Airi

Airi

Girls grow faster than boys in their early teens. Yosho was twelve and Airi fifteen. At first glance, they seemed more like older sister and younger brother.

“Let’s go!” Using Yosho’s “date itinerary” as reference (that was the excuse), Airi blazed through like she was checking the items off of a homework assignment.

For Yosho, this “date” had a purpose, and that was to flush out whoever was keeping watch on Yosho and Airi by luring them out under various conceivable conditions. Funaho observed from above, watching an area dozens of kilometers wide for mechanical movements, suspicious people in the crowd, and all kinds of elements to deduce likely suspects. Since he did not know how many they could be, and with the ambiguity of the situation, he had figured it would be impossible to go over the entire itinerary in a single day. He had planned to split it up over a few days. This was the first day…however…

“Let’s see, what’s next… Oh, let’s go over there! Come on!” Airi took Yosho’s hand with excitement in her voice. At this rate, they would complete the itinerary in a single day. There was no chance of sussing anyone out.

“A-Airi-dono, a little more slowly… We don’t need to rush so much.” “Come on, get going. Or we won’t be able to go through this in one day.”

“We don’t have to do this in one day,” Yosho tried to explain but could not contain her momentum.

“Next! Next!” As Airi continued the forced march, Yosho had to wonder if she was doing this on purpose, but her beaming smile was enough to sweep such concerns under the rug. And the more dazzling it was, the more Yosho felt tormented by guilt.

In the end, they completed the route before evening. Airi collapsed, panting and dripping with sweat, on the grass in the park where they had met up that morning. She tried to catch her breath without even bothering to mop her brow.

“Airi-dono, are you all right?” Yosho fanned her with the folding fan he carried.

“Y-Yosho-kun…you look well…” Choking on her words and dragging herself upright, she glared at him with chagrin.

“You should continue to rest…”

“It’s too hot…!” She crawled into the shade. “Fan me!” Airi rolled over again and ordered Yosho with a sharp glance.

“Sure.”

“You think I’m old…don’t you?” Airi mumbled in the dappled light, fanned by Yosho.

“Huh…?”

“I’m three years and four months older than you. I’m sure you think of me as an old lady.” She seemed angry and began to pout.

“I didn’t say that.”

“But you’re thinking it.”

“I’m not,” Yosho said as calmly and gently as he could. He knew people like her would fixate on an idea, and poke at it until they were satisfied. He had no choice but to take her seriously and be patient. “You ran a lot, so it’s only natural.”

“Then what about you? You’re not even out of breath.” “I’ve been trained.”

At those words, all the anger vanished from Airi’s eyes. She stared at him in silence. “You should be at least a resentful little… Wipe that enlightenment off your face. You idiot,” Airi lightly pinched Yosho’s cheek and smiled sadly. She was painfully aware of what kind of world he lived in at the tender age of twelve, and she found his maturity to be pitiable. “Poor Yosho-kun.”

Yosho could not respond and let Airi do as she pleased. He did not consider himself pitiable. He was the Crown Prince of Jurai, after all. It was true that there was a lot of friction surrounding his mother, and he felt he wanted to protect her. Was that pitiable?

Airi watched Yosho ponder all this, leapt up, and out of the blue, bonked him on his head. “For the love of… Just laugh!! Cry!!” She screamed and tickled him all over. “Get angry!! You brat!!” She immediately put him into a Cobra Twist-like submission hold. Her words did not correspond to each action.

The passersby simply watched calmly and said, “Oh, she’s at it again.” “Poor guy. Who’s the new victim?”

“Airi sure is boisterous.”

Yosho heard all these snippets of conversation. To the people who lived here, this kind of thing must be a regular occurrence.

“If you’re twelve, act like it and show some emotion!!” She put him in something like a Boston Crab this time. She was definitely not going easy on him.

“A-Airi-dono. Everyone’s watching… This isn’t proper…” Yosho muttered, wincing in pain. If he flexed just a little, he could bounce her off without hurting her, but he understood vaguely how she was feeling and so kept taking the abuse.

