Chapter IV: Tea Party in the Secret Garden

“Whoa!” I jerked stock-straight, dripping with sweat, from a nightmare where Rin died. “I just dreamed about Rin dying...”

Eh? Where am I?

“The nurse’s office... No. The school hospital.”

A wing of IS Academy equipped with all the medical technology you’d find in a research hospital. It feels like I’ve been ending up here a lot lately. Even the bed seemed to be the same one I was in after the attack on the school.

“You’re awake now?”

Huh? Someone was in the bed next to mine. I pulled the curtain back, only to reveal a bra-less Tatenashi changing her top. Her breasts, just as beautifully curved as always, jiggled.

“Whoooah! Sorry, sorry!”

Panicking, I yanked the curtain shut, but it was too late. Mysterious Lady’s lance came thrusting through a moment later.

“I-chi-ka. You know you shouldn’t be doing that kind of thing,” she giggled.

“Really, I’m sorry! I’ll do anything! Just forgive me!”

The lance stopped its slow thrust, and she replied, “An-y-thing?”

Ugh. I was going to regret saying that.

“Well, anything possible...” I nervously doubled down. It wasn’t like I had much choice. The tip of the lance was barely a centimeter from my neck.

“Well, then—” she said with a nervous swallow. Huh...? “Do... Do something dirty with me, too...”

.........

............

...............

“Eh...?”

“I heard all about it from Kanzashi! I know exactly what you got up to in cyberspace without even asking me! Without approval from the student council! Without permission from the student council president!”

“Wait, that was just, umm, that was just a trap the attacker—”

“Oh, you’re making excuses now? Really? You think excuses will work?”

I wondered why she was so mad about it. There must have been some kind of miscommunication...

“Tatenashi, can you just calm down for a second?”

If she didn’t, I was probably going to get skewered.

“You think I can be calm about this?!” The lance pushed in further, its tip breaking the skin on my neck.

“Whoa! Just put this thing away!”

“Ah, sorry...”

Her voice suddenly calmed, as the lance dissolved into light. And for a moment after, we sat in silence. I leaned toward the hole in the curtain left by the lance to take a peek, but at the same time, Tatenashi did too.

“......!!”

We each pulled back suddenly. What a mess.

“Er, Ichika...”

“Y-Yes?”

“Can I come over there?”

“Okay?” I replied. What was she planning?

“But turn around first!”

“O-Okay!” I turned my back to her bed. As I did, I heard the curtain open and her footsteps on the floor.

“Um, Tatenashi?”

“W-What?”

“Why are you in my bed?”

“Because I’m injured.”

That was true. But it wasn’t what I meant, so I repeated, “I mean, why are you in my bed?!”

“It’s okay if we don’t face each other, right?”

“Eh? Er, yeah, I guess. Okay.”

Whoops, I probably shouldn’t have said ‘okay.’

“...All right.” What was she up to? “Ah. Thanks.”

“Huh?”

“For saving me...”

“Well, I mean, I couldn’t not do it.”

“Still... It made me happy.”

“Understood.”

Surprised by how forceful her voice suddenly was, I stiffened my back.

“.........”

“.........”

We lay there quietly. I couldn’t tell how long it lasted, but her warmth on my back was making my heart race.

“Um, Ichika. Remember how I told you that ‘Tatenashi’ was the name given to the head of the Sarashiki family?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I remember,” I replied. Where did that come from all of a sudden?

“I... I’ll tell you my real name,” she whispered softly in my ear. As my heart pounded at the heat of her breath, she whispered, quietly but firmly. “Sarashiki Katana.”

With that, she beat a quick retreat to her own bed. Her real name, huh. I didn’t understand why she chose to tell me that, but I was happy that I knew a little bit more about her.

◇

At a seashore café next to a park somewhere near IS Academy, a girl sat alone at a table. Her name was Chloe Chronicle. The pilot of the IS Kurokagi. A woman who had sworn loyalty to Tabane.

Mission complete. I’ve got to get away from here. Her untouched latte had long since cooled, and just as she stood to leave it behind...

“Mind if I sit with you?”

With a sudden twinge, the girl, usually so calm, felt her heart leap from her chest. Even with her eyes closed, she recognized it from recordings.

