Act 1
Start of a Study Case
Chapter 7
Out of the Blue
If she had to put it into words, Kirika had a love and hate relationship with the human activity known as sleeping.
On the 'love' side of things, it was only natural for living beings to enjoy moments of rest.
The wonderful feeling of being able to close your eyes, knowing there was a day you could name 'tomorrow' once you woke up...
It was a pleasure not many would recognize as pleasure, much less appreciate.
Kirika knew better. She knew exactly how pleasant it felt, the simple joy known as a good night's sleep.
However, on the 'hate' side of things…
She almost always dreamt, and her dreams were more often than not extremely lucid.
Even now, she found herself lying on her back in the midst of somewhere which was definitely not her bed.
She didn't need her eyes to know where she was. The unnaturally vivid sensation of the grassy ground on her back told her enough.
"Welcome back, Kirika. Would you please stop pretending to sleep and wake up? "
…And that achingly familiar voice made her sure beyond all doubt that this was, in fact, a dream.
"Go away, ghost. I don't want to be bothered tonight."
Kirika already knew what the ghost wanted to do with her. She had done it already, and she didn't want to repeat it.
Though… just hearing that voice alone was enough to bring her joy, to be honest.
"Ha… If you are not being honest, I am really going to haunt you, you know? "
Really? Of all the things it could threaten her with, that was its first choice?
The threat was empty, Kirika knew. The ghost really couldn't do anything if she ignored it.
However, she would never entertain the thought of ignoring it. To ignore it… would mean denying a part of herself.
Kirika opened her eyes, taking in the vast canvas which unfolded before her eyes – the night sky.
Or at least, her memory of one of the countless night skies she had seen, as formed by her subconscious preference.
"I am coming…"
Halfheartedly, Kirika pushed herself up to a sitting position.
In front of her, the girl she dreaded to see was already clad in that damned familiar ensemble.
A girl with traditional Japanese white kosode and black hakama, neatly seated in a seiza position.
Haruka…
To be honest, it was merely her heart's worst attempt to remember her beloved sister.
It was a byproduct of her subconscious. A phantom from her mind, representing her vivid memories of her sister, Amagiri Haruka.
Yes… that's all it is for me.
This 'Haruka' didn't wear the glasses, but it was still identical to the real one, the sister she parted with years ago.
Right down to the hair, the eyes and its gaze, the face and its expressions, the posture and breathing.
It hurt. Her chest ached just by looking at it. And this was supposed to be a dream…
"Happy now?"
Kirika tried to be sarcastic toward it. Yet, the apparition only smiled questioningly.
"You are asking me, of all things, that? "
She frowned. That response might be valid for anyone else, but for her, it was stupid. Incredibly so.
"Don't act like you don't know me. You choose to bother me and act like you are real, so at least play along all the way through."
It was probably the driest and laziest tone she had ever used in her life.
"Fufu, I suppose that's true. Alright, I am plenty happy that you do listen to my empty threats. "
The voice was so soft, the smile so gentle, the gaze so sincere that she had to consciously remind herself that this was a dream.
How many times had she seen it in her dreams? Heard the ghost speak? Felt the apparition with her hands? Even smelt its fragrance? Kirika had lost count.
And yet, no matter how hard she wished it, no matter what she did to it, she couldn't stop it from reappearing.
She didn't really understand how it came to be. It was true the prana of Genestellars was deeply connected with the consciousness – the mind and heart – a quality not known to many, called [Ghastliness].
The mental faculties of Genestellars exceeded normal humans for this very reason. In the same vein, the effects of mental disorders and traumas also affect Genestellars far more than they did for normal humans.
Perhaps because of her Ghastliness, her subconscious had recreated the people whom she held dear and near to her heart. After all, she loved to understand others, down to the very nature of their existences.
Yet, she wasn't sure if that was the answer behind her painfully lucid dreams. Even now, after years of studying about her dreams and Genestellars, all she could do was theorize an answer.
Kirika did know a single truth, however.
"I miss you."
This alone was the one absolute certainty within this dream.
The only reply she got was a ghost of a smile, though.
"Today seemed quite fun for you. Do you want to talk about it with me? "
Kirika didn't even think twice before she shared her experience today.
"Ugh…"
A moan escaped her lips as she struggled to open her eyes.
This feeling… I am on the bed?
The soft sensation across her whole body was no longer grassy like in the dreamland.
That means I am already awake…
As usual, she could still remember her dream very vividly, but it always blurred somewhat whenever she was about to wake up.
Oh well, the dream wasn't that important. Kirika had experienced it more times than she could count for 6 whole years.
Last night's dream isn't really noteworthy as far as my dreams go...
In the end, all the ghost wanted was for her to do things she would have done if her dear sister was with her.
Though the ghost gave out its own opinions regarding yesterday's experience evaluation, it was ultimately only what her subconscious felt would be her sister's answers.
