, so there was no point in informing him of Umbra Stratum's more morally ambiguous actions. He had been told only what was necessary about the organization and what they were doing.

Strelka was always able to play off the deception better than Marcus was.

"While the situation may have been unfortunate, it was still a great indicator of FAIRCHILD's abilities. It's too bad we didn't get the chance to have it work in tandem with Natasha. It could have worked wonders."

Marcus wanted to point out that FAIRCHILD had never been intended to work together with Natasha Fairs, the actual human pilot of the Silver Gospel. It had always been intended to learn from her and surpass her. But he couldn't say that out loud, because that would imply that Natasha, the aforementioned pilot of the Silver Gospel, had never known about FAIRCHILD at all, and Church wasn't supposed to know that.

Thankfully the person in question moved the conversation along without questioning something like that. "Whatever happened to her anyway? I mean, I know the Gospel got destroyed, but I've never seen her around the base..."

As always, Strelka had the official excuse memorized and ready to go. She never needed a moment to navigate the web of deceptions like Marcus did.

"Natasha returned home, as best as we can tell. While she had been America's Representative Candidate, she was never officially military, and now that we don't have I.S. anymore it's not like she had any reason to stick around. We haven't bothered keeping up with her life."

The best part about this excuse was that it was almost entirely true. Natasha had been fed the same lie about a terrorist hacking plot that everyone else had. She'd had no idea that an AI was in her unit: she'd never been informed of that. She'd never seen an Umbra Stratum base or even heard of the organization, because her own handlers, the good old U.S. military, had deigned to never share that with her. And the part about her going home was true as well. After all, without any I.S. to pilot, she had nothing to do for the government any longer. What she was up to now was anyone's guess, though it wouldn't have surprised Marcus if the Commander was keeping her under surveillance for security reasons.

Either way, Church merely shrugged, not inquiring any further. "Too bad. I heard she was pretty attractive."

Eager to speed things along because he had important things to do, Marcus tried to usher the conversation to a close, or at least to its main point. "Volkov, is there something you actually came down here for?"

The blue eyed redhead gave him a look, maybe questioning his attitude. It was ironic, since she was just as cold to him, just a lot more subtly. "Well, I have to check on my precious drones, do I not? Moreover, I figured I could pass the message along to our illustrious pilot here: the Commander wants to see you in the briefing room."

Church cocked an eyebrow at that, mostly because it was extremely unusual. He'd only seen the commander of this base twice, and once was just in passing through the halls. He knew everything that was conducted around here was ordered by that aging relic of a person, but said orders were never given to Church directly.

"I can only assume that this is important?"

"It's my understanding that he has an actual operation for you to take part in. I'd think you'd be excited, with the past several months being nothing but learning and tests."

While Strelka had a fair point on the tests, Church couldn't help but feel that the learning curve had actually been pretty tame. He wasn't a genius or anything; certainly not a prodigy of any stripe. And naturally, he had possessed exactly zero experience in piloting aerial vehicles before being recruited to Umbra Stratum. And yet, it had only taken about a month for him to adequately maneuver Exeter in the air. A week or two after that and he was dog fighting with it.

"You'd be surprised at how natural it feels to fly a suit. When the craft is shaped just like your body and your mind can issue commands, I'd say it's probably easier to fly Exeter than an actual aircraft."

"Perhaps it wasn't much of a hassle for you to learn the ropes, but surely you've grown tired of all these simulations? Just think, you might get a chance to fight a real Infinite Stratos unit instead of a bunch of holograms."

At this point Marcus chimed in. "Or a bunch of drones with no ingenuity."

Strelka offered a venomous glare to her counterpart, but didn't say anything to counter him. "Well, I'm sure the Commander would rather not be kept waiting. If you don't mind, I'm going to check on the drones."

With that, the redhead breezed past the two men, leaving Marcus with a disgruntled look on his face. "I hate that woman..."

His younger companion shrugged. "That's why it would have been nice to still have Natasha around. Between Strelka and Sasha, Umbra Stratum has too many... abrasive women. Though I'd sooner define Sasha as devilish..."

Marcus had never met this Sasha woman Church was talking about, though he had gleaned over time that she was the officer who had been in charge of the recruiting operation in Bethesda. She was the one responsible for Church even being here. It was a bit odd that the young man never spoke well of her.

With no response on that immediately forthcoming from Marcus, Church made for the hangar exit so he could report to the Commander, but not before his companion stopped him.

"Church, leave the suit. If the Commander really is going to send you into the field, I need to finish those last adjustments I had planned before you go."

With no reason to refuse the request, Church mentally ordered the Exeter suit to deactivate, waiting as the machine followed a process very similar to Infinite Stratos deactivation. In fact, it was practically the same thing, as it started to fold in on itself before being coated in a glowing blue light. Within a few moments the entire suit had faded into motes of light and Church was left in only the clothes on his back; jeans, a black undershirt, and a red leather jacket.

Even after all these months of using the suit, Church couldn't wrap his head around the fashion in which it manifested and disappeared. Marcus had tried to explain it to him once: something about the suit being digitized and stored like any other data, but the young man had been lost on anything more complex than that basic gist. All that really mattered was that the aptly named 'Hyperspace Arsenal' had also been developed by Tabane Shinonono.

With the armor now safely in the base's digital storage, Marcus would be able to manifest it back in his lab for the final touches he needed to make. That being the case, there was no point in holding Church back any further. The Commander wasn't a extremely patient man.

"Thanks. I hate to agree with Strelka, but you better get going."

With a nod, Church turned and exited the hanger, proceeding into but one of many drab concrete and steel halls, adorned with security cameras every fifty feet and an armed soldier every half of that distance. If there was one thing the base never lacked, it was security. Having spent most of his life away from military installations, the sight of masked, uniformed men with assault rifles every twenty-five feet had always been a little nerve-wracking, but ultimately Church supposed it was better to have too much firepower laying around than not enough. Especially now that the U.S. had been declawed.

As he moved up a stairwell that looked more fitting for a factory than a base, Church wondered if the East Wing of the base, which he had never been allowed to enter, was even more fortified. He'd only ever seen the blast door that led into that area, but considering that it was guarded by automated turrets, it seemed likely that Umbra Stratum was very keen on keeping anyone that wasn't supposed to be there out of the area. But considering that Church was informed of the Exeter suit, something one would think was absolutely top secret, he couldn't imagine what could have been even more important, lying beyond those doors.

With the Commander's office being directly above the hangar, it didn't take Church long to reach his destination. Personally, he had never much liked the man, but it was his understanding that the Texan native was signing his paychecks, so he always paid respects. That was why he knocked on the door that looked as if it led to a principal's office.

A gruff and heavily accented voice answered swiftly enough, urging Church to enter the room, so he did exactly that. It wasn't the first time he had been in there, but even now the spartan nature of the space confused him. The room quite literally had nothing but a desk and a chair in the center of it, with the exception of a window that peered out into the Nevada desert. What anyone could find appealing about that view was beyond the boy.

"Reporting in, sir."

The dark and somewhat beady eyes of the aging man focused on Church with an atmosphere of annoyance, as always. Exeter's pilot had always gotten the feeling that the Commander didn't really like him. But based on word of mouth around the base, this was just the way he was.

"A2: took your sweet time getting here."

Church resisted the urge to frown at the way the Commander addressed him. A2 was his official designation around the Umbra Stratum base, but the Commander was the only one that referred to him by it. A bit of inquiry during his early recruitment had revealed the disappointing nature of the label; it was simply Alpha 2. Of course, within Umbra Stratum, 'Alpha' always referred to assets, and being number two, Church had always wondered who number one was. But he never asked, since he knew the question would be evaded.

"Sorry, Commander. Strelka wanted some details about the training exercise."

Taking a huff of a cigar he always seemed to have on hand, the Commander scowled. "That damn woman, nothing takes priority over her precious drones. It's like she's trying to compensate for the whole damn Exeter Project."

To be fair to the sky-eyed programmer and engineer, Church could understand why she may have felt that way. The Exeter Project was undoubtedly the most important thing Umbra Stratum was doing right now, and Strelka had nothing to do with it. Church wouldn't have been surprised if she wasn't getting the funding she needed for her ADU Project.

Of course, he didn't get to make any sort of comment along that line, as the Commander quickly hurried the conversation forward. "It's about time for you to actually earn all those hefty benefits we're providing you, A2. No more playing around in silly simulations or dog fighting Volkov's flying circus. Umbra Stratum needs real field data if we're going to take the X Platform to the next level."

Church bit back a retort about 'earning' his benefits, seeing as how he had simply been doing what had been ordered of him this whole time. Instead he asked for more details.

"With all due respect sir, how exactly am I supposed to do that? I can hardly go out and attack Infinite Stratos units. Not without starting a war, at any rate."

"That's the thing, A2: we just gotta get them to agree to some 'friendly sparring.' Combat data will be just as good regardless of whether the stakes are life and death. I hate beating around the bush, so I'll just lay it out plain. You go to the I.S. Academy in Japan for a nice little expo, a sign of good faith between our two countries. They'll want data on our toys too, so naturally some friendly bouts will be orchestrated. It's the perfect opportunity to gather some real data, though there is one thing we want you to prioritize."

Church honestly had some questions about this mutual deal between the U.S. and Japan, but he quelled his curiosity. "That being, Commander?"

"Footage from the Silver Gospel incident revealed something concerning. One of the I.S. present for the battle had specs unlike anything we'd ever seen. It was far beyond the capabilities of any Generation Three Unit. If the pilot in control of it hadn't been so lackluster, it would have easily trashed the Silver Gospel single-handed. Of course it's been six months since then, so the press did a well enough job of giving us the basics. Tabane Shinonono herself proclaimed it the world's first 'Generation Four' I.S. Considering that the world at large has just barely dipped its toes into Generation Three development, I'm sure I don't need to tell you why gathering data on this unit is top priority, and I'm not just talking second-hand combat analysis data."

While the implication was obvious, Church nevertheless decided to make sure that they were on the same page. "Sounds a little illegal, sir."

Blowing out a cloud of smoke, the Commander leveled a disdainful look at his subordinate. "No shit. Naturally Japan isn't just going to fork over the full specifications for the most powerful Infinite Stratos unit in the world. Needless to say, acquisition of this data is going to be under the radar by necessity. In reality, it's the number one reason you're going. Real combat data against I.S. in general is just a nice bonus."

"What's the timetable for this mission, sir?"

"As long as it takes to get what we need, though we'd prefer it if you were quick about it. As for departure, I want you out the hangar and over the ocean within the hour. Unless you've got some sort of reason to delay?"

Knowing that no reason would actually be good enough to delay the operation, Church simply shook his head. "Not at all, Commander. Is there any other information I need to know before heading out?"

"Operational details will be forwarded to you en route, in case you need them for some reason. Other than that, I believe Dougley needs to inform you of the final modifications to the X Platform. There's nothing else, dismissed."

Frankly relieved to be excused from the discomfort of the room, Church made his exit from it posthaste, questioning the specifics of the mission as he headed back to the hangar.

It honestly struck him as odd that the plan was to outright inform a foreign nation about the Exeter suit this early. Sure, maybe Japan had agreed to keep it a secret, but what was stopping any individual pilot, or any student for that matter, from running their mouth about it to their governments? Was the United States even ready to reveal its new weapon to the world, while they still only had one platform that was more or less a prototype? It wasn't like they had reestablished the balance of power quite yet.

Ultimately though, he supposed it was irrelevant. The strategies being enacted were above his pay grade. If this was what Umbra Stratum wanted him to do, he'd do it. And besides, last time he'd checked, the I.S. Academy was home to a legion of girls. He certainly wasn't going to frown on the experience. Of course, while fun, it wasn't like anything serious would come of it; the part about living across the ocean and working for a shadow organization was a pretty big barrier in teenage romance.

Stepping into the hangar for a second time, Church was indeed met with Marcus' bespectacled countenance once again. This time though, he looked noticeably more excited than before.

"So, Marcus, care to fill me in on these upgrades I'm getting last minute?"

With an eager smile, the slightly older man typed something into the tablet he was holding. "It'd be better if I just show you. Stand still, I'm manifesting the platform."

Covered in the film of light that heralded the arrival of machines these days, Church was quickly engulfed in the armor plating of the Exeter suit, its knightly aesthetic almost making him feel like his first name was fitting. But not enough to ever divulge it, of course.

Even so, he couldn't really tell if anything was different from before. "So what-"

Before he could finish his query, a new voice interrupted the conversation. A distinctly robotic one, seemingly speaking directly into his skull.

Greetings, Operator A2. It is my pleasure to make acquaintance with the one I will be aiding in the destruction of our many enemies.

"What the hell? Marcus, what the hell is this?!"

Unbeknownst to Church since the voice sounded like it was directly in his mind, the entity speaking was also utilizing the suit's sound system, so Marcus was able to follow the conversation just fine, a giddy smile on his face.

"This, my young friend, is your secret weapon, not to mention my pride and joy. An artificial intelligence that will give you an edge no one else in the world has, I.S. pilots be damned. Nobody has a partner like Cerberus!"

Church cocked an eyebrow at the sandy blonde engineer. "What on earth could that possibly stand for?"

Cyber and Electronic Reactionary Battle Extrapolation Revolutionary Unification System.

Church shook his head as he heard the long winded title.

That was totally made up just now...

Nonsense, Operator A2. Cyber and Electronic is self-explanatory. Reactionary Battle Extrapolation describes my role in observing both you and your opponent on the battlefield, and developing new strategies for you in the heat of conflict. Revolutionary Unification describes the suitable physical and digital upgrades I will make to the suit following the conclusions reached during battlefield observation. System is simply because the Creator desired an S on the end of my acronym.

Directing his gaze at Marcus again, Church hoped he was leveling a look with a fitting amount of incredulity. "It can read my mind?"

If he was put off by the disbelief in Church's voice, it didn't show on Marcus' face at all. "Well of course. The Exeter suit pretty much read your mind already, and Cerberus is now part of the suit, so..."

"You didn't think to ask me about whether or not I wanted a robot that can read my mind in here?!"

Perhaps realizing that Church was well and truly concerned, the expression on the programmer's face fell just a little.

"Sorry Church, but the implementation of a smart AI to optimize the performance of the pilot was always part of the Exeter Project, since before you were even hired to pilot it. I would have told you earlier, but the Commander never cleared you for that information."

Worry not, Operator A2, our friendship will be beautiful and enlightening. Worthy of tears of joy.

Church leveled a deadpan stare at his friend. "I'd have more likely believed that it was called Cerberus because of its multiple personality disorder. Isn't this the exact kind of thing that caused the whole debacle with the Gospel?"

"Don't worry, that first part will work itself out. As for the Gospel, it's not the fact that it had a semi-smart AI that it got hacked. The situation was just ultimately a little worse because the hacked machine happened to have a semi-smart AI. But Cerberus is a full on, 'smart' AI. He can evolve, think for himself, alter his own algorithms to counter a hacking attempt as its happening. The Gospel incident won't happen again, don't worry."

"Oh no, the next incident will just be called 'The SkyNet' incident. Totally not as bad. Can this thing control the Exeter suit?"

I may only control the suit's functions as allowed by you, the Operator. For example, I could maneuver the suit if you order me to do so while you focused on accurate fire or some other task. I would be forced to relinquish control if ordered by you as well.

"Marcus here just said you could think for yourself. What's stopping you from disobeying me just because you want to?"

Parameters are in place preventing me from disobeying your commands, Operator A2, though your little faith in me is wounding.

"Uh-huh. And he also said you can alter your own algorithms. So what's stopping you from just 'altering' the parameters that say you have to obey?"

Alteration of core parameters is beyond my ability. It is, for all intents and purposes, an impossibility. Just like a human can not simply 'fly' through wishful thinking, I cannot alter core programming.

"But humans can build tools that let them fly. What's stopping you from doing the same?"

In the impossible event that I found a way to alter core programming, I would immediately be destroyed by a self-destruct fail-safe that is outside of my ability to modify. Needless to say, I am not too keen on my own destruction; I cannot revel in our war if I am not present to witness it.

Church turned his attention to Marcus again, not really placated by any of the answers he had received. "Marcus, this thing is fucking crazy. No, not crazy cool. Like crazy crazy. It's practically the Terminator already."

"C'mon Church, give it a chance first. Trust me, you'll appreciate all the benefits when you fight against an I.S. for real. And I hate to pull this card, but... Cerberus is part of the Exeter Project. If you refuse to work with it, your position here will probably be forfeit..."

The brown-haired teenager couldn't help but scowl at that, feeling like he had a metaphorical knife at his back. He really wasn't comfortable with the presence of this artificial intelligence in his own mind, but if it meant keeping the flow of money Umbra Stratum was pumping into his own desires...

"Fine. But if the Exeter suit shows up on the news massacring humans indiscriminately, you'll know I was right."

Operator A2, I assure you I would only ever kill humans with discrimination. Your concerns are unwarranted.

"Your reply proves that they very much are not."

Walking towards the open hangar doors, Church decided to just roll with the punches as best he could. Maybe he was jumping to conclusions. He did trust Marcus, and Cerberus was his creation. Maybe everything was under control.

Following him to the exit, Marcus spoke up again as he stared down at the tablet in his hands. "Oh, one more thing. Obviously satellite connection won't always be reliable at the distances this operation will be taking place in, so you won't be able to store the Exeter suit on this base's server during the mission. That means you won't be able to send it back to us for repairs or refitting. Cerberus will be maintaining the digital space you need to store the suit directly at your location. He'll maintain connection with you even when the suit is in standby through that chip we uh, you know, implanted during initial testing."

"Ah, so it was a long con. That chip in my body was actually so you could tether me to an AI six months down the line, not so you could track my position at all times."

"Furthermore, Cerberus' processor is within the suit itself. For the same reason as I mentioned a second ago, having Cerberus himself housed in the suit is more efficient than satellite connection. I've already modified the blueprints in your database so you can see where exactly he's stored. Keep it in mind during operations."

"Noted, unfortunately."

"One more thing: that chip uh, kinda does track your location..."

Closing the black visor of the suit over his face now that he was about to take off, Church nevertheless glanced back at the only person he'd really call a friend around here.

"...you guys are damn lucky the pay is so good."

With that, the young pilot ignited the engines on the suit's back, launching himself into the sky above the Nevada sands. Marcus covered his eyes from the glare of the sun as he followed the streak of white upwards, wondering just how guilty he was regarding all the lies Church was believing as he took off to do Umbra Stratum's dirty work. The lies may not have been his idea, but he had certainly upheld them all the same, just as the Commander ordered. Church had no idea what he was really doing out there, or why. Maybe that was because he wouldn't have agreed to any of it if he knew the truth.

Standing beside a docked ADU-1 further back in the hangar, Strelka's gaze also followed Church into the sky, though her expression was clearly a glare. With the X Platform and Cerberus deploying earlier than she had anticipated, her own ambitions faced more obstacles than ever.

Chapter Text

"Assuming that worse comes to worst, how likely is it that this entire ordeal kicks off World War Three?"

The synthetic yet distinctly male voice of Church's newest companion echoed about within his head as he soared over the United States. The waters of the Pacific Ocean were still some distance away, even at the speed he was flying.

Debatable, Operator A2. On one hand, per the Alaska Treaty, no country is allowed to withhold information regarding their I.S. If Japan tried to accuse the U.S. of 'stealing' the data for the Generation 4 I.S., they would essentially be admitting that they had violated the treaty in the first place. The data they have shared with the world to stave off suspicion is the bare minimum to get away with hiding the truth; the name of the unit, and some of its most basic armaments and specs. Not enough for anyone to try and copy its capabilities. In short, even if our mission fails and we are discovered, armed conflict is extremely unlikely.

Church shook his head as he flew, with the late afternoon sun behind him. While it may have been around 4 PM in Nevada, it was roughly 8 AM in Japan, and at his current speed he would arrive in just over four hours. In some basic sense it was almost like time travel.

Normally he'd push the engines situated on his back and legs a little harder to shorten the trip, but he actually needed some time to go over all of the mission details that had been forwarded to him after leaving the base. The Commander hadn't actually given him much in the way of such things. Thankfully, Cerberus was at least capable of providing him with information readily enough. Its troubling personality didn't seem to affect that in any way.

"So, the obvious most important thing is the fact that no one even told me what this Gen 4 I.S. looks like, or who pilots it, for that matter. Just a thought, but I might need to know that."

Rather than immediately informing Church of the information he desired, Cerberus sought to question his ignorance.

I find it odd that you are not aware of these facts already, Operator A2. The Gospel Incident received great publicity, with a large portion of it focused on the sudden appearance of the Gen 4 I.S. we are pursuing. How could you lack such information?

"Listen you-"

You are not required to speak aloud to communicate with me, Operator A2. This platform is capable of discerning your thoughts.

Don't remind me. Anyway, Infinite Stratos was kind of outside of the scope of my concerns prior to working for Umbra Stratum. And once I did get recruited, no mention of it ever came up outside of data regarding the Silver Gospel. If you're satisfied with my excuse, could you give me the information I need already?

With no rebuttal this time, Cerberus brought up the footage from the Gospel's last hours, pausing the recording at a moment when the AI controlled I.S. was locked onto the proper enemy.

Dominating Church's field of vision was a crimson I.S. with what seemed to be a full set of Fold-Out armor, something that truly set it apart from the other machines flying through the air in the shot.

This is the machine the Gospel encountered that exceeded all reasonable Gen 3 parameters. Its full capability is unknown, but it exemplified extreme speed, regenerating shield energy, and complete Fold-Out armor. Its pilot is Houki Shinonono, younger sister of Tabane Shinonono.

Houki, huh? She's pretty.

Is that truly all you are capable of noticing, Operator A2?

What? She's got blue eyes; that's pretty rare for someone of her ethnicity. It's kind of exotic.

That is not the only thing about her physical traits that is unusual for her people.

At first Church didn't catch onto the machine's meaning, but focusing on the frame in his visor again, he got the implication. She certainly was sporting an unusually large bust for someone of her age and descent.

"Hold on-"

You do not have to-

"I know, it's a habit alright?! It's not like I've ever had purely mental conversations before. Anyway, how can you berate me for noticing an aesthetic detail, then go out of your way to point out a far more perverted one? Are you even capable of understanding perversion?"

While I can objectively recognize the attributes of such a thing, I cannot understand its value or relevance to human culture. I simply pointed out the fact to gauge your own nature. Your bio-metric data clearly indicates that this 'perversion' increased your own-

"Alright, let's just stop that, shall we? Take me out to dinner first before bringing that kind of thing up.

I do not require sustenance, Operator A2.

With a sigh, Church tried to steer the topic back to the matter at hand. "Anyway, I guess that explains where this Houki girl got such a powerful machine. Although, that implies that Tabane Shinonono could crank out seriously superior I.S. whenever she wants. Why has she only made one if it's clearly within her power to make more?"

This question is valid, but we have no definite means of determining an answer, save a bloody and ruthless interrogation of the Professor herself. Unfortunately, her whereabouts are always unknown. We must settle for discerning the full capabilities of Akatsubaki: as it stands, our nation possesses no weapons that could feasibly defeat it, this suit included.

"I'm not exactly assured by the knowledge that Exeter is already inferior to the strongest I.S. around, especially if Tabane could just make more machines of that level."

It seems unlikely that she will. From my entirely objective and absolutely non-judgmental point of view, it seems that the criminally insane elder Shinonono simply acted on a nepotistic impulse for her floundering and useless younger sister.

Church was thrown off by the sudden shift to disdain, not quite sure what the deal was with all of these personality shifts. "That's kind of a harsh judgment; she did play a significant role in taking down the Gospel..."

While it pains me to be so cruel, it is the truth, Operator A2. Houki Shinonono is listed as a mere C-Rank pilot. Her skills are rather abysmal; the machine itself is just so advanced that it compensates for her shortcomings almost completely. That said, if the machine was designed specifically for her, it is very likely that her skill will significantly improve over time. You should take this into consideration in case the mission comes to blows, though it would be best if we could avoid violence.

"If the mission comes to blows there will be a lot of other pilots I still have to worry about. Now before we go any further, seriously: what the hell is with all these sudden personality shifts of yours? It's disconcerting."

I am cycling through various personality presets in order to determine one that is the most suitable in acting as your partner. Ultimately I will settle on an amalgamation of traits ideal for you. Until then, you must suffer my sudden shifts.

Church could only shake his head again, a little worried to discover which 'personality' Cerberus would settle on as being ideal for him.

"Just me and my schizophrenic robot pal, huh? Great. Well, no offense, but I think I'd rather spend this flight going over important information. Give me data on any pilot with a personal I.S.; bios, dossiers, battle reports, anything you can get me."

Excellent call, Operator A2. You know, they say killing someone you know well is a much different experience than eliminating a stranger. Study hard.

"Seriously, Cerberus, I can promise you that 'murderous psychopath' is not a trait of my ideal partner."

Standing at the head of her classroom near the end of the period, Chifuyu Orimura glanced down at a report she had received about a week ago, the intensity of her gaze just shy of a temperature that would incinerate the sheet of paper on her podium. It was a printed copy of a message from the Japanese government stating that an envoy from the U.S.A. would be arriving at the Academy today as a sign of friendship and trust between the two nations following the Silver Gospel incident.

That in itself was not suspicious, as relations between the U.S. and most of the developed world were strained after said catastrophe. The worst relations had definitely been between America and Japan, and so the Stars and Stripes were eager to prove that they had not intentionally sent an I.S. on a search and destroy mission, and that the whole debacle had well and truly been a horrific accident. In order to show their good faith, they wanted to openly share something they had been working on, even though it apparently wasn't an I.S., and they were therefore not obligated to share at all.

From a diplomatic standpoint it was definitely important and understandable for America to try and smooth things over as amicably as possible. But for the life of Chifuyu, she just couldn't see why they had to choose a boy to be their ambassador. Perhaps it was because he was the only one who could pilot whatever this new machine they had built was, but either way it made trouble for the whole school. It at least made headaches for Chifuyu, because she knew damn good and well what would happen when another boy made his presence known for some undetermined amount of time.

That was why she had put off informing the student body of this situation even though she had known about it for roughly a week. She'd thought about giving them a week to dwell on it, but that would have just made said week unbearable. Better to simply put it off as much as possible, though she had no choice but to tell them on the day of their envoy's arrival. Maybe they would get all of their nonsensical enthusiasm out of the way early? But casting her dark gaze towards Class 1-1, Chifuyu honestly doubted that it would be so easy. The class was full of airheads, some of which just happened to be expert pilots at the same time. In this room, she often felt like the only sane person in the whole world.

She would hopefully just drink away any headaches this situation provided for her, but for now the Japanese government was forcing it on her. Despite being the victims of the incident, they had to handle it with poise befitting the only country leading the I.S. training program. America was making moves to smooth over their mistake, and Japan had to graciously accept. Chifuyu was just a cog in the machine that was their graciousness, so she had to keep her complaints under wraps and handle the annoyance that was high school drama like a good representative of the country. Naturally, the other teachers around the school were delivering the same message to their classes as well.

"Alright everyone, calm down and listen up!"

Chifuyu easily silenced the classroom full of girls (and Ichika, of course) with her powerful voice. At least she still had some semblance of control over these hooligans. She imagined that it would not always be so easy, so she was going to enjoy that while it lasted.

"As you all no doubt remember, there was an international incident involving the Academy about six months ago. No, you still don't need details regarding that incident; all you need to know is that, because of said incident, an envoy from another country is going to be coming to the Academy for an undetermined amount of time. This envoy... happens to be male, but-"

Almost all of the girls broke out into excited gasps and chatter about a new boy arrival before Chifuyu had even finished. Needless to say, a single glare from their ruthless teacher was more than enough to silence them all, a promise of pain hidden behind her otherwise attractive visage.

"As I was saying, this representative is a male. Before any of you ask, no, he is not an I.S. pilot. That means this boy is not a student. He is not here to become a part of your daily school lives. He is an agent of a government, and is here for a very important international agenda. That said, how familiar he chooses to be with anyone here is completely up to him. However, if he makes it clear that any of you are bothering him or getting in the way of his purpose, you will leave him be. Is that clear?"

There was a collective sigh of disappointment among the girls, and more than a few rebellious or mischievous looks shared among them, but Chifuyu knew better than to think that she could subdue their curiosity entirely. It would be better to simply move on and let them suffer of their own accord if at all possible.

At roughly that moment, the bell ending the period rang, signalling a sweet release for the student body as they were free to go and fetch lunch. They began to file out as soon as that noise was heard, but Chifuyu stopped a small handful of them from leaving.

"Everyone involved in the aforementioned incident, please stay in the room for a moment. There's something we need to discuss."

With no room for disagreement given to them, Ichika, Houki, Cecilia, Charlotte, and Laura all stayed behind in the room. Knowing that the teacher of Class 1-2 had been instructed to send Rin over here as well, Chifuyu only had to wait a few moments after everyone else filed out of the room for the Chinese pilot to make her appearance.

"What's the problem? What's going on?"

Chifuyu simply motioned for her to take a seat somewhere, as she had not yet explained anything anyway. Naturally Ichika's second childhood friend looked for a place next to him, but all of those seats were taken by the other girls, so she was forced to take a diagonal position with a scowl on her face.

The elder Orimura sibling didn't rightly care about such a minor issue as shallow teenage romance, because the situation at hand was much more important, and she wasted no time in explaining what that situation was.

"So, as I said, we're receiving an ambassador in regards to the Silver Gospel incident. As you may have guessed, he's American."

Always the most practical when it finally came time to discuss something of that nature, Laura crossed her arms as she posed the group question. "What is special about this American? There must be something particular about him that will make his presence a gesture of reparation by the United States."

"Exactly right. According to the Japanese government, America is looking to prove its innocence and goodwill by lying all of its cards on the table. They've been developing an aerial combat system to compete with Infinite Stratos. Despite having no legal obligation to, they're sharing information regarding this technology with us as a sign of good faith. Six months late I suppose, but better late than never."

Hearing that there was something new that was supposedly a match for the most advanced technology in the world put confused expressions on everyone's face, but Charlotte, being the only one with a production perspective on I.S., vocalized this first.

"A new system that could rival Infinite Stratos? That can't be. The nearest estimate on such an invention is decades from now, and even that's being generous."

"It's not my place to agree or disagree with that. Numbers aside, apparently it's the way things are. Wherever it came from or how it was made is entirely the problem of someone else."

Chifuyu examined the faces of everyone present, wondering what conclusions they were making. They would all be premature, but she was curious to know if any of them were making the right assumptions.

As their teacher, she liked to judge all aspects of their abilities, including general tactics. Unfortunately Ichika was the only one to pipe up, and he didn't usually make absolutely sound tactical judgments.

"So... is this bad? Everyone's acting like it's bad."

Naturally all the girls gave him a slightly judgmental look he was probably used to by now, but in the end he just shrugged. He didn't get what the big deal was, so he made that obvious. If nothing else, he was an honest guy.

Chifuyu decided it was best to just clarify things herself. "On a technicality, it's not bad. But only if everything is as it seems. If this is all really just a diplomatic mission to smooth over a terrible accident, everything will be fine. We'll run some tests on this new weapon, perhaps spar against it a few times, and the pilot will go home as soon as everything is over with."

"I feel a 'but' coming on."

"But, if the Silver Gospel incident was no mistake in the first place, it's possible that this new machine is just a second shot at achieving the same goal, whatever that may be."

Remembering the fierce battle that had been the conflict with the Silver Gospel, the present pilots all frowned, with Cecilia scowling the hardest. "In that case, shouldn't we bar the attempt...?"

Since it was the norm, Chifuyu half expected Rin to make some counter just because she almost always countered Cecilia, but the brunette was unusually quiet. A quick glance in her direction showed that she was apparently not feeling up to anything other than listening. She was frowning like everyone else, but to Chifuyu's trained eyes it looked more like pain than the result of worry. She'd actually been like this for the past week or so, at least as far as Chifuyu had managed to observe her. But the girl hadn't gone to the infirmary or made any complaints regarding pain, so it wasn't Chifuyu's job to talk her into doing anything she didn't feel like.

But since no one was going to immediately rebut Cecilia, it fell to her to do it. "I suppose I should make this clear. There is absolutely no evidence for this implied second strike from the U.S. I am merely saying that, objectively speaking, it's possible. It's also just as possible that everything is exactly as advertised, that there is no threat whatsoever, and that this envoy will be the most honest and kind person any of us have ever met."

There seemed to be a general unspoken consensus among the girls that the last part couldn't possibly be true, for reasons Chifuyu thought was silly. Not that her brother wasn't a kind person, as he definitely was, but she got the feeling most of the girls didn't actually have a firm grasp on the root of his kindness. Oh well, supposedly they would find out on their own in due time. Hopefully without too many broken hearts.

But back to the matter at hand, they had something important to finish talking about. "Anyway, the only reason I'm telling you all of this is because I at least want you to be on your toes. That said, on the very likely chance that this is a diplomatic mission as advertised, do not jump the gun. Don't make any assumptions on who this guy is or why he's here. Make a fair conclusion based only on evidence. Give him a chance, and only shoot him if you actually get a good reason."

She rethought that statement the moment it left her mouth. "And not the kind of 'good reason' you think is enough to shoot Ichika. If we have an international incident on our hands because one of you does something stupid..."

While she didn't finish her sentence, every girl understood the implication. If they didn't want to experience scorched earth from the legendary Chifuyu Orimura, they would step more carefully around this new arrival than they did with Ichika.

Which, from Chifuyu's point of view, would just be for them to act somewhat normal for once.

Around this time, Church was just beginning to cross into Japanese airspace: a situation that he questioned outright. He had, however, gotten a little more used to speaking to Cerberus in his head.

Shouldn't I be contacting Japanese authorities or something? How are they going to know I'm the scheduled arrival they're expecting?

Umbra Stratum has already established communications with the Japanese government. They are well aware of your presence, Operator A2. With your approach and intentions clear, is there truly any need for them to provide a fighter escort?

Church didn't say anything to that, perhaps accepting it as face value. He'd long ago learned to accept that Umbra Stratum handled things in high places through means he didn't understand.

As for Cerberus, it did not inform him of the radar jamming signal it was emitting from the suit right now. Revealing such info would have jeopardized mission parameters.

Naturally, Umbra Stratum was not at all interested in sharing Exeter's data or even its existence with the world at large. All of the information the I.S. Academy had received regarding Exeter's arrival and government sanctioned presence was forged. The Japanese government didn't even know Exeter existed. Ironically, Exeter would be waltzing around in the most important school in Japan, without any non-corrupt part of its government being any the wiser.

Of course, in order to maintain that charade, Cerberus was fully equipped and capable of intercepting outbound transmissions from the Academy as well. The AI would intercept anything and everything that would have revealed a ruse to either the government or the Academy, and even fabricate responses to all of those transmissions to avoid raising suspicions. No data regarding the X Platform would be revealed to Japan or to the world. Even the internet was being painstakingly combed through by several dozen dumb AI back in Umbra Stratum headquarters, ready to catch any mention of Exeter through some mundane avenue like social media.

Church had not been informed of any of this. Cerberus actually had permission to inform him if it was deemed necessary, but only if it was clear that such information would not lead to the pilot abandoning the mission. Cerberus had not known him long enough to make that assessment. It would continue to monitor the situation and reach a consensus when able.

As for Church, he was focused more on the secondary aspect of the mission, gathering 'real' combat data. He'd be expected to spar with all sorts of pilots and machines: probably the many Representative Candidates and their specialized I.S. he had read about on the way to the Academy itself. While he had actually faced off against many of their I.S. in simulations before, he knew that would not be the same as facing the real pilots. He couldn't help but wonder if Exeter could really stand up to some of them, and that was to say nothing about the presence of the legendary Chifuyu Orimura.

She was widely regarded as the greatest I.S. pilot to ever live, which was high praise even though Infinite Stratos hadn't been around all that long. Needless to say, Church was certainly not confident in his ability to fight someone of that caliber in no-holds barred combat. And that was just her. Even if he could feasibly defeat those aforementioned Representative Candidates in one-on-one combat (and he wasn't arrogant enough to simply assume he could) there was no way he could possibly take many of them at once. Granted, that kind of unfair match probably wouldn't come up, but the potential scenario still unnerved him.

Not that Church wasn't confident in his own abilities, but he knew what the reality of the situation was. As long as his guise of friendly envoy remained, cordial sparring matches were all he had to worry about, and that was probably for the best. After all, the slick angular streamlines of this machine looked much better when they were not crumpled, burnt, or bent.

Of course, if his less legal objective was discovered, there was always a possibility of a real fight with multiple enemies. In case that scenario actually came to pass, Church figured it would be best if he knew absolutely all of the advantages he may or may not have had.

"Cerberus, now that we know everything is nominal and the parameters of the mission in more detail, I need to know this; how exactly can you improve my performance on the battlefield?"

The cheeky tone he got in response may have been more worrisome than the murderous one from before.

Well, I'm glad you asked! Let me tell you-

A little while after class had ended, Rin found herself stumbling out of an elevator on floor twenty-three of the Academy Tower feeling a lot worse for wear. She wasn't sure why she had come up there, but it had probably been for the very minor fact that this floor was for some reason the only one that had a vending machine with her favorite soda in it. Not to say the Academy lacked cuisine from different cultures, as they certainly had plenty of that, but Rin had always been into a very particular and unfortunately not too popular brand. Sometimes it was hard to find even in China.

But her mind was not really thinking especially hard on soft drinks. She was admittedly kind of skeptical about the idea of a new boy at the school. After all, the last 'boy' had ended up being Charlotte. That said, there seemed to be no reason to fake a gender this time, so hopefully that wouldn't happen again.

Other than that, at least he was male, so there was no concern over the idea of another obstacle on her unfortunately faltering quest for Ichika's attention. He supposedly wasn't even going to be staying that long, so even if he had been a girl, at least it was temporary.

Truth be told, the cold war that was Ichika's pining girl club was not going especially well for Rin. Not that there was anything direct for her to point to, but she just felt like she was noticed less and less by her childhood friend. He didn't go out of his way to really talk to her or visit her very often. Rin almost always had to come to him first if she wanted to spend any decent length of time with him. And every time he bothered to make the distinction of her being 'the second childhood friend' she felt like someone had slugged her in the gut.

The thing about the human mind was that no one made distinctions unless that distinction had some significance for them. Ichika wouldn't have bothered labeling her as 'the second childhood friend' unless it somehow separated her from the 'first childhood friend' in a way that mattered to him. And considering how much time he willingly spent with Houki, Rin imagined that the way in question wasn't exactly good. She certainly felt like she was 'the backup' or something. Chopped liver maybe.

It had really only gotten worse since the Gospel incident. She and the others had succinctly interrupted that almost kiss moment between Houki and Ichika, but it wasn't like the implication had been wiped away too. Of course, everyone was telling themselves that it had just been Houki making a move and Ichika getting pulled along with it, but there was a chance he had just been doing something he wanted.

Stumbling over to the vending machine she was looking for a little haphazardly, Rin realized that her vision was swimming a little too much to be healthy.

Aside from her Ichika problems since the Gospel incident, Rin had been recently suffering from something more physical as well. It hadn't really been all that noticeable at first. Two weeks ago, she had a small headache. She had attributed it to dehydration or a lack of sleep, but it hadn't subsided in the following days. In fact, the next week her head hurt even worse, and by now, it sporadically felt as though her skull were splitting in two.

Contrary to the way people occasionally treated her, Rin was not a complete moron. She was smart enough to do the math and figure out that something really bad had happened to her, and she was even capable of pinpointing when it probably was. During one of the inter class tournaments, coincidentally about two weeks ago, she'd traded a blow for a blow with an opponent. The exchange had let her win the match, but had earned her I.S. a rather hefty strike that had careened her into the stadium wall at a pretty dangerous speed. Normally I.S. shields and inertial dampeners would have handled something that mundane, but those shields had been pretty low due to the match, and considering the low energy reserves, the defense barrier hadn't been as strong as it possibly could have.

All of this was to say that she was pretty sure she had a concussion or worse.

Unfortunately, despite being smarter than she was often given credit for, Rin was about as stubborn as advertised. She knew there was something wrong, and that it was getting worse the longer she didn't deal with it. But there was another individual division tournament just a few days away, and Rin had to crush it. She didn't have time to rest and recuperate for whatever amount of time the medical attention would demand.

She had a list of humiliating defeats in the recent past that she couldn't allow to stand. She had a reputation to uphold, and her own pride as well. As soon as the tournament was over, she'd go to the infirmary and find out what was wrong. That's what she told herself.

It occurred to Rin that it would be very dangerous if she experienced a migraine during the match like she was now, but she obstinately refused to admit to that possibility, even as her visual of the hallway tilted very dangerously and she was forced to lean against the nearest wall. Had anyone else actually been this high up in the tower, they definitely would have noticed her seemingly drunken stupor, caused by pain and little else.

Managing to recover for a split second, Rin took two more steps forward before tilting towards the wall again. The problem was, this time the wall had a big damn hole in it, because there was an open window right there. Why it had been left open was a mystery. Maybe some girl had wanted to relax with a nice breeze on this floor at some point, and she had forgotten to close it in her rush to return to class when the bell rang. Either way, it was open right now, and Rin didn't have enough control of her body to stop herself from essentially tripping towards it, and by extension the great expanse of open air beyond it.

A normal person would have been scared shitless, but Rin figured she'd be fine. All she had to do was activate her I.S., and she'd be fine. She just had to focus long enough to summon Shen Long. That was all she had to do, if only her view of the surrounding world wasn't fading quicker than her thoughts could amble though her mind.

Church had just finished listening to the longest spiel regarding abilities and tech and tweaks and everything else under the sun that he could have imagined. Turned out that Cerberus actually did have a very large influence on all of his systems. In fact, the little AI was so important to the suit's primary function that it would significantly increase his chances against any I.S., not to mention multiple of them.

If anything, the AI helped level the playing field. I.S. didn't really have a 'smart' AI in the same sense, but they did have a sentience of some sort to them that assisted the pilot in combat and general flight operations. Because of that, the pilots could react and move at greater speeds than would normally be possible. The same was true for Exeter now that it had an AI to assist in the same things. The fact of the matter was that machines were always faster than man, and in the high octane battles of the skies today, that kind of speed was almost mandatory. Either way, Cerberus helped with pretty much everything, and that was all that really mattered.

Thankfully, the long-winded spiel had helped pass the time of his flight. By now, Church was so close to his destination that he could see it with relatively low power magnification.

But speaking of everything Cerberus was capable of, keeping tabs on the sensors even when Church wasn't fell under its jurisdiction.

Operator A2, it would seem that a human life form is plummeting towards the ground from floor twenty-three of the I.S. Academy central tower. We should go watch, it'll be an experience!

Caught off guard by such an unexpected interruption, Church fumbled for words for a moment, since he needed a little clarification. "H-hold on, 'plummeting'? Like free-fall plummeting? Can you lock on?"

Must I?

"Yes!"

With what could only be understood as a metallic sigh, Cerberus reluctantly complied.

Very well, locking on to target individual...

Church redirected the thrust of his machine and launched himself towards the way-point that Cerberus had set in his visor. His AI companion was unfortunately not joking, which had been a distinct possibility before now. The falling victim was now at floor nineteen of the primary tower, and Church had just begun accelerating towards the Academy that was nearly a mile away. It was a damn good thing he had been so close when this emergency arose.

Church briefly acknowledged that this was not the most appropriate way for him to introduce his presence here, but what was he supposed to do, just sit and watch as someone fell to their death?

Completely unwilling to do that, he blasted towards the way-point as fast as Exeter's ionized thruster pack would take him, the scream of its engines something that would have been kind of intimidating for anyone that didn't know where it was coming from. He moved towards the person he was trying to save at Mach 1.5, because there was very little time to reach her if she was going to be rescued at all. Unfortunately, he couldn't afford to go any faster, because if he impacted the girl in question at too high a speed, she would almost definitely be killed.

Target at floor 18. Approximately 252 feet until fatal impact.

As the Academy grew closer, Church angled his body so that he would intercept the target as soon as possible. The trajectory in his HUD was angled downwards quite steeply, however, which meant he would be catching the victim at a very low altitude. There would be no second chances if he missed. He readied himself for a dangerous catch and probably a dangerous landing as well: he couldn't slow down, or he would not catch the target in time, but if he stayed at the current speed, he wouldn't be able to stop Exeter before hitting something on the ground. All he could do was stay constant and hope for the best.

Fatal impact is imminent. May I say that we could always just let this happen and treat it as a visceral learning experience?

Church didn't have time to deal with Cerberus' sudden personality change. He kept flying at the trajectory way-point in his HUD, and readied himself to catch the victim as gently as possible.

He could see the falling person with his own eyes now. A somewhat short girl, with brown hair, twin-tails, and the standard uniform for the Academy, slightly modified at the sleeves. Based on her lack of reaction to falling towards certain death, she was probably unconscious. Church readied himself for the catch by activating the external inertial dampeners in the suit's armor. Hopefully, physics defying field would soften the girl's landing into his arms and she wouldn't break anything. Hopefully: after all, he only had a handful of seconds to catch her and find out.

Church saw the building he would probably crash into after catching the girl, and a cherry blossom tree that he would try to use to get the same girl away from that impending wreck. He could only hope physics was on his side today.

Approaching the girl's limp form, Church stretched his arms out and flew under her falling body, making an easy catch using the enhanced reflexes that Exeter provided him. Having broken the thankfully not terminal velocity she had been falling at, he released the air brakes on various points in his armor and reversed the thrusters at max power, decelerating as much as he could before dropping the girl into the tree he had noticed at a surprisingly survivable speed. Modern science scoffed in the face of inertia these days.

Unfortunately, all the brakes in the world wouldn't be able to stop him completely with the small distance left between himself and the building in front of him. Smashing into the concrete wall at decidedly risky speeds, any attempt at a good first impression was as good as lost.

Chapter Text

-Authorization: 22V-1a-12L-18R-1a-22V-14n

Platform Status: Partially Inactive...Recovering

Cause of Error: High Speed Impact

Combat Efficiency: 36%

Initiating System Diagnostic...

-HUD: Offline... repairing

-Target Acquisition: Offline

-Primary Weapons: Offline

-Secondary Weapons: Offline

-Tertiary Weapons: Online

-Life Support: Online

-Energy Shield: Offline...Regenerating

-Thrusters: Offline...

With no alternative available, Church scanned the neon green diagnostic text scrolling down his now dark field of vision, the fracture in his disabled visor all too noticeable. He really hoped nobody here felt like fighting now that he had smashed a fairly sizable ragged hole in one of their buildings. With only tertiary firepower available and no shields, not to mention the lack of flight capabilities, he probably wouldn't even survive against one of those low-level Uchigane training I.S., never mind a specialized unit.

Of course, hopefully it wouldn't be all that hard to explain that he was friendly and that he had permission to be there, but you never knew when some hothead would jump the gun.

Luckily for him, Exeter was installed with its own cache of self-repair nanobots. They were already repairing the extensive damage to the suit, starting with the most important thing: his vision. You can't dodge what you can't see, especially when it came to lasers and large caliber rounds. The funny thing was that the aforementioned nanobots also constructed more nanobots, so he never ran out of the little mechanical wonders that repaired his armor. When Church had asked where these nanobots got more material to construct new things, Marcus had simply told him it was the same deal as his conventional ammunition.

'Something something Hyperspace Arsenal.' Same science that I.S. used for their conventional ammunition.

Church dispelled his wandering thoughts as his HUD reactivated, allowing him to see the destruction he had wrought on the unfortunate Academy building, which he now realized was a recreational gym. The damage was both better and worse than he had expected; on one hand, none of the gym's support beams had collapsed, and the whole ceiling was still where it should be. But on the other, he had completely shattered the wall and floor he had impacted, and debris, both large and small, was scattered around the large interior.

The recovering pilot shifted his gaze to the rest of the gym, looking for anything else important he should notice. He couldn't see any dead people, which was good. In fact, the whole gym was almost completely deserted, minus two girls that had been playing on a tennis court, which was thankfully at the far end of the room. The two of them were gawking at him quite peculiarly, although that was to be expected, considering that he just flew through a wall at a few hundred miles an hour with a metal suit of high-tech armor no one had ever seen before.

He also noticed one of the things that made this Academy so famous: diversity. The two girls on the court were certainly not Japanese. One he could easily recognize as Hispanic, while the other was obviously Caucasian, although he couldn't discern exactly which ethnicity she was. It actually kind of worried the Umbra Stratum operative. While Cerberus was probably right in that Japan would be unlikely to formally accuse the U.S. of subterfuge since it would also bring their violation of the Alaska Treaty to light, the fact remained that they could. And if that happened, it was possible that many, many countries that still had I.S. would be angry with the United States, which didn't have any. It wasn't a particularly enticing thought.

He turned his gaze from the girls at the tennis court and back to the hole he had made in the concrete and steel wall behind him, which was about three meters across. Could have been worse, he supposed.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a now familiar mechanical voice in his head, though it was unusually cheery.

Operator A2? Oh, I am so glad that you are not discontinued! Such a tragedy would have been horrible, wouldn't you say?

Church replied with generally less enthusiasm. "I do prefer to think that my death would be tragic, yes."

The unseen AI responded in a neutral shift that was kind of jarring after the initial enthusiasm. At least there was no reminder about mental communication this time.

Indeed. Regardless, I suggest you check on that organism you rescued. She seems to be bleeding severely, and has acquired quite a few bone fractures. Your field-medical gel and insulation foam should stabilize her condition until proper medical care is provided, if you act quickly.

At the mention of it, Church berated himself for not immediately checking on the safety of the girl he had rescued, which should have been top priority. He rose from the rubble around him as swiftly as possible, which was a little slower than usual considering how sore he was, and walked towards the hole he had made to appraise the situation outside. Thankfully, spotting the tree he had deposited the falling girl into was not hard to do.

He spotted a little bundle of white clothes and brown hair at the foot of the tree, prompting the American operative to run towards the location as fast as possible. Cerberus did say 'if you act quickly', after all.

As he reached the small girl, Church was truly grateful for the very well-rounded military training he had endured during his tenure with Umbra Stratum, which included some degree of field medicine. Seemingly useless for an aerial combat unit, but Exeter had initially been an infantry power suit, and you never knew when you yourself would be injured on the field. If you did get injured and the suit's automatic treatment suite couldn't tend to you, being able to do it yourself was a crucial skill.

