First update on the 1st day in March and the real 8th chapter. First of all, I really want to apologize if you have been waiting for a very long time. I don't even realize that this story could make it into TV Tropes fic recs. I know it's already too late, but whoever you were, thank you very much. I really appreciate it.

I'll have to postpone the reply because I'm not in really good condition now. But rest assured because I'm still working on Heart of a Familiar, White Devil of SEED, and CROSS ANGE: Rondo of Angel, Dragon, and Unicorn.

And now, enjoy it.

Chapter 8: An Interrupted Game

IS Academy – Arena

The day of the official interclass tournament where the Class-representatives would compete against each other had finally come. As this was an official event, many preparations had been made to welcome the VIP guests who were mostly officials or CEOs of IS corporations from many different countries. All of the spectator seats were filled with the female students who were waiting eagerly for the tournament, especially the girls of Class 1-1 who were rooting for their class representative, Ichika Orimura. Some of them had even made a banner with his name written on it.

Among these spectators was Banagher with Cecilia beside him who still clung onto his arm, much to the former's discomfort. The implied intimacy wasn't missed by the majority of the other students who either groaned or glared at them in jealousy. Well, it wasn't like he couldn't do anything either since all of his attempts to make her go away were futile, besides this would end when the tournament was over, right? However, what concerned Banagher more was something else.

Glancing up at where the VIPs were sitting, he narrowed his eyes at the invited executives. Truth be told, some of them had their own motives for accepting the tournament invitation so they could get closer to this 'second male IS pilot' from Ireland. Most of which revolved around learning more about his unique IS, the 'Unicorn'.

The battle between the mysterious white IS and England's Blue Tears, although being unofficial and thus not broadcasted, only took a few minutes to spread thanks to the current ease of internet access and social media. It was only a matter of time until the entire world learned about its existence along with the pilot, intriguing a number of IS company executives.

For them, everything happened out of nowhere. Without warning, another boy capable of piloting an IS appeared, enrolled in the most prestigious IS academy in the world as a representative of Ireland, and defeated England's representative in a battle without sustaining any damage before being revealed to the general public.

Many of the VIPs had even asked their connections that lived in Ireland, but unfortunately they kept their mouths shut as they also didn't have any valid information about this Banagher Links which only brought them more mysteries and questions.

The current situation made Banagher tense and he knew these people would try to dig up more information regarding his background by any means necessary…

Noticing the tensed expression of her lover(?), Cecilia made a concerned expression and asked, "Is there something wrong, Banagher?"

Banagher quickly turned to the blonde haired girl. "Ah, nothing, Cecilia. Let's just watch the battle…"

"Okay then, if you say so…" replied Cecilia with a nod although there was a hint of worry in her tone.

Standing at the opposite corner of the arena was Rin who was already outfitted with her IS: The Shenlong. Shenlong was a dark purple and black IS designed for close-quarters combat, a combat style that also was shared with Byakushiki. However, unlike Ichika's IS which had no ranged weapons, Shenlong was armed with two cannons named Ryuhou, or Dragon Cannon, one placed on each shoulder binder. With a giant scimitar named Souten Gagetsu in each hand, the twin-tailed girl patiently waited for the opponent that had yet to come out from the hangar.

'This is it…' she thought, her eyes never leaving the opposing hanger's gate, 'I only have one chance to set things right with Ichika… I can't ruin it again…'

…

Meanwhile inside the hangar

Ichika was clad in his Byakushiki IS with its sword in the right hand, listening to Houki's reminders of their training with the latter speaking as if her mouth would never stop. However, from how it looked, one could say that the boy's mind was on somewhere else rather than listening to the ponytailed girl's lecture.

"…And staying focused is the key of victory. Remember that, Ichika." Houki finished but then noticed that Ichika didn't seem to be paying attention to her words which made her frown in annoyance.

"Hey, did you even listen to a single word I said?"

"Oh?" Ichika blinked, snapping back to reality and immediately replied with a nod. "Sure I did, Houki. I'll keep that in my mind."