“You could at least complain that it hurts…” Airi puffed out her cheeks in frustration and sat down a little ways away.

“I can’t do that in public.”

“I see… So anyway, why are you doing that?” Airi pointed at Yosho’s legs. He was sitting formally, with his legs under him and back straight.

“In these situations, I would need permission from the eldest present to be at ease.”

Airi bolted upright, straightened the hem of her skirt, and corrected her posture. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m the one with no manners when I’m with you…”

“Huh? What was that? I didn’t hear you, could you repeat that?” “Nothing!”

“Okay…”

“Yeah…” Airi breathed a sigh of relief. Yosho didn’t press further.

The conversation abruptly broke off into an awkward silence. In that silence, the bell tolling five o’clock echoed from the distance. Airi took this opportunity and said with obvious relief, “S-say…shall we have dinner, if you don’t have plans after this?”

“Well, there’s the restaurant we passed.”

“Go to expensive places like that when you want to show off to your actual girlfriend. I know a good place near here.” Airi felt much better after resting and pulled Yosho along in much the same way as before.

“A-Airi-dono, we don’t have to hurry.” The more Yosho pleaded, the more Airi rushed. They ended up running, threading through the throngs of people.

The place Airi took them, a restaurant called Narsis, was on the second floor of a large mall next to the park. It did not look distinctive but more like a garden-variety run-of-the-mill restaurant. But when she brought him to the terrace, Yosho opened his eyes wide at the majestic view.

“Wh-what is this place?!” In front of them was a seven-hundred-meter cliff carved by a giant cylinder about a dozen kilometers wide. Beyond that, the ocean spread before them. Yosho hastily confirmed where they were on the guide map, but such a place was not listed. Only a red square denoting “secret” obliterated the spot. Important research facilities were often not made public. It was optically processed to be camouflaged from above.

“Surprised? Isn’t this an amazing view?” Airi, seeing his shock, was delighted.

“But isn’t this a restricted area?”

“How could there be a mall in a restricted area? That map means ‘don’t tell anyone.’”

“Tell…?”

“Don’t you get it?” She chuckled. “This place is hidden to surprise the people who come here for the first time.” Airi was cheerful, having worked through her earlier dissatisfaction.

“To surprise people? That’s the only reason…?” “Yes, that’s it. It’s just a prank.”

“Isn’t this too elaborate?”

Airi laughed then said with a straight face, “Yosho-kun, that’s exactly the kind of place Galaxy Academy is.” The expression correctly captured the Academy’s true essence. “It’s to surprise people who come to the Academy for the first time. They put in a few places like this, and the students add their own twists. They can have a simple reveal or an ambitious prank…”

According to Airi, this was a crater fifty kilometers wide created by an accident of an experimental device gone awry, and who should have made it, but none other than Professor Washu? It should have been fixed right away, but the students who Washu had been toying with…or rather, was doting on, waged a massive campaign to preserve a rare example of Washu having made a mistake.

“Hmph! This is nothing but a pore,” commented Washu; and with that, this attraction was christened “Washu’s Pore.” This horrible taste in names was characteristic of Academy students.

Looking out the window at the landscape, Airi murmured, “Yosho-kun, the area around the crater is the facilities for the philosophy department.”

“Philosophy?!” It was no small wonder he was surprised. The philosophy department consolidated the wealth of knowledge from all fields, unifying it into one theory, and decided policies based on ethics. The philosophy department was where the greatest minds of Galaxy Academy gathered. “Then this size makes sense.”

“This is only part of it, and the facilities are for a single department member.”

“One person is using this whole place?”

“It’s not a rarity for philosophy, but this is special. It’s a sort of memorial hall, too.”

“A memorial hall?”

“You might’ve heard of Hakubi Washu and Akara Naja, the best of the Academy and legendary philosophers. This is their hall of achievements.”

“I know of Hakubi Washu but not Akara Naja…”

“Naja had more of a supportive role. If you’re interested, I can show you around. That place is like my backyard… Although the philosopher there right now is an old man, and he’ll tell you tales of the good old days over tea for hours.” Airi bore the distinctive smile of one who had experienced this firsthand.