In other words, Kirika was merely exchanging opinions with herself. It was simply her own version of mental gymnastics, albeit at a level deeper than most people could do.
Yes… that's all there is to it.
The dream only amounted to that. No more, no less. In any case, now that she was awake-
Time for my daily exercise!
Kirika felt a bit more worn out than she should be after a good night's sleep, but this was nothing she hadn't endured before.
First, she would do some stretching; then a jog around the school grounds for the warm-up; and finally, a little combat practice – sadly by herself – before the sunrise.
But before any of that, she needed to change first. Her loose and soft pajamas were not the best outfit for training.
Kirika supposed it was time to test the comfortability and the freedom of movement her school uniform provided in combat – through her daily exercise.
After all, she was expected to fight duels while clad in those uniforms, so she had to test their endurance to strain, capacity to absorb sweat, and flexibility.
Her duel with Julis had given her a bit of an idea about the uniform's quality for combat, but their duel was interrupted long before she could finish testing it.
Let's hope they can at least survive my training without damage…
'The darkest times of a day are before the sunrise' the saying went.
The saying was why Kirika generally began her exercise at around 4 in the morning, hours before the night's reign would end.
It was very cold and very windy – the winter season had just begun, after all, and the sun was still far from the horizon. However, it really, really felt just right for her.
The tickling sensation of the chilly air on her exposed hands and thighs was truly something she could never get enough of.
Compounding that, the Seidoukan Academy was truly vast – Kirika had started her jog half an hour ago from the female's dormitory, and yet it was only just now that she had passed the male's dorms, which was at the opposite end of the school grounds.
Granted, I am only jogging, but still.
She couldn't help but notice that the male's dorms were decidedly… plainer in design than the female dorms, though. It just looked like an ordinary, if a bit large, Western hotel.
Why would that be the case? Should she add 'sexism' as another reason for hating the Integrated Enterprise Foundation now?
It's not funny, even as a joke…
The urge to scowl tingled on her lips, but she suppressed it. It was pointless to fret about it, much less let the thought affect her in a negative way.
She couldn't afford to be distracted… especially not when someone was stalking her, again.
Hum… he certainly tries harder compared to yesterday…
It was the same [Shinobi] who had followed her when she entered the school grounds without permission just a day ago.
…But not good enough. Still, this is fun~!
Kirika didn't allow her lips to form a smile, but she was tempted to.
Yesterday, the Shinobi had done a fairly good job at concealing his presence; maintaining a reasonable distance, moving with no noticeable noise, and suppressing his prana so well, he wasn't leaking even a drop.
Genestellars naturally leaked residual prana within their system into the surroundings, and this residue quickly contaminated the mana in the immediate vicinity. Thus, it could be felt by both Genestellars and mana-sensitive detectors.
To suppress one's own prana system and prevent prana leakage required intensive training and meditation. It was also important for assassins to suppress them, as mental processes contained within prana – such as killing intent – could be felt by opponents.
Too bad for him, Kirika could still smell a human's odor, which was all too easy to notice as it stood out from the smell of soil, water, grass, trees, and the atmosphere of winter. The Shinobi clearly hadn't taken countermeasures to hide his fragrance.
But it seemed this Shinobi was one who learned from his failures – this moment, Kirika couldn't smell anything but herself and the nature around her. The fact this Shinobi even managed to realize she was smelling him was enough proof that he was top-class.
Excellent in skill and intellect… but still lacking in experience.
Perhaps because he got overconfident after fooling her olfactory senses, the Shinobi had made the crucial mistake of getting too close.
Entering the hearing radius of a practitioner of the [Amagiri Shinmei Ryuu] was the height of foolishness.
This Shinobi obviously didn't know the secret art of the clan, which proved he didn't do enough research about his target.
Though if this guy is who I think he is… I suppose it is only natural.
Perhaps it was time to call him out. Halting her steps, she turned her head slightly to the right.
"For a shadow, you are not doing a very good job at faking your existence."
Hearing herself back in her natural, smooth Japanese pronunciations and accent felt quite refreshing, if Kirika was being honest.
If only there are more Japanese-speaking people around…
"…Kuh, you really are quite something."
Unless it was a really, really good voice changeling, that lighthearted reply all but confirmed that it was really him.
From one of the trees lining the right side of the stone path she was on, a silhouette came out and landed on the path, about 7 meters behind. She turned around to face him.
It was a male student, that much was clear from the jacket he wore, but otherwise he didn't wear an uniform; instead, he wore a green hoodie under the jacket, and a grey trouser with a knife holster at each thigh.
He was tall – exactly a head taller than her – and his eyes were hidden by the hood he wore, but she wouldn't miss the inches-long scar left by a blade on the lower part of his left cheek.
