~Reflection~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"... It looks ugly." Cecilia muttered quietly as she changed in the girls locker room to their IS pilot suits for practical lessons. Currently, her attention is being stolen by the prominent sunburst scar on her shoulder.
A reminder of the attack weeks ago and a mark of her first taste of combat.
She thought she was ready. She had trained since she's able to pilot an IS. From martial arts to piloting skills, she was exceptional.
Except it wasn't enough.
Looking back at performance back then, it was suboptimal. She failed to rally her comrades for a counterattack. Instead, it turned into a brutal cat and mouse where they are the mouse. Not to mention, they were outgunned and out-teched.
She finally realized that her Blue Tears had become outdated. Compared to the current IS being rolled out today, her Blue Tears can barely keep up with them.
She needs an upgrade if she doesn't want a repeat of what had happened.
"Oh wow, cool scar." Cecilia blinked as little Laura, her head barely able to reach her shoulders, looked at her scar with starry eyes. The way she stared at her scar made Cecilia feel uncomfortable.
"It's ugly." She replies. A scar on a very delicate girl, especially an aristocrat like her, is very ugly. It's only because of advanced medicines from Innovate Pharmaceuticals that she's able to walk away with a scar on her shoulder instead of months of recovery.
If only they can heal scars.
This only left her to recover her motor skills on her injured shoulders. Lucky for her, piloting her IS doesn't need to aggravate the injured limb.
"Bah, don't say that." Laura shook her head, "What do you mean ugly? It just made you more sexy."
"Sexy?" Cecilia blushed at the blunt reply.
"Uh-huh. Like have you seen yourself in the mirror?" Laura replies, eyes roaming over Cecilia's figure. The blonde herself instinctively covered herself up with her arms. She's currently in her underwear and Laura's eyes felt invasive despite being a girl.
"Tall, lean, slim waist, wide hips, ample chest, blue eyes and blonde hair. You look perfect. And the scar? It just made that perfection more human than artificial." Laura huffed, proud in her observation.
"Really?"
"Yeah, let me show you."
Laura then proceeded to smother her face between Cecilia's breasts.
"LAURA!!!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What happened to you?" Amuro asked with a raised eyebrow as Laura arrived on the field with a red handprint on her face.
"... You're a lucky bastard, Amuro." Laura glowered, not even acknowledging the question or the said mark on her face. Amuro's other brow raised at the sudden accusation.
"Where's the boys at, especially that new pretty boy?" Laura followed up, asking about the absence of the other boys. She then subtly gave him a wink at the last part.
She knows, he thought.
"Charles is taking too long to suit up, Ichika volunteered to wait for him."
"Does he know?"
"As clueless as a baby." Laura guffawed at the reply.
"... Wanna bet how long can they keep up this charade?" Laura suddenly asked out of the blue. Amuro wasn't a fan of gambling but with how monotonous his day in the academy since he came except the earlier attack, he took the bait.
"It ends today." He put down.
"Ooooh, daring aren't we?" Laura smirks, "I bet it lasts a week. I win, you treat me with a Japanese buffet like last night."
Amuro can hear his wallet wail in anguish at the possibility.
"And if I win, I'll get the name of the doctor who gave you Haro."
"Deal."
The deal is made and sealed. Laura smirks, looks like she'll be eating well by the end of the week. Her dad and his friends had come to Japan multiple times but without her. Of course, they always brag to her how delicious Japanese food is and how she's missing out.
Typical Dad, rubbing it on her face.
Luckily for her, Amuro's will be her victim for an easy meal or two.
Unbeknownst to her, Amuro is not gonna play by rules.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IS piloting practicals went along smoothly except for a few incidents. Amuro made sure to keep an eye on Cecilia, who's still recovering from her shoulder injury. Too bad he can't join her due to Laura taking much of the blond's time.
Why?
Cause Laura can't fly for shit.
"Goddamn it, Laura! If you damage that IS or the field again, I'll tan you hide!"
"Is that a threat or a promise!?"
"... Come here, you little shit."