Yosho was momentarily captivated by her expression, when in front of him were placed some delicious-smelling dishes. “Welcome, Airi. This must be the person from Jurai you were talking about. It took a whole month for you to bring him here? That’s not like you.” The middle-aged waitress laughed.

“No, this is the next guy.”

“My name is Masaki Yosho Jurai. Nice to meet you,” Yosho assessed that she was Airi’s acquaintance and stood to introduce himself.

“Well, well, what a polite fellow. My name is Karsa Igulier. I own this place. In any case, the Jurai in your name means…” “He’s the Crown Prince of Jurai.”

“So this must be his third day here. Wow…” She stared at Yosho, impressed, but placed the dishes deftly on the table without pause. This was Airi’s special place, to which she would not bring someone who had not learned her special brand of etiquette. It took an average of two weeks. Most students ran away before that.

Airi spoke to Yosho, who was staring at the food. “The dishes here should be palatable to most people. What do you think?” Galaxy Academy hosted students from diverse backgrounds. Each nationality had its own taste in cuisine, and the rare students who went home unable to get used to the food did so mainly due to religious restrictions, not a matter of being “picky.”

“Jurai was originally a multicultural nation, so I’m fine with cuisine from anywhere. I have no religious restrictions…”

“Okay, good.” Airi said, visibly relieved, and they began eating. The food here tasted better than what was served in the dorms and felt homier.

“Airi-dono, are you the guide for others besides me?” Yosho asked between bites.

“No, just you right now… Oh, are you asking about the other guy from Jurai?” Airi took a sip of her tea. “I gave him my opinion, and he put in a request for someone else. And I’ve heard nothing since. Well, that kind of thing happens a lot to me.”

“Is that so?” Yosho gazed at the chuckling Airi and figured the other Juraian was Amaki.

They continued to chat idly about their interests and hobbies, finished their meal, and rose to go to the cashier. “Yosho-kun, go on ahead. I’m going to pay the bill.”

“I asked you out today, so I should…”

“Don’t be silly. Students using government funds to study abroad shouldn’t spend frivolously. Paying with money you’re sponging off your parents doesn’t give me any satisfaction.”

“Aren’t you in the same boat?”

“I have a part-time job. So I got this.” She poked Yosho’s forehead lightly with her index finger.

As Crown Prince, he owned his own planet and paid the tuition from the generated income. If I told her it’s my own money…she would probably hit me. Airi would not accept that as earned income.

Airi paid the bill and walked over to Yosho, waiting by the entrance. “Sorry to keep you waiting… Let’s go.”

“Thank you for the meal.” “It’s no big deal.”

“May I ask a question?”

“What?”

“You said you had a job. Why? You’re not in a situation where you have no choice, are you?”

“To be able to speak my own mind, I guess…” “Your opinions?”

“And to have some freedom,” Airi said, looking up at the fading daylight. She did not show it in her face, but Yosho sensed a little sadness from her.

“Isn’t it hard to work while studying? And you’re also my guide…” “It’s no big deal once you get used to the workload. And you don’t require much fuss… But there is one problem.”

“What? What have I done to cause you trouble?”

“You’re such a good kid that I can’t work my frustrations out on you.” Airi clenched her fists and put them in the air like she’d done the first time they met at the space port.

“You seemed to have just done a lot of that at the park…” “Ha ha! That was not nearly enough.”

Hearing Airi’s joyful laugh, Yosho laughed in spite of himself. “Maybe I should get a job, too.”

“The quickest would be offering yourself up as an experimental subject.”

“Airi-dono, you’re not serious?!” He stopped in the street and stared at her.

“I’m not doing that. There’s no telling what they’d do to me here. I tutor elementary students. There are three of them…” She suddenly remembered, as she quickly checked the time on her watch. “Uh-oh, in fact, it’s almost time for that. I’m sorry, but I gotta go, Yosho-kun. I had fun today.”

“Good luck on your job.” They exchanged farewells and parted at the streetcar station.

