Aria the Scarlet Ammo (Seitenkan)

by MrWii000

In world where students train to become super-detectives called "Butei", a highly skilled S-rank forces an F-rank to become his slave.

1. Ares the Scarlet Ammo (Volume 1)

Hello, everyone! And welcome to the first volume of my new series: "Aria the Scarlet Ammo (Seitenkan)". Before we begin, a few things:

1. This first volume took TWO months to complete; unlike "Hundred", the original series WAS licensed, but only the first two volumes have so far been released, and by Digital Manga—which means I couldn't copy & paste everything from the light novel. (Make sure you read the original volumes before starting this.)
2. If you're wondering why this series is called "Aria the Scarlet (Seitenkan)" and NOT "ARES the Scarlet Ammo (Seitenkan)"—"Ares" is the name of Aria H. Kanzaki's male counterpart—if the Taiwanese live-action adaptation of "Hayate the Combat Butler" be named "Hayate the Combat Butler" and NOT have its main character be named "Hayate", then I don't see why my fanfiction genderbent adaptation of adaptation of "Aria the Scarlet Ammo" be named "Aria the Scarlet Ammo" and NOT have its main character be named "Aria".
3. Like my other fanfics, I do NOT own the original series or ANY of its characters, only their genderbent counterparts.

Enjoy

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Volume 1
Ares the Scarlet Ammo

Locked and Loaded

Do you think boys come falling out of the sky?

---

That's what happened in the movie I saw yesterday. Well, that sort of thing might make a great introduction for a movie or comic book—a prologue in which something mysterious and unusual occurs. The protagonist is your would-be hero of justice, setting forth on a big adventure.

"Man, I want a boy to come falling down out of the sky!"

It's actually a rather foolish thing to say. I mean, there's no way a boy like that is normal. Being drawn into a bizarre world and made to play the part of some heroine of justice—in real life, such a turn of events is bound to be full of danger and more trouble than it's worth.

I don't know about everyone else, but that's why I, Kinoka Tohyama, don't need any boys falling out of the sky. I want to lead a normal, peaceful life. So the first thing I'm going to do is transfer out of this school. The utterly absurd school...

Ding-dong

I woke up to a single chime of the doorbell.

Not good.

I would seem that I fell asleep wearing nothing but my panties. Turning towards the cell phone at the head of my bed, I learned that it was seven in the morning.

Who in the world is ringing my doorbell at this time of the morning? Maybe I'll just pretend not to be here.

But there was something about that single chime that game me a sense of foreboding. After sluggishly slipping on a dress shirt and putting on my school skirt, I proceeded to make my way through this apartment, which was needlessly spacious for a single occupant, and looked outside via the spy hold. It was as I expected.

"...Ngh."

There stood Shiro. He was dressed in a pure white t-shirt and brown long-sleeved shirt over it and black jeans. In that spotless school uniform, Shiro held a lacquered switchblade in one hand while he busily tidied up his bangs.

What is he doing here?

Shiro proceeded to take a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

I can't ever figure him out, I thought to myself as I opened the door.

"Shiro."

As I opened the door, Shiro hastily closed his switchblade and hid it behind his back.

"Kin-chan!" said Shiro perking up and calling me by my nickname from childhood.

Didn't I tell you to stop calling me that?

"Oops. S-sorry about that. Kin-chan, I was thinking about you just now, so when I saw you, I couldn't help but—Oops, I called you Kin-chan again. Sorry, Kin-chan. Oops..."

Shiro's complexion visibly paled, and he covered his mouth with his hand in a state of panic. Seeing his reaction, I lost the will to protest to protest any further. The reason that Shiro calls me, Kin-chan stems from the fact that the two of us are childhood friends. Shiro had snow-white skin, and the bangs of his spiky black hair were cut at a perfectly straight angle, just as they had always ben since he was a child. He had kind and gentle eyes. One could expect no less from a person who comes from a long line of Shintō priests of Hotogi Shrine. As always, he was an example of the ideal Japanese man.

"More to the point, this is a women's dormitory. You shouldn't just come waltzing into a place like this."

"U-um, up until yesterday, I was staying at Ise Shrine for training, so I wasn't able to look after you."

"I told you, you don't need to."

"B-but..." said Shiro starting to snivel.

"Okay, okay! It's no big deal." With no better solution, I decided to let Shiro, whose eyes had become moist with tears, into my apartment.

"T-thanks for letting me visit." Shiro bowed at nearly a ninety-degree angle before closing the threshold and slipping off his black shoes, which he placed neatly on the door.

"So? What did you want?" It was to much trouble to gather at the dining table, so I just sat down on the floor by the coffee table.

"I-I wanted to give you this." Shiro lightly sat down in the proper Japanese fashion with his legs folded underneath him and untied a bundle wrapped in a cloth.

From the bundle, Shiro presented multi-layered lacquer boxes, which he placed in front of me and removed the lid, also adorned with a gold lacquer design. Inside the boxes were soft and fluffy looking Japanese omelets, salted and sweetened boiled shrimp all perfectly lined up, silver salmon, and Saijou persimmons. And amongst all of these luxurious ingredients was a glistening helping of white rice.

"You...must have gone through a lot of trouble making this, didn't you?" I said as Shiro handed me a pair of lacquered chopsticks.

"N-no, I just woke up early is all. Besides, Kin-chan, I figured that during spring break, you were only eating pre-made meals from the convenience store again, so I was kind of worried..."

"That's nothing for you to be concerned about." The fact was I had eaten nothing but pre-made meals from the convenience store during spring break and gratefully accepted the delicious looking breakfast Shiro prepared.

I had to admit that Shiro's cooking, especially Japanese cuisine, was absolutely exquisite. Shiro, still sitting in the same manner, had a hint of cherry blossom-color on his cheeks, and started to peel the skin off of a tangerine. Seeing as how he carefully removed all the pith from the fruit and placed it on a white plate, it was apparent that the tangerine was meant for me.

I suppose I should thank him at least.

With my stomach now full and a tangerine in my mouth, I turned towards Shiro.

"Um...thanks for always helping me out like this."

"Hm? Oh, thank you too, Kin-chan...thank you very much."

"Why are you saying thanks? More importantly, don't bow at me with your fingers on the ground. It looks like you're kneeling down before me or something."

"T-that's because you were kind enough to eat the food I made, and then you thanked me graciously..." said Shiro in a thin voice and lifted his face, gleaming with happiness and eyes glistening.

Look here, why are always so timid? You should stand tall, stick out your chest, and be confident in yourself. After all, you do have and amazingly strong chest.

As I was thinking this, just by chance, (it really was just by chest) I happened to catch a glimpse of Shiro's chest. With the upper part of his body learned forward in a bow, Shiro's chest was pushing through his see-through shirt. Shiro's impressively perky pecs were clearly visible.

"See-through?! Are you serious?

Flustered, I turned my eyes away from the scandalous garment unbefitting a high school student. Even so...

I could feel that dangerous sensation. It was like a surge of blood at the very core of the body.

Don't go there. I'm abstaining from that sort of thing.

"Thanks for the meal." I jumped to my feet as if I were trying to run away from Shiro.

Phew. Looks like it's gonna be okay.

Shiro cleared the table with the utmost efficiency and proceeded to bring me my Butei High school uniform, which had been spread out on the sofa.

"Kin-chan, as of today we're starting our second year of school, aren't we? Here's your bulletproof uniform."

After I put on the jacket, Shiro brought me the pistol that was sitting by the television.

"Today's just the opening ceremony. I don't need to bring my gun, do I?

"Of course you do, Kin-chan. It's school regulation," said Shiro immediately getting on his knees and attaching a holster to my belt in which she placed the pistol.

School regulations...

"All Butei High students are required to carry their pistols or sword with them while on school grounds."

Yeah. Definitely not normal. The abnormality of Butei High is enough to make me sick to my stomach.

"Besides," Shirayuki continued, "there's always the possibility another 'Butei killing' could happen..." Still standing on his knees, Shirayuki cast an apprehensive upward glance at Kinoka.

"Butei killing?"

"You know, the serial murders that we notified about by e-mail at the beginning of the year?

Oh, that's right. There was an incident like that, wasn't there? If I recall, a bomb was planted in the car or some other vehicle of a Butei, forcing the victims to keep driving. They had a radio-controlled helicopter armed with a machine gun following them around. In the end, they wind up plunging into the ocean. I'm pretty sure that's how it happened.

"But they arrested the perpetrator, didn't they?" I asked.

"B-but a copycat crime could always take place. And I divined your future this morning. It said you would have trouble with women. If anything were to happen to you, I... I..." said Shirayukl who began to snivel again.

Trouble with women, huh? You could say it was right on the money. I've had to deal with this person right at the start of my morning. She's starting to tear up again. If I lose points on my student evaluation again for violating school regulations, my goal of transferring to a normal school is going to be that much harder to achieve. I guess I'll do what she wants and arm myself at least.

"All right, all right. Look. You can be rest assured now, right? Come on, stop crying." I let out a sigh and took a knife—a butterfly knife that was memento from my older sister—off the shelf, which I then placed in my pocket.

For some reason of other Shiro was glazing at me with an enchanted look in his eyes and his hands on his cheeks.

"...Kin-chan, you're so dashing. You really can tell that you're from a family that's been a 'hero of justice' for generations."

"Please, stop. I'm not a kid," I said disdainfully. All the while, Shiro, in high spirits, took out a black nametag and affixed it to the chest pocket of my shirt.

"Kinoka Tohyama," it read.

There was a rule at Butei High, which stated that all students must wear nametags during the first month of the semester. I intended to disregard that rule, but it would seem Shirayuki predicted as much and prepared a nametag for me. Just what you'd expact from from a dependable superman who was the student body president, as well as the president of te horticulture club and handicraft club. Not to mention, he's the captain of the boys volleyball team, and has a student deviation value of seventy-five. For a loafer like me, that made associating with Shiro rather difficult.

"I'm gonna check my e-mail before I head out. You go on ahead," I said.

"Oh, then while you're doing that, I'll take care of the laundry and the dishes and-" "Don't worry about it."

"O-okay. In that case...um...I'd appreciate it if you would text me later," Shiro said hesitantly with a single bow. When he got to the door, Shirayuki made another deep bow and left the apartment, just as he was told.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

What a hassle. He finally left.

I sank heavily into the chair in front of my computer and idly checked my e-mail and various web sites. As I idled away my time, before I knew it, the clock was approaching seven fifty-five.

Ah, shit. I wasted a bit too much time. I'm not gonna make the seven fifty-eight bus.

The rest of my life. That's about how long I would regret missing the seven fifty-eight bus that day. The reason being because before long, a boy was going to come falling out of the sky—a boy by the name of Ares H. Kanzaki.

End of Locked and Loaded

---

First Bullet
La Bambina dal'ARES

Was it Arthur Rimbaud who said, "When it rains, go out and enjoy the rain"? If a guy was going to go to such great lengths to insist that he hadn't lost, it almost seemed like positive thinking. Having missed the opportunity to ride the bus, I who might have used Rimbaud as an example, decided to go to school by bicycle as I gazed at the route laying before me.

Making my way past the neighborhood convenience store and video rental shop, I passed under the monorail station leading to Odaiba. Beyond that point, countless tall buildings could be seen on the other side of the bay. Tokyo Butei High School was located on a rectangular Mega-Float that lies to the south of Rainbow Bridge and was roughly two kilometers from north to south and five hundred meters from west to east. This Mega-Float, nicknamed "Academy Island," was the site for a general educational institution whose purpose was the cultivation of Butei.

Butei were people who served as a countermeasure against violent crimes under a newly established and internationally acknowledged qualification. Those who were in possession of a Butei license were permitted to carry firearms and were given the power of arrest, and they could operate within the jurisdictions of the police force. However, the difference between the police and the Butei was that the Butei were driven by money. As long as someone was footing the bill, a Butei would take on any job regardless of how dangerous or trivial it may be, provided it was in accordance with Butei regulations. In other words, they were a jack-of-all-trades.

