“Beat you to it!” Cecilia left me in the dust as I lost focus pondering my speed. Rising up higher, she made for the Central Tower, visible from anywhere on campus.

  Wow, she has a lot of practice at this. I’ve gotta keep up! Feeling out of my element, I made each movement like I was walking on eggshells. If I rammed into that tower at Mach 1, it’d be more than just bruises. Not just for me, the shockwave from my impact might well collapse it. I kept a close eye on my speed, heading, and attitude as I raced to follow Cecilia.

  “All right! I’ve caught up!”

  “Oh? And here I thought you simply wanted a closer view of my behind.”

  “Wha— No, it’s not like that!”

  “Ahaha, I was only kidding.” Cecilia was in a good mood for some reason, and we kept up the friendly chatter as we reached the top of the tower and turned around. After that, we raced back to the arena side by side.

  “That’s it. Excellent job, both of you!” Ms. Yamada praised us with a smile on her face.

  I wondered if it was really so pleasing to have one’s students do well, as I watched her breasts bounce up and down in counter-time to her joyful hop. Ugh, I never know quite where I should be looking when talking to her...

  “Hey, Ichika! Hey!”

  “What, Laura?”

  “So you... You’re... You’re one of those breast men, too?”

  “What? No, I mean, uh, I’m not thinking anything I shouldn’t!”

  “Hmph! Really then. I... I guess it’s okay then...”

  “O-Okay...?”

  “Wh-Whatever! Ugh, don’t even look at me!” Laura, her IS already deployed, swept an arm in my direction. With the motion, her AIC activated, twisting my neck at a strange angle and holding it there. Hey, wait a minute, you’re the one who talked to me in the first place!

  Meanwhile, Chifuyu drew the class’s attention with a clap. “Listen up. We’re making an exception this year to allow the first years to participate in Cannonball Fast, but I don’t just want you to show up, I want you to achieve something, too. The lessons this teaches you are probably going to do you a lot of good in the future. I want you all to form up into groups and get suited up, double time. Get moving!”

  The Cannonball Fast race was run every year, but usually it was only open to second years and up who had already been assigned ground crews. But with so much happening this year, and so many first years having their own personal IS, it was opened to all classes. It seemed like, since the groups using training IS were going to be class-by-class team efforts, there would be prizes like usual.

  “All right, we’re gonna win!”

  “Maybe I can make her finally notice me!”

  “I want those free desserts! Gotta take this seriously!”

  The enthusiasm of the girls may have been infectious, as even the teachers were fired up. Ms. Yamada, in her usual V-neck IS suit, seemed to be especially into it.

  I bet she wears it like that because it just wouldn’t fit over her breasts otherwise... Honestly, thinking about it was just too much for a 15 year old... Especially since she was walking right up to me.

  “Orimura, you really did well out there. That was amazing, especially for your first time using that visor!”

  “T-Thanks.”

  With my IS deployed, I had an even higher angle on her than usual. Even if I tried to look at her face, I’d be staring straight down her top, so I let my gaze wander as I scratched at my burning cheek.

  “Orimura? Ah...” I’d noticed often that once Ms. Yamada got focused on something, she had a hard time noticing anything else. It was only now that she noticed where I was looking, and folded her arms to cover her chest while turning to the side.

  “U-Um, would it be better if I purchased a new IS suit?”

  “W-Why?”

  “It seems like you have a hard time paying attention in class while I’m in this one...”

  “Ahh...”

  “But it would have to be a special order, wouldn’t it... I just got this one this year and had it altered, too, so it would be such a waste...” Her words tumbled out. For some reason, her embarrassment just made her even more appealing.

  As we stood there awkwardly, Chifuyu approached us.

  “Orimura.”

  “Yes?”

  Smack. A chop to my neck. It hurt. A lot. A wave of déjà vu washed over me in an instant.

  “Show some shame for once. You shouldn’t look at your teacher like that.”

