Chapter 3: The Hero Enlisted
Chapter 3:
The Hero Enlisted
It had been three days since the entrance ceremony. Okegawa Kuon was put in class 1-A, reserved for the twenty students with the best results in the mock battles. With En in tow, Kuon set foot in that class for the first time.
“G-good morning…”
With his magic completely drained, he’d been unable to move, and was given permission to rest for two days—quite an awkward way to start school. His hesitant greeting immediately silenced the class. Everyone turned to look and froze in their tracks.
For a moment, he was worried. Did I make myself a target? he wondered. But then…
“Okegawa!” “Okegawa Kuon!” “Okegawa-kun!” “Okegawa!” “Kuon-kun!” “That guy?” “The Division 1!” “The one who tied with Suzuka Hanabi-senpai!” “He was scouted into the Lunatic Order!” “Smaller than I imagined.” “Cuter than I imagined!” “Is that Device a Guide?” “Yo, Okegawa, you’re amazing!” “How’d you do that?” “What was that?” “You gotta teach us!” “Machine Fencing?” “Is it true you’re the headmaster’s pupil?” “Is that why you’re so good?” “Are you really Division 1?” “You joined the Lunatic Order already?” “The Fuji Squad is so cool!”
He was surrounded and aggressively questioned. Kuon was on the small side and was unable to free himself from the circle. He wound up nervously answering as best he could.
“I’m really Division 1.” “I haven’t officially joined the Lunatic Order yet.” “Yeah, her name’s En.” “Yes, Machine Fencing.” “The headmaster is my master and she’s scary.” “If I try teaching anyone else Master will get angry, sorry, she’s scary.” “Look, she’s really scary.”
When the bell rang and the teacher had come in, Kuon was finally released. The teacher informed him that his seat was in the front row by the windows. She was a sweet-looking young woman by the name of Kadono.
“Okegawa-kun,” she began asking, “is it true you’re the headmaster’s pupil?”
“Yes. She’s scary.”
After homeroom, classes began. Jogen Maneuver Academy might be a Cavalleria military training school, but they also covered the usual subjects. Nearly all of these included a bias toward how they could be practically applied to combat, however.
There was a display set on his desk, and when he tapped the screen it opened an electronic textbook titled New Math 1. He skimmed it. The first chapter was titled “Positive Numbers and Negative Numbers,” and the former Hero smiled fondly, reminded of his first twenty-two years of life.
Everything after that was a mad rush.
Everyone wanted to see the Division 1 who’d been scouted to the Lunatic Order on the first day of school. Upperclassmen from the junior high, and even a few students from the high school, swung by to gawk at him.
One day, he was called out by a senpai. His classmates all went pale. The nature of the school made it home to many violent types, as well as many students who took camaraderie quite seriously. Several classmates offered to accompany him, which he appreciated but politely declined. He went alone to the designated location outside the auditorium. Seems like a crowded location for a fight, he thought.
He found four tough-looking male students from the high school waiting for him.
“Will you join my squad?!” “No, join ours!” “We asked first!” “No, wait!”
There were eight squads in the Lunatic Order; four of them were trying to recruit him at once.
Hanabi had been right. She warned him people would begin fighting over him, so he should be careful not to accept any offers. She ignored the fact that she’d given him one herself.
“I’ve already been asked to join the Fuji Squad…” Kuon said, feeling very small around these four.
They simply begged him to at least think about it, growing very insistent, until, suddenly, a beautiful girl swooped in to save him. She pried the poor child away from the coarse men, hugging Kuon’s face tightly between her large breasts. “Never!” she said. “He’s mine! I won’t let anyone have him!”
That touching moment sent a shockwave running through the crowd around them.
The Warrior Princess had gone full dere.
From that day forth, the phrase “Warrior-dere” could be heard in all corners of the school…referring, of course, to Suzuka Hanabi.
Before starting school, Kuon had just been hoping to get into the Lunatic Order somehow. He even worried about whether any squads would be willing to consider a Division 1 like him. It never occurred to him he’d be in such high demand.
It was all thanks to Suzuka Hanabi.
That alone was enough reason to accept her offer, but even beyond that was how much he enjoyed their mock battle. The idea of fighting alongside her excited Kuon. He’d never felt anything like that in his previous life.
So Okegawa Kuon resolved to join the Fuji Squad.
He wasn’t trying to make up for having accidentally contributed to the creation of a weird buzzword like “Warrior-dere,” nor was he just there because of her boobs. Definitely not!
It never occurred to him Hanabi may not have talked to the Squad Leader about it.
***
In one corner of the school grounds was a building called the Order Hall. It was an old, three-story building, and one of its rooms was the Lunatic Order Fuji Squad’s meeting room.
It was about half the size of a classroom, with a big desk plopped to one side. The entire desk was covered in a large screen, which could produce holographic projections to help briefings and meetings proceed more efficiently.
Currently, it was displaying Kuon and Hanabi’s mock battle.
Surrounding the display were chairs, stationery supplies, coffee, snacks, and four people.
A boy Kuon hadn’t recognized was the squad’s leader, a third-year high school student named Fuji Jindo. He was a handsome boy who gave the impression of being incredibly mild-mannered. Next to him stood Hanabi’s friend, Motegi Rin.
Facing them was Suzuka Hanabi, who stood behind Okegawa Kuon with her hands on his shoulders, nodding confidently. “So, this is Okegawa Kuon-kun, the Fuji Squad’s newest member.”
“W-wait a minute, Suzuka-kun! He’s still in junior high! We can’t let him—”
“He fought me to a draw. What problem could there possibly be?”
“Well…he’s too young. No matter how you—”
“Haha! That’s ridiculous. Fuji-kun, you know perfectly well you’re always the first to complain about being underestimated by the real soldiers because we’re only students. You always say to judge people by ability, not age.”
“That’s…true, but…”
“And you can always just go up against him in a mock battle yourself.”
“No, based on the video… Honestly, it would be no contest at all.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know. I have no way of stopping an attack with his strength behind it.”
“So…”
“But that’s not the issue. However strong he may be one-on-one, we can’t recruit someone who can’t work as part of a team. Just like the headmaster always says, we don’t need any Suzuka-Hachishiki-style lone heroes. The Hero may have always worked alone, but that isn’t what we’re looking for. And, just to be clear, I’m not saying this to criticize the Hero.”
“I know.”
“So don’t glare at me like that.”
“I’m not glaring!”
The second Hachishiki’s name was mentioned, the mood in the room had grown prickly. Kuon wondered why.
“Hanabi’s a big fan of the Hero,” Rin whispered. “She really looks up to him, so she tends to take it personally.”
“I’m not angry!” Hanabi fumed.
“Yeah, yeah, sure you aren’t. You aren’t angry at all.”
Fuji cleared his throat and got the conversation back on track. “Point is, he’s only just entered junior high, so he’s got no experience with teamwork at all.”
“They’re starting basic training next week,” Hanabi said. “As long as we instruct him alongside that…”
“That’s a lot of extra work.”
“And it’ll be worth it. You’ve seen what he can do. I’ve searched the whole school for an attacker who can fight alongside me, and he’s the only one there is. If we keep putting it off, another Squad will grab him.”
Fuji sighed and gave Hanabi a baleful look. “Suzuka-kun, you know perfectly well that if he joins our squad, he’ll be put in real combat at some point. He’s a thirteen-year-old child! Is that really a good idea?”
