[Episode 12: Nine Schools Competition - Part 5]
"All right, ready to start?" asked Tatsuya. He, Leo, Mayumi, and Erika had left Tatsuya's room and had gone to the military training area behind the hotel; Mayumi had joined them because she was interested in the CAD that Tatsuya had built, and Erika tagged along because "I want to see how that idiot will break your toy, Tatsuya!" Tatsuya secretly suspected, however, that Erika's real purpose for coming was to tease him and Mayumi.
"Roger!" said Leo. "Here goes!" He held the Weaponized Integrated CAD in front of him, like a sword - convienient, since it was, in fact, a sword - and pressed the trigget built into the hilt. Red light travelled up the blade of the sword as the built-in spell activated. Immediately the upper half of the sword separated from its lower counterpart and hovered a few feet above where it had previously been, eliciting excited gasps from Mayumi and Erika. "It's really floating up there!" Leo said ecstaticly. "This is so cool!" He swung the sword a few times to get a feel for it.
"3...2...1..." Tatsuya said. "Zero."
"Whoa!" said Leo as the sword returned to its 'collapsed' state. "I'd totally call that a success, Tatsuya! So Fortifying Magic works even when it's not physically connected..."
"Fortifying Magic is defined by how it stabilizes relative positions," Tatsuya said to Mayumi and Erika, who had been in a form of shock up until now, having never seen such an application of magic before. "There's no need for objects to be in contact. The way this device works is probably more like "extending" than "flinging out." Since there's nothing in the middle, it will only move along the extended length of the sword - in other words, the motion of the separated piece is directly controlled by the motion of the hilt. There's no whiplash effect."
"It feels the same as if I were swinging a really long sword," Leo added. "That helps because it keeps me from over-thinking."
"And if you over-think this sword," Erika said, having returned from her stupor, "you'll end up hitting some poor little child with it or something, is that what you're trying to say?"
"Ms. Chiba!" Mayumi said, her ojou-sama instincts kicking in. "That is not a polite thing to say!"
"So what would be polite, Mayumi?" Erika was insistent on calling her by her first name. "Maybe we should talk about Tatsuya, instead?"
"There's...no need..." stuttered Mayumi. "Anyway, Tatsuya," she said, trying to escape Erika, "you said this was a toy of sorts?"
"Indeed, Chairwoman," he replied. "I got the idea from watching Ms. Watanabe's battle board match the other day. She used Fortifying Magic to balance herself, which got me thinking on different ways to apply Fortifying Magic."
"How interesting!" said Mayumi, looking desperate to keep the topic of conversation off of her and Tatsuya's non-existent relationship. "So, if this is just a toy to you, what's a real weapon that you've built?"
"I can't say, Chairwoman," Tatsuya said, and suddenly the importance of what they were discussing - openly, with two people who knew nothing of Taurus Silver - dawned on Mayumi.
"I'm just teasing, Tatsuya," Mayumi said, indicating her acknowledgement of the situation. Whether or not she wanted to know what Tatsuya's answer would have been, she understood the importance of keeping Leo and Erika safe. "I don't expect any high school student to have designed magic weapons!"
"It's nice how you casually tease him like that, Mayumi," Erika said with a mischievious grin. "It truly shows how close you two are." This horrified Mayumi, who had been trying to shift the conversation away from such a topic.
"By that logic, Erika," Tatsuya intervened, "you must have fallen head-over-heels for Leo." Mayumi couldn't help but marvel - with one sentence, he had both shut down and rebuffed Erika's annoying jests. Erika, however, was irate...but she was also blushing.
"Hey, Tatsuya, leave me out of this," Leo said with a similar blush.
"All right, Leo," Tatsuya said. "In that case, the next step is a live test." He pressed a button on the tablet he was holding.
"What?" Leo wasn't sure he had heard that right, but then a handful of straw dummies were brought up to the training area from their underground storage, and promptly rushed at Leo along tracks in the ground. He extended the blade and promptly destroyed them; Tatsuya brought up more dummies, and Leo rushed them with his sword extended. He was having too much fun.
