A/N: If any of you are reading this story again or are reading this story for the first time... just know this isn't where the chapter ends... im slowly making the chapter bigger as when i previously wrote it... i did not like it one bit... i thought as for people reading it for the first time i need to make it better than previous so this chapter and the other train to survive chapters will be updated once again until i reach minimum 5K+ words and they are good enough... i truly dont like the fact that it was originally only 1000 words so i will continue to update this and the other chapters over this month and next...
please if you are new... and these are small? just give me time to prove myself and i will make it bigger and better now that i have experience of writing under my belt you will see much better work from me :)
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Disclaimer: i don't own Infinite Stratos nor do I own the OC's put into this story, they both belong to Izuru Yumizuru and Imherepresent.
Chapter 188:
There was always something about the island shrine that Ichika and his sisters was currently staying on, Ichika could feel that much from the island but so far hasn't been able to figure out what this 'something' was. That being said. The island held a structure that appeared to be extremely large for its size, The Structure showed no issue showing its Japanese artistry style of look that it added to the structure itself.
Put away its bewildering presence that it held on the island, Ichika felt that he was swallowed in this massive building due to its size. This led to Ichika and his sisters getting lost quite often when trying to find their sleeping quarters.
Putting all of this aside, the island held an ominous feeling that chilled Ichika's sisters to the bone. Madoka didn't know what it was, but neither did Chifuyu surprisingly. All they knew is that it was there and there was no way it was going away anytime soon.
Chifuyu suspected that there was something Nobume wasn't telling them but didn't want to interrogate Nobume quite yet.
Waking up due to the presence, Ichika decided to sit up and take in the view of his sisters peacefully sleeping away.
"Zzz..zzZ."
"..."
Ichika smiled at the relaxed faces of his sisters and stared at them for a while. Finally breaking out of the gaze, Ichika turned his eyes towards the glass doors which lead to the balcony of this magnificent building.
(Sleeping is getting me nowhere; I need some fresh air.)
Carefully Ichika tried to get up without making too much noise, Once Ichika was able to stand up, he made his way outside onto the balcony.
Ichika placed his hands on the railing and began to take in the soft touch of the delicate breeze. The breeze felt soft against his skin and it made feel at ease for once. Feeling like this, Ichika closed his eyes, and began to think to himself,
(I wonder what the girls are currently doing? I hope they are doing fine.)
A wave of nostalgia began to hit Ichika.
" I wonder when i'll be able to go back to the academy?"
The boy mumbled quietly, this
got the attention of the person in the shadows.
" Another month or so."
A voice called out to Ichika, this caught the boy off-guard for a moment until Nobume walked out of the shadows.
"Oh Nobume."
Ichika snapped out of his daze.
" Nobume what are you doing here?" Ichika questioned Nobume, obviously surprised that she came from nowhere.
" I felt your presence, so I wanted to check up on you."
Nobume glanced at Ichika.
"Yeah... I couldn't sleep, something is keeping me up and i can't tell what it is."
Ichika stated to Nobume, Nobume began to realise what was keeping him up.
"I see you are beginning to feel it, your sisters must be feeling it as well, this is very good progress."
Nobume smiled, this only seemed to confused Ichika more.
"I'm not understanding what you are trying to say Nobume."
Ichika stared at Nobume with a puzzled expression waiting for Nobume to provide an answer.
" Well I cannot say too much on that matter, but what I can say is that your power is starting to take in what you should of years ago..."
Nobume stared out to the dark sky. This statement gave Ichika some answers but only seemed to give him more questions.
" By years ago, do you mean when I was here with mom? "
Ichika stared at Nobume. Nobume turned her head back to Ichika to give him a response.
"Yes, you would have been far more powerful if you did this training years ago."
Nobume replied to Ichika's question, which left Ichika in feeling of gnaw.
"Anyway Ichika, what matters is now and now we can get to teach what you and your sisters were meant to learn years back. "
Nobume smiled with relief when she saw Ichika no longer thinking too much about her answers.
"Right, you mentioned that I will be going back to the academy soon."
Ichika asked Nobume
"That's correct, we do not want to overwork you three, so we planned to teach you in 3 separate fragments."
Nobume Explained to Ichika
"Those separate stages are?"
Ichika asked with full attention drawn to Nobume.
" 1) will be Aura control which you are currently doing. 2) [Judgement call training] As for 3) that is a type of special training which will bring out the power in each of you.
Nobume stated to the now thoughtful Ichika.