She had met him several times before. The one who had scouted her, and thus indirectly responsible for Claudia's invitation for her. A fellow Japanese, something which was sorely lacking in her list of acquaintances.
"Shirou-kun."
Honestly, Kirika was quite fond of him. A part of her wanted to stop speaking in her usual monotonous and emotionally restrained manner… but another part felt it was not needed, so she kept her voice calm and without emotion.
Regardless, he took off his hood in response, revealing a youthful face and playful eyes adorned with brown irises as well as hair bangs whose color were identical with the irises. The boy's expression was quite childish, but at the same time, his stature seemed mature.
The mismatched impression he gave was probably cultivated on purpose to make it more difficult for others to analyze him.
"Yo, Amagiri."
His reply was far more cheerful than hers, but it made her mood drop slightly.
"Don't call me that." She frowned. "I think I have made it quite clear I don't want you to call me with my surname."
Kirika had many reasons for demanding that, but it was mostly because her clan always referred to each other with first names.
It was a bit childish, but she held no shame in that – after all, she had always used the rather childish pronoun 'boku' too.
Now that Kirika thought about it, she tried using 'ore' like Shirou once, but it simply didn't fit her tongue.
Shirou grinned. "Hey, even I get embarrassed if I use your first name so freely."
Really? You, of all people, getting embarrassed?
If that wasn't a joke, Kirika didn't know what was. She was sure he was calling her by her surname purely to mess with her.
But if that was how he wanted to play…
"Not as embarrassing as getting caught stalking again, I take it?"
Her barb was right on the money. His smile didn't falter, but his eyes betrayed his frustration.
"Yeah, about that. How do you keep finding me? Yesterday I finally figured out you can actually sniff me, so I put the effort to erase my smell, yet you still find me like it's nothing."
Ahh~ the hints of frustration within those words were delicious. Well, Kirika wouldn't answer him, but she would still praise him for what he achieved.
"It's already impressive that you managed to notice I have been sniffing you out, so why don't you figure the rest on your own? After all, you are a brilliant Star shining within the Shadow of the Galaxy Star Hall."
It was her own way to praise him, and as expected, Shirou understood the meaning instantly.
She didn't expect him to sheepishly rub the back of his head, though. That was surprising… perhaps he really was capable of being embarrassed, after all?
"Using their names as metaphors, I see." He chuckled lightheartedly. "I'll take that compliment. At least your wordplay is better than the President's."
Kirika laughed internally. It seemed Claudia really was bad at wordplay, considering even her subordinate was mocking her for it.
Though personally, Kirika felt it was not well thought out. The Shinobi in front of her – Yabuki Eishirou – was a member of the [Kageboshi], meaning [Shadow Stars] in her mother tongue, the intelligence and espionage organization of the Seidoukan Academy.
In accordance with their theme, the name 'Seidoukan' meant 'Star Hall', and 'Ginga' meant 'Galaxy', both names belonging to the academy and the IEF branch controlling the academy respectively, so it would only make sense their espionage organization was named like that.
With those meanings in mind, what Shirou called 'wordplay' was really just her being overdramatic.
Kirika meant her every word for him, though. She described no more than what she could see, after all.
But those were trifling thoughts at the moment. Although it wasn't unwelcome, why was he here?
"Why are you stalking me again?" Kirika tilted her head slightly to the left. "Do you really have the luxury to stalk me all the time?"
"As if!" He sounded a bit offended. "I am up early for the same reason as you. But when I saw you pass the dorms, I figured trying to sneak up to you would be tougher than my daily practice."
That was a fair assessment, Kirika supposed. To a certain extent, the harder the training, the better the results.
Not to mention, despite his excellent skill and repeated attempts, Shirou hadn't succeeded in tailing her without being detected so far. Using her to train wasn't a bad idea.
His thought process also gave her a wonderful idea of her own.
"If that's the case, do you want to train with me?" Kirika offered casually.
Shirou widened his eyes for a second, before a grin formed on his lips. That was good; it meant he understood what she meant.
The Shinobi's relaxed posture was gone, and he bent his body and knees, ready to make a dash or a jump toward any direction he wished.
Despite that, his smile didn't fade. "Sure! I haven't sparred with anyone tough in a while. You will make for a good bout."
Good! That's very good!
With this, she could have a proper combat practice today. It was also a good opportunity to train with a real, actual Shinobi.
Not to mention, 'fights' were one of the few occasions where she could express herself freely…
Now that she was about to spar, Kirika allowed a slight smile to grace her lips.
This should be fun.
For an instant, she slowed her breathing-
*CLANK*
"Whoa…!"
Ah, it's blocked.
Her blade only met his blade, not his flesh, despite Shirou's squeak of surprise. Kirika couldn't help but hum in admiration.