It seemed that was Fuji’s biggest concern. Certainly, Okegawa Kuon was physically only thirteen. While the state of the war was much less dire than it used to be, anyone enrolling in a military school knew what that meant—and their parents did, too. Despite that, the very fact that Fuji was reluctant to send a child into real combat made him more a hero than Suzuka Hachishiki ever was.
“W-well…” Hanabi stammered. She glanced at Kuon.
The first image that popped into Kuon’s mind when he heard “real combat” was what he’d seen in his last life shortly before his death: the sight of the evacuation flights being shot down one after another, packs of Jave swarming them in mid-air, forcing their way inside. They chewed their way through the citizens trapped within before the planes exploded, leaving only scrap metal, balls of fire, and a rain of human body parts behind. The spectacle had burned into Hachishiki’s eyes through his DM’s visor.
His body was shaking, and not with fear, but fury.
“Fuji-senpai.”
Suzuka Hachishiki’s father and mother, the family he’d grown up with in the orphanage… They’d all died like that.
So Okegawa Kuon…
“I want to wipe the Jave out to protect my family. I want to be a Cavalleria so no one I care about dies, and no more lives end eaten by monsters.”
This time, I’ll kill the revived Queen with my own hands.
Faced with this intensity, Fuji swallowed.
Kuon met his gaze. “If I’m going to do that, I need all the experience I can get. Please. Let me join the Fuji Squad!”
Rin let out a little breath, impressed. Hanabi folded her arms, looking proud.
“See? That’s my Kuon-kun! He’s great, right? Right?”
“He’s not yours, Hanabi.”
“Sh-shut up! That’s just a turn of phrase!”
“But what do you say, Squad Leader?”
“Hmm…”
“Please!” Kuon said again, bowing his head.
Fuji hemmed and hawed for a moment. “All right,” he finally said. “If you’re prepared for the consequences, I’ve got nothing further to say.” He smiled and held out his hand. “Welcome to the squad, Okegawa Kuon-kun.”
Kuon and Hanabi’s faces both lit up. Kuon took Fuji’s hand, and Hanabi put both her hands over theirs.
“Thank you!”
“Thank you, Fuji-kun!”
Rin just smiled. “Happy now, Hanabi?”
Fuji released Kuon’s hand, but Hanabi kept hers clasped firmly around Kuon’s, refusing to let go. “Um, senpai…?”
He turned to find Hanabi’s face very close to his, smiling widely. “We have so much to do together, Kuon-kun! I’ll teach you everything you need to know!”
“O-okay… Thanks, I guess…?”
Rin’s smile grew even broader. “Interesting, Hanabi. I smell a crime in the making here.”
Squad Leader Fuji clapped his hands. “With that settled, let’s get this meeting started. We need to decide on positions and the training schedule.”
A calendar appeared on the screen, showing the proposed schedule. The window next to it was a formal list showing the roster of the Imperial Air Force, Lunar Defense Force, First Mobile Unit, Student Echelon, Fuji Squad.
Squad Leader: Control, Fuji Jindo (Div4). Frame: Tensei (Mindweb).
Subleader: Snipe Gunner, Motegi Rin (Div4). Frame: Yousen (Falcon).
Member: Attack Gunner, Suzuka Hanabi (Div5). Frame: Reimei (Type-3 Artillery).
To the end of the list, Fuji added:
New Member: Front Attacker Candidate, Okegawa Kuon (Div1). Frame: Soukyu (Mod). Undergoing evaluation.
***
At Jogen Maneuver Academy, there were morning classes on Saturdays.
On the way home after school, Hanabi and Rin were walking together in a crowd of excited students, when they saw a familiar—and smaller—figure ahead of them. Rin called out to him.
“Heeey! Kyuu-kuuun!”
Kuon turned around with a pleasant smile, one Hanabi always thought was much too calm for a thirteen-year-old.
“Done for the day, Hanabi-senpai, Rin-senpai?”
“Yep. You, too?”
“Kyuu-kun, heading home?”
“Yes. Lunch with my family, then afternoon practice.”
“Oh,” Rin said, clapping her hands. “You live close by, Kyuu-kun?”
“Yes. My parents moved so I could attend school here.”
“Wow,” the girls said in unison.
“So I’ve gotta do all I can to become a Cavalleria.”
“True! You’re such a go-getter!” Rin said, mussing up Kuon’s hair.
Hanabi gave Rin a look like she couldn’t believe the nerve.
“U-um, yeah, keep it up,” she said, and mussed Kuon’s hair herself.
Rin’s glasses gave off a sinister flash, and she let Hanabi take over. As she took her hand away from Kuon’s head, she used her Device to take dozens of shots of the nervous smile on Hanabi’s face. She was always taking photos of Hanabi, her prized collection all saved to her “Hanabi” folder. She would send the best shots to Hanabi later.
“You both live in the student dorm?” Kuon asked, enduring Hanabi’s mussing.
“Yes, it’s right behind the school. We’re going shopping together today.”
“Also, Hanabi and I are roommates. Jealous?”
“Ah…ahaha…”
“Wanna come up and see our room?”
Hanabi was practically foaming at the mouth. “H-he can’t, Rin! It’s the girls’ dorm!”
“Who cares about the ‘no boys’ rule! Hey, did you know, Kyuu-kun? Hanabi may not look it, but she’s a total slob, just drops her clothes wherever. The whole room’s filled with girly little shorts and bras you could use to carry watermelons.”
“Doooooon’t make things up! Never trust a word she says, Kuon-kun! I fold my clothes when I take them off, and my bras aren’t that big, and my panties aren’t that cute or… What are you making me say?!”
“Sad but true, Kyuu-kun. All she wears are the drabbest things. You tell her, too. She really should pay more attention to her underwear or she’ll be left high and dry when the moment comes.”
“Argh! Can we not talk about my underwear?!”
“By the way, Hanabi?” Rin asked.
“What?”
“How long are you gonna pet Kyuu-kun?”
“…”
“…”
“Ah…ahaha…” Kuon laughed nervously, at a loss about what to say or do. But the way Hanabi yanked her hand away at the speed of light and turned bright red, looking like she was about to burst into tears… That was definitely, really cute.
“Still, Machine Fencing practice? I’m jealous,” Hanabi said, feeling much better after delivering a brutal chop to the back of Rin’s head.
“Oh, I did ask Master,” Kuon said. “She said she wouldn’t mind as long it was only the core Fencing techniques. So, if you’re okay with me teaching you…”
“R-really?! Th-then you’d be teaching me yourself?”
“Er, yes, if that’s okay…”
“Y-you mean…just the two of us…?”
“Y-yes…” Kuon nodded, unsure why Hanabi had suddenly grown so fidgety.
“I… I’d love that.”
“Uh…okay then.”
There was a long silence.
“…”
“…”
“Hellooo?” Rin interrupted.
“Ah!” Hanabi exclaimed. “How long have you been there, Rin?”
“The whole time. Since this conversation started.”
“You really shouldn’t sneak up on people like that. Honestly!”
“I didn’t…”
“You two sure get along well,” Kuon said, shaking his head.
Rin grinned, throwing her arms around Hanabi. “We do! We’ve been besties since we were little! Right, Hanabi?”
