Chapter II: Beautiful Duelists
“What a failure! What a disgrace!” Imperial Knight Djibril Emmuler was scolding Ichika harshly. She’d started in as soon as he got back to the dorms. “I should take you back to my country so you can be punished properly!”
Ms. Yamada couldn’t let that pass. “Come on. She’s safe. Orimura was the one to save her. Let’s leave it at that.”
“You’re too easy on him, Maya! You still haven’t learned! Why protect him from having to learn his lesson?!”
Djibril and Maya’s history as rivals only ramped up her anger further... Their rivalry, and their abandoned plans for their future.
“...It’s not too late, Maya. Don’t waste your time here as a glorified babysitter. Come with me. I can personally promise that you’ll be knighted almost immediately.”
“I’ve already told you, Djibril. I love this country. I love this school. I can’t leave.”
“You’re still trying to run away from me, aren’t you?!”
All Maya could do was laugh wryly. “No, it’s just...”
“Don’t make excuses! You know I’ll never be satisfied with that answer!”
The door to the princess’s guest room opened, interrupting them. Iris was awake now, and coming to see what all the noise was.
“Could you quiet down? ...Oh, and Ichika.” Iris was already back to being a princess, and stared at Ichika intently, as befitting her position. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, Your Royal Highness.”
“Wonderful. That’s what really matters.” Taking a deep breath, she spoke again. “We will invite Orimura Ichika to Luxembourg. There, he will live out his life as my manservant.”
If anything, it sounded more like a marriage proposal.
“Wha?”
“Whaa?”
“Whaaaaaa?”
More astonished than Ichika was Djibril, more astonished than Djibril were the cadets. Pointedly ignoring them, Iris continued as she puffed out her chest, “Let those who object say their piece now, or forever be silent!”
“Of course we object!” Ling said, puffing out her own chest slightly more successfully.
“Oh? You. What is your name?”
“Huang Lingyin! You’d better remember it!”
“Mhm. Then, Huang Lingyin. Shall we settle this like women?”
Ling replied, just as fired up as Iris was, “Sounds great! Let’s do it!”
Sparks flew between two decidedly low-environmental-impact chests. It was her complete opposite, Djibril, who cut in to cool them down.
“You mustn’t, Your Royal Highness! This is below you!”
“I see it as an excellent opportunity to teach these commoners their place.”
“But— At least let me fight as your champion!” Djibril pleaded.
“No! A royal’s duty is to lead from the front lines!”
Ling knew when she had someone’s attention, and milked it for all it was worth.
“How about both of you, then? I’m fine with that.” They were taking the bait. Ling knew they were exactly the type to fall for it.
“Hmph! Two-on-two it is! I suppose I’ll allow you to choose your own second.”
“Good enough, then! Sounds like fun! I choose... Houki!” Houki blinked in confusion. “C’mon, team up with me.”
“Wh-What?!”
“It’ll be fine! Team Childhood Friends! Two enemies joining forces!” Her logic was... questionable, but her passion was overwhelming.
“Err... Okay.” Houki sighed as she nodded.
The second one was accurate, at least. If I win, then Ichika might finally... Might notice her. Yes... She had to win. She needed to win.
“Looks like it’s arranged, then. We meet a week from Sunday, in the third arena!”
The gauntlet was thrown down.
“Hey, wait, Rin!” he called out.
“What, Ichika?”
With that settled, everyone was heading back to their rooms.
“You know what you’re up against, right? She’s a princess!”
“Hmph. I don’t care who she is! Do you think I’m gonna lose or something?”
“It’s just, her IS was made by Tabane herself. So...”
“So what? You think I’m gonna lose?”
Houki chimed in, “That’s okay. My Akatsubaki is too.”
“I guess, just...”
“Worry about yourself.”
“Ugh...”
She had a point. If Ling and Houki won, Iris was likely to take it extremely poorly. Ichika was going to need to deal with that.
