A Love to Start a War (Class of '09/Infinite Stratos)

Warning: Due to this fanfic being a crossover involving Class of '09, heavy themes like drug abuse, bullying, gender abuse (both misogynist and misandrist), abuse of authority, pedophilia, terrorism, and other related issues will be mentioned and constantly made fun of.

Class of '09 belongs to SBN3. Infinite Stratos belongs to Izuru Yumizuru.

---

Prologue: A Girl and Her Portable Nuke.

So, where should I start this...? Right!

Once upon a time, there was this crazy scientist bitch from Japan who watched too much Gundam or whatever the Transformers were called there. She tried to present her ideas to the egghead community; the biggest among them was the Infinite Stratos. An individual suit that worked for both astronaut shit and battle suit at the same time. Awesome, right?

Well, the eggheads told her her idea was retarded and told her to fuck off and never return. Gotta hand it to the bitch; she didn't give up. She simply went to her lab and improved her portable nuke for when the time was right.

Then one morning, some crazy fuckhead managed to somehow hack every single ICBM and nuke across the world and sent them to destroy Japan, probably because of the tentacle porn or some shit. But just when the apocalyptic load would erase anime forever, a genuine robot came out of nowhere and destroyed every single missile landing on target, not even radioactive crap. The White Knight, on its own, single-handedly saved Japan from a nuclear apocalypse.

You couldn't make that shit up unless you were Japanese and/or on drugs.

So how do the governments of the world thank the pilot? By hunting her down like a dog. Needless to say, they failed horribly. Their only silver lining was that nobody died in the manhunt, which only made the military even more scared.

Then suddenly, the scientist from before hacked the main news and took credit for creating the White Knight, which was actually the prototype of the Infinite Stratos 2.0.

Of course, every government shat their pants when Dr. She-Evil also announced she had hundreds of the new robots ready to be sent for free to every nation in the world, even those which weren't recognized by the UN. Thankfully for the old overlords, the IS wouldn't be used as weapons after the Alaska Treaty, but everybody with half a brain knows it won't last forever. Thanks, Obama.

And since only women could use those strip-war machines, there have been claims of sudden female dominance, that instead of dicks slapping cunts for making their chicken cold, it was the other way around.

Well, those guys don't know shit!

I didn't feel like my life changed for the better. It didn't stop the many stepfathers my mom had from being dickheads, not that she was any better; it didn't stop my piece-of-shit gamer brother from trying to groom underage girls across the internet, and it sure as hell didn't stop our dumb countrymen from voting for a pedophile and rapist who was famous on TV.

Anyway, I wasn't that caring about all the above; I was just pissed at my family. After having to move and move again, I had finally found a place where we stood for two years, but then that fat degenerate shithead got us evicted for pirating awful breaktape mixes, and I wanted nothing to do with moving to another state again.

I said, "Fuck you, I'm living with Dad." He's just a neighborhood down. I put the boxes down, go over, knock on the door, and…

BOOM! A gunshot! My second Christmas killed himself! The floor was drenched in blood everywhere, and his suicide note was stuck on the fridge with a Cookie Monster magnet. All he wrote on it was, "Nicole's fault."

I'm Nicole, by the way. Hi. WHAT THE FUCK DID I DO TO HIM!?

Anyway, I was pissed. I was going to leave again, but I wanted to stay away as much as I could, and I landed in the local mall, where some blonde bitch with a purse was busy talking about whatever rich hos liked to talk about, cocksure nothing bad would ever happen to her.

So I stole that bitch's purse. And I had to run away because she was a psychopath who pulled out a gun and tried to kill me. Just as I put my hand in the purse to see what she had before she killed me, my wrist caught something, and in a flash of light, I was armored with a legit IS. The psycho took a look at me, looked at the purse, and then ate her gun.

Great, two suicides in one day. Go Nicole.

Only then did I really realize I had a genuine Infinite Stratos in my hands. I could think of how many ways I could force my mom to remain here and become even more popular. Or…

I asked my robot if I could blow up all the Xbox consoles of the state as a fuck you to the fat fuck. The IS made a sort of magic EMP bomb, and suddenly lots of explosions covered the mall, and it didn't take much time until the news covered the 'Xboxcide' I caused. I felt that finally, nothing could stop me.

Sadly, it was then when the National Guard arrived, alongside the current USA IS Representative, and I didn't last ten seconds before I was shipped right into the Pentagon. There I was told that the blonde psycho I robbed was an agent of a terrorist group called Phantom Task, apparently some misandrist/neo-Nazi outfit that has been stealing robots all over the world ever since the IS became common knowledge. Then the MIB gave two options: either I enroll in the Infinite Stratos Academy in fucking Japan or spend the rest of my days in Guantanamo.

No shit. I choose Anime Land School.

I spent the next three months doing a crash course on how to control the war machine I stole and learning enough Japanese to not make an ass of myself. It was drilled in my head that while I could act like myself there, I had to win every time I was dragged to a duel; otherwise, I would be sharing a cell with angry Muslims surrounded by angry white guys who were surrounded by angry Cubans, so it was do or die, or just die.

So here I am, in a glorified boot camp for gladiator games made for horndogs and psychopaths, already warned that most of my future classmates were of questionable sanity at best, where teachers are allowed to beat the crap out of the students because that's the only way the future gladiatrixes won't try to destroy the world just because their boyfriends cheated on them or their favorite celebrity lost the Grammys again.

Oh, and suddenly a guy could pilot one of those robots too, and I was encouraged to get close to him to learn whatever secret allowed him to pilot the robots. For the Greater Good my ass…

They want a bitch to entertain themselves. Tough shit, I will give them a war.

AN: Decided to post this fic of mine here too, mostly to get the hang on how things work here for an eventual dip for plots too NSFW for SB. Regardless, please read and review.

Chapter 1: The Beautiful People

First day in the Infinite Stratos Academy, and I'm already hating this place. One thing was being forced to wear uniforms again in an age where it was getting outdated outside of Catholic churches, but it also had those short skirts too. There must be some pedo involved in the ISA staff.

Anyway, we had to go to a train station where we took the trip towards the island where the ISA was situated, and we all had to wear the uniform if we wanted to get inside. I almost lost an empty space because I had to spend five minutes in the public bathroom doing an emergency change of clothes. Anyway, I was inside, looking to see if I could get a chance to at least have a quick smoke when some boy with a modified ISA uniform arrived at my space.

"Excuse me, can I sit here?" He asked.

"Fuck off, it's occupied."

"So is the rest of the train. You still have some seats free."

"If you're trying to get a date, you're failing miserably." He spluttered at my comment.

"What? No! I don't have plans to date anyone this soon."

I looked at his eyes. "Yeah, some boy in his teens getting inside in an all-girls won't get his dick hard at realizing the bounty he found himself in. Unless you're gay, of course."

"Well, there's a difference between sexual attraction and love. And I wasn't raised to abuse others." Well, this boy was less retarded than those back home if he recognized the difference.

"We shall see." I reply. "You can sit in front of me, but if you dare to do anything funny, you can say goodbye to your lineage."

"Thanks." He was scared of me, but took the seat anyway. "By the way, my name is Ichika."

"Did I fucking ask your name?" God, I really need that smoke.

"Are you always this mean?"

"I'm a sociopath; I cannot be not mean." The boy rolled his eyes.

"Self-diagnosis is harmful, you know?" He muttered to himself. So he did have something resembling a tongue.

"By the way, my name's Nicole." I decided to give him this win. "I hope we don't meet again."

I didn't realize it back then, but like Luigi, I won the first round by doing absolutely nothing.

---

Turns out, we both shared the same classroom, so unless either of us died or got expelled, we would be seeing each other for the three years the ISA enrolled its gladiatrixes. The big silver lining was that the island was fucking huge; thus it meant that once I found a supplier, I could get fucked up without getting caught by the teachers.

Anyway, I and Ichi Bitchy shared the 1-1 classroom, and it was full of weirdos. There was a girl wearing Pikachu-like pajamas, some samurai-looking bitch who I didn't know if she wanted to kill Ichika or jump his bones, and a Brit blonde ho who looked like a refugee from Candy Candy. That's without counting our teacher, Miss Yamada, who was a genuine green-haired dork with a massive track of lands, who was telling all of us to present ourselves to the rest of the class.

It was clear that our teacher was both a newbie and in dire need of getting laid.

The blonde, of course, carried herself like she was an especial envoy from the Queen herself; Pikachu barely stood up as she presented herself, and eventually it was my turn. I stood tall and looked my classmates in the eyes to dispel any bullshit about me.

"Hi, I'm Nicole Lovelock, IS Cadet Candidate of the USA. Frankly, I don't give a fuck about doing half-naked gladiator matches, but it was this or living with my fat pedophile brother and the bitch-whore of my mother for three more years, so here I am."

Needless to say, none of the students had anything to say. The teachers, on the other hand…

SMACK!

"OW! WHAT THE FUCK?!" I got my head pounded with a book!

"Language!" Someone who wasn't Green Gal shouted.

SMACK!

"What the shit?!"

SMACK!

"What the heck?!"

"Good enough." The big black-haired bitch finally left me be. "Now go to your seat. I hope the rest of your idiots know how to keep their mouths clean."
Suddenly, most of the classroom went screaming in delight, revealing the identity of the bitch who smacked me.

"KYAAAAAAAA! IT'S REALLY CHIFUYU-SAMA!"

"OH MY GOSH! I CAME…" Wait, what? "… ALL THE WAY FROM KITAYUSHU TO SEE YOU!"

"I'm so happy you will teach me, Chifuyu-sama~."

"I WILL DIE FOR YOU!"

Jesus, these girls were thirsty. At least Orimura the big bitch seemed to share my distaste for her fangirls, given she called them idiots to their faces. Anyway, the reason the first Brunhilde was here was because she and Yamada would spend the first semester teaching us the basics of IS combat and engineering, followed by kinesthetic training (read: don't drop your ass).

I think for most of my classmates, they were imagining Chifuyu smacking their butts for talking dirty to her instead of paying attention.

Now it was the turn of Orimura, the little bitch, to present himself.

"Hm… Well, I'm Orimura Ichika. It's nice to meet you all." There was a pause in the air. "That's all."

Everyone was murmuring if this was him trying to sound mysterious or if it was because he was being a dumbass.

"What the hell was that?!" His sister was of the latter opinion.

SMACK

He deserved that. Anyway, it was Samurai Bitch's turn.