Just then, Tatsuya got a call on his phone. Mayumi watched him answer, then excuse himself and head back to the hotel, reminding Leo to leave the sword in Tatsuya's hotel room.
~August 5th, 2095~
Tatsuya, Mikihiko, Mizuki, Miyuki, Leo and Erika were waiting for the Battle Board semifinal to start. This year, Mari's main competitor would be Kuroki Risa, the runner-up from last year's Battle Board competition and the representative from Seventh High.
"On your marks..."
The pistol was fired, and the race began. Mari led the race, with Kuroki predictably in second; the third and final racer was not fast enough to be considered competition. Mari tried shaking Kuroki, but to no avail.
"Just as I thought," said Tatsuya. "She's tough."
"Gotta hand it to 'Seventh High of the Seas!'" said Erika, referencing Seventh High's unofficial nickname among the Battle Board contestants.
"This is the same matchup as last year's final, right?" asked Mizuki.
Suddenly, Tatsuya sensed something wrong. Kuroki wasn't slowing down, and he wasn't the only one who noticed.
"Over-acceleration?" exclaimed Erika. Tatsuya, meanwhile, saw the danger in the situation, as Kuroki was on a collision course with Mari. Kuroki lost control of her board, and it went flying off to the side, while Kuroki herself was flying through the air at Mari. Mari saw this and made a decision based on instinct. She raised her CAD to cast a Deceleration Spell on Kuroki; the spell was successful, and Mari caught Kuroki, preventing her from obtaining any serious injuries. Doing so slowed Mari down considerably, however, and she dropped to second place as the third racer seized first place. Having a good grasp on her priorities, Mari surfed over to the exit of the course, holding Kuroki Risa.
"Why...did you...do that?" asked Kuroki, still in shock from her experience.
"I'm too proud to win at the physical expense of my competition," Mari replied. "What does it say about me if I win against a handicapped person?"
"But...you're...going to...forfeit the race!" cried Kuroki.
"The only real value these competitions have is to increase the reputation of the associated schools," Mari said. "Which increases First High's reputation more: winning the race, or helping the injured person in spite of them being your enemy?"
By this time, they had reached the exit from the Battle Board course. Mari jumped off her board and onto the platform, forfeiting the race in the process, before handing Kuroki off to emergency medical services. They would take her to the nearby hospital on the Susono military base, where Kuroki would be examined and treated for shock.
~The Previous Night~
Tatsuya had received a call from Mikihiko while testing the CAD with Leo.
"Tatsuya, I've been keeping an eye on things, as you said..."
"And?"
"Well, I was in your room with Mizuki, and she said that she saw a strange light travelling to the Battle Board arena."
"Did she have her glasses on?"
"No, she didn't, which is what made me suspicious. She pointed out to me the path that the light took, and when I traced it onto a map, I saw that it was travelling along a ley line."
"Those are important to Spirit Magic, correct?"
"Yes, they can be used for spirits to travel long distances. The point is, I think someone used a ley line to send a spirit to the Battle Board arena."
"Where are you now?"
"We're still in your room. Miyuki, Honoka, and Shizuku went to the artificial hot spring in the basement of the hotel, but we stayed behind to investigate."
"Go to security, and tell them what you just told me. I'll meet you there."
With that, Tatsuya excused himself and went to find Major Kazama. With the Major's permission, Tatsuya entered the Battle Board arena and traced the ley line to a corner of the course...the first turn, in fact, and using Elemental Sight, he quickly identified the spirit. Its purpose was to create a dip in the water, probably to throw off one of the racers in the next day's Battle Board semifinals. Tatsuya quickly used Gram Demolition to put an end to the spirit. He then asked Mizuki to stay up all night, looking for any more signs of interference, and provided her with several expressos to help keep her awake. Mikihiko volunteered to remain awake as well, which was an offer that Mizuki accepted. Thus, by the time of Watanabe Mari's forfeiture, both Mizuki and Mikihiko had been awake for more than twenty four hours straight, and were running purely on caffeine and sugar; but they were able to guarantee that no more spirits had been sent to the Battle Board arena through ley lines.
