Chapter 3: Third Week of October: A Challenge From Chiharu Dannoura

“Big Sister characters are cursed! Why are the little sister characters the only popular ones? Why is liking big sisters seen as a weird fetish?!” Big Sister Mutsuko was fuming.

Yuichi had no idea why she wanted to see big sister characters get more popular. “Yeah, yeah, big sisters are so cool and awesome, I can’t stand it...” he muttered perfunctorily as he flipped through a magazine.

They were in the club room, after classes. Yuichi generally stopped by every day if he didn’t have something else to take care of.

“We must make it our special mission to revive the big sister character!” Mutsuko declared.

“Seriously, nobody cares!” Yuichi infused his statement with the most earnest lack-of-caring that he could muster.

Mutsuko stood in front of the whiteboard and started writing the issue for the day. She wrote “The Standing of Big Sister Characters” in big letters.

The topics usually had nothing to do with survival, but this one seemed especially egregious. The survival club was just a venue for Mutsuko to do whatever she wanted.

The only ones who were earnestly listening were Kanako and Aiko. Natsuki was listening quietly, too, but her thoughts were as opaque as ever.

Yuichi definitely wasn’t listening. He checked the time — it was 4:00 — then turned his eyes back to the magazine.

Noticing the action, Aiko asked Yuichi a question. “Hey, isn’t it time?”

“Yeah, it is,” he grumbled. “I’m not going, though...”

Aiko’s statement had been encouraging, yet she seemed somehow relieved by this response.

“Huh? What happened? Actually, aren’t you acting pretty weird today, Yu? You’ve been totally self-centered this whole time!” Mutsuko declared.

“I don’t want to hear that from someone ranting about the fate of big sister characters...” Yuichi said as he averted his eyes. But she was right: he was feeling anxious.

It had all started with the love letter he’d found in his shoe cubby that morning.

✽✽✽✽✽

That morning, Yuichi had walked to school with Aiko like always.

The wolfman Nero, in dog form, walked beside her. His label was “Fenrir.” Apparently this had no direct connection to the giant wolf from Norse mythology, but as Nero had apparently killed gods before, they’d started calling him that after the myth.

Nero had appeared suddenly during Yuichi’s summer training camp. He’d referred to Aiko as “princess,” acted as her servant, and accompanied her to school as a bodyguard, as well. It was unnatural to see a dog walking around without a collar, but Aiko had said she didn’t want to put a collar on a sentient being.

“It’s getting pretty cold, huh?” Aiko commented.

“Not cold enough for coats yet, at least,” Yuichi replied. They’d started wearing their winter uniforms recently, and Yuichi could feel the weather growing more autumn-like.

“It’s about time for the culture festival, huh?” Aiko asked. “What’s the survival club gonna do?”

“No clue,” said Yuichi. “Sis might not have much interest in that kind of thing.”

Aiko looked surprised by that. “Really? I thought she liked big events like that.”

“Hmm, she does like a good party, but she’s also pretty considerate of others, despite everything,” said Yuichi. “She’s aware that she sticks out. Of course, she still does whatever she wants...”

“I see. It’s a shame that it doesn’t seem like we’re doing much as a class, either, though...” she murmured.

Yuichi’s class had decided to hold a movie screening. It didn’t require much preparation, and it was funded mostly by Yuri Konishi’s money, apparently. That meant there wasn’t much for Yuichi and the others to do.

“The year is a little over half finished,” said Aiko. “Have you started thinking about what you’ll do after graduation?”

It was around the time that the fact that they were in high school was really starting to sink in. It sounded like Aiko was starting to think about her career path.

“I dunno,” said Yuichi. “I was thinking of a doctor or a policeman...”

“Wow, you’ve already thought about it... but why those?” Aiko asked.

“Well... I want to be useful to people, and those seem like the best fields to make use of my talents.” Yuichi felt a little embarrassed to be talking about his future plans.

“You’re strong, so I can see why police,” said Aiko. “But why doctor?”

“It’s hard to explain... I can tell what’s wrong and how to fix it, instinctively. It’s because of the stuff my sister’s made me do.”

Doing old martial arts also came with in-depth knowledge about the human body. It seemed there really were martial artists who could improve people’s lives through their knowledge of healing.

Yuichi had confidence in his huo fa, techniques for helping people live better lives. It was like the other side of the coin from his killing techniques.

“And martial arts seems useful for police on the face of it, right?” he added.

