Chapter 12

The Academy students were on a monorail driving towards the beachside school they would be attending. It seemed to be a sort of vacation spot for the school. Some academic institutions were just that over privileged.

One Minato Shinonono was basking in his own self-importance. His expression was just the right amount of smug that would push anyone over edge and cause them to rely on violence.

The male Shinonono was aware of this. He simply couldn't muster the will to care. Looking outside the window caused his ego to inflate even further. Through the glass, he could see a group of teenage boys racing the train on pairs of his ATs. Once again a Shinonono had placed Japan on the global economic and social maps.

Initially, the population had bought the items out of curiosity and the Shinonono name, but the males loved it. The items called for recklessness and unrepentant chaos. Almost overnight, guys of all ages were roaming the streets with the ATs.

Through the pulling of some strings, Minato had opened AT parks all over the nation. There was some mild backlash about discrimination since they wouldn't work for females. But, he frankly didn't care. That had been the whole point. Little by little, he introduced more advanced models with greater power. Some of the more coordinated could ride on high buildings safely.

From what he could gather through international networks, various governments were already attempting to make weapons out of his inventions. Even mundanely, they were of some use to military men. Unlike his mother's invention, he didn't make it so simple to manipulate his inventions, especially the cores.

No issues had been brought up by the Japanese government. They must likely were bidding their time. Their last attempt at overhanded control had sent his mother into hiding.

His smile grew even more indulgent as he relished in his success. Even as one of the AT racers tripped and slammed into a pillar. As his friends cried out in panic, the guy simply slid off and fell into the ocean. Wider did his smile grow as Minato thought of how positive of an effect his ATs were having on society. Even as the man was taken by the tides and dragged beyond the horizon, Minato knew in his heart that he had done right by the world.

Getting his fill of pride, he returned his attention to his laptop.

Soft hands gently pushed him and he turned to see Pyrrha's amused face.

"This is amazing Minmin. I'm able to feel the ego pulling me into its gravitational field", she ribbed partially. Her head rested on the nook of his neck as she watched him fool around with the online game.

"I've made a major blow to female domination. I'm in too good of a mood for you to bother me."

The ginger girl simply shrugged her shoulders as she said, "Whatever you say. Build another fortress here." She pointed at the screen.

The pair were playing a simulation strategy game. Minato wasn't a true fan of the genre. It was more of a means for him to practice social manipulation. If Pyrrha dominated the actual tactics and skills, Minato reigned over the chat platforms.

As the pair were involved in their game, Ichika narrowed his eyes as he wrote in a little notepad. He sat with Charlotte a few seats behind the couple. Charlotte had a flat look as she watched him spy on their shared roommate.

"Why?" That was all Charlotte could ask.

Ichika just shook his head sadly at his friend. "Poor, simple, foolish, Charles. I'm taking notes. Because, when it comes to ladies, Minato has it going down."

The blonde crossdresser cringed. "Please, you are a Japanese man. Talk like it."

She was waved off.

The rest of the train was just as rowdy. That was until a riding crop was slammed into the side of train. Silence occurred almost immediately. The holder was a blonde woman in a business skirt and white dress blouse. Glasses framed her face as she stared sternly at the students. "It's acceptable to be excited about this trip, but I will not tolerate recklessness and indiscipline. Is this understood?"

Seeing her narrowed eyes, the other students could only nod dumbly.

Ichika dragged Charlotte down as he watched the woman with hawk eyes.

"What are you doing?" Charlotte asked in more exasperation than worry.

He turned to look at her solemnly, "There is word whispered in the halls of school. There is another with Chifuyu's strength and discipline. Her name is Glynda Goodwitch." Ichika swallowed thickly, "Her being brings terror to those who refuse to conform. She is a starch ally of my sister. She is the Minato to Chifuyu's Ichika."

"What does that even mean?"

Ichika ignored her, "While the Idiot Duo represent the freedom of every student's heart", he began.

"I assure you that none of the students believe that. As a matter of fact, some would say that you two represent mayhem and chaos."