As he slumped, Ling shot him a smile and said, “Don’t worry, though, we’ve got this!”
“That’s right!”
“Uhhhh...” Smiles on both Ling and Houki’s faces. Ichika was the only one with a frown.
Iris watched from a distance.
“Djibril.”
“What is it, Your Royal Highness?”
“We won’t lose... Will we?”
“Of course not.”
Both were self-assured of their victory. And thus, the week or so until their clash passed...
“I wonder why Shenlong just got a heavy arms upgrade, though.”
Ling was going through the new parts of her preflight checklist. This battle wasn’t just going to be for her own honor; it was also the first combat test of the new Huniang Cannon.
“Haven’t been able to do much besides get it installed, but it should be fine.” As a melee fighter at heart, the addition of a heavy cannon slowing her down wasn’t really her style, but orders were orders. “Just gonna have to try my best.”
Really, even with her new haute couture package, Shenlong’s stats were still in line with her style. All she could do was believe that her IS wouldn’t betray her. And she’d built up that trust.
“No packages for you, Houki?”
Houki was running through her own preflight checks for Akatsubaki.
“Akatsubaki was developed for versatility. It doesn’t need packages,” she shrugged.
“Oh, right. It can evolve to fit any situation, right?”
Houki nodded. “Right. Ahh, there we go, the data on our opponents.”
As soon as she was finished with her checklist, Ling glanced through it, and her jaw dropped.
“What?! They’re both fourth gens?! C’mon, gimme a break!”
Ling’s Shenlong may have been one of the newest third-generation rollouts, but it was still going to be hard-pressed against two examples of Shinonono Tabane’s personal handiwork. But IS generations aside, she could still hope that Djibril was going to be carrying some very heavy royal baggage.
“Ah well, who cares about generations. It’s the pilot’s skill that matters!”
“That’s right!”
Kanzashi, their operator for the match, broke in over comms.
“Seventh Princess is equipped with a new fourth-generation weapon, the Graviton Cluster... And then there’s the Imperial Knight’s electrified sword and shield combo, Éclair. Don’t let your guards down.”
That was enough to dampen Ling and Houki’s moods. And then, there was another pair of eyes watching in the background...
“.........”
Liu Yueyin. Ling’s long-lost father.
“Mr. Liu, you really should have stayed in the hospital...”
“Cough, cough... No... I’m fine... This could be my last chance.”
As Ichika looked over the once-strong man’s shriveled, wilted form, he worried. Even though he was a terminal cancer patient, he had rushed to Japan to see his daughter fight one last time.
“I’m sorry to pry, but why did you leave Rin’s— Why did you leave your wife?”
“I... I don’t know how much longer I have. I wanted... I wanted to let them choose their own future.”
“But... But that’s...”
“I don’t expect you to understand. But please... At least listen...”
“.........”
“I wanted to see... I wanted to see my wonderful little girl one last time...”
They had spoken several days before. Ichika had gone into it wanting to give Yueyin a piece of his mind, but seeing how weak he’d become, he didn’t have the heart to.
He may have wanted to give them closure, but... His wife, at least, must have known. Must have gone along with it. Without either of them telling Ling what was really happening. But that’s just...
Adult selfishness. At least, that’s what Ichika had to call it. The ties binding family couldn’t be cut easily. He knew that well. Not just in spite of, but because his own closest bond was with Chifuyu rather than his parents.
“It’s starting.”
“Mm...”
Ling and Houki’s battle for Ichika had begun.
“So, handshake before the match?” Ling smirked at Iris.
“Hmph. There’s no need for that,” Iris fired back just as self-confidently.
“Remember, you promised. If we win, you let Ichika go.” Houki stared down Djibril.
“Of course. A knight doesn’t go back on her word.” Djibril’s eyes gleamed with absolute loyalty to her princess as they bore into Ling and Houki.
“Then, let the battle for Orimura Ichika commence!” Cheers welled up from the crowd at Ms. Yamada’s announcement. There’s nothing teenage girls like better than a good catfight. “And... Begin!”