Ignoring that sideshow, Amuro focused on today's work.
Gathering Data from a normal Uchigane.
Through the rest of the practicals, he loaned and used an Academy Uchigane for the sole purpose of stress testing it with intense turns and G-force exercise. It's all for the sake of developing the Uchigane Gundam.
Last time, the Uchigane Gundam broke down due to Amuro outperforming the poor machine. Even though he gave it the same modifications and flexibility of the Gundam, it still can't keep up with him.
So as the Uchigane he is using. More than once he has to halt between maneuvers as the IS groans and creaks as he performs the intense exercises. Then a thought came to Amuro.
The IS wasn't the problem but the materials.
IS materials only use lightweight and somewhat energy based due to IS nature. Not to mention, IS main durability is based on their Shield output, not armor durability.
That's why Cecilia was immediately shot down.
Amuro was treating an IS, a fast yet fragile weapons platform like a Mobile Suit, a high performance machine with the necessary durability to survive other Mobile Suits.
Compared to Mobile Suit performance, IS performance is subpar except for speed and acceleration although some Mobile Suits can do it all.
So Amuro's solution to his Uchigane Gundam's frame is to replace the IS frame with Mobile Suit worthy materials.
But…
How can he do that? Mobile Suit parts or materials isn't something he can simply synthesize or make on a whim. He needs time, materials and extensive tools to make a single sheet of Gundarium alloy.
As a student in IS academy, he had access to various materials and tools for IS development but creating a new type of alloy out of nowhere isn't something the academy resources can give to him.
As such, Amuro had hit a dead end.
"Damn, looks like I have to outsource this one." Amuro grumbled.
Maybe he can make alternatives?
"Now say uncle!"
"Never! Amuro help!"
Please don't implicate me, Laura. Amuro groans as he tries to avoid the girl getting her comeuppance to a stressed woman.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Traitor…." Laura groaned facedown on the benches in the female locker room.
Cecilia gave her a blank look.
You're the one who groped Chifuyu-sensei, you have no grounds. She thought to herself.
"Seriously, how bad are you at flying? Aren't you supposed to be an IS pilot?" Cecilia asked.
"... I prefer my two feet on the ground very much." Laura said with a muffled sound.
"Really? I did see you do multiple backflips on the ground. That was without flight right? Just a slight boost?"
"Yeah, I did." Laura perked up, looking up to Cecilia with smugness. "All I did was just give myself a small boost and bam, flying like a kite."
Great, she's showing off. Cecilia thought. Still, Laura's inability to fly in an IS wasn't so bad with her own brand of piloting. IS units are naturally clunky on ground and yet this girl actually managed to smoothly pilot an Uchigane to not only run (away from an angry Chifuyu) but also perform various parkour drills etc.
It was as if the IS was a part of herself, an extension to her body.
"LAURA! LAURA! VITALS! VITALS!"
Suddenly, Laura's red robot, Haro, rolled out of the locker and opened its mouth to reveal a container of pills. Cecilia took a curious glance as Laura immediately took one and swallowed a pill dry.
"Curious?" Laura looked at her.
"I would be lying if I said no."
"Nah, it's fine. My body's just too weird. It needs constant vitamins to operate. Weird disease and all, it's why I'm so small even with how much I eat." Laura shrugged.
Cecilia took a look at her body and true enough, underneath Laura's pilot suit is a malnourished body. Too thin and too small. She looks like a very small and fragile doll instead of an IS pilot.
"Don't pity me. I'm good on my own."
"I'm not." Cecilia argued.
"You have the same look as my Da." Laura smirked teasingly.
"... You liked your Dad." Cecilia decided to change topics instead.
Although she probably chose the wrong one.
"Ooh my Da's the best. He's the one who taught me how to look for fine women." Laura declared proudly.
Papa's girl. Cecilia thought with a blank stare at the smug albino.
But as she listens to the girl regal the greatness of her dad and his friends aka uncles, Cecilia begins to wonder.
If only her dad is as good as Laura's, would she still be the same as today?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile in the male locker room…
"Is it really fine for me to go ahead?" Ichika muttered as Amuro volunteered to wait for Charles.