At Tokyo Butei High School, in addition to general academic subjects, students could take specialized courses related to Butei activities just as the school's name implied. There were a variety of specialized courses to choose from. The building I just passed on my right, for example, was specifically for the Inquesta department and all related classes. It was the division I transferred to during the third semester of my first year here, and the students learned about traditional deduction methodology and all kinds of techniques used in detective work. I guess you could say it was the most normal department this school had. Up ahead was the Connect department (communications), and beyond that was the Repier department (forensics). These were all fairly peaceful places to study, but if you continued ahead a little farther, you'd arrive at the department I was affiliated with up until the end of my second semester last year, the notorious Assault department.

I changed directions and made my way towards the gym.

Great. Looks like I'm going to make it in time for the opening ceremony.

This school was certainly out of the ordinary, but it still wouldn't be a good idea to be late to the opening ceremony of the first semester.

"A bomb has been freaking planted on the bicycle."

I heard a strange voice utter the kind of line one reads in an anonymous blackmail note with the letters clipped out of fliers and pasted together.

"If you freaking get off the bicycle or freaking reduce your speed, it will freaking exploded."

Oh, I know what this is. It's an artificially made voice like the one used by that popular Vocaloid on the Internet.

It wasn't until after having made such an analysis that I remembered a certain detail in the statement just made.

...A bomb...? What's this all about? Who's the idiot behind this? Is it some sort of joke?

Furrowing my eyebrows, I looked around me, and surprised to discover that I had been unaware of a strange object speeding along beside my bicycle. It was an awkward vehicle with only two tires side by side and resembled a scarecrow on wheels. I had seen such a vehicle on television a long time ago. It was called a "Segway".

"Do not attempt to call for help. The bomb will freaking explode of you use your cell phone."

There was no one driving the Segway, however. In a place of a person who should have been riding the machine was a speaker—that and a single mechanical barbette.

"...!"

Attached to the barbette was the muzzle of a gun pointed directly at me. An Uzi—a submachine gun manufactured by Israel IMI Co., capable of firing ten rounds of nine millimeter Parabellum ammunition per second.

"Wh-what the hell?! What kind of prank is this?!" I yelled out towards the Segway but there was no response. It simply raced along besides me with the muzzle pointed in my direction.

What the hell is this?! What's going on all of a sudden?!

In a state of confusion, I searched the bike with my hands and found that there was something strange attached underneath the saddle. I traced it with my fingers, as I repeatedly told myself to calm down.

This is bad.

I wasn't able to identify the type, but it seemed to be Composition C-4. And is was of considerable size. It was large enough to completely obliterate a car without leaving a trace of it behind, let alone a bicycle.

Are...you...kidding...me?!

A chill ran down my spine, and I broke out of a clod sweat.

They got me. I can tell. This is no prank. I fell into their trap. My Bike's been taken oven. This in unbelievable. My bike has been hijacked!

Damn it! Damn it! Why me? Why did it come to this?

Preparing myself for the worst-case scenario, I raced around looking for a place void of any people and wound up heading for playing field number two. Peering through the wire-mesh fence, I noticed that playing field number two was empty, just as it always was in the morning. Left with no other choice, I pedaled my bike towards the entrance. The Segway continued to follow with its gun aimed right at me. This tactic the criminal was using...I was a copycat crime of the Butei killings Shiro had mentioned.

Come on, Kinoka! Are you...going to die? In a place like this?

At the moment, I noticed something that made me cock my head. In this already highly unlikely situation, I saw something yet even more unlikely. It was a seven story apartment complex located nearby the playing field—if I recall, it was the boy's dormitory—and on the edge of the roof stood a boy. He was dressed in Butei High's standard uniform and had a pink ponytail long enough to be seen clearly from even this distance.

When he jumped down from the building, it looked as if he was leaping over the moon, still vaguely visible in the morning sky.

Jumped down from the building?!

For an instant, my foot almost slipped off the pedal, but I frantically regained my balanced and continued pumping my legs. With his ponytail like rabbit ears streaming in the wind, the boy seemed to be dancing in midair. He must have be preparing to glide across the skies while stop that roof, because next, I heard and saw a paraglider open up above me. As I continued to pedal with eyes open wide, astounded at the scene playing out before me, I realized that this boy with his pigtails streaming in the wind was actually headed right for me!

"Y-you idiot! Don't come this way! This bike is rigged with a bomb-"

The warnings I yelled out were too late. He had been plummeting at a rate faster than I anticipated. Swerving his body as if he were on the swings of some playground, he suddenly turned at a right angle, and with his left and right hand, drew two large pistols, one silver and one black, from the hostlers he was wearing around each respective hip.

"Hey, you idiot over there! Hurry up and duck your head down!" he yelled out.

Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam!

Before I had time to lower my head, the boy unsympathetically fired at the Segway. The average optimum firing range for a pistol is said to be seven meters. But this girl was over twice the distance from his target. Not only that, but he was hanging from an unstable paraglider, and to top it off, he was firing with his arms fully extended outwards and the pistols tilted at a ninety degree angle. But in spite of all these disadvantages, the bullets he fired hit their mark as if they were being magically led to their target. The Segway wasn't given the opportunity to fire back even a single shot and fell to the ground, its barbette and wheels and wheels falling off as it broke into pieces.

Amazing. His shooting skills are phenomenal. I didn't know we had a boy like that in our school.

Spinning the pistols in her hands, she returned them to their holsters and continued to flutter through the air. With the back of his jacket swaying back and forth like a pendulum, he flew over my head with a grim expression on his face—and with good reason. It was still too early to be feeling relieved. The back of his skirt wasn't what I needed to be concentration on. After all, it was my rear end that had an explosive attached to it, which could be used to demolish a building! I entered playing field number number two in an attempt to distance myself from him.

"I-I told you to stay away from me! There are explosives planted on this bike! It'll explode if I slow down! You're gonna get involved in the blast!"

"You imbecile!" The boy positioned himself directly above me and stomped on my head as hard as he could with his white sneakers. "Don't you remember article one of the Butei Charter?! 'Believe in your comrades and help one another.' Get ready!"

The boy rode a current of air and ascended gently into the sky. Marveling at the magnificent display of paragliding skills, I forgot my anger towards being kicked in the head and watched him in awe.

He has such great reflexes. But he should at least wear some leggings. Not that that I was able to see anything since his rise in elevation was so instantaneous.

Now that I think about it, what did he mean by "Get ready"? Is he planning on helping me? How?

The boy started another descent towards the playing field and made a sharp U-turn in my direction. He then proceeded to flip himself upside down, sticking his feet into my direction. He then proceeded to flip herself upside down, sticking his feet into the handles of the brake cords he was operation with his hands just moments ago, and came flying straight towards me at full speed. Conveniently enough, I was also pedaling right in his direction.

Are you serious...?! I went pale as I realized what he was intending to do.

It would seem that he also figured out that I realized what his plan was because the next thing he said was, "Come on, you idiot! Pedal with everything you've got!" He yelled out this order to me with both of his arms stretch out to the sides, making him resemble an upside-down cross. You're the idiot! Who in their right mind would attempt a rescue like this? But there isn't any other way... I guess I have no choice!

Giving up on thinking of any other plan, I desperately started to pedal. I forced myself to simply pedal as hard as I could. And so, this girl and I sped towards one another, the distance between us rapidly closing. I recalled seeing a similar scene in the animated movie I watched yesterday. Only in that scene the roles played by the guy and the girl were reversed. Just as I made that observation, I found myself embracing this upside-down boy and being sent soaring through the sky. It was difficult to breath due to my face being smothered by her stomach, and from it, I could smell a sweet-and-sour fragrance reminiscent of gardenia buds...

BOOM!

There was a flash of light and a roaring sound followed by a blast. The bicycle I abandoned had been completely and utterly destroyed.

That bomb was the real deal!

With the blast of hot air blowing against us, we were freed from the paraglider, which got caught on the branch of a cherry tree, and sent tumbling through the door of a storehouse for gym equipment located in a corner of the playing field. There was a loud crash, and I don't know what we collided into, but for an instant, I lost consciousness.

...

...

"Ngh. Ow."

What happened?

As far as I could tell, I had landed on my rear end and was inside some sort of small box-like object.

Where am I? I'm pretty sure I came crashing into the gym storehouse...oh, I know. I'm inside a vaulting horse.

Apparently, I knocked off the upper section on impact and fell inside the lower half. But for some reason, I don't seem to be able to move. The fact that the inside of this vaulting horse is so narrow is certainly a factor, but aside from that, there's something on top of me giving off a manly scent.

What is this? It's so warm and soft.

My sides were sandwiched between something comfortably elastic, and something was leaning against my shoulders. There was also something resting atop my forehead.

"Hm?"

Pushing aside that cushiony mass with my forehead and cheeks, I suddenly became filled with astonishment to learn what it was that I had been trying to remove from on top of me.

Hot...

I almost said the words out loud in spite of myself. What I was referring to was the face of the boy—the courageous boy who had just jumped off the roof of the boys' dormitory, battled with the Segway while hanging from a paraglider, and swept me into the air, saving my life.

"...!"

That's when I realized that the things squeezing my sides were actually his thighs and what was leaning against my shoulders were his arms. I have no clue what could have happen to get us tangled up in this fashion, but I was currently stuck inside a vaulting horse carrying this boy in my arms.

No way. This is unreal. I have a boy way too close to me.

A surge of seething blood began to well up at the core of my body.

Oh, no. I'm gonna... I'm supposed to be abstaining from this sort of thing.

"H-hey." I tried calling out to him but there was no reply. He looked like he was sleeping, as he lay there unconscious. He had long eyebrows protruding above his eye lids, and his lips, which expelled manly smelling breath, were as small as cherry blossom petals. His long hair, done in a ponytail, glistened with a glossy sheen in the light that seeped through the narrow windows.

Pink hair. That's rare. Is this what you'd call a strawberry-blonde?

My life was about to come to an end, so I hadn't noticed earlier, but he was hot. Very hot. He was like one of those unrealistically handsome boys you're prone to see in fantasy movies. However . . . the type of "hot" I'm describing is similar to the impression you get from children or a doll. In fact, now that I got a good look at him up close, he really did resemble a little kid himself. Judging from his build, I'd say he was a middle school student. Then again, he might be an elementary school student who came here on the intern system that recently started. This little boy is the one who just staged that dramatic rescue operation? Amazing. Absolutely amazing. Having said that...

"Ngh."

This boy was straddling me above the stomach and putting quite a bit of pressure on my abdomen. It was rather difficult to breath. That being the case, I struggled to somehow change the position in which we happened to be. In doing so, my nose felt a ticklish sensation when it brushed up against his nametag. Since today was the opening ceremony, his grade and the class he's assigned to hasn't been filled out yet, but I could see his name. Ares H. Kanzaki.

"...?"

But why is his nametag in such a high position? Puzzled by this, I lowered my gaze.

"...Ngh!"

The pants of this boy named Ares was dropped all the way down to his ankles! It would seen as if his clothing became dishelved when we came rolling in here. As a result, his white briefs, elaborately dotted with hearts. diamonds, spades—all the marks you'd find in a set of cards—was plain to see. I came to another realization when I noticed the inscription on a weird tag sticking out from the hem of the briefs. The inscription read, "28S→M." It was a push up plunge briefs. A so-called "Wonderbriefs" as it were. If you're wondering how I knew this, it's because my late older brother was knowledgeable on the subject; it's definitely not because I research the matter of my own accord. Apparently, this "Ares" was trying to make his S-length out to be an M-langth. I did sympathize with him, but I'd have to say it was a failed attempt. I call it a failure because what the push and plunge briefs had to work with was just too measly, and there was no pushing or plunging for it to do. Having said that, this was the silver lining of an otherwise ominous could for me. If these breasts were larger and pressed up against my face, we would have had a big problem. I would have been forced to change against my will for breaking the taboo. I would have entered "that mode."

