“Take this! Sturm Zweig!” The thorns which had previously seemed just decoration shot toward Maya. Taken aback, she tried to dodge out, but it was already too late, and her armor was peppered with holes as precise as if they’d been drilled.

  “So this is an offensive AIC?!” Once those thorns had pierced her armor, the force fields at their tips were free to tear through what was inside. Like roots twisting through the earth seeking water, they dug in, searching for Maya.

  “The Italians don’t have a monopoly on things called storms!” Another coat of thorns sprang up. The Schwarzer Zwieg looking more like a blowfish than anything else.

  Purging her destroyed shield wings, Maya nimbly dodged back. Just what Klarissa was waiting for.

  “......?!” Maya flinched back as she saw the bed of thorns awaiting her.

  “It’s over!” Just as Klarissa thought she’d won, a shot got her in the gut. One from the shield wings Maya had purged. “What?! Those aren’t just shields?!”

  Glancing around, Klarissa noticed that she was surrounded.

  “I call them Phalanx Twelve!” All that remained was to pull the trigger. For either of them.

  “AHHHHHHHH!”

  A hundred thorns and a thousand bullets filled the air.

  ◇

  “And that’s a draw... Or a double KO, really.” Maya and Klarissa had each closed their heavily-damaged IS for repair.

  “That was a good fight.”

  “You’re not half-bad. I apologize.” Each reached out their hand, having bonded over the new respect they’d gained for each other.

  “But now we’ve got a new problem. Your IS is too damaged to lead the push.” Chifuyu sighed, cradling her jaw, as Klarissa snapped to attention.

  “But don’t worry! We’ll give you an honor guard!” The four girls from earlier surrounded Klarissa. “Nena! Falke! Matilda! Io!”

  “Yes, ma’am!” Precise salutes.

  “The Schwarzer Hasen EOS squad will escort you to England!” Each had their own EOS with a black rabbit insignia, equipped with weapons that didn’t require an IS core.

  I wonder if they’ll be effective fighters. But they were still EOS. Or even effective cannon fodder... The EOS squad’s eyes glittered as they contemplated Chifuyu, not realizing her plans for them.

  “We can do it!”

  “We’ll try our hardest!”

  “Can I get your autograph later?”

  “I want a selfie with you!”

  Chifuyu quieted them with a clap. “Sure, sure. Glad to have you on board.”

  “Yes, ma’am!”

  And thus, the two groups set off for England.

  ◇

  “I’ll be seeing you in England then. Farewell, Ichika.” Cecilia may have been saying goodbye to Ichika, but after their time at the amusement park, she had no worries.

  “Yeah. See you there, Cecilia.”

  Two trains set off from a cathedral-esque European station. From the window of the France-bound train, Ichika waved to Cecilia, and she answered with a smile, much to the displeasure of the other girls.

  “Ichika, you... You!”

  “Ugh, I can’t stand that idiot!”

  His two childhood friends, especially, could barely hold their anger back. Or really, just couldn’t.

  As the trains rolled away from the station, the scenery outside began to change. Charlotte, sitting across from Ichika, gazed out the window in a melancholic reverie; the vision of a reunion with her father she’d never asked for eating away at her. Ichika had promised her that, as long as she was at IS Academy, she’d be free. But now she’d set foot outside that sanctuary... And she wasn’t the only cadet whose past was catching up to her, either.

  “Charl,” Ichika called out to her. “Don’t be so worried. I promised to protect you, and I still mean it.”

  As she folded down the seat-back table, more out of habit than anything, she felt Ichika’s hand wrap around hers. As he looked directly into her eyes, she felt her cheeks warm.

  “Mmm... Thanks, Ichika,” she replied, wrapping her fingers around his. It seemed like the world was just the two of them for a moment.

  “Ahem!” Surprisingly, it was Chifuyu who chose to theatrically clear her throat, as her eyes shifted back and forth. “You know, being on a train really makes my throat dry.”

  Laura was the first to follow up.

  “Doesn’t it! We should order drinks— No, send someone to get them from the dining car!” She glanced over at Kanzashi.

