“Do you really think this will work?” Standing next to Itsuki, Amanda wondered if today would go well. There was palpable uncertainty with their luck since Shisuki’s arrival, though times were changing since that incident in the bath.

What Amanda was referring to was their most recent plan to get Ikki and Stella to hurry up and get together already. They were waiting outside for their two friends to join them for a night on the town. Itsuki seemed sure of himself.

Still, Amanda couldn’t tell with how stern and implacable his expressions usually were.

“I’m sure, this time, we’ll get Ikki alone with Stella.” Itsuki said. “It won’t be like before or the recent times like when we keep pushing them together during our sparring matches. You and I will peel off when the time is right, so I hope you have a good excuse ready?”

“I do, but I just get the feeling something will go wrong. Don’t you?”

“Try not to think about it, it’ll be a jinx.”

As he said that, Ikki and Stella came from the dormitory gate. Amanda gave them a perfunctory wave to greet them.

“Ikki! Stella! What took you guys so long?”

“Sorry.” Said Ikki, he bowed a bit to show how sincere he was being. “We had to run a few errands so we came back late.”

“Yeah, my apologies.” Stella said, a bit flush. “We got so caught up in choosing ingredients for tomorrow’s lunch that we lost track of time.”

“Oh!”

Amanda, internally sighed, as she let that somewhat fake sounding assurance pass her lips. She wished she’d scold Stella for almost messing up the plan.

She of all people were in on it though, if she rethought Stella’s reaction, perhaps She had lost track of time since she was alone with Ikki. Maybe lost in one of those fantasy’s Amanda usually catches her daydreaming about.

Amanda could imagine it, the goofy smile on her face and how Ikki might be confused by her sudden out of norm reactions.

A hidden grin found its way into Amanda’s heart, and she could tell that Itsuki felt somewhat the same. There was a slight twitch in his usually unflattering brow, a sign that he was holding back an emotion.

“Are all of you all set?” Itsuki glanced around.

Ikki wore a simple black collar shirt and jeans, perfect for going out on the town. Stella, to Itsuki’s slight nodding approval, had this time worn a more modest white blouse and a short beige yellow overcoat which complimented her red hair.

In his opinion, Ikki seemed like a normal person while Stella seemed to be trying to adapt to non-noble life and attire. Together, they really looked like a couple.

“Yeah, I’m all set.” Amanda said, patting her pockets to make sure she had everything. Her eyes then trained on Itsuki, appraising his…”fashion” sense.

“Do you always wear your school uniform? Don’t you have anything better than that?”

“What?” Itsuki shrugged. “They’re comfortable and functional as well.”

Everyone agreed, the academy uniforms had great breathability, though, they were horribly bland as they wore them every day. But perhaps this bland attire went with Itsuki’s objectivity and bluntness.

Once everyone affirmed they were ready, they made their way across town to the mall. Stella and Amanda were still in the process of buying more of the essentials they needed for living in the dorms.

Amanda herself needed new clothes, while Stella needed the same. Stella did have her own clothes from home but after realizing that her sense of fashion seemed to draw too much attention, she had to reconsider her wardrobe.

On the other hand, Amanda had only the clothes on her back and a couple of spare outfits she owned during her 1 year journey of self-enlightenment before coming to Andromeda. In every girl’s opinion, her wardrobe was criminally empty, so a shopping spree would do it some good.

“Ikki! What do you think of this one?” Swinging her hand to push the curtains aside, Stella showed off the simple red and white attire she had picked out. It was a set of somewhat comfy pajamas.

“Hmmm.” Ikki looked intently at Stella, appraising her to much of her somewhat uncomfortable fidgeting.

“H-Hey, D-don’t stare so much. Hurry up and tell me what you think!” She demanded so loudly that it broke Ikki from his trance-like observation.

“Oh! I, Um…I-it looks good.”

“You think so? It feels a bit tight around the chest though.” Stella put her hands to the centerline of the pajama’s buttons. Just as she did, she straightened up and the sound of straining threads caught Ikki’s attention.

Getting to his feet in a rush, Ikki pulled Stella into the changing booth.

