Hello Everbody! This was definitely the hardest chapter I had to write. I originally wanted to post this last Spring, but I realized quickly I am not good at choreographing fight scenes and on top of that I didn't like the pacing in some sections, which made me scrap many versions of this chapter. So after reading some books with heavy choreographed gun/fight scenes, I managed to complete it. 3 I am hoping Mid Fall to early Winter I will finish and submit the next chapter. I think I have mentioned this before, though I am trying my best to keep Chief not too OOC. I understand you want Chief to be the stoic, badass Supersoldier who barely talks unless he needs to. But if I copied those same emotions and paste it in this version of Chief in an all-girl school, that will be very boring when it comes to dialogue-heavy sections. I wanted to explore a scenario what would happen if Chief was forced to live with civilians and how would he react to it when he wasted much of his life fighting numerous wars. To chief living with Civilians is much more alien than fighting on an alien planet. I hope you enjoy the chapter and if you have any questions I will try my best to reply as soon as I can.

KLANG! SHHHHHK! The sound of blades echoed loudly as Ichika's blade met with Rin's giant scimitar.

Today was the first day of school and there was already combat training in the morning. It was a match between class 1 and class 2 class representatives.

"I won't let you get away this time!" Ichika shouted as he kept slashing his blade with aggression and speed.

It was the first time Rin felt concerned how much Ichika has improved since their first match against each other. She was mostly on the defensive as all she could do was parry his heavy blows and slashes. No matter how many times she was able to retreat and take a few seconds of rest, he kept charging at her.

"Damn! No matter how many times I kept shaking him off he keeps charging me!" She cursed herself as she tried to distance herself from him.

Ichika was hot on her tail and realized she was mostly on the defensive. " She is not laying many fires so here goes!"

Ichika became more and more confident as the battle prolonged. He raised his left arm and aimed it at the fleeing IS. He was now equipped with a weapon called Setsura. It was a particle cannon that fires yellow beams of energy only in semi fire action. He sprayed a few shots towards Rin. She automatically relied on her instincts and training to dodge his onslaught. Even though Ichika was an aggressive swordsman, his marksmanship was still poor compared to hers or even Cecelia's. For every five shots or so managed to hit a glancing blow on her shields when it could have been every other shot from a skilled marksman like Cecelia. She danced in the air till he stopped firing only to return the favor and fired several shots from her pair Impact cannons.

Some confidence returned to her as she discovered Ichika's poor marksmanship. That sense of being superior and confidence was very welcoming as she became more aggressive and charged towards him. She raised her duel bladed scimitar high in the air and swung it hard in a wide arc. The male pilot quickly parried the heavy blow with the Yukihira, the energy sword. Sparks flew out on contact with each other's blades as they grind against each other. Rin gritted her teeth as she tried to break the lock with brute strength, however with such focus distracted her because this allowed Ichika to aim Setsura at her face.

Her eyes widen and she barely had time to react as he fired several particle shots at point-blank. Her shields buckled violently as it absorbed the powerful blows, but the shockwave felt like a baseball bat smacking her face. She screamed in pain while she lost control of her suit and was twirled to the earth.

Ichika could not help but smirk when her body bounced repeatedly on the tournament floor like skipping stones. He could feel that rush of excitement that he may win this battle.

"Heh! You are going down this time, RIn!" He said as he aimed Setsura and fired at the downed pilot.

Once she regained control of her suit, she quickly dashed across the field in an S shape pattern while explosions from Setsura showered the field in dirt and rocks. After dashing across the field in intricate sharp turns, she pitched her thrusters and flew high in the air.

The two were hovering high in the air in combat stances. It was the eye of the storm as the two breathed heavily to catch their breath.

In a control tower of the Coliseum, Chifuyu and Maya were monitoring their students' battle. Maya had a smile on her face while watching Ichika fought against his friend. She felt proud that her student improved so much since his enrollment to the academy.

"The first training battle of the second term and Ichika combat has improved incredibly."

Chifuyu was watching the battle with a stoic expression. "Uh-huh." Unlike the green hair instructor, Ichika's sister was critiquing her younger brother combat skills.

"You don't see it that way?" Maya asked

"That reckless idiot does not have any strategy at all." She sighed.

Meanwhile, the two pilots were still hovering in the air waiting for who will be the one to charge.

"Rin! The next round will be the end!" Ichika shouted as held the Yukihara in front of his chest.

No one moved for the next few seconds and Ichika decided to charge. He shouted a warcry and boosted towards Rin and slashed his blade diagonally. Rin burst her thrusters and flew a few meters above his head to dodge his attack. She then spiraled behind his back and charged at his rear. Ichika managed to parry the blow and sparkles flew. At this point in the battle, Rin became frustrated with the numerous stalemates and decided to use her Impact Cannons. This was out of desperation because Rin knew it was dangerous to shoot someone point-blank repeatedly as there was a high chance it would damage her as well. She fired numerous shots on Ichika's back to force him to disengage. He grunted in pain as he continued to lock his blade against her dual bladed scimitars while alarms blared in his HUD.

Suddenly, a different alarm rang warning him he ran out of energy. Consequently, his energy sword faded back into its hilt and slowly his systems were shutting down.

"What!?" He shouted in shock as he kicked Rin away to break the lock. Rin smirked in confidence as she threw her dual bladed scimitar like a boomerang at Ichika.

"You're mine!" She shouted as the blades smacked him against the chest. Ichika barely had time to react as she hovered on top of him with her Impact cannons aimed his head.

"I win!" She smirked before firing the last salvo. A loud buzzard echoed in the Coliseum, which drowned Ichika's cries of pain as he plummeted to the earth with a loud crash.

It was a good start of the day for Ichika as he ran towards his classroom from the changing room in a sprint. He could not believe he was late to class on the first day of the second semester after spending too much time in the showers and talking to that mysterious light blue-haired girl in the dressing room. He gulped loudly before entering the room hoping the class was distracted from noticing him. The sliding door slid open the first person he saw was his older sister. She wore her usual business black overcoat, skirt, green tie, stockings, and high heels.

She rested her hand on her hip with a look of disappointment a parent would give to scold her child while she listened to his excuse for being tardy.

"So, that's your excuse for being late?" She asked with not a slight drop in sympathy for her younger brother.

"Y-yes! A mysterious blue-haired girl walked up to me and-"

She cut him off. " So you prefer conversing with a random girl than coming to my class on time?"

"Th-that's not what I said?" Ichika said as he felt the cold sweat gliding across his back.

"Dunois!" She said. "Please demonstrate the class of the Rapid Switch."

The blond hair student humbly obeyed with a warm smile on her face. She gracefully walked to the front of the class before her hand was engulfed in white light. The blinding light only lasted for a second as she held Garm, a .61 cal submachine gun. Ichika was waving his hands frantically while Charlotte pointed Garm at his head. She gave Ichika a radiant smile a saint would give to a lowly man. Her smile eased Ichika's anxiety as he believed his friend wouldn't act rash and murder him in front of the class.

"Let us begin!" She smiled and pulled the triggered.

The sound of bullets overpowered Ichika's screams as he leaned against the wall facing the classroom. The wall was rattled with bullets as Charlotte traced Ichika's body like a pencil on a blank canvas.

Ichika was fortunate that he went to relieve himself before running to class or else he would ruin his uniform. His body went limp in shock as he thought he would die.

He took a deep breath and slowly stood up as his adrenaline slowly died. "Was that necessary?! I could have died!"

Chifuyu could not help but smirk. "Hmph! I trust Dunois's marksmanship. Perhaps I would let her use you as target practice the next time you are late for class."

She then grabbed the collar of his uniform and pulled him up to his feet. He could not help but gulp loudly when she pulled him to her chest. She smirked at her anxious little brother before she released her grip and helped brush the wrinkles and crinkles off of his uniform jacket.

Ichika was eager to sit on his chair with an exhausted sigh of relief. He hated to be the center of attention, which was a daily challenge when he was the only male student in the academy.

"Now where was I…" Chifuyu said as she stared at an electronic whiteboard full of statistics, algorithms, and an image of wireframe weapon models.

Before the raven hair instructor could continue with her morning lecture, the classroom door opened again. Her eyes quickly darted towards the door. A familiar green hair instructor entered the classroom with a warm smile.

She respectfully bowed to her. "Good morning, Orimura-sensei. I have brought our new classmate."

Everyone in the class began to whisper loudly. It was quite unheard of to have a new student to be transferred to an academy when half of the year was already over. Ichika, Charlotte, Houki, Laura, and Cecelia were the only not surprised who this new student could be as they remained quiet. Maya took a few steps outside of the classroom and waved her hand gesturing the new student to enter the room like a puppy.

