CHANGE LOCATION
The sky was still dark when Ichika dragged himself off the couch and shut off the obscenely early alarm. A quick breakfast followed by a hasty shower completed Ichika's time at home for the day, as he had barely finished dressing himself after said shower when he heard a knock at the door. Opening it, he saw Giorgi waiting for him.
"It is good to see that you are awake. Let's get going, our transport is waiting." At that, the Russian man turned and left, the Organization's newest recruit following.
"Um... Mr. Stukanov? What is our organization called anyway?" Ichika asked.
"Don't Mr. Stukanov me, that makes me feel older than I already am. As to our organization's name, it doesn't really have one. We just call it 'The Organization', or when the situation calls for it, we refer to one of our fronts."
"I see." Ichika said, entering the taxi that awaited them. The ride was quiet, and was soon over, the taxi parking beside a tall skyscraper.
"This is the White-Sakamoto Innovations Headquarters, the site of our front company in Japan." Giorgi explained as the pair entered the building.
"Officially, this is a company dealing in IS research and development, but it also serves as our primary source of material requisitions in Japan. For example, yesterday morning the company was sold an Uchigane Mass Production IS unit for 'Testing Purposes'. That IS participated in your rescue. Same thing occurred with a pair of Type-2 Experimental Anti-IS Rifles."
"Anti-IS Rifles?" Ichika asked, curious.
"The name is self explanatory, but I'm sure you want a bit more than that. As you know, the IS changed the face of modern warfare as we know it. Conventional infantry weapons may as well be shooting paper wads, tanks are too slow to match it, and aircraft can't sustain a prolonged engagement against one, and while warships can hurt them, the weapons that can do so are either too slow to aim properly or are too easily dodged. However, saying that all the money governments dumped into the military was suddenly wasted does not make for good re-election prospects for various world politicians, so countries took action. Many, like Russia, began to covertly downsize their conventional militaries, and used the freed up funds to jump-start their IS programs, while others, most notably America, began to research ways to close the 'IS Gap' with new technology, although this caused their IS programs to start off slower. The American 1st gen MPIS 'Mayfly', for example, was so riddled with flaws that its firepower was made useless by it's ridiculously small combat time of 5 minutes. However, this allowed their conventional militaries to get a large scale technological upgrade. Somewhat ironically, much of that technology came from the IS. After all, a plasma cannon is still a plasma cannon, regardless of whether it's on an IS or a tank." Giorgi said.
"So they took IS technology and gave it to their regular militaries?" Ichika asked.
"Exactly." The pair entered an elevator.
"I think it was the American M2 Eisenhower MBT that convinced the world that it was a viable use of the military budget. The Eisenhower was, and still is, the most advanced tank in the world. Using several batteries designed for MPIS units, the Eisenhower mounted a hypersensor suite linked directly to state-of-the-art targeting systems, which allowed it to use its main cannon to shoot down several supersonic drones during trial runs. Speaking of which, its main armament is a powerful plasma cannon that fires at .1% light speed, which means that although the shots lose cohesion after about a second's flight, the sheer speed at which they fly makes that short time irrelevant. A turret mounted point-defense laser system makes it almost impossible to hit it with a missile or rocket, even at point blank range, and the munitions that do make it through impact a full coverage energy barrier. It can hold its own against most first gen MPIS units, and even second gen units may find it a challenge to destroy. Of course, true IS units, as in the units that contain one of the 467 cores, can easily destroy it, but the M2 performed so well that it has convinced the nations of the world that the IS gap can and eventually will be closed. The Type-2 AIS Gun was Japan's first attempt at producing a man-portable anti-IS weapon. The result was a powerful, but extremely fragile and high-maintenance weapon. Should you decide to work in Engineering or R&D you'll learn more about this, but for now, we're almost at the roof."
Indeed, as those words were said, the elevator reached the roof and opened, revealing a Chinook with its ramp down, ready for takeoff. Soon, the pair boarded and were en-route to the Kuril islands. The helicopter landed on Urup in the same place as before, and was lowered down. As the pair stepped out of the helicopter, they were met by a man wearing a green sweater with a patch on his right shoulder.
"I assume you are our new recruit?" The man asked.
"I am." Ichika replied.
Good. My name is Jason Weiss, and I will be your guide for orientation procedures." The man extended his hand, and Ichika shook it.
"Once the tour is complete, you will receive a complimentary sweater and coffee mug, and given your age, you will be given the opportunity to apply for an apprenticeship in one of our departments." Jason said.
"Apprenticeship?"
"Since you lack experience due to your age, one of our more experienced members will show you the ropes. Now, come along, time is money." Jason turned and began to leave the room, while Ichika hurried to follow him.
"As you can see, most of our base is still under construction, but we've got several areas up and running, and you will be visiting most of them today."
"Most of them?"
"Yes. As you are living off-site, you will not be visiting the barracks, while your age prohibits you from joining our military branch, so the armory will only be given a cursory visit. Finally, our base's power plant is currently closed to all unauthorized personnel, so we will not be visiting it."
"Power plant?"
"Yes. Our base is currently powered by what was once the SSV-33 Ural, an old Soviet command and control nuclear cruiser. Of course, while it was very advanced for its time, the high operating costs and the fact that there wasn't a large enough pier to support it at its home port meant that it was reduced to being a glorified barracks and power plant. With the IS coming out, the ship was decommissioned, along with a good portion of the Russian navy, so we could acquire it for a rather cheap cost. However, most of the equipment onboard was obsolete and in poor condition, so we removed it. In addition, the ship's armaments were stripped off, essentially giving us a rusty, nuclear powered hull. We removed the reactor and scrapped the rest for materials, and that nuclear reactor now powers the base, along with a geothermal generator down below."
"Nuclear reactor? Isn't that against some treaty?" Ichika asked.
"Yes. That is another reason why secrecy is important, Ichika. Some of the things we do here are illegal by international law, despite the fact that we do it for a good cause, namely preserving the balance of power in the world, preventing armed conflict, and performing counter-terrorist operations."
"But how did you get your hands on the Ural?"
"Officially, the ship sprung a leak and sunk while en-route to a facility that could properly decommission it. Unofficially, it's captain is a couple thousand Rubles richer, and we have a Cold War era nuclear cruiser. Of course, the official that sold the ship to us was arrested almost as soon as he got into port, and the Russian government believes that he sold it to a private company that wished to scrap it, which I guess is somewhat accurate."
"I see..." Ichika said, trying to hide his discomfort.
"Good. Now, on with the tour." The man said, just as they entered a cavernous room packed to bursting with machinery and engineers.
"This is the main engineering bay. The people here work closely with the Research and Development department to build the various technologies that will eventually run this base. Right now, it's assembling the various materials needed to get this base up and running as fast as possible. In addition, as you can see over there, they are building the vertical launch catapults that will eventually allow us to rapidly launch the aircraft that we will eventually field here. You know that big cavern that they're excavating? That will eventually be our hangar bay." Jason said as he pointed towards one of the corners of the workshop, where the engineers were working on what, at a glance, seemed to be a giant launch rail.
"Now, as I said before, the people here work very closely with our R&D department. In fact, quite a few of the engineers here are actually R&D boys who have nothing to do at the moment, so they're helping out here as best they can. Speaking of which, the R&D bay is right next door." Jason said as he led Ichika across the room via a catwalk on the ceiling. Soon, they arrived at another, similarly sized room. However, this room was clearly subdivided into several sections. The vast majority of the room seemed empty, while another, smaller area was walled off from the rest and was clearly full of computers. Finally, a third section was a small, or at least small compared to the engineering bay, fabrication center. The area was still quite large though, as was evidenced by the Mitsubishi F-3 fighter craft lying disassembled within. The F-3 was a cutting-edge Japanese fighter craft based off the American F-22 Raptor, and was the pride and joy of the JSDF Air force, at least until the IS was released not even a year after the fighter began being mass produced, thus rendering the fighter obsolete.
"What are they doing with that fighter craft?" Ichika asked, pointing.
Oh that? Remember how I mentioned the Vertical Launch Catapults? Well, they have one simple problem in that the launch process puts an immense amount of stress on the airframe, thus destroying the craft. The F-3 was one of the few fighters that could even be launched in a pilotable condition, and even then it would have taken severe damage. This is compounded by the fact that the immense amount of G-forces exerted during the launch process would actually cause the pilot to pass out during takeoff, which is highly dangerous for obvious reasons. What they're doing down there is attempting to find a fix for that problem."
"Wait, aren't IS suits capable of pulling extreme-G maneuvers without negatively impacting the pilot or the suit?" Ichika asked.
"Exactly. That is due to the IS's Passive Inertia Canceler, or PIC. What the people down there are trying to do is fit a PIC and its power source into the fighter craft without negatively impacting its performance." Jason paused for a few seconds. "You're a sharp kid, you know."