“I-Ikki?”

Stella was startled and her mind braced as she came to grips with how forward he was being. That changed since her attention was then drawn to her chest. When she looked down, the buttons on her pajamas broke free.

“Eh? M-My clothes.”

A somber mood came over Stella, she really liked this shirt and had wanted to buy it. Now, it was ruined.

“This was the largest size they had.”

Feeling the hands on her shoulder, she broke from that sad news then remembered who was in front of her.

His face a color like her hair, Ikki was closing his eyes and turning his head away, trying to not glance at the ample and juicy fruits that dangled below his sights.

“Y-you…you!” Stella was about to punch Ikki. Her fist clenched and as she reeled back.

“....!” Ikki flinched and a second passed. Opening his eyes, he found Stella covering her chest with a hand as she let the other fall to her side.

If not for Ikki, she would have probably flashed everyone in the store. For that, she was grateful for his attentiveness. She only wished he’d tried to be true to his feelings.

“T-Turn around.” She said and Ikki did so.

“I-I swear, I didn’t see anything, okay?”

“I know.” Stella hummed and mumbled under breath. “But, maybe you…..”

“Hmmm?”

“It’s nothing! Just turn around, you pervert!”

With a jab of her elbow, Ikki let out a rough grunt of pain and turned away, guarding Stella from any prying eyes.

“Tch…That was so close.” Clicking his tongue, Itsuki wanted to go over and give Ikki a smack in the head.

This was double for Amanda. She was trying on clothes herself just a distance away with Itsuki as her carrier, so seeing this close brush of romantic development irked her. She sighed and went back to shopping, trying to get her mind off of Stella’s Tsundere attitude.

“Hey, do you think this matches my hair color? This is kind of close to the color I want, but I’m not sure. What do you think?”

Itsuki gazed at the silk ocean blue dress. Its make was obviously of high class, though in his opinion, too high class, so he shook his head.

“Can you even afford that, that brand is expensive, plus can you even maintain it? This silk is somewhat finicky to clean.”

“It is? Well that kind of sucks. It had such a good design that I liked.”

“Here, try this.” Taking the silk dress from Amanda, Itsuki gave her a sky blue and silver lined and highlighted dress. It had a cut on one side so that it was easier to move in, and could let Amanda reveal a bit of leg if she so chose to.

“This is a bit daring, don’t you think Itsuki? You’re not trying to mess with me, right?”

“Do I ever mess around?”

Amanda was about to nod yes. Instead, she craned her neck down to see the implacable and unperturbed expression Itsuki had. Nothing. No hesitation, only pure decisiveness gleaned in those black eyes of his.

“Er? Whatever, if I don’t like it then I’m blaming you for suggesting this one.”

“That’s….hmmm..fair, I guess.”

By the end of their little shopping trip, Amanda had settled on Itsuki's suggestion and a few other clothes that had caught her interest.

Satisfied, the girls came out with numerous bags in each arm. It was hard to haul them around and going back to the dorm would waste too much time, so Itsuki applied a solution he knew.

They followed him to a shop in the lower levels of the mall and upon getting there, Amanda smelt the familiar scent of iron and gunpowder that Itsuki usually smelled of during their sparring sessions.

“Oh! Hey! Itsuki, are you here to change out your equipment again?” Greeting Itsuki as if he had known him for years, a man with a full and bushy beard waved to him.

“Hey there Old man, I’m not changing out my equipment today. Just need to get one of the spare storage rings here. Could you bring three of them out?”

“Sure thing, no problem.” The Old man rummaged under the counter while Ikki, Stella, and Amanda set down their bags and perused the store. Wall to wall, this place had racks of guns hung up all the way to the ceiling.

Even the floor was displaying guns for sale, having them secured in sturdy bullet proof glass cases that worked like floor tiling.

“So, is this where you fulfill your addiction with guns?” Asked Amanda, sarcastic and bitter at the sight of the products on sale. Getting shot at by guns had left a negative impression on her.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Not really, most of my equipment comes custom ordered. I come here for the basics like ammo, explosives, survival equipment, or even to just store some of my spare gear. I rented out a storage space here. I can’t really keep all my stuff in one place since I have so much.”