A large male teenager entered the room hesitantly. The classroom erupted with loud gasps and shouts when John entered the classroom. He stood in the front center of the classroom with his hands behind his back. Unlike Ichika's first reaction when he was transferred to the Academy on his first day, John was stoic. Behind his back, the electronic whiteboard cleared the class lectures and the words "Welcome New Student!" appeared.

"EHHHH!" The classmates shouted. It was shocking that a third new student was transferred to their classroom, but another male student was a shocking surprise.

Maya was the first to speak on behalf of the new classmate. "I would like to introduce you to our newest classmate, John!"

The classroom erupted in energetic shouts as if fangirls saw their favorite celebrity. John's eye was slightly twitching from the erupt loud shouts. Maya was waving her hands frantically to calm the class down, while Chifuyu shook her head in disappointment.

"Quiet down, class!" Maya tried to restore order. "This is not how we should greet our new student!"

She looked at her new student. "Why don't you tell the class your name and a few fun facts about yourself. "

He took a deep breath before he greeted his new classmates. "My name is John."

"..."

"Um. Any fun facts?" Maya asked hesitantly.

"I have none."

The class all had mixed feelings about their new students. Most were dedicated to worshipping Ichika, but a foreign student seemed to change all that.

The green hair instructor was not used to an emotionless student and hard times trying to break the awkward silence.

"Well, you can take a seat behind Ichika then."

It was unfortunate that last semester a female student once sat behind Ichika, however she resigned after the whole resort incident. She was not the only one as other freshmen classes also experienced a few dropouts this hurting the prestige of the academy.

He sat quietly in his new seat while he opened his various textbooks and fresh notebook. He could not help but feel uncomfortable when with so many eyes staring at him. He could feel his body tense as he was the new center of attention.

" This is going to be a long day." He groaned.

While Chifuyu and Maya were staring at the board to continue their lecture, Ichika quietly looked at his new classmates. "I'm glad you are here, John! I feel relieved that I am not the only guy in this school.

Chifuyu slapped a large ruler across her podium and the loud crackle shook Ichika.

"Do I need to add being disruptive to the growing list of referrals?"

He quietly shook his head and his classmates could not help but snicker and laugh seeing Ichika being scolded by his older sister.

John could not help but sweat a bit as he sat motionless in his seat for over an hour. The room was ghostly quiet, but his new teachers' voices broke the silence here and there as they spoke the morning lectures. It was nothing John couldn't understand as it was all dogfighting strategies IS pilots needed to learn academics ranging from ace pilots video archives and theoretical simulations. He hated this mundane lecture, hated being in this academy, and hated pretending to be someone he was not. He should be stopping the Covenant Remnants harassing UNSC planets or stop the new Forerunner threat. This boredom was driving him insane as he stared at the digital clock in agony that was located above the classroom door. The bored Spartan could not help but shake his leg as he was eager to get out of class. If it was not for his stoic expression and discipline he would just shout at the top of his lungs and throw his desk across the classroom. He let out a loud sigh of relief when he heard the morning bell chime. His muscles were sore for being locked and tense. John could not help but slouch a bit in his chair from the mental exhaustion.

After the morning bell chimed there was a small break before the students were required to return to class. Rumors of a new student spread like wildfire and it seemed like the entire student body wanted to confirm it for themselves. John's classmates couldn't leave the class because a wall of students clogged the entire hallway as they all struggled to look through the glass door and find the second male student. Unfortunately for John, there was no rest even after class lectures as his classmates surrounded him asking questions like how was he able to pilot an IS, what's his phone number, if he had a girlfriend, etc. John's answers were carefully crafted and short so he did not want to offend them. He was never used to talking to civilians or even a mob of horny teenagers. So he would give the girls a fake, small smile and politely shake his head if he didn't know the answer to their question.

Ichika, on the other hand, felt relieved that he was the center of attention for once. He let out a sigh of relief that he would not be the only male student in this academy. He closed his class notebook and textbook and neatly placed them back into his student bag. Once Ichika finally sat up he was surrounded by three familiar faces: Laura, Charlotte, and Cecelia.

"My-my~! This seems like Deja vu." Cecelia chuckled as she stared at the group of students surrounding their new classmate.

"It seems like you will have competition, Ichika." Charlotte giggled

"I will gladly forfeit." the young teenager sighed. "It feels great to feel normal for once."

Laura folded her arms. "Hmmph! I have already mentioned this, but I still don't think we should trust him.

Ever since the whole resort incident, Laura had asked Clarissa any background information of the Spartan or his mysterious military organization. Weeks of dedicated research from her trusted Schwarzer Haze Intelligence Officers and none were able to find any leads. An organization that remained this silent was dangerous to the security of her Fatherland and the Academy. She tried to express her concerns to her beloved Instructor, but Chifuyu shrugged it off.

The young male student shrugged his friend's concerns. "Nah! You are just overthinking it, Laura."

He turned his back and stared at the Spartan having a miserable time trying to communicate with the horde surrounding him.

"See, Laura. Does that look like a dangerous guy?" He chuckled. " He does not look dangerous to me."

"You should not trust people so easily, wife."

'Well, I trust you, Laura." He smiled. "Despite our rough start look how close we all are!"

Laura could not argue with that as she felt her face turned red as a tomato. Outside of the classroom, Ichika could hear a familiar voice shouting through the horde of students in the hallways.

"Move aside! Let me through!" A familiar brown hair teenager managed to squeeze through the horde of girls and enter the classroom.

"So what's all this commotion about!" Rin shouted as she sternly walked towards Ichika's desk. She then spotted John surrounded by his classmates. "Oh! I should have known he would be here."

"What brings you here?" Ichika asked.

"I'm here to notify all first-year class representatives that there will be an assembly."

"Right now?'

"Yup. Something about the School President's Announcement."

"I didn't even know we had a School President," Charlotte said

"Neither do I," Ichika added

"Well don't just stand there! Hurry up and rally your class to the Auditorium!"

He nervously stood up and shouted to his class that there were a sudden announcement and everyone needed to head to the Auditorium in an orderly fashion. His classmates all groan in disappointment and they slowly lined up in front of the classroom. John was glad the barrage of questions were done as he rubbed the bridge of his nose in relief.

"You sure are popular." A familiar voice giggled.

He saw Houki next to the corner of his desk smiling. Her attitude was no longer timid, but her quiet, cheery self. He was glad that the awkward tension between them was no longer a problem after spending some friendly bond together at the festival.

He shrugged his shoulders before he slowly stood up. "Is this common for new students to be the center of attention?"

She shook her head as the two teenagers lined up with the other students. "Just you and Ichika. You two are the only males in the world to pilot an IS. You are practically a celebrity to these people.

"Great…" He mumbled.

Other class doors opened as class 101 was walking through the large hallway. Soon the hallway was filled with students all neatly filed in a straight line with each class shoulder to shoulder like a military formation. John would wince whenever the other classmates romantically moan and shout at him. Houki sympathized with the poor Spartan as he was clearly in distress from all the attention. She decided not to say another word and give John some time to himself.

The auditorium was a huge empty room able to accommodate the entire student body. The students were divided by their years. There were three groups of students forming a square with gaps between the grades like a phalanx formation. In front of them was a large, empty stage with a wooden podium.

For once John has some peace and tranquility because the auditorium was dead silent because they were all told to be silent and respectful. The young male student stood out like a black sheep in the center of the phalanx. It was very inconvenient for the students behind him because his back blocked the stage. Sighs and huffs of disappointment could be heard behind his back, which made him even more anxious.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the IS academy. Stand by from an address of your President of the Student Council." Said a voice from the loudspeakers.

A thin, blue-haired girl was walking towards the podium. She wore a typical uniform blouse and skirt, yellow tie, and red leggings. She had a smirk on her face as she stared at her classmates. Her red eyes scanned the room before she addressed the Academy of her important announcement.

"Hmm! Things have been hectic this year. So hectic I am sure many of you have never met me yet."

John could hear Ichika gasp loudly in shock that the mysterious girl he met in the male locker room was the President.

"My name is Tatenashi Sarashiki." She politely bowed. "And here in this Academy that makes me your head."

She winked at Ichika and he could not help but squeal in embarrassment. She giggled and stared at John who was emotionless and unnerved that she was staring at him.

Behind the Student President, there was a hologram projector with large bold text that reads "Festival".

"Our annual school festival is coming up. That means each class must decide what they want to do with a fundraising project."

She pulled out a large blue fan and spread the white paper surface in front of her face. Black kanji text was written on the white surface that read "Deadline Soon."

"Good luck!" She smiled. Soon the announcer notified the student body to quietly return to their class in an orderly fashion.