“True... you won’t have to worry about violent criminals with handguns...” Aiko said thoughtfully, as if remembering something.

“I think you should join Precinct 0!” Mutsuko interrupted, having appeared beside them at some point.

“What the heck? I told you I didn’t want to walk to school with you!” Yuichi yelled at Mutsuko. He’d intentionally left the house at a different time, but now it meant nothing.

“They investigate impossible crimes, and they’re given special license to perform warrantless searches! They also have a murder license that lets them kill people!” Mutsuko exclaimed.

“That sounds like an awful place to work!” Of course, Yuichi now knew about all the strange things happened in the world. The existence of such a place sounded all the more plausible.

“Anyway, off I go! Let the third wheel begone!” With that, Mutsuko began running towards the school.

“‘Let the third wheel begone’? What era are you from?” Yuichi muttered. It seemed like she did respect Yuichi’s desire to walk to school without her, though. Maybe she just hadn’t been able to help speaking up after overhearing their talk about police.

“I think being a doctor would be nice,” Aiko said happily. “Yeah, very peaceful. And you could work at our hospital, too! We’d pay you well!”

“Your hospital does seem pretty well off, Noro,” Yuichi agreed.

While they were discussing that, they arrived at school. They walked into the entryway hall and opened up their shoe cubbies to retrieve their indoor slippers.

“Hmm?” Yuichi tilted his head as he noticed something strange in his cubby.

There was a letter inside.

“Hey... isn’t that...” Clearly noticing Yuichi’s strange behavior, Aiko walked up to him and peeked inside.

Yuichi reached in and retrieved the object. It was definitely a letter. It was in a pink envelope sealed with a sticker that looked like a heart.

He turned it over and saw it addressed to “Mr. Yuichi Sakaki,” so there could be no confusion as to whom it was for.

“A love letter!” Aiko shouted, and the eyes of all the other students turned towards him.

✽✽✽✽✽

Yuichi finished telling the story about the shoe cubbies.

“I see,” said Mutsuko. “And the love letter asked to meet you in the courtyard at 4:00 today? So that’s why you seem so on edge!”

“I’m not on edge!” he snapped. Something about her tone was getting on his nerves.

“But why does Noro know what’s in the love letter?” Kanako asked suspiciously.

“Huh? Oh, well... I accidentally opened it...” Aiko said apologetically.

“You call that accidentally?” Yuichi asked.

Aiko had reddened, plunged in, and snatched the love letter away. Then she’d broken the seal and started reading it.

“Well, you know... I was curious, right?” Aiko fumbled. “You don’t see people write love letters very often nowadays, and I wanted to see what they wrote in it, and... sorry...”

She sounded like she was trying to excuse herself at first, then halfway through she’d just realized it wasn’t working and apologized instead.

“Nah, that’s okay,” said Yuichi. “I don’t really feel like going...”

“No, no, no! You need to go and hear them out!” Mutsuko proclaimed as she pounded on the whiteboard.

He had assumed she wouldn’t care about this sort of thing, but she seemed surprisingly invested in it.

“Huh? But...”

“No buts! There are some forms of selfishness that I can’t forgive! It takes courage to send somebody a love letter, and ignoring that is just rude! Now, hurry up and go!”

Yuichi stood up, as if driven out of his seat. He still wasn’t feeling it at all, but now that she’d mentioned it, maybe it would be rude to ignore it. If he was going to turn this person down, he should do it face-to-face.

“Okay. I’ll go.” Grudgingly, Yuichi left the room and headed for the courtyard.

“Why are you coming along, Noro?” he asked.

“Wh-What’s the big deal? I need to make sure you don’t do anything to hurt her feelings,” Aiko said sulkily.

The two walked side by side down the corridor towards the courtyard.

“Well, okay...” If that was all it was, then Yuichi didn’t mind.

To be frank, he wasn’t fully confident he wouldn’t hurt the person’s feelings. As pathetic as it was, he thought, it might be nice to have her there to cover for him if he said anything stupid. When he thought about it that way, he was glad to have her with him.

The meeting time had been at 4:00 in the courtyard, but it was already ten minutes past. Part of Yuichi was hoping the love letter’s sender might have gone home already.

“Hey... what’s the person like?” Aiko asked.

“You didn’t see the letter?”

“I-It’s not like I read every single line!”

“They didn’t write their name,” Yuichi said. “Only their initials, C.D.”