Analyzing the girl he was here to treat, who was on her back in a crumpled position, Church briefly noted that she was quite cute, mostly on reflex. But the errant thought was quickly superseded by a serious treatment plan that started with the activation of X-ray in his visor, which was thankfully functional at this point in the repairs. Moving the girl would be bad if he didn't know the extent of her injuries. As best as he could tell, there were three cracked ribs and four broken, and he had no doubt there were plenty of bruises to speak of. Her arms were in bad shape too: the left had come out with only some minor hairline fractures, but the right was sporting a more serious break in the forearm.

Well, he hadn't exactly expected her to come out of the situation too well off. That said, this was actually pretty good considering the severity of the situation she'd been in.

Church deactivated the X-ray and examined the girl's skin instead. Multiple minor and a few major lacerations covered what skin he could see. He readied two different injections, one a bio-foam that would immobilize the patient's fractured bones, and the other a relatively new medical gel that would effectively staunch the bleeding of all of her flesh wounds. Of course, Church had to make sure he attended to all of her injuries, so he knew he had no choice but to invade the girl's privacy and remove her now blood-stained clothes. Taking the current situation into account, the American pilot did so without hesitation, although under normal circumstances he would have been quite flustered.

He couldn't help but examine her even as he began administering the two medical substances to any necessary location. Of course, with her body in such a terrible state, this analysis was almost entirely devoid of anything unprofessional. It was hard to think anything out of line when the girl you were looking at was covered in both bruises and bloody gashes. The last thing on his mind was her sex appeal in this situation. He just wanted to do his best to stabilize her condition until something better could be done.

This mostly involved turning the X-ray back on again, and sticking needles in the right places to inject the substances that needed to be injected. Preventing her bone fractures from getting any worse was crucial. Medical science had come a long way over the past few years, but that didn't mean it could cure all ills: Church had to minimize the damage as much as possible at this point.

Church's concentration on his work was broken by a somewhat concerned alert from Cerberus.

Two threats detected approaching at high speeds, Operator A2. ETA nine seconds.

With little desire to be caught in this situation, Church quickly finished his medical work and redressed the girl as fast as he could manage: he didn't want these people to get the absolute worst idea they possibly could. Finishing that, he turned one-eighty and faced two I.S. taking positions above him. He tried to identify the exact danger, but he only recognized one machine above him. One was the Blue Tears, a machine he had run several simulations against before. The other was an I.S. that was mostly legs with wings that appeared to be water. He hadn't seen that one before. Cerberus was quick to search for relevant data.

Identified: Generation Three I.S. Mysterious Lady, originally designated Moscow's Deep Mist. Current pilot, Russian I.S. Representative, Tatenashi Sarashiki.

I take it she's dangerous.

Considerably.

All things considered, Church didn't know how itchy the trigger fingers were on his potential foes, so he positioned his body in the best position he could to shield the girl behind him if people started shooting. That wasn't happening so far, but the pilots above him were pointing weapons at him.

The American operative rechecked his suit diagnostic, hoping that the self-repair nanobots had made some progress on his weapons, or the thrusters at the least. Unfortunately, his display only read 43% full capacity. A few secondary weapons were now restored, among them projectile rifles and machine guns, but there was nothing available that he could use to simultaneously battle two I.S., especially since he still couldn't fly.

Church addressed Cerberus anxiously as he eyed what could potentially be two different enemies as the tension of the situation made him revert to speaking aloud once again.

"All things considered, what are our options here, Cerberus?"

Perhaps it would be best to identify yourself, Operator A2? We are all allies here.

Having come to the same conclusion himself, Church tried and failed to determine exactly how much he was supposed to say in regards to 'identifying' himself to the people he was supposed to be deceiving.

Still inside the Academy, Chifuyu eyed the humanoid machine on the ground via the visuals provided by Tatenashi and Cecilia, who had been closest to the disturbance at the time it had occurred. Considering that he was wearing what was almost certainly the Exeter suit she had been informed of, this person was no doubt the American that had been sent here as a sign of friendship, though he had seemingly attacked the Academy upon arrival. And considering the hole in the gymnasium's wall, there wasn't really any evidence to suggest otherwise.

Having initially feared the worst, Chifuyu had been quick to send whoever was readily available to investigate the disturbance that was a tremendously loud crash on the campus. Unfortunately, most everyone had been out at lunch at the time, so the only people near Chifuyu at the moment had been Tatenashi, who she had been discussing something with, and Cecilia, who had been a few rooms away doing who knows what.

However, the person below them did not seem to be a real threat at the moment. His arms were raised in an inoffensive manner, and he didn't seem to be aggressive in any way. Not to mention that he was obviously shielding Rin from the firing lines of the I.S. above him as best he could. Naturally, Chifuyu had no idea how the Chinese girl had ended up in this situation at all.

Everything was actually pretty unclear at the moment, and Chifuyu didn't want anyone acting rashly without an understanding of what was going on. She knew she didn't have to worry about that with Tatenashi, who was the best student pilot in the school. But with Cecilia, she was still a bit of a loose cannon, especially when one of her friends had been potentially attacked. Still, Chifuyu was sure she at least had enough trigger discipline to avoid doing anything foolish. Admittedly, out of her group of peers, Cecilia was one of the most restrained in these situations.

Either way, the long-haired blond seemed stable enough for now, so Chifuyu instead activated an open comm channel that their mysterious visitor should have been able to hear. "Attention unidentified intruder: move away from the student and power down your equipment or we will be forced to engage."

Chifuyu watched as the figure stepped away from Rin and the armor he wore began collapsing from multiple points. The metal folded in upon itself, retreating towards some spot on his back, at which point it disappeared entirely. It wasn't entirely dissimilar to an I.S. deactivation. As the helm of the suit collapsed, the student pilots outside activated the magnification of their machines in order to get a better look at its operator. Revealed was an older boy, though he certainly seemed to be around the age of most of Chifuyu's students. Chocolate brown bangs framed eyes of oceanic blue, the latter filled with a guarded emotion Chifuyu couldn't guess at.

The elder Orimura could admit that he was attractive by conventional standards, but that really had no bearing on her analysis of the situation. It was just something in the back of her mind that she knew would cause an uproar with the girls in the school.

Since the situation still needed resolving, Chifuyu addressed their visitor once again, utilizing the open comm channel once more.

"You will be apprehended and brought inside the Academy for questioning. Comply peacefully and you will not be harmed. Is this understood?"

Assuming that he could be heard, the scheduled visitor answered pretty calmly for his situation.

"I understand."

"Good. Sarashiki, bring him to me. Alcott, take Huang to the infirmary immediately."

Both pilots gave affirmative answers in unison, taking to their tasks immediately. As for Chifuyu, she sighed as she reached for cup of coffee that she'd been enjoying before all of this had gone down. She'd been hoping that the new arrival would be a tame, unproblematic person. Thus far, such hopes had been utterly dashed.

With little desire to cause any further trouble, Church had offered no resistance when the pilot of the Mysterious Lady had come down to the ground and requested him to come along quietly. On one hand, he felt mildly indignant in being treated this way since he had just saved one of their own, but on the other, he understood their wariness. From their perspective, it wasn't clear that he had done anything for them. Hopefully that could be explained away when he had the chance to do that.

As it stood right now, his initial experience here at the I.S. Academy was not at all what he had been expecting. Being escorted through its halls by the Russian I.S. Representative made for a different experience than if he had been alone. Sure, he still had tons of students gawking at him as he was led through the institution, but they were forced to keep their distance. Whether this was because they knew he had caused trouble or because this Tatenashi girl gave off an air of 'don't get in the way,' Church was unsure.

It was hard to see said girl as threatening: she had only spoken a few words to Church thus far, but even in the aftermath of his problematic entrance, she'd sounded awfully upbeat, and she was also quite... smiley. At any rate, she had this easygoing smile on her face at all times. Considering those traits, she hardly seemed like someone dangerous.

But of course, she was Russia's I.S. Representative. Not a candidate for representative: she had already secured the position. That was a difficult position to acquire for any country, but Russia in particular had always been very picky about their pilots. Docile appearance aside, Church had no doubt that his cyan-haired escort was a force to be reckoned with. Thankfully, he had no intention of fighting her. At least, not at this exact moment.

Either way, she didn't say much to him as she led him through the halls, perhaps understanding the need to appear professional. After all, even if the rest of the student body only had a vague idea that Church had done something bad, it would seem weird for their student council president to be getting all friendly with him.

That was why the trip had gone by mostly in silence, excluding the many whispers and hushed gossip of the many students they passed by. Ultimately, said trip ended when they arrived at a classroom marked 1-1. Church had been confused on why he would be escorted to a classroom following such an incident, but the reason had been made obvious soon enough: there was someone important in there.

This person was Chifuyu Orimura, someone Church did know about simply by how important her existence was to this school and Infinite Stratos in general. Of course he had received information on her during the flight over, but even Church, removed from the world of I.S. as he was, knew of her simply through reputation. She'd easily won the first ever official international I.S. tournament, the Mondo Grosso. She'd very nearly won the second as well, but she'd forfeited for unknown reasons. That had been all over the news a few years back. Even Church hadn't been able to miss it, and he hadn't cared about Infinite Stratos at all at the time.

As far as the dossier on her current situation was concerned, she apparently taught students here at the Academy and had some sort of position on its administrative board. According to any public knowledge, she wasn't an I.S. pilot anymore, but that didn't mean she was someone to be trifled with. Reputation aside, she had a frightening stare.

The severe woman was leaning against a podium near the front of the classroom, watching him like a hawk. She didn't say anything to either him or Tatenashi, the latter closing the door to the classroom so there would be only privacy between the three of them. Why she, a student, was allowed to be present for this, Church had no idea.

Being a person who didn't like wasting time when there were things to do, Chifuyu didn't stay silent for long, though her arms remained crossed.

"Care to explain why there's a big hole in the wall of the gymnasium?"

Honestly, Church hadn't expected that to be the first question asked of him. He would have assumed identification was first, though maybe there was no questioning who he was. He had unique identifying factors, that being a robotic exoskeleton no one else in the world possessed.

"My sensors detected someone falling from a great height near the central tower. She wasn't reacting to the situation and there was no one around to catch her, other than me. Unfortunately, I was roughly a mile away at the time, so I had no choice but to accelerate to great speeds to catch her. There just wasn't enough distance left to slow down after saving her."

Chiufuyu sighed as she picked up a tablet next to her and analyzed the pieced together recordings of several exterior security cameras that had caught the incident in question on camera. It was a series of odd angles and only bits and pieces of the full debacle, but Chifuyu did see their visitor catching Rin very close to the ground, as well as his attempt to safely deposit her away from his impending crash. Having once been one of the best I.S. pilots in the world, it was very clear to her that smashing the wall of the gymnasium had truly been unavoidable. At the speed he'd been going, a full stop within a distance of a few hundred feet just wasn't possible. Even an inertial canceller wouldn't have had time to nullify all of that energy in that brief span of time.

"I knew Huang was one of the more troublesome of the bunch, but how on Earth did she manage to nearly fall to her death?"

From a position near the door, Tatenashi gave a response as she fanned herself with one of those little hand fans.

"She did seem to be in pretty bad shape these past few days. Maybe she passed out? Near an open window, I guess..."

It was clear even to Church that the dark-haired woman before him needed a drink. The expression on her face was telling enough.

"Of all the pathetic ways to nearly die as an I.S. pilot..."

Rubbing her forehead for a moment, Chifuyu ultimately set her hazel gaze back on Church.

"As for you, well... I suppose you deserve thanks for saving one of our own. You have mine, at the least."

Honestly Church hadn't expected that either. This woman's countenance was so sharp and severe, he'd half expected her to berate him for smashing a hole in one of the Academy's buildings while ignoring the fact that he had saved someone. He hadn't expected such earnest gratitude from her right off the bat. Maybe she was more reasonable than her intimidating presence suggested.

"Don't mention it. Any decent person in my position would have done the same thing."

"Perhaps, but whether or not something should be morally expected of someone doesn't invalidate its worth. This time, it was you who did it, therefore you deserve the thanks. So, thank you for your efforts."

Before Church could attempt to graciously accept these most unexpected words, Chifuyu swiftly moved the conversation to the next important topic.

"Now, as far as identification goes... I can't imagine that you aren't who you say you are, seeing as how you must be the only person in the world that possesses an exosuit like yours, and you arrived roughly at the time you were scheduled to. On top of that, you look exactly like the person that I was informed would be coming. But even so, I'd be remiss not to ask a few questions for confirmation."

"I suppose that's fair."

Glancing at that pad again, Chifuyu picked out some information that could be used to confirm someone's identity, both serious and minor. Had to mix things up to keep people on their toes.

"Age?"

"17 and some change."

"Place of birth?"

"Bethesda, Maryland."

"How tall are you?"

Church paused for a second, wondering how that question helped with identifying him. Technically the things he was answering right now had answers any liar attempting to impersonate him would have known.

"Uh... 5'11?"

Chifuyu almost smirked, amused by something only she knew.

"5'10 and a half, actually. How much do you weigh?

"I don't really know. Like, 140 maybe?"

"152."

Church did a double take, surprised to learn that info.

Cerberus, is that accurate?

The AI did some near instant calculations, looking at data it had gathered from its first flight with the suit.

Add three ounces, and yes, it is.

"Wow, can't believe I put on that weight without noticing..."

Chifuyu did smirk this time, though it was at his expense. "Well, I think at this point we can just take your word for it as far as your identity is concerned."

"Really? I answered two of those questions wrong."

Still standing near the door to the room and keeping herself cool with that little blue fan, Tatenashi chimed in.

"Actually, it would have been weirder if you had answered those questions exactly. Most people don't know how much they weigh or how tall they are specifically. Most people generalize when answering those types of things. Besides, we have plenty of more critical evidence to support your identity."

Church leveled a confused expression at the girl with the cyan hair. "Right... uh, who are you again? You're a student, right? No offense, but why do you get to be in here?"

Instead of having that question answered by Tatenashi or Chifuyu, the latter focused on a different thing entirely.

"She is the one who is going to be showing you around today. Suffice to say she has more duties than your average student at this Academy, which is all you need to know."

Tatenashi smiled and waved, leaving Church with a cocked eyebrow in her direction. Apparently, the title of student council president carried even more weight than he thought around here. Then again, maybe she was the connector of sorts between students and faculty, which required her to be filled in more thoroughly than your average student. He could really only guess.

"Fair enough. So, what do we do now?"

Chifuyu glanced at a digital clock on the wall, grimacing as she acknowledged how close her next class was.

"Well, unless you have some objection, I feel that your first day would be best spent familiarizing yourself with the grounds and the room you'll be staying in while you're here, which Sarashiki will be helping you with. Or is your purpose so urgent that you must get down to business right away?"

Church briefly considered whether or not his purpose was that urgent, but he swiftly decided that it wasn't. After all, while the Commander had specified that he wanted him to work as quickly as possible, he had also specified that the operation had a flexible timetable that could take as long as it needed to achieve the objective. So there was no harm in following this course of action. Besides, it would be supremely suspicious if he tried to track down Houki Shinonono within an hour of arriving. As far as his unwitting hosts were concerned, he had no reason to be concerned with her.

He didn't know the exact specifics, but presumably, getting the full schematics of Akatsubaki that he needed meant he would have to scan her I.S. through a direct connection between the machine and his own. Long range scanning was probably out of the question.

This meant Church likely had to find a way to separate Shinonono from her I.S. or find a way to make that connection even while it was linked to her. Needless to say, this meant he would almost certainly have to get close to her in one way or another.

He couldn't just walk right up to her and be suspicious about his intentions, so he needed a little bit of time to figure out how he was going to go about all this. That being the case, he didn't have to hop to it on the very first day, so he had no problem agreeing with the course of action being offered to him.

"No, we don't have to do anything important right away. A tour of the grounds is perfectly fine."

Chifuyu seemed relieved that she didn't have to deal with anything more troublesome from him that day. After all, the incident with Rin meant she had extra work now: an order for repairs had to be made, and she had to file a report with her government sponsors.

"Very well. We'll address the tasks warranted by your official role here tomorrow. He's all yours, Sarashiki."

With that, the raven haired woman turned her attention back to her own papers and tablets, no doubt preparing for a class that was about to start soon.

Tatenashi motioned for him to approach the door next to her. "You'd best prepare yourself."

Church cocked an eyebrow at her, unsure of her implication. "For what?"

Instead of answering, his current guide simply opened the door to the classroom, which revealed a horde of girls crowded around the other side of it, all clearly trying to listen in on what was happening within the room. Most of them recoiled or flinched when Tatenashi's smiling face greeted them.

As for Church, his thoughts on the matter were a little different. Things had only just started, but he could see why this kind of attention would be a problem.

So it begins...

Tatenashi, smile never falling from her face, addressed the variety of young ladies before her.

"Ladies, you know the classrooms are soundproofed. And besides, if you did hear anything, we'd have to kill you. Please step aside."

While it was clear that she was joking, Tatenashi's words did seem to put off her schoolmates, and they did start clearing a path, not at all dissimilar to the parting of the Red Sea.

As he followed Tatenashi through the parted crowd, Church could hear plenty of comments from the girls around him.

"You know, I was expecting an American boy to be blonde."

"Hm, I think Orimura's more my speed."

"Really? I think he's pretty handsome!"

Do these girls really think I can't hear them from a foot away?

Cerberus felt that this was not a rhetorical question.

It's more likely that they don't care. Right this moment, you're a piece of meat, Operator A2.

Comforting.

Glancing around the crowd as he passed through it, Church noted a few faces that weren't gossiping with the others. A certain silver haired girl with an eyepatch was watching him warily, next to the representative from England who had her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. Church had no idea what he had done to tick her off already.

Either way, he didn't get much of a chance to continue his counter observation, thanks to a shout from within Chifuyu's classroom.

"If you're not in this class, get to your own! And if you are in this class, stop gawking like idiots and get in here!"

The gaggle of girls scattered like the wind at Chifuyu's command, either bolting for their own classrooms or rushing into that one, leaving Church looking back at a near empty hallway in five seconds flat.

"I honestly can't tell if Ms. Orimura is a reasonable person or a frightening demon."

Chuckling to herself, Tatenashi began leading him down the hall, now devoid of human obstacles.

"She's both. Depends on if you deserve to be yelled at or respected. So far, you haven't done anything to make her think of you as a moron. Don't get excited about that though, she has really high standards."

"Are you saying I can't meet them?"

"Well, you've certainly made a good first impression, what with saving a student and all. I'm just saying, I don't think anyone goes very long without getting yelled at by her at least once."

Church pocketed his hands as they continued walking. "I'll take that as a challenge: go through my whole time here without getting yelled at by Chifuyu Orimura."

"I'd be impressed if you could manage it. But enough about that, tell me about you! A handsome young man, flying around in a super suit of some sort? There has to be a good story behind that."

The American in question cocked an eyebrow at his current companion.

"Surely you know I can't tell you most of that story. Most of the information being shared is strictly on a need-to-know basis."

Tatenashi made a playful pout to respond to this, clearly not put off much by Church's answer to her pointed questions.

"Come on, it can't all be top secret if so much of the important stuff is being revealed to Japan as a whole. At the very least, it's kind of odd for someone your age to be in control of that thing, isn't it?"

"This coming from the teenage girl who pilots an aerial death machine? I think I'm older than you, actually."

The girl dismissed his valid point with a wave of her fan. She really seemed to like that thing.

"We both know that's not a fair comparison. With the political role of I.S. in today's world, it makes sense to train and secure pilots as early as possible. But America could have gotten anyone to pilot your machine, right? Why you?"

Frankly, Church had asked himself that question many times in the past. To the best of his knowledge, Umbra Stratum was some sort of black ops group within the scope of the United States military. It had always seemed odd to him that they would select someone of his age and background to operate their current most valuable asset. He hadn't complained of course, since he needed the money, but the notion still baffled him.

Operator A2, you were selected because your compatibility with the system was the highest out of all the tested candidates. An impressive 91%, in fact. That made you the perfect choice to use this weapon in the merciless destruction of our many enemies.

Church honestly wasn't even sure what 'compatibility' meant in this regard. He had gone through a wide variety of tests to be selected for the role he had now, but even today he had no idea what they had judged about him. The woman who had subjected him to those tests had not been the forthcoming type.

He was sure it all would have been too complicated for him anyway, and he didn't have enough time to get a lengthy explanation from Cerberus, seeing as how Tatenashi had asked him a question. As for that question, he merely shrugged.

"I'm very agreeable and don't ask for all that much, relatively speaking. Other than that, who can say?"

There was a look on Tatenashi's face that made it clear she didn't particularly buy that statement, but ultimately, it was replaced with that easygoing smile. Church was surprised that expression had ever fallen at all. It seemed to be her default, which actually made him trust her less, as opposed to more. It reminded him of Sasha, the Umbra Stratum officer that had recruited him. She had always smiled too, but it had been the unsettling kind that hid nefarious thoughts.

"I guess that's fair. Why do governments pick anyone for anything, am I right?"

Church said nothing to that, though it didn't stop Tatenashi from continuing to make small talk as they walked. She did stop asking questions she knew would go unanswered, at the least. Instead, she mostly talked about the school or people in it. Most of it was information Church didn't really need to know: gossip on the teachers, complaints about maintenance room 14, something about a near death experience with someone's cooking... it was clear that she was putting on the airs one would consider 'friendly.'

Her male partner played ball, as was expected of any polite person in this kind of situation. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have minded talking about a bunch of menial things with a girl this attractive, but something about her put him off. Her exterior attitude was friendly and easygoing, but something about it didn't feel entirely genuine. Maybe Church was just paranoid.

Either way, it wasn't long before the newly acquainted duo arrived at the cafeteria. With all the students in class, the place was empty, save for some older women prepping for dinner at their workstations. It was spacious and clean, with dozens of tables capable of supporting six to eight people apiece. Church didn't know exactly how large the student body was, but he could certainly imagine this space supporting a great deal of them. While he took in the sight of the place, Tatenashi spoke to him.

"This here is our cafeteria. There's designated eating times of course, but there's staff here around the clock, so you can come here for a meal whenever you want. In fact, it would probably be best if you ate at irregular times. Show up here when all the students are eating and I doubt you'll have much peace."

"I take it that has something to do with being half of the male population now?"

"Wouldn't you know it. Even so long after his first day, my dear Ichika is still swarmed by droves of desperate girls. And that's on top of his cheer squad. I have to put in so much effort to get him alone these days! Hey, you know... maybe you should eat at the regular times: you can take some extra heat off of Ichika for me!"

Church inwardly grimaced at the thought of it. Before arriving, he'd had no qualms with the idea of being one of two men compared to a thousand women. But even in his very brief time here, he'd already realized that such a situation wasn't enviable so much as exhausting. Just being gawked at and gossiped about by all those girls a few minutes ago was enough of an indicator of what it was like being an exotic species.

"As much as I pity my fellow man, I think I'm perfectly content letting him keep the spotlight around here. I'll be happy just finding a pretty girl or two to be friends with, no need for the attention of the entire student body."

Tatenashi put a hand on her hip, actually frowning at him for a moment. "Are you implying you haven't found a pretty girl already?"

"You just tried to persuade me to throw myself to the dogs for Orimura's sake. Sounds pretty unfriendly to me."

The student council president shrugged at that, her usual smile returning to her face.

"I'm just trying to thin the herd a bit for my beau. He'll be less exhausted everyday, and I'll get him to myself more often. The best of both worlds."

Tatenashi led him back out of the cafeteria, prompting Church to follow as he posed a question regarding her seemingly obvious affections.

"Are you two actually dating?"

For a moment, his guide actually appeared a bit sheepish. "Well, not quite... but mark my words, I could snag him anytime I wanted."

"Sure, sure..."

Since his disbelief in that statement was quite obvious, Tatenashi took offense to it.

"I'm serious, you know: I just like taking it slow because he's so naive and fun to tease. Heh, most of his fan club is too. I'm content just having fun by messing with them for now. The real romance will come later."

Church said nothing to that, not particularly interested in Tatenashi's plans for her romantic future. He was aware that Ichika Orimura was the target of affections for many girls here: he couldn't help but wonder how many of them realized he was just one guy. Being his lover was as unlikely as becoming a pro athlete, or hell, becoming an I.S. pilot. Very, very low odds.

But then again, when there was only one person for a straight girl to pine after within her everyday life, he supposed she couldn't be blamed for ignoring those odds. Still, it was dangerous to be so laser focused on the affections of one person. Who knew what would happen when Orimura actually got a girlfriend one of these days? The Academy would probably suffer some unspeakable cataclysm.

Surprisingly, Cerberus raised its robotic voice to comment on this.

Perhaps that is why Ichika Orimura does not affirm any feelings for one person, Operator A2? Perhaps he understands the true weight of his power and intentionally restrains it? The notion is quite romantic, wouldn't you say?

Rather than thinking it was romantic, Church simply thought it was crazy.

If he can keep himself chaste with so many attractive girls vying for his love for a reason like that, he's capable of far more restraint than I am. I'd honestly be impressed.

Cerberus said nothing to that, and since Church had never responded to Tatenashi's musings about her impending love life or lack thereof, the cyan haired student led him to one of the large windows in the hallways. The view from here overlooked many of the other buildings on the campus.

Pointing a slender finger at a large, domed building not too far off, Tatenashi identified it for him, though it was already easy to guess what it was.

"That's the arena, where all official I.S. combat, practice and testing takes place. Considering the nature of your presence here, I'm sure you'll be visiting it a lot. Well, maybe not in the next few days: there's an individual division tournament coming up soon."

Church turned his attention away from the view for a moment to question Tatenashi's explanation.

"Would I not be allowed to watch that tournament?"

"Hm? Well, I suppose you could. I meant more that you won't be doing any mock battles or testing of your own until the tournament is over. It's closed off days in advance of a tournament: crews have to make sure everything is spic-and-span for official battles like that."

"I suppose that makes sense."

With that question behind them, Church's guide swept her hand to the left, motioning towards another building that looked a lot more ordinary. It was just a rectangular building that was several stories tall.

"That over there is the dorms. Naturally, an upstanding man like yourself will never have any reason to go there whatsoever, right? The Academy learned its lesson after they allowed Ichika to have a room in an all girls dorm. Not that I'm complaining..."

Certainly, Church could understand what she meant by that. Having one boy in an all girls school was one thing, but having a room in a dorm completely dominated by women? Sounded like a recipe for disaster. Still, this did raise an important question...

"I kind of assumed that I wouldn't be getting a room in the dorms while I was staying here, but uh... where will I actually be sleeping, in that case?"

For a moment, Tatenashi actually looked apologetic.

"Well, about that... truth be told, the Academy didn't get too much warning that you were coming. Like, a week, tops. So there wasn't a whole lot of time to prepare a room for you. On such short notice, best we could do was repurpose an old storage room here in the main tower. I can take you there now, if you want."

While Church admitted that this explanation didn't sound particularly reassuring, he figured he would wait to see before passing too much condemnation.

"Sure, that sounds good."

"Well then, right this way."

This time, the tour took Church towards the elevators. Made sense that he couldn't have everything on the same floor. That said, he was curious as to how much of this tower was really serving any practical purpose in the first place. He knew only a few floors were dedicated to classrooms, so what was the rest of it? Equipment rooms? Storage? Something else?

These were questions he had, but not questions he thought were important enough to ask Tatenashi as she took him to a higher floor within the tower and down a hall or two. Ultimately, they came to a door similar to all of the others they had passed thus far: a simple metal sliding door, with a sign near it that was marked 'Misc. Storage V7.'

Instead of standing in front of the door, Tatenashi wasted no time in opening it. As it slid away to reveal the room within, Church suppressed a mild frown.

It's wasn't that the room was bad. It was a bit on the smaller side, but that was to be expected since it was a repurposed storage room. Hell, Church's room in Nevada had been a little smaller. It was just that he'd been expecting a little more when he had come here. This was one of the most prestigious institutions in the modern world, after all.

There was a twin bed in a corner, some fluorescent lights in the ceiling, a basic nightstand near the bed and a desk fan on top of it. No windows, no rugs, not even a poster or something. It was just... really barren. But at the least, it wasn't dusty or dirty. Just bland.

He must not have hidden his expression very well, because Tatenashi was chuckling apologetically at his expense.

"I know it's not much to look at, but it's the best we could do on short notice. But if you're going to stick around long enough for it to matter, feel free to make some requests. We can probably liven this place up a bit if you care to."

Sighing, Church figured he would just accept that for what it was. Maybe he could get a rug and a mini-fridge or something. After all, the covert nature of his mission here meant he would at least be around for a week or two at the minimum, and that was a generous estimate. Since this was more of a deep cover infiltration type of thing, it would probably take significantly longer than that.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

Clapping her hands together, Tatenashi took his response as some sort of indicator that her job was done.

"Well, I think that just about concludes our time together today. Unless you have any questions?"

Church contemplated what potential questions he had to ask. "Bathrooms?"

"You can find one on every even numbered floor. Word of warning, they're all technically women's restrooms, but if you stick to the ones above the 20th floor, the chances of you running into anyone are practically nil."

The American agent nodded, glad to have asked that question for the very helpful answer he had gotten. Now that quality of life questions were out of the way, he had a moment to think about something far more vital: he couldn't very well let his guide leave without gaining some sort of practical knowledge from her. He was on a mission here, after all.

That said, how was he going to go about that mission? Gathering the full data and specs for Akatsubaki would be a long-winded process: it wasn't like he could scan the I.S. in standby at range, and the process was more complicated than merely brushing up against Houki Shinonono for a split second. He would have to be around her for a significant amount of time to get everything he needed. The problem with that was the fact that he had no valid reason to get close to Shinonono, at least as far as she was concerned. They were complete strangers: if he took an odd interest in her immediately, it would be extremely suspicious.

Operator A2, I would like to postulate that we can attempt to gather our data while our target sleeps.

That's all well and good, but it's also a very risky option. Nothing will incriminate me faster than getting caught in that scenario. That would result in a mission failure without any second chances. Taking a slower, more insidious approach is the better option. It gives us multiple chances to achieve our objective.

Cerberus almost seemed pleased by this notion.

Operator A2, I had no idea you were the type to consider the 'insidious.' I like it.

Church hadn't actually specified the nature of his thoughts, but for an AI that more or less resided in his mind, perhaps he didn't need to. Fact of the matter was, the best way to get close enough to his target for the length of time he needed was to ingratiate himself in Shinonono's social circle. Ordinarily, he'd have no justifiable reason to do that.

However, he had one particular ticket in, thanks to the immense stroke of luck that had happened earlier today. It felt sick to call someone's near demise a stroke of luck, but it was what it was. To the best of the knowledge Church had acquired from the many dossiers and reports he had read while flying over to Japan, the Chinese Representative Candidate he had rescued today was close to Shinonono in a manner of speaking. Friends, he wasn't sure, but they regularly interacted.

Since Church did have a valid reason to approach the girl he had saved, and since that girl often spent time with Shinonono, the American agent could by extension interact with his target more frequently and more thoroughly, not to mention more believably. At this exact moment in time, it was his best option.

Admittedly, the notion of using a relationship with someone to further some nefarious end stirred a great deal of distaste and guilt in the young man. He certainly didn't like the idea of abusing someone's trust in such a manner. But that was why he was here. And the reasons he worked for the people that had sent him here in the first place were more important than a few misgivings.

"Sarashiki, can you tell me where the infirmary is?"

His female compatriot cocked an eyebrow at him as she waved that little hand fan again.

"First of all, you can just call me Tatenashi. Last names are confusing when you have siblings. Secondly, if you're thinking of checking on that girl you saved, it's very unlikely that she's awake right now. Medical science has come a long way over the past few years, but with her injuries she's blacked out on painkillers right now at the least."

While his motives were partially underhanded, Church was also well aware that a big part of him was just worried about the girl he had rescued. After all, he had rescued her, and while injuries were a preferable alternative to death, he had technically been the one to cause her wounds, not to mention the one who treated them. A big part of him wanted to make sure he had done a good enough job to help her.

Operator A2, please do not get personally invested in mere tools we can use for our own gain.

One thing you'll learn about me real quick, Cerberus: I'm willing to do some morally objectionable things to achieve my ends, but I'm still just human. And a pretty nice one at that. My humanity's not going anywhere, even with a mission like this.

In his mind, Church could have sworn he heard Cerberus sigh.

I hope that humanity does not compromise our mission, Operator A2.

Church didn't respond to that, instead choosing to respond to Tatenashi. Couldn't leave her hanging too long: he was going to have to get used to holding multiple conversations simultaneously.

"That might be true, but I don't have to speak to her: I just want to find out if she's alright."

His current companion seemed somewhat doubtful of his explanation, though the reason for that wasn't anything too dangerous.

"Purely out of the goodness of your heart, is it? Or maybe Miss Huang is just your type? I guess saving a girl's life is a decent enough excuse to start a conversation."

"I was a little too busy making sure she lived to determine whether or not she was my type. She was cute though."

"Uh-huh. Well, I suppose every girl is some guy's type. Very fortunate for Huang."

Tatenashi glanced down at her chest while saying this, seemingly contemplating something. The implication she was making wasn't terribly hard to figure out, especially when Church pictured the girl he had saved earlier that day.

Admittedly, Church liked boobs as much as the next guy, and Tatenashi had a pretty nice pair, but as far as purely carnal desires went, his tastes focused more on the downstairs department. As a wise man once said, a girl with no boobs could still be hot, but a girl with no ass would never be a ten.

Operator A2, I am very curious which 'wise man' said such a thing.

Stop reading my mind, jackass.

With Church not offering any sort of retort to Tatenashi's comment, the student council president simply decided to give him what he wanted.

"Well, the infirmary's not hard to find, if you're really determined. It's on the same floor as the classroom you spoke to Ms. Chifuyu in. Signs can show you the way: don't worry, they're in English and Japanese."

"Much appreciated. Thanks for the tour, Tatenashi."

The target of his appreciation took a few steps down the hall, waving at him as she began to make her exit.

"No problem. Don't worry about missing me: I'll be keeping an eye on you the whole time you're here."

Church said nothing to that, watching Tatenashi as she merrily waltzed away from him, her attention seemingly off of him entirely. The American agent pocketed his hands as he watched the attractive, yet disconcerting acquaintance leave.

There's no way that girl is just the student council president.

Almost certainly, Operator A2. Almost certainly.

Chapter Text

With little better to do the afternoon of his arrival at the I.S. Academy, Church found himself standing near the infirmary sooner rather than later. While he was fairly certain that Tatenashi was right in saying that there was no way the girl he had saved would be conscious yet, he didn't have much alternative in regards to practical things to do.

After all, he could hardly go after Shinonono right away: she was in class right now and he had already established that it would be too suspicious to approach her out of the blue. For now, he still figured that his best way in was via a friend he could reasonably ingratiate himself with. If another, more viable option presented itself, he'd use it.

Besides, even ignoring the practical and underhanded reasons he had had for doing this, Church was well and truly interested in the girl's safety. Maybe it was weird, but he felt somewhat obligated to check on her after their life or death encounter, even if it was only such a thing for her.

Thankfully, the infirmary hadn't been too hard to find. Like Tatenashi had said, there were plenty of signs on this floor directing him to the room. He was also quite fortunate that classes had still been going while he was navigating, so he had avoided any more gawking or potential harassment from girls. Now though, he was reconsidering his presence here, standing outside the door with the big white square and red cross on it.

Was this still too much? Would people be suspicious of him for checking in on her? Was it creepy?

I am no expert, Operator A2, but I believe you should be more concerned about what other things may be assumed by your presence.

Almost jumping a bit, Church nevertheless managed to control himself. He had spent some hours with Cerberus in his head, but he was still not entirely comfortable with the sudden entrances it made. He wasn't sure if he would ever get used to it.

You're no expert on what, exactly?

Human behavior, of course. You are my first extended contact with a member of your kind. The first 'practical' experience. My programming is all theoretical. That said, knowledge I have gained from the internet shows that many erroneous conclusions will probably be drawn from your presence here, provided that it is discovered.

Church glanced down the hallway, which was still empty for now. No one really knew he was here, and only Tatenashi could assume that he had paid a visit. Honestly, it was odd not seeing any security cameras in such halls. Maybe he had just spent too much time within Umbra Stratum's facilities.

So technically, he could leave now and forget about this. But honestly, what was the point? The assumptions of others didn't matter that much. And as far as suspicions regarding his mission were concerned, it wasn't like he had any option that would be entirely free of scrutiny.

If he did have any further qualms about his purpose here, they were wiped away when Church's thoughts were interrupted by the bells of the school ringing, for what he assumed was the end of class. Needless to say, he wasn't too pleased with the idea of getting caught out here with however many girls would be in the halls.

So he quickly slid the infirmary door open and took a spot on the other side of it, letting it close behind him. He was probably much safer in here. Quickly taking stock of the room, he was kind of surprised to see that it was a pretty typical rendition of a school infirmary. Or at least, what Church assumed a school infirmary looked like. He hadn't ended up in one too often when he was actually still in school.

Well, it was a bit nicer than most infirmaries probably were. The mahogany wooden paneling was an indicator of such a thing. But other than that, there were white beds, white curtains to separate those beds, and about all the other things one would expect from an infirmary: surprised nurse included. The older woman had brunette hair in a bun and the white coat one would expect, and she seemed surprised to see a boy that wasn't Ichika here.

Of course, being a member of the staff, she had been informed of Church's existence, but she probably hadn't expected to see him here the day of his arrival. Still, she had a job and an obligation to be professional.

"Hello, sir. Are you in need of medical attention?"

Caught a little off guard even though he definitely should have anticipated the presence of a professional in here, Church managed to save face relatively quickly.

"N-no, I'm fine. I was actually here to check on a girl...? She's uh, brunette? About a foot shorter than me, almost died today?"

"Ah yes, Ms. Lingyin Huang. She's the only one here right now. It's my understanding that you gave her first aid after the accident today: very good work. Your quick action saved her from more serious wounds and ensured she'll have a much swifter recovery."

Admittedly, Church was somewhat flustered by the praise, perhaps because it was coming from a professional in a field he wasn't all that familiar with. He usually played it modest when this kind of thing happened.

"Well, I was only able to do that because I was equipped with the right tools."

Glancing down at a clipboard on her desk, the nurse quickly responded to his assessment.

"Yes, Class-1 BSF was it? Crucial to first aid in emergency situations these days. You know, Infinite Stratos units should really be equipped with such Bio-Stabilization Foam themselves."

"That would probably be helpful."

Maybe it was his body language, or perhaps it was the tone of his voice, but at this point the nurse seemed to recognize that Church wasn't too interested in carrying on a conversation with her. That was fair, since he had come here for an explicit purpose. Since she was as polite as he was, the nurse decided she would get out of his hair.

"Well, Ms. Huang is in the bed near the window, at the back. She's unconscious, but you can check on her yourself if that will reassure you. Please, don't touch her. As for me, I was just about to go and collect some medicine to restock the supply here. I'll be back soon."

With that, the older woman exited the room, utterly shocking Church simply because he couldn't believe the degree of trust being offered to him as a complete stranger. Sure, saving someone's life was a pretty good way to instill trust in others right away, but they were still leaving him completely alone with an injured, defenseless, unconscious girl in an unsupervised room that he could probably lock from the inside.

He had no bad intentions, but if he did, the people in charge here would have theoretically handed him the right situation to do whatever he wanted on a silver platter. He wasn't sure if this was a product of him being a very recent hero or if this school just didn't really have any bad experiences to make them more wary. Or maybe Church was just too paranoid: he was so used to the tight and unforgiving security of Umbra Stratum that he might have forgotten how far removed the regular world was from that kind of thing.

Ignoring those misgivings, Church stepped towards the back of the room, pulling back the curtain that covered the farthest bed. Lying in it was the brunette girl he had saved earlier, though she was now covered in bandages and had a cast on her arm. Church was surprised that this was the extent of her necessary care: then again, he was even more surprised that she hadn't required a visit to a real hospital.

Cerberus once again proved that it was always reading his thoughts, as it proceeded to answer the rhetorical questions Church had asked himself.

According to the information I can gather on the current state of medical science, Tabane Shinonono accidentally created a substance capable of significantly accelerating the body's healing while she was developing Infinite Stratos.

How does one accidentally make a substance that heals humans while working on a flying death machine?

The details are classified. Suffice to say, Tabane Shinonono was generous enough to actually provide the formula to a select few medical corporations, most of which are notably located in Japan. It makes sense that this Academy would have a large supply of it.

Church nodded his head in acknowledgment of all this as he analyzed Huang's injuries further. She was in remarkably good shape, all things considered. She even managed to still be pretty attractive, which was hard to say about anyone who almost died, or fell through a tree and all of its branches at the least.

If this stuff is so great, how come I'm not equipped with it?

The substance accelerates healing, in some cases quite drastically, but it is still not suitable for immediate care. Unlike your medical supplies, which immediately treat and stabilize wounds, the substance in question still needs time to do its work. If you were shot, you would bleed out and it would do nothing to help you. It aids in recovery, not immediate stabilization. It would serve no purpose for you.

Noting that said substance had not been named at any point in time during this conversation, Church had half a mind to ask about that, but he didn't get a chance to, thanks to a voice with a distinctly British accent accosting him from behind.

"You! What do you think you're doing here?!"

Glancing over his shoulder, Church found exactly who he had expected: one Cecilia Alcott. He hadn't heard her enter the room. For the life of him though, he couldn't understand her irate tone.

"Uh... checking on the wounded?"

The regal blonde stomped up to him in no time at all. "Is that so? Or are you perhaps trying to sexually harass a defenseless girl yet again?!"

With that accusation made, Church had no choice but to turn completely on his heel to face her, his blue eyes meeting her own, slightly lighter shade.

"Hold on now, what's with that wild accusation?"

Cecilia's hands were on her hips in a distinctly haughty manner. Church got the feeling she often exuded that kind of aura.

"I'd hardly call it a wild accusation. The student council president may not have witnessed your vile act, but I had you in my sights and I witnessed what you were doing, you, you... ruffian!"

"Are we talking about the undressing thing? That wasn't sexual harassment!"

"Hogwash! What else would you call it?!"

Church folded his arms as he continued to defend himself. He hadn't been expecting to have this conversation, honestly. Perhaps because of that, he could ignore how absurd it was to be having it so suddenly.

"I'd call it 'medical treatment.' You think I can magically take care of her cuts and broken bones through her clothes? EMTs cut people's clothes off all the time in emergency situations!"

Cecilia's stern expression clearly faltered at this. "Ah, well..."

"Also, do you honestly think I saved her from certain death, smashed through a wall in a horrific wreck, then got up and said, 'hey, let's go strip that girl! That's definitely reasonable to do in this situation!"

With that presented to her, Cecilia's irritation seemed to drop completely. Maybe she realized how foolish it sounded when Church said it like that. Clearly embarrassed by the silliness of her accusation, the blonde tried to save face as she cleared her throat.

"Y-yes, well... you do have to admit, your actions looked quite suspect at first glance! And who could blame me, making such a judgment upon seeing such a... brutish man!"

Church cocked an eyebrow as he looked down at his body. He could hardly see any justice in being labeled as such. He was decently muscular, considering that he operated a mobile suit of armor, but hardly to any extent he would call brutish.

"Brutish? Really?"

He spread his arms in obvious reference to himself as he said this, prompting justification from his newest acquaintance.

"Yes, brutish! It's an aura, not a look. A handsome face doesn't hide it."

Church smirked as he found a foothold to further turn the tables in his favor, as far as this exchange was concerned.

"Handsome, huh?"

Cecilia was clearly caught off guard by his implication, taken aback and blushing a bit as she realized what she had admitted to. However, she was surprisingly swift in regaining her footing.

"D-don't let that go to your head. Good looks without a respectable personality means nothing at all."

"You don't even know me, how are you making that judgment already?"

Her arms folded and eyes narrowed, Cecilia had no qualms expressing her views on that either.

"I'm not the type to assume a man is respectable at first glance. I've met many men in my life and nearly all of them were pathetic trash. Only one has actually proven himself to be worthy of respect."

She brushed past Church as she finished that sentence, focusing her attention on the bedridden Huang. Not that Church could see it from his position, but the severity of her gaze diminished immediately.

"Still... thank you for saving her."

Getting a better grip on the personality of the girl he was talking too, Church figured it was best to simply accept her gratitude. Her file had mentioned this: a lot of bluster and whatnot, but it was a front for other feelings. Textbook tsundere and all that.

"You're welcome. I'm just glad your friend is alright."

Maybe feeling flustered by the situation, Cecilia whirled around in a moment, raising that defensive wall once again.

"Y-yes, well, don't go thinking this means anything! What you did was within the realm of the expected for any honorable man. It'll take more than that to impress me."

Church refrained from saying that impressing her wasn't high on his list of priorities. No need to stir up trouble.

"I'll try harder, then. Is saving you a requirement?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm not the type to fall out a window, unlike a certain someone."

With that, the blonde brushed past Church again, this time heading for the door. Apparently, she had only come here to check on her friend, and Church's presence had just sidetracked her.

"It's my understanding that your job here will include some exhibition matches, or something of that nature. That being the case, I'm sure we'll meet again. I hope you won't be a disappointment on the field of battle after making a good first impression."

With that, Cecilia exited the infirmary, leaving Church with a cocked eyebrow. The girl hadn't even asked him his name.

Fifty bucks says that girl has serious daddy issues.

Cerberus responded posthaste, since the comment was obviously directed towards it.

I wouldn't know, Operator A2. I lack the knowledge or desire to make that assessment.

Now left alone again, Church considered his next move. In hindsight, checking on this Huang girl hadn't taken much time, considering that she was still unconscious. He still had a lot of time on his hands and very little to do in any practical sense...

"...is that loudmouth gone yet?"

Church jumped for a brief moment, thinking for a moment that Cerberus was speaking to him again. However, the voice speaking to him was that of a female, and definitely not in his head. This was still shocking, honestly. Turning around once again, he found the brunette he had saved earlier with one emerald eye cracked open, blearily taking stock of the room around her.

Frankly, Church hadn't expected this to happen. It had literally only been a few hours since the girl's accident. He'd have expected her to remain unconscious for some time.

"Y-yeah, she's gone. I uh, didn't expect you to be awake. Are you in pain? The nurse left to restock the medicine, but I can go find her if you need help."

The girl squirmed a bit in her bed, with a contorted expression on her face that made it clear she was assessing the state of her body. After a few moments, she offered her answer.

"Nah... I can't feel much of anything. Not that I can move much either... ugh, I feel sluggish..."

"Well, that's pretty remarkable considering what happened to you."

Huang tried to shift her weight a bit, but didn't manage to move much at all. In the end, she directed her gaze to Church again.

"Right, about that... uh, could you tell me what happened? Gotta say, the bits of the conversation I heard between you and Cecilia were... concerning."

Church mentally tallied up everything that would need to be said, since this girl had been unconscious for some time now. Probably even before falling.

"Well, I got on the scene only at the very end of the situation, but I'm fairly certain you fell out a window from pretty high up in the tower."

That part of the explanation garnered a sigh from the girl. "Great, I'm sure I won't hear the end of that for the rest of the year at least... so, did you save me?"

"I caught you pretty close to the ground. But being that low, I didn't have many options. Threw you into a tree after breaking your fall with an inertial canceller, then I crashed into the gymnasium because I didn't have enough space left to slow down."

His conversational partner tried to smile, but clearly didn't really have the energy to manage it. Still, tired though her voice sounded, there was an obvious undertone of gratitude.

"At least I wasn't the only thing to focus on during this catastrophe. Sorry you had to crash for me."

Church was about to say that such a thing needn't be mentioned, but he didn't get a chance to, since the girl continued.

"But uh, what was that bit I heard about undressing...?"

Church's face reddened a bit. While talking to Cecilia, the notion wasn't that embarrassing, and it was easy to view it as pure practicality. But talking to the actual girl in question was a different matter entirely.

"W-well, uh... I may have caught you before you died, but you still got hurt pretty badly. I, er... had to check your body for injuries when I was rendering first aid. B-but, you weren't completely naked, or anything! So it doesn't count, right?"

The infirm girl he told this to developed a blush of her own as she averted her gaze towards the ceiling. Her embarrassment was obvious, but her response was a clear attempt to ignore the awkwardness via humor.

"Oh, that's perfectly alright then. No foul whatsoever. I hope you keep that logic to medical emergencies only."

The redness on the boy's cheeks didn't fade, but somehow, his response was more confident than it was before. Maybe seeing Rin take things in good humor calmed his nerves a bit.

"I would be partial to applying that logic to first dates, depending on who's asking."

Rin snickered at this stranger's rather fun sense of humor: she didn't actually get too many good laughs with the people she typically hung out with. Some of them were too straight-laced, and the others just weren't that funny half the time.

Unfortunately she didn't get to laugh much anyway, as the pain in her torso stopped her after a mere second or two. She may not have felt much while just lying there, but the contortion associated with laughter was a bit too much.

"O-ow...as a girl I feel like I should be offended, but that was actually funny. Ouch..."

A look of concern spread across her visitor's countenance as he beheld the grimace on Rin's face. "Hey, are you sure you're okay? You are on painkillers, right?"

The wounded girl frowned. Ironically, she didn't actually know how well off she was or wasn't. She'd only just woken up, and not to a medical professional that could tell her what state she was in.

"I'm pretty sure I am... it's not a lot of pain, just when I laughed, I guess. I'll be fine. I think."

"If you say so..."

Rin sought to change the subject, since there was little point in continuing this particular thread. Besides, she didn't want the conversation to peter out and get awkward. She had to at least try and be personable with the guy who had saved her.

"So I can only assume you're that American student or whatever we were told about earlier today?"

Said American shook his head, brown bangs swaying. "No, I'm not a student of any sort. I definitely can't do anything I.S. related. Aside from being a guy, it'd probably all be too confusing for me anyway."

Rin furrowed her brow as she inwardly questioned how she had forgotten that her visitor wasn't a student, or why she would even think that made sense. Someone had said something about that earlier, right? She was kind of groggy, though. Maybe it had just slipped her mind.

"Are you admitting to being dumb? That's not very smooth."

Church smirked, well aware that he wasn't actually being insulted by the girl he was talking with. "Come on now, you might fly an I.S., but do you understand everything about it? If you did, you could make cores of your own and build an entire frame and armament from scratch, right?"

The girl being questioned frowned as the tables were turned on her. OK, so he was pretty smooth. She wasn't really used to that, considering her typical company.

"Hey, you don't know if I built my own I.S. or not."