She had formed her short blade directly on her left bracelet without detaching it, and closed the distance in a blink. And yet, the Shinobi still managed to draw his tanto-type dagger Lux and block her swing splendidly with both of his hands.
The force of her attack was more or less even with the strength of his defense. She couldn't overpower him with a simple backhanded swing, it seemed.
A second later, wind resistance from the sudden stop of her blitz caught up to her. It ruffled her long hair a bit, but she could still see both the beautiful sparks dancing out of their clashing mana blades… and the goofy grin forming on the face of her opponent.
"…You know, are you sure you are not a Shinobi? Even this close, I can't sense a drop of prana from you."
Kirika resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
Are you praising yourself? I can't sense yours, either.
Shirou's hands were trembling from the force of their stalemate, yet his tone remained as playful as ever. Well, she would admit that his casual attitude in the face of danger was praiseworthy.
"Shadow is your playground. I play somewhere else."
Kirika didn't elaborate more as she drew her left hand away from his tanto and stepped back, causing the Shinobi to lose his balance and stumble forward from his own exerted strength.
Not missing a beat, she prepared herself to land her right fist on his jaw – as if. Shirou was about use his 'substitute technique' after this.
As expected, the form of the Shinobi in front of her faded to nothingness, and all she caught was his Seidoukan jacket.
There was no need to look: she knew the cheeky ninja had moved behind her. That simple yet creative combo of 'illusory' and 'sensory interference' magics was deadly in CQC.
But it was useless against her. At this distance, Kirika could hear even his heartbeat, his movements were only par for the course. There was no way she could miss him.
Let's give you a taste of your own medicine.
Without looking back, Kirika threw the jacket behind her and backflipped high into the air.
Within a breath, she was now two meters above the ground in an upside-down position.
Her feet were facing the sky and her face was staring down the ground… or rather, her opponent.
Not many humans were capable of quickly guarding the blind spot which was rarely exploited: above the top of one's head.
Knowing this, she calmly placed the blade on her left arm next to Shirou's neck–
"Eh!?"
Ah, he will dodge it. Well, I hope you bite your tongue when you do.
–Halfheartedly, Kirika swung the blade by twisting her body.
True to her predictions, Shirou managed to duck. Her blade still managed to graze his right shoulder and tore apart a small fabric of his hoodie, though.
As she landed on her feet behind him, her mind suddenly came up with a thought. Could she kick him in the literal ass?
…No, I am too late.
Shirou quickly rolled forward and out of her kicking distance, clearly not wanting to expose his back to her.
He then quickly got up and turned to face her with a stance, his tanto Lux on his left hand ready.
His smile remained goofy, but his eyes showed he was a bit disturbed.
"That strike just now… were you aiming to behead me or what?"
That made her raise a brow. Couldn't he tell with a glance?
"Shirou-kun, these are customized manadytes personalized for my use. Why can't I make their blade dull?"
To emphasize, Kirika grabbed the blade on her left arm with her right hand, and slid her hand throughout its entire edge – 50 cm from her wrist – smoothly, without bleeding.
He widened his eyes slightly. "You have been attacking me with a dull sword?"
She rolled her eyes. "You said this is a bout, not a duel to the death. Unless that's what you want?"
He shook his head, his eyes now relaxing. "Nah, a bout is a bout, I am just surprised. Now that I think about it, blunt edges would be nice for sparring. I'll get one of those after this."
A light smile formed on her lips again. "You don't need to wait."
Reaching for her right wrist, Kirika quickly detached the slumbering Fallen Aurora manadyte on her bracelet.
"氷魔 (Hyōma: Ice Magic) – 冷凍水眼 (Reitō Suigan: Frozen Water Eye)."
In English, the spell's full name would be [Mystic Frost Art] - [Frozen Teardrops].
Recently Kirika almost always called her spells in English and with shortened arias, so it felt a little strange to mouth a full chant in her mother tongue for once. But for some reason she felt like it... probably because of her opponent.
Magical techniques required perfect recreation of the imagery within one's mind, as such even their names had to be something which invoked subconscious reaction within oneself.
As such, it was difficult for most magic users to change the names of their spells, even if it was just changing it into a different language. It required exceptional conditioning and familiarity with multiple languages to overcome that barrier.
Not for me, though.
Kirika quickly poured her prana to the manadyte on her right hand, and in an instant, it had materialized into a tanto composed of condensed mana with similar design to the Lux in Shirou's hand.
"That's…"
Shirou was clearly about to comment, but Kirika lightly threw the newly made tanto in her hand to his direction to cut him off.
The Shinobi caught it perfectly in the hilt with his empty right hand, but his face was still confused.
"You are lending me this? I can't believe I am telling you this, but this means you are giving yourself a handicap, you know."
That was a neat analysis from him. She didn't need to be told about that, but it did show her that the Shinobi was knowledgeable about foreign fighting styles.