“Don’t you think it’s a little fishy?” Aiko asked. “Most people would write their full name, don’t you think?”

“That is true,” he agreed. “It’s a bit strange that they wouldn’t reveal their identity.”

Aiko stopped at the exit to the courtyard.

“You aren’t coming with me?” Yuichi asked, finding it curious. He had assumed she would stick by him the whole time.

“Um, I’m not that rude,” said Aiko. “I’ll just watch quietly from the sidelines.”

“Yeah, I guess it would be weird if two people came to meet them.” And so, Yuichi entered the courtyard alone.

He headed for the designated spot, a clock tower near the center of the courtyard. Nobody was there waiting for him.

I guess they went home, after all...

Still, it would be a little cruel to just leave right away, so he just sat down on a nearby bench. But after a few minutes of waiting, there was no sign of anybody coming.

I wonder if it was all a prank...

That thought had never entered Yuichi’s mind when he was on the way, but now, he fell into vague self-recrimination. He sighed and hung his head. He had thought maybe he was worthy of receiving a love letter, but perhaps he was just being conceited.

Yuichi decided to focus his senses on the surrounding area. If it was a prank, somebody might be watching him, but he was hesitant to just start looking all around.

He sensed two presences nearby. One of them was Aiko, who was still inside the school, watching.

The other was at the entrance to the school on the opposite side. That person seemed to be watching him, too. If this was a prank, this person might be the one behind it.

What should he do now, then? Just as he started thinking that over, the presence began to come closer.

It was heading straight for Yuichi.

As Yuichi looked up, he was shocked by what he saw.

What do you have to eat to look like that?! was Yuichi’s first impression upon seeing the approaching girl.

Heavyset people’s bodies were often likened to beer barrels, but in this case, the resemblance was uncanny.

She was shorter than Yuichi, and far thicker. To get that heavy, you’d need a near religious devotion to eating.

Her blazer must have been special order, and even then, seemed like it was on the verge of bursting — which meant that she had gotten even bigger since the uniform had first been made for her.

Did we have someone like her in the school? Yuichi thought. He was sure that if he’d seen someone like this walking around the halls, he would remember, which suggested they must have never crossed paths before.

Yuichi quickly tore his eyes away from the girl’s body to look her in the face. Her hair was dyed brown, done up in a short bob with gentle waves, and her eyes were large and clear. By itself, her face seemed like it might be rather attractive, but it was hard to think about anything but her weight.

Maybe she just happens to be passing by... he thought. Just because she was heavyset was no reason to assume she had set him up.

Still, he had an uneasy feeling about this: her walk was the picture of confidence. Mutsuko walked like that, too. It sparked a feeling in his gut that this girl was going to be a real handful. He’d rather not get involved with her if he could avoid it.

Yuichi kept up his vain hopes, right until the moment the girl was standing right in front of him. Then she met his eyes confidently.

“Yuichi Sakaki... it was bold of you to meet my challenge!”

“Huh?” Her dramatic intonation left Yuichi confused.

Huh? So this wasn’t about a love confession, or a prank? he thought.

“Truly, my plan was perfect,” the girl declared. “To such a shallow man as you, a letter like that would be the perfect bait!”

Is she trying to be “Supreme Ruler of the Century’s End”? wondered Yuichi. Though she looks more like Fudou of the Mountains...

Yuichi remained seated, staring up at the girl’s face in disbelief. Then his eyes strayed a bit higher. The word “Heir” hung above her head.

Heir... that could refer to a lot of things, he thought. A martial art, maybe?

Doubts rose up in his mind, though. There were lots of things in Japan that you could be heir to. It wasn’t necessarily something violent.

“Uh... so you’re the one who asked me out here, huh? What’s the deal?” Yuichi would never usually be so informal with a girl he’d just met, but he would feel like a fool responding with polite speech to the kinds of things she was saying.

“The deal, eh?” The girl let out a cocky laugh. “Don’t play dumb with me. I’ve got these eyes, see! Nobody fools my Apocalypse Eyes!”

Suddenly, alarm bells sounded out in Yuichi’s mind. Not long ago, he would have just taken that as the mad rantings of middle school syndrome. But now it was different. Now that he had Soul Reader, he knew that things like vampires and supernatural beings really existed. He had also heard that there were people being given strange powers through the Divine Vessels, parts of the Evil God.

“What are you talking about?” Yuichi asked cautiously. Maybe she was just feeling him out; he wouldn’t want to give her information she didn’t already have by blurting things out carelessly.