~The Evening of August 5th~
Kuroki had been resting in the Susono Base hospital when someone knocked on her door.
"Come in."
Kuroki was shocked to have Saegusa Mayumi and Watanabe Mari, her 'enemies,' visiting her - though it was natural in Watanabe's case, considering that Watanabe was the one who had saved her.
"Good evening, Ms. Kuroki," said Mayumi. "I don't think we've ever been introduced. I'm Saegusa Mayumi, Student Council President of First High School, and I'm sure you already know our Disciplinary Committee Chairwoman."
"What-hey, Mayumi, that's not a nice way to introduce me!" said Mari as Mayumi laughed softly. "Anyway," Mari said, taking the reins, "we came here to offer our condolences, and to ask you some questions."
"Thank you, Ms. Saegusa, Ms. Watanabe."
"Oh, please, Mayumi is fine," Mayumi said.
"Yes, and you can call me Mari," Mari added.
"Well, in that case, please call me Risa," said Kuroki. "Ms. Saegusa...Mayumi, are the rumors about you true?"
"Rumors?" Mayumi asked, blushing. "What rumors?"
"They say that after First High was attacked last spring, you vowed to get revenge for the students who died," Risa explained. "And then later, there were reports that two First High students completely wiped out the terrorists."
"I..." Mayumi didn't know what to say. "It wasn't vengeance, we were merely avenging a fallen student...I can see where people would get confused, though. Revenge versus avenge. But other than that...I guess those rumors are true..."
"That's fine, I don't really care," Risa said. "I just want to know...what could the person who did all of that want with me?"
"Hey, hey," Mayumi said apprehensively, "I'm not a scary person, really!"
"...tell that to Tatsuya..." Mari muttered with a grin.
"Hey, Mari! Why did you bring that guy's name up now?" Mari's comment had obviously provoked Mayumi. "But anyway, we just wanted to know if anything weird was happening with your CAD when you over-accelerated."
"Yeah," said Mari, "having raced you, I know that you're better than that. You would never make such a rookie mistake."
"That's what I'd like to believe," said Risa, "but honestly? I don't know. I thought I had selected my deceleration spell, but I must have pressed the wrong button."
"Our expert thinks that your CAD was tampered with," Mayumi said bluntly. "He thinks that your deceleration spell's activation sequence was replaced with the activation sequence for an acceleration spell, which is what caused you to over accelerate."
"Why does your expert think that?" asked Risa.
"He wouldn't tell me," said Mayumi, frustrated, "but I trust his judgement. He's very smart, and can often tell what is truly happening at a glance." She couldn't believe the words that were coming out of her mouth. Me? Trust Tatsuya? Our whole argument was about how I couldn't trust him...oh well.
"If that is true, please let me know when you find out," said Risa. "Otherwise, I will be accepting the responsibility for my school's failure in that competition."
"I understand, Risa," said Mari. "I'm glad you're not hurt, even if it means we might be competing again sometime in the future."
"Thanks, Mari," Risa said. "And thank you so much for saving me...I should have said it sooner, but there really is no way to repay you for what you did for me."
"I wouldn't have it any other way," said Mari. "Well, if that's all, I guess we'll be off now."
"Yes," said Mayumi. "Bye, Ku-chan!" Kuroki winced as Mayumi created a permanent nickname for her.
~Later That Evening~
"What's your opinion, Mikihiko?" Tatsuya and Mikihiko were discussing Kuroki's accident in relation to their findings the previous night.
"I'm no expert, but the spot where Ms. Kuroki and Ms. Watanabe collided looks to be the exact same spot where the spirit was lying in wait to cause a disturbance in the water."
"My thoughts exactly." Upon hearing a knock at the door, Tatsuya called for the person to enter, and Mayumi came into Tatsuya's hotel room.
"Tatsuya, why was I 'summoned' to your hotel room? This isn't some attempt...oh, you're not alone." Mayumi blushed slightly upon realizing that a third party was with them.
