Infinite Sky

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With his morning exercise routine done, and his shower taken, David was prepped and ready for the day. He'd been told to save his energy for the match, but he'd needed some time to clear his mind - as did his dorm mate.
"Hey, Viktor?"
"Yes?"
"Are you sure Terry was right... You know, in picking me for the match? I mean, I know you're good enough for it, but I-"
"Sh. You do not talk now. You focus on school, and be confident. You have trained long and hard. You deserve chance."
"I know, it's just... I don't know, Viktor."
"Look, is too late to worry. Let us just go with flow, yes?"
The behemoth of a student put his gargantuan arm around David, who smiled weakly at him. "Onwards and upwards, friend."
 
Meanwhile, Shizuka had her own preparations to make. She was in no way nervous, although she was surprised she'd ended up chosen for this exhibition match. There were other students with personal units, but it was a smaller group, and in hindsight, there was no way they'd pick just anyone when they had the opportunity to show off one of the unique IS models.

"I wonder who I'll end up facing off against," she said to Arius before she left for the changing room. "I'm looking forward to see how these new suits measure up." She had no intention of losing without putting up a good fight, so hopefully it wouldn't be a match-up she couldn't handle. Of course, she had no clue what anyone might be capable of. "I hope I don't end up against some fast melee type."
 
"Remember - you are IA pilot. You have earned place in this program. You are stronger than you think."
"Thanks, Viktor."
"Terrence believes in you too. He tells me he is sorry for not coming, but he must stay with Miss Orimura to oversee match. You will have to make do with me as support."
"I couldn't have asked for someone better."
The two shared a chuckle, and David finished putting on his neural-interface suit. The skin-tight black bodysuit was actually far more comfortable than it looked, but given that he was going to be in his IA unit most of the time, his appearance seemed irrelevant to him.

With his belt fixed firmly to his waist, and his mind racing with strategies to try and distract himself from his fear, David set out to the stadium. He had no idea what he was in for, but he at least knew he would have to put his all into it.
 
Shizuka was waiting on the stadium floor in her own skintight outfit. She stood across from the doors through which David entered, her arms crossed across her chest and a confident smile on her face. The stands were filling up with quite a crowd, with many of the students and any teachers who could make it in attendance. Everyone was waiting for the big event.

"So, you're my opponent," she said as she walked toward him, offering her hand for a friendly shake before the match. "I look forward to a good figh- wait a sec." She paused in her speech as she got closer. "Aren't you that guy from the other day? This is quite the coincidence. Did you find your classes ok?" Her expression softened, losing the stern edge it had previously held. "Anyway...let's have a good fight out there. I look forward to seeing what the new units are capable of."
 
David had steeled himself for the fight. He was ready to go up against anyone. Sure, he was nervous, but he had resolved to work through it, and win the match. This was his time to shine, and make Terrence proud of him. However, little could have prepared him for the surprise of meeting Shizuka on the battlefield, of all places. It wasn't that he was any more nervous about fighting her than he was anybody else. It was just that it was quite the coincidence to see her there, when she had been the one guiding him through the school.

"Huh. Fancy meeting you here. Yes, I found them, thank you. But this isn't the place for idle chatter."
He shook her hand, straightened himself, and nodded respectfully to her. "Let's go, then. We don't want to keep the crowd waiting, do we?"
David retreated to his end of the arena, and held his arms to his sides. The He focussed, and the belt sprang to life. Machinery enveloped him. White and blue metal, folding onto every part of his body. The nervous, unsure newbie was no longer present. David was in his element, and ready for anything.

A plan of action began to form in his head. Nothing major, but enough to keep him focussed.
"Dash to one side as soon as match begins. Attempt to keep medium distance. Use rifle for suppressing fire, attempt to scout. Advance as required."
David would enact his strategy as best he could, the moment he was allowed to. For now, however, he waited.
 
Shizuka nodded to David. "We don't." She moved to her own starting position and summoned her own IS into its active form. Starting at her left arm, a bright light enveloped her, taking the shape of her armored exoskeleton. when it faded, her own vision began to fill with the IS' HUD data. Shields at 100%, weapons all green, ready for combat operation. "Let's see how you do against the 3rd-generation IS, Benisuzume."

She deployed her rifle, holding it at the ready, and waited for the match to start. This is going to be fun, she thought. I'm not sure what this guy's made of, but I'll see enough before the fight's over. I'll have to hold back on starting the real show too early...

Yamada-sensei, acting as announcer, introduced the event and the combatants over the stadium's PA system. "Everyone, welcome to the official Infinite Atmos exhibition match. Representing the new Infinite Atmos team, we have David Ross! And representing the IS Academy, we have Amatsuka Shizuka!" The crowd cheered for each of the participants in turn. Once it died down, she announced the start of the match. "Let the exhibition match begin!"