Yosho saw the train off and felt a presence behind him. It was not malicious, but its focus was clearly directed at him. From the crowd, an elderly man slowly approached Yosho and reverently bowed his head. “Masaki Yosho Jurai-sama, I presume?”

“Yes. And you are?”

“I apologize for this sudden intrusion. My name is Hirata Kaneaki, butler to Amaki Kasen-sama. My master has ordered me to come get you.”

Yosho noticed that the man was not alone and had placed about ten people around him. If he were to refuse, they would resort to force. Not even ten men would be able to hold Yosho down; he was that powerful already.

They knew this, but their master’s orders were absolute. Yosho could imagine how this faithful-looking man would take the blame for not being able to execute the order, and he felt compelled to accept the offer. “All right, please take me there.”

The man who called himself Kaneaki was slightly taken aback at Yosho’s docile words. He had never expected the Crown Prince to accept such a rude invitation. A large landcar pulled up in front of them, and Kaneaki opened the door for Yosho.

The stars started twinkling as they drove northward on the highway; Yosho sat in the backseat and spoke to Kaneaki sitting across from him. His face had reminded him of Kanemitsu, whom he had met on his first day here. “Excuse me, but are you related to Hirata Kanemitsu-dono?”

“My apologies. I should have come clean with you first. Kanemitsu is my son. A couple of nights ago, he was extremely rude to you. What he did was entirely my responsibility…”

“Please don’t worry about it. I am but a student here, and he gave me advice and encouragement as my senpai. I am still inexperienced, so please tell him I would appreciate more direction from him in the future.” Yosho bowed deeply. He may have been Jurai Crown Prince, but even Kaneaki found it hard to believe that this was a twelve year old.

“I’m sorry I summoned you.” Amaki Kasen, surprisingly sturdily built, came out to greet them. He was about seventeen, with a nervous look in his eyes that belied his physique. He seemed polite on the surface, but he quickly and arrogantly sat down again. Kaneaki looked more surprised than Yosho at this patronizing behavior.

“You are dismissed,” Kasen ordered Kaneaki.

The old man standing next to Kasen noticed that Kaneaki was about to say something and held out his hand to reiterate the command to withdraw.

Kaneaki glanced at Yosho and left the room. The old man saw him off and bowed reverently to Yosho. “Yosho-sama. I am grand chamberlain of Amaki Kasen-sama; my name is Kazakami Seishu. I am pleased to make your acquaintance. On this occasion…”

“Enough. Let’s get started.” Kasen, irritated, haughtily leaned back in his seat.

“Of course… We had you come here today due to my master’s patriotism.”

He’s really going to make his chamberlain say everything? I see. No wonder Airi-dono didn’t like Kasen. He started to realize how ridiculous this was, so he cut to the chase. “I understand what Kasen-dono is trying to say. But I plan to ask Airi-dono to continue to be my guide.”

“Wh-what? She’s the daughter of a hostile enemy leader. She mocked and humiliated me!” Kasen stood and raised his voice.

Unperturbed, Yosho answered, “There may be conflict between believers of Airain and some Juraians, but it hasn’t developed into a hostile relationship yet.”

“They take advantage of us because of such weakness!”

“It’s forbidden to bring quarrels between nations to the Academy. We have gathered here to study. Where does that put the Academy, which provides us with this site? And people from various countries are here. Surely you’re aware of what they would think of anyone with no sense of decorum.” Yosho’s voice was clear, without faltering.

“B-but a Crown Prince on a woman’s leash is a national disgrace!

What kind of effect would that have on Jurai?”

“I am still inexperienced enough that I need guidance from others.

What kind of influence would I have? You shouldn’t worry about someone who’s not even allowed to attend the Supreme Council yet.”

“Then what about the Royal Trees? The Crown Prince, tricked by a woman, could turn against us with a First Generation Tree.”

What an absurd thing to say. Yosho could only laugh internally at Kasen’s obstinate offensive. “I appreciate your concern, but the Royal Trees are sentient. Under contract with Tsunami the progenitor, the Royal Trees were promised to entwine their fates with Jurai and would never grow hostile even under orders.”