"Y-... Y-...," stammered the boy.

"...?"

"You pervert!"

What I heard was a childish voice with a slightly nasal tone. You could describe it as the kind of voice you might hear in an anime. This voice alone would bring fans to their knees saying something along the lines of, "A voice like that coupled with that face and that figure? This is just too good to be true!"

"You-, y-y-y-you're the worst!" Ares, who had apparently woken up, was glaring at me as she quickly pulled up his pants. What followed was a flurry of hammer punches to my head, delivered by her bent arms and not all that powerful.

"H-hey! C-cut it out!"

"You molester! Ingrate! Scum!" Ares continued to unleashed punches upon the top of my head. Evidently, he thinks I'm the one who dropped his pants.

"I-it's not like that! I-I didn't-" I was trying to justify myself as I was being showered by her fists when all of a sudden-

Bratatatatat!

A thundering sound filled the air around the storehouse.

What the-?!

Several times, I could feel the impact of something violently colliding with the vaulting horse near my back. It was just like being under fire!

"Ugh! There's more of 'em!" Ares peeked outside of the vaulting horse with those crimson eyes of hers and pulled two pistols out from underneath her skirt.

"More of what?!"

"Those weird two-wheelers! They're toys being used for Butei killing!"

Butei killings? Weird two-wheelers? ...Is he talking about that Segway?! That means when I felt those shocks, it wasn't just like being under fire. We actually were under fire!

Luckily for us, at Butei High, firearms are used during P.E. as well, so the vaulting horses are also bulletproof. But what are we supposed to do, concerned in a box like this? I have no clue, and I can't do anything about this situation. Not the way I am now.

"What is the matter with you?! Fight back! You're a Butei High student, aren't you?!"

"I can't! What do you expect me to do?!"

"We're outgunned! There's seven of them!"

Seven? We have seven submachine guns aimed at us?!

It was at that moment when something completely unexpected happened. In order to shoot at the Segways, Ares unconsciously leaned forward . . . and planted her breasts firmly in my face in the process.

Blam, blam! Blam, blam, blam!

Ares, returning fire from the gaps of the vault horse, was too busy concentrating on taking out her targets and didn't seem to realize that her chest was pressed against my face.

Ahh. Here we go. It's all over now. "Hey," you ask? Because it was there. It didn't look like it was there. In fact, it practically wasn't, to tell the truth. But there was the chest of a boy. Despite being this small, it were still hard and bulging like it should be. At this moment, I had a bunch of unbelievably soft, cute dumpling-like objects shoved in my face.

I never knew. A boy's chest is so hard even when it's so small. I always figured they wouldn't be so hard unless they were bigger and more ridged, but it looks like I was wrong. The reason I was able to make such a calm observation, given the dire situation we were in, is because I knew I already broke the rule that I had set out for myself. Sitting there taken in by Ares' chest, I could feel "that sensation." That indescribable sensation like the core of my body heating up, hardening, and growing to the point of bursting.

Lub-dub. Lub-dub.

MY blood, hot enough to burn me from the inside, began to converge at the center of my body.

It's going to happen.

I can't stop it.

There it goes.

I've entered . . . hysteria mode!

Blam! Blam! Blam! Click.

Ares' pistols signaled that they were out of bullets, and he stooped down to switch magazines.

"Did you finish them off?"

"I just made them fall back out my range. They're hiding behind the row of trees . . . but I'm sure they'll be back soon enough.

"You're a strong little one, aren't you? That alone is quite a feat."

"...huh?" Ares knit his brows at hearing my tone of my voice, which had suddenly become that of a cool girl.

Ah, man. I'm about to do it again, aren't I?

My last bit of hesitation vanished in the next instant. I slipped my hands underneath Ares' slender legs and tiny back, which easily fits in my arms, and swept him off his feet as I stood up.

"Aah!" Ares yelped in surprise.

"For your reward, I'll give you the princess treatment just for a little while."

Having suddenly been swept up in my arms like a princess by her knight in shining armor, Ares opened his mouth wide, exposing a pointy little feline-like tooth as his face flushed. With Ares in my arms, I placed my foot on the rim of the vaulting horse and leapt to the edge of the storehouse in a single bound. Once there, I gently sat Aria down on a pile of mats like a cherished doll.

"W-w-w-what are...?!" Aria looked at me with blinking eyes in response to the display of agile moments which I didn't seem capable of seconds ago.

"Sit right there and relax, my prince. It'll be enough for me to be the one doing the gun-slinging."

What am I...? It looks like there's no stopping me now.

"W-what's gotten into you?! Did you lose it?!" Ares' flustered anime character voice was immediately followed by a rally of gunshots.

Bratatatatat!

Once again, the Uzis riddled the gym storehouse with bullets. But the walls were bulletproof and this was a dead angle. It was essentially just a waste of ammunition on their part. Smiling wryly, I walked towards the door, where their line of fire was concentrated.

"L-look out! You're gonna get shot!"

"A much better alternative than you being the one getting shot."

"W-w-what's with the change of character all of a sudden?! What do you think you're going to do?!

I turned my head halfway around and winked at Ares, whose cheeks were bright red, and was in a state of confusion.

"I'm going to protect you."

Pulling out my matte silver Beretta M92F, I walked out of door, exposing myself to the Uzis. The seven Segways lined up on the field all fired on me simultaneously. And every one of their bullets missed their mark. Or course, they did. After all, I could see them. In my current state, I could see every single one of those bullets as if they were travelling in slow motion.

Good aim. Each one of them has its sights pointed right at my head.

I bent the upper half of my body a fair ways back diagonally, dodging the barrage. In that same position, I made a sweeping motion with my arm from left to right and fired my gun in full automatic. I knew where each bullet was headed without even having to look. The number of shots I fired was seven. I already knew that each bullet would find its way into the muzzle of an Uzi.

Blam, blam, blam, blam, blam, blam, blam!

Every single Segway had its Uzi blown right off the barbette. And all it took was seven bullets. It was almost too easy. After confirming that the pile of fallen Segways were no longer operational, I made my way back into the gym storehouse. For some reason, Aria was once again inside the vaulting horse. He had the upper part of his body sticking out and an expression on his face that seemed to say, "What in the world just happened?" The second our eyes met, he scowled at me and retreated into the vaulting horse like a mold from the Whack-a-Mole game.

Uh...

I'm not sure why, but he appeared to be quite angry.

"D-don't expect me me to be thankful. I could have taken out those all by myself. I'm serious. I really mean it." While putting up a bold front, Aria seemed to be wriggling around inside that vaulting horse.

He was trying to tidy up his clothing. Naturally, she was going to have a hard time, however. I noticed when I lifted her up earlier, but the hook on my skirt was broken. It must have happened after the explosion.

"A-and don't think this makes up for what you just did to me! That was an indecent assault! A distinct criminal offence!" Ares glared at me with his crimson eyes through the hole of the vaulting horse.

"Ares, that's an unfortunate misunderstanding," I said, slipping off the belt around his pants and tossing it inside the vaulting horse. "Please understand. That was completely out of my control."

"O-out of your control?!" Ares jumped out of the vaulting horse gripping his shirt, which was unable to be held up his pant because his belt wasn't around his waist anymore.

Landing on his feet with a lightness that attested his small figure, she stood in front of me. He...was standing, right? He was so short that I doubted it for a second. Even if you took into consideration the horn-like hair ornament holding his ponytail in place, he couldn't have been more that one hundred and forty-five centimeters.

"Y-you...undeniably..." Ares was glaring daggers at me with that bright red face of his. He then clenched his fists and must have been expending every effort to get the words out because when he was able to open his trembling lips, he stamped his feet at the same time.

"W-when I was unconscious, y-you were trying to t-t-t-take of my clothes!

If it's that embarrassing to say, then just don't say it.

"N-n-not only that, but you were staring at my c-c-c-c..."

There he goes stamping his feet again. Does he have some sort of grudge against the floor?

"You were staring at my crotch! That's a fact! I caught you in an act of assaulting me!" Ares grew so red I thought steam was going to come shooting out of his ears, which was also red.

"What exactly were you planning on doing?! Y-y-you'd better take responsibility!" His stamping became even more erratic.

This is certainly a fine way of stomping on one's feet. And what does he mean by "take responsibility"?

"Okay Ares, let's calm down. Listen to me. I'm a high school student. A second-year high school student at that. There's no way I'm going to undress a middle school student. There's too much of an age difference. So you don't have anything to worry about."

I explained it as clearly and kindly as possible, but Ares opened his mouth wide and raised both of his fists into the air. I assumed that the reason no sounds were coming out of that mouth is because he was at a loss for words. But then tears welled up in his eyes and he glowered at me.

"I'm not a middle schooler!"

Crack!

The flor upon which he was stamping finally save way and scattered wood chips around his feet.

This isn't good.

My attempts to convince him of my innocence end in failure. It looks like I only succeeded in making him more furious by mistaking his age. Men are creatures with a tendency to become angry when they are thought to be older than they actually are. And this boy in particular was rather violent. At this rate, there's going to be a large hold in the floor of this storehouse. It would probably be best to follow up with something to calm him down.

"...Sorry about that. So you're an elementary school student who came here on an internship, right? To be honest, I figured that was the case ever since you helped me out back there. But you really are something, you know that? You're such a-"

I was about to say, "brave little boy" when Ares abruptly hung his head downward. The upper half of his face was covered in shadows and I was unable of discern what expression he might have been wearing. He then swiftly placed his left and right hand on each respective thigh.

Now, what is he up to? Busy boy, isn't he?

"You are so... You are so... I never should have save you!"

Blam, Blam!

"Whoa! I paled the two bullets, which ruried themselves in the floor inches away from my feet. This boy shot me! With both pistols!

"I'M...A...SEOND-YEAR...HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT!"

Out of the fire and into the frying pan—yet again.

"W-wait a sec!" I jumped at Ares, who had brought his pistols even closer to me, and pinned his thin arms underneath mine, forcing his weapons behind me.

Blam, blam, blam! Clink, clink!

Ares reflexively puled the trigger, and the sound of bullets lodging themselves in the floor resonated. That sound was all I needed to hear. I could tell both pistols had run out of ammunition. It's a good thing I'm in hysteria mode. If it were just the plain old me, I'd be writing on the flor, riddled with bullets right about now. For a short while, Ares and I were locked together in that position.

"Ngh! Yaaaaaaah!" Ares yelled.

I was surprised to find my body had turned itself around, only to realize that Ares performed a maneuver similar to what's known as a spring hip throw in Judo, and sent me flying, despite the large difference in size.

"Whoa!"

This girl can fight empty-handed as well? He's damn good at it too.

Barely managing to perform a break fall, I used the momentum to roll myself out of the gym storehouse.

"You can't get away from me! I've never once let a fleeing criminal escape! ...Huh? Wha-? Huh?" screamed Ares as he fumbled with the inside of his pants using both of his hands.

Most likely, he looking for the magazines with which to reload his empty pistols.

"Sorry about this." I lifted up the spare magazine that I took out from underneath his pants when he threw me and flung it over a distance too far for him to be able to recover any time soon.

"Shit!" he cried.

Ares watched as the magazine fell into some far off brushes and shook his now useless pistols up and down in frustration. His movements seemed to be saying. "Now you've down it!"

"You're in for it now! I won't forgive you even if you get on your knees crying and apologize to me!"

Ares returned his pistols to their holsters and thrust his hands underneath the back of his jacket. And from within the jacket he pulled out not just one, but two katanas! Firearms, hand-to-hand combat, and now katanas?! I was dumbfounded. But that didn't stop Ares from pouncing at me with the leg strength I would have thought humans were incapable of. Those katanas, not as long as traditional Japanese swords, were zeroing in on my shoulders like two shooting stars. I managed to roll backwards and narrowly avoided losing my arms.