"W-well, Chifuyu-nee always said that she wouldn't settle for an idiot brother..." Ichika laughed.
"Ha. Anyway, on with the show. Next stop is the Armory/IS bay. We won't be spending a large amount of time there, as the IS bay is mostly empty, while the armory is not an area you will be using often." Jason steered the conversation back on track as he led Ichika to his next destination.
The pair proceeded into the armory, which was comparatively small compared to the previous two rooms they had visited. What the armory did have, however, was a large amount of firearms. Most of them looked familiar to Ichika, but there were two particularly large guns laid out on a table that caught his eye.
"What are those?" Ichika asked.
"Ah, those are our Type-2 AIS Rifles. Powerful, but they were rejected by the JSDF for being too impractical for battlefield use. They are what allowed us to eliminate both hostile IS units that were guarding you during our rescue operation."
"Oh, so that's what Giorgi was talking about." Ichika said.
"Giorgi? You mean Old Stukanov actually lets you call him that?" The man laughed. "He must have taken a liking to you kid!" However, Ichika wasn't paying attention to him, as he had run up to the large window on one edge of the room, which gave him a view overlooking the IS bay. There were three IS suits contained within, with one that he recognized as an Uchigane being stored in an alcove, while another Uchigane and what looked like a Raphael Revive were undergoing repairs, as technicians swarmed around the two suits, which were suspended just above the floor in special rotating racks.
"Recruit Orimura? We're moving on!" Jason called out, causing Ichika to scramble away from the window and into the wake of his guide. After a few moments of walking, the pair came to an intersection.
"Down there are the Barracks. Should you decide to live on-site, you will be assigned a room there. However, we will not be visiting there for the time being. Instead, we will now head to the final area of the tour, namely the command center. That is where I work by the way."
After nearly a minute of walking, the pair came to a large room, full of computers. A large screen displayed a map of the world, while technicians and officers dressed similarly to Jason moved around. Unlike the R&D room or Main Engineering, the atmosphere was quiet, with the quiet buzz of computers being the loudest noise present.
"This is the nerve center of our organization. Here we sift through intel, manage operations, and co-ordinate with our other cells across the globe... or at least that's what we eventually hope to do here. Right now, all we're doing here is managing construction and acquisitions, although yesterday we did command our first operation from here."
"I see. So now that the tour is over, does that mean I have to decide on an apprenticeship?" Ichika asked.
"It would be preferable for you to decide as soon as possible, yes, but there is no rush. Now, about your complimentary coffee mug and sweater..." Jason led Ichika down another hallway, which eventually led to the large open cavern. Soon, they reached a small door, one that Ichika realized was the same one he had been led to the day before. The door opened, and Ichika saw that on the desk lay a folded green sweater wrapped in plastic, and a simple white coffee mug with the Organization logo on the side. Closer inspection revealed his name printed under the logo on the coffee cup, while he also saw that the sweater was missing the logo that Jason's had on its right shoulder.
That was when the door closed, leaving Ichika alone inside the room again.
"Hello again, Recruit Orimura. I trust you are already considering your apprenticeship?" The voice of the Organization's leader rang over the intercom.
Things were certainly becoming interesting for jaune now as is Apparently, one of the regular customers of this massage parlor was the very enemy jaune had been seeking all along. As Well, it was certainly a relief that as he did suspect that in the end he will be dropped off in another damn country and doesn't know anything about it as it's definitely not Japan but it was known as Italy by others as he didn't have to spend half a year gathering money in order to get to his home in Japan now as Italy as Jaune currently sat in his employer's room as She had not yet arrived so he could think about his current situation in detail.
As Jaune just looked outside of the window and he just saw a beautiful view of the city of Venice, as the capital of northern Italy's Veneto region, as is built on more than 100 small islands in a lagoon in the very much Adriatic Sea now as It has no roads, just canals - including the Grand Canal thoroughfare - lined with Renaissance and Gothic palaces. The central square, Piazza San Marco, contains St. Mark's Basilica, which is tiled with Byzantine mosaics, and as the Campanile bell tower offering views of the city's red roofs as In other terms as This is quite the site for him as this is quite more beautiful and peaceful compare to Japan as It did had a lot of technology but this is his type of place for some reason it reminded him of his home a little bit now as he was familiar to place like this now as riverboats around the carnal as it reminded him so much hometown of arcade now.
Italy, a European country with a long Mediterranean coastline, has left a powerful mark on Western culture and cuisine. Its capital, Rome, is home to the Vatican as well as landmark art and ancient ruins. Other major cities include Florence, with Renaissance masterpieces such as Michelangelo's "David" and Brunelleschi's Duomo; Venice, the city of canals; and Milan, Italy's fashion capital.
🆔🆔🆔🆔🆔🆔🆔🆔🆔🆔🆔🆔🆔🆔🆔🆔
Greetings, everyone. My name is Aruto Igarashi, a name you'd find on any ordinary person worldwide. You might wonder why you should continue reading about an unremarkable individual like me. Please give ya boi a chance; I promise the story gets interesting.
Let's start from the very beginning, shall we?
First, let me clarify something: I may have claimed to be an ordinary human, but that's not entirely true either.
I died. I can't recall how it happened, but I definitely died somehow, and then I found myself reincarnated in another world. Luckily, I retained my old name, Aruto Igarashi, which is quite comforting when you've been accustomed to it for twenty years.
I used to read countless fanfictions where the protagonist receives fantastic cheats and becomes the ruler of the world. Yet, here I am, still the same old me with no particular advantages. Surprisingly, I've adapted to this new reality, and it's not so bad.
After all, this new world doesn't differ much from my previous one.
(But boy, was I wrong...)
It was still the familiar Japan I remembered, and that was enough for a cheatless guy like me.
Regrettably, I was still an abandoned child left at an orphanage at a young age.
Pain.
The silver lining was that I retained my memories and didn't have to experience childhood loneliness all over again.
The real shit came when I had to experience school all over again. I wanted to scream as I recalled the sleepless nights I'd spent studying for exams in my previous life.
Alas, he could only go to school once more, and it shouldn't be too hard since he had already studied the same subjects, right?
And you are absolutely fucking right! It seemed like I wasn't the same scumbag at school, and my grades were extraordinary, unlike my previous life.
I began to suspect that maybe it was my cheat or my benefits after this reincarnation.
Anyway, I continued my studies, and everything went well until shocking news shook the nation and even the world.
Infinite Stratos! Or, for short, IS!
A real-life mecha suit! I honestly creamed a little when I heard the news, and for weeks, my classmates and friends couldn't stop talking about it.
The thought of witnessing these incredible machines and maybe even piloting one in this era was mind-blowing.
While the current IS technology fell short of the likes of Gundam, Evangelion, or Armored Cores that I was familiar with, it was better than nothing. I was eagerly looking forward to the day I could step into one.
That's when I began my rigorous training by hitting the gym and entering various dojo, knowing that a healthy body was crucial for piloting these magnificent machines.
Life suddenly became brighter as I found my purpose.
What could go wrong, right?
...Right?
x-x-x-x-x-x
MOTHERFUCKER!
I WAS PROVEN WRONG ONCE MORE!
I was shaken and devastated.
The dream I'd held so close, the promise of piloting those incredible suits, shattered before me. The IS, the supposed pinnacle of a man's romance, was exclusively reserved for women.
My dream was crushed before it even had a chance to start. And I wasn't the only one; many of my friends faced the same harsh truth.
We all began to doubt about life...
IS were nothing more but defective products! I refuse to accept them as the real mecha of my dream!
"I curse you, Shinonono Tabane! Feel the hatred of a boy whose dreams you have crushed!" I screamed in frustration, my voice laced with bitterness and anger.
So, my mundane life continued. I finished school, graduated from high school, and enrolled in college, choosing the same major I did in my previous life: computer science.
That would have been the plan if it weren't for someone or something that disrupted the peaceful cycle of my existence.
I, Aruto Igarashi, a single dog, was savouring instant ramen while watching TV when a piece of news hit the entire nation like a tidal wave. It was news that would alter the course of my life and change the world yet again.
Ichika Orimura, the first male IS pilot and the brother of Chifuyu Orimura, also known as "Brunhilde," was found in Japan, the very same country where I lived.
What are the chances and also brother and sisters!?
"That's crazy..." I mumbled to myself as I slurped my instant ramen.
Shortly after the revelation of Ichika, a nationwide announcement was made to the public, specifically to every male.
It wasn't just Japan; many countries followed suit because of the discovery of the first male pilot.
Every man had to present themselves at an IS examination ground to determine their potential as an IS pilot. It was a bid to find the second male IS pilot in the world.
So, you see, I was dragged into it. My friends proposed we go to the examination together and grab a meal afterward before starting college. And my response to their proposal? "Sure, let's do it!"