“What about influence on Jurai? The First Empress will be placed in a difficult position.” Kasen targeted Yosho’s greatest weakness. This was probably his trump card, but Yosho was undaunted.

“I’m here to study and to find friendship. I can’t arbitrarily decide for myself what the Supreme Council might proclaim in the future. I will bear your advice in mind, but I must follow the rules of the Academy. Is that all right?”

“But you should avoid indiscretions…!”

“The selection of a guide is voluntary, and I understand final assignments are made by the student council. Surely all background information was taken into consideration. And since I haven’t received any instruction from Jurai, I have no reason to have her step down as my guide. That’s what I’ve decided.”

“Urk…” Kasen scowled. The grand chamberlain beside him looked relieved that Yosho had smoothed things over Kasen’s discourtesy without making things worse.

“If that is all, I have curfew, so may I excuse myself?”

“Take him home!” Kasen spat out and retreated to an inner room. The poor grand chamberlain approached Yosho with an expression of dismay.

“Y-your Majesty, please forgive us for the repeated transgressions.” “I’m not bothered. I’m grateful that he gave me advice.”

“Such kind words.”

Yosho gently turned down an invitation to dinner and headed back to the dorm. He was used to bitter words from being on Jurai and had acquired the art of this reaction entirely out of his love for his mother. His kindness allowed him to feel that such things were no big deal.

The fireworks for that night’s celebration (happening tonight, as usual) lit his face through the car’s window. He stared out in silence and remembered Airi. He figured the act would lift his spirits. In fact, a smile spread on Yosho’s lips.

Back in his room, he accessed Funaho in orbit. All First Generation Trees were able to access any computer on Jurai without requiring authorization first. “Seto-sama’s would be best…” After some pondering, Yosho linked to Mikagami, Seto’s Second Generation Tree, via Funaho. Seto’s ability to gather and analyze information was superior to that of his father and that of the Emperor of Jurai’s official intelligence bureau. Of course, only a few in the Imperial Family knew this, namely the Emperor, Misaki, and Funaho. Yosho would never have found out if he did not have a First Generation Tree.

He asked Mikagami to analyze the data he gathered today, behind Seto’s back. An order from a First Generation Tree was prioritized unless it endangered the life of the sworn partner of the Royal Tree. That was how Yosho was able to pull off a stunt like this. The results came back almost instantaneously.

“That seemed too fast. Hm…?!” Looking at it closely, an amount of data far beyond what he gathered, from throughout the Academy, flowed into his terminal. He was momentarily taken aback, but thinking calmly, it was obvious. Seto was the best at gathering intelligence on Jurai. There was no way she would not have information on the entire Galaxy Academy, as well as the actions of Yosho, one of its students.

“Wow, it’s raining spies.” Yosho and Airi’s actions today were unexpectedly effective. It had spurred some kind of action from most of the intelligence organizations that had marked them. If he told Airi everything, she might become paranoid, so he picked out only the ones that might present danger to her.

However, under those conditions, the professional intelligence bureaus did not present any risk at all, and the terrorists had all been marked through cooperation between the bureaus and the Academy. The most dangerous were the ones not marked, i.e. Kasen and his student minions. Academy students were guaranteed free rein and privacy, but pushing the envelope on the rules was not a good thing, and severe punishment awaited if anything happened.

Such was student privilege here.

Seto should have information on that. Yosho tried to pick out information on just the students from the massive amount of data but noticed that it was wholly missing.

“The students were excluded from intelligence gathering? No…it was extracted knowing I would access it?” Considering Seto, the latter was more likely. “She wants me to do the essential work for myself. Strict as always… Or not. She extracted the data in a way that’s obvious to me, after all.” He had the impression that he was still wrapped around her finger.

