Infinite Stratos: The Apprentice

Chapter 2

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[P.O.V. - Ichika - January 13th, 8:00 a.m.]

Ichika drifted into and out of consciousness, his mind desperately clawing its way to the surface of consciousness only to be dragged back down by the overwhelming pain erupting from every fiber of his being.

He could only catch a few bits of information his senses could process before he would once again fall into his own mind. But nothing that he heard made much sense to the boy, at first he thought he heard yelling, but then it was drowned out by a loud whirring of... maybe a helicopter... a plane engine?

The next time he was conscious it was very quiet and he could hear talking in the background, though he couldn't force himself to stay awake long enough to figure out what the voices were saying.

...mmmm... uggghhh... ahh... shit... "Ahhh!" Ichika yelled a cry of pain as he regained his consciousness. Pain washed over his body, overwhelming his senses and making him have to fight just to think.

My body feels so hot, overwhelmingly hot... but... everything is cold at the same time. Am... am I dead? No, being dead wouldn't hurt this much at the very least. So where am I?

Ichika finally regained his bearings. The first thing he noticed was the absence of his mechanical eye. His hand came up to his face, touching the now empty eye socket. With a grunt he pulled himself up.

He was in a cell, not that he had expected anything less. It was quite large with completely cement walls, it had no windows. The only light in the room was coming from cracks in the doorway, but the small amounts of light were enough to ever so dimly light the room. The room was barren, it looked as though it was brand new. They must have built a cell especially for me. He had to admit, there was absolutely nothing in the cell he could work with... mainly because their WAS nothing in the cell.

He himself was in the dead center of the room, his hands and legs were cuffed individually. His legs each had a long chain attached to the ground inches from him. They were clearly there to keep him in a certain area, with enough slack for him to move around most of the room. As for his hands, each one was also attached to a long chain. However, each one of those chains were connected to closed hooks in opposite walls of the cell. In each of the four corners of the room were cameras, mounted on the ceiling. All of which were covered in there own layer of steel bars.

He wore his same clothes, though that wasn't saying much since after his fight they were mostly just shreds of cloth. His entire chest was covered in a thick layer of gauze. Not that he was surprised, his chest felt like it was melting, every time he looked down he was expecting to see his entrails spilling out.

Before he could start examining the room he heard approaching footsteps. Following a few ominous clicks of locks a large cement door was swiftly opened and in walked a relatively tall women. It wasn't one of the pilots that had kidnapped him.

She was caucasian, with long flowing blonde hair. European, or American. Her eyes were red, but not the red of Chifuyu or Madokas' eyes, hers were a deep blood red.

"Ichika Orimura." She stated. Ichika, having no reason to respond, continued to analyze her. Definitely American with that accent.

Perfect posture and scrutinizing eyes, the overall way she held herself. Military. But her clothing conflicted with that. She wore casual clothes, but they weren't for practical use. If Ichika had to guess, most people in the military would dress practically over impressively. However the women's clothes were fitted rather to accentuate her body. Ex-military, then.