“Get off me!”
“Nooope!”
“I said. Get. Off.”
“Ahaha, childhood friends, then? I’m a little jealous. I’ve done nothing but train since I was little, so I haven’t really had any friends.”
“What about your Guide-chan?”
“Oh, En? She’s more like a watchdog…”
“You called, Kuon-sama?”
A fairy in a suit appeared, accompanied by an inexplicable smoke effect. Even more inexplicable were the cushion she was sitting on, a tea table with an antique, square CRT TV sitting on it next to a basket of tangerines, and the fact that the TV screen was showing the samurai drama, “Kenjutsu Shobai.”
“All she ever does is watch reruns, so we don’t really have much to talk about.”
En gasped. “How could you, Kuon-sama? I am attempting to understand the martial arts my own way, in the hopes of being more useful to you!”
“Who’s your favorite actor?”
“Watanabe Atsuro. The first Daigoro was so lovely…” She began drooling.
“Who?” Hanabi and Rin asked at the same time.
“See? She’s weird like that. Still, she’s probably the closest thing to a friend I’ve had, so…so… Wow, I really want to cry right now.”
“You’re so mean, Kuon-sama!” En pouted.
Rin laughed. “You seem pretty close.”
“Not at all.”
“You’re so mean, Kuon-sama!”
“Oh, but…” Kuon added, “I’ve made a lot of friends in my new class, which is great! It’s good to have people working toward the same thing you are.” He gave a smile that was every bit the smile of a child his physical age. “And we haven’t gone into combat yet, so none of them have died!”
But no, he definitely doesn’t seem like a child his age at all, Hanabi thought.
“Kyuu-kun, you—” Rin began, her smile vanishing.
Hanabi cut her off, smiling. “Right, you have us now! We might be a little older, but we’re all in the Lunatic Order together. Let’s help each other out! If you ever need anything, you can rely on your squad!”
“I will!” Kuon said, enthusiastically.
Hanabi glanced at Rin, giving her a slight nod as if to say, No worries.
Rin sighed and let it be. If Hanabi said it was good, then it was.
Hanabi rubbed Kuon’s head again.
By the following Monday, “undergoing evaluation” was no longer listed after Okegawa Kuon’s name on the Fuji Squad roster. Kuon had officially become part of the Lunatic Order.
***
There were eight Lunatic Order squads, and they were all ranked according to their achievements and battle results. The higher your rank, the more likely you were to be taken into combat zones, and the school’s engineers would prioritize tune-ups on your frames. The Fuji Squad was currently ranked second.
Mock battles between the squads—a big factor in the ranks—were held three times a week. Today, the day after Kuon officially became part of the Fuji Squad, was the first battle.
At the entrance to the training ground practice block, Fuji said, “Let me go over the positions again, Okegawa-kun.
“You’re the Front Attacker, so you’re on the front lines. Your job is to cut your way into the enemy squad. Some people tank it, but I’d prefer you go wild, taking full advantage of your hand-to-hand and flanking skills.
“Suzuka-kun is the Attack Gunner, so she’ll be with you at the fore. But she’ll be mixing it up with mid-range attacks. In our squad, she’ll either support your efforts, slicing into the enemy with you, or drop back and cover you from a distance.
“Motegi-kun is the Sniper Gunner, so she’ll stay at the rear. She uses precision long-range shots to diminish the enemy forces. She’ll also help create openings for the two of you to break through their line.
“My role is Control—I give instructions to the squad. Different Cavalleria handle the role in different ways. Some stay close to the front line and help break through, while others remain at the rear sniping with the gunners. I tend to stay in the middle, providing support to both fore and rear lines as needed.
“And that’s the gist of it. Any questions…? Good, then let’s get started.”
Kuon, Hanabi, and Rin all nodded. Everyone activated their Division Maneuvers. “Getting thrown right in the thick of it, huh,” Kuon muttered, not feeling that confident. Even when he was Hachishiki, he’d done almost no team exercises.
“I’ll issue the orders. You simply focus on getting yourself in range of the enemy.”
“And then?”
“Well, that’s your specialty, isn’t it?”
Cut them down, eh?
“Everyone ready? If we win today, we’ll be ranked first. Let’s do this!”
Fuji pressed Standby for the team as a whole. The countdown began, then reached zero.
Kuon nervously tried making his brain focus on what he had to do. So…Front Attacker. Cut into them. Victory condition is to take out all enemies or shoot down the Control. If we run out of time, the team with the most survivors lives. So first, I gotta get in close.
The block set up for the team matches was four times the size of the one from the opening ceremony’s individual matches. They began at opposite corners, and it would be several seconds before they could engage. Teams would use that time to take up positions, getting all their members into advantageous positions. Logistics were the key to war, information the key to strategy, and positioning the key to combat.
Kuon completely ignored positioning. He’d forgotten it a long time ago.
“Okega—”
“Kuon-kun!” Hanabi’s yell interrupted Fuji’s.
By the time their cries reached his ears through the DM’s comms, the enemy beams were almost on him. Of all things, the former Hero had run directly toward the enemy squad. Even a Division 5 would have a tough time surviving a barrage like that.
One unit down already. Everyone on both teams assumed as much. But…
Shichisei Kenbu: Tensetsu.
Like always, the Division 1 stopped time and slipped through the storm of beams. He hadn’t survived so many battles with monsters from another world for nothing. But Kuon had forgotten one thing: He was fighting humans today.
He released Tensetsu.
An instant later, there was a fwip.
“Huh…?”
A pain ran across his chest. A mock bullet had hit him. The DM detected he’d been shot down.
“Oh, a sniper, Kuon-sama,” En said, clearly enjoying this. “I guess mankind is better at sniping than the Jave. Even a hero falls quite easily. Good, good.”
He put En’s peals of laughter on mute, wishing he could turn invisible. He glanced at the image of his senpai in the corner of his vision.
“Sorry…” he muttered.
They all smiled awkwardly, then Hanabi went and won the match for them.
“No, you’re not to blame. That was my oversight. I should have mentioned the opening volley would include delayed shots. Sorry.”
Fuji seemed totally serious. Making a beeline toward the enemy was completely stupid, but Fuji avoided pointing out the obvious. He was clearly a good leader.
Kuon was still dragging around some bad habits from his previous life. He’d spent thirteen years in this one already, but only began wearing a DM in earnest four years ago. A reckless streak had been with him through the individual matches, but now it was becoming painfully obvious.
“Time for training,” Fuji grinned. His eyes, however, were not smiling.
Kuon felt like this senpai might be every bit as bad as his master, but all he could do was bow his head and agree.
Even ordinary classes were all about mock team battles.
Middle class 1-A drew lots and were split into teams of four then pitted against each other. The only victory bonus here was the achievement.
On weekdays, Kuon had Lunatic Order missions or training after class. Saturdays were Shichisei Kenbu training with his master. Thanks to this relentless schedule, Kuon’s movements in team exercises improved quickly.
He would approach from the side so as to not interfere with the gunner’s opening barrage, cutting into the enemy formation with the other frontline units on his team. Faced with the only junior high first year in the Lunatic Order, along with a Front Attacker from the school’s strongest team, enemies mainly took one of two strategies: try not to let him get close, or face him head on.
Neither worked out well for them. Kuon was unstoppable.
