15 Chapter 14: Even more trouble!?

Chapter 14: Even more trouble!?

- Tabane Shinonono –

She stared speechlessly into her hologram monitor of the fight between Aruto and the black IS. She was shocked and angry by the turn of events.

She thought that nobody would certainly die in this assault, and yet he prevailed against all odds and displayed a unique power to the world.

"How can a nobody like him possess such monstrous power!? Is he even human!" shouted Tabane as she smashed her desk.

Ever since this man appeared in her eyes, her plan had become even more chaotic, and she felt like she had lost control of the whole flow.

She hated this feeling.

Aruto Igarashi wasn't supposed to be troublesome but nothing more than a cockroach that could be stepped on.

And now he, this new power, threw a wrench into her plan.

Her entire body trembled in anger as she was ready to erupt in rage until the young girl beside her, who was lying down on a bed with a VR set on her face, started to move.

She stopped briefly and went to her surrogate daughter. Her name was Chloe Chronicle, and she became her daughter after several unfortunate events.

Chloe Chronicle is a beautiful girl with fair skin and heterochromatic eyes; her left eye is black, and her right eye is golden. She has long white silver hair assorted with some black accessories on her hair. Her attire is a long white long-sleeved blouse over a white sailor uniform with a blue ascot-like ribbon, blue mantle-like waist corset, blue knee-length skirt with ruffled end, her white frilly patent socks, and black Mary Jane shoes.

Tabane looked at Chloe, who had woken up from the simulation and noticed the sad expression plastered on her face.

"I'm sorry, mother. I couldn't kill him…" muttered Chloe, completely dejected as she felt like she failed her mother and savior. She had one job, and yet she failed miserably.

Tabane gave a big hug to Chloe as she delicately patted her head. "Oh, Ku-chan! Don't worry; I didn't expect this man to be more special than I expected. This is not your fault, and you did very well against an unknown power."

"But!"

"No, but Ku-chan!" said Tabane as she silenced Chloe by placing a finger on her lips. Tabane smiled as she returned to her hologram with Chloe in tandem.

She became serious as she analyzed the footage gathered by Chloe against Aruto. The data she received was invaluable to her, and maybe it was the breakthrough she needed to create the next generation of IS.

She continued tapping her keyboard while talking with Chloe about her experience against Aruto. "Ku-chan, tell me. How did you feel about this, Aruto?"

Chloe went silent as she heard Tabane's question.

Tabane waited and didn't want to hurry Chloe as she compiled the data she collected.

Chloe finally, out of her thoughts, managed to speak her mind. "Powerful… He was incredible. I had never felt so suppressed in my life. I was easily countered and stopped whenever I tried to fight back. I also thought that he wasn't serious in the last fight. I felt a lot held him back and didn't show his true capabilities.

"…"

Tabane listened to Chloe as she reviewed the footage from the fight and deeply looked at Aruto frame by frame. She lightly paused as she encountered an anomaly that happened to Aruto. She compared the pictures and saw that his eyes changed from red to golden in a few scenes.

It was like he had become another person at that moment. She continued to watch the scene and felt like the golden-eyed Aruto had a different vibe from the usual.

'Multiple personality? That could explain his attitude, but the change of colour…? Is it because of his power?' thought Tabane as she took data from the black IS that managed to scan the energy projected by Aruto.

[SCANNING IN PROGRESS…]

[5%...]

[35%...]

[75%...]

[99%...]

[99%...]

[99%...]

[UNKNOWN]

Tabane's eyebrow furrowed as she didn't expect to feel helpless for the first time. She was the most. She was the most intelligent person on Earth, yet she couldn't find any theory related to his new persona.

Still, why would he transform into a mecha? Is it to spite her and her IS, or is it more related to it than she could think…

She needed more data about Aruto Igarashi even if she wanted to exterminate such variables in her plan. It took all her urges to change her plan forcibly, and she didn't like that.

However, she couldn't approach this person outright without suspicions pinned on her. She was sure that Chi-chan might also be on guard against her. Yet she needed to know more about this abomination named Aruto as she was lost in thought until her eyes fell on her adopted daughter.

[PEKO!]

A lightbulb appeared above her head as she suddenly had the most fabulous idea.

Tabane looked at her adoptive daughter with a vulpine smile. Chloe also sensed her mother's gaze as she tilted her head in confusion.

"Ku-chan."

"Yes, mother?"

"How do you feel about going to school?"

"School?"

"Oh yes, school…." Muttered Tabane with a Cheshire smile as she silently contacted Chifuyu while Chloe remained clueless about the ordeal.

x-x-x-x-x-x

- Squall Meusel –

Inside a dark room in an unknown location, a beautiful woman was drinking wine in her bathrobe and reading an exciting report from her subordinate.

This beautiful young-looking woman is Squall Meusel. She leads the Phantom Task's Monochrome Avatar direct action cell. She has long blonde hair, red eyes with a mole under her left eye, a beautiful face, a voluptuous body and a large bust.

"Interesting…" muttered Squall as she twirled her cup of wine and looked at the information and every action made by Aruto Igarashi that could be found with their Intelligence squad.

"Pff, I don't know what you find interesting about such an anomaly, Squall." Replied a woman who appeared through a hologram suddenly lit up inside the room.

"Don't you see, Autumn? This Aruto is a very particular case, and he is honestly more attractive than Ichika Orimura.

The young woman with orange hair and red-brown eyes scoffed at Squall's words. "So what? He is an anomaly that should be destroyed. We don't want our plan to go awry with this new player."

Squall was simply silent at the world of her companion as she lightly traced the picture of Aruto tenderly. "Or… he might be the wildcard we needed."