“You have got to be joking, why does someone like you need so many guns?”

“I’m a grunt class explorer.” Itsuki rested his back against the counter, gazing up at all the guns in the store. “I mainly use man made tools to fight, so having a lot of them gives me options. And since I’ve lived for so long, I’ve learned how to use all sorts of weapons. Like that one.”

Amanda looked to where Itsuki was pointing and saw the enormous heavy machine gun he used on her in their first mock fight. It seemed too big to be wielded practically.

“What is that gun anyway? It seems more like a cannon than a gun. How can you even shoot that thing?”

“I can’t blame you for thinking that. The caliber is so high that the first time I shot it, I almost blew off my arm.”

That didn’t sound like a joke and that haunted Amanda and Stella. Going by how loud it boomed when Itsuki fired it at them, and the image of his arm getting torn off made them both want to censor the imaginary image out of their head.

“If it is so dangerous, then why do you use it?” Asked Stella. “There should be better and easier options.”

“There are, but I’ve gotten so used to using it that it is easy now. It just takes a lot of practice.”

“Alright! I’m back!” Coming from one of the back doors in the store, the Old man handed three gray metal bands to Itsuki.

“Thanks, That’s all I’ll need for now, but, put in an order for a whetstone, I need to resharpen my knife.”

“You got it kid, be safe out there, alright? Don’t die.”

“I’ll try.” Nodding farewell, Itsuki returned outside the store with everyone.

There, he gave them each a gray colored storage ring.

“Store your things in here for now. You can use them for a while, but don’t lose them. Each one costs a lot.”

“How much?” Ikki asked, curious. He had seen Itsuki use these a number of times and had never elaborated on them. “They don’t seem like the high quality silver ones you usually have, aren’t these cheaper.”

Shaking his head, Itsuki held up 7 fingers and Ikki’s eyes went wide.

“$7,000 for each?!”

Itsuki shook his head.

“Seven figures each, storage rings aren’t cheap. They're a luxury made from rare core materials. I got these from a lucky job I survived, turns out the monsters I was in charge of killing made for great storage ring material.”

“Y-you can’t be serious!?” Stella was in disbelief. That kind of money for a single person was enormous. “Even as a noble, my allowance is only in the 6 digits.”

“That seems about right for a European Bloc noble.” Itsuki replied as if that wasn’t shocking to him.

Amanda and Ikki on the other hand, gawked at the two sudden rich kids in their group. The weight of the simple shaped metal band now felt heavier in their hands, so they deftly handled them as they stored what they bought.

Stella herself was accustomed to using them, since she herself had a few personal storage rings in her homeland.

It took a few minutes, and eventually, Amanda and Ikki figured out how to use them. They worked by a person’s core energy and it only took a little amount to operate. Using their core energy to store items was new to them and taking them out of an invisible space seemed foreign, it would take some skill to use them as quickly as how Itsuki does.

Finishing stowing everything, the group decided it was time for a meal. Walking into an establishment, Itsuki surveyed the restaurant and nodded in approval at how slow business was. With so few people, Ikki and Stella could get some quality alone time.

Now, it was time for Itsuki and Amanda to disappear. Just as they finished ordering their food, Amanda discreetly taped her wrist device under the table.

Itsuki’s personal device then rang. Hiding the caller ID, he took the call.

“This is Itsuki, what is it?” He nodded a few times, grunted in discomfort and then shook his head. “Hah.” He sighed heavily and Ikki picked up on his annoyance.

“What’s wrong, Itsuki? Did something happen?”

“There’s been another incident about a missing student. He must have dropped out unannounced, not only that, but some discriminatory students have been making trouble. Sorry, but I need to handle this. Amanda, come with me”

“Are you serious! I have to come?”

“It is related to the students, so having your social skills would help de-escalate the situation.”

“A fair point, but now of all times? Jeez, this job as your assistant really isn’t any joke.”

“To be fair, you are getting paid. With all the overtime I’ve been giving you, your next paycheck might break 5 figures.”