At the sound of a whistle, four IS shimmered into existence.
“Houki! You take the knight!” Without waiting for an answer, Ling charged toward Iris.
“Hey! Hey, wait! ...Ugh, why me?”
As Ling closed in on Iris, Djibril shot out a bolt of lightning. “I won’t let you get near her!”
Her sword leapt from its sheath, arcing toward Ling, but it was Houki’s turn to cut in with her own blade Amazuki.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself!”
“Ahaha! Thanks, Houki! All right, here goes!”
Clang! The new heavy impact cannon mounted on Ling’s shoulders leveled at Iris, yet she refused to give an inch.
“Only a weakling flinches!”
“Got you!” Her cannon charged, Ling fired. It looked like a direct hit, but when the dust settled, the paint on Iris’s IS wasn’t even scratched.
“Wha?!”
“Looks like you underestimated Seventh Princess.”
As Ling looked closer, she saw a shimmering energy barrier hover over her foe like a veil.
“A gravity shield?! Gimme a break!” Looking down at the analysis Kanzashi had sent, Ling’s eyes widened. The barrier covered Iris completely. There was no weak point.
“And now it’s my turn.” Iris could attack even with her shields up. Raising her right hand, she stared at Ling and Houki. “Take this! Graviton Cluster!”
Her hands flew forth, and a moment later, an unseen something collapsed on Ling and Houki.
“Ahh!” The pair were slammed down to the arena floor, then ground into the dirt.
“You’re sure bringing it...”
“So this is what a fourth gen IS is capable of...”
Dodging the lightning shooting from Djibril, they leapt back up, keeping their distance to avoid another Graviton Cluster strike.
“Where do you think you’re running to?” Iris moved forth regally, her wings spread, firing again when she closed the distance.
“Ugh! She’s better than I expected!” Ling’s mobility had been reduced by her IS’ newly-added reactive shielding. But at least it could serve as a defensive wall against the Graviton Cluster. “This time I’ll hit you at full power!”
Ling’s cannon barrels telescoped out to full scale as they began to charge energy.
“Not so fast!” Djibril carved her way into the line of fire. Houki moved in to block her, only to be hit by lightning as they clashed.
“Houki!” Ling’s concern for her friend was audible in her voice.
Houki bravely forced a smile and said, “Don’t worry about me! Go for it!”
“Roger!” Nodding, Ling let loose a full-power blast. Her twin cannon fired at once, scoring a direct hit on Iris. “Got her!”
At least, that’s what it seemed. But looks could be deceiving.
“Hmph. Not bad.” Iris’s seven wings wrapped around her, forming an even stronger gravity barrier. One which could completely absorb Ling’s impact cannon shots.
“You’re not getting away!”
Blam! Blam! Two more full-power shots at close range. The cannon barrels began to crack from the sheer force pouring through them.
“Hold on just a little longer, Shenlong!”
With one last blast, she crashed to the ground, taken down by her own weapons cooking off.
“Houki!” Ling called out for her teammate to finish the fight.
As Houki’s blades ground against her foe’s, her eyes gleamed. “I’m on it!”
Abandoning any focus on defense, Houki, blades still crossed with Djibril, fired her Ugachi energy cannon at Iris.
“Iris!” Djibril threw down her sword and dove to cover her princess. “Ahhhhhh!”
Taking the full brunt of the blast, she crashed to earth.
“And if this is on the ground—” Ling purged the dented, blasted scraps of armor she had left, and rushed at the disarmed Djibril with newfound speed. Meanwhile, Houki raised her blades over Iris.
“Look out, Princess!”
Iris heard her warning, but still didn’t know what to do in a situation like this. In every previous fight, her foes had fallen before her superior firepower. The flow of battle had always carried her forward. But that had changed. No, it had been changed.