He examined the data on Kasen he had gathered himself. Kasen undoubtedly hated doing things on his own. The grand chamberlain and Kaneaki were not in a position to express their opinions, but he did not think they would execute unreasonable orders to use force against Airi. It came down to the student minions…

I don’t understand why they haven’t dealt with Airi-dono directly. The night I arrived, the five students who attacked me were undoubtedly the sons of warriors serving the Amaki Family. If they had been brought here as attendants for Kasen, they would’ve taken action immediately and wouldn’t report Kasen’s orders to the Academy. They would probably make the excuse that they couldn’t stand to have their friend insulted. I should assume that someone is holding them back…

He searched the list of students who came to study from Jurai last year, and his terminal displayed the personal data of six people. Yosho paused on Kanemitsu’s name. So there were six from last year including Kanemitsu.

The other five… I knew it. The other five were not related to Kasen. But there was no mistake that they were the five with Kanemitsu that night. I’ll have to confirm this tomorrow. But Kanemitsu-dono was trying to separate me from Airi-dono. Is it because they can’t do anything with me around?

This was highly likely if Kanemitsu had discovered that he was here with a camouflaged Funaho. With Yosho at Airi’s side and under Funaho’s protection, it would be like a national military guarding her. But just because Kanemitsu’s father served Kasen did not mean the same for his son. The honest Kaneaki especially would not do that even under master’s orders. The relationship between the Imperial Family and the warriors was a little different. Their status was not hereditary. If they felt no attraction to the master they served, they would leave, and it was the same when generations changed. Most of the warriors were effectively freelance. The Imperial Family member’s competence determined how many distinguished warriors they could employ. Of course, some served over multiple generations purely in pursuit of special status.

Information was a difficult thing. He could come up with countermeasures by obtaining information, but his best options changed according to how much information his adversary had.

I feel like Seto-sama just gave me homework. That thought was so apt that he could not help but laugh.

Having promised to have lunch with Airi, Yosho hurried to the cafeteria when a student appeared to block his way. It was Hirata Kanemitsu. “You handled Kasen well.”

“Did your father tell you, Kanemitsu-dono?” “He won’t give up so easily.”

“I don’t think there’s any real danger, since you’re holding him back.”

“H-how did you know that?” Kanemitsu could not conceal how upset he was.

“I asked the five I met the other day, earlier this morning.”

“Hmph, you certainly are thorough. But it will only get worse if you stay by her side. You can handle yourself, and I can hold them back when she’s alone. But others have plans for when both of you are together.”

“You mean the Imperial House Amaki?” “Yes. Kasen is related to House Amaki.”

That was why Kanemitsu-dono wanted to handle it himself. No, that was not it. If so, why did Kasen-dono try to separate us so much? Leave us alone and he’d more likely be able to claim my actions were problematic. Is he trying to make it seem like his loyalty is toward me, to score a point with House Masaki?

But it was a fact that Kasen was in contact with House Amaki…or specifically, Amaki Shuzan. The thirst for power had taken Shuzan, and he kept plotting against House Masaki. Yosho, whose father was the Emperor of Jurai and head of House Masaki, had been served political attacks (mostly verbal attacks) before. But this case seemed different from the way Shuzan usually did things. That gave Yosho slight pause.

What’s going on…?

“There you are! You’re late. What are you doing?” Airi’s shrill voice interrupted Yosho’s thoughts.

“Later.” Kanemitsu patted his shoulder and hurriedly left. Perhaps he found Airi difficult to deal with.

Airi ran up to Yosho and stopped, looking at Kanemitsu walking away. “That’s Kanemitsu-kun…”

“You know him?”

“My friend was his guide. I heard his grades are top-notch. But he finds girls difficult to talk to.” She tittered as she remembered the rumors. “But Yosho-kun, you’re an expert.”

“At what?” “Handling girls.”

“That’s not true. Sometimes I have no idea what they’re thinking.”

“That’s not what I’m saying. You know, like how you make a girl wait.” She looked at him provokingly, and Yosho finally understood.

“I’m sorry, Airi-dono. I’m late, but would you like to have lunch with me?”

“I guess,” Belying her curt reply, Airi took Yosho’s arm and walked to the cafeteria. Yosho liked her aggressive side, and it brightened his mood.