"It's fine and you might wanna hurry. I just saw Huang and Houki planning something for you." Amuro's words made the taller male shiver in fear.
Whenever those two plan or agree on something, it's either at his expense.
Since the incident, the two have been with him 24/7. Never letting their sight off him. He might aggravate his injuries, they say even though all he got was a needle wound. Compared to Cecilia and Rin's injuries, he got out of that fight practically unscathed.
With that in mind, the two have been grilling him with training since Rin recovered. From IS drills with Rin and refreshing his kendo skills with Houki, he was practically dead tired at the end of the day.
Sometimes, he feels jealous of Amuro's drive and endurance.
"Alright I go, I hope I can come back on my own two feet later." Amuro chuckled at the joke and waved the guy good luck.
He definitely needed it.
But as Ichika went out of sight and left the area, Amuro's eyes turned sharp as he entered the locker room.
In a flash, a pistol was deposited in his hand courtesy of his IS' closed form.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inside…
Charle or Charlotte Dunois sighs as the day ends. To think pretending as a guy would be so tiring, especially in the chest area. Having one's chest bound tightly to flatten it enough to pass a guy was pure torture. Breathing is hard and the tightness is very uncomfortable.
Fortunately, she found some breathing room while switching clothes. She is so lucky that Ichika bought her excuse of being too shy to show off her body between guys or she would be found out immediately.
Amuro on the other hand…
Charlotte can only shiver at the thought of the other male pilot.
If Ichika's warm and welcoming in her presence, Amuro's cold and filled with suspicion. Too many times she broke under a cold sweat whenever he stared at her before shaking his head in what looked like disappointment.
What did she do? Did her shy act offend him as a guy?!
It wasn't her fault okay!? It's her first time pretending as one! Damn it!
Speaking of pretending to be a guy, how could a girl like her end up in this situation?
It's because of her father.
Born from a mistress of the CEO of Dunois Industry, she was an unwanted child. But her mother loved her and took care of her alone. Until 2 years ago, her mother died and her heritage was given to her.
She once felt excited to meet her father.
Once.
She was rejected. A bastard daughter.
She was still accepted to the family albeit reluctantly, surely to save face and stop her from ruining the family reputation. But it doesn't mean the family has to be kind to her.
She was mistreated and abused. Still, she persevered as this is her only home.
Her father? Total ignorance of her presence.
It doesn't matter to her now. As long as she has a roof and a place to sleep, she's happy.
Until Dunois Industry began to lag behind IS development, leading to its Government funding of France threatening to pull out.
As such, Albert Dunois, her so-called father, hatched a daring plan.
To infiltrate and steal IS data of the Byakushiki, the IS of the only male pilot in history.
But why not Amuro?
Albert dismissed him entirely. Amuro Ray is nothing more than a lucky fool. An upstart IS designer making his own IS if the rumors are true. Compared to Ichika's Byakushiki which was developed by the infamous Rabbit herself, his data is far more valuable.
Sadly, only a female can infiltrate the academy but the Dunois family can't risk it.
They need a scapegoat.
Here she comes in.
Unwanted but surprising have the talent to pilot an IS, she's the perfect infiltrator.
Her mission? Steal Ichika's IS data or never return.
What a predicament she found herself in.
"It's just one thing and another." Charlotte sighs, unbinding her chest to replace it with a fresh binding. Ms. Orimura's practicals worked her up and she's pretty sweaty. As much as she wants to have a shower, she needs to hurry to find an opening to steal Ichika's IS data.
As her developing breasts spilled out, which is pretty impressive for her age, something hard pressed on the back of her head and the tell-tale sound of a gun clicking echoed in the silent room.
She wasn't alone in the lockers.
"You got a few minutes to talk before I blow your brains out. Don't bother to scream or fight back. Unlike last time, the academy's on high alert right now and you have already been flagged since day one."
"Now talk."
Charlotte can help the tears from bursting out.
Why did she accept this job?! She's gonna get killed!