Infinite Stratos, Volume 2, page 15
Mind Condition... Uplift.
Certification... Clear.
Valkyrie Trace System...... boot.
◇
“AHHHHHHHH!”
Suddenly, Laura screamed as if being torn apart. At the same time, the Schwarzer Regen let off a blast of electricity, blowing Charles away.
“Ugh! What just...?!”
“What?!”
Neither Charles nor I could believe our eyes. In front of us, Laura... Her IS was transforming. No, more than just transforming. The sharp edges of its armor were melting away into a goo, which enveloped Laura’s body. Laura was swallowed by a pitch-black darkness.
“What is that?” I involuntarily muttered.
Anyone on earth who saw it probably would have said the same thing. As a rule, IS didn’t transform. Strictly speaking, they couldn’t. The only forms an IS could take were its startup fitting, its first shift after adjusting to its pilot, and lastly, second shift—a further adaption. Equipment could change its silhouette to a degree, but its basic form remained unchanged. This kind of thing was impossible.
But, impossible or not, it was happening before our very eyes. And it wasn’t just transforming, it was being remolded like clay. The Schwarzer Regen—the thing which was once the Schwarzer Regen—had swallowed Laura whole, and its swirling mass throbbed like a beating heart as it settled gently to earth. When it landed, its transformation accelerated as if being played in fast forward, and it took on a new shape. What stood before us now was a something in the shape of a black full-armor IS, yet it was completely different from the attacker last month. Its shape matched that of Laura’s body, with the least possible armor on its arms and legs. Its head was covered by a full-visor helmet, and where her eyes would be, a linear sensor emitted a red glow from below armor plating. And the real problem was the weapon held in its hand. There was no mistaking it. It was...
“Yukihira!”
The blade which Chifuyu had once wielded. Its resemblance was uncanny. It didn’t just look like it, it was as if someone had traced over a photo. My grip on the Yukihira Nigata reflexively tightened, as I pointed it forward in the neutral stance.
“......!”
In the blink of an eye, the black IS dove toward me. Its blade trailed at its hip like that of an iai master, ready to strike in a deadly flash as it closed into undodgeable range. It was, unmistakably, Chifuyu’s technique.
“Ugh!”
I parried with the Yukihira Nigata. Flowingly, my foe raised her blade over her head.
—This is... Oh no!
“......!”
It fell in a swift, slashing arc. I couldn’t parry it. I had no time to parry. Swiftly, I told Byakushiki to dash backwards. It was only by knowing Chifuyu’s fighting style that I was able to evade. Still, Byakushiki was too low on shield energy to completely protect me, and blood dripped from my arm where the blade grazed me. The dodge was the last of Byakushiki’s power. It disappeared from me in a flash of light.
“So...”
But at that point—I no longer cared.
“So what?!”
Driven my rage, I rushed toward the black IS, to fight it with my own clenched fists.
—I won’t forgive you. Never! Never ever!
“RAAAAARGH!”
The moment before my fist struck the black IS, I was suddenly pulled backward. It was only when I felt the impact that I noticed what was pulling me back was Houki in a Uchigane.
“You idiot! What are you doing?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”
“Let me go! She was playing with me like a toy! I’m going to bash her face in!”
That technique was the first one I’d learned from Chifuyu. I still remembered vividly the first time I’d seen it.
“Listen, Ichika. A sword is made to be swung. But just swinging it isn’t fencing.”
The weight of the steel in my hands was almost unbearable, as if it was a test for me. Simply grasping it made my palms sweat, and its weight was too much to lift into a stance.
“It feels heavy, doesn’t it? That’s the weight of a tool made to take a life.”
The blade glimmered coldly. An existence born, created, forged to fight.
“Think about what it means. What it means to carry that weight. That’s what strength is.”
Chifuyu’s face was part-strict, part-gentle. A different expression than usual, as if she was looking at something dazzling. That was why, to be a source of strength for her, I wanted to be stronger. Yeah, ever since that day, I...