Everyone didn't expect much about it as most of them thought about their future already. It would be wild if they were to find s
omeone else again and in Japan. The numbers were too low to think about, and I foolishly thought the same.
Little did I remember, at that moment, that I was a reincarnated person.
I naively accepted their invitation without a second thought, oblivious to the consequences. Only when I stood before the IS core did I realize the consequence of my actions.
I finally recalled the nonsense spewed by those protagonists in similar situations.
"Golden fingers can be late but are always present!"
"FUCKKKKKKK!? I DON'T WANT THIS SHITTY GIFT WITH ME?" I roared silently in my head, maintaining a composed facade on the outside. There was no need for anyone to know how mentally unstable I felt.
Some of you might be confused about my reaction, or you may think I was excited about the prospect of piloting the IS.
That was the old me, the naive kid who chased his dream without knowing the dark side. But now, I was a grown man who had learned a few harsh life lessons for a second time.
I am a poor orphan kid with no real background, and unlike Ichika, I didn't have a super hot and badass sister behind me as a support, yet I was able to awaken the ability to wield those defective machines.
To many people and countries, I, Aruto Igarashi, ceased to be a human and became a subject for examination. For the extremist feminist group, I was a threat to their female-dominated society. In either case, I was in deep trouble.
I could hear gasps and shocked voices all around me as I placed my hand on the IS core, causing it to light up. My male companions expressed a mix of disbelief, jealousy, and frustration:
"No way..."
"I can't believe it!"
"The second male pilot!"
"It should've been me, not him!"
As for the woman... well, let's say he wasn't that popular...
"Urk, another man!?"
"Despicable man!"
"Men have no right to defile IS! It belongs to us, women!"
Fortunately, the extremist feminists represented only a minority. Since the emergence of IS, women have gained power while men, who had previously dominated society, found themselves marginalized.
Various groups, like the infamous extremist feminists, sought to exacerbate the situation and further alienate men.
I could see the female examiner giving me a forced smile as she scribbled something on her clipboard.
"Aruto Igarashi, you're 20 years old, correct?" she asked, her smile feeling even more strained.
"Yep," I replied, my face betraying no emotion.
"No parents?"
"Yep."
Well, why don't you follow us? Don't worry; we'll take good care of you," the examiner said as she signalled two guards to stand beside me.
That confirmed my worst fears. I was in deep trouble. I was fucking donezo, and she wasn't even trying to fucking hide it.
Unfortunately for them, I, Aruto Igarashi, am a genius, with my high intelligence, high specs physique, and my 1000 secret techniques making me more than just a man.
In my mind, I had become something more, something beyond human! (Delusional)
I never imagined being forced to use one of my secret techniques in public.
I didn't have time to hesitate as I sensed the impatience in the examiner's eyes.
"Sir?" she said with a forced smile that was even more unsettling than before.
"Sure, but can I have some space? I need to give some things to my friends," I replied casually to avoid arousing their suspicions.
After a moment, the two guards exchanged glances, and the examiner reluctantly nodded.
I played the part of someone oblivious to their plan and regained some room to maneuver for my next move.
Now, for the next step...
"Hey, buddy!" I called out, strolling toward my friends, who greeted me with envy in their eyes. Little did they know...
"Hey, Aruto, you lucky dog!" one of my friends began until he and the entire group, including the two guards and examiners, saw me sprint away from them.
"Nigerundayo Smokey!"
.."
"..."
"..."
"Damn! Was that a JoJo Reference!?" shouted someone from the crowd as he managed to wake up everyone from their stupor.
The examiner sputtered, spraying her drink in disbelief. She hadn't expected someone to flee after discovering their potential as an IS pilot.
"What are you all waiting for? Go after him!" she shouted, urging the guards to chase me down.
"R-right," one guard replied before they both sprinted after me.
Fortunately for me, I activated one of the 1000 Hidden Techniques I had developed in my two lives.
HIDDEN TECHNIQUE 112: RUN AWAY!
This secret technique consists of carefully and quickly retreating from the opponent while closely examining their surroundings. To the untrained eye, it looks like Aruto is simply running away like a coward, augmented by his panicked shouting when doing so.
I quickly vanished into the crowd, evading their pursuit and disappearing from sight for a while.
x-x-x-x-x-x
- Chifuyu Orimiya -
The faculty office at the IS Academy droned with tension, and Chifuyu's sudden outburst caught the attention of her fellow professors. As she slammed her hand on the desk, her booming voice echoed through the room, leaving her colleagues in a state of shock.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE RAN AWAY!?" Chifuyu's voice was filled with surprise and frustration. Her sudden outburst sent shockwaves through the faculty room, and the other professors wisely refrained from interfering with her.
Amidst the heavy atmosphere, Maya Yamada, a close friend of Chifuyu, mustered the courage to inquire about the situation. She approached Chifuyu cautiously, sensing that something serious had happened.
"Chifuyu-sensei, is there something wrong?" Maya's voice was tinged with hesitation, her concern evident as she gazed at her friend.
Chifuyu responded with a weary sigh as she massaged her forehead. "Sorry, Maya. We've found the second male pilot, who happens to be from Japan like my brother."
Maya's initial confusion deepened. "That sounds like good news! Why are you so angry, then?"
Chifuyu gave her a pointed look and picked up the TV remote from her desk, turning on the television. This action piqued the curiosity of Maya and the other teachers, prompting them to remain silent and watch the screen, trusting that Chifuyu had her reasons.
On the TV screen, the breaking news headline scrolled across, revealing the details of the situation.
[BREAKING NEWS! SECOND IS MALE PILOT IS FOUND! ARUTO IGARASHI, 20 YEARS OLD FROM JAPAN]
[BREAKING NEWS! THE SECOND MALE PILOT, ARUTO IGARASHI IS ON THE RUN!]
[BREAKING NEWS! ANOTHER PASSED AND ARUTO IGARASHI IS STILL NOT FOUND!]
[THE POLICE AND THE GOVERNMENT ARE SENDING MORE TROOPS AND UNITS]
The room fell into a heavy, contemplative silence. The teachers struggled to comprehend why the second male pilot fled after discovering his unique talent, which seemed perplexing.
"What kind of short circuit made him run..." muttered Chifuyu as she patted her poor forehead and examined the portrait of Aruto Igarashi.
Without a doubt, it was a man that Chifuyu would classify as handsome. Aruto Igarashi had a striking appearance with jet-black hair, piercing red eyes, and a well-built, formidable physique. Even his attire couldn't conceal the powerful muscles, clearly honed for combat.
(A/N: Ya boi, Aruto Igarashi looks like Anos Voldigoad.)
She unconsciously licked her lips as her train of thought was entirely focused on the picture of Aruto Igarashi displayed by the media.
This man, Aruto Igarashi, was utterly her type, at least physically. As for personality, it remained to be seen.
Interrupting her trance, Maya, flustered by the situation, approached Chifuyu. "Chifuyu-senpai! What should we do!? Should we also send some help?"
Chifuyu contemplated the situation for a moment, and her response was measured. "We don't need to get involved immediately. Let's wait and see if the police can apprehend him. If they can't, we'll step in."
Maya remained unconvinced, prompting her to whisper, "What about the extremist group?"
She almost forgot about them, and she wouldn't be surprised if they were also sending a group to assassinate Aruto Igarashi for fear that his presence would shake their rules. Fortunately, her dumb little brother was spared of their wrath since they were related, but as for Aruto...
"Let's discuss it with the principal," Chifuyu said, her brow furrowing. "If the situation escalates and Aruto Igarashi remains at large, we can consider deploying IS units to assist in his capture."
Chifuyu and Maya left the faculty room to address the pressing concerns surrounding Aruto Igarashi and the potential threats.
Since he was the second male found, they must safely bring him back to the IS Academy.
x-x-x-x-x
- Ichika Orimura -
Amidst the bustling crowd of students at the IS Academy during lunchtime, there was a lone boy among the sea of girls. This person was none other than Ichika Orimura, the first male IS pilot and the younger brother of Chifuyu Orimura. He sat at a table, enjoying a tonkatsu set with three of his friends.
His first companion was Houki Shinonono, a close friend he had known since childhood. The second was Cecilia Alcott, a friend he had made during his first three weeks at the IS Academy. Lastly, there was Lingyin Huang, affectionately known as Rin, who was also Ichika's childhood friend.
Deep in thought, Cecilia turned her attention to Ichika and asked, "Ichika, have you heard about the news regarding the search for a possible second male IS pilot?"
Ichika looked up in surprise, his chopsticks poised over his tray. "Huh? Why haven't I heard about it?"
Cecilia realized that her question might have been a bit naive. Houki and Rin nodded in agreement, understanding that Ichika wasn't the type to keep up with the news. After all, he had been overwhelmingly occupied since he had enrolled in the Academy.
