“That’s absurd!”

  “Indeed!”

  “There’s no way I’ll let that happen!”

  “That’s no fair, Ms. Yamada!”

  “Ichika should be with me!”

  “That’s cheating, Tatenashi.”

  The protests of the six were answered with smacks from Chifuyu, “Quit your bitching. Field Day is over! Get to cleaning up!”

  “No way...” they sighed in unison.

  I felt someone’s gaze on me, and glanced up to notice Tatenashi peeking at me hesitantly.

  “Tatenashi?”

  “W-What?”

  “Do you have to pee or something?”

  Smack! Field Day ended with a slap.

  Chapter IV: It’s Fantastic! A Maiden’s Secrets are Top Secret

  “Sigh...” The day after Field Day was a Friday off due to the holiday on the weekend, and all Tatenashi had the energy to do that afternoon was slouch around her room. Laying in bed with a hand over her face, she stared up at the lights on the ceiling from between her fingers.

  The IS Mysterious Lady’s repair was complete. A shipment of spare parts had arrived from Russia, along with a number of new packages. Installation, tuning, and compilation. Those had taken up her whole morning. But that wasn’t what Tatenashi was sighing about.

  What am I gonna do? The problem was what had happened during Field Day. She’d had absolutely no intention of getting involved in the final competition. That, at least, was the truth. And she’d done her best to stay out of it. But when Ichika was in danger, her instincts won the argument. Her body moved as if it’d been made for that moment.

  This is such a mess... She’d promised that the winner would be moved into Ichika’s class, and even that meant pulling a lot of strings. But even worse... Maybe I wanted that to happen... To be in the same class as Ichika. To spend more time with him.

  “Sigh...”

  The more she thought about it, the harder her heart throbbed. Just as she decided to put it out of her mind and got up out of bed, though, an unexpected knock sounded on her door.

  “Hello?” she called out weakly. The voice which answered shattered whatever focus she had left.

  “It’s me, Orimura Ichika. Do you have a minute?”

  Her heart pounded hard enough to leap out of her chest.

  “H-Hold on a sec!”

  She looked down at what she was wearing, and realizing it was only a blouse and panties, frantically tried to pull on a skirt at the same time as she cleaned up the piles of dirty laundry lying around. Sometimes being lucky enough to have a single dorm wasn’t very lucky at all.

  “Ah, darn!” She was in such a hurry that she’d gotten her buttons in the wrong holes, and her chest kept getting in the way as she tried to fix them. Dammit! I can’t just let him get bored and leave! Hurriedly finishing, she opened her door.

  “Hey. Did I wake you up or something?”

  Well, this was definitely Ichika. And she certainly didn’t have any problem with him deciding to visit. But she wanted to get him inside before any of the other girls realized he was there. “Come on in! I’ll put on some tea.”

  “Huh? But—”

  “C’mon, c’mon!”

  She gave him a quick push, half-forcing him into her room. Even so casual of a touch made her pulse race. A strangely relieving wave of frustration washed over her. Ugh, my heart is beating so fast... Fast enough to make her chest hurt. The sweet suffering threatened to overwhelm her. Stay calm, stay calm. Just get a hold of yourself. You’ll be fine.

  “Um, Tatenashi? I think you dropped these.” Looking a bit embarrassed, Ichika held out a piece of the aforementioned dirty laundry—and, of course, it had to be panties.

  “Eeeek! Give me those!” She snatched the lingerie from Ichika’s hand and, blushing, crammed it into her skirt pocket. He... He saw... He saw my panties... Even if she’d deliberately showed him them before, this was the first time he’d seen them without her planning it. Even if they hadn’t been dirty, she would have been embarrassed. A maiden’s heart is a delicate thing.

  “Ichika! Take responsibility!”

  “Responsibility? For what?”

  “I... I mean, ummmmm...” Tatenashi couldn’t quite make herself say the words. There... There’s no way I could say that out loud! Nothing like that, or like that... As lurid images spun through her mind, she twisted her index fingers together.

  Probingly, Ichika leaned in close and said, “What’s wrong? Do you have a fever?”