“Out of my way, Houki! If you keep trying to stop me—”
“Get a hold of yourself!”
The smack of a full-force slap across the cheek sent me almost flying as I tumbled to the ground. Yet the pain and the coldness of the floor caused my rage, which had hit its peak, to subside.
“What’s going on here?! Give me a comprehensible explanation!”
“That... that’s Chifuyu’s data. It was unmistakably Chifuyu’s technique. It could only be Chifuyu’s. It’s—dammit!”
The black IS stood stock still in the center of the arena. Maybe if it was programmed only to react to weapons and attacks? It seemed like it didn’t recognize my fist as one.
“Ugh, you’re always so worried about Chifuyu.”
“That’s not all. I don’t like Laura using whatever that is one bit, either. I can’t hold back until I take it, and her, down.”
Power—strength—wasn’t just about doing damage. That wasn’t true strength. It was just brutish violence.
“Anyway, I need to give it a good beating. But I need to calm down first.”
“I understand your motivation, but what can you do? Byakushiki has no energy left. How do you intend to keep fighting?”
“Ugh...”
Houki was right. The black IS must not have much energy left, but still, that didn’t matter if I couldn’t hit it with something. And nevermind an attack, Byakushiki didn’t even have enough energy left to form its armor.
“Emergency! Emergency! All tournament matches have been canceled. Alert Level: D. All teacher squadrons deploy for suppression. Spectators are ordered to take shelter immediately. I repeat—” blared over the intercom.
“You heard her. This’ll be taken care of even if you don’t do anything. So...”
“So there’s no reason to throw myself into danger?”
“Exactly.”
Houki was correct. Her reasoning was sound. But I—refused.
“That’s wrong, Houki. Completely wrong. It isn’t something I think I have to do. It’s something I want to do. I don’t know what anyone else is doing, and I don’t care. If I don’t do this, I’m not me anymore. I’m not Orimura Ichika.”
“You moron! What are you planning on doing, then?! How are you even going to get ener—”
“If you have none, you’ll need to borrow someone else’s. Right, Ichika?”
“Charles...”
Charles had recovered from the blast, and drifted back toward me.
“Normal IS can’t, but I think my Revive can transfer energy through core bypass.”
“Really? Please, then! As fast as you can!”
“But!”
Charles poked a finger at me. For once, she was insistent, in a way that brooked no argument.
“But promise me. Promise me you won’t lose.”
“Of course. I’ll tell you this. If I lose, I won’t be able to call myself a man.”
“So if you lose, starting tomorrow you’ll be wearing a girls’ uniform,” jeered Charles.
“Ugh... All right. Not like I’m gonna lose anyway!”
The joke took a bit of the tension out of the air. The blood that had rushed to my head receded, and I cooled off.
“Anyway, here I go. Initiating Revive core bypass... Energy transfer authorized. Ichika, set Byakushiki’s mode to emergency power! That should give you enough for Reiraku Byakuya.”
“Got it!”
A cable snaked out from the Revive and attached to the gauntlet that Byakushiki had shrunk to, and energy began to flow. The power rapidly welled up inside me. Feeling it gave me a strange sensation. This is the same feeling as the first time I used an IS... One nostalgic and familiar, as if I’d known it forever. Yet one as fresh as if the world was reborn around me, as if I could sense everything around me.
“.........”
—I’ll worry about what that is later. There’s something right in front of me that I need to take care of first!
“Transfer complete. I’ve sent you all the Revive’s remaining energy.”
As if in agreement, the Revive streamed into light around her. At the same time, I began to manifest the Byakushiki around me in emergency power mode.
“I was right, there’s only enough for a weapon and your right arm.”
“That’s all I need.”