“Orimura... Chifuyu...”

“Have a seat. Let me get you a coffee. Is black okay?”

“.........”

She couldn’t get away. She could feel it instinctively, and had no choice but to sit down as she stewed in dread. With trembling hands, she took the coffee mug.

“All right, I’ll start this from the bottom line. Tell Tabane to keep her nose where it belongs.”

I’m going to have to kill her. Just as the thought rose to Chloe’s mind, Chifuyu spoke, “C’mon. Don’t even think about it. You know you’d have no chance. Not even with your IS.”

“......!” Chloe’s eyes snapped open, revealing one with a striking dark white and golden iris.

“An endoskeletal IS, huh. Tabane’s that far ahead of the rest of the world?” Chifuyu sighed and set down her own mug, and suddenly, the world went white around her. “I see. So in cyberspace you can hack into people’s minds, and in reality you can manipulate the air around them to create illusions. Pretty impressive.”

As she muttered, Chifuyu swatted away Chloe’s dagger with one hand while picking up a spoon from the table and scooping away at the whiteness surrounding her with the other.

“Want your eyes to be next?”

Chloe recognized her defeat. Without protest, she dropped her illusion.

“Very well, then.” Chifuyu drank the rest of her coffee in one gulp and stood up. “Actually, did you want to meet your sister?”

“That... That isn’t my sister... I’m the incomplete version... She’s the perfected Laura Bodewig...” Pausing, she added, “I’m Chloe. Chloe Chronicle.”

The name Tabane had given to her. Satisfied, Chifuyu rose with an ‘I see’ and left. Chloe waited for a while, sipping the still-warm coffee.

“It’s bitter...”

She, too, stood and left the café. Not realizing she was being tailed.

◇

“And... Ahh, perfect.”

In a hotel suite, Squall finished her preparations with a spray of perfume. She looked as stunning as ever in a dress worth thousands of dollars. A necklace studded with diamonds glimmered around her collar, as more decorated her earrings, rings, and bracelet.

Beside her, M silently sat, idly fidgeting with her locket while staring off into space.

“What’s wrong, M? Unhappy about getting dragged to another business lunch?”

“...I have no reason to go with you.”

“But you do! I need a bodyguard, don’t I?”

“Don’t make me laugh.”

M—Orimura Madoka—knew enough about the capabilities of Squall’s IS that she couldn’t take it as anything but irony.

“Shall we get going?”

“Hmph.”

“C’mon, smile a little more. It’s not every day that you get the chance to meet the Shinonono Tabane.”

Madoka followed Squall, not so much resigned to the request as resigned to following orders.

◇

“Mmm. This meat is delicious! Oh, and more wine please!”

The woman energetically munching and chugging her way through a meal was none other than the once-in-a-generation genius IS inventor, Shinonono Tabane. How she had managed to convince Tabane, the world’s most wanted woman, to meet for lunch at this underground restaurant was Squall’s secret.

“Are you enjoying your meal, Dr. Tabane?”

“Hm? Oh, I’m enjoying all of it. Except for the drugged soup, that’s not really my thing.”

Squall’s expression didn’t flinch for a moment, even with her plan foiled. If anything, she was more surprised that Tabane had finished the bowl with no ill effects than that she’d detected it. I suppose it was to be expected. This is Shinonono Tabane. Perching her elbows on the table, Squall kept up her grin.

“Anyway, Dr. Tabane. Have you considered my proposal?”

“Proposal? Which one?”

“Of building a new IS for Phantom Task. With core included, of course.”

“Ahahaha. No way. That’d be way too much work,” Tabane blithely replied, having as much as admitted that she could still produce new IS cores.

“Is there anything I can do to change your mind?”

“Not really. Oh, can I have some cake? And a hamburger, and some curry, and maybe a bowl of noodle salad.” Tabane gnawed at a spare rib as she mischievously ran down the menu with added orders.

“Ahh. So there’s nothing at all I can do to convince you?”

“Pretty much.”

“How about this?” Squall snapped her fingers. Like something out of a movie, Autumn stepped forward, a knife held to a bound Chloe’s neck. “What if we rounded off your meal with a nice fresh steak?”

“Let...”

“Mm?”

