Infinite Stratos: The Apprentice

Chapter 8

=======================================================

=======================================================

[April 20th, 6:23 a.m.]

A blur  zoomed around a course, twirling in the area around obstacles and dodging energy bolts. After passing through a large archway it decelerated in the air.

"One minute, twenty two seconds." Tabane looked up from the stopwatch in her hand as Ichika slowed the speed on his Uchigane, landing it to the ground.

"MMmmm." His face was unreadable, but his slight disappointment was clear.

"That's really good!" Tabane said enthusiastically, running up to the large Mecha. "You're improving faster than anyone I've seen! A few weeks of practice and you're already far better than the average novice!" She jumped up and down with excitement.

'Well...ya. It is, given the time I've been practicing.'

"Mmmm.... I guess." He didn't sound very convinced.

"Oh, don't be such a baby, Ichika!"

"Chifuyu's fastest time is fifteen seconds." He said in his defense.

"She is a world champion with a decade of experience in piloting. You may be an expert engineer but you only started training a few weeks ago. C'mon, Ikkun! You're doing so well, give me a smile!" She used her fingers to morph his blank expression into a smile, only for his smile to disappear the second she moved her fingers away.

*sigh* "Fine. You want me to be all serious and boring? I will. You're moving is too rough, too jagged. If you want to increase your speed you need to move more fluidly. You're used to treating an IS like a machine, but to pilot one the most properly you need to treat it like an extension of yourself. Stop worrying about moving the entire IS correctly and just worry about moving yourself correctly, the IS will follow along."

A flash of light encompassed the testing arena as Ichika deactivated the Uchigane, dropping a few feet to the floor.

"Thank you for your help, Tabane-nee, but I have to get to the Academy. Work is in....a couple hours." Ichika said after checking his phone. Tabane grabbed him in a light hug before he dashed out of her lab's practice arena.

=======================================================

[7:25 a.m.]

It was an hour before the second week of school would begin, and that meant that it was the scheduled time for the class representative match.

Usually, students would still be sleeping, while only the most studious would already be preparing for classes. However, the stands of the stadium were packed to the brim with students intending on watching the duel between their two peers.

Cecelia, who had quickly gained a reputation as a snooty and entitled rich girl, was disliked amongst the class of 1-1. Though, the vast majority of the students of the academy had no knowledge of her character, thus she still had many people cheering for her.

Even though Cecelia had some fans, Madoka was the clear crowd favorite. Even amongst her peers out of class 1-1, she already gained a reputation of a kind person you don't want to mess with. Her name could be heard as many shouted her name as the countdown to begin the match started.

In a seperated and elevated area of the stands, Ichika stood observing the large arena from what was the teachers' stands, his hands resting on the safety bar that kept observers from falling to the arena. Behind him to his left was Chifuyu and Maya, enjoying a nice cup of freshly brewed coffee that had steam wafting off of it.