“Ohoho.” Cecilia grinned as she opened fire, to Ichika’s nervous surprise.

  Laura! Let’s get out of here!

  No! The punishment for cowardice in the face of the enemy is death by firing squad!

  As they squabbled inside the suit, they fell to the floor with a thud.

  “Well, that’s settled. Now let’s get out of here.”

  “Uh, okay.”

  ◇

  “One plate, two plates...” Kanzashi, not realizing that their route had completely avoided her, sat alone counting plates.

  ◇

  It was evening. Ichika and Cecilia looked down from a Ferris wheel as the orange rays of sunset washed over the amusement park, alone together in a small cabin. It was only natural that, so close together, their thoughts would turn to each other.

  “Such a beautiful view,” Cecilia sighed, looking every bit the proper young lady.

  “Yeah...”

  She frowned at Ichika’s fascination with the scenery and muttered, “You were supposed to say something like ‘not as beautiful as you,’ you know.”

  “Huh?”

  “Oh, nothing!”

  As Cecilia pouted and turned away, Ichika reached out a hand and cupped her cheek.

  “Don’t frown like that. You’re beautiful too, Cecilia.”

  “...Ah?” It was like she’d always dreamed. She hesitated, barely believing her ears. “What did you just...”

  Ichika pulled back his hand and smiled.

  “Oh, nothing.” The gentle teasing sent Cecilia’s heart aflutter as her face flushed red. Shyly, awkwardly, embarrassedly, angrily yet joyfully, she let her emotions swell over her.

  “Er, Ichika... I... I—”

  Just as she was about to finally put into words what she’d been feeling over the past year, a blaze of light streaked by the window.

  “......?!”

  A hail of laser fire fell from the sky, setting the amusement park ablaze. It was more powerful than any IS was capable of, and crimson flames shot up around them as the fire began to spread.

  “Cecilia!”

  “On it!”

  No more than half a breath later, their IS’ were opened and they were helping rescue the confused park attendees.

  “Stay calm! Don’t panic! Stay with your families!” The attack was over, but the fire was still spreading. A young girl, separated from her family, cried. “Mommy, Daddy, where are you? Wahhhhhh!”

  Something about the girl reminded Cecilia of who she once was, and she swooped down, closing her IS as she took the girl in her arms and said, “Don’t worry. It’s okay. Your mommy and daddy are all right.”

  The kindness of her smile was enough to calm the girl.

  Half an hour later, the fire department finally arrived.

  “Cecilia, are you okay?!”

  “Ichika. I’m fine, but this girl was separated from her parents.” As she spoke, Cecilia brushed away the girl’s tears.

  Ichika crouched down in front of the girl and looked her straight in the eye.

  “What’s your name? I’ll help find your mom and dad,” he said to the girl.

  “O-Okay... Ah!”

  Even before Ichika could get an answer, her parents approached, drawn by the sound of her voice.

  “Thank you so much. We don’t know if we could have gone on living without her.” The gratitude of her parents, in turn, took some of the tension from Ichika and Cecilia. At least things had turned out okay. That much was a relief. And as they did, a completely unexpected visitor arrived.

  “So there you are, madam.”

  “Er... Chelsea? Why are you here? I’d thought I’d left you a list of things to do in England.”

  Chelsea’s head dipped sorrowfully, but her words were as cold as ice.

  “I’ve come for you, madam. ...No. Cecilia Alcott.” A swelling of light formed around her.

  “An IS?!”

  And from the light, she emerged in BT Unit 03, Dive To Blue.

  “Let us meet in England. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” In an instant, she disappeared into the heavens. It was Dive In Blue’s one-off ability In The Blue, but there was no reason for Ichika or Cecilia to know that.

  “What the heck is going on?”

  Cecilia, at a loss for words, trembled, her face ghostly pale. All Ichika could do was wrap an arm around her.

  Chapter II: Over the Rainbow

  Days later, Cecilia had decided to take her private jet to England to get to the root of the problem.

  “This has to be a trap, Cecilia,” Ichika said.

  “I know. But I can’t just ignore her.” Observatories had determined that the laser attack had come from orbit. But who had ordered them? How was Chelsea involved? Why was the third Blue Tears IS completed? The more which was revealed, the stranger the mysteries got. “So I’ve decided to return to England.”