“A-Ahh...” Iris’s will wasn’t strong enough to handle the true stress of battle. As she saw a blade swing for her, her face twisted in terror.
“That’s enough!” A cry flew between them like an arrow. It was Ichika’s voice. “You’ve already won. Right, Rin, Houki?”
They sheathed their weapons.
“I suppose.”
“Yeah, it was a piece of cake!”
The emotions swirling through Iris turned to rage as her opponents basked in their victory.
“What are you talking about?! I... I haven’t lost yet!” It may have been one last, no-one-wins desperate attack, but Iris was still committed.
Until Djibril’s voice pulled her back, “Please, no! Iris! Please! Please, this is over!”
“Et tu—” As her will wavered, a single tear fell upon her forehead. “You’re... You’re crying...”
“I... I just want you to be safe... Please, stop...” Djibril pleaded. Her usual force, her pride, her grace, were now only tears. Yet the tears were just as much for her princess’s sake.
“...Understood.”
Iris yielded.
“So, uh.” Houki and friends were enjoying a victory feast in the dining hall, beneath a banner simply reading ‘Victory!’ Meanwhile, Iris and Djibril looked on with chagrined frowns. “Rin, your dad—”
After the match, Ling had met with her father. Ichika had wanted to come along, but she refused. The reunion had gone well, though, judging by the smile on her face.
“Yeah, that was a thing that happened. Mom showed up too.”
“Huh?”
Ling, back to her normal blasé self, answered through a mouthful of fries, “That part was kind of a mess. Ugh, I don’t understand why doing that was supposed to be for my sake anyway. He’s crazy.”
Yueyin must have had a hard time standing up to two women in a family squabble. Ichika couldn’t help but imagine him trying to keep up with the dual-pronged attack.
“Yeah, maybe he is. But maybe he’s just crazy for his little girl.” It seemed that they’d reconciled, and were going to remarry. Ichika didn’t have the nerve to ask what, exactly, had happened to his cancer. “Well, anyway. All’s well that ends well.”
“What do you mean, ‘ends well’?! Even I don’t understand what he was trying to do there!” Ichika tried to calm her down, but it wasn’t until he moved on to headpats that her complaints stopped. “Ahh...”
“......?”
“Oh, nothing!” At least it seemed like she was happy with that. The tension left her as she blushed.
...And just as quickly, rose in Iris.
“How long are you going to keep doing that?! A-Anyway! I certainly have no intention of returning to my country alone!
“Wha? ...Huh?”
As Ichika gawked in confusion, Iris waved an application form under his nose.
“Look at this!” It was true. ‘APPROVED’ was stamped right across it. “I’m going to be your classmate, Ichika!”
“Ahaha...”
It looked like his peaceful school life was... Well, ‘over’ would imply it had existed in the first place. But at least as a classmate he wouldn’t have to treat her like literal royalty. (And she wouldn’t have to act the part, either.) It wouldn’t have surprised him if her older siblings had been all for the idea.
“Good to see your family can get behind whatever you choose for yourself, Alice.” He patted her head just like he had Ling’s.
“Mm...” As he did, her anger faded away just as he planned.
“Anyway! You know what we do with losers, right?” Ms. Yamada appeared, grinning from ear to ear.
“Maya! You can do anything you want to me, but please, spare the princess!”
Maya’s glasses gleamed as Djibril cried out. “Anything I want, huh? You all heard her say that, right?”
“Ugh...”
“Ufufu. Like, maybe...” Maya whispered in Djibril’s ear, a devilish smile on her face. As she listened, Djibril flushed a crimson red. “Oh, my. I’d thought an Imperial Knight wouldn’t be so... squeamish.”
“Don’t taunt me like that! That... That’s nothing!”
“I was hoping you’d say that!” With obvious glee, Maya pulled out a paper shopping bag. “Why don’t you go get changed into this?”
“Okay, fine... Hey, wait! Where did you even get this?! I thought I had it—” It was only then that Djibril realized her fatal mistake so many years before.