  “Ichika, if you’d be so kind...”

  They acted in unison, as if connected by some kind of feminine telepathy.

  “Sure, I’m on it,” Ichika said while getting up. “Coffee for you, right, Chifuyu?”

  “Yeah. Black, please.” Ichika being Ichika, he checked for Chifuyu’s order and no one else. As he left, Chifuyu turned her gaze to Charlotte. “Don’t push yourself too hard. I know how you try to carry the world on your shoulders sometimes.”

  Charlotte was grateful for the sympathy from someone who’d been in the same situation.

  “Thank you so much. But this is something I’ve always known I needed to deal with someday,” Charlotte replied, clenching her fists.

  “That’s kind of what she meant, Charlotte.” Her friend Laura tried to ease her down.

  And then Kanzashi spoke, “None of us are alone in this.”

  Buoyed by the kindness, Charlotte nodded.

  “Thanks, everyone.”

  And then Ichika returned.

  “Here’s your coffee, Chifuyu.” His sister was first, of course. The three girls shot him disappointed glances.

  “What seems to be the problem?” For some reason, Chifuyu seemed a bit smug.

  ◇

  They’d passed over the border into France. As he took in the sweeping pastoral landscapes of Europe, Ichika turned the conversation to Charlotte.

  “So, Charl, where were you born?”

  “A small village in Occitània. It’s a bit of a way from here.”

  “Don’t you want to visit? You haven’t been home in a while, it’s probably good timing for a side trip.” Ichika meant, but didn’t want to say to her out loud, that it might be a good chance to visit her mother’s grave.

  Charl, though, shook her head and said, “Mm, it’s fine. I’m happy just breathing French air again.”

  —She didn’t seem to want to. Charl was the type to make do with the small pleasures she’d found. Always had been, as long as he’d known her.

  “I see.” Ichika let it go. Knowing when to do so was one of his virtues.

  “Oh, by the way,” Ichika spoke up again, seemingly changing the subject. “There’s a station named Charles, isn’t there? Gare de Marseille-Saint-Charles? Reminds me of when we met.”

  He hadn’t called her by that name in a while.

  “Stop bringing that up!” Charlotte yelped. “It’s embarrassing.”

  Laura and Kanzashi had been watching jealously from across the aisle, too fixated on the pair to pay any attention to Chifuyu.

  Chifuyu sighed.

  “You two,” she called across the aisle. “Move, I want to see out of that side.”

  The seating on the train was three-wide, with an aisle separating single seats from double. Chifuyu faced Laura and Kanzashi across a clump of four, while Ichika and Charl were alone facing each other on the other side. Chifuyu had decided to throw a bone to Laura and Kanzashi by taking a single seat for herself, forcing Ichika and Charlotte back into the group.

  “C’mon, move it,” Chifuyu repeated.

  Ichika complained at the forced sudden move, “What’s gotten into you, Chifuyu?”

  His impertinence was answered with a quick spank on the butt. Something really had gotten into her.

  “And?”

  Ichika sat across from Laura, and crossed his arms.

  “Did you say something to Chifuyu?”

  “Nothing, nothing at all! You’re such a rude bride.” Laura hmphed, her arms crossed. It was up to Charlotte to smooth things over.

  “You don’t have to be so angry, Laura. What would happen if your face got stuck like that?”

  “What do you mean, ‘stuck like this’? This is how I normally am.”

  “Wouldn’t it be a waste of a cute face like that if it got stuck with a scowl, Kanzashi?”

  Kanzashi decided to play along. “Sure would.”

  “See? See, Laura? Everyone thinks you’re cute.”

  Laura blushed all the way up to her ears. Unable to contain herself, she blurted out, “C-Cute? Cute?! What does that have to do with anything?!”

  Ichika moved his feet swiftly to dodge Laura’s embarrassed stomps. He’d been learning to turn the tables on the girls around him.

  “You’re different lately, Ichika...” Kanzashi said.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. You’re doing intentionally what you used to do unintentionally.”

  “Huh, maybe I am,” Ichika replied, almost monotone. The flatness of his voice made the others question his intentions, but none spoke up.