“Mine eyes speak to me of thy power!” the girl exclaimed. “Thine is 18,000... ne’er have I seen another higher at this school!”

“Not that I care, but could you keep your speech pattern straight?!” Yuichi blurted out. It was really annoying, the way she kept changing it.

But she merely laughed it off. “Such willpower you show! Impressed am I!”

“Okay, so you’re telling me that these ‘Apocalypse Eyes’ of yours can read someone’s battle power level?” he asked. It didn’t seem like she was going to spring an attack on him abruptly, so he decided to start with that.

His ability to hold a conversation with such obnoxiousness was thanks to his interactions with Mutsuko. It wasn’t something he was proud of.

“But of course!” the girl declared. “I can see ze numbers above a person’s head. Zis ability is what proves I am ze chosen one!”

“Okay. So, what’s with the threatening name?” he asked. “Why can’t you just call it a Scouter or something?”

Silence fell.

The girl just stood there, an embarrassed expression on her face. Yuichi was starting to feel a little awkward.

“S-Silence, rabble! We call our eyes Apocalypse Eyes!” she protested, suddenly.

What was with the royal we?

He sighed. “So, what do you want? And what’s your name, anyway?”

“I have no name for trash like you!” she snapped.

You’re the one who called me out here...

This was starting to get ridiculous, Yuichi thought. Maybe if he just walked away, she would turn out to be harmless.

“Oh, hey, Chiharu!” a voice was calling out from the school building. “We’re going out to karaoke. Wanna come?”

There was a group of three girls calling out to the fat girl standing in front of him. Apparently, her name was Chiharu.

“I’ll have to catch up later! Sorry! I’ll email you, ’kay?” Chiharu called back amiably. “Now, as regards my business with you...”

She turned back to Yuichi, her expression becoming theatrically intense.

“What the hell?!” he exploded. “You were talking like a normal person just now!”

“You expect me to speak as friends with one I am about to fight?!” she thundered.

“So it’s Chiharu, huh?” he asked. “What’s your full name?”

She scoffed. “So, with foul tricks, you have revealed my name! Chiharu Dannoura is my name! The name of she who will slaughter you! And when you arrive in hell, you may tell the demons the tale!”

“What did you mean when you said we would fight? Do we even have a reason to do that?” Yuichi asked.

“A reason, eh? ’Tis little of merit. I can’t see my own power level with my power. Thus, I must test it in deadly combat!”

Yuichi couldn’t use his own power on himself, either, so that made a strange sort of sense. Maybe that was just a general property of magic sight.

“Dannoura,” he said, “if you want to fight, can I assume you practice something?”

There was something unusual in the way Chiharu stood. He had seen it when she’d walked up to him; she had a very stable gait. She wasn’t just some ordinary fat girl.

“My art is Dannoura Archery!” Chiharu declared. “The invincible form of archery founded by Nasu no Yoichi, specialized for close-range combat! Yuichi Sakaki, you are the perfect test target to establish my skill level!”

Yuichi didn’t know much about it, but he did know there were forms of archery that specialized in close combat. It was an Uchine-jutsu technique that allowed the user to use their bow as a spear. This allowed archers to protect themselves on the battlefield after they ran out of arrows. There was a weapon called a hazuyari that involved a spear tip being applied to the nock of the bow.

“Archery, huh?” he asked. “So where’s your bow?”

Chiharu was empty-handed, and it didn’t look like she could have stashed it anywhere.

She laughed again, cockily. “Just as sword arts can evolve to be without sword, so too has my art evolved to be without bow!”

It didn’t make a lot of sense to him, but she sounded very proud of it.

“Um, doesn’t that defeat the point of having ranged weapons?” Yuichi asked. Bows existed to let you attack someone else from afar, with no risk of retaliation. Without that, what was the point? It wasn’t the same thing as losing a sword.

“Are you a fool, Yuichi Sakaki?” she exclaimed. “Battle is ever an unknown quantity! Bows get lost all the time! Are we then to be killed with no method of resistance? Our founder created methods to survive no matter what the situation! Besides, my bow exists in my heart! It’s hidden inside of my soul!” Chiharu thumped her chest. So she really was proud of it.

“Fine,” he said. “If you want to fight, let’s get it over with!”

Yuichi had no qualms about accepting a challenge from a woman.