“I guess it was a mistake to leave everything to me when you left.”
“That’s no fair, Maya!”
“Oh, it’s perfectly fair. Now hurry along and get changed, Gibby.”
“Maya... I’m going to kill you. Someday. As soon as I figure out how.”
“Tee-hee.” This was a side of Ms. Yamada that her students had never seen before, and they watched eagerly to see exactly what she’d baited Djibril into.
It was an IS Academy uniform.
“Ugh... I can’t believe I’m wearing this in my twenties...” She was obviously embarrassed by the high, high hemline of the skirt, to Maya’s cruel pleasure.
“Everyone, meet your new classmate, Djibril. Be sure to make her feel right at home.”
“Wait! If I’m stuck here, wasn’t it supposed to be as a teacher?!”
“Really? I’m pretty sure I heard you turn that offer down. And if you don’t want to be a teacher, well, there’s only one option left.” Maya stuck out her tongue, taking obvious pleasure at her victory.
“This is so humiliating...”
“Uh, I mean, it does look good on you?” Ichika said. His warm words were met with cold steel.
“You little—”
“N-No, wait! I meant that as a compliment! So why...”
Djibril’s mind raced, imagining her future, as she chased after him.
“Ugh, whatever! I don’t care anymore! Just kill me now!” She passed her sword to Ichika.
It was only Princess Iris—no, now, just Iris, a fellow student, who calmed her down.
“It hurts to see you like this, Djibril. I’ve made my peace with my own future as Alice. The least you could do is follow my example.”
“But, Princess!”
“Call me Alice!”
“Understood... Princess Alice...”
It took another half hour to drive it into her head that the ‘princess’ part was no longer necessary.
“Djibril.”
“Yes, Alice?”
In a room in the IS Academy first year dorms, Iris spoke from one of a pair of beds lined up side by side. “My brothers, my sisters... They must really care for me.”
She understood, now, why she had been given her own IS. And she regretted her own embrace of her position as the spoiled youngest sibling. Her father and mother had died soon after her birth, and her six siblings had battled for authority. She’d always wished that she could have staked her own claim. But she’d always thought that the gift of an IS had been specifically to remove her from the picture.
“Maybe they were trying to spare me the burden of the crown...” Iris trailed off.
It may have been a noble path, but certainly not a royal one. But, it had bought her freedom. A path to survival, no matter what twists and turns palace intrigue led down. That’s what Seventh Princess meant to her.
“Alice, I think you’d make a wonderful queen.”
An open heart, willing to take on the burdens of the people, was the true mark of fitness to rule. And it wasn’t only her siblings who had hoped that someday she’d develop it. Djibril, always by her side, had felt the same. When she’d observed young IS trainees, Djibril had always been sure to grant them an audience with the Princess. And she’d always been impressed by Iris’s youthful earnestness and royal magnanimity.
“Anyway, Djibril.”
“What is it?”
“Do... Do you know how to make guys like you?”
“What?!”
When Iris had said ‘guys’, she had obviously meant Ichika.
“...I think you should give up on Orimura Ichika,” Djibril bluntly replied.
“What?! Who even mentioned Ichika?! Who? When? Where?!” If it hadn’t been obvious even beforehand, her idea of bringing him back to Luxembourg would have made it clear. “Anyway! Djibril! I know someone like you has to have a lot of experience with men! Don’t you?”
“I, uhh, yeah, of course I do! I’m an Imperial Knight! Obviously I have a boyfriend for each day of the week!”
That was a dangerous lie to tell, and the danger was in it being believed—which it was.
“Oh really? That sounds like a lot of fun!”
Djibril tried her hardest to not sigh out loud as she sunk deeper into her mattress. To be completely truthful, she’d never even held hands with a male, nevermind going any further.
“So you know exactly how to get a guy to fall for me?”
“Y-Yes...”
A new chapter in their strange master-and-servant yet teacher-and-pupil relationship was beginning.
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