68: Reactions

"The information given to me by Tabane is completely true, and that's not even counting the danger level that [Raiden]'s [AI] demonstrated by infiltrating the arena's operations room" - said Chifuyu while looking at the silhouettes on the screens - "Cloud demonstrated a level of power superior to a possible national representative, and although he made it thanks to playing with her mind, it doesn't change the fact that he didn't exert himself at all during the fight."

[We want a full report of everything related to that boy, as well as a way to tie him to Japan] - said one of the academy's head directors - [After this battle, the other countries may want to gather more information about this young man, especially because of his unknown internal power]

"But that's stupid, the report clearly says that it is impossible for Cloud to reproduce because of this very energy" - said Chifuyu with a frown.

[That's what the report says, but it's not perfectly proven, maybe he needs something to reproduce, or it's just the factor that his body hasn't fully matured] - said another leader while the other senior leaders nodded - [Our colleague's words have merit, and even if he can't reproduce, that doesn't change the fact that he's extremely powerful, in other words, it's extra military power that Japan needs]

Chifuyu was silent before nodding - "I understand, I'll see what I can do."

[It's simple, he's a teenage boy, in other words, a young man with raging hormones, we just need to use that to gain his attention] - the first leader said as the others nodded.

"You want me to send a girl to seduce him?" - Chifuyu asked with a frown because this didn't seem like a good thing, especially since Cloud was trained to seduce, in other words, it might backfire against them.

[That's the plan] - nodded a senior commander.

"And who do you suggest?" - Chifuyu asked as she folded her arms.

[That's for you to decide, Chifuyu Orimura] - said another high commander before cutting the transmission.

Chifuyu was silent before taking a long sigh as she massaged her forehead - "Seriously, this is ridiculous... Where am I going to find someone qualified for the job?"

"Sorry for the delay, I was just making sure Alcott-san was okay" - Maya said as she let out a sigh, though her expression changed to one of dread when she saw that the meeting was over - "Oh..."

Chifuyu narrowed her eyes as she thought carefully - "Don't worry, you came at a great time."

"Huh?" - Maya sensed something strange in her friend's voice.

* * * * *

"That was much more interesting than I thought it would be" - Tatenashi said as she watched the battle recording with a small smile on her face - "Don't you think so too, Kanzashi-chan?"

"Please stop watching that video and get to work, president" - sighed a girl while looking at her boss. This wasn't the first time Tatenashi stopped working to check something, and this only made the schedule she had written, end up being useless.

"Please go back to work, we're late" - the student council secretary said as she frowned.

"Oh, you guys would be the same as me if only you had seen this battle" - said Tatenashi while rolling her eyes at her two subordinates - "Seriously, you should relax a bit, I only used a few minutes."

"Huh? It's over that fast?" - asked the treasurer as she looked at her boss with surprise.

"Yes, Cloud Strife won extremely fast, that's why I'm surprised" - replied Tatenashi while smiling under her fan - "Don't you find it interesting?"

The two girls quickly took the tablet from Tatenashi and watched the battle, only to open their mouths, surprised by how fast the young blond was.

"That's the potential of the weapon designed to fight our [IS]?" - asked the secretary with a frown.

"Do you think you can defeat it?" - asked the treasurer earnestly.

"Honestly, I have no idea" - replied Tatenashi as she shrugged - "It depends on many factors, though I am not fully confident of defeating him, after all, the information I have on him is slim."

"Do you want me to do some research?" - asked the treasurer as she raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, no, that's unnecessary" - replied Tatenashi while her red eyes sparkled with playfulness - "I'll take care of this myself... anyway, we'd better get our work done."

"We're done" - said the girls.

"Huh? Really?" - Tatenashi asked with a surprised expression on her face.

"We advanced our work, so we didn't have much to do" - replied the vice president as she folded her arms. She, as well as the secretary and the treasurer, had condescending smiles on their small lips.

Tatenashi let out a sigh of relief as an idea popped into her head, so she quickly looked at her subordinates and gave them a sad puppy look.

"Sorry, Tatenashi-sama, but that doesn't work with us" - the vice president said as she ordered her subordinates to leave the room, after all, she knew about her leader's modus operandi - "I wish you luck with the job, remember that you also have to fulfill your yesterday's job because you went out to play somewhere"

"Don't leave me alone~!" - Tatenashi exclaimed as she watched the girls leave the room - "Traitors ~!"

* * * * *

"How are you feeling, Alcott-san?" - asked the nurse as she checked the condition of England's potential representative - "Does your stomach still hurt?"

"A little, although the painkiller is more effective than I thought" - Cecilia answered as she looked at the bandage she had on her stomach - "I still can't believe I was defeated so easily, I guess I let my pride cloud my judgment."

"You don't have to feel so bad, young lady, you're strong, there's no doubt about that, it's just that you faced an enemy you're not used to" - replied the nurse while stroking the young blonde's head - "Leaving that aside, I recommend you to rest for about two days to fully recover, the damage, although small, is still dangerous if you don't treat it properly"

"I understand" - Cecilia nodded as she let out a sigh and left the room, although honestly, she didn't know what to do - "Maybe I should go back to my room?"

"Oh, it's good to see that you're relatively well, Alcott-san" - Maya said as she looked at the golden-haired girl.

"Is there something wrong, Yamada sensei? I ask because I can tell that your face is completely red" - said Cecilia with surprise.

"W-Well, the truth is that I just received orders for a new mission, and now I was going to start with the work" - answered Maya while coughing to hide her embarrassment - "Leaving that aside... Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a little sore" - Cecilia replied with a frown, though her expression changed when she saw two familiar people - "What are you doing here, Shinonono-san, Orimura-san?"

"We came to see how you were doing" - Ichika answered while scratching his cheek.

Cecilia raised an eyebrow because she wasn't so close to her classmates as to receive this kindness, so it was obvious that they wanted something from her - "You can get straight to the point, I don't like to beat around the bush"

"Well, I'll leave you guys, I have a mission to fulfill" - Maya said as she ran off, possibly so that her students wouldn't see her red cheeks.

"We wanted to know your impressions about your battle against Cloud" - Houki said honestly.

Cecilia relaxed slightly before nodding - "Well, for starters, calling it a battle makes me feel like I'm being mocked."

"What do you want us to call it?" - Houki asked simply.

"Honestly, I have no idea, this wasn't a battle, but more like an adult playing with a child" - muttered Cecilia with annoyance, though she quickly returned to normal - "Cloud Strife-kun is much stronger than you think, he at the very least is on the level of an expert pilot, I wouldn't even be surprised if he was on the level of an experienced national representative"

Houki was silent before nodding - "What do you think of his suit?"

"It's impressive, though more than the suit, the danger is Cloud itself" - Cecilia replied while rubbing her stomach - "Cloud's attacks ignore shielding, which makes him able to damage us even under the protection of our [IS], that's potentially deadly for us, after all, we're used to relying on our shields"

"Is that energy that dangerous?" - Houki asked in surprise.

"You can only understand it if you directly face Cloud" - replied Cecilia while snorting with disdain - "Leaving that aside, the reason for my defeat will be known to all nations, which will put Cloud Strife-kun in the spotlight of foreign countries at a higher level than Orimura-san"

Ichika felt a little complexed, after all, this was both good and bad at the same time. Good because he would be much freer, and bad because the person who would take his place would be his childhood friend.