Shizuka took to the air as soon as the start was called, soaring into an arc overhead as she brought her rifle to bear on David down below.
 
A smirk played on David's face. This was what he had been training for. All those simulations, all those hours, for this.
"Computer," he said, "Play track 12, playlist 2."
"Affirmative. Playing track."
David engaged, and dodged to the side, bringing out his own laser rifle. almost immediately, he opened fire, leading Shizuka as best he could. His scores in simulations and on the range were extraordinary, as was expected of the hand-picked pilots. However, simulations and shooting ranges only accounted for so much. Obviously. Shizuka would likely be able to adapt and change far better than any computer program.

One thing that always seemed to be noticed - no matter who he faced was the stark contrast between his natures. While he was awkward and nervous outside of his unit, his aggressiveness and eagerness seemed to shine through while he was in it. He took advantage of the extra shielding circuitry crammed into his unit, and made sure to keep Shizuka within a certain zone. Despite his bulkier build, David was going on the offence, and Shizuka would have to give him hell to stop him.
 
Shizuka attempted to dodge at the last moment, and managed to turn the shot into a grazing hit. She grimaced as she spun off to one side and quickly regained control and dashed off in a random direction. She quickly snapped a shot in David's direction, before changing course and attacking again. "Pretty good," she observed. She took a few more shots as she kept on the move, changing direction on occasion to shake off his aim.

As she fought, Shizuka remained calm and collected, maintaining the same relative distance and conservatively using her own firepower. A message on her HUD popped up, indicating she had a solid target lock, which brought a grin to her face. She giggled as numerous circles ticked around parts of David's IA in her vision. "That's it..." She let David set the tempo of the battle for now, confident that she could surprise him and quickly take initiative.
 
Arius had been zoned out for quite some time before she actually heard Shizuka in their dorm room. "What...?" Vaguely she recalled her long day yesterday and muttered under her breath, annoyed at one, not being chosen for the exhibition match and two having fallen back asleep before she could make it to the arena; there were no seats left so she had to stand in one of the entrances and watch by straining her neck and looking up. Of course if I wanted to I could disrupt the whole match and attack him myself...since I'm not too thrilled about this... She decides against this action for now though and shrugs continuing to watch from a distance, although in her head she knew she'd jump in if Shizuka seemed about to lose.

David on the other hand...she wasn't so worried about, now that he was in the IA unit her disdain for the things started to rise up again. "I hate those things..." She mutters to herself while watching the match still thinking how she'd have loved to scratch it all up with her unit's big claws. Those were her favorite things about her IA unit, the claws and the speed at which she struck out. With another annoyed sigh and a yell of annoyance she glares at the fight now, wanting to join in but also not wanting to ruin Shizuka's moment; whatever it may be.
 
David grinned. A hit was still a hit, and while she hadn't suffered from the brunt of the attack, throwing her off would be good enough for him. He was already strafing her, so the shots she popped off at him came close, but didn't hit him. Throughout the whole battle, he'd never stopped moving. It was likely that she would have to force him to stop. His shots weren't hitting as often as he wanted, but they weren't intended to be as accurate as possible. He just wanted to keep her on edge. Not a moment's rest for his opponent - it wasn't as if they would show him any mercy either.

"Computer," he called out, "Display reticule over target."
"Affirmative. Now tracking target."
David planned to make his move soon - to get up closer to her. It was likely that she would move faster than him and he needed to track her. Someone had suggested an auto-targeting program, but he didn't see the point. He was using a rifle and a cannon - someone using missiles would probably be better suited for it.
David moved for a few more moments, trying to make Shizuka think he was going to keep strafing. And, when he thought the time was right, he struck.

A short dash forward. Another one. Multiple short bursts of speed, in an erratic pattern. Bursts of rifle fire, all aimed at her, and to where he predicted she would be.
 
Shizuka kept on the move herself, dodging David's attacks with short bursts of speed, now that she had an eye on him. Some came closer than others, and for the most part, he seemed to be doing a good job at keeping her on her toes. She returned fire when she could, a quick shot here and there. The entire fight so far was like some sort of complicated dance, with the occasional beam of energy drawing a line between the two participants.

When David had drawn closer, Shizuka briefly cut her engines, and dropped, headfirst, toward the ground. She quickly began accelerating into the dive, throttling up the thrust. "Let's see how you handle this. Homing laser!" As she fell, she threw her arms to her sides, and a number of thin energy beams flew from the palm of each hand, blossoming out almost like wings of light, as they slowly curved away from her and quickly began to zero in on David's location.