Back in their classroom, the class was deciding what to do for their fundraising project. Ichika stood next to the podium while he patiently waited for the class to type their ideas on a touchpad like a device on their desk. Once his classmates submitted their ideas, it was all displayed on the giant blackboard behind Ichika's back. The male class representative had to thoroughly read his classmates' ideas twice because they were that ridiculous. Ideas included 'Cowboys' Club, 'Play Twister with John and Ichika, 'Eating Pocky with Ichika and John, 'Boys Dancing in a Giant Cash Tornado in swimsuits', and 'Play King's Game with Ichika and John.' There was a clear theme Ichika realized and he was not okay with the idea of being exploited like this.

"All rejected!" He shouted in disbelief.

The class all gasped and were confused about why their class representative rejected these ideas.

"Whaaat?! His classmates gasped.

He furiously pointed at the blackboard. "Are you guys insane!? Who would do any kind of stuff like that?"

A red hair girl rested her head on her hands. "I would! No doubt about it!"

A peer next to her nodded in agreement. " I agree with her! Ichika, it is your duty to please us!"

More students nodded and voiced their opinion. " Yeah! Ichika is Public Property."

The majority of Ichika's classmates all stood up and protested their opinions against their class representative's rejections. He could feel the cold sweat slowly gliding across the back of his neck. He tried to loosen the collar while he gulped loudly.

"H-hey, John!? You got my back, right?" Ichika's tone was a little high pitch.

The room was quiet as all eyes were staring at the new male student. Unlike their male representative anxious emotions, John was like a stone.

"Well...is it required that all students participate?" John asked their green-haired instructor.

Maya nodded. "Correct, John."

He sighed in defeat. "Then I'm fine with any ideas this class comes up with."

"KYAAAAAAA!" The class burst in shouts of excitement. All the girls except Cecelia, Charlotte, Laura, and Houki were jumping in the air and danced in celebration as John gave them his blessing.

Ichika's mouth went slack in shock. He thought he had an ally, but he was sadly wrong.

"Yamada Sensei, you can't possibly agree with the class's ideas!" He groaned.

Maya blushed. "Actually, from all the suggestions I have seen so far, I do like the pocky idea."

Ichika felt his soul left his body. He was truly alone and abandoned like Julius Caesar when his allies and friends stabbed him to death.

Laura folded her hands as she sat with confidence. "How about a maid cafe?"

Her classmates all stopped dancing and singing after they heard Laura's proposal.

"I'm sure it will be well received." She continued. "If we sell catering products, I am sure we will make a profit. We will stand out from the rest of the Academy.

"I agree with Laura!" Charlotte supported. " We can even have Ichika and John help in the kitchen or be a butler!"

"What?" John and Ichika asked in unison.

"OOOH~! Ichika and John as a butler sound awesome!" Said, one classmate. Soon the entire class was having wet fantasies of their male classmates in an elegant black uniform with flower petals flying behind their backs.

The class all laughed and started to plan who would make the uniforms, order the food products, etc, while the two male students all absorbed this information,

"Well...I guess I can pretend this is just a regular cafe with some unusual outfits." Ichika sighed while scratching his cheek.

John, on the other hand, was disappointed he could not have the option to not participate. He already felt humiliated being in an academy full of young teenagers and now he will have to sell himself again and become a butler.

"I am beginning to hate this school…." John mentally sighed.

It took an entire class period of deciding on who was in charge of managing the catering supplies, who designed the uniforms, who managed the finances, and who had to work in the kitchen. Although, the class had difficulties deciding who wanted to be maids and there was a huge competition for those slots. After drawing straws it was decided that Charlotte, Laura, Cecelia, Houki, and two additional classmates had the privilege to be maids. John and Ichika had no say what kind of job they wanted. They were unanimously voted to be the butlers in the maid cafe.

Once the afternoon bell chimed, everyone slowly packed their bags and prepared to head out for lunch. Once John finished packing his notes into his messenger bag, he could see a large group of girls sticking their head out through the door trying to get a glimpse of the new male student while giggling and whispering comments about him.

Ichika threw his messenger bag behind his back and stood next to him.

"You wanna eat with us, John?" He asked with a smile. Behind the male teenager, Laura, Charlotte, Cecelia, and Houki all stood next to the crowded door.

"Do join us, John." Cecelia giggled as she held a small box wrapped in cloth. " I made us some of my specialty sandwiches."

John shivered as he felt his bile rising to his throat after remembering her cooking last night. "Actually I was-"

The Spartan was cut off as Houki held a small bento box in her hands. "I um...also made some lunch."

Ichika's eyes were lit up like a Christmas tree. "Oh man! You made more bento, Houki? You are the best!"

She blushed a bit while avoiding eye contact. "Th-thanks, Ichika. I made enough for...everyone." She was hesitant because she didn't want to betray Ichika, but she actually made a bento box specifically for John. To avoid any suspicion she made several bento sets so that everyone could equally have a taste.

Charlotte smiled as she held a small box. "Laura and I made some lunch for all of us to try." The small German girl could not help but blush when her roommate mentioned her name for contributing. "So, the same place as usual?" She asked.

"Yup!" You guys go ahead." Ichika smiled before his friends all waved goodbye and tried to push the horde of girls blocking the door. Houki was the last to leave as she stared at John before following her friends through the Academy hall.

"So what do you say?" Ichika asked.

"Well...you know this place better than I. I don't even know where the cafeteria is." He sighed. "Sure, lead the way."

"Awesome!" Ichika patted the Spartan's shoulder and the two managed to push through the horde blocking the door. "Trust me the popularity dies down give or take about a few weeks."

John had to restrain himself from pushing the girls with his augmented strength.

Girls would moan "kyaa" whenever the boys pushed one aside making it extremely awkward for the two.

"Give us some space!" Ichika shouted as he became flustered hearing so many girls moaning whenever he pushed one to the side. His face was red like a tomato after he accidentally squeezed a girl's breast. He did this several times and after each incident, he would apologize and hoped none of his female friends or his older sister witnessed it.

"Don't you girls have something better to do?" He shouted, though his voice was drowned out from the horde's united voices.

Ichika was John's shield as the poor Japanese boy took the brunt of the physical contact and pushed each girl to the side. In an empty hallway going to point a to point b would take a minute, however, with so many girls clogging the hallway going point a to point b would take the entire lunch period it seemed.

While Ichika would do his best parting the sea of fangirls, the young Spartan would politely keep rejecting lunch proposals. Some occasions a girl would pull on his uniform or quickly swipe against his abs as if touching him had some holy property. Although in truth many have never felt a man's abs before. They would sacrifice basic human decency just to fulfill their fangirl curiosity.

It took a quarter of lunch break to push through the horde and reach the roof of the class building where the girls were waiting though their patience was running thin. The roof was covered in a sea of green grass. The designers installed a green roof to be a recreational center for students that are on break and wanted somewhere to feel at peace. Ichika and his friends loved this spot for its magnificent view of the Island and the vast ocean, but also for its privacy.

After climbing many flights of steps towards the roof, the two male students finally reached their destination. Ichika was exhausted and gasped for breath loudly, while he leaned against the door. All of Ichika's friends were in the center of the grass field with their lunches prepared. Cecelia, Charlotte, and Rin had their cheeks puffed up. It was typical for Ichika to be late whenever they had plans, but it always annoyed them.

"What took you so long!' Rin groaned in annoyance as she laid her back on the soft grass and kicked the air out of boredom.

"Hey! It's not my fault! We were trapped by a literal wall of girls!"

"Honestly, Ichika," Cecelia sighed, "it is rude for gentlemen to keep the ladies waiting. Those are bad manners."

"But-but!" Ichika hesitated. "John, hey man back me up here. Tell them how we survived an apocalypse."

All eyes were on John. "Well… what Ichika said was correct. We did face… some 'obstacles,' but it won't happen again."

Cecelia folded her arms. " Unlike you, Ichika, John at least apologizes."

"Oh c' mon give me a break!" He sighed.

After the girls' vent out their frustration on Ichika, the group sat around the packed lunches. Rin was the first to eagerly open her bento box. Inside of her bento box was her amazing orange chicken Ichika always loved eating. Just smelling the sweet and sour sauce could make anyone's mouth water. It was a shame for Rin because even though she perfected her cooking skills for her crush, he still did not share affections for her.

"Wow! Orange chicken again?" Ichika asked in excitement as he grabbed his chopsticks and picked the fattest one and threw it in his mouth. It was so crispy that the chicken would crunch loudly in his mouth. The outer shell was crispy and super tender in the middle just the way he liked it.

"You should try these, John." Ichika munched on another one while he had to fight the urge to not talk with his mouth full like a child.

Underneath Rin's smile and glee, she had to stop her jealous impulses and smack John's hands away from her chicken. This was supposed to be for Ichika, though it would have been childish if she did selfishly slap his hand.