When her Fallen Auroras were still attached to her bracelets, her fighting style was similar to the use of the German Stoßdolch.
It was a type of daggers designed to be used with punches. Normally, such weapons were wielded in pairs, one in each hand.
That being said…
"The purpose of a spar are twofold, for self-improvement and having fun. I can't have you holding back because of a weapon which is too sharp for my skin, no? Now with that, you can hit me as hard as you like."
She could feel a smirk was forming on her lips as she detached the remaining manadyte on her left bracelet.
With her prana, it quickly transformed into her favorite weapon – the shard sword.
A 90 cm long, doubled-edged straight sword with a blade which became narrower the closer it was to its small, pointy tip.
Designed after the form of raindrops, it was her most favorite design among all the swords she knew of.
"Besides, I am a swordsman. Do you really think I would be less dangerous with one less blade?"
Kirika slowed her breathing again-
*CLINK*
Got him.
The blitz was successful this time – she managed to knock the tanto Lux in his left hand away with a single upward swing from her right hand.
It was a mistake on his part – Shirou blocked properly, but the force of her proper sword swing was stronger than a mere backhand.
Now he lost one of his tantos for that, and his smile finally faded.
"Shit!"
Her own amusement however, grew at that lapse of composure.
"Rejoice, boy."
The Shinobi replied to her proclamation with a quick thrust – aimed at her neck – with the tanto she gave him.
It wasn't hard at all to see through it, though.
*THWACK*
"…!"
Shirou's eyes widened as the advance of his right wrist was knocked to the side, courtesy of her parry using her sword's pommel.
Kirika couldn't contain her smirk at she stared down her opponent.
"Your wish for a good bout is about to come true."
"Hah, hah, hah…"
The panting noise of Shirou sounded more amusing to her ears than Kirika had expected.
Their bout lasted for about 30 minutes – it was quite long for a mere sparring match, but it seemed both of them had thought trying to beat the shit out of each other was more effective than their daily training regiments. At least, Kirika thought that was the case for herself.
With their dull weapons though, they had damaged each other's clothing more than anything else – the physiques of Genestellars did wonders for preventing common injury. The worst damage either side could take were bruises – either on their skins or their egos, likely both.
Her Seidoukan jacket were scratched in a few places on the sleeves and shoulders by her own blunt dagger she gave to him. She would need to return to her dorm to use one of her spares.
It was fun, though.
The spar with Shirou just now was definitely more exciting than the duel with Julis yesterday. Mostly because the Shinobi had more combat experience and better senses in CQC (close-quarters combat) than the magic-based fighting style of the Princess.
Kirika wouldn't go as far as to claim Shirou was stronger than Julis – she hadn't sensed the bottom of their capabilities yet, so she wouldn't judge prematurely – and there were still the good-old compatibility issues to consider.
But, it was true dodging the initial spells from Julis were easier than going toe-to-toe with Shirou for half an hour.
By the time the Shinobi had requested for a break, the expression on his face suggested it was because he had too much fun after a long period of time without a good fight, and was now feeling lethargic, rather than true exhaustion.
Or at least, that's what Kirika assumed. After all, if Shirou was time-pressed for a 'job', he wouldn't be casually sitting to her left side on this park bench, he would be leaving immediately.
Still, it's better to ask him directly, rather than assume things.
"Fuh…" A sigh escaped her lips. "How about it? Did you have a good bout?"
"It was amazing." His reply was quicker than usual… probably because he was a bit tired?
"I suppose I shouldn't have expected nothing less from the girl who garnered the attention from both the President and the Princess."
An honest compliment, eh? Kirika would take it.
That reminds me. Now that I think about it…
"Yesterday, why didn't you approach me in the class? Don't you have a reputation to keep as a member of the Newspaper club?"
As far as Kirika knew, the Shadow Stars were comprised of students with unique abilities or skills which would allow them to excel in espionage and intelligence gathering. Thus, it went without saying their identities were guarded secrets, even for other Seidoukan students.
The only ones who were in the know of the identities of Shadow Stars would be their superior, the student council president – in this case, Claudia – and the esteemed masters of the entire school, the IEF branch Ginga.
Because of the secrecy, it was only normal for these students to carefully schedule their everyday lives to avoid suspicion. Blending in with regular students was the basic of the basics for the intelligence groups of any combat school.
In the case of Shirou, he chose to become a member of the Newspaper Club – which was a very smart choice, in her opinion. After all, it was only natural for journalists to stick their nose where it didn't belong for the sake of sniffing out information.
That being the case, why didn't he take advantage of yesterday? Kirika knew Shirou was in the same class as her and Julis.
In fact, his seat is directly behind mine.
A Japanese transfer student who was capable of fluently speaking in German was notable enough, but the fact that same student conversed with the popular princess from Lieseltania should be headline news in a school brimming with weirdos like Seidoukan.