"Hello, I am Shinonono Houki. I came here of my own will; I am ranked 2-dan in Kendo, and I aim to advance my rank next year. I also seek to improve my craft with the help of the Infinite Stratos, no matter how long it takes or the difficulties on my way. I'll be in your care and you on mine."

The girls clapped at Kendo girl, but something caught my attention. I checked my phone, and indeed, she was the sister of the lunatic who created the IS in the first place. I knew what to do.

"Shinonono? Shouldn't that be Shinonono-hime here?" I raised my hand.

"Eh…? Why?" Pikachu girl asked.

"Given that her sister is the current Master of all humanity, I'm sure that makes Kendo Girl her heir by default."

I could tell there was already steam coming out from her ears, and it wasn't because Orimura the Minor paid her a compliment. It was clear she had family issues back home.

"If you say anything more about me and that psycho," She glared at me. "I'll skewer you with my own shinai!"

"Guess I'm gonna die before Bitch Boy skewers you with his." The classmates either giggled or gasped in horror. The samurai bitch instead looked like she decided that right here, right now, I had to die.

SMACK

SMACK

Only for Orimura, the mayor was already smacking the killing intent away from both of us.

"If you two have an issue, then solve it in the arena." She said, then glared the rest into submission. "Now, can we please finish the presentation?"

---

The first class was simply the ABC of the Infinite Stratos for dummies, nothing I wasn't aware of thanks to those three fucking months in the Pentagon. Anyway, I noticed Shinonono was doing some gestures to Ichika to follow her, and so apparently a quarter of the school noticed too, given there was a horde of gossiping girls doing their best to stalk the pair talking on the rooftops.

"Oh right, I heard that you won the National Kendo Competition last year. Congratulations." Dude spoke. It was clear they knew each other long ago; otherwise, she wouldn't have blushed like a tomato for such a lame line.

"Oh my gosh, this is so romantic." Said some ho as we saw Princess asking how the hell Bitch Boy knew about her wood katana antics.

"Awww, he recognized her for her hair." Another bitch moaned.

"Oh my, they are childhood friends."

"Don't they always lose in romantic manga?"

"This is real life, bitch."

This was getting boring, so I pulled out my best Innocent Girl voice and acted like a drama queen. "Oh my gosh, just have sex already, you two!"

Princess immediately realized she was being watched, and check this, she pulled out a katana and jumped screaming, ready to make salami out of all the girls present.

"Houki, wait…!" But it was too late; she was already pursuing the onlookers who ran for dear life, while Bitch Boy followed her too. I stood behind and only decided to join once it was clear they wouldn't identify me.

Chapter 2: Can I Play With Madness?

By the next class, I could tell Kendo Princess failed to kill any of the classmates, given she wasn't expelled. I did take some satisfaction at seeing her with a black eye, courtesy of the IS inspectors. Thanks for the heads up, bitch. She also seemed to be trying to get away from the looks from everyone else, especially from Ichika.

Anyway, now it was time to talk about the legal issues regarding the use of IS machines, which meant I couldn't use my own freely even if I graduated from this nuthouse, followed by the technical basics of the IS. The problem with the latter was that you were expected to have already read the big-ass book about the robots themselves before entering, something both I and Ichika learned with more book smacks to our heads and an order to memorize it the next week or else...

Anyway, Ms. Yamada offered herself to personally tutor Ichika so he doesn't get behind—cool teacher stuff. Although…

"Yes. Then, I'll leave it to sensei after school." The newbie teacher was blushing at Lil' Orimura's acceptance.

"After-after school… a teacher together with a student, two people alone after school… Ah! No, no, Orimura-kun. Sensei will be very weak when she's forced… and this is my first time with a guy…" Wait, is the teacher horny for Ichika too? "How—However, if it's Orimura-sensei's younger brother, then…"

Fuuuuuuuuuuuck.

Anyway, leaving behind that apparently Ms. Yamada is a pedophile, at the end of the day we were informed by the Brunhilde that in two weeks we had to choose a Class Representative, who would be representing us in the Interclass Tournament(s) and act as president of the class. And lo and behold, almost all the girls nominated Ichika on the grounds of being a 'cute boy.'

"I DO NOT APPROVE OF THIS!" The blonde Brit wasn't amused. "This type of selection is unacceptable!"

"That's democracy for you. Oh wait, you're a Redcoat. Never mind." I muttered, but the posh girl pushed on.

"It would be shameful to have a boy as our Class Representative!" Hey, he may be good piloting that thing, not. "You can't possibly expect that I, Cecilia Alcott, to live up with that sort of humiliation for an entire year!"

"What a whiny brat." I muttered louder, but she was still ranting. How much of an insufferable bitch Alcott was if I wanted to punch her face despite agreeing with her?!

"In terms of ability, it's obvious that I should be the class representative. But it'll be troubling if some rare Far East monkey is to be chosen because he is a rare breed!" Okay, what the fuck? Who sent KKK Thatcher here? "I came to this island country to nurture my IS skills, not to become part of some circus act!"
Blah, blah, blah. Alcott just seemed to be going on with her rant; the only reason I didn't fall asleep was that I suspect Ms. Orimura was looking for an excuse to smack any poor bitch who didn't pay attention, given this was Alcott offering herself as a candidate as classroom president after all.

"…Not only that, I have defeated an instructor during the entrance exam. Making me an elite among the elite!" And now you gave phantom pains from the psycho I had as an instructor. Thanks a lot, you bitch.

"I defeated an instructor too." Ichika finally replies, and I have to admit that was one hell of a way to blow her winds away.

"Come again? Did I hear that right? You defeated an instructor too?" Her 'WTF' face was worth the wasted minutes in this nonsense. "B-but, I heard that I was the only one."

"They might have meant you're the only female." Or that British intelligence sucks. "Besides, your country doesn't have many things to brag about. How many years has it been now that England has won the World's Worst Cuisine Award?" Okay, that was a good one, Ichika. Although I'm surprised the both of you forgot Gordon Ramsay exists.

"THIS CALLS FOR A DUEL!" See?

Anyway, first day and people were calling for blood in the ISA-approved ways. Isn't that right, Shinomnomnom?

I tried to doze off the banter between Lil' Orimura and Lady Di away. Apparently you could duel others either on foot or on IS, given that even other Cadet Candidates didn't get theirs ready to fight before the first two weeks.

Yeah… I'm sticking with my IS for those.

"And if you ever lose to me on purpose, I promise you to make you my servant. No, I shall make you my slave!"

"Is that even legal here?" I asked, but nobody paid attention. There was some back and forth I didn't care to pay attention to until…

"No, I'm asking how much of a handicap I should give you." Dude, couldn't you figure out a humiliating condition for her if you did win?

Anyway, the duel was settled for next Monday at Arena 3. It was clear we would get either a limp dick or a classist bitch as our president for the rest of the year at least. I checked the manual if classroom coups were legal here, just in case.

---

Finally, this fucking day was over.

While most students received their keys for their new rooms around lunchtime (the latter actually being decent compared with America's average school lunch), some bureaucratic cock-up ensured that I had to wait until almost night to get my own room. I was told that everyone had a roommate minimum, even Ichika, until they build a male-appropriate room and no other male IS pilot reveals himself.

"Room 709. I can finally relax…" I ungraciously opened the door. "Oh for fuck's sake!"

"What are you doing here?!" I was greeted by Cecilia Alcott, with her entire rich bitch shit taking over the entire apartment!

"I should be asking you why the fuck you have a big bed over there!" I asked, pointing at the mammoth-sized bed at the center. "Aren't you supposed to have a roommate like everyone else?"

"Well, I wasn't told I would be sharing a room with an insufferable peon like yourself."

"Hey, I'm the USA Cadet Candidate. Which means we're on the same level in the pecking order."

"At least that male primate commoner defeated his instructor like I did, even if it was a fluke." Lady Di replies. "So unless you also defeated yours, then it's clear where our stations lie."

"What I did to end here is none of your fucking business." Yeah, did she manage to get a terrorist and her own dad to kill themselves? I don't think so. "So, would you kindly put that waste of bed sheets away and bring back my own fucking bed?"

"I think not." Alcott smirked. "Have a fun night, Septic peasant."

Oh, this bitch is going down.

I had to unpack my things next to the only available couch, which would be my bed for the foreseeable future. Given I have a snob cunt next to me, I can't even get high without her snitching me as one last insult. There was music, but Alcott was probably the type of rich bitch who thought The Beatles were music for hooligans and hobos.

So there I was, trying to get some sleep, hearing from the other rooms either gossiping hens, bitchy gamers, lesbian sex, and/or the IS boy turning into a whipping boy.

"Houki, it was an accident…!"

SMACK

What an awful start to the year, ladies and the only "gentleman."

Chapter 3: I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles

First thought of the day: couches are shit beds. No wonder it is the favorite punishment of most wives everywhere for their deadbeat husbands.

Second thought of the day: Cold turkey sucks; I needed to find a place for a quick smoke if I wanted to function normally.

Third thought of the day: Cecilia Alcott is a cunt, and I must find a way to get rid of her so I can have a normal bed (minimum) for the rest of the year.

Fourth thought of the day: FUCK! First class is in 30 minutes!

Normally I would have tried to skip class like sometimes I did back in America, but watching a video of Shinonono getting the shit kicked out of her by the IS instructors last night and the gaze of Big Orimura pierced in my skull made me think I better act as the ideal student… at least in the 'no skipping class' part. I'm sure there will be a time and place where I can skip in this big fuck-off island.

Anyway, I had to take a quick bath, put on my uniform, get a snack for breakfast, and run as far as I could before the teachers whipped my ass again.

"You were almost late, Lovelock." Ms. Orimura said just as I almost landed into the door.

"But I did arrive in time." I panted.

"True. Now go to your seat." Around ten seconds after me, Ichika stumbled his way to the door, just as scared of his big sis as any sane person here should be.

Brunhilde wasn't amused. "Even Lovelock remembered to arrive in time; what's your excuse?"

"Well…"

SMACK!

Sucks to be you, Ichi boy.

Sadly, whatever joy I could have enjoyed was soured by the giggles coming from the Brit bitch I was sharing a room with. "Oh, how could a feeble boy stand a chance against me if he can't even arrive in time?"

"At least I didn't make a fortune robbing from the rest of the world." And Lil' Orimura suddenly regained his balls. I had to take advantage of this.

"Well, if everyone returned the stuff they stole before, then nobody would visit the British Museum. Not that there's much worth seeing there anyways."

"You…!"

"Knock it off, you three!" We were interrupted by Ms. Orimura. "Alcott, Orimura. You two already have a duel planned. Temper yourselves until then. Lovelock, whatever issues you have with Alcott, it can wait until you have a turn to challenge her."