Byakushiki understood that I would use Reiraku Byakuya, and formed only Yukihira Nigata, as well as the right gauntlet I needed to wield it. No armor. A single hit would kill me instantly—leave me maimed—if I was extremely lucky. But it set the table with just enough for me to serve up one of my own. The rest was all up to me.
“Ichika!”
Houki, who’d been watching from the side, opened her mouth as if she couldn’t stay silent any longer. Gazing at me, she spoke with grave seriousness.
“Don’t die... You can’t die!”
“What are you worried about, stupid?”
“Who are you calling stupid?! I—”
“Believe in me.”
“Eh?”
“Believe in me, Houki. Don’t worry. Don’t pray. Just believe in me. I’ll win. And I’ll come back alive.”
—I won’t mistake what strength is again. I know what strength that doesn’t need power is. I know someone who’s stayed strong to protect someone better than anyone. So... So I want to be strong like that.
“It’s go time.”
“Ah! Win, Ichika!”
Having promised victory to Houki, I squared off with my foe. A quick glance over at Charles was answered with a single, wordless nod. That was all I needed.
“Here I go, you imposter.”
The blade of the Yukihira Nigata in my right hand sensed my will and split apart.
“Reiraku Byakuya... Activate.”
Its soft hum was like a spoken answer. The blade with the power to pierce any energy sprung forth, twice as long as the metal one it replaced. Length didn’t matter this time. What mattered was speed and sharpness. An elegant blade which could be wielded swiftly.
I focused my thoughts, imagining a beam of light in the darkness. Imagining it growing thinner, sharper, more tapered. As my focus solidified, Yukihira’s transformation was complete. The blade of Reiraku Byakuya, which had been an eruption of energy, had coalesced in a short and sharp form. The physical blade of the Yukihira which gave it form had disappeared, and above the grip all that was left was Reiraku Byakuya in the shape of a katana.
—Thank you, Byakushiki. Let’s do this!
I held it at my side, closing on the black IS in an iai stance. The Issen Nidan, formed from Chifuyu’s teaching and Houki’s example.
“Use the weight of the blade to your advantage. Don’t treat it as something you’re holding. Treat it as an extension of your own body. Move with no wasted effort, no openings, and no carelessness.”
“Why don’t you get it? Just watch, I’ll show you how to do it!”
They merged together in my mind. From them, I created my own stance. With hips lowered, I brought the hand holding my blade toward my back. My eyes stared directly forward, and my heart filled with the image of an absolutely still, mirror-like pool of water. Preparing myself to react to anything, I focused my senses on a single point—the enemy in front of me.
“.........”
The black IS’ blade swung down. Just like Chifuyu’s, it was a swift, sharp over-the-shoulder slash. But what it lacked was Chifuyu’s determination. It was...
“Just an imitation!”
Clang! A sideways slash upward from my hip parried my foe’s blade.
Immediately I brought my own over my head, and swung it straight downward. Issen Nidan. First a flash, then a slash. And a crackle. The black IS was wracked with purple lightning as it split in half. And, for the moment before she lost consciousness, Laura and I locked gazes. With her eyepatch gone, her golden left eye was laid bare. It stared at me with the weakness of an abandoned puppy, as if begging me to help her.
“Okay, maybe I won’t bash your face in.”
As I held her up to keep her from collapsing, I whispered to her. Whether Laura heard it or not, only she knew.
◇
“I’ll warn you. If you ever meet him, be careful. He may seem oblivious, but he’s a real charmer. Let your guard down and you’ll fall for him in no time flat.”
She had warned me with a disgusting amount of glee and a bit of embarrassment that left me irritated. But now I knew. That was just jealousy. A little later, I asked.
“And did you, too?”
“A sister falling for her brother? What kind of idiot are you?”
Her cheeky grin left me even more concerned. The man who could give her such an expression... I envied him. And... When we met, I knew. When we fought, I truly understood. What was strength? There were as many answers as answerers. But only one which I met so intensely.