So, why?
As she stared at him, Shirou shrugged exaggeratedly.
"It's true yesterday would have been a big scoop for me. But eh, I don't have a death wish. Did you see how angry the Princess looked like when she glared at you?"
'Who would want to get in the way of that?' went unsaid, but his expression told as much.
Is that truly the case, though?
Kirika could think of a few people, herself included, who would happily play with Julis' temper.
She was also somewhat sure Shirou probably counted among that list, considering what she knew of his personality.
Most likely, this mischievous Shinobi didn't approach her yesterday because he wanted to see how the almost-volatile situation would develop to entertain himself.
What a cheeky boy…
"However!"
His brown orbs met her blue ones as he exclaimed that.
"Today is a different story. I am sure the Princess has calmed down by now, so I will be asking you a few questions in the class later. Like you said, I have a reputation to keep."
Keeping up the farce, even though we already know each other, eh?
That was a fairly amusing idea, Kirika had to admit.
"I suppose that's why you are still here? You want to go over the script of our farce in front of the class?"
"Eloquently put." The Shinobi smiled frivolously. "Though I wouldn't exactly call it a farce. You are already the topic of the class, you know? From yesterday alone, people are already talking about how you will become the second coming of the Princess."
That got her attention. "Does Julis dismiss the students trying to approach her the way I do?"
"Not like you do, but it's true she dismisses pretty much everyone. Since joining my class last year, she hasn't just caught the eye of others, many of them stirred themselves like a fanatic to become her supposed 'guards'." Shirou seemed amused about it.
Kirika didn't even need to think about it. "I can imagine that all too easily."
Her chatmate then leaned closer to her with a smirk.
"Want to know what she told them? 'Silence! I am not a work of art to be admired.' What a woman!" The Shinobi briefly mimicked Julis' accented English, before switching back to Japanese. "Talk about a feisty one, isn't she?"
"Again, all too easily imagined." Kirika let out a sigh. "I guess that response left some people unhappy?"
"Sharp as always. That completely normal response prompted several students to challenge her into a duel to force her apology, but the Princess handily defeated them, of course. Not too long after, she achieved a spot in the Page One."
So that's why Julis thought her popularity was strange. It was indeed quite odd to remain popular after all that.
It also pretty much confirms that she has no friends.
It was both quite amusing and a little pitiful. Kirika hoped Julis at least had friends back in her homeland.
"Gah, I am digressing." The Shinobi slapped his forehead. "My point is, you are quite popular already, so our first contact in the class will affect how the other students see you. I am here to ask how you would want it to unfold."
What? That's surprising. He would allow her to decide the script of their farce?
Shirou was a carefree person, but he was still a spy working under an espionage organization. It was unlikely that altruism was his reason to propose this.
From what she knew of his personality, there were two possibilities – Shirou was either ordered by Claudia, or he simply wanted to play with her, possibly even both.
It was well-thought out, for the intelligence agent who scouted her to grab the initiative like this… still, he got to try harder if he wanted to persuade her.
Not to mention… "Shirou-kun, you know I care little for how the public perceive me."
"That makes the two of us." His smile turned brazen. "But well, not many students had the opportunity to manipulate how the public perceive them through me. I am simply curious how the President's chosen will use that chance."
Kirika eyed him. Those words implied many things, but it most likely meant Claudia ordered this for the sake of 'testing' her, and Shirou was intrigued by how it would turn out.
Troublesome fellows… now then, what should I do?
The first option was simply to ignore this game. For as long as she could remember, Kirika couldn't find it in herself to care about how people perceived her. In other words, no matter how their first contact in class turned out, she couldn't care less.
The second option was to play along. It was a rare opportunity – after all, Kirika doubted she would ever transfer to another high school and receive another offer like this – and while there was no clear benefit from this endeavor, it wasn't like she had anything to lose, either.
But first, she wanted to test something…
"Should we kiss passionately in front of the class?"
"Buhhhh?!"
Shirou made a sound as if he was choked by his own spit. Kirika suppressed a smile – what an amusing reaction.
"I am sure that would be another headline news, wouldn't it? Let's go with that and improvise from there."
"Now wait just a second!" Shirou turned to eye her, embarrassed. "What kind of scenario is that?! In the first place, it's supposed to be an interview!"
"You asked me 'how our first contact will unfold'." She deadpanned. "You didn't say it has to be an interview. Since we both already knew each other, we might as well turn it into a long-awaited reunion in high school."
Kirika turned her gaze to the rough-looking lips of the boy beside her. It didn't take longer than a few seconds for him to notice where she was looking at.
Good. Let's see how you will react to this.
Forming a coy smile, she blew a sensual whisper and slowly, meticulously licked her own upper lips.
Shirou immediately shuddered, and his cheeks had the slightest tint of blush.
