Chapter 6: A Turn of Events

It's often the most unassuming times that fate turns it's wheels. Even on days such as this. A fine and bright morning greeted the Watcher, sitting in an open field, void of disturbances. It was rare for him to ever obtain such a quiet moment, mainly because there had always been something there distracting him. Something so benign yet very crucial to the flow around him. Today was different, however. It seemed like he was left alone on purpose, although not for long. Watcher's peace ended abruptly as a devastating explosion impacted just near his position. Through the smoke and rubble, Watcher rose and dusted himself to greet his sister Black. He wasn't sure why his sister entered orbit with such power, but he was thankful not to be the direct target. When Watcher's gaze shifted towards the crater, an empty space of dust was all that had been spotted. Just behind him, a darkened and threatening figure loomed. Watcher was not afraid, because he never felt the need to be afraid of her. When he turned around and looked down slightly, he was met with a very familiar face. A little girl half the height of Watcher stood and stared on at him in blank nothingness. The little girl wore a very worn jacket twice her size and one ponytail tucked at the back of the hood. This little girl was none other than black, who continued to stare blankly at Watcher, unaware of the danger he could have been in. The staring lasted more than a few minutes before either of them spoke. Watcher had been unamused by her actions, which made Black only tilt her head in a blank confusion.

"You gonna have another staring match with your brother or… what?" Watcher asked, very unsure of why Black was here.

"Yes…" Black answered quietly and politely, to Watcher's still patient wait.

"Okay so, what exactly do you need to ask?" Watcher paused before continuing, "I'm not gonna stand here forever Black, you gotta learn to be more as-"

"Why do you come here…?" Black interrupted, making Watcher freeze.

"What do you mean…?" Watcher asked back, hoping to not give Black an answer.

"You come to this planet to have peace... But there is no peace…" Black explained slowly, matching the same monotonous tone her face had, "Why…?"

Watcher Sighed for a moment as he searched for his response, letting Black stare blankly ever more, "...People… People can find peace in different ways. It doesn't have to be one straight way Bla-"

"But there is no peace… Only war…" Black cut in again, looking off into the distance where echoed fire and shouting could be heard, "You taught me war isn't peace, but here you are…"

"Yes, I know. As much as I hate it, there's a balance. There can't always just be one over another." Watcher tried to reassure, dragging Black's blank gaze back to him.

"Do you… like humans…?" Black asked, tilting her head in an innocent fashion once again.

"As a species? No they suck. As a means of escape? Still no, but I have to work with what the big guy gave us." Watcher answered bluntly, making Black turn to the side.

"Then why not get rid of them…?" Black asked, still unaware of how much an impact her sentence can make when taken into action.

"Black, you know we can't do that. Kira included." Watcher responded quickly, patting her shoulder.

"But then there would be peace..." Black argued.

"You know why we can't. As annoying as they are, I'm not wiping an entire species off of a planet. It would disturb the flow." Watcher explained further, before walking away from Black, "Now c'mon, Kira might be lo- NO! DON'T!"

It was by this one mistake that Watcher felt the full force of his regret. If he hadn't walked away from her, he could have stopped it. Unfortunately Fate had struck, the planet was destroyed. Cleaved into two halves by Black's weapon. Watcher had just managed to catch a glimpse of Black after the deed had been done. Through the scattered remains of the planet, she smiled for the first time and spoke her final words before disappearing…

"It's quiet now brother…! Just like you wanted." Black's words echoed through his head, before ringing and quickly loudening.

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! I'm not sittin' here and makin' these noises forever!" Kira shouted, getting the attention of a very tired Watcher.

"Why. Are you. On my desk…!" Watcher grumbled into more of a threat rather than a question.

"Well for starters I'm bored, and secondly you're the only other person here I can talk to." Kira answered, already across Watcher's room and playing with a novelty snow globe, "Which reminds me, How come you never told me about this place?"

"Because I live here dammit And I'd appreciate it if you didn't break anything…" Watcher warned before hearing the sound of glass shattering.

"Oh… you said not to break it?" Kira's question was met with a harsh glare from Watcher who witnessed Kira strike the snowglobe with a baseball bat.

"You're on thin ice, I hope you know that…" Watcher sighed in annoyance before rising for the day.

Watcher's day had only managed to get worse and worse, and he just woke up to start it. That being said, he unceremoniously left the house with Kira in tow. If it had been up to Watcher, he would have stayed with the gotandas and allowed his brother to annoy them, however this couldn't happen. He was earlier informed by Dan that Ichika was coming over to catch up with them, which made Watcher groan in annoyance. This groan was quickly cleared away when Dan continued. Dan and ran had explained To watcher that they didn't want to tell Ichika that there were two undeniably powerful entities that just so happened to hang out in their home. For once, Watcher didn't mind this as he already needed to keep his distance from his target. As a bonus, both Dan and Ran could act as sources of info for Ichika's activities at the house. With both the watcher and the siblings in agreement, Watcher and Kira left, taking residence at Watcher's house. It wasn't too far from the gotandas oddly enough, but it was still quite a distance. Watcher and Kira walked through the streets in lax. There was nothing in particular that interested them, but they enjoyed the walk regardless. At least, Kira enjoyed the walking. Watcher, on the other hand, had been deep in thought for a very long time. So long, that he continued to walk towards one place in particular. Kira had been the first to notice the academy looming over them, but by then, Watcher had already bumped into a certain familiar person.

"Agh! Kazimir is not Sidewalk, please use...oh." Kazimir grunted in pain as he was knocked over by an oddly powerful but gentle force. His questions were answered when he turned to find Watcher once again, along with his brother Kira.