He had to face Cecilia in an IS battle, which led to his defeat and earned him the affection of a particular young lady, though he remained oblivious to it.
After that, he resumed his kendo training with Houki, diligently studying the fundamentals and honing his skills. He divided his energy between learning about IS technology and techniques with Cecilia and also conducted training sessions with his personal IS alongside Rin whenever they could secure the arena.
Moreover, as the Academy still had an academic curriculum, he had to devote time to studying basic subjects like mathematics, English, history, and more.
In essence, Brother Ichika Orimura is cooking.
"Are they still looking for more?" Ichika asked with a glimmer of hope in his voice now that he was aware of the search. He was currently the only male student at the school and felt somewhat out of place. He longed to have other guys at school to form friendships with.
While it was enjoyable to meet with his childhood friends, he missed having male companions in his current life and the camaraderie that came with it.
"They should be," Rin replied. "After all, there are plenty of guys, so it should take a while before everyone gets their turn."
"Great, great, great," Ichika muttered with a wide grin on his face. He couldn't help but think about the prospect of bonding with other male students and was lost in thoughts of camaraderie.
(Bro is literally kicking his feet while giggling.)
The other girls exchanged glances, understanding Ichika's concern, but their feelings were mixed, and they couldn't quite explain the strange emotions bubbling within them.
After all, there was no way Ichika was...
Their thoughts were interrupted as a commotion erupted at all the cafeteria tables, jolting everyone from their musings.
"Look at the TV, everyone!" shouted a female student as she attracted everyone's attention on the TV.
The students focused on the TV as a news reporter explained the remarkable development concerning the search for the second male IS pilot.
On the screen, the reporter's voice was excited as they described the unfolding situation. The visuals displayed the search operations, the crowds of hopeful male candidates, and the anticipation that enveloped the examination grounds.
Ichika and the girls listened intently, their curiosity piqued by the groundbreaking news. The revelation of a potential second male IS pilot was a significant event, one that had the potential to reshape the dynamics at the IS Academy and beyond.
The TV reporter's eyes widened with astonishment, and her voice trembled with excitement. "Oh, what are you saying? Someone actually reacted!"
Beside her, the cameraman was equally taken aback, his camera quivering in his hands. "Where!? Testing ground A! We are going! Come on, Sudo! We have to go!"
In a flash, the reporter and her dedicated cameraman, Sudo, sprang into action. Their urgency was palpable as they rushed to the testing ground. They had to be the ones to get this man on their camera first!
As the TV reporter and cameraman's frenzied conversation played out, Ichika and the girls at their lunch table couldn't help but react to the unfolding drama.
Ichika's eyes widened in surprise, and he exchanged a quick glance with Houki, Cecilia, and Rin. The prospect of someone reacting during the IS pilot examination was a rare and significant occurrence, and the realization that they were witnessing it firsthand left them all in suspense.
Houki leaned in closer, her expression a mix of curiosity. "Did you hear that? The second male pilot! I wonder what he looks like!"
Cecilia's eyes sparkled with anticipation, her hand clutching her fork as she spoke with eagerness. "How exciting... I never thought there would be another person that could make the IS react like Ichika!"
Rin continued. "Ichika, you are really getting a new friend at school now!"
Ichika's heart raced, and he felt a surge of surprise and anticipation. The possibility of a new male IS pilot joining their Academy and not being the only male anymore filled him with a lot of excitement. "God didn't leave me alone in my struggle!"
Their table became a hub of excitement as they, along with their fellow students, continued to watch the live coverage on the TV, eagerly awaiting the developments at Testing Ground A. The anticipation was palpable, and the impact of Ichika's journey was more significant than ever.
The TV reporter and cameraman arrived at Testing Ground A just in time to witness an unexpected turn of events. Their cameras captured the chaotic scene as a young man sprinted away from the testing ground with remarkable speed, hotly pursued by two guards.
Baffled and intrigued by the unfolding situation, the reporter decided to act swiftly. She turned to the nearby people gathered around, a mix of onlookers and hopeful candidates, and inquired, "Excuse me, folks, do any of you have any information about what's happening here? Why is this young man trying to flee from the testing ground?"
They asked around until they found someone in the crowd.
The informant was a fellow male candidate who had been observing the examination proceedings. He spoke with excitement as he held his laugh with great difficulty, "Oh yeah! You just had to be here, HAHA! That guy who just ran away is the one who made the IS Core react, and he pulled a fucking JoJo on them. He is the greatest guy ever!"
The TV reporter's eyes widened with the revelation, and her voice reflected the gravity of the situation. "So, this young man activated the IS core? That's extraordinary! Perhaps do you know the reason why this young man decided to escape?"
The informant scratched his head in perplexity and shrugged. "Nah, no idea, but bro was zooming like crazy! I tell ya! You might have a better chance talking to those guys over there. They seem to know him."
The TV reporter appreciated the lead and replied with gratitude, "Thank you very much, sir!"
With a sense of urgency and determination, the reporter wasted no time. Her excitement was palpable as she hastily approached the groups of young boys who appeared to have information about the situation. Licking her lips in anticipation, she knew she had to get the scoop and unveil the story behind this second male pilot.
x-x-x-x-x
Ichika and the girls, still glued to the TV, gasped in surprise at the chaos unfolding on the screen. The development left them speechless as they watched a daring escape on TV.
Houki muttered in disbelief, "Is he trying to run away?"
Cecilia leaned forward, her eyes fixed on the screen as her mind raced with questions. "It certainly appears that way. But the real question is why."
Rin couldn't hide her curiosity and concern. "Something must have happened. I hope he's safe."
Ichika watched the scene with a mixture of concern and mounting worry. His thoughts raced, and he couldn't help but wonder about the second male well-being. "I wonder why he's running..."
'He'll be here no matter what, right...?' thought Ichika with a trace of panic in his heart.
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Like all the days before in his life until this point, Ichika's day began peacefully. Ichika woke up early in the morning as his older sister, Chifuyu, had taught him since he was a young child. As he entered the living room and went towards the kitchen, the home was empty. For a 10-year-old child, it was unusual to wake up at home where there were no other people around, namely no parents around. However, this was rather ordinary for Ichika, since his older sister Chifuyu was usually away from home. She was a IS user, you see, the best in the world, in fact. Ever since the invention and the revelation of Infinite Stratos, Chifuyu had been away from home. She was usually away training to become the very best of hundreds of IS users.
There was a catch for using the Infinite Stratos: the user had to be a female and also compatible with it but only women had the potential to be compatible with the IS in the first place. This had, of course, led to a societal change across the globe. Women, with the help of IS, seized control of the political and economic life. This had previously been controlled by men since the civilization began 10 000 years ago when agriculture was born. Men were no longer in power, in fact, they had been pushed down by the women. Regardless of the societal change and the change in the normal lives of the citizens that lived in this new world, Ichika's mind dwelled on his sister's absence. It had been rather distant with his sister ever since the IS was revealed 5 years ago if the recalled correctly. Chifuyu had trained relentlessly all these years, and it had paid off. There was so-called Mondo Grosso where the IS users representing their own countries competed with each other. Winning the finals was a great honor and Chifuyu had managed to win the previous Mondo Grosso, which was actually the very first Mondo Grosso Tournament ever held. She was representing Japan at the time and Chifuyu had brought great honor to Japan and herself. However, she wasn't that interested in glorious prizes as many would think. Chifuyu only cared about her little brother Ichika ever since she and Ichika had been abandoned since they were children. This year and during this day, the second Mondo Grosso Tournament would be held. Ichika had been looking forward to this. Yes, he wasn't actually watching his sister compete live because it would be much more comfortable to just watch it in his home. He was there live the first time the Mondo Grosso was held. Ichika didn't enjoy his stay there although he managed to see his sister compete live. But in Ichika's opinion, it wasn't worth it to be there. Ichika planned to just sit, relax and watch his sister win the tournament once more. Ichika was more than confident that his sister would win again. So far, Chifuyu had beaten her opponents swiftly and flawlessly, well some opponents were more than ''easy''. Especially, the previous match had been much more difficult than the others but that was to be expected since it was the semifinals. Most considered Chifuyu Orimura to be unbeatable and so did Ichika. However, this would soon change.
It was a great surprise for Ichika to hear someone ring the doorbell. He had told his friend Dan not to visit him today since he wanted to watch his sister at Mondo Grosso. Ichika thought Dan was watching it too, as well. But who else might it be behind the door, then? It wouldn't be his other friend Lingyin Huang (called Rin for short) since she was actually there to watch it live since she liked IS so much.
''Probably some advertiser because it's the best time to advertise something because most people are currently in their homes.'' Ichika frowned and then sighed because he had to rise up from the sofa where he had sat for hours comfortably alongside his delicious food. Ichika decided to raise the volume of the TV so he would still hear what was going on so he wouldn't miss anything while opening the door. Ichika saw no reason to look through a hole to see who was behind the door and instead opened the door.