"Mayumi, I think you two have met before, but this is Yoshida Mikihiko," Tatsuya said.
"It's a pleasure, Ms. Saegusa," Mikihiko said with a smile.
"Indeed, Mr. Yoshida. Please forgive my unseemly comments..."
"What comments?" Mikihiko joked, to which Mayumi smiled.
"Mayumi, I'm sure there's a question related to Ms. Kuroki's accident that you want to ask," Tatsuya said, which caught Mayumi off guard.
"Yes..." she said cautiously. "Why do you think that something was wrong with Ku-chan's CAD?"
"On the night that we arrived here, Mikihiko apprehended a gang of thieves who were attempting to break in." Tatsuya said this without any emotion, so it caught Mayumi off-guard.
"Wait, what? Why wasn't I informed of this, Tatsuya?"
"The point is that I asked Mikihiko to keep his eyes open for similar suspicious activities, and last night, he called me with information on such an activity."
"Answer the question, Tatsuya," Mayumi said. She wasn't happy that Tatsuya was ignoring her.
"We found out that someone had used Spirit Magic and ley lines to infiltrate the Battle Board arena and leave a spirit there, lying in wait. We brought these concerns to security, and the military permitted us to go there and dispatch the spirit. No harm done."
"I think I can see where this is going, Tatsuya," Mayumi said, "but will you please just answer my question? Why haven't you told me about any of this?"
"The spot where the spirit was waiting was exactly the same spot where Ms. Kuroki collided with Ms. Watanabe."
"I guess I'll give up asking, then," said Mayumi. "Mr. Yoshida, what kind of effect would that spirit have had? I seem to recall that the Yoshida family is skilled with Spirit Magic."
"It would have created a disturbance in the water," Mikihiko replied. "A small dip - not enough to throw off a racer, unless, of course, that racer was trying to catch another racer who accidently over-accelerated. And, by the way, you can call me Mikihiko. I don't like using my last name."
"Very well, then, Mikihiko," said Mayumi. "So, we know that someone tampered with Ku-chan's CAD. What does that mean?"
"While we can't rule out the possibility that it was someone on Seventh High's technical staff," Tatsuya said, "the most likely explanation is that someone on the tournament staff did the tampering."
"I'll keep that in mind, Tatsuya," said Mayumi. "But, if that's all, I really should be going. It was nice to meet you, Mikihiko."
"Likewise, Ms. Saegusa." With that, Mayumi left the room. "Tatsuya, what was the purpose of that?" Mikihiko asked.
"She's been wanting information from me," replied Tatsuya.
"...so you gave her information," inferred Mikihiko. "I get it. Oh, by the way, do you want me to continue with my investigations?"
"No, it's okay, Mikihiko," Tatsuya replied. "I doubt they'll try Spirit Magic again, since we can identify and prevent such tampering. There isn't anything you can do against the CAD tampering, so you can relax now."
"Thank you, Tatsuya," Mikihiko said as he let out a big sigh. "I really need some sleep. I've been awake for the past two days, and I am beat. Tell the others that I'm sorry if I miss their competitions, but that it can't be helped."
"You got it."
~Later That Night~
Tatsuya hear a knock on his door. He sensed that it was Mayumi, and opened the door.
"May I come in?"
"Sure."
"Tatsuya, I understand if you did not want to say anything in front of Mikihiko, so I'm going to ask you once again: why didn't you tell me about the thieves?"
"What would that have accomplished? You were competing the next day, and since you couldn't have done anything about it - the entire matter was already settled by Mikihiko and I - telling you would have only caused you undue stress."
"The matter is obviously not settled, Tatsuya, as evidenced by the attack today."
"...which is why I elected to inform you of the situation at this point."
"What's my name, Tatsuya?"
"Saegusa Mayumi."
"That's right. I'm the ojou-sama of the Saegusa family. I've had to deal with the possibility of assassination attempts since I was a child. Do you really think some thieves would cause me to stress?"