"HUH? What are you saying, Squall? You should know that—"

Squall interrupted the rant of Autumn calmly before she went on. "Don't worry; I have a clear goal organization in my heart. And this is an order from the big boss, you know? He wants to find out this man's secret and if it is possible to replicate it or make the IS under us stronger."

Autumn closed her mouth as she knew the orders of the big boss were absolute, and offending him would cause more danger to herself than anything else.

"This young man should be resting inside the Academy, but unfortunately, we don't have direct access to the Academy." Continued Squall as she furthered the report about Aruto.

"So? What are we going to do? Should we call your niece for this job or M?" asked Autumn, as she knew being stealthy in this mission was more appropriate than a brunt assault.

She wasn't dumb that Aruto had numerous securities placed on him after he got recovered by the Academy. He was just that attractive.

Squall paused for a heartbeat. "No, this is too early for her to expose herself. We wait for a chance, then we can borrow him from the government."

"As for M… She is unprepared for such a task with this special person inside the school. She would jeopardize the mission quickly."

Autumn nodded in agreement as she understood their situation. It looked like she was the one who would be in charge of this mission.

She looked at the document related to the IS Academy until she found something that piqued her interest.

[IS ACADEMY ANNIVERSARY]

"Oh, ho, real interesting…"

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

- Chifuyu Orimura –

Three people were inside the white ward inside the IS Academy. Two of them were standing beside someone asleep.

They were Chifuyu Orimura, Aruto Igarashi and Asuna Karino.

"How is he, Asuna?" asked Chifuyu as she looked at Aruto with some guilt. This whole fiasco wouldn't have gone so deep if she had arrived sooner.

Asuna Karino, a young woman with a pleasant, friendly demeanour and long hair, responded to Chifuyu calmly and naturally. "Aruto is fine. He is just exhausted from his fight and injuries. They are quickly healing, and it's shocking a human could recover so quickly from his bruises and strained muscles. "

'Fast healing… He shouldn't be related, right?' thought Chifuyu darkly as she sized up Aruto with some sadness.

"Do you know when he will wake up?"

Asuna pondered the question for a few minutes. "He should be up in a week? Or a little earlier? I can't give you an affirmation about this boy's condition. His case is extraordinary."

Asuna looked at her watch and walked to the door. "I have something to finish, Chifuyu, so I'll leave first. Don't stay beside the boy too much~."

Chifuyu stood silent and let out a sigh from stress. She also looked at her watch and left the room for the faculty office.

It was nearly dinner time, and she would instead get her lunch in the cafeteria before the other students came.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Inside the faculty room, there was Chifuyu as she held her head in pain and annoyance. As for why? Simply put, her idiot brother came inside with the girl from his usual group.

"Ichika! I already said it! You can't visit him! He is still asleep and frail for now. And visiting him will not make anything good!"

And, of course, her brother wasn't thinking about the same as her. He was stubborn, just like her.

"But Chifuyu! I can feel it! My bro-radar told me he is awake! Let me tell ya! I can feel it!" explained Ichika, with a flame burning inside his eyes.

Aruto Igarashi had been inside the infirmary for a few days, and he hadn't had a chance to visit him during this period. That simply killed Ichika from the inside.

Another dude finally joined the Academy! How could he not be excited?

"What are you even talking about, Ichika? Bro-Radar!? Wake up already! He will join you in due time!" replied Chifuyu as she felt her anger peaking.

She looked to her brother's ever-growing harem as they gave her a shrug. They were used by ichika's antics about this new man by now.

"Chifuyu!"

"No!"

"Chifuyu!"

"I said no!"

"Chi—"

"YOU KNOW WHAT? FINE! Let's go!" shouted Chifuyu as she had enough of her brother whining.

"Yes! I'm coming for you, Aruto!"

"Sigh… why are you like this, Ichika." Muttered Chifuyu under her breath with some exhaustion.

The group walked toward the infirmary with a cheerful Ichika with Ichika behind them. Houki decided to talk with Chifuyu. "Orimura-sensei, how is he?"

"From what Karino-sensei told me, Aruto is very healthy but just exhausted. He should wake up in a few days, but unfortunately, someone wasn't willing to listen." Replied Chifuyu as she glared at her brother, who was still in his fantasy.

"Bromance! Bromance! Bromance!"

(This is what no bros do to a motherfucker)

They arrived at the door. Chifuyu took out a key from her pocket and prepared to open it. "Like I told you, Ichika. You won't find him up but asleep."

"My Bro-Radar!"

"Shut up already about this radar!"

[Clunk]

Chifuyu opened the door and looked at her student with a smug smile. "Look! He is asleep, isn't he? Now let's go—"

However, the expression they showed her wasn't what she expected. They were shocked, and Ichika looked even happier.

She had an awful feeling right now…

"Don't tell me…"

Chifuyu cautiously looked into the room and discovered Aruto Igarashi while crafting a makeshift rope. The window opened as Aruto skillfully secured sheets to the bed, fashioning an improvised escape route. 

Aruto glanced back upon hearing a faint sound, only to find Chifuyu's eyes and the rest of the students locking onto him. A brief, tense moment hung in the air, rendering both of them momentarily speechless.

"Ah," Chifuyu uttered, the realization of the situation registering on her face.

Simultaneously, Aruto echoed with an identical "Ah," 

"I was sleepwalking." Said Aruto as he returned to his bed and slept like nothing ever happened.

However, Chifuyu exploded at this moment. "LIKE HELL YOU ARE!"

x-x-x-x-x

[A/N: I quickly finished writing this chapter before going to sleep so there might be some error. Thank you for the support of this FF]