  “Wait, no, I wasn’t—”

  “If you’re not going to be using auxiliary thrusters, you should have a talk with Shinonono over there about allocating energy output. Understood?”

  “Understood...”

  My sister was so, so considerate. Considerate enough to make me cry. I did as I was told and flew toward Houki. With my IS deployed, I didn’t need to walk. It was so convenient.

  “Heeeeeey, Houki.”

  No response. Houki, who seemed like she was having a really hard time with energy allocation, was frowning at a projection display. I turned up my volume and called out to her again.

  “C’mon, Houki! Hey!”

  “W-What?!”

  “Ms. Orimura said that since neither of us are using bolt-ons, we should have a talk.”

  “Oh, I see! Sorry to dump this on you, Ichika, but take a look at this.” Houki brightened up at the arrival of help, and moved beside me to show me her display. It seemed like she didn’t have enough energy with her variable-sweep armor active.

  “It’s nice having a big thruster for acceleration in Byakushiki, but I’m really impressed by how Akatsubaki can do a bit of everything. All you have to do is sweep your back and leg armor into high-mobility mode.”

  “But if I don’t have enough energy, it doesn’t do me any good. I swear, her designs are always like this...”

  Houki’s face always twisted into a frown when Tabane came up. And I always wondered why they couldn’t just get along. After all, they were sisters.

  “What about Kenran Butou?”

  “I... I still can’t use that.”

  “Oh? I mean, you’d know better than I would, but it seems to me like Akatsubaki is designed to use it as a primary energy source.”

  The one-off ability of Houki’s IS, the Akatsubaki, was called Kenran Butou. It was capable of amplifying energy. So it should come in handy when the variable-sweep armor was engaged and eating up so much power... Or at least, that’s what I thought. And what Akatsubaki gained from this reliance on multiple energy sources was use of variable-sweep armor which, like BT weaponry, was excellently suited for offense, defense, or even mobility. But without a reliable energy supply from Kenran Butou, it would quickly run out. Pretty similar to my own Byakushiki, honestly.

  “How about leaving your leg armor unswept, and only using your back? Use your standard thrusters for balance control.”

  “I’d thought of that, but that reduces the thrust output too far. I’ve also considered not using the variable-sweep armor at all, but...”

  “You’d never win the race that way.”

  “Right... Ugh.” Houki hated losing, so it was only natural that she had her eyes on first place. I hated to lose, too, so I could really understand how she felt. “Ichika, how are you setting yours up?”

  “Me? I’ve got Yukihira Nigata turned completely off, and all energy going to my thrusters.”

  “All of it? What if you’re attacked?”

  “Then I’ll just dodge.”

  “What if you have to attack?”

  “There’s always ramming as an option.”

  It made plenty of sense to me as the only option which covered all the bases, but when Houki heard it she broke out laughing.

  “Ahahah. Cannon to the right of you, cannon to the left of you indeed.”

  “Ugh... You know, I thought really hard about it too.”

  “Hahaha. It’s, uh, definitely very you. Maybe... I should do some more thinking, too. Thank you, Ichika.”

  “No problem. We’ll see who wins.”

  “We sure will.”

  “Anyway, see you later.”

  “Yeah.”

  Leaving Houki, I went over to Charl and Laura, part of the group using auxiliary thrusters. Speaking of which, here’s how it sorted out:

  High-mobility package: Cecilia, Rin.

  Mobility tuning: me, Houki.

  Auxiliary thrusters: Charl, Laura.

  Rin seemed really confident. “My new package is even better than I expected. You’ll see when I blow by you on race day.” I thought back to Rin, her arms folded, smugly announcing her superiority. It must be nice to have a package. I wish I had one too. But Byakushiki wasn’t having any of it. Even Kuramochi Engineering, who had created it, had given up on developing add-on gear. So it was kind of a lost cause.

  If I ever really needed some, I’d probably have to go to Tabane. I wonder where she disappeared to? Tabane had vanished after the Gospel Incident in summer. I’m sure she was making trouble somewhere out there. Sigh...