John awkwardly held the chopsticks and attempted to lift the chicken pieces. It still perplexes him how people could pick their food with wooden sticks rather than use a simple fork or knife.

Houki saw John struggling to lift the orange chicken with chopsticks and quickly handed him a fork.

"H-here, John. Use this." She said shyly.

He gently placed the chopsticks on a napkin next to his folded legs and carefully grabbed the fork."

"Thank you." He said softly. Houki just blushed and looked away in embarrassment.

With a proper utensil, John stabbed the piece of chicken and gently bit into it. He nodded his head in approval of the taste. Ichika laughed and patted John's back like a brother. "Rin makes the best Chinese food ever. You won't find any other authentic Chinese food like hers here"

Rin could not help but blush after hearing her crush's complement. To distract herself from fantasizing romantic thoughts of themselves, she would pick a few blades a grass.

"You boys should try this." Charlotte smiled as she opened a bulky metal tin. Inside of the tin was a fat piece of grilled mackerel on hot, white rice.

"Ohhhh!" Ichika was amazed at Charlotte's cooking of Japanese cuisine. "This looks so good, Char!"

Charlotte could not help but blush and scratch her chin after hearing Ichika's complement. Though relishing those words were cut short when she felt Laura poking her arm at her shoulder. "Oh, Laura helped grilled the fresh mackerel we bought yesterday."

Laura puffed her cheek bashfully. It still felt weird to her to be so feminine and cook for her "wife", but she did not want to feel left out after watching Charlotte grilled a mackerel in their dorm.

While Ichika was gladly sampling Charlotte's and Laura's cooking, Houki handed a small bento box to John that was wrapped in a red cloth.

"Here...John. I figured you didn't pack any lunch...so I made you some...if you want." It gave Houki great courage not to stutter.

John kindly thanked Houki before delicately gripping the bento box with both hands. Ichika and the other girls were curious what's in the bento box. It was quite rare for Houki to be so soft towards others, especially towards Ichika. John slowly untied the red cloth and opened the black bento box. Inside of the box was tonkatsu in one section with a few garnishes and rice in the other section. The young teenager grabbed his fork and tried to cut the pork cutlet with it.

Ichika was amazed Houki was so generous to a newcomer. "Wow, Houki! That tonkatsu looks good!"

The ribboned girl smiled and handed Ichika small bento box of her bag. "Here Ichika. I made some for you as well"

"It's good," John said softly while he nodded his head.

Houki felt her anxiety disappear after hearing his soft voice. She could not help but feel accomplished and smile warmly.

Everyone enjoyed their little buffet with a few laughs and chats here and there. John was the only one eating his meal quietly. He had no jokes or any pleasant memories to share. He felt his heart sank a bit as he never had a social life with his cherished friends back in his Universe like what he was experiencing now. He couldn't even remember the last time he enjoyed a meal with his friends in a peaceful environment.

"What about you, John?

"Hmm?" John snapped out of his trance as he stared Cecelia.

She puffed her cheek and handed him a small bag full of sandwiches.

"Don't you think these sandwiches are marvelous?"

She pulled one of the sandwiches out of the bag and presented it to him. The sandwich was cut into a wedge shape and the content of the sandwich had lettuce, ham, tomato, and cheese. Cecelia was so proud of her cooking that the sandwiches were sparkling like shiny metals. Behind the proud, young Brit, Ichika and the other girls were anxiously shaking their heads. They want the new student to survive the first day of school.

John slowly raised his hands in front of his face and slowly shook them. "No thank you...Cecelia. I am… quite full." He could feel his taste buds cringe after staring the wedge sandwiches for too long

She sighed. "Aww, that is a shame. Honestly, why does everyone lose their appetite whenever I bring my share out!"

The Spartan cleared his throat. "Well, Cecilia it's because your cooking is…"

Behind Cecilia's back Ichika, Rin, and Charlotte were shaking their heads and waving their hands to get his attention to not to criticize her cooking.

"Yes, ~?" Cecelia leaned forward

"...your cooking is-."

John let out a little sigh of relief as the lunch bell chimed and Cecelia was forced to seal sandwiches back into her bento box. While the group was packing their lunches, Ichika received a holographic message on his bracelet.

"It seems we are called to the training ground." Ichika read.

"Great! Now I could burn the calories!" Rin grinned while she stretched her arms.

Charlotte grabbed her bags and started to head towards the exit. "I will meet you boys at the training ground." She smiled. "Be sure you are not late this time, Ichika."

At the locker room, Ichika was sitting on the bench while he was unbuttoning his white dress shirt. John's locker was located opposite to Ichika's as the Spartan grabbed a coat hanger and hung his dress shirt and white blazer. The locker room was vast in the arena able to accommodate hundreds of students. However, it was a mystery why they needed to build a male an enormous locker room for just two male students

" You gotta be kidding me…" John grumbled

Ichika slowly looked over his shoulder seeing the Spartan shirtless and holding a small black tank top.

"Is something wrong?" he asked

The Spartan tossed his tank top at his male peer. "I am not wearing this."

"But it is part of our uniform!" Ichika argued. "Chifuyu is very strict with uniform codes."

"Is there a reason my midriff is exposed?" John asked.

"Um...aesthetic purposes?" Ichika hesitantly answered. He had the same issue when he first came to this academy, but he had gotten used to the ridiculous fashion.

John rolled his eyes after hearing the young teenager's answer. The uniform had no practical protection and after years of wearing the MJOLNIR armor, this did not meet his standards. Instead of wearing the tank top and tight shorts, John pressed a few buttons on his black bracelet and his body was engulfed in light. Once the light disappeared, John's body was clad in his familiar nanocomposite bodysuit. Ichika was not only surprised to find the foreign student wore a slick, black suit, but the fact he grew ten more inches. The tall Spartan cracked his knuckles and rolled his head a few times before heading towards the exit. It felt great to be partially back in his armor after what seemed like forever. Ichika wanted to protest as he quickly got up to his feet, but the words didn't escape his mouth when he saw a familiar, yet worn green ribbon tied around the Spartan's arm. He started to wonder if the two ever had a connection in the past.

In the center of the coliseum, all freshman classes were called for their afternoon training. All-female students were wearing their tight-fitting one-piece suits. One group of students were warming up as they stretched their arms and legs while another group was in training IS swinging training katanas. Houki and the gang were conversing with their peers while Chifuyu was busy coordinating each freshman next tasks. By the time Chief entered the Arena heading towards Chifuyu, the students slowly stopped what they were doing and stared at him. Most of the girls at first were disappointed that John was not wearing the tank top and tight short pants because his bodysuit hid his throbbing muscles. Ichika was jogging behind the Spartan to keep up with his giant strides.

Chifuyu placed a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow at her new student. "You know, John. You are not properly dressed for training."

Once John was close enough to his Professor, he pointed at the struggling Japanese boy who was jogging towards them. "Forgive me, Ms. Orimura. But I am not wearing….that."

She at first squinted at his excuse and prepared to give him a lecture about the Academy's dress code, but she then stared at all the students behind the Spartan. They were whispering and giggling with their faces all red. Perhaps he was right not to wear such a revealing outfit because surely it would have been an annoying distraction during practice.

She cleared her throat and folded her arms. "Listen up! Today's afternoon training will be different. We are going to have a mock battle."

The freshman classes became ecstatic as they cheered and jumped around to the idea of cheering on their pilots dueling.

"Settle down, settle down!" Chifuyu shouted as she waited for her students to quiet down. She then stared at John and then stared at Ichika's friends. "John you will go against Cecelia and Laura."

Everyone was shocked that a Chifuyu would have a new student battle against two veteran pilots as it seemed unfair.

"C-Chifuyu...sensei." Ichika stammered. "This does not seem...fair."

Her dagger-like eyes glared her younger brother and he backed down.

"This is a mock battle so mount up and head towards the hangar bay. The rest of you will sit on the benches and spectate."

Cecelia was one of the students stunned the announcement, but she obeyed her orders and jogged towards the launch bay as instructed. Laura could not help but feel offended that her instructor would assign her a partner to fight him. It was almost as if her instructor thought she would lose if she went out alone. She clenched her fist and she begrudgingly followed Cecelia. Without any complaints, John nodded at his new instructor and headed towards the hangar bay.

Before he could enter the hangar bay he felt a hand on his arm. He stopped and looked over his shoulder to see Houki."Um… Good luck." She said softly before she released her grip on his arm. He softly nodded his head before the entered the hangar bay.