“Let her go.” A grin floated to Tabane’s face, as in one sweeping motion she flung all the knives and forks on the table at Squall’s face.

“......?!”

Leaping off Squall’s instinctive defensive crouch, she rebounded from the ceiling with a kick and flew toward Autumn. As Autumn brandished the knife, Tabane twisted her wrist and shoved, plunging it into Autumn’s right lung.

“Wh—”

With three quick palm strikes to her left shoulder, breast, and gut, Autumn was pushed back, away from Chloe. A final kick sent her tumbling back into the wine cellar with a crash of breaking bottles.

“Kuu, you okay? No ouchies?”

“Y-Yes...” Chloe tore the ropes binding her apart bare-handedly while smiling at Tabane.

“Y’know, everyone keeps calling me a genius, but there’s more to me than just my brains,” Tabane giggled as she wrapped her arms around Chloe from behind. “My body, and every cell in it, is superior too.”

Squall had miscalculated badly. She’d thought that, even if a hostage didn’t do the trick, in a worst-case scenario, she could get what she wanted with her IS Golden Dawn. But then—this. If Tabane fought seriously, even an IS may not be enough. No, just starting up her IS may well have left her vulnerable for too long.

“You’d better be on Chichan’s level if you want to take me on bare-handed.”

Squall ground her teeth as she glared at Tabane’s back. But then the tides turned.

“Don’t move!”

Hearing the commotion, Madoka burst into the restaurant from her position outside, her IS Silent Zephyrus already open. Perfect! Great timing, M! This at least made the odds 50/50—no, her relief came too soon.

“Well isn’t that a fascinating IS you’ve got there.” Tabane closed the distance in an instant, perching herself on the tip of Madoka’s rifle.

“......?!”

Just as a shocked Madoka stirred to sweep her away, Tabane reached down and began tearing it into pieces with her bare fingers. Her bits and armor fled too, dissolving into sparkling light like a blizzard of cherry petals. Finally, just as she tore apart Silent Zephyrus’s helmet, Tabane stopped.

“Hmm? Hmmmmmmm?”

“.........”

Pausing, she stared at Madoka’s face. Madoka stood stock-still. If she moved, even her body would be torn apart.

“Aha!”

“......?”

“Ahahahaha! What’s your name?”

Madoka wavered at the sudden burst of laughter.

“Ahahaha. Why don’t you let me guess? Hahaha!” Tabane, seemingly erupting in laughter, clutched her tummy. “Orimura... Madoka, isn’t it?”

“......?!” Squall and Madoka’s jaws dropped in shock.

“I was right! Hehehe, I knew it!” After a moment’s thought, Tabane turned to Squall. “You should have told me it was for her! I’ll do it.”

“Eh—” Madoka gasped in surprise.

“But, hahaha! You’ve got to let me have her. C’mon, c’mon, can I keep her? Pleeeeease?”

“That doesn’t exactly fit my plans,” Squall scowled. Madoka was the one person she could really rely on. Without her, when the time came to put everything into play, Squall knew she’d regret it.

“C’mon, share. Okay, okay, fine. C’mon, Madocchi, tell me what kind of IS you want! A sniper? A close-in fighter? Something with a lot of tricks up its sleeve? Maybe you want to be tanky! Or would you rather float like a butterfly?” Tabane’s eyes glimmered with creativity, like a child holding a crayon. “Whatever, we can figure it out later. Let’s all sit down and have a good meal! Kuu, Madocchi, you two are never gonna grow up big and strong if you don’t eat right!”

Tabane laughed and flounced her ample breasts, as the others watched dumbfounded.

◇

“Ah...”

Several days after the hacking incident, I unfortunately stumbled into the five people I’d been doing my best to avoid—Houki, Rin, Cecilia, Charl, and Laura. It was in the dining hall in the first year dorms. They must have been waiting for me.

“Oh, wait, I forgot something in my room,” I showily intoned, making a U-turn.

“Wait!”

“Hold it right there!”

“Hold up!”

“Halt.”

“Can you hold on a minute?”

Ugh. They had me.

“W-What’s up...” I muttered.

“You’ve been avoiding us, haven’t you.”

Twitch.

“Ichika! What’s gotten into you?! This is no way to treat a lady!”