A hit came near Ichika's head. He narrowly dodged it. There was a lot of power behind the punch, what Ichika could deduce. It was probably intended as a knock-out punch. Luckily for him, he knew how to dodge attacks.
''A-an attacker?!'' Ichika thought while frightened. Ichika had to continue retreating from the entrance as dodging attacks by the unknown person was difficult in such a tight space. As he was dodging and retreating, Ichika wondered what was the intruder here for. What little time he had to think, he suspected that the person might be here for stealing some valuables from the Orimura Residence. There definitely were many valuables because Chifuyu was a wealthy woman. And Ichika wanted to ensure that no one took anything from him and Chifuyu. Ichika stopped the retreat and instead, started to go on the offensive. Ichika was going to fight back - he just couldn't dodge all the time. Maybe he had to finish the fight by beating his opponent.
Ichika fought relentlessly against his opponent. Ichika managed to land very few hits. From the grunts of the attacker, Ichika could figure out that the attacker was, in fact, a woman. Her gender, however, didn't matter much, as she was a skilled fighter what Ichika could tell because she too managed to hit him multiple times but Ichika wouldn't fail just yet.
Ichika was moving around the house and the attacker followed him everywhere. Ichika decided to go towards the kitchen as there were some knives he could use against his opponent since he was unarmed at the moment. The woman had just revealed her knife. Now she meant that there was no more time to joke around.
Ichika sighed a bit in his mind as he managed to swiftly take a knife from a drawer at the kitchen and continue his assault against the female intruder. The next event made things much difficult, however.
The window near Ichika in the living room, where he was currently fighting, suddenly broke. Another intruder had entered his house. Come to think of it, the intruder could've had just used the door at the entrance since it was still open but this move definitely caught him off-guard. Now, Ichika had to fight two opponents. He could figure out that the other opponent was probably as skilled as the first intruder. This didn't bode well for Ichika. He was still a 10-year-old boy. It wasn't like he was old enough to fight, anyway. To his credit, Ichika managed to hold out well against two skilled opponents. The fact that this fight lasted so long might've just proved that maybe they weren't as great fighters than he'd thought. But Ichika could soon feel the feeling of dread around his body as he soon knew that he might not survive this encounter. One of the opponents managed to find an opening in his attack and managed to knock him out. He fell to the floor with some minor injuries around his body. The people proceeded to take him away from his home without even taking any valuables or anything at all with them. It seemed that Ichika himself was the target.
CHANGE LOCATION
(Unknown location)
POV
Before Ichika managed to even open his eyes, he felt something cold around his wrists. He also felt uncomfortable around his legs as it felt like they were tied to something and moving them was impossible. It was now apparent that he was tied to a chair and his hands were in chains. Ichika felt quite tired as well, perhaps he just needed a little nap as other children do but now it was impossible because this was a rather uncomfortable place to sleep at. He could see his wounds that had stopped bleeding but blood was still around his body. Minor blood loss might also be the reason for his tiredness. It didn't take long to dawn in Ichika's mind that he had, in fact, been kidnapped by some unknown people. Well, at least, he had not died yet. Uncharacteristically, Ichika didn't react by screaming and shouting nonsense and crying like a child despite the fact that he was a 10-year-old boy. He showed calmness that Chifuyu had taught him because panicking was never an answer for anything. His onee-san always had a rather calm but at the same time a dangerous aura that Ichika wanted to replicate as well. He didn't feel the so-called danger around her as other people had told him. Perhaps, he was immune to it as her little brother? The room around Ichika was dark but he could see the entrance right before him. Reaching it was obviously impossible since he was tied to a chair but escaping this place was the only thing that he had in mind.
''Hopefully, Chifuyu wins the tournament.'' Ichika thought so he would feel somewhat hopeful and ignore this horrible situation he had suddenly found himself in. There was only silence around him. Only some air conditioner far from Ichika on the other side of the room was making a sound. Ichika didn't pay attention to it because the only sound he heard was his own thoughts.
''What was the purpose of this kidnapping?'' Ichika thought as fear was spreading across his body.
''Are they using me for some sort of experiments or for some other reason. Torture, perhaps?'' Ichika pondered reasons for his kidnapping. What he could reason, there usually were only a few reasons why someone would be kidnapped.
''Usually, they kidnap someone to blackmail someone in order to agree to their demands.'' Soon realization dawned on Ichika as he thought of that reason.
''Are they using me as a hostage in order to do something to Chifuyu?'' Ichika panicked a little as he thought of this. Ichika had always thought that he was a great burden to his sister. After all, she always had to look after her little brother and to do many sacrifices for his sake. But Ichika really wished that this situation wouldn't affect Chifuyu's situation at Mondo Grosso Tournament in any way.
For hours Ichika had sat in the chair. Ichika had no idea how long he been here. He hadn't eaten or drunk anything in ages and they'd taken their toll on Ichika.
''I'll be damned if Chifuyu tries to save me now when she has other things to attend to.'' Thought of dying or getting hurt didn't seem to scare Ichika at all. For all he had, was his older sister, like she only had him. He didn't have anything to lose. So far, he hadn't achieved anything anyway or acquired anything of value in his short life. Dying didn't seem that bad of an idea. As long as his sister was fine and would soon win the tournament, Ichika had nothing to worry about. His own death didn't worry him at all. While he fought against the two opponents, Ichika expected that he might die but it did not scare him then. Possibility of dying seemed, however, very unlikely since getting someone here in this room to starve to death wasn't probably the main reason Ichika was brought here. After he had spent hours on the uncomfortable chair with his hands chained, Ichika concluded that he was brought here as a bait in order to lure his sister Chifuyu to come to rescue him.
''There's a reason they brought me here, isn't there? I am the bait in order to get her to abandon the finals.'' Ichika had finally understood the true meaning of his kidnapping.
''But if she had already won, wouldn't they kill me soon, then?'' Ichika's face darkened. Death was probably soon on its way. Chifuyu had probably won the 2nd Mondo Grosso and brought glory to herself and her homeland. But the price of it would be her own brother's life. Reflecting on these thoughts, the tension was filling his body.
''I..I'll die soon... damn it!''
Ichika tried to make a brave face and brace whatever was going to get him. Soon Ichika heard sounds of a commotion. Shooting could just be heard outside the room he was in. Several guns were firing. They were assault rifles or other automatic weapons what Ichika could understand. Automatic gunfire was the giveaway. Because there were multiple people, probably at least a dozen, firing their weapons, Ichika could deduce something from this.
''There must be someone, no, an organization behind my kidnapping, that's for sure.'' Ichika's suspicions about who might be behind his kidnapping arose right now. Most likely the people who did the dirty job weren't actually the people actually the one who orchestrated it. Ichika wondered who they might be firing at. Was his rescue party finally here? Or just some infighting within the organization or did another organization just pick a fight with the organization that was behind his kidnapping? He would soon find out.
It didn't take long until the gunfire ceased. Screams of men had been heard moment before the gunfire stopped. Ichika wasn't sure what was about to happen. Who fought who and who won wasn't exactly clear to Ichika since he was just imprisoned in a dark room.
''He must be in here!'' Ichika heard someone say this. It was a female's voice. A familiar voice, in fact.
''No, it can't be her.'' Ichika thought nervously. It was apparent who was here. The door in front of him exploded or rather was broken with a strike, probably from a sword what Ichika could see as his sight was blinded from the light that emitted from the outside. It had to be Chifuyu's famous sword that she used with her IS. Ichika saw his onee-san Chifuyu step inside the room with a worried expression on her face, to put it mildly. There were also countless men behind her. Ichika didn't know why there were here in the first place. Her minions or something to help her to find him?
''W-Why, why are you here, Chi-Chifuyu...nee?'' Ichika said with a surprised and tired tone.
Ichika then passed out from exhaustion and hunger. His body just couldn't take it any longer.
CHANGE LOCATION
(Several hours later)
POV
Ichika Orimura was furious. For a ten-year-old boy, Ichika's face looked rather fearsome when he was angry. Perhaps, his glare might match his older sister's, Chifuyu's, infamous intimidating glare when he was finally older. It had only been a few hours since Ichika's kidnapping. Ichika wasn't particularly traumatized by the incident - at least that's what he had told himself all this time ever since he woke up on his hospital bed. The people who had kidnapped him did not torture him, which was certainly a good thing, after all, his worst fears did not transpire. Ichika was only put on chains in a dark room where he waited for things to serious - which never happened. Ichika only really suffered from slight hunger and thirst and sleep deprivation because he spent almost a day there in an uncomfortable position on a chair. (Those wouldn't be an issue for an adult, but he's 10 years old for God's sake.)