"So just like this training, will there be breaks between individual training?"
Ichika questioned Nobume.
"Correct, well Ichika you need your rest, tomorrow is going to be a long day of training."
Nobume said whilst keeping her eye on Ichika.
Scratching the back of his head, Ichika tried to come up with some excuse to continue the conversation between him and Nobume.
To no avail Ichika sighed as a surrender of defeat.
"Fine I'm off to bed. Goodnight Nobume."
Ichika said, Nobume smiled.
"Goodnight Ichika"
Nobume silently began to walk into the shadows of the balcony. Instead of going to bed, Ichika decided to stay on the balcony with just him and his thoughts. Nights like this, Ichika couldn't help but stay up and think about things, especially those he cared about and the future. It dawned on Ichika that things were only getting more and more interesting as each day went by. However, Ichika couldn't shake off this feeling he had of uncertainty.
(What's this feeling I feel?) Ichika tried to shake the thoughts out of his head however, the feeling was still lingering within him. That wasn't something he could shake off so easily.
"Ichika?" A voice called out to him. Ichika turned around to see Madoka standing in front of the balcony door wearing a tired expression.
"Madoka?" Ichika started. "What are you doing up? Your supposed to be a sleep you know." Ichika finished whilst trying to coerce get Madoka to go back inside the room. Instead of letting her Nii-Chan force her back into the room, she stood her ground.
"Ichika... What are you doing out here this late night?" Madoka demanded answers from her older brother, Madoka gave Ichika a stern glare. Ichika just smiled at his younger sister and looked towards the sky.
"I just came out because I woke up and wasn't tired..." Ichika turned back to his younger sister. Madoka rubbed away the tiredness out of her eyes and focused on her big brother. Collecting her thoughts entirely, Madoka looked up towards the sky and noticed how beautiful it seemed tonight.
"Sky looks amazing tonight, right?" Ichika asked his younger sister. Madoka was in awe on how beautiful the stars and the sky looked tonight. "It has that factor on all of us... Say Madoka... Do you reckon there are other beings out there?" Ichika asked Madoka an odd question. Madoka didn't know how to respond to that as she already knew the answer.
(Do I tell Nii-san that there is other being out there? No... It's too early for that... If nee-san knew I told him... she would be worried all the time...) Madoka snapped herself out of her thoughts to see Ichika trying to get her attention.
"Madoka? Are you okay? Do you have a fever?"Ichika proceeded to ask his little sister a bombardment of questions regarding how she felt. Ichika placed his head against her forehead to check her temperature. When realising what was happening, Madoka began to blush heavily.
"W-W-What are you doing!? Baka-Nii!" Madoka began to struggle against Ichika's grip as he held her shoulders. Ichika opened his eyes to see his little sister bright red.
"Madoka calm down... You'll make yourself feel worse..." Ichika moved his head off of Madoka's forehead. "You're not ill... So, what's up? Your face is bright red..." Ichika questioned curiously whilst looking at his younger sister.
"Nothing baka nii! It's nothing... Don't worry about it..." Ichika knew there was something that he wasn't being told. This only motivated Ichika to find out even more to figure out what was wrong with his sister. Madoka turned away from him and looked at the doors behind her instead facing her big brother with her blushing at the moment.
Ichika did something that Madoka never expected him to do. It surprised Madoka when she felt the soft and warm hands of her older brother wrap around her tiny waist and his head leaned on the top of her shoulder. Madoka began to feel the warm breath of Ichika tickling her neck. She bit her lip in order not to say anything about it.
"You know you can tell me anything right? Don't feel afraid to tell me something you feel or something on your mind Madoka...I can tell when something's bothering you." Madoka for a few moments let herself enjoy being in her big brother's arms before snapping out of her stupor
"Please stop this Ichika... It's becoming harder and harder to go on without telling you..." Madoka turned with a glazed look on her face. Ichika turned Madoka around which surprised her. Ichika was caught off guard for a few moments before snapping back to reality to take in what his little sister had just said. Ichika moved his hands to Madoka's face to brush a few strands of her hair out of her face before cupping both of her cheeks and letting out a reassuring smile.
"You know you can tell me anything right? I don't care how bad or how terrible it is... I won't ever judge you … as you are my sister... and I care about you too much..." Ichika smiled a few moments longer before dropping his hands and placing them on her shoulders and bringing her into a hug for her own closure. Madoka found it even harder to lie to herself about not enjoying moments like this. Moments like this was all Madoka wanted after all.