"Sure, by then my back will be broken by the jewelry of the zombie Queen made by abused Indians and molested Africa…"

SMACK!

"OW!"

"Am I clear?"

"Yes, sensei…" I gritted my teeth. One of these days this bitch…

---

The morning classes finished without major incidents (read, less than five smacks directed to anyone who wasn't Ichika). There was a lesson about how (officially) there were only 467 IS machines available worldwide, partially because Dr. Evil Bunny didn't want to do more. Thus, the corporations and the main nations had their own pilots with their own personal IS, me and the Blonde Bitch included. Lil' Ichi would be made an exception as he was getting his own custom IS, mostly because that was the most ethical way to uncover how males could use IS suits too.

Anyway, I decided that lunchtime was a good time to find a place I could finally find a smoke. It's a big island; there must be some blind spots to slip by, right?

WRONG!

The entire fucking island was either patrolled by IS instructors, goonies of the Student Council and/or unmanned drones probably piloted by bored pedos jacking off in the mainland. There wasn't any place available among those the students were allowed to enter, and I was still testing the waters here, with so many potential school shooters around here.

Spoiler alert: I later entered an illegal place before the next Monday.

The only good things about this first trip were that a) I now had a general mental map of the entire ISA island and its shortcuts, and b) it turns out bathrooms were still havens if you wanted to skip classes and have some smoke in peace.

"Hey girls, what are you doing~" So long as the local blue-haired, red-eyed bitch didn't catch you in flagrante.

The girl must've been a big deal, given that the delinquents who were smoking ran as far as they did. Leaving me behind with Anime Stereotype number 2.

"Who the fuck are you again?" I said, cigarette at my mouth.

"Oh, where are my manners?" The arrogant blue-haired bitch said. "I am Sarashiki Tatenashi, Cadet Candidate of the Russian Federation, which in theory makes us enemies."

"Given the kid diddler I have as POTUS now, I highly doubt it." I reply.

"I am still waiting for your name."

"Names are for friends, so you won't get shit." I say to her.

"So the rumors about your crassness are true, aren't they, Nicole Lovelock?" The Blue-haired bitch says. "Or should I say, the 'Xbox Killer' ~?"

"What the fuck?" I spilled it out.

"Oh, I know Americans are too brazen for their own good, but stealing an IS from a terrorist agent? I would congratulate you if I didn't know it was all a fluke." She makes the anime pose of pondering something. "But what bugs me is why would they use the same terrorist suit and claim it as their own?"

"Not. Saying. Shit." I grit my teeth, preparing to activate my IS, consequences be damned.

RIIIIIIIIIIING!

"Well, time for me to go. I must prepare to become the new President of the Student Council. I will be seeing you~" She takes away my cigarette and leaves the bathroom. It takes me a while before I leave too.

As I ran my ass forward to the classroom again, two things were thought about this.

One: There must be some weird shit in Japan's water lately, for so many people appear with weird hair colors in the ISA. That, or there must be a very popular store in the city where the monorail is, where they sell hundreds of hair dyes.

Two: Tatenashi was a dangerous bitch, and she was going to be an important hazard I had to avoid or get rid of if I wanted to survive in this madhouse.

---

The days passed, and people were taking sides on the incoming duel for the 1-1 class president. Most were rooting for Ichika either because of 'cute boy' reasons or 'Nippon Uber Alles' reasons, while those who weren't deluded retards already considered Alcott had it in the bag and were already preparing the memes to take the piss on the male half of the population.

I had to find a way to make sure not only Alcott would lose the battle, but also that she gets fucked up so badly I will have the room for myself, with enough time to do some serious "redecoration."

There's a pawn shop back in the city, like the one from the History Channel, which I could use.

Anyway, I kept my ears open about what both sides were doing about it. First, there were rumors that Kendo Princess pretty much cockblocked any attempt from the other girls to get some "training session" with Lil' Orimura, which meant I had to go to either their room or the Kendo Club if I wanted to meet them.

A Japanese school has a Japanese sport club; what a shock.

There were also talks that Alcott was bringing some personal engineers to ensure her Blue Tears do not suffer some inconvenience before or during the duel against Orimura the Lesser. Apparently, the UK itself really wants to ensure that Lady Di gives Orimura the ass-kicking of the century, due to some dumb political bullshit I didn't care about.

Should I go to support the Jap kids, or should I find a way to fuck up Alcott where she least expects it?

Fuck it, I'll do both.

Chapter 4: Hey, I Don't Work Here!

When I arrived at where the Kendo club was, I was expecting it to be something like that one Gundam show where the robots were fighting with martial arts. Something like the IS pilots trying to smack each other silly, not with bamboo sticks, but with something like metal bamboos on fire or covered in electricity.

My disappointment was only equal to how mundanely boring the truth was.

There were just two jackasses hitting each other with bamboo sticks, wearing outdated armor that you could smell the old fossils who used it before them. And it wasn't even a good fight; one of them was clearly working their anger issues on the poor bastard they were using as a partner. Although it was funny enough for a YouTube video at least.

Eventually the fight ended, and both jerks pulled out their masks/helmets; the smacker was revealed as Shinonono and the smacked as Ichika. It was time for my entrance.

"Okay, that was fun, but how the fuck is that going to help you in not getting molested by Lady Di?"

The Kendo kids suddenly planted themselves on the floor. "What are you doing here, Lovelock?!" Shouted Houki.

"Do you guys even know what you are up against?" I folded my arms, showing how disappointed I was.

"A racist Oujo-teme who has a bigger ego than Mount Fuji?" Said Houki.

"Well, that too. But I am speaking about her IS." I pulled out my cellphone and showed the pictures. "Blue Tears, a third-generation IS suit. It's named after those blue drones that are around her, each of them capable of shooting a shitload of bullets per second."

"How did you discover all of that?" Ichika asked in astonishment.

"It was in the UK Ministry of Defence's main webpage. There are even memes about how fucked you are, according to them. But the point is that if you think she's going to whack you with a stick like a caveman, then you're dumber than I thought."

"W-well, it wasn't just teaching him how to fight in a way he's familiar." Princess defended herself. "The Art of Kendo teaches its students the virtues a true bearer of the katana must hold dear, including honor, sincerity, and self-discipline. Things you clearly lack."

"I don't think those girls you tried to kill the first day could tell that you were self-controlled at all." I note.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" She growled, her stick sword aimed at my head.

"So long as it's fun…"

"Girls, stop. It's clear none of us were expecting that our days in the Academy would be so chaotic." Ichika steps between us. "Nicole, why are you helping us?"

"Alcott is a shitty roommate, and I don't want to spend the rest of the year sleeping on a couch while she hogs the entire room like the royal cunt she is." I reply, sighing about all of this. "My point was that while training in shanking people may help you a bit, it doesn't change that none of you actually are training in, you know, a fucking IS suit at all."

"Well, that's good and all, but how are we supposed to get training IS suits? I don't have one, and we don't know when Ichika's will arrive beyond 'before the duel.'" I had to concede it to Kendo Girl; it was said nobody would use training IS suits until the Class Reps were decided by democracy or violence.

"Have you tried to pull puppy eyes on your sister?" I suggest at Ichika. "You could go, 'Please, Onee-sama, can I borrow some training suits so I don't get my cornhole rammed by the entire Union Jack?'"

"That won't work." Kendo Girl interfered. "Orimura-sensei made it clear that she will treat Ichika as any other student in class, regardless of their familiar bond in the past."

"Then seduce Ms. Yamada instead."

"WHAT?!" Both kids shouted and blushed. Ichika out of scandal and Houki for jealousy.

"Come on, she doesn't seem to be the lesbo kind, and it's clear she's counting the days you have left before graduation. Is it true that the legal age here to fuck is fourteen?"

"That doesn't mean it's alright for a teacher to abuse a student." Houki hisses.

"I-I-I wouldn't abuse her trust like that either!" Ichika stammers.

"Look, just act like you're interested in her, maybe cup her a feeling or two…"

"Stop trying to pimp Ichika!" Princess was about to blow a gasket or tear apart mine.

"Okay, fine. No seducing the pedo teacher." I concede defeat. "I will try to find another way in. Can I see you tomorrow either here at the same hour?"
Princess was about to tell me to shove it where the sun didn't shine, but she was dragged away by Ichi boy, and they tried to whisper to each other about my offer.

"Ichika, that harpy is bad news all around."

"Look, she may be a massive jerk, but I feel she really wants me to win this. If only to stick it with Alcott."

"She wanted you t-to do things with Miss Yamada."

"M-maybe it's an American thing. Besides, she's correct that I need some proper IS control before the duel."

"Fine, I can see where you both come from." Then both turn around and face me. "Look, I don't think you have Ichika's best interest in hand."

"And you would be right." I reply.

"But, you're right in that he needs a proper idea on what piloting an IS means, so if you can find a way that isn't too immoral, then we are all ears."
I turn around to Orimura. "Ok, she's fine with it. What about you?"

He jumped a bit, as if he wasn't expecting me to do that. "Well… I am short of options. That's why I convinced Houki into giving you a chance. Just please don't do something that will expel us."

"Then I got your approval; see your butts tomorrow." And I leave the Kendo club behind, already planning what to do.

I learned that all six arenas in the ISA have some Uchigane IS suits lying in wait, and that any student who was important in the Student Council and the Clubs, plus the current Class Representatives, had access cards to enter without issues. So, I just needed to "borrow" one and bring the Kendo kids to the arena, train a little, and leave the scene before anybody notices it.

Ironically, it would be the Rich Bimbo who would help me in getting me the tool to break in.

---

"So I heard you talked with the Japanese commoners yesterday," Cecilia talked to me at lunchtime the next day. "What is the reason you did such a pointless waste of time?"

"To see if Orimura the Little had what it takes to kick your rich ass harder than the Zulu did in Isandlwana." Before Alcott's face went too red, I added my judgment. "So far, he's found wanting."

Alcott huffed in her smugness. "Well, of course an inferior male wouldn't stand a chance against me. Especially if he doesn't even have a suit to call his own." I swear, I agree with the 'inferior male' thing, but this bitch makes it unbearable to hear.

"You know that giving him his own IS suit is priority number one of the Japanese government, right?" Apparently, they even fucked over their newest Cadet Candidate as collateral.

"Even if it arrives today, he won't have enough time to become a decent pilot." Thank fuck I'm taking care of that, eh?