But one thing infuriated Ichika immensely. Because of his failure, Chifuyu had lost her 2nd Mondo Grosso Championship. Ichika had only one task, stay at home and enjoy his time watching TV and to see her sister winning the 2nd Mondo Grosso. But no, Ichika had apparently gotten himself kidnapped by some shadowy organization or whatever, and it caused her sister to abandon the finals and to lose the finals. Chifuyu was so close to victory. Ichika was sure that her final opponent would not have been a match for her. After all, Chifuyu Orimura was the fabled Brunhilde. She was no doubt the best IS user to date. What Ichika knew even the opponent was a finalist or a semifinalist from the previous Mondo Grosso (if he recalled correctly), the opponent wouldn't have most likely beaten Chifuyu this time. All of her victories had been flawless and she had defeated her opponents swiftly with her IS. Chifuyu fled (a very demeaning word to use in this context) from the arena once she heard about Ichika's kidnapping. For her, Ichika was only family member left in this world and source of her strength (Of course, Ichika doesn't see it that way), she couldn't let any harm come to Ichika's way. For all the onlookers it looked amazing since she moved her IS with impressive speed and at the same time very disappointing when they saw Chifuyu leave the match. It was thought that the arena's barrier was impregnable by IS but Chifuyu managed to break through it effortlessly. After she broke through the barrier of the arena, she forfeited the match, and her opponent - Alicia Josestof, the Representative Candidate of Italy, was declared a winner.
It was obvious that nothing too serious had happened to Ichika considering that he only had minor wounds around his body like bruises and some cuts as the kidnappers couldn't cut deep with their knives. His wounds only needed some disinfection and bandages. Ichika knew that his protective sister had put him here just in case. Probably, doctors would have disagreed with her choice to put a boy who was not in serious danger to a hospital. However, she had ways to convince other people. Clearly, the doctors had agreed to his sister's orders. Ichika looked at the TV that was in the same hospital room as him. It was located near the roof at the end of the room but it was still a good distance away so he could see what was shown on TV. Ichika took remote that was on a small desk just next to his hospital bed, near where Ichika laid his head on the pillow. Ichika scrolled through the channels until one caught his eye. Ichika had been furious ever since he had woken up and heard the news about her sister's defeat - because of HIM - and his fury would rise to even higher after he was reminded of his failure. Ichika looked at the broadcast on the TV.
''The 1st Mondo Grosso Champion, the Brunhilde, Chifuyu Orimura just lost the 2nd Mondo Grosso Tournament. It was a surprise for all the spectators, for she did not even fight, but fled the scene. It was a shock to the media! Rumors say that many gamblers lost hundreds of millions of yen because of her sudden absence from the final match. Regardless, now we interview-''
Ichika couldn't take it any longer and threw the remote with all his might towards the TV. The screen broke, as to be expected, but the TV also fell down from the wall. The power of the throw was so powerful that it just crashed on the floor. Because of the noise, a nurse hurriedly walked into the room. She, however, soon turned back as she could feel a dangerous tread around her body as she looked at Ichika. He was fuming with anger. Ichika was gritting his teeth so hard that they might just break if he gritted any harder than that. Killing intent could be seen in his eyes. Ichika's eyes pierced the nurse as she could soon feel that she might just faint there and there. The nurse had never seen such fury in a person before. Ichika didn't look like a boy at that moment. He looked like a monster.
(A Few days later)
The incident haunted Ichika all the time, especially during the nights and he had trouble to sleep. The reason was not that the kidnapping incident was a particularly scary experience for him. Of course, sometimes Ichika would feel bit paranoid but he reasoned that he wouldn't be any use for any shadowy organization since he had nothing to offer them, although Ichika could be used as a bait against his sister. It seemed that he was the source of her strength - and weakness. After time went on, Ichika wanted vengeance against those who had kidnapped him. He wanted to go after those who made his sister forfeit the match. Chifuyu wasn't there to help him to solve this case. She had busied herself by going to Germany to train a certain girl for a full year. It seemed that Ichika wasn't going to see his sister for a long time. Germany had found about Ichika's kidnapping and in exchange for intel, Chifuyu promised to train a girl for Germany. And Germany desperately needed a good IS pilot. For great power, they had not yet gotten a very good pilot, which was embarrassing. Germany's great power status might disappear if nothing was done. Chifuyu hadn't bothered to get a nanny or someone to look over Ichika, which certainly was quite neglective on her part since she usually took great care of Ichika and wouldn't leave Ichika to his own devices because he was only a young boy. Perhaps, she thought that this was a formative experience for Ichika - to leave him to take care of himself and not to rely all the time on his sister.
The days spent alone didn't bother Ichika. Before that incident, Chifuyu had constantly been away from home. After all, she was the world's most famous IS user and she was busy all the time. Sure, Chifuyu tried her best to keep attention to her little brother but it was still rather difficult for a young woman like her to take care of herself and Ichika ever since their parents abandoned them when they were children. But the thing that kept pressing Ichika's mind was the kidnapping incident. He was still furious about his failure. How he failed his sister. After some consideration (as a 10-year-old boy he spent probably a single moment thinking about it) Ichika decided to act and find about those who might've kidnapped him. Perhaps then he might be more useful to his sister. Certainly, having Chifuyu here to help him would be most helpful but Ichika thought that it would be more maturing for him to solve this case himself.
Ichika put his brain to work. First, he started by thinking about the purpose of the kidnapping. ''It was done in order to lure Chifuyu away from her final match. There was no other reason. Right?'' Ichika spun this fact around in his head. ''Perhaps they would have transferred me to some other place where I would be lost and then die?'' Ichika continued in his head. Ichika proceeded to abandon these thoughts from his head. For, if that was the case, they would have tortured him also, which didn't happen. Had it been for research purposes, the people behind his kidnapping would've already put him in a lab than to a cell. Finally, Ichika came to the conclusion that there was no other reason than to make her sister lose the final match, which made him angry. Ichika pondered about the fact that who might've benefited the most from Chifuyu's defeat.
''There were dozens of contenders in Mondo Grosso, how on Earth can I figure that out?'' Ichika thought. He was sure that all the nation's from the previous Mondo Grosso were quite sore from their defeats at the hands of Chifuyu. Some of them must have conspired in order the get her to lose the finals. It would certainly be very embarrassing for the rest of the world to be defeated by Japan for the 2nd time. For Ichika it was obvious that not all nations wouldn't have resorted to such means - to kidnap a child in order to defeat an opponent - but some nations certainly are ruthless. Ichika knew little about politics. To be fair, much had changed ever since Tabane Shinonono revealed her invention, Infinite Stratos, to the world. The old elite - mostly elderly men - had been replaced by the elite of women (at least to some extent). It was hard to keep up with the everchanging world. By doing some research Ichika concluded that one of the superpowers or the great powers might have been behind his kidnapping. The Internet told him that usually great powers were more ruthless in their means to achieve their goals so it might be the case regarding his kidnapping as well. Ichika's trail of thought suddenly halted.
dangerous to women ever since the invention of IS. Clearly, those people didn't realize that not all women wear IS suits at all times.
After formulating ideas on how to defeat his opponent, Ichika started thinking about how he could even reach Alicia Josestof. If her home country was Italy and she lived there as well, there was no way Ichika could ever reach her.
''Well, I suppose I could just buy an airplane ticket, right?'' Ichika thought. Then a thought went across his mind. How can a child like him even go to an airplane without anyone noticing that he had no parents with him or someone else supervising him? Then people would become suspicious of him - or might just catch him immediately send him back home after noticing that he was a child traveling alone. Then another arose as well. A trip to Italy, probably to Rome, since that was where all the big shots lived, would cost a lot. For some reason, ticket prices are still quite expensive. Japan was also much farther than, let's say, another European country. A one-way ticket would probably cost tens of thousands of yen. And a ticket back would also cost an equal amount of money. Ichika would also have to find a place to stay like a hotel. Sure, there were dirt cheap hotels even in Rome but they are located in unfavorable faraway places, which was inconvenient for traveling across the city.
''Besides, will the receptionist even take me in because I am underage?''
