Chapter I: Boy Meets Boy

A Sunday, early in June. For the first time in a long time, I was away from the IS Academy—which meant I was at the Gotandas’.

“And?”

“And what?”

Mmm. Dan Gotanda suddenly struck up a conversation during a round in a fighter.

—Hey, wait! Don’t just fire off your super at the same time! That’s no fair!

“I mean, it’s a girls’ school. You had to have gotten lucky, right?”

No way. How many times did I have to tell this guy before it sank in?

I’d met Dan on my first day of middle school, and somehow, he ended up in the same class as Rin and I all three years. So we ended up hanging out a lot together back then, but...

“C’mon, don’t hold out on me. I saw the picture you sent. Place looks like heaven on earth. Can’t you sneak me in, too?”

—Not happening in a million years.

My new school was the IS Academy, a special training academy administered by the national government. An Infinite Stratos, or IS, was a transforming exoskeleton originally developed for use in space, but now they formed the backbone of international militaries down here on Earth. The IS were developed by the big sister of my first childhood friend, the girl who was trying to hide something, but that’s a long story for another time. The thing was, the IS could supposedly only be piloted by women. And I was a guy.

So there I was, Orimura Ichika, apparently the only guy in the whole world who could pilot an IS, half-forced into enrollment at IS Academy. Needless to say, with the other students, teachers, and staff all being women, I was quite popular around the dorms.

“Well, you know. I’m glad Rin transferred in, I didn’t have anyone else to talk to.”

“Oh, yeah, Ling. She must be...”

Hm? What was with that half-grin, half-sneer on his face? What a weirdo.

“I win again!”

“Hey, wait! No fair! You shouldn’t get to kill me with chip damage in hyper mode!”

I should mention, the game Dan and I were playing was ‘Infinite Stratos: Versus.’ Everyone was playing it, it sold a million copies in its first month. It used data from the second ‘Mondo Grosso’ global IS tournament. Though, because of what had happened, my sister Chifuyu wasn’t included.

“Italy’s Tempesta is really good. The thing’s pretty much OP.”

“You should pick something else sometime. Maybe Britain’s Maelstrom, or something.”

“Nah, that thing’s way too clunky. Plus it does like no damage, and its combos never work right.”

The game was developed by a Japanese company, and of course, every country had the same complaint.

“There’s no way ours is that underpowered!”

The devs ended up having to release 21 separate localized versions, each with that country’s IS tuned to S tier. And they sold like crazy. Must be nice to be able to make 21 different versions just by tweaking a few numbers. Then again, there was an anecdote that they had to call off plans for world championships because they couldn’t come to an agreement on which version to use.

“Anyway, back to Ling—”

Dan’s attempt to drag the conversation back to Rin for some reason failed as a new challenger appeared.

“Dan! I thought I told you lunch was ready! Let’s go ea—”

Dan’s sister, Ran Gotanda, was kicking down the door. She was a year younger, so in her third year of middle school. An honors student at a famous private school, she couldn’t be more different from her brother.

“Oh, hey, long time no see. I thought I’d drop by.”

“I-Ichika?!”

I guess girls really dressed down when they were at home. Her hair was held up to shoulder-length with just a clip. She was wearing a practical outfit of shorts and a tank top. But, you know, ever since I’d moved into the IS Academy dorms, I’d gotten used to girls in skimpy clothes or just not dressed up. They were all like that there. Their necklines had plunged as the temperature had risen, too. And since there were no other guys around, whether it was because they could get away with it or they just didn’t care, almost all of them didn’t wear bras.

C’mon, I was a healthy high school boy. Where was I even supposed to look? It was incredibly awkward every time I noticed a girl try to cover up when she noticed I was looking at her.

“Y-you came to visit? I had heard that you were at a boarding school.”

“Well, sure, but I decided to head out today. I was around checking on the house, so I ended up stopping by.”

“I see...”

For some reason, Ran was always really reserved and polite when she talked to me. It was weird.

“Ran, you need to learn to knock. You don’t want him to think you have no manners—”

Ran’s glare was almost audible. Dan shrunk like a certain plumber who’d taken a hit. As usual, it was easy to see the tier list in this family.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Wait, didn’t I? I’m sorry,” Dan chuckled nervously.

“.........”

Her eyes were gleaming. Ran glared again at Dan, as if plunging a knife into a corpse, as she swiftly stepped back out of the room.

“Ichika, you’re welcome to have some, too. Will you be joining us?”

“Oh, sure. I’ll be there. Thanks.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it.”

Click. The door closed, and silence settled.