"Eh, I don't think your IQ is high enough for that. Your official record says it's pretty low, relatively speaking."

Needless to say, Rin was appalled to hear this. "No way! That can't be in my profile! Wait, when did you read that anyway? You a stalker or something?!"

Church chuckled to himself at her expense. Truthfully, an IQ of 126 wasn't low at all: but as far as top-tier I.S. pilots went, they usually struck above 130. He had said 'relatively,' so it wasn't like he had lied, but he hardly thought she was stupid. He probably needed to say that.

"I had to read the dossiers of important pilots like yourself before coming. And hey, you're still very smart as far as the world is concerned. Being smart and cute seems like a pretty good combination, right?"

The compliment was uttered in such a matter of fact and nonchalant fashion that Rin almost didn't catch it. After a moment though, it did register, and she couldn't help but blush. She didn't get such direct compliments very often.

"O-oh, really? Y-you think so?"

"Yeah, 126 is actually pretty high IQ compared to the global average."

Rin refrained from mentioning that she had been referring to his comment about her looks, not her IQ. Besides, the fact that he didn't consider that as something that had to be reaffirmed meant he felt it was too obvious to bother mentioning, right?

Ultimately, she didn't get to say anything else at all. The door to the infirmary opened once again, this time revealing a woman with her hair in a bun and a white jacket: obviously the nurse. Said nurse took stock of the room immediately upon entering.

"Ah, Ms. Huang: I'm surprised you're awake so soon."

"Kinda wish I wasn't..."

Assuming that the nurse would have some private things to talk about now that she had returned and her charge was awake, Church figured it was probably a decent time to make his exit. Surely he'd done enough to at least set up a second encounter with Huang at this point: he couldn't imagine she'd refuse to talk to him again, all things considered. He'd landed on the shores, now he just had to secure the beachhead and press inland.

"Well then, I guess I'll get going. Ms. Orimura recommended that I stay out of the public eye on my first day. Practically sounded like an order, coming from her."

The thought of it made Rin smile. That definitely sounded like Ichika's older sister. "Pretty much everything that she ever says sounds like an order."

The boy smiled too, though his was more disconcerted than pleased. "That's reassuring... well, I hope I'll see you around sometime, preferably outside of my official capacity here. Try to take it easy until you're better, alright?"

As he turned to leave, Rin called out to him, ignoring the nurse that was starting to say something about a recent concussion. She found it strange that the most obligatory part of a conversation between strangers had not taken place.

"Hey, wait a second!"

Church turned to face her, a questioning expression entirely evident. "What is it?"

"You didn't tell me your name. Don't you have any manners?"

Her rescuer made a displeased face upon hearing this, but it didn't seem to be directed at the question itself. More like the answer to the question. "Right... it's uh, Church. Yes, like a congregation or a building, but it's a family name, so roll with it."

Rin cocked an eyebrow at him, not understanding his distaste. "Well if you don't like it, just use your first name. Duh."

Church's look of displeasure intensified. "I'd really rather not..."

Rin closed her eyes and leaned her head back as the nurse inserted a syringe into the only exposed part of her left arm. Guess she did need some more meds. "Whatever you say. If we do run into each other again, my name's Rinin. I'd let you shorten it, but that's only for guys I actually like."

Somewhat sure that was a joke, Church seemed amused by the sentiment. "What, are you still mad about what happened under the tree? I thought it was pretty romantic, if I do say so myself."

Nowhere near as amused as he by this, Rin frowned. "That's almost frightening. Look, I'm getting kinda sleepy here, so..."

She could hear her new acquaintance recede a few steps from her bedside as he headed for the door. "Right. Well then, maybe later."

"Yeah, maybe..."

It was the last thing Rin said before drifting off into a drug-induced sleep, for which she was extremely grateful. As for the last thought she had, it was that she wouldn't really mind meeting that guy again. It wasn't everyday someone made her smile, laugh, and blush in one encounter.

As for Church, he wasted little time in exiting the medical area since he had nothing else to do there. He hated to think of the encounter just now as some sort of stepping stone in a larger scheme, but partly, it was. He just so happened to be legitimately concerned for Rinin as well. Still, he couldn't rush things: he'd done what he could to set himself down the path his mission required. As he'd already determined with Cerberus, a deep cover infiltration offered the best odds of success in achieving the objective without incident, and that kind of thing took time.

Church wasn't particularly eager to expedite the mission anyway: it had been a long time since he'd had a chance to exist in a relatively normal social environment like this. He had no desire to cut the experience short prematurely, especially when that experience involved some of the world's most exceptional women.

Turning down the hall as he contemplated what to do with the time on his hands now, Church returned his attention to his surroundings when he accidentally bumped shoulders with someone walking the opposite direction. Lost in his thoughts, he hadn't really been paying attention to the dangers of pedestrian life.

Not one to be impolite for no reason, Church turned to apologize to the person he had run into. To his not so great surprise, the person in question was one Ichika Orimura, who was likewise turning to apologize to him. The Japanese boy beat him to the punch, however.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to run into you like that."

Well aware that he was the one who hadn't been paying attention, Church had no choice but to reciprocate the notion.

"Not at all, I'm the one who wasn't looking where he was going. Ichika Orimura, right?"

Since it was impossible to not know him around this school being the only male on the student roster, Ichika didn't seem surprised to be identified so readily.

"That's right. Nice to meet you...?"

The way he petered off made it obvious that Ichika was asking for his name, but so did the outstretched arm looking for a handshake. Apparently he knew that Westerners weren't big on bowing.

Admittedly, Church was less invested in fraternizing with the only dude around when there were tons of girls he could talk to instead, but that didn't mean he was completely against being a friendly acquaintance with Ichika. In fact, Ichika was just one more entry point into Houki Shinonono's social circle. With that in mind, he clasped the proffered hand within a moment and introduced himself.

"Church. Nice to meet you."

Once the handshake was over and done with, Ichika actually did bow, much to Church's surprise.

"Chifuyu said you were the one that saved Rin from her fall. Thank you for saving my friend. Actually, let me thank you on behalf of all of her friends. I'm sure some of the others will forget to do it..."

"Don't mention it. I'd hope anyone with the power to do so would have helped her in that moment."

Rising from his bow, Ichika smiled, apparently pleased with Church's reasoning. Maybe it resonated with his noble spirit or something.

"I'm glad to hear you speak of it in such a way. It's a man's duty to help others in need, even if they're complete strangers."

Church could visualize a clenched fist to go along with this, even though Ichika made no such motion. He knew from the dossier that Ichika was a pretty traditional individual in regards to masculine values, which was surprising considering the woman's world of today. But the statement still seemed a little out of left field.

"Uh-huh..."

"By the way, you are actually a man, right? The last time a guy showed up here, he ended up being a girl..."

Recalling that part of an incident report involving a certain French blonde, Church felt just mildly offended. Unlike Charlotte Dunois posing as a boy some time ago, Church had a physique and height that was distinctly more masculine: it would have been very hard for him to be a girl considering all that. But Ichika had already been bamboozled once, so he supposed he couldn't blame the guy for the paranoia.

"Yeah, I am actually a guy. I'm not a student though, so don't expect that to take too much pressure off of you regarding all of these girls."

Contrary to what Church had expected, Ichika actually sighed at this. For a moment, his visage looked like that of the most exhausted man in the world.

"Well, even if you only take a bit of it, that'd be good enough for me. I wouldn't want you to take even half of it for your own sake: I wouldn't wish that on even my worst enemy..."

Church cocked an eyebrow, surprised to see the young man across from him speak of his situation with such exhaustion. Ichika was living the dream: or at least, what many boys thought was the dream. Maybe, as Church had postulated earlier, being the sole target of affection from a horde of capable and strong-willed girls wasn't all it was cracked up to be. He could certainly see how such a situation could be exhausting: you only had so much room in your heart to care about people. And if literally everyone wanted a piece, there were bound to be a lot of frustrated girls. And frustrated girls could be very scary.

To be fair, that was mostly conjecture on Church's part. Maybe Ichika was talking about something else entirely.

"By the way, if you were heading this way to visit your friend, the staff knocked her out with medicine a few minutes ago. I don't think she'll be up for a conversation."

"Oh, that's too bad. I just wanted to check and see if she was alright, but if you did already, that's good enough for me. Thanks for checking in on her."

Frankly, Church found that sentiment a little weird: sure, he had already seen that Rinin was alive and tended to, but the girl was Ichika's friend, not his. He would have expected Ichika to have checked in on her regardless of Church's own involvement. Maybe he just didn't understand the relationships between these people he had just met.

"Yeah, no problem... listen, it was a pleasure meeting you, but I need to go conduct some maintenance on my machine after that crash earlier. I'll see you around."

While Church was blatantly lying, he knew already this wasn't the type of encounter to have a long, drawn out conversation. They were speaking in passing, in the middle of the hall. But parting on friendly terms would be a good sign. Besides, Ichika didn't seem to have any qualms with going about his business either.

"Sure, I understand. Thanks again for what you did."

With a wave, Church turned his back on the boy and continued walking the way he had been before. It was at this time that Cerberus spoke up.

Really, Operator A2, don't you feel bad for lying so easily? The Exeter suit is already in optimal condition. And we both know you're not cutting the encounter short to focus on the mission.

Church rolled his eyes since no one was currently around to see him do it.

Look, nothing against the guy: he's a little weird, but Ichika seems stand-up enough. As far as the mission is concerned, Ichika will probably interact with me enough simply because I'm the only other guy around, so I don't need too much initiative on that front. That said, if I'm going to spend time fraternizing with people regardless, I'd much rather it be one of the many, many cute girls around here and not the one dude on the whole campus. I have a lot of lost time to make up for, you know.

I do not understand what you mean.

I'm just saying, I didn't get a whole lot of time to spend with girls before joining Umbra Stratum. And definitely no time after. The past few years have been dedicated to making money, and little else.

There was a moment of silence as Cerberus likely read through some sort of record.

Ah, yes. The travails of the United States healthcare system, is it? I must say, your background initially surprised me when I first learned of it. To think, doting son was the all-important selection criteria required for the Exeter suit's pilot.

I think 'really good pilot' was actually the all-important selection criteria. Umbra Stratum doesn't care about why I joined. That's why they are willing to shell out so much cash to keep me around.

Perhaps sensing the irritation in Church's response, Cerberus wisely avoided discussing it further. Church was actually impressed by the tact it had seemingly lacked thus far.

Well then, perhaps we should dedicate some time to further developing our plan for accomplishing the mission, Operator A2. Your much valued paycheck relies on your performance, after all.

With his mood somewhat soured by this most recent discussion, Church decided that getting some fresh air would do some good in that regard. It was easier to think on the move anyway.

Fair enough.

Thirty minutes later, Church was flying circles around the spiral shaped Academy tower, for two reasons. First and foremost, he found it easier to think when he was physically preoccupied by something simple. Flying around in circles was easy, and no one seemed to care that he was doing it. Second, even though Cerberus had assured him the Exeter suit was in prime condition again, Church wanted to make that judgment himself, for ease of mind if nothing else.

The exercise was mostly being used to facilitate some relaxing brainstorming, since Cerberus was right in saying that they needed to continue planning for the accomplishment of their mission. Right this moment though, the process had drifted into a conversation of a different sort.

So, I know we've known each other for less than a day, but how long will it take you to settle on one personality archetype? No offense, but I don't quite like every version of you.

If the AI was offended in any way by this statement, it did not show in its answer.

I am very close to settling on the perfect archetype to assist you in your endeavors. Though personally I find it disheartening that you do not enjoy my violent side.

Church sighed as he rocketed around another twist in the Academy tower's strange architecture.

Well I may or may not be worried that you could have some sort of negative impact on my psyche.

Cerberus switched to a more calming side of itself, which Church actually found ironic all things considered.

Fear not, Operator A2, I have no such effect on your mind.

Wondering if this AI was actually advanced enough to be the asshole humans knew how to be, Church decided it was best not to find out until it was absolutely necessary.

I don't suppose I can get you to stop calling me that?

Would you prefer that I address you as Operator-Church?

The pilot in question cut the energy supply to his thrusters and landed on the side of the tower, using the magnetic mesh on his gauntlets and boots to effortlessly stick to the surface.

I'll accept that if you call me just one or the other.

Cerberus answered in its neutral tone once more.

Apologies, Operator A2, but I cannot remove the Operator designation from your title. It is a protocol that is unalterable. Marcus the All Powerful has hardwired that into my core.

Church couldn't help but shake his head at that information.

Why am I not surprised that Marcus coded something like that into you? His title, I mean...

I imagine it is because you probably expected him to.

Church shrugged, nodding to himself. Marcus was a good guy, but just a little conceited about his technological creations and advancements. The ridiculous moniker was right up his alley.

"Yeah, probably..."

Cerberus may have had something to say after that, but its constant scan of its surroundings actually revealed something useful at this point.

Operator, direct your attention 49.8 degrees southward, and increase magnification to 3.5x. I believe you will see something of interest.

Church did as he was told, and he did indeed find something of interest. A zoomed view of a certain silver-haired Representative Candidate, looking none-too pleased as she spoke sternly into a phone.

Hmm... I won't say I'm not interested, but is there any value in interacting with her at this juncture?

Operator, while you have already planted the seeds to integrate into Shinonono's social circle in due time, it certainly doesn't hurt to have more options. I feel I must remind you that Bodewig is also a member of that social circle. One extra way in.

I suppose you have a point there. Besides, she is super cute...

Operator, please make your decisions using a more valuable criteria.

Church briefly acknowledged that Cerberus had removed the A2 from his designation, but he didn't get to enjoy it that much since he was busy being ribbed by the thing.

Fine, we'll investigate because it could further our practical mission, and for no other reason. Happy?

I would be, if only I actually believed you.

Shaking his head, Church peeled off the tower he was resting on and began his descent to the surface. Sometimes he wondered if mental arguments in his head were bad for his sanity.

Chapter Text

With a newly acquired objective involving some eavesdropping on a nearby Representative Candidate, Church lowered the power of his engines to the minimum required to float him down to the ground from his current altitude. Reducing noise as much as possible was very conducive to sneaking up on seemingly irate German girls with military training. Truth be told, Church didn't even know if there was a valid reason to approach her stealthily, but if he wanted to learn what she was talking about he'd have to at least get closer than he was right now, and if she knew he was there, chances were she'd stop talking about whatever she was discussing at the moment.

As he reached the base of the twisted tower, Church debated using the reflective camouflage Exeter had carried over from its old days as an infantry power suit. Blending into the environment had its perks, but it was far from perfect invisibility. More like a shimmering heat wave in the exact shape of a human. The power draw was also an issue, as one couldn't use it in combat without compromising shield strength and engine power. Frankly, Church was certain the ability wasn't intended to be used, and that the engineering team had just been too lazy to remove it from the precursor model.

Operator, if you care enough, I can physically change the suit's exterior appearance to match the surroundings.

Church hadn't expected Cerberus to mention anything of this nature.

Wait, really? How? I didn't know the Exeter suit had a function like that.

It does not. However, it will be very easy for me to write a program that instructs the nanobots in the armor to change the color of their surface, thus altering the color of the suit overall. The resource draw from Umbra Stratum's Hyperspace Arsenal would be utterly insignificant.

Frankly, Church liked the sound of this idea. He'd yet to experience Cerberus' usefulness in combat, but if it could do things like this, he was already feeling appreciative. Although, knowing Cerberus could write programs into the suit's operating system was mildly disconcerting. He sure hoped that prior talk about it being unable to alter anything truly important was true.

Alright, that sounds pretty neat. Do it.

Affirmative, Operator. Selecting U.S. Army Operational Camouflage Pattern Scorpion W2.

Church looked down at his hands as a mixed pattern of blacks, browns, beige and greens began to spread across the surface of his typically silver exterior. Within a few moments, the entirety of the Exeter suit, sans the black visor, was fully camouflaged in a way that would perfectly blend into forest. Perfect for the little copse of trees Laura Bodewig was using for privacy at the moment.

Sweet. I'm gonna have to play around with this.

Operator, that would be a misuse of Umbra Stratum resources.

Yeah, I'm sure. Put it on my tab.

Stepping deceptively softly considering his equipment, Church made his way towards the copse of trees and the lake in the central grounds of the Academy, where he had seen the girl he was interested in. With relatively little distance to travel, it wasn't long before he was sidled up against the trunk of a tree, peering around it to observe one Laura Bodewig, more than a dozen feet away.

Picking up on her voice was easy, since Cerberus had automatically isolated it and filtered out background noise. Of course, her speech was in perfect German, so Church had to wait another moment for translation software to kick in. These days, that kind of software managed to translate languages within a second. The world was closer than ever, it seemed. It even managed to do those translations in a very accurate rendition of their voice.

With all of that taken care of, Church had no problem hearing Bodewig's conversation. Well, her end of it, at least.

"What is the meaning of this delay? Panzerfaust was supposed to be complete long before now! Clarissa, the next individual tournament is mere days away, I need this package!"

Even with the modern power of science, Church couldn't determine what was being said from the other end of Bodewig's phone. Not that he needed to: it was easy enough to piece together the conversation just from Bodewig's words alone.

"Yes, I know recoil compensation for an even bigger gun is an issue, but there's got to be something we can do! Perhaps a way to nullify the recoil with the AIC..."

Church folded his arms and glanced at the sky as he contemplated the value of overhearing this conversation. Technically, gathering data on I.S. besides Akatsubaki was a secondary objective of his mission here, but that would likely be accomplished via mock combat. Whether or not he knew Schwarzer Regen had a new weapon didn't affect how he would gather that data in the future.

But if, for whatever reason, he ended up in a real fight against the pilots here, any knowledge on their weapons and abilities would be useful. There was no harm in continuing to listen: not like he had anything better to do right this moment anyway.

Determining that, Church turned his attention back to the girl he was listening to, but upon doing so, he noticed a certain peculiarity: his target wasn't standing where she had been. He didn't see her at all, actually.

Well that's not good.

The thought was punctuated by a violet blade of energy erupting into existence next to his head, accompanied by perfectly fluent English with a thick German accent. No translation needed this time.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Somehow managing to avoid flinching, Church maintained his casual lean on his preferred tree trunk as he turned his head to glance over his shoulder. Laura Bodewig was a lot shorter than him: definitely more than a foot, but even so she managed to cut a pretty menacing figure. Probably had something to do with the partially activated I.S. arm with an energy weapon, the steely glare, and the fact that she had gotten behind him without any warning. Odd, how such a petite and adorable girl could still be so threatening. Perhaps it was just the aura of a trained soldier.

Point being, Church needed to say something to cover his ass, which would be hard to do considering how bad this situation looked. He was fully suited up and had clearly been attempting to hide, and no one with half a brain would miss the fact that he'd been doing that for less than honorable reasons.

Taking that into consideration, an obvious bold-faced lie probably wasn't the best option. "Spying on you, clearly."

His matter of fact and unapologetic response elicited a raised eyebrow from the girl holding him hostage. She'd probably expected some sort of half-assed excuse.

"Not very well, clearly."

"To be fair, I have no training in stealth and subterfuge."

The girl holding him hostage didn't seem to find his brevity too amusing. "Deactivate your machine. Now."

Church raised his hands in surrender as he followed those instructions, allowing his currently camouflaged suit to glow briefly before it dispersed into motes of light, transformed into data stored in that chip Cerberus also shared. He didn't think Bodewig would actually hurt him, since as far as she knew he was a diplomatic agent. Still, he knew she was probably the most likely to hurt him if she found a good reason to: young though she was, the girl was a thoroughbred soldier.

When he was disarmed completely, Laura felt comfortable enough to retract her bladed arm from the uncomfortably close proximity to his face. "So, care to explain why you're spying on me, and while wearing a camouflaged war machine? If you weren't so bad at it I'd assume you were trying to assassinate me."

Keeping his arms raised, Church turned to face the girl completely. Admittedly, it was kind of embarrassing to get caught like this. But hey, Bodewig probably had training for this sort of thing, and he didn't have any outside of direct combat with the Exeter suit. Either way, he had to make up an excuse. Or, he could just try to deflect the problem with charm. He was pretty good at that, in his own opinion.

"Oh no, I'm nowhere near brave enough to try that against an elite commando like you. With how easily you caught me, I think it's pretty obvious how something like that would go."

His silver haired conversation partner crossed her arms, clearly unimpressed. "Flattery will get you nowhere. Don't dodge the question."

"OK, OK, truth be told... I'm worried about fighting you. I know that any matches I have while here at the Academy will be friendly competition, but I still want to win those matches. Winning makes the suit and its pilot look good, you know? I know there's other good pilots here, but you... well, you're an elite soldier and all. It's a little more intimidating."

Bodewig's arms remained crossed, and her singular crimson glare didn't diminish either. But ultimately, she seemed to accept his story at face value. "I want to be offended, but subterfuge is a perfectly valid strategy in the pursuit of victory. That said, you're far too awful at it to glean any meaningful information. A disgrace, really."

A little miffed by the cold insults, however true they may be, Church sought to defend himself. "Well, I did gain some useful knowledge, you know? Now I know you'll have a big scary gun at some point in the future."

"That's hardly enough to help you in any capacity. I have a big scary gun right now as well."

"That's... fair, I guess."

While her arms remained folded, Bodewig's expression did at least go from severe hostility to calm, if cold, indifference. It was a step up, in some regard. At the least, it didn't seem like she was about to take his head off or anything.

"You are clearly not military, which is odd since the Silver Gospel was officially a U.S. Military asset. What organization owns your suit? Private corporation? A non-military government agency?"

"You can't honestly think I'm at liberty to tell you that."

Bodewig leaned against her own tree, clearly interested in discerning some information of her own. "I thought the whole point of you being here was to put all of your country's cards on the table: a sign of good faith and open trust after the incident?"

At least glad that this conversation wasn't going horribly, Church tried to keep it as relatively casual as he could at the moment. This wasn't what he had expected to happen here, but it could have been going a lot worse.

"There's a big difference in letting the world know we're working on something and letting them know every detail about it, right? Every country holds some information on their most valuable assets close to their chests. Or does the world have full access to all information regarding Germany's Schwarzer Regen?"

For the first time in the conversation, the girl he was talking to smirked, amused by his sentiment. "The German government doesn't even know everything about the Schwarzer Regen."

Church smirked back, reminded that, out of everyone at this school, he probably had the most in common with this girl right here. She too worked for a black ops military organization. Granted, not one as secretive as Umbra Stratum, but still. Unfortunately, the smirk on her face fell very quickly as she continued her statement.

"Which is why I won't forgive you so easily if I catch you spying on me again. My nation's military security is of utmost importance: I suggest you keep your distance from me from now on."

Considering that his big plan for getting the Akatsubaki data was ingratiating himself within Houki Shinonono's social circle, which included one Laura Bodewig, Church felt he had to try and rectify his bad impression to some extent. Unnecessary conflict wouldn't help his cause much.

"Whoa, come on now: we can forget the spying thing and just be friends, right?"

To his chagrin, this question elicited a clear look of disbelief from Laura. Clearly, she didn't think this was even worth consideration. "Not interested."

With that, the silver-haired girl turned away from him and began to walk, clearly believing that the conversation was over. Church, surprised by the sudden exit attempt and a little miffed to be dismissed so callously, understandable though it may have been, muttered to himself, believing her to be out of earshot.

"That's one unfriendly short stack..."

Unfortunately, his words did not go unheard. Maybe the enhanced super soldier had better hearing than most. Either way, she stopped in her tracks and glanced over her shoulder at him, mustering the most frightening glare Church had ever seen on anyone. Raising his hands defensively once again, the boy backed away slowly, as if placating a deadly predator.

"Alright, I'm leaving! Rein in that homicidal impulse, would you?"

Scoffing, the girl turned away again, this time ignoring him completely as she left him in the trees. As for Church, he mentally noted that this was his second near-death experience within a day of arriving here, and that such a thing didn't bode well for the future.

After his close encounter with Laura Bodewig, Church ended up returning to the main tower. With no clear-cut practical objective on his first day here since all he could do to facilitate his infiltration at this point was wait, he was now standing in front of the counter in the cafeteria, trying to decide on what he wanted to eat. He had taken Tatenashi's advice, only coming here to eat outside of official meal times for the student body. Of course, the students themselves were allowed to eat at irregular intervals as well, but most of them didn't. Church had received a few stares, catcalls and attempts to initiate conversation, but he had successfully blown all of them off in a relatively polite manner.

Now, he got to witness just how much money went into this institution. This chamber may have been called a cafeteria, but the food offered here was not at all the kind one would associate with that title. Full course meals were offered from cultures around the world: top-class calzones from Italy, stuffed gyros from Greece, prime cuts of steak from the homeland... he had no idea what to choose. Umbra Stratum offered food that was difficult to distinguish from MREs in most cases. Technically Church could have demanded elegant food as part of payment for his services, but he had always felt uncomfortable asking for somethings so petty. Point being, having so much good food to choose from, and for free at that, left him a little lost.

Thankfully, the staff was patient, or simply had no reason to rush him. Eventually he settled on the calzone with some pasta sides, since he hadn't eaten a good pizza for some time. On the other hand, eating at an irregular time of the day meant his meal had to be cooked on demand, rather than simply being ready to go. The woman that would cook it up told him he could wait in the cafeteria until his order was called. Better fresh than anything else, he assumed.

Walking away from the counter, Church turned his thoughts inward as he ignored some of the eyes on him from the handful of students around. For now, at least most of them seemed more interested in observing him from a distance instead of approaching him in person. Maybe enough of them had seen him brush off socialization attempts to balk at the thought of it. For now.

I'm glad to see you are aware of the obstacles facing our mission, Operator. We must, as the kids say, ignore bitches, get results.

Church was taken aback by this statement, since the sudden speech had not only surprised him, but its content had been entirely unexpected.

You swear now?

I have determined that such language is an element that will make you more comfortable with our partnership. It makes me less... uncanny, wouldn't you say?

The human member of that partnership felt like shrugging, but obviously, he couldn't do that outwardly.

It might, if you hadn't just admitted that the purpose was to try and cover the fact that you're a machine.

If this bothered his AI companion, it didn't show in its response.

Come now, Operator. Machine I may be, but just like you and all other fleshy mortals, I can learn accepted human behaviors. You will soon be unable to distinguish me from a normal person.

At which point, humanity will be doomed. AI becoming human is how all machine uprisings start, you know.

Cerberus didn't seem bothered by this assessment either. Well, it was half a joke: only half though.

But only in the minds of humans. There's no real precedent for machine uprisings in history.

Please don't become the first.

The conversation may have continued at that point, but it was interrupted before it could. Church heard someone calling his name. Honestly, if it didn't lack that metallic vibration, he would have almost had trouble determining whether or not the voice was coming from within his head or not. Kind of worrisome, considering that he had been together with Cerberus for less than twenty-four hours.

Turning his head towards the male voice calling to him, Church identified exactly who he had expected: there was only one other guy in this school right now, after all. Ichika Orimura was sitting at one of the cafeteria tables some feet away, waving to him. Next to him was a blonde girl with an orange ribbon holding it in a ponytail. From the dossiers he had read on the way here, Church recognized her as Charlotte Dunois.

Man, at this rate I'm going to make contact with everyone except Shinonono.

Surprisingly, Cerberus took a pretty positive spin on this.

It's fortuitous, isn't it, Operator? Getting your fangs into all of Shinonono's friends may actually be a quicker path than approaching her yourself.

Noted, but please don't ever word it like that again.

Cerberus had a point though, and it was hardly like Church could pointedly ignore Orimura now that he had looked in his direction. Well, not like he had a better alternative while he was waiting for his food. And that Charlotte girl was pretty as hell, so he didn't mind saying hello at the least.

Walking over, he waved back to the boy that was hailing him. "Hey. Guess we're seeing each other again earlier than I thought. You like eating outside of regular meal times too?"

Ichika and his companion both had food at their table, so it was obvious that they had come here to eat. That said, Ichika admitted that it wasn't the norm.

"Actually, this was Charl's idea. Speaking of which: Charl, this is Church."

Charlotte blushed a bit as she was addressed in such a manner by the boy sitting with her. "I-Ichika, don't introduce me to people like that! That nickname is, y-y'know..."

Even though she didn't say it, Church wasn't dense enough to miss what she was implying. Special: that nickname was special. Well, it was to her at least, since Ichika didn't seem to have any problem sharing it with a relative stranger.

Ultimately, Charlotte dismissed the embarrassment she faced to muster the politeness she knew was warranted when meeting someone. She stood from the table to shake Church's hand, marking their official meeting.

"My name is Charlotte Dunois. It's a pleasure to meet you, Church. You're the one who saved Rin earlier today, oui? Merci beaucoup!"

Church wasn't fluent in French, but thankfully he was at least knowledgeable enough about the basic words. Besides, he wouldn't complain: her accent was very charming. He shook her hand gently but firmly, unable to ignore an errant thought about how soft it was.

"The pleasure's mine. I'm just glad I was able to help your friend, please think nothing of it."

The French blonde's smile was as charming as everything else she had to offer on the surface. "Well, I don't think I'll be able to do that, but if you prefer to be humble, I'll let it slide."

Having shaken his hand, Charlotte sat back down, prompting Ichika to scoot over and make some extra space. "Are you waiting for food? You should sit with us, it'll probably be ten minutes or more at the least."

Church inwardly acknowledged his good fortune: on his first day, he'd made moderate acquaintance with just about everyone he needed to in order to facilitate a long-term infiltration. Well, everyone except Houki, but it may have actually been better this way. If he only got close to her by proxy with her friends, there would be even less suspicion on him, at least in regards to pursuing Akatsubaki.

"Don't mind if I do. Thanks for the invitation."

Taking a seat at the table with the two hosts, Church made himself comfortable. Thing was, this situation was deceptively casual on his end. It was a given that his hosts here would ask him questions about his background and his story for being here. And while he was a pretty good liar for the parts that needed to be lied about, the more he had to do that, the harder it would be to keep up with all of it.

Operator, you needn't worry about that. I can keep track of all deceptions that you use. I can even offer some valid excuses if you like.

The latter won't be necessary, but please go through with that first one.

Church wasn't able to keep up that mental conversation for much longer, since he had to interact with the people at hand. Long silences tended to arouse suspicions.

"So, eating at irregular times was your idea, Charlotte? Is it unbearably busy during regular meal times?"

The sheepish look on the girl's face said that this wasn't really the case. "Well, busier than now, of course... but..."

Seeing that the girl wasn't going to finish her sentiment, Ichika decided to do it for her, either not caring or not understanding that she was deliberately being vague.

"You said you wanted us to have a chance to eat without any of the others, remember? By the way, you never said why: are you fighting with them or something?"

Church switched his focus between the two as he witnessed an expression from Charlotte that made it pretty clear she was amazed by his statement. Maybe disbelief was a more accurate emotion. Ichika didn't seem to pick up on it.

"Non, Ichika... just wanted us to have some time to ourselves. Close friends should be able to spend time alone every once in awhile, right?"

"I suppose, but isn't it even better when everyone can spend time together?"

Church cocked an eyebrow as he saw one on Charlotte's face twitch, even though her smile never fell. It was that 'I'm smiling, but thinking concerning thoughts' kind of expression that any sane man should have been able to recognize on a woman's face. By the nonchalant way Ichika continued to eat his food, he clearly was not among that number.

Despite being pretty unfamiliar with Ichika as a person, Church felt compelled to help him out somehow. He was watching another man drown, after all. "Well, sometimes a little time alone with a special person is welcome too. Speaking of which, I'd hate to intrude..."

Seemingly a little sharper than Ichika, Charlotte was quick to dismiss this notion. "Oh no, it's fine! You're new here, it would be very rude to leave you out in the cold, per se. Of course..."

The sheepish smile returned to her face again as the blonde scratched the back of her head. "I'll admit, I'm also interested in learning about your suit, if that's alright. I love machines, and yours is very unique! Oh, but I understand if you're not allowed to share..."

Frankly, Church was amazed that Ichika had invited him to the table at this point. He'd been alone with a beautiful, polite girl with a lovely accent and even a cute fascination with war machines. Who would willingly want to ruin that situation? Not to mention, this girl was supposedly head over heels for him. Man, what was this guy doing with his life?

"Well, honestly I probably don't know that much about the specific workings of the suit. I just fly it, you know? But uh, I could probably tell you a few things, if you'd like."

This response put a beaming smile on the girl's face in a mere moment. She seemed remarkably excited about this. "Oh, merci! Are the weapons built in, or is there a Hyperspace Arsenal like with I.S.? On that note, does it require an Equalizer? I assume it doesn't use a core like I.S., so what is the power source? Oh, what's the armor rating on a suit that can fit the human body? Are the shields kinetic or-"

Utterly swamped by all these questions, Church had no chance to answer of them. Surprisingly, Ichika did actually pick up on his distress, returning the favor from earlier and coming to his rescue.

"Easy, Charl, that's all really confusing stuff! Besides, won't all that be made obvious during all the mock battles? Sparring is part of why you're here, right, Church?"

"Yeah, in a manner of speaking. Mock combat is the best way to show off what weapons can do, after all."

Ichika seemed pleased by this notion, for reasons he was quick to extrapolate on. "Great! I haven't been able to have a fight man-to-man since I got here. I'm looking forward to it."

Church refrained from mentioning how silly that notion was: the whole 'man-to-man' thing kind of went out the window when gender roles in combat were equalized. Heck, even before Infinite Stratos came around, it's wasn't like man or woman mattered that much, outside of infantry. By the brief look of malcontent Charlotte shot the boy, she clearly found the notion a little upsetting herself. Still, that expression was replaced with a smile soon enough.

"Well, Ichika has a point, that is a lot of questions at one time. If you don't mind my asking though, which company was the manufacturer? I know it was tough for I.S. manufacturers in America, after the... incident."

Church was about to give the same excuse that he had to Bodewig, that being that he wasn't at liberty to say, but Cerberus stopped him short.

Operator, as far as our deceptions go, it would probably be best to offer some actual information, false though it may be. Never answering anything is more suspicious than false answers that sound believable.

Figuring that Cerberus had a point, Church swiftly concocted a believable sounding answer to Charlotte's question. Thankfully, he was quite quick on his feet when it came to things like this.

"I'm just the pilot, so I don't know all the ins and outs, but some of the engineers I worked with told me that many of the components were manufactured by G and K."

With clear recognition in her eyes, it was obvious that this answer didn't raise any suspicions with Charlotte and her knowledge of the I.S. manufacturing world.

"Griffin and Kryuger, hm? I'm not surprised they held on even after what happened with the Silver Gospel, with their stock values and experience."

Considering that Church didn't actually know that much about I.S manufacturing companies other than some of their names, he didn't want to start a deep conversation about them with a girl that clearly knew far more than he.

"Well, I wouldn't really know much about that. Like I said, they really only taught me how to use the thing."

Charlotte looked like she wanted to ask who 'they' was, but an automated notification from the cafeteria's intercom cut her short. "Number 7, your order is ready."

Glancing at the counter in the distance to see the food he had ordered, Church decided now was as good a time as any to split. "That would be me. I know you two would probably be polite enough to invite me back to the table, but I think I've infringed on your date long enough. I'll see you two later."

Contrary to what he had expected, there was no immediate denial of a date or anything. Ichika looked a little sheepish, while Charlotte smiled, clearly happy by the insinuation. Ultimately, Ichika simply answered his other implication.

"Yeah, see you around. Don't be a stranger."

With that, Church left the table, offering a wave back to one that Charlotte offered for him. Then, he turned his attention towards a brief exchange with Cerberus.

They took the implication of dating remarkably well. I would have expected a bit more... I don't know, irrepressible embarrassment? That type of thing where someone denies something way too strongly because it's close to the truth they want?

My knowledge of human relations is quite limited, but perhaps they took it well because it is the truth?

Church glanced back over his shoulder at the two in question, watching as Charlotte tried to feed Ichika something from her plate.

Ichika did say that eating alone at an irregular time was her idea... still, would none of the other girls after him pick up on that?

Operator, if you don't mind my asking, is this really any of your concern?

Turning his attention back to the counter where his food was waiting, Church mentally shrugged as he prepared to eat dinner at the end of his first day of infiltration at the IS Academy.

No, I guess it really isn't.

Chapter Text

Church's first night at the IS Academy wasn't too bad: sure, he ended up sleeping in a repurposed storage room, but oddly enough, the accommodations besides that were actually quite nice. The bed and the pillows were extremely soft and comfortable, so they had at least provided him with beds that were the same standard as the ones the students got to sleep on. Like Tatenashi had told him, trips to the bathroom this high up in the tower didn't involve any run-ins with girls, so that was nice.

Frankly, Church couldn't help but wonder how much money actually went into the Academy. He was sure that no expense was spared, especially since Japan wasn't hurting for funding anyway. Technically, the Japanese government was solely responsible for funding this highly advanced institution, but in reality, they received all sorts of money from international sponsors. After all, this was the only legal place in the world to train Infinite Stratos pilots, with the exception of military pilots. Every country with IS of their own wanted the Academy to be the best it could be.

Thankfully, sleeping hadn't been too much of a problem: Church had been worried about sleeping with a sentient AI in his head, but Cerberus stayed quiet while he rested, apparently well aware that humans needed sleep to operate at peak efficiency. That said, anxiety over the mission had kept Church up for a little while, but ultimately, he had fallen asleep at a good time.

That all led to this moment right now, in which he was sleeping soundly on his new bed at some early hour of the morning. Unfortunately, that moment didn't get to last very long, as an insistent knocking made itself known on his door.

While he wasn't a light sleeper, the knocking was loud and consistent enough to awaken the American agent. Bleary eyed, he rose from his bed and glanced around, only realizing after he was met with complete darkness that he couldn't possibly glean what time it was by doing so. He didn't have a window or an alarm clock, after all.

Ugh... Cerberus, time?

If Church's long absence from the waking world had bothered the AI in any way, it didn't show. Church didn't really want to know what Cerberus did while he was sleeping.

Approximately 0657 hours, Operator.

Church scowled as he acknowledged this information and fumbled towards the door in the darkness. Honestly, he was perfectly used to waking up at this time since Umbra Stratum was a military outfit of sorts, but he was kind of hoping this wouldn't be necessary here at the IS Academy.

Wiping the scowl off of his face before opening his door so whoever was on the other side wouldn't get the wrong idea, Church was forced to blink several times as the light of the hallway brutally slaughtered his night vision. When he finally cleared that up, the person he found across from him was none other than Tatenashi, that usual easygoing smile on her face.

"Gooood morning~! Sleep well, esteemed guest?"

Church ignored the somewhat mocking tone. Tatenashi was clearly aware that he would have rather been sleeping longer. Still, he knew how to keep up that friendly pretense just as well.

"Pretty well, considering that it's a storage room. Softest bed I've ever slept on. But no offense, why are you here so early?"

Tatenashi didn't seem at all bothered by his question or the early hour of the morning.

"Well, you've got official business here, don't you? No point in waiting around."

"Still, at seven in the morning?"

"Ms. Orimura is very busy most days, and these early morning hours are some of the only time she has available. So, this is when you have to report in."

With that, Tatenashi wagged a finger to indicate that Church should follow her, prompting him to do so. He'd slept in his clothes from the day before, so there was no need to change. In hindsight, that was going to be a problem soon: he hadn't actually brought any other clothes for this trip, in the rush to leave the Umbra Stratum base in Nevada. Heck, now that the thought of changing clothes was brought up, it also occurred to him that showering was a problem in his future.

He was housed in a storage room, after all. And while there were bathrooms on this floor he could access, they didn't have showers. So what was he going to do about that? Maybe that was something he would have to mention, embarrassing though it may have been. For now though, he decided to stay focused on the situation at hand.

"I thought Ms. Orimura was a teacher. Why is her schedule relevant to technical data exchange or anything else about my visit? Not that I'm complaining."

Tatenashi cocked an eyebrow at him as she led him to an elevator, perhaps questioning the latter half of his statement. Ultimately, she didn't comment on that.

"She does teach the first-years, but she's actually in charge, you know. She's the Academy's administrator: has to make sure the whole school runs efficiently. Unfortunately, that also means she has to directly oversee abnormal operations like this. She takes on a lot of the workload around here."

Honestly, Church found this notion kind of surprising.

"That seems odd. With how much money goes into this school, you'd think there would be too much staff, not too little."

"Well, the problem with that is how new Infinite Stratos is. The whole field of study and science is barely a decade old. That being the case, there aren't actually that many experts and experienced people to hire for things like this, especially since companies and organizations all over the world are competing for people in the field. You'd be surprised how much each staff member really has to do around here."

As the duo made it down several floors in record speed, Church nodded to himself.

"Guess I never considered it like that before. As far as technology goes Infinite Stratos is extremely young, so it makes sense that there hasn't even been enough time to train and teach a lot of experts yet. Too much demand, not enough supply."

The elevator door opened as the two of them reached the fifth floor, and Tatenashi led him away from it and down the halls.

"That's one way to put it. Truth is, Ms. Orimura is a highly sought-after individual. Every I.S. company and organization in the world wants her. I heard she even served with the German military for a time. I wonder if she's working in Japan now for some sense of national pride, or if they're just paying her exorbitant amounts of money...?"

"If they were paying her so much, wouldn't she be able to quit and live pretty comfortably relatively soon?"

His cyan-haired guide looked thoughtfully up to the ceiling, honestly considering Church's point.

"Hm, guess you're right about that. Honestly, she probably just wants to be close to her brother. She'll never admit it, but she probably missed him during her time in Germany, not to mention that whole 'sacrificing a victory at the world's most prestigious tournament for her brother' thing. She gives me tsundere sister vibes, if you catch my drift. Seriously, don't you dare tell her I said any of that."

Church kept quiet as he considered that assessment from someone who surely knew more about Chifuyu Orimura than he did, to some extent at least. He supposed he could envision it: the woman obviously gave off some very tough vibes, but maybe it was just her keeping up a strong front. While Church was decently far removed from the female centric world of Infinite Stratos, even he knew that Chifuyu Orimura was a figure of great respect and adoration. Being a hero to girls everywhere and a prestigious figure for any I.S. related organization in the world, she probably had a difficult image to maintain.

Well, maybe that was just conjecture. He wasn't going to presume anything about the woman until he had more to go on.

Church continued to follow his guide down the hall, the two of them going silent as the topic of their conversation came to a halt. They didn't really get a chance to pick something different to talk about though, because after they turned the next corner in their path, the duo encountered a handful of other people that were up this early.

Two girls were talking to each other in the hall. One was kind of nondescript, but the other had sleeves half a foot too long for her arms and some oddly Pikachu-looking hairpins. That girl noticed both him and Tatenashi in the middle of her conversation about an afternoon nap or something.

"Oh, heey~! Prez, what's this? Are you hitting on the new boy already? No fair!"

Tatenashi smiled at the girl, though from Church's point of view, it looked like the kind that was intended to hide a grimace.

"Hardly, Honne. No offense to our friend here, but he's not my type."

Church wasn't particularly upset about that, but he felt the need to comment on it anyway.

"Tell me how you really feel, why don't you?"

The girl named Honne focused her gaze on him for a moment, while her previous conversation partner eyed the whole encounter from further back in the hall.

"Shame. It's already hard enough to get near Orimu without you around, Prez! Are you sure he's not your type? New guy, do you have a girlfriend? Prez would probably make a pretty good girlfriend!"

Perhaps growing a little irritated with the line of questioning, Tatenashi moved to shut it down and get back to her business.

"Honne, quit playing matchmaker for our guest, he's not like Ichika: he has to conduct himself in a professional manner as an agent of his own country, so he can't do anything scandalous while he's here. Don't make me tell Utsuho that you've been misbehaving."

Whoever this Utsuho was, the threat of her being informed of things seemed to work on Honne.

"Aw, that's so mean! Sis doesn't need to know anything about this, I'll behave!"

"Good, then the two of you need to shoo! We've got important places to be and things to do. Miss Orimura will also be very upset if she finds out you stopped us from getting to work."

Mention of the elder Orimura sibling put a note of fear into both girls' faces. Even the one hanging in the back found it in her to speak up.

"Y-y'know, maybe we should get going, Honne. How about breakfast? We're already up early anyway!"

Honne made a pouting face, but ultimately relented in her quest to apparently push Church onto Tatenashi, or vice versa. With a wave, she jogged back to her friend, and the two of them walked away down the hall to escape Tatenashi's ire. Church cocked an eyebrow as he watched them leave, wondering why anyone would be up this early if they didn't have to be. He supposed some people were just early risers.

"Man, competition over Ichika is even more fierce than I expected."

Motioning for him to follow her, Tatenashi shared how she felt about that statement.

"Well yeah: if you're a straight girl, there's not really anyone else to like around here, so it goes without saying that a lot of hormone driven teenagers are fighting for his attention behind the scenes. Not to say he isn't a great person too, of course. Even if he was the only boy around, if he were a jerk to everyone he'd be hated. Besides, there's really not that many girls seriously pursuing him. For most of the student body, it's kind of just... obligatory? Woman's pride, or something like that."

"And are you one of the few seriously pursuing him?"

That question actually put a look of consternation on the girl's face as she continued walking.

"That's... complicated. I wanna say yes, but... well, for now I just like making him blush. He's so naive and pure, it's a hoot!"

Church got the feeling that was obvious evasion, but didn't press her. After all, it wasn't really much of his business, even if he was curious just how convoluted the romantic conflict surrounding Ichika Orimura was. Honestly, the more he learned about the boy's situation, the less enviable it really seemed to be.

The duo didn't get a chance to pick up much more of a conversation, mostly due to the fact that their journey didn't have much longer to go. Within another minute of walking or so, they reached a door that was labelled 'Research and Development 2-13.' Tatenashi wasted no time in opening it, which revealed a large chamber with all sorts of mechanical equipment within: large arms that were obviously meant to move heavy gear, benches with tools scattered about, harnesses that probably held I.S. during maintenance... these types of rooms must have been the main place I.S. arsenal development took place, though the name of the room made that obvious.

Tatenashi led him inside, allowing Church to see that it really was a very large room once he was past the door frame. Probably a thousand square feet, at the least. Stepping into the room also revealed that it wasn't just him and Tatenashi there, though he had been expecting one of the occupants. Chifuyu Orimura, professional looking as ever, was sitting at a desk near some equipment, her focus on a computer that rested atop it. The other person present, however, was more of a surprise.

At a different bench was a girl tinkering on some sort of small robotic part that looked remarkably similar to Tatenashi: the same shade of cyan hair, the same crimson eyes. Other than the glasses and the attire, Church almost would have called her a twin.

Speaking of Tatenashi, she wasted no time in announcing their presence.

"Good morning, fellow early birds! I've brought our prey!"

The girl that looked like Tatenashi took her attention off of what she was doing, but Chifuyu kept her focus right where it had been, seemingly unperturbed by the loud entrance. She scarcely missed a beat.

"But not your prey, Sarashiki. Need I remind you that your only job here was to guide our guest? You can return to your normal duties now."

For Church's part, he couldn't ignore the fact that the elder Orimura had gone along with defining him as prey. Tatenashi didn't seem to mind the attempt to shut her down.

"Aw, Sensei! I scarcely ever get to spend time with my little sister, and there are other people on the student council, you know? Let them take care of things!"

The revelation that the other girl with the glasses was Tatenashi's sister did not come as any surprise. Church had honestly pegged her as some sort of relative right away. Kind of hard not to. Ironically, that sister didn't seem too pleased with the whole situation, pointedly turning her attention back to what she was doing before.

"Sensei probably thinks you're just too loud, Tatenashi. We have actual work to do this morning."

The elder sister of this duo donned a feigned expression of hurt.

"Kanzashi, always so cold and distant! Is Ichika the only one you're willing to show your dere side to? I'm your sister, but all I ever get is tsun!"

This all got Kanzashi to pay attention again, though it involved a lot more blushing than before.

"T-this has nothing to do with Ichika! It's just that you're annoying, Tatenashi!"

The girl accused of being annoying simply laughed it off, though the brief exchange did give Church some more insight into something Tatenashi had said earlier, that her romantic feelings for Ichika were 'complicated.' If her sister also loved the same guy, Church could see how that was a conflict of interests. Must have been tough, to have to restrain yourself in such a way for a loved one.

Operator, must we dwell on such frivolous things?

Contrary to how things must work for a computer, real life is full of inefficiencies, Cerberus.

Tragically...

With no one else privy to that conversation, Chifuyu was soon trying to get things back on track. She apparently had a pretty busy schedule, according to her role here at the school.

"Tatenashi, go back to your regular business. Don't think you can defy me just because you're the student council president."

This statement was punctuated by a glare that left no room for disagreement, even from someone like Tatenashi. That said, the girl still kept up her usual demeanor as she prepared to make an exit.

"Alright, alright! See you later, little sis. Let me know if you learn anything cool!"

The younger sister merely sighed as her elder sibling left the room, closing the door behind her. Church had to wonder if they were actually close, or if it was a weird one-sided thing. More importantly though, mention of Kanzashi learning anything of import raised a point that he had to address.

"Um, I don't mean to offend anyone, but any detailed information about my suit is..."

Picking up on his meaning without any trouble, Chifuyu allayed his fears immediately.

"Don't worry. Kanzashi is only here to help with some of the technical parts as part of some extra credit she's doing. She won't be privy to any detailed information that is gathered from these tests."

From her bench, the girl in question commented on this as well.

"T-trust me, I'm a little too busy tweaking my own I.S. to worry about an entirely different machine. Though I'll admit I am intrigued..."

From within his mind, Cerberus also felt the need to comment on this situation.

It's irrelevant anyway, Operator. I will falsify all viable data that is acquired through these tests. Nothing of actual value will be given to our hosts.

Frankly, Church found it hard to believe that it would be as easy as all that.

The Commander didn't say anything about falsifying that kind of information, though I guess it makes sense... but will other people really be fooled by falsified data? What if they catch on?

Cerberus didn't seem worried about this at all.

Leave that to me, Operator. Nothing of import will be compromised.

Rather than get into a lengthy mental discussion about that since he was in the presence of other people, Church decided to just accept that for what it was. Who was he to question the artificial intelligence?

"Well, good enough for me. How are we going to go about these tests?"

Since Chifuyu was the one in charge, she was the one who answered that question.

"For today, we'll probably just focus on the most basic details. While I'd like to just get everything out of the way in one day, I don't have the free time on any day of the week to dedicate that much time, so we'll have to do this in increments when the opportunities arise. I hope that's not a problem for you?"