"Hey~! I know you, you're that one kid from the whole, 'ahh, I'm robot!' incident!" Kira recognized Kazimir as he stood on his feet.

"Kazimir wishes to have never come out exploring…" Kazimir said under his breath as Watcher paused and looked towards Kazimir lost in thought, "What is the matter? Is Kazimir a problem?"

"Nah, he just woke up from a weird dream where his sister blew up the planet they were standing on and asked him about something to do with humanity and peace and stuff." Kira explained, making both Watcher and Kazimir slowly raise their eyebrows in unison, "What?"

"Watcher… is brother, alright?" Kazimir asked in complete confusion.

"Y'know, after eons and eons of being with him… yeah no, I still have no fucking idea, c'mon." Watcher answered before turning around and walking back to their house with Kazimir and Kira talking along the way.

The walk hadn't taken long, but to Watcher, it felt like hours. No matter how many silent death threats or angry glares Watcher gave Kira, he continued to talk about various things. These things included anything from the very beginning of everything to the great war between the celestial heavens, the infernal realm and the vast space that makes up the multiverse. All the while, Kazimir listened intently. Of course, Kazimir was nowhere near this level of understanding, but he at least tried to. That being said, the trio continued their walk down the street in a mix of confusion, annoyance, and uncontrolled explanations.

In any normal circumstance, the trio would have seemed very friendly with each other. In truth, Kira was very talkative, Watcher was only tolerating his brother's antics and Kazimir was stunned to the point of utter obedience. Watcher's only saving grace had come from knowing that his house was just in view of them, the downside was that his tolerance for the timeline's secrets being exposed was wearing thin as he turned and covered his brother's mouth. Silence filled the air as both Kazimir and Watcher sighed in relief.

"Kazimir believes his brain is imploding." Kazimir commented while walking ahead of both Watcher and Kira.

Watcher added nothing to this, instead, he chose to quickly rush both Kazimir and kira inside before kira could utter another word. Once inside, Kira had finished his sentence along the lines of, '-A mexican stand-off on a barren world!'. It was only at that time where Watcher and Kazimir had actually agreed on something. With a quick and admittedly idiotic action, both questioned Kira's finished response. This only prompted Kira to continued before Watcher immediately interrupted.

"No no no! We're good. Just… shut up, Capiche?" Watcher commanded as Kira nonchalantly shrugged and headed for Watcher's couch.

"Wait, why is kazimir here…?" Kazimir asked as Watcher locked the door.

"Well, before my oversharing brother ran his mouth, I was going to finally explain why the hell I chose you of all people to keep an eye on that friend of yours." Watcher answered, taking off his coat and placing it on the nearby rack.

"Why is comrade so important to you?" Kazimir asked in suspicion while Watcher walked to the fridge of his kitchen and grabbed a beer.

"Like I said, I'll explain. In the meantime, you might wanna take a seat. This is a long one." Watcher motioned for Kazimir to sit and waited as he did so before he began.

Watcher hesitated to explain but knew that his subordinate wasn't going to be so obedient if he didn't provide some type of explanation. This being said, Watcher stared out one of his living room windows to see that the day had just begun. A perfect time for him to explain if not any other. Still, Watcher hesitated to explain most of what his assignment was as Kazimir listened intently. The difference between Kira and Watcher explaining something to Kazimir had almost been night and day. Where Kira spewed information like a broken dam, Watcher was much easier on his words. Often leaving certain topics out such as the tri-war and the higher powers at work. This time Kazimir was more understanding, however, it still was quite a lot to take in. He only hoped Ichika was having an easier time than he had.

Ichika Orimura

"So everyone except you is a girl, huh?" Dan Asked, as he and Ichika continued to fight each other in a cartoonish fighting game, "Must be nice to be you."

"Oh, no it's not." Ichika wearily answers while still focused on his game.

Dan nudged Ichika's shoulder in broship, "Oh man, you're such a liar. Your emails alone tell me you're living in paradise! Got any comp tickets?" Dan asked half genuinely.

"No, you idiot… Although, it has been nice since Rin transferred to my school." Ichika said in joking fashion before remembering Rin's surprise entry, "Before that I didn't have many people to talk to, Kazimir was pretty much my only saving grace at the time."

"Kazimir? Sounds kinda, russian?" Dan questioned, still focusing on the game with Ichika.

"It should. Apparently, I'm not the only male that can pilot an IS." Ichika explained.

"Woah, really? Now I'm wishing I could pilot an IS!" Dan commented while Ichika chuckled.

"Yeah right, I don't think it's that easy." Ichika replied jokingly.

"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, I get it. Rin huh~?" Dan teased, to no effect of course.

All was peaceful in the Gotandas house after Ichika had arrived. It seemed to have never changed when Ichika stepped in. The fresh scent of cooking filled the air, and to Ichika's surprise, Dan had already set up his game console. Although it was nothing fancy, he could never hate the classics. It was only until now that Ichika realized Ran was nowhere to be found. It was as if she never even noticed. To his surprised answer, she didn't. With one hefty blow, The door to Dan's room had been kicked open, revealing a lazily dressed Ran in a simple blouse and unbuttoned and exposing pair of shorts. Ichika didn't necessarily find anything wrong with this, afterall, the gotandas had always felt like family to him, however it seemed to make Ran quite distressed.

"Hey bro! Your lunch is ready now. Hurry up and eat." Ran had ordered before stopping cold in her tracks and reversing, "Ichika is that you?!"

Ichika had been genuinely surprised to see Ran in that moment and decided to raise a hand and smile, "Hey Ran! long time no see, huh?"