"Hey! Don't underestimate Orimura-kun!" We turned around and saw Pikachu Girl, wearing the proper ISA uniform this time, although with its sleeves longer than usual. She was accompanied by two others hos whose names always escaped me. "He did defeat the IS instructor like you did; he has what it takes to defeat you too."

"He may have defeated Miss Yamada in the exam, but everybody knows it was a sham, a fluke." Alcott rebuked. "He wasn't even supposed to do the exam in the first place."

"It doesn't help that probably she's going to get wet dreams about Ichika dominating her from now, so probably her judgment is a little biased." I add, with all four girls looking at me, blushing in scandal, especially Lady Di.

"Can't you say anything without resorting to crass language, Lovelock?!"

"I will say it in a way your Brits understand," I turn to her. "Fuck no, you egocentric twat."

Cecilia immediately summoned two of her Blue Tears and aimed them at me. "You're running on thin ice, Yank. If you don't shut up, I'll make you."

"Knock it off, you two!" Instead of Orimura the big one, it was Pikachu girl who shouted, and I could see sparks coming out from her. But what caught my attention is that in one of the pockets, it was hidden what I recognized as a Red Access Card, which the ISA manual said was among those you could use to enter the arenas.

How the hell a first-year had an appropriate access card wasn't important right now. What was important is that I had my eyes on the prize.

"Okay, fine. I just have to wait until I can cave that bitch's face legally." I raise my hands in 'surrender,' waiting for an opening.

"If that delinquent can see reason, I should too." Cecilia dispelled the Blue Tears. So, I turned to the trio.

"Hey Pikachu girl,"

"My name is…"

"Whatever. Can you explain to Lady Di how Ichi Boy could still kick her ass despite what we said earlier?"

"Well…" Jesus, why is she using a thinking pose like that fake Ruskie bitch? "For starters, while Alcott's Blue Tears are good for cover fire, I doubt she has the will to use them at their full potential, given the concentration needed to use drone weapons. Besides…"

As Pikachu was rambling on, I stood behind the Sleepy Posse, more concerned about their leader defending the honor of the cute boy. I was waiting for the chance to snatch the keycard without anybody noticing.

"…and that's why Orimura-kun could still defeat you." Pikachu finished her rant, looking smug at Cecilia.

"So, he stands a chance only if I behave like a dimwitted imbecile and his IS was handcrafted by Tabane Shinonono herself. Not happening in a million years." Cecilia wasn't convinced at all.

"Did you even listen to what she said?!" One of Pikachu's hos fired back.

"I did, and it's pure rubbish. Like Orimura's value as a pilot and human, like most of his compatriots, like…"

"Like England's cooking?" I said. Pikachu's second ho took the opening I gave her.

"Yeah. How can you be so proud if you can't even cook something edible?"

"You barbaric swine, we have Gordon Ramsay. Do you think he's a bad cook?!" Cecilia's face was getting red with anger.

"He must be an Irish or an Australian registered there, because there's no way an Englishman could cook that well." Damn, Pikachu girl is pulling out the kid's gloves.

Anyway, a pandemonium of insults followed; everyone but me was concerned about tearing the enemy bitch with words alone. The red keycard was almost jumping out of the pocket, tempting me to snatch it. Just wait for a few seconds…

Yoink.

I put in my pockets quickly, and I slipped away from the cafeteria before the Instructors came to stop the brawl. I was ready to go to classes when I met one last hurdle.

"You American scum!" I turned around as Cecilia called me with a tautology.

"What now, Bitch Lennon?"

"I know what you are doing." She pointed the finger at me. "You want me to drive me mad, so I lose the duel with that Japanese primate, right?"

"So long as it let me get a bed, then yes." I reply. "You still have time to change your mind. Just give me back the half of the room I'm entitled to, and I won't try to fuck your chances to be something beyond a sexual toy for Prince Harry."

"Like if. Once I'm done with that monkey, you're next!" If you get the chance. I still had one last piece to say.

"Hey, Alcott!"

"What?"

"This isn't Northern Ireland, you blinding cunt." I tell her. "If you're going to act like the KKK, at least remember to not do it when surrounded by people eager to kick your ass."

I leave the place before she bombards me with more anti-American spiel (not that they aren't unwarranted; she just got the wrong target) and made my way to classes, knowing I had to go to the Kendo club next.

---

"I have the keycard." I presented myself to the pair after Houki kicked Ichika's ass again.

"D-did you steal it?" How blunt of you, Kendo Princess.

"I just borrowed it from the Pikachu girl without her noticing."

"H-how did a first-year student get one already?" Ichika, to his credit, didn't think I was lying.

"Who cares? The sooner we get some real training, the better the chances to leave without anyone discovering us." I tapped my foot on the floor to make my point.

"Right. The sooner we do this, the better for everyone. Let's go." Ichika got up and went to change his clothes.

"I still think this is a bad idea, but I'm going anyway." Yeah, I know you don't want me to steal your boytoy, Shinopenopenope. "J-just to make sure you don't hurt Ichika."

I sigh in annoyance, but I let her go too, if only to avoid a potential snitch in my plans. It was getting darker, but I was counting on people expecting fuck all happening in the arenas before Monday, so they wouldn't bother too much with security this early in the year. So, under the cover of ISA incompetence, we went our way to Arena 3, the place where Ichika would duel Cecilia soon.

It was time to test our mettle as IS pilots once and for all.

---

Chapter 5: Hard Times

It was around 8:00 PM when I, Ichika, and Hoiku went to Arena 3. The doors were closed, and there were no guards around to see if anything was fishy at this hour. I pulled out the red keycard, and voila, the doors were unlocked.

"Are you sure we aren't going to get expelled if the teachers catch us?" Princess asked for the umpteenth time as we made our way to the hangars where the Uchiganes were stored.

"I read the manual; at most, the teachers are allowed to spank you." I pulled out from my backpack the big-ass book Ichika and I were supposed to memorize next week and opened it.

"Are you reading that book, Nicole?" Kendo Boy looked at me like the dumbfuck he was.

"I would rather not, but that versus your sister kicking my ass again is a no-brainer." I reply, looking for the pages I needed. "Which would be easier if a certain British cunt didn't exile me to the couch."

"Aren't you reading the book too, Ichika?!" Princess looked at him in shock.

"I do. It's just hard to memorize everything in a week, even without adding the incoming duel." I was going to comment on something, but then I found the pages needed.

"Found it. The ways to activate IS cores that aren't yours." At Ichika's contused face, I was going to explain it before Princess beat me to the punch.

"What the book means is that while most IS cores are meant to stick with one pilot for a handful of years minimum, due to the fact that there isn't simply enough for all potential IS pilots, there are activation protocols needed to ensure the cores here don't imprint themselves with a random student who came here just to learn advanced engineering, for example."

"Think of it as your personal IS will be your girlfriend, while the IS cores here are just one-night stands." Ichika blushed while Kendo Girl glared at me.

"Crass, but accurate." Once I used the keypad to open the room holding the Uchiganes, all armed with katanas, I told both Jap kids how to activate the IS suits under the ISA protocols, and in a few minutes, both Ichika and Houki were piloting the Uchiganes.

"You aren't going to grab one too?" Ichika asked. I scoffed in response.

"Bitch, I already have mine ready to roll." I showed my wrist, showing the multi-colored collar where my own IS was hidden.

"I think we first get used to these before Lovelock applies her own teachings." Houki looked at me with a face that expressed, 'Stay away from my boytoy, bitch.' I rolled my eyes at her.

"Fine, you have ten minutes before I bring mine." And they were off, smacking each other like in the Kendo Club, but this time with big-ass katanas that could cut a building in twain.

This is the shit I had to deal with for three years minimum if I didn't want to end in Guantanamo along with anyone who pissed off the POTUS.

Breathe in, breathe out. This wasn't a duel, just teaching a pair of morons in the hope they do the dirty job for me.

So, some of you were wondering, what the fuck is my IS? Well, it was originally some genuine war machine, apparently meant for something far bigger than blowing up every Xbox in the state, although it was meant for confusion and terror by the loadout it possessed. Of course, the MIB douchebags tried to change it into something more "gladiatrix-friendly," but most of their attempts were doomed to failure, mostly because most IS scientists were still incapable of determining what the fuck Kendo Princess' sister was smoking while making those things. I want some too.

Although I admit its original look was way too cringe. Black and red with spikes all over the place? Was the original bitch pilot a Shadow the Hedgehog fangirl? I got dark blue and grey instead, with far less pointy shit. I also renamed it Malicious Mason.

Thus, my basic weapon was a modified M249 SAW, one I actually could carry without issues thanks to IS fuckery, with enough bullets to massacre the entire Russian Army. I also counted on the EMP systems that allowed me to blow up those Xboxes in the first place, although I was warned most IS suits are already prepared with anti-EMP failsafes, so they mostly were used to zap bitches instead. However, its true strength was the Modular Design. In retarded words, it gave me enough space to mount an entire arsenal of IS weapons and some that aren't too. Which meant that in theory, I could have anything that could turn the other IS suits into scrap inside and change it easier than other IS suits. By the time I arrived at the ISA, I was still exploring anything that was inside my IS's storage.

Also, apparently the IS core itself was a little shit.

For some reason, it always played a song when I was in a sortie. Initially it was old people's music, probably because that was what the last pilot listened to before. But as I made myself a pain in the ass to the USA IS engineers, including that junkie Neo-Nazi South African obsessed with ancient memes, the music the IS provided was more varied and modern, slowly but surely making the sorties more tolerable.

Once I checked the ten minutes were up, I summoned Malicious Mason, instantly turning myself into a barely neutered war machine. "Ok, shitheads. It's my turn now. Ichi, I'm going to shoot the fuck out of you, and you better find a way to touch my ass if you caaaan~" I added the last part just to annoy Princess.

Despite the clear sweat on his face, Ichika didn't look like he wanted to run away. Good, neither was I. Kendo Princess was pouting, though.

I could feel my HUD getting ready to fight, and so was the music player, already choosing a music for this duel.

Now, if only it put Marilyn Manson instead…

As the deceitfully cheerful tunes began, I aimed my LMG at Ichika and opened fire. "Dance, bitch!"

Ichika immediately flew away from my gunfire. I could tell his battle style would be of the Speedy Gonzales type, as he dodged the bullets I sent his way, avoiding even some close calls from the bullets almost striking his shields.

My IS was still better than his temporal rust bucket.

I flew away when he seemed to get close and fired at him away, with my systems getting used to his speed to improve my aim. My barrages were firmer, some of them actually hitting his shields before he managed to slip away before I could take advantage to blast his ass.