  “Hey, Ichika!” Charl noticed me and waved me over. I waved back, and dematerialized my IS as I landed near her and Laura.

  “How are you two doing?”

  “We’ve both just finished installing our auxiliary thrusters. Next up is tuning them, right?”

  “Correct.”

  Now that she mentioned it, I noticed they were both in IS suits with only their headgear deployed. Charl’s looked like a hairband, while Laura’s manifested as bunny ears. They almost seemed more like a pair of cute cosplayers. Each set seemed to be loading the newly-installed data, as they occasionally waggled. It made the pair look even more like adorable animals.

  “Can I take a look?”

  “Huh? Of course. Laura, why don’t we do a lap? I’ll send you the video feed. Tune to channel 304.”

  “Oh, thanks. It’s really great to be able to watch someone better than me. I’m glad IS can do this.”

  With Direct View, every bit of visual information—that is, everything that Charl saw—could be sent directly to my IS. It’s kinda like TV, or a stream.

  “I’ll send from my perspective as well. Channel 305.”

  “Thanks. But Laura, your target acquisition is so good that I have a hard time following your vision.”

  “You idiot. Try harder to keep up.”

  “I know, I know. Thank you for the lessons, Ms. Bodewig.”

  “Hmph. So I’m your teacher now?” Laura’s blush betrayed that she was less frustrated with this arrangement than her words indicated. If anything, she was a little bit bashful.

  All right, just gotta connect.

  “Ichika, are you ready?”

  “Yeah, I’m all set... It feels a little funny to see my own face on-screen, though.”

  “Wha— I wasn’t just looking at you!”

  “Huh?”

  “Oh, nothing.”

  I watched Charl’s flustered hand-waving bemusedly as Laura materialized Schwarzer Regen and floated into the air.

  “I’ll go first.”

  “Hey, wait! Laura!”

  One step behind, Charl deployed her own Rafale Revive Custom II. Both of them kept steady control over their IS as they flew through Arena Six’s course and toward Central Tower.

  Huh... So that’s how I should be accelerating... Looking back and forth between the screens showing their view, I began to understand. They each had their own acceleration pattern, but their deceleration was so similar that I knew it would come in handy.

  “How was that, Ichika?” A few moments later, Charl and Laura were back.

  “Welcome back. That was really good. Both of you.”

  “That was just the basics. We didn’t do anything unusual.”

  “Wow, national cadets really are something. I’ll have to learn from that.”

  “Mm. Hopefully you’ll be able to keep up.”

  After having spoken to everyone else with their own IS—Rin was in Class B, so she wasn’t there—I went back to tuning my own IS.

  “How’s it going, Orimura?”

  “Oh, Ms. Yamada. I was really impressed with everyone else.”

  “You need to do your best too. Cannonball Fast is a full-contact battle race, so it’s important to have a grasp on combat maneuver as well.”

  “It’ll be tough with only one ranged attack, but I’ll try.”

  “I know! It’s been a while, so why don’t we do a mock battle? At full speed, like Cannonball Fast would be.”

  “Are you sure?” I was surprised by her sudden offer, but really grateful for the chance to get some prep in.

  “Of course! My IS is already set up for high-speed combat, so we can start anytime.”

  “Sure thing, then.”

  “No problem!” With a broad smile, Ms. Yamada deployed her Rafale Revive. Unlike Charl’s Custom, hers was mostly similar to the base model. The biggest thing that made it stand out was the shield mounted on one arm.

  “This shield can also be used as a side thruster. And I’m running three auxiliary thrusters on my back.” As she spoke, Ms. Yamada pointed out each part. Between the shield and the three beefy thrusters, her IS was definitely imposing.

  “Wow, those are huge. Charl’s and Laura’s are nowhere near as big.”

  “These auxiliary thrusters are adapted from orbital launch boosters. So they have to be so big, to hold the rocket fuel.”

  “Rocket fuel?! Isn’t that dangerous?”

  “It’s safe enough. Because of how they’re installed, the life support emergency defenses extend to cover them.”