Wait, you’re the one acting hurt?

“Hmph! He knows he’s done something he should be ashamed of!”

“I should be saying that to you!” I interjected.

“Whaa?!”

“What kind of gentleman are you?”

“What the hell is wrong with you?!”

“Explain yourself, Ichika!”

“Yeah!”

I cleared my throat and argued right back at those angry faces, “All of you! Are those fantasies really what you think of me?! I’ve been too embarrassed to even want to see your faces!”

“Ah...?”

“Uh, well...”

“Do you mean...”

“Like, in cyberspace?”

“I thought I told you to forget about that!”

Seeing their guilt, I pressed them further, “How the heck am I supposed to forget about that?!”

My yelling got the attention of my other classmates, “What’s going on? Did something happen between Orimura and the other cadets?”

“It just never stops with you, does it, Orimu.”

Within seconds, a commotion formed around us. And worst of all, the second-year Mayuzumi was there too. Dammit, this was probably gonna end up in the school paper now...

“I think I just heard ‘fantasies’ and ‘embarrassed’!”

“Ooh, that’s great! Any other juicy tidbits?”

“I’ve noticed that lately he’s been avoiding everyone but Kanzashi.” As soon as Miss Casual said that, they all turned to glare at Kanzashi.

“...Eh?”

A piece of broccoli fell from her mouth. That was good. She was eating her greens.

“And Laura said to forget about something!”

“That’s right! Something must have happened! I can feel my pen calling out to me!”

I give up.

“Our cute little boy is finally going on the attack!”

“Squeee! Orimura finally looked down and found his balls!”

“I thought he’d just keep playing hard to get forever!”

“He’s an animal! No, he’s a beast!”

‘The forbidden beast mode!’ I heard someone shout. What the hell was...

“What is this ruckus?”

Everyone suddenly froze. That ice-cold voice could only be Chifuyu.

“Ah, Chifuyu, this is—”

“Call me Ms. Orimura.”

Pow! Thank you for the lesson...

“Now get outta here! Jeez...”

At least my mess of an evening had finally come to a close... Or so I thought.

◇

Late at night, in the dorm hallway.

“Ah.”

“Ah...”

Two shadows stood before a nameplate reading ‘Orimura.’ One was a willowy, energetic-looking girl with twin pigtails. One was a classy-looking girl with long curled hair and a model’s figure.

“Cecili—”

“Li—”

Remembering where they were, they each clasped a palm to their mouth, before continuing on in whispers.

“What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same, Ling. And why are you half naked?”

“Who dresses up to go to bed? And what about you, Cecilia? Who are you trying to impress with your rack hanging out like that?”

“Wh-What? This is my normal sleepwear.”

“All right, so go to bed then instead of hanging around here.”

“That’s what I was about to tell you! Go back to your room and—”

Rrrrrip.

“What?!”

Hearing something tear, Ling and Cecilia kicked down the door.

“Target secured.”

“Laura, are you sure we should be—”

“Ah!”

“Ah.”

The duos of Cecilia/Ling and Laura/Charlotte stared at each other for a moment.

“Charlotte! Take Ichika and get out of here!”

“Got it...! Wait, what?” Charlotte glanced down at the face of her captive.

“Mm! Mmmph!” It was their assistant homeroom teacher, Ms. Yamada Maya.

“W-W-What on Earth are you doing?! What’s gotten into you?!”

“Ms. Yamada?! W-Why...”

“Ms. Orimura told me to sleep here tonight!”

“Then, um... Where’s Ichika?”

“He’s sleeping in Ms. Orimura’s room!”

“Guh.” Rin’s displeasure was plainly visible in her expression.

“Very well, then, I’ll be taking my leave.” Cecilia swiftly moved to flee.

“Returning to base for some rest.” Laura perched on the windowsill, ready to leap.

“Sounds like a good idea!” Charlotte piggybacked onto her.

“See you later!”

As the four winked at each other, Maya wrapped the arms of her IS around them and grumbled, “...I have a lecture for you tonight!”

Two others listened in on the commotion from around the corner.

“It’s a good thing we didn’t join in,” said Houki.

“Correct,” replied Kanzashi.

It was a long, sleepless night for the four who were caught...