(This is too good... I can't... Big brother...) Madoka closed her eyes and rested in the hug of her big brothers' arms. Madoka could feel herself enjoying the sound of Ichika's heartbeat beating in a specific rhythm that she enjoyed very much. It had been a long time for Madoka since she was able to feel at peace for once.
Although for Madoka it made her desire to tell her brother how she truly felt about him even worse. For now, Madoka knew she would have to be satisfied with moments just like this for now. Although it did bring out a side of Madoka that she herself didn't feel too often. That side was the motivated side of Madoka that yearned to prove herself in any given situation so badly. Madoka wanted so badly to be the woman she thought of herself she could be.
"Hey Ichika?" Madoka paused for a few moments to ponder on the thought. "Do you think I could ever... truly be strong one day?" Madoka looked up at her big brother who was looking down towards her. Ichika just smiled when she finished talking.
"I believe that one day... Maybe not now or tomorrow... but I believe you will reach a strength that even you didn't believe was imaginable before... It's always the underdog's that reach power that people can't believe after all..." Ichika gently patted his little sister's head before looking up the stars in the sky whilst waiting for his little sisters reply.
"You think I'm an underdog? What do mean by that?" Madoka was confused on what Ichika was saying. Ichika looked down at his little sister who was giving him a curious look.
"Well I can't tell you what I mean by that in all detail so I'll sum it up for you in a short explanation."Ichika paused for a few moments and closed his eyes to let out a breath before reopening them. "I personally believe that you are different from Chifuyu and our sisters. Each of us have our own path. It's a difficult road to go down for all of us... What makes you different from us is that your desire to prove yourself is something unfathomable... I believe that even if you were able to tell us... we truly wouldn't be able to understand..."Ichika finished explaining on how he thought of his younger sister. Madoka's eyes lit up in happiness and shock when she heard what Ichika thought of her.
"Ichika..."
Madoka buried herself in Ichika's chest. She couldn't feel happier hearing the way he talked about her potential in the future. Madoka let herself enjoy her brother's hug a little bit more before she knew that it had to come to an end at some point. Finally parting from the hug, Ichika smiled at his sister before once again coercing her into to going back inside.
(Next scene)
A few days later...
Location: Void Shrine
"Guh!"
Right now, Ichika was putting himself through hell. Ichika knew that if he did not go through this world of pain when working out to this degree. Ichika was currently pushing himself whilst doing more sit ups than he originally thought he could do. His abs were currently in pain as he pushed himself further and further to continue. Ichika also knew if he didn't... he would regret it later on tonight. Ichika took the saying 'no pain, no gain.' to a new level.
With a face full of sweat and sweat dripping down his body, whilst working out Ichika heard the sound of footsteps approaching him, making him stop entirely so he could see who this person was. That 'person' was none other than Nobume, she was carrying a tray full of food and drinks which looked to made for Ichika. Nobume approached Ichika as began to stand up properly whilst rubbing the sweat off of his face.
"Hey... Nobume..." Ichika took a few moments to breathe. "What are you doing here? I thought you were with the other two..." Ichika questioned his mother's clone who placed the tray of food on a table a few feet from Ichika before walking over to him and handing him a towel to wipe the sweat off with.
"Chifuyu and Madoka are training together today and are doing so I decided to visit you to see your progress in training has been like."Nobume explained her reasoning's for being here. Ichika nodded in response. And wiped the sweat that covered him whilst walking over the table with the tray of food.
"How come you brought so much food? I can't eat all of this... Unless you're planning to eat some to?" Ichika questioned Nobume before sitting down at the table. Nobume nodded her head in response to Ichika's question before she herself sat down opposite Ichika.
"I'll have a little bit..." Nobume picked up the teapot and poured herself her own cup of tea before placing it back. "You should eat as much as you can, you need it to function during training and during daily routines." Nobume explained before taking a sip of her tea. Ichika nodded in response and grabbed a plate and placed some of the food on it.
"Sounds like you want me to get fat." Ichika joked earning a confused look from Nobume. "It was a joke about people who are fat eating too much... I'll just shut up now..." Ichika went quiet and picked up and apple from the plate and took a bite. Nobume understood what Ichika meant now, she wasn't used to the outside world's problems yet.
"Well anyway... How's my sister's training going?" Ichika took another bite of his apple. "I assume now that we have been here for a while that you have started seeing differences in their training's, right?" Ichika hit the nail on head with that question.