“Hold! I spoke to thee the name of my school,” the girl said. “In the name of battle etiquette, wilt thou not name thine?”

“I don’t have a school!” Yuichi fired back, a bit too quickly. That was the one thing he didn’t want to talk about.

The name of the martial arts style his sister had worked out was “Type-Zero Extreme Defense Arts,” but if he had to say it out loud, he would lose all will to fight. Thinking back now, he really should have talked with her about the name a little more.

“Oh-ho! Surely you jest,” the girl mocked. “Even more inevitable, your certain loss has become.”

“How is it certain?” Yuichi asked. “We haven’t done anything but talk.”

“It was decided the moment I arrived here, for I came later than you! Such has the pattern been since the days of old, the days of Ganryujima! Ever has a late arrival signaled a victory flag! Well? Surely you’re annoyed that you didn’t think of that! Let that stress shave away at your ability all the more! On top of that, there are no circumstances in which one who does not name his art can ever win!”

“I’m only annoyed by one thing here, and that’s the way you talk!” Yuichi exploded. “If you want a fight, bring it on!”

Chiharu laughed again. “Then let it begin!” With that, she turned her back on Yuichi and began running at full tilt.

“Huh?” Yuichi was confused.

Chiharu was faster than her appearance might suggest; she arrived at the school building before he could even get his thoughts together.

If he went after her right away, he could take her out with a single blow from behind. On the other hand, if he let her run away, maybe he wouldn’t have to deal with it... But no, he decided. If he just walked away now, she would probably make trouble later.

This hesitation was Chiharu’s salvation... or perhaps it was part of her plan. If it was, he had to hand it to her. Her pompous, swift-talking attitude had shaved away at his enthusiasm and allowed her to get the drop on him.

Yuichi quickly ran to pursue Chiharu. She was out of sight by the time he arrived in the building, so he tracked her using the reverberation of her footsteps. After walking down the hallway for a while, he sensed a presence from one of the downwards staircases. Yuichi had never been there before, but he knew it led to a basement storehouse.

He turned to enter the stairway. Chiharu was already there, standing halfway down. There was an enormous bow in her hand, a compound bow used in Western-style archery.

“I’m not sure what to comment on first... I thought you’d evolved beyond the bow? And why a Western-style bow?” Yuichi couldn’t help but ask.

Chiharu cackled. “Got your guard down, didn’t I?! Western-style bows got more power, see? And they’re cooler!”

“Have a little more respect for your traditions!” Yuichi shouted. Of course Yuichi, who practiced a mish-mash martial art, had no right to lecture her there.

“Martial arts evolve to suit the environment!” Chiharu declared. “If better tools exist, it’s only natural to use them!”

Chiharu held the bow parallel to the floor. It would just barely fit in the staircase.

“If we made a drawing of this, archery otakus would lose their minds with criticism...” Yuichi muttered.

She wasn’t wearing a yugake — the three-fingered glove used in Japanese archery — or the release used in Western archery. She seemed intent on drawing the string bare-handed.

“Extend!” Chiharu shouted while Yuichi was still lost in thought.

Needle-shaped anchors on both tips of the bow flew out, striking the concrete wall with a tremendous sound. Chiharu nocked the arrow.

There was no head on it, suggesting she wasn’t trying to kill him — but still, it was as thick as a steel pipe. A hit from that would definitely be disabling.

Chiharu then grabbed the string and fell backwards, as if she was going to topple down the stairs. Her body leaned back to be parallel with the staircase. (This happened to flip up her skirt to reveal her panties, but he wasn’t especially pleased by the sight.)

“You think I’m heavy for no reason?” she shouted. “Weight is power! Yes, this is why! It is not at all because I love sweets!”

“Um, shouldn’t you have done the preparations for this in advance? Like, before I showed up?” Yuichi asked. If this had been her plan, she should have set it up beforehand and fired the minute Yuichi arrived. He could be doing anything in the time it was taking her to ready and explain it.

“Because it’s cool, of course!” she declared. “I wanted to show off the extension!”

Something in the way she talked reminded him of Mutsuko. He was getting a sneaking suspicion that his big sister was involved in this gimmick somehow.

“What’s your countermeasure if I just try to walk back into the hall?” he asked.

The bow was fixed in place, so she couldn’t change the aim. In other words, if he wanted to avoid the attack, all Yuichi had to do was leave.