A few days passed without incident. Then one morning, things began to escalate with an anonymous e-mail sent to Yosho. It contained a message that could be taken either as a warning or a threat. It expressed that his interactions with Airi were not desirable. There were no clues as to the sender, and Kanemitsu confirmed that Kasen had not done anything. Yosho hurried to see Airi, and her unexpected indifference had him slightly confused.

“Oh, that e-mail? Yeah, I got it, too.” “Huh? Oh…”

“Don’t look so serious. I get this kind of harassment often.” “Have you been in danger before?”

“Sometimes. So I know how to deal with it, don’t worry. There’s the Guardian System, too.”

“You mean Kaunack?” This was the high-end GS maker run by the Academy.

“Yes, it’s fully customized, tuned by each country’s combat technician in tandem with Kaunack’s engineers for each user’s individual needs.”

“Then please keep it set to the maximum level.”

“It’s not like we’re going to a battlefield. We don’t want to kill anyone by accident.” Airi was appalled.

“Their reaction speed will be able to adjust to an ordinary attack.” “Don’t make this into a big deal. Besides, I can’t walk around all threatening like that. Walking in a crowd would set it off into alert mode and continuous pseudo-materialization. Thanks for your concern, but I got this,” Airi said with a laugh, and Yosho’s face clouded over.

Even a full-version GS wouldn’t impede a top-rate Jurai fighter as long as they figure out the quirks in the programming. An Imperial Family member would be worse. If I could at least put Airi-dono’s GS under Royal Tree control…

“What’s with that face? You take things too seriously. If someone is actually after my life, they wouldn’t be sending letters.”

“What about when they realize you won’t do as they demand?” “Shall we part ways, then?”

“That’s not my intent. I…” Yosho looked at Airi and was speechless.

A tear fell down her cheek. “A-Airi-dono…?”

“So that’s the world you live in. I can’t speak for others, but…” She sadly cast her eyes downward, then glanced over at him. As soon their eyes met, Yosho felt a chill…but then it was too late. “Arrrg! Being so high-strung will make you go bald!!” She pounced on Yosho and put him into another incomprehensible joint lock. This seemed to be her pattern.

“A-Airi-dono. People are watching. This isn’t becoming…” “Quiet!” They were in the courtyard. Passing students snickered at them, and people who knew Airi even called out to her to not bully him so much.

“A-Airi-dono…” “Quit complaining!!”

Tangled up in Airi’s joint lock, Yosho could hear joyful laughter, not only from the students, but laughter audible only to him. Funaho…? Is that you? I see…you’ve taken a liking to Airi-dono. All right, thank you.

A few minutes later, Yosho was sitting up, impassively fanning Airi, who had slumped to the ground panting, just like on their date. “Are you all right?”

“You’re so irritating. Play along with me a little. I’m acting the idiot by myself!!”

“You are?”

“Stop that, you idiot!!” She jumped up to yell at Yosho, who impassively held out his hand. In it was a wooden ring. “What’s this…?”

“It’s a good luck charm. Please hold onto it.” “It’s very pretty, but I can’t accept this.” “Why not?”

“I can’t take something so valuable without reason.”

“No, I carved this myself. What looks like jewels is hardened tree sap.

Good-quality ones are like charms back on Jurai.” “You carved this yourself?”

“Yes. You’ve taken such good care of me, so I would like you to have it.”

Airi took it and put it on the ring finger on her right hand. She raised the back of her hand to show him. “Thank you. It makes me happy… Well?” “Huh…?”

“Isn’t there something else you say in these cases?” “Oh, u-uh, it looks good on you.”

“You sound very reluctant.”

“No, it looks very good on you.” Yosho repeated and laughed. Partly because Airi was not upset about the e-mails, and he was happy that she accepted the ring but also because the ring really did look good on her.

Airi held the ring up to the sun. “It’s so pretty…” Yosho wondered about the expression on her face as she turned her back to him.

There were more anonymous e-mails, but they continued their lives at the Academy without paying much heed to them, as they were practically harmless. One day, there was a pounding at the door, almost breaking it down. It was eight o’clock at night, way past curfew.