The male Orimura was undeterred, "… they represent restriction and control. Ages have the two pairs waged their secret wars. Minato admits that she is a teacher on Chifuyu's level. I must observe her for battle plans." Ichika glanced her over and appreciated the sight… for its tactical significance. Her hair was rich and her posture to die for. The woman waltzed wherever she went and her cold stare sent chills down his spine.

Charlotte elbowed him with force that was more than strictly necessary. "I'm sure battle plans are all you're worried about." Her face was marred with skepticism.

"I ADMIT NOTHING!" Ichika cried out.

"Be silent, Mr. Orimura", Ms. Goodwitch commanded.

"Yes ma'am", Ichika croaked.

Charlotte sighed wistfully as she looked over the blonde teacher. Lowly, she muttered, "So Ichika likes older women."

Ichika's female friends glared at him as he chuckled nervously, but said nothing. Chifuyu didn't train no fool, well a complete one anyway.

Unaware of a heavily sweating Ichika, the male Shinonono sighed dramatically. The BG2M hung snugly at his neck. At this point, he was sorely tempted to physically destroy the device. It was a respect for his mother's inventions that prevented him from doing it.

Painfully slow, he contacted his mother. As the holograph of her form appeared, he noted the smug satisfaction. "Hello Minmin~. What does my wonderfully intelligent son need of me?"

"Just wanted to tell you that my ATs are doing great. It's alright to be jealous", Minato inserted, unwilling to submit to his mother's superior attitude. It almost made him apologetic about how he acted around his fellow classmates, but no nearly enough to actually stop.

"I'm sure~."

"You win. I couldn't figure out how to take them off. Can you help mom?" Minato seemed physically hurt to admit that. Pyrrha's sympathetic look didn't help one bit.

His mother tittered happily. "It's okay Minmin, we can't all be me. But you make a close second." Her laugh rang lightly in their ears. Right before their eyes, her expression grew maternal, "It's alright. It was my most complex locking mechanism. You unlocked a decent amount of the locks. I assure you that none of the nations could boast such a feat. As for your ATs, congratulations! They were well designed. I'll come as soon as I can to remove the collars."

"Thank you. See you soon."

"I love you, Minmin."

"I love you, too."

By his side, Pyrrha was smiling warmly. It was nice to see the genuine love between mother and son. Despite how erratic they may have seem to others, they cared deeply about one another. Even if she believed that Minato was the more mature of the two. Scenes like that sometimes let her forget just how horrifying a woman Tabane Shinonono was.

The ball of energy known as Nora raced to the front of the train. "I can't wait to go to the beach!" She screamed right into Minato and Pyrrha's faces. From her uniform pocket, she pulled out a pair of aviator sunglasses. Smirking, she wiggled her eyebrows at Minato, "Do you want one?"

Minato looked at her as though she had grown a second head.

She giggled, "You're right stupid question." Pulling out another pair she threw it at him. At once, they donned the glasses and allowed the sun to create a sparkle on them.

"I want one!" Ichika raced towards them.

Nora nodded her head solemnly, "Of course." Yet another pair found their way towards Ichika.

Pyrrha tried to push their actions out of her mind.

…

On a high scale plane over the ocean, a certain extreme club was preparing to jump. Minato enjoyed the wind whipping in his face. He took a few steps back before he jumped off with a surfboard connected to his feet.

Ruby followed suit.

Ruby cheered in excitement as Minato was pleasantly smirking. Just as they were going to hit the water, a large wave emerged and they rode on it. Ruby rode to the tip of the wave and rotated on it. Minato rode on the very side of the wave and submerged his hand into the cool waters.

Above them, other members of the club were cheering for their successful dive surfing.

"The water's amazing today", Ruby was able to exclaim.

"That it is. Look a big one", Minato pointed out as a large wave came at them.

As one they smirked and took the challenge of the mighty wave.

At the shore, Charlotte was relaxing under a beach umbrella. She wore a baggy dark shirt and short pants. A straw hat covered her features. It was disappointing that she couldn't show off any of her swimsuits, but the sun did feel nice.