I’d been thinking lately about pitching a sitcom called ‘Dan & Ran.’ Think it’d fit in on Sunday mornings? Yeah, I guess not.

“It’s funny. I’ve known Ran for what, three years now? And she still hasn’t really opened up to me.”

“Huh?”

Just to change the topic for a minute, I was always amazed when I saw a guy give a girl some cutesy nickname. I could never do that, not even when it was a friend’s little sister. So I just called her Ran. I still remembered her ambivalent but accepting “Well, I guess that’s okay...”

“Well, I mean, look at how uptight she gets. She just nearly ran out of the room.”

“.........”

Dan let out a sigh, then a huff.

“What...?”

“Oh, nothing, I just think you’re doing this on purpose sometimes.”

“Huh?”

“Ahh, never mind, it’s fine if you really don’t get it. I don’t need a little brother so close to my own age.”

Why was he talking about brothers? I didn’t get it.

“Whatever. Let’s eat and then go hang out in town, or something.”

“Sure, lunch sounds good. Thanks.”

“No big deal. It’s just going to be leftover lunch specials.”

—Oh, it’s that sugary squash stew again?

I didn’t really mind it, so that was okay. I was just grateful that they were feeding me. You should never forget to be thankful for farmers and cooks.

“Anyway, let’s go.”

We left Dan’s room and headed down to the first floor. We stepped out of the back door and made our way around to the restaurant entrance, at the front.

It was a bit inconvenient, but Dan had said that it “helps keep business out of their private lives.” I guess. The most important thing a house could do was satisfy the people who lived there. Though, wouldn’t that mean the renovations you always saw in TV shows just made the houses less livable? Anyway, enough of this resident satisfaction stuff.

“Ugh.”

“Mm?”

“.........”

I tried to peek around Dan and saw what had prompted the obvious, vocal disappointment. Another person seemed to already be at our table.

“What? Would you rather eat outside instead? That can be arranged.”

“Did you hear that, Ichika? Those dulcet tones? It’s enough to drive me to tears.”

Ran was there at the table. I didn’t have a handkerchief to dry Dan’s tears. Which was fine, because I didn’t have any motivation to, either.

“Why not just eat together? Let’s just sit down. There are still other customers.”

“Yeah, silly. Just sit down.”

“Fine, fine.”

We sat in a row at the table: me, Dan, and then Ran.

—Hmm?

“Hey, Ran.”

“Y-Yes?”

“You changed clothes, didn’t you? Are you going out somewhere?”

“Ah, well, uh, yeah, but...”

There wasn’t a trace left of the messy girl from before. She’d let her hair down, and it hung full and lustrous. Her dress was a short-sleeved number in a light fabric, perfect for June. Peeking out from under the hemline were a pair of legs filled with the energy unique to teen girls. Her black knee socks with tiny frills were what people into that kind of thing were probably really into. Not, of course, that I’d know.

“Oh!”

Like a light bulb flickering on over my head, it struck me.

“Going on a date?”

Slam!

“Absolutely not!”

Wow, she pounded the table as she instantly denied it. I may have stepped on a landmine just now. This was the kind of thing that led people to say that the Japanese had no survival instinct. If this were a battlefield, I’d already be dead. All I could do was curse my own naiveté.

“Sorry.”

“Um... Anyway, it’s not a date.”

“It isn’t? As your brother, I was kind of hoping it was. I haven’t seen you get dressed up like this in mont—”

Thwap!

The ‘Sudden Iron Claw,’ also known as the ‘Silencer,’ if I recalled? It definitely took Dan’s breath away. What a terrifying move. Where did she even learn something like that? Did girls’ private schools include assassination techniques in their self-defense curriculum?

“.......!”

“Ghhhhhrgh!”

Our eyes drifted together again. Ran was like a cold and regal lunar queen, staring down at pitiful Dan, whose head nodded over and over as he begged for his sins to be forgiven. Still, I couldn’t help but think... “You two are always on the same page.”

“WHAA?!”

—Oh, they’re perfectly in sync.

Hey, ‘sync’ was short for ‘synchronized,’ right? Why not ‘nized’ instead? ‘Nized’ would work fine, too. Even ‘chronned’ would be okay.

“If you kids aren’t going to eat, it’s getting thrown out.”

“We’re eating! We’re eating!”

Gen Gotanda, over 80 but still healthy and full of energy as the owner of Gotanda’s and the head of his family, suddenly appeared. The sleeves of his chef’s jacket were rolled up to his shoulders, which exposed his muscular arms. Those brawny arms, which stirred two woks at a time, were a deep brown year-round from the heat. It was a tan hundred of times healthier than going to a parlor. And I knew well from experience that his fists were more than a match for even Chifuyu’s.