“Strength... It’s something in your heart. Something which forms your core. I think it has to be something that you constantly try to be.”
Really?
“Of course. If you don’t know what you want to be, forget strong or weak, you don’t even know how to walk.”
How to... walk...
“It’s where you look to. It’s why you look there.”
Why... you look there...
“Basically, if you do what you want, you win. Don’t hold yourself back or get caught up in worries.”
He—that man—spoke with a grin.
“If you’re not doing what you want, it’s not even living.”
—Then what about you? Why do you want to be stronger? What gives you strength?
“I’m not strong. At least, I don’t think I am,” he insisted.
It left me at a loss for words. He was so powerful. Why would he say he wasn’t strong? I couldn’t understand.
“But if I am, it’s because...”
—Because?
“Because I want to be strong.”
.........
“Because there’s something I want to do when I’m strong.”
—Something you want to do?
“I want to protect someone. I want to give my whole self over to fighting to protect someone.”
He was just like... Just like her.
“Yeah. So I’ll protect you, too, Laura Bodewig.”
As he spoke, my chest pounded for the first time.
“I’ll protect you.”
—Hearing his words, I... This must be that.
My mind soared.
My heart throbbed. Next to him, I was only a fifteen-year-old. Only a woman.
Orimura Ichika...
She was right. I’d fallen for him.
◇
“Ugh...”
Laura opened her eyes to a light from above.
“Are you awake now?”
A familiar voice. And not just familiar. A voice which she could place in a heartbeat. Her beloved Lehrerin, Orimura Chifuyu.
“I...?”
“You put too much strain on yourself. Fatigue and bruises all over. You won’t be able to move around for a while. Don’t force yourself.”
Chifuyu tried to brush it off and change the topic, but it was still her old student. Laura couldn’t be distracted that easily.
“What... what happened?”
Laura tried to force herself upright, grimacing at the pain which rippled through her body. However, her eyes still fixated on Chifuyu. Her eyepatch had been removed while she was being treated, revealing a left eye which was golden in contrast to her ruby-red right. Different colors or not, they shared an inquisitive gaze.
“Hmm. This is a serious matter, and one which is to be kept confidential.”
Still, she understood that Laura wouldn’t be put off so easily. After a silence to underscore that this was meant to be kept between the two, she formed her words slowly.
“Do you know about the VT System?”
“Yes... The Valkyrie Trace System... It traces the motions of previous Valkyries—Mondo Grosso event winners—but...”
“Correct, any research, development, or usage by any nation, organization, or company is forbidden by the IS treaty. But it’s equipped on your IS.”
“.........”
“It was hidden well. It took your own mental state, the IS’ damage, and most importantly your own will... No, your desires. With all three in place, it activated. The academy is currently questioning the Bundeswehr about it. There’ll likely be a compulsory investigation soon.”
Listening to Chifuyu, Laura gripped the sheets tightly. Her gaze drifted downward, to the void below her eyes.
“It’s because I wished for that, isn’t it?”
—To be you.
She didn’t say it, but Chifuyu understood.
“Laura Bodewig!”
“Ma’am!”
The shock of hearing her full name made Laura turn her face up.
“Who are you?”
“I-I... I... I’m...”
She couldn’t finish her sentence. In her current state, she couldn’t even call herself Laura.
“No one, then? That’s a good opportunity. From now on, you can be Laura Bodewig. You’ve got plenty of time. You’re going to be at this school for three years. After that, I guess you’ve got until you die. Think hard about how you’re going to use it, young miss.”
“Ah...”
Chifuyu’s words surprised her. Laura wasn’t expecting the encouragement, and had no idea how to respond. Instead, she sat, her mouth agape, at a loss for words.
Chifuyu stood and stepped away from the bed. It seemed she’d said what she needed to say, and was returning to the world of teaching.
“Oh, one more thing.” With a hand on the door, she turned back and spoke again. “You can’t be me. Being his big sister is a never-ending stress.”