"I know I am the one who offered so I have no right to ask but I would prefer it if you don't use that script."
His tone was so panicked and he spoke so quickly that Kirika had to suppress another smile – so, Shirou really could get embarrassed.
"Are you absolutely sure? Are you sure you won't… regret it?"
It was a good thing Kirika had mastered the skill to sound monotonous and playful at the same time, so she could use it for this.
Shirou averted his eyes from her – or perhaps, just the lips? – and grumbled under his breath.
"Positive. Anyway, could you come up with something more rational? You sound like you are not taking this seriously."
I am being serious though?
Perhaps he wouldn't believe her, but while she came up with this scenario in order to test him, and it's true she had come up with various other scenarios in her mind, if Shirou had accepted, Kirika would have gone through with it.
It's just a kiss, after all.
Kirika knew it was an action which usually carried a lot of weight for most people, but she wasn't 'most people'. She simply wanted to know whether or not Shirou was part of 'those people', and his reaction had given her the answer.
Too bad. It seems, in this small aspect, you are part of them.
Shirou was not ordinary by human or even Genestellar standards, and Kirika knew this for a fact from their previous encounters and interactions. That was one of the many, many reasons why she found him interesting – and worth interacting with.
So, she wanted to study him more… but this result was a bit disappointing. If only he had refused in a way other than that basic response. It hardly lowered her opinion of him though, Yabuki Eishirou was still an interesting existence.
Still, that was that. For the moment though, she should answer him.
"To be honest, I don't really care about that. You are free to write your own script. However, if you insist for an input…"
She suppressed a giggle. Julis would be quite annoyed by this.
"Let me ask you something first. Did you see the unnatural fog around the female dorm after the classes ended yesterday?"
"Not directly. The Stars in the female dorm saw the fog and sensed its high mana concentration was unnatural, so they reported to the President. She dismissed the agents by saying it was part of science experiments, but both she and I know it's your doing."
Kirika smiled at the matter-of-fact yet casual tone Shirou used. It was probably the tone he used when reporting to his superiors and Claudia. This likely meant the Shadow Stars, at least in general, were not aware a duel had taken place there.
With the fog Kirika set up, the only things people could see without her special Lux glasses were the lights of the flames Julis conjured, and thus most of the Shadow Stars should dismiss it as being part of the science experiment.
Still, Claudia and Shirou clearly knew that the fog was set up to conceal Kirika's duel with Julis. But did they know a third party stalker had interrupted the battle?
Lux arrows used by the stalker were glowing projectiles, but their lights were too weak to be seen through her fog.
Well, Claudia likely knows… her Ogre Lux's specialty is predicting the future, after all.
Claudia was quite infamous for being the wielder of the demonic twin swords [Pan-Dora] whose renowned power was to see into the future. It was even possible the student council president already knew who the stalker was.
Still, even if Claudia knew, what about it? The president didn't necessarily need to deal with it immediately. In fact, it would be better that way, since...
Kirika had to confirm one thing. "Aren't you curious about the result? About the duel between Julis and me, I mean."
That phrasing conveyed her question in an indirect manner. As expected, the Shinobi eyed her again, but with a wide grin on his face this time. "You won. Even if it was interrupted, you are the true victor."
That confirmed things. Shirou did know it was interrupted. Then Claudia was definitely aware, and for some reason they were not working to deal with the culprits. "You are not going to deal with the interlopers, are you?"
"Nope." Shirou's grin turned sinister. "You want to hunt them down yourself, don't you? President wants you to enjoy yourself. Happy hunting, Amagiri."
Kirika sighed in contentment. "Thank you for that."
It was quite touching, Kirika had to admit that much. Shirou and Claudia both had a decent understanding of how [Amagiri Kirika] operated as a person.
Very well then... let's give him what he wants.
"Now then, here is my input for our script. Before you interview me, make sure to have the Shadow Stars spread rumors. The content will be 'I heard the transfer student duelled the Princess yesterday'. Once you see it done, ask about the rumor when interviewing me."
Shirou widened his eyes, clearly surprised. He didn't even try to hide it. "What? Are you serious? What good would spreading rumors like that do?"
Kirika stared him down. "That's for me to know, and for you to guess. Will you do it, or not?"
"Well… I suppose I have no reason to refuse," The Shinobi scratched his scarred cheek. "if that's all, I will do it."
Good. Now with this, one of the steps necessary to hunt down the stalker which dared to interrupt her duel was taken.
One of many…
Now that she was done, there was no more reason to continue the conversation. Kirika had spent enough time here, anyway: chatting with Shirou had been fun.
Kirika stood up from the bench, not bothering to look at him again,
"See you in class, Shirou-kun."
"You are going to continue your jogging, right? Have fun."
And with that exchange, Kirika walked away, leaving him alone on the bench with his thoughts.
Knowing him, he probably wouldn't give much thought to the input, though.