New students weren’t great snipers, but his team’s Sniper Gunners silenced the enemy gunners from a distance anyway, giving time for the two frontline attackers to slice through the enemy. If they were in front of him, he could evade their sniping, take out the gunner or their Control, and secure victory.
He wasn’t just better; he was unbeatable.
This was more or less to be expected. The only Cavalleria here who stood a chance against him were Hanabi and Headmaster Nanahoshi. It only took a few battles for his classmates to figure that out and begin grumbling.
“If you get on the same team as Okegawa, you’re always gonna win.”
“And if you’re not on Okegawa’s team, you’re definitely gonna lose.”
“Our results are entirely at the whim of the lots…”
“What’s the point? I mean, why are we even here?”
Geniuses who’d survived the 0.25 percent cut-off were losing confidence left and right.
“This is hardly worth calling practice!” Kadano said. She was both their homeroom teacher and the DM instructor. “Okegawa-kun, no more Attacker roles. You aren’t allowed to attack at all. You take the Control role.”
That was quite a stiff demand. But Kuon had been taking orders from Fuji for a while now. It shouldn’t be too hard to do the same with Kadano.
It was.
Kuon’s instructions were so completely off base that his team was plunged into the crucible of confusion.
He was fine during the opening barrage. He had sent two attackers around the sides of it, which was fine; routine stuff. After that, it was a disaster. He thought the enemy weren’t shooting much, and a moment later two of his team were surrounded by three of theirs and beaten to crap and back. He only realized the enemy were suspending the barrage early and laying ambushes for his attackers after his teammates had pointed it out after losing the same way three times in a row.
The next time, he sent a gunner forward alongside the attackers. They were all wiped out by the opening barrage. The looks his teammates gave him were murderous.
“Okegawaaa…” they said angrily.
“S-sorry…”
Once Kuon began losing, he grew less aggressive. Even once the barrage ended, he’d sit still, waiting for the enemy to come attack. The enemy sent attackers in one at a time. While he had his team dealing with them, he found the enemy Control standing behind him with a gun to his head. He’d been so focused on the enemy in front of him that he hadn’t noticed the Control at all and was swiftly taken out.
With Kuon in Control, his teams never won once.
“Don’t worry about it. I mean, even you have things you can’t do.”
“It’s kind of a relief.”
“Seriously! Okegawa’s only human!”
His classmates tried cheering him up, but that was a depressing day. When he went to the Fuji Team meeting room after school, Hanabi saw how dejected he looked, asked why, then said, “Time for training.”
They went through the Fuji Squad’s Control records. Hanabi seemed delighted to sit next to Kuon and explain things. Kuon asked her everything he didn’t understand, and every time she puffed up her oversized chest, laying her interpretation on him. He made sure to take detailed notes. Her boobs were still big. So very big. And jiggly.
The next day was a Lunatic Order rank match.
Kuon paid close attention to Fuji’s orders, and he was shocked by how quickly decisions were made. Fuji never once hesitated. These squads knew each other’s tactics and abilities like the backs of their own hands with tactics shifting between frontal assaults and attempts to catch each other off guard at dizzying speeds. No matter what happened, Fuji gave clear instructions that led them to victory, and Kuon was extremely impressed.
It wasn’t just Fuji; Hanabi, the school’s strongest Cavalleria, could slice into enemy lines or lay down support fire with a skill that made even the former Hero’s eyes widen. As for Rin, her sniping was terrifying. One second she’d be laying down a barrage to blind her opponents, and the next a single precision shot would cut right through all of that. It was a trick one could only pull off by switching between two types of rifle in less than a second. Kuon frequently wondered if Rin actually had four arms.
The following were the highlights of the match that impressed Kuon the most:
After the standard opening barrage, Hanabi and Rin continued relentless gunfire. Unable to ignore not only the support fire from the Control and the Snipe Gunner’s sniping, but also the Division 5 Scout Nova Rifle’s Type-3 Artillery, the opponent was forced into returning fire. The battle seemed poised to be a long-ranged one—and in that instant, Kuon, having made a wide circle to the left, came swirling into the locked-down enemy position. What impressed him so much was how they never once let the enemy detect his approach.
Fuji had once said, “If the Control is steady and my team is good, the attackers can focus on the enemy in front of them. I’m always looking for ways to make that possible.” Remembering that, Kuon took down all four opponents.
In class team combat the next day, Kuon’s team scored his first victory with him in Control.
“He can do Control, too… I knew it… Okegawa Kuon’s a genius…”
“No, he’s a Division 1! Talent’s got nothing to do with it.”
“That’s just even more impressive! I’d legitimately forgotten that till you brought it up.”
When En heard his classmates’ opinions, she gave a smug little snort.
***
Intermission:
Hanabi’s Diary 3
Imperial Era 356. May 10th. Suzuka Hanabi.
Kuon-kun’s improving so quickly. His Fencing means he’s always great in close combat, but now he’s learning to make situational decisions. Learning how to Control is undoubtedly making him stronger.
Kuon-kun has started teaching me Fencing. We’ve barely scratched the surface, but I want to learn whatever I can. He said I’ve got what it takes. Maybe he just knows when to flatter me. I can’t let it go to my head and skip out on practice.
Learning Fencing means I often end up holding Kuon-kun’s hands. They’re so small, but warm and strong, and covered in calluses. They’re the hands of a swordsman.
I love the way his hands tell how he refused to give up because of the magic he was born with and threw himself into the work required to compensate.
Not that kind of love!
***
Unofficial Records
Imperial Air Force: Assault Reconnaissance Unit. Today’s MIA Count: 12.
***
After a month, Kuon was getting used to life at the Academy.
After school one day, the squad gathered in the meeting room.
“Today, we’re going to the sea,” Fuji said, with exactly the same gentle smile he always used.
“The sea?” Kuon asked. Naturally, the Jogen Islands were surrounded by water.
Fuji’s unwavering smile was almost sparkling. “Time for a little R&R,” he answered.
This was definitely a bad idea, Kuon thought.
The suit Rin provided was so ridiculously skimpy. Usually, Fuji could be relied upon to stop this sort of thing, but he was off somewhere with a classmate and showed no signs of returning. Kuon just stood there turning red, so the Warrior Princess Suzuka Hanabi ended up accepting the bikini rather calmly. It was less a bikini and more like a set of strings which apologetically included a few triangles of cloth.
Senpai, are you really going to wear that? Kuon thought. Are you really going to swim around in that?
They’d been rocked on a boat for thirty minutes, traveling from the school to the Motegi family’s private beach. This was Rin’s family property, and Hanabi had lived with her since she was young. They were like sisters and knew their way around. They entered the villa like they owned the place, and, after taking the bikini, Hanabi disappeared behind the curtain they were using in place of a changing room.
Kuon heard the rustle of cloth. Behind the curtain, Hanabi was undressing, about to put on that string bikini.
Senpai, other Lunatic Order Cavalleria are here with us! Lots of boys! Are you really going to wear that?
There were several moments where he almost said something but swallowed his words. Or rather, he began opening his mouth and Rin put him in a chokehold to silence him. Her arm tight around his neck, Rin whispered, “You want to see Hanabi be really cute?”
The whisper of the devil.
“I’m not just talking about a lot of skin here. Hear me out, Kyuu-kun. You know how boys have a beast mode and a sage mode? Well, Hanabi’s got two faces to her, too.”