  He was close enough for her to feel his breath as he laid a palm on her forehead.

  “Eep!”

  “You don’t feel like you have a fever. Are you just worn out from yesterday?”

  “N-N-N-No way! I haven’t missed a beat!”

  Even Ichika could easily see through her false courage.

  “If that’s true, then how come you dropped your panties?”

  “You idiot! Ichika, you pervert!” Just having her mind brought back to it made Tatenashi blush. Peeking around a girl’s room isn’t a very nice thing to do. Perhaps the measure of a man is his willingness to feign ignorance of what he finds. “Why, Ichika! I’d hoped you were a gentleman.”

  “I know, I know. But you’re quite the lady, Tatenashi. Quite the mysterious lady, I might add.”

  Even though she knew he was really talking about her IS, she didn’t mind hearing those words out of his mouth. Actually, that reminds me... She remembered asking him to call her by her real name when they were alone.

  “C’mon, Ichika—”

  “Katana.”

  Her heart skipped a beat.

  “I know it’s not the recognition you deserve, but why don’t we go out somewhere?”

  In her eyes, he absolutely oozed with charm at that moment. Catching hold of herself, Tatenashi—Katana—gulped and nodded.

  “Sure.”

  “Is there somewhere you wanted to go?”

  “How about—”

  ◇

  “So you want to have dinner at the Grand Imperial Hotel?” Ichika examined the invitation ticket Tatenashi had passed to him as he walked through the covered shopping plaza.

  “Mm...” Tatenashi answered faintly from beside him, her cheeks a pale red.

  “It’s still daytime, though.”

  “Mm...”

  “...Can’t you say anything else?”

  “Mm... Ah?!” As she walked along next to Ichika, Tatenashi was lost in thought. But she couldn’t waste what little alone time she got with her crush like that. Shaking her head, she tried to focus. “Um, Ichika? We’re already downtown, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So why not do some shopping?” Ideally for a ring. For her finger. The kind priced at three months’ salary. “Let’s go, Ichika.”

  “Okay, but where?”

  With another “mm,” Tatenashi held out her hand.

  “Mm!”

  “Oh, did you want to hold hands?”

  “Would you rather I slapped you with it?”

  “...Understood, milady.” With a patronizing bow, Ichika took Tatenashi’s hand. As soon as their fingers clasped, Tatenashi gripped hard and took off at a jog.

  “All right, Ichika! Let’s go!”

  “Wha?! Hey, slow down!”

  “Ahaha!” Ichika sighed in exasperation. “Let’s do some shopping, and stop for a snack, and then... Hmm, there was an earring I wanted to take a look at.”

  “That’s a pretty hard day.”

  “Would you prefer Lunatic instead?” Tatenashi let out a deranged giggle.

  Sensing how much trouble he was in, Ichika nervously began to speak. “Uhh, how about Normal? Or maybe even Easy.”

  Tatenashi dragged him along, her enthusiasm to go everywhere and see everything overflowing.

  “Aren’t you a bit old for that?”

  “...Be gentle. Please.” Ichika gingerly chose his words, remembering how his own sister always seemed to get the Last Word. Seeing his hesitation, Tatenashi grinned in an inscrutable way somewhere in between amused, kindly, and impish. Anyone watching would have assumed they were already lovers, but neither could realize it.

  “How about this one?” Tatenashi held up a short winter coat with fur trimming.

  “I can’t tell if it’s supposed to be warm or lightweight.”

  “Well, it’d certainly be easy to move around in. I’m not sure I’d bring it to Russia, though.”

  Ichika remembered that Tatenashi, free as an IS pilot to choose a country, was a Russian pilot. Not a cadet.

  “It must get pretty cold in Russia,” he replied.

  “Yeah, but the springs and summers are pretty nice in some places.”

  “Huh.” The image of Tatenashi in a long fur coat and fur hat came to Ichika’s mind, and suddenly, he was very interested in talking about Russia. “Why don’t you take me sometime?”

  She tensed up, and could only manage “Eh?” as a response.

  “To Russia. I want to see it.”

  “O-Okay. Someday. Someday!”