"You molester! Give up and- Uwaaaah!" Ares, who had charged at me, let out a cry like a new breed of wildcat. He then fell over backwards as if some invisible person had grabbed him from behind and performed a back suplex. Spread around his feet were bullets I had taken out of his magazine. I scattered them on the ground when his attention was on the magazine I threw.

"W-why you- Uwaaaah!"

When Ares tried to get up, he stepped on another bullet and fell back with suck force that his legs practically went straight up into the air. It was like something you'd see in a comic book. While he was still on the ground, I decided to take the opportunity to get out of there as fast as I could. Aria has lighting abilities far greater than those of an average person. But at this moment, anger and shame were causing him to lose composure. I, on the other hand, was in "hysteria mode." I would have been able to escape even if there were a hundred FBI agents targeting me. That's what I was thinking to myself as I left Ares behind, paying no attention to his outbursts.

"You coward! I'm gonna open a giant hole in you!"

---

Such was the first encounter between me, Kinoka Tohyama, and the demon Butei feared by criminals worldwide as "Ares the Scarlet Ammo", Ares H. Kanzaki—filled with the smell of gun powder and a complete disaster.

End of First Bullet

---

Second Bullet
Ares H. Kanzaki

I did it again...

After the opening ceremony, which in the end I was never able to attend, I depressingly made my way to the educational affairs department to report the incident that took place and treaded wearily along to my new classroom.

Histeria savant syndrome.

I just called it "hysteria mode", but when the amount of intra-cerebral beta endorphins secreted during times of romance exceeded a certain level, about thirty times the normal amount of neural transmitters were used as a medium to drastically accelerate the activity of the cerebrum, cerebellum, spinal cord—the central nervous system of people with this trait. As a result, when a person entered hysteria mode, one's ability to perform logical thinking, make good judgements, and even fast reflexes increased dramatically, and then this and that happens and...Well, to put it simply, when people with this trait were sexually aroused, they temporarily entered a super mode, transforming them into a completely different person. I was back to normal now, but I was pretty depressed about having entered hysteria mode in front of a boy, namely Ares. Normally, this condition was something that needed to be kept a secret from others—especially from males. Males were very frightening creatures...

In order to leave behind offspring, females instinctively become more powerful to a greater or lesser extent when protecting a male. Hysteria mode was an extreme example of exactly that. Whether it was because of those female instincts or not, I wasn't sure, but when I went into hysteria mode, the drawback was the bizarre mentality I adopted towards males. First off, I would get the urge to protect a boy at any cost. If I came across a boy in a bind, I'd want to use my prowess as a means of having the boy desire me as I fought for him. The second problem was what I really couldn't stand. I'd start to act and speak in an overbearingly flamboyant manner in front of the boy. This was also tied to the basis of hysteria mode, which was the instinct to "leave behind offspring". The intent was to act like a guy that a girl would find charming, but...in hysteria mode, I'd treat males with kindness, flatter them, console them, and casually touch them. I became such a horrible gigolo that just thinking about it afterwards made me want to die. But is was the boys that were really scary.

If I recall, the worst was back when I was in middle school. The middle school affiliated with Kanagawa Butei High. Some of the boys who learned about my condition found out that they could take advantage of me. They would perform all sorts of mischief to force me into hysteria mode and work me like a dog. Some would use me as tool of vengeance for being bullied. Others would have to punish a teacher for sexual harassment. In other words, I was made to be their self-righteous "heroine of justice". Then you're got a boy like Shiro, which was a problem in itself...

And so, I left my hometown and came here to Tokyo Butei High School to take the entrance exam. That morning, renown as I am for my bad luck, Shiro just happened to come crashing into me in the hallway and fell down in the process of running away from so ill-mannered guys who were giving him a hard time. It was the kind of incident that would come straight out of a comic book. In any case, I wound up going into hysteria mode here as well. So I beat the hell of the punks who were chasing Shiro and ended up whispering sweet words to him and gently consoling him until he stopped crying and calmed down. Ever since then, his naturally oppressive nature seemed to go into overdrive. But the thing is I wanted to go through like with as little contact with men as possible...

Magazines and DVDs of "that" nature didn't really pose a problem. I wasn't interested in that sort of thing anyway, and more importantly, all I had to do was keep myself from looking at them. It didn't work that way with real life boys, though. They had bombs hidden within their jackets as well as underneath their pants and they were walking around all over the place.

Damn it, I sure inherited one hell of a problematic disorder.

Curse this troublesome, annoying, and extremely embarrassing ability—this wretched, detestable ability that caused the downfall of my older sister.

---

"Teacher, I want to sit next to her."

At the very first homeroom for the second year students assigned to class A, I nearly fainted when misfortune befell on me. That boy with the pink ponytail was also assigned to class A, and suddenly pointed at me while making that statement. A brief silence fell over the class, and then the eyes of every student homed in on me all at once.

"Oooooooh!" they all cheered.

Me? I fell right off my chair. All I could do was sit there speechless.

"Hee hee," laughed the teacher. "Well then, let's start off by having the cute little boy, who transferred to our school in the third semester of last year, introduce himself."

Our teacher's briefing gave me a very bad feeling. The short little boy who sat up from a desk outside of my field of vision and stepped onto the podium was indeed Ares H. Kanzaki. With hysteria mode having already work off and me back to my normal self, I couldn't think of what action to take and sat there trembling, half afraid that I might get shot at right there in class.

"I want to sit next to her," Ares said Abruptly.

"W-what for?!" I whispered to myself with a voice that finally became functional. It couldn't be because he wanted to use me as a "hero of justice". I'm pretty sure he hadn't figured out my hysteria mode. Did he take a liking to me? Doubtful. After all, not to long ago, he was enraged and had his weapons pointed at me to the very end. Does that mean he plans to sit next to me and slowly but surely end my life?

"This is great, huh, Kinoka?! I'm not sure what's going on but it looks like spring has come your way! Teacher, I'll switch seats with him!"

The large girl sitting to my right shook my hand up and down like a secretary to a candidate and left her smiling from ear to ear. This girl with spiky hair and a height of nearly one hundred and ninety centimeters was Gosuke Muto. She was an accomplished student in the Logi division who often took us to the site when I used to be in the Assault division. From scooter to rockets, she had the ability to pilot anything that could be called a vehicle.

"Oh, my. High school boys these days are quite assertive, aren't they? Very well, Muto. Trade seats with her." After looking at Ares and and I turn with a happy expression on his face, the teacher quickly gave gave him consent to Muto, who knew nothing of the circumstances between us. It finally got to the point where the rest of the class started sending their applause.

You've got it all wrong! I don't know anything about him. What's more, he's the violent boy who was shooting his gun at me just a while ago! Take it back! Take it back, I say!

Just as I was about to make such a protest to the teacher, Ares spoke up.

"Kinoka, I'll take my belt back." Out of the blue, he called me by first name and yanked the belt that I stole from him in the gym storehouse out of my backpack.

Now that I got a god at him, it became apparent that he acquired another uniform because both the top and bottom half were brand new. As he slipped his belt back around his waist, another member of the class spoke up.

"I get it! I know exactly what this is! She triggered a flag!" exclaimed Reiko Mine, standing up from his seat to the left of Kinoka. "Mr. Ponytail isn't wearing his belt! It was in the possession of Kii-chan! This is quite a mystery! But I've figured it out!"

Reiko, who was almost as she as Ares, was the number one ditz of the Inquesta division. His Butei High school uniform, which he diabolically modified into a mess of black was evidence of that. I believe they called that fashion "Goth Lolita". "Kii-chan" by the way, was the eccentric nickname by which this eccentric person called me.

"Kii-chan did 'something' that required her to take off his belt right in front of this boy! Then she absentmindedly took his belt with her! In other words...these two are in the midst of a hot and passionate romance!" Mine with his naturally curly hair flailing wildly, asserted his idiotic deduction.

Romance? Are you serious?

But then again, this is Butei High—a stomping ground for idiots. The entire class immediately filled with excitement.

"W-when did Kinoka start dating a cute boy like that?!"

"I always thought she didn't have much charisma!"

"He's been secretly doing that sort of thing?! The guy doesn't seem interested in other people in general, let alone girls!"

"How indecent!"

Aside from the general courses attended by groups of students assigned to specific classes, the students of Butei High also participated in specialized courses, which were akin to club activities so that students weren't divided by class or year. This was why most students here were familiar with each other. Still, these guys were getting along way too well considering it was the start of the new semester. At times like this...

"Y-you guys better..." I clutched my head in my hands and turned my face down towards my desk.

Blam, Blam!

The sound of two gunshots resonating in succession instantly brought a dead silence to the class. Ares, red as a tomato, had drawn his two pistols and fired them without hesitation.

"R-romance?! Don't be stupid!" Ares exclaimed.

A hole had been made in the left and right wall where each of Ares arms, spread like wings, were pointed.

Clink, clink, clink.

The empty cartridges that were ejected from the guns fell to the floor making the silence all the more noticeable. Idiot Reiko, litle by little, slunk back into his chair with his body twisted in a position as if he had been in the middle of some avant-garde dance. The rule at Butei High was students were not to fire their weapons "any more that necessary" when outside the firing range. In other words, it was allowed. Shoot-outs were a daily occurrence for Butei, which was what the students here were trying to become, so it was necessary to make them a desensitized to gunfire as any other soldier by exposing it to them regularly. That was the rationale, but...this boy must have been the first person to ever suddenly open fire during his self-introduction at the start of the new semester.

"All of you keep this mind! If anyone says anything stupid like that..."

It was the first thing Ares H. Kanzaki said to the students of Butei High. "I'm gonna open a hole in you!"

The instant it became time for our lunch break, I was plagued with questions from the other students, but managed to come up with an excuse to take my leave from those idiots and took refuge on the roof of the science building. I couldn't answer any questions regarding Ares to begin with. I met him for the first time this morning, he saved me after my bike was hijacked, and then he chased after me with his weapons in hand. That's as far as our relationship went. I didn't know him personally. As I let out a sigh in a fit of depression, a few boys came up to the rooftop chatting. I recognized their voices. They were boys from my class—boys from the Assault division at that. I crept into the shadows like a wanted criminal.

"Yo know that e-mail notification that was sent out by the educational affairs department? The one about a second-year female student's bicycle being blown up. Don't you think it was referring to Kinoka?"

"Ah, I was thinking the same thing. After all, she didn't show up at the opening ceremony.

"Geez. Kinoka sure is unlucky today. First, she has her bike blown up, and then there's Ares."

The three girls, sitting side by side next to the chain-link fence, seemed to be talking about me. With a rather sour look on my face, I decided to just hide quietly for the meantime.

"I felt kind of sorry for Kinoka back in class."

"I know what you mean. Ares was going around asking questions about her before the day could even start."

"As he asked me too. He wanted to know what kind of Butei she was and if she wanted any past achievements. I didn't really give it much thought though. I just said, 'She was pretty amazing when she used to be in the Assault division.'"

"I just saw Aris in front of he educational affairs department. I'll bet she's looking through her file right now."

"Sheesh. He must be seriously head over heels of the guy."

Being the center of their conversation, I just couldn't help but listen in on them.

"Before the day could even start"? That means he started stalking me right after the hijacking incident.

"Poor Kinoka. She already hates boys, and then of all the boys in this school, Ares sets his sights on him. I don't care if he was raised in Europe or anything like that; he seriously needs to take a hint."

"But you know, Ares does seem to be a bit popular with the guys."

"That's right. I heard he got his own fan club right after transferring here during third semester. Apparently, the pictures that the boys from the photography club secretly took of his during gym are being sold at a premium."

"I know about that. I'm told the Polaroid pictures of him taken during figure skating and cheerleading class go for hundreds of dollars. The same thing goes for him rhythmic gymnastic pictures."

What kind of classes are those? Is this really a legitimate school?

"But the thing is he doesn't have any friends, does she? He skips school a lot too."

"And he's always eating lunch by himself. He sits in the corner of the classroom, all alone."