If there was any luxury in this world which everyone without exception desired, it was time. Whether it was to use it in moderation, or in a hurry, everyone wanted time.
Kirika personally preferred the former rather than latter, but personal flexibility had always been one of her strong suits. That was why she could wait until the last 3 minutes before 8 o'clock to enter the class.
Her break and conversation with Shirou two hours ago had taken longer than she had estimated. Their spar ended sometime after 5 o'clock, but by the time she left the park to jog some more, she only managed to jog for a few minutes before the sunrise finally arrived.
And that was her cue to return to her room. Not just because of the necessity to change her Seidoukan jacket which were scratched and dirtied, but also to minimize the number of people who could possibly see or run into her.
As it was currently the winter season, ordinary Genestellars would start their morning trainings later than usual, most likely around the sunrise where the warmth of the sun would reduce the coldness of the atmosphere.
For the same reason, she had waited until the last few minutes to reach the class. It would minimize the time available for other students to approach her if she came just as the class was about to begin.
In truth, waiting until the literal last minute would be more better for that purpose, but in consideration of unexpected factors which could cause her to be late, she had arrived 3 minutes before the class began.
Besides, today is special… I need to talk with Julis, and apologize to her for yesterday.
With that in mind, Kirika calmly opened the white door of her classroom.
As expected, in the brief moment after she opened the door, the eyes of several students were upon her. Almost instantly, some of them began whispering – that was a bit surprising.
Considering Julis' popularity, if the Shadow Stars had spread rumors that 'the transfer student duelled the Princess', Kirika had expected to be swarmed and bombarded with questions. Could it be Shirou didn't do his job?
Her sharp hearing quickly reassured her otherwise, though – she could hear some of them saying things along the lines of 'there is no scratch on her, did she really duel the princess?' and the like.
Great job, Shirou-kun.
It was true that if the students assumed she and Julis were friendly with each other, then the stalker might consider attacking her. That was the very reason she had brushed off the princess yesterday, since the stalker might assume it was a spar between friends.
But it was a different story if the students assumed Kirika only came to know Julis through that duel – because then the culprit's next step would be to investigate first: learning the relationship between the transfer student and the princess of Lieseltania.
It is easier to hunt for preys which follow you around.
In order to investigate Kirika, the stalker would likely take advantage of their anonymity to interact with her and Julis directly. That would give away plenty of chances to find out who they were.
All in all, it was a much better scenario than if the stalker just assumed Kirika was friendly with Julis and thus decided to attack her to provoke the princess.
Speaking of the princess – let's see how she is doing.
And while she was at it, Shirou, too.
Kirika could not see Julis and Shirou from where she remained on the door, so she took a few steps in.
Her gaze then locked on the table right next to her own where Julis was, left cheek resting on hand, and then Shirou, lying his face down on the table which was behind her own.
Not a second later, Julis' eyes met Kirika's, and her posture immediately straightened. The disinterest in her leaf-like eyes faded instantly, replaced with expectation. Kirika knew what she was expecting, of course.
With quick steps, she gracefully avoided the crowds of students, tables, and seats to reach her own seat.
As she passed by the princess, Kirika mouthed in English:
'Wait for the break.'
Almost imperceptibly, Julis nodded in understanding.
Phew… done. Now I just have to wait for the break…
Mentally relieved, Kirika almost wanted to slouch against her seat, but she decided against it. Her surroundings might notice, and she didn't want that.
Now that she thought about it, Kirika recalled her surrounding seats – apart from Julis to her right and Shirou to her back, the other seats were empty yesterday.
As for today though, there was someone filling the seat to her left side-
"…Eh?"
Her heart skipped a beat. She just... stared at the girl next to her.
For once, Kirika realized she could not stop her eyes from widening in shock.
It's… it's…
…Saya?
Impossible, Saya shouldn't be here... well, not really impossible, but… what were the odds…?
Memories practically blew her mind – she could literally feel her prana stirring to process what she was seeing.
A girl with a beautiful shade of Cerulean blue hair, reaching down to the shoulders and let down in a somewhat messy manner.
Just like Saya…
Like Shirou, she was fast asleep, her face lying down on the table.
Exactly what Saya would do in a class…
Judging from the way her feet didn't reach the floor as she was seated, she was quite short – probably comparable to a middle-schooler.
Saya had growth problems… dear goodness, is it really…
"Is it really you?"
Kirika didn't intend to whisper that, but it did escape her mouth anyways.
Then, the girl's head twitched, and she suddenly lifted her head as if something had awakened her.
Her pale, periwinkle blue irises met bright, scarlet red ones. Kirika could see her face reflected on those polished red.
There is no mistaking those eyes! You really are-
"Saya…"
Kirika couldn't even hear own voice...
"…Kiri?"
…But she did hear a soft, familiar reply.