Chifuyu was also the dorm mother, apparently. I really wanted to know whether she even slept. As her brother it worried me, but she was probably fine. If there was anyone capable of dealing with prolonged fatigue, it was her.
—Meanwhile, I can’t even concentrate on all this IS stuff, even with a night’s rest.
My battle with Cecilia was next week. I had to be able to pilot the IS with some degree of proficiency by then.
—It’ll work out, I’m sure.
In the end, it did not.
Second period had ended and I was already groggy; it was only downhill from there. I’d studied the vocabulary, somewhat, and I was doing okay, but a lot of things just didn’t make sense on a fundamental level. It was like a math question you just couldn’t solve, the sort you need to know some formula for, but you don’t remember it.
“I... What?”
In a way, this confused me even more. When I’d first touched the IS, it felt very natural, like I’d known it for many years. But when I read the textbooks, things made so little sense to me that I began to doubt that I had ever managed to move the unit in the first place. I crossed my arms and stared down at the book. It seemed to stare back as classes continued around me, during which Ms. Yamada steadily taught us, the students, the basics of the IS.
“So, since the IS was designed with outer space in mind, the pilot is completely enveloped by an energy barrier. The IS also supports the life functions of the body and stabilizes it at all times; this includes pulse, blood pressure, breathing, sweating, and endorphin production.”
“Ms. Yamada, is that really okay? It sounds like it’s messing with my body and I don’t want that...” asked one of my classmates, looking a little disturbed.
I could definitely see how that sense of unity I’d felt when I connected to the IS might freak someone out.
“You’re thinking about it too much. Let’s see... You’re all wearing a bra, right? It supports your body and has no negative effect to it. Of course, if you don’t buy a bra that fits you, it doesn’t work, but...”
Her eyes and mine met. Ms. Yamada fell silent for a moment. Some seconds passed, and then she turned red.
“I... Uh... Well... O-Orimura, you probably don’t wear one, so this may not make much sense to you... Haha... Hahaha...”
Ms. Yamada tried to laugh it off, but the atmosphere in the classroom became weird and tense. I saw girls crossing their arms as if to shield their breasts; they seemed a lot more perturbed than I was. I felt the same as I had with Houki the day before— I wasn’t going to make a fuss over girl’s underwear. It was their behavior that made me uneasy... That contradiction of both wanting me to look at their breasts and not wanting it. This uncomfortable silence lasted for what felt like 10 or 20 minutes.
“Hmm... Ms. Yamada! Please continue the lesson,” remarked Chifuyu.
“O-Okay!”
A loud, audible cough dispelled the awkwardness. Egged on by Chifuyu, Ms. Yamada looked back at the textbook and returned to the topic.
“A-Another important aspect is that the IS has something like a mind of its own and t-tries to talk to, um... I mean... Understand you and... Err... Reference your past piloting experiences to try and better adapt to you.”
—All right, so training wasn’t going to be for nothing.
“The point is that both of you are trying to understand each other, and by doing that you can bring out your full potential. The IS is not a tool, but a partner.”
Every single girl raised her hand.
“Teach, does that mean it’s like a boyfriend for us?”
“U-Um... Yes, I suppose so... I’ve never had one, so I don’t know...”
I suspect that she referred to the “not having a boyfriend” bit. Ms. Yamada was looking away, red-faced. The girls in the class cast her a scornful glance and began to talk about men.
—Truly, this is the essence of an all girls school.
Air-sugar content: 10%. It wasn’t just my class, the whole school felt saccharine. No, it didn’t just feel like it, there was a sweet air. The entire school carried the sweet fragrance particular to girls. The day before had already been enough for me, and the second was beginning to make me sick.
“Mmm...”
“Wh-What is it, Ms. Yamada?”
“O-Oh... N-Nothing. Don’t mind me.”
Ms. Yamada gestured and tried to dodge the question. I could have sworn that she’d been staring at me, but then again, everyone was almost always staring at me.
Ding-dong.
“Ah, yes. In the next period we will cover the basics of aerial movement in an IS.”
At the IS Academy, the homeroom teacher taught all classes except for physical education and special subjects. It made me appreciate the hard work of my old teachers more, who had to go back and forth between classes in the breaks.
“Hey, hey, Orimura!”
“Over here! I’ve got a question!”
“Got time over lunch? Time after school? Time tonight?”
The times of observing me from a distance were, apparently, over. As soon as Ms. Yamada and Chifuyu had left the classroom, about half the girls ran over to me. I could have sworn I heard some exclaim that “a British lady would not be the last one.”
“Don’t ask me all at once...”
I wasn’t sure what to do. I was going to continue, but then I saw the girl holding a numbered ticket, and it had cost her money too. I was being raffled away or something.
“.........”
Houki, my childhood friend, was standing to the side and watching the spectacle. She looked angry, as always, but I decided that didn’t mean much. Life is a learning experience.
—All right, what now?
I was going to ask Houki to teach me something about the IS, but at this rate I’d have to ask her tonight. I barely had time to think that much before the looks of the girls around me began to sting; they wanted answers.
“How is Chifuyu at home?!”
“Um... The place is a big mess because of h—”
Bam!
“Break’s over. Back to your seats.”
When had she come up behind me, and what was with that timing? Was she trying to keep me from leaking personal info? Anyway, I wanted to warn my sister Chifuyu that if she kept hitting me she’d be pigeonholed as the comically violent side character— couldn’t imagine anybody’d want that.
“By the way, Orimura, it will take some time until your IS unit is ready.”
“Huh?”
“We have no spare units, so you’ll have to wait a little. The academy will provide one exclusively to you.”
“......?!”
I was left speechless as the classroom erupted into talking.