“My countermeasure is... well... ah, I know! I’ll say you lost because you ran away!” Chiharu stammered, flustered. She hadn’t seemed to anticipate what would happen if Yuichi just walked away, or if he hadn’t come at all.

“I’m starting to think I wouldn’t mind losing at this point...” Yuichi muttered.

Even so, he hated to lose. Now that the challenge had been issued, he didn’t want to run away. He anticipated that Chiharu would also declare him the loser if he tried to stop her before she fired. That meant his only choice was to react after she did so.

“Take this!” she shouted. The compound bow, stretched to its limits with her weight, released its arrow.

As Chiharu tumbled down the stairs, the arrow tore through the air, letting out a howl as it went.

Yuichi snatched it out of the air. The arrow hung there, inches from his face, trembling as if enraged.

“Can we just say I won now?” He had known both the trajectory and the timing, so catching it had been simple.

“Wh-What?” Chiharu looked up at Yuichi, dumbfounded, from the bottom of the stairs. It seemed she had only had the one arrow; she wouldn’t be firing at him again.

“Urk... ah... I just realized I can’t set the bow back to normal!” she exclaimed. “I can’t get it home like this! I’m gonna get yelled at!”

“That’s what you’re worried about?” Yuichi tossed the arrow aside, then descended the stairs. A weapon that couldn’t be reset after it deployed... it was sounding more and more like the work of Mutsuko.

He knew it was none of his business, but Chiharu looked so pathetic that he decided he’d help her clean up.

“Is it okay to break this?” Yuichi asked as he stood in front of the bow. He could probably retrieve it if he broke it in two.

“Yes... inevitable that may be. Such a waste it is, but... yes. I’ll fetch some tools.” With that, Chiharu slipped past Yuichi and ascended the stairs. Once she had reached the top, she whipped back around. “You fell for it, Yuichi Sakaki! This was all part of my plan! You see, clever schemes are a part of the Dannoura School! Now, I have you right where I want you!”

“Plan? You were just panicking about it!” he exclaimed. She must have just thought of her new plan as she’d reached the top of the stairway.

“Shut up! As long as I win, that’s all that matters!” she shouted. “Take this! Dannoura Flying Body Attack!”

Chiharu leaped down at him.

“Give a little more thought to the name!” he shouted.

Her enormous mass — likely more than 100 kg — hovered in the air above him. It was an extremely intimidating sight. Chiharu turned her body horizontal to make his chances of escape all the less likely, and flew at him in a body press.

It was a worrying trajectory. If she kept flying this way, she’d hit him right with her central mass. If he tried to climb down, he’d hit the bow, and even if he reached the bottom, the basement door was closed.

If he was going to run, it would have to be up. He just had to get past her and run up the stairs.

But Yuichi opted to strike back. He could catch her if he wanted to, but he refused to be so kind.

Yuichi dropped his hips, stepped forward with his left leg, and struck up with his left fist.

It was a tontian pao, a move from Bajiquan, more commonly known as an uppercut. It was generally used to hit someone’s jaw from below, rather than to counterattack against a fat person jumping down at you. Still, it could be useful in this situation.

Yuichi’s fist hit Chiharu’s side. He then unleashed his next move, pulling back his left hand and kicking up with his right leg. The recoil of the kick brought his right leg down, and he then kicked up with his left.

It was lian huan tui, another Bajiquan technique. Her fleshy mass finally lost its momentum and went flying back. Chiharu collided with the ceiling, then fell flat against the staircase.

Yuichi had won.

“Ugh... I-I lose... I admit it...” the fallen Chiharu said, looking up at Yuichi. She didn’t seem to be too badly hurt; her layers of fat must have absorbed some of the shock.

“You said I’m the strongest here, so it’s admirable that you were brave enough to challenge me,” Yuichi said. “But if you wanted to test your strength, shouldn’t you have started with the weakest and gone up?”

“Ah!” Chiharu’s eyes went wide. “I thought that if I beat the strongest person, it would mean my power level was over 18,000! That idea popped into my head, and I soon grew unable to think of anything else! I also thought that resolving things with one battle might save me time!”

Well, she doesn’t seem like a bad person... a bit ridiculous, but...

“Okay, whatever, but are you satisfied now?” He was pretty sure she was admitting defeat, but he had to be sure.

“Ngh! Kill me!” she cried.

“What the hell?!”

“The winner has the right to have his way with the loser! K-Kill me! I’m ready! Do as you will!” As she spoke, she tore open her shirt. She had quite an ample bust, but that may have just been due to her overall circumference. It was hard to tell how much of it was breasts and how much was fat.