In a flustered quickness, Ran immediately jumped out of the doorframe and used the wall to quickly clean herself up, "I uh, haha! I'm sorry! I didn't know you were here?" Ran commented trying to cover up what had just happened.

"Oh yeah, I had a quick break. So I thought I'd check up on the house and stop by here." Ichika explained.

"Oh, I see." Ran responded just before her brother chimed in.

"Hey sis, Can't you knock? Now he thinks you're rude. I mean, he is our guest afterall." Dan said, causing his sister to become flustered even further.

"Why didn't you tell me about it then…!" Ran shot her brother an angry glare which sent Dan into a recoil before he apologized.

"Oh, I guess I didn't tell you..! You're right, sorry about that sis." Dan sheepishly responded.

Throughout the siblings bickering, Ichika thought back to the good ol' days of his childhood and how he used to argue with Rin and Houki. It was a welcoming thought to him during the time, but now it seemed that Houki and Rin were very… different. Although he wasn't sure why that was, he admittedly chalked it up to getting older. Though he still doesn't think of them any differently. When Dan had finally apologized to Ran, they all headed downstairs to enjoy a hot meal. Ichika had been served later due to Dan's forgetfulness but he didn't seem to mind. Thankfully Ran had made just enough for a third bowl if either of the two wanted more. Ran did promise to knock sense into her brother later on, but all was content for the rest of the time being. Ran eagerly waited for Ichika to take his first few bites which then gave her the idea of allowing Ichika to stay in their home whenever he wished, making Dan quickly gesture to her in a negative manner. It seemed Ran had almost forgotten about both Kira and Watcher hanging out at their home, but she decidedly thought to cross that bridge when she came to it. As for Dan, he only hoped that Watcher and Kira wouldn't scare Ichika off if they ever met.

Kazimir Soloviev

"...So that's pretty much it. You're now sworn to keep your mouth shut about all of this or else." Watcher ended, rather grimly.

"Comrade is… protagonist? Just like in shows Kazimir used to watch!" Kazimir repeated, wrapping his head around the new information he just recieved.

"Yeeup, and just so we're clear…!" Kira chimed in grabbing Kazimir attention once more by waving his finger in front of him, "no talkie talkie."

"Need another run down or are you satisfied?" Watcher asked, watching Kazimir try to process everything.

"Dah, Kazimir does not understand. What is 'celestial heavens'? What are you? And how has kazimir become protector of comrade?!"

"The celestial heavens are not a what. It's a place. A place where all gods, angels and douchebags alike are kept. I'm from a division made by the angels." Watcher explained before continuing through Kazimir's multitude of questions, "No I am not an angel, Yes there are other groups made by the other realms and yes we are in a battle across the vast expanse of existence."

"Oh…" Kazimir had been too stunned to even process that information as he continued to think everything through. This would have continued if not for Watcher placing his hands on both of Kazimir's shoulders.

"Look. I'm gonna level with you. If it was in my power, I wouldn't have dragged you into this in the first place. But trust me when I say that you 'need' to keep that kid at your side on all occasions. You don't have to go overboard, but when the time comes… you need to protect him with your life. Understand?"

Kazimir didn't fully comprehend many things that Watcher or Kira had told him, but if what he witnessed during the arena battle was true then he would do just that, "Dah."

"Alright, you are now officially a Watcher in training, good luck." Watcher said, guiding Kazimir out the door to a now setting sun.

"Wait, Kazimir is what now?!" Kazimir questioned before Watcher nodded to the setting sun and the inevitable detention that will come if he doesn't hurry his ass back to the academy.

In one quick motion, Kazimir sped back to the academy as Watcher gave him a two finger salute and shut the door. Kazimir wasn't sure how he had managed it, but just before the Advisors shut the gate, he quickly dove in and continued to sprint to his dorm. It wasn't until he had neared Ichika's dorm room that he had noticed how tired he was. His mad sprint had slowed to a halt in mere moments as he placed a hand on Ichika's door. Of course, the door opened fully just as he had, causing him to fall onto his face and enter the room.

"Kazimir? You ok?" Ichika asked as Houki stared in confusion with him.

Unfortunately, Kazimir was too tired to move, so his muffled response was all that he could muster. Ichika understood in some way and simply continued to search around on his computer as Houki continued to stare at the tired russian on the floor. After the long silence however, Kazimir slowly stood to his feet and breathed a sigh of relief before explaining himself.

"Comrades would not believe Kazimir's day…" Kazimir started before catching a glimpse of something red glowing distantly out the window.

"What was it?" ichika asked with Houki's further questioning look at Kazimir's state of being.

"Uhhh… Kazimir's wallet was stolen…?" Kazimir quickly covered up, noticing Watcher standing under a shaded tree with one red hand raised towards him.

"Really? Man, I wish I could've helped somehow. We could call the police?" Ichika commented.

"That's just terrible. Who would think to do something like that?" Houki chipped in before Kazimir waved his hands in front of him.

"No no! Kazimir is fine. Kazimir carries a fake wallet!" Kazimir explained bringing out his not stolen wallet, "Kazimir is glad that the thief checked the wrong pocket, haha!"

"Oh… right?" Ichika responded confused.

"Ahem. Anyway, how have comrade's days been?" Kazimir asked, averting the awkward tension.

"Well, I used my break to check on some close friends of mine." Ichika responded.

"And I thought it was a perfect time to practice my kendo training." Houki added.

It didn't seem like the awkward tension was gone, however it did finally break when Miss Yamada quickly entered the room. Both Houki and Ichika were very confused as to why this was, but Kazimir was just glad that he didn't have to break the crushing awkwardness any longer.