  The train rolled on.

  “You know, I always thought of France as like something out of the old paintings, but this station is huge,” Ichika spoke up again.

  “Japanese stations are small, and they feel even more packed because of all the people.”

  “Oh, huh.” As if something had just come to him, Ichika turned to Laura. “German cooking really impressed me. I wish I’d gotten the chance to learn some of those potato recipes.”

  The dishes made by the Schwarzer Hasen had been excellent, and it seemed like something she was proud of.

  “It’s a soldier’s duty to learn to make good food from whatever’s available. Especially for my squad.” Laura, the leader of an all-female IS squad, must have been nearly as good a cook as Charlotte. Was her lack of pride in it just because she hadn’t awakened to the idea of embracing her own feminine wiles? Or was it because she simply considered it a basic life skill?

  “Kanzashi,” Ichika said, turning his head toward her. “Is this the first time you’ve been out of the country? It is for me.”

  “I haven’t really traveled much... so it’s been a lot of fun.”

  “I see. Heard anything from Tatenashi?” Ichika was fishing for a response like ‘Yeah, she wrecked that Russkie!’

  “Ah, well... I don’t think things turned out as well as they could have.” Kanzashi was embarrassed by her sister’s failure. Still, though, Tatenashi was on her way to England.

  “Seems like she’s having a bit of trouble too, huh.”

  “Yeah, a bit...”

  Just as their exchange began to blossom into a conversation, a peddler approached them.

  “Bonjour. Could I interest you in a sandwich?”

  “A sandwich on French bread? I’ve never had one of those.” As Ichika leaned in to examine the goods, the peddler recognized him.

  “You... You’re Orimura Ichika, from Japan!”

  “Er, uh, yeah... But how did you recognize me?”

  “Why, you’re famous even here! Orimura Ichika, the only man in the world who can pilot an IS! The last ray of hope we men have left!” He thrust out his hand, and Ichika awkwardly shook it. “Ah, merveilleuse! Can I have your autograph?”

  “Ah, sure. Ahaha...”

  Ten minutes of intense questioning later, the man left behind sandwiches for everyone with a final ‘it’s my treat!’ At least he had good intentions.

  “I... guess I’m famous?” Ichika said, still stunned by the interaction.

  “Of course you are! Didn’t you do an interview with that foreign reporter?”

  “Well, a bunch of the Schwarzer Hasen wanted my autograph, so I guess it went pretty well,” Ichika replied, recalling their meeting not too long ago. “I still don’t want to let it go to my head, though.”

  “Don’t worry about it. You’ve inspired me to work on my own technique.”

  Ichika blushed at the prodding and said, “Laura! I said I didn’t want to let it go to my head.”

  “Mm? Oh, right,” Laura half-apologized, in revenge for her previous torment. She smirked.

  “Wow, it’s beautiful outside.” Kanzashi gazed out the window while biting into her sandwich. “This is good, too. Ichika, you should have some.”

  “Oh, right. Wouldn’t be right to waste a gift like that.”

  It was winter, and being north of pretty much all of Japan just made it even more obvious. As he looked out over the frost-touched landscape, Ichika bit into his sandwich.

  ◇

  After a long journey, it was night. But there was one problem.

  “Wait, two triple rooms?”

  They’d reserved three doubles, but there must have been some kind of booking error. There were five of them. And one was a boy. Normally they’d just cram in and deal with it, but this was anything but a normal situation for the four girls.

  “Hmm. I’m in charge. So the Orimuras will take one, and you three can have the other.” Chifuyu’s argument was less than convincing.

  “Wait, wait, wait.”

  “That’s not right!”

  Well, less than convincing for three girls in love. But Chifuyu wasn’t willing to let it, or them, go.

  “You brats will complain about anything, won’t you,” Chifuyu taunted. “Fine, then! Laura! You come with us too. Any complaint about that?”

  Divide and conquer.

  For Laura, it was the heaven of sharing a room with both Orimuras, but the hell of betraying her friends.

  “Ughhhhh...” Her teeth ground.