—Okay, it’s time to shut up and eat.

“Thanks for the meal.”

“Thanks for the meal.”

“Thanks for the meal...”

Me, Ran, and Dan answered in order.

“All right. Dig in!”

With a satisfied nod, Gen turned to the next order. It seemed like he was grilling up, literally, Gotanda’s specialty of ‘Hellfire veggie stir-fry,’ and the rat-a-tat-tat of a sharp cleaver echoed through the room.

We began our idle lunchtime chatter with a backdrop of sizzling vegetables. Of course, we were still cautious of our manners, as talking with our mouths full would be met with a flying wok.

“Anyway, Ichika. I heard you were able to meet back up with Ling and, uh, who was it, your first childhood friend?”

“Yeah, Houki.”

“Houki? Who’s that?”

“Just told you. My first childhood friend.”

“So Ling was your second, then?”

“Well, uh...”

For some reason, the more we talked about Rin the harsher Ran’s expression got. Their names were alike, maybe it was some weird kind of self-loathing? Wait, was that what self-loathing was supposed to mean?

“Anyway, yeah, we were stuck in the same room for a while, but now—”

Clatter!

“THE SAME ROOM?!”

Ran, visibly shaken, sprang to her feet. A beat later, her chair clattered to the floor behind her.

“What’s wrong? Calm down.”

“Yeah, calm down.”

Another glare at Dan. Again, he shrunk back. Dan wasn’t feeling very ‘super’ right now. Gen always went easy on Ran. If it were either of us knocking a chair over, that ladle would come flying before it hit the floor.

“S-Same room? You mean you’re... cohabitating?”

What a fancy way to put it. Then again, Japan had always been a country which valued its traditions. From that perspective, Ran was simply being proper.

—That’s enough of explanations I don’t even understand myself, though.

“I guess you could put it that way. But that was only until last month. We’re in different rooms now, of course.”

The fried tofu was great today.

“So for a month and a half, you two were sleeping toge—uh, in the same room?!”

“Pretty much.”

Was that the sound of something snapping? No, I must be hearing things.

—What’s with you, Dan? Why are you dripping sweat? Did you uncover a new subplot?

“Dan. We need to have a talk.”

“Ichika and I were just about to go out...” Dan laughed limply.

“Later tonight, then,” she cut him off sharply.

I mean, she was the class president at a finishing school. Maybe that was where she learned to be so piercing at times?

“Well... I’ve made up my mind then.”

—About what, exactly?

“I’m applying to IS Academy next year.”

Slam!

“What the hell are you—”

Clang!

The ladle struck Dan square in the face. His tipped-over chair rocked on the floor beside him, almost apologetically.

“What? You’re applying? Why?! Ran, you’re already going to a big-name school that’ll take you all the way through college!”

However big its name was, it was one I’d already forgotten.

“It’s okay. My grades are more than good enough.”

“I really can’t recommend IS Academy...”

Dan wobbled to his feet. His HP may be low, but his respawn timer was short. That was Dan’s hidden talent, not that it was ever going to help him.

“I’m not like you, I’m not going to have any trouble on the exam.”

“That’s not what I... Hey, Ichika! Isn’t there a practical exam too?”

“Oh, yeah. They get you in an IS and run a startup test. I think they fail you out if you’re not any good at it.”

You were also evaluated on a few simple maneuvers, and that was probably how they put together the initial ranking. My battle with my proctor (who I later found out was Ms. Yamada) was part of that, too.

“.........”

Silently, Ran produced a sheet of paper from her pocket. Dan took and opened it.

“Guh?!”

What on earth did you see in there? Guan Yu? Where are the gongs?

“IS Basic Aptitude Examination... Grade: A...”

“That little problem has already been taken care of.”

What an awesome-sounding line. I’d love to get to use it someday.

“The one that’s open to anyone? I’d heard the government was doing that as part of their efforts to recruit IS pilots.”

“Yes. It’s free.”

“Free is good. If you can get it free, take it,” Gen said, as he nodded.

—He really does go easy on Ran...

“Therefore...”

Clearing her throat, Ran sat lightly back down in her chair, now flipped back up.

“Ichika, if you could perhaps give me a hand with the coursework...”

“Of course. As long as you make it in.”

The idle assurance had no sooner left my lips than Ran latched on.

“Promise me? You’d better not be lying!”

“Sure.”

Feeling a little bit pressured by her enthusiasm, I nodded twice.