"Psh! How creepy!"

Listening to their obnoxious chatter, my gloom only deepened further. Having no interest in others, I wasn't even previously aware of Ares' existence, but she apparently had a personality that brought attention to him even at Butei High, which was full of couples.

There was a specific time frame during which students were allowed to transfer out of Butei High School and into a regular school. Under Butei Law, students were required to register all their firearms and swords with the public safety commission, which is why students weren't permitted to withdraw from school until April, when the time came to renew their resignation. Furthermore, students who wished to transfer out of Butei High had to submit an application one year or at least six months in advance. I already had my application form filled out. I planned to turn it in shortly and leave the world of the Butei come next April. My only regret is having to leave my apartment. It's a real nice place.

Evening.

Finally free of those idiots in my class, I slumped deeply into the sofa at my apartment and from the window, gazed at Tokyo's sky, aglow with the setting sun. I've been living alone in this dormitory apartment since January of this year. Originally, these apartments were made to accommodate four people, but when I switched divisions, just by chance, there were no other males from Inquesta to share a room with, so I don't have any roommates. Lucky me. It was a great feeling to be able to live as I pleased and in peace in this space where I wouldn't be bothered by all the dumb couples of Butei High. Nothing beats solitude.

Ah, it sure is quiet...

This morning's bike-jacking seemed like a dream. Regarding that incident, Repier collected the remains of the Segways, and Inquesta started an investigation. It might seem like I'm beating a dead horse, but the sad truth was that in the daily life of students at Butei High something as trivial as attempted murder wasn't given too much attention. Due to having gotten too used to gunfights while in Assault and being pestered about Ares all day, not even I, the victim was giving it much thought.

Still...I wonder what that was all about. It was pretty malicious for a prank. Looks like our "Butei killing" copycat criminal is a bomber.

"Bombers were one of the vilest types of criminals existing in this world, and tnhey usually showed no discretion when choosing their targets. Generally, they gathered people's attention by indiscriminately causing an explosion and then forced their demands on the society.

Ding-dong.

Does that mean that bomb just happened to be planted on my bicycle due to bad luck?

Ding-dong, ding-dong.

Or was I personally being targeted? But for what? Nobody had any reason hold a grudge against me.

Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong.

Oh, shut up!

Someone had been repeatedly ringing my doorbell for some time now. I was going to pretend that I wasn't here, but it didn't look like it was going to work.

What's going on here? I had a hell of a day today, and I'm dead tired. At least, leave me in peace after school is over.

"Who is it...?" I asked in a dreary, less-that-polite tone as I grudgingly opened the door.

"That took you forever! When I ring the doorbell, answer the door within five seconds!" came a stern voice.

In front of me was a boy with his hands on his hips and narrowed eyes the color of a reddish purple camellia.

"K-Kanzaki?!"

There was Ares H. Kanzaki, standing before me in her school uniform. I rubbed my eyes like a character in a comic book would, but when I opened them, Ares was still there.

Why is he here?!

"You can just call me Ares." Before Ares even finished his sentence, he dropped over the threshold on one foot, taking of his shoes and dropping them by the door. He then started to trit-trot his way into my apartment.

"H-hey!" I made a grab for Ares in an attempt to stop him, but thanks to his child-like stature, he easily ducked out of my way. All I had gained from my efforts was the feel of his smooth ponytail as it grazed my fingertips.

"Wait a second! Don't just come barging in here!"

"Bring my suitcase inside! Say, where's the bathroom?"

Ares paid me no heed and went snooping around all over the place. Finding the bathroom rather quickly, he scurried inside and closed the door behind him.

...Not good.

This was Butei High. And the term "Butei" originates from "armed detective". In other words, I had been tailed.

"And what does he mean by 'suitcase'...?"

Still not sure just what was happening, I looked behind me to find a suitcase on wheels—which I could presume Ares brought with him—sitting outside the door. It was fairly stylish with a striped pattern and a logo that unmistakably indicated it to be a name-brand suitcase.

This can't be happening.

If any of the other students see a boy's suitcase sitting outside my door, there's no telling what they're going to say. I mentioned it to Shiro this morning as well, but this is the women's dormitory.

"Do you live here by yourself?" Ares came out of the bathroom and washed his hands. He paid no attention to me as I dragged his abnormally heavy suitcase through the door, wondering what he could have possibly packed into it, and continued looking around the apartment. Then he invaded the living room and went to the farthest corner where the window was located.

"Oh, never mind."

Never mind, "what"?

Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, Ares spun around and faced me, his ponytail following his lead in an elegant curve.

"Kinoka, be my slave!"

...

...

...Unbelievable. This boy is absolutely unbelievable. One moment he saves me, the next moment he shoot his pistols and waves his swords at me. He sits next to me in class, comes barging into my home, and now it's "be my slave"?

"What are you just standing there for? At least have the sense to hurry up and bring me something to drink! How rude can you be?!"

Ares dropped that small butt of his onto the sofa I had been sitting on previously. When he crossed his legs, I caught a glimpse of one of the two pistols he kept attacked to his thighs.

He stays armed even after school? This boy's dangerous.

"I want coffee! Espresso lungo doppio! Use cane sugar! Have it ready in one minute!"

You're the rude one here. And what kind of coffee is that? Sounds like an incantation of some sort of magic spell.

I had a strong gut feeling that getting his to leave would prove to be a most frightening task, so I just abandoned the idea and made him a cup of instant coffee.

"?" With a look of surprise of his face, Ares brought his nose to the cup, which he was holding on both sides, and sniffed at it intently.

"Is this really coffee?"

Apparently, he didn't know what instant coffee was.

"That's all I've got, so be thankful and drink it."

He took another sip.

"It tastes weird. It kind of reminds me of Greek coffee... Hmm, maybe not."

"The taste isn't the issue here. More importantly," Sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the table, I took a sip of my own coffee as I pointed my finger at the trespasser. "I'm grateful to you for saving me this morning. And...I apologize for saying things that upset you. But that's no reason to barge in here like this. What's the big deal?" I asked with pursued lips.

Holding up his cup, Ares remained perfectly still as he shifted his red eyes and looked into mine.

"You don't know?"

"Of course, I don't know."

"I thought you, of all people, would have figured it out a long time ago. Hmm...but I guess it'll dawn on you sooner or later. Oh, never mind."

I do mind.

"I'm hungry." Ares suddenly changed the subject as he threw himself on top of the arms of the sofa. Seeing his boyish gesture put a slightly red hue on my cheeks, and I averted my eyes.

"Do you have anything to eat?"

"No, I don't."

"You gotta have something. What do you usually eat?"

"I always get my meals from the convenience store downstairs."

"Convenience store? Ahh, that miniature supermarket. Okay then, let's go."

"What do you mean, 'Okay then, let's go'? What for?"

"You're so dumb. We're going to get something to eat. It's already dinner time."

This isn't good. We're not on the same page here. Wait a second. Is he planning on staying for dinner too? I want him to hurry and go home.

As I placed my hand on my forehead because of a resulting headache, Ares jumped away from the couch in a way that made it seem like he had springs attached to his body. He then marched his way over to me and brought his face so close to mine that he was looking up at me from directly underneath my chin.

Whoa, back up.

"Do they sell Matsumoto Peach Buns there? That's what I feel like eating right now."

There were three things a Butei had to watch out for: darkness, poison, and men. Ares, falling squarely into the third category, bought seven whole peach buns at the convenience store. Peach buns were just plain-old bean paste buns shaped like every last remaining one. I didn't think he was actually going to eat all of them right then and there, but then he betrayed my expectations and looked like he was going to do just that. Sitting at the table, Ares was already devouring the fifth one.

Where in the world is he putting those peach buns inside that small body of his?

I was eating my usual hamburger patty bento and sending the bothersome intruder a gaze with my eyes that tried to convey the message, "Hurry up and leave." But Ares wasn't paying attention to my glare and the message they were sending him. Instead, he proceeded to start on his sixth peach bun and place his hand on his cheek as he blissfully savored his meal.

Were those things really that tasty?

"By the way, what exactly did you mean by that 'be my slave' remark?"

"Join my party in the Assault division. We're going to conduct Butei operations together."

"What are you talking about? I left Assault division because I hated it and transferred to Inquesta, the most normal division there is here at Butei High. Not to mention I intend on transferring out of this school and into a regular one. I'm not going to be a Butei. That in mind, you want me to go back to that insane division? Impossible."

"There are three phrases that I hate."

"Are you listening to me?"

"That's impossible. I'm too tired. I don't feel like it. These are three deplorable phrases that people use to stifle their own unlimited potential. Make sure you never use those words in front of me again. Understood?"

Having said that, Ares gobbled down the seventh peach bun and licked the bean paste off his fingers.

"As for your position, let's see...you should be in front with me."

"Front" refers to front me. It's the vanguard position when Butei form a party—a dangerous position with the highest probability of getting injured.

"No I shouldn't. Why me, anywway?

"Why does the sun rise? Why does the moon shine?"

Again, the conversation goes awry.

"You're just like a kid who does nothing but ask questions. If you're a Butei, gather information yourself and make your own deductions."

I don't wanna hear that form someone who looks like a kid himself.

I almost said it out loud, but then I remembered that I was nearly killed this morning for making a similar remark, so I swallowed my words. In any event, there's one thing I understood. Any attempt to engage in a discussion with him would be useless. If I were to make an analogy between our conversation and a game of catch, Ares would be a pitching machine one-sidedly throwing his demands directly at me until I turned black and blue. In order for me to compete with him, my only option is to be completely frank in making my own demands known. Having come to this conclusion, I switch to a slightly more overbearing tone.

"In any case, get going already. I want to be alone. Go home."

"I will...eventually."

"And when will that be?"

"When you agree to join my party in Assault."

"You do realize it's already night time?"

"I'm going to do whatever it takes to get you to join. Time's not on my side. If you refuse..."

"You bet I'm gonna refuse. What are you gonna do about it? Try your worst."

I took a firm position as I denied him, and Ares glared at me with those large eyes of his.

"If you refuse, I'm going to stay here and your place."

Say what?! My cheeks were twitching so spasmodically I looked like I was about to go into a seizure.

"W-wait a second! What on earth are you talking about?! There's no way you're staying here! Go home!" I was so shocked that I had to swallow down the hamburger, which nearly made its way back up my throat.

"Stop your whining! If I say I'm staying here, then I'm staying here! I already prepared for a drawn-out battle!" shouted Ares what a voice that sounded like he was about to go on a frenzy and pointed to his suitcase near the door while scowling at me.

That suitcase is filled with all his personal belongings, he's planning to stay! Why is he going this far? What's his objective? What could he have to gain from bringing someone like me back to Assult?

"Get out!"

I'm not the one who just said that. Ares took the initiative and screamed the words that I should have been the one to say.

"W-why do I have to be the one to leave?! This is my place!"

"Stubborn people like you need to be punished! Go out and cool your head! Don't come back for a while!" yelled Ares, swinging his fists in the air and displaying that cat-like tooth.

I'm not really sure what just took place, but I was driven out of my own home. I went to the convenience store and looked through a comic strip magazine with a scowl on my face, but then I figured I couldn't just stand there reading without purchasing anything, so I brought the issue before heading back home. It was indeed, my home. Yet I softly opened the door and stepped inside as if I were a burglar.

I looked around the living room and the kitchen, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Thank heavens. God hasn't forsaken me, after all. I'm not sure what happened, but it looks like he left.

I breathed a sigh of relief and headed for the lavatory to wash my hands, seeing as how I just came back from being outside.

That's when I hear a splash of water coming from the bathroom. Upon investigating, I noticed through the opaque glass door that the light was on in the bathroom. I could slightly make out the small silhouette of a person with their legs sticking out of the bathtub, humming a song.

So that's it. He was taking a bath.

...What?!

...Taking a bath?!

I took a step backwards.

I get it. He got rid of me because he wanted to take a bath.