Certification... Clear.
Valkyrie Trace System...... boot.
◇
“AHHHHHHHH!”
Suddenly, Laura screamed as if being torn apart. At the same time, the Schwarzer Regen let off a blast of electricity, blowing Charles away.
“Ugh! What just...?!”
“What?!”
Neither Charles nor I could believe our eyes. In front of us, Laura... Her IS was transforming. No, more than just transforming. The sharp edges of its armor were melting away into a goo, which enveloped Laura’s body. Laura was swallowed by a pitch-black darkness.
“What is that?” I involuntarily muttered.
Anyone on earth who saw it probably would have said the same thing. As a rule, IS didn’t transform. Strictly speaking, they couldn’t. The only forms an IS could take were its startup fitting, its first shift after adjusting to its pilot, and lastly, second shift—a further adaption. Equipment could change its silhouette to a degree, but its basic form remained unchanged. This kind of thing was impossible.
But, impossible or not, it was happening before our very eyes. And it wasn’t just transforming, it was being remolded like clay. The Schwarzer Regen—the thing which was once the Schwarzer Regen—had swallowed Laura whole, and its swirling mass throbbed like a beating heart as it settled gently to earth. When it landed, its transformation accelerated as if being played in fast forward, and it took on a new shape. What stood before us now was a something in the shape of a black full-armor IS, yet it was completely different from the attacker last month. Its shape matched that of Laura’s body, with the least possible armor on its arms and legs. Its head was covered by a full-visor helmet, and where her eyes would be, a linear sensor emitted a red glow from below armor plating. And the real problem was the weapon held in its hand. There was no mistaking it. It was...
“Yukihira!”
The blade which Chifuyu had once wielded. Its resemblance was uncanny. It didn’t just look like it, it was as if someone had traced over a photo. My grip on the Yukihira Nigata reflexively tightened, as I pointed it forward in the neutral stance.
“......!”
In the blink of an eye, the black IS dove toward me. Its blade trailed at its hip like that of an iai master, ready to strike in a deadly flash as it closed into undodgeable range. It was, unmistakably, Chifuyu’s technique.
“Ugh!”
I parried with the Yukihira Nigata. Flowingly, my foe raised her blade over her head.
—This is... Oh no!
“......!”
It fell in a swift, slashing arc. I couldn’t parry it. I had no time to parry. Swiftly, I told Byakushiki to dash backwards. It was only by knowing Chifuyu’s fighting style that I was able to evade. Still, Byakushiki was too low on shield energy to completely protect me, and blood dripped from my arm where the blade grazed me. The dodge was the last of Byakushiki’s power. It disappeared from me in a flash of light.
“So...”
But at that point—I no longer cared.
“So what?!”
Driven my rage, I rushed toward the black IS, to fight it with my own clenched fists.
—I won’t forgive you. Never! Never ever!
“RAAAAARGH!”
The moment before my fist struck the black IS, I was suddenly pulled backward. It was only when I felt the impact that I noticed what was pulling me back was Houki in a Uchigane.
“You idiot! What are you doing?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”
“Let me go! She was playing with me like a toy! I’m going to bash her face in!”
That technique was the first one I’d learned from Chifuyu. I still remembered vividly the first time I’d seen it.
“Listen, Ichika. A sword is made to be swung. But just swinging it isn’t fencing.”
The weight of the steel in my hands was almost unbearable, as if it was a test for me. Simply grasping it made my palms sweat, and its weight was too much to lift into a stance.
“It feels heavy, doesn’t it? That’s the weight of a tool made to take a life.”
The blade glimmered coldly. An existence born, created, forged to fight.
“Think about what it means. What it means to carry that weight. That’s what strength is.”
Chifuyu’s face was part-strict, part-gentle. A different expression than usual, as if she was looking at something dazzling. That was why, to be a source of strength for her, I wanted to be stronger. Yeah, ever since that day, I...