“C’mon, Ran! You can’t just change where you’re going to school on a whim! Right, Mom?”

“Well, I don’t see anything wrong with it. Thanks for agreeing to help her out, Ichika.”

“Of course.”

Ren Gotanda, the self-described poster girl of Gotanda’s. Her actual age was a secret. She said she stopped aging at 28. There was always a grin on her face. They say that a little bit of kindness always makes someone look better. Today, she was stunning.

“What do you mean ‘of course’?”

For some reason, Dan was the only person getting worked up. What was he so worried about?

“Ugh, dad’s not even here to ask! What about you, grandpa?”

“Ran’s made her decision. It’s not our place to argue with her about it.”

“It’s not that, just—”

“Is there some actual problem you have with it?”

“No...”

He really was a wimp. If I had something to say, I’d say it, even if it was to family. You may ask, “So you think you can handle your sister?” I thought of my only close family member...

—Okay, sorry, I’m going to have to take that one back.

“Then it’s settled. That was delicious, thanks!”

Ran had finished her lunch without us noticing, and she set her chopsticks down and clasped her hands together while rising. Of course, she was clearing her place as well. Someday she would make a good wife. And whomever her husband ends up being would be very happy.

“Ichika.”

Dan leaned in, his face close, and whispered for some reason.

“You need a girlfriend. Fast.”

“Wha?!”

“Don’t ‘wha’ me! Just hurry it up! This year, no, this month!”

What had gotten him so excited? Oh, did you know that cattle couldn’t distinguish the color red? A bullfighter’s red cape was to get the humans excited instead, or something.

“I’m not really looking for that kind of thing right now.”

“What are you, some kind of dried-up old man? No wonder Ling—”

“Huh? What about Rin?”

“Oh, nothing. Anyway, my man, you really need to hook up. With someone. Anyone.”

What was he after? How’d we even get onto this topic?

“Women are always all over you, too. Why is that? Are you trying to be some kind of heartthrob? Gimme a goddamn break!”

“What’re you so mad about?”

“I am not mad!”

Oh, he was mad. Dan was definitely the kind of guy who’d insist he was sober when he was drunk. I guess, maybe. Not like he’d ever drank.

“Dan.”

Oh, Ran was back. For some reason, it felt like the temperature in the room had suddenly dropped.

“Y-Y-Yeah? Wh-What’s up?”

Dan was shaking. Was he cold?

Curious, I glance over to Ran. Our gazes met, just for a split-second, and in that moment I saw nothing but death in her eyes.

‘Stay out of this!’ her eyes screamed.

Never mind being able to take down anyone with the touch of a fingertip, it felt like she could do it with just a gaze.

“Anyway, I’ll be going now.”

Ran stormed out of the room, after having regained control of herself.

“.........”

Dan sat stock still, as if frozen in place. Well, it was warm out today. If I left him, he’d thaw eventually.

“Anyway, we can’t let lunch get cold.”

The stewed squash was too sweet, as usual, but the curry with chili peppers was delicious. How did they draw out the flavor like this? I’d have to ask sometime, I would love to let Chifuyu try it.

“Why’re... After...”

“Mm?”

“Why are all the girls after you, anyway? Is it your face? That heartthrob face? How about you keep the throb part and you let me have their hearts!”

—What is he even going on about?

“Quiet down, Dan!”

“Yes, grandpa. I’m sorry.”

Gen’s scolding had barely left his mouth before, in one swift motion, Dan was kneeling on his chair in a slight bow. He was definitely brought up well. Or maybe ‘trained’ was more like it? With the right training, even the King of the Jungle would jump through hoops of flame.

“Let’s go one-on-one later, Ichika.”

“Sure, I guess. What game?”

“Air hockey.”

Why would he pick something in which he’d lost to me the last 10 times? Was he trying to put his back up against the wall? Gotta hand it to him.

“I’ve gotten a lot better since middle school, Ichika!”

It was as if a dragon coiled before a curtain of flames, ready to take flight. My left hand curled into a trembling fist in anticipation of our bout.

◇

“Ugh, my hands feel tired.”

The dragon was only an illusion. After today, I was up to 16 wins in a row. More than half of ‘my’ points were Dan’s own goals, too.

“.........”

It was after six. I was back at my dorm, lying in my bed. With my hands still shaking a little bit from the workout, I looked over at the other bed. Up until last week, Houki would have been there, but now she was in a separate room. It kind of felt like this room was too big for just one person.

“Hmm.”

—Why’d Houki come out with that all of a sudden?