Kuon frowned. What could that mean?
Rin winked. “Just you watch. You’ll see how cute the Warrior Princess can be.”
That wink wasn’t reassuring. Rin’s grin was downright diabolical.
This is definitely a bad idea.
All eight Lunatic Order squads were here. Thirty Cavalleria (genders split evenly) all playing at the beach, with Rin having fed Hanabi a line about it being composure training and puting her in a bikini that left her nearly naked.
Not to be outdone, Rin wore a one-piece suit with a large circle in the front like one of those bubble nudes. It looked far more scandalous than actual nudity, but she wore it with confidence.
A moment later, Fuji came running in with bath towels. “What if somebody saw you?!”
“We haven’t even shown anyone yet! We only just put them on!”
Rin’s and Fuji’s arguments didn’t seem to be connected to each other. Fuji tried physically dragging her back inside, but Rin began shrieking about sexual harassment and abuse of power.
Hanabi stepped between them, her exposed body gleaming like the summer sun. “Now, now, both of you calm down,” she said.
“Ah!” Fuji’s finger caught the string on her back. It stretched taut and gave way. Other Cavalleria heard the noise and turned to stare.
Kuon was certain he’d never moved faster in all his life.
He put all the leg training he’d done into covering the five steps between them in a single bound, grabbing the flying bath towel out of mid-air and covering Hanabi with it. In that, he was successful, but his landing, less so. He landed off-balance and crashed into Hanabi, bath towel and all.
“Mmmph?!”
Hanabi had been standing proudly with her legs apart as the suit peeled away. As Kuon tumbled toward her, he found his vision filled with flesh tones. There was a thump, something that could be described as a boing, and he found himself diving headfirst between her gazongas.
There was a blast of hot sand on his face. His nose filled with the smell of the surf and the sweet scent all women have. The sunlight bounced off the glittering surface of the water, and, for a second, he caught a glimpse of the incredibly blue water over yonder.
Then he fell, his face surrounded by sweet-smelling softness.
To anyone watching, it seemed like Kuon had not only torn Hanabi’s suit off, but also pushed her over into the sand. The bath towel landed on top of them, hiding both Kuon as well as Hanabi’s boobs.
Above him, Hanabi nodded once. “Hmm,” she said.
Kuon didn’t dare move. If he tried getting up, the bath towel on his head may slip away and expose Hanabi’s naked flesh to the world. He moved slightly, looking for a way to slip out from between her breasts without dislodging anything,
“Don’t move,” Hanabi whispered.
She wrapped the bath towel around herself with Kuon still trapped between her boobs, stood up, and said without the slightest hint of embarrassment, “Excuse me, it seems my suit slipped off. I’ll be right back.” As Rin, Fuji, and the other Cavalleria stared, stunned, she turned on her heel and walked calmly back inside with Kuon still tucked in the valley of her chest.
Only after Hanabi had calmly left the beach behind, closed the villa door, and locked it behind her did she release the bath towel. The moment Kuon was free, he fell to the floor.
“Um…senpai…?” he asked, hesitantly, unsure why she’d brought him with her.
He’d ended up literally tackling her. There was a good chance she misunderstood his intentions, so he looked up at her with concern…
“…”
…and found the Warrior Princess looking back, her expression totally blank, with two exposed boobs each the size of Kuon’s head. He quickly looked down again.
“Kuon-kun?”
“Y-yes…?”
“Did you see my boobs?”
“I did!”
Oops, he thought. He was being too honest again. He stared at the floor, trembling, certain she was going to be furious.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”
She let out a long, wordless groan, then something moved down into Kuon’s field of view. Still half-naked, Hanabi had sat down where she was, and Kuon was now staring at the top of her head.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Hahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”
Her hair swirled around her as she continued listlessly crying out.
“Hanabi-senpai…?”
“Forget it! Forget everything you just saw!”
“Er? Um?”
Kuon wasn’t expecting this, and his head was spinning. Although, come to think of it, it was a fairly normal reaction for a girl to have when someone saw her naked. But a second ago, she’d showed no signs of it at all.
“Hanabi-senpai…are…are you embarrassed…?”
She looked up at him, clutching her knees to her chest. From this angle, she looked totally naked. Kuon did his best not to stare at how the flesh of her boobs spilled out as they pressed against her thighs.
“Of course I am!” she said, tears in her eyes. “How could I not be?!”
“B-but a second ago you were totally owning it…”
“Well…everyone was watching, so…I thought I had to act like the school’s top Cavalleria… B-but I’m as easily embarrassed as the next girl! I said so before!”
“It does ring a bell…”
A minute ago she’d seemed unflappable, but now, even her ears were red, the very portrait of an embarrassed young maiden. Hard to imagine from the usual Warrior Princess.
This must be what Rin was talking about, Kuon thought. This was Hanabi’s other face.
It suddenly struck him as funny. She always seemed like she had it together, but she was just an eighteen-year-old girl. Kuon grinned, forgetting his own age.
“You’re adorable, senpai,” he said without thinking.
“Wha! W-well, you’re a little snot, Kuon-kun!”
“Sorry.”
“You aren’t sorry at all! I can tell!”
“I am.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Okay then…”
Hanabi’s shoulders were shaking. Kuon picked up the bath towel and put it on her. “I’ll go get you something to wear.” He turned to go find a jacket or something, but Hanabi grabbed his arm. “Senpai?”
She looked up at him, pleading with tears in her eyes. “J-just…stay with me a little longer.”
He could hardly refuse. “Of course.” He sat down next to her. Hanabi gave him a sideways glance.
“You’re very strange, you know.”
“How so?”
“I just can’t believe you’re younger than me. It’s like…” She buried her cheek in her knee. “Being with you makes me feel calm.”
Was that something he should be happy about? Like, as a man?
Sitting in the villa on the Motegi private beach, a thirty-minute boat ride from Jogen Academy, Kuon stared up at the ceiling, pondering the question as best he could given the naked girl clutching her knees next to him.
It was several minutes before Fuji finished chewing Rin out and the two of them knocked on the door they were leaning on. Neither Kuon nor Hanabi said a word in that time.
It was a good kind of silence.
***
Some time passed. One day, after school…
“Today, we’re going to the sea,” Fuji said, with exactly the same gentle smile he always had. The squad had gathered in the meeting room.
“The sea?” Kuon asked. Hadn’t they just done that?
His smile never wavering, Fuji pointed downward.
“No,” he answered. “The Deep Sea.”
A Division Maneuver could function in all environment types: land, water, sky, outer space, and even the deep sea.
This was made possible by a magical barrier called the Witch Bubble. This bubble deflected any and all attacks from the outside, could withstand the water pressure in the ocean depths, and wouldn’t let heat or air escape even in regions so deep light couldn’t reach them. Their frames provided temperature controls and a breathing environment, and allowed Maneuver Cavalleria to move freely in the deep sea.
That is, as long as their magic held out.
“Got it? Make absolutely sure you don’t run out of magic!” Fuji said for the fifth time. “If your bubble vanishes, the water pressure will crush you flat like a sumo wrestler falling on a cake! In an emergency, grab onto someone! If the signal reads as friendly, we can share bubbles. Understood?”
“Yes!”