The ponytailed girl however didn't buy the excuse and crossed her arms. "You're still thinking about what happened, aren't you?"

Knowing that he couldn't lie anymore, Ichika lowered his head and chuckled slightly, "I'm really that obvious, huh?"

There was a moment of silence between the two before Houki finally said something unexpected to him.

"Ichika, you're an idiot!"

"Huh?" He looked back at her, both taken aback and confused by her words, "Houki? Why-"

Ichika didn't get a chance to finish his question as Houki beat to it, "You made a deal that whoever wins this battle will have to do what the winner asks, didn't you?"

"Uh… yeah, but-"

"Then win!" She said firmly. "Win this battle so you can settle the misunderstanding between you two!" Houki then turned around and looked down; a sad frown on her face, "I don't want to see you like this... This is so unlike you…"

Ichika was silent and pensive for a moment before his expression brightened again. A resolved look was evident on his face as he looked at his childhood friend again. "You're right, Houki! I can't keep going on like this forever. Sorry that I made you worry…" He scratched the back of his head with a sheepish expression.

"W-worry? I'm not worried." Houki's face suddenly blushed red from embarrassment before she crossed her arms again, "I just don't want our training to go to waste just because of your problem with that girl! That's all!"

"Still… thanks for giving me a heads-up." replied Ichika. The Byakushiki walked towards the linear catapult, ready to launch into the arena. But before the IS departed, Ichika looked at her again for the last time.

"I'm going, Houki. Byakushiki! Launching!"

Houki turned back towards the linear catapult as she shouted at the already launching form of the white IS.

"I won't forgive you if you lose! Do you hear me!?"

Whether Ichika heard it or not as he was already outside, it was more than enough for her that her childhood friend had regained his confidence. Smiling a bit in relief and satisfaction, Houki then rushed out to the spectator seats. She only had a few more minutes before the match started.

…

Back in the arena

When the white IS Byakushiki finally emerged from the gate, the girls of Class 1-1 immediately cheered, shouting his surname several times. Cecilia also cheered, but unlike them, she kept it on her own dignified level by clapping her hands. The only one who looked indifferent at this was Banagher even though inside he was curious to see if their intensive training would bear fruit for Ichika by the end of this match.

However there was one thing that was noticeably different about the Byakushiki. Its wing binders were now folded open, revealing golden fins underneath the expanded sections. The white IS then ascended to the same level as its opponent Shenlong. Now Ichika was one on one with Rin, his childhood friend who was also his opponent now.

"Ichika. Before we start, there's something that I want to say." He suddenly heard Rin speak.

"Huh?"

With every single ounce of courage she had, the Chinese representative took a long breath and sighed. "Yesterday, I said terrible things to you and I wasn't proud of it, I even made a fool of myself because of it…."

The twin-tailed girl then looked back at him with a determined expression. "But today, that's all in the past and now..." She then pointed her scimitar at him and smirked confidently, "I'm going to take you down!"

Her opponent was slightly surprised by her words for a moment until he gave her back an equally assured grin in return.

"Well, that's good Rin. But…" Ichika replied before he pointed his katana at her, "Just so you know, I received special training from my friends and I won't waste all their hard work to get me into shape!"

Now filled with newfound determination to win, both IS pilots entered their stances before the referee announced the start of the battle.

"Begin the match, ready… GO!"

Both Byakushiki and Shenlong dived forward with their weapons ready to attack. Sword and scimitars clashed and interlocked with each other, causing a spark between the two pilots before they pulled back to gain some distance.

"HYAAAAA!" with a fierce battle cry, Rin dashed towards her opponent while holding her Souten Gagetsu in a cross pattern. Ichika saw her coming and noticed that he couldn't react fast enough to perform a counter so he held his Yukihira in a defensive posture. Once again, both combatants had their weapons locked but...

"Gotcha!"