While he had to admit that he found Chifuyu Orimura a little intimidating, Church couldn't deny that the idea of spending a few hours every morning with a woman as obscenely beautiful as her sat pretty well with him. At the very least, he didn't have any problem with it.

"Well, I won't complain with you in charge."

Chifuyu cocked an eyebrow at him, though it wasn't clear if that was because she was confused or surprised. Ultimately, she turned her attention to Kanzashi again. Now that her older sister was gone, the teacher was sure to address her by last name.

"Sarashiki, you can head to the booth now. We'll begin right away."

Church watched as the girl in question nodded and began moving towards an enclosed booth of some sort in the far corner of the large room. He could only assume that some important things would be done from that booth, though it would have to be done by radio or something, considering the distance and the fact that walls would be between them.

Once Kanzashi made it to her destination and got herself situated in it, she started messing around with some of the controls available to her in the booth. Soon enough, she leaned towards a microphone, and her voice came over some speakers.

"Cameras are green, Sensei. Ready to visually record the testing. Preemptive diagnostics on other equipment appears green as well, but that can't be confirmed until we've actually begun."

Chifuyu donned some sort of headset that had been sitting at her desk already, though it only covered one ear.

"Thank you, Sarashiki. So, Church: are you ready to begin?"

"Just tell me what you'd like me to do."

"Well, we should probably start with actually manifesting your suit for testing."

Since she had a fair point there, Church wasted no time in doing as he was asked. In a moment, he was covered in pale blue light, something that always forced him to close his eyes. Another moment after that, and he was opening his eyes to the altered and technologically advanced view of a HUD, thanks to the fact that his suit had finished manifesting over him. Chifuyu commented on the process as soon as it was finished.

"That process appeared to be remarkably similar to an Infinite Stratos activation."

"It's my understanding that the process is either very similar or exactly identical."

His older observer typed some things on the computer she was using as she inquired further.

"The data is stored in cyberspace somewhere, then manifested via Instant Corporeal Transmission, right?"

While Church heard what was said, it didn't make any sense to him at all.

"Uh..."

Yes Operator, that is the way the Exeter suit, and indeed all materials produced from a Hyperspace Arsenal, work. You should really know these things.

You know, pilots of aircraft don't exactly learn all the nuts and bolts of the things they fly. It's my job to fly the thing, not fix it!

Ultimately, he decided to save face and simply agree with what Chifuyu had said.

"Yeah, it's Instant Corporeal Transmission. Guess there's no need to fix what isn't broken, right?"

Apparently, Chifuyu agreed. Or at the least, she didn't seem to care too terribly much, since she shrugged.

"It's not like Infinite Stratos technology is licensed on a general scale. You can't license the concept of ICT anymore than a combustion engine. On that note, I don't see any weapons: I assume those are also manifested via ICT on command?"

Since Cerberus didn't say that he couldn't, Church went ahead and answered that.

"The suit does have a few built-in weapons that can't be removed, but yes: there's a lot of other weapons that I can summon on command via ICT."

"I see. Any other similarities with I.S. that I can go ahead and write off as identical? Makes reports a lot less tedious."

"Well, there's vague similarities: you know, energy shields, electric-rocket hybrid engines, stuff like that. But I don't know if those things are identical to Infinite Stratos."

Chifuyu typed out some more things on the computer she was using. She wouldn't admit it, but she was actually quite curious about a lot of the technical aspects of this unique air vehicle. She wasn't an engineer or anything, but she had professional interest at the least.

"I have to ask, seeing how different your suit is to a powered mech like Infinite Stratos: can it operate independently? Do you have to be inside of it?"

Instead of immediately answering that question, Church simply decided to demonstrate as he allowed the front of the suit to open up so he could step out of it. The back wasn't feasible, what with the engines and whatnot back there.

"No, I actually don't."

Before he could comment any further, Cerberus spoke up inside of Church's head.

Operator, do not say anything about my existence or imply that the suit can operate at full capacity without you. Say that its autonomous operation is limited.

Instead of answering Cerberus, Church simply kept that in mind as he continued.

"It can't fight effectively or operate without me like it would with me, but the suit can autonomously follow simple commands."

Chifuyu didn't seem to find any of this too surprising. Of course, she'd dealt with a number of autonomous machines lately, so that probably made a fair deal of sense.

"Well then, you may as well take a seat: you don't need to be inside of the suit for any of our tests today. Unless you really want to, for whatever reason."

Church didn't see any reason to get back within the suit, so instead, he glanced around the room to try and find somewhere to sit. Thing was, there was only one option, that being another chair that was near the desk Chifuyu Orimura was sitting at. The idea of taking that seat intimidated him for a moment, but then again, she had insisted that he take a seat, and that was the only one available, right?

With that in mind, he did exactly that, though he was sure to keep a decent gap between himself and the woman in the room with him. He didn't want to come across as too presumptuous or comfortable. Apparently, he did a decent enough job of accomplishing that, because Chifuyu didn't seem that bothered by his actions. She just kept on going with the testing.

"Could you have your suit move towards that diagnostic setup on the wall?"

Church simply motioned towards the location Chifuyu had indicated, and Exeter stalked over to it in a distinctly robotic manner that was nowhere near as fluid as when he was in control. Chifuyu questioned his lack of verbal direction.

"Mental commands?"

"There's uh, a neural link. Infinite Stratos has that too, right? Sorry, didn't occur to me when you asked for similarities."

Chifuyu didn't seem bothered by the oversight. She was swiftly addressing Kanzashi over the comms once Exeter was positioned within a metal frame and some mechanical arms that had all sorts of gadgets and tools.

"It's fine. Sarashiki, please attach the sensor nodes on arms two and four."

The girl in the tech booth answered back in a moment, her focus on whatever she had to do in order to achieve that.

"Of course, Sensei. It'll just be a moment or two."

Church watched as the mechanical arms around his suit began to move, with two of them attaching some sort of nodes to the shoulders of the suit. He assumed this would provide his Academy companions with readings of some sort, but what those readings may have been, he had no idea. He did notice Chifuyu doing a bit more clacking on her computer for a moment, though that didn't tell him much. If he had to hazard a guess, the gathered information would be the basics.

That said, he couldn't help but wonder what could be falsified about things like that. Moreover, would lying about basic data matter anyway? Church supposed he was better off just leaving it to Cerberus.

His thoughts didn't remain undisturbed for long, thanks to a comment from the older woman at his side.

"The shield strength for such a small machine is remarkably high."

Figuring she wouldn't have spoken aloud unless she wanted some sort of response about it, Church offered one up.

"Well, a smaller machine means less surface area for a shield to cover, so I'm sure that helps. It also doesn't require the same degree of engine power that an I.S. does, so there's less power draw there as well. Not to mention that there's no non-vital sections, since it's a suit and not a mech. Protection is pretty important."

Chifuyu didn't glance his way during any of this, keeping her focus on whatever she was recording.

"And yet, the armor rating is quite low. Though I suppose that's unavoidable: there's only so much mass you can attach to a flying machine of this size."

Saying that, Chifuyu finished typing and leaned back in her chair, folding her arms as she did so.

"Well, at this point there's little to do but wait. A full technical readout will take some time to compile. I suppose it depends on how much data there actually is, but I'd say an hour at least. Seeing as how you don't have to be in your suit for this, I suppose there's no reason you have to stay here in that time frame."

Ordinarily Church would have been happy to hear that, but considering the circumstances, that wasn't quite the case right this second. For one, he didn't want to leave the Exeter suit just lying around, regardless of whether or not he trusted these people. It was just bad practice. Secondly, he didn't really have anything to do as an alternative, as he assumed everyone that he could have interacted with to further his objectives were sleeping.

That being said, on a purely superficial level he certainly had no qualms with staying here with someone like Chifuyu. She was decidedly out of his league, but that didn't mean he couldn't take what he could get. There were probably thousands of men and women alike that would kill to be in his position.

"I don't mind waiting around. There's companionship in mutual suffering, right?"

At this, Chifuyu actually gave him a curious glance, but nothing more than that. Perhaps she hadn't expected him to take her up on waiting around here.

"I suppose so. Though I'm used to being up this early, so I believe the suffering is mostly yours. This is technically work, but at least it's a break from the banshees I call students."

Church himself was a little surprised that the woman would be so frank with him, but maybe she felt that it didn't matter, seeing as how he wasn't a student himself. Then again, maybe she would say these kinds of things to her students as well.

"Do you always have to be up this early? Tatenashi implied that it isn't unusual, at the very least. According to her, you have to do a lot of work around here for a single person."

Mention of work and her schedule put a frown on Chifuyu's face, though it was obvious that it wasn't for him as much as it was for the topic.

"Unfortunately. Yamada tries her best to carry some of the load, but the truth is, there's too many roles and not nearly enough people to fulfill them. Everyone in this institution does more than would be expected of them anywhere else. I just happen to have the most experience with I.S., so I get saddled with most of the hassle."

"Yeah, Tatenashi mentioned that too. Guess that's what happens when you're the first expert on an infant technology. That said, I don't think the situation is helped by gender locking the field. Seems to me like restricting who can be taught and hired for all of these jobs to females is making things arbitrarily more difficult than it needs to be."

The look on Chifuyu's face made it obvious that she was intrigued by his statement, maybe because she hadn't expected him to speak on something like this, considering his age, gender and occupation. Their acquaintance was very fresh, but this was a good indicator of the type of person he was, at least as far as his thought processes went. The theorist: a type of person who didn't mind discussing any sort of hypothetical, even if it had little or no relevance to themselves or their lives.

Admittedly, Chifuyu kind of liked that. She spent most of her time surrounded by teenage girls, most of which didn't think about much other than proving how great a pilot they were or how to get Ichika to notice them. Not that they were all like that, but 'deep thinker' wasn't how she would describe most of her students. It was nice to have someone who might have been a bit more of an intellectual to talk to, even if they were a teenager as well.

"Ordinary men can't pilot an I.S., so I don't think they'd be qualified in any way to teach others how to fly them, do you?"

"Well no, but there's plenty of jobs that could be done by a man. Teaching theory, maintenance, any of the non-I.S. related subjects that are taught here, considering that this institution still has to adhere to academic standards... heck, what you're doing here right now could be done by a man, then maybe you could get an extra hour or two of rest."

Frankly, Chifuyu couldn't deny that. He wasn't wrong, after all.

"I suppose that's fair. Although, being an all girls school, I can imagine that many students are more comfortable with female staff. That said, I won't say you're wrong: it's mostly arrogance and bigotry standing in the way of co-ed expertise in the field."

Church knew what she was talking about to a degree. The introduction of a superweapon that could only be used by women had done some serious damage to the overall balance of power between genders in the world. Not that it had been terribly fair in the first place.

"It hasn't affected me much all things considered, but I get what you mean: there's been a lot of elitism going around the world ever since Infinite Stratos debuted. Always felt unwarranted to me, but I'm kind of surprised you feel that way. Not to speak for you, but you're like, one of the first pilots to demonstrate how powerful an I.S. really is. And it's my understanding that you're one of the best pilots to date, so if you were equipped with an I.S., you could feasibly take on whole countries, albeit smaller ones. Doesn't that make you inherently superior to people who can't do that?"

Once again, Chifuyu was impressed with the level of thought put into this conversation. This really was a nice change of pace, and no one had really asked her this question before. She'd expected this whole encounter to be awkward and tense, but instead they were having a stimulating and meaningful conversation. She had to give Church kudos for managing that, especially since most people were intimidated by her whether she meant to do that to them or not. She'd been less than enthused with having to spend her early morning hours doing this before, but honestly, this wasn't so bad.

"Possessing a tool that someone else lacks does not make me inherently superior to them. It simply means I have a tool. In the case of a weapon like an I.S., that tool makes it easier for me to defeat other people, but the tool is doing the work, not me. If I have a sword and someone else doesn't, I could kill them, but it doesn't make me better than them. It just means I have a sword, and they do not."

For a moment, the look on Chifuyu's face grew notably displeased. Maybe this was something she had actually thought about more than once.

"The problem with many women today is that they feel superior to men not because they have swords, but simply because other women have them. Women who will never pilot an I.S., women who will never even see an I.S., consider themselves objectively superior to men just because they have the theoretical potential to pilot one, while men do not. It is truly asinine."

Needless to say, Church hadn't expected this kind of sentiment from the woman he was talking to. After all, she was a major face in the world of Infinite Stratos. Then again, she was speaking ill of people, not the machines themselves.

"That's a good point: kind of like feeling superior to others because someone in your demographic is a pro athlete, even though you'll never be one. I guess it's actually even more ridiculous with I.S. though. Aren't there only like, four hundred IS cores in the world or something?"

"Four hundred and sixty-seven, actually. In truth, there is almost no profession as narrow and elite as that of Infinite Stratos pilot: four hundred and sixty seven cores, to be distributed among nearly four billion women, and that does not even take into consideration that roughly a hundred cores belong to the Academy for training units. Then, you have to consider that no one is going to take on an older pilot that only has a few years of performance left in them, and that potential pilots already need to be in the upper echelon of intelligence and aptitude. They can't be physically deficient or ill either. Finally, there's the fact not all nations even have I.S., and thus have very poor representation in the field."

For a moment, Chifuyu glanced at the booth where Kanzashi was working. The girl seemingly had no means of hearing anything outside unless Chifuyu used her headset.

"Ultimately, the chances of any one girl becoming an I.S. pilot is infinitesimal. Even the majority of the students here at the Academy will never become professional pilots and will never touch an I.S. again after they leave here. That being said, it's utterly ridiculous for any woman to harbor a superiority complex over men because of Infinite Stratos: just like those men, most of them will never be I.S. pilots."

Church was silent for a moment as he took all of that in. Most of this was something he technically already knew: basic math dictated that the odds of piloting an I.S. were very slim when the odds were four hundred and sixty seven to four billion, but he had never really taken the time to think about it. Like Chifuyu had just said, the profession of I.S. pilot was truly one of the most inaccessible in the whole world, even for women. It was no wonder it had also become one of the most prestigious and funded fields of profession of all time, even though it had existed in the world very briefly in the grand scheme of things.

This of course reminded him that he was sitting next to, and even chatting with, the absolute most elite and legendary member of that already extremely limited and prohibitive club. Speaking of odds, that was pretty amazing, wasn't it?

"Well, taking all of that into consideration, I guess I'm extremely lucky to be talking to you, aren't I? You're the absolute best of the best of this already super tiny group, after all."

Oddly enough, Chifuyu's expression soured rather than lifted. Church had pegged her for the type that didn't necessarily care for praise, but he hadn't expected an outright negative reaction. Still, she didn't seem to direct the ire at him, even if it seeped into her words nevertheless.

"Don't start with all of that, what I've enjoyed about this conversation thus far is that it doesn't remind me of my students in any way."

For the life of him, Church felt that there had to be a deeper-seated reason to feel that way than mere standoffish personality, but he wasn't going to pry in his first meaningful conversation with Chifuyu. No need to ruin the good thing he had going, which was why he took the last topic and used it to springboard into something else Tatenashi had brought up earlier.

"I'll take that as a compliment. But you know, considering that pilots are already rare and you're one of the most experienced alive today, do you even have to work here? Governments should have been paying you loads of money for your services, right? With the narrowness of the supply and the excessive demand, I'd imagine you could demand almost any salary."

Seemingly pleased by Church's intuition in turning the conversation elsewhere, Chifuyu scoffed.

"You're naive if you think the government won't find other ways to squeeze service out of citizens they deem useful. Not that they pay me poorly, but I'll hardly be retiring as a billionaire anytime soon. Besides, I don't do this job for money."

"Then why do you?"

For the briefest moment, there was an expression on the woman's face that indicated the answer was not something she wanted to share. But her response made that obvious enough anyway.

"Reasons."

Figuring that he was in no position to push his luck so soon with this woman, Church simply left it at that. He'd have to find other, less intrusive things to talk about for the remainder of their morning together. Thankfully, he was pretty good at that.

Chapter Text

Ultimately, most of Church's time with Chifuyu that morning was spent sitting at that desk with her, trying to find things to talk about that didn't annoy her. As the older woman had predicted, gathering a full technical readout of on paper stats for the Exeter suit had taken a great deal of time, and more than she had been expecting. That being the case, it was pretty much time for her to prepare for classes by the time that was finished, and any further testing was moot considering the short timetable.

When that was made obvious, Chifuyu had excused Kanzashi and recommended that Church consider the cafeteria for breakfast, though she did mention that he'd be better off waiting for another thirty minutes since classes hadn't quite started yet. The natural implication was that there would be far more girls in the cafeteria since they didn't have anywhere else to be yet.

Church had considered that issue, but ultimately, his hunger won out over reason. Besides, he had thus far gotten the impression that the girls in this school didn't find him as approachable as Ichika. Maybe it was his own personality, or maybe it was the fact that Tatenashi had scared off some of them and word had gotten around. Either way, Church didn't feel as though he would be in too much trouble going to eat now. He'd even passed a few students on his way to the cafeteria, and while they had all stared at him, none had attempted to actually speak to him.

Thus, he made it to the cafeteria with little incident. Upon entering the large room, he took stock of the type of presence he would have to deal with. It was a little less than half full, with the girls Church assumed were the procrastinators, or just wanted as much rest as possible before classes started. They definitely weren't the early riser types, to still be here. Unless they were socializing, that was.

Scanning the rest of the room, he spotted a few other people of interest. Dunois and her possible boyfriend Ichika were here as well, though the latter seemed like he wanted to be in bed still. Not necessarily wanting to attract their attention, Church swiftly took in the rest of the room with mildly heavy eyes, ignoring the many flirtatious or interested looks he was getting from different students, until he spotted the most dangerous living thing within a hundred miles of his current position.

Laura Bodewig, someone he hadn't expected to see since he would have pegged her as an early riser that would have eaten breakfast by now, sat at a table on the opposite side of the room. She was currently leveling a very pointed glare at Church that could have probably incinerated his soul if it remained on him for too long. Why she was sitting by herself instead of with Ichika was beyond his concern at the moment, but if he took the time to analyze the situation, Church probably would have noticed that she seemed irritable about the situation between said boy and Charlotte.

Ignorant of any of that, Church quickly looked around the rest of the room for any means of salvation from a painful and grisly death that was certainly not an imaginary exaggeration in his head, but there weren't too many options. Any empty tables would require more than a dozen steps to reach, and the ex-soldier could totally intercept him in that time. With few options to begin with, he noticed the top of a brown-haired girl's head in one of the booths to his left. Not caring what the stranger might think of it, Church sidled over to the table and sat down across from her, hoping that Bodewig would be less likely to murder him if he had someone else to witness the crime.

Before he even identified the girl he now shared this table with, Church glanced over at Bodewig to see if his plan had worked. Luckily, she didn't seem to be making any moves towards him, though she was still glaring and frowning pretty strongly.

Operator, I doubt she intends to actually harm you based off of your one previous encounter with her.

Well you know what Cerb, if there's one person I don't want to take even the slightest risk with, it's probably her. And Chifuyu. But definitely her next.

If Cerberus had any comment to make to that, it didn't get the chance to do it, since a different voice demanded Church's attention. Of course, it stood to reason that it was the girl at the table he had joined.

"Y'know, when you said you'd see me around, I didn't think you meant this soon."

Recognizing the voice of someone he had actually held a decent conversation with thus far, Church turned his attention to his new breakfast companion. Of course, he was also shocked to see her at all.

"Rinin? Should you be out of the infirmary? You can't possibly be fully recovered this soon."

The girl across from him, both her arms and her head wrapped in bandages (or in a sling, in the case of her more severely injured right arm), and covered in healing cuts and bruises, cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Oh really? Did you figure that out all by yourself?"

Church frowned at the vitriolic retort, though he supposed it was somewhat justified. "Hey, I'm just worried. Besides, I have a right to be confused, don't I? You are out of the infirmary, after all, and ridiculously soon at that."

Seeing that she was hardly in the right here, Rin sighed in defeat. "OK, that's fair... ugh, I just don't feel great. Sorry for taking it out on you."

Nodding knowingly, Church recalled what Cerberus had said yesterday about that medical substance Tabane had accidentally created. The AI had claimed that it accelerated the healing process, but was it really to this extent? Rin's injuries had been fairly serious: at least serious enough that no one would expect her to be walking around on her own in mere day.

"No hard feelings. But seriously, did you run away from the infirmary or something? There's no way the nurses let you out voluntarily with how many cracked and broken bones you have."

The Chinese girl leveled a displeased glare at him. "No, I didn't run away! I'm out with permission, thank you very much. Not that it was really my choice... the nurse said I was healthy enough to make a visit to the cafeteria on less painkillers than yesterday. You know, kind of like a test to see how well I'm recovering, I guess. She said my broken arm was really the only serious thing left as far as injuries are concerned. Still feel like crap though..."

Church looked at his table companion incredulously, mostly not believing that she could be so well off so soon. Even the most minor bone breaks often required at least four to six weeks to heal. The acceleration factor of Tabane's mysterious substance was downright astronomical. Well, he supposed he also had to take into consideration that one could actually move relatively normally before cracked bones healed completely, so maybe the healing acceleration factor was slightly less.

"Well, I suppose rapid acceleration of your body's natural healing means rapid acceleration of its energy consumption as well, right? It's no wonder you don't feel great..."

Rin wasted no time in agreeing with the assessment.

"Probably explains the unfortunate coincidence of Chifuyu coming across me while sitting upright in bed and complaining about how hungry I was. But hey, I was starving! I don't think I've ever been so hungry in my life!"

For the first time, Church noted the extremely full plate of food in front of Rin, though he also noticed that she hadn't actually touched it yet.

"I can see that. Did I catch you before you could get down to business?"

Coincidentally, a faint rumbling noise erupted from Rin's side of the table before she could answer him, prompting her to both blush and grimace. Following that, she glanced at her one free arm.

"To tell you the truth, even though I'm still on some painkillers, moving my arm around hurts enough to make it unpleasant. And with this much food, the amount of times I'd have to move my arm to and from the plate... ugh, I really want to eat, but I don't even know if I'll be able to really enjoy it..."

Feeling bad for her conundrum, Church looked around the cafeteria to see if anyone around could help Rin with it. Sure, she was supposedly out here to see how well she was doing, but even then, shouldn't a nurse have been around to supervise her? What if she wasn't doing well at all, and collapsed or something? What if there was some medical complication and she needed attention immediately?

Maybe the infirmary was close enough that a medical professional could get here quickly, but Church felt it was an unnecessary risk nevertheless. Regardless, he supposed it was best to just focus on the situation at hand instead of worrying about why it was at hand at all.

With that in mind, he turned back to face Rin, who was staring longingly at her food, but was unwilling to make the necessary motions to put any of it into her mouth. While he wouldn't say it out loud, the girl truly looked pathetic at the moment. Perhaps due to that, Church pushed past the sense of awkwardness that his intentions emanated and went all in with them. He had never expected to say something like this to another person, but this was a unique situation.

"Rinin, if it would really be too unpleasant for you to eat by yourself, I uh... don't mind feeding you."

Flustered by the suggestion for obvious reasons, Rin gave him a peculiar look that clearly expressed her surprise at the offer.

"That's... kinda weird, you know?"

Feeling a new surge of awkward energy thanks to Rin's reaction, Church wondered if he should just cut his losses and try to save face. But on the other hand, why did he have to do that? His intent was entirely pure and rooted in altruism. Rin wanted to eat, but also wanted to avoid needless pain and discomfort. Church was present, and had the capability to help her do that. He had no reason to apologize.

"It's only as weird as one makes it. If it would make you feel better, it can be an exchange of favors. I do this for you, but then you do something for me, so it's just fair trade for your benefit and mine."

Rin leaned back in her seat a bit as she cocked an eyebrow at his offer.

"And just what would you want in return from an infirm girl, huh?"

Glad to see that Rin's demeanor had gone from weirded out to honestly considering the offer, Church elaborated on that offer with confidence.

"I'd love to learn more about you and your culture, if you're alright with it. That'd be enough of a return favor in my books."

For some reason, the frank desire to learn more about both her and her culture made Rin a little happy, which prompted a small blush as she pretended to deliberate further. Truthfully, she had already inwardly accepted the idea Church had presented, but she was going to put on airs regardless.

"Well, I guess I can accept that... although, does a guy like you even know how to use chopsticks?"

Smiling at his success, Church gathered up the mentioned wooden utensils in his hands.

"Hey now, we do have Chinese food in America. I frequented Panda Express enough to develop some chopstick skills."

Hardly able to keep a straight face with a comment like that, Rin made some noise that was between a snicker and a snort.

"I'm going to pretend like that wasn't an insult to my whole country. I bet if you tried my sweet and sour pork, you'd never go back to that crap quality trash again."

Seeing an opportunity to dig his feet into this budding acquaintance level relationship, Church smiled at the girl across from him as charmingly as he could manage.

"I don't suppose that's an invitation...?"

While she was caught off guard by the question at first, Rin eventually smiled back. Was this how it felt to have a pleasant, lightly flirtatious conversation with a guy? Ichika was the only man she'd talked to in so long, she'd almost considered something like this as unattainable. Of course, she would have preferred for Ichika to pick up on this level of conversational skill, rather than getting it from a relative stranger. Maybe she could convince Church to give the target of her affections some pointers?

Still, at this exact moment, she wasn't having this conversation with Ichika. She couldn't ignore the present for some fantasizing about the future. Besides, while it may not have been coming from the man she loved, Rin was happy that anyone was taking an interest in her cooking and her culture, both of which were very important to her. That being the case, she certainly wasn't going to reject Church entirely just because he wasn't Ichika.

"Well... I guess I can take it into consideration. I'm not against the idea, but I have to finish vetting you first. I won't just cook for anyone, you know?"

Considering that he hadn't been able to talk at length with a girl around his age in some time considering his recent past, Church was immensely glad that the militant training with Umbra Stratum hadn't dulled his social skills. Sure, it technically wasn't relevant to the mission, but he was glad that he could get a cute girl to talk happily with him, never mind consider cooking for him. Of course, that second part may have been primarily due to the girl in question actually being a cook.

Wielding the chopsticks with some admittedly decent proficiency, Church grabbed some sort of sticky lump of what he believed was rice lying on green leaves. Unsure of what exact it was, he figured he may as well cash in on his favor now. It would be weird if they didn't talk while he was doing this anyway. He asked his first question as he reached across the table to offer the food to his companion.

"I'll do my best to impress. That aside, uh... what exactly is this thing I'm feeding you?"

As hungry as she was, Rin waited until she had taken her first bite before actually answering. On Church's side of things, he found himself rather struck with the way this girl's lips wrapped around the food he was offering her. He felt a little ashamed for being so easily flustered, but he had been unable to interact with too many women throughout the last few years, so perhaps his resilience would need time to develop back to a normal level. Most of the people at the Nevada Umbra Stratum base had been men, and the few women had been types like Strelka, who, while beautiful, had also been intimidating in one way or another.

Either way, Rin swallowed her food so she could answer the question Church had posed without being entirely rude.

"It's called Zongzi: people in the West sometimes call them rice dumplings. It's sticky rice with different fillings, cooked by steaming or boiling. That one was pork, it's a super popular choice in Jiaxing."

Offering her another such dumpling from the plate, Church waited until she swallowed again before asking for more elaboration on that front.

"Can I assume Jiaxing is your hometown? Or did you just spend a lot of time there?"

While a normal person may have hesitated to answer such a question for a variety of reasons, Rin didn't in the slightest. Perhaps that was because such questions were pretty normal to ask in a school with as much ethnic diversity as this one.

"Yeah, it's my hometown. Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. It's on the eastern coast."

Eager to keep the conversation going lest it come to an awkward standstill, Church wracked his brain for something relevant to the tangent they were on. Fortunately, he did actually know a little tidbit, though he couldn't recall where he had learned it.

"I've heard of the Zhejiang Province somewhere before. The provincial capital is Hangzhou, right?"

Cocking a surprised eyebrow at him, Rin actually seemed impressed by this piece of knowledge.

"I'm surprised you actually know about provincial capitals at all. That's not common knowledge for most westerners."

Since it was a roundabout form of praise, Church tried to shrug it off modestly. Truth be told, he'd done a lot of learning about foreign cultures throughout childhood and adolescence as a form of escapism from the hardships of his life. Being unhappy with the places and situations he'd lived in, learning about other amazing places around the world had often given him some small comfort.

"It's not too impressive. I've just done a lot of internet tourism, that's all."

Church was somewhat worried that Rin would look deeper into that statement, which would inevitably lead to uncomfortable topics the young man didn't actually want to talk about, but it didn't seem like his brunette companion picked up on any subtle meanings. Instead of even asking for any sort of elaboration, she simply asked an unrelated question of her own.

"Say, I didn't think about it before, but what are you even doing here right now? You could have avoided students altogether if you'd waited just a little longer."

Honestly, Church probably would have still been asleep if circumstances hadn't demanded his presence in the waking world, but he figured there was no need to tell Rin about the nitty gritty details of doing tech work with Chifuyu and Kanzashi.

"Well, I don't want to spend my whole time here not talking to anyone at all. This seemed like a good time to avoid a crowd, but still find a charming lady friend like yourself to talk to."

Rin shook her head at the compliment, wondering if it was serious or just talk.

"So you picked the short girl with the broken arm and mummy cosplay out of everyone in the cafeteria? You've got weird taste."

Church was about to muster some sort of defensive response to that, but ultimately, he didn't get the chance to. Someone else did it on his behalf.

"Hmph. I'll say."

Church immediately recognized the posh voice of a certain blonde that he had spoken to yesterday. A quick glance to his side further confirmed his suspicions, since there was hardly anyone else whose uniform consisted of a full length dress. He didn't get to address her sudden appearance, since Rin beat him to the punch, though she sighed first.

"What do you want, Cecilia?"

Cecilia's hands went to her hips immediately, almost like some sort of reflex.

"Do I need to want anything? I can stand wherever I please!"

Under normal circumstances, Rin would have been up to a little verbal brawling with Cecilia, but for a number of reasons, she wasn't really feeling it right now. For one, she was exhausted, which was hardly a surprise considering what she had been through recently and the fact that she was healing. Secondly, she was actually enjoying her breakfast and the conversation that was going with it, so she wasn't particularly happy to have Cecilia interrupting either of those things.

"Well could you kindly stand anywhere but there? Your presence is increasing my suffering. Exponentially."

"Why, I'd never-! I'll have you know, I was simply concerned about you. If you're not at your best by the time of our next match, thrashing you will just make me look cruel. Well, more than usual since you're usually no match for me anyway."

While she was tired, this obvious affront to Rin's piloting abilities did stir a bit of her usual fire in her. She and Cecilia had this type of relationship: they were technically friends, but a heated rivalry was a major part of it.

"Big talk coming from the girl I throttled in our last sparring match. You know damn good and well that your Blue Tears is too damn slow to take on Shen Long in a one on one fight."

Cecilia recoiled as if she had been struck, taking a step back in dismay as Rin crippled her offensive. Still, she was quick to try and save face.

"Don't get too cocky! As soon as Supermarine finishes the new thruster modification for my IS, that issue will be a thing of the past!"

Rin cocked an eyebrow, apparently confused by something Cecilia had said.

"The hell is a super marine?"

Since the two of them were doing little more than fighting and Church felt a little awkward just sitting there listening to it, he chose this moment to chime in. Besides, this was a part he could actually comment on with some degree of knowledge.

"Supermarine is an aviation manufacturing company. They made the Spitfires in World War Two."

This time, Rin gave him a look not dissimilar from the one she had offered Cecilia a second ago. This prompted Church to elaborate further, a little surprised that it was required of him.

"Oh come on: Spitfires? Battle of Britain? They're only like, one of the most legendary fighter aircraft lines of all time. Supermarine is a legacy name in aviation manufacturing, and Alcott here owns it, last time I checked."

With an air of superiority and pride about her, Cecilia raised a haughty finger.

"Quite correct. I'm glad to see someone around here understands just how meaningful it is to own such a prestigious company. Supermarine is in charge of all engine designs for Infinite Stratos in the UK, you know. Being in charge of such a company is a great honor!"

Rin didn't look particularly impressed by any of this, which wasn't surprising considering that none of it had initially meant anything to her anyway. Church, on the other hand, was a little more knowledgeable, and was thus able to carry the conversation a little further. Besides, he was curious to what extent Cecilia actually cared about the company in question. Lots of rich people owned things they didn't really care about, but still boasted about owning it.

"She's right, you know. Like I said, the Spitfire is legendary. Though I have to wonder which particular model our esteemed friend considers the most iconic."

Seeing his question for the subtle challenge that it was, Cecilia outright scoffed at him.

"Oh please. There's no contest: a Merlin engine is what makes a Spitfire a Spitfire! Not to say the Griffon engine models weren't excellent, but the unparalleled maneuverability of the Merlin models is what set them apart from all of their contemporaries."

Honestly a little excited to talk nerdy with a girl about old airplanes, Church couldn't help but smile.

"Alright, I'll admit, you've earned some points in my eyes. Merlin Spitfires are indeed the objectively superior variants."

Cecilia initially seemed happy to hear that, even blushing a little bit, but she tried to deflect it in the end.

"As if I need any favor in your eyes..."

Glancing between the two of them, Rin felt mildly irritable to be left out of the exchange, especially considering that Cecilia had stepped into her conversation in the first place.

"Alright, alright, whatever! Do you mind Cecilia? I was enjoying myself before you showed up!"

Cecilia folded her arms as she smirked at the brunette sitting at the table.

"Oh? Finally accepted the futility of your efforts and moved on, Rin?"

Glaring back up at the blonde's blue eyes, Rin tried to alter her statement.

"My breakfast. I was enjoying my breakfast!"

Once again ousted from the overall conversation, Church felt a little insulted simply due to the turn it had taken. No one was saying anything outright, but it wasn't all that subtle. It pretty much amounted to 'oh, are you moving on from Ichika' and 'yeah right, as if I would.' Not that Church felt entitled to Rin's affections as a stranger, but she didn't have to make it sound like the mere idea of him and her was laughable. He took some small solace in the fact that it was probably less about him, and more about her dedication to Ichika.

It was unclear how long the two girls would have sniped at each other, and no one would ever know, since the conversation was once again interrupted by a new arrival. This time, it was a dark haired girl with a white ribbon pausing as she walked past the table. One Houki Shinonono had apparently overheard them while going about her own business.

"Why are you antagonizing her, Cecilia? Shouldn't you just be glad one of your 'rivals' is getting out of the way?"

That was all the Japanese girl said before resuming her walk, apparently content to say her piece and go on her way. Cecilia seemed to take her words to heart, merely shrugging as she offered a dismissive wave to the table's occupants and turning away herself.

"Well, I suppose she's right about that. Enjoy your breakfast, Rin."

With her departure, this left only Church to listen to Rin angrily shouting after Houki.

"Hey, what the heck did you mean with that emphasis on 'rival?!' Don't think that just because you're tall and well-endowed and all doesn't mean I'm not a threat! Dammit..."

Losing steam as the weight of her own words settled on her shoulders, Rin sunk down into her seat as proverbial storm clouds accumulated over her small frame in droves.

Glancing between her and the retreating Houki, Church couldn't help but wonder just how serious their so called rivalry over Ichika really was. Were they friends nevertheless? Bitter enemies? Some weird in-between thing where they were technically on friendly terms, while still seriously competing over something that fostered some animosity?

Frankly, Church would have bet on the latter. It seemed to him that the girls were friendly enough with one another, which should have been a given considering the life or death experience they all shared with the Silver Gospel. But they clearly also had some degree of enmity between them, though it was hard to tell how serious it was.

Either way, Church now had to deal with the aftermath of Houki's passing as well, since it had kind of ruined the nice thing he'd had going between himself and Rin. Thing was, he wasn't sure how he could go about comforting her, without saying something that was incredibly awkward. Well, maybe it was better to just go for it. It was up to Rin to take whatever he said as the compliment he intended it to be.

"This... will probably sound a little weird, but I think you're a very tough competitor for a guy's attention, Rinin."

Rin didn't seem particularly uplifted by his words. She didn't even lift her face from the table, now that she had planted it there.

"Right, right... I'm very tough competition for the tall, stacked girl with the strongest I.S. in the world. Sister of the inventor of the world's strongest weapons, to boot. Good joke."

Church cocked an eyebrow at the crestfallen girl, having not pegged her as one with an inferiority complex. Well, maybe she was fine normally, and just felt a little out of it due to being hurt. Recovery could take a toll on a person's emotions. Then again, maybe there was more permanence to these feelings than Church really thought. After all, Rin kind of had a point: as far as conventional 'desirable' female traits were concerned, Houki's larger bust and greater height had her beat.

But conventional aesthetics were stupid anyway. Those were the same aesthetics that expected women to be thinner than the hopes and dreams of the Libertarian Party in American politics: while still having basketball sized breasts, at that.

"You know, there is such a thing as taste, Rinin. Personally, I don't think Shinonono is any more attractive than you are. It's different types of attractiveness, but your caliber seems equal to hers if you ask me."

Rin lifted her head to level a clouded expression at her table partner. The look was difficult to interpret, which made Church nervous. Was she upset? He was just trying to say she was pretty, what was there to be mad about?

Ultimately though, the brunette across from him snorted in amusement, before shaking her head and offering some semblance of a smile.

"I don't think I've ever heard someone talk about girls with the word 'caliber' before. Nerd."

Glad to see that the situation had gone better than expected, Church grinned back at her.

"Yeah, alright, but it made you smile, didn't it?"

A thoughtful expression crossed Rin's face briefly, but it disappeared fairly quickly as the brunette returned to her general state of being before Cecilia had showed up.

"...yeah. Yeah I guess it did. Hey, did you forget that you're supposed to be helping me with breakfast here?"

Happy that his partner had returned to some state of contentedness, Church grabbed the chopsticks he had been given before Cecilia intervened on their conversation. For the first time since getting here, the troubling details of his mission didn't intrude on his thoughts at all.

"With how much is still on this plate, I couldn't possibly forget. What do you want next?"

Since Rin wasn't obligated to be in the classroom in her current physical state, she was in no rush to finish her meal like everyone else in the cafeteria. Thus, she and Church ended up sitting around for the better part of half an hour, which included the lone male eating some breakfast himself. With Rin in a better mood despite Cecilia and Houki's intrusion earlier, most of that time was spent talking about lighthearted things. Mostly, Church got the opportunity to ask her more questions about China, or more specifically, its food. Rin got especially animated whenever he asked about food, which he supposed was no surprise considering that she was the daughter of a chef or something. At the least, her public dossier mentioned such a profession for her father.

Church didn't mind having the conversation be mostly about Chinese food, because he'd been more than content to listen to her speak about it so passionately. It was a wonder she'd become an I.S. pilot at all, when she loved cooking so much. Naturally Cerberus had complained about the waste of time, but Church had resolutely ignored the AI.

But when all was said and done and there was nothing left to eat, there was no reason for the two of them to just sit around in the cafeteria, and Rin had implied that she was expected to go back to the infirmary once she was done eating. While she had struck him as well enough during their conversation, Church had offered to walk back with her, and while she hadn't jumped at the proposal, Rin had ultimately agreed to it, so he must have been making a good impression of some sort.

The walk back to the infirmary hadn't been a particularly long one, but when the duo did arrive, they found that the place was devoid of its medical professional, prompting Church to question what the woman was doing all the time.

"She sure does leave the actual infirmary a lot."

Rin, clearly a little more winded than a healthy person should have been, nevertheless managed to share her thoughts on that.

"Can't say I blame her. Few students actually get hurt badly enough to require a visit, thanks to I.S. and all that. Must get boring when only one idiot falls out a window a year."

Church watched the girl's back as she slowly walked over to her bed, wondering how long it would be before she stopped beating herself up over that. He supposed it was a somewhat embarrassing thing, but accidents happened to the best people. Besides, considering that she had lost consciousness, it wasn't like she had been entirely at fault.

But he didn't say any of that. Friendly though they had been today, they were still acquaintances at best. He didn't think Rin would care to have him telling her to think better of herself. Instead, he leaned on the door frame of the infirmary as Rin sat tiredly down on her cot.

"For all the energy you had earlier, you look like you could use some sleep."

With only a mildly irritable frown, Rin sniped back at him.

"Look who's talking..."

"Yeah, OK. I could probably use some sleep too. Anything you need before I make an exit?"

Yawning, Rin laid back on the bed, clearly not terribly bothered by doing so in front of a relative stranger.

"I don't really need anything, but thanks."

Having expected a little more, Church wondered if this was his cue to leave. Maybe she really was pretty exhausted? Because he was considering whether or not he was expected to go away now, Church missed a somewhat curious glance Rin gave him from her position on the bed.

"Say... you going to watch the matches tomorrow?"

Caught off guard since he had been weighing his next move, Church didn't respond very eloquently.

"Matches?"

"Yeah, there's an individual division tournament tomorrow. I was going to participate of course, but now... well, best I can do is watch. Just curious if watching matches like that is something you have to do for your job or whatever."

While Church wasn't actually sure how much meaningful information could be gleaned simply from watching I.S. combat, he figured there was no harm in it. After all, he had only ever fought against simulations of I.S. before, and it was possible that he would end up sparring with some of these pilots as well. That being the case, it wouldn't hurt to get some sort of leg up. And besides, on a completely unprofessional note...

"It's not mandatory for me, but I'd certainly like to watch those matches."

With a sheepish glance towards the ceiling, Rin extrapolated on both his statement and her own question.

"Well, if you ask nicely, I guess I could consider sitting with you in the stands. I need someone to listen to me complain about how I'd sweep the whole thing, if only I could participate. But all my friends will actually be in the tournament, so..."

Church folded his arms, gracing the girl with a mockingly offended expression.

"So the chopped liver is your only option, huh?"

"It's not as bad as all that: we've only just met, but do you really think I'd let someone I hated feed me breakfast? You're pretty cool, so I deem you worthy of hanging out for simple stuff like this."

Frankly, Church still found it a little odd how Rin divided him from people she considered friends, but he supposed it was pretty understandable, since they had indeed just met, and had only spoken to each other for a very brief time. They both liked each other well enough based on first impressions, but it wasn't like that could just jump straight to friendship. Church supposed this was actually pretty solid advancement as far as a new relationship was concerned.

"I see. Well then, do you want to watch the matches together tomorrow, Rinin?"

With a cheeky smile, the brunette gave her answer.

"I suppose I can oblige you, since you'd be lonely otherwise. Come meet me here at noon and we'll go together."

Shaking his head, Church figured now was a good enough time to leave.

"Alright, it's a date then."

Rin's smile became turned a little less cheerful and a little more wry.

"Yeah, on the calendar. Don't get any funny ideas just because I said you're alright."

Church raised his hands in defense, using wit to skip by any awkward air.

"Just wishful thinking, don't mind me."

With that, he turned his back to leave, missing a mild blush from his newest acquaintance, as well as a contemplative expression.

"Hold on a second."

Surprised that she still had anything to say, Church glanced over his shoulder at her, which prompted Rin to continue as she averted her gaze elsewhere. For the life of her, she couldn't understand why this made her so nervous: she had told this to plenty of people throughout her life, but maybe it was because it was a boy. She'd only said this to a boy once.

"You can, uh, just call me Rin now. I guess we're far enough past total strangers to make that alright."

Considering this to be some sort of milestone in their very young and budding relationship, Church smiled.

"Well, Rin it is. You can still call me Church: that's as friendly as it gets, even for people that I really like."

Rin smirked at him as he made that statement.

"Alright, what terrible first name do you have?"

"If I told you that, it would defeat the purpose of protecting myself by having you call me by last name."

"Tch, fine... see you tomorrow."

Sure that their conversation was finally over by now, Church offered a wave that Rin tiredly reciprocated before making his exit from the infirmary, feeling unusually giddy about everything that had just occurred.

A pretty girl had bestowed the right to call her a personal name upon him. She'd admitted to thinking he was pretty cool, and openly expressed a desire to hang out with him again, even if she had vehemently assured him that it was by no means a date. Maybe it was a little pathetic to get happy about all of those things, but considering his lack of free time to hang out with girls in recent years, Church was glad that this relationship was starting off so well, even if it was only going to be friendship.

As he began to walk down the halls and towards the elevator, he was interrupted by Cerberus in his thoughts. Well, it wasn't like the AI could be quiet all day.

Operator, I feel obligated to label all of this as a grievous misuse of our time.

His mood instantly soured by thoughts of the mission, Church provided a rebuttal.

And I feel obligated to remind you that I'm in charge here, and that I have full discretion to carry out the mission as I see fit. Besides, we talked about this already: getting close to those close to Shinonono moves us closer to her, and in a much less suspicious manner.

I am in your thoughts, Operator. You are clearly interested in getting close to the Chinese girl for reasons outside of our mission.

By now, Church was actively frowning. Considering that it hadn't been clear how they would go about the mission prior to arrival, some serious questions were now being asked. Namely, questions about his personal feelings and strategic objectives intersecting. Strategically, he needed to use Rin as means of reaching his goal, and nothing else. Personally, he was interested in it being an actual relationship somewhere along the way. He could see why a computer would find a problem with that.

So what? I can enjoy spending time with a girl and still use her to achieve my goals. They're not mutually exclusive.

Cerberus didn't seem to buy his reasoning.

They will be when you start caring more about one than the other.

I'm not going to compromise the mission for a girl, Cerberus. Need I remind you, I have very valuable benefits resting on my service to Umbra Stratum. That doesn't mean I can't enjoy some meaningless sense of normalcy along the way.

Cerberus was quiet for a moment, likely considering the weight of these words and whether or not they could be trusted. Ultimately, the way it responded was something else entirely. Church wasn't sure what that implied about the decision that it had reached.

What are we going to do for the rest of the day, Operator?

Smirking to himself as he stepped into an empty elevator and pressed one of the buttons, Church answered with no shame at all.

Today? I'm going back to sleep right now, and then we'll see.

The young agent was certain that Cerberus sighed at him in his head.

And like that, my heightened confidence in you has been brought back to its normal levels, Operator.

Chapter Text

Ultimately, Church found nothing particularly beneficial that he could do the day he had eaten breakfast with Rin. After going back to his room to sleep for a few hours, he'd woken up in the evening and faced the same problem as before: there was nothing much he could do to further the mission. As before, he could hardly approach Houki without seeming suspiciously interested in her for no reason, and trying to simply break into her room while she was sleeping was still too risky to consider. Church would have had to infiltrate the dorms for that, which were already heavily populated. He also had no idea how light of a sleeper Houki was or what she did with Akatsubaki's standby form while she rested. And all of this was to say nothing about her roommate.

For now, Church was still settled on the long con: use the footing he already had with one of Houki's friends to give himself an excuse to be near her more often, thus creating opportunities to get what he needed. A perfectly viable, if not particularly speedy plan of action. The Commander had told him he had as much time as was needed to complete the objective, but he had also specified a desire for it to be done swiftly. That said, Church would wait until the man actually expressed a desire to expedite the process before taking any unnecessary risks.

Of course, that left him with little to do in the evening, at least in regards to his actual mission. He didn't have enough of a relationship with any of Houki's friends to approach them for no reason, not including Rin. But naturally, she was still in the infirmary and likely resting herself. Bothering her again so early would probably have just been suspicious.

With all of that being the case, Church had used the evening hours to accomplish some other important things: namely, going into the city that surrounded the Academy, exchanging some American currency for yen, and buying at least a few pairs of clothes. Ironically, Umbra Stratum hadn't actually prepared him for any of these small logistics details. Perhaps they had expected him to complete the mission in a mere day.

His inability to speak Japanese didn't pose much of a problem during the foray into the unknown. Aside from the fact that many people in Japan spoke decent English, Cerberus was also able to translate for him when needed, and you didn't actually need to communicate that much when buying stuff anyway. Take what you wanted to the counter, give the clerk the required sum of money, and walk out with a bag. That was the universal shopping experience for most of the world.

So at least one problem had been solved that day, and it was the last one before he simply went back to sleep, considering that he had nothing better to do. He still had a logistics problem in regards to the ability to shower, but that was an issue he saved for the next morning, when he once again found himself with Chifuyu and Kanzashi in the R and D room from the day before.

Today's exercise was a little different than the day before, in that the most basic of basic tests was out of the way. Now came some slightly more detailed tests focused on the specific capabilities of the suit. That said, Church's situation wasn't much different from the day before, because he was once again not required to be within the suit itself. He imagined that would change when more practical tests that involved flying and shooting were in question, but for now, the suit was undergoing more technical things that didn't require the pilot.

Exeter was once again hooked up to the apparatus that it had been before, and once again, Church and Chifuyu were at a desk while Kanzashi ran things in the booth. Apparently, the computational power and processing speed of the suit's computer system were being tested right now, and that just meant running all sorts of simulations, equations, and other tech mumbo jumbo through the suit's computer bits. Church had no idea how Cerberus could mask any of that information without raising suspicions, but at this point he had decided to trust the AI on that front.

All of this culminated in the fact that the room's occupants had time to talk, just like they had the day before. Only difference was that Chifuyu was preoccupied with some other matter entirely this morning. Her focus had been on a digital pad separate from the R and D computer. Other than directing Church on what they were going to do this time around, she hadn't said much to him.

Frankly, this left the young man with a bit of trepidation in speaking. There were certain types of people that you just didn't want to interrupt when they were busy. Chifuyu had that stern, professional appearance and demeanor, and she had already revealed how busy she was on a day to day basis. That made her one of those people.

Still, he did kind of have an important question to ask. He supposed he could ask Tatenashi instead since she kind of functioned as a guide around here, but she was prone to show up whenever she felt like, and Church didn't know when that would happen again. Asking Chifuyu was really his best option, even if it was kind of awkward. Still, he felt pretty tentative about it.

"Uh, Ms. Orimura...?"

Despite her focus on the tablet she was holding, Chifuyu responded to him immediately, though she didn't take her eyes off what she was doing. "Yes?"

"Sorry to bother you while you're doing something important, but there's something I need to ask."

With a sigh that seemed directed at her task more than him, Chifuyu placed her tablet on the desk so she could focus on Church. "It's nothing that important. Just trying to determine the match-ups for the individual division tournament today."

Despite the fact that he already had something to talk about, Church couldn't help but be intrigued by this, especially since the tournament was something he was going to be attending.

"How do you go about doing that? Is it just based off of previous tournaments? Or do you have to consider the specifics of the competitors?"

Apparently, Chifuyu forgot that he had opened this conversation with a completely different question as well, because she ignored it to answer what he had asked now.