It was uncommon to see a child renting a room or something. Ichika also pondered if he was in legal age to even make such huge transactions to pay for his expenses. What he had heard, some countries considered huge payments (like over $500) null and void if they were made by a minor. Though, in most cases, the transaction would be nullified if the parent intervened and demanded nullification. He wasn't sure how it was like here in Japan. The greatest problem was still ahead. Where could he even get such sums of money? At first, people would think that he should just ask his older sister for money. Sure, she had money to spare but of course, she would immediately ask where he would use the money for, etc. because Chifuyu didn't want Ichika to get used to some extravagant lifestyle and become a lazy person. And Ichika didn't want to be more of a burden than he already was. And Ichika definitely didn't want to state the true reason to her for why he wanted money - to hunt down her Mondo Grosso opponent. It seemed that getting money from Chifuyu was out of the question. There remained only one way to get money - to get employed. But who would even employ a 10-year old boy - was it even legal in this country? This wasn't some third world country like some Asian mainland neighbors of Japan - but there was a shortage of some young workforce here in Japan. Ever since feminism had reached its maximum heights since the invention of IS, the birth rates had dropped to even lower numbers than already were - abysmally low. The future workforce would be too small to sustain a country like Japan with a rapidly growing old population. Apparently, this phenomenon was widespread in other developed countries. Ichika decided that he should get a part-time job - it probably won't have a good salary (because it's part-time) but at least he could also focus on his studies. One good thing about being a young middle-schooler was the low difficulty of studies. They didn't teach very difficult subjects to kids as old Ichika was, so he didn't have to actually put much effort into his studies during his free time. Ichika could easily learn just attending the lessons and doing the homework, which was effortless for him. This made it possible for him to take a part-time job without it actually having any effect on his studies. Reflecting on his current and future situation, Ichika seemed to be pleased with himself. He would get a job even if he was too young. Exploiting the young workforce wasn't anything new here in Japan.
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CHANGE LOCATION
Few weeks later)
After his school day had ended, Ichika had declined the requests of his friends - including his female friend Rin, who seemed to be infatuated with him - to hang out with them after school. He had rather unusual plans for a boy of his age. To seek a job.
''Playing video games is dull anyways'' Ichika tried to think about that sentence over and over again in his head so he wouldn't be too sad that he couldn't play video games with his best friend Dan Gotanda tonight. Achieving the goals he had set was much more important. Ichika forgot one detail when he was planning his schedule - meaning how he was supposed to balance school, work and hanging out with friends. He also had to train his combat abilities. After all, even after gathering the money he needed, confronting his enemy without any skill was suicidal and useless. Ichika didn't want to spend an extra year or even more just training after he had gathered the money. Chifuyu would possibly arrive back. She must not know about his plans. Hopefully, something might delay her return. Maybe Ichika could convince her by saying something like 'you can give your protege some extra training' or something like that in order to prolong her stay in Germany. Ichika's only option remained. He had to completely cut off his friends from the schedule.
''I can hang out with them in the future'' Ichika thought simultaneously thinking about the fact that his friends might abandon him if he ignored them for too long during that period. Now Ichika had to formulate some training regimen in order to increase his fighting skills and his physical prowess. Naturally, kendo was going to be part of the training. He was natural with the shinai and the sword like Chifuyu. In fact, she fights with a sword when using IS. So, swords weren't obsolete yet.
For days Ichika had spent his time looking for a job. It was now apparent to him how difficult it really was to find a job. Some jobs descriptions that clearly told that he was unfit to do such work such as a construction worker, which was probably illegal for him to even do, even if he had quite the physical strength for his age but he wasn't an adult yet. It must be noted that he hadn't even received any job interviews either. Now Ichika really understood why the media constantly talked about the high youth unemployment or about the high levels of unemployment in general. For many people, it was simply impossible to get a job - especially job that they would actually like. Ichika pondered and realized quickly that putting his real age on the CV wasn't probably the best choice of action. Ichika had learned by researching on the internet that sometimes people would leave out their age so that the employers wouldn't do age discrimination - this was clearly for older people rather for young people like Ichika. This certainly didn't work as he expected. Ichika had managed to get an interview. He was even certain that he would get a job now. Usually getting an interview was a promising sign. Much to his disappointment, the employer immediately started laughing and thinking this interview was just a joke. This was clearly a rejection. Ichika tried to even convince the employer with his Orimura glare with no avail.
While incredibly embarrassing experience for Ichika, the rejection did not deter Ichika. He had to find a job at all costs or his mission would be doomed. At this point, Ichika started to think that he might finally have to get a job at a retirement home. He had tried to avoid going there as much as he could but now it seemed that there were no other options.
''Goddamn it'' Ichika shouted angrily. He rarely cussed - a trait instilled by Chifuyu. Ichika started to think about the humiliation he might be put to endure in the future. At the retirement homes, it was common that even children were employed in order to keep some company to the elderly people. Ichika knew that he had to pretend to be some cute little boy. Yes, Ichika knew that he's a young child but he had to behave like he was some 5-year-old boy. Usually, the ways children tried to keep the old people entertained was to organize some games between old people. Usually, they did not work very well because, well, the old people were playing them. Sometimes, multiple children formed some groups in order to entertain old people. Ichika had heard about this from Rin, who had done something like this a few times (for fun apparently with her friends). Ichika clearly wasn't an energetic person like Rin. It's not like he would invite Dan to keep company. Even Dan wouldn't do things as ridiculous as that for money. Luckily for Dan, he was employed by their own restaurant. It was nothing impressive. Ichika had, in fact, asked about being employed there but there were enough employees. Dan's little sister Ran was certainly disappointed that Ichika couldn't be employed by Gatanda Family. Because he was still unemployed (not usually a bad thing for a person of his age, of course, but his situation was different), Ichika had more time to invest in training. Ichika had a lot of time to train after school since the days weren't particularly long, so until he managed to get a job, Ichika had to spend time honing his fighting skills and trying to live by a strict training regimen invented by his strict Chifuyu-nee.
It was certainly very convenient that there were many retirement homes nearby. After all, there were so many retired people in Japan that there was a serious shortage of retirement homes. They were almost around every corner.
''Too bad they can't live in their own homes but then again it employs me, so why should I complain?'' Ichika thought about the job he was soon about to get and the annoying thoughts started to creep into his head. Some final whispers of reason tried to prevent him from getting this job. The job would be no fun for Ichika that much was clear. Would the pay even be good, since there were so many retirement homes and many employees, the salary must be quite low as well? As Ichika was stepping into the retirement home's building, he hesitated. Ichika started to look around for places that might offer employment as a last ditch effort to avoid going to this dreaded place.
''Wait'' Ichika suddenly noticed as he glanced across the street. He actually hadn't gotten properly familiarized with this neighborhood so the place across the street immediately caught his attention. A massage parlor. That provoked Ichika's interest. Doing a massage wasn't an unfamiliar thing for Ichika. A year ago he started doing massages for his sister. What he knew, he was eerily good at it. At least, that was what Ichika knew from the moans and screams of his sister when he put his magic hands to work and had his hand all of Chifuyu's body. Who would've known that a 10-year-old would be that good at massage? Ichika was so good, in fact, he would probably become a highly professional masseur if he kept doing it. However, it was certainly understandable that Ichika would do something like for his own sister whom he had known for his whole life. Now, he had to do a massage to a complete stranger. It's quite likely that his onee-san wouldn't approve him touching other women the way he had touched her. (That came out wrong.) At this point, disapproval from his sister didn't matter to Ichika anymore because he wanted a damn job at all costs that didn't require taking care of the old people. Immediately, Ichika decided to walk across the road which was full of cars with people eager to go to their own workplaces. Jaywalking was frowned upon here in Japan but Ichika didn't care, hell it might even illegal in some places, because now he had to go to the place that might offer him at least some remaining shreds of hope. Ichika swiftly crossed the street, dodging cars with ease because of the training he had.
Like all the massage parlors, the entrance looked, to put it mildly, very inviting, indeed. The entrance stood out from the rest of the building that was why Ichika recognized it so well. The parlor had an impressive facade. The place looked perhaps too good considering the neighborhood it was located at. Ichika assumed that it might have been here because many people didn't live here or this was a rather quiet place if the occasional traffic was ignored. Considering the luxurious appearance of the massage parlor, Ichika started to think that it would be very unlikely that he would be employed by the parlor. He was quite sure that the massage parlor already had enough professional masseurs, so why would Ichika be even needed? While having these thoughts in his head, Ichika stepped into the parlor. The interior wasn't like Ichika had expected. The facade had literally been just a facade. It was nowhere near luxurious as he had expected. Still, the place was very inviting for a customer and Ichika was certain that no common folk probably attended this place. It's not like many people took a massage anyway. Usually, a place like this might invite other kinds of people like some perverts Chifuyu had told Ichika about. Maybe she said that so Ichika wouldn't ever consider becoming a masseur. His onee-san was too much of a bro-con to ever let her little brother touch other women - aside his future wife, whoever that would be. Then again, Ichika was quite a sis-con since he was literally hunting his onee-san's former opponent.