  Her eyes glimmered as she clutched the coat, and Ichika raised an eyebrow. Hmm, Russia sounds like an interesting place.

  Meanwhile, Tatenashi—A vacation with just the two of us! I can’t wait! She was extremely pleased. The shoppers passing by as they walked on, watching them, couldn’t help but think ‘What a cute couple!’

  “Ah!” Tatenashi suddenly noticed that they were near an arcade. “Hey, look, Ichika!”

  “Huh?”

  “Wanna go there?”

  “‘There,’ meaning...?” He followed the aim of her finger. “Isn’t that just a normal arcade?”

  Lately, they’d been rebranding as “amusement centers” and the like, but Ichika was still old-school.

  “C’mon, it’ll be fun. Let’s go!”

  “Okay!”

  Having completely lost interest in the coat, Tatenashi shoved it at the clerk and skipped out of the shop.

  “Tatenashi! Look out!”

  She was about to run across the street, oblivious to the oncoming truck. Without a moment’s thought, Ichika dove after her, wrapping his arms around her to keep her safe.

  “Ah...”

  “C’mon, Tatenashi. Pay more attention.”

  “Okay... Sorry...”

  Tatenashi was beside herself with the thought that Ichika could hear her heart pounding. He’s so muscular... How long had he been holding her? She wanted it to last forever, if it could. Feeling his warmth, smelling his scent, closer than anyone else. I must be glowing right now... Her heart ached. But the pain was so, so sweet.

  “Okay, red light. We can go now.”

  “Ah...” Tatenashi let out a sorrowful sigh as Ichika released her. “We could’ve spent a little longer...”

  “Huh?”

  “Ahem. Nothing. Anyway, Ichika. Let’s play that zombie game!”

  “Oh, you’re into lightguns? I figured you’d be all about IS sims. Those are big now.”

  “It gets boring winning all the time. Anyway, zombies, zombies!”

  “Okay, okay.” Ichika took Tatenashi’s hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and let her lead him on. She could barely hold her heart in.

  “This one’s one of the new ones with wireless guns, so no worries about getting tangled up.” That, at least, was a wonderful new innovation.

  “All right, let’s do it!”

  Ichika resigned himself to a quick loss as he watched her excitement. But Tatenashi fed three tokens to the four-player machine, and took up a gun in each hand.

  “Check out my gun kata!” She crossed the guns in front of her chest as the game started. And somehow, she was untouchable.

  “Holy shit, look at her go.”

  “Has she even been hit yet? The zombies aren’t getting anywhere close!”

  “We got an esports pro here, boys!”

  The shocked murmurs spread through the arcade. As a crowd gathered, Tatenashi finished the final boss off without a scratch.

  “Well, that was no big deal.” Spinning her guns, she struck a pose. A photo finish for sure.

  “Oh wow! That’s Orimura Ichika!”

  “Holy shit, you’re right! But who’s the girl?”

  “That’s why she looked familiar! That’s Sarashiki Tatenashi, she was in the September issue of IS Model Shot!” The murmurs grew to a dull roar as all eyes were on the duo.

  “C-Could you autograph this?”

  “Can I get a picture with you, Ichika?”

  “Give me your number, I’ll give you mine!”

  A crowd of amazed onlookers pressed in.

  “Tatenashi.”

  “Mm?”

  “Let’s get out of here!”

  “Got it!”

  Tatenashi’s mood only improved as she and Ichika made their escape. If only they could make it all the way to the end of the world together.

  ◇

  “Ahh, that was fun.” After their time at the arcade, Tatenashi had dragged Ichika around shopping, and now the sun was setting. Suddenly, the IS Mysterious Lady picked up an encrypted transmission.

  “Hello? Yes. Yes. I see. I’ll be right there.” There was nothing left of the playful girl who’d just been standing next to Ichika. Now, there was only secret agent Sarashiki Tatenashi.

  “Um, Tatenashi?” Seeing how serious she suddenly looked, Ichika hesitated before opening his mouth.

  “Sorry, Ichika! Something really important just came up. Can we call it a day?”