"Surprise! It's a moving day!" Miss Yamada exclaimed.

"What?" Both Houki and Ichika said in shocked unison as Kazimir raised his eyebrow in confusion.

"We've made new arrangements for you. Miss Shinonono you'll be moving to a different room." Miss Yamada Explained as Kazimir looked back to the window, only to find no one outside.

"Now wait just a darn minute! Are you saying I have to pack and move out right away!?" Houki questioned in shock.

"Oh yes! I think that would be for the best. Afterall, I'm sure the situation where a young man and a young woman have to share the same room isn't really comfortable for either of you!" Miss Yamada answered, making Houki hesitant.

"Well to be honest…" Houki said hesitantly, staring at Ichika.

"Hey you don't have to worry about me." Ichika smiled and gave a thumbs up, "I'm sure I can get up on time and brush my teeth! Even without your help!"

For some reason, this action caused Houki to explode, "Miss Yamada! I wanna change rooms right now!"

"What is wrong Comrade?" Kazimir asked Houki, only receiving a pout in response.

"Oh, Okay!" Miss Yamada, unsure of herself, quickly searched through her list only for Houki to storm out with Miss Yamada in tow.

"What was she so upset about now?" Ichika asked Kazimir as Kazimir patted Ichika's shoulder.

"Comrade. Detective skills are not too bright…" Kazimir responded before hopping onto Houki's bed with a smile, "On the bright side! Kazimir thinks transfer will move me here!"

"Hey, here's to hoping!" Ichika commented cheerily.

"Welp, guess I'll go to bed…! No point thinking about it." Ichika stretched as Kazimir simply relaxed on the now empty bed. This was, of course, until a knock sounded at the door.

"Dah?" Kazimir said, quickly getting up and approaching the door with Ichika just behind, "Ah! Comrade is back."

"Oh, did you forget something?" Ichika asked as Houki stood in the door frame with her arms folded and her eyes closed.

"I...I came to broker terms…!" Houki said, confusing Kazimir for the moment.

"Why are you being so formal?" Ichika asked, standing up from the desk.

"In regards to the individual tournament next month… If I- win the tournament… If I do…! YOU! HAVE TO DATE ME!" Houki shouted in a flustered voice that caused the entirety of the complex to shake for a moment.

"...what…?" Ichika asked in confusion with Kazimir standing between the both of them in confusion.

"Okay, Kazimir will see Comrades later. Good night!" Kazimir said, leaving the room and going back to his dorm before seeing three head pop out from the end of the hall.

"Did you hear that?" One of the heads said to the other two.

"We did!" both of the other girls said in unison.

"This news is…!" Girl 54 said as girl 55 and 56 finished her sentence, "REALLY BIG!"

"Oh no… Hey! keep secret on Comrades wager!" Kazimir shouted, chasing after the three girls as Ichika and Houki continued with their talk.

The Next day…

Gossip is a very strange thing. Any piece of information that was laid bare to society could easily be spread and run rampant. And such information is susceptible to tampering, twisting the original words into a new meaning all together. As is the case of the latest bit of gossip at the IS academy. It turns out that Kazimir was unable to catch up to the three girls before news spread and before anyone had any standing on the matter, the newest piece of information given to the students was that Ichika Orimura would be the grand prize of the upcoming IS tournament. Kazimir walked with Ichika to class as students continuously stared on with whispers of them wondering who would win his love. Kazimir was all too annoyed at his failure to catch the three while the students gossiped around them both. It didn't take long to arrive at their class, however, as the halls began to be all too similar to them both. When both boys had entered the classroom a silence fell for just a moment as Ichika greeted the rest of the students, questioning why everyone had been acting very strange recently. Kazimir knew the exact reason. As the constant upbringing of a 'love tournament' was echoing throughout the halls of the dorms. Kazimir didn't understand why Ichika had no understanding of this though, referring back to Watcher's explanation that he was the 'protagonist' of this world. Perhaps that's why he's undeniably dense to many things that involve him. But for what? Kazimir was bumped out of his thoughts as Miss Chifuyu entered the room. Demanding everyone to take their seats and begin immediately. Kazimir and Ichika did as they were told just before Kazimir shot the three girls from yesterday a dirty look, making them smile and shrink in their seats nervously.

"Guess what class? We're about to meet yet another new transfer student!" Miss Yamada exclaimed happily as the door opened just on time.

"Kazimir's jaw dropped as ichika stared at the door in equal disbelief.

In fact, the entire room stared on at the unbelievable sight as they witness what could possibly be an unexpected and shockingly impossible odd for them. Standing at the door in bleached white attire, was yet another boy with blonde hair and purple eyes. This new Arrival had somewhat amazed the entirety of the class as Kazimir continued to swat away 'Invisible sparkling bubbles' from his face.

"I am Charles Dunois, And I have come from France! It is… nice to meet you!" Charles introduced himself, as the entire class was shocked into silence.

"Duude, you're a boy?" another random and unnamed female student asked Charles in disbelief.

"Oui! I heard about two male students who were in the same situation as I am, so I transferred here." Charles Answered, making the entire class visibly shake in excitement as they chatted amongst themselves at the latest male arrival to their school.

"Comrade! Male group is spreading like forest fire!" Kazimir said, holding back the sheer will to jump out of his chair and bear hug the newest male to the academy.

"Silence damnit! That's quite enough!" Miss Chifuyu shouted, reigning the class back into silence and calm.

"Today we're conducting joint practical training with class two. I want everyone changed and assembled on the second ground ASAP." Chifuyu ordered, before turning to both Kazimir and Ichika, "Soloviev, Orimura. Since you're all males, I want you both to keep an eye on Dunois. Let's get moving girls!"