“Out of my way, Houki! If you keep trying to stop me—”
“Get a hold of yourself!”
The smack of a full-force slap across the cheek sent me almost flying as I tumbled to the ground. Yet the pain and the coldness of the floor caused my rage, which had hit its peak, to subside.
“What’s going on here?! Give me a comprehensible explanation!”
“That... that’s Chifuyu’s data. It was unmistakably Chifuyu’s technique. It could only be Chifuyu’s. It’s—dammit!”
The black IS stood stock still in the center of the arena. Maybe if it was programmed only to react to weapons and attacks? It seemed like it didn’t recognize my fist as one.
“Ugh, you’re always so worried about Chifuyu.”
“That’s not all. I don’t like Laura using whatever that is one bit, either. I can’t hold back until I take it, and her, down.”
Power—strength—wasn’t just about doing damage. That wasn’t true strength. It was just brutish violence.
“Anyway, I need to give it a good beating. But I need to calm down first.”
“I understand your motivation, but what can you do? Byakushiki has no energy left. How do you intend to keep fighting?”
“Ugh...”
Houki was right. The black IS must not have much energy left, but still, that didn’t matter if I couldn’t hit it with something. And nevermind an attack, Byakushiki didn’t even have enough energy left to form its armor.
“Emergency! Emergency! All tournament matches have been canceled. Alert Level: D. All teacher squadrons deploy for suppression. Spectators are ordered to take shelter immediately. I repeat—” blared over the intercom.
“You heard her. This’ll be taken care of even if you don’t do anything. So...”
“So there’s no reason to throw myself into danger?”
“Exactly.”
Houki was correct. Her reasoning was sound. But I—refused.
“That’s wrong, Houki. Completely wrong. It isn’t something I think I have to do. It’s something I want to do. I don’t know what anyone else is doing, and I don’t care. If I don’t do this, I’m not me anymore. I’m not Orimura Ichika.”
“You moron! What are you planning on doing, then?! How are you even going to get ener—”
“If you have none, you’ll need to borrow someone else’s. Right, Ichika?”
“Charles...”
Charles had recovered from the blast, and drifted back toward me.
“Normal IS can’t, but I think my Revive can transfer energy through core bypass.”
“Really? Please, then! As fast as you can!”
“But!”
Charles poked a finger at me. For once, she was insistent, in a way that brooked no argument.
“But promise me. Promise me you won’t lose.”
“Of course. I’ll tell you this. If I lose, I won’t be able to call myself a man.”
“So if you lose, starting tomorrow you’ll be wearing a girls’ uniform,” jeered Charles.
“Ugh... All right. Not like I’m gonna lose anyway!”
The joke took a bit of the tension out of the air. The blood that had rushed to my head receded, and I cooled off.
“Anyway, here I go. Initiating Revive core bypass... Energy transfer authorized. Ichika, set Byakushiki’s mode to emergency power! That should give you enough for Reiraku Byakuya.”
“Got it!”
A cable snaked out from the Revive and attached to the gauntlet that Byakushiki had shrunk to, and energy began to flow. The power rapidly welled up inside me. Feeling it gave me a strange sensation. This is the same feeling as the first time I used an IS... One nostalgic and familiar, as if I’d known it forever. Yet one as fresh as if the world was reborn around me, as if I could sense everything around me.
“.........”
—I’ll worry about what that is later. There’s something right in front of me that I need to take care of first!
“Transfer complete. I’ve sent you all the Revive’s remaining energy.”
As if in agreement, the Revive streamed into light around her. At the same time, I began to manifest the Byakushiki around me in emergency power mode.
“I was right, there’s only enough for a weapon and your right arm.”
“That’s all I need.”
Byakushiki understood that I would use Reiraku Byakuya, and formed only Yukihira Nigata, as well as the right gauntlet I needed to wield it. No armor. A single hit would kill me instantly—leave me maimed—if I was extremely lucky. But it set the table with just enough for me to serve up one of my own. The rest was all up to me.