“Today we’ll be doing a patrol of these waters with our senpai from the First Mobile Unit. Treat it like any other patrol, but do not let your magic run out! If your DM is released, you die!”
“R-right!”
As Fuji and Kuon belabored the point, the girls shook their heads.
“Leader, he’s scared enough.”
“At this rate Kyuu-kun’s just gonna get all stressed out.”
“Mm? Oh…right, Okegawa-kun. Let’s have fun! But if your magic runs out, you die.”
“I knowwwwww!”
Jogen Island, Imperial Air Force, Wharf #4:
Less than an hour ago, a massive 219-meter-long ship—the Mobile Mothership Kuou—had pulled slowly out to sea. The ship was as red as the kanji in its name implied. It served as the mothership for the Division Maneuvers and could fly as well as sail.
The catapults on the stern and prow could launch Cavalleria wearing their DMs, or the Kuou could launch small speedcrafts from the lower hatch, as it was doing now. The speedcrafts were stuffed with Cavalleria, and once they reached their destinations and submerged, they’d don their DMs and head for the Deep Sea.
The senpai Fuji had mentioned were four Cavalleria from the Lunar Defense Force, First Mobile Unit, Third Squad. Most Cavalleria in the Lunar Defense Force came from Jogen Maneuver Academy. The Third Squad was no exception. The four of them and the Fuji Squad each boarded a speedcraft and rested until they reached their destination, including Kuon, terrified of operating in the Deep Sea, a place he’d never been in his previous life.
Before the two speedcraft—the Honoo and the Shizuku—reached the third Danger Zone, the senpai began giving lessons for the frightened Kuon. They were already submerged. In the narrow standby room at the stern of the Shizuku, the four members of the Fuji Squad split into two groups, donning their DMs. It was incredibly cramped, so they only had minimal functionality.
Generating only the Core so they could deploy the Witch Bubble and a few small nozzles, they submerged. The standby room slowly filled with seawater. Within their bubbles, the Cavalleria didn’t get wet at all, proving the invisible magic barriers were there after all. Then, the airlock opened.
Blackness…
The space yawning open before his eyes was even darker than Kuon had imagined. Darkness beyond the reach of sunlight only fanned the flames of his fear, but he could hardly back out now.
He just had to hope he didn’t end up squashed.
He cautiously followed Fuji outside the craft. The buoyancy and water pressure were immense, but the stabilizer functions equipped to his DM made it even easier to control than on land.
“Okay, Okegawa-kun? Do not let your magic run out unless you want to die!”
His eighth warning.
Holding onto the bars by the craft’s hatch with all his might, Kuon nodded earnestly, on the verge of tears.
Kuon was only a Division 1. He had less magic than all the other Cavalleria; even less magic than your average middle-aged dude. It was less than a thousandth of what Fuji and Rin had, and less than ten thousandths of what Hanabi had. Hanabi could survive out here ten thousand times as long as he could. He was doomed.
But Fuji insisted he’d be fine as long as he didn’t unduly exert himself. To Kuon, this sounded like the sort of thing a doctor would say to a terminally ill patient being temporarily discharged from the hospital, but he had nothing else to cling to. He wasn’t going to exert himself—at all.
But…
“Bogey on the radar. Three…no, four. Headed right for Jogen.”
Intel gathered by the functions on her Division 5 all-rounder frame sent Hanabi into full Cavalleria mode.
This was a patrol.
Their mission was to locate and exterminate stray Jave in the waters around Jogen. They were common enough, whether looking for humans to pick off or for non-human prey. The islands had auto-response systems, but they didn’t function this deep, so it was up to the Cavalleria to exterminate the monsters down here.
This was a real fight.
The Division Maneuvers’ mobile thrusters and magic light beams were unaffected by the water around them. This day would be both Kuon’s first Deep Sea excursion and his first taste of actual combat. He felt like a little kid raising his hand on the first day of school.
“Sensei…does ‘combat’ count as undue exertion?” he asked, white as a sheet.
“It’s not exactly a marathon. Hardly even counts as exercise. Come on, Kuon-kun,” Hanabi said. She smiled and took his hand. “This’ll be a walk in the park.”
Their bubbles merged, and the mobility limit displayed on Kuon’s visor grew by five thousand. Hanabi was sharing her magic with him.
“Feel safer now?” She gave his hand a squeeze, staying resolutely in Bushi Mode.
“Uh, yes…”
It was Kuon who found his heart acting like that of a blushing maiden. If their genders were flipped, this would have been instant love. My prince…
Hanabi smiled and joined her other hand to his. She opened the wings on her DMs back and sped up, carrying him with her. The others were already moving ahead, having left Kuon in her care.
When they reached the combat zone, their senpai from the Third Squad had already exterminated the Jave.
The patrol resumed. Each DM was at minimal deployment, following the route at cruising speed. They formed a diamond with their senpai at the head, keeping a close eye on their radar screens. Kuon stayed between Hanabi on the left flank and Fuji in the rear.
They were a thousand meters down. Kuon could see well enough through his DM, considering the minimal light sources. He was in good shape.
Feeling less stressed about it now, he peeled off from Hanabi, moving through the water on his own. Like Fuji had said repeatedly, so long as Kuon was moving steadily, his magic wasn’t depleted all that much. If they’d been on the surface, it would have just been a normal expenditure. He considered deploying his Blade and trying out a few moves, but they were on alert, so he’d have to do that later. Oh, a group of big, ugly fish, Kuon thought as he peered out into the waters. Bet they taste terrible.
He had no idea the senpai flanking him were talking in a private channel.
Hanabi kept an eye on her left flank as she sent a message to Fuji. The Lunar Defense Force proper didn’t have a single Division 5, nor did they have a DM with detection functions as advanced as her Reimei.
“What’s going on, Fuji-kun? Why are we suddenly doing an ocean patrol?”
There was some fuzz on the channel when Fuji answered. “I don’t know. I told them we had a newbie and they should ask someone else, but here we are anyway. The other squads will be doing this starting tomorrow. Either they want to strengthen their guard however they can, or…”
“Or they’re looking for students they can use.”
“Yeah. That number’s been going up lately. Might be time.”
“I thought it was still a ways off…”
“The day I chose this path, I knew it would happen someday. You felt the same, right?”
Hanabi was silent.
“Suzuka-kun?”
“Oh, no, I did. I mean, if we don’t do something, we’ve got no future.”
“We just have to do what needs to be done.”
Hanabi paused for a moment. “Have you had this talk with him?”
“I thought I’d leave it to you.”
“Why?”
“He’s more important to you than he is to us,” Fuji said matter-of-factly.
“That’s true enough…”
“Make sure you have no regrets.”
“Same to you,” Hanabi replied. They exchanged glances, then turned their gazes to Kuon, who was happily swimming between them.
“Okegawa Kuon, was it? The new kid.”
Forty minutes after the patrol began, as if sensing their focus was beginning to flag, the Third Squad opened a channel to all units. There were no images, just a low female voice.
“Y-yes,” Kuon hastily replied.
“I heard this was your first time at sea. Any problems?”
“No, none!”
“The Force has a high opinion of the Fuji Squad, and you’ve got a rare Division 5. This should be a good experience for you.”
“It is!”
There was a pause. “I thought your voice sounded young… I see. You’re only thirteen? Guess you’re one of the Lunatic Order’s hopes for the future.” She was apparently reviewing Kuon’s file as they spoke.