"Mayumi..."
"I understand what you're doing, Tatsuya. You think that by keeping people in the dark, you're protecting them. I should know...I had to do the same thing with my little sisters, when they were younger, and my older brother did the same thing with me. But that's only one way to protect people, Tatsuya! You could also tell them about the danger, so then the people you want to protect are prepared and can stand with you to face the danger head-on!"
"If that would work, Mayumi, why would I not have spilled everything a long time ago?"
"Tatsuya..."
"If that would work, why do I design CADs and work at FLT under the name Taurus Silver, not Shiba Tatsuya?"
"I think you don't know that you can trust people."
"It's not a matter of whether I can trust you or not. I do trust you. It's a matter of what I am permitted to do, and what I am forbidden to do. I am forbidden from purposely revealing myself, and if I were to break that rule, as you are advocating, that could pose unimaginable danger for you, your friends, my friends - anyone I told."
"...'purposefully' revealing yourself? Does that mean that if I were to investigate you, any danger would be nullified?"
"If it were, do you think I would have destroyed your phone? I have already bargained for the lives of you and Mari after you deduced my connection to Taurus Silver."
"Tatsuya...I didn't know..."
"Because I didn't tell you that. I just told you that to research any more would be dangerous, yet that wasn't enough for you."
"Tatsuya...I'm sorry...I didn't realize..."
"No, I'm sorry, Mayumi. I could have been more clear, but I didn't want you to worry. I see now that was the wrong decision."
"Look at us, Tatsuya. Arguing like a married couple."
"Wouldn't Erika just love to hear that you said that?"
"Tatsuya - you wouldn't dare tell her..."
Tatsuya chuckled. "But seriously, what does this mean for us, Mayumi?"
"I meant what I've been saying, Tatsuya. I don't want to be involved with anyone I can't fully trust, and while this has assuaged my concerns a little, I'm not ready to fully trust you yet. If you continue to be honest with me, and not try to hide things because you want to protect me, then we might be able to talk about further steps. Assuming you feel as I do, that is."
"Understood, Mayumi. But...please, know that if you find that I have kept something from you - which I will, it's inevitable - then it's purely for your own safety, nothing more, nothing less."
"I would sincerely love to believe that, Tatsuya, so we'll see how it goes."
~August 6th, 2095~
Today began the first rounds of the Rookie Competition, during which Tatsuya would be on the clock for most of the events, beginning with Shizuku's Speed Shooting and Honoka's Battle Board competitions.
"Honoka, are you in the final race?" Tatsuya asked as he worked.
"Yes!" she replied. "Since I'm racing in the afternoon, there won't be any overlap with the Girls' Speed Shooting event," she said, not-so-subtly hinting that Tatsuya would be able to attend her race.
"I just hope it goes without a hitch..." Tatsuya muttered. "Uh, nothing," he said, catching himself. "I've been a little concerned about something, you see. What I'd really like to do is check out your CAD, Honoka..." This statement made Honoka really happy. "...but since I can't do that," he continued, which let Honoka down, "I've decided to at least watch your race from the sidelines." And with that, Honoka's spirits soared again.
"Really?" Honoka was elated. "That's a promise, okay?"
"Sure," he replied.
~A Few Hours Later~
Tatsuya was doing the fine-tuning on Shizuku's CAD for her first round of Speed Shooting. Shizuku stood silently behind him, watching with her ever-present blank stare. When he was done, she picked up her CAD and tested it, to see how it felt.
"Check it out thoroughly to make sure nothing's wrong," Tatsuya said.
"Right. All good," replied Shizuku. "It's more comfortable than my own."
"Is it? Then I'm satisfied," Tatsuya said, smiling.
"Tatsuya?" said Shizuku. "Are you sure you don't want my family to hire you?"
"If you're relaxed enough to joke around right before your match, then you'll be fine," Tatsuya stated confidently.
"I'm not joking," Shizuku protested. "Look, you don't have to work for us exclusively-"
"I'm sure I've told you repeatedly," Tatsuya said, "but let's talk about that after I get my license, all right?"