She pulled out of the dive just in time, righting herself so her feet skidded across the arena floor, kicking up sparks as she was carried backwards by her momentum.
 
A few of Shizuka's shots came closer than David would have liked - some due to his focus on getting in close, some due to actually being accurate shots. Nevertheless, he was able to successfully dodge them, and kept at her. He was disappointed that his shots weren't hitting either, though. He would have sworn that a few should have, but he knew he couldn't focus on what had been. What was happening now was far more important. And what was happening was Shizuka taking a sharp turn towards the ground. David, desperate to keep the distance, forgot about his own unit's mobility level, and accelerated down towards her.

David aimed his rifle. He had a shot lined up - directly at her face. At this range, he could-
"Homing Laser!"
"Crap."
David tried to curve away from his descent, to get some extra breathing space. He hated homing attacks - possibly more than even his slower colleagues. With his hindered mobility and bulky armour, he was a perfect target for homing attacks.
"Come on, come on..."
He couldn't evade. He couldn't ascend. He could soften the landing, but that was it.
"CrapcrapCRAP!"
"Damage sustained. Damage sustained. Enemy projectiles still present."
"Yes, thank you, computer!"

David tumbled to the floor, desperately attempting to right himself while his used his arms to guard against the beams he could see. He couldn't block any damage like this, but it at least lessened the impact, letting him straighten out.

His landing was by no means graceful. Anyone close enough would have heard a pained grunt as he landed on his feet, skidding unceremoniously on the arena floor before coming to a halt. David wasted no time, however, and began firing rifle rounds at Shizuka moments after stopping. The dust wouldn't make much cover, but he figured he could at least surprise her through it, if he moved as unpredictably s possible while firing.
 
Shizuka was taking her time to watch for David, and perhaps to gloat, just a little. So she was taken by surprise when the first thing to come through the dust was a number of random shots. The first few of them hammered into her. Chest. Leg. She stumbled to regain her balance as the beams slammed into her, and raised an arm to hastily shield her head from another shot. "Damn, just won't give up, will he?" She circled around the arena floor to get out of the way and get a good bead on David again.

"Well, what did you think of my strongest attack," she asked as she snapped off a quick shot with her rifle. "You're pretty good yourself, though...I was expecting a better show." She fired a few more times, now closing the distance herself. Occasionally, Shizuka jinked to one side or the other to make for a harder target, but when you're charging at someone head-on, there's only so much to be done. "If you do want to get in close, I'll give you a chance!"
 
"Multiple confirmed hits."
"Damn it, computer, shut up! I'm trying to be cool!"
David barrelled forwards, bringing his arms up to shield himself. They took the brunt of the attacks, and though his shielding suffered for it, he still managed to push.
"Warning: Shield capacity at-"
"Yes, I get it, thank you."

Shizuka was getting closer - enough to impale, as it happened. David holstered his rifle, and brought his spear out. A simple length of white metal, but somehow - despite its thinness - it could damage an IS unit, and was more than capable of withstanding attacks by one.

In a manoeuvre that was nothing but pot luck, David managed to deflect the second volley of shots with his weapon. He decided to taunt Shizuka a little, before he closed in for the kill.
"Your attack's pretty good, but I can't say the same about the pilot." He called back, dashing to and fro, like a man possessed. "Tell me, re your skills as rusty as your unit, or am I just that good?"
David charged, spear held like a lance. He wasn't even flying at this point - he was just running, metal feet pounding on the dirt floor.

He couldn't see anything through the dust being thrown up. But he didn't care. Shizuka had a targeting reticule over her. He had a shot.
"How about THIS!" He bellowed. His spear was thrust, but he stopped just short of piercing her throat. Something was pressed against him as well.
 
As the two neared each other, both charging headlong, Shizuka raised her rifle for a decisive attack. "Let's go, then!"

"Another few centimeters, and I would've been run through." She stood, or rather, hovered a short distance above the ground, in front of David, as the dust settled. She may be leaning her head away from the point of his spear, but it only served to give her a more imperious look as she locked eyes with him. Her own arm was extended, the barrel of her rifle pressed lightly against his forehead. "Well played. It seems either of us could end this in an instant, the question is, who's faster?" She paused for a few moments, letting it sink in, and then smiled. "I'd say this was a good show of what you're capable of. We'll call it a draw."
 
Arius watches the end of the fight and can't hide the shocked expression immediately, though she manages to pick her jaw back up after a moment and she gives a wave to David in his IA suit, she didn't look annoyed or anything, possibly impressed but she wasn't running up to congratulate him either, so she didn't completely believe in the capabilities of the IA units; as soon she could she would have to test her skills against them as well, probably not today though since this had been an exhibition match.