“Thank you!”
The way she spoke was clearly designed to reduce the tension between them, but Kuon could only give routine answers.
“Heheh. Fuji was much more arrogant.”
“Squad Leader Tsukuba, please don’t bring that up,” Fuji responded, his voice pained. Tsukuba had selected Fuji as her next victim and happily continued teasing him, pleased by his responses.
“What was it you said the first time we took you out on a mission?” she asked him.
“I don’t remember.”
“You were thirteen, too. You said, ‘I’m going to create the strongest Squad in the Lunar Defense Force.’”
“Sorry, but I’m busy monitoring my surroundings.”
“Yo, Okegawa! That’s weird, isn’t it? Not trying to be the best Cavalleria, but trying to make the best Squad? At only thirteen, this guy knew his path in life was that of a commander, not a warrior. The least cute thing ever. Heheheh.”
“Uh…okay…” Kuon felt Fuji had made the school’s best Squad, but he elected not to say so.
“So, what ambitions do you have? What made you enroll in a Cavalleria training school?”
“I… Well…”
Hanabi looked at Kuon expectantly. Even Fuji stopped looking behind them to stare at him. Rin was enjoying the whole situation, and all four senpai Cavalleria were looking at Kuon. Squad Leader Tsukuba stayed facing forward, waiting for Kuon’s reply.
Kuon thought about it, although he already knew the answer. It was the same it had always been: the job left unfinished in his previous life. He’d made it his life goal at the tender age of two years and four months.
“I want to be a Cavalleria so I can kill the Jave Queen when she returns and destroy all the Jave Gates on Earth. I want to drive them all from this world.”
His sensors picked up a dolphin’s cry in the distance, echoing below them. He looked down and noticed his group was deep within a marine trench. As the mountains looming on either side of him put pressure on Kuon, he realized his senpai had yet to respond.
Had the transmission cut out? No, there was just a long silence, then…
“Hah hahahaha! Hahhh hahahahahahahahahaha!”
Uproarious laughter spilled over the comms. Even the senpai Cavalleria broke their silence, laughing out loud.
“Huh…?” Did I say something strange? Kuon wondered, forgetting for a moment he was a mere Division 1.
Floating behind his head, En sighed softly so no one could hear her.
“There’s no way you can destroy the Gates! Even the Hero couldn’t do that!”
“And as a Division 1? Hahahaha, my sides! That’s too funny!”
“It’s good to dream big, but maybe try making it a little realistic, ya no-talent Division 1!”
“Heheheh, that’s enough, now. He’s just a child. He doesn’t know everything.”
The Third Squad kept laughing like this was the funniest thing they’d ever heard.
Hanabi listened in sullen silence, and when she reached the limits of her patience—as if they were laughing at her own dream—she finally opened her mouth.
“I’m—”
“Hanabi. Don’t,” Rin said, opening a private comm. Fuji quickly used his rights as a leader to lock down Hanabi’s comms. He avoided her eyes. Nothing Hanabi said would reach the Third Squad.
Enraged, Hanabi tapped her controls twice, opening channels to both of them. “Don’t you stop me! Let me speak!” she yelled.
“Nope. Not happening,” Fuji told her. “I don’t want to see you repeat a year, Hanabi. We all need to graduate together.”
“Argh!”
If a student squad got into it with a real squad, they’d be penalized. They were only here for training, visiting their future workplace like any other students. They were being allowed to participate in the military’s strategy. If the students disobeyed their superiors in any way, the school would come down on them, hard. If they were lucky, they’d only be held back a year. If they weren’t so lucky, they’d be expelled.
“You were gonna send your Servants out to smack ’em one, right?” Rin asked. “Even if they didn’t fire the second they moved toward that squad, you’d be sunk. Normally you wouldn’t just be expelled from the school, you’d be kicked out of the Jogen Islands.” Truthfully, they were unlikely to be that harsh with the best Division 5 the school had ever produced, but Hanabi didn’t know that.
“That’s…true, but…how did you know…”
Her reluctant admittance was a sign her head had cooled. Rin finally looked at Hanabi and stuck her tongue out. “Because I almost shot a mock bullet at them myself.”
Fuji shook his head, sighing. “The two of you…honestly…”
Then Kuon’s voice came over the comms as he opened a channel to the three of them. “Um…why is everyone laughing?” he asked, having been excluded from their conversation.
It was clear he genuinely had no idea, so Rin and Fuji both laughed, too. Only Hanabi looked deeply hurt. She turned toward Kuon…
…and that was how she noticed his reaction.
As his comms filled with laughter, Kuon sighed to himself. I did it again. It’s been a while since anyone’s laughed this hard at me.
At school, people had stopped treating him like a child, so he’d let his guard down. In a world where magic power was everything, everyone felt free to laugh at any Division 1.
It was frustrating, but that was all it was. Even Suzuka Hachishiki probably would have done the same thing. Maybe he wouldn’t have even noticed someone like Kuon.
His school—no, his squad—were too kind. They all treated a Division 1 like himself too warmly. Most people would react like these senpai had.
It made sense; he told himself it made sense. He’d convinced himself it had, in theory.
Kuon’s memories and soul were Suzuka Hachishiki’s, but his magic and body were his own, so his body reacted its own way. His vision grew blurry. Weird, he thought, then felt his cheeks grow damp. He suddenly realized Hanabi was right next to him. “Senp—”
“You know what I think, Kuon-kun?”
During a mission, it was forbidden to disrupt the formation, especially for personal reasons, but Hanabi didn’t give a damn about any of that now.
Okegawa Kuon had been laughed at, hurt, and was crying alone in the dark of the ocean while trying not to let the others know. Once she saw that, Hanabi was ready to toss everything else out the window.
Their bubbles merged. Hanabi reached out both hands and cupped Kuon’s face between them. She smiled, speaking to him and him alone.
“I believe you can do it. Maybe it’ll take time. Maybe you’ll fail a lot along the way. But I think you will pull it off. I’ve watched you long enough to know that much.”
She understood. She believed.
She wiped his tears away with her fingers and went back to her position. Whether they’d seen him crying or not, none of the senpai scolded Hanabi for breaking formation.
Kuon’s memories and soul might be Suzuka Hachishiki’s, but his magic and body weren’t.
His tears kept falling, some of them out of happiness.
The patrol went smoothly after that. They had two further encounters, but neither significant; the Fuji Squad remained on standby the entire time.
Kuon’s tears had long since dried.
***
Intermission:
Hanabi’s Diary 4
Imperial Era 356. May 13th. Suzuka Hanabi.
Kuon-kun cried. I’ve never seen him cry before. The way I felt wasn’t…sad so much as…anguished?
I said what I needed to say but arghhhhhhhhhhhh I put both hands on his faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace and his tears were just aughhhhhhhhhhh why did I do that while our senpai were waaaaaaaaatching?!
I began clutching my head in bed and my roommate Rin gave me a weird look. She threw her arms around me, so I said, “I don’t wanna wrestle, go away,” which she did, but still looked very crafty.
Oh dear.
I’d better change my diary password just in case.
999999999
I just typed “9” nine times. I dunno why, lately I just really like the number nine.
Not because it’s in Kuon’s name!
***
Intermission:
????