"Gotcha," Shizuku said, looking disappointed.
"It's time, Shizuku," Tatsuya said, standing up from his desk.
"Yes," she said, trying to get herself in the mood.
"All right, good luck!" he said.
"Okay. I'm going to give it my all."
~A Few Minutes Later~
The Rookie Speed Shooting event was drawing a large crowd...all the rookie events did, after all, as they were essentially a forecast of what the magic society would look like in ten years. With that in mind, the rookie events were almost like an audition, a performance rather than a competition, where the people in power would decide who to watch and who to discount. Even though they weren't worth many competition points, the rookie events still shouldn't be taken lightly.
"Is that seat next to you available?"
"Hey, Miyuki! Sure, it's available. Be my guest!" Erika said. Miyuki was just joining her friends in anticipation of Shizuku's match. Honoka accompanied her.
"Huh?" Mizuki said, noticing Honoka. "Honoka, are you ready for your race?"
"S-Sure I'm ready!" Honoka replied with unconvincing confidance. "My race isn't 'till the afternoon, anyway!"
"Honoka, if you get nervous now, you won't make it 'till your race," Miyuki said, noticing Honoka's attitude.
"I know that, but..."
"I know you'll be just fine, Honoka," Miyuki said reassuringly. "Didn't Tatsuya tell you the same thing? Or was he too clueless again to notice? ...Since you've come to see this match in order to take your mind off your race, let's just root for Shizuku for now."
"Okay," said Honoka, cheering up. "You're right!"
Meanwhile, Mayumi, Mari, and Suzune were watching the match from a special box above the main audience stands.
"Come to think of it," Mari said, "this will be our first time seeing his engineering skills in an actual match."
"That's true," agreed Mayumi. "In my case, I kicked him out before he could do much, so he really only just helped me out a little; it will be interesting to see how a CAD he's fine-tuned from scratch will perform."
"Shouldn't you be a little more excited, Mayumi?" Mari said with a wink. "After all, you are interested in him, right?"
"Mari...!"
"I was talking about his skills, Mayumi," Mari said with an innocent look. "What did you think I was talking about?"
"Starting with Ms. Kitayama," Suzune said, changing the subject, "he seems to be getting high praise from the athletes. Apparently some athletes even went to the trouble of bringing their own CADs with them today."
"Hey, hey," Mari said, suddenly serious, "that could affect the matches, couldn't it?"
"Regarding that, it seems like it's all under control," Suzune replied. "Apparently, he'll be servicing them after the matches are over."
"So he's steadily increasing his fan base, huh?" Mayumi said with a frown.
The warning buzzer sounded - it was time for the match to begin. Shizuku put on her visor and raised her CAD, and when the beginning bell rang, she immediately cast her spell. A giant magic circle appeared in the air, then vanished, leaving behind dots of light that expanded into waves of air, then similarly disappeared. The first clay pidgeon was launched and destroyed, as with the second, and the third.
"That's dynamic!" Erika exclaimed as she realized what was going on. "Could it be that she's set the whole scoring area as her Magic Activation Zone?"
"That's right," Honoka said with pride. "Shizuku is tagging all solid substances inside the zone with Vibrating Wave Magic to destroy her targets."
In the Student Council's box, a similar explanation of the spell was underway.
"The effective scoring area in Speed Shooting is a cube measuring fifteen meters on each side, placed in the air," Suzune said. "Shiba's Activation Sequence sets another cube inside it, measuring ten meters on each side, and the nine points comprised of each of its vertices and its center have been defined as epicenters. Each point has been numbered, and when that number is entered as a variable in the Activation Sequence that's been launched, sphere-shaped virtual waves will spread from the epicenter. The coverage area of these waves is six meters. In other words, activating the magic sequence once will cause the formation of a spherical "destruction space" with a radius of six meters and an epicenter at its core. In Speed Shooting, the position of the players, as well as the distance from, the direction, and the size of the effective scoring area remain constant. Therefore, there is no need to enter variable coordinates each time. Rather, you can simply specify the number of your choosing during activation - a subconscious action that will be taken automatically - and the Magic Sequence will be launched. In effect, Ms. Kitayama only needs to pull the trigger to destroy her targets."