  From one shoulder, she heard the voice of an angel, “No, Laura! You can’t abandon your friend Charlotte and take it all for yourself!”

  “I... I know...”

  And from the other, a devil, “Bwahaha. That’s the law of the jungle! Take what belongs to you! Vwee-hee-hee.”

  “You’re right, I may never get a chance like this again!”

  What do you do, Laura? What do you do?!

  “No, you mustn’t!” cried the angel.

  “You know you want to,” sneered the devil.

  The world spun around Laura, and she collapsed to the floor with a massive nosebleed.

  “Yikes! Laura, are you okay?!” Charlotte yelped, dashing to her where she lay on the ground.

  “Charlotte... I... I can’t go on any longer...”

  “You’re bloodied, but you’re still in the fight!” Charlotte pulled out a drink and handed it to Laura. ...Blood orange juice.

  “A bit on the nose there...” For once, Kanzashi jumped in with the delayed second punchline.

  “Why don’t you do rock-paper-scissors instead?” That was an interesting suggestion from Ichika. “The one who loses gets stuck sharing a room with me.”

  He definitely wasn’t looking at the situation the same way as the others, but no one else minded. A consolation prize. Those were common enough.

  “All right, on the count of three. One, two...” Chifuyu joining in, though, was a bit unexpected. “Three!”

  With their hands revealed, Charlotte had ‘lost’ to everyone.

  “I did it! I did it, Ichika!” She hopped gleefully from foot to foot, to the consternated glares of Laura and Kanzashi. Chifuyu, meanwhile, sighed in exasperation.

  “Good night, everyone!” Charlotte was beaming. With a quick ‘let’s go’ to Ichika, she skipped into the room.

  “Oh, wow!”

  The room was spacious and well-appointed, mostly the kind of place someone might stay on a business trip. A triple-layer bunk bed wasn’t quite what one would expect to see, but for Charl, so much the better.

  “Are you sure you want to share a room?” Ichika asked. “You can always tell Chifuyu to trade.”

  “No, I’m fine!” Charlotte snapped. “Wait, would you rather not?”

  “It’s fine, just... Ah, just, whatever!”

  Not knowing whatever that ‘whatever’ was was a nervous thrill to Charlotte.

  “Anyway, I’m going to change into my pajamas.”

  “All right, I’ll step out then. Tell me when you’re done.” Ichika nearly fled from the room, too quickly to hear Charlotte’s whispered ‘you could have stayed if you wanted...’

  She changed quickly, into a striped set, and then called out to him, “Okay, I’m ready.”

  “Mm? Oh, okay.” Ichika looked at her curiously. “What happened to the kitty pajamas?”

  “Oh, those? There was no way I could bring them with me. Those are kind of for just at home.”

  “Ahh, that makes sense.” Charlotte had serious enough things to deal with back home that playfulness must have been the furthest thing from her mind while packing. Even Ichika could realize that. “Okay, let’s get some sleep.”

  “Er, ah...” Charlotte slumped a little. She hadn’t expected to go straight to bed.

  “So, Charl. Would you rather be on top or underneath?”

  Her face lit up bright red. On top or underneath? I-I can’t decide...

  “If you don’t make up your mind, I’m going to have to make it up for you.”

  “Eh? Ah, um... You decide...”

  As she continued to redden, Ichika dove into bed. “I’ll take the bottom bunk, then. You can have either of the other ones.”

  While Ichika enjoyed getting first pick, Charlotte was deflating.

  “Oh... That’s what you meant...” All she could feel was resentful embarrassment at where her mind had gone. “I guess I’ll take the middle one...”

  She climbed up the ladder, and Ichika spoke again, “Hey, Charl.”

  “Yeah? What?”

  “We’re in France now.”

  “Yeah.” Realizing how complicated Charl’s feeling about it must have been, Ichika fell silent. “And?”

  “Oh, nothing. Goodnight.” Ichika pulled his blanket up over himself and fell asleep.

  Even in the swirl of feelings about everything that was going on, Charl was grateful that he did.

  “Mm. Goodnight, Ichika...”

  An uneventful night passed.

 

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