And with that, the class quickly assembled out of the class and to the changing areas as Charles, Ichika and Kazimir waited for the class to exit. Kazimir watched as Charles and Orimura looked at each other, luckily on friendly terms as he joined into their conversation. It was a relief for Kazimir to know that miracles do come true and that their group was at least one man larger, though he had a small grain of doubt in his mind about the matter. There couldn't have possibly been another, was there? IS piloting was not exactly designed with a male figure in mind, so many things could go wrong in various ways. Then Again, it isn't too strange to assume this is true right? Kazimir thought better of it and approached them both as he stood, catching the strangest twitch coming from Charles as Ichika quickly got up and Walked towards him. Charles was being led forward by Ichika holding his hand, which was not at all strange, but very suspicious for Charles to jump at. Kazimir ignored it still and called out for them to follow, as Ichika was indeed right. The assembly was very quick and arriving there late was a pain.

"We're gonna be changing in the locker room at the arena, we have to change there every time we have practical training so you better get used to beating the girls." Ichika explained quickly to Charles, as Kazimir and Ichika led him to the arena.

"Ohh… Right…!" Charles responded with an uncomfortable sound in his voice.

"Hey why do you look so anxious, do you need to use the restroom?" ichika asked, as Charles was visibly unnerved by the sudden moving.

"Uhh, no… that's not it..!" Charles Reassured as Kazimir stopped them both at the sight of a girl sliding into their path.

"Comrades! Detour, now!" Kazimir said as the girl pointed at them with excitement.

"Hey! I see the new transfer student!" Girl ZA said as girl ZB added, "And look! He's standing with Orimura and Soloviev!" When Kazimir quickly turned around he found that the other side of the hallway had been blocked off by a crowd of female students, "There he is! Over there!"

"Comrades… Kazimir has a plan!" Kazimir said, grabbing Ichika and Charles by the arms and leading forward and off to an open adjacent hallway.

As the three only males in the IS academy they quickly stayed in tune with each other, as Charles ran with confusion, Kazimir and Ichika ran know full well how the school acted on their first day. Charles was the first to announce his confusion however, Making Kazimir and Ichika look at him as they ran. It was a very clear situation but with the overall pressing matter of it being their first day, Ichika and Kazimir cut him some slack.

"What are they making such a racket for?" Charles asked

"Well I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with the fact that we're the only males who have been able to operate an IS so far." ichika explained briefly as Kazimir checked behind them.

"Oh yes…! That's right! Oui! Yeah!" Charles responded with a forgetful guise much to Kazimir's growing suspicions.

"Just keep running, okay?" Ichika said, spurring Kazimir and Charles onward.

Kazimir's thoughts drifted once again, As they made their way to the locker rooms of the arena. Kazimir began to understand a little more why Watcher told him to protect Ichika. At the same time, he was all too questioning of Charles. It wouldn't have been by some stroke of luck that this newest transfer student arrived just before the day that Watcher started Kazimir on his training to be a watcher, right? And if it was, how could he know? All that was said to him was that he was now a 'watcher in training' but that doesn't clarify what that meant for his future. As for this new transfer, it could just be a misunderstanding and this Charles Dunois character could just be a female? No, that would be too unbelievable. Kazimir is willing to believe that there were indeed extraterrestrial and supernatural powers beyond their control, but this was pushing it by a small margin.

By the time the trio reached the Locker rooms, they had all been exhausted for their efforts. It seemed as if the whole school was after them. By Kazimir's count, it was quite literally the whole school. None of the boys dared leave the locker room now, not until they all were fully dressed. Luckily they weren't exactly late for their classes, as their sprint put them ahead of the girls in their class. Kazimir was the first to rest his legs, sitting on a bench as the other two stood just next to him. Ichika and Kazimir sighed in relief as Charles continued to catch his breath.

"I think we managed to lose them somehow." Ichika reassured as he looked to the door and heard nothing from beyond it.

"I'm sorry, I've already gotten you both into trouble!" Charles apologized while breathing heavily and leaning over.

"No worries Comrade, you have made the first day here more enjoyable with the three of us now." Kazimir reassured him as he put his hand on Charles' shoulder to reassure him even more.

"It's tough to be the only two guys in school." Ichika chimed in.

"No really?" Charles Questioned jokingly.

"Dah, we are now in your debt comrade." Kazimir said, smiling while still managing to catch his breath from the excessive sprinting.

"My name's Ichika Orimura! But just call me ichika." Ichika smiled as he greeted Charles, with Kazimir standing up to face Charles as well.

"And Kazimir is Kazimir. Great to see you Comrade!" Kazimir greeted happily.

"It is nice to meet you both Ichika, Kazimir! You may call me Charles if you'd like!" Charles returned the favor as both Kazimir and Ichika began to undress.

"Oh man! Look at the time, We got a long run so hurry up and get changed!" Ichika rushed as he pulled off his clothes with precision and speed.

"Kazimir was so sure we had an hour of relief? What happ-" Kazimir paused as he noticed a familiar coat brush past the back of the locker rooms before disappearing, "Nevermind, Kazimir is seeing things…!"

Charles was embarrassed to say the least, as both Kazimir and Ichika rushed to change for the practices ahead of them. That was when Kazimir finally understood and was ashamed when he didn't call it sooner. The slight shivers and jumps that Charles had been prone to from the moment he entered the classroom were proof enough that he wasn't actually a HE. Kazimir stopped changing and saw Charles quickly turn around, covering their face with their rather small hands. He had been lucky it was nothing too serious of a secret. If anything else were in Charles Intentions, Kazimir would have planted Charles into the ground with his IS personally. Luckily, it never escalated to that level. When Kazimir stopped dressing, Ichika took notice and spoke up for them both.