She was scrolling through someone else’s diary.
Not wanting to wake her roommate up, she kept the room in darkness, aside from the device window.
“She’s only writing about Kyuu-kun.”
The diary-reading, glasses-wearing girl laughed to herself. She got to the denial at the end and wrote “www” after it, netslang for laughter.
Then she wrote, “Liar! www” under that but figured that would get her caught and deleted it.
“Enjoy being young, Hanabi.”
Maybe her roommate was dreaming about something. She sure was smiling a lot in her sleep.
***
Unofficial Records
Imperial Air Force: Assault Reconnaissance Unit. Today’s MIA Count: 15.
Meat Pillar believed to be a control device discovered near the Gate.
***
Intermission:
Hanabi’s Diary 4: Postscript
How sleepy was I to type “www” after that last entry? World Wide Web?
***
It was June, and Suzuka Hanabi and Headmaster Nanahoshi Kaede were set for an exhibition match.
The news took the school by storm. The origins of it were unclear, but it was spread by the high school’s goofball newspaper club with the following copy:
The strongest Cavalleria in school history versus the strongest human alive! Which of them will emerge victorious? A blood-soaked cat-fight for the ages! Time to SETMA!
(SETMA was short for “SETtle this in a Division MAneuver.”)
Like so much other news, this information was somewhat incorrect. In fact, it would be a mock battle of the four members of the Fuji Squad versus the headmaster, solo. The Fuji Squad had been ranked at the top of the Lunatic Order for so long, Kaede was just itching to kick their asses and get some drive back into them. The truth caused another stir around the school, and although the odds initially favored Nanahoshi Kaede, they began to even out a bit. The newspaper club served as the bookie, and all proceeds would wind up greasing their club funds.
The result was a landslide. The fight lasted a mere one minute and seventeen seconds.
The students were relieved, reassured that not only had they joined the right school, but the government made the right choice when they installed Nanahoshi Kaede as headmaster.
She was still the world’s greatest Cavalleria.
The world’s greatest Cavalleria was also the world’s greatest lecturer, as the Fuji Squad were finding out. They were gathered in the ridiculously high-ceilinged headmaster’s office, sitting on their knees as Kaede chewed them out.
“Kuon, you still can’t stop yourself from charging in like an idiot, you idiot.
“Hanabi, I know your Fencing is still rudimentary, but try not to telegraph everything, you idiot.
“Rin, you rely too much on your skill with a sniper. Attack more and put the pressure on, you idiot.
“But the ultimate idiot is the idiot carrying all you idiots… Fuji, you idiot. Your schemes are obvious as hell and, as soon as one goes wrong, you leave it up to everyone’s individual abilities. How stupid can you be? You knew I’d use Seven-Count Strike, so trying to shoot back head-on was really hopeless. I said at the start, ‘Pretend you ain’t fighting a human and come at me like you would the Jave.’ Only a total idiot would try and fight them fairly, you nitwit.”
Fuji was repeatedly smacked on the head with a rolled-up magazine. As the Squad Leader, full responsibility fell unto him. He was clearly ready to burden it, looking remorseful and repeatedly nodding and saying, “Yes, as you say,” and, “Sorry,” at random.
Kuon knew better than to say anything, but he couldn’t stop himself. “Um, Master, Seven-Count Strike is definitely going a bit too far.”
“Two hundred Sword Swings,” Kaede said, not even looking back from the cadence she was tapping on the handsome leader’s head.
“Huh?”
“Penalty for talking back. Get a sword. Swing it 300 times.”
“The number went up?”
“Sword. Swing. Four hun—”
“Uh, yes, Headmaster! Starting three hundred swings right nowww!”
Kuon rose straight from kneeling to standing, grabbed the lightest looking sword from the inexplicable array of swords decorating the wall, and began swinging.
“Not that one, idiot,” Kaede said, and pointed at a ridiculously heavy-looking, two-meter-long sword. “That one.”
Tired before he even began, Kuon began swinging. “One…”
“I can’t hear you! Add fifty more!”
“ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!” Kuon shouted, despairing. Why did he have to swing a three-kilogram sword right in front of his senpai during the already sad post-match meeting?
The way Rin was trying to hide a smirk infuriated him. Kuon’s “THIRTEEN!” and the bonk of the magazine on Fuji’s head were in such perfect sync that if they were playing Pop’n Music, the “PERFECT” text would have appeared on screen. Stealing a look at Hanabi’s immobile Bushi serenity, Kuon swung a thirty-fourth time.
Nanahoshi Kaede was Division 4.
Normally, there was no way a Division 5 like Hanabi would ever lose to Kaede’s magic, even one-on-one. Unlike her match with Kuon, she’d gone for every advantage she had and attacked at a distance. She’d still lost.
Each Division level’s magic potential increased exponentially as it went up. Defining it in terms of speed, Division 1 was a slug, Division 2 a crawling baby, Division 3 a human running at 1kph, Division 4 a car driving at 100 kph, and Division 5 an airplane going 1000 kph. Each Division level higher was a taller and thicker wall to overcome.
Therefore, it was harder to beat someone whose Division was higher than you, and that became worse the higher the Division. This was common sense; it was in their textbooks.
But Nanahoshi Kaede was a genius who defied common sense; the strongest human alive.
Seven-Count Strike was a special weapon specially designed for Shichisei Kenbu users. Kaede had it equipped to her custom-made DM, Kyokai (Pleiades), and it could very well have been the secret to her strength.
This weapon had the power to raise her Division Level to 5 for seven seconds.
Kaede had used this and her Shichisei Kenbu arts to utterly trounce Suzuka Hanabi. Only a master of Shichisei Kenbu could use this unique weapon. It required such a huge volume of magic that even a Division 5 didn’t have enough.
So, how was a Division 4 using it? Kaede had already told Kuon the reason. When she gave him his Guide, En, she’d said, “One of the Shichisei Kenbu ultimate arts is a breathing technique which reduces magic expenditure by 1 kei. I know a certain idiot who got himself kicked out before he learned it.”
That idiot was currently using his reincarnated body to swing a sword, but Nanahoshi Kaede knew that only an idiot who’d bet his entire life on obsessive training could ever learn the Shichisei Kenbu ultimate arts. She’d even done it herself.
Kaede stopped playing Taiko no Tatsujin with Fuji’s head and looked at her beloved student, muttering, “Eight follows seven. And nine follows eight.”
The “nana” in “Nanahoshi” was the kanji for seven. The “hachi” in “Hachishiki” was the kanji for eight. If one were to replace the “ku” in “Kuon” with the kanji for nine…
The day would soon come when Kuon would inherit the name, the sword, and the special weapon.
Her idiot student swung his sword. “One hundred nine!” he shouted.
“Too quiet! Again!”
“NIIIIIINE!”
“Again!”
“NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!”
“Kuon.”
“NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!”
“Good luck.”
“One hun—wait, whaaat? There’s no way my master would ever say that!”
“Add another fifty.”
“ONE HUNDRED ELEVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!”
Shortly afterward, Kaede told Kuon he was in the way of her work, so he should do the rest at home. She sent the rest of the Fuji Squad packing.
Weird. It’s like she’s becoming…nicer? Kuon wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a warning that something incredibly terrifying was coming, which just showed how thorough her education had been.
As it turned out, the latter hunch was correct.