The Shenlong suddenly spun its body and caused the Byakushiki to stumble past, losing its balance. With an opening now present, the Shenlong combined both its scimitars back into their double-bladed form.

"What!?" Surprised, Ichika didn't have enough time to react as a slash hit him in the back, reducing his shield energy from 1000 to 937. The force was enough to push him several meters ahead.

Realizing that he had taken the first attack, Ichika glanced at his shield meter and scowled.

'Not even a minute and I'm already damaged?' The younger Orimura thought bitterly before turning to Rin. 'I have to go on the offensive otherwise Rin will pummel me with those things.'

"Ha! Is that all you got, Ichika?" Rin mocked. "I told you I won't hold back any punches, didn't I?"

But Ichika's reaction turned into a confused one as he tilted his head. "No, you didn't tell me that."

"Eh, what?" Rin blinked, confused as she placed an armored finger under her chin in thought, trying to remember who she had said those words to. The fact that she was still in the middle of an IS battle as the Byakushiki approached her went unnoticed.

'Oh that's right! I said that to-'

"Eyes up, Rin!"

"Huh?" Hearing the voice of the Byakushiki pilot, Rin snapped out of her thoughts. However what greeted her first was a view of Yukihira's blade coming at her before her Shenlong was knocked off balance and towards the ground.

After a moment, Rin managed to recover her bearings. She glanced at her shield and noticed that she had taken 50 points of damage. Upset, the Shenlong pilot pointed her double-bladed scimitar at her opponent.

"That was a dirty move, Ichika!" She exclaimed in accusation.

"Don't blame me for that! You were the one who got distracted, I only took my chance." Ichika countered back with a frown.

A challenging smirk formed on Rin's face. "Oh, so you want to play it that way, huh? Fine then."

Right after she said that, the Shenlong's round shoulders suddenly began charging up while aimed at Ichika. Noticing the incoming danger as a result of his training, the Byakushiki's pilot instinctively evaded the blast that impacted the arena's barrier behind him.

"What the heck was that?!" exclaimed Ichika in shock.

From the spectator seats, Houki also had the same expression. "What the hell kind of attack did she use?!"

"I couldn't even see the bullets there." commented Banagher who was also amazed by the Shenlong's Impact Cannon, "It's almost like a railgun."

"Maybe it looks like an air cannon, only its more powerful." Cecilia added before she turned to Banagher in slight worry, "Do you think that Ichika-san can win? He only has that samurai sword."

"It's called a katana…" The ponytailed girl muttered in slight annoyance.

"I can't tell for sure. It's still too early to decide that..." replied the Gundam pilot before he turned back to the arena. "We'll just have to see."

Back in the arena, Ichika was having a hard time planning an attack because Rin kept firing her Ryuhou cannons, leaving him little room to approach.

"You're dodging it pretty well. But how long can you keep that up?" Rin mocked, not stopping her attack at all. "You can't escape forever. My Ryuhou will follow you wherever you are!"

Yes, it was true, despite constantly moving around and changing his flight altitude in an effort to fool the targeting system, said tactics weren't effective at all since they had been anticipated by Ryuhou's unlimited angle of fire. This feature was possible thanks to its spherical shape which could move 360 degrees.

Even worse was despite dodging the attacks, some shots still managed to graze the Byakushiki and chipped away at the energy shield in the process.

Dodging another salvo, Ichika desperately tried to think of a way out of his predicament. 'Ugh! At this rate she's going to win! Come on Ichika! Use your head! Don't let your training go to waste!'

However when he glanced back at Shenlong's cannons which had begun to charge up again, his mind suddenly recalled his last training session with Banagher.

"Ah!"

.

Flashback

.

IS Academy – Arena 3 - Last Day before Interclass Tournament

The Unicorn and Byakushiki were once again having another sparring match. After yesterday's lecture and training from his sister, it turned out that Ichika had been training with Banagher using Byakushiki still in its default setting instead of the first shift where it normally performed. Due to him lacking the technical knowledge, Chifuyu had to give her brother a quick tutorial on how to setup his IS while also reminding him that he should read the IS manual that he haddubbed'a huge piece of rock'.