When Suzune had finished her long-winded explanation, the final pidgeon was destroyed. Shizuku had scored a perfect one hundred - higher than Mayumi had scored in her preliminary round.
"The proper name of this magic spell is Active Air Mine," Suzune continued. "I hear it's a Shiba original. Due to its massive Activation Sequence, Ms. Kitayama's processing power makes it a viable spell."
Mayumi was speechless.
"In concept, it's the exact opposite of your magic, Mayumi," Mari commented.
"I can't believe that he came up with a sequence like this," Mayumi said, finally regaining her voice.
Meanwhile, Tatsuya was meeting with Shizuku in the tunnel leading to and from the Speed Shooting arena.
"Good job," he said.
"It seems anticlimactic, for some reason," Shizuku replied.
"I didn't think they'd go for the blind spots..." Tatsuya commented. "Just as I expected, the settings weren't spiteful at all."
"Tatsuya, you worry too much," Shizuku said. "It's still only the preliminaries, you know."
"But from the quarterfinals on, you'll be playing in match mode," Tatsuya replied. "I already fine-tuned your CAD this morning, so see how it feels later.
"Gotcha!" Shizuku said with a smile.
~Later That Day~
"So all three of our first year girls made it through, huh?" said Mayumi as she looked at the results for that day. "What's going on with Battle Board?"
"Two of the boys' races are over, and they both missed the cut," Suzune replied. "We had one girl competing, and she qualified."
"So that leaves us with just one more guy," Mayumi said. "As for the girls, Ms. Mitsui, who's in the final race, is sure to qualify. We can't have A-chan letting up any time soon."
"It may be a good idea to put more effort into nurturing engineers at our school, don't you think?" Jumonji said.
~Elsewhere~
"Tatsuya, are you all right?" Shizuku asked.
"I'm fine," he replied. "I'm sure you already know this, but this is a totally different model than what you used in the prelims." He was referring to the brand-new, state-of-the-art CAD that Shizuku would be using for the remainder of the Speed Shooting competition. "We're out of time, but if you feel any discomfort at all, I'll adjust it as much as possible, so don't hold back."
"There's no discomfort whatsoever," Shizuku reported. "Actually, it's such a good fit, it's creepy."
"Is that right?"
"The others..." Shizuku began, "the other two both won, right?"
"Yeah," Tatsuya said.
"Next is...my turn..." she said, showing a little nervousness.
"Don't worry," reassured Tatsuya. "If you perform like you always do, you can win, too."
"Of course," Shizuku responded. "Since you've done everything to pave the way to victory for me, Tatsuya, all I have to do now is win. No way am I gonna lose."
"That's the spirit."
~Elsewhere~
"I hate waiting."
"Lina, calm down."
"But Masaki, First High has won most of the girls' competitions, and they aren't doing that bad on the mens' side either!"
"Relax, Lina, you'll get your chance."
"I hate waiting. Why do Monolith Code and Ice Pillars Break have to be so late in the competition? Why couldn't they have been, like, the very first events?"
"I'm sure there's a reason, Lina. Maybe it's to keep the public interested throughout the entire competition. Besides, if this Shiba Miyuki girl is as powerful as you claim, why are you in a rush to fight her?"
"I...um...I hate waiting."
"So you've said."
"I really, really hate waiting. Isn't there something that we can do in the meantime?"
"You could stalk that First High boy you're interested in, though that might be against the ethics of the competition."
"Masaki, what have I warned you about?"
"...that you hate waiting."
"You know what I mean. Or would you rather I approach a certain girl named Shiba Miyuki and tell her that the Crimson Prince has fallen for her?"
"You're heartless, Lina."
"I'm going to get my CAD fine-tuned. Again. For the third time today."
"Is it really that bad?"
"No, but I hate waiting, and it passes the time."