“Ichika!”
Houki, who’d been watching from the side, opened her mouth as if she couldn’t stay silent any longer. Gazing at me, she spoke with grave seriousness.
“Don’t die... You can’t die!”
“What are you worried about, stupid?”
“Who are you calling stupid?! I—”
“Believe in me.”
“Eh?”
“Believe in me, Houki. Don’t worry. Don’t pray. Just believe in me. I’ll win. And I’ll come back alive.”
—I won’t mistake what strength is again. I know what strength that doesn’t need power is. I know someone who’s stayed strong to protect someone better than anyone. So... So I want to be strong like that.
“It’s go time.”
“Ah! Win, Ichika!”
Having promised victory to Houki, I squared off with my foe. A quick glance over at Charles was answered with a single, wordless nod. That was all I needed.
“Here I go, you imposter.”
The blade of the Yukihira Nigata in my right hand sensed my will and split apart.
“Reiraku Byakuya... Activate.”
Its soft hum was like a spoken answer. The blade with the power to pierce any energy sprung forth, twice as long as the metal one it replaced. Length didn’t matter this time. What mattered was speed and sharpness. An elegant blade which could be wielded swiftly.
I focused my thoughts, imagining a beam of light in the darkness. Imagining it growing thinner, sharper, more tapered. As my focus solidified, Yukihira’s transformation was complete. The blade of Reiraku Byakuya, which had been an eruption of energy, had coalesced in a short and sharp form. The physical blade of the Yukihira which gave it form had disappeared, and above the grip all that was left was Reiraku Byakuya in the shape of a katana.
—Thank you, Byakushiki. Let’s do this!
I held it at my side, closing on the black IS in an iai stance. The Issen Nidan, formed from Chifuyu’s teaching and Houki’s example.
“Use the weight of the blade to your advantage. Don’t treat it as something you’re holding. Treat it as an extension of your own body. Move with no wasted effort, no openings, and no carelessness.”
“Why don’t you get it? Just watch, I’ll show you how to do it!”
They merged together in my mind. From them, I created my own stance. With hips lowered, I brought the hand holding my blade toward my back. My eyes stared directly forward, and my heart filled with the image of an absolutely still, mirror-like pool of water. Preparing myself to react to anything, I focused my senses on a single point—the enemy in front of me.
“.........”
The black IS’ blade swung down. Just like Chifuyu’s, it was a swift, sharp over-the-shoulder slash. But what it lacked was Chifuyu’s determination. It was...
“Just an imitation!”
Clang! A sideways slash upward from my hip parried my foe’s blade.
Immediately I brought my own over my head, and swung it straight downward. Issen Nidan. First a flash, then a slash. And a crackle. The black IS was wracked with purple lightning as it split in half. And, for the moment before she lost consciousness, Laura and I locked gazes. With her eyepatch gone, her golden left eye was laid bare. It stared at me with the weakness of an abandoned puppy, as if begging me to help her.
“Okay, maybe I won’t bash your face in.”
As I held her up to keep her from collapsing, I whispered to her. Whether Laura heard it or not, only she knew.
◇
“I’ll warn you. If you ever meet him, be careful. He may seem oblivious, but he’s a real charmer. Let your guard down and you’ll fall for him in no time flat.”
She had warned me with a disgusting amount of glee and a bit of embarrassment that left me irritated. But now I knew. That was just jealousy. A little later, I asked.
“And did you, too?”
“A sister falling for her brother? What kind of idiot are you?”
Her cheeky grin left me even more concerned. The man who could give her such an expression... I envied him. And... When we met, I knew. When we fought, I truly understood. What was strength? There were as many answers as answerers. But only one which I met so intensely.
“Strength... It’s something in your heart. Something which forms your core. I think it has to be something that you constantly try to be.”