The song and dance of my firing at Ichika, Ichika avoiding the bullets, and me evading his banzai charges.

"HEY! WATCH IT!" Princess complained when some bullets almost hit her. I flipped her off and fired at Ichika with one hand. Of course the SAW wasn't made for one-handed Rambo antics, so the bullets were looser in their barrage. Which gave Ichika enough room to almost slash my ass, forcing me to fly upwards to the sky, at least as much as the arena defenses allowed.

"Okay, you are fast, but sooner or later some bitch will get used to it and spank your ass." I then fired downwards, doing my best to rain death from above on Ichika. "You better hope your new suit has something beyond a sword to survive."

"That was enough for my sister." He charged at me, dodging my bullets as he flew his way up there too.

"But you aren't her, dumbass." I slipped away and blasted him from the back, around dozens of high-caliber bullets, enough strength to tumble any pilot bitch on their ass.

Which was why Ichika recovering fast took me by surprise, forcing me to dispel the SAW and fly my ass away from him before he could shank me.

And by reflex, I activated my zap bomb and blasted him without caring how much voltage it went to him, just caring about not losing.

"That was enough?" I muttered, thinking I put down his shields at least.

SLASH!

Fuck no.

"Guess… I did touch you…" Little Orimura was grinning despite being shoved more kilowatts than an atomic plant up his ass.

"This is as far as you will get with me, though."

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Princess was flying at us, murder in her eyes. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU ZAP HIM?!"

"So he can learn that everyone else will hold their big toys until they feel the time is right." I bullshit my way with flying colors. "He should be ready to fall back in case someone has a backup plan in case he banzai his way into their panties."

Before Houki tried to shank me for real, Ichika managed to cool her down. "I think we had enough IS combat experience for today. Let's go back to our rooms before the teachers find us."

We quickly flew away from the arena, stored the Uchiganes back from where they were found, and even I used a system in the place where the announcers sit to narrate the duels to activate a program that would rebuild the arena in less than an hour. We were sure we covered our backs there.

"Ok, now to leave the arena before OH SHIT!"

"Lovelock, what do you OHMYGODIAMSORRY!"

"Girls! What happeNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!"

"Can you three idiots explain to me how you managed to enter an arena without authorization from a teacher or the Student Council?" The figure of Chifuyu Orimura showed herself like the Wrath of God himself, ready to smite our asses.

---

We were forced to kneel like Indian chiefs in front of Orimura the Big One for ten minutes in her office, forbidden to say even a peep on pain of another book smack in our heads. I would have preferred if she had spent those ten minutes ranting at us about how we broke inside a restricted area before the end of the first week; at least I could have tuned it out, but instead she didn't say a peep either. Was this some type of psychological torture?

"If you have anything to say before I punish you, now is the time to talk."

"Orimura-sensei," Ichika took the lead. "How did you find us?"

"Besides that gunfire at night is going to raise alarms in the Academy, I just had to deal with Nohotoke begging for help here after she 'lost' the keycard lent to her by her older sister."

"Who the fuck is Nohotone?" I whispered to Ichika.

"She's Miss Casual, Nicole." He whispered back.

"…Still not following."

"That's Pikachu girl, you brute." Whispered Princess.

"Tell me, which one of you actually read the ISA activation protocols?" I raised my hand, and Brunhilde raised an eyebrow. "You, Lovelock? I didn't expect someone like you to have that foresight."

"I read the manual." I reply. "And last I heard, those two will get their own IS suits 'soon.'"

"Orimura will, that's true. Shinonono so far is not a priority, unless she catches the attention of a corporation or the Japanese government by her skill alone."

"Sucks to be you, Princess."

SMACK!

Worth it.

"So, let me ask you something." Orimura the Big looked at us, book in hand. "Why didn't you ask a teacher for permission?!"

Both Japanese kids looked like they suddenly realized they were the biggest retards of all of the Infinite Stratos Academy's short history. I didn't care; I didn't trust the teachers anyway.

"We believed that due to the ISA policy of not allowing actions that may be interpreted as nepotism, any request we would make to you or Miss Yamada would be doomed to failure." Princess started.

"Unless you followed my plan." I said.

"Your 'plan' was to… make Ichika seduce Miss Yamada." I had to ignore the glare I got from Book-Sensei.

Ichika then took the lead. "Anyway, it's Thursday, and my IS suit hasn't arrived yet. Was I supposed to sit back, hoping I had enough time to train once it was delivered?"

"Plus, his opponent has the backing of the entire fucking…" SMACK! "…massive UK itself. What does he have? A crazy Kendo practitioner and I, who's mostly into it because we three agree that Alcott is in dire need of a beating in the arena. Action was needed, and like hell I'm going to stand like a bitch when the world tries to fuck me over again."

I expected another smack from Orimura the Big for my potty mouth, but it seemed that what we said to her pierced something inside her, given she had a face of deep thought. Not the Anime one, a real one. I felt something from Ichika, who was looking at me with a weird face.

Like if I said what he wanted to say all along.

Whatever that was, it was interrupted by Chifuyu getting our attention. "While I congratulate you three for having the initiative to seek a solution for your problems instead of waiting for it to be delivered to your feet, it does not justify breaking the rules without first learning if they do have something you can use." Then Brunhilde prepared to say her next piece. "Orimura, Shinonono. You two are allowed to practice with authorized personnel in an arena of my choosing from tomorrow until Sunday. Lovelock, I should punish you for stealing a keycard from the Student Council, but I will leave whoever becomes the new president to decide your fate instead."

I admit the three of us gave a sigh of relief. We weren't totally fucked after all; the Kendo kids would get proper training, and I would have enough time to implant Plan B in case they weren't capable of defeating Bitch Lennon. But then…

"Right, I forgot about the official punishment. Get here now!" Despite our best efforts, we got our asses spanked, and we weren't capable of sitting straight until the next lunchtime.

---

Technical Report

Name: Malicious Mason

Pilot: Nicole Lovelock

Generation Type: 3rd Generation

Battle Type: Medium to Long Range Combat

Armaments: Machine Gun. Electronic Warfare Suit. Modular Design. Additional armaments unknown.

Manufacturer: Unknown (Phantom Task-made?)

Description: Despite its looks, Malicious Mason is a war machine meant to distract and weaken its opponents without mercy. Behind its mundane Machine Gun, lies an Infinite Stratos meant for terror and confusion, with hidden weapons that enhance the pilot's ability to sow chaos in her wake. Perfect for both the original Phantom Task pilot and the current ISA student wearing it.

Chapter 6: Hope of Deliverance

"Calibrations are at expected results."

"But what about the mental receptors of the drones? Can you handle the strain against your brain it may require?"

"Well, I don't believe the monkey to be capable enough to make that a problem."

"Can't you bitches tone it down?! I'm trying to study here!"

Getting my ass roughly abused by Brunhilde wasn't the worst thing that happened that night. No, what took the top of the shit pile was Alcott and her small cadre of mechanics talking about modifications in the room while I was trying to use the IS Big Book as sleeping medicine.

"Oh, we would be doing it in the hangar instead, but then someone decided to arm a ruckus at the arena!" Lady Di fired back. "I can't believe they didn't expel you for stealing a keycard!"

"Blame Pikachu and her dumbfuck sister for dangling it in their pockets." I say back. "And how the fuck does word spread around so fast in this madhouse? I just came back here one hour ago."

"I don't know about the others, but any decent cadet candidate should be aware of what everyone else is doing, even brigands like you."

"Oh, fuck off, you aristocratic parasite!" I snap at her.

"Says the peasant from a country where they're installing the dynasty of a senile conman with more bronzer than brain cells."

"I never said I liked His Douchebagness too." I replied, and that was the end of it.

It took around two more hours of technical nonsense until their lungs finally stopped. The only things worth noticing were that Alcott and her cadre weren't that worried about making Blue Tears go at its full potential due to their estimation of Ichika being a bitch in the IS, despite that her main engineer, some ho with nerd glasses from some old anime, wanted to implement some things just in case, and that a particular page in the Big IS Book may hold the key to my Plan B.

"Mutant Currents? Sounds interesting…"

---

Friday arrived, and among other things, we learned that all students were allowed by default to visit the city where the monorail was situated on the weekends, with a not-so-subtle threat of being denied that trip as a punishment for those who misbehave too much, if the looks both Orimura the Big and the Pikachu girl gave at me were any indication.

Since it would take until next Monday when whatever bitch who took over the Student Council would make my life even more hellish, I had an entire city and the weekend to set up my plan B. But I needed to ask a professional about this. Brunhilde was out of the question, so I had to face Yamada instead once classes were done, and I had to make it in a private place.

"Hi, Pedo-Sensei." I confronted her in a hallway.

"Lovelock!" Yamada jumped. "I told you to not call me that."

"Whatever. I have a question since I have been reading that big-ass book. What is Mutant Current exactly?"

"Mutant Current? Oh, that's advanced knowledge for the next years." Then why the fuck did I have to memorize it too? "However, I can tell you what it is. You know about electric circuits, right?"

"A bit, why?"

"Well, due to the investigations on the Infinite Stratos cores across the world, many technological wonders are a reality now due to the knowledge hidden in the cores being now applied in mundane technology, Mutant Currents included. In a nutshell, it is a way that can make electronic artifacts change between alternating currents and direct current as the system sees fit without the need for something like an AI supervisor. However, it's still in its infancy, and thus it remains a risky endeavor for engineers everywhere, both IS and mundane."

"Hmm…" So my potential Plan B was viable. "And I assume only a professional is allowed to modify an IS suit like that."

"That's correct. Unless you possess enough engineering skills to match, you should not do modifications of that kind to your own Infinite Stratos, and even if you do, there should be a professional supervising you. Although due to being a Cadet Candidate, you shouldn't have a problem with finding one should you need them."

"Eh, I won't have a team until at least next semester." That was because they were busy in a massive violation of the Alaska Treaty that would bite them in the ass around six months later, but you know, details that don't matter right now. "But thanks anyway. This is going to be helpful in the next days."

So I left, assured that there was a way to fuck up Blue Tears with the proper tinkering. Although I heard Yamada moaning, it wasn't for yet another wet dream about Ichika.

"Why do I feel like I just made a grave mistake?"

---

The next stop was the Arena Hangars. When news came out that Ichika was allowed to use the ISA Uchiganes in the arena while he waited for his IS suit, you bet your ass Alcott decided she also had a right to use something of the ISA too. Turns out all Cadet Representatives had a right to use the hangars from day one, something that would have granted me extra hours of sleep if Lady Di had used it instead of the room.