Banagher noticed the difference in Byakushiki's new appearance where the armor pieces were expanded and explained to Ichika about the first shift he hadn't activated until now. The younger Orimura quickly asked Banagher for an aerial battle.

The training was intense as the two white IS clashed their weapons several times. Observers would have described it as two shooting stars colliding with each other.

"Hey Banagher, there's something I want to ask." Ichika spoke up, dodging another slash from Unicorn's beam saber before he swung Yukihira.

The Gundam pilot blocked the attack with his shield."What is it?"

"How did you dodge Cecilia's sniper rifle so easily?" The Byakushiki's pilot scratched his head. "I don't know much about ranged weapons, but a sniper rifle is extremely accurate... well at least that's what I learned from video games."

"I... I can't really explain how." Was the answer from Banagher who shook his head."It was more like a reflex caused by my own awareness rather than any particular technique."

The raven haired boy looked a bit disappointed at this discovery."Oh..."

"But you did good dodging my shots on your own effort after several tries." his friend tried to reassure him. "I think you just have to get the hang of it."

Ichika was still a bit insecure. Sure he had been getting better, but after all that evasion training, he still had a problem. He was too focused on dodging incoming fire to counterattack. As a result, Ichika didn't feel very confident in his skills.

"It's still not enough..." Ichika said, looking at the Yukihira in his hand, "What good is evading if I'm still too afraid to attack from a distance?"

Banagher had to admit that Ichika had a point. While the Byakushiki user already had an understanding of basic movements and fighting, his fighting style and Byakushiki's setup wouldn't do him any favors if he was up against opponents who preferred long-range combat like Cecilia, especially if said opponent was agile enough to stay away from him. He too had been sparring with him on equal ground so far without using any of his ranged weapons, even his Vulcans.

"Then let's step this up." The Byakushiki's pilot looked back at the Unicorn that had equipped both its beam rifle and a beam gatling its hands. "Try to attack me while I shoot at you."

A smile formed on Ichika's face as he nodded and distanced himself from Banagher. Once he was far enough away, Ichika pointed his katana, giving the signal to begin.

"I'm ready Banagher."

With a nod, the Gundam pilot began firing at his sparring partner. Streams of green and pink shots filled the air.

"Heeeeyaaaah!" with a loud battle cry, Ichika dashed in with the intent to strike down the Unicorn Gundam.

.

Flashback ended

.

Back in the arena

"Man, I'm so stupid. How could I forget about yesterday?" Ichika scolded himself, dodging another salvo of Shenlong's cannons before looking at his opponent who in return gave him a cocky smirk.

"What's wrong Ichika? Finally realized that I'm out of your league?" Rin taunted before placing her hands on her hips. "If you at least admit it, I'll make your defeat less humiliating."

"On the contrary, Rin. I'm just getting started." Ichika replied, a challenging smirk forming on his face as if he wanted to say 'come and get me!' to her. "You'll have to hit me harder than that if you want to win!"

His words made the Chinese representative grit her teeth and growl; infuriated at his persistence.

"That's it! I'm growing tired of your nonsense!" shouted the twin-tailed girl as another salvo was fired from her cannons.

But this time the Byakushiki pilot was ready. Instead of evading sideways, he did a barrel roll while diving upwards which not only completely evaded the shot but also closed some of the distance with Rin.

Ichika's eyes were locked on Shenlong's cannons which began charging another salvo.

'Focus...! Focus...! The moment it fires, I have to dodge quickly before moving in! Just like how I did yesterday!' thought the Byakushiki's pilot.

Another shot and this time, Ichika used his boost to dive while still approaching Shenlong. Unfortunately for him, the bullets managed to shave off a good amount of his energy shield, yet he still pushed himself to get closer to Rin.