I recalled the day she changed rooms. Just when I thought she was coming back, she made a sudden declaration and bolted like a rabbit, almost like the calm after a storm.

—That tournament is this month, isn’t it?

I checked the calendar on the wall.

The grade-separated tournament... Just as the name implied, they were individual tournaments held within each school year. It seemed like they would take a whole week. There was a plain and simple reason why it would take that long, though. Participation was mandatory.

Each grade had around 120 students. A tournament with that big of a bracket was a lot of work to put on. The first years hadn’t had much time to train so they’d mostly be rated on natural talent, while the second years would be scored on progress, and the third years on combat effectiveness. It was serious business for the third years, especially. Never mind scouts from IS-related industries, the crowd would also be full of international VIPs. The anxiety over just what sort of school I’d gotten myself into was beginning to overflow.

—Anyway, I’ve gotta do my best. Can’t embarrass Chifuyu, can I?

Last month’s class league match was canceled due to the attack, and a general gag order was issued. Cecilia, Rin, and I, who’d fought directly, even had to sign paperwork. What was up with that? It wasn’t something I could figure out, but I still couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Idly, I lifted up the right hand that’d spent all afternoon gripping a paddle, and dangled it in front of my face. Pulling my sleeve back revealed a gauntlet that seemed to be attached directly to my skin. This was the IS Byakushiki’s standby mode. You’d never believe that a mechanized weapon with such amazing power would have such an inoffensive-looking standby mode. Or maybe it was just sleeping? Was it conscious enough to ‘sleep’?

It was the thing that told me, then, that I was fighting a drone. I was too caught up in the moment then, and to be fair it did cross my mind, but the more I looked back the more I thought that Byakushiki had confirmed it for me. I couldn’t be exactly sure, but I was pretty confident. There was no sense in worrying about it.

—Ah, I may as well get dinner.

I hopped out of bed. The momentum carried me to my door, and I already had my hand on the knob when I heard a knock.

“You there, Ichika?”

“Yeah.”

I open my door, and it pulled back with a click to reveal Rin.

“Don’t just yank it open like that! You scared me!”

It was Huang Lingyin, my second childhood friend, and the sole pilot of the IS Kouryuu—I mean, Shenlong. She was always in my class growing up, until she returned to China two years ago. She was an energetic girl with twintails. Other than that, her breasts are ti—let’s not think about that now. Lately, I’d noticed that when I started thinking about something, sometimes people could tell exactly what was going through my head.

“What are you staring at?”

“Oh, nothing in particular.”

That was an honest answer, but for some reason I could still hear her mumble “Not that I mind...” Oh well.

“Anyway, I was just about to go to dinner. What did you need?”

“Huh, great timing. I was just about to ask if you wanted to go eat. If you see a stray dog in the rain, it’s only kind to bring it in, right?”

—So I’m a dog now?

“Thanks. Let’s hit up the cafeteria, then.”

“Yeah.”

I walked alongside Rin. It was a good time for dinner, and doors were opening up all around.

“.........”

With so many underdressed girls around, I never had anywhere safe to look. They were in shorts and tank tops, with nothing underneath. I kind of wish they’d pay a little more attention to where the opposite sex might be looking.

“Oh, It’s Orimura. Hey!”

“Eh?! Orimura?!”

A relaxed-looking girl was waving her hand at me. Her name was... Uh, let’s go with Miss Casual. No matter what time of day it was, when she was in the dorm she always wore baggy pajamas. When I thought of her, I always remembered her wobbling down the hall while she tried to work a hand down her too-long sleeve to push her huge nightcap back up.

“Hey, Orimu!”

“Am I stuck with that nickname?”

“You sure are. Anyway, come eat dinner with me and Kanarin!”

Miss Casual, who had to be nearly a foot shorter than me, had latched on as usual. Where did I recognize this from? Oh, right. It was like when a small dog wanted attention, so it would walk up to you on its hind legs.

“Sorry, Ichika’s already eating with me.”

“Oh, it’s Ling-Ling! Finally worked yourself up to it?”

“Stop calling me that!”

Rin’s voice trembled with repressed trauma, but Miss Casual was completely oblivious. Trying to make it sink in is like spitting into the wind. Actually, ever since elementary school, Rin had been teased about her name by the other boys in our class. Because she was Chinese, too, they always teased her with things like “Ling-Ling’s a panda’s name! Go eat some bamboo!” And I ended up getting the scolding of my life when I fought four of them.

“Calm down, Rin. Wouldn’t it be fun if we went as four?”

“I’m not sure about four, but... Okay.”