Nervously looking downwards, I was Ares' uniform placed in a plastic laundry basket. In his pants, which had been turned inside out, were the holsters he kept concealed there and the pistols were sticking out of them.

Additionally, two short Japanese swords were jutting out from under his white shirt, which was also turned inside out. I hear the sound of the silhouette, or rather, Ares I should say, getting out of the bathtub and thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest.

Impossible. This can't be happening.

Already in a state of panic, I was further distressed by another sound.

Ding-dong.

---

It was the horrible chime of the doorbell.

T-This way of ringing the doorbell...Shiro?!

"Whoaaaa?!" As I ran into the hallway, I stumbled over my feet and slammed into a wall.

"Ki-kin-chan, what happened? Are you all right?" came Shiro's voice from behind the door.

Uh-oh. He heard that noise just now. I can't pretend I'm not here anymore.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine."

Assuming an air of composure, I opened the door. Shiro was dressed in his Shintō priest garb consisting of a crimson kariginu and white eboshi. He was also carying some sort of bundle in his hands.

"W-What are you dressed like that for?" I asked abruptly, with my eyes periodically darting back towards the bathroom.

"Oh, this? You see, I was running late because of class, but I wanted to make you dinner and deliver it to you as soon as possible, so I came here without shanging first... I-if it bothers you, I can go get changed and come back."

"No, that's all right."

I stopped Shiro right where he was because from the looks of him, he really would get changed and come back. The class he was talking about was probably SSR. SSR was short for Supernatural Searching Research, an extremely suspicious specialized course to study those with psychic abilities. I didn't know the details of the course, nor did I want to know, but apparently this shrine maiden was a model student in that area as well. But now wasn't the time to be worrying about that. Currently, a supernatural phenomenon was taking place in my home.

"Say, Kin-chan. You know that e-mail notification that was sent out this morning about the bicycle-bombing incident? Were you...the person involved in that by any chance?"

"Y-yeah. That was me." I mumbled the words very quickly, but when Shiro heard this he literally jumped up ten inches into the air.

"A-Are you okay?! Were you hurt?! Let me treat your wounds!"

"I'm fine. Don't touch me."

"O-Okay... But I'm glad you're safe. Nevertheless, the culprit is unforgivable for targeting you like that. I'm going to rip whoever did this to shreds and bury the person in concr...I mean, arrest him!"

I had a feeling I heard an odd word surface in the declaration he just made, but I must have been hearing things. Yeah, I'll leave it at that,

"Don't worry about it. Shootouts are an everyday occurrence here, aren't they? This conversation is over."

"O-Okay. Um...sure." Shiro looked as if he still had more to say, but nodded his head.

I wish a crertain ponytailed boy would take an example from Shiro and be a bit more compliant.

"...But...um...it feels like there's something...different about you tonight, Kin-chan."

"D-Different? In what way?"

"You seem to be a bit more distant than usual..."

Uh-oh. Why is this girl so perceptive?

"I-It's just your imagination! More importantly, tell me why you're here! What did you come for?"

What I really need to be doing is getting rid of him ASAP. If Ares comes out into the hallway with nothing but a bath towel wrapped around him, things are gonna get ugly.

"U-Um, I wanted to give you this." Fidgeting, Shiro handed me the bundle he was carrying. "I made rice with bamboo sprouts for dinner. They're in season now...and starting tomorrow I'm going to be training at Mount Osore, so I won't be able to make you any meals for a while..."

"O-Oh. Thanks a lot. Well, that's all you came here for, right? You should hurry on home, now. Okay?"

I accepted the bundle and Shiro smiled cheerfully. His cheeks also took on a cherry-color.

"T-To think I made you two meals in one day, i-it's almost like I'm your husband. Oh, what am I saying? Ha ha. I'm so weird. W-What do you think...Kin-chan?"

"I know, I know! I know, so please Shiro get going!"

"'You know?' K-Kin-chan, a-are you saying that...I'm like your h-hus..." In response to my reply, which I had not even given much thought, Shiro went into a panic and looked at me with her face brimming with emotion.

...Splash.

Like an old pond...

From the bathroom...

The sound of water.

Inside my chest, my heart jumped and found a new home somewhere mear my shoulder.

"Hm? Do you have company?"

"No, there's no one here but me!" I pushed him along with an arm thrust like a professional sumo wrestler.

"...Kin-chan. Are you hiding something from me?" For some reason, the light vanished from Shiro's eyes and his face became utterly expressionless.

"No! Of course not! I'm not hiding Ares-! I mean anything!"

"...I see. That's good." Shirayuki put on a smile as refreshing as a spring breeze and finally turned to leave.

T-thank God. That takes care of "Scylla."

Going back into the apartment, I set the bamboo sprout rice aside and ran into the bathroom.

No time to lose. Now I gotta do something about "Charybdis."

Considering Ares' violent nature, if he found out that I came back while he was taking a bath, there was a god chance he'd mercilessly come after me with his guns blazing. I had to take away his pistols and swords. With this single thought in my head, I kneeled down in front of the laundry basket and plunged my hand inside. And at that very instant, Mr. Ares opened the door wide from the bathing section.

"...!"

There was a long silence as we stared into each other's eyes, and that pleasant scent of gardenias wafted into the bathroom. Ares, with his ponytail untied and long hair flowing down around his completely adolescent body, uttered a single word.

"P-Pervert..." he said as he covered his lower half with his left arm. The goose bumps became visible on his body when he saw my hands buried into his clothes.

"I-It's not what you think!" I stood up and presented the weapons griped in my hand to prove my innocence.

Doing so was a mistake.

Being the nervous wreck that I was, I didn't realize that there was a piece of cloth-like material caught on one of the two swords in my hands. I stood there hoisting Ares' briefs as if it was a hand flag, decorated with a childish pattern of symbols from a deck of cards.

"DIE!"

"Uwaah!"

Ares lunged at me before I had a chance to go into hysteria mode and kicked at at an angle that sent me flying backwards with my arms and legs out in front of me. He retrieved his undergarment, but I desperately held onto his weapons.

"You really need to die, you pervert!" Ares finished by using her other leg to land a flying knee strike in my face. I think my head caved in about ten inches.

Lord.

I just have one question.

What did I ever do? Why did I have to go through this?

One more question. What's the name of the erotic game my life has turned into?

On second thought, I guess this really isn't the time to be asking such

nonsensical questions.

"Cross this line and you're dead."

That's what written next to the line which was scribbled on the floor I was looking at from the bottom bunk of a bunk bed.

That was obviously written with a marker—a permanent marker.

I looked up reproachfully at the second bunk bed on the other side of the room where a ponytail was hanging down from the top bunk.

Damn it. I'd love to yank down on that as hard as I can.

"...Hee hee...peach bun pyramid..."

---

Ares must have been in a deep slumber because he was talking in his sleep and I could hear his drooling.

Man, this is irritating. Pyramid? What the hell is he talking about?

This was my apartment. In a situation like this, there shouldn't be any need to be considerate to a vicious trespasser, but the fact of the matter was, Ares, who had changed into his normal briefs and a light, pink tank-top, was in my bedroom, pistols at the ready. I might have been sleepy, but with Ares having regained possession of his weapons I had no choice but to lie here, resentfully waiting for him to fall asleep first.

The reason there were two bunk beds was because this apartment was originally made to house four people. Naturally, Ares occupied the top bunk of the other bunk bed since it was the farthest away from mine, but I think the booby trap lead wire and the devices resembling anti-personnel landmines that I was seeing on the floor must have been due to a hallucination. That's what I'm going to believe.

But this boy really is a pain in the butt. He selfishly forces himself into my life, sets up his own territory, and then of all things, orders me to go back to Assault and conduct Butei operations with him. There isn't anything I particularly want to be in the future. I could be anything. Or I could even be nothing. But I know I don't want to be a Butei anymore. That's the one thing I'm definitely not going to be.

Feeling rather uneasy, those were the thoughts going through my mind as I was gradually overtaken by sleep.

---

"Kinoka, wake up, you idiot!"

I was woken up by a sudden hammer punch to my stomach and subsequently had a foot planted squarely in my face. That foot in black over-the-knee socks was then promptly twisted back and forth. Light was streaming in through the window. It was morning.

"What are you doing?!" The words came out garbled since I had a foot covering my mouth.

"Breakfast! Hurry up and make it!"

"I'm...not...making...you...breakfast!" I grabbed Ares' ankle with both hands and lifted his foot off of my face.

"If you don't make me breakfast, I'll go hungry!"

"So be hungry, you idiot!"

"Idiot?! Someone like you is calling me an idiot?!"

Someone like me? What's that supposed to mean?

After dodging an onslaught of punches, I rolled out of bed and darted out of the room the instant I hit the floor.

Why does simply waking up require me to make a daring escape like James Bond?

"I'm hungry! I'm hungry, I'm hungry, I'm hungry, I'm hungry, I'm hungry!"

"If you've got enough energy to scream that loud, you don't need anything to eat!"

While dodging, blocking, and parrying all of Ares' incoming punches and kicks as he continually griped at me, I got changed, grabbed my cell phone and pistol, and picked up my bag. The whole ordeal reminded me of the hand-to-hand combat training I went through in Assault. When I got to the door, I ducked under a high kick, put on my shoes, and quickly stood up.

"Ares!" With my hand of his smooth, glossy forehead, I held him at arm's length as he persistently threw punches at me. Thanks to the difference in length in our arms, his punches harmlessly found no other target than the air.

This is good. I think I've started to figure out the trick to dodging his attacks. Not that this is something I want to get used to.

"What?" Unable to reach me, Ares calmed down a little bit and looked up at me with a scowl of his face.

"I'm going to wait a few minutes before heading to school. You go on ahead first."

"Why?"

"For every possible reason. Just try leaving this apartment with me lined up besides you and see what happens. If anyone sees us, it's gonna be a big headache. This is a women's dormitory, after all."

"You're just trying to come up with a good excuse to get away from me!"

"We're in the same class, and we sit right next to each other! I can't get away from you!"

Having said it out loud, I started to lament my misfortune, but it was the truth and there was nothing I could do about it. Ares puffed out his cheeks in discontent.

"Sulking with your face blown up like a balloon isn't going to help. We're leaving this apartment separately."

"I don't care what you say! You're not getting away! You're my slave!" Ares grasped my arm with both hands and stood in a way to show how determined he was not going to let me go.

"Let...go...of...me, you little...!"

"Gah!"

Chomp!

Would you believe it? Ares bared that tooth of hers at me and bit into my hand.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow!"

What are you, a lion cub?

Wrenching my hand out of Ares' mouth, I looked at my wristwatch and saw that it was seven fifty-four.

Shit. I'm gonna miss the seven fifty-eight bus. This isn't the time to be screwing around. Starting today, I'm never going to miss that bus again. After all, my bicycle was reduced to scrap metal.

"My God, you are the biggest pest ever!"

With no other choice, I left the apartment dragging Ares, who was still clinging onto my arms, behind me.

This boy's such a nuisance! A huge nuisance! A colossal nuisance! God damn! But he has this nice sweet and sour fragrance about him! It's so annoying! This is bad. I can't let things go on like this. My everyday life is currently falling apart because of this incomprehensible "Ares invader". If I'm going to fulfill my goal of becoming an Average Joe, first I have to reclaim my peaceful lifestyle.

Therefore, I spent all of my time after fourth period devising a plan to deal with Ares. From first through fourth period, general education classes were conducted at Butei High just like any other high school, and from fifth period on, each student went through training in his of her own specialized courses. Ares was probably as Assault, participating in combat training right about now. While he was busy with that, I decided to go somewhere he wouldn't be able to fined me and work on preparations for a resistance movement. To that end, for the first time in a long time, I went to Inquesta to accept an assignment, which would allow me to leave school grounds.

"Kin-oka."

Upon exiting the building in which the Inquesta department was located, I fell to my knees in despair to see Ares standing there waiting for me. My plan was thwarted before it had even started.