A group of girls came up to the resting cross dresser.

"Come on Dunois, the water's nice."

"Join us."

"It'll be fun~."

She withheld a sigh and removed the straw hat. "Thank you for the offer, but I'll stay here, it's comfortable. Besides, it's enjoyable enough to see you girls having such a good time", she punctuated the statement with a refreshing and boyish smile.

This got the girls giggling. Charlotte snorted girls. That got her to pause, perhaps she had been undercover for too long. She was becoming one of the guys. Charlotte blamed it on her boss. Laying back to her rest, she turned to the side and saw Pyrrha under her own umbrella. She wore large sunglasses and seemed to soak in the atmosphere.

Feeling the stare, she looked back at the blonde and smiled. "Having fun, Charles?"

"I suppose. I guess the beach isn't for me. Still it's a break and I'll take it."

The ginger girl laughed lightly. Stretching a bit, she continued, "I'm surprised that Minmin hasn't dragged you into a scheme with him and Ichika."

Charlotte shrugged in response, "I guess he's busy with his club." She heard a large splash and turned to see some of the girls being dragged away by the tides that the sports club had caused. Now they were unleashing a number of speed boats and were part of a race. Charlotte couldn't even be bothered to care. The boy would do whatever he pleased. She turned to look at Pyrrha.

"He's having fun. Minmin's barely hurting anyone, so I won't bother", she admitted.

That made Charlotte snort, wasn't Pyrrha a pragmatic one? Looking around, she noticed something, "Where's Ichika?"

…

The Orimura siblings were currently in the swimsuit portion of the beachside department store. Ichika was slouching around. He sent a pretty noticeable glare at any males who dared laid eyes on his big sister. He couldn't believe how oblivious Chifuyu was to the looks. She needed to be self-aware, especially at her age.

"I won't accept chidings like that from the likes of you", his sister mentioned with a halfhearted glare. From the racks she pulled out two bikinis, one white and one black. Turning to her little brother she asked, "Which do you think looks better on me?"

Time stopped for the male Orimura, as he swallowed thickly. This was a vital question. The black matched her hair and emphasized her curves and bust.

He couldn't allow it.

Those two insignificant excuses for clothe would be nothing but bait for strange men. How could he allow his sister to be placed under the lecherous gazes of some unworthy men!? NO it was impossible. If he let her go in that, she would be hit on and may even start dating some worthless guy.

A flame lit up in his eyes. But he couldn't just shout out these feelings. His poor naïve older sister was oblivious to the desires of men. "Honestly, sis, neither really suit you. Ah, but I see the perfect one right here", Ichika said with business like smile.

Pushing past his sister, he found pulled a certain swimsuit out of the hangers. "This is it!"

As Chifuyu looked at the swimsuit, her annoyance skyrocketed. In her brother's hands were a full body swimsuit that covered the arms, legs, and everything in between. If that wasn't bad enough, it was a tacky black and white striped theme.

Without a second thought, she smacked that swimsuit right out of his hands.

"Ouch. Oh no, your virtue!" Ichika cried far too loudly. With tears running down his face, he tried and failed to catch it before it was launched to the opposite side of the store. "B-But that's your protection. Do you want to end up some guy's fantasy!?"

Chifuyu snorted and crossed her arms, "You mean like how Ms. Goodwitch's was in yours?" She rose an eyebrow delicately.

"Never mind my hypocrisy! This is about you. I forbid you from buying the white bikini!" He pointed dramatically at his sister.

"Nice try. I saw you staring at the black one. I think I'll buy it." She walked away with an intentional sway to her hips, causing many of the guys to stare at her.

But they rapidly turned around as they felt that malice radiating from Ichika. The poor fools had little defense against the Orimura glare. Pleased with his work, Ichika raced to his sister, "I'm too young to be an uncle!"

…

Minato broke the surface of the water as he shook his head. Seeing Pyrrha basking in the shade, he found his feet going towards her. "Glad to see you relaxing. Nora missed you."