From his opponent's view, Rin was genuinely surprised at how Ichika had changed his tactics. It was a risky move because of the higher possibility in terms of being shot, yet he did it anyway and it proved to be effective enough because said boy was now right in front of her.

"Eeeeeyyaaaahhh!"

With all of his might, Ichika brought down the Yukihira only to be blocked by Rin's double-bladed scimitar.

"What!?"

"I admit that I was a bit taken aback, but in case you forgot, I have a close combat type IS too!"

The Shenlong then pushed with its Souten Gagetsu, trying to overpower Byakushiki. Ichika gritted his teeth, finding himself at a power output disadvantage. More power would definitely help him now, but how?

An idea suddenly came to mind as he recalled Banagher's fight with Cecilia a few days ago. He had to think outside the box!

Using his armored knee to support himself against Shenlong's scimitars, Ichika grabbed the free hilt of Souten Gagetsu, an act which caused Rin to arch an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?"

"Heh" was the only answer he gave before the Byakushiki user pulled back his Yukihira, allowing himself to be pushed back from the force. Capitalizing on Rin's surprise, he thrust his blade towards one of Shenlong's shoulder's, specifically at the Ryuhou cannon's barrel.

"I'm doing... THIS!"

Rin's expression turned into shock as she realized what he was about to do.

"What?! No way you're-"

But it was too late, her sentence was cut short as the metal blade made contact and pierced through the spherical cannon. Sparks blasted out from the impaled area of the shoulder cannon before it exploded, separating both Byakushiki and Shenlong in the process.

...

IS Academy – Control Room

From the control room, both Chifuyu and Maya watched what happened from the surveillance monitors. While the former didn't show much expression with her arms crossed, the latter was impressed.

"Wow! I didn't expect Orimura to do that, and top of that this is his first battle against a representative cadet."

"It's obvious that he copied that move from Links." Chifuyu's comment made the bespectacled woman turn to her. "Getting close to his opponent before disabling their weapons, just like what he did with Alcott. I guess he really took my words to watch and learn from that match to heart."

A smile formed on Maya's lips. "You must be proud with how your brother has advanced this far, right?"

"Heh... he's still got a very long way to go before I can say I'm proud of him." The raven haired woman smirked, placing her hands on her waist.

Maya heaved out a sigh at her co-worker's high expectations. If she was in her place or if she had a brother who was in Ichika's shoes, she'd have congratulated him regardless of winning or losing. Brushing off her personal thoughts, Maya turned back to the main screen where two IS now faced each other with Shenlong now having one of its shoulders broken.

"But it's still impressive that he could pull off such a move despite how little time he had for training. That's no small feat. Makes me wonder how this match will end..." Maya trailed off, honestly curious.

The elder Orimura then shifted her gaze towards Ichika. 'So you've decided not to use what I taught you yesterday, huh?'

...

At the same time in the spectator seats

"What kind of attack was that?! That was a very reckless move." exclaimed Houki who then crossed her hands in slight disappointment, "I don't remember ever teaching him that."

"It was almost like what you did when you fought me, Banagher." Cecilia placed her finger under her chin, "Maybe it was crude and not as refined as yours but... still effective."

The ponytailed girl turned to Banagher, giving the Gundam pilot a look. "Banagher, I don't know what kind of training you gave him when I wasn't there, but I hope you stop teaching him things like that."

"Huh?" Banagher was a bit taken aback by Houki's outburst. Truth be told, he hadn't taught Ichika that particular strategy during their training sessions. It was more like Ichika probably tried to pull the same tactic from watching his match with Cecilia, something the Gundam pilot hadn't expected from him.

However before he could defend himself from Houki's accusation, Cecilia spoke up first.

"Miss Shinonono, I think you should thank Banagher instead." The British girl said, placing her hands on her waist before crossing them. "While your training with Ichika is useful to build up his physical strength, in a real battle, one cannot rely on brute force alone. That would be no different than a barbarian."

"Are you saying that my training is useless?!" Houki countered back, feeling insulted.