"C'mon guys, you'll be late if you don't get changed fast! And our teacher happens to be very insistent on punctuality." Ichika warned, as Kazimir folded his arms and chuckled quietly at Charles.

"Comrade, I don't think-" Kazimir didn't finish his statement however, as Charles spoke up beforehand.

"Mmm, I'm going to change now, but would you mind looking away, S'il vous plait?" Charles quickly said, still facing away from Ichika but now noticing Kazimir's bare chest.

"I wasn't going to stare at you while you were changing, but whatever?" Ichika commented, turning around unaware of what was about to happen.

"Oh Bog." Kazimir rolled his eyes and turned away, taking the time to change while sitting down.

"Just hurry it up, okay?" Ichika reminded him before seeing that Charles had already changed before he could look back.

"Is… something wrong?" Charles asked, with a nervous laugh while both Ichika and Kazimir stared at how fast they changed.

"It's just that you changed incredibly fast. Do you have some secret trick to that or something?" Ichika asked, in amazement, as Kazimir looked away in confusion.

"Perhaps Kazimir was wrong…?" Kazimir wondered as he grabbed his favorite hat and waited for the others.

"Ah ha! Not really? I don't! Haha…!" Charles continued to laugh nervously, flicking their shortened hair before Ichika continued.

"Well that's a shame, cause these things are a pain to put on..!" Ichika commented, grabbing his training uniform, "Since you can't wear any underwear beneath them my things are always getting caught.."

"Your… things get caught?" Charles questioned, surprised by the comment.

"Dah, Kazimir's spandex feels tighter than-" Kazimir added before noticing Charles' Glowing red and embarrassed face, "Well, Comrade should know."

"Your suit looks really easy to put on?" Ichika noticed, giving Charles a quick look over.

"Mhm! It's an original made by dunois!" Charles answered.

"Dunois? Your last name is Dunois too right?" Ichika noticed, as Kazimir sat, waiting for Ichika to finish dressing.

"My papa is the company's CEO. As you know, Dunois is the largest IS related corporation in all of France!" Charles explained.

"Ahh! So you're the CEO's son? Now it makes sense!" Ichika said, Surprising Kazimir.

"Comrade has the same assumption as Kazimir?" Kazimir questioned.

"Mm? Just what does that mean?" Charles asked back, Making Kazimir now more interested in this growing assumption of his.

"Well I don't know what it is, but you've got class! You look like you come from a prestigious family? So, now I get it!" Ichika assumed, Making Kazimir stare at Ichika in a deadpan face.

It was At this that Charles Felt very saddened, making Kazimir and Ichika very aware. Unfortunately again, there was little time to comment on this as they were already late to their practice and needed to go immediately. Kazimir looked to the clock and quickly rushed them both out before they could get into more trouble. In a surprising twist of fate, however, their classmates had only barely begun to line themselves up in single file order. Kazimir, Ichika and Charles quickly stood in line, thanking the stars that they made it on time. Kazimir was luckily that he didn't automatically assume that Charles was a female in disguise, as if he did he wouldn't live with his accusations to the newest and only other boy in their group. Though a small ounce of him held onto this assumption that things weren't quite right. As the last person lined up, the class was ready to begin, With Miss Yamada and Miss Chifuyu standing in front of the entire class.

"Your practical training begins now!" Miss Chifuyu ordered as the class confirmed before she continued, "first we'll need to demonstrate a real battle! Haung! Alcott!

"Ma'am!" Both responded.

"Since you have your own machines, I'm sure you'll gladly volunteer! Step forward Girls!" Chifuyu ordered.

"What a nuisance… Why is it always me..!" Rinin quietly said to herself.

"Oh my, such a vulgar spectacle, Do I really have to do this?" Cecilia said as both girls stepped forwards.

Before clearing the way for both of them, Chifuyu quietly said to them something that sparked both their fires individually, "Show a little more enthusiasm… This is the perfect chance to show off for the boys..!"

As the message was given both Rin and Cecilia perked up for their practice match with Cecilia striking a pose, "It looks like it's time for Cecilia Alcott, England's representative contender, to step up and take charge!"

"Yeah! And I can show the difference between those who have personal machines and those who don't!" Rin Followed up with Cecilia's statement as the two began their match.

"What did the teacher just say to those girls?" Charles questioned Ichika as Kazimir leaned over in their formation.

"Kazimir believes we are meat for the women to fight over.." Kazimir said, making Ichika and Charles nervously gulp.

Cecilia and Rin both looked at each other with a new flare in their step, giving each other fierce but well hidden smiles. It was Kazimir's lucky guess that Chifuyu had turned them into a prize to win over, but a clever move to get them both into a fighting mood. In reality, Kazimir wasn't also sure what they said, but by Chifuyu's sudden eye turn to their direction, he assumed that it was related to Ichika or all three of them. This wasn't particularly good news but it was far better than the crowds rushing them.

"So who's my rival? I wouldn't mind tossing you away, restaurant girl." Cecilia commented making Rin laugh with hidden malice.

"Heheh, that's my line… you're dead meat." Rin retaliated as Chifuyu slowed them down.

"Don't get ahead of yourselves. You haven't met your opponent!" Chifuyu stated as the two girls eyed each other before hearing a familiar screaming coming from the sky…?

Watcher 47, Before the introduction of Charles.