“Really? Hmph! Then what are we waiting for, let’s go.”

Excusing themselves, Amanda gave Stella a wink that she returned. Itsuki apologized to Ikki.

“We’ll catch a bite next time, don’t worry about the tab, order what you want and go ahead and enjoy a dinner on.”

“If you’re sure, thanks, just be easy on those students.” Ikki patted Itsuki’s shoulder and he responded flatly.

“Heh, maybe.”

Making their way out, Amanda gave a grin to Itsuki. “Nice with the bluff, you had me fooled as well.”

“It’s not exactly a lie, I did mix a few truths.”

Amanda chuckled, amused by his candid attitude, although he wasn’t expressive about it. Opening the door for Amanda, Itsuki let her through.

“Hmmm?” Amanda jerked back a bit, the sight of someone she recognized made her mind stall. “Richard?”

In the door, Richard was greeting them and was also confused by their presence here.

“Itsuki? Amanda? Why are you two in a fancy restaurant like this one? Don’t tell me?! Are you..on a date?”

“We aren’t.” They both said flatly.

It was irksome to hear such a leap in logic from Richard of all people. He was bright and seemed to connect the dots well, but he lacked any flexibility to work into his critical thinking at times.

Really, what did Richard see in the two of them? Itsuki could count the number of times he and Amanda were at each other's throats by how many bullets were in his magazines.

And Amanda could equally count the number of bruises she suffered from sparring with him to just as many times as she insulted him.

They had no positive chemistry. Negative and destructive, sure.

But nothing of that lovey dovey crap, they both thought.

A figure then passed Itsuki and he saw the faint trail of greenish white hair in the corner of his eyes. He trained his sights on who it was, and frowned, it was too late and he couldn’t stop it in time.

“I think you jinxed us Amanda.”

“I did? Wait? What are you-“

It was then that Amanda looked at Richard and the situation became clear.

“Argh! We need to run damage control.”

Itsuki agreed and dragged Richard along who breathed an exasperated sigh.

“It’s one of those situations again?”

***[At Ikki’s and Stella’s Table]***

“W-What are you doing here?” Stella yelled, her throat almost hurting from how loud she raised her voice. In front of her, Shisuki stood there all dolled up in a dark blue dress. Its long frilled skirt gave a daintily fair look to Shisuki’s mature looks and curves.

The added deep blue headband contrasted with the natural white tinge of her hair. Shisuki flashed a small grin and then wiped it away by replacing it with a calm smile.

“Miss Stella, I would watch your volume. This is a public area, so please, don’t cause any trouble.”

“Of course I know that, but why are you here?”

“Oh? Did my brother not tell you? He invited me for dinner, so that I could get to know you and so that we could go shopping after this. Isn’t he just the best “Little Brother”, I’m so glad he’s Mine.”

A low growl escaped Stella's lips and her face almost frowned. She stopped herself from climbing out of her seat to sock Shisuki in the face. She settled her emotions as she scooted just a bit closer to Ikki.

Shisuki then abruptly seated herself next to Ikki, just on the other side of Stella.

“Shouldn’t you sit across?” Stella said harshly. “You’re crowding my master.”

“It’s fine Stella.” Said Ikki. “Shisuki is only trying to look out for me, she’s odd in how she does it, but she doesn’t mean anything by it.”

“Why of course Ikki, you’re big sister has your happiness always in mind. Thank you for understanding.” Shisuki nuzzled her head into Ikki’s shoulder, an act that Stella did in kind, more for the fact of not being out done than it was out of spite.

A tense mood permeated the booth they were sitting in, so much so that Itsuki, Amanda, and Richard could feel it from the booth behind them, just out of their sight.

Richard was the most fearful of the atmosphere. It wasn’t from Ikki’s table though. No, he was more afraid of how hard Itsuki was clenching his fist.

“All that damn planning…gone to waste…why…”

His low tone was ominous and the fork in his hand had bent at a right angle.

“Ikki…” Mumbled Amanda. “You…..dense…..freaking….idiot….Why did you invite other people…!”