In the launchpad, John summoned his IS and waited for the signal to be launched. His body was engulfed in bright white light and grey armor donned over his black bodysuit. After some modifications from Tabanne, she added a few upgrades to his armor and weapons. On his left forearm was a kite-shaped, grey shield. The shield was large enough to protect his head and his torso comfortably from any attacks. For close-quarter combat, John had his daggers stored in shins and a pair of beam sabers that were stored in the armor of his hips. For mid to long-range combat he had his fusion beam rifle attached horizontally to his lower back. He also had a pair of handguns attached to his waist. The handguns were jet black with a six-inch barrel. Unlike contemporary barrels, the handguns had a thick barrel that fuzed to the trigger guard. With such a massive barrel, the muzzle of the gun was a large oval. The reason why Tabanne added so many weapons on John's IS was that it lacked empty weapon slots like Ichika's thus giving John an advantage.

Once he donned his helmet he could feel the IS linking itself into his neural implants. The familiar red outline popped in his HUD with words slowly appearing.

"Linking in progress"

Unlike that cold feeling John felt whenever he installed Cortana's data chip, he could feel his body constrict in pain as he felt a knife-like pain back of his head pulsating throughout his nervous system. The pain lasted for a few seconds and once his body relaxed a small stream of blood dripped out of his nose. He gasped for air loudly through his helmet's voice amplifier after feeling that sharp pain.

"Link complete"

The launch bay was dark and narrow as the only illumination was emitting from the narrow, blue slit visor and the small pulsating light coming from vein-like black seams on his armor.

There was a telephone ring in his helmet and a video feed of Maya Yamada engulfed his HUD. "John-san, are you okay? Your vitals spiked for a bit."

"Yes, Ms. Yamada. I am fine." He said calmly

"Well...if you insist." She cleared her throat. " Now, John. I know this is your first combat experience in the IS Academy so I will be your liaison for today."

He nodded his head in approval.

"Now onto business." She said as submitted the schematics of Blue Tears and Schwarzer Regen to his HUD. "Cecelia is well known for her marksmanship skills and her IS, Blue tears reflect on her prowess. Her main weapon is called Blue Pierce: a Mid-Long range beam rifle equipped with optical sights. Don't let your guard down as she is also equipped with four interceptor drones called BITS."

The giant door of the launch bay slowly opened the Spartan could see the arena and the mirrored launch bay.

She continued. "Laura's IS, in my opinion, is more dangerous. Schwarzer Regen is designed for close-quarter combat with long-range capabilities. Her only weapon for long-range combat is Purizushi: an 88mm Railgun. Though it packs a punch you need to worry about her CQC capabilities. She has 6 wired-guided daggers that can easily entangle you if you let your guard down. She also has beam sabers generated through her hands. However, what makes her, even more, her dangerous is her Anti-Inertia Canceller (AIC).

"AIC?" John asked.

"As the name suggests it negates any object's inertia as long as she concentrates on the target in front of her. It lacks range so be careful if you plan on combating her hand to hand

John's thrusters slowly hummed to life as his ethereal wings grew out of its rhombus-shaped cases floating behind him.

"Copy that." He said as he was launched out of the catapult at high speeds and flew high in the air. His two opponents were floating a few meters above him fully armed and patiently waiting for him.

"Good hunting." The green-haired instructor bowed her head before the video feed disappeared in his HUD.

"Just because we are now friends does not mean I will go easy on you!" Cecelia announced as she aimed Blue Piercer at him.

Laura nodded and aimed her 88mm railgun at him with her arms folded across her chest.

The Spartan clenched his fist. "Give me your best shot."

In unison, Laura and Cecelia flew far apart and attack each of his flanks. In response to the flanking maneuver, John grabbed his Fusion Beam Rifle that was attached to his lower back and raised his shield close to his chest. He quickly raised his lower body towards the two IS and flew in reverse to prevent one of them from attacking his rear. Cecelia aimed her rifle and fired several blue energy bolts at the grey IS, however, any shots that directly hit him were absorbed into his shield. While flying in reverse, John aimed his beam rifle and fired in retaliation. The rifle required to be charged before hot pink plasma left the barrel with a blue vapor trail following behind it. Blue Tears easily dodged the shot and fired several more shots at him. John kept firing at the young Brit until he was forced to fly upwards as the wall behind him got closer and closer. Laura charged her railgun and shot a supersonic slug at a predicted shot a few meters above his head. Laura's prediction came true and the slug hit John's right shoulder. His body was engulfed in black smoke and he fell towards the Earth. He was able to quickly to regain control and land on the dirt while clenching his damaged shoulder.

In the control tower, Maya and Chifuyu were watching the battle on a large screen. The green-haired instructor grimaced when she saw the Spartan took the blow from Schwarzer Regen.

"Laura and Cecelia are working quite well together as predicted. Is this a good idea for John to battle against two IS representatives? Even Ichika had trouble in his first fight against one."

Chifuyu continued to watch the screen while her arms were folded across her chest. "I am not sure. He lacks any strategy against our students nor has he mastered his IS. I think this is too much for a rookie pilot to handle."

She then sighed as she stared at a group of businessmen and scientists wearing lab coats monitoring their screen of the battle behind her back.

"Those damn idiots." She was referring to her superiors who were eager to obtain combat data on the Spartan and believed this planned battle would quickly test the Prototype suit's prowess and limits.

Laura could not help but feel a sense of superiority again as she saw the Spartan clenching his shoulder.

"I will show her." She whispered. "I will show my beloved Instructor that I am not weak!"

She unsheathed her beam sabers in both arms and charged at him. John stood his ground and aimed his rifle high in the air and fired several charged volleys. For the first two shots, Laura was able to veer from side to side and dodged them, however, she was unlucky with the last shot as it hit her left thigh. Sparks flew out around the hole in her armor. This shocked her how a beam rifle would easily pierce her shield in one shot and consequently, she flew slower and sluggishly at him. Without any options, John threw his rifle to the side and raised his shield in front of his head. There was a loud hiss and a white hilt popped out of the hip of his armor. John grabbed the hilt and ignited the beam saber and parried one of her attacks while his shield blocked the other. Eventually, after several successful blocks, alarms rang in his helmet warning him that his physical shield was losing integrity. Laura shouted a warcry and stabbed through his shield and stabbed one of the plasma rifle extra magazines that were stored on it. John ejected the shield off of his forearm and flew high in the air to avoid the blast. The shield cracked loudly and exploded in front of the silver hair super soldier, but she was able to negate the blast with her AIC.

"So that's an AIC." he mentally noted of how Laura needed to extend her hand an active the device while the shield shrapnels floated in the air. He also noted the range and diameter of the energy field projected.

As of now, he was going on the offensive after obtaining valuable intelligence from both IS. He did not want to blindly attack either girl without knowing how each suit performed. His ethereal wings burned brightly as he accelerated towards Cecelia with both of his beam sabers in his hands.

"So, targeting me? I will not let you come any further! Dance for Cecilia Alcott!" She deployed all four BITS and they quickly surrounded the grey IS firing blue energy bolts.

With incredible reflexes and maneuvers, John was able to dodge most of the blue barrage, however since he never experiences the BITS weapon system before, he had a few direct hits on his torso and limbs. Despite getting damaged by both Laura and her, Cecelia was starting to become concerned how fast his reflexes were and how powerful his IS shields were tanking the hits. If she was going up against her darling Ichika, he would have already fallen. With the Spartan dodging Cecilia's attacks, Laura anchored herself on the Earth and fired several high-speed slugs at him. After firing her last slug, she leaped into the air and activated her beam sabers again wanting to end this battle in close-quarter combat.

John then deactivated his beam sabers and placed them back into its compartment, before the sides of his hips opened and he pulled out his pair of handguns. Bolts of energy repeatedly hit Laura the split second he pulled the triggers and she had to shield her face with her arms. While the silver hair teenager was shielding her face, he took this chance and charged at Cecelia.

Cecelia smirked and deployed her BITS at John again and they quickly circled him like before. This time John was prepared and his eyes kept tracking one of the BITS that flew erratically over his head. His visor glowed brightly and he raised one of his handguns above his head to what seemed like clear skies and pulled the trigger. The shot met its mark and the predictable BIT exploded. He then quickly stretched his arms wide apart and pulled the triggers again as two more BITS exploded. Everyone was shocked at how fast John was able to predict and react where Cecelia's drones would be flying.

"That is incredible," Maya said with amazement. "Not even Ichika on his first match was able to destroy Cecilia's BITS this quickly."

Chifuyu nodded. "The boy must have figured Cecelia's flight pattern."

"Did he?" The green-haired instructor asked.

"Even though she is the only one in her country to master the drone's capabilities, she still needs a lot more training of multi-tasking when it comes to commanding and coordinating her drones. Despite these limitations, she was taught to command her drones to fly in many pre-programmed patterns. Anyone with a keen eye would have seen these patterns."