"No, I'm just stating that both muscle and strategy play important roles in an IS battle. Something you might have overlooked." replied Cecilia with a challenging smirk.

Banagher could only sigh at how things had turned out with Cecilia and Houki argued and was about to break up their pointless argument as they were attracting unwanted attention from the people around them. However, before he could say a word...

*CRASH! KABOOOOM!*

A pink-hued energy beam suddenly pierced the arena barrier from the sky, creating a loud shattering noise in the process that got everyone's attention including the two fighting IS pilots. It hit the arena's floor, causing a huge explosion in addition to smoke and fire around the subsequent crater. In response, the emergency alarm loudly blared throughout the Academy, signaling a high level incoming threat.

The security system automatically responded by sealing the bulkheads of the open area, starting from the VIPs before spreading to the students' seats. A lot of them began expressing their concern and worry at how the situation had turned disastrous.

"What was that explosion!?"

"That beam broke through the arena's barrier! How is that possible!?"

"Is the match suspended? What's happening? Is it an attack?!"

Confused, panicked, and terrified at what happened as the bulkheads closed, the first year students began evacuating under the guidance of their seniors, telling them to keep calm while the teachers and staff helped evacuate the VIPs. The only ones who remained were Banagher, Cecilia, and Houki who were still stunned at what had just happened. A moment ago, everything was fine but now they were under attack by something?

As the bulkhead slowly came down, limiting his view, Banagher narrowed his eyes at the arena and was shocked when he saw a shadowy figure emerge from the smoke. He couldn't really see what it was but it had an oddly disproportioned humanoid shape with arms as long as its feet. Unfortunately the bulkhead closed before he could get a better view of it.

"What in the world is that...?" He muttered.

"Hey! Why are you three still here!?" A new voice brought him back to reality and the three turned around to see a third year student motioning for them to join the other students. "It's not safe here! Leave the arena with the others!"

"My goodness! She's right, Banagher!" Cecilia exclaimed in realization, "We have to evacuate from here and tell the teachers what's happening!"

"Then I'll go to the control room. Cecilia, Houki, you two should join them until it's over!" The boy told both girls as he stood and immediately left his seat, ignoring the third year's protest for not listening to her.

"Hey, where are you going!? That's not- OOOF!"

Her yell was cut short when she was accidentally bumped aside by Cecilia and Houki who decided to follow him towards the control room instead.

"Blimey! There's no way I'll let you go alone! I'm coming with you, Banagher!"

"And you two aren't leaving me alone here either! I'm coming with you too!"

"You three are crazy! Get back here now! It's not safe there! Hey!"

Unfortunately her words (or yells) went unheeded as the three students ran towards the lower section corridor that led to their destination. Frustrated, the senior student finally gave up and focused back on the evacuating students while hoping those three would either change their minds or get busted by a student council member.

...

With Ichika and Rin

Both IS pilots stopped fighting at once when the explosion occurred as they stared at the crater caused by the energy shot in utter disbelief and shock as if they almost couldn't believe what their eyes were seeing now.

A beam weapon powerful enough to break the arena's barrier field, one which utilized a state of the art defense system and was strong enough to withstand IS-caliber weaponry, in a single attack.

"What's happening?" Ichika muttered, looking at where the beam shot had come from, "What the hell is going on?"

Suddenly, Byakushiki and Shenlong's communication nodes blipped which earned their attention. Upon answering the call, Chifuyu's face appeared on their holo-screens.

"Orimura! Huang! The match is cancelled. Return to the pit now!" She told them.

"But what's happening here, Chifuyu-nee? Who is attacking-"

"There's no time to explain! Return... Bzzz the... Bzzz..."His older sister cut him off, but there was static at the end of her line. "The teach... Bzzzzz..."

"Orimura-sensei?! Hello?!" Rin tried to call back, but her comm was already jammed as only static could be heard. "Darn!"

The twin-tailed girl cursed before she turned to Ichika, "You heard her, Ichika! Get back to the pit now! I'll deal with whoever this guy is!"