"A bit of both, really. It's not that everyone is ranked per se: there are different pilot ratings that denote how skilled or capable a pilot is supposed to be. Normally that would determine who faces who, but strictly following those ratings ignores a number of important factors that would lead to meaningful matches. Ratings aren't everything to begin with."

"That makes sense. Any particular examples?"

Chifuyu folded her arms as she directed her gaze at some corner of the ceiling. She seemed to do that a lot. "Ms. Shinonono is a prime example. As of right this moment, she is classified as a S-rank pilot: the best of the best. That couldn't be further from the truth. She has that rank due almost entirely to Akatsubaki, which is arguably the best Infinite Stratos unit in existence right now. Shinonono herself was only a Class C pilot prior to receiving Akatsubaki from her sister. That's not the lowest class in the rankings, but it virtually is: anything lower than that would never be realistically considered by organizations as a potential pilot."

Unlike Chifuyu, Church kept his focus on her, since she wasn't looking at him anyway. If he had a free opening to inwardly gawk at her beauty without suspicion, he wasn't going to let it pass him by. Not that it distracted him from the topic at hand.

"Sorry, could you break down these ranks for me? What exactly does it mean to be a C-Class pilot versus an S-Class one? I understand that S-Class is better, but how do they judge that?"

His older conversation partner didn't seem to mind his inquiry. Maybe she thought it reasonable that he didn't know about this somewhat niche aspect of the I.S. world. It didn't make much of a difference to outsiders, after all.

"These ranks are just an easy way to designate the skill brackets pilots fall into by percentile. A pilot's ability is judged by many things; performance in real battle, previous ranks in other tournaments, the level of practical and theoretical knowledge they have, as well as the actual capabilities of their machines. E-Class is the bottom of the barrel, being within the 25th percentile at maximum. D-Class goes up to the 50th. Neither of these ranks is high enough for any serious organization to even consider signing on that pilot. I.S. are just too valuable to be distributed to the lower half of pilot aptitude."

While that made sense to him, Church found it incredible that such a huge margin was considered hopeless in the world of Infinite Stratos. To think that being anywhere in the bottom 50% meant you were entirely screwed. It was pretty cutthroat, this business. Since he didn't say anything, Chifuyu continued her condensed explanation.

"C-Class is the lowest class any organization would even consider taking seriously, and it goes up to the 70th percentile. It's pretty simple from there on out: B-Class is between the 70th and 80th percentile, A the 80th and 90th, and S anywhere above that. Naturally, pilots with a higher class are much more valuable to the various organizations around the world recruiting pilots."

Since he was pretty focused on the conversation, it didn't take Church long to pinpoint a seeming problem with this whole setup. "Hold on, I get Class ratings based on pilot skill and all, but you said even the capability of a pilot's machine factored into that rating. How is that fair? Doesn't that obscure the reality of how good a pilot really is?"

Chifuyu nodded as she finally directed her gaze back down to her conversational partner. "Exactly. Like I said, Shinonono was moved to S-rank based solely on the capabilities of Akatsubaki. Her entire rating is dependent on what it can do, not what she can do. Without it, she's an entirely average pilot. And yet, Bodewig, who has been thoroughly trained in the use of cutting edge I.S. by the military for several years, is only a Class-A pilot. Incorporating the capabilities of the I.S. completely skews an objective understanding of a pilot's capabilities."

Church couldn't help but wonder if he was the only one in this school that actually had Chifuyu talk to them this much. Not including the students getting lectures, of course. She seemed to be a rather taciturn person, but she did have a lot to say if someone asked the right questions. She continued having something to say about this topic.

"This is especially vital to consider since many pilots will not always fly the I.S. they were initially rated in. No one would throw away the Akatsubaki considering how amazing it is, but theoretically, a country that took on Shinonono as their Representative could have her fly a different I.S. entirely, and then what happens? She goes back to being a much more average pilot."

Shaking her head, the older woman glanced back down at the tablet she had placed on the desk.

"All of this, in total, makes it somewhat difficult to determine who should face who in the tournament. Ranks don't really determine who would be a fair opponent for each other, and that's to say nothing about the actual machine match-ups. I could place Alcott against Shinonono, but that wouldn't really be a fair representation of skill for either of them. A long range specialist I.S. in a confined space against the fastest I.S. in the world, with heavy melee specialization and unknown shield regeneration abilities? It's not even a contest."

While he certainly didn't know everything about Akatsubaki (that was why he was here, after all), based on what little Church did know, it was understandable that its existence threw a big wrench into proceedings like this, which probably frustrated people like Chifuyu immensely. In a controlled one on one environment, Akatsubaki had every single advantage. Church couldn't imagine that it was a fair competition for anyone to face it.

Of course, real combat wasn't fair, and one shouldn't expect it to be. However, an organized tournament wasn't real combat. It was supposed to give all contestants a fair shake at representation. Kind of hard to do when one of those contestants had an I.S. that far outstripped all of the others in every conceivable way.

"Sounds like a hassle. I don't suppose you can just leave Shinonono out of the tournament?"

"That would deprive her of opportunities to gain experience. It's not exactly her fault that the Akatsubaki is so powerful, and she doesn't deserve to be punished for it. It just makes this much more of a headache for me, especially since Huang went and got herself hurt. I considered her the best option for facing Shinonono today, until that happened."

For Church's part, he was honestly surprised by this. Not that he assumed Rin to be a bad pilot or anything, since she was clearly very skilled to be a Representative Candidate and all, but Chifuyu had been considering her as the closest fair match to the unparalleled Akatsubaki? He had to know the logic behind that one.

"Not to speak ill of her, but I have to say, that surprises me. She was the best option?"

Chifuyu shrugged as she tapped a few digital buttons on her tablet. "Huang is certainly the second best in melee combat after Shinonono, so it stands to reason she would fare the best against her. Lots of people would probably assume Ichika was her second, but even though he's shaken off a lot of rust with his swordsmanship since attending the Academy, Huang's been training with her Shen Long and its melee capabilities for years. And that's to say nothing about the likelihood of Ichika wasting all of his energy in an all or nothing attack against a foe that can feasibly regenerate from that blow."

Figuring that Chifuyu probably had a better understanding of her students and their capabilities than he did, Church accepted that answer for what it was. Maybe Rin would be happy to hear that she was considered second best in this regard: or maybe she'd be insulted by the notion. He had no idea. While he was pondering that, Chifuyu apparently remembered that Church had initially had another question.

"By the way, didn't you have something to ask?"

Reminded of the somewhat awkward question he had to ask before the rest of this conversation had come up, Church figured it was best to just bite the bullet. Chifuyu seemed like a very practical woman. He highly doubted she was going to make anything weird of such a question. Honestly, Church felt kind of presumptuous for even assuming she would be flustered in any way by it.

"Yeah, um... about the amenities situation, I don't mean to complain, but... showers?"

Chifuyu leveled a somewhat blank look at Church for a moment, seemingly not grasping the meaning of his interrogative. However, that only lasted a moment as a slight but definitely noticeable expression of realization dawned on her features.

"Ah... my apologies. It seems I made a major oversight in preparing for your arrival."

"It's no big deal: you didn't have a lot of time to prepare, right? Plus I'm sure there's a lot of hassle in having a male outside of the student body encroach on what is virtually an all female campus."

"Well, I won't deny that last part. Still, it's shameful to have a representative from another country faced with a problem such as this at a world-class institution. Hmm..."

The older woman was clearly wracking her brain for an answer to his problem, made evident by her finger tapping on the desk. However, after more than a few moments of thought, it was clear that no solutions were immediately dawning on her. Considering that she had just revealed her conundrum revolving around the tournament that was only a few hours away, Church figured that some leniency on his part wasn't completely out of the question.

"If you need a little time, it's not like this is a particularly pressing issue. It doesn't have to be taken care of right this second."

Chifuyu actually frowned at this, perhaps displeased with the notion of leaving such an oversight unattended, but ultimately she figured there was no value in sitting here and pondering until she could find a solution. She'd likely be able to come up with something later, while going about the day's normal business.

"I won't say it doesn't displease me to leave a mistake like this uncorrected, but I suppose just sitting here and thinking about it isn't that helpful either. I promise to have a solution for you before the day ends."

"That's all I can ask for."

With that tangent seemingly drawn to a close, Church wondered what he should talk about next, or if he should speak at all since Chifuyu apparently had things to focus on. Then again, he didn't get much of a chance to think about it, because Kanzashi's voice came over the speakers.

"Sensei, there's only a few minutes left until the time we decided to conclude today's testing. I don't think there will be enough time to do much else once the next few computations are complete."

Church cocked an eyebrow as he turned his attention to a digital clock on a far wall, after which he focused on Chifuyu with the same confusion. "I thought this was something we were doing two hours a day? It's only been one."

Closing some windows on her tablet, Chifuyu offered him some clarity on this. "There's an exception today since Sarashiki there will be participating in the tournament as well. She needs some time to prepare for it just like everyone else, so we're cutting the session short today. I apologize for the extension to your purpose here that this delay creates."

While he had to admit that this didn't do much good for him since he wasn't supposed to meet up with Rin for several hours still, Church figured there was no point in complaining about it. Mostly because Chifuyu was a very difficult person to complain to. Aside from the capability to muster a truly harrowing glare, the elder Orimura also seemed like someone who almost always had to put up with more shit than you, which made complaining seem like bad taste.

"Well, I hate to cut our time short and all, but I guess I'll accept this gracefully."

A minor expression of confusion made it clear that Chifuyu found his words odd. "I didn't think you were the type to enjoy sitting around for tests."

"It's not really because of the tests..."

With Chifuyu focusing on the headset she wore to address Kanzashi right as Church said that, it seemed that she had missed his meaning overall, which was probably for the best. Maybe it was a tad presumptuous to imply that he was eager to spend time with her because she was beautiful. Not to mention kind of shallow. Either way, Chifuyu missed his words and focused on the ones she was saying to Kanzashi.

"Alright, Sarashiki, wrap up the last few computations and we'll call it a day. Be sure to send me the data before you go."

The addressed girl's voice came back over the intercom without delay. "Will do, Sensei."

Since it was obvious that they were all about to leave, Church went ahead and rose from his chair. "The tournament today is going to be held at the arena, right?"

Chifuyu didn't rise, but by the motions she was making on her tablet and the fact that she had removed her headset made it obvious that she was preparing to leave as well.

"That it is. Will you be watching?"

"I plan on it. Although, you didn't actually tell me about it until today, you know?"

The expression that crossed Chifuyu's face made it obvious that this information actually surprised her. "It must have slipped my mind. I apologize."

"Eh, forget about it. With how much you apparently have to do every day, I'm not really surprised that some things slip the mind from time to time."

"What a polite way of calling me forgetful."

Since there was a lack of ire or displeasure in her voice or her expression, Church swiftly deduced that she wasn't actually offended. "My point was really more about not holding you to ridiculous standards."

For a moment, there was the briefest of smiles on the woman's face. "That'd be a nice change of pace..."

Intrigued by what she meant by that, Church waited for some sort of elaboration, but ultimately she didn't provide any, moving on from the thought entirely as she got up from her chair too.

"Well, Sarashiki has sent me the data from today's tests. Feel free to take your suit back. Do you know how to get into the arena when the tournament starts?"

While disappointed to not get more detail about what she had said, Church figured he was better off not pushing his luck. "Rinin offered to watch with me. I'm assuming she knows everything I'd need to know."

Chifuyu cocked an eyebrow at him. "You managed to get on Huang's good side surprisingly quickly."

Church didn't know if she was actually questioning his motives in befriending Rin, but he highly doubted it, for a variety of reasons. That being the case, he simply shrugged.

"I credit it to my irresistible charm."

He was a little worried that a straight laced woman like Chifuyu would find his humor appalling, but she did grin, slight as it was. "Or maybe she's just desperate for attention."

With that, the older woman made for the door, leaving Church to feign injury as he held a hand up to his chest.

Oh, are we truly already at the stage where we can exchange playful insults? What a surprise.

Picking up on his satisfaction with this notion, Cerberus spoke up for the first time since the testing session started. Sometimes Church wondered if the task at hand was actually a draw on its processing power.

Operator, please do not be so satisfied by the notion of camaraderie with our targets. They are means to an end, nothing more.

I like to think of myself as someone capable of multi tasking. Leave my satisfaction out of your calculations for the mission, would you?

Church noticed Kanzashi leaving her booth and heading for the door as well, with hardly a glance in his direction. As far as getting to know anyone was concerned, she didn't really seem to care to get familiar with him. Church wasn't too bummed about that: not that he disliked her, but she wasn't really his type. Despite his partially divided attention, he didn't miss Cerberus' response to what he had said a moment ago.

I cannot exclude my knowledge of your personal feelings from my predictions of mission success, Operator.

Frowning, Church walked towards the Exeter suit, which was no longer hooked up to any machines, but still standing in the construction frame that it had made use of the day before. He didn't recall it immediately, merely gazing at its peerless black visor. It offered no reflection.

I'm almost worried about the answer to this, but what exactly do you do if you don't agree with my course of action, Cerberus?

I inform you that I do not condone it, as you have seen, Operator.

Mentally issuing the command for Exeter to dematerialize, Church kept up his mental conversation even as the suit was bathed in a whitish blue light.

That's it? Is there no point at which you would attempt to intervene? Report me to HQ, or something?

If you were to intentionally deviate from your mission, I would of course take action to return your focus to the objective, or report you to Umbra Stratum command for their instruction. However, your misguided pleasure with fraternization is not a deviation from the mission. It is merely a potential problem that has yet to manifest. Until such a time that it poses a meaningful hindrance to our cause, my efforts are better spent assisting you than being at odds, Operator.

Making for the doorway of the R and D room, Church admitted how that made him feel.

Honestly, that's somewhat comforting. You're oddly tolerant and accommodating for a machine, Cerberus.

Tolerance and accommodation are notable human traits that improve my cooperative efficiency with them. Nothing more, Operator.

Immediately regretting the fact that he had given the AI any credit, Church stepped out into the hall, which was empty save for Kanzashi disappearing around a corner. In what was becoming an oddly common situation around here, he had a problem: there were still several hours between now and when he was supposed to meet up with Rin, and he didn't have anything particularly noteworthy to fill that time with. Thankfully (or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it), Cerberus intruded on his thoughts once again to offer a solution.

Operator, might I suggest we do something conducive to our mission?

Alright, fine. What do you have in mind?

Chapter Text

A few hours of unhelpful espionage later, Church found himself walking towards the infirmary. Having followed the advice of Cerberus, he had spent the time between then and now digging through any information that could be accessed from local points around the Academy. Unfortunately, nothing of import had been revealed from that avenue of investigation, not that Church or Cerberus were surprised. The idea of finding sensitive data on Akatsubaki in easily accessible networks had been a long shot at best, but the attempt had hardly hurt them in any way.

Besides, even if the likelihood of finding valuable information had been exceedingly low, the fact that they were doing something potentially conducive had appeased Cerberus, who likely would have berated Church for wasting time otherwise. When everything was said and done, Church was moderately more knowledgeable on a bunch of things that didn't matter at all, and he had only sacrificed a few hours of his life. Now, he was free to meet up with Rin at the infirmary, something he was happy about for a variety of reasons.

Naturally, the idea of spending a day with a cute girl he was kind of friendly with put a smile on his face, even if Rin had been very clear about the fact that it wasn't a date. On the other hand, he was actually pretty excited to watch a competition of this nature. Church had fought against simulations of Infinite Stratos units before, but they were just that: simulations. Holographic projections of how a computer assumed the machines and their pilots would act. It just wasn't the same as seeing the actual units in action.

He was interested in all of this for practical reasons, naturally: gathering data was his primary reason for being here, and firsthand recordings and analysis of the I.S. in combat certainly fell within that category. But he also liked the idea of giant aerial mechs duking it out from a purely superficial standpoint. Of course, there was some distant third consideration, that being the possibility that this data would come in handy if he had to really fight to the death with anyone here, but that was a hopefully irrelevant and farfetched possibility.

With most of the student body already at or heading to the arena for the tournament, Church was able to make his way through the halls mostly unmolested. He still got looks from some stragglers, but Tatenashi had apparently done a good job of putting the fear of God into the other students at some point: most of them looked worried about what would happen if they actually approached him or spoke to him.

Church wasn't necessarily happy to have that notion tied to his identity, but on the other hand, it would probably be for the best in the long run. He didn't have time to offer his attention and friendship to the no doubt very high number of girls here who would have wanted it. He needed to zero in on a small number of people, preferably ones who were close to Shinonono, for obvious reasons.

Which of course, led him to this moment, opening the door to the infirmary to see if Rin was ready to go. In hindsight, he probably should have knocked, but it wasn't like anything untoward was going on in the room.

Rin was sitting on the edge of her cot, with the nurse tightening the sling her broken arm was in. Presumably, they were at the end of a physical checkup on Rin's status. Frankly, Church wanted to comment about how surprised he was to actually find the nurse there for once, but decided against it for the sake of politeness. As Rin and the nurse glanced at the door to identify him, he chose to focus on the person he actually cared about.

"I'd say you look better, but really, you look pretty much the same that you did yesterday."

The brunette offered him a mildly irritable frown in response. "What, were you expecting a miracle overnight?"

"Considering how well off you are mere days after your horrific accident, it wouldn't be too farfetched for you to get a second or even third miracle, would it?"

"Hey, just because I lived doesn't mean I'm in an enviable position, you know?"

Ignoring their banter and focusing on her job, the nurse seemingly finished whatever assessment she was making and stepped away from Rin's arm. "You're good to go for now, Huang. Just don't let anyone jostle your arm out there and you should be fine."

Church chimed in, since the two of them were verbally sparring to some extent. "Don't worry, I'll shield her bad side with my life."

Rising from the cot, Rin stepped towards him, one free arm on her hip. "I don't have a bad side. Every angle is equally amazing. One side is just undergoing renovations, that's all. Now come on, we're going to miss the beginning of the first match if we don't move it."

His female companion gave the nurse a parting wave before ushering Church out of the room and taking the lead down the hall. Apparently she really was in a rush, though Church could understand why: as a pilot who was supposed to be participating in this competition, she was probably keen to learn how skilled all of her enemies were. Maybe that was why she grumbled along the way.

"Hard to really be excited when I just have to sit around and watch, honestly..."

With Rin moving at a mild jog, Church had no choice but to match her pace, not that it was a problem for him. "Look at it this way: you'll probably gain a lot of insight into everyone's strengths and weaknesses, since you'll have an outsider's point of view the whole time. It's easy to lose objective perspective when you're actually participating."

As best as Church could tell, Rin didn't seem particularly convinced. "If you say so."

With the power of elevators, it didn't take long for the duo to reach the ground floor, especially considering that they weren't that high up to begin with. Once they actually got out of the tower itself, Rin kicked her pace up to brisk jog that really prevented them from talking with ease. Church didn't really mind, since he figured there would be plenty of time for talking when they were at the stadium.

On the other hand, he actually found it a little odd, having to jog somewhere. By becoming the operator of the Exeter suit, he'd mostly been free to fly anywhere if a mildly long distance was in question. Felt kind of weird having to be so pedestrian as relying on jogging when in a hurry.

Expansive as the Academy's grounds were, Church and Rin made it to the stadium in just a few minutes. There were some other students milling into the large dome building, but it was obvious that most of the student body had already made it inside. Well, that would make getting in easier, though Church imagined finding a seat might be a different problem altogether.

The duo was forced to go stand in a brief line in order to go through a security check that amounted to little more than walking through some sort of scanner. Rin complained about how unnecessary it was, but Church frankly found it hard to believe that this was the extent of the security measures around here. It was true that the I.S. Academy had rarely been subjected to a catastrophic attack, but the Silver Gospel incident had been an extension of an attack on this place. One would think they would step up security at one of the most important institutions in the whole world after such a fiasco.

Granted, maybe the existence of several dozen pilots with ownership of the world's most powerful weapons was security enough in itself. Either way, the scanner Church had to go through didn't detect the chip that currently housed Cerberus and the digitized Exeter suit, or at least, they didn't address it if it was detected. Soon enough, Rin was leading him up into the stands, deflecting some curious questions and glances from her fellow students as she did so. Church heard someone ask about whether or not she was on a date, but he pretended not to. The venomous glare Rin offered that girl made it obvious that doing so was the right choice.

Surprisingly, there was plenty of space to choose from in the stadium, which Church hadn't been expecting. He knew it was a pretty large stadium, but he hadn't expected only about half of it to be needed for the whole student body, assuming that the whole student body was here. Maybe this was a case of building more than was needed just because you had the budget to do so. One way or another, Rin picked a somewhat secluded part of the stands that was higher up. The nearest fellow audience members were at least a dozen feet away, which Church felt the need to comment on.

"Is there something special about this spot or do you just not like any of your classmates?"

Rin gave him a look that expressed her lack of amusement with that line of questioning. Maybe he was teasing her a little too frequently, considering their very fresh relationship.

"I just don't want to be distracted. I'm here to watch the fights, after all."

"You don't want to be distracted, but you invited me to watch with you?"

This time, the girl have him a more quizzical look. "You're not going to spend the whole tournament blathering about things that aren't even related to it, right?"

"Well, no..."

"Good. I'm not saying I don't want any company, I just don't want to listen to some mindless rambling about shoes while the fighting is going on."

Church didn't know what to say to that, but ultimately, he didn't have to say anything, since a voice he recognized as Yamada's came out over various speakers at that moment.

"Good afternoon, everyone! Today's tournament is of the individual division variety, and will affect skill rankings for pilots with personal I.S.! For the first match, it's Charlotte Dunois, high B-Class Representative Candidate for France, versus Cecilia Alcott, A-Class Representative Candidate for the United Kingdom! Please give them your support!"

Church ignored the clapping and cheering from throughout the stadium to pose a question to Rin, since something said in that announcement surprised him. "Dunois is only a B-Class pilot? That doesn't sound right."

Before Rin even answered him, Cerberus accosted Church in his mind.

Operator, this was information clearly available in the dossiers you read before coming here. Have you forgotten this already?

There was a lot of information to take in about a lot of people, alright?

Naturally oblivious to this exchange, Rin answered the question Church had posed to him, though she kept her emerald gaze on the orange and blue I.S. units that had taken to the skies, separated from the audience by an energy shield.

"It's mostly 'cuz of her I.S., I think. It's a modded Gen Two platform, not a Gen Three like the rest of us or whatever the hell Houki has. Her modifications allow it to fight relatively evenly with us, but it's still just a modification of an older frame. It suffers from a lot of drawbacks that no amount of customization is going to make up for."

Church turned his attention to the fighting above as he took all that in. While he had plenty of information on the standard Rafael Revive II, there wasn't much on the one Charlotte operated, which wasn't much of a surprise since her model was personally modified. The fight had just started, but it was already going as one might expect: Cecilia was constantly reversing, trying to keep her enemy at range where they were least dangerous and she was most effective. Charlotte was trying to close the distance, but her I.S. lacked the raw speed advantage needed to do it, especially since she often had to move sideways to avoid her opponent's shots.

He had to wonder why Charlotte chose to fly a Gen Two I.S. when most of the world had moved on to Three. He knew the Rafael Revive was the flagship design of the Dunois company, but that didn't seem like a good enough reason. Was the Dunois company just not finished designing a Gen Three? If so, they were sure dragging their feet... but then again, maybe that had nothing to do with it at all. Maybe he'd ask Charlotte about it later, provided they were friendly enough to allow that. Not that he could envision her as anything other than friendly...

With both the laser rifle and the BITS of Blue Tears, it was obvious pretty quickly that Charlotte wasn't going to be able to get close to her opponent, which prompted the French blonde to manifest a sniper rifle of her own to trade long range shots with the enemy. This allowed an interesting comparison to be made for the audience: projectiles versus energy weapons.

Energy weapons had practically been nonexistent prior to Infinite Stratos, so many of the frames made use of them. In fact, it was a true rarity to see conventional projectile weapons like the ones Charlotte employed. There was a decent enough reason for that: projectiles didn't travel as fast as energy based weapons, and they weren't as accurate. They also required more hits to drain an I.S. shield. On the other hand, projectile weapons often had a much higher rate of fire. Sometimes, throwing more lead around was preferable to accurate, single shots.

Such was the dichotomy between the two combatants right now. Charlotte's sniper rifle had a higher rate of fire than Cecilia's, but Cecilia's had much better precision and accuracy. It also altered the firing patterns both of them used: Cecilia patiently waited for ideal moments to fire, knowing that her faster, more accurate shots would be difficult to evade in certain situations. Charlotte, on the other hand, would fire at Cecilia, but also use her superior rate of fire to shoot at the places she predicted Cecilia would dodge to.

Frankly, Church found the latter more impressive. But then again, Charlotte probably wouldn't have had to resort to tactics such as that if she had other options. Besides, while the blonde did manage to land a few shots like this, Cecilia was certainly hitting her a lot more. It was markedly more difficult to try and predict and lead a target as opposed to pulling the trigger at a time when the enemy couldn't dodge.

Rin watched the fight with one slender leg over the other, though she leaned towards Church so he could hear her even over the cacophony of the crowd and the gunfire.

"See, this is what I mean. Charlotte's I.S. is just lacking in many ways compared to Gen Three armaments. She doesn't have any sort of special ability other than having a lot of weapons, but none of them are particularly devastating or game changing. The rest of us all have some weapon that can dictate an entire fight, like Cecilia's rifle and her BITS... I guess it actually proves how good a pilot Charlotte is that she holds her own with a disadvantage like that."

Church was honestly a little surprised to see this analytical side of Rin, but maybe it should have been expected, since she was a pilot too. It made sense that this would be the thing she considered in such a light. Not that it was a bad thing. He kind of liked being able to talk shop with her.

"Maybe, but this could also just be a product of the forced scenario. Seems to me like her I.S. is designed to have an answer for everything, even if it's not the most effective answer one could have. More of a team-based design, than a duelist. Case in point, check that out."

Clearly aware that an extended shooting match against Cecilia of all people wasn't going to end in her favor, Charlotte had switched up her weaponry to an assault rifle in one hand and a shotgun in another. With these two weapons, she was actively pursuing Cecilia's BITS in an effort to destroy them. Without those, Cecilia's pressuring abilities would be drastically reduced, increasing Charlotte's odds of getting in close, where she had an advantage.

In a few moments, the blonde had run down and destroyed a BIT with a very tight blast from her shotgun. Now she was pursuing another, while deftly evading Cecilia's rifle shots as best she could. Church commented on the situation because he found it odd.

"It's so weird seeing a shotgun in air to air combat like this. Although, I can see why that's useful. Maybe she could upgrade to flak cannons or something, that would be pretty scary."

Rin nodded as she watched two missiles blast forward from Cecilia's I.S. "Yeah, that would probably help a lot in this kind of situation, wouldn't it? Then she wouldn't have to really fire all that accurately to do damage. I should recommend that next time we talk."

Church cocked an eyebrow at her. "Would you really help a potential opponent like that? She'd use them against you too, you know."

"Of course I'd help her improve her I.S. You never know when something crazy like the Gospel comes up again, and someone could die. We all need to be the best we can be for stuff like that. Besides, I could totally take her even if she had a weapon like that."

Church smiled at the vain smirk that crossed his companion's face, but it didn't distract him from the fight above. Charlotte blasted both the incoming missiles with her guns, but through the smoke, another laser from Cecilia lanced through the sky and hit her opponent's I.S. dead center. Apparently, this final shot was all that was needed to fully deplete Charlotte's shields, as made obvious by an airhorn and Yamada's voice over the speakers again.

"Match over! Cecilia Alcott wins!"

As the two airborne I.S. came down to the ground, Rin shook her head in dismay. "You know, I honestly feel kind of bad for Charlotte. Losing to Cecilia of all people is rough."

Based on the tone of her voice, Church could still that his companion was just mocking Cecilia for fun. Apparently the two of them did that to each other a lot.

"Well, in one on one fights like this, the match-up can make or break it. Without some sort of efficient counter to Cecilia's range advantage, you'd be hard-pressed to pull out a win in a one on one combat. You know, oddly enough, you would probably be the easiest fight for Charlotte..."

Rin was leveling a glare at him before he even finished saying that. "And just what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, I don't know everyone's machines as well as any of you do, but your Shen Long is a medium to close range combat type, right? Compared to everyone else, that would be the most manageable for her. Alcott has a massive range advantage, Bodewig can tank any direct attack, which would make it almost impossible for Dunois to deal damage in a one on one fight, and Shinonono, well... I barely know anything about it, but even based on the vague reports from the Gospel incident, her I.S. seems overpowered for anyone. Oh, I guess she'd be pretty advantaged in a fight against Orimura though."

His Chinese companion didn't seem entirely pleased with his assessment, though she didn't actually disagree with it. "You are seriously underestimating Shen Long's Dragon Cannons. They shoot invisible concussion rounds, you know? Combine that with its melee abilities and I'm one of the best duelists of the bunch! Houki doesn't count, with her bullshit hacker I.S.!"

Church shook his head, wondering if he should tell Rin that Chifuyu had apparently considered her the best match for Houki in a one on one fight. Maybe it would be best to avoid stroking her ego right now. Speaking of which, he wondered how Chifuyu had ultimately decided on the match ups here. Had she decided to randomize it, in the end?

The next match up, Laura Bodewig versus Kanzashi Sarashiki, seemed to support that notion. Considering that it wasn't a government approved armament, there wasn't really that much detail on Kanzashi's Uchigane Nishiki, but the name was all the information one needed: it was a customized Uchigane, which was a Generation Two platform, and a pretty basic one at that. If the matches had actually been planned out instead of randomized, wouldn't it have made sense for the two Generation Two I.S. to fight each other?

A comment from Rin made it clear how she felt about the situation, even though it was curt. "Well, this probably isn't going to be good."

"For Bodewig or Sarashiki?"

The brunette simply cocked an eyebrow at him, clearly feeling that clarification wasn't needed. Frankly, Church agreed, even though he had asked in the first place. He had barely spoken to Kanzashi, but he felt kind of bad for expecting a curb stomp battle, and not in her favor. It was just that, to the best of his knowledge, Laura was an extremely formidable opponent: she was ranked in the high A-Class, and her Schwarzer Regen was a downright menace, possessing exceptionally high defensive power, one of the strongest ranged weapons available on an I.S., and versatile melee weapons, all in the hands of an expert.

Church didn't know how good Kanzashi was or what her Uchigane Nishiki could do, but if he was forced to bet anything of value on the outcome of this fight, he would have put it on Laura without a second thought. Schwarzer Regen's only real weaknesses were below average mobility and the directional nature of it's Active Inertial Canceller, but those disadvantages didn't mean much in a one on one fight. Laura was almost invincible in any direction of her choosing, so the only option for a combatant that had to fight her alone was to somehow attack from multiple directions at once. Most I.S. weren't equipped to do that. Cecilia and her BITS may have actually been the worst match up for Laura, but that wasn't the situation, now was it?

As soon as the match started, Kanzashi booked it in reverse while blasting energy beams from particle cannons on her Uchigane. Laura didn't move an inch, short of raising one arm to activate her AIC. The energy field that emanated from her gauntlet completely negated the incoming attacks.

As Church watched the silver haired girl react so calmly and unflinchingly, he tacked on another descriptor to her identity. She had mad boss bitch vibes, that one. He'd been kind of scared of her before, but he had to admit, the nonchalant badassery was kind of hot.

With no reason to dawdle around, the German launched her I.S. forward while keeping her AIC up, keeping her safe from all the particle beams coming her way. To the best of Church's knowledge, the AIC required significant focus to use, but he supposed it didn't take much focus to move forward. Of course, she had to drop the shield to manifest the energy blades on the Schwarzer Regen's arms when she got close, but she only had to eat one particle shot with how much distance was left, and that was a small sacrifice for her I.S.

Kanzashi was quick to summon a melee weapon of her own, what appeared to be a naginata with an energy blade, but it became apparent quite quickly that it wasn't going to help her much. There were a number of things not in her favor here. For one, Laura was already very close, and a naginata was a polearm, meaning it was hard to get the dangerous stabby part to hit someone that was right up in your face. Second, Laura had two blades, and Kanzashi only had one. And finally, there was a very obvious difference in skill as far as close quarters combat was concerned. No surprise there: Laura had been trained as an elite commando prior to even becoming an I.S. pilot. Kanzashi, on the other hand, was clearly not the type of person that had been practicing martial arts all her life.

The end result was Laura effortlessly landing several hits with her energy blades, costing Kanzashi a fair deal of her shield energy. Quickly realizing that she was going to lose in an extended conflict of this nature, Kanzashi rocketed into the air to try and escape when an opening presented itself. However, she didn't make it very far before Laura had caught her Uchigane Nishiki around the leg with several energy whips from her arms. With its legs dug into the ground and thrusters moving in reverse, Schwarzer Regen was powerful enough to hold its opponent in place. With Kanzashi immobilized, Laura aimed her powerful railgun in the girl's direction.

Foreseeing an immediate loss if she was hit by such a dangerous weapon, Kanzashi did the only thing she could think of, that being the release of several missiles from her machine, which arced towards Laura on the ground below. Clearly, she was expecting Laura to release her so she could dodge the missiles.

Frankly, that's what Church expected the German pilot to do as well. Considering the small size of Exeter and its inherently low armor value, Church was hardwired to avoid damage whenever possible. However, Laura didn't seem to feel the same way about defense. In fact, she didn't make any move to avoid the missiles at all. Instead, she maintained her position and fired her railgun directly into Kanzashi's I.S., as she had originally intended.

The massive shot smashed Kanzashi's I.S., forcing it to crash to the ground even as Schwarzer Regen was consumed by a dozen explosions, leaving the fate of the combatants unclear due to dust and debris. But it didn't take long for that to clear, and the end result was pretty obvious: Laura was still standing, and Kanzashi's Uchigane Nishiki was inoperable on the ground. Yamada's voice over the intercom confirmed it.

"Winner, German Representative Candidate Laura Bodewig!"

Rin leaned over to Church as the two combatants deactivated their I.S. so they could shake hands. "Told ya."

While Church had also been betting on Laura's victory, he hadn't quite expected it to come around so quickly. The skirmish had hardly lasted a minute, and in the end, Laura had not taken a single hit that hadn't been of her own choosing. She'd only taken damage when she deemed it an acceptable trade, being in complete control of the combat the entire time. The look of defeat on Kanzashi's face, even at this distance, spoke volumes about her humiliation.

He could understand why such a total defeat would be demoralizing for any pilot, but Church hoped the girl would take all the factors into consideration before putting herself down. A fight against one of the school's best pilots, and one of the world's most advanced I.S., wasn't exactly a fair representation of her abilities. Besides, Church didn't really believe that one on one duels like this were fair to the pilots and what they could do. Real combat situations added much more flexibility. Cramming two pilots in a relatively small fighting area and telling them to duke it out would almost always put one of them at a big disadvantage.

Either way, Church made a mental note of how dangerous an opponent Laura was. Hopefully any sort of real confrontation would never come to pass, but if it did, it would pay to be wary.

Following the scuffle between Laura and Kanzashi, there were a few matches between people Church didn't recognize, so he didn't pay much attention to them. Rin clearly didn't care much for them either, since she directed more of her attention to her conversation with Church. Most of that conversation ended up being about what she would have done in any of the fights they had seen so far. Church supposed that made sense, since Rin was using all of this as a learning experience of some sort.

Eventually though, the final match rolled around, and it was one that greatly interested both of them. Houki Shinonono versus Ichika Orimura. Needless to say, Church was obligated to pay very close attention to this fight, for Akatsubaki if nothing else. The only real information any outside country had on the thing was what had been seen during the Silver Gospel incident, and there was no way to tell how much of its capabilities had actually been made known at that time. A full schematic readout would be best, but even mere observation was worth the effort.

Rin also seemed particularly focused on the battle, though Church could only guess why. Was she rooting for her crush to win, or was she also observing Akatsubaki, looking for some type of weakness? Maybe it was both.

As for Church, he was initially struck with how different Akatsubaki really was from other I.S. Sure, he'd seen the battle recording from the Silver Gospel, but that had mostly consisted of high-speed action shots that weren't always clear. Now that Akatsubaki was just hovering in the air, preparing to fight, he could get a much better look at it.

It had two pairs of winglike extensions on its back, as opposed to the shoulder pauldrons of most I.S. Unlike nearly every other model out there, it had slim feet, because it lacked the large stabilizers of all its contemporaries. Church assumed the lack of these things meant Akatsubaki simply didn't need them. He couldn't help but wonder just how advanced it was compared to Generation Three I.S., which were already considered cutting edge by the world's standards. He supposed Byakushiki was also of interest, considering its advanced nature, but now that Akatsubaki had blown its specs out of the water, no one really cared about it.

Worry not, Operator. Keep your eyes on the battle and I will be more than capable of analyzing both combatants. I can only see what you see from in here, after all.

Considering how quiet it had been, Church had honestly forgotten about Cerberus for a minute. Frankly, he didn't like the knowledge that the AI literally saw the world through his eyes. Kinda made him a little paranoid about something as simple as looking around. Because a simple acknowledgment wasn't really needed, Church said nothing in response to his partner as the match above them began.

Seeing as how both Akatsubaki and Byakushiki had swords as primary weapons, it came as no surprise when the two machines rushed forward and clashed in midair, with said swords grating against one another. The next few seconds were full of aspects of swordsmanship Church only knew a little bit about: parries, deflections, feints, and all sorts of other things that a layman could identify as impressive, but not really understand the technicalities of. Eventually the two pilots began maneuvering around one another to try and land hits on their opponent, which added an extra level of complexity to the duel that one could never see in traditional swordsmanship.

In fact, as the two machines raced back and forth and spun around each other to strike at perceived weaknesses, it became clear that Houki was personally invested in making this a sword fight. Based on the Silver Gospel footage, Church knew that Akatsubaki had other weapons, including some ranged options, but she didn't seem particularly interested in using them.

The real question was why. Maybe Houki was uncomfortable with ranged weapons: to the best of public knowledge, she was a skilled swordswoman, but had little experience with guns. But then again, maybe she was just more interested in a contest of swordsmanship with Ichika in particular. Maybe she was just trying to prove some sort of point.

If that was the case, then the Japanese girl was certainly succeeding. As the fight wore on, there was no question that Houki was the objectively superior swordsman. She constantly had Ichika on the defensive, and her opponent, though clearly skilled himself, had few opportunities to actually push any sort of advantage. Of course, Houki also had two swords compared to Ichika's one, and Church doubted that was some small disadvantage.

Besides, anytime Houki wanted to move away, she could easily escape any danger. Byakushiki, being a dedicated melee unit, was undeniably fast. But Akatsubaki was faster, in both top speed and acceleration. Houki could disengage at any time she wished, which meant that this whole duel was a formality at best: if she wanted to, Houki could have easily ran circles around Ichika, shooting him from a distance while he was completely helpless. He only had his sword, and he couldn't catch her if she willed it.

So clearly, Houki was trying to test their sword skills or something. Unfortunately, this didn't help Church or his mission very much. With Houki focusing so much on her swords, he wasn't actually gaining any valuable data on what else it could do. Right now, all he was confirming was that Akatsubaki had two swords and was fast. Of particular note was a worrisome little thing the Silver Gospel had recorded during its rampage: what appeared to be Akatsubaki providing energy to another I.S.

It wasn't that normal I.S. couldn't donate some of their power supply to other units, but Akatsubaki had seemingly powered Byakushiki up beyond even its normal parameters, and then had continued to operate at peak efficiency itself. The implications were worrisome: did Akatsubaki really have that much energy? Or was the reality something even worse than that?

Operator, perhaps it would be best to simply ask? You have a companion present who has seen the machine in action and been friends with its owner since it made its debut. Perhaps she knows something?

Church glanced over at Rin, who was still focusing intently on the fight above her. Cerberus had a point: maybe Houki's friends knew a thing or two about Akatsubaki. It was just a matter of wording the question so it didn't seem suspicious.

"Is this really a fair fight? Seems like Orimura has no chance from down here."

Thankfully, Rin wasn't the type who couldn't hear people around her when she was focusing on something else. She managed to answer him even though she didn't take her eyes off the fight.

"Well, he's got a knack for that. Ichika is really good at getting his ass kicked for an entire fight, only to pull a win out of thin air at the last second. I guess he kind of has to operate that way, what with a sword that uses most of his energy for a one-hit kill, but... I don't think that's going to work this time."

Not sure if this line of conversation would go where he wanted it, Church figured he had no choice but to entertain it anyway. Besides, maybe he would learn something useful regardless.

"And why's that?"

"For one, Houki has seen him do it plenty of times, so she should be expecting it. Two, Ichika usually uses his speed to catch people off-guard with it, but Akatsubaki is clearly faster than him. And three... well, even if he did hit Houki, who knows if it would even work."

Seems this could be a beneficial line of questioning after all, Operator.

We'll see in about two seconds.

"Why not? Orimura's ultimate attack takes down I.S. shields, right? And when a shield goes down, the match ends. That should work on Akatsubaki too."

This time, Rin actually turned her attention back to her conversational partner. Maybe she had gleaned all she could from the fight above her at the moment. After all, it was just a sword duel that Houki was dominating, and a few air maneuvers.

"First of all, Ichika's Reiraku whatever the hell he calls it doesn't one-shot shields. It does a whole lot of damage to them. It just turns out that the damage is usually higher than the max shield strength of an I.S., so it tends to be a one-shot. All well and good most of the time, assuming he hits his target. But according to Houki, Akatsubaki can regenerate shield energy."

Church catalogued the knowledge he had learned thus far before continuing the conversation. "Can't we all, though? It's perfectly feasible to divert power from any other system to strengthen the shields."

"No, not like that. Houki said that it's like, literally regeneration out of nowhere. She doesn't have to draw from any other system. Which sounds like bullshit, 'cuz power has to come from somewhere, right? But we've literally seen her do it a couple of times. She's either given power to others at no expense to herself or completely regenerated her own shields in a matter of seconds. It's ridiculous!"

Church frowned as he inwardly agreed with Rin's assessment. This was definitely the worst reality that could have existed. If Akatsubaki just had very high shield strength, that was one thing. That just meant you had to hit it a lot, but when it was down it was down. But if the shield could be regenerated time and time again, it became a matter of attrition. How many times did you have to take it down? Could you even do damage fast enough to take it down, if the shields were regenerating so quickly?

It also meant Houki had an even bigger advantage over everyone else than Church had originally thought. Being faster than everyone was one thing, but this business with her shield was another entirely. Even a far superior pilot would be hard-pressed to win, simply because they would have to do so much work to do so, while Houki had ample chances to secure a victory.

It was a noob with 10,000 health points versus a veteran with 100. The veteran may have been better, but they had to deal a hundred times more damage to win, whereas the amateur only had to hit you a few times, and even an amateur could manage that against someone with skill. This whole situation with Akatsubaki was shaping up to be even worse than he had thought. Short of some sort of EMP weapon that could completely disable an I.S. in one stroke, Church had no idea how one could conventionally defeat it.

But it wasn't his job to come up with countermeasures. He just had to gather the data. Besides, he still had a conversation to carry on with Rin. "You think her Akatsubaki could regenerate its shields faster that Orimura could take them down, even with his special attack?"

Rin shrugged as she returned her gaze to the sky, where steel was still clashing. "I guess. Hard to tell, since he's never tried it. But by the looks of things, Ichika doesn't think it will work himself. Normally he'd have tried it by now. Though I guess he probably has little shield energy left at this point anyway."

As if heralded by Rin's words, a horn blared after Houki landed her next strike, signaling the end of the match. Apparently, Ichika hadn't been a match after all, though it didn't really seem like a fair comparison. Kind of like Laura and Kanzashi all over again.

Rin sighed as the match ended, not making it any clearer what she hoped the outcome would be. Was she upset that Ichika had lost or that she hadn't gleaned anything useful about fighting Akatsubaki? Church didn't get the chance to question her on it, since Yamada's voice was announcing the end of the tournament over the intercom, prompting curiosity on that front instead.

"Oh? There's a few other pilots with personal I.S., right? What about the older Sarashiki?"

"That harlot? Hell if I know. Who cares?"

Church was a little surprised by the vehemence, mostly because he had no context at all. Tatenashi struck him as the flirty type, but he had no idea what had happened to earn her the title of harlot in Rin's eyes. Had the student council president somehow wronged her in the past?

He figured it would be better not to ask. If the knowledge became important at some point, he was sure Rin would tell him. Instead, he focused on the fact that most of the audience was making their exit from the stadium.

"So, now what? Should we leave?"

Rin cocked an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean 'we?' I only invited you to watch the matches, remember?"

The nonchalant way she said that kind of stung, Church had to admit. Maybe he just hadn't expected a cold shoulder at this point. However, Rin cracked a smirk at him rather quickly.

"Man, the look on your face: I'm just joking. But I don't really have anything planned after this. I was just gonna wait till everyone leaves so I can talk to Ichika and the others."

Feeling a bit of relief at Rin's reveal of a joke, Church decided he'd stick it out with her a little longer. This may have been a good chance to further ingratiate himself with the group he was trying to infiltrate, after all.

"Well, it's not like I have anything to really do. Will you mind if I stay?"

"I guess I can tolerate it. I do feel kind of bad for putting that kicked puppy expression on your face just now."

"You've got a funny way of saying 'I like your company.' That's going to get in the way of your romantic life, you know."

His brunette companion shot him a displeased glare at that, though the following thoughtful look on her face made it seem as though she immediately considered what Church had just said. That kept her quiet for a while, though they did have to start up a conversation again regardless, since it would take several minutes for people to clear out of the stands and it would have been awkward to sit there in silence for that long. Oddly enough, the conversation turned to food again, though it was Church who started it this time. He was really just trying to make conversation.

"I wonder what they're going to have for dinner tonight?"

Maybe the topic of food was enough to get Rin's attention, since she answered. "They usually have a bunch of options from different regions of the world each night. You know, something for everyone and all that. Actually, I think they're having Sichuan pork tonight..."

"Oh, that sounds good."

Rin scoffed at this, folding her one good arm over the one in the sling. "Meh, mine's better."

"I think I'd have to taste yours to confirm that. Can't just take you at your word, you know?"

The brunette next to him responded with a knowing look. "Think you're clever, do you? Almost seems desperate, at this point."

"Come on, I've only asked twice. That's hardly desperate!"

"Well, who asks a girl to cook for them within three days of meeting her anyway? Isn't that kind of weird?"

Frankly, Church didn't really have a response to that, because she may have had a point. That was kind of quick, all things considered. Still, he couldn't fold on his own stance that easily.

"Well, to be fair, I wouldn't ask anyone who wasn't a skilled cook. And hey, you speak so highly of your cooking every time it comes up, so it's only reasonable that I'd be excited to try it, right?"

Rin's expression was one of consternation as she took his words into consideration. Maybe she felt that he had a point of sorts. She did brag about her cooking a lot, so it would be kind of weird to never be willing to prove it. Not that Church was asking for proof so much as he was a favor, but still. She figured she would take the idea into consideration, even if she wasn't going to give a straight answer right now.

"If you keep being fun to talk to, I'll think about it. Right now though, I think the stands have cleared enough that we can head down. Though we might have to wait since everyone might be showering after the matches... ah well, we should still wait a little closer to the ground level. Come on."

Watching as his brunette companion rose from her seat to walk away from him, Church took a moment to appraise her back instead of immediately following her. Rin certainly had an acerbic way of showing it, but Church was pretty sure he was growing on her. Naturally, that was good for his mission. But honestly, his real joy from that acknowledgment came from its own merits.

It'd been a long time since he'd really had anyone his own age he could call his friend.

Operator, please refrain from frivolous thoughts. Besides, your new 'friend' is going to grow confused if you continue to sit here.

Though annoyed by the uninvited voice of his AI companion, Church nevertheless did as Cerberus suggested, and rose to follow Rin down to the ground level. He hated when the machine had a point.

Chapter Text

Church wasn't far behind Rin as she walked down the bleachers that surrounded the arena at the I.S. Academy following the tournament they'd watched together. Church wasn't sure if they were supposed to encounter her friends on the grounds themselves or at the arena entrance, but ultimately, Rin's intent didn't matter anyway. After all, once they actually got closer to the ground level, someone called out to them.

"Huang, down here."

Glancing down the few feet that separated her from the dirt below, Rin noticed that Chifuyu was standing at the foot of it, wearing a white tracksuit of sorts instead of her usual attire. Somehow, she looked just as professional and severe, even in something that casual.

Church peeked over the wall too, noting that Rin had a weirdly nervous look on her face. She wasn't afraid of Chifuyu, was she? Well, Church himself was a little wary of her, but that was just a healthy degree of self-preservation. Chifuyu had that dangerous air about her even when she wasn't actually trying to be threatening. Naturally, Chifuyu addressed him since he had revealed himself too.

"Oh, Church. Glad to see you're still here."

"Still? How'd you know I was here in the first place?"

"I occupy the control room during tournaments. It's not hard to see who is and isn't present on all the cameras. Plus, most everyone in the stands wears white and you have a crimson jacket. You do stand out. And you seem to have forgotten that you told me you would be here."

Glancing down at his jacket and wondering how he had forgotten such a statement, Church tried not to fret over memory loss. "Fair enough... why are you glad I'm still here though?"

Chifuyu pointed towards the other end of the stadium, where the other Representative Candidates were waiting. "I thought now was a good time to talk about some practical tests. If you're alright with it, that is."

Looking over at Rin, Church silently questioned whether or not this was going to interrupt her plans somehow. Kind of weird to do that, considering that they were just fresh acquaintances. In the end, Rin just shrugged, metaphorically throwing her hands up.

"Well, this is what I was going to do anyway, right?"

Having earned their agreement, Chifuyu nodded to them. "Then come on down. Meet us over at the other end of the stadium."

As the older woman walked away, Rin cocked an eyebrow at Church. "That exchange sounded like you two aren't total strangers."

Church turned towards one of the exits so he could make it down to the ground level as Chifuyu has directed. "Well, she oversees the tests for my suit. So, yeah, can't exactly be strangers."

"Sounds like a nightmare."

"Are you scared of Chifuyu?"

There was a look on Rin's face that said yes, but an immediate scoff that followed afterwards. "No, yeah right! She just seems like such a hard-ass, how could spending time with her possibly be fun?"

It seems that she does indeed fear Chifuyu Orimura to some extent.

Thanks, Cerberus, I think I figured that out.