  “I’ll come too, then.” Ichika took her hand as he volunteered.

  “Ichika... Thank you.” A trip for two to England, like she’d always planned—or not.

  “I’m thirsty, Cecilia. Oh, is this a fridge? Lucky. Can I have a cola?”

  “This sure feels different than just taking an IS.”

  “A private jet, huh. Wow, you really are loaded.”

  “Is this plane equipped with infrared sensors?”

  “Can I have some chips...?”

  “Wow, eating on a plane, Kanzashi?”

  “Remember, class, you’re supposed to stay in your seats with your seat belts fastened.”

  “Could I have a coffee, Ms. Yamada?”

  The passenger list was the usual crew, with the addition of Ms. Yamada and Chifuyu.

  “I understand why Ms. Orimura is here. And I understand why Ms. Yamada is along too. But the rest of you—” Cecilia half-screamed out of frustration. “What are you doing here?!”

  The rest of the girls looked surprised at the question. ‘Girls,’ specifically. Not Ms. Yamada or Chifuyu.

  “Well, you know... Houki?”

  “Yeah. Right, Charlotte?”

  “Of course! Isn’t that right, Laura?”

  “Indeed. Kanzashi?”

  “Well, um, err... Sis?” Tatenashi was nowhere to be seen. “Um... You know... Ichika, can you...?”

  Somehow, even though he wasn’t expecting the conversation to turn to him, he had exactly the right answer.

  “You’re all worried about Cecilia too, right?”

  “I... I see... Very well, then.” Calmed by Ichika’s warm smile, Cecilia sat back down.

  Ten thousand meters in the air, crossing into eastern Europe...

  “Again. Is this plane equipped with infrared sensors?”

  “Huh? Why do you keep asking that, Laura?”

  As they looked out the window behind Laura, they saw exactly why.

  “A missile?!”

  The roar of its warhead’s detonation shook the plane. Cecilia dove to cover the pilot, Ichika, and Chifuyu, as they opened their IS. They bailed out of the disabled plane, and as they did, a girl who’d just discarded a rocket launcher awaited them.

  “Aww, that didn’t do the trick. Did it, now, Sarashiki Tatenashi?” Soaring in the skies alongside them was the previous Russian representative pilot, Rogna Kalinych. Her IS, Gustoi Tuman Rossiya, made that much clear.

  “Well, that wasn’t what I wanted to do with my afternoon. Ichika!” Tatenashi snapped open a fan reading ‘go on ahead.’ “I’ll deal with that smirking old hag. Ms. Orimura, you take the lead.”

  “Roger. Don’t let her catch you out.”

  Tatenashi giggled.

  “I am Sarashiki Tatenashi.” As she spoke, she unfurled her Rusty Nail chain sword. “I’ll teach her a lesson she won’t forget.”

  It was unclear who was the hero and who was the villain as Ichika and the others’ IS sped away, hugging the terrain. And then only Rogna and Tatenashi were left.

  A silence fell over the battlefield.

  “Wahhh...” Rogna suddenly began to cry. “I’ve been soooooo lonely without you!”

  She dove toward Tatenashi for a hug, which Tatenashi nimbly ducked away from.

  “Uh, listen. I don’t swing that way.”

  “Ahh! So cold!” Tatenashi was five years younger, but she was already completely done with Rogna in a romantic mood. “Love is fierce! Love... Love is an explosion!”

  Two nearly-identical IS clashed, wave after wave of exploding nanomachines detonating in midair. Soon they’d attracted the attention of the locals, and unfortunately, footage of the romantically-charged spat between the current and former Russian representatives was on air worldwide.

  ◇

  The terrain flashed by mere tens of meters beneath their feet as Ichika and the others made for Germany. If it were only the IS pilots, they could easily have made England, but the jet’s pilot and Chifuyu couldn’t hold out that long. ...Well, on second thought, Chifuyu would probably be fine.

  “Ichika! Um, er. You must be getting tired. I can take Chifuyu for a while.”

  Ichika turned his head to respond to Houki matter-of-factly while still keeping Chifuyu in a princess carry.

  “No, let’s keep going. I can handle her,” he replied. Houki couldn’t really argue with this, but that didn’t mean she, or anyone else there, was happy about it.