"Why...are you here?!"

"Becuase you're here."

"That's doesn't answer my question. Is it okay for you to ditch your Assault class?"

"I alreday have enough credits to graduate," Ares said, pulling down his lower eyelid with his index finger and sticking his tongue out at me.

Looking at him, I felt I was going to faint. A boy—a handsome little boy at that—had been waiting for me outside a school building. This was the situation that all high school boys across the country dreamed about. However, when that boy was a ferocious hellcat who threatened you with twin pistols for every little thing, the situation was admittedly ruined.

"So, what kind of jobs do you usually take?" Ares asked.

"It's none of your business. They're simple jobs befitting an E-rank Butei such as myself. Leave me alone."

After a certain amount of training, Butei High students could immediately accept paid jobs from civilians. If students happened to be at the scene of an incident while they were out in the city, they could resolve that as well. It was the achievements accumulated from these jobs and the scores one earned on various tests that determined what rank, from A to E, a student was given. There was an even higher special rank, S, and it was the rank I was given after taking the entrance exam. Well...it was thanks to be being in hysteria mode that was caused by Shiro though.

"You're an E-rank?"

"That's right. I didn't take the final exam in the third semester last year. More to the point, rank doesn't hold any meaning for me anymore."

"Yeah, I don't care about rank, either. But forget about that. Tell me about the job you accepted."

"I'm not obligated to tell you anything."

"You want a hole opened inside you?" Ares placed a hand on his pistol with an irritated look on her face.

"I'm...looking for a cat today."

"A cat?"

"I'm going to look for a cat that got lost in Aomi. It pays one hundred dollars and it's worth one-tenth of a credit."

I chose the lowest paying and tedious job I could find posted on Inquesta's bulletin board. I figured by letting Ares know that straight out, he would lost interest. I was wrong. "Hmm..." he said as he caught up to me when I tried to walk away.

"Stop following me."

"Don't worry about me. Just show me how you perform as a Butei."

"I refuse. Stop following me."

"Do you hate me that much?"

"I absolutely, positively hate you. Stop following me."

"If you say 'Stop following me' one more time, I'm gonna open a-"

I didn't want a hole opened inside me, and I no longer had the energy to deny her, so I went to Aomi via monorail with Aria tagging along beside me. Aomi district, which used to be full of warehouses, had gone through redevelopment and was now a stylish city with expensive condominiums and high-end boutiques liken up one after another.

"So? You said you were going to look for a cat, but what kind of deduction and you going to use to find it?"

"None, really. I'm just gonna walk around every place a is likely to go. What about you? Why don't you suggest a plan? If you're asking me, you must have something in mind."

"Nope. I'm not good at deduction. It's kind of weird, but I didn't inherit his most distinctive trait." Ares said somewhat listlessly, looking up at me from underneath that well shaped forehead of hers. "Anyways, I'm hungry."

"Lunch break jsut ended a little while ago. Didn't you eat anything?"

"I did, but I'm still hungry," Ares whined.

This girl sure has poor fuel consumption.

"Treat me to something."

"You're gonna start getting in my way already?"

That reminds me...I skipped lunch myself today since I was busy selecting a suitable job. I suppose I can just get him something while I'm at it. Plus I don't want to get shot at again. Guess I'll head over to McDonalds.

Being the slave that I was, I went to buy the little princess the Giga Mac Set he requested, and when I got back, he was staring at the well-figured mannequin of a high-class boutique. Ares was looking back and forth between the sparking sunny dress the mannequin was dressed in and her own body. I chuckled.

That look in his eyes. I get it. So he admires that sort thing, huh? With her curve-less body like that of an elementary school student's he's gonna have to keep dreaming.

"Hey."

"Ah." Turning around, Ares must have been able to discern the traces of a smile on my face. His cheeks instantly turned red and he starting swinging his fists in the air.

"I-It's not like that! T-This is what you call being slender! I'm the slender type!"

"I didn't say a word."

Leaving him behind, I headed towards the park across the street. After finding a nice bench and placing the McDonald's bag on top of it, Ares came and plopped down next to it, looking like he had something to say. His brown Butei High jacket rose into the air slightly, giving me a brief glance of the holster underneath it. It was a phenomenon that Muto not quite a shirt flash but more of a gun flash." I'm convinced she's a complete idiot. The male students of Butei High concealed their pistols underneath their jackets, and because it was necessary for them to draw their pistols quickly in an emergency, the jackets they wear were generally short. Ares' jacket was no exception and was also rather short. But the reason that didn't make me the least bit happy was probably because he had the body of a grade school student.

"Ares, you should put some distance between us when we go around the park looking for the cat."

"What for?"

The words coming out of our mouths were almost incomprehensible as we spoke to each with our cheeks full of meaty hamburgers.

"Just look around and you'll se." I placed my half-empty Giga Cola on the bench and looked around in the direction of what I was referring to.

This park was a constant gathering place for countless young couples. It was colse to the ocean, the scenery was pretty, and it was newly made—all of which were factors that made this place a well-known date spot. Of course, the reason I chose to start our search at the park was because it was the only park in Aomi and thus, a place we were likely to find a cat, but I was also hoping Ares would see what kind of place this was a decided not to walk too close to me. It seemed like my calculations were completely off.

"Ah..." Ares saw a couple of lovers, who appeared to be college students, sitting on the bench across from ours and clinging to each other like pieces of a puzzle. For a brief moment, Ares froze up as he a French fry between his lips like a cigarette. He then switched his gaze from the couple to me, then back towards to the couple again, and one more final time towards me. Ares' face turned bright red.

This boy blushes too easily.

"Unhh...Unh!" Ares groaned.

Upon seeing a coupled walk past us holding onto each other's arms, Ares became further unsettled and crossed his arms. It was as if he wanted to be certain there was no chance his could link up with mine.

"See? You should probably head back to school, Ares. If we walk around together in a place like this, people are going to be convinced we're dating again. I don't want to attract any attention. It'll cause problems for you as well if a girl you like happens to be around and misunderstands."

"There isn't a guy I like!" Ares' ruby colored eyes were open wide as he made a display of that anime voice of his.

"T-T-There isn't! I couldn't care less about r-romance! It's just a waste of time! I honestly don't care! I'm serious!"

...Don't overreact so much. You're not a kid.

Apparently, Ares was quite the sensitive type when it comes to conversations about love a romance. I've found one of his weaknesses.

"But you don't want your friends to get any weird ideas, do you?"

"Hmph! I don't have any friends. I don't need 'em. If people want to start gossiping, just let them. Who cares what other people say?"

Ares tried to hide his embarrassment by sticking the straw of his Giga Cola in his mouth and taking a long, hard sip.

"Well, I do agree with you about not being concerned with other people, but there is one thing I want to say."

"What?"

"That's my Cola."

Ares spit out the Cola that was about to make its way down his throat.

That's gross. This is a "handsome yet bashful high school boy"?

As I looked at him, he responded by blushing again.

"You pervert!" Ares then threw a punch at me, knocking me off the bench—an unreasonable outcome, no matter how you look at it.

Evening.

We finally found the lost cat we had been searching for. It was at the waterfront near the edge of the park. Specifically, it was some sort of ditch or canal. Crying softly, the cat had all the characteristics mentioned in the documents I was given, and was wearing the small bell that could be seen in the picture I was provided as well. It was definitely the cat I was after.

"Okay, little one. Be a good kitty..."

The cat, which was inside a garbage can that had fallen into the canal, mustered up all the strength it could and hissed threateningly at me as I draw near.

Don't be like that. I'm not your enemy. I'm here to save you.

I stuck my hands into the pile of crumpled papers and empty cans and pulled out the kitten, which had its fur standing on end.

"That a girl. Aren't you happy? You're safe now."

I wonder if my smile, which I hadn't put on my face for some time, was awkward and unpleasant to look at. As soon as the kitten's eyes met mine, it cried out and struggled to get away.

"H-Hey... W-Whoa!"

Still holding the cat in my hands, I spectacularly fell over backwards into the shallows of the canal. My saving grace was that I left my cell phone and pistol on the bank just in case.

"That's odd..." Ares said to herself.

I noticed Ares sigh as he looked down at me from atop the tetra pods he was sitting on.

I received one-tenth of a credit for finding the lost cat and the day came to an end.

"Reiko."

I had sent Reiko an e-mail asking him to meet mem, and there he was, waiting in the greenhouse in front of the boys' dormitory. By greenhouse, I mean a huge vinyl greenhouse that's always deserted and convenient for meeting someone in secret.

"Kii-chaaan!" Near the rose garden, Reiko spun around and greeted me.

Reiko was just about as small as Ares, but he belonged to what you would call the "pretty little boy" category. He had two large sparkling eyes and his wavy hair was done in dog ears. It was an audacious hairstyle that incorporated a ponytail into the long, soft hair flowing onto his back.

"Still wearing that custom made uniform, I see. What is that white fluffy mess?"

"It's the Butei High school uniform arranged in a black Lolita fashion! Kii-chan, you really need to memorize all the different Lolita styles."

"No thanks. Geez, exactly how many uniforms do you have?"

While watching Reiko start counting with his fingers all the different types of custom-made uniforms he had, from my bag, I pulled out a paper bag that I used to carefully hide some video game software.

"Reiko, look at me. Listen, keep this a secret from Ares."

"Oh, you got it!" Reiko stood to attention and saluted with both hands.

I handed him the paper bag with a bitter expression on my face and he ripped it to shreds in the process of opening it while breathing so heavily through his nose that it was audible.

He's just like a wild animal.

"Oh my God! It's, White and Black, The Tale of White Clover, and My Goth!" Reiko cried out.

Reiko was jumping up and down waving the R-15 games around in both hands. They were basically boy games that a person couldn't purchase unless they were fifteen years old. You could assume as much from his outfit, but Reiko was an otaku. However, what set him apart from the average otaku is the fact that he had an unusual interest in boy games, despite being a boy. He showed an especially strong obsession for games in which the hero wore the same gothic clothing as he did. Of course, Reiko was fifteen years old himself, so she was capable of buying these games. But he was complaining to me the other day about how he couldn't buy an R-15 game at the video shop, which also served as a game shop here on Academy Island. Apparently, the girl working there judged him to be a middle school student after seeing how short he was. That's why I went and bought them for him. It was dreadfully embarrassing, and I'm sure the salesman misunderstood my intentions, but it was necessary if I were going to come up with some countermeasures to deal with Ares.

Why did Ares want to make me his slave, anyway? That's the first mystery I needed to solve in order to get rid of him. If there was some definite reason, I had to do something about it as soon as possible. And since Ares wouldn't tell me what that reason is, I had no choice but to deal with the matter by doing a thorough investigation on him and making my own deductions. The outcome of the battle between two Butei would be determined by the information that each hold on one another.

"Ah...I don't need this one or this one. I hate these types."

Huh? I could have sworn these were all the kind of games he likes.

With a perturbed expression of his face, Reiko gave me back My Goth Two and Three, the sequels.

"Why? These are the same as the others aren't they?"

"No. Two and Three and profanations. They're an insult to the original and don't deserve to have the same title."

...This boy sure has bizarre reasons for getting upset.

"Well...whatever. In that case, I'll give you all the games except for the sequels. In exchange, be sure to tell me everything about your investigation on Ares, just like what we discussed the other day.

"You got it!"

"Reiko was an idiot—an undeniable idiot. But what I found out at Inquesta was that while he may be an idiot, he did have one redeeming quality. Reiko, who in addition to being an Internet addict, also had other hobbies truly fitting for a Butei such as spying on others, eavesdropping, and hacking, making him exceptionally adept at gathering information. You could say he was a modern intelligence thief. Apparently, that's the reason he's a rank-A Butei.

"Alright then, let's get on with it. I had to pretend to go to the bathroom and escape through the window using the wire in my belt to rappel down to get here. It's only a matter of time before Ares realizes and comes to detain me."