Really?
“Of course. If you don’t know what you want to be, forget strong or weak, you don’t even know how to walk.”
How to... walk...
“It’s where you look to. It’s why you look there.”
Why... you look there...
“Basically, if you do what you want, you win. Don’t hold yourself back or get caught up in worries.”
He—that man—spoke with a grin.
“If you’re not doing what you want, it’s not even living.”
—Then what about you? Why do you want to be stronger? What gives you strength?
“I’m not strong. At least, I don’t think I am,” he insisted.
It left me at a loss for words. He was so powerful. Why would he say he wasn’t strong? I couldn’t understand.
“But if I am, it’s because...”
—Because?
“Because I want to be strong.”
.........
“Because there’s something I want to do when I’m strong.”
—Something you want to do?
“I want to protect someone. I want to give my whole self over to fighting to protect someone.”
He was just like... Just like her.
“Yeah. So I’ll protect you, too, Laura Bodewig.”
As he spoke, my chest pounded for the first time.
“I’ll protect you.”
—Hearing his words, I... This must be that.
My mind soared.
My heart throbbed. Next to him, I was only a fifteen-year-old. Only a woman.
Orimura Ichika...
She was right. I’d fallen for him.
◇
“Ugh...”
Laura opened her eyes to a light from above.
“Are you awake now?”
A familiar voice. And not just familiar. A voice which she could place in a heartbeat. Her beloved Lehrerin, Orimura Chifuyu.
“I...?”
“You put too much strain on yourself. Fatigue and bruises all over. You won’t be able to move around for a while. Don’t force yourself.”
Chifuyu tried to brush it off and change the topic, but it was still her old student. Laura couldn’t be distracted that easily.
“What... what happened?”
Laura tried to force herself upright, grimacing at the pain which rippled through her body. However, her eyes still fixated on Chifuyu. Her eyepatch had been removed while she was being treated, revealing a left eye which was golden in contrast to her ruby-red right. Different colors or not, they shared an inquisitive gaze.
“Hmm. This is a serious matter, and one which is to be kept confidential.”
Still, she understood that Laura wouldn’t be put off so easily. After a silence to underscore that this was meant to be kept between the two, she formed her words slowly.
“Do you know about the VT System?”
“Yes... The Valkyrie Trace System... It traces the motions of previous Valkyries—Mondo Grosso event winners—but...”
“Correct, any research, development, or usage by any nation, organization, or company is forbidden by the IS treaty. But it’s equipped on your IS.”
“.........”
“It was hidden well. It took your own mental state, the IS’ damage, and most importantly your own will... No, your desires. With all three in place, it activated. The academy is currently questioning the Bundeswehr about it. There’ll likely be a compulsory investigation soon.”
Listening to Chifuyu, Laura gripped the sheets tightly. Her gaze drifted downward, to the void below her eyes.
“It’s because I wished for that, isn’t it?”
—To be you.
She didn’t say it, but Chifuyu understood.
“Laura Bodewig!”
“Ma’am!”
The shock of hearing her full name made Laura turn her face up.
“Who are you?”
“I-I... I... I’m...”
She couldn’t finish her sentence. In her current state, she couldn’t even call herself Laura.
“No one, then? That’s a good opportunity. From now on, you can be Laura Bodewig. You’ve got plenty of time. You’re going to be at this school for three years. After that, I guess you’ve got until you die. Think hard about how you’re going to use it, young miss.”
“Ah...”
Chifuyu’s words surprised her. Laura wasn’t expecting the encouragement, and had no idea how to respond. Instead, she sat, her mouth agape, at a loss for words.
Chifuyu stood and stepped away from the bed. It seemed she’d said what she needed to say, and was returning to the world of teaching.
“Oh, one more thing.” With a hand on the door, she turned back and spoke again. “You can’t be me. Being his big sister is a never-ending stress.”