Cecelia started to panic as she reversed her thrusters and tried to gain some distance between the two. With her concentration broken, John easily shot the last drone that attempted to shoot his rear and flew towards Blue Tears. John then holstered one of his handguns and grabbed his beam saber. Before he could hit a heavy blow on her, he felt a cable snagged around his wrist and ankle as Laura managed to ensnare him with her guided daggers. The Spartan attempted to fight back with his free hand and aimed his handgun, but Laura managed to deploy another pair of dagger cables and pierce the weapons in his hands and wrap his other remaining limbs. The German super-soldier then commanded the Schwarzer Regen to pull the cables so his limbs would be pulled back. However, the motors in her suit, that were coiling the cables, suddenly groaned loudly and stopped. It turns out Laura did not anticipate John's augmented strength as he pulled with all his might to prevent his limbs from becoming completely immobile.

Cecelia took the opportunity to hover a few meters next to him and pointed the barrel at his face.

"I must commend you, John. You gave me quite a scare, but I believe you-"

She was cut off as John managed to jerk his wrist and grabbed the barrel the rifle. He raised it high in the air and pulled her towards him with all of his strength. The sudden tug on her rifle caught her off guard and she smacked her forehead against his helm. The impact stunned Cecelia causing her to release her rifle.

"You talk too much." He said as managed to slide the stolen weapon across his hand and grabbed the rifle grip.

He pointed Blue Pierce at its owner and pulled the trigger. The young Brit did not attempt to dodge the point-blank attacks as she and the other IS pilots assumed he couldn't fire a stolen weapon due to user lock functions. Everyone in the crowd was shocked that somehow John's IS bypassed the lock and used her signature weapon against her as it was considered impossible. She took several shots to her chest and thighs before her body was engulfed in a cloud of black smoke before crashing on the dirt with her shields almost drained.

Behind his back, Laura was trying to coil the cables again to contain the trapped Spartan, but he kept pulling with all of his augmented strength. The motors in her suit groaned and whined loudly from the constant stress it had to endure. Her HUD was bombarded with alarms and notifications of her suit's stress levels and recommended to release the bound Spartan. She decided that now was the time to strike and she charged her railgun at his exposed back. John could hear the familiar hum of her weapon and without thinking, he throttled his thrusters to their maximum output. His ethereal wings suddenly became even bigger and burned brightly in response to the sudden thrust output. After what seemed like a game of tug-of-war, the sudden speed of John's IS was too much for Schwarzer Regen to handle and after a loud pop, the hinges violently ejected out of Laura's IS. Finally, he was free and the cables that were wrapped around his wrists and ankles went slack and slowly uncoiled itself. Without hitting the brakes, the Spartan used this new momentum and encircled the black IS at high speed while aiming Blue Pierce. He flew around Schwarzer Regen so fast that the dirt on the field was slowly being lifted into the air and formed a minor sand tornado. Everyone in the coliseum had to shield their eyes as the sand kept blinding them. It was more of an issue with Laura because the Spartan flew around the field counter-clockwise to always be in her blindspot. It seemed not like a great idea to wear an eye patch while she had to shield her only exposed eye from the sand. John could feel the immense air drag and g-force on his body while he tried to keep his body upright or else he would lose control and crash on the field. Laura blindly fired a few slugs where the sounds of his thrusters were the loudest, however, they all missed. Without the worry of being attacked, John pulled the trigger and barraged Laura at every angle. Laura could not help but scream in pain as she fell on one knee. There was a loud boom as he shot the barrel of her railgun rendering it out of commission. The small super soldier then jumped and blindly flew vertically in the air, hoping to fly out of the sand tornado, unfortunately, John managed to shoot the two bulky stabilizers floating above her shoulders and she bounced on the field several times before crashing into a wall. She slowly crawled out of the large hole in the wall covered in dirt and bruises while coughing loudly. She then froze when a familiar beam saber was pressed against her neck. A large horn rang loudly in the coliseum followed up with thunderous cheers as it was clear who the victor was.

After hearing the horn and the celebratory cheers, the Spartan deactivated the beam saber and inserted back into his hip compartment. He then extended his hand out for Laura. Feeling a mixture of humiliation and defeat, Laura slapped his hand away before she dematerialized her wounded suit She slowly stood up and without looking at the victor, the defeated pilot headed towards the hangar.

"That was an amazing match, John!" Maya cheered. "Defeating two representatives is unprecedented for a beginner. Even Ichika couldn't defeat either of them on his first match.

In the control tower, the government officials and scientists were shocked how two experienced IS pilots were defeated by an inexperienced male pilot. A few scientists were vigorously typing various commands in their consoles as they downloaded all combat data of the new IS for future studies.

While the government officials were studying John's combat data, the two instructors were rewatching a recording of the battle. Maya was proud that her new student won his first battle, although Chiffuyu did not share those feelings. After watching that intense firefight, Chiffuyu became somewhat fearful of the Spartan. She knew how capable of a soldier he was at the resort and it was clear he was a capable pilot as well. Even though he saved the academy from those terrorists, he was still considered dangerous because of his mysterious benefactors. Without any knowledge of the people he served, he could easily betray the academy if he was ordered to do so or by his own free will.

Chifuyu sighed. " Tell John to send his IS to maintenance and have him be on stand-by in the locker room."

Maya nodded and politely asked John to send his suit to Maintenance. While she instructed John, Chiffuyu could not help but keep an eye on the government officials behind her back. The officials wearing white lab coats were whispering amongst themselves as they interpreted the data of John's IS. The raven hair instructor always did hate bureaucrats and corporate officials for being so secretive. After quietly interpreting the data, the officials wearing white lab coats stored copies of the data into a small black flash drive before purging the original data. Then one of the businessmen wearing a black suit opened a silver briefcase for the scientists as one of them placed the flash drive into the briefcase. Without saying a word to Chiffuyu, all the guest officials left the control room eagerly to further analyze the data back in their laboratory.

John slowly landed on the edge of the launch bay where his feet were magnetically locked in rails. Clicks and hums echoed in the launch bay as the rails slowly pulled him into the interior of the Maintenance Tower. Eventually, the rails stopped pulling him once John reached the maintenance garage. With his feet still magnetically locked into the rails, John wondered what he should do next as the maintenance garage was empty. Normally maintenance garages were full of mechanics while the Arenas were being used for training or any tournaments. Seeing these garages barren of any mechanics was quite eerie as he wondered if he landed in the right tower.

Before he could call Maya about this mysterious situation, a soft mechanical voice interrupted him. "So we finally meet."

John could feel every fiber of his muscles tense after he heard that soft, familiar voice. He could feel his heart pounded louder and louder while clenched his fists tightly. A hidden compartment in his hip opened at 30-degree angle and his handgun slipped out. He gripped the handgun and pulled it out of the hip compartment. The odd muzzle glowed pink inside of the barrel as the weapon was charging. He pointed the weapon above his head where the voice originated.

Above his head was a silver ball with a single blue eye staring at him with curiosity. "Do you always act so aggressive when someone greets you?" The ball asked

"You have got to be kidding me," John grumbled. "How are you still alive!?" He asked sternly. It was very tempting to pull the trigger, but seeing this insane talking ball alive once more made him freeze in shock.

The floating ball hovered towards the Spartan's eye level ignoring the fact a gun was pointed at its "face". " I apologize if I have startled you, but I do not believe we have met. My designation is Guilty-."

"Spark." John interrupted.

The ball blinked in surprise. "How do you know my designation?"

" I was there on Installation 00." He poked the muzzle against Spark's eye." I was there when you murdered Sergeant Avery Johnson." The pistol hummed loudly as the pink glow glowed brighter and brighter. " I was there when you tried to exterminate all life."

Guilty Spark began to run diagnostics as he sifted through 1000 hours of his memory in a few split seconds to verify this man's claims. Whenever he tried to recall any memory files regarding about the last days on Installation 04 and 00, as expected his memory files were either corrupted or missing.

Before Spark could convey his diagnostic report to the pilot, a soft voice cut him off. " Whoa-whoa Johnny! Tin-can is with me.

John snapped his head to the side and saw a familiar cheery woman wearing a frilly maid outfit skipping towards him.

John still kept his hand steady pointing the handgun at the psychotic metal ball while he let out a disgruntled sigh.

"Do you even know what this thing is, Tabanne?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I do, silly! I already know Tin-can was a janitor for a giant Space Ring."

The Spartan had to blink a few times surprised she knew what Spark's intended purpose was.

"But that's old news. Now he is my Janitor. Isn't that right, Tin-can?"

Guilty Sparked could only sigh and floated towards his mistress. "It is not my proper designation, but more or less I am tasked with maintaining 'our laboratory". "

Feeling the tension eased a bit, his pistol whined quietly as the handgun's power cells were shut off and John holstered it back into the hidden hip compartment.