"So, are you like… reeeeally sure I shouldn't come with?" Kira questioned over a small portal that displayed Watcher gliding across the water.

"As much as I still don't want you too, you can't this time. The council ordered me to leave you at my house. I'm not sure how they know I have a house but I'm gonna assume it's because-" Watcher was cut off abruptly as Kira quickly stated.

"Oh that's easy, I told them!" Kira's Portal...phone? Cut off, turning into a black void before I loud Yell could be heard across the city before it fell silent again and Watcher's portal reconnected, "You good?"

"Fan-Fucking-Tastic…" Watcher answered as he neared the wall of the school, "I'll reconnect when I'm done, it should be fairly simple regardless, if that kid has any clue on what he's supposed to do."

"What is he supposed to do?" Kira asked, making Watcher stop in his tracks., "It's… complicated. Look, we'll need him for the meantime. For now, I gotta check up on them both.

Watcher closed the portal he held in his hand while gliding across the water, continuing his path before reaching the base of the academy. He knew all too well that their scanners and security systems were well armed and equipped and to his unchanged mood, they were. After the last incident, security was well upgraded, though he was sure they wouldn't be too high on alert now. With a swift kick to the water, he propelled himself up keeping his momentum as he grabbed a hold of the lip of the arena that stood as tall as can be. Watcher quickly cloaked himself with his left hand as a laser followed him with his ascent. With the laser no longer tracking him, he climbed over the ledge. The barrier had still been up, but luckily his power could easily negate it. Squeezing his right hand rapidly before slamming it into the barrier, Watcher slowly pried the barrier open before slipping in and letting go.

Part of him had missed this, just by a fraction. It gave himself something to do. Rather than sleeping in all day or seeing the sights for the 80th time. It still hadn't bored him, but it did cause himself to forget much of his adventures beforehand. Watcher jumped from the lip to adjacent doors of the arena's exit. When he opened it, he was met with a bustling of students, mostly females. He was less than phased by this as he continued to walk on. It only occurred to him that the hallways were far more cramped than before when he had hit an impasse. A crowd of female students crowded among the hall's intersection around two familiar faces along with a new face entirely. Watcher was told that he could not interfere as per usual, but he was allowed to observe inside the facility every now and then. He still wasn't convinced that the only reason they were concerned was because of Black, but he had no other choice at the current point in time. All he could do was follow orders. The very thing he swore he would never do again. Perhaps this was a strange twist of fate for himself? Perhaps not? Either way, he would still need to play along for now. Until he can settle his problems face to face with Black. Watcher watched as they fled the scene, making the crowd move forwards, allowing him a small bit of room to squeeze through and after them. It had only taken a few minutes but he could see that both Kazimir and his target Ichika were running from the problem with a female student in disguise. Why the female student was in disguise had remained a mystery to him, though he really cared less about that and more about Kazimir not revealing anything critical to Ichika. It was at this juncture that he noticed the timing for their arrival at the Locker room was far too early for them. If it was off by even a second, things would quickly turn off the beaten path of the world's fate. So, Watcher did what was necessary for the fate of the world.. And sped forward time.

It was not an inherent trait of his, but thankfully the watch he had kept from the watcher's organization was equipped to deal with these situations. They were vital to any Watcher's tool set. They predicted the death of any nearby mortal, acting as a compass for all watchers to find their targets. Displayed the current time of the entire world and interacted with time itself. Slowing down time with the pocket watch was not an option, to any watcher, but speeding forwards time was. As well as reversing time by only an hour, the watch could do unfathomable things. This power came at a price, however. Using the watch frequently will issue a warning to the angel and watchers who guard time, using it more so will cause the watch to disintegrate and summon several time watchers to dispose of the rogue and toying Watcher. Therefore Watcher only ever used the watch to tell the time and the time at which events would happen. It was common Knowledge for many watchers, but for our watcher it was increasingly harder because of his long forgotten training.

"Here's hoping…" Watcher sighed as he sped forwards and reached the locker room, seeing the timer on the wall shifted to an hour later just as the trio broke into the room and caught their breath.

Thankfully Kazimir hadn't noticed the change and the others didn't seem to look at the time either. Watcher leaned against the locker panel as the three began to change. There was nothing too revealing that was said, except of course Kazimir pointing out the time difference, to which Watcher crossed the hall to get his attention. From Watcher's perspective, it seemed to work. Kazimir fell silent for just a moment before saying that he was 'imagining things'. This brought a sigh of relief to the watcher, as he assumed everything was under control, just before a commotion began. Watcher turned his head over to the three, realizing that both boys were asked to turn around quickly. Watchers, of course, could not. If he had, he would have left his target open to the chance to attack and caused the entire mission to fail.

To Watcher's continuous luck, nothing had happened after that. With that said, Watcher thought it was best to leave. Nothing too major had occurred in all this time and if there had been, he would have now. The trio simply went outside after this, with Kazimir being suspicious of the third 'boy' in their group. At this, Watcher had been oddly proud that Kazimir was not completely incompetent. If he had been, then Watcher would have been very upset at his only chance to escape the council once again. Watcher followed the three out of the lockers before quickly jumping towards the highest point in the academy, that being the sky tower, to continue his reconnaissance in peace. With nothing more to disturb himself, he uncloaked and opened the portal connection to Kira once again. It seemed that Kira was already too keen to speak to the watcher, only worsening his mood.

"Sooo, how'd it go?" Kira asked, appearing on the small portal and laying on Watcher's bed with his feet raised and swinging in the air.

"It's still going and so far? It's normal." Watcher answered with his eyebrow twitching, "I'm guessing you haven't broken anything… right?"