"Huh?!" Ichika exclaimed, and looked at Rin. "Then what are you going to do!? You don't even know what you're up against!"

"It's not like I'm going to handle this all the way to the end. I'm going to buy us time until the teachers come." Rin explained, looking back at him. "Besides, I still have one of my cannons, so-"

"RIN! LOOK OUT!" The Byakushiki pilot suddenly shouted, boosting towards her as fast as he could. Confused at his warning, the girl turned back, but it was already too late for the Shenlong's pilot. Rin's eyes widened in shock and horror upon realizing that she had been targeted by the unknown enemy who had already fired another shot at her.

'Oh crap!'

However, the beam never hit her or the Shenlong as she was pushed away from its line of fire at the last moment.

"Uwwwaaaaaa?!" Rin was taken aback and lost her bearings as the beam flew past her and fortunately didn't hit any portion of the arena or the academy's structure, slowly dissipating into the sky. She sighed in relief, but then noticed something...

She was being carried in the arms of someone. But the only ones there were her and...

"I-I-Ichika...?" She stuttered, slowly looking up to see the person she expected to be there. And as if her blush couldn't grow redder than it was, it was indeed Ichika carrying her in his IS-plated arms. The boy however seemed too busy to notice her as he was focused on the current situation.

Maybe she hadn't been able to confess to him yet, but to be saved and carried like a princess meant that a part of her childhood dream had been fulfilled now. A small part of her really wished she could enjoy this a bit longer, but...

"I-Idiot! What are you doing!? Let go of me right now!"

Rin started to wriggle, trying to force herself free from Ichika's arms, an act that caused her rescuer to have a hard time maintaining his position.

"Wha-!? Rin! Stop moving around or both of us will fall!"

"Shut up!" Rin however didn't listen to his plea and then started hitting his shoulder repeatedly in a childish manner.

"Ouch! Stop that! Don't hit me like that! Quit wiggling! Ow!"

...

IS Academy – Control Room

Back in the control room, both Chifuyu and Maya tried as hard as they could to handle the situation. The raven haired teacher tried to re-establish communications with the two IS pilots, and despite her calm and controlled expression, she was actually frustrated inside. She had ordered both her brother and Huang to return immediately, but then the communication was cut off due to a jammed signal. Was this the work of the unknown enemy as well?

What concerned her however was even though she had told them to return to the hangar, knowing both shared the same stubbornness; they probably had ignored her and decided to face this unknown attacker.

Things weren't any better for Maya as the bespectacled teacher typed on her keyboard faster than a normal human eye could follow to monitor how the evacuation was going. With every second that passed as her eyes watched every sector on the map, she could only pray silently that the situation wouldn't get worse.

The door behind them slid open, revealing Banagher, Houki, and Cecilia.

"Orimura-sensei, Yamada-sensei!" The young Newtype shouted, getting both teachers' attention, "What's going on here?! Who's attacking the school and why?!"

Maya would have answered him but Chifuyu spoke up first.

"An unidentified unit has breached the defense system and jammed communications." She explained before looking back at to the monitors. "The attacker appears to be an IS user, but we can't really confirm who. As for the reason, I wish I knew..."

"But more importantly..." The woman then turned to the three, looking very displeased. "Why are you all still here and not with the others? Every student has been instructed to go to the shelters until the situation is safe!"

"What?! But we want to help!" protested Houki.

"The instructors have already been informed about the intruder and are preparing their IS. Everything is under control." replied the teacher. "There's nothing to be worried about. You three should go to the shelters now."

At the same time, Maya's communication node blipped, receiving an incoming call from one of the teachers. Answering the call, she spoke first.

"Yes, Yamada-sensei is here. How is the situation there? Have all of the students arrived?"

The room was silent for a moment as the occupants including the three students looked at their bespectacled teacher, waiting for the answer until...

