Infinite Stratos: The Apprentice

Chapter 5

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[P.O.V. - Ichika - March 3rd, 1:57 p.m.]

Crash.

"..."

Crash.

"Mmmmm."

Crash.

"Mmmmmmm." Another soft groan escaped Ichika's lips. His consciousness surfaced.

He could feel the gentleness of the surface his face was pressing into.

...sand? He questioned himself. I'm..... on... a beach?

With a grunt he rolled his body over and rubbed his eye as he blinked away the drowsiness. Finally, he fully woke to the sounds of breaking waves. Though his eye could see only darkness, as he presumed it must have been night on the beach.

He felt wonderful once more. All of the pain that coursed through his body was gone. Making the simplest of movements no longer put him through hell.

"Where am I?" Ichika wondered aloud, sitting up and propping himself up on the soft sand.

His confusion was quickly answered when the memories of the previous day rushed back into his barely conscious mind.

Time to get some answers. He thought as he stood up, looking around but not seeing the AI. Over the sound of the crashing waves he heard a gentle singing that he assumed belonged to her, and began making his way towards it.

If he was being honest, he felt great. His pain and exhaustion were gone. Listening to the soft singing while walking he could feel the sand squish in between his bare toes, the breaking waves providing a fresh breeze that tingled against his skin. To most it might just be a relaxing walk, but to Ichika it was heaven. No longer was he covered in blood and grime, no longer did his muscles ache and scream for relief, no longer was he being beaten to a bloody pulp. He took a deep breath, enjoying existing without pain for the second time in years.

A touch of light danced on his face, catching his attention. Coming to a slow stop Ichika turned and looked straight at the sky.

The sun was rising.

It broke the horizon, scaring away the darkness of the night and replacing it with a gentle light, bathing the skyline in a rainbow of colors. The ocean was the purest blue he had ever seen. Further and further the flower of light rose into the sky as Ichika watched. The sky continued to brighten, dashing away the deep purples and blues and replacing them with vibrant oranges and reds. Beautiful, in every sense of the word.

Then Ichika did something that surprised even himself, he smiled. A wide and genuine smile of pure joy, with eyes crinkled and teeth on display. Existence was no longer just pain.

Ichika fell to his knees and began to laugh aloud, tears of happiness seeped from his organic eye. He had succeeded as well. It took far longer than he thought, and cost him much more than he had originally predicted, but he had successfully dealt a large blow to Phantom Task. It didn't happen the way he thought it would, but it still happened.

"YYYYYEEEEEESSSSS!" Ichika shouted at the top of his lungs until he had to stop for a breath. He was sure the echoing of his cheer of triumph could be heard for miles around.

Ichika had also found out he had the ability to pilot an IS, a completely different goal of his that he had no expectations of accomplishing any time soon. 

He could tear down Phantom Task and save millions. He could become the best IS pilot there ever was. He could keep safe innocence and help those who couldn't help themselves. He could be the light in the world that balances the ever growing darkness. He could make his family proud. He could... and he would.