"Whaaaat? Nah, I've just been chillin… killin…" Kira responded darting his eyes back and forth from behind the portal to Watcher.

"Who's there…" Watcher asked, or rather demanded, bluntly.

"It's just us! Remember?" Dan Gotanda's head quickly poked in from the side as well as Ran who had been all too surprised by how clean Watcher's house was… minus the snow globe sitting on the counter.

"...Kira." Watcher said, having Kira's mirror raise up to Kira's face.

"Yeaaaah…?" Kira answered with a somewhat pleading to not be angry tone of voice.

"Why are they in my house…? And how do they know where I live…?" Watcher asked slowly, making Kira stare down to the floor in mild shame.

"Y'see… I may have told them…? But not like up front, maybe in a signal kind of way?" Kira answered to Ran's quick chiming.

"We found a bunch of these arrows pointing at your house from ours." Ran explained before the Watcher's feed cut off again.

Rather than scream, because of his current presence within the academy, he decided it was best to simply calm himself and resume to call, "Kira, I'm angry on another level you can't describe…"

"Whaaaat? It was just a little fun! And I mean, we did kinda break and enter into their house just randomly." Kira stated, making Watcher raise a finger and open his mouth in a silent fury.

"God damnit I wanna argue back but I know you're right!" Watcher concluded his anger just in time, as he was very close to punching straight through the portal to Kira.

"Speaking of being right!" Kira said ominously, making the watcher look around himself, "3...2...1!"

It was at that moment in time that Watcher had his first heart attack in quite a while. Just as Kira had counted down, a green haired woman had barreled down past Watcher's spot and straight towards his target's position. Watcher's eyes grew wider as he just forgot what exact event was about to occur. Quickly Watcher cloaked and dived downwards along with the green haired female as she screamed for everyone to move out of the way. Still cloaked, Watcher swiftly reached the ground and quickly turned the two around, making it seem like both Ichika and the woman switched positions just in what little time he had left, he quickly jumped out of sight of everyone, hiding behind the class as cover.

Kazimir Soloviev

Kazimir watched as his friend stood at the center of Miss Yamada's Fall before the collision. What he did not expect was for Ichika to be on top of Miss Yamada and groping her breast perfectly unscathed… for now. As the entire class stared at the crater, the smoke cleared and revealed the rather heated position they were both in. This coupled with Miss Yamada's words only made things more and more problematic for Ichika as Kazimir quickly walked over to help Ichika up and off Miss Yamada.

"Uhh, excuse me…" Miss Yamada grunted, while lying in the crater with Ichika on top of her, "Orimura…!"

Ichika, on the other hand, had not known what he did. Only feeling the soft surface he 'landed' on before realizing where exactly his hand was placed. Realizing this was a bad sight, he quickly got up, with Kazimir's help as Miss Yamada continued.

"Yes there does appear to be a little bit of a problem here…! Y'see if this progresses, Miss Orimura is gonna be my sister-in-law and while I'll have to admit that does sound quite tempting~!" Miss Yamada continued before being stopped by Ichika suddenly standing up.

"Sorry! Woah!" Ichika apologized abruptly before a blast passed by his face, from Cecilia's side of the field.

Cecilia who had already been suited up and equipped with a rifle, gave a smile which hid a potent anger from Cecilia, "Oh ho ho ho. Oh my goodness! I seem to have misfired…!"

Ichika quickly looked to his other side to find Rin had already brought out her dual sided blade and thrown it at him, "ICHIKAAAA!"

Within that quick moment, Kazimir quickly deployed his IS' arm to block the blade in front of Ichika just as a bullet was fired from Miss Yamada's rifle, which deflected Rin's weapon. To the side. Watcher sighed quietly as he at least thanked the stars that Kazimir was quick to react to Ichika being in danger.

"Hey Orimura! You didn't get hit there, did you?" Miss Yamada asked with a cheerful smile.

"I'm fine..! Thank you so much for asking though." Ichika nervously replied.

"By the way, Miss Yamada used to be a representative contender, making a shot like that was nothing for her." Miss Chifuyu explained, with Miss Yamada standing up from inside the crater.

"Thanks! But that was a long time ago! And I could never break free from being just a contender!" Miss Yamada humbled as she rubbed the back of her head shyly.

"But you're still more than a match for these two. Together." Miss Chifuyu responded, making Cecilia the first to speak up.

"What? You can't mean it's going to be two against one!" Cecilia worriedly asked.

"I don't think that's gonna be a good idea." Rin added.

"Oh don't worry. I'm sure your embarrassment won't last long." Miss Chifuyu responded again, making the two girls scoff at the thought, "Let the carnage begin!"

As Miss Chifuyu lowered her hand, the three girls hovered higher into the air as Ichika, Kazimir, Charles and the rest of the class watched on in awe. Kazimir folded his arms and watched on with a smile. It was very lucky that Rin's blade was blocked from hitting Ichika and that Miss Yamada did not crush him. Though that was very confusing. How on earth was Ichika able to be on top of Miss Yamada after she fell from that height? It was strange at first, until he realized someone standing just behind him.

"Kazimir thanks you for stepping in once again…" Kazimir silently said, not looking at watcher as watcher patted his shoulder.

"Yeah yeah, tell your friend to stop looking at things before they crash into him. Also, remember, don't let him die…!" Watcher said as he backed away from Kazimir who returned to Ichika's side once more.

"You think Rin and Cecilia are mad at me for something?" Ichika asked Kazimir.

Kazimir looked at Ichika for a moment before patting his shoulder and sighing, "Comrade… Kazimir suggests you run after class." And with this, the fight begins.