"Why are you here?" He asked coldly.

"Aww am I not allowed to see my favorite roommate in action? You put on one hell of a show!"

"I thought you were wanted?" John brushed off her comment. "Seems like this is the last place you should visit."

She sighed loudly. "It's so boring living in a bunker! I need a suntan here and there!" She pouted while she playfully tapped her fingers against his chest armor.

Without any warning, the agitated Spartan suddenly grabbed her wrist. "I am serious."

"Owie!" She pouted and rolled her head and pointed at the floating, metal ball. "He insisted to meet you."

"It's true!" Spark shouted with enthusiasm as he floated near John's eye level.

It was very tempting to slap that psychotic ball, but it took a great deal of discipline to fight off the urge.

"For weeks I kept wondering how a human was able to pilot X2 Prototype Infinite Stratos designated FENRIR. The core kept rejecting every simulated pilot and any pilot that we're able to wake it had a high probability of death. This machine is the perfect harmony of fusion technology between humanity's and Forerunners'. I'm sure you had some mild discomfort when you felt the suit link into your 'crude' augmentations in the back of your skull. A normal human would have his/her head explode after feeling the same discomfort. "

John could still taste the blood in his mouth when his suit linked into his head before suffering a large migraine leading to a nose bleed. It was quite unsettling that his head could have exploded if his augmentations did not work.

"But now it is clear, you have awakened the Genesong within you. You are truly the only reclaimer worthy of the Forerunners' many gifts."

The young super soldier shook his head slowly while he released Tabanne's wrist. "The only gift I want is to return to my universe. You and I both know we do not belong here."

" I am aware of this, Reclaimer. I have been conducting my research during my free time, but I have faced many obstacles. One reason is the lack of advanced technology the people living on this primitive Erde-Tyrene have discovered. Building one from scratch will take time."

Those words sparked some excitement in him. "So there is a way?"

"I have the calculations down, but I just need time, energy, and resources."

John sighed softly as he felt his chest relaxed. Even though he shouldn't trust this monitor after betraying him twice, if it knows a way back home he needs to trust it again. While he thought of home, he was unaware that Tabanne hopped over his back and wrapped her arms around her neck.

"Geez, you are huge!" She grunted loudly while hugging his neck tightly and swinging her legs in the air. " I think this interaction was successful! You finally made a new friend! Hee-Hee."

Dunois Industry

In a large conference room, there were twenty-four board members at a large, wooden conference table waiting patiently for Albert Dunois, the CEO of Dunois Industry. The room was dead silent as half of the board members stared awkwardly at the other half across the table. One of the members became so bored he tapped his fingerings rhythmically against the surface of the table to entertain himself.

Another member of the board sighed loudly while staring at his watch. "He is not coming is he?"

The Senior of the group shook his head. "He better come." He said bitterly. "I told him about the importance of this board meeting."

The man who stared at his watch rolled his shoulders. "Howard, it's been fucking one hour already. I think we should cancel this meeting." Some of the board members nodded their heads in agreement while whispering their complaints.

The Senior director laced his fingers together and chuckled. " Don't worry, Geoffrey. You all know the purpose of this meeting. Even if we have to wait another hour, you won't ever have to go through this again in the future." He smiled slyly.

Suddenly the conference room doors opened and a heavy built man walked briskly towards the executive chair in front of the board of directors. The man was tall despite being heavier than the average person. He had short, blond curly hair that touched his ear lobes and he wore a light grey business suit with a white dress shirt with no tie. He sighed loudly and the chair squeaked when he sat down.

He then scraped his scalp with his thick fingers before smiling at his board members. "Sorry for the wait, boys. I had some business to take care of."

"Probably had some business with the city's whores." One of the members whispered in his colleagues' ear. His colleague shook his head in disappointment and disgust.

Howard cleared his throat. "Monsieur Dunois. Will you kindly give us a report on the company's status."

Albert nodded his head and a large projector above the conference table hummed to life. The room's lights dimmed, making it easier for the board to see the various data and charts were behind Dunois's back.

"Gentlemen." Albert smiled. "I am pleased to inform you all that the Dunois Corporation is finally making revenue. We have several buyers already interested in buying our latest armor components and several more wanting to buy our latest IS weapon packages. The public is starting to become more confident with us and stocks are steadily rising."

Instead of hearing the proud claps of applause Albert wanted to hear, the room was dead silent.

"And how's the third Generation of IS development coming along?" Howard asked. All eyes were staring at the blond executive. "This Corporation won't make money selling obsolete weapons in the long term."

Albert bit his lips and squeezed his hands tightly. " I am afraid to report that development is still facing several...obstacles, but we are making fantastic progress."

The senior director pinched the bridge of his nose. " You realize, Dunois that our IS development permit is about to be withdrawn. The French Government has lost faith in their sole IS Production Corporation."

The heavy blond businessman waved his hand casually. "My researchers are already making great progress. I will personally tell the President for an extension once he sees our development."

"Are you confident that our 3rd Generation technology will convince the government?"

"I am positive!"

Howard nodded his head and the board members seemed contempt with their CEO's response. "Good. At least we have something of worth in this dying corporation. APEX will be pleased hearing this news."

Albert was taken aback from the news. "Whoa-whoa! Howard, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Albert." The Senior member sighed. "You fucked this Corporation long enough. We already filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy months ago and you still act like a little child trapped in pig's body. The Board of Directors has agreed that you are no longer fit as our CEO and we plan to sell what assets we have left to APEX."

The CEO of Dunois Corporation was stunned that his board of directors fired him. He slammed his hands against the conference table and stood up. "You...YOU scum! My family built this company for generations. You cannot just fire me without proper evidence!"

"If you want evidence we have plenty," Howard growled. "An anonymous individual gave us some shocking information that you have been using Corporate money for personal reasons. You do know embezzlement is a crime, right?"

"I will not let you sell this company to that bastard Smith!"

"Goodbye Albert. This concludes our meeting" The man said softly before the doors opened and two security officers wearing black suits and ties entered the room. "Escort this man to his office and have him clear his stuff out while the police arrive."

The two men nodded and each man grabbed Albert's arm and dragged him out while he resisted.

"Let me go, goddammit! I demand my lawyer!"

The two men managed to drag the agitated ex CEO in the elevator and pulled him towards his receptionist who had her desk stationed next to the CEOs office door.s The two men then released their grip on his arms and pushed him towards the door. His once fine suit was ruined with many wrinkles and small tears after being dragged across the halls. He spat at the security before he pulled his office doors, but he quickly realized they were locked. His doors were electronically locked and the receptionist had the key cards. His office was usually locked when he wanted some privacy or had a meeting with an important individual.

He then looked at his receptionist who was busy typing various keys on her keyboard. "Open the door, Emile." He commanded softly while he tried to push the wrinkles off of his suit.

His receptionist remained unresponsive and continued to stare at her computer monitor.

"Woman! Did you hear me? Open the door!" He shouted.

This finally caught her attention and she pressed a button on her office landline. "Monsieur Dunois would like to enter your office, sir."

"Send him in!" A voice said through the loudspeakers.

Emilie nodded before she stood up and swiped the key card against the door. Curious who was in his office, Albert pushed the doors violently before scurrying inside. He was shocked to find a middle-aged man wearing a dark grey formal suit sitting on his leather chair. The man's short, combed hair was like pepper and salt mixed as his once youthful, black hair was fading away.

"What the hell are you doing sitting on my chair, Harrison!" Dunois barked.

The CEO of APEX laughed while he rested his feet on the priceless, carved wood desk. "What are you talking about, Albert. This is my chair. I own this Corporation after all. I'm quite shocked by how cheap it was. You guys must have been desperate to sell off your assets to me."

"This is MY CORPORATION!" Dunois shouted at the top of his lungs and smacked his hands against the table. "My family built this place from the ground up!'

Harrison chuckled as he lifted his legs off the table and stood up. Behind him was a large glass window with a great view of the city of Paris below and the great view of the Eiffel Tower at a distance.

"Yeah-yeah! You mentioned the 'family business' nonstop." Harrison grumbled while staring at the grand scenery. " Your Grandfather built Dunois Co. as a small ammo manufacturing factory during the Great War, right? And I think Your father built weapons for the French Military during the Cold War."

"You are god damn right!"

"Heh! I look forward to dismantling this towering brick by brick and destroy a family legacy" Harrison grinned as he turned around to face the broken man. " I might even turn this place into a giant parking lot structure and built a new Skyscraper next to it."

Albert never felt so furious in a long time to the point of wanting to strangle a man badly. How could a competitor buy his company, fire him, and force him to watch his Corporate skyscraper get dismantled?