  Ichika’s enjoying this a little too much.

  Maybe he really is into that kind of thing...

  Jeez, he’s all over her!

  And look at her! She has her arms around his neck and everything!

  Mein Lehrerin... I never thought... Hahahaha... Ahahahah...

  No fair...

  Chifuyu was normally supremely self-confident, but the stares were beginning to get to her.

  “Um, listen. Ichika. You can leave me behind and continue on to England,” she said.

  “There’s no way I can just leave you!”

  His sudden insistence shocked her.

  “Fine, if you insist...” She tightened her embrace, looking almost pleased with herself.

  ◇

  At a special forces airfield in Germany, the Schwarzer Hasen lined the runway.

  “Laura’s late.”

  “She said she’d be here half an hour ago.”

  The crowd was beginning to buzz with thinly-veiled consternation. Their uniforms were pitch-black with red piping, and each one wore a patch over their left eye.

  Second-in-command Klarissa Harfouch, though, stood stock-still.

  “Aren’t you worried, Klarissa?”

  She answered the voice from behind her with an angry roar.

  “You fool!” It was loud enough to make the front row’s ears ring. That was how forceful her voice was. “How it works in Japan is, ‘The time you wait is part of the date, too.’”

  Gasps of awe arose.

  “Wow, XO!”

  “You know everything!”

  “It makes me tingle!”

  “She’s perfect in every way.”

  Klarissa allowed herself a self-confident chuckle. “Quiet, please.” Her firm sternness only set her squadmates off even more.

  “Not a word, then!”

  “The quietest of nights for this star to shine in!”

  While they were busy not getting the point, seven dots of light made landfall on the IS runway.

  “Angetreten! Augen rechts!” At Klarissa’s order, the squad formed up for inspection. No less of a formality could be expected to greet their commander Laura and former instructor Chifuyu.

  “Ahh, Lehrerin Orimura is going to look so fabulous. I can’t wait to see her gallantly marching forth at the lead of a host of valkyries—”

  Enter stage right, Chifuyu being princess carried by Ichika.

  “..................” You could practically hear something snap in Klarissa’s head.

  “Rührt euch, Klarissa.” There was a pang of deep regret in Laura’s voice.

  “Commander? What in the world is... that?” As Chifuyu climbed down from Ichika, Klarissa pointed, her voice trembling.

  “That is Orimura Ichika,” Laura sighed and, Klarissa leaned in to whisper in her ear, “Should we be okay with this?! Siblings or no, that kind of contact with the opposite sex is going to ruin him for marriage!”

  “You don’t have to tell me that. But she told me quite specifically she ‘wouldn’t let me have him,’ so...”

  “And you’re just going to accept that?” Klarissa glared at Ichika, who happened to look up at that moment.

  “......?”

  “Ugh... Don’t give me that innocent look! I can’t believe that you’re her brother!” She nervously chewed her fingernails.

  “...Klarissa.”

  “Yes, Commander?!”

  “You’re not me. So stop acting like I used to.”

  “.........”

  Laura and Klarissa both let out deep sighs.

  ◇

  “Then, let me go over the situation again.” In the Schwarzer Hasen operations room, Chifuyu opened a projection display. “Tatenashi will make her own way to England from Russia. The rest of us will split up, one group crossing by sea from Germany and the other by air from France.”

  The assembled squad tilted their heads in confusion.

  “If we focus our forces on one front, we’re too likely to get bogged down if hostilities break out again. Also, I’ve requisitioned new equipment from Dunois in France. Therefore... Ms. Yamada will lead Cecilia, Ling, and Houki in the sea crossing.”

  More surprise.

  “So Laura’s not taking the German route?” Ichika asked doubtfully.

  “She’s already equipped with a heavy arms package for this operation. And besides—” Chifuyu looked at Laura and Charlotte. Charlotte’s face had gone pale when the word ‘Dunois’ came up. “I think you should be with her. You’re friends, right?”

  “Yes, ma’am!” Laura’s response was loud and clear. Charlotte’s fists were still clenched, but at least she wasn’t trembling anymore.

  “The French route will be me, Ichika, Laura and Charlotte, with Kanzashi as support. Once we take delivery from Dunois, we’ll use their corporate jet to travel to England. Any questions?”