I saw Alcott treating her servants like a slave driver as they moved a lot of technological nonsense, most of which I still don't know how the hell is meant to be in a strip-robot suit. What I did understand was that the same engineer girl from before was failing to convince Blonde Bimbo to do something to keep the odds in her favor.

"I saw him in the other arena. He does share some of the talent his sister possesses."

"But he lacks the training any decent pilot should have." Alcott replies. "Thus, I reject your proposal to modify the mutant current for this duel, nay, massacre against the primate."

Thus, Alcott left, cocksure of her victory. The engineer girl looked bummed, like she was kicked around ever since she entered here, and she wasn't a student like almost everyone else in this asylum.

"Man, what a bitch." I made my entrance once I was sure Cecilia wouldn't be anywhere to stop me.

"Don't call Lady Alcott that!" Engi girl glared at me. "But yeah, she can be a handful."

"At least you don't have to share a room with her." I reply. "Anyway, as someone who did spar with Orimura the Little, I think your worries are valid…"

"I know you are not here for the sake of Lady Alcott," she cut me off before I started. "And besides, it would take a heavy price to make me forsake my vows to her."

"What do you want?"

"Kit-Kats. All of them."

"…" It took me a few seconds to remember that Japan was obsessed with Kit-Kats. "You mean, all flavors or all the Kit-Kats?"

"The latter ideally, but the former will do."

"And if I give you those flavors, then will you modify Blue Tears as I say?"

"Yeah." She looked at me, as if thinking I was just hot air.

"You're on." I accepted the challenge. "I will get them by Sunday or before."

I knew it would take quite a share of money to get all the flavors before the duel, and my allowance as a cadet candidate wouldn't arrive until next month, so I had to find a way for quick cash ASAP.

---

I had to talk with one of the girls who were smoking in the bathroom where I met the fake Ruskie, who just happened to be the sister of some Yakuza jerk who set up shop in the city next to the ISA Island. She did promise that someone like me could have some quick cash as long as I did everything he said without complaints.

In a nutshell, she was trying to make me make myself a prostitute for the pedophile of her brother. If it sounded like a stupid idea, it was. But I had a concept of a plan to swindle the bastard, and I felt if shit got very real, one of the many tricks hidden in Malicious Mason would work on a pinch, laws be damned.

Hey, I heard an IS pilot got away with caving the face of a guy who tried to molest her on the train and got away scot-free.

Anyway, at 12:00 PM on Saturday, I took the monorail to Hoshi City and went straight to the restaurant where I would meet the Yakuza brother. I had to give them some credit; the place actually looked tidied up. If it wasn't for the symbols that I learned they were the formal equivalent of gang tags here, it would have been hard to tell this was supposed to be the meeting point of the ballsiest criminals in all Japan, daring to set shop next to the ISA itself.

"Hey, are you Shinoda?" I asked the guy who was seated in what was clearly the VIP seat of the first floor. Dude was wearing some violet clothes and dyed his own hair blonde, which I wasn't sure if he wanted to imitate glam rockers or gay icons.

"And you must be Lovelock, right?" I nodded. "I see you're adequate for what I am looking for."

"Like what, exactly?" I raised an eyebrow, surprised this idiot didn't have thugs surrounding us.

"Oh, you know. The kind of jobs only someone with a figure like yours can do…" He then pulls out a briefcase full of yen bills. Hey, it was a lot of money still. "Apologies for the cliché, but I wanted to show you the benefits of my offer."

"Are those legit?" I asked as he pulled out most of the bills at the table.

"Of course. Do I look like someone who would screw a pretty girl like you?" Well, yeah. In more ways than I can count. Then he got closer to me. "If you want, I can assure you with my personal touch,"

I could see a patrolman walking around, and since this is the Mecca of the alleged misandrist world order…

"NO! GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!"

"What the fuck are you doing?!"

"YOU WON'T TOUCH THIS MINOR ASS!"

And I expected the cop to arrive. "Sir, back away from the girl. Miss, what's the problem here?"

"I was looking for a job, and this man just went sexual out of nowhere."

The cop turns to the Yakuza. "Sir, is that true?"

"No, I mean yes, I mean… I was telling her about the hazards for waitresses here."

"Does that include twerking on his face?" A lot of the customers shouted in shock.

"Is that true? Did you ask her to twerk on your face?"

"Of course not! Do I look like a pimp or something?" I wanted to say yes, but the way the cop was looking at me, it seemed my ploy wasn't working that much.

"Look, just check his phone. I bet he has some sick porn in there." I said, ready to run away. The cop did grab it.

"Yeah right, like I… OH MY SWEET BUDDHA!" Was I right?

"That isn't mine…" The bad guy sounded sheepish.

"And I am Son Goku." The cop then cuffs the asshole. "You can tell me what else isn't yours downtown!"

"NO! I own this place! You can't arrest me!" But the policeman wasn't having it.

"Come with me." The cop dragged the Yakuza away. Yay for female privileges at IS City?

"You Gaijin bitch! When I get out, I'll kill your whole family in front of your eyes!"

"Don't threaten me with a good time, buddy." I winked. I used the time everyone was looking at the exposed pedo to rob all the money he put on the table and left the restaurant. With it, I bought all the Kit Kat flavors available and took the monorail back to the ISA Island.

---

"LOVELOCK!" The Yakuza girl awoke cranky the next day. "What the fuck did you do to my brother?!"

"Wait, that loser was your brother?" I asked in my 'Innocent Girl' mood. "I thought he was just some pedo he sent to negotiate."

"He may have some minor fetish, but that's no way to treat the people hiring you." She and her posse looked at me, eager to kick the shit out of me.

"Well, he should've closed all his porn windows before trying to pimp me." I replied. "Now, can you fuck off? I need to get ready for the duel between Lil' Orimura and Lady Di tomorrow."

She then hit the table with her IS gauntlet. "Oh, you're not getting away from me, you backstabbing bitch. I'll…OHSHITWHATTHEFUCK!?"

I summoned the SAW from my own IS and put it in her temple. "Now, listen to me, Yaku-cunt. There are two ways this can end: either you and your hos leave me alone, or I will fucking blow your head off."

"You—you wouldn't dare." One of those hos stammered. "None of us killed before!"

"This would be the third time some asshole loses their brains off in front of me." I seethe at them. "At least this time, I will pull the trigger."

"ENOUGH!" We turn around and see Big Orimura flanked by the IS instructors, ready to kick our asses. "Lovelock, put down your weapon now."

I sighed, and I dispelled the machine gun. "Fine, but she started this."

"We shall see." Chifuyu glared at us. "Now, can you explain to me what happened?"

"That bit… that creep." The Yakuza girl pointed at me. "She offered to work for my brother, and then she got him arrested for kicks and then robbed him!"

"Is that true, Lovelock?" Teacher Orimura raised an eyebrow, not completely buying her story.

Technical Truth, go! "Yes and no. I was looking for an additional job for the weekends because one can't have enough extra cash, and she recommended her brother. The thing is, the guy was a serious creep and wanted to pimp me out, so I made a scandal so the police could stop him." I pull out my phone and show them the news about his capture. "I didn't even know half of the sh… stuff he was being investigated for."

Most of the inspectors were shocked at the content of the news, but Orimura just seemed like she saw the news of the weather report. "We will see into it further, but it seems Lovelock did society a favor, questionable means aside."

"Hey!" The Yakuza girl complained.

"Shinoda." Ms. Orimura glared at her. "Given that Lovelock's claims are at least halfway true, we will have to investigate your links with the criminal elements among your family, which potentially may lead to your expulsion. Don't give us a reason to think badly of you." The yakuza kid gritted her teeth, and I could tell she was already planning her revenge.

"Can I challenge her for a duel?" I asked. "Honestly, I think both of us will try to kill the other unless we settle this as soon as possible."

"You should have thought of that before, Lovelock. But I'll allow it." Orimura said. "It will be before the duels of the candidates of Class Representatives tomorrow, IS vs IS in Arena 3. Is that acceptable for you both?"

I shrugged. "Good enough."

"Fine," Yaku-cunt conceded. "But don't go back crying to mommy once I send you to the hospital."

I flip her off. Apparently it isn't that much of a deal here than back in the USA.

"It's good to have reached an agreement. NOW GO TO THE FIELD AND RUN 20 LAPS NOW!"

We had to do as she said, but the pain was worth it. Tomorrow I would slap a bitch down, and one way or another, Cecilia Alcott would be taken down.

---

Chapter 7: Mass Destruction

Monday arrived, and unlike most Mondays, this one was one I was kind of looking for, if only because two of my current pains in the ass would be dealt with.
I was very tempted to "tamper" with Yaku-cunt's IS, but I felt it wasn't worth the risk of blowing my cover on the whole "ruining the big day for the UKunt" thing, so I decided to kick her ass the legit way, and I was sure the odds were in my favor despite her being a second-year student.

To put it bluntly, due to lacking both her own IS and certain skills in battle, Shinoda always played second fiddle to whatever elite pilot needed a quick body to distract the others. While she fought by slashing people like most sword-themed fighters here, she was a glorified meat shield and wasn't half as good as Ichi boy back at the arena, and he wasn't very good at all.

Of course, given his sister set up the bar very high in what sword maidens could do in the Infinite Stratos, perhaps I was too much of a bitch to them… Pahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Yeah, right.

Anyway, I was setting up in one of the hangars, already wearing the glorified one-piece swimsuit that helped coordinate the pilot with the IS, mostly making sure my IS suit's calibration was up to date so my battle style wouldn't get any issues, given that I probably have to abuse the Modular Design to stand a chance with the heavy hitters here.

"And here I thought you would rather skip the duel," Alcott sneered behind me. Right, we both shared the same hangar due to both being English speakers. "Why did you call for a duel when you have no interest in a prominent position as the Class Representative?"

"To test my IS, if I ever need to cave your face myself."

Alcott simply huffed. "Even if you win this duel, you don't have what it takes to defeat me, Yank scum." Then she leaves, which I am grateful for, because I really wanted to cave her face with my fist.

"Already a week, and you have half of the academy wanting you dead." Oh God, please. Not that bitch too. "It speaks well of his character that the Orimura boy isn't among them."

"Or he lacks survival instincts." I reply, glaring at the newcomer.

A blonde bimbo with a ponytail and large tits, whose ISA uniform looked straining to cover her figure, to the point you could see her underwear, put herself in front of me. She was Daryl Casey, the main IS Cadet Candidate of the USA, and the bitch who whipped my ass during those three months in the Pentagon with the purpose of making me a proper backup should something happen to her or the other USA Representatives.