She thinks I’m gonna molest her because she lost? Yuichi thought incredulously. She must have been playing too many porn games...

“Um... sorry, but I’d rather not,” Yuichi apologized wearily.

“Very well! Then I’ll let you join my reverse harem!” Chiharu seemed undeterred by Yuichi’s refusal.

“Did you just demote me?” he burst out. “And harem? You’re kidding, right?”

“You’ll be joining three turtles and one Pomeranian!” she declared.

“Turtles and dogs? Those are just pets!”

“Do not underestimate the Pomeranian! They have what it takes to survive in Tokyo Jungle!” she declared.

“They can’t actually beat alligators and lions in real life! But I guess I should get something for beating you... Hey, could you answer a few questions for me?” he asked.

“Interrogation, eh? Bring it on! I’ll answer even the most embarrassing of questions!” As usual, she was jumping to obnoxious conclusions, but he decided to ignore this and move on. He just had to deal with her the way he dealt with his sister.

“How did you end up with those eyes? You weren’t born with them, right?” he asked.

“No,” she said. “They awakened in me over summer vacation, without warning.”

“Did someone give them to you?”

“No, they did not. If I’d experienced such an incredible event, I should like to replay it now!”

It seemed like she hadn’t been given them by an Outer, either. He wasn’t sure if this had something to do with the Evil God, but if she was possessed by a God Vessel, she could let them know when resonance was happening.

“That bow you had,” he said. “Did you make it yourself?”

“My elder, Sakaki, made it for me,” she said.

“Dammit, Sis... why do you have to give dangerous stuff to crazy people?” Yuichi pressed a hand to his forehead and stared at the floor. He’d known it. His sister was the only person he knew who would have made something like that.

“Did you challenge me to a fight knowing I was Mutsuko Sakaki’s little brother?” he asked.

“What?! That’s right, you’re a Sakaki, too! What a fool I have been!” Her surprise was exaggerated, but it didn’t appear to be a lie.

“Oh, come on. You should have realized it...” he sighed.

“I’m afraid it’s not that easy,” she said. “Sakaki is not an unusual name.”

“Compared to Dannoura, I guess it isn’t,” he said. “By the way, I’ve never seen you around before. What class are you in?”

“1-G.”

“Oh, the music curriculum,” he said. Seishin High School had a general curriculum, as well as a music curriculum and an economics curriculum. A through F were general courses, G was music, and H was economics. Since they had different requirements, the general courses and the music courses moved around at different times. That would explain why Yuichi had never seen her before.

“I’m in the choir club, too,” she said. “The ones who called to me earlier are my friends from the choir club.”

“Wh... What?” Yuichi asked, dismayed.

“What? Why do you look so despondent?” she cried.

It was only natural that Chiharu wouldn’t understand his reaction. Yuichi still wanted to join the choir club. But knowing that Chiharu would be there gave him pause.

“Nothing... I was just thinking... that life can be really unfair,” he said morosely. “Anyway, I’m going now. Please, lay off the challenges, okay?”

Yuichi slouched up the stairs and left the basement behind.

✽✽✽✽✽

When Yuichi met up with Aiko again, he was acting very strangely.

“So? Did you turn her down? What happened? And why do you look so sad?” Aiko pestered. She was a straightforward girl, so naturally, her first question was about whether or not he’d turned her down. When she’d seen the girl run away and Yuichi run after her, Aiko hadn’t been sure whether she should chase them or not. But, deciding things would get bad if she was seen, she had decided to wait where she was.

The whole time she’d been waiting, she had been utterly restless. It didn’t look like anyone was confessing their love, but that had been the person who had sent the love letter. With no idea what was going on, Aiko had spent the entire time on tenterhooks.

“Oh. I won,” Yuichi said.

“Huh?” Aiko asked, unsure of how one could “win” a love confession. “I don’t really get it, but... hey, why are you staring at me?”

Yuichi was staring at Aiko with an expression of simultaneous disbelief and relief. Feeling embarrassed, Aiko reflexively turned her eyes down, and glanced up at him.

“Oh... I was just thinking, you’re so nice and compact, Noro,” he said. “It really makes me feel safe.”

“C-Compact? Safe?” Aiko said hesitantly, unsure if that was a compliment or not.

It wasn’t until some time afterwards that she realized he was basically calling her short.