The CEO of APEX patted the man's shoulder apologetically. "I should thank you for embezzling money. You made it easy for me."

"How did you…"

" Ever heard the saying: Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer? Who knew sending one email could change a man's life."

Albert gritted his teeth, but before he could strangle the man Harrison patted the man's back. "It was you! You are the anonymous tipper!"

"Dunois, Dunois so what if I was the anonymous tipper. What if I tell you, I can keep you out of prison, hmm?"

Dunois was taken aback by the question. "Wha-what?"

"The public does not know you have embezzled money, but only your Board of Directors and Us know about it. I can keep those boys quite and you won't have to be humiliated on National Television."

It was a very tempting offer and Dunois did felt guilty he was stealing his Co. assets for personal reasons. He then felt Harrison grip his shoulder tightly to the point he was wincing in pain.

"Though this offer could be yours if you answer a few questions." He whispered harshly Albert's ear.

"What's the real reason why you sent your supposed 'son' to the IS Academy?"

"I...I." The blond man's voice hesitated. "I needed 3rd Generation data. So I sent the girl to obtain that Orimura boy IS data for me…"

"Aw Geez! Now that's low." Harrison sighed as he pulled a large binder that was on the corner of the desk. "I expect you to surrender all copies of data you have obtained of Orimura and other IS Data in a day. Now...next question. What's Project: Vieille Garde?

The Ex CEO pulled the hand that was gripping shoulder off and headed towards the exit. "I do not know what you are talking about!"

"What is this project that forced you to pour much of your own money and Dunois Co. assets into?"

"No such project exists, you understand! Albert shouted before he gripped the door handle and pulled it, however, he was quick to realize it was locked.

"If no project exists then please tell me why you stole an IS core?"

"..."

"I looked over all your assets and I realize one of your core is not in your inventory. Core 037 is not in storage. Where is Core 037?

"I don't know! Probably stolen from that terrorist group, Phantom Task!"

"Remember, Albert. If you don't want to rot in prison for life you better tell me everything. You are good at spending money, but you're a terrible liar." The door snapped loudly as the locks became unlocked. " We will have this conversation later. I am sure you are still in shock.

The once French CEO hesitated to open the door, but he quickly glared at his competitor with hatred for a few long seconds before he exited the room. He quickly rushed towards the exit where his chauffeur outside who were waiting for him outside.

Harrison chuckled seeing how the chubby man briskly walk across the hall before the doors automatically closed. He sat back down on his new chair and admired his new office wondering what kind of renovations should be done. A few minutes later his landline phone rang and his new receptionist notified her new boss that a guest wanted to meet him. With nothing to do in his new office, he allowed the guest to enter. The guest was a young woman with long blond hair with a voluptuous body and a large bust. She wore a black thin jacket, white blouse, and a small skirt that revealed much of her legs, with black high heels.

Harrison smiled while he laced his fingers together. "I never thought I would see you wear something more 'professional', Squall. It really suits you."

She laughed softly while brushing her hair away from her eyes. "Oh Harrison, I see that you are such a sweet talker as always."

"What brings you here to Paris?"

"Oh, I had to see it for myself after hearing you bought off one of your oldest rivals."

"Keen ears as always."

"Was it wise for you to let Dunois go free? He could run away, you know."

He sighed softly while he pulled the same binder he showed Dunois towards his chest. "I don't think he will run far. This so-called Project Vieille Garde is his obsession. He loves money almost religiously. He does not have the balls to abandon his greed.

She sat on the edge of the wooden desk. " So why did you buy this place all of a sudden? It's not often aggressively buy a large Corporation without a careful plan."

"Well after that botch night raid last month we have to accelerate our plan for a foothold in Europe."

"The European Government won't like the idea of an American Corporate giant owning European assets. I thought the Alaska Treaty prevents you from owning any more cores than you were given."

"Well legally you are right, but I'm already working on a solution. You should be thanking me Squall. I went through great legal lengths to donate five French cores for the cause."

"My-my! How generous you are. You sure know how to spoil a woman."

He leaned forward almost as if to kiss her. "Don't screw up this time though." He whispered before recoiling back into his chair."

She chuckled at his harsh comments. Her eyes were shaped like daggers as the mood in the atmosphere flipped dramatically. "Are you still blaming me from that failed raid? You know it's not my fault."

"You were in charge of coordinating the mission. The failure is your fault."

She slowly caressed his rough cheek. The soothing sensation of a soft hand rubbing a man's cheek would drive anyone crazy. "Perhaps if you did not hire horny mercenaries for the mission we would have Tabanne and the cores. So much for APEX giving their best."

Harrison slapped the hand caressing his cheek away. "They had a good resume, they follow orders, and they are expendable. Besides you even had two IS agents and a prototype IS at your disposal. "

"The mission was a success, but who would have considered 'he' would appear."

She pulled out a small disk out of her pocket and a hologram projection appeared. The image of the picture was a green blurry and pixelated figure. The image slowly smoothed out and became clear of the Spartan punching the Silver Gospel's face in the night sky."

"None of us would have considered this to happen. " She continued while she slowly stood up and placed a hand on her hip. "It seems impossible for one man to kill units of veteran soldiers and go toe to toe with an IS, but it did happen"

He sighed loudly while studying the image. "So this was the reason why you disappeared for an entire month just to keep this information from me? Why tell me this now?"

"Because I believe this same man is the second male pilot at the Academy."

"Second male pilot?"

"You have not heard the news? Earlier today Japan just announced a new student. I have to admit I was quite surprised how young he looked. I would never have thought he was responsible for saving the students on that night."

Harrison shook his head in disbelief that there was another male pilot was discovered. He grabbed his cellphone and pushed the news app. John was the hottest topic as dozens of news feeds were all dedicated writing topics about him ranging from gossip, theories, and celebration."

"It can't be…" He could feel the blood draining out of his face. The young teenager had a close resemblance of the boy he once thought dead, Jonathan Hunter. He had his father's' face and mother's eyes.

" You think he is the true heir of APEX?" Squall asked. "Rest assure, Harry that's not him."

"How would you know that! This kid looks just like his father!"

"We had this talk before. I was the one who shot down that plane, remember? I never make mistakes. No one would have survived a plane crash 50,000 feet in the air."

"I...suppose you are correct." He sighed loudly while he slumped against his chair. "So what now?"

"I want you to tell 'him' about this news yourself." She said as she slowly headed towards the exit.

"Wait...You never notified our 'benevolent' Phantom Director why you failed last month? You know he won't like the news. What makes you certain he will let you live after you ran away failing a big mission?"

"Because I found something in the ocean he would certainly be interested in." She smiled before leaving the room completely.

The man raised an eyebrow and swiped the hologram projection of the image to the side. A new projected image appeared of a silver metal fragment. Various data showed the composition was made from an unknown alloy and it was by far more superior than any strong alloy they could ever synthesize. It was clear that the Phantom Task found the remnants of the Didact's ship that was pulled out from the red portal. The applications of using such exotic armor were limitless and dangerous in the wrong hands.

In the limo, Albert Dunois was slouching on his leather seat drinking brandy straight out of the bottle. He threw his suit jacket across the floor and rolled up his dress shirt sleeves with several buttons undone.

"Um... where to sir?" His chauffeur asked hesitantly while staring at the rear mirror.

"Home!" He groaned and threw an empty brandy bottle across the limo interior.

"This is all her fault. If she just did her job and sent the damn IS data, we would have already manufactured those damn 3rd Generation models."

He felt groggy and nauseous after drinking an entire bottle of brandy and he had to roll the window down for fresh air. While he breathed heavily, he grabbed his cellphone out of his pocket and dialed each digital key slowly. He was calling one of his last loyal assistance.

"Hello?!" He shouted in a shaky tone. "Get me Faulques, Richard Falques! Tell him I need him and his men. I don't care how much money he requests, I need him forming a perimeter around my house now!"

After that meeting with Harrison Smith at Dunois Corporation, Albert became fearful that man would send him to prison or worse. He will not stand being blackmailed by a malicious competitor. This was why he needed protection and Falques was the perfect man for the job. Richard Falques was a well-known mercenary with a huge resume of protecting corporations and investors' property in many regions in Africa, the Middle East, and in Southern America. He and his men were one proud French Legionnaires, but thanks to the introduction of IS, many countries cut down on the number of soldiers they had, which they viewed their men of arms as obsolete.

He pinched the bridge of his nose as he fought the urge to know to throw up all over in the limo. "Ugh! And Tell my son to pack his bags! Why? Because I said so! All he needs to know is to bring that bastard girl home. I will tell him the rest of the news on the plane."

Charlotte Dunois was the reason he was in this situation and he would make sure his daughter helped him complete Project Vieille Garde.