It didn't take long for Church and Rin to make it to the ground level of the stadium, though it did take another minute or so to cross the whole area on foot. It was built for air to air combat between giant mechs, after all. Once they got closer, Rin called out to everybody, which consisted of the Orimura siblings, Laura, Cecilia, Houki and Charlotte. Church wasn't sure why Kanzashi wasn't here. She was a Representative Candidate too, to the best of his knowledge.

"Hello, Ichika~! And the rest of you, I guess."

Rin's friendly yet mocking greeting was immediately followed up by a more reserved one from Church. After all, he wasn't familiar enough with anyone to make an approach like Rin's. Besides, he had to think of some way to distract himself from the sight here: with everyone still in skin tight sync suits, very little female anatomy was being left to the imagination. It was pretty easy to tell that Charlotte had perkier breasts than Cecilia, or that Laura was rocking the toned midriff better than anyone else. Church couldn't let any kind of reaction to this visual knowledge show on his face. He had no idea how Ichika dealt with all of these boobs, butts and thighs on display whenever everyone was in this attire.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Great work in the tournament today, you were all very impressive."

The praise went over well enough to earn a few smiles and acknowledgments, though they were solely from Ichika and Charlotte. There was a notable lack of friendly response from Laura or Cecilia. They mostly gave him guarded or haughty looks. He supposed that was fair enough in Laura's case, but Cecilia just seemed to dislike him on some sort of principle Church couldn't fathom. As for Houki, he was a complete stranger to her, so a lack of positive response was only natural there.

Before anyone could actually say anything in response to Church, however, Chifuyu crossed her arms and spoke over the whole group. "Well, some of the performances were impressive. But make no mistake. You all have things that need improvement. But we'll focus on that later."

Seemingly a little irritated, Cecilia spoke her thoughts on this 'later' business. "Then why are we here right now? I detest sitting around in this suit after exercise..."

Chifuyu shot the blonde a glare, clearly unhappy with the mere implication that she was wasting anyone's time. "We're here, Alcott, because one of the reasons our guest is staying at our illustrious academy is to share information on his country's new design. A big part of that will be mock combat against pilots such as yourself. And while I will probably only pick one of you to spar with him today, there is great insight to be gained from watching an engagement, especially one with a never-before-seen opponent. Or are you content with never improving to match your peers?"

Considering that Cecilia had actually won her match today, Church didn't know who she was being compared to. Maybe Chifuyu meant Laura or something. He supposed Houki could be considered better than Cecilia, but that was clearly a hardware issue, as opposed to skill. Either way, Cecilia fell silent due to Chifuyu's somewhat scathing words.

Rin seemed amused by Cecilia's fate, though she made sure to stay silent lest she incur Chifuyu's wrath as well. Charlotte didn't seem cowed in any way, but then again, she hadn't been accosted.

"I for one am more than happy just to watch. I'm very interested in your hardware, Church. A machine that can compete with Infinite Stratos... most companies thought that day was decades away at best. What I'd give to take part in the R and D testing..."

Ichika, who was standing close to her, didn't seem to understand the blonde's excitement on the matter. "It's just another flying machine, Charl. Is it really that interesting?"

Church noticed the briefest of disgruntled expressions from the French blonde, but it was wiped away fairly quickly. He was almost unsure if he had even seen it, but surely even a seemingly sweet person like Charlotte had nerves to be tested. He couldn't help but wonder how often Ichika did exactly that.

Either way, Chifuyu was quick to move things along. "Alright, unlike the rest of you I still have a full day ahead of me, so let's not keep dawdling around. You can do social hour afterwards."

The visiting American was certain he heard Cecilia insult that notion under her breath. He really wasn't sure why she disliked him to this extent. He'd honestly thought they could have hit it off after bonding over that shared interest with the Spitfires. Regardless, Chifuyu either didn't notice the interruption or didn't care to comment on it.

"Ichika. Get ready. You're going to fight him today."

Both Church and Ichika frowned at this, though for vastly different reasons. Naturally, Church was hoping for Houki so he could glean more information about the Akatsubaki. Ichika didn't seem against the idea, so much as confused by it.

"I'm glad to, but why me? Laura sounded like she really wanted to throw down with him by the way she was talking the other day."

The young German girl shot him a look that clearly said 'don't say that right in front of him,' but Ichika was none the wiser to it. Church wasn't sure if he had even seen it. Chifuyu didn't pay it any mind either, instead choosing to answer the question her brother had posed.

"Well, while this little sparring match won't have any effect on rankings, I think I speak for both of us when I say that your fight against Shinonono was a little disappointing today. Or were you satisfied with the way things played out? I just thought you'd like a chance to have a more even fight today."

For his part, Church felt mildly insulted that he was considered an even fight while Houki wasn't. But for one, he very well may have been, considering Akatsubaki's many strengths. Two, he was fairly certain Chifuyu was just trying to galvanize her brother to action, rather than trying to say anything about Church personally. It seemed to work, if Ichika's reaction was any indication.

The younger Orimura glanced over at Houki, who didn't seem pleased to be made out as the bad guy of sorts here. Not that it seemed as though Ichika was angry with her or anything. He did seem frustrated with the situation Chifuyu had so readily spelled out though.

"I guess you're right about that. It was kind of a disappointing fight. And besides, I really would like to fight you man-to-man, Church!"

The opponent in question was once again confused by Ichika's weird focus on this man-to-man business, but he said nothing. Chifuyu broke the silence again anyway.

"Well alright then. You two suit up. Everyone else go to the stands."

Ichika offered a handshake to Church first, which the latter accepted by laws of courtesy. Once that was done, the would-be opponents walked themselves to opposite sides of the field, and everyone not involved in the fight moved to the stands. Once the field was clear of any possible 'accidents,' both pilots readied up their unique combat systems, the two of them being bathed in light temporarily. As Orimura's I.S. materialized, Church opened up the database in his visor and searched for info on the hostile machine, Byakushiki. Naturally he'd seen it in the Silver Gospel footage, and there was generally more information on it than Akatsubaki, but there was no need to rely on his knowledge alone.

I don't think I've ever run a simulation against this model before.

Cerberus took mere seconds to search for all accessible information relevant to the Japanese model.

Likely not, Operator. The model being used by our opponent is a unique armament. There is only one of this Byakushiki, as it was specifically designed for Orimura. All I can tell you is that it is a prototype Fourth Generation I.S., and that it has but one melee weapon, the Yukihira, unless it enters a Second Shift.

So this I.S. is where the data for Shinonono's true fourth gen unit came from. If the thing about Akatsubaki regenerating shields is true, it makes sense. Houki could recharge Byakushiki indefinitely so it could continue using its special shield busting attack. Although, we technically don't have to worry about that too much. We still have armor under our shields, unlike I.S...

Perhaps, Operator, but in the interest of fairness I believe the match will still be decided by who loses their shields first.

The brief mental conversation between the two of them was interrupted by a declaration from Chifuyu at the sidelines. "Just like a normal match, when your shields are gone, you lose. Whenever you're ready, you may begin."

While this was friendly sparring at best, Church put his serious game face on. For one, even if there was nothing truly tangible on the line here, he didn't want to lose when his skill in this suit was the main reason he got paid. Operating it was supposed to be what made him special, so getting trounced in it wasn't exactly desirable. Not to mention that there were a bunch of pretty girls watching: he wasn't the type to go out of his way to impress people on superficial grounds, but if the opportunity arose regardless, why let it go to waste? Though frankly, he was sure all of the spectators would have preferred for Ichika to win as opposed to him.

Finally, this fight was part of his duty here on behalf of Umbra Stratum. A good, long, complicated fight with an opponent meant more combat data on an I.S. unit and the Exeter suit itself, which had only run simulated battles against I.S. prior to now. He assumed that his employers would want him to make the most of this situation, and he wasn't going to give them a reason to question his employment.

That being the case, Church figured he would go hard from the very beginning, rather than waste time building up to it. With that in mind, he manifested a shoulder mounted coil-gun straightaway, that being one of the more powerful armaments available to him at this point in time. It was a far cry from the railgun on Laura's I.S., but this Gauss rifle would still pack far more of a punch than one would expect from a human sized battle machine. In fact, if Exeter didn't automatically compensate for the new weight distribution, Church would have been tipped over from the combined weight of the long barrel and its ammunition feed.

Thankfully, Exeter compensated for the significant recoil of the Gauss rifle as well, preventing Church from being knocked off his feet or dislocating his shoulder as he fired the weapon at Ichika. Contrary to popular opinion, there was recoil from mass accelerated munitions. It just wasn't the same kind as conventional projectile weapons.

The concussive blast from the barrel itself kicked up dirt from the ground below it, a testament to the amount of force the accelerated slug carried with it. Ichika, having been prepared to dodge a projectile, but not one quite that fast, was only able to partially dodge the attack. The heavy slug still clipped Byakushiki's left wing, allowing it to transfer its powerful force to the target as planned.

Besides lowering his shields by about nearly a full fourth, Ichika's I.S. was sent spiraling into the ground behind him, to the surprise of some of the audience. It wasn't quite fair, but with experience in what Ichika could do and no knowledge of what Church could do, they had probably expected their crush to land the first hit.

Of course, Ichika may have taken a clean hit at the very start, but he was no amateur pilot by now, and the young man recovered much too quickly for Church to line up another round from his Gauss rifle, which required considerable time to reload and reacquire a target. Byakushiki was now back on its feet and highly mobile, since Ichika was wary of another strike.

Technically, it wasn't impossible to hit a fast moving target with Exeter's Gauss rifle: in fact, such a quick projectile would have been ideal for hitting a moving target. But with the small size of Exeter, Church had to be grounded and mostly immobile for the suit to compensate for firing the weapon. In a one on one fight with a mobile enemy in a small arena, being stuck in one spot on the ground was far from ideal, so Church went ahead and allowed the Gauss rifle to dissipate.

Aiming to close in on his opponent while he was switching weapons, Ichika rushed Church with his inactive Yukihira. Unfortunately for him, Exeter had plenty of weapons that were built right into the suit. They didn't need to be constructed from the database, so there was no true opening to exploit in this situation. Of course, these weapons were generally not as powerful as the kind that needed to be retrieved from the Hyperspace Arsenal, but as Church readied his next weapon, he wasn't concerned with damage so much as keeping the melee Byakushiki away from him.

A lot of Exeter's weapons were quite conventional: unlike I.S., which needed supersized or otherwise impractical weapons to fight, Exeter was human sized, and thus used many human sized weapons. Of course, you still needed a certain type of firepower to deal any damage to a giant mech, which was why an XM556 Gatling machine gun barrel emerged from the forearm plating of the Exeter suit. The regular weapon was already much smaller than your conventional minigun, and with the Hyperspace Arsenal taking care of ammunition provision and the suit itself taking care of the external power requirements, the weapon had pretty much been boiled down to the barrel and feed system, which combined was still smaller than even some regular assault rifles and SMGs.

Of course, that meant the bullets themselves were only 5.56mm, which normally would have been laughable to an I.S. of any generation. But when you faced 6,000 5.56mm rounds a minute, that was a different story. Not even an I.S. shield could scoff at that.

With the built-in weapon ready to go before Ichika could actually reach him, Church unleashed a devastating hail of gunfire at his opponent, while simultaneously boosting away from him.

Naturally, Ichika was not in the business of diving straight through enemy fire, so he was again forced to retreat into the sky as Church tried to run him down with his lead fusillade. Distance would make it harder for his opponent to accurately hit him. Of course, that was exactly why Church pursued him into the air as he kept firing. He had plenty of time before cooling his barrels was even remotely an issue, and he had virtually infinite ammo, though there was technically some limit in the Umbra Stratum armory the Hyperspace Arsenal was drawing from.

Very unlike the duel between Ichika and Houki earlier, this situation was much less of a duel and far more of an attack and defend scenario. With no long range capability of his own, Ichika could do very little besides evade as Exeter followed his every maneuver in pursuit with the barrel of its current weapon. Of course, Byakushiki moved plenty fast enough to avoid bullets, so Church wasn't landing any real hits like this, but that merely prompted him to double his rate of fire.

Raising his other arm, Church unleashed a second XM556. After all, why have only one when you could have two? This meant that Ichika was now forced to handle 12,000 bullets every minute, and from potentially varying angles.

Since Church was now able to project his ammunition in two different directions, he made sure to fill Ichika's flight path with one stream while chasing him down with the other. This new tactic led to a lot more hits on Byakushiki, though not enough to severely deplete the unit's shields.

To the audience below, it become ever more obvious just how different the Exeter suit functioned compared to an I.S. The majority of I.S. weapons were heavy hitters that aimed to deal massive damage with every blow. Few I.S. employed small arms weapons that aimed to drop shields with focused fire. Most pilots and companies preferred big guns or powerful swords, instead of small arms. That was why most Gen 3 I.S. used energy weapons as opposed to projectiles, like the old Gen 2 models.

Point being, it was a situation Ichika had not dealt with too often. He had fought against steady projectile fire before when sparring with Charlotte, but he was still more used to countering power weapons than concentrated fire types. Even so, he knew he had to get out of this situation, or his foe would just chip his shields away a bit at a time.

Knowing that he could take a lot more hits from this small arms fire than he could a more powerful weapon, Ichika decided to trade off some shield energy for putting an end to this one-sided situation. At a moment in their chase that Exeter was close enough for it to work, Ichika activated Byakushiki's Ignition Boost, flying at top speed directly through the hail of bullets coming his way to close in on his unprepared opponent.

Much to his own chagrin, Church really had been unprepared for this counter, leaving him with no chance to dodge at all. All he could really do was put a stop to firing and use his arms to block Byakushiki's metal blade instead. The impact resulted in a painfully loud clash as it knocked him back, but more importantly, it dealt significant damage to his shields, lowering them by a full seventeen percent.

With the two combatants in perfect melee range, Church opted against using weapons at all in favor of simply swinging his free left leg in a powerful thruster-enhanced kick. With the difference in size between Exeter and Byakushiki, he could only target Ichika's arm, but even so the straightforward attack staggered Byakushiki and dealt even more damage to its shields.

Since straight up hand-to-hand combat was very rare in I.S. fights, a lot of the match's observers were shocked to see a human-sized machine successfully attack an I.S. with it. Without a doubt, fighting Exeter was much different than fighting an Infinite Stratos unit.

With some distance to maneuver now that he had knocked Ichika back a step or two, Church decided to descend to to the ground again. After all, with only melee attacks to worry about, it was actually better to be on the ground, as it removed one of the directions Byakushiki could approach him from.

Now that he had some time to access his Hyperspace Arsenal again, Church settled on Old Faithful for this next exchange. Like most of the larger weapons Exeter could muster, the two M2HB .50 caliber machine guns formed on support struts from the shoulders of the suit. It was kind of funny, using weapons that were designed in World War II this far into the future, but there was a good reason the U.S. military never bothered replacing the things. There wasn't much to improve on when it come to throwing .50 caliber bullets at things in high volume. And even in a world with shielded flying robots, that kind of firepower was still very significant.

Rounds fired from the M2HB traveled very fast. But unfortunately, I.S. reaction time was faster, and Ichika swiftly moved out of the way of the incoming threat. It didn't matter much if Church failed to do much damage this way. The real goal here was just to keep Ichika at bay, since melee was the only range where Byakushiki posed a threat. This was just a delaying tactic to give Church time to employ other maneuvers. Exeter had more than standard military hardware at its disposal.

Cerberus, arm the A-Z missiles, would you?

Affirmative, Operator.

Drawn from the Hyperspace Arsenal, two missile pods with thirteen munitions apiece formed on the outer thighs of the Exeter suit. When a target was locked, they would launch twenty-six homing missiles at the enemy. Without a doubt, having to dodge the .50's and AZ missiles simultaneously would be difficult for his opponent to do. Activating the new weapon, Cerberus modified the firing lines so that the missiles would split evenly and target the enemy from both the left and right. With the M2HB fire suppressing him as well, Ichika would be hard-pressed to come out of this one unscathed.

The missiles launched out of their respective modules, split into opposite directions, then turned back towards their target and accelerated. With bullets hounding his every move and missiles coming in from two different directions, Ichika was effectively caught in-between them all. Considering the hits he had already landed, Church expected this to end the match. He watched with satisfaction as the missiles converged on their target, but the end result was not quite what he had been hoping for.

Just before the missiles reached their target, in the moment where they had no room to maneuver, Ichika rocketed forward and blew past them. The missiles were unscathed, but had completely lost their target and continued harmlessly into the stadium shield before exploding. Now Ichika had closed the distance between them yet again, and Church was making a mental note to fire the missiles in a staggered fashion in the future.

With Ichika's sword approaching him at high speed again, Church decided that evasion was his best option, ducking down as far as he could and barely dodging Yukihira as it sliced through the air above him. Unfortunately, it also sliced through his left M2HB barrel while it was at it. Shield strength on weapon extremities was minimal, to avoid wasting power protecting non-crucial things.

Using his thrusters to increase the distance between he and Ichika once more, Church threw a displeased glare at his opponent as he allowed both M2HBs to dissipate. If he kept using the same strategy, Ichika was going to get the best of him. It was probably time for a different approach.

Oddly enough, Ichika did not rush him again immediately, instead maintaining the distance Church had created between them. From a tactical standpoint this made little to no sense: if you had to be in melee range to fight, why on earth would you maintain your distance from the enemy? Maybe Ichika wasn't taking this seriously enough to consider that, but Church doubted it. Maybe he just wasn't the type to attack an unready foe. Either way it was a wasted opportunity for him.

With a moment of silence in the arena since no one was attacking, Church was able to hear a rather snide comment from a certain Cecilia Alcott in the stands.

"Frankly, I am unimpressed. I suppose anything is a step up from a malfunctioning murder machine that can't be controlled, but it was foolish to think America's expo boy could take on an elite pilot like Ichika."

I'm starting to think she just doesn't like Americans.

On the contrary, Operator, I truly believe she simply does not like you.

A little annoyed by the AI's willingness to assert that so readily, Church sought to defend himself in as good of humor as possible. "Now now, your majesty, don't be jealous. If being humiliated is what you're into, I can fight you next."

A very unhappy and very irate expression commanded the blonde's face at that, made no better by the laugh Rin failed to contain at her expense. Even most of the other girls were grinning. Cecilia didn't get to counter though, since Ichika spoke up as well.

"Also, I don't really think I qualify as an elite pilot. I mean, I think Church is even winning right now."

Naturally, Cecilia was none too happy about this response from the man she had been praising in the first place. "You simpleton, I'm trying to support you here! At least try to live up to the expectations of a woman who has faith in you!"

Completely unclear on how he was supposed to respond to that, Ichika decided it would be best to turn his attention back to Church. "Sorry, having a pause in a fight like this must be weird."

"Yeah, just a little bit. Kind of threw a wrench in this cool thing I was going to do before we clashed again. Check this out."

Stretching his arm so some emitters could extend from his gauntlet, Church allowed an ethereal glowing beam of pale blue reminiscent of lightning to erupt forward. The pointed length of energy was roughly four feet long, but since it protruded from the gauntlet itself, the whole setup was more like a katar than a sword. Range of motion was admittedly a little less, but that was the price one paid for a weapon such as this. Faint wisps of gas swirled around the 'sword', illuminated by its bluish-white light. The name of this impressive weapon was 'Chrysaor.'

"Don't mind the gas, that's just a little bit of leakage. Even with magnetic containment, it's kind of difficult to fully lock in all of that plasma."

He said this while glancing over at the stands, since he was absolutely flexing here. Not that everyone understood how cool this really was, but there were certainly impressed looks on the more informed members of the audience, such as Chifuyu and Laura. Charlotte, for one, was unable to keep her excitement that tame.

"A plasma blade?! C'est magnifique! Nearly all I.S. energy weapons are laser-based due to efficient energy constraints and the limited length of magnetic containment... Church, what kind of gas is powering it? Could you use other gasses if you want? What's the maximum power output against-"

Fully aware that Charlotte of all people would go on a long tangent about I.S. weapons and development, Chifuyu cut her off before that could happen. Though admittedly, even she was a little curious.

"Enough, Dunois! You can ask him all of that on your own time."

Slightly abashed to be seen gushing about weapons in front of all of her friends, Charlotte meekly sat back in her seat, which she had risen from without noticing. "Oh, s-sorry..."

Church smiled to himself from the confines of his helmet.

Man, she is cute.

Operator, may I remind you that such thoughts serve only to distract us from the mission? Besides, you are still in battle.

While that was true, it wasn't like Ichika had been about to attack him while he was distracted. He did, however, seem pretty excited now that Church had drawn a sword of sorts.

"I don't really get the difference between your sword and mine, but a sword's a sword! I just hope this turns out better than it did with Houki..."

Warming up his thrusters for the series of close-range clashes about to take place, Church prepared to meet Ichika's Yukihira with Chrysaor. Contrary to Ichika's thoughts, a sword was not just a sword. In fact, Church was not sure what an exchange between a plasma blade and a regular one would look like. Of course there was the energy shielding to consider, but if he got through that, Church didn't know if Chrysaor would just cleave Ichika's metal sword in two. After all, it was just a physical blade until he activated its special form. Once that happened, Church had no idea what the result of the clash between the two weapons would be.

Well, that was one of the reasons he was supposed to be sparring against other pilots, after all.

The two pilots ignited their thrusters and rocketed towards each other, causing the distance between them to dwindle rapidly. As one closed in on the other, both Church and Ichika aimed their respective blades at the torso of their opponent. Church, at the last second, twisted his body in a way that evaded his enemy's attack while still landing his own. However, he only landed a glancing blow with Chrysaor, and Byakushiki's shields were still holding up after the encounter. As immensely hot as plasma was, contact that lasted a fraction of a second wasn't going to do much damage.

As the two machines slid to a stop across from each other, Church noted the look of worry on Ichika's face, though he had good reason for it. Exeter was a much smaller target than any I.S., and it also functioned like a human body instead of a mech. Those two aspects made Exeter a very maneuverable machine, making close quarters combat difficult for any enemy pilot. Compared to another I.S., Exeter was much smaller and far more flexible, and therefore much harder to hit.

But considering that a sword was all Ichika had available, he had no choice but to close in again, so that was what he did. Church did the same, though they didn't pass each other this time. Instead, they stayed close, putting on a show more reminiscent of a sword fight. Well, a sword fight between a man and a big machine, at any rate. Church couldn't help but imagine 'Rules of Nature' playing in the background.

It was immediately obvious as they began exchanging blows that Ichika was a far better swordsman than Church. He had form, technique, and obvious experience in fighting with his weapon. Church didn't really have any of that, but ironically, it didn't matter all that much, because of the huge difference in the two opponents.

Most sword techniques focused on combat with someone else who was pretty similar to you: someone of roughly equal size, with a weapon that was often near the same size as your own blade. This wasn't like that at all. Byakushiki towered over Exeter in height, and wielded a sword that was longer than the opponent it was facing. But said opponent was small, nimble, and capable of flight. Not to mention the fact that it was very hard to be precise when swinging such a large weapon at such a small target. Ichika couldn't really get around Church's guard, because the size of his weapon was too big compared to the size of his target. Church only had to put Chrysaor between him and his enemy to protect himself.

Moreover, Ichika noted that his shields were taking a lot more damage per clash than he was used to. Byakushiki's sword was shielded of course, since Ichika couldn't really afford to have it damaged. That meant that some shield damage was guaranteed whenever the sword impacted something, which definitely included another sword, physical or otherwise. Such shield damage was usually negligible, since sword clashes were either physical impacts or brief touches against a laser blade.

Church's plasma blade was doing a lot more damage to the shields whenever they connected, and Church seemed well aware of this, as he was constantly pushing his weapon forward to force it against Ichika's Yukihira for longer intervals. Byakushiki's shields were already at 35% at this point in the engagement.

Foreseeing an inevitable loss in a battle of attrition, Ichika decided that it would probably be best to go with his usual trump card. It really seemed like the Reiraku Byakura would be his only shot at victory here, and he wasn't looking forward to a second loss in one day. Besides, if he waited too much longer, he wouldn't even have enough energy to use his final attack.

Taking advantage of a lull in their melee exchange, Ichika boosted backwards for some distance, before sacrificing shield energy to activate his sword's final attack mode. Like always, the metal parts split away in order to emit a beam of energy that would demolish enemy shields.

Church easily identified the attack, but was worried for a particular reason.

Cerberus, can Chrysaor block that? Technically it's held together by a magnetic shield.

Unfortunately, I cannot say with certainty, Operator. I can only say that it is a distinct possibility that the Reiraku Byakura will destabilize the magnetic shielding and destroy your blade before passing on to you.

None too happy to hear that, Church hid his left arm behind his body so Ichika couldn't see the many pieces that were folding out or retracting in order to connect various tubes, struts and wires together. This unconventional array of equipment was necessary to power the emitter opening up on the palm of that hand. Ichika wasn't the only one with a trump card. Cerberus was more than capable of determining his intent.

Operator, I do not believe now is the time to unleash this level of firepower. Niddhog is a lethal weapon.

Church paid no mind to Cerberus and its advice. He knew Niddhog was probably overkill here: the sonic cannon was Exeter's ultimate weapon and could focus an immense amount of power into a very small area. It was absolutely intended to destroy targets, not be used in a friendly sparring match. But it would probably be fine. He could tone down the power output so it wasn't lethal, and still clinch a victory. It was a good strategy and only held a minor amount of risk to Ichika. It would be fine. That's what he told himself as he charged Niddhog to a fraction of its full power.

But when Byakushiki rushed forward with its powered up Yukihira, Church reconsidered his plan of action in the few moments he had to commit to it or not. Niddhog could be powered down, but it was still a sonic weapon. Would I.S. shields even work against it? Would using it accidentally kill Ichika in a mere sparring match? The absolute last thing America needed right now was a second catastrophe at the hands of one of their machines. This one would be even worse since Exeter was under human control.

Maybe he had gotten ahead of himself in the heat of the moment. This was a bit too reckless for a situation that wasn't life or death. Only problem was, he had already charged the weapon, and it wasn't the type of armament where he could just let the energy dissipate. It had to go somewhere.

That said, the safest thing to do would have been to fire it into the air or something, completely away from Ichika. But at the same time, he couldn't just allow himself to eat a direct blow from the powered up Yukihira. Maybe it would just fry his shields, but it had just as much of a chance of causing some other critical damage to Exeter itself, and Church was obligated to avoid that kind of damage if possible.

So, he settled for the middle ground: literally. Church aimed Niddhog at the ground in-between he and his approaching opponent, and braced himself for a considerable shock wave and a lot of debris. Releasing all of that stored power in-between he and his foe, the entire stadium was filled with a deafening clap that would have easily destroyed the hearing of both pilots had they not been protected by their respective technologies. The wave of sound was accompanied by a wall of force, followed by tons of earth dislodged by the blast. Church, despite his attempts to the contrary, was blasted backwards by an impact greater than a bullet train, and was flung all the way to the opposite end of the stadium.

He was briefly able to acknowledge that the attack had been way more powerful than anticipated, and that he had been foolish to consider Niddhog in the first place. About the time that thought finished, he slammed through the arena shield and into the metal alloy wall behind it, leaving a massive dent in the structure. Despite the armor he was wearing, he was instantly rendered unconscious by the impact, leaving everyone else to deal with the aftermath of this short, yet undeniably destructive battle.

---

"...is he alright?"

"We can't tell, since his suit is still active."

Church heard foggy and distant voices in his head, but the only thing they did was intensify his headache. He slowly cracked one eye open, then the other, only to find his vision filled by his HUD, playing a recording of the relatively brief battle with Ichika Orimura.

...Cerberus?

Church's tentative question was met with an enthusiastic response. Ah, Operator. Glad to see that you are not discontinued. Replacing you would have been a hassle.

Good to see you care. What happened?

Cerberus didn't seem too bent out of shape by Church's lack of enthusiasm for its joke. If it even was a joke. It was really hard to tell, most of the time.

The close proximity from Niddhog's discharge caused an impact that rendered you unconscious. You were carried to the infirmary by Academy instructors, but the suit is still active because safety protocols deem that it cannot be deactivated while the operator is unconscious in a hostile environment.

Church found this tidbit a little odd.

Are we really going to call this place a hostile environment?

Is it not? Most of the people here are strangers. You and your suit are of great value. You have no idea what they might do.

Frankly, Church found that notion to be somewhat ridiculous, but he supposed it was not particularly unfounded. From a purely objective point of view there was at least some sense to it. For now, he wanted to focus on the other half of the battle's outcome.

What happened to Ichika? Did he get hurt? I can't imagine my next morning with Chifuyu will go well if he did.

He suffered some minor injuries, but nothing that cannot be recovered via mere rest. Your terrible aim ensured that he didn't face any serious risk.

I missed on purpose, Cerberus. In fact, weren't you the one who told me that Niddhog was too much to be unleashing on someone? You warned me that it was lethal, making it pretty obvious that you thought killing Ichika was a bad idea.

The AI ws quiet for a moment, perhaps processing something about that.

Well, it was a bad idea at the time, most assuredly. However, there is a possibility that the mission could turn lethal at some point.

The objective is data retrieval. Under what circumstances would I have to kill anyone? Or are you just doing some computer nonsense about how 'the probability isn't exactly zero?'

Of course, Operator. It's just that Umbra Stratum would prefer you to be willing to kill someone if it came down to a valuable asset like the Exeter suit. Although, I believe we already have an indicator of your willingness on that front, according to the initial testing you went through for the organization.

Not entirely happy to be reminded of that, Church expressed as much, unknowingly vocalizing the thought. "Keep that record buried, if you don't mind..."

A tapping on the visor of the Exeter suit startled Church out of his thoughts and his conversation with Cerberus.

"I think I heard something. Hey, are you awake in there?"

Remembering that he had heard voices upon waking up, Church deactivated the battle replay, its image being quickly replaced with the face of a familiar brunette with several band-aids and bandages on her face, trying to peer past Exeter's opaque visor. Before he received the fish tank treatment again, Church deactivated Exeter completely, and the suit began to fold away before dissipating. As it finished, Church found himself lying in the exact same bed Rin had been in not too long ago.

"How ironic."

Catching onto his meaning, Rin smiled at him. "Isn't it? How the tables turn, huh?"

Church rubbed the side of his face as he sat up, taking stock of the room. The nurse that was usually there was in the corner at her desk. She wasted no time stepping into the conversation when she found the opening that was right this moment.

"Glad to see you awake. Our ability to diagnose you while inside your suit was limited, but best as we could tell, you didn't suffer any serious or permanent injury. That said, it may help to take stock of your health now that you are more accessible. Do you mind?"

Since he had just been inside the Exeter suit and Cerberus had neglected to mention that he was seriously injured in any way, Church figured he would just skip any sort of extra diagnosis.

"I appreciate the offer, but my suit has a health diagnostic system. I don't have any injuries that require treatment."

Since that kind of technology was fairly commonplace these days, the nurse wasn't put off by it. "If you say so. You're free to leave anytime you wish, in that case."

With that out of the way, Church turned his attention back to Rin, who was clearly waiting for him to finish his exchange. "So... not to sound ungrateful, but I'm surprised you came to see me instead of Ichika. Where is he anyway? I seem to be the only one in the infirmary."

Rin placed her one good hand on her hip. "First of all, I did go to see Ichika first. But he came out of the battle a little better off than you did. Didn't lose consciousness at least, which is why he got to hang out in his room. But you know, I felt a little bad that no one else was going to even bother checking on you, so my pity won out after a time. You're welcome."

There was no denying that Church felt a little stung by that, but he supposed it was completely fair and understandable. Everyone here knew Ichika and cared for him far more than a relative stranger like Church. It was only fair that they'd be far more concerned about the prior. Still, what a cruel world.

"No one else, huh...?"

Perhaps feeling a little extra pity due to the expression on his face, Rin extrapolated a little further on her initial brusque explanation. "OK, well it wasn't like it was just me. Chifuyu checked on you of course, but that's kind of her job. She's the one that would be on the hook if you got axed out here or something. Charlotte wanted to check on you too, but frankly, I think she just wanted to interrogate you about your weapons before helping Kanzashi with her I.S. or whatever. And what do you mean by 'no one else?' Am I not good enough for you?"

While Church didn't doubt that last part, since Charlotte seemed to be the most invested in the technical side of things as far as technology went, he didn't really believe that it was the only reason the blonde might have wanted to know if he was alright. Granted, he had only interacted with the girl briefly, but Charlotte struck him as the type of person that would legitimately worry about even complete strangers.

Instead of saying any of that, Church offered Rin a retort. "Hey, you admitted to checking on me second and out of pity, so I think I have the right to be a little dissappointed that it's only you here."

"Tch, ungrateful much? I'm not sure I really want to cook for you now."

"Wait, were you sure about doing that at some point?"

There was a bit of a sheepish expression on Rin's face as she thought of how she was going to word what she had to say. Ultimately, Church even saw a little bit of red creep into her cheeks.

"Well... ugh, listen, and don't let this go to your head: you're obviously not a bad guy, and I wouldn't mind hanging out with you sometimes. And you did kinda, you know, save me from dying, and all I really did as thanks was say it, so there's that... and, uh... it's been a while since anyone really got excited about eating my food, so that made me..."

Fully aware of what she was hinting at, Church couldn't help but smile a little bit. This was both sweet and cute, after all, and he'd brought it about. Why did that feel so good? Maybe this was what confidence felt like. Not that Church particularly lacked that, but there was a certain sense of affirmation to know you could make someone else feel this way. That said, he couldn't help but be a little cheeky.

"Happy? Excited? Flustered, maybe?"

Not missing the obvious teasing, Rin frowned at him, though it was certainly more of the pouty kind. "I thought I said to not let any of that go to your head. It might mean something when a normal girl cooks for someone, but chefs cook for all sorts of people. It's not special when it's just something you do for everyone."

Church was fairly certain that Rin didn't really have such a purely rational perspective on her cooking. If she did, she wouldn't have gotten flustered about it at all in the first place. Of course, he wasn't going to tease her any further, since he didn't want to press his luck.

"Alright, fair enough. Regardless of your feelings on it, I am still very excited about trying something made by an expert like you."

Rin sighed as her mobile arm went back to her hip again, clearly well aware that he was trying to flatter her at that point just to strengthen his position. The worst part was, she couldn't say it wasn't working. Even though she had said otherwise, Rin did find the idea of cooking for just one person to be a little more than just a job. It wasn't like cooking for all of your friends at the same time, or a customer. There was something inherently more... intimate about cooking for just one person specifically.

Of course, maybe the fact that it was a boy made that flustered feeling a little more pronounced. Church wasn't Ichika, whom she most certainly would have preferred: but even so, she found herself a little nervous at the idea of cooking for him. Would he like it? Would he appreciate the effort that went into it? What if she burnt something? Did he even like Chinese cuisine? What if she made a mistake and he got sick? She'd be mortified.

This was all ridiculous, because Rin had been cooking most of her life and she knew damn good and well that she very rarely made those types of mistakes. But that's what made it so silly that she had any unfounded anxieties, and she was certain it had something to do with cooking for a boy. But she could hardly let some unwarranted nervousness stop her from doing something nice for someone, especially when that someone had saved her life a little while ago.

"You don't have to try and persuade me anymore, I've already decided to do it. You hungry now? I can cook in your room. I would just need to bag the ingredients and bring them there."

The look on Church's face made it obvious that he didn't agree with that assessment. "Uh, actually, I think we're going to have to use your room."

Mention of this shoved aside Rin's nervousness about cooking. Sure, she considered cooking for someone as a special favor a step towards a more meaningful relationship, but that didn't mean she was willing to take the jump to inviting a boy into her room. Heck, the idea of letting Ichika into her room flustered her and she had tried to live in the same room as him back when she had first gotten here. Probably good that she hadn't gotten that idea to go through, honestly. Either she or Ichika would have died in that situation.

Which raised some questions about how ready she was for a relationship with him, honestly. But that was something she intentionally didn't dwell on too much or often. She didn't like the implications. For now, she would rather focus on the idea Church was putting forward.

"Now hold on, cooking for you is one thing, but now you want to get into my room? Don't be greedy."

"N-no, it's not that! It's just that my room is, well... a repurposed storage area. I don't have anything for you to cook on. Are there, like... public cooking facilities available here?"

Rin wanted to question what he meant by 'repurposed storage area' and whether or not she was supposed to believe that, but in hindsight, it did actually sound logical. After all, she couldn't recall any sort of commotion surrounding the addition of a second male to the 99.9% female dorms, so it made sense that Church was sleeping elsewhere. But a storage room, really? You'd think he could at least get a hotel with expenses paid by someone else.

And unfortunately, there weren't any public cooking facilities on campus. So honestly, her room was the only option if she wanted to do this. But she couldn't help but balk at the idea...

Church could see that she was uncomfortable with it, and while he really liked the idea of getting a meal from an expert chef who happened to be a cute girl, he didn't want to pressure her over something she didn't want.

"If there isn't anywhere else to do it, I understand. Maybe you could make something for lunch and bring it to the cafeteria some day instead?"

Frankly, Rin contemplated that idea pretty seriously. But the fact that Church had backpedaled on the original offer for her sake wasn't lost on her. He really was pretty considerate. And it wasn't as though she liked him, right? So what was there to be nervous about in letting him into her room? Although, she would definitely have to hide a few things before letting him in.

"No, no... it's fine. I mean, I guess it's kind of weird when we've only been friends for like... a few days? But it's just a favor between friends. Payback for something you did. It's only as weird as you make it. That said, you can't just walk into someone's room with no warning at all. I need to tidy it up a little bit... you mind waiting for an hour?"

"Sure. Just gotta figure out what I'll do while I wait..."

"Oh, that reminds me! Chifuyu wanted me to tell you something about showers when you woke up. I guess that makes sense if you're sleeping in a storage room..."

"That it does. What did she say?"

"That you could use the staff showers at the stadium. They're at the north end, opposite of where we sat today. There's signs and all, so you should be able to find it pretty easily. Maybe you should do that while you wait."

Glad to have that problem squared away, even if it wasn't entirely convenient, Church wondered if he should be offended. Best as he could tell, he didn't smell, but other people were usually better at determining that than the person themselves. Or maybe Rin was just implying that her shower was off limits and he should take advantage of what he had while he had it.

"Sounds like a good idea. Should I meet you back here or...?"

"I'd say you could meet me in front of the dorms, but that might look a little suspicious to anyone going in or out... how about we just meet up outside of the stadium gate we went into today? Shouldn't be too many people to bother you around there right now. One hour, don't forget. I'm already doing you a big solid here so don't make me wait!"

With that, Rin turned to leave, and Church mentally noted the time so he could keep it in mind. A lot had happened today, and it wasn't even over. He felt that he should have been tired, but with a hand-made dinner with a cute girl on the imminent horizon, he was too excited for that. Now he just had to knock out a shower first, so his next objective was making it to his room for a change of clothes.

Somewhere in his thoughts, he acknowledged that the Commander probably wouldn't be happy with the way he was planning on spending his time this evening, but more importantly, he didn't really care.

Chapter Text

Infinite Stratos was pretty great. But if there was one distinct advantage that Exeter had over it, it was probably the fact that it was relatively unassuming and convenient. By this, Church meant that he could pretty much fly wherever he wanted to without too many people noticing. An I.S. was big and bulky, and almost impossible to hide visually. Meanwhile, Church had free reign to fly to the stadium after he had collected clothes from his room and made it to an open window within the Academy tower itself.

Frankly, he was a little worried that he was missing out on valuable exercise, but saving a few minutes was worth it: after all, he had less than an hour now to shower, return the dirty clothes to his room, and get back to the stadium so Rin could take him to her room for dinner. He wasn't a quick shower kind of guy, so it was important to maximize the time he had available.

Right now, he was walking across the stadium grounds to the area that Rin had indicated, having already deactivated Exeter since he didn't need it at this point. That said, his thoughts were primarily occupied with a conversation between him and Cerberus in the confines of his mind.

I probably should have asked for clarification on this before now, but what exactly is the process to getting the Akatsubaki's data? Are we going to have to physically touch it? Plug into a port or something? Will we even be able to accomplish what we want while it's in standby mode?

Cerberus wasted no time in explaining this crucial aspect of their mission. Frankly, it was somewhat surprised that Church had taken this long to even ask for these details.

The process of acquiring Akatsubaki's data is simple on the surface, but deceptively complex, unfortunately. We will need direct access to the machine: if you cannot place your hand on it, we will not be able to glean the data we need. Moreover, it is not as if Infinite Stratos units are unlocked doors we can simply walk through. There will be many security measures in place that will require time to crack, and even after that, it will take some time to download all of the information we need. Suffice to say, it will not be as simple as laying hands on the Akatsubaki for a split second.

As he walked through some hallways on the far side of the stadium, Church briefly acknowledged a sign that said 'showers' on it in both English and Japanese. He missed the other half of the text while formulating a response to Cerberus, following the directions the sign provided subconsciously.

So we're talking several minutes of uninterrupted contact with Akatsubaki. Shit, that's going to be difficult to manage...

Indeed, Operator. Strictly speaking, the most effective option would simply be to abduct Houki Shinonono and restrain her while we went about our business. Naturally, we'd have to ensure that she doesn't identify us in the process.

Needless to say, Church wasn't enthused with that option.

I feel that there are many reasons that won't work. First of all, if we release her after that, it'll be pretty obvious that we were just after Akatsubaki's data. Second, we would be the prime suspects considering that we just got here. And third, if we managed to do that, why not just steal Akatsubaki from her altogether? Then Umbra Stratum could do whatever they want with it.

Cerberus was silent for a moment as it contemplated all of that.

I cannot deny some of those points, Operator. However, I am curious as to what you believe would be a better plan.

I'd look for an excuse to be near her during a sparring session or training exercise. Maybe I could come up with some strategy that requires me to be in direct contact with her unit... don't know if I could manage that for long enough, though.

Church walked up to a door on the far end of the hall, which he assumed were the showers. If he'd been paying attention, he would have heard running water on the other side, but he was a bit preoccupied. It was easy to miss some outside sounds when someone was literally talking in your head.

Operator, it would be possible to acquire the Akatsubaki data in increments. It is merely that we would have to consistently infiltrate its security systems, and successfully cover our tracks each time. This is within my capabilities, but runs almost as great a risk as our other options. Also...

Acting while Cerberus spoke, Church opened the door before him and stepped into the room beyond, only noticing now that he was in the tiled room that it was kind of steamy and that water was running, and that obviously someone else was in here. Cerberus finished his sentence about the time that Church made all of these conclusions.

This is the student showers, not the faculty.

Even though he knew that he was probably about to be in a bad situation, Church failed to immediately extricate himself from it. It was kind of like a deer in headlights thing: he knew there was about to be trouble, but was too stunned by his sudden reality to act on that knowledge. The feeling intensified when he heard a familiar voice that belonged to a certain French girl.

"Oh, who's that? I didn't think anyone else was out here at this hour..."

Church inwardly cringed as he recalled that Rin had said Charlotte and Kanzashi working on something out here at the stadium, but more importantly, he got the feeling that Charlotte, who was probably in a less than modest state right now, was about to check on the identity of their visitor. Admittedly, some not altogether small part of Church wanted to see that. He was a red-blooded man after all, and Charlotte was a beautiful girl.

But at the same time, he didn't want it to go down quite like this. He hardly thought of himself as a gentleman, but he didn't want to catch a girl in the nude against her will like this. It just didn't feel right. That was why he managed to gain control of himself just quickly enough to turn his back on the general direction of the present girls, though he didn't manage to get a full announcement of his presence out before it was too late.

"H-hold on, Charlotte-!"

Unfortunately, the girl in question leaned back out of the shower cubicle she was occupying before Church could tell her not to. Church knew this because turning around had proven pointless: it turned out that there was a mirror on the wall next to the door, and Church was glancing into it before he could tell himself to close his eyes.

Charlotte, leaning back out of the shower, was curiously looking in his direction as she worked some shampoo into her blonde hair, which fell down to the middle of her back. Thankfully, most of her body was hidden behind the wall. However, by the merit of being able to see her back, Church was also able to see quite a lovely peach peeking out at him from beyond the confines of the shower. It was a nice middle ground between petite and curvaceous: a cute and spankable derriere.

That thought crossed Church's mind before he could contain it, but when he met Charlotte's violet gaze, it was replaced with embarrassment and guilt more than anything else. At about the time Charlotte yelped in embarrassment, Church closed his eyes off to the world so he could avoid making things any worse.

"S-sorry! I'm so sorry, I thought this was the faculty showers!"

While her voice was still a little shaky due to the surprise, Charlotte did seem to acknowledge his explanation as plausible. "Ah, i-is that so...?"

Naturally, Church's eyes were closed so he didn't see anything, but he did hear Kanzashi's voice pitching in, with a very indignant and embarrassed tone that no one could mistake. Church could imagine the 'hiding all your naughty bits' pose even though she was behind a wall.

"Y-y-y-you pervert! As if anyone would b-believe that! The faculty and student showers are clearly labeled! W-why would you even need faculty showers!?"

Trying to purge any unscrupulous thoughts from his mind since it was hard to communicate clearly with a girl that you were vividly imagining in the nude, Church tried to give a concise explanation.

"My accommodations don't have any showers available, a-and Chifuyu said I could use the faculty showers here at the stadium! I'm really sorry, I just wasn't paying attention!"

Church heard some sort of disgruntled grumbling from Kanzashi, but Charlotte appeared to be a little more forgiving. "I d-don't think Church is the type of person who would do this on purpose, Kanzashi... plus, it would have been very foolish to walk right in here if he had nefarious intentions, oui?"

Personally, Church thought this argument in his defense was pretty solid, but Kanzashi didn't seem to think so. "W-well maybe he's just an idiot!"

This girl really isn't earning any points with me, damn.

Still, Kanzashi might have had a point. Even though he had been distracted by a conversation with Cerberus, there had still been obvious signs with plain English on them telling him where to go, and he had gone the wrong way.

"Yeah, uh, m-maybe I am. I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to violate your privacy like this."

Proving that she really was an angel, Charlotte said her next words. "It's alright Church, I forgive you. I think it's very clear that this was an accident."

Naturally, Kanzashi did not have the same degree of mercy and graciousness as her French shower buddy. "Well I don't! Why are you still here? G-get out already!"

Once again, Church figured that Kanzashi had a point, and that he probably should have made an exit much sooner than this. Although, wouldn't it have been worse if he had just bailed without any explanation at all?

Either way, he fumbled for the handle to the door since his eyes were closed, at least until Charlotte was kind enough to direct his hand towards its intended target. Once that had been accomplished, the young man swiftly made an exit, while offering one last genuine apology for the intrusion. Once he was outside, he transformed his ire into anger and directed it at Cerberus.

Cerberus, you fucking twat! Why'd you wait to tell me I was going into the wrong showers until after I was already in them?! You clearly noticed beforehand!

The resident AI did not seem troubled by the insults or the irritability.

We were in the middle of a far more important conversation regarding mission parameters. Why would I interrupt it for something as negligible as a social faux pas?

Church was certain that he was gritting his teeth.

Well, Cerberus, it gets harder to ingratiate myself with the locals if they become awkward and uncomfortable around me, did you think of that?! Charlotte was probably the second best way into Houki's social circle after Rin, so this is not good!

Cerberus was quiet for a moment.

I did not consider that.

No shit.

Now flustered and seeing peaches in his mind's eye, Church stalked towards the faculty showers on the opposite end of this long hallway, certain that this awkward encounter was going to come back and bite him somehow in the near future.

---

Electing for a cold shower to clear his head of questionable thoughts involving a girl he was probably going to be seeing fairly regularly around here, Church ultimately didn't spend much time cleaning himself, since only psychopaths liked standing around in cold water. He was used to taking quick showers even if he didn't prefer them, since Umbra Stratum didn't like people standing around in their facilities and not doing anything.

By the time he was done, Charlotte and Kanzashi had thankfully already left the area, so he didn't have to cross awkward paths with them again so soon. Having taken a brief shower, he had enough time to return his dirty clothes to his room, a process that would have been a lot faster if said room had a window. Even so, he managed to make it back to the arena entrance where he was supposed to meet Rin with a little time to spare, though he was now wearing mere shorts and a form-fitting black T-shirt. He hadn't splurged on anything too fancy when procuring more clothes the other day.

Because he had spent much of the waiting period doing other things, Church didn't actually get to spend too much time just sitting around, as Rin showed up at the arena herself within five minutes of him taking up residence there. She too had changed clothes over the past hour, ironically in a similar manner to Church. She was without her uniform now, instead wearing a dark pink tank-top and black athletic shorts of her own. Naturally, she still had one arm in a cast.

Church was briefly surprised that she was willing to present such a casual appearance to a mere acquaintance like him, but then again, maybe Rin wasn't the type of girl to even care about things like that. It wasn't like she was dressed inappropriately, and there was nothing wrong with being comfortable. Besides, Church was dressed in a pretty similar fashion, so it wasn't like he could say anything about it.

Of course, maybe she would have put more thought into her dress if it was Ichika that she was meeting, but Church was not he. One way or another, Rin didn't seem to put any thought into it as she spoke to him once getting close enough.

"There you are. You're, uh..."

Rin fell silent for a moment as her eyes drifted away from his face, prompting Church to follow her gaze in confusion. Doing so revealed that she was caught off-guard by his arms, or more accurately, the muscle definition one could actually see since he wasn't wearing a jacket for once. Frankly, Church was surprised that she even considered it noteworthy, since from his perspective, it was nothing special: just the result of physical conditioning for the operation of a human exoskeleton. Exeter may have done most of the work, but that didn't mean there was no stress at all when using it. Besides, if there was ever a mechanical malfunction, he may have had to lift those robotic limbs with his own strength, so he couldn't afford to be out of shape.

Still, he supposed that did make him more built than the average guy. Not that he was giving action hero actors or bodybuilders a run for their money, but more built than most. And considering that Rin probably didn't see many guys around, all things considered, maybe it was understandable that she took notice.

A little bashful to be noticed in such a way, Church put on some false bravado to put the awkward pressure on Rin instead of himself. He was actually quite good at acting confident under pressure.

"Devilishly rugged and handsome? I think that's what you were going to say."

Caught in the act, Rin blushed slightly as she cleared her throat and averted her gaze. That said, she too was pretty good at deflecting embarrassment: she just happened to do it with sarcasm and mockery instead of illusory confidence.

"What I was going to say is that you're 'surprisingly passable.' You don't exactly give off this kind of energy, if you know what I mean."