"Definitely, that I can assure you. Madoka is slowly expanding how much [Jaaku Reiki] she can take in and how much she can use in battle where as Chifuyu is slowly gaining her control back from [Jaaku Reiki] once again." Nobume explained the results so far of his sister's training results as of now. Ichika felt proud that his sisters were becoming stronger as the days roll on.
"I see... It sounds like the two's results are finally starting to pay off..." Ichika paused for a few moments. "Well... I'm not surprised the two have been working hard for them to see their results anyway." Ichika smiled at the thought of the two reacting to their results paying off. Nobume smiled herself when she noticed Ichika thinking about it.
"Well as much as they made great progress so far... You yourself have made tremendous progress in the trials and training you have been put through... however, Ichika don't get complacent with stopping here because there is still a while to go after all." Nobume said to Ichika. Ichika took her words in before nodding in response.
"I know I won't get carried away..." Ichika took a bite out of his apple. "We still have a long way to go until I can even consider myself the definition of strong...I'll get there at one point but for now it's the road to that right?" Ichika smiled at Nobume who was looked as if she took what Ichika was saying and was now in deep thought about it.
"I think you already have exceeded my expectations on how strong you have become already... It amazes me to see how much dedication you put into becoming stronger and stronger already and you shouldn't stop as you will reach the height that you want to achieve with the right mindset one day..." Nobume explained to Ichika how she felt about his training up to now. Ichika had a shocked expression on his face for a few brief moments before smiling at Nobume.
"Thank you Nobume... I appreciate it..." Ichika put down the apple he held that was now finished. "But you weren't wrong. I can't get complacent yet nor do I plan to. I can't just be satisfied with just being strong right now as I have so many reasons why I need to be strong whether that be in battle or my sisters..." Ichika explained his main motivation on why he wants to become stronger and stronger.
"I see now... Let me tell you something about your father which you could learn from." Nobume took in what Ichika said for a few moments before responding. "The reason why your father Izanagi Orimura is considered one of the most dangerous Orimura's in history wasn't because he was as powerful as your grandfather for example... but was due to how he was a person... Your father wasn't just strong physically but strong mentally as his willpower to never give up exceeded anything we the Orimura's through our generations have ever seen."
The pair sat in silence for a few moments as Nobume allowed Ichika to take what she said to him into account for a while. It was a lot to process but eventually Ichika snapped out of his thoughts and back to Nobume.
"Is that why mom and our aunts fell in love with dad? Even you?" Nobume nodded to Ichika's questions. "I see now... well dad sounds like he is on a different level entirely when it comes to word 'strong'..." Ichika finished.
"Your father's very powerful but you heard about his illness... Your father was almost there in terms of the 'perfect Orimura' but his own [Jaaku Reik] held him back from making any progress over these years. Leading to him being so ill that he couldn't be around you or your sisters when you were all just children."
"Nobume there is a saying that you haven't heard... It goes like this 'You can only kick someone down so many times before they get back up.' I believe that it's only a matter of time before dad has had enough of his own powers controlling him before he snaps and takes back control." Ichika explained. Nobume hoped Ichika was right but couldn't help but have doubts about it as much as she didn't want to.
"You think so?"
I don't think so... I know so. We will witness The Rebirth of Izanagi Orimura one day... I can guarantee it..."
"I'll hold you to it..."
(Next Scene)
Location: Unknown
"Hyah!"
The sound of swords clashing can be heard from a distance away. Currently, Ayaka was training Houki and Sakura in a training session for the pair. The idea Ayaka had behind this particular training season was to get Houki and Sakura to be used to fighting side by side. What motivated Ayaka to look into the pair teaming up in training battle was the dynamic between the pair could cause more damage together than separately. Ayaka and the two girls had been had been at this training battle for an hour or so as Ayaka made it her job to give the pair tips on how to fully utilise their team work. The pair naturally worked well together.
Ayaka was very impressed how Houki and Sakura would cover for each other if the other failed one attack. Ayaka never had any time to breathe during battle which left her constantly on guard. A few times Ayaka stopped the fight a few times to give the girls pointers on how to work even better together. This also taught Ayaka the potential both girls separately as well as on their own. Ayaka found herself to be intrigued to find out whether or not this type of training could be replicated with the other girls in pairs for now. As one could cover for the other's mistakes or mishaps.
It was something Ayaka put in the back of her mind to look into in the future with the other war diva's. For now, it was time for Ayaka to give the girls more attention in this training as they were becoming better and better in combat with each other.
