"This is... inconceivable!"
The gadgetry princess mumbled in horror as she read the subsequent pages of the old manga she bought. It was roughly 10 years old, though when she bought it, it's still very much fresh and intact, with double plastic wrapping even.
She never knew that older media, pre I.S.-induced revolution, can be seriously obscene. Why? This kind of manga is not strange thing nowadays... except for rating difference.
She heard from a source that the censorship boards get stricter in past decade, so that's why...
She decided not to read the rest; after all, it’s not her usual reading material. Being a fan of simple anime, with main hero fighting evil organization, saving the world or even pursuing his dream. None of the overcomplicated drama and waste like that, a fiction is supposed to be a fun read.
Rustling metal sound disturbed her contemplation and she quickly hid her book, tucked it away under her skirt. Inappropriate she knew, but extremely safe.
It was him, the guy with red hair and hazel eyes, carrying a training Raphael unit over his head. Reed Yuuki, more often simply called Rito, was her Class' Representative.
Not someone she seriously resent and wanted to avoid, so she just act as indifferent as usual. After all, he was the only one who doesn’t ask anything remotely close to her status as Japan's Cadet Representative or her family. In short, one of the acceptable classmate.
"Excuse me" he walked past her with a smile and slightly flushed face, still carrying the 75 kg unit like it was nothing. And that was when the PIC turned on passive setting for convenience's sake; normally I.S. unit is around 750 kg after all. Still, usually the training unit is carried by six people.
Apparently, the male students found it as a fun exercise. Though sometimes it’s used by Sasuga-sensei as punishment.
Under the form-fitting I.S. outfit, she could see that Rito is a very rugged, a stark contrast to his usual impression, being the shortest of all male students at 162 cm. Though he was taller than most of the girls, the one that she pays attention anyway.
"What an indecent thought" she muttered. She blamed it on the manga she posses for giving her… ideas…
Her eyes lie on her (still unfinished) custom unit, and wonder how much work required on its construction.
Still, if her sister can do it, she has no reason of why she couldn't do it herself. Actually, she has a reason of why she must do it herself.
Her sister...
Kanzashi erase the thought about her sister as she began to strip off her uniform, revealing I.S. outfit underneath it. Standard model, nothing fancy, she don't like being too striking, more than she is now, it'll brought her unnecessary problem.
Eight virtual keyboards, using both hands and feet, up and down. One could say this is normally an insane attempt, but the keyboards themselves were just that, semi-solid holograph.
It could be designed to fit any form of operational design according to her own thoughts and capabilities, thanks to [Image Interface System].
That system was at best impractical in real time battle currently, due to its highly experimental nature. During maintenance however, it's a godsend.
Kanzashi feels a bit odd, but not enough to express it through facial expression. The bleeping sound of the keyboards reminded her greatly of those ancient sci-fi films from 80s, feels so retro, that is. Except, this time it's real.
She sighed, and then made they keyboards emulate the sound of physical button instead, clanking and clicking and all. It made her less distracted, and feels like actually work on something, old habits die hard, eh?
After working so much, too little development was shown.
Normally, she’s a well-adjusted person, but those problems nearly drove her nuts.
“The response is too slow”
Since my sister can do it, I can do it too. Such thoughts never entered Kanzashi's mind. But if she couldn't do such a thing, she would feel that she wouldn't be able to catch up to her sister's shadow at all. This inferiority complex was engraved deeply in her.
"Core compatibility hasn't increased at all...am I not suitable to...?"
“Configure the joints and remove some suspension field generator on the arms, remove the armor skirt; bottom heavy design isn’t good for aerial combat. The legs is fine, you can shed some armor for lighter operation, maybe adding a propulsion or two in place of stabilizing heels”
Kanzashi almost felt a jolt on her spine realizing that she has been watched, but still kept her emotionless state, and not looking at the guy bothering her.
Kanzashi is not stupid; she knew the basic, even intermediate concept of designing and configuring an I.S. unit, something that most girl of her grade couldn’t accomplish since they haven’t touch career specialization yet.
“The recoded equation used in the command lines wasn’t fully suitable for multi-targeting operation, not fast and flexible enough for allocation of the attacks. The Electro-musculature sensor routing is redundant, simplify it for easier control”
Kanzashi gasped, for now, she actually made a mistake. Well, less a mistake and more like missed something useful.
And he could spot the tiny words form meters apart, his eyes was no longer hazel in color, it was purely golden in appearance, even the pupil is nearly obscured. It’s as if the eyes shone under the dim lighting of the hangar.
“Please don’t bother me”
There, she was indirectly announcing her defeat. She really wanted to slap her own forehead in disgust, but what’s done is done.
“Err… I’m very sorry for the intrusion” he blinked as his eyes turned normal again, Kanzashi wonder what happens, maybe a special genes or something? Or is he actually a humanoid alien?
He apologized and bowed several times realizing his rude entrance, very clumsy and awkward guy as usual. Again, he was acceptable compared to the rest.
“But you’ve got a point, thanks for reminding me” she said as a matter of fact, and he was satisfied by it, leaving with a small nod.
“Oh, and another thing… ummm” his face flushed as he leered a little, and thrown her something “Your hairpin”
Kanzashi wonder in all the disbelief, even she already gave up her hairpin, this one wasn’t exactly reflective, bothersome to find in this looming darkness. It wasn't like it's an expensive stuff anyway.
Scratch superpower, his eyes are just that good.