I took a look around me and sat down on a railing just high enough to put my foot on.

Reiko put the games away inside his clothing and sat down beside me with a small hop. His feet didn't reach the floor, and he swung them back and forth.

"Say, Kii-chan, are you being henpecked by Ares? He's your boyfriend, so if you want to know about his profile, you should just ask his directly yourself."

"He's not my boyfriend."

"What? Rumor has it you two are a bona-fide couple. The Ares fan club is in an uproar saying they're going to kill you because you were seen leaving the dorm hand-in-hand with Ares in the morning. Roaar!"

"You don't have to make horns with your fingers."

Hand in hand? Must've been that morning. I was just dragging him along because he wouldn't let go of me...

"So how far have you two gone?"

"What do you mean 'how far'"?

"X-rated stuff."

"We haven't don't anything like that you, numbskull!"

"Oh, come on! You two are a healthy, young couple!" All smiles, Reiko nudged me in the ribs with his elbow.

"...You're always taking the conversation in that direction. It's a bad habit of yours."

"Phooey."

"Let's get down to business already. Information on Ares...lert's start by having you tell me about his evaluation at Assault."

"Okie-dokie. Hmm...as far his rank, he's S. You could count the number of second year students with an S-rank using one hand."

To be honest, what he just said didn't surprise me. All I had to do was recall the way he handled himself during the bicycle-jacking. His abilities were obviously on a completely different scale from most others.

"He's smaller than I am, but he's also skilled at hand-to-hand combat. The styles he specializes in range from boxing to grappling techniques. Anything goes. He's basically a Vale..Vale...Vale ti..."

"Vale Tudo?"

"Yeah, that's it. He can use that. In England, it's shortened to just 'Valetsu.'"

I recalled the moment when I was thrown by Ares in the gym storehouse. It was certainly impressive, that's for sure. I was in hysteria mode, yet the most I could do was perform a defensive fall.

"His skill with pistols and knives is on a genius level. He used two of each. That boy is ambidextrous."

"I know."

"Well, do you know the other name he goes by?"

A nickname, huh? Butei who were capable could pride themselves on an abundance of achievements naturally come to have nicknames. Ares already had a nickname at the mere age of sixteen? I made an expression that said I had no idea, and Reiko smiled proudly.

"Ares the Quadra."

Quadra.

In Butei terms, using twin pistols of twin swords was called "double." It stemmed from the English word "double", so by analogy, his nickname probably meant someone who uses four weapons.

"Isn't that funny? 'Quadra.'" Reiko said.

"I'm not really sure where you see the humor in it, but...whatever. What else? Tell me about how Ares has performed as a Butei. What merits has he achieved?"

"Ah, I found out some pretty amazing stuff about that. He's on a leave of absence right now, but since the age of fourteen, Ares' been serving as a Butei of the London Bureau of Butei, and he active all over Europe." Switching to a slightly more serious tone of voice, Reiko looked up at me with his big eyes. "They say that during that period, he never once let a criminal escape from him."

"Never...once?"

"He's arrested every person he's ever set his sights on. It's happened ninety-nine in a row. Not only that, but he caught them all on her first assault."

"What? Are you serious?

Unbelievable.

In most cases, when the job of arresting a criminal fell to a Butei, it was because the criminal became too much for the police to handle, so the task was thrust upon us. The Butei would persistently hunt them down (this was called an "assault" using Butei terminology) until they finally arrested the perpetrator. But succeeding ninety-nine times in a row and all on the first attempt... That's the kind of monster I've got chasing after me? Just thinking about it was about to send me into a fit of depression, so I decided to change the subject.

"Uhh...what else? How about personal details?"

"Let's see. His father is half-British and half-Japanese."

"So he's a quarter Japanese,"

No wonder both her hair and eyes are red, and he has big, bright eyes, uncommon for a Japanese person. I mean, his name is Ares H Kanzaki.

"That's right. And his middle name, which starts with "H", is the family name of his British relatives. They seem to be a very renowned family. His grandmother has the title of Dame."

"Dame?"

"It's a title the royal family of England bestows to people. Men who are bestowed a decoration are given the title, 'Sir'. Women are given the title, 'Dame'."

"Hold up. That means he's an aristocrat."

"Yup. A real nobleman. But from the looks of things, Ares isn't getting along well with his "H" relatives. That's why he doesn't like mentioning his middle name. I know what it is though. That family is a bit...well..."

"Tell me. I gave you the games."

"You know, I relly hate people who reap the benefits just because of their parent's influence. If you search the British web sites, I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"English isn't my forte."

"Give it your best!" said Reiko, who attempted to pat me on the back but missed and slapped my wrist instead. "Oh?"

As a result, my wristwatch came off and landed near my feet. I stooped to pick it up and found that the clasp of the metal band had broken.

"Ah! I-I'm sorry!"

"It was a cheap watch. No big deal. I bought it for twenty bucks at Odaiba."

"No, let me fix it! I'll make it as good as new! If anyone finds out I broke something that belongs to a client, it'll affect my credibility!" Reiko yanked the watch from out of my hand, and pulling down on the hem of his pants he placed the watch securely inside his zipper.

Whoa.

I averted my eyes.

T-That was pretty thick...

"Kinoka? Anything else you want to know?"

"...Uh, no, that'll do."

I didn't want to go into hysteria mode in front of a boy, and things would probably get complicated if he realized I saw his crotch. Therefore, I took my leave and left the greenhouse behind me.

Gold, huh? This would sure has a lot of different colored undergarments.

I returned to my apartment and looked out the window at Academy Island, which was tinted gold by the setting sun. This Mega-Float, consisting of nothing but Butei High, the dormitories, and it was originally a failed attempt at redeveloping Tokyo Bay. As proof, there was another Mega-Float with the exact same shape of the other side of Rainbow Bridge directly to the morth. It was still just vacant land and thus, dubbed "Empty Island." The blades of wind turbines that were built on the southern edge of that deserted Mega-Float idly spun in circles.

Yup. It sure is powerful. I'm rather partial to this scenery.

"Typhoon No. 1, which appeared over the Pacific Ocean, has yet to weaken and is now making its way north through Okinawa."

The LCD television broadcasted the news, only helping to make the comfortable silence in the room more noticeable.

Ahh, this is such a nice apartment.

With the exception of the fact that a girl is inside it.

What are you just standing there for?" Ares tilted his head to the side as he sat on the sofa looking at me with a mirror in her hand.

He must have been looking for split ends to pas the time. To finish up, he lifted his bangs and fastened them down with a silver barrette, displaying his forehead. It was a somewhat childish looking barrette, but it suited his cute-small demeanor. He's probably aware that his smooth, glossy forehead is his most attractive feature.

"How did you get in here?"

I had a feeling it was a dumb question, but I asked anyway as a way of protest.

"I am a Butei, you know."

See? Dumb question. He probably forged a card key to this apartment. Opening locked doors is the most basic of Butei skills, after all.

"Did you plan on just leaving a lady waiting outside the door? That's unforgiveable."

"A person who lashes out at others when he's the one in the wrong isn't called a lady, you BBF."

"BBF?"

"It means 'boy with a big forehead.'"

"You don't understand the appeal of my forehead?! You truly are a failure as a human being," Ares said, sticking his tongue out at me.

Oh, I understand. The truth is I understand very well. You're cute alright. But only visually.

"This forehead is my charm point. It's even been featured in a hairstyle magazine for boys in Italy."

Ares turned his back to me and seemed to be enjoying himself as he looked at his forehead in the mirror. He even started humming. In order to have him take notice of the bad mood I was in, I threw my bag in his direction, sending it flying past him on the side. But Ares, too, had grown accustomed to our little squabbles and simply continued to gaze happily at his forehead.

"That's a noblewoman for you—always careful to make sure you look your best," I said sarcastically as I turned my back on him and headed to the lavatory.

"...You did some checking-up on me, didn't you?" Ares said in a surprisingly happy tone.

"Yeah. Apparently you really haven't let a single criminal escape you."

"Oh? You're really done your homework. Now you're looking more like a Butei. But..." Ares leaned his back against the wall and made a little kicking motion with his foot. "The other day, I let one get away from me. It was the first time ever."

"Oh, is that so? The person must been quite formidable. Who did you let escape?"

Well, well. Looks like there was a mistake in Reiko's information.

I filled a cup with water from the faucet and started to gargle.

"You."

The water came spraying out of my mouth.

Me?! Oh, he's talking about our scuffle after the bicycle-jacking incident!

"I'm not a criminal! Why are you including me?!"

"You were guilty of indecent assault...against me! Are you going to pretend it never happened after the way you attacked me like a beast?! You worm!"

From slave to beast to worm—my regression knows no bounds.

"I told you, that was out of my control! And I didn't go as far as you say, anyway!"

"Oh, shut up! Just shut up! In any case...!" Ares pointed at me with her face as red as ever. "You might have the potential to become my slave! Come back to Assault and show me the skill you displayed when you ran away that time!"

"That was...at the time...I just happened to get away by chance. You do realize I'm an E-ranked girl, who's not capable of much, don't you? Sorry to disappoint you. Now leave."

"You liar! Your rank was S when you took the entrance exam!"

Uh-oh. So that's how he's gonna respond, huh?

The outcome of a battle between Butei was determined by the information at their disposal. If Ares was aware of my rank, that was going to make things difficult.

"In other words, what you did didn't happen by just pure chance! My intuition is never wrong!"

"A-anyway, I can't do it now! So leave!"

"'Now'? Does that mean there's some sort of condition that need to be met? Tell me. I'll cooperate with you."

Upon hearing that, I was the one who turned red.

You'll cooperate, huh?

Naturally, Ares didn't know what triggers my hysteria mode, so he offered his help straightforwardly, but the remark had an explosive effect on me. After all, what he was basically saying was that he would make me sexually aroused!

"Tell me! Tell me what needs to be done! I'll assist you as compensation for being my slave!"

"...!"

I couldn't help it. All sorts of images of Ares "assisting" me surfaces in my head. It's kind of late at this point, but when I think about it, Ares and I are all alone in this app=artment...and without realizing it the sun had set, leaving the two of us in a dimly lit room with the lights turned off.

What? No, don't. Stop thinking.

"I'll do whatever you want! Tell me...just tell me, Kinoka...!"

Ares came up next to me, and that scent like gardenias tickled my nose once again. I...

"Ngh..."

This is talking a turn for the worse.

Because of the unnecessary thoughts entering my head. I was starting to go into hysteria mode. I wonder if this is what's called the power of one's eyes. Ares' round eyes, red as a camellia, looked so pretty...so cute... I was struck by that sensation again—that sensation of boiling blood filling the very core of me body.

Not again. I don't want to become "that." I don't want to enter that mode!

"...!"

Unconsciously, I thrust Ares away from me. He let out a small cry in that anime-like voice and fell to the couch, landing on his read end. I just barely managed to avert my eyes in time as his shirt flew high into the air. With things having come this far, I hand no choice, so I made the decision to raise the white flag.

"...Just once."

"Just once?"

I wouldn't be surrendering unconditionally though. I was going to add a condition.

"I'll go back. I'll go back to Assault. But I'm only going to partner with you once. I'll help you resolve the first case that turns up after I return to Assault, but only that one case. Those are my terms."

"..."

"So I won't be switching departments. I'll be auditing an Assault course. You're fine with that, right?"

Turning around to face Ares, who had just finished tidying up her shirt, I could see that he was contemplating my offer as he pointed his well-shaped forehead at me.

At Butei High, students could take specialized courses offered by divisions aside from the one they were enrolled in. This was called auditing, and students didn't receive any credit, but in order to become a Butei, which required the knowledge of a multitude of techniques, students were fairly active in taking courses taught at various divisions.

The great Butei, Ares wanted his own slave...er, pawn. He wanted one badly. And he set his sights on me, because I managed to escape from his in hysteria mode. "I might be able to use this guy as a capable slave," is probably what he was thinking. There wasn't much I could do