It's a little sudden but Arius calls out to Shizuka wandering onto the dusty field. "You could have woken me up you know, like actually made sure I was up. I only saw the end of the fight, Shizuka!!!" Arius kind of whines at her room mate; one of the things she hated missing was a good match, and this had apparently been a fairly good fight; though she wanted to have her own fight now, she says nothing about it though and rolls her eyes at David. "You're a bit of a show off aren't you, what the heck happened to the nervous guy that was walking around with us yesterday huh?"
 
David was more than ready to make that one final move to finish the match. But even he was smart enough to see that it wasn't worth the risk. His grip on the shaft tightened, and he glared deep into her eyes.
"Agreed. I think we got what we came here for."
David stood up straight, and lowered his spear. The weapon retracted back into itself, and he replaced it, sighing in exhaustion after the adrenaline rush wore off. He extended his metal-clad hand, and though it couldn't be seen beneath the lower half of his helmet, his smile was warm.
"Thanks for a great match. I can see why you've got an IS of your own."

David had to stifle a chuckle when Arius began ranting at Shizuka. He hated to admit it, but it was amusing to watch her get angry. His attitude receded back into him at the speed of Clint Eastwood.
"Can we please discuss this somewhere... you know... not in front of a crowd?" He asked. His voice had suddenly changed from one suitable for classy mocking to one more befitting of a shrinking violet. It was understandable why he would have wanted to do it somewhere mroe private, though - he had an image to maintain, and he was obviously terrible at doing it in front of crowds. In his IA unit, under an impenetrable iron skin? Maybe. Face-to-face with someone? Not so much.
 
Shizuka lowered her rifle when David lowered his spear, and shook his armor-clad hand. "Good match, all right. They trained you guys pretty well."

Arius suddenly appearing to chew her out brought a bit of a chagrined expression to Shizuka's face, and put a bit of a damper on her good mood. "You didn't miss too much," she said to her. "Just a couple of ranged fighters having a strafe-fight, for the most part." She laughed. "It would have been much more interesting with someone like you out there."

"We are done here, so we don't have to stand around in front of the crowd." Shizuka mentally commanded her IS deactivate, and with the usual light show, it returned to its closed form. "I somehow think the locker rooms might be a bit too private, so maybe we could get some lunch together?"
 
Arius smiles at Shizuka's suggestion. "Since you didn't wake me up on time I could go for some lunch, care to join us David?" She asks with a bright smile enjoying watching the guy squirm in his IA unit; unfortunately she was just that type of girl and liked teasing people if she knew their weakness.

"Eventually you're going to have to get over that not being able to handle face-to-face situations. You won't ever find a girlfriend that way you know." She laughed as she teased him a bit more before walking forward pulling Shizuka behind her and not even bothering to really wait for David to catch up with them as she headed to the cafeteria. "Don't worry I'm not going too fast Shizuka, he'll catch up in no time." She stopped her friend from saying anything about Arius' fast pace before she could even start because that was one of the few things that got to her, being hungry made her grumpy and not so nice to be around.

Inside her head though she's quietly fuming, she had really wanted to battle him instead but her chance went out the window quickly, she'd have another chance but she had really wanted to test her skills out against him. She was a fast up close and personal type of fighter anyway and she realized she wanted to show off. It was probably because she wanted to see if her IS unit was better than his IA unit, just the thought had her blood boiling for a brawl once again; but first...she needed food.
 
David didn't have much to add to what Shizuka had said - it wasn't like he would have said anything, even if he did. The crowd was beginning to make him little uncomfortable, so if he said anything that didn't pertain to him wanting to leave, then that was what would have been strange.

David flinched a little when he was asked if he wanted to go for lunch with the two of them. It was fair to say that some would have leaped at the opportunity, reasons notwithstanding. However, David was not one of those guys. Instead, he stammered a little, before answering somewhat meekly.
"Um... Yes. I'll go for lunch. I can go for lunch."

However, his reaction when Arius mentioned getting a girlfriend was far more subtle than him nearly leaping out of his suit. Though it would be difficult to see, behind his helmet's cover, his face had turned a deep scarlet, and his staring into the ground was so intense he was practically drilling into it with his eyes.

Unlike Arius, David was more focussed on just getting by. Sure, the battle was still fresh in his mind, but all he wanted to do was wind down with something to eat. He didn't think he'd get it, however - he assumed that their teasing would be the death of him.

David was glad he was at the back, as he suited down. He had a better chance of hiding, then.
 
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