  “I see...” After five months at school, I was beginning to get a handle on IS. Thanks in no small part to Ms. Yamada’s special lessons.

  “Then, shall we get started? Are you ready, Orimura?”

  “Y-Yes.”

  I called forth Byakushiki, and we crouched at the starting line.

  “Then let’s begin! Three, two, one, go!”

  “......!”

  My field of vision constricted in on itself. Then, suddenly, everything was as clear as day. This was my second time today at high speed, and I was starting to get used to it.

  “You’re a fast learner, aren’t you. All right, I’m going to ascend now.”

  “Okay!”

  I followed Ms. Yamada as I replied over a private channel.

  Why don’t I try out accelerating like Charl did? I slowed down ahead of the curve, then accelerated through it. All right! Nailed it! Keeping my balance by manipulating my thrusters, I followed it up with an attempt at Laura’s burst acceleration. Letting my speed fall naturally, I suddenly accelerated as I entered the banked curve, and was almost beside Ms. Yamada.

  All right, I’ve caught— Suddenly, she reached an arm back toward me and fired a burst from her machine gun. Dammit! I forgot this was going to involve combat!

  “Not bad, Orimura, but you’ve still got a lot to learn.”

  “Ugh!”

  Rolling to the side, I dodged, only to meet a grenade with the pin pulled.

  “......!!”

  BOOM! The grenade exploded before my eyes. Caught up in the explosion, I flew off the course and sank to the ground.

  “Ugh...” Crashing to earth was painful, even with the IS’ shock absorption. As I stood up, Ms. Yamada hovered down next to me.

  “Good job today, Orimura.”

  “You too.”

  She really was a former Japanese national cadet. I was no match for her practiced IS piloting. It’s hard to believe she’s the same person who wiped out during entrance exams... Without that burst of stage fright, I wouldn’t have stood a chance.

  “Can you stand?”

  “Yeah. I think.”

  Using my thrusters, I pushed myself into the air before setting my feet on the ground.

  “I’m going to go check on everyone else now.”

  “Of course. Thanks again.”

  “It was nothing.” Ms. Yamada bowed politely, then left toward the struggling groups in trainer IS.

  Guess I’d better go back over my tuning. I spent the remaining hour of the period poring over settings.

  ◆

  “Phew, that was exhausting...”

  It was the day before Cannonball Fast, and I’d spent every possible minute in the arenas having Laura drill everything she could into me.

  “The most important thing in high-speed combat is clear, cool thinking. The decisiveness to take action is next. Understood?”

  “Split-second decision making between attack, evasion, and defense? I think I’ve gotten a lot better at that.”

  “You still have a long way to go. And you’re still burning through far too much shield energy. If you simply evaded, you’d make it through without losing energy or speed.”

  “I see.”

  “Then, let’s get to combat training!”

  “Yes, ma’am!”

  We went through a whole ‘nother two hours of that... After I dragged my exhausted carcass back to my room, I made straight for the shower. The hot water washed away first my sweat, then my fatigue.

  “Phew...” Getting out, I dressed, then dove backward into bed. I think I’ve pretty much got the hang of it, but it sure ain’t coming easy.

  Knock, knock.

  “Hmm? Who is it?” I got up and walked to the door. Opening it with a click, I saw Laura.

  “Oh? What’s up?”

  “Oh, it’s just... I thought maybe we could go get dinner...” For once, Laura was a bit mumbly. She kept fidgeting, too, as if she couldn’t calm down.

  “Hmm? That’s a cute outfit you’ve got on.”

  “......!!”

  “I’ve never seen you in that before. What’s the special occasion?”

  Laura was wearing a one-piece dress, cut long. Its slender silhouette went well with her delicate build, and her silver-blonde hair stood out against the black cloth. The rope belt slung casually around her waist caught my eye.

  “This... This is just... It’s something I bought when I was out shopping with Charlotte!”

  “Huh. It looks good on you. Makes you look really classy.”

  “Cl-Class...?!”

 

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