"Excellent ladies." Ayaka dodged the attempted stab of Houki's sword before landing back on her feet. "Slow still but for what it's worth its very good coordination you have going on, consider me majorly impressed." Ayaka said before the two girls appeared before her at an extreme speed. However, for Ayaka it was too slow to match her speed. Ayaka had already disappeared before they could get an attempt at a hit landing. Ayaka was already stood behind them, waiting for the relentless assault to begin once again.
Recovering quickly, Houki found herself once again launching towards Ayaka with another attack up her sleeve. Houki launched herself in the air and began to focus her attack as Sakura came from behind of Ayaka ready for Houki's signal to go. Instead of the plan going the way the two girls wanted it to go. Ayaka grabbed Houki's wrist whilst she was suspended in mid-air, and launched Houki into Sakura who was just about to launch her attack on Ayaka. Houki crashed into Sakura and the pair were sent tumbling into the ground with a loud thud.
Ayaka watched on as the pair began to scramble on the floor in attempts to get off of each other with an interested expression on her face. The girls eventually made it to their feet after a few moments of scrambling to get to their feet. Before the pair knew it themselves, they were ready to continue the training once again. Ayaka signalled for them to continue their onslaught of attacks on her once again. Houki moved at rapid speeds to move ever so closer at Ayaka before taking an attempt to finally land a hit on Ayaka. For Houki however, it did not work out the same way she predicted. Before she knew it, she was dismantled and set to the floor.
Houki watched on in amazement as she watched her teacher completely disarm Sakura before she could comprehend what was going on. Instead of continuing to watch, Houki, quickly picked her sword and rushed to her feet to help her friend out in dealing with their teacher. Ayaka did not let Sakura have any time to breathe as she wanted Sakura to get used a counter attacking fighter that held a lot of power. That was the role Ayaka was using against the two girls today. Ayaka noticed that the two wasn't used to fighting someone that could counter attack their attacks and where now left to using brute force which was never going to work on Ayaka.
Houki expected her teacher to counter attack her attack with her own attack. Houki did something Ayaka did not expect her to do. Instead of trying to directly hit her, Houki managed to get past her teacher to reunite Sakura against Ayaka. The few moments that Ayaka focused on Houki gave Sakura a chance to retreat enough for a breather. Now that the two had finally gotten together, they felt they could stand more of a chance against their teacher.
"That was close..." Houki took a moment to breathe. "You almost had me there... you are too fast..." Houki said as she regained her composure more. Sakura gripped the handle of her sword tighter as she prepared to attack once more.
"Enough talking girls, time to attack, we are going to wrap up training soon so you can rest your beaten and bruised bodies" Ayaka explained to the pair. Ayaka waved for the girls to come forward and attack her once again.
Using any strength, she could use, Houki and Sakura began their final attack on their teacher once more as they approached her at great speeds. Because of how the girls approached Ayaka, Ayaka dodged their kicks and attempts at landing an attack with their katana's. Ayaka was waiting for the perfect moments to counter attack the girls, until then she was going to be patient with her attack for now. A few moments later came Ayaka's chance to counter attack Houki's kick. Houki threw a roundhouse kick towards Ayaka who dodged her kick and landed a gruelling stomach hit. Ayaka threw her shot weak enough to not hurt Houki too much. After all she did not want to hurt her students after all.
Sakura attempted to use one of her techniques to use against her teacher however, Ayaka predicted Sakura would attempt to get a hit when her back was turned whilst facing Houki. To counter Sakura, Ayaka used her speed to her advantage to disarm Sakura and throw her a few metres backwards. With both girls unable to continue their training any further, Ayaka decided that she wanted to end today's training session. She had learned a lot about her students that she needed to discuss with the war diva's.
"Haaaaahh..."
"Haaaaahhh..."
Both girls took a few moments to breathe before standing up and facing their teacher, Houki felt physically drained and tired from such an intense battle session with her teacher today. Sakura also felt as drained as Houki too. She couldn't wait to rest her bruised and aching body. For Houki in particular, she felt like she hadn't rested her body in such a long time due to the training.
"You girls can go and rest now, you clearly need it after today's training." Ayaka told the girls. Houki and Sakura nodded in response before they began to walk away from their training session.
(Interesting... today was... very interesting... I must tell the others of my findings...) Ayaka thought before she disappeared into the darkness of the shadows.
PSSST! Please leave a review! ;) I'd appreciate feedback lol