Showing her own annoyance, Amanda clenched her glass of water. It didn’t break, which was great but on the other hand, that was little comfort to Richard since while it told him that she was controlling her strength, going by how the liquid in her drink began to freeze over, her emotions were quite literally freezing over with rage.

Richard picked at his own food, trying to ignore the silent rage of his two friends as the three of them watched on.

It was obvious that Amanda and Itsuki were on Stella’s side. They looked like they wanted to go in and do something but going back now after leaving would make it obvious and difficult for Stella. Not to mention, it was embarrassing to leave and then come back minutes later.

An hour passed and Ikki’s table was served their dinner. Stella ate quite the portion of food since her mood seemed to only be kept intact by filling her stomach.

Contrary to her, Shisuki didn’t seem to care much and was more appeased as she watched Ikki eat. To her, it was a feast for the eyes for her weary stomach.

As dessert came around, a serving of cake was what everyone ordered. As they ate, Ikki noticed a drop of cream Shisuki’s cheek.

“Shisuki, hold still.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“You have a bit of mess on your cheek, hold on.”

With a finger, Ikki wiped the cream from her cheek, momentarily he held her. She blushed at how close Ikki was being. He had brought his face so close that her heart pumped and pulsed, so much so that she thought her head would become a tomato.

That luckily didn’t happen.

Ikki cleaned off the small blemish and licked the cream from his finger. The sight of him licking his finger was amorous and blood rushed to her head.

“Shisuki? What’s wrong? Does the cake not taste right?”

“N-No, I just…really wished you didn’t do something like that so suddenly. I can clean myself off.”

“Oh, I know I shouldn’t treat you like that, sorry if that wasn’t respectful.”

“It’s fine, I—”

“Ikki!” Stella suddenly interrupted. They both turned to her and saw, smeared on her left cheek, a large line of whipped cream was there and she was turning it in his direction. “I need a little help too, could you get this.”

“Ummm, that’s a bit much, hold on, I’ll wipe you down.”

Ikki brought himself close, so close that Stella’s breath caught. She closed her eyes and waited to feel the touch of his hand. Instead, the rough sensation of a napkin roused her from her short fantasy.

It wasn’t all bad, but she wished he’d touch her, or show some kind of skin ship.

Wait a minute! I don’t want that! Not that far! What am I thinking!

Her brain spinning out of control, Stella heaved a sigh to make sure her composure didn’t break.

For the remainder of the meal, their discussion moved on to tomorrow's event, a special one in fact.

“Have you heard anything about the Practical Training Class yet?” Ikki asked Shisuki. She had been digging for information about that from the upperclassman. They seemed to gravitate to her due to how she has that kind of older sister presence.

“I have, rumor has it that it’s the most difficult course to pass due to how every class each month is different.”

“Different how?” Stella wasn’t sure just how much more surprise she could take with the classes here. While she knew she’d barrel through it, anymore was going to put a real trial on her, oddly enough, she somewhat looked forward to the challenge.

“What specifically did the upperclassman say, are we going to be sent into the field, or are we going to do some unique training?’

“A bit of both I think, Teacher would know more, but I suspect he’s hiding something.”

“What makes you say that?” Ikki always knew Itsuki as being straight forward, he didn’t seem like the type to lie.

“It’s what I’ve been hearing in rumors from Miss Nene. They talk about Teacher as if he’s some kind of killer or monster even. Some people have even begun spreading rumors that he’s a spy, that he worked his way up to his position as dorm supervisor, so that he could make a profit as an informant.”

“That doesn’t sound right?” Ikki said. “Why would anyone think that?”

“Perhaps it's because of his personality? Wouldn’t you say?” Stella asked Shisuki.

On this, Shisuki actually agreed. She sighed and nodded.

“Indeed. I don’t know much, but every person has their secrets. Explorers are talent fighters and “weapons” per say. So mercenary work and shading dealings are possible. Still, Teacher seems… upright.. Hmmmm.”

The three of them pondered about him, all the while, Itsuki’s and Amanda’s were throbbing in anger at how today had failed. It got close, but no cigar.