There were really not many job opportunities for men in the new age. Sure, Ichika had many capabilities, such as physical prowess (especially for his age) and very high intelligence (that explains his unrivaled success in school), but would women just ruin his future career opportunities? Maybe Ichika's onee-san might be able to help but he didn't want to rely on her all the time. Ever since the rise of the IS, women had managed to force their way to get better job opportunities, especially in higher-paying jobs, which was certainly discouraging for men. Though men had traditionally been very dominant in the private sector of the economy, such as, as leaders of many companies or just as a normal salary worker, now their numbers have been dwindling by the years. Clearly, this might result in an economic disaster if this kept going on because entrepreneurship, which was crucial for a growing economy, had drastically reduced among the male population. There weren't enough incentives to become an entrepreneur or work at all, in general. One good thing about becoming a masseur was that it was not replaceable by robots. Women still wanted actual men (and/or women) to touch their bodies (yes, even in that way), so robots weren't a threat to Ichika in this industry. Also, being a masseur paid well. However, getting a very good salary from this kind of job required men to do something more for the women, which Ichika was clearly not aware of. Indeed, this kind of industry did have another kind of industry under it - prostitution. Sure, Ichika was a pretty boy and he would certainly look very handsome once he was an adult (the girls, such as Rin, were ogling him at school) but hopefully Ichika didn't have to be so desperate in the future to choose such a career. It would certainly be very pathetic if he was compared to his sister's illustrious career. While having many thoughts in his head, Ichika continued walking towards the reception and waited for one of the employees or better, the employer, to come to talk with him. Ichika had to wait a while. The receptionist sure took her time before she finally arrived at the reception.
''A-a boy in here? What does he want?'' The female receptionist wondered.
'Is he even a customer? A boy needing a massage was something I've never heard about.'' The receptionist continued wondering about the odd situation she had just found herself. She saw a boy in front of him at the reception. He seemed to be very nervous. Perhaps, he was asking for a massage for someone else's behalf? Maybe he was doing the reservation because the other person didn't bother to come here herself?
''W-why are y-you here? And WHO are you?'' The receptionist finally asked. Awkwardness could be heard in her voice.
Ichika, at first, looked at her nervously, even glancing left and right which looked weird from receptionist's perspective because of the small level of anxiety he could feel. Ichika soon brushed away these feelings and regained his confidence to finally answer the receptionist's questions and to ask questions. With determination in his eyes and confidence in his voice.
''I'm Orimura Ichika. And I'm here looking for a job.'' The receptionist's eyes soon widened because of his words.
''Yes, you heard me right. I'm looking for a job.'' Ichika continued even with more confidence and determination remaining in his eyes.
He stared at the receptionist waiting for a response, his gaze piercing through her. Time to put his Orimura abilities to use.
The receptionist for some apparent reason just blushed. This made Ichika feel weird since he hadn't seen woman react like that to him.
''A handsome boy looking at me... like that?'' The receptionist thought. Apparently, Ichika didn't know that his gaze could be interpreted in other ways.
''How old even is he? He looks like 13-14 years old.'' She wondered with a small blush on her face because of Ichika's gaze.
Yes, Ichika looked quite old for his age. One explanation was maybe his genes - even Ichika vaguely remembers Chifuyu looking like a young woman in her middle school years, so he might have gotten the same genes - but another reason was his physical training. He looked very toned, which made him look much older than his peers. Perhaps, that could help him get employed but usually, even 13-14-year-old children weren't employed. The receptionist finally continued speaking, which finally stopped the atmosphere from turning even more awkward than it already was.
''Umm... I don't think we employ men as young as you are even if someone resigned just a week ago. Hell, we don't employ men in general.''
May I ask why don't hire men? I do understand why the age would be an issue, though.'' Ichika answered.
''What I know, the boss just considers men to be perverts or something. She has probably had bad experiences with men. So she just refuses to hire men.'' The receptionist answered with a sigh.
''However, many customers have demanded male masseurs.'' She added.
Ichika's eyes lit up from her statement. Perhaps, the demand from customers might make the boss accept male masseurs since even she had to listen to what her customers said. When Ichika was trying to ask another question, the female boss walked to the reception. Ichika had no idea if she'd been there for the duration he'd spoken with the receptionist or had she just arrived here.
''Ara ara. Do we have a boy here?'' The boss remarked with an arrogant smirk.
''I guess young boy like you is here for perverted reasons like all other men.'' She added with arrogance still being present.
Ichika frowned at her statement. He was no damn pervert. Right? His sister had made sure of that. Having a brother like that would be an embarrassment. When Chifuyu came to his mind, Ichika had an idea.
''Maybe telling them that I am her brother, would impress them?'' Ichika wondered as the boss started to giggle at Ichika.
For a woman in her thirties, she sounded like an obnoxious high school girl with her giggling.
''I am not sure if you might care but I am Orimura Ichika. Orimura Chifuyu's, the Brunhilde's, little brother.'' Ichika said in a loud voice, though without shouting, and with confidence.
The boss stopped her laugh. And the receptionist just stood there stunned. She had missed the part where Ichika had mentioned his name just a few moments ago. The boss looked at him with a serious look on her face. Her face soon turned into a surprised expression as Ichika's appearance was undeniably very similar to Chifuyu (like a male version of her so to speak). Ichika's gaze was also identical to that of Chifuyu. Her gaze had been recorded by the media during the matches against her opponents, so Chifuyu's gaze was certainly known worldwide. The gaze was not famous for being a nice kind of gaze, remind you.
''EEEEEHHHH~ THE BRUNHILDE'S BROTHER?'' The boss shouted.
The exclamation made by the woman made Ichika regret that he had not used this tactic before. Oh well, at least, it worked now. Perhaps, he would've already gotten a job. It was also odd how nobody had previously reacted to seeing his name on the CV. It wasn't like his surname was very common. Then again, many employers didn't take a good look at Ichika. Clearly, they should have. The woman's loud exclamation made other women around the parlor flock to the reception. Oh boy, he was going to have one hell of an audience around him. Luckily, it wasn't all the women in the parlor, though. Many were still, well, having a massage so it would be stupid to just pause the massage for one guy's sake. But those who were waiting around near the reception heard the exclamation made by the boss. The reception was separated by thin walls from the waiting rooms, which made it easy to here. Ichika couldn't fathom why there even where waiting rooms.
''Maybe the place was busy and the massages didn't last long?'' Ichika wandered about the layout of the parlor as the women were starting to surround him.
''Wait?! Her brother is here?'' One woman exclaimed.
''Is he here for getting a massage for the Brunhilde?'' Another one added at the same time trying to have a look at Ichika.
All kinds of women were surrounding Ichika with all kinds of questions in their heads. Ichika was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable when so many women were getting near him. Luckily for Ichika, he was taller than these women.
Average height of Japanese women is not very impressive compared to Westerners, hell even Chifuyu is only 165 cm tall (5.4 feet), and Ichika is taller than her, over 170 cm (≈5.58 feet) currently as a 10-year-old boy, though he is exceptionally tall for his age because his puberty has started early - a year ago. (In the anime and light novels he's 174 cm or 5.7 feet tall)
''I'm not here for getting a massage for Chifuyu-nee,'' Ichika said. Women were confused because of his statement (well, except the receptionist).
''She is not even in Japan at the moment,'' Ichika added. Women were surprised as they thought that Chifuyu would still be in Japan. It had not been too long since the Mondo Grosso Tournament, after all.
''I am not going to say where she is or why she is away. I'm not allowed to tell you.'' Ichika continued. Disappointment could be seen in women's faces. Some of them probably thought that Chifuyu would come here in a few days if she had a massage here.
''Well, could you recommend us for her then at least?'' The boss had finally opened her mouth. Certainly, having the Brunhilde here would bring this place a lot of publicity - and revenue - so it wasn't a surprise that she would ask this. She hoped that Chifuyu would come there when she returned from abroad.
''We've had IS users come to us before. I guarantee our service will be more than satisfactory.'' The boss continued enthusiastically and trying to persuade Ichika with an annoying smirk on her face.
''She doesn't require a massage from any of you. I massage her myself!'' Ichika stated with confidence with images of Chifuyu during one of their massage sessions popping into Ichika's mind. Silence followed his surprising statement.
''EEEEEEHHH? Brunhilde's little brother MASSAGES her?!'' All women screamed in confusion.
''Damn, this hurts my ears.'' Was the only thing Ichika could think of. Suddenly, much to Ichika's confusion, women started to blush for some reason.
''Fufufu. Chifuyu gets her massages from her little brother.'' The boss exclaimed with excitement.
''Ara ara. Who would've thought that her brother pleases her every night?'' The receptionist said.
Women blushed even harder as they heard the woman say that. Ichika had no idea what they meant.
''I guess that's the reason why she still doesn't have a boyfriend or a husband.'' Another one added.
''She has her brother!'' She continued giggling. Some of the women started to have nosebleeds as their thoughts became more indecent and their imagination started to run wild.
''Ehehe~. Forbidden sibling loveeee~!'' One of the women exclaimed loudly.
''Who would've known that she's a big shotacon? She is 18 years old, right? And he's....'' Another one added.
''What's wrong with these women all of a sudden?'' Ichika was very confused about women's behavior.
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TO BE CONTINUED