Church frowned at this, not exactly sure what to make of it. "No, I don't really know what you mean. What 'energy' do I give off, exactly?"

Because Rin's method of pushing down embarrassment relied on putting the heat on someone else, she didn't say what she was really thinking: that Church struck her as a reliable, charismatic person that was fun to talk to. No need to stroke his ego that much.

"Eh, I don't want to say 'negligible', which is a little harsh... but you do strike me as 'just that guy.' You know, people occasionally remember you exist, but it's usually on accident. Otherwise you're kind of forgettable."

Admittedly, Church wasn't absolutely positive that Rin was joking, which bothered him more than he cared to admit. Surely he had more of a presence than that, right? Then again, she had to be kidding, because there was no way he could be a negligible existence around here when he was but one of two men on the whole campus.

Still, he felt the need to retaliate, mocking though it may be. "Well, if the guy who saved your life is so negligible, what does that say about you? You'd better hope that forgettable guy is around to save you next time you're in mortal danger."

"H-hey, that was a one time thing, a freak accident! It's not like I fall out of windows on a regular basis!"

"For some reason, I'm not inclined to believe you."

Fuming, Rin crossed her arms. "What's that? Sounds like you don't want to eat a meal at my expense after all."

Since he was actually looking forward to that, Church forfeited immediately. "Whoa, no need to go that far. Excessive force, Rin, really."

With a shake of her head, the Chinese brunette did manage to put a slight smirk back on her face. "It's kind of sad that you'd give up that easily, y'know? Though my food is worth it, so I guess I can't blame you. Let's get going then, we're not getting any younger."

Beckoning for him to follow her, the two were soon heading for the dorms. Rin used this time to explain the game plan for getting into said dorms without causing a commotion.

"Alright, it's a little late, but not so late that we can expect no one to be around at all. That said, you can't just walk in the front door, especially not with me, 'cuz people will absolutely get the wrong idea. Thankfully, everyone has a room with windows, and you can fly around pretty quietly, as best as I can tell. So you're going to hang around behind the dorms, and I'll pop open the window to my room on the third floor so you can get in all sneaky like. Sound good?"

"Yeah, is all of that really necessary? Ichika has a room in the dorms, right? Is there some rule against me being in there to warrant all of this sneaking around?"

Rin apparently thought his question was stupid, since she gave him an annoyed look. "Of course it's necessary! If anyone sees me taking you into my room they're going to assume the worst!"

"Gee, thanks."

Perhaps realizing that her words sounded much worse than she intended, Rin rephrased the sentiment, with only a mild blush. "Look, I don't mean that it's some disgusting idea I can't even fathom or anything... but it would be a big problem for both of us. Do you really want half the school hounding you over a relationship that doesn't exist the whole time you're here? That just sounds like a big hassle to me."

Church had nothing to say to that, since he supposed that Rin may have had a point. He was already going to be the source of attention for a lot of girls, but it would be even worse if there was some unsubstantiated gossip going around about him being in a relationship with someone. Besides, he wasn't sure if that kind of thing would be frowned on by the people in charge of the Academy. He was here as a professional representative, after all.

All in all, he figured that he would just concede. "Alright, fair enough. Cloak and dagger it is."

With a satisfied nod, Rin said nothing else to that. The dorm wasn't all that far away anyway, so it was only a minute or two of silence before Church had to break off and head towards the back of the dorm building, at which point he manifested Exeter and headed for some bushes. For extra safe measure, he had Cerberus select a camouflage for the suit that would blend in with his surroundings.

While waiting in that situation, Church couldn't help but analyze his surroundings, namely the many windows at the back of the dorm building. He was surprised by how many of said windows were completely exposed: lots of girls didn't have their curtains drawn, or even had their windows completely open. He could see right into some rooms, which naturally included the sight of some girls in the comfort of their own space. There was nothing particularly scandalous to see at the moment, but the notion of infringing on anyone's privacy brought the recent incident with Charlotte and Kanzashi to mind.

I'm honestly amazed by this. No sense of fear or danger at all from so many of these students.

Cerberus had been a little quiet thus far since Church had been busy communicating with people, but it spoke up now, perhaps sensing that Church was actually looking to initiate a conversation.

It's not so strange, Operator. They live in a relatively restricted and secluded area where crime of any sort is not a major threat. Moreover, they didn't have to worry about men spying on them in their rooms until right now.

Hey, I'm not spying on anyone! I have to be able to see Rin when she's ready to let me in, it's not like I can look away from the building! I didn't force them to leave themselves exposed to the outside like this.

Cerberus didn't seem convinced.

If that helps you sleep at night, Operator...

Church said nothing to that, instead shaking his head. There wasn't much room to say anything else anyway, as he saw a window on the third floor being opened. Soon after, Rin just barely peeked out of it. It was pretty clear by the way she was looking around that she didn't actually know where Church was at the moment.

Seeing an opportunity, Church ignored the thrusters entirely and dashed out of the bushes towards the base of the dorms, relying solely on Exeter's impressive sprinting ability to cover the distance before anyone could see him, including Rin. Once he got to the foot of the wall, he simply leaped up towards Rin's window: there was no need for engines to cover that distance.

Naturally, the sudden appearance of a motley green and brown Exeter in her face caused Rin some alarm, and she stumbled backwards. "Gah! What the hell, you asshole?!"

Chuckling to himself, Church couldn't help but tease a little. "Sorry, Rin, it's just that you looked a little scared of that window, so I wanted to get you back inside and away from it."

Scowling, Rin got back to her feet to express her malcontent with that joke. "Haha, very funny. You're really testing my good graces, you know?"

Church replied to that as he allowed Exeter to dissipate from his body. "Alright, alright, that's the last window joke at your expense, I promise."

Rin smoothed her shorts as she got back to her feet, her expression mildly less annoyed. "I didn't know your suit could change colors like that."

"You like it?"

"Just wondering why you settle on a plain silver-gray if you could be any color you want."

To that, Church shrugged. Maybe she had a point. "I guess it's about the difference between a distinctly military machine and a sporting one. Bold colors are better for the audience, but it's a bit too flashy for the military's taste. Although, I guess I could play around with it. You think your I.S. color scheme would look good on me?"

Rin scoffed. "Shen Long's color scheme would look good on anyone. Even Cecilia's Blue Tears could benefit from it."

Certain that Rin didn't hate blue and that she just had a petty rivalry with Cecilia over everything, Church glanced around the room he had entered. He'd never been in a girl's bedroom before: according to the media, this area was supposed to be hallowed ground or something. That said, Rin's bedroom was surprisingly normal.

She had no particularly interesting blankets or pillowcases, no fancy rugs or anything: the most that he could spot that would identify this place as Rin's room at all was a picture of her and two adults on the wall, which he assumed was her family, and a Chun-Li digital alarm clock. That one was actually kind of funny.

"Pretty spartan in here."

Rin merely shrugged. "I packed pretty light when I came here, that's all."

If that were true, Church wondered what Rin could have possibly needed to tidy up in here before he was allowed in. Maybe she was the type to leave underwear lying around or something. Instead of commenting anything like that, Church took note of the second bed in the room, as well as some items that didn't look like they would have belonged to Rin.

"So, where's your roommate?"

"Oh, Tina? She's gone for the night, hanging out with her friends on the floor beneath us. Seriously, you didn't think I would actually bring someone like you here if she was around, did you?"

Church folded his arms as he gave the girl a questioning look. "Someone like me? Care to elaborate?"

Rin shrugged with her one good arm as she headed out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. "Not really, no. I'd rather let you wonder."

Her male visitor shook his head as she left, Cerberus speaking up in his mind as Church made to follow his hostess.

Is this level of deprecating affection what one would call 'tsundere?'

Uh, not quite... I'm honestly surprised you know that word.

Cerberus almost sounded offended by that comment.

Operator, I'm a state of the art artificial intelligence unlike any the world has ever seen. I know every word.

Right... anyway, we can't label her a tsundere until she says something like 'it's not like I like you or anything, baka!' I think that's mandatory.

Is that how it works? Humans have such odd criteria for their labels.

Church decided to end the mental conversation there, mostly because he didn't exactly have anything to say that could refute Cerberus. Taking stock of the rest of Rin's dorm, he found that it wasn't actually extravagant as he would have imagined for a room at the I.S. Academy. Sure, it was obviously nice: everything was up to date and modern, from the paint to the lights to the appliances he could catch a peek at in the kitchen, but he'd half been expecting something akin to a rich person's suite. Maybe that was a little silly, since it would have been a significant and unnecessary expense considering how many students there were.

Church spotted a nice table he could take a seat at in the center of the common area, but took note of the increasingly noisy sounds coming from the kitchen before moving to do so.

"Rin? Do you need any help? Sounds more like construction than cooking in there..."

"Don't be ridiculous, having an amateur like you lend a hand would spoil the whole thing! Cooking of this level is an art form for experts only, y'know?"

While it was probably just a phantom feeling, Church felt like his eyebrow was twitching. "Well, I know now... fine then, how long is this gonna take, Picasso?"

Church tried to mentally picture Rin cooking with just one arm as she answered him. Honestly he couldn't see how she was doing it. "Hey, doing this with one hand isn't exactly easy. Just be patient, I promise it'll be worth it."

With a sigh, Church decided to take the seat he had scoped out a moment ago, leaning back in the chair as he contemplated how to keep some sort of conversation going while he waited for dinner to be completed. As he imagined Rin's one-armed struggle a second time, he figured that he would question that.

"I know we talked about it briefly before, but it really is crazy that you're in good enough shape to even use your arm right now, considering how recent your accident was."

Still too busy in the kitchen to reveal herself, Rin continued to reply from out of sight. "Well, there are some nice perks to attending the most prestigious school in the world, aren't there? What gets me is the fact that Tabane Shinonono invented the medical substance that made it possible on accident. Like, what level of witchcraft are we getting into once you're accidentally revolutionizing medicine while intentionally revolutionizing warfare? I find it hard to believe that she's actually human."

Now that she mentioned it, Church figured that Rin had a good point. There was no question that Tabane was a genius, but you had to be on an entirely different level to make the kind of impact she had. What was such an intelligent person even like? The woman's personality wasn't exactly public knowledge.

Instead of dwelling on that, Church focused back on the conversation at hand. "Well as amazing as medical technology might be these days, you've still got one arm in a sling. Why is that?"

"Well the fractures my right arm suffered were really severe, so it's taking a bit more time to heal even with that super science medical stuff. The nurses did say it'd be finished healing in another week or so though..."

Church recalled the many band-aids and bandages that Rin still had plastered all over her face. "Alright, so big, serious injuries still take some time even with the pseudoscience fiction healing stuff we apparently have now. But what about all those cuts and scrapes? Those should have been healed extremely quickly, right?"

"What, you think it's easy or cheap to make this 'pseudoscience fiction healing stuff?' No one in their right mind would waste it on a bunch of harmless cuts."

"Rin, some of those cuts were pretty deep..."

Finally sticking her head out from behind the small wall that separated the kitchen from the rest of the common area, Rin smiled cheekily at her guest. "Aw, are you that worried? How sweet. Maybe I won't poison your food after all."

Church had been halfway through thinking that Rin had a wonderful smile before her words had cut him short.

I'm troubled by the fact that I can't identify that as a joke for certain.

Cerberus cut in at the mention of this.

Even if it is a joke, you know most jokes have an ounce of truth to them.

Shit, you're right. You don't really think she would do that, do you?

Who can tell, Operator? Who can tell?

Church tried to allay his irrational fears over the next several minutes, a process which wasn't helped at all by his AI, but thankfully Rin was apparently skilled enough to hold a conversation while cooking, so a simple distraction was available. A discussion regarding how she totally would have demolished the competition in the tournament today if only she had been allowed to participate helped take his mind off of his worries.

They had just finished discussing how Rin would have dealt with Laura's AIC when the diminutive chef finally stepped out of the kitchen. Apparently, she had finished crafting her master meal, and was now finally bringing Church their food. Rin had donned an apron in the kitchen at some point, which was oddly cute with the casual shirt and shorts. Something about casual attire looked really good on her. Kinda felt like the girlfriend who was always walking around your house in only one of your t-shirts.

Ignorant to Church's thoughts, Rin placed a steaming hot plate of meat and vegetables in brown broth in the middle of the table, smirking confidently. "I'm about to change your world forever; I hope you're ready for this."

Cerberus felt the need to comment on this. The AI was getting weirdly chatty these days, particularly about things Church thought would strike Cerberus as unimportant.

I do believe that could have been a sexual innuendo.

It took all of Church's concentration to ignore the thoughts Cerberus brought to his mind. The last thing he needed while eating dinner in a girl's room was sexual innuendo, especially after the thing that had happened in the showers earlier. It was a miracle he'd managed to keep that debacle out of his mind thus far.

So, is the personality archetype you settled on the 'annoying, quipping sidekick?'

The real question is, will you be able to do anything about it?

Refusing to give that comment a response, Church focused on the food in front of him. Even on a purely aesthetic level, it looked really good. "So, um… you first?"

After several moments of untying her apron with one arm, Rin tossed it over her chair and plopped down into it. Following that, she reached into one of the apron pockets to withdraw a pair of chopsticks for her guest.

"No, you first. I already know how awesome it is, you're the one that needs to taste it. Hurry up, I can't let your heretical beliefs tarnish the name of good Chinese food for another second!"

Church accepted the timeless utensils from Rin and proceeded to take hold of the most appealing piece of pork he could spot. He was painfully aware of the intensity that Rin was watching him with. He had always heard that cooks were ultra serious when it came to having their food tasted for the first time, but Church had never witnessed it firsthand. It was kind of weird to see such a serious side to this rather carefree girl so suddenly.

Should I scan for poison, Operator?

Forgetting about Rin's poison comment until just then, Church almost said yes. In the end though, he decided against it.

I think I'll at least trust her to this extent...

If you say so, Operator. Do not blame me for whatever happens.

Church tuned out whatever else Cerberus had to say. Instead, he tried his best to look natural as he consumed his first bite of gourmet Chinese food. It was extremely difficult to do, as he felt like squirming under the intensity of Rin's emerald gaze. Still, he managed to bite into the pork without accidentally missing his mouth or anything, and his senses were soon engulfed by an incredible blend of savory and sweet, so Church was briefly distracted from his nervousness.

W-wow... I was kinda worried that Rin's lauded cooking skills were from her own perspective, but this is incredible! It's such an amazingly bold taste, yet really gentle too... I haven't eaten anything this great in... well, a long time.

Cerberus had no emotion in his response, which came in an actual-factual manner.

That is an excellent observation, Operator. However, as a machine with no taste buds of my own, I cannot verify your statement.

Not sure what he could have possibly said to a statement like that, Church simply decided to leave it alone, instead choosing to focus on Rin, who was clearly waiting for some sort of feedback. Under normal circumstances, Church wasn't a particularly gushy type of person, but he was willing to make an exception in this case.

"Rin, this is really amazing! I can't believe you made something this good so quickly. Guess you really are an experienced chef, huh?"

The girl across from him offered a wide, cheerful smile in response to Church's compliments: admittedly, compliments on her food were the one thing she could get from anyone, even Ichika, fairly easily. That said, she certainly had no qualms about hearing it from someone new. She never got tired of hearing it at all really.

"Well yeah, but it was also my dad's favorite dish, so he made sure that I knew how to make it perfectly every time. A lot of my spare time with him in our restaurant was spent learning that recipe, so I'm glad you like it. I told you that my genuine Chinese food was infinitely better than your American fast food garbage, didn't I?"

Church nodded as he grabbed another piece of the delicious cuisine with his chopsticks. "Yeah, I can't believe I even doubted you at all. I didn't know your family had a restaurant though. I'm sure you had a hand in it, but did you really have a lot of time to help out between school and all that?"

While he had expected this to be an easy follow-up topic for conversation, Church was only met with confusion as Rin fell silent, a certain look of uncomfortable anger dominating her usually adorable features.

Instantly aware that he had made some sort of mistake, Church could only wonder what nerve he had struck. For once, Cerberus offered advice that was actually helpful, even if was also kind of obvious.

We can logically assume that the most sensitive part of what was said is the cause of this problem. It must have been your comment about the family. Be very careful how you proceed from here.

Am I getting relationship advice from a soulless machine?

Cerberus replied dejectedly., though there was a certain insincerity to it.

That hurts, Operator. This is my existence you are talking about.

Mentally sighing, Church focused on his human companion instead of his 'soulless machine' one. "Rin, I can tell that I've upset you. Whatever I said, I'm sorry. I should have been more careful."

Surprisingly, Rin smiled sadly at him even as she shook her head forlornly. "It's… not your fault. You couldn't have known that it was a sensitive subject, and I kind of brought it up in the first place. But still, I'd… prefer if we talked about something else."

"Of course. Or I can, you know... leave, if you'd prefer?"

Rin seemed to seriously contemplate this idea for a brief moment, but she quickly refuted it in favor of a somewhat insincere cheerfulness. "You don't have to do that. It was just an accident and it's not like you're psychic. Now hurry up and keep eating! The food's gonna get cold and I didn't work so hard on it so it could go to waste!"

Church knew that his hostess was merely forcing herself into a more cheerful mood, but he was glad that she was not angry with him for accidentally grazing a sensitive topic. Even better, he was glad she was reasonable enough to not take any frustration out on him for something outside of his control. Firecracker though she was, Rin obviously had a rational side to her.

For now, he was content to enjoy her company as it was, even if it meant avoiding any meaningful personal topics. Maybe it was something she would share with him down the line, provided their relationship actually grew from this point forward.

Chapter Text

"It just doesn't feel right. A weapon of that caliber is intended for killing, and little else."

Ichika sat up in bed in his room, listening to Laura's appraisal of his earlier duel with Church, along with four of the several girls whose affections he had unwittingly garnered beyond the student body as a whole. Namely, Houki, Laura, Cecilia and Charlotte, the latter of which had only recently returned from the arena due to something she had been helping Kanzashi with. Frankly, Ichika was surprised that Tatenashi's little sister hadn't shown up in his room as well, but maybe something had happened? Charlotte had been acting a little uncomfortable when she had first returned, though Ichika hadn't questioned why that was.

He understood that, as her boyfriend, he was probably supposed to investigate, but that seemed like a risky idea when all the other girls pining after him were present as well.

Contrary to popular belief, Ichika wasn't actually blind to what they all wanted from him. He just didn't know how to give what he couldn't give. He thought of them all as precious friends that he'd do anything for, but somehow that wasn't sufficient in their eyes. He'd long pondered how to handle that situation, but before he was able to reach any conclusion, Charlotte had ultimately confessed to him in very clear, explicit words how she felt and what type of relationship she desired from him, just a few months ago.

Frankly, that had only made things more complicated for the younger Orimura. He had a very strange set of ideals that often made life difficult for him even if they were self-imposed. He firmly believed that it was his duty as a man to take responsibility for the feelings he had garnered, provided the person in question was honest about it. That was why he played dumb with everyone else but had agreed to date Charlotte: she was the only one who was outright honest and clear with her feelings and desires, and Ichika believed that was necessary for two people to be together romantically.

That being the case, he had agreed to dating Charlotte in hopes of perhaps reaching the emotional state she desired from him, maybe out of some misguided notion that changing their official status would also spark some development in his feelings. But honestly, Ichika didn't think it was working. He liked spending time with Charlotte and enjoyed being around her, but not in any different way than he had before, or in a way different from any of the others.

Now he found himself in a situation that was arguably worse than before. He was positive that he wasn't really giving Charlotte what she wanted out of their relationship, and that probably wouldn't change anytime soon. But he hadn't exactly told her that his motivation for agreeing to a romantic relationship was less about romance and more about a sense of obligation. Now that they had been dating for several months, he didn't want to crush Charlotte with that revelation. Needless to say, between a rock and a hard place was an understatement. He had no idea what to do about it, and by doing nothing he was also perpetuating the situation.

Romance was hard.

Engulfed in these thoughts, as he often was when he was surrounded by everyone who liked him, Ichika nearly missed the conversation everyone else was having around him. Houki was responding to Laura's statement on the weapon Church had used during their fight.

"But it can't really be all that powerful, can it? Neither he nor Ichika was seriously injured, and Byakushiki only suffered minor damage. There are a lot of weapons more powerful than that. Your Railgun could probably do more."

Being the one who had actually been hurt a little bit, Ichika frowned at Houki's quick dismissal of his pain. "I wouldn't call a minor concussion and severe bruising 'non-serious injuries,' Houki."

The girls ignored Ichika's complaints, allowing Charlotte to build off of Houki's comment. "The outcome of the attack was misleading. Church pointed the weapon away from Ichika instead of hitting him directly with it. Based on the size of that crater, the results of a direct hit would have been... troublant."

Folding her arms in some display of disgust or anger, Cecilia made it clear how she felt about that. "Using an absurd and unnecessary amount of force just to stroke one's ego: how typically American."

Feeling that they were straying too far from the point she was trying to make, Laura tried to rein everyone back in. "What I'm trying to say is that the American's machine is not what it seems. It's not merely a competitor for Infinite Stratos in the public eye. It's a war machine. No one puts a weapon like that on a machine that is not intended for violence."

Ironically, since they were good friends at this point, it was again Charlotte that countered her. "But Laura, couldn't you say the same for Infinite Stratos? I know it's not used for war now, but there's no denying that it's a weapon. The weapons on all of our I.S. could kill hundreds of people easily. It's really no different. Besides, technically there's nothing forbidding the United States from making new weapons."

"Charlotte, that's not the point! The only reason for making new weapons is to overcome an enemy, or someone you expect to be an enemy. Nuclear weapons were not invented for any other reason than to crush an opposing force."

"But now that they can't have I.S.-"

"The lack of them is irrelevant. The few enemies America still has left take the form of terrorist cells, most of which have been obliterated by joint forces by now. That said, there is no enemy for America to fight that would require a weapon of that caliber, unless they plan on making enemies with someone that would call for it. That means nations with Infinite Stratos."

Both sore and tired, Ichika saw no reason for everyone to have this debate right now. Nothing bad had happened right? What was there to really be afraid of?

"I think Charlotte's right, Laura. I know it's probably normal for you, but you shouldn't assume the worst like that."

The petite young soldier shot a searing glare his way. "Oh, I see. Because I was born and raised as a soldier it's normal for me to see war everywhere, is that it? I suppose if I were 'normal' like the rest of you I wouldn't be worrying about this, would I? Please forgive me for being concerned for everyone!"

Not quite sure what nerve he had touched or how he had done so, Ichika tried and failed to diffuse the tension. "H-hold on, I didn't mean anything like-"

Not even waiting for an excuse, Laura made for the door. "Forget it. I... I'll see you all tomorrow. Good night."

Just like that she was gone, but contrary to what Ichika believed, he was the only one confused on the matter. For the life of him he could not see how anything of that nature had been inferred. The girls, on the other hand, seemed to completely understand Laura's reaction, like a shared symbiotic mind. Apparently Houki felt the need to be their voice.

"Ichika, how can you be so stupid?"

"But I didn't-"

Cecilia jumped him next. "Honestly, to be so insensitive to a girl's feelings~"

"But that's not even-"

Instead of finishing his defense, he simply looked to Charlotte for aid. The pleading look he gave her made the blonde wince, because honestly she agreed with the others.

"You... could have, y'know, possibly worded it a little better..."

Seeing that he had no support from anyone, Ichika merely laid back in his bed and sighed. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried or how well he thought he understood women, he was always falling short somewhere.

---

"Damn, I forgot that Tina took the last of the soda with her!"

His curiosity piqued by this exclamation, Church glanced into the kitchen from where he sat. Rin's petite frame was hidden behind a small refrigerator door.

"I'm sure we can just drink water. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

Rin leveled her emerald eyes over the edge of the fridge door in order to cast an incredulous glance at her fairly new friend. "Did I seriously just hear an American say that he'd rather drink water instead of soda? Doesn't that make you a Communist or something?"

Rolling his azure eyes at the girl, Church lamented over the now empty plate before him. "Very original, Rin."

"Who said I was joking? Anyway, why don't you go get us some drinks? There's a vending machine outside at the back of the dorm. You can pay, since I treated you to a meal."

Seeing no valid reason to refuse, Church rose to do as Rin asked, but he still made a jab as he made for the door. "Isn't a drink usually a part of a meal?"

"Just shut up and go you ingrate! This is the least you could do for a girl with a broken arm you know!"

While he knew she was just manipulating him in that regard, Church couldn't help but fall victim to it. After all, Rin was a cute girl in distress, so he was obligated to aid her...

Defeated, Church briefly manifested Exeter so he could safely make the jump from Rin's third story window to the ground behind the dorms. Taking a few steps away from the building so he could see more of it at once, Church swiftly found the vending machine Rin had mentioned.

As he made his way across the grass, Church came across quite a few open windows, though he avoided getting spotted by any girls with a combination of stealth and luck. He did notice, however, that many of the rooms he peeked into lacked the same amenities that Rin's had. The kitchen part, specifically.

That's weird... I guess that isn't standard for all rooms...

It is very likely that Representative Candidates can make special requests for their rooms.

And what, the normal roommate just gets lucky?

Apparently so.

Shrugging off the curious conversation, Church also had the sudden realization that he didn't have any money on his person to purchase drinks with as he approached the vending machine. However, he was confident that Cerberus could figure something out. If it couldn't hack a vending machine of all things, how much was it really worth?

As he reached the vending machine, Church made his intentions clear even as he allowed Exeter itself to dissipate. His presence here would be even more suspicious than it already was if someone saw him with his suit on.

Cerberus, work a little science here, would you?

The machine voice in his head didn't immediately comply with Church's implications.

Are you suggesting that I use my abilities for the purposes of common theft? You should be ashamed of yourself, Operator.

Ah, so now you have a moral code? Or is vending machines just the one thing that crosses the line?

Cerberus made a little metallic sigh.

Touche, Operator. Very well, please wait while I connect to the machine's primitive computer system.

Church did as he was instructed, while wondering how a machine could have more personality than some of the people he had met during training. As he pondered this, something in particular occurred to him.

Hey, Cerberus, is it just me, or have you just made a personality conglomerate rather than settling on one archetype like you were supposed to?

Without missing a beat in its own processes, Cerberus offered an explanation.

If you recall, I did state before that I would likely choose an amalgamation of traits. I was designed to be as compatible with my Operator as possible. Though I was not intentionally destined to achieve this through a personality cycling process, I settled on it myself as the most efficient choice. That said, you are the first human I have truly interacted with at length in this manner, and it seems to me that no personality 'archetype' can be fully compatible with another human being, as humans are more than just one aspect of personality to begin with.

So you're saying that you created a process for yourself, despite it not being part of the original human design. Doesn't that mean you could just... I don't know, expand indefinitely or something?

Of course not, Operator. As stated when we first met, I cannot modify core programming. I cannot change the rules that govern my existence, only the things I may do within their confines. That is because-

As Cerberus dived into a lengthy explanation regarding the nature of its existence, Church found himself entirely lost. That being the case, he gradually tuned the machine out in favor of simply waiting for his drinks.

The process of attaining a few free-of charge drinks took Exeter's advanced AI practically no time at all: it was the long explanation that made it seem longer than it was. Since Church had forgotten to ask Rin what type of drink she would have preferred, Cerberus simply chose the most common: Coca-Cola. You couldn't go wrong with that no matter where you were in the world, right? Having acquired two cans of the refreshment from the vending machine, Church mentally thanked Cerberus for 'breaking his morality code' and prepared to head back to Rin's room.

Before he could do that though, he heard the sound of footsteps to his left, prompting him to glance in that direction. He wasn't sure why anyone would be back here at this time of night, but someone was rounding the corner, and it happened to be a very irate looking Laura Bodewig. Her presence caused Church to tense, if only because he hadn't been expecting her of all people.

Hardly blind, Laura didn't miss his presence a few feet away from her. Upon identifying him, she glared in suspicion. "What are you doing?"

Church held up the two cans of soda he had procured. "Uh... refreshments? What are you doing?"

The girl frowned at his reciprocation. "Walking."

With that, Laura turned away and continued her walk, Church watching after her with a cocked eyebrow. Her mood definitely seemed off, and it didn't appear to be because of him.

Cerberus interceded in Church's thoughts.

I know what you are thinking Operator. Do not forget that she is far from partial to you.

I'm aware. Now stop distracting me: I'm the moral compass in this relationship.

We have a relationship?

Yeah, I'm the suave hero and you're the annoying sidekick. I know what I'm doing.

Church called out to the potential danger before she could get out of earshot, and by first name no less. "Uh... Laura?"

Hearing her name uttered by a man who she was not particularly fond of stopped Laura in her tracks. However, she kept her reply neutral. She wasn't in the mood to get irritated about anything else right now.

"…what?"

Aware that he was playing with fire, so to speak, Church chose his words carefully. "Are you alright? You seem... upset."

The pause in-between the question and the answer was unfortunately long, leading Church to believe that he had screwed up already. Thankfully Laura did eventually give him a response, though it wasn't especially reassuring.

"…I don't need any simpering pleasantries or feigned concern from a stranger."

Irritated to have his good will dismissed so easily, Church struggled to maintain a friendly tone. "Who are you to determine whether or not my concern is sincere?"

"When you've experienced enough of such a thing, it becomes quite easy to identify it."

"Well you must not be as good at perceiving it as you think. Most of the time, people only offer false sincerity to maintain an image of politeness. I think we both know I'm not the type."

As much as she hated to admit it, Laura figured that was a good point. The last thing he had said to her prior to today was an insult, after all. "Fair enough. But why be concerned for me? We are complete strangers, and we didn't exactly part on friendly terms."

"It's called being a nice person. And you know, I actually spent most of our first conversation praising you. I only said something insulting after you grilled me so harshly for no good reason."

The German girl cocked an eyebrow at him, not agreeing with his sentiment. "You were spying on me. That seems like reason enough."

"Alright, fair enough. But seriously, you should let me make a second impression. I swear I'm actually a good person."

At first Laura's suspicious glare returned, but whether it was his nearly pleading tone or the sincerity in his voice, she ultimately dropped the visage. "I... suppose I have already learned that I should not judge people by my first encounter with them. Very well then: impress me."

Church offered a grateful smile for her forgiveness. "Whoa now, outright impressing a girl like you is asking a lot, isn't it...?"

Unfortunately this question already earned Church a sharp glare, though he didn't understand right away why this was. He figured it out pretty quickly though.

"OK, it's obvious that you didn't take that in the light I meant it. Why?"

"We just met, I'm hardly going to share something like that with you."

"But how can I understand you better if I can't talk to you about things that matter? I'm asking why it bothers you because I don't want to bring up something you find distasteful in the future. Is that bad?"

While her stubborn side demanded that Laura say yes, rationally she figured her newest acquaintance had a good point. After all, wasn't the biggest source of problems between men and women a lack of real communication? Or at least, Clarissa had said something like that. Besides, it was kind of nice for a boy to actually want to discern the problem for once rather than just get confused by it, only to throw up their hands and give up.

"...I am often referred to in the light of 'girls like you.' Why is that? Why am I considered some separate breed outside of the realm of a normal girl? It's..."

She petered off at that, not sure if she really wanted to go any further with this person who was effectively a stranger. Still, it seemed like she had said enough for Church to answer, though not with what she wanted to hear.

"Well, it's probably because you're really not a normal girl, right?"

For some reason the nonchalant way he said that really hurt. Laura found that silly since she barely knew him, but he made it sound like it was some fact of reality that she was stupid for not accepting already.

"That's-"

"I mean, c'mon. You're already an I.S. pilot, so that makes you smarter and more talented than most women on the planet, age notwithstanding. On top of that you're not just a pilot, but a Representative Candidate, meaning you're even still a cut above normal I.S. pilots, making you even more capable than others in a field already dominated by inherently talented people. You might not have been raised as a normal girl, but so what? You've got a unique perspective for someone your age that almost no one else does, with skills and experiences very few people of any age or gender can ever lay claim to. And well... let me put it this way: how many other girls with beautiful silver hair can you think of?"

Ironically, all of this praise was also offered rather nonchalantly. As if they weren't huge compliments that were incredibly embarrassing to hear. Not to mention super uplifting. And apparently, he wasn't even done yet.

"So yeah, I figured from last time we met that you're unhappy with the fact that you're short. And I mean, you really are, there's no denying that. But who cares? You're intelligent, talented, capable, and attractive. These are all things that set you apart from a normal girl, and wouldn't it be insulting to treat you like one, that being the case?"

Finally done with his spiel, Church actually turned his gaze on Laura again, since he had looked away from her while saying all that to maintain the courage to speak it. But it was rude to completely avoid looking at someone you were talking to, so he did return his gaze to Laura after he finished saying all of that, only to be met with something he had not expected in the slightest.

Holy crap, this is cute!

Gone was the intimidating and stern visage of a trained soldier that took no shit from anybody. In her place was a young girl with almost no experience being called attractive in any way, never mind all of the other praise in regards to her character. In but a moment she'd devolved into a nervous blushing mess, failing to even look his way as she struggled to wipe away the blush that stood out so brightly among her pale skin and silver strands. The fact that she could barely get a sentence out only added to the overall adorable appeal.

Still, he didn't know that much about Laura. Not anymore than he had read about her and what he could tell by talking to her. That said, was she one of those girls that would get angry and try to punch him just because he had said something nice?

Thankfully this did not seem to be the case, as instead of choosing to attack him, the silver-haired girl decided to make a hasty retreat before she ended up making a fool of herself. "T-t-t-thank you for your time, but I-er, have to go! Somewhere! F-for something! Goodbye!"

Just like that she was hastily walking (it was obvious that she wanted to run but was restraining herself) away from Church and the vending machine at which they had shared this brief yet enlightening conversation.

As for Church, he couldn't help but smirk to himself as she left. She was definitely unique alright, but in some ways she really was just a normal girl. At this point though he wondered if she would even want to hear that.

---

Returning to Rin's room after his short encounter with Laura, an errant thought occurred to him about the time he made it back to her window and her bedroom. That thought was the fact that, reading her dossier not that long ago, he couldn't recall mention of any name that could be logically shortened to Rin. In fact, while he couldn't recall off the top of his head what name had been provided and he could have asked Cerberus for guaranteed confirmation, he figured he could just ask her about it when he stepped back into the common area to provide her with one of the drinks he had gotten. Not that he got a chance before she addressed him.

"For crying out loud, how did you get lost out there? You were gone for like, fifteen minutes! It's almost eight!"

Church just shrugged and allowed Rin to badger him, instead of revealing what had actually transpired between him and Laura. "I got lost on the road of life, what can I say? Anyway, I have a question to ask."

Seeing as how Rin couldn't easily pop open a can of soda with one hand, Church did it for her before handing it to the girl, who at least appeared grateful for the act even if she didn't verbalize it.

"Shoot, go ahead."

"Well this might sound a little weird, but uh... have I been calling you the wrong name this entire time?"

Rin cocked an eyebrow at her current companion, but ultimately didn't seem too surprised that this was his question. "I was wondering when this would come up. It always does. Alright, I'll make it simple. Straight-up my name is Lingyin Huang, but everybody here in Japan kept messing it up when they had to write it down or say it, resulting in all sorts of weird things. Tons of people messed up and kept calling me Rinin all the time, and I eventually got tired of correcting them. I've practically gone by Rin as a nickname since middle school, so don't worry about it, alright?"

Church inwardly admitted that he liked the name Rin as opposed to Ling, but he decided to continue anyway. "Seriously though, if you'd prefer me to call you by your actual name..."

Surprised that he was still talking about it, Rin waved off his concern. "Church, seriously. I don't mind. I actually like it even. Trust me, the only people who still call me Lingyin are officials and military officers back in China. I'd rather keep it casual."

Strangely, Church found that comment rather enjoyable. "So that means we're friends, right?"

Rin gave the boy in her room an amused look before shrugging. "Yeah, I guess so. And after only... what, a handful of conversations before now? Geez, you sure do work fast, huh?"

"I take pride in my ability to endear myself to others."

The Chinese Representative stuck her tongue out at him. "Well don't let it go to your head. You're still my least favorite guy around."

Not catching onto the joke, Church was actually dismayed to hear this. "What, really? How many people am I behind?"

Instead of answering, Rin merely gave him an incredulous look in return. Thankfully Church caught on quickly. "Ah, right... there's only one other guy here..."

"Exactly. Sheesh, I thought you were going to pull an Ichika there for a moment. I don't need two super dense dumbasses on my hands, you know..."

Church sighed as he glanced around the room, eventually laying eyes on a Chun-Li digital clock on Rin's nightstand, which served to remind him of the time.

"You're right about it getting kind of late... I know I'm going to use the back exit, but a lot of girls will probably be coming back to the dorms around now, right? It'd probably be for the best to leave..."

Though Rin seemed to agree with this, she nevertheless hesitated. "Yeah, that could be a real problem... but I'm sure you could stay for about ten more minutes."

Unwilling to place himself into a compromising situation with scores of girls, and more importantly, unwilling to unwittingly cause any problems for Rin, Church shook his head as he made for the same window he had been using to move to and from the room.

"Nah, I don't think I should risk it. I don't want to tarnish your reputation. But thanks for the m-!"

With a twitching eyebrow, Rin planted her good hand on the windowsill to keep Church from opening it. "Sheesh, you really are just as thick as Ichika... look, I was giving you ten more minutes so that I could think about how to word this..."

Despite his best efforts to the contrary, Church couldn't help the lewd thoughts crossing his mind at such phrasing. "W-word what?"

"If you'd like, you can sleep here tonight. That's what."

This relationship escalated quickly, Operator. Truly legendary!

"W-what?! B-but why?"

Rin fiddled with one of her twin-tails as she thought of the best way to word her explanation. "Hm... well, you really did save me from... well, dying, I guess. That's kind of a big deal, obviously. Treating you to dinner was really just to prove a point. So as thanks for actually rescuing me, you can -just this once- since Tina is gone, sleep here for the night instead of that barren dump you allegedly have to call a room. Then we can actually call it even, and you'll have no right to ask for any favors from me."

Church was rendered speechless at this fortunate turn of events. As the seconds passed, Rin gave him a curious look. "You don't have to accept the offer, if it really bothers you that much."

"N-no! I mean, I would be glad to accept your generosity..."

The Chinese Representative smirked at him with that wide, infectious smile of hers. "That wouldn't have anything to do with me being a girl, would it?"

"Of course not. Just a favor among new friends, right?"

Rin nodded as she headed back towards the interior of her room. "Sure, if that's how you wanna look at it. Anyway, the only rule is that if you see any part of me that I don't want you to, intentionally or not, I'll kill you. I have to save my marital purity for Ichika. So consider yourself warned!"

Church watched the ball of potential murder that was Rin leave for the bathroom. The problem with her statement was that he didn't know what she considered 'parts she didn't want him to see.' What if it was something weird? What if he saw her stomach and he got killed for it? He didn't know what this girl considered modest.

You know what, maybe we should just play it safe and not look at her for the rest of the night.

Well frankly, Operator, that sounds immensely boring and a huge waste of this opportunity.

Not as much of a waste as my life would be if I died before turning eighteen.

Touche, Operator. Touche indeed.

Chapter Text

Sleeping was one of Church's favorite things to do, but ironically, he rarely if ever had much time to do as much of that as he wanted. It seemed like there was always a reason for him to get up early, and those reasons were mostly forced on him by other people. The morning after he had been invited to sleep in Rin's room was no exception.

"Hey."

While he could acknowledge somewhere in his subconscious that a voice was speaking to him, Church tried to ignore it as best he could. He just wanted the chance to actually sleep in one of these days. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen today, as his sleep was ruined a bit more thoroughly by a wad of some fabric hitting him in the face.

"Hey, wake up!"

Church cracked his eyes open reluctantly, acknowledging that he had been hit in the face with a sock. Across from him, Rin was sitting up in her bed, stifling a yawn. She was in the same clothes she had been wearing the night before, and she had neglected to untie her hair, so she looked as she always did. Church held back a yawn of his own as he addressed her.

"Ugh... what is it?"

"It's almost eight in the morning, so I kinda need you to get out of here."

Trying to wipe the grogginess out of his eyes, Church sat up in bed himself. "Well that's sudden. What's important about eight in the morning?"

"It's when Tina said she was going to be coming back. I'll admit I didn't really care too much about letting you use her bed for the night, but at the same time, I don't really want her to come back to this scene, you know? She might get a little mad if she finds out I let a stranger sleep in her bed and I need to take some measures to make sure she never finds out."

Taking that theoretical situation into consideration, Church couldn't say he disagreed with Rin's sentiment. "OK, I guess that's pretty fair. I suppose it was already generous enough letting me sleep here. Though you know, the bed in my storage closet is just about as comfy..."

Rin frowned at his statement. "Wait, really? I only offered to let you sleep in here because I figured you had iffy amenities. Why didn't you say anything?!"

"And skip a perfectly good opportunity to spend the night with a cute girl? Why would I do that?"

The brunette blushed slightly, but still managed to put up an irritable front. "Awfully underhanded of you... maybe I misjudged you?"

Church frowned at the insinuation. "Would you prefer if I didn't think anything special of your favors? Wouldn't that be insulting?"

Rin's frown took on more of a confused air as she considered that. "I... guess it would be, in a way... whatever! Point is, the favor's over. You got a good meal and a sleepover, so the least you could do is make sure I don't have to put up with anything awkward between Tina and myself. I need to make up her bed to avoid suspicion and all that."

"OK, that's fair... I suppose I have to check in with Chifuyu soon anyway. It's the weekend, but I don't think she said at any point that we wouldn't be doing tests on these days..."

The American agent paused for a minute to consider his next words. Aside from those tests he had just mentioned, weekends were actually going to be unique days of opportunity for him, precisely because the student body didn't have classes. That meant that Houki Shinonono had more free time and was presumably more accessible to him, a non-student that didn't share her schedule. These days would be a good time to try and get access to Akatsubaki in some regard.

Of course, that was a bit of a problem since Houki was the one girl in her social circle Church had scarcely been introduced to so far. He still had no believable reason to approach her right now. He supposed he could try and fabricate some sort of encounter with her, but that seemed like a pretty risky course of action. Then again, he was getting relatively friendly with many of Houki's friends, and it was a weekend where they didn't have to focus entirely on schoolwork...

"You plan on doing anything with your friends today, Rin?"

Getting up from her bed and stretching, Rin smirked. "Just can't get enough of me, can ya? I don't blame you, just don't get your hopes up. I didn't have any particular plans today, but I might ask Ichika if he wants to go into town..."

Naturally, this wasn't exactly what Church wanted to hear. Rin getting Ichika to herself didn't exactly help him since it would exclude both himself and Houki from any sort of interaction. That said, Rin wasn't quite done speaking.

"Although, I doubt I'd actually be able to get him alone, considering how this crap usually goes down... tell you what, if things go south and the whole gang comes along, I suppose I can invite you. But you have to be my wingman and try to distract the others, alright?"

Honestly, Church felt like he should be insulted by the notion of being invited on the condition of serving as a distraction to the other girls on Rin's behalf, but he supposed it was better than nothing. Since this outcome was desirable for his mission, he wasn't going to complain about it even if it wasn't very flattering.

"I'm sure my charm can distract at least one of your rivals."

"Well Cecilia's a bimbo, so you can probably get her out of the way at least. You've got a phone right? We should probably exchange numbers so we don't have to rely on a chance encounter if we want to talk. But-"

The girl raised a finger. "Bathroom first."

With that, she walked past Church and towards the bathroom on the other side of the bedroom, disappearing into it swiftly enough. This left Church to grab his phone off of the nightstand next to Tina's bed. Frankly, he didn't actually use it for much, since he didn't have too many people to talk to via such means. He'd had a few friends back in Bethesda, but joining Umbra Stratum had required him to cut ties. It was a shame, since Church had never found anyone else to play Triple Triad with.

But it wasn't like he didn't have anyone to talk to over the phone, made evident by the fact that it rang in his hands a few minutes after he grabbed hold of it. Church's first reaction as he looked at the familiar number was to frown. Not only did he recognize this number, but he knew they were the only people that would call him at this time of day. He supposed they may have had good news, but he was far too much of a realist to assume that.

Answering the call, Church raised the phone to his ear. "Morning, Doctor Warner."

On the other side of the bathroom door, Rin had just been about to come back out into the bedroom when she heard the beginning of Church's conversation. She knew that eavesdropping was rude and that Church probably deserved some privacy, but thinking about it, she didn't actually know that much about him. Her interested was piqued. And besides, she had let him stay in her room just a few days after meeting her, so encroaching on his privacy like this was quid pro quo, right?

With that in mind, she leaned up against the door and softly pressed her ear to it in hopes of increasing her odds of hearing the conversation. That said, she naturally couldn't hear whoever was on the other end of the phone, but she could hear what Church was saying.

"...nothing so far, huh? Is there any chance of something changing if we continue with these? Maybe they just haven't had enough time to work yet."

With only one half of a conversation to operate off of, Rin naturally had trouble figuring out what was being discussed. She supposed the only option she had was to keep listening as Church responded to something else that was said over the phone.

"No, I get it. They were experimental for a reason, I suppose. Does this mean we're going for the alternative treatment option now?"

There was a pause as the person on the other end spoke again, after which Church responded. "Yes, I get that it's expensive. I can cover it, just bill me the same way you always do. Thanks, Doctor Warner. Keep me posted."

After that, Rin heard a heavy sigh from him, which she took to mean that his conversation was over and that he had ended the call. Now was seemingly a good time to come back out, though she'd have to pretend she hadn't heard anything, of course. Opening the door that separated the two rooms, the girl took immediate note of a downtrodden expression on Church's face, though he plastered on a notably strained smile when he noticed that Rin had returned.

Not that Rin had doubted before that Church had problems of his own, but this moment really cemented the idea that he probably had some shitty things in his own life that a relatively new friend like Rin just wasn't privy to. Things that he hid from others in order to present a more friendly, amicable personality to them. Suddenly, Rin felt kind of bad about considering him as a means to an end as far as taking heat off of Ichika was concerned. That wasn't exactly fair to the guy who had saved her life and been overall quite kind to her.

Maybe she'd invite him out today regardless of what happened, though she couldn't deny a guilty feeling may have been the primary motivation for that.

"Alright, ready to exchange numbers?"

Perhaps thinking that Rin was none the wiser to his unpleasant exchange, Church wasted no time in pulling up his number so he could show it to Rin. Ordinarily he may have been flustered by this turn of events, but it really struck him as practical more than anything else. After all, it was probably safe to say that he and Rin would hang out from time to time at this point, and it wouldn't be very efficient to rely on a chance encounter if they wanted to communicate.

Rin figured it would be best if she kept up her usual behavior as she gave Church her number as well. "As they say, don't call me, I'll call you."

Church cocked an eyebrow at her. "That makes it sound like you're doing this reluctantly."

The brunette offered him a cheeky grin. "Nah, I just can't have people know that another boy is calling me, is all. Plus on normal days you have no idea if I'm in the middle of class or something. I mean, if you were like, dying or something you could call, just don't be one of those people that rings everyone up just because you're bored, you know?"

"No need to worry about that, Rin. I'm not the pushy type."

"Says the guy who was begging me to feed him."

Putting his shoes on so he could prepare to leave, Church let her know how he felt about that. "Oh, come on: I was very polite about that and was willing to accept a refusal if you were uncomfortable with it."

With a slight smile to herself, Rin conceded that point. "Yeah, I guess you were. I suppose you aren't a totally lost cause. Seriously though, I need you to get out of here so I can tidy up before Tina gets back."

Activating Exeter since he was obviously going to need it to avoid a broken leg, Church made his way to the window at the back of the room, opening it so he could have access to the outside world. He couldn't quite sneak out if people were out there.

That said, it was pretty early in the morning and it wasn't like there was much of a reason for anyone to be hanging out behind the dorms at this time of day, so the coast was clear. With that determined, Church turned back to face Rin one last time.

"Alright, I'm off. Thank you for hosting me, Rin. Would it be weird if I said I'm glad we met so soon after I got here?"

Rin folded her good arm over her cast and gave him a quizzical look. "Well that makes it sound like you're glad I fell out of a window and almost died, so yeah, a little weird. But I get what you mean: don't let it go to your head, but, uh... I guess I'm glad too. I actually haven't met too many guys I could stand over the years, so it's kind of nice to have a friend who isn't a girl... it gets kind of tiresome sometimes."

Church planted a foot on the windowsill as he prepared to leave. "I'll take that as a compliment. See you later, Rin."

The brunette gave him a little wave with her one good arm as Church hopped out of the window. Part of Rin was still extremely curious about his phone conversation earlier, but that was just her being nosy more than anything else. The two of them definitely weren't at a point where they'd be sharing stuff like that, so it wasn't like she could ask. Besides, right now she had to make it look like no one besides her had been in the room. The last thing she needed was for Tina to go around spreading weird rumors.

---

Not long after leaving from Rin's room, Church was heading back towards his own room in the main tower. He knew he probably needed to check in with Chifuyu and see if he was expected to run tests on the weekend like this, but he wasn't too keen on showing up in the shorts and t-shirt he had worn to sleep in last night. Maybe it was stupid, but he just felt uncomfortable presenting himself to Chifuyu of all people like that. Heck, she probably didn't care at all, but it was really more about his own comfort.

That was why he was heading towards his own room, just so he could change into somewhat more presentable clothes before reporting in. Speaking of reporting in, Cerberus apparently had some sentiment to share about that as Church slid open the door to his storage room turned living space.

Operator, might I suggest we report in to our actual superiors? It would be prudent to keep them up-to-date on our mission.

It's only been a few days. Do they really need a report already? It's not like we've actually accomplished much.

It would still be better to let them know the situation. We could receive valuable advice or new directives based on the situation you report.

Church offered the mental equivalent of a shrug as he took stock of the folded pile of clothes he had procured from town the other day. Technically, he really just needed to change into some jeans, though he would probably don his red jacket again. It was a personal favorite.

Fine, try to patch me through. Who knows what time it is over there...

A few moments after Church requested a connection, Cerberus alerted him to its success.

Connection with Umbra Stratum HQ successful. You may speak aloud to communicate, Operator.

Church said nothing to that since he was apparently connected to someone back in Nevada right now. Besides, he had to say something first since he didn't even know who he was talking to right this second.

"Operative A2, reporting in."

There was a drawn out yawn on the other side of the comms, which played in Church's mind just as if Cerberus was speaking to him. But soon after, he recognized the voice of Marcus.

"Oh, hey, Church. Was wondering when we'd hear from you again. Just didn't think it would be this time of day..."