"Says the dipshit who pissed off an entire Yakuza clan that has ties to all of Japan." She glares at me. "While I'm sure your IS suit has more than enough to put that Yakuza bitch in her place, there's so much the immunity laws centered in the IS Academy can do to protect your ass from a well-deserved spanking, even from myself."

"True, you're saving those for your Greek ho." I enjoyed seeing her cocksure mask break into a blushing mess.

"Don't put Forte into this!" She pulled out her double-edged flaming sword from her IS and aimed it at me. "Besides, you know what will happen if you somehow fail to beat Shinoda today."

"I know, I know. If I lose, I will become the bukkake queen of Guantanamo. Just fuck off and let me handle this." I wave her off and give the last calibrations needed to leave Malicious Mason in top shape.

And was it me, or did my own IS seem to hate Daryl even more than I did? It felt like it was personal.

"You better be, Lovelock. That suit deserves to be piloted by someone of great skill, not a mewling brat." Then the speakers in the arena blast a sound, alerting everyone of an incoming order.

"Pilot Nicole Lovelock, the duel is about to begin. ETA, five minutes."

"Welp, that's my cue." I flip off Daryl and leave the hangar towards the exit leading to the arena proper, ready to unleash hell upon that Yakuza harlot.

---

The air was filled with excitement; many girls were eager to see who were going to be the next Queen Bees of this year, and while I was told the big shots among the government and the IS-dependent company wouldn't arrive in force until the first Inter-Class IS Tournament, there were still interested parties keeping an eye on how the pecking order will go.

Did I forget to say that the IS Academy's activities are also a dick-weaving contest between countries and billionaires? Because they are.

I walked at the center of the arena, where Yaku-cunt was waiting for me. There was murder in her eyes, and she was already wearing a modified Uchigane suit, although unlike the Kendo kids days ago, she was using a Japanese halberd, naginata, I think it was called.

"Now, before the duels for the positions of Class Representatives can start, we have a show to start the fires of competition!" The announcer hyped her audience. "For one side, we have the Flower of Hoshi City, ready to defend her honor. Shinoda Sakura!"

The public cheered at the local chick, pretty much forgetting she's a criminal who tried to pimp out her own classmates. Probably because she isn't a filthy Gaijin like myself.

"And against her is the newest American Cadet Candidate. Will her skills match her acid tongue? Let's give a round of applause to Nicole Lovelock!" The applause in question sounded more like a reluctant activity; I wasn't very liked around here, and unlike Cecilia, I lacked enough pedigree to have earned some respect despite being a Cadet Candidate like everyone who wasn't Japanese here.

At center, we stood there, glaring at each other, watching what we could do to hurt the other as badly and legally as possible.

"Before we start the match, do the duelists have anything to say?" The announcer spoke at us, probably wanting us to hype the duel even further.

Yaku-cunt went first. "You're going to regret backstabbing me, Lovelock." And she flew upwards in a show of supremacy. Only then did I bother to activate Malicious Mason and fly at her.

"You're going to regret being born in a family of degenerates and pedophiles." I already did.

Before Shinoda tried to slash at me, the announcer spoke again. "Now, the rules of this duel and the next ones after are that every IS suit has a determined hit points before the emergency shields automatically activate to protect the pilot." So much for that suicide plan. "The first pilot who forces the other's IS to activate them will win the duel."

I sighed; now that could have been a good way to end the duels quickly, EMP bomb the other IS suits until forcing them to cry uncle. Oh well, I guess it's up to my SAW, the electric shocks, and everything hiding inside my massive storage to ensure I don't end in Gitmo.

"Okay, put on a song named Mass Destruction or something like that." I felt my IS looking across its archives to find the song I requested.

"BABYBABYBABYBABYBABYBABYBABYBABY…!"

"FUCK! Another song, dammit!" The song was changed to something resembling punk rock. "Not exactly my style, but it will do."

"Ready? FIGHT!"

The Yakuza girl charged at me, and I flew back away, firing my SAW at her. The bullets hit the target, but she changed course quicker than Ichika did the other day. Right, this bitch had experience.

Shinoda then flew in circles, forcing me to hold fire, and my HUD analyzed what she was doing, only for then I felt a nasty slash at my back, forcing me to fly away from the front before she followed up with more strikes.

Enhanced senses go both ways. Ouch.

Shinoda then tried the same tactic again, now with more speed. I thought that if this bitch would try the backslash again too, then she might as well get a gift for stupidity.

I set up my SAW; just in case she did try to attack from the front, I did my best to hold still, despite everything inside me begging me to move, until…
"Take this!" She shouted from behind me.

"Nope!" And I activated my trap. A large surge of electricity went straight to all her limbs, giving me extra precious seconds to move away.

"How did you…!" She regained her bearings while I flew upwards. "Stay here and fight like a warrior!"

"Hell naw!" I fired at her, her literal shock allowing me to score more hits with my LMG than before. Still a long way to go.

This time, Shinoda charged at the front, her mind set to force me into a melee. While I did have something to smack some sense into a jerk, I wasn't in the mood to follow her whims, so I shot at her face as much as I could, and when it was clear she would land on my face, I activated my zap bomb again and zapped her again, using her lack of momentum to fly away again.

"What kind of warrior won't use a blade in an IS duel?!" She shouted at me, frustrated at her failure to strike me twice.

"Bitch, why the fuck would I use a sword when I can just use a fucking gun and blow up your chunky ass from a distance? It's the 21st century, and I'm in a robot suit! If I had things my way, I wouldn't even be using a gun, but to Nagasaki you all over the school!"

Silence covered the entire arena, and only then did I remember that, yeah, 75% of the population of the IS Island was Japanese. Whoops?

"YOU ARE DEAD, WHORE!" Shinoda charged full gas at me, spit coming out of her mouth as she forsook finesse to make me meat cubes. I activated my EMP to zap her ass, which made her miss her mark. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

She went absolutely berserk, which made her more dangerous but also more vulnerable. Perfect.

"Catch me if you can, bitch!" I taunted her as Shinoda tried over and over again to ram at me, yet failed to hit. I pepper her with more bullets, but my plan isn't simply to leave her Uchigane filled with holes. With each charge, she was getting slower, sloppier. I was already searching across Malicious' storage for the perfect weapon to put her down like a dog.

After around a minute of flying and dodging around, I felt the time was right. I summoned from my Modular Design a genuine 500 kg bomb and grabbed it with both hands, right above my head, ready to drop it on the Yakuza whore.

And if anyone asks, yes, her face was filled with horror. And yes, my face looked like something out of a horror movie.

"Get fucked." And then I let the bomb fall, hitting her in the face and dragging her down by weight alone into the floor, until she crashed right there and then...

KABOOM!

To my small dismay, it didn't have a mushroom explosion, but I suppose that would be too far for the ISA standards. I looked at my HUD, and indeed, her hit points reached zero. And given how the Yakuza girl was stuck in the arena floor, I think even if the bomb failed to eliminate the main shield, I think it would have been enough with me knocking the fuck out of that cunt.

"Winner: Nicole Lovelock!" The announcer spoke, making my victory official and allowing my body to feel... something good.

I could feel Malicious Mason sharing this… relief. Yeah, I wasn't going to Guantanamo yet, and it wouldn't be experimented on by some sick maniac wanting to exterminate everyone who wasn't white.

My relief wasn't shared by parts of the public, however.

"WHAT?! THAT HARPY WON?!"

"NO WAY! I LOST MY ALLOWANCE TO THIS BITCH!"

"YOU CHEATING HO!"

I stuck out my tongue and flipped the bird with both hands at the crying baby girls, and then I went back to the hangar. The announcer communicated there would be between ten and fifteen minutes for the next match while the arena cleaned itself up. I deactivated Malicious Mason and quickly showered myself and changed my clothes back into the uniform and then went straight to catch some snacks.

By the time I returned, both Daryl and Cecilia were glaring at me, as if they weren't amused that I won at all. "What? Did you two lose a bet because of me?"
Daryl wanted to say something, but she simply sighed and left the hangar. Cecilia, for her part, frowned before replying.

"At least you have some bite to complement your bark, Lovelock." It was clear it hurt her pride to admit I wasn't a blowhard after all.

"Too little, too late, Lady Di." I reply and move to eat my snacks.

"Don't you have anything else to say to your fellow English speaker?"

"Yeah. Break a leg, bitch." She scoffed and let the hangar right when the speakers informed her it was her turn. I shrugged and went to watch the TV on the hanger, where the duel between Lady Di and Lil' Ichi would be shown to everyone at school, munching my snacks.

I did what I could. Now it was up to Orimura the Little to prove his worth.

---

Chapter 8: Lafaye

So that went well, maybe too well…

There I was, sitting and watching the TV, wondering if I should have gone all in with either the sabotage or helping the Kendo kids.

Despite not being at the same hangar and not being that good at technical stuff, I could tell Ichika's IS suit fucking sucked. I didn't need Malicious' HUD to tell his shields were far weaker than Alcott's, mine, and even Yaku-cunt's. Which meant he had to be Flash to avoid getting shot by the drones of Blue Tears and everything else Cecilia had in store to stand a chance. Which wouldn't be so bad if the FUCKING RETARDS BACK IN JAPAN DIDN'T GIVE HIM JUST A FUCKING SWORD!

And of course, he eats a big shot like a dipshit, and half of his shield points are gone. Fucking dumbfuck…

You know what? I can't narrate the rest without getting unreasonably angry. I hope Ichika does a better job at this; it was his duel after all.

---

Hello? Is this thing on?

Man… I know Nicole normally wouldn't let anyone take her place, but if she of all people can tell she's being unreasonable, even before… … Well, let's not get that far.

So, it was the big day. Seeing Nicole demolish that Shinoda girl was a warning on how my duel with Cecilia could end. Knowing Nicole back then, it was just her being a brutal jerk. Still, I silently thanked her for the heads-up and prepared myself for battle.

"Did she… just make fun of the nukes?" Yes, Houki, she did. That is America in a nutshell. And to think later Nicole would be the least awful of the American IS pilots I would meet.

"She's lucky there's enough wiggle room about comments in the middle of a duel to spare herself from another infraction." Chifuyu commented. "You can't expect everyone to keep their mouth clean in the middle of a fight."

Still, I had linked with Byakushiki with no issues, and the extra minutes Nicole unintentionally gave me ensured that my mind could iron out the initial kinks the first synchronization with my IS could get.

Those days with the ISA Uchigane did help a lot in getting it right.

