Man & Machine (Infinite Stratos x Male Reader)

Past

To say that the new German made an impression was an understatement. Slapping one of the three male students straight out of the gate did that. As for you, no words were exchanged. But you and Laura did make eye contact during the end of class. Despite her aura, you did not break off the stare. You instead sized her up as you did her. Finally, she broke it off and you went to the bays for IS practice with Charles as promised. Of course while you waited, someone else wanted to give their own input.

"All you have to do is go wham and the then kablam!" Houki made wild swinging gestures to go with her onomatopoeia vocabulary. This was her suggestion for IS tactics. Ichika was undergoing the same thing with Rin and Cecelia at a distance.

"That's not exactly a clear strategy outside of comic books Houki-san." You deadpanned.

"Rrrrr. You're not listening!" She fumed.

"No. I'm pointing out what you're going with doesn't work." You disagreed. "I don't rely solely on melee moves."

"Alright (F/n)! I'm here as promised!" Charles approached, clad in the orange IS that was the Rafale Revive. "I hope you're ready for a match! Ready to compare your IS with mine?"

"Hey Charles! Let's do this!" You greeted cheerfully. "Houki-San, you may want to stand back."

Houki growled, but went to a safe distance. Ignoring the chatter, you and Charles faced each other down. Rafale Revive versus Dauntless Sabre.

"Here we go (F/n)!" You and Charles charged each other, starting with jabs with your arms, gauntlet blades out. Charles blocked them and went vertical. You pursued until you saw him call upon what looked like a giant P90. You rolled left to avoid the first burst and brought out Commando to answer it. Plasma and large caliber bullets whizzed past each other while the two circled.

"Gotcha!" You shouted, closing the gap. Only Charles rolled underneath you. From there, he pulled out a sniper rifle. You shot upwards, then jinked right, unable to hold still while he kept a head on you. But not all weapons needed to be aimed. A green circle on the HUD hovered over Charles and the tone changed to a solid growl. Two Sidewinder II's shot away from the Dauntless Sabre wing weapons bays and curved towards the target. Charles promptly took evasive maneuvers in response.

This gave you time to switch Commando to Archer mode. The sniper railgun configuration tracked Charles as he dodged the missiles repeatedly. These missiles did not just pursue like Hollywood depictions, but rather rapidly close the distance from where it is to where it is not.

Then he made a bold move. He charged right at you, missiles aiming to intercept right where you were. Using another IS as a countermeasure?

'Clever girl.' You quoted mentally.

Dauntless Sabre ducked, and used your data link to make the missiles detonate before impact. At the same time, you drew one Spartan in your right hand, spun and aimed at Charles, who was aiming at you as well. Both parties grinned, then descended to the ground in this standoff.

"It would seem our IS abilities cancel each other out." Charles commented on landing.

"It's not the plane. It's the pilot." You pointed out. "We're evenly matched."

"Oui. Our weapons and abilities are much the same. Let us practice our aim then." Charles advocated. So the pair set up the holographic range the training bay offered, presenting a hexagonal version of a target rounded. One for Charles. One for you.

"Annnnnd... Go!" You and Charles aimed and shot at the targets, swiveling to shoot at the subsequent pop ups. When Archer mode fired too many shots before it could replicate more, you switched to the pistol, the HUD reticule still present but in a different shape with a zoom smart link.