  As Chifuyu clapped a fist into her palm, Klarissa stepped forward forcefully.

  “Lehrerin!”

  “Call me ‘Ms. Orimura’! ...Wait, never mind, you’re not from IS Academy. That’s fine.”

  “Are you sure this Ms. Yamada is qualified to command the German front? Perhaps I would be more appropriate?”

  Ms. Yamada was surprised, but more bemused than angry.

  “I suppose your IS Schwarzer Zwieg has been completed?”

  “Yes! Final testing was completed a few days ago!”

  “Very well. Perhaps we should see just who, between a German special forces IS pilot and an IS Academy instructor, is more qualified.”

  The Schwarzer Hasen perked up at the idea of a mock battle.

  “Ehh?! A battle already?!”

  “And against an old lady, too!”

  “Oh, it’s on!”

  “Looks like she thinks she’s still got it!”

  Soldiers or not, they were still teenage girls first. Klarissa silenced them.

  “Nena! Falke! Matilda! Io!” The four came to attention as they heard their names. “I’ll see you in the brig later.”

  A vein pulsed on Klarissa’s forehead, and the girls’ anger faded to embarrassed blushes.

  “Well, you, er, certainly have a very unique squadron here!” Ms. Yamada laughed awkwardly, earning her another glare from Klarissa. One pointed directly at a chest even larger than hers.

  “I... I won’t forgive this, you damned Milchkuh!” Watching her second-in-command’s glowering jealousy, Laura sighed again.

  ◇

  The German IS special forces squad’s combat arena. Maya and Klarissa, clad in IS suits, stared each other down.

  “Let’s do this.” Klarissa held out her hand, and Maya took it.

  I’ll show her who has the upper hand here! Klarissa’s hopes of establishing dominance faded, and her face went white as she felt Maya’s grip. Gah! She’s a goddamn gorilla!

  Maya had realized what was coming and put everything she had into that handshake. Klarissa’s grip was still intense enough to send a cold sweat down her back. The unofficial first round of the match was a draw.

  “Aaaaand... Begin!” At Chifuyu’s call, Maya and Klarissa were enveloped in light as their IS opened.

  “Here goes!” Yamada Maya’s Rafale Revive Special ‘Show Must Go On’ spread its Shattered Sky shield wings and took to the air.

  “I won’t hold back!” Klarissa Harfouch’s IS Schwarzer Zwieg opened up around her, and the IS Academy students let out a surprised gasp. Unlike its sister IS, Laura’s Schwarzer Regen, it lived up to its name with a hedgehog-like coat of thorns. An array of wired blades dangled from its branches like fruits on the vine.

  “Bring it!” Maya made the first move, entering a Circle Rondo strafe to establish distance.

  “Just like a teacher to do everything by the book!”

  Maya responded with fire from her American-made .45-caliber Full Time Bullet assault rifles, notable for their high rate of fire and 200-round magazine.

  “Hmph. Take this!” Twenty wired blades arced and twisted toward Maya, writhing like snakes.

  “Ugh!” Guns akimbo or not, 20 targets in the blink of an eye was a tall order, and Maya was tripped up. Once the wired blades had sunk their fangs in, just like a snake, they wouldn’t let go. They slammed her into the ground as another wave shot forward. And as they did, Klarissa steadied her .88-caliber Nacht Nacht railgun against her shoulder and drew a bead.

  “It’s over!” The Nacht Nacht, an upgraded version of Laura’s railgun, could punch through an IS’ shields and armor in a single shot. But—

  “I saw that coming!” Four of Maya’s Wired Tired shields snapped into the path of the shot.

  “What?!”

  “You picked the right place to focus, but you overcommitted.” Maya pulled out her chainsaw knife and hacked away the wired blades holding her down.

  “Not bad!”

  “Hahaha. You either!”

  A blizzard of fire passed between them as they closed to melee.

  Maya wielded the Japanese ‘Kukihime’ macuahuitl, while Klarissa was armed with spiked ‘Sturm und Drang’ baghnakhs. The reach advantage was night and day, but Klarissa had the Schwarzer Zwieg’s AIC to fall back on. One tuned entirely for offense, unlike Laura’s.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9