Good First Impressions

P.S. 'Text in Italic are thoughts of a person'

In the world's only IS Academy, Ichika Orimura, the only male IS pilot alive, was jotting down some notes. It was the beginning of a new school year, and Ichika's first year at the IS Academy. If he was going to be: 1. The world's only male IS pilot, and 2. Studying at a prestigious academy made for the sole purpose of training IS pilots, then he would need to know what is expected of him and what the lessons will be based on. As the assistant homeroom teacher, Maya Yamada, was introducing herself and the school to the first years, Ichika payed close attention and made sure he understood everything he was told, which was considerably hard since his classmates and teachers were ALL FEMALE and staring at him.

Ichika looked over to his left; he sat front and center in the class, and coincidentally, his childhood friend, Houki Shinonono, was sitting on the front row all the way to the left. He hadn't seen or talked to her for 6 years now, but he could tell it was her. She had a very distinct style, and he could make the connection from what she looked like then, and what she looks like now. After she caught his gaze, he waved to her, but she just turned away. Ichika was slightly confused. 'Did I do something?' After Yamada-sensei finished explaining the purpose of the academy, she had everyone introduce themselves in alphabetical order. After at least half of the class introduced themselves, it was Ichika's turn.

"Ichika Orimura," Yamada-sensei called. Ichika took a deep breath and stood up out of his chair. Putting a genuine smile on his face, he spoke in a calm tone, glancing over to Houki.

"I am Ichika Orimura. I hope that the year goes smoothly and that we can all get along as classmates." Ichika sat back down again, but not before the majority of the class swooned, including Yamada-sensei. The timing couldn't have been better, as right then was when the homeroom teacher walked in, and what a coincidence it was.

The thing you should know about Ichika is that he has an older sister named Chifuyu that won the first Mondo Grosso Championship. The Mondo Grosso is basically an IS Championship that pins the best pilots against one another. For a while after Ichika's kidnapping (from which he returned safely at the cost of Chifuyu's second Mondo Grosso win), Chifuyu barely came home to see Ichika.

Ichika looked with wide eyes as the homeroom teacher in front of him was his SISTER. 'Wait... My big sis, Chifuyu, that I haven't seen in forever, was a teacher here at the IS Academy the entire time?'. Ichika shrugged to himself, 'Well at least that explains why I never see her back at home. She's always busy here.' After Ichika was satisfied with the reason of why his sister would never come home, he opened his mouth to say, 'hey sis, long time no see', but caught himself. 'At the school, she probably goes by Orimura-sensei.'

"Good morning Orimura-sensei," Ichika said in a respectful tone. Chifuyu momentarily halted, surprised, if not for a split second. She had not expected Ichika to actually act properly at school. Chifuyu quickly continued walking to cover up her surprise, but not without Ichika noticing. Before Ichika said anything else, Chifuyu turned to face the class and speak.

"I am your homeroom teacher, Chifuyu Orimura, but you are to address me as Orimura-sensei or ma'am. Your syllabus this year is to memorize all information regarding the IS and to master basic maneuvers. Do I make myself clear? Even if not, say yes ma'am!"

Immediately, the entire class, including Ichika, replied in unison, "Yes ma'am!"

Satisfied with the class's reply, Chifuyu dismissed the class for 20 minutes. Ichika was quite confused about this. 'On their own, the entire classroom divided themselves into their own little groups of friends. Ichika was at his desk, going over the turn of events of the morning, when a shadow went over his desk. He looked up to find Houki looking at him, seemingly troubled. She turned her head away and spoke in a quiet voice.

"Can we talk?" Ichika smiled at the proposition and stood up and out of his chair.

"Of course we can." Ichika could swear he saw Houki's cheeks turn slightly red, but she turned and started walking before he could guarantee that he did, in fact, see Houki blushing. He started walking with Houki before he fell behind, but not before a few looks were given to him by other girls on the way out.

Houki and Ichika were up on the roof of the school, leaning on the rail and appreciating the beautiful view. At least that's what Ichika was doing, because Houki was too busy battling with inner conflicts to enjoy the view. Ichika noticed this, and decided to initiate a conversation.

"It's been 6 years since we saw each other you know. It's great to see you again, Houki. Even after 6 years I recognized you right away." Ichika said with delight in his voice. This seemed to snap Houki out of her mental battle with herself as she turned towards Ichika. For the first time in 6 years, she looked him in the eyes, and he looked her in the eyes. Houki could feel the heat rushing to her face, so she turned her head away from him so he didn't notice. Houki chuckled.

"You really don't forget things, do you?" Ichika walked closer to Houki.

"Of course not, you are my childhood friend after all. Why would I ever forget one of my closest friends, even if it has been 6 years?"

"It has been 6 years." Houki dawned on the realization. She wanted to say something to Ichika about missing him, but half of her disagreed so she stayed quiet. Just as Ichika opened his mouth to say something, the school's bell rang. It was time for both of them to go back to class. Houki's shoulders slumped: she wanted more time to catch up with Ichika, but apparently that was for another time. Ichika shrugged his shoulders and spoke to Houki.

"Well, I guess we should be getting back to class," Ichika held out his arm to Houki and asked, "shall we?"