As I flew towards the center of the arena, I was replaying the encouragement from Chifuyu (she's said my name ever since I enrolled here!). And Houki, and there I was, in front of Cecilia Alcott wearing Blue Tears in all its glory.

"And now for the first duel of the candidates of Class Representatives." The announcer spoke. "On one side, we have the UK Cadet Candidate, and one of the elite among the new students: Cecilia Alcott!"

Of course, Cecilia had to move her hair in a mocking manner, as if to silently tell me, 'Step away, you monkey.' Jerk.

"And on the other side, the first male pilot of the Infinite Stratos and brother of the first Brunhilde, Orimura Ichika!" I was almost deafened by the cheers from all the fangirls present in the public, although it made me glad I wasn't alone in this.

"As before, do the duelists have anything to say before the battle?" The announcer spoke to us, although behind her cheerful voice, there was some hidden hope that we didn't end up throwing harsh insults like Nicole and Shinoda did.

"Good. You have kept your word." Cecilia spoke, smirking all the way. "I suppose you'll need time to get used to that, yes?"
"I'm fine." I reply. "It feels like the IS was a part of me for a long time. Still, thanks."

"It's still not too late, though. You could back down from this if you like." Cecilia said. "As I've said before, there's a huge difference between my skills and yours. You will just end up hurting yourself. Both your body and your pride, if we proceed."

I took a breath before I gave my answer. "We won't know that until we actually fight."

"I see," Cecilia replies. "How unfortunate." The sirens blared, signaling it was time to duel. It was fine; there was nothing more left to say.
"Ready?" The announcer spoke. "FIGHT!"

The plan was simple: destroy the bits of Blue Tears, followed by slashing at Cecilia enough to drop her shield points to zero and claim victory. Of course, it was far easier said than done.

As I was warned before, the Blue Tears possessed a ridiculous amount of firepower, even by Westerners standards, so I was truly thankful that Byakushiki had a ridiculous speed of its own.

In spite of that, it was clear the sheer size of difference between Cecilia and Nicole in terms of both firepower and experience, as far more lasers hit Byakushiki despite its improvements over the Uchiganes. And since I lacked anything ranged to supplement the sword my IS suit had, I had to get closer, risking getting shot up harder than a Hellsing villain, to deliver damage to Blue Tears at all.

So, it shouldn't have been a surprise when eventually I took a shot from the main rifle after a successful bait.

"Shields at 50%"

Ouch.

That wasn't good.

I barely managed to avoid the second shot, and I was thankful for it because it blew up the floor of the arena, forming rocks big enough to break someone's cranium.

"Dance, dance to the waltz of the Blue Tears!" Cecilia taunted as she blasted at me and the arena floor, clearly enjoying that she had me at the ropes with a well-placed shot.

And then, I had a mad idea.

With a feint, I managed to drive the gunfire of the bits away from me, and I flew towards the boulders formed by her lasers, then I temporarily sent away my sword and grabbed a pair of appropriate boulders with both hands. I noticed the gunfire was less intense, which probably meant Cecilia was just as confused as I believe everyone else in the arena was, messing with her concentration in coordinating the bits.

Not what I was counting on, but eh, I'll take it.

And then, I threw upward one of the boulders, brought back my sword, and after mentally apologizing to both Chifuyu and Houki, I used it as a bat and swatted the rock towards Blue Tears.

"Are you throwing rocks at me?!" Cecilia shouted in indignation after dodging the boulder. "You don't even have the dignity to hit your target!"

"Didn't I?" I smirked. Only then did she realize one of her drones was put down, and I used her shock to bat another rock, which hit bullseye too.
Two down, two more to go.

"That's an… interesting way to use the arena…" I couldn't blame the announcer lady for her confusion. Using the arena itself as a weapon wasn't something anyone tried before (and didn't look like an idiot for failing).

Credits due to Cecilia; she quickly catches on and uses her main cannon and the remaining bits to blow up the remaining rocks, leaving me without projectiles. "I dare you to come up with more caveman tactics, simian brute!"

That was fine; I gained enough time to prepare for the first backup plan.

I went full thrust at Cecilia, and this time I used my sword as it was meant to be used. With the decimation of her support gunfire, destroying the remaining two drones with a precise slash each, taking away points of her shield as a bonus. The training I went to all week long was worth it after all.
"Guess the only Blue Tears left are those from your pretty face." I couldn't help but taunt, high in the success of my battle plan.

Suddenly, Cecilia blushed at my comment, and not exactly out of anger.

"W-what? I mean, WHAT?!" For a few seconds at least. "Don't think your burst of banter will distract me!"

Despite her claims, her aim became sloppier, both due to the destruction of the bits and the tiredness of the battle getting through to her. And with Byakushiki getting faster the more I piloted it, I was sure I had this in the bag. So I charged at Cecilia with all the assurance I could muster.

When Cecilia smiled, I knew I screwed up.

"Sorry to disappoint you," She then brings forth two more drones. "But my IS suit is equipped with six Blue Tears!" And they fired at me with all they had.
I could hear Cecilia giving backhanded compliments, but my mind was focused on my IS transforming, as it finally gathered enough data to show its true chops.

"First Shift activated." My IS spoke, and I knew I still had a chance to win.

"WHAT?!" The shocked Brit pilot was shocked. "First shift? Does that mean you were fighting me with initial settings all this time?!"

It was then when the true form of Byakushiki revealed itself, and I could feel my body and IS synchronizing as one, and my sword was replaced with the Yukihira Nigata, the blade Chifuyu herself used in the past.

"W-well, the only thing it changes is that we're now at equal footing." Cecilia sounded like she was trying to assure herself.

"For Chifuyu's sake, I won't lose!" Then I simply flew forward to her and slashed the two Blue Tears left, plus some to her main body too.

Then suddenly we both stopped, both remembering about the IS's Absolute Defense, and that there were still weapons capable of passing through it and causing physical damage to the pilot. Even death.

And then Cecilia freaked out. "NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" She fired at me with the savagery of someone who almost tasted death. And unlike Nicole, who could abuse someone else going berserk, I couldn't do much beyond avoiding her lasers, hoping to find an opening, but Cecilia wasn't stopping, even when I could hear Chifuyu ordering her to stop it.

The only way to end this quickly before any of us were hurt too much was activating the special ability of the Yukihira Nigata: Reiraku Byakuya. Which would allow me to charge the power of my sword at the cost of my shield energy, making it only a finisher technique for a trainee like me.

It was reckless? Of course, and I was actually counting on it.

And as if agreeing with me, my HUD noticed that the back of Blue Tears was heating up abnormally and suggested that I strike there. I sighed and prepared to deal the final blow.

I flew at full speed, avoiding the desperate barrages from Cecilia, knowing it was all or nothing.

"Warning: shields at 5%." I gritted my teeth as I got closer, and both I and my HUD noticed a shining light where I was meant to attack. With all my willpower, I slashed at the back of Blue Tears' legs, which led to a reaction across the IS and eliminated her shields, forcing Blue Tears to activate the Absolute Defense.

"I won?" I said, holding my breath.

KABOOOOOOOOOOOM!

---

"ICHIKA!" I barely woke up at the sounds of Houki getting closer, and I opened my eyes to realize I was still on the floor. "Are you alright?!"

"Y-yeah." I said, and I raised my hand, only to realize in horror that almost all of Yukihira Nigata was molten slag covering the floor, only its handle left.

"Yukihira Nigata repairs at 1%." The IS didn't do much to reassure me as Chifuyu and Maya went to me too.

"Chifu… I mean, Miss Orimura." I said, thankfully I wasn't smacked for my slip-up. "What happened? Why did Cecilia's IS explode when I attacked?"

"While the details are the kind of questions only Tabane could explain well," Houki winced when Chifuyu mentioned her sister. "It is clear some idiot among Alcott's team messed with the Mutant Currents of Blue Tears, eventually leading to the explosion."

"And Cecilia? Is she alright?" Hey, I was worried for her too.

"Well…" Houki pointed at the answer.

"AAAAAAAAH! MY ARSEEEEEEEEE!" She was being carried away by the paramedics. "MY BLOODY, BEAUTIFUL ARSE! AAAAAAAAAH!"

"She should count her lucky stars the ISA infirmary is among the best across the world. She will walk again in a couple of weeks." Chifuyu added. "Still, because of the circumstances, there may be an incoming internal investigation in case of sabotage, but I can tell you that you're now officially the 1-1 Class Representative. Congratulations, Orimura Ichika."

I admit that despite the circumstances, I was proud of what I did. I won my first IS duel. Whatever came next didn't matter today.

"Let's get out of here, Ichika." I was grabbed away from the arena by Houki, a bit too tightly, I must say, and moved towards the rooms, not even bothering to take a shower in the hangars.

"Chifuyu said there's going to be an investigation, if only to erase any suspicion of sabotage." Of course, there was only one person here in the ISA who hated Cecilia enough to try to sabotage her.

"It was Lovelock, wasn't she?" Houki said. "She's the only one mad enough to try to do something like that to even the odds in your favor."

Before I could give my two cents, we met Nicole as she left the hangar. "Sup, bitches." She greeted us, smoking next to a 'No Smoking' sign.
"You did this!" And Houki proved she hadn't lost her intensity by accusing Nicole.

"I'm not going to steal your punching bag and future boytoy." Sorry, Houki, but you did walk into that one.

"Not that!" Houki was getting incensed, judging by her reddening face. "You sabotaged Blue Tears, didn't you, Lovelock?!"

"I didn't do anything to Lady Di's Transformer. I just gave her mechanic a collection of all the Kit-Kat flavors sold in Hoshi City." Nicole shamelessly shrugs. "It's not my fault she chooses to pay me with ruining that Transformer."

"First, stop calling the IS a Transformer." I feel that line should have been Tabane's, Houki. "And second, you almost got both Cecilia and Ichika killed, never mind that you could be expelled for this!"

"What's your problem, Kendo Princess?" Nicole asked, unperturbed. "We got rid of KKK Thatcher; thus, the school has one less racist psychopath to worry about for a few weeks."

"What's your problem, Lovelock?!" Houki fired back. "How the hell are you enjoying that some of our classmates almost suffered a fatal injury?!"

"She was a bitch." And for someone like Nicole, that was enough to commit murder. "I'm going to enjoy my room for the first time since I've arrived in this madhouse. Have fun with your Japanese S&M session."

And she left, and I had to grab Houki before she tried to attack Nicole again, and even after she turned into a blushed mess for the almost-hug, she was still cursing the American with her breath.

Yeah. Welcome to the Infinite Stratos Academy. Abandon all common sense, ye who enter here.