Hm? Was she just being superstitious? Wait, no, I had to be really sure I didn’t let that slip out of my mouth. She’d snap back with something like “Chinese aren’t all superstitious like that! Who the hell made up that stereotype, anyway?!” And once Rin was mad, it was almost impossible to calm her down. The class league match last month definitely proved that to me again.

“Where did, uh, Kanarin go, anyway?”

“Oh, wow. She must have taken off.”

The girl who, perhaps embarrassed at her skimpy outfit, had been covering herself with her arms had disappeared further down the hall.

“Hey, wait up!”

Miss Casual pattered off after her. Slowly.

“.........”

“What?”

“Popular with the girls, I see.”

“Huh? Why do you think that? It’s just because there are no other guys around.”

“Hmph. I guess.”

With a face more sour than her words called for, Rin strolled off toward the cafeteria.

—Hey, wait! Hold up!

◇

“Did you hear?”

“I did!”

“Hear what?”

“About Orimura.”

“Is this a good thing or a bad thing?”

“A really, really good thing.”

“Tell me!”

“Calm down. You can’t tell any boys about this, okay? This is just between us. I hear that at the grade-separated tournament—”

The cafeteria packed full of adolescent girls was as deafening as ever. Rin and I noticed a clump of a dozen or so at the back of the room.

“Huh. There’s a pretty big crowd over at that table.”

“Are they playing cards? Or maybe fortune telling.”

Whatever it was, they was even more enthusiastic than usual, and a tumult soon arose. What was going on?

“Ehh?! Really?”

“Really!”

“No way! What are we gonna do?”

It seemed like it must have be something really interesting, as their high-pitched chatter washed over me like a tidal wave. Ah well, as long as they were enjoying themselves. “People don’t age if they’re smiling.” I told myself every day that I was going to have to deal with real life soon enough, and for now I should just keep a grin on my face.

“Ichika.”

“Yeah.”

For dinner I was having herb-grilled chicken, stewed potatoes and vegetables, a savory omelet, and red miso soup with spinach. The bonito really helped bring out the flavor. Rin’s dinner was mostly the same, but with a refreshing bowl of white miso soup. She paused while lifting it to her mouth, and spoke.

“You’re thinking like an old man again, aren’t you?”

—Well, excuse me.

“No, really, I can tell. You always squint your eyes when you do that. What’s up? Feeling nostalgic about something?”

“Knock it off.”

Why was she staring at me like that? Jeez.

“Don’t point at people with your chopsticks. It’s rude.”

“I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.”

“That isn’t the problem. You need to fix your bad habits. Didn’t Chifuyu used to get mad at you for that?”

“Ugh, just quit bothering me about it.”

Rin had never quite been comfortable around my sister. A look of worry flitted over her face.

“Ichika, you’re always such a—”

“Hm?”

“Oh... Nothing.”

Hmm? Rin seemed like she was about to say something before holding it back. Whatever she’d choked back down, it slid down her throat alongside the rice.

“.........”

“.........”

The conversation had gotten awkward, and we turned back to our plates. Funnily enough, even if we weren’t talking, just chewing our food didn’t make the meal last very long.

“I’m going to go get some tea. Are you okay with green?”

“Sure. Thanks.”

Even if she was getting some for herself too, the consideration felt good. On the other hand, she’d been a bit snippy, and it seemed like she was in a bad mood.

Did I offend her? I guess I needed to clear things up. I hacked through the dense jungle of my own mind in search of a topic.

—Oh, I know, we can talk about the Gotandas.

She’d probably like to catch up with the third member of our middle school trio.

“Look, it’s Orimura!”

“No way! Where?!”

“Hey, let’s ask him if the rumor—Oof!”

The group of girls from before had noticed me, and rolled forward like an avalanche. Anyway, what? What rumor? She caught herself, but I definitely just heard her mention one.

“Oh, nothing. Nothing at all!”

She tried to laugh it off.

“You idiot! I told you it was a secret!”

“Well, I mean, he would know.”

One of the group stood as if to block me, and in her shadow two voices whispered back and forth.

“What rumor?”

“Oh, who knows?”

“You know how rumors are, wait 365 days and there’ll be a new one.”

—Isn’t that a bit long? That’s a whole year!

“C’mon, Miyo, get it right! It’s supposed to be 49 days!”

That wasn’t right either. But more importantly...

“Are you trying to hide something?”

“Us?”

“Hide something?”

“Of course not!”

They landed the combo and ducked back away. It couldn’t have taken more than two seconds. I still wasn’t quite sure what was going on, so all I could do was stand there slack-jawed.

“What are you getting yourself into now?”