Houki blushed furiously, wondering what she should do. After several seconds of battling with her thoughts, she finally decided on what to do. She looped her arm into his, although with a little hesitation, and placed her other hand on his arm. The heat on her cheeks was enough to cook an omelet on it, but she didn't let go. She committed to walking back to class with him. Ichika noticed Houki's blush and smiled. He had always like Houki, and he believed that this little sign of recognition would help him get back on track. Completely cutting off connection to a childhood friend for 6 years doesn't come without consequences.

Both Houki and Ichika walked back to class arm-in-arm, earning them a few envious glances from a few students. The stares may have been annoying, but Ichika didn't care. Although Houki found the stares a little uncomfortable, she toughed it up. Just because people were staring doesn't mean that she was going to let go.

After the lesson was over, Ichika put his notebook back into his bag and prepared to go find his room. Before he could even get out of his seat, a blond girl with the body of a model walked over to him. Her hair was long enough to reach her waist and she had bright blue eyes. A headband that matched her eyes held her hair back. Her uniform was much like the original school uniform, but the skirt was longer and was frilly at the ends. Ichika wondered who she was. 'By the looks of her, she's most likely British. Come to think of it, I remember there being a british representative contender in this class. Maybe this is her.' Before Ichika could stand up and out of his seat, she spoke.

"Excuse me, can we talk?" Yep, definitely british. Ichika stood up and looked at her.

"Yes. What did you want to talk about miss..." He said, motioning towards her. After he did this, the girl seemed rather offended and gasped.

"How dare you?! Don't you know who I am? You should be grateful that I even bothered to come over here and talk to you, imbecile!" Ichika was surprised by her reaction and put up his hands in apology.

"Sorry. I didn't mean any offense to you." The girl exhaled sharply and looked at Ichika, obviously annoyed.

"I am Cecilia Alcott, the representative contender for Great Britain. I am an elite IS pilot, so treat me as one!" As she said this, she pointed to Ichika to put an emphasis on her words. Ichika was starting to get annoyed with this Cecilia Alcott girl. She was clearly arrogant and treated herself all "high and mighty". Ichika looked around the room: it was obvious that most of the girls in the room were focused on their little conversation, some of them disappointed that Cecilia was the one to go talk to him and not them. Ichika simply sighed and gave her the answer she wanted.

"Of course, Cecilia. What did you want to talk to me about?" Cecilia smiled a conceited smile and talked.

"Well, as a noble, it is my job to answer the lower level's question's. If you have any questions, then you can come to me. After all, I am the only one to defeat an instructor in an entrance exam." After Cecilia mentioned beating an instructor, Ichika smirked.

"Correction: Your the only FEMALE to defeat an instructor in an entrance exam." Cecilia froze at this, then suddenly turned to Ichika and looked him straight in the eyes.

"What!? You defeated an instructor? Impossible! Your just a boy!" Ichika held up his index finger.

"A boy that can pilot an IS." Cecilia huffed in annoyance and turned away from Ichika, who just picked up his bag and started walking out of the door.

"If you want to, we can continue this conversation later, but right now I need to find my room." Cecilia didn't reply as she walked back to her desk without a second glance.

After heading to the first-year dorms, Ichika looked at the paper in his hand. The piece of paper he had contained all of his information, including room number and student information. On the paper, it indicated that his room was room 1025. 'My room is number 1025? Did they get me a room to myself or did they get me a roommate to conserve rooms? Guess I'll find out.' Ichika nodded to himself and headed to his room.

After making his way down numerous halls, Ichika found himself standing in front of room 1025. He was going to swipe his student ID, but saw that the door was unlocked, which could only mean one thing: He had a roommate. This proved to be a problem because aside from him, everybody else in the school was female. Ichika took a deep breath and entered into the room and called quietly.

"Hello?" No answer. Ichika walked into the room and found himself mesmerized.

The room was bigger than that of a regular hotel suite, housing two queen sized beds, a desk and kitchen that lined the entire wall adjacent to the beds, and separate shower room. The beds were neatly covered with white sheets and fluffy comforters, making the night's sleep most likely very enjoyable. A kitchen (fully stocked with cooking equipment, bowls, plates, cups, and eating utensils) lay off to the right side of the door, with a desk taking up the rest of the wall. By the beds, there was a full glass window, over looking the island that the academy was on. The room really was magnificent.

Ichika heard the muffled sound of water drops falling on tile to his left. The shower room was being used, and inside of that room was his roommate, his FEMALE roommate! Ichika started to freak out. 'My roommate, who is a girl, is taking a shower! What do I do, what do I DO!? If she walks out and I'm right here, then I'm done for! Maybe I should just come back in a few minutes and meet her when she's fully dressed. Yeah! That's good!' It was then that the shower turned off. A few seconds later, the shower room door opened, causing Ichika to panic and fall onto the bed closest to him. When the girl walked out of the shower room, she wasn't looking in his direction because she was drying her hair with a towel.

"Oh hey, you must be my new roommate. Sorry to meet you like this, but I just took a shower." The girl was wearing only a towel around her torso, barely covering her cleavage and her mid-section. Ichika's throat seemed to shut itself closed when the girl started to look in his direction.

"My name is Houki Shinonono. I hope that we get along as roo-" Houki stopped mid-sentence as she saw her roommate.

"I-I-Ichika!?" Named person gulped.

'Yep, I'm dead. I'm SO DEAD!'