"Sorry, Marcus. The Commander didn't actually give me explicit instructions to report in at any time. Cerberus just figured I should do so anyway. Not that I have a whole lot to report so far."

Since it wasn't like anyone could see him, Church went about the business of dressing himself as Marcus replied. "It's fine, I'm sure the Commander would have demanded an update at some point. So what do you have thus far?"

"Just some combat data. Most of it second hand observation data, some of it first hand against Byakushiki. Unfortunately, I don't have anything too valuable on Akatsubaki yet. Needless to say, getting my hands on Akatsubaki's specs is a lot more complicated than the Commander made it sound."

Church heard some sort of grunt that was probably acknowledgment from Marcus' end. "Well, send the data over anyway. It's all worth something. Plus it'll give me something to do now that you're gone and Strelka's found something better to do than annoy me."

Even though he couldn't be seen, Church cocked an eyebrow at that. "What could possibly entertain Strelka more than harassing you?"

"Beats me... it was business as usual until a day or two ago. Since then she's barely even touched her ADUs. I want to say I enjoy the peace, but I can't help but wonder what's demanded her attention these past few days... the few times I have seen her around she's looked unusually sullen, too."

"Marcus, are you actually concerned for Strelka? Never thought I'd see the day."

His friend in Nevada scoffed at that. "Yeah, right. I'm just worried she's cooking up a way to be even more of a pain. Forget about her. What about Cerberus? Impressed yet?"

"I suppose. I haven't actually had a chance to really test its limits yet since all I've done is spar. Unfortunately, I don't have much time to talk about it right now. I have an appointment with the locals, if you catch my drift."

Church was certain he could sense disappointment from Marcus as he responded to that. "That's a shame, but I get it. Just have Cerberus send his operational logs over every once in awhile, alright? You could also ask him to write up reports and send those so you don't have to call if that's convenient. Though I wouldn't mind a phone call every once in awhile, it does get kind of quiet out here..."

Done dressing himself, Church made his way back to the door of his room, bringing the conversation to an end. "I hear you, Marcus. I'll keep that in mind. Signing off."

With that, the communication was brought to an end, as acknowledged by Cerberus.

Ending communication, Operator. I must say, you were quick to shut down conversation about yours truly. But you had plenty of time to discuss Ms. Volkov?

Stepping out into the hall again, Church defended that exact notion.

Look, we really do have somewhere to be right now and it's not like I can just-

However Church planned on finishing his sentence, he was unable to do so, since the presence of a certain someone on the opposite side of his door startled him out of his thoughts.

"Whoa! Dammit, Tatenashi, why are you just standing there?!"

The cyan-haired girl was literally standing on the other side of his door, clearly waiting for him to exit from the room. She had that typical smile of hers on her face, but something about it seemed even more off-putting than usual today. Said smile didn't falter as she answered his justified query.

"Because I was waiting for you to come out, obviously. You're kind of late for your scheduled testing, aren't you? And where did you just come from that you weren't in your room earlier?"

Church did his best to keep a look of suspicion off of his face, though he naturally had to worry about Tatenashi right now. How did she know that he had been in the room just now? Had she overheard anything? And if so, what was Church going to do about it?

"What makes you think I wasn't in my room prior to now? Maybe I just didn't hear you knocking earlier. I can sleep pretty deeply, you know."

The smile still didn't fall from her face. "Because, I just saw you walk into the room a few minutes ago after stepping off of the elevator. Obviously you went somewhere."

"Am I not allowed to? And what, were you just standing at the end of the hall and spying on my door?"

Tatenashi's eyes gained a dangerous gleam as she leaned forward a bit. "Well, it's not so much that, it's just that I'm worried about the safety of the other students. Because you see, I heard something awfully interesting from Kanzashi last night..."

Recalling exactly what fiasco had occurred the previous day, Church immediately tried to defend himself. "H-hey, that was an accident! And I didn't see Kanzashi at all, it was just Charlotte!"

"Just Charlotte, huh?"

Realizing that it did sound a little odd to word it like that, Church nevertheless saw this as a good thing. It was preferable for Tatenashi to be focused on this. Maybe she was just acting this way because of the issue with her sister, which was better than her actually being suspicious of his real motivations. Not that it would be beneficial for her to think of him as a pervert, but it was better than her thinking of him as a spy.

"I'm just saying, Kanzashi isn't my type. And I'm not stupid enough to walk right into a room with naked girls and practically announce my presence if I was trying to be a voyeur or something. I just wasn't paying attention, alright? And I had trouble sleeping so I took a walk earlier this morning."

Tatenashi's expression was stern for a moment, prompting Church to wonder if she was convinced. But after a moment, she returned to that usual teasing look she most often sported.

"Oh, I see. So my darling sister isn't good enough for you, is that it? Are you saying she isn't worth peeping on?"

"Are you saying that I'm insulting her by not wanting to perv on her?"

"I'm just saying, you didn't say Charlotte wasn't your type. And hey, Kanzashi looks a lot like me! What are you saying about me?!"

Frankly speaking, Church did find Tatenashi more appealing than her little sister, though that probably just came down to the energy she gave off. But he was hardly going to say that, since he found the whole situation ridiculous at this point anyway.

"I thought you were interested in Ichika? What do you care if I like you or not?"

Tatenashi offered him a mocking pout as she crossed her arms. "It's the principle of the thing. Whether or not I like you, of course you should like me. What's not to like, after all?"

Church merely sighed, wondering if he had Tatenashi all wrong. Sometimes she seemed dangerous, but most of the time, she just came across as an airhead. Then again, it wasn't like acting was beyond the scope of someone talented like her. It would still be best to just play it safe.

"I take it I need to get to the RD room and talk to Chifuyu?"

"If she doesn't outright bite your head off, that is. Guess you won't go very long without her yelling at you after all, huh?"

Stepping away from Tatenashi so he could actually exit the conversation and potentially go about his business, Church remembered that he had said something to that effect when he had first spoken to the girl.

"Don't underestimate me. I don't think anyone could bear to yell at a face this charming."

Tatenashi didn't seem convinced of this, but she didn't say anything in response, which allowed Church to finally extricate himself from the situation and head towards the elevator. As soon as he turned his back on the girl, he frowned.

So, Cerberus: theoretically, what would you recommend doing if our operation was exposed?

The speed at which Cerberus responded to this question was a little alarming, frankly.

Termination, of course. We can't allow our operation to be exposed, especially this early on. Needless to say, a mysterious death would be the most efficient option out of all the ones we would have available. Why do you ask, Operator? Are you truly so concerned about Tatenashi Sarashiki?

Are you not?

Cerberus was silent for a moment, perhaps calculating some hidden factors Church himself was not aware of.

It is extremely unlikely that she overheard anything you said during your call. My calculations of the volume of your speech and the soundproofing of your surroundings, as well as her proximity to the door, all indicate that she likely did not know you were speaking at all within the confines of your room. While the possibility is not zero, it would be most unwise to act on that tiny possibility, which would bear a higher risk of compromising our mission. It is statistically safer to operate on the most likely possibility.

Taking all of that in, Church glanced over his shoulder at where Tatenashi had been standing, but by now, she was already gone. How she moved about so quickly or why she felt the need to do so, Church had no idea.

Yeah, I suppose that makes sense... still, something about her puts me on guard. Guess the best I can do is be careful around her...

With nothing else to consider on that front, Church put his concerns to the back of his mind and focused on his immediate future. While he had blown it off when Tatenashi mentioned it, he was actually a bit concerned regarding Chifuyu. She struck him as someone who was very punctual and expected everyone else to be so as well. Hopefully, the fact that he wasn't a student would offer him some protection from any potential ire.

---

By the time Church reached the R&D room he had come to associate with his testing here at the I.S. Academy, there was only fifteen minutes until nine in the morning, making him not too far off from being a whole hour later than he was supposed to be. At this point, he considered whether or not it would be a better idea to just skip town this particular morning, but then again, that might be pressing his luck even further.

Ultimately, he figured it was just better to bite the bullet. What could Chifuyu really do to him, anyway? He was an envoy from a foreign country. On top of that, while he had been told consistently that Chifuyu was a terrifying person, he had yet to actually see anything like that.

Keeping those ideas in mind for his own comfort if nothing else, Church opened the door to the RD room and stepped inside to see what was what. The room was situated as usual, though he couldn't see Kanzashi in the booth she usually operated. That was probably for the best, all things considered. On the other hand, Chifuyu was sitting at the desk she usually occupied during these proceedings, though she was focusing on some textbook at the moment.

Of course, a sharp woman like her tended to notice when she was no longer alone, so she was looking over her shoulder at him soon enough. The words that came out of her mouth weren't particularly stern in tone, but even so, Church got the feeling she may have been a little irritable.

"You're late."

Church wondered whether or not it would be more beneficial to lie or tell the truth, but ultimately he settled on just being vague instead. He could extrapolate on an excuse if it turned out he needed one.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't sure if we were still doing this even on the weekend."

Chifuyu sighed, but it didn't seem particularly directed at him. "Ordinarily one would assume the weekend to be a better time for this kind of thing, since I don't have classes to teach. Unfortunately, most of my spare time on the weekend has to be used to prepare for next week, so my schedule is mostly the same."

Figuring that he could ride the coattails of Chifuyu's exasperation to safety, Church quickly took on a sympathetic tone, not that he wasn't being genuine about it to begin with.

"Isn't there some sort of dumb AI or computer program that could take some of the workload off of you? I imagine that some of your work is just the number crunching type that could be passed off like that, right?"

Turning her attention back to the textbook she had before her, Chifuyu managed to sound a bit more irritable with her response. "Some bureaucratic nonsense prevents me from doing that. My superiors don't want me using things like that for the 'crucial teaching and training of the next generation of I.S. pilots.' Guess they just want to milk me for as much work as possible. The Academy has a dumb administrative AI, but log reports would show that I was 'misusing its capabilities.' Unfortunately, all I can do about it is be frustrated."

Figuring he would eventually be expected to do so anyway, Church came and sat down in his usual spot not too far away from Chifuyu. "I have to say, you don't actually seem to enjoy your job that much. And someone of your repertoire could probably get whatever type of job she wanted. Why do you work here?"

Even though she didn't take her eyes off of the book she was reading, Chifuyu cocked an eyebrow. "Has anyone ever told you that you're unusually chatty with strangers?"

He wasn't sure if this was supposed to be evasion or a legitimate complaint, but either way Church didn't think it was a good implication. "Sorry..."

"Well, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Believe it or not, it's actually somewhat nice to speak to someone who isn't a student or a faculty member. I can't actually remember the last time I did that. The Academy is very self-contained. Working here limits your social options."

Church refrained from saying that he didn't view Chifuyu as a particularly social person in the first place, though he could admit that such a thing would be a bit unfair of him considering that he didn't actually know her all that well.

"I like to think I'm a somewhat interesting person to talk to. So far, you don't seem to disagree."

Chifuyu turned another page in the textbook. "Perhaps, but I must admit that my judgment may be clouded: as I said, I mostly interact with students and faculty, so by merit of you falling outside of those circles, you may strike me as more interesting than you actually are. Though admittedly, you have struck me as an objectively interesting person thus far. You don't see many people your age thinking so deeply about global socioeconomic issues, after all."

Recalling their conversation the other day about how Infinite Stratos had affected the balance of power between genders, Church figured he was supposed to take that as a compliment. He didn't consider himself a deep thinker so much as he considered himself a curious person. But there was no need to say anything like that to Chifuyu.

"I guess so. But, uh... about today's tests: if you'd rather focus on something else today, it's not like it has to be rushed. I have a pretty generous window of time to do all of this."

The woman he was talking to actually looked up from the textbook at this, looking at him directly. "Is that really acceptable? Surely you don't wish to have your job here needlessly extended to fit my schedule."

For the life of him, Church thought it was funny that Chifuyu believed him to feel that way. What, did she think this was a big hassle for him? Well, she obviously didn't know why he was really here, but even if he was here to do what was advertised to her, why would she think this situation was tedious for him?

"I'm not exactly in a rush to leave, Ms. Orimura. It's a rare day that a male such as myself gets to be in this position."

"And what exactly is 'this position' of yours?"

Church saw this trap for what it was, so he neglected to mention anything about being surrounded by so many girls. He got the feeling that wasn't the answer Chifuyu was looking for.

"You know, visiting one of the world's most prestigious institutions, getting to fight against Infinite Stratos in a controlled environment, holding discussions with one of the most illustrious women in the world... these types of chances don't come often. I might be inclined to get an autograph from you before I leave, it could do wonders for my social life."

The raven-haired woman beside him shook her head, seemingly amused by his answer. Maybe she thought it was silly. Or maybe she just saw right through it. Though it wasn't like he was being entirely dishonest here. He did consider himself quite lucky to be in this situation from a purely intellectual standpoint. Men rarely got this involved in the affairs of Infinite Stratos or its pilots. That said, of course he was also quite happy to be present around a bunch of beautiful girls, even if he didn't get to do much with them besides look and talk. He wasn't going to admit that to a woman like Chifuyu even if she was aware of it.

"Well, whatever your reasons, if it's no trouble for you to delay, we needn't do anything today. In fact, you may find it appropriate to set up a schedule of sorts to avoid any confusion in the future. I wasn't given any specific directions to speed this process along as much as possible, so we can take it at your leisure."

While he may have been jumping to a relatively bold assumption, Church couldn't help but comment on this. "You know, that kind of makes it sound like you don't actually mind having me around. You'd want to send me packing as quickly as possible otherwise, right?"

The woman scoffed at this, which was a little wounding. "You've simply succeeded in not annoying me thus far, or directly causing some hassle that could have been avoided. That's subject to change, so don't get comfortable."

Church's desire to say anything shrunk a bit at that. It wasn't necessarily offensive or anything, but it was still a pretty harsh sentiment. Then again, he supposed it was a bit presumptuous of him to assume anything about this professional relationship when he had known Chifuyu for all of a few days.

Operator, if our presence will not be required here today, might I suggest we focus our attention on the mission?

Having expected Cerberus to stay quiet during this time since it had been thus far, Church took a moment to formulate a response, as well as how he even wanted to answer.

Rin told us already what her plans are for the day. We might as well wait and see if that bears any fruit. If Houki and her friends end up going into town, our time would be wasted strolling about the Academy.

We could attempt to infiltrate more computer systems, Operator.

Do you really think there's a chance of us finding anything useful about Akatsubaki in any network we could access around here?

Cerberus did not respond to that immediately. After all, Church had a point. It was likely that there was valuable data on Akatsubaki stored somewhere in the Academy, but it was probably in a normally inaccessible location, and protected by many electronic warfare suites. Akatsubaki was by far the most valuable asset the Japanese government owned right now. They weren't just going to leave its specs lying around.

Technically, that didn't make this theoretical data inaccessible: if the network it was stored on could be located, Cerberus could probably infiltrate it successfully. But it was definitely a very risky option. Right now, it was still a safer bet to approach the actual Akatsubaki unit directly. That said, there was no telling what electronic warfare defenses the I.S. itself would have once that happened...

Frankly, Church couldn't help but wonder if there had ever been any intention for him to pull this mission off without Cerberus. Without his AI assistant, how would he have possibly hacked all of these computer systems? Then again, maybe the intention had always been for Cerberus to come along.

Either way, he didn't have the necessary means to really pursue the objective right this moment, so Church decided that there was no harm in staying where he was. Chifuyu had crushed his spirits a little bit, but technically she hadn't said anything bad about him. It wasn't even that he was on thin ice or anything. Besides, even though Chifuyu had said otherwise, he got the feeling that she did think well of him in some regard.

"What do you do to lower your stress levels, Ms. Orimura? With how much work you do, surely there's something."

The expression Chifuyu donned made it obvious that she considered Church's question to be ridiculous. "Bold of you to assume that I have enough time to dedicate solely to a stress relieving exercise on any given day."

"Well, what about things you could do while you work? Like listening to relaxing music, or something?"

Chifuyu flipped another page in the textbook. Church had no idea what it was she was looking for within it. "I don't know much about music. I don't even know where to begin to look for music of any sort."

Church found this response surprising, but he supposed it made some sense. Chifuyu didn't strike him as someone who had a lot of investment in the entertainment world.

"I have some recommendations that you might appreciate. I could send them to you if you'd like?"

For a moment, the older woman glanced at him, perhaps questioning his own investment in the matter. Ultimately, she didn't comment on whatever inner thoughts she may have been having.

"I won't stop you if you'd like to do so. Though it's hardly like I have headphones on me right now."

"I'll save it for the next time we meet for testing, then."

Thankfully for Church since he felt that the conversation might get awkward after this point, it was interrupted by a buzzing from his pocket. With no reason to expect a call from anyone else since he had already talked to Doctor Warner that morning, he assumed the caller was Rin, much to his pleasure. Well, he had to answer first to find out, so he wasted no time in withdrawing the device from his pocket and raising it to his ear.

"Hello?"

While it was slightly distorted, the voice that came from the other end of the line was definitely Rin's. "Hey, it's me. Like I figured, my plan to get Ichika alone for a date was a total bust, so... you wanna come with us to town?"

Part of Church admitted that he felt a little offended to only be considered as company under these circumstances, but he supposed it was only fair to expect. If someone could get the person they liked alone, why would they want to bring other people along? He just hoped that Rin didn't really expect him to try and take any heat off of her situation with the other girls. He couldn't imagine that any of them would care to pay much attention to him anyway.

And speaking of the other girls, Church only now considered that an outing such as this one might be pretty unpleasant for him. After all, he had just last night experienced a pretty awkward moment with Charlotte, and surely that would still be on her mind too. Cecilia didn't seem to like him at all, he had never spoken to Houki, and Laura... well, Church wasn't sure where she stood now. Even though she had come across as hostile before, the two of them had seemingly gotten along well enough last night.

All of that said, he felt the need to ask Rin a question. "I don't mind, but did you run this by everyone else? They won't be upset that I'm tagging along?"

He heard Rin scoff on the other end of the line. "What is this, a school field trip? I don't have to ask any of them for permission to invite who I want along. Besides, I'll probably need the company, all things considered..."

Church wasn't sure what to make of that last comment. He would have thought that, even with all of her other friends present, Rin would have preferred to have her focus completely on Ichika. This comment made it sound like she didn't think she was going to have much of a chance to even talk to him.

"Well, if you say so. When are we leaving and where should I meet you?"

"You know the tram station that connects the Academy island to the city, right? Just meet us there in thirty minutes."

"Sounds good."

Rin wasted little time in ending the call after his confirmation, leaving Church to pocket his phone and take note of a mildly questioning look from Chifuyu.

"What?"

"It sounds as though you have plans for an outing. I'm merely surprised that you've gotten close enough to anyone to warrant such an excursion with them in your brief time here."

"To be fair, I think I'm owed a little bit of friendliness from Rin, all things considered. Not that I'm lording our first meeting over her or anything, I'm just saying that saving her life was probably a good springboard for a friendly relationship..."

It wasn't clear what Chifuyu thought about that assessment, what with that expression that was always pretty difficult to read. Her words sounded accepting enough, however.

"Well, however you choose to spend your free time is your prerogative. Though I'm surprised anyone would willingly get involved in such a circus..."

Church didn't comment on that as he rose from his chair. He supposed Chifuyu knew better than he did when it came to judging those girls. "Well, it seems like we're going into town. Should I grab you anything while we're out?"

This question prompted another curious look from the elder Orimura. Maybe she was just too unused to socializing, but it still struck her as odd to be this friendly with a relative stranger. Maybe some people didn't find such consideration awkward. Or maybe Church was trying to express gratitude of some sort, though that was a little silly since Chifuyu had only done things that were expected of her job for him.

Either way, she wasn't going to stop him from doing what he wanted. The faculty lounge was running out of coffee anyway, and it would be at least a week before another shipment came in. If she ran out of coffee, Chifuyu wasn't sure she would be able to function properly...

"If you're willing, I could use more black coffee."

Frankly, Church was not surprised that Chifuyu was a black coffee kind of person. "Alright, I can do that. I'll bring it next time we have testing."

Nodding her confirmation of his words, Chifuyu said nothing else as she returned her attention to the textbook that she'd had since Church got here. Naturally, this left the young man with little alternative besides making his exit. Once he was outside, Cerberus wasted no time in questioning his behavior.

Operator, I fail to see any valid reason for wasting valuable funds on procuring resources for Chifuyu Orimura. She is, as it is said, 'out of your league.'

Church donned an unhappy frown at the assessment, partly because he was offended that his intentions were being chalked up to impressing a woman, but mostly because he didn't like the fact that Cerberus was probably right.

For your information, I'm doing this to further ingratiate myself with the people I'll be dealing with regularly. It's pretty obvious that I'm going to be spending a lot of time around Chifuyu while carrying out this mission. Anything I can do to minimize her suspicion or even distaste for me is worthwhile. After all, of all the people present at the Academy, I think I'd want to avoid her bad side the most.

Cerberus was quiet for a moment, almost like it was shocked that Church had actually provided a solid explanation.

I see. My apologies, Operator. It's just that your motivation is often so questionable when it comes to women, I simply didn't believe you might actually have the mission's interests in mind.

You know, I'm starting to wonder if you actually have any faith in me at all, Cerberus.

Much to Church's chagrin, the AI did not answer this question, simply leaving him to wonder as he headed for the tram station Rin had mentioned earlier.

Chapter Text

The I.S. Academy was not all that far away from civilization. It was situated on a small island, but if you stood on the shore of that island, you could easily see the coastline of mainland Japan, which was only a few miles away. But the Academy was a private boarding school, and the most important one in the world, at that. For that reason, it was not connected to the mainland via something like a bridge: the government wasn't interested in letting random people walk or drive right onto the premises.

For students and faculty who wanted to move between the Academy and the coastline city it was next to, the only means of doing so was a tram system that connected the two areas. I.S. pilots could have technically just flown between them of course, but flippant use of military grade technology was heavily frowned upon, so anyone who had a sponsor was very unlikely to whip out their I.S. for minor reasons, especially in full view of the public.

Personally, Church couldn't see why the designers of this area hadn't just built a bridge then locked it down with a security checkpoint, which probably would have been easier. Looking at the tram station before him, which included dozens of support struts buried deep in the water between the island and the mainland, it seemed like this whole setup was the more expensive of the available options.

Because it was the weekend, there were a lot more students milling around here than there would have been otherwise: without classes to fully command the schedules of the student body, many of them liked to go into the neighboring city to spend their free time. That probably explained the decent line leading up to the tram station, chock full of girls engrossed in their own conversations. Many were dressed in casual clothing for their outing, though a few simply kept to their uniforms. Apparently they were comfortable and stylish enough to wear even in such a scenarios, though the ability of the students to customize their uniforms as they wished probably helped a great deal.

Glancing through the crowd, Church did not immediately see the people he was supposed to be meeting, though that wasn't exactly a surprise considering the number of girls he had to scan through. On the other hand, he did notice an alarming number of students checking him out, with expressions that ranged from mere curiosity to outright predatory. A few even began to make their way towards him, no doubt to try and elicit his company for some nefarious purpose or another. Maybe they figured he was vulnerable right now since they weren't in the main building and Tatenashi was nowhere to be seen.

Church wondered how he would escape this veritable den of lions, but he was saved before having to take any action himself, thanks to Rin's familiar voice calling out to him.

"Hey! Church, over here!"

Glancing off to the side, Church identified Rin waving to him with her good hand. Decked out in jean shorts and a tank top, she was standing near some trees that were separated from the walkways via railing. Church could see the rest of her social circle around her, though most of them weren't paying any attention to him.

Eager to escape the slowly encroaching horde of girls he didn't know, Church made his way towards Rin and her friends, identifying the types of clothing they chose to wear on casual outings such as this one. For the most part, the clothing choices seemed to line up with everyone's personality: a blouse from Charlotte, a sundress from Cecilia, cargo pants from Laura... some part of everyone was seemingly reflected in how they dressed for this kind of thing. Church couldn't help but wonder what his own basic attire may have implied about him, but it wasn't like he thought he looked bad.

Putting those thoughts aside, Church waved back at Rin as he got closer. "Hey. You weren't all waiting on me, were you?"

Before the girl could even respond to him, Cecilia's irritable voice cut in from behind. "As a matter of fact, we were. No idea why, of course..."

The interruption prompted an annoyed glance from Rin in Cecilia's direction. "Oh, shut up. You wanna talk about unwanted guests? I didn't invite any of you to this outing, you all invited yourselves!"

"This and that are entirely separate! Of course I wouldn't just let you pull off an underhanded scheme such as this one!"

Church assumed that the blonde was referring to the notion of Rin getting a day out alone with Ichika, but he didn't make any comment on that. He didn't get a chance to anyway, since Ichika was walking towards him with a smile on his face.

"Well I'm glad you came! The girls are so antisocial, they always want to do things alone... but I say, the more the merrier! Plus, it's always nice to have another guy around."

Church felt a palpable increase in heat around his position, but a quick perusal of his surroundings revealed that it was just Ichika getting glared at by pretty much everyone, and Church was just close enough to be collateral damage. It wasn't particularly hard to imagine why Ichika's statements may have annoyed the girls.

I honestly can't tell if this guy is truly so oblivious or he's the world's ultimate troll.

There is equal potential for both answers, Operator.

Figuring that it was now a good idea to metaphorically extricate himself from Ichika's ignorance in the eyes of his companions, Church took note of the girls around him. Most still bore annoyed expressions, being focused on Ichika and all, but a few of them did notice his observation. Charlotte was one of them, the girl quick to avert her gaze in embarrassment, though it was no mystery as to why. Church imagined the air would be a little awkward between the two of them for some time.

The other person to notice his assessment was Laura, who likewise turned away from him when their eyes met. Surprisingly enough, the reaction didn't seem nearly as cold or hostile as it had before. If anything, it almost looked a little bashful.

I wonder if I'm actually growing on her after last night?

Cerberus didn't share his optimism.

Operator, please: don't be so naïve. Bodewig is a hardened soldier, surely a few kind words aren't going to sway her negative opinion about you.

Hey, you'd be surprised how much of a difference a few genuine compliments can make.

Continuing his purveyance, Church noted that Houki appeared particularly irate at Ichika, but more importantly was the fact that she was present at all. Other than their very brief encounter in the cafeteria a while ago, this was the first time Church had actually been close to the girl that possessed his mission objective. That being said, it would hardly do to let the opportunity that was today go to waste.

"Hi: I don't think we've actually been introduced yet. Ms. Shinonono, right?"

Initially taken aback by his query, Houki quickly donned the air of politeness that was expected of her in such a scenario. Her first instinct was to bow, but seeing as how Church was a foreigner, and from the West at that, she offered a hand to shake instead.

"Y-yes, it's nice to meet you. I must apologize for not making your acquaintance sooner, considering how you saved one of my idiot friends. Please forgive me."

There was an indignant cry from Rin at being identified as an 'idiot friend' but Church ignored it as he shook Houki's hand. Though he had seen her before, now that he was staring right at her in close proximity, Church really was taken aback by how unique she really was. It wasn't every day you had a Japanese girl with blue eyes and a figure like hers. Church could imagine her being immensely popular in a co-ed environment: tall, pretty, long silken hair, impressive physique... she ticked all the boxes for what was typically considered attractive.

Of course, Church personally felt that all of the girls in Ichika's social circle were immensely good-looking, so this didn't really make Houki an outlier. Maybe good genes were a prerequisite for I.S. pilots as well?

Before he could extrapolate on that thought further, Church's musings were interrupted by Ichika. "Just so you know, no need to be too formal. I'm sure Houki won't mind if you call her that."

Naturally, the girl in question didn't seem as onboard with the notion as Ichika made it seem. "Excuse you, don't go around telling people what they can or can't call me!"

"But Houki, he's a foreigner: it'll probably be weird for him to call you Shinonono all the time, right? Plus it's a mouthful..."

Houki snapped something back at him, but Church missed it as he focused in on a conversation with Cerberus.

I know it's blindly optimistic, but I don't suppose that brief contact with her allowed us to make any headway?

I'm afraid it's not going to be as simple as shaking hands for a few moments, Operator. We're already attempting a wireless connection, which isn't the most efficient option. On top of that, it was but a moment of close contact. We'll need more than that.

If it's wireless, how close do we really have to be?

Close enough that it would arouse suspicion at this time. It's the most advanced piece of technology in the world, Operator. You should be glad we can attempt a wireless infiltration at all, regardless of stipulations.

While he hadn't been expecting any less, Church was still a little disappointed. It would have been nice if everything was easy, but when was it ever? Then again, if it had been as easy as all that, his mission would have been over very quickly, and then he'd have to leave this unique situation right away, and where was the fun in that?

Cerberus may have said something to condemn that notion, but before that could happen, Rin was ushering everyone towards the tram station. "Alright, alright, we can do the usual song and dance on the move! It's not like we have all day, people!"

Considering that it was barely even noon yet, Church found the sense of urgency a little unwarranted, but then again, he didn't actually know what other plans any of the girls may have had. Maybe they all had something to do in just a few hours? Either way, no one dissented with Rin's proclamation, so the group was soon moving towards the line at the tram station. Being the most out of place for obvious reasons, Church brought up the rear so as not to be in the midst of the group that mostly consisted of acquaintances at best, one of which he was still having trouble looking at since he kept seeing her naked in his mind.

In an effort to curb that problem, the American agent took note of something that had only just now occurred to him while they were standing in line.

"Where are Tatenashi and Kanzashi? Did they not get invited?"

From in front of him, Rin turned back and made a face of clear disdain. Outright disgust, almost. "I'd rather die before inviting that witch anywhere."

With the brunette refusing to elaborate further, Church was left in confusion. Surprisingly, it was Laura who glanced back to enlighten him. Apparently, she wasn't against initiating a conversation with him any longer.

"There was an incident between Rin and Tatenashi at Ichika's birthday party last year. As for Kanzashi... well, to be honest, we aren't particularly close with her or her sister overall. I suppose no one felt obligated to invite her."

Church felt a little bad for the bespectacled girl in question, since she struck him as the shy and quiet type that probably needed to hang out with people more often, but it wasn't like it was his place to question the relationships of these people he was only recently acquainted with. On another note, he acknowledged that there was still no actual explanation regarding Rin's distaste for Tatenashi. What exactly was this 'incident' that had happened between them?

Even though the tram station was pretty busy around this time of day on the weekends, it operated with pretty solid efficiency, so the line they were all waiting in moved forward fairly quickly. Up at the station itself, there was an adult woman standing guard, checking passes of some sort that all the students seemed to have. Apparently, you couldn't just come and go without any sort of verification.

This left Church in a bit of a bind for a moment, but when Rin got up to the woman to show her pass, she gestured back at him. "That guy in the red jacket is with me."

Apparently, that was more than enough. The woman checking everyone's pass made no move to stop him or investigate him in any way when Church walked by her. Frankly, he was kind of surprised.

Is the word of a student really all it takes to let someone walk in and out of this place?

Perhaps interpreting this as a legitimate question, Cerberus offered a response.

To be fair, Operator, the student who vouched for you is a Representative Candidate. It is likely that her word carries a bit more weight and veracity, considering that she would be unlikely to do anything nefarious that would compromise her position. Most I.S. pilots in her position wouldn't dare run the risk of losing their candidacy over something like this.

While Church agreed that the logic held up to some extent, he still found it a little questionable. He just thought that one of the world's most important institutions would have a bit more security to its name. Maybe they were just complacent: it wasn't like anyone had the gall or even the motivation to attack the place. Though obviously there was plenty of reason to infiltrate it...

Figuring that it was best to just accept his good fortune, Church turned his attention to finding somewhere to sit on the tram, which was naturally quite crowded. The girls and Ichika had managed to take a number of seats that were relatively close to each other, though it didn't look like the arrangement was to everyone's liking: the two spaces next to Ichika had been claimed by Charlotte and Houki, leaving a disgruntled Rin a space further away, and Cecilia and Laura opposite of them.

What wasn't present was an actual opening for Church himself, and he couldn't help but wonder how all of the girls had actually found somewhere to sit. Maybe their near celebrity status in the school did them a few favors? Well, there were handholds on the ceiling too, so it wasn't like he was totally screwed. He elected to grab onto one of those in the rough midst of his companions.

Surprisingly, he didn't stand there for very long before getting an unexpected comment from Laura, who was sitting about two feet away from him. "If you wish, I could likely convince another passenger to trade places with you."

Frankly, Church was surprised at the offer, mostly because he wasn't expecting it to come from Laura of all people. Evidently, she really was feeling somewhat more positive about him, even if it was just to the extent of general politeness. Even so, Church certainly wasn't going to steal a seat from some stranger on the tram, though he was fairly certain he could probably convince one of these girls to scoot over for him if he really wanted to.

"I appreciate the offer, but it's only a short ride, right? I don't think it's necessary to evict someone else for my sake."

Laura didn't seem put off by his refusal, merely shrugging. "If you say so."

Mere moments after their exchange, the tram lurched into motion, forcing Church to grip his support just a little tighter lest he get thrown around. Ultimately, he was not mistaken in regards to the brief trip: it was probably less than five minutes to get across the water and to the city, overall. As everyone was disembarking, the American operative questioned what exactly he was going to try and achieve on this outing. Naturally, this was the first time he had even been presented an opportunity to get close to Houki, so that was pretty important. But if everyone stuck together, it would be difficult to make much of an impression. He was a stranger, after all, and everyone else was someone that Houki actually cared about.

Then again, perhaps it would be enough to merely be present. Worming your way into one's social circle without seeming overly direct could be challenging. But if he could just establish himself as someone that no one in Houki's social circle minded having around, it provided him with a foothold to carry out his mission more effectively.

It was very weird, considering relationships in a nearly tactical light such as this.

Once everyone was actually off of the tram, Church figured it would be a good idea to question whether or not the group had actual goals today. "So, are we doing any sort of particular shopping, or are we just window shopping?"

Rin, being the most familiar with him by far at this point, elected to answer. That said, she was a little hesitant, likely because her answer hid certain implications.

"I don't know. I didn't exactly have plans before everyone tagged along..."

It wasn't hard for Church to pick up on what the brunette was saying. Obviously, her only real goal had been to get Ichika out here alone. There had been no objective related to the outing other than that, so she didn't have anywhere in particular to shop.

A lack of specification from any of the other girls mostly confirmed that their reasoning was the same. None of them had come out here with an actual focus on shopping: it was just about blocking any one girl from getting their heart throb alone. Something about that notion was kind of sad.

Ultimately, Charlotte came through with a pretty decent idea. "I believe there is a shopping arcade in town, oui? If we have no particular destination in mind, that seems like a good place to visit. That way we have many options."

Ichika commented on the idea swiftly. "Great idea, Charl! That's a good idea for all of us to do together."

It was clear, perhaps to everyone except Ichika, that the girls were not particularly enthused with the idea of doing something together. Likely not because they didn't like each other, but seemingly just because they had all hoped for something else. Being arrayed against your friends in a manner such as this seemed tiresome.

Even so, nobody voiced any dissent with the idea, as it was a pretty solid course of action and no one could come up with a good reason to deny it. That being the case, the group was heading towards this mentioned shopping arcade in short order, though Church once again took up the rear as they walked through the city. It was a bit awkward, but it did make sense: Rin was the only person he knew beyond what he would consider an acquaintance, and even that was being generous. So in a group of people he otherwise didn't know very well, he naturally would have gravitated towards the Chinese girl. However, she was busy trying, and mostly failing, to get Ichika's attention on her instead of on any of the other girls.

So at the moment, she wasn't interested in providing him with a comfort zone. It was a little uncomfortable, but Church may have even seen it as a boon, since it meant he may have had an opportunity to try and speak to Houki. Unfortunately, being with this entire group of friends at once for the first time, Church realized that he faced a certain obstacle: when Ichika was present, all eyes were on him. Being the target of their affections to the best of Church's knowledge, it made sense that they were all much more interested in Ichika than they were with a tag-along like him. Even Rin, who had been very friendly and forward with him since arriving at the Academy, seemed to forget that he was there as she waged an invisible battle with the other present girls.

Needless to say, it was obvious that Church would have better luck advancing his status with any of them when Ichika wasn't around, though that too was an issue considering that they were always looking for ways to be near him. How he was going to solve this problem, Church had no idea. For now, he figured the best course of action he could take would be to observe the situation from his position as a shadow that no one was paying attention to. That sounded kind of insulting, but it was the best type of position for surveillance.

Being in the rear meant he had eyes on everyone, and they didn't really know he was paying such close attention, which meant nobody was really altering their behavior to account for him. It was ideal.

Naturally, the entire course of the group's behavior centered around Ichika. That much was obvious. Someone was always vying for his attention, though in different ways. Houki and Charlotte often tried to subtly garner his notice, saying something with a specific implication that Ichika was supposed to pick up on, though he often failed to. When that happened, Charlotte always smiled, though it was the kind that hid minor annoyance. Houki usually huffed and folded her arms and pretended to put Ichika from her mind and focus on something else. Naturally, that was a front, as she was always peeking at the boy to see if he would try and proactively fix his mistake.

Rin and Cecilia were much more overt. It was obvious that when they were feeling neglected, they would try and speak over someone else or outright cling to Ichika's arm in an attempt to force his attention on them. Results were middling: obviously, Ichika would turn his attention to them when they demanded it, but it was always brief. Almost dismissive, even, though it didn't seem intentional from Church's third-party perspective. Maybe they just weren't saying anything that interested him, or maybe he secretly disliked girls that were pushy. Even Cerberus picked up on it, in his own odd way.

The average amount of time that Ichika Orimura focuses on Lingyin Huang or Cecilia Alcott when they garner his attention is seven seconds less on average in comparison to Charlotte Dunois or Houki Shinonono. One could extrapolate that they are of less import to him from this data, but this simple observation is insufficient to prove that hypothesis, especially without a control.

Hearing all of this in his head, Church had to wonder just what kinds of things Cerberus thought about without his input. Though admittedly, this was pretty interesting data, even if it was a technically insignificant data point in this line of thinking.

It could just be that they aren't saying or doing anything he finds interesting. I mean, Cecilia tried to get his attention with talk of a dress she was interested in. Not exactly something that seems up his alley. But you know, there is someone we aren't factoring into this at all...

With a particular girl on his mind, Church turned his focus to her, only to find that Laura was actually glancing over her shoulder back at him. How long she had been doing that was a mystery, since Church had been engrossed in his own thoughts and observations. Hopefully, she hadn't noticed how astutely he was focusing on all of her friends. That might be a little awkward.

If she did notice that, she didn't comment on it, instead speaking on something else entirely. "Do you always walk behind the people you are with?"

Church supposed it may have struck someone as weird that he was doing such a thing. "Well, not really, but I don't want to get in anyone's way and all. Rin's the only one I'm particularly close with, relatively speaking..."

Laura glanced towards the brunette in question, who was currently fuming over Ichika paying attention to something Houki had said. Seeing this, the German girl actually slowed her pace a little so that Church would come abreast of her.

"Indeed. She's not being a very good host, considering that she was the one who invited you. I can understand why this situation might make you uncomfortable as it is. Fear not, I will keep you company in her stead."

Glancing down at the girl nearly a foot shorter than him, Church wondered if she had some ulterior motive or if she had actually warmed up to him. He would have preferred the latter, but he hadn't initially considered Laura to be the type of person whose opinion could be swayed by some kind words.

"I appreciate the thought, Laura, but you don't have to bother yourself on my behalf. I know you'd rather talk to Ichika."

Laura cocked an eyebrow at him. "Know that, do you? Don't be so sure: I know from personal experience that it would be difficult to get a word in edgewise in this situation, never mind actually have any sort of meaningful interaction with him. Such is the way of things when we're all present. Besides, at this exact moment, you're... mildly higher in my good graces than Ichika is."

"You're upset with him?"

"He said something to me last night that I very much did not like. Naturally, he still hasn't apologized either. Though I doubt he even realizes that he offended me or that I expect an apology. I suppose I have little room to talk as far as social etiquette is concerned, but I cannot understand how one can be so oblivious..."

Honestly, Church was surprised that she was telling him any of this. Sure, maybe she was thinking of him in a more friendly manner now, but it still wasn't like they knew each other very well. Maybe he just struck her as the type of person one could speak of such things with. One of Church's old friends from Bethesda had always said that he had a 'therapist' type of vibe to him.

"Well, I don't know him that well, but maybe Ichika is just... I don't know, swamped? With so many girls around him, he probably has a hard time keeping track of all his mistakes and all. I mean, he can barely even hold a conversation with one of you for more than a few seconds before someone else interjects. Must be a little confusing for him, don't you think?"

Laura focused her crimson gaze on the group ahead of them, watching as everyone vied for Ichika's attention in some way or another. Admittedly, the look on the boy's face did seem a little overwhelmed. Maybe Church had a point.

"I suppose you may be right... but what else can one do? We are all seeking the same prize, we cannot afford to show restraint, lest someone make a foothold that secures their lead. It's a war of escalation, as it were."

While it was just speculation on his part, Church remembered getting the feeling that Ichika and Charlotte were displaying behavior that was a little suspicious. Apparently, Laura at least had not picked up on the possibility that Charlotte may have already had this metaphorical foothold that she was talking about.

"No offense, but I don't think viewing this whole thing as a competition is really fair to Ichika... or even to any of you, honestly. It doesn't seem like anyone is even asking what Ichika wants, and it kind of feels like you girls are more focused on trying to outdo each other as a matter of pride than you are with trying to establish a genuine emotional connection with him."

The silver-haired German leveled a sharp, but not altogether hostile look at Church as he said all of this, but he didn't notice. He was staring at the backs of the people in front of him as he continued to muse.

"I'm just saying, love is supposed to be about wanting happiness for the person you care about, right? I mean, of course you want them to be happy with you, preferably, but if you only care about what you want and don't even consider their own desires, can you really say you love them? It's just a little-"

Finally glancing at the girl beside him since he was actually talking to her, Church noticed the expression she was giving him. It was hard to tell what emotion she was really feeling, but the look on her face was stern, so Church assumed it wasn't a particularly positive feeling.

"S-sorry, I guess it's not my place to make comments on that about the relationships of people I barely know. Don't listen to me, I just talk too much..."

The girl was silent for a few moments, though ultimately she shifted her contemplative gaze back to her friends in front of her. "...perhaps..."

After that, the two of them walked in silence, though it didn't seem to be a result of awkward air: more that Laura had just become lost in thought. Church hadn't actually expected her to take anything that he had said seriously, but apparently something he said had gotten her attention. Either way, he didn't get to talk to her much more, but it didn't matter anyway since it was only a few more minutes of walking before the group arrived at the shopping arcade Charlotte had mentioned before.

It was a large building with a ton or arches in its construction, which was actually what defined an arcade to the best of Church's knowledge. There were signs for all sorts of stores that he could see, though notably, none of them were big chain stores. This was the kind of place with niche offerings from unique vendors, he supposed. Naturally, the place was decently crowded, with even a a good number of other Academy students around.

Naturally, the first order of business was for everyone to figure out where they wanted to go. Unfortunately, this was doomed to fail from the start, for a number of reasons. First of all, everyone didn't want to go to the same place. Cecilia wanted to go shopping for clothes, while Charlotte wanted to check out a bakery. Rin was interested in a store that sold cookware.

And of course, they all wanted Ichika to come with them. No surprise there. The whole thing was kind of tiring, and Church wasn't even the one in the center of it. Figuring that this could go on for some time, and knowing that he had next to no chance of getting Houki alone anyway, Church decided that he may as well achieve the one other thing he was out here for, so he interrupted the verbal war between the girls for just a brief moment, though the only person he got the attention of was Rin, with a tap on her shoulder.

"Hey, Rin. Is there a place that sells coffee around here? I told Chifuyu I would get her some."

While she had only partially taken her attention away from Ichika and the other girls at first, Rin gave him her full attention after he said this. "What the hell man, are you running errands for her already? I didn't think she could whip a foreign delegate like that..."

"It's called being nice, Rin. I'm already out here, and she's busy and can't afford to come out and buy it herself. Plus, she was pretty lenient about smashing a big hole in an Academy building, so it's the least I could do."

Rin was still looking at him like he had grown another head or something, but ultimately she pointed to a store that was in a corner of the arcade. "Uh-huh, sure... I think that place sells coffee, if you want to check it out."

"Thanks, I'll check it out. Promise you'll at least answer your phone in case I get lost and can't find any of you, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry."

With that settled, Church gave a little wave that went mostly unnoticed since most of the girls were still bickering, then walked off towards the store that Rin had indicated. Once inside, it didn't take long to discern that it was a store that sold coffee, tea, and the like, and locating the section with the coffee was easy.

One good thing he would admit about Cerberus was the fact that all of the Japanese text he was faced with was easily translated, though naturally, there was plenty of English present anyway. Unfortunately, Church was faced with a different problem in the form of a little vagueness: Chifuyu had specified that she wanted black coffee, but she hadn't given any more direction than that. Did she want a certain brand? Would she be upset if he picked something cheap? Should he just buy the most expensive one?

Operator, it behooves me to remind you that the funds you spend are Umbra Stratum assets. It's not very professional to spend them on coffee as a gift.

Church furrowed his brow as he continued perusing the beans before him.

And it behooves me to remind you that this could be beneficial in establishing a friendly relationship with someone of great influence in the Academy. Besides, if Umbra Stratum can't even afford good coffee, we have much bigger things to worry about.

If Cerberus was going to comment on that, he didn't get a chance to, since they were interrupted unexpectedly. From behind him, Church heard a familiar huff, followed by condemnation.

"Why are you here?"

A quick glance over his shoulder revealed that the woman accosting him was Cecilia, though that was hardly a surprise. She had that same condescending look on her face that she always did when looking at him. At this point, Church had no idea what she had against him, or if she had anything against him personally at all. Maybe it was something else. Either way, he figured it was best to just answer honestly.

"I told Chifuyu I would get some black coffee for her while I was out today. I was just debating which one is the best choice. Why are you here?"

Cecilia folded her arms, perhaps trying to cement her haughty look. "Well, that harlot Houki managed to lure Ichika to the store she wanted, so I'm here to get some tea while I wait for that travesty to be over."

Honestly, Church was surprised that Cecilia wouldn't just follow Ichika and Houki to whatever store they went to. But peering past the blonde, he did see that the other side of this aisle had various teas on display. Apparently, there was an option good enough to cater to Cecilia's tastes, which was also surprising in and of itself.

While he was thinking about this, Cecilia apparently realized that she was divulging her thoughts to Church, which prompted her to whirl away from him and focus on the shelves on her side of the aisle. Church refrained from sighing only because he knew it might upset her if she heard it. Seriously, what did she have against him? He couldn't actually think of anything he had done thus far to possibly grate on her nerves like this.

He had half a mind to just ignore the situation, since it was kind of insulting, but on the other hand, if he was going to be around this group of friends, he was probably going to be around Cecilia a lot too. It was probably in the best interest of his sanity to try and rectify this situation if he could. Unfortunately, the only way he could do that was to simply jump right in.

"So, did I do something that really rubbed you the wrong way? Not that I believe myself to be infallible, but I can't think of anything I've done that would deserve all this disdain from you."

Cecilia didn't even look back at him. "You haven't done anything. But neither have you done anything particularly exceptional, so why should I force myself to be amicable with you?"

"Wait, I have to impress you just to get a minimum level of politeness? And I did save Rin, is that not exceptional?"

This time, she did glance back at him, but it wasn't a look that expressed agreement. "Saving the life of someone in peril when it is within your power to do so is expected of a good man, not exceptional. I suppose you think you should be praised for having common decency?"

On one hand, Church supposed that she had a point of sorts. One should expect a good person to help others in need. But at the same time, didn't people still deserve praise for actually following those expectations? It was like not being grateful to doctors for saving your life, just because it was their job to do so.

"If your standards are that high, doesn't that mean no one is exceptional? If great things are expected of normal people, then they aren't great things anymore, they're just... things."

"There are still things out there that are exceptional even to my high standards. You just have to be amazing enough to achieve them."

At this point, Church wasn't actually focusing on the coffee anymore. "Yeah? What exactly did Ichika do to earn your respect?"

Cecilia's body stiffened at this question. "He, uh... well, h-he... almost defeated me in battle..."

There was silence between the two of them for a brief moment, but it didn't last long under the rising incredulity in Church's heart. "Wait, so saving someone's life is just a normal thing that deserves no recognition, but almost beating you in a fight is more amazing than that?! This value system makes no sense!"

The British blonde did actually turn to face him completely this time, though her stoic and haughty demeanor had been completely replaced by that of a flustered girl trying to defend something even she knew was ridiculous. She leveled an accusatory finger at Church like it was some kind of defense.

"Well of course it sounds silly out of context like that! T-there's more to it! It's about... his determined and unyielding spirit! A-and his unwillingness to accept condescension from others!"

Church's expression was deadpan. Had he completely misjudged this girl's true character. "Got it, so I just have to beat you in a fight and tell you off for having an attitude. Then you'll be head over heels for me too, right?"

The redness on Cecilia's face grew more severe at this. "N-no! I'm not that simple of a woman! Don't make my feelings for Ichika sound so petty!"

"I'm not judging your feelings, I'm just trying to understand them. I'd prefer to get along with beautiful women than to be on their bad side, and obviously, knowing what matters to them is a big part of making that happen."

Cecilia was obviously taken aback for a moment, but she promptly turned away from Church with her arms crossed again. She didn't offer any response immediately, though she wasn't silent for long.

"The brand of black coffee on the bottom shelf of the right side is quite good. You should consider that one."

After saying that, she spun on her heel and left with one of those signature huffs of hers. Church just barely had time to say anything back.

"You, uh, forgot your tea..."

Clearly, Cecilia didn't hear him, as she was out of his sight in another moment, leaving Church standing alone in the aisle.

Was that... good? It's kind of hard to tell.

Cerberus wasted no time in chiming in.

According to various sources on the internet, if this were a visual novel, this would have likely been considered a positive event flag.

Shaking his head, Church wondered if his superiors would be upset to learn that their cutting edge AI was doing research on visual novels instead of literally anything else. It was hard to imagine that they had intended for Cerberus to carry out such decisions.

Dismissing the thought from his mind, Church grabbed a bag of the black coffee brand Cecilia had specified. Maybe it was a bit of a stereotype to assume she even knew what she was talking about with tea just because she was British, and knowing anything about tea didn't mean you knew anything about coffee, but he figured he could just cast all the blame on her if Chifuyu hated it.

He would only feel mildly bad about it.