"What!? Impossible! How could that happen?!" Maya suddenly exclaimed. Her shocked, horrified expression made the others uneasy, not liking what Maya had been told from the other line which prompted Chifuyu to ask.

"What is it?"

With a grim look on her face, the green-haired woman turned to her co-worker. "Some of the student groups didn't make it to the shelter and got trapped in the corridors between the closed bulkheads instead! And the instructors can't access their IS because the hangar gate is locked and doesn't respond to their ID keys!"

"WHAT!?" Banagher, Houki, and Cecilia responded in unison. Chifuyu clicked her tongue at this development. It seemed that whoever this intruder was, they had not only breached the arena barrier but also hacked the security system. Somehow she already had a hunch of who could have done this, but she kept it to herself for now as she couldn't confirm if it was 'her' yet.

Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, the Gundam pilot turned around and would have left the room if Chifuyu hadn't called out to him.

"Links! Where do you think you're going?"

"Isn't it obvious!? I'm going to help them!" was the answer from Banagher as he looked back at Chifuyu over his shoulder. His narrowed eyes, almost glaring at her, spoke of his unwavering determination to ignore the elder woman should she try to forbid him from doing so.

"If you have the power to help, then you have to use it instead of doing nothing!" with his final statement, the boy then ran through the sliding door.

"Links, wait!" Maya tried to call him back, but Banagher had disappeared from sight.

"Let him go, Yamada-sensei." Chifuyu said, placing her hand on her hip. "He has his Unicorn, so he should be fine. Besides, I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

"But...!"

Cecilia turned to the teachers as well, looking determined, and placed her right hand on her chest. "Ma'am, then please let me assist him! It would be faster since both of us possess personal IS!"

"Do as you wish, Alcott." replied Chifuyu. This time, Maya just nodded in agreement.

"But, please be careful out there, okay?" The assistant teacher told her.

She bowed to express her gratitude. "Thank you very much, ma'am."

The British girl left the room, leaving Houki alone with the teachers. The ponytailed girl could only look down at the floor, feeling upset as she balled her hands into fists. Angry because she wanted to help, but she couldn't without an IS of her own. Banagher's words lingered in her mind, adding more burdens inside her heart.

For the first time in her life, Houki Shinonono felt like she was completely useless for not being able to do anything at a time like this...

'I can't do anything...! Ichika is still out there fighting that IS and yet all I can do is sit here and watch! I'm so useless...!'

Seeing the state of her student, Maya couldn't help but feel sympathetic for Houki. She could understand what the girl felt despite never actually being in her shoes. Wanting to help but lacking the strength to do so was a painful feeling.

Maya wanted to console her, an act that she would have done if a hand on her shoulder hadn't stopped her.

"Leave her alone, Yamada-sensei. There's nothing she can do right now." said Chifuyu.

"But, Orimura-sensei..." Maya trailed off, trying to reason with her, but the raven-haired teacher continued.

"Right now the best thing Shinonono can do is to join the other students who are still on their way to the shelters." explained the woman who then crossed her arms and turned back to the monitors. "One has to learn how to accept something that is out of your reach."

Without saying anything in return, Maya reluctantly nodded and spun her chair back to her console as they still had to figure out how to get communications back online. Houki on the other hand was silent. Her eyes, still staring down at the floor, were overshadowed by her bangs. Whether she actually heard what Chifuyu said or not, no one could tell as the ponytailed girl slowly walked away...

Okay, so this time I made Ichika more competent and he had learned how to activate Byakushiki's 1st shift during the training. However, he still struggled a bit due of lacking experience in actual battle. I hope my version of interclass tournament battle isn't too bad. But if you have any suggestion how to improve the battle then feel free to tell me using the review box below :)

And yeah, aside from the unmanned IS attack, the Academy is also facing more severe communication and security problems compared to the canon.

Next chapter will briefly focus on what happens outside the Academy during the assault, but as I already said: only for a brief to give you some insight.

And to give my response to the latest Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans:

F*ck you Arianrhod Fleet...