Rin was back. In her hands were two drinks, from which warm steam rose invitingly.

“Why are you treating me like a troublemaker?”

“Wait, you think you aren’t one?”

—Hmm...

“The tea’s good.”

“You’re changing the subject.”

How rude! What was she basing that on?

“Mmm, tea after a meal really calms you down.”

“I... guess.”

After letting dinner settle a little more, I brought up the Gotandas like I’d thought of. Surely Rin missed them, too. Really, we probably should have gone together today.

“By the way...”

I started talking about my day. At first Rin nodded along, but when the conversation turned to Ran her expression clouded.

“Wait... she’s applying to IS Academy?”

“Seems like it.”

“Mmhm.”

For some reason, Rin didn’t get along with Ran. Was it because their names were similar? Like, if I met someone named Itsuka, I don’t know if I’d be able to get along with him.

“So, after she gets here, I’ll be helping her out.”

“Uhuh... Wait, what?!”

Rin pounded the table as she stood up. Why was she so angry?

“You need to stop making promises like that! What kind of idiot makes promises he’ll never keep?!”

Wow, she seemed furious. Now that I thought of it, she was angry about promises last month, too.

“I mean, I guess you’re right. Sorry, Rin.”

“I don’t want you to apologize, I just want you to follow thro—”

“Ah—”

“Ah.”

“What do you mean— Ah...”

What a scene. The three ‘Ah’s... The first was me, the second was Houki, and the third was Rin.

“.........”

Yes, Houki. That Houki. I’d run into her as she’d come for dinner. Judging by the time, she was trying to avoid me by coming late, but it looked like I’d hung out too long. Self-consciously, she avoided making eye contact.

“H-Hey, Houki.”

“Oh, you’re here, Ichika?”

“.........”

“.........”

And we were out of things to say. It’d been like this last month when she changed rooms, when she was trying to hide something. At first, I tried to make conversation even as she avoided me, but getting nothing but blunt replies like ‘yeah’ and ‘oh?’ eventually wore me out.

“Wait, did something happen with you guys?”

“No! Nothing at all!”

Ugh. I wanted to casually blow it it off, but Houki answered at the same time. Even I couldn’t come up with a good way to play this down. But could anyone, really?

—No, wait, I think I have an idea. Hmm, this might be serious.

“Well, that makes it really obvious. Did you two plan that?”

“Of course we didn’t.”

I answered Rin’s scornful glare with a quick excuse. Houki, her feelings seemingly hurt, turned her eyes and quickly walked away.

“Hey, wai—”

As I watched her swaying ponytail, I had a strange feeling, like something inside me was being pulled away, too. I wasn’t even sure why.

“Anyway, I’m going to head back to my room.”

“Huh? Oh, okay. Thanks for inviting me.”

“C’mon, though. Why don’t you ask me sometimes, too?”

“Hm?”

“Oh, nothing. See you around.”

Rin, trailing her twintails behind her, walked off in the opposite direction from Houki. Maybe I should get something that would flutter like that. A cape, maybe? On second thought... That would be a bit much.

Setting out back toward my room, I gave no thought to what tomorrow held in store. Honestly, there was no way I could have expected it.

◇

“Hazuki’s really are the best.”

“Really? I thought they were all show.”

“But they look great.”

“Murray’s seem like like the most functional. Especially their smooth model.”

“Oh, yeah, that one. It’s nice, but it’s a bit pricey.”

It was Monday morning. The girls in my class were chattering loudly, passing around a catalog as they traded opinions.

“Where did you get your IS suit, Orimura? I’ve never seen that kind before.”

“Oh, mine was a special order. There aren’t any mens’ suits, so they had to put it together in a lab somewhere. I heard it was based on Ingrid’s straight arm model, though.”

I remembered well. Recently, all the hard study had paid off. Good job. Anyway, IS suits were exactly what they were called: a special, body-fitting suit worn while your IS was materialized. While they weren’t specifically required to pilot an IS, without one its reaction time slowed significantly. I didn’t get why, though.

“IS suits sense the subtle electrical charges carried by the skin, and directly convey the pilot’s movements to each part of the IS which can then maneuver as required. The suits are also designed with durability in mind, and they’ll completely stop most small-caliber handgun rounds. Don’t get the wrong idea, though. It won’t protect you from the impact.”

Ms. Yamada announced her arrival with a smooth explanation.

“You know everything, Yamster!”

“Well, I am a teacher. Wait... Did you just call me Yamster?”

“Oh, I meant Yamapi!”

“Anyway, today is the first day you can order your own suits. So I had to be prepared, y’know? Err... Did you just say ‘Yamapi’?”