  As Tatenashi tried to pass it off, Ichika looked her straight in the eye and said, “Let me come along.”

  “Eh?”

  “I don’t know what’s going on, but it doesn’t seem like something you should have to take on alone.”

  Tatenashi could normally obfuscate her way out of situations like this, but something in his eyes this time made her nod in acceptance.

  “Then... Okay. Thank you.”

  “Of course!”

  And that’s how Tatenashi and Ichika ended up on a sneaking mission.

  “All right, then. Let’s get going.” Tatenashi, and Ichika beside her, were in their IS Academy uniforms. They were at the seaside park near IS Academy. The kind of place with a lot of shady rumors attached.

  “So... We’re going dressed like this?” Ichika asked hesitantly. He’d come expecting to set out fully-armed, and this was almost disappointing.

  “Yeah? I mean, it’s definitely more convenient.”

  “Okay...”

  “Plus, we won’t need weapons on this mission anyway. It’ll be fine.”

  Her cheerful wink was answered with a solemn gaze. If things go wrong, I’m going to have to protect her... His concentration was snapped by a tap on the forehead with one of Tatenashi’s fans.

  “C’mon, kid. Don’t get yourself all worked up. Relax, relax!”

  “But...”

  “Worst-case scenario, you get in your IS and get out of there. Understood?”

  The sudden serious tone confused Ichika. He couldn’t figure out whether to calm down like he was told or get even more worried, and as he wavered between the two, he began to slump.

  “Where are we going, anyway?” In response, Tatenashi grinned and pointed out toward the swelling waves. “To... The sea?”

  Tatenashi nodded and spoke again, “There’s an off-the-books American carrier anchored a few dozen kilometers out. That’s where we’re going.”

  She presented this matter-of-factly, but for Ichika it was a shock. Not trusting his own ears, he asked again, “H-Hold on! An American carrier? Are we trying to cause an international incident?!”

  “Meh. That’s why I was saying, if things go wrong, these uniforms’ll come in handy.”

  IS Academy was independent of any nation, organization, or faith. Meaning, no matter what happened, the diplomatic blowback would be limited. Plus, Tatenashi was the student council president. As long as she could at least manage to talk Ichika’s way out of a sticky situation, everything would be fine.

  This is pretty risky, though. After all, he was the only male in the world who could pilot an IS. Every country in the world would kill to get their hands on him as a test subject. If worst comes to worst, maybe my Russian citizenship will come in handy. It was for times such as these that she’d embraced a reputation as a turncoat.

  Tatenashi—“Shieldless”—originally, the name for unyielding armor. For unyielding will to defend, even without a shield to rely on. When Katana took that name, she swore to take on its meaning as well. To protect her family, her homeland, her comrades. That was the duty of Tatenashi, head of the Sarashiki family.

  And sometimes, the best defense is a good offense. The Americans had information on Phantom Task that they were keeping close to their chest. That meant she had to act, or the name Sarashiki Tatenashi would mean nothing.

  “Ichika, are you wearing your IS suit under your uniform?”

  “Yeah, just like you told me.”

  “Perfect. Let’s go.” As Tatenashi spoke, she hopped over the fence surrounding the park. Ichika followed, then stopped to focus and open his IS.

  “Hold it.” Tatenashi slapped him on the cheek with a fan.

  “What’d you do that for?”

  “I should ask you the same thing. If you take that thing out here, we’ll be surrounded by Japanese and American squads before we even reach the water.”

  Use of IS off school grounds was prohibited by the Alaska Treaty.

  “Then what do we do?”

  “We do this!” Grabbing Ichika’s arm, Tatenashi leapt into the air. They soared, for a moment, then—with a resounding splash!—broke the water.

  “Glub!”

  “All right, let’s get swimming!” Tatenashi, her IS suit beginning to turn transparent in the water, looked like a swimsuit model.

  “What?! We’re swimming that far?!”

  “Yeah.”

  Even Ichika hadn’t expected anything like that.

  “If you don’t like it, you can always go home.”

  He immediately fired back, “No, I’m in for this. I’d never be able to stop worrying if you were out fighting alone.”

 

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