"Don't you dare. I deserve this", she nearly hissed.

He rose his hands in defense, "Just kidding. But all jokes aside, I'm glad you're unwinding." The blue haired teen sat beside her. Minato found humor in the apparent depression Ichika was going through.

Said teen was grunting angrily behind Chichi. From the looks of things, he wasn't at all pleased with the black bikini that hugged at his sister's body. He glared at every which direction, even at some of his classmates.

"Minmin, can you put some sunblock on me?" She asked as she pulled a bottle from her bag. She laid on her stomach awaiting for the application.

In return, Minato rolled his eyes. "Why sunblock? You've been spending your time under the umbrella."

"Hush you. It's part of the experience."

Chuckling, he began to smother the sunblock over her back, making sure to not miss any important spot.

With a huff, Ichika sank near Minato's side. "I'm glad you're having fun. Must be exciting to have a girlfriend."

Minato began to rub the concoction on the back of Pyrrha's legs. "Not as exciting as you think. It's not like I'm groping her." That caused him to pause for a moment, "Hey-"

"Don't even think about it", Pyrrha curtly replied before he could even finish.

"Oh well", he shrugged at the dismissal. He didn't appear disappointed, surprised or put off.

Ichika snorted. The male pilot turned his head as he noticed a relatively small shadow. In front of him was his Rin. "You're with me, Ichika." With smirk, she grabbed Ichika's hand and pulled him to the waters. Ichika seemed to ignore the twitching form of Houki and Cecilia.

"Poor Rin", Pyrrha said lightly.

"Don't encourage them. It isn't some tragedy, they just like the same guy. I'm kind of waiting for it to explode. Do you think it will end up in IS smack down? I would sell tickets to that."

"Please don't incite a battle royale."

"Is this the same Pyrrha from grade school? My, if the you from then could see you now."

From his position, he could tell that she was flushing. It was a victory for Minato Shinonono.

…

Ichika was hollering in excitement as he cranked up the speed on a borrowed jet ski. Rin sat just behind him, holding tightly on his waist. Water splashed on all sides as he made a sharp turn. "This is amazing, right?"

Rin latched onto his back as she snuggled a bit and flushed hotly, "Yes it is." Her voice was dreamy. She couldn't believe her chance. Smugly she smiled at the shore where Cecilia had just broken a pair of binoculars. While the big chest blonde bimbo was tearing up equipment, she had Ichika all to herself.

"Isn't it great being out here, with the two of us", she implied thickly.

"Yep, it's great being friends", Ichika answered with an honest smile. "Rin? Rin!?" He cried as Rin held him in a more aggressive manner.

Ichka was sure that he would get a bruise for this. She was upset, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out why.

…

Far from the shore, a dark minded figure watched the students intently. In the figure's hands was a high tech scope. Within her sights, she went from Ichika to Chifuyu. Both seemed to cause an overflow of anger within the female's frame.

She snorted in displeasure as she watched both Orimuras playing away, more Ichika than Chifuyu. She wanted nothing less than to go down and wipe those expressions of their faces. But, she had her orders.

With a dark smile, she arose, "Soon, Chifuyu you will know despair." She dropped a metal sphere into the waters below. As darkness spread over the water, she took her leave.

Author's Note:

Finally, I updated this story. I got pretty distracted with my other works, but now I'm, for now. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it's another breather. Things already are picking up, especially with at the beginning and end.

I had a lot fun writing Chifuyu and Ichika's portion. I wanted to show that Chifuyu could be playful, but not flirtatious with Ichika. I always felt that canon was too busy focusing on the incestuous implications of their relationship. For instance, when Ichika went out of his way to pamper Chifuyu when the girls visited his house, everybody thought something funny was going on. I personally think that Ichika saw Chifuyu as not only a sibling, but a parental figure. In return for all the struggles that she went through to raise him, he was more than happy to spoil her when she came from work and take over all the housework.

Maybe that's just me. What do you guys think? Anyway, remember to review, I love the comments. Also, please check out my others stories if you haven't yet.

Until next time.