It had been around two months since my enrollment. Ms. Yamada had already had eight or so separate nicknames. If nothing else, it was proof that she’s well-liked. Personal magnetism counted for something, I guess.

“Um. You’re really not supposed to give your teachers nicknames,” she protested.

“Well, why not?”

“We wouldn’t have to if you weren’t so serious, Maayan.”

“Really, I’d rather you didn’t...”

“Oh? Would you prefer Mayamaya, then, Mayamaya?”

“Not really, just...”

“So then you’d like to change it back to Yamaya?”

“Just stop it, now!”

It was rare for Ms. Yamada to be so insistent. This wasn’t the first time that I’d noticed, but she seemed to have some issues with being called ‘Yamaya’ in particular.

“Anyway, back on topic. At least remember the ‘Ms.’ Understood? I know you guys can do this.”

The chorus of ‘yes, ma’am’ from the class belied the truth that Ms. Yamada would only acquire more nicknames as time went on.

“Good morning, class.”

“Good morning.”

In the blink of an eye, the lively classroom transformed into a strict drill formation. Well, not literally, just metaphorically. Our homeroom teacher, Ms. Orimura Chifuyu, had arrived.

Orimura Chifuyu... My older sister, and Japan’s former IS representative. Now, she was a teacher at IS Academy. She was as harsh on herself as she was on others. She stood like a soldier, sat like a samurai, and walked like a main battle tank—and if she heard you say that, you’d more than likely be dead as a doornail. Well, more like “most likely.” Anyway, enough speculation.

—Hm, she’s wearing the suit she had me get.

While I was home yesterday, she’d thought to bring her summer suit out of the closet, and it looked like she had changed over already. It was still a black pencil skirt, so she didn’t look much different, but the lighter fabric makes it cooler to wear.

—Ah, right. After the grade-separated tournament, we’ll all have change into our summer uniforms, too.

“We’ll be conducting live-fire drills beginning today. The IS you’re using may be a trainer, but it’s still an IS. Stay on your toes. Do not forget your school-issued IS suit until your own arrives. If you do happen to forget yours, you will be asked to complete the drill in your school swimsuit. If you have neither, no one is going to care if you have to do it in your underwear.”

I was sure that “I do care!” would be the reaction of most of the girls here, not just mine. It would be bad enough being just in your underwear, even without a guy around. Oh, and by the way, IS Academy’s school swimsuits were old-school school swimsuits. The navy blue ones. They’ve been described as an endangered species, but surprisingly, they’ve somehow found sanctuary here. Dan would have loved it. On the other hand, I didn’t really care.

—Actually, our gym uniforms are bloomers, too...

That was another thing he’d love. And of course, I was just in gym shorts.

The school-issued IS suits were a simple design, form-fitting like a tank top and bike shorts. As for why there was a school-issued suit when we were all ordering our own? IS units were heavily customizable, so we were told it was important for each of us to develop our own style as soon as possible. Of course, not everyone was going to be issued a custom IS, so it was hard to call it necessary, but I suppose they were also putting the emotions of these blooming maidens first. Who was it that said that women are slaves to fashion? Hmm. Probably Cecilia.

Oh, and one of the best parts of having your own personalized IS was that it also materialized a suit along with itself. It saved you the time of having to change. It seemed like when the personalization process occurred, the clothes you were wearing were broken down into elementary particles and stored in the IS’ databanks. Honestly, I didn’t remember much of the explanation, so let’s not think about it that much right now. Just think of it as a glowing light, and then ‘poof,’ and I transformed. Yeah. That made it a lot simpler. However, any kind of direct form change, including of suit, consumed energy. So, outside of emergencies, it was better to put on a suit and materialize the IS normally.

“Now, Ms. Yamada, if you could take care of homeroom?”

“Of course.”

Chifuyu passed the baton back to Ms. Yamada as soon as the important matters were taken care of. Caught unaware while cleaning her glasses, she placed them back on her face with a start like a surprised puppy.

“Well, er. Today we have not one, but two, new students to introduce!”

“Eh...”

“Ehhhhhhh?!”

The room hummed with whispers as we awaited their sudden introduction. Of course it did. Teenage girls fed off rumors, and the three meals a day were just an afterthought. Never mind two, it was shocking that even one new student had escaped their notice.

—But why are they both in my class? Wouldn’t you normally spread them around?

As I pondered that obvious question, the door opened.

“Pardon us.”

“.........”

The class fell silent as they saw the new students.

It was only natural, though. After all, one of them was a boy.