“Yosho-kun, Yosho-kun, Yosho-kun! Come on out, Yosho!!” The muffled voice of Airi was on the other side, so Yosho hurriedly opened the door.

“Airi-dono, what’s the matter?!”

Airi grabbed him by the collar, her face twitching. “I-I-It was a…” “What?”

“A voice! I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman, and then some hooligans came out and…”

She was panicked and not making any sense. The students in other rooms heard the commotion and gathered to see what was going on. Yosho determined that inviting her into his room in these circumstances would only lead to gossip and decided to use the counseling room.

He placed a cup of tea on the table and looked at Airi sitting on the sofa. “Are you calmer now?”

“A little… Sorry, I was so shocked,” Airi laughed weakly. Yosho was sure something must have happened for her to act in this unimaginably uncharacteristic way.

“What happened?”

“Well…” Airi started to explain about the events that just transpired.

After class, Airi was on her way home. The path through the park, usually full of pedestrian traffic, was deserted at the time. Right when she noticed that something was off, Airi’s GS activated, and sparks flew between her Guardian and a black shadow.

“Who’s there?!” There was no answer, but sparks continued to fly here and there in the darkness. What’s going on? You’ve got to be kidding me. She felt fear as she had never felt before. The opponent was invisible. Only the sparks as it clashed with her GS and the sound of plasma indicated its existence. She remembered Yosho’s warning, and right when she tried to reset the GS to maximum level, she noticed shadows in front of her.

“We warned you.” They spoke through mechanically synthesized sound.

“W-warning? You mean in the e-mail…”

“Stay away from him, or else…” After a heartbeat, the shadow raised its hand. The sword it held glowed a pale light.

Right when she thought she was done for…

“Get away from her!!” Someone’s voice rang in her mind, and a Guardian she had never seen before knocked down the shadow. She could see it as it happened right in front of her.

“Impossible!!” The two shadows melted into the darkness. But even unseen, the unknown Guardian was clearly superior. The energy emitted was an order of magnitude beyond anything else. It was giving off pressure that could actually be felt. Right after a few sparks, silence suddenly fell again.

“You’ll be all right now. He’s gone.”

“Wh-who are you?” She forced the words from her lips into the darkness. She was shocked, but there was strangely no fear.

The voice started giggling and then broke into a laugh as it called Airi’s name over and over before eventually fading far away. Airi was left alone in the park.

By the time she finished explaining, Airi was back to her usual self, perhaps due to the sense of security of being next to Yosho. “…And so I came here wondering if you had done something!!” She slammed on the desk in her usual way, pressing on Yosho.

“Are you hurt?”

“No! Just answer me!! What was that?!” “Well, I mean…”

“It has to do with the ring you gave me, right?! I figured it was going to be something like that, but I thought, could it mean anything else if I was wrong… I mean, shadows attacking me, and a weird voice!!”

“Were you scared?” “Huh?”

“Were you more scared of the voice than the attackers?” “Why?”

“You seemed to be in quite a panic.”

“Not at all…!” Airi declared. The fear had been blown away, only left with curiosity about the voice.

It’s so typical of her… Yosho laughed internally, and she leaned closer. “Wh-what is it?”

“It wasn’t male or female, not young or old… It tickled. Oh…you know, I love dogs.” She started a non sequitur.

“Dogs…?”

“Especially bouncy puppies. And it felt like I was being swarmed by a herd of puppies… That’s how it felt.” She clasped her hands in front of her, euphoric, and Yosho finally understood.

“I see. So that’s how that was related…” He could not tell her about Funaho right now, but he doubted she would let this go peacefully in this excited state. He still tried for the time being, “It’s gotten late already today, so…”

“No!”

“I figured…” He knew how she would answer, but this flat-out refusal was tiring. It is…too early to go to sleep yet. I have no choice, I suppose.

Yosho resolved to take her to Funaho. “All right. But we can’t talk here. So…” There was no telling who was watching.

He whispered into her ear, and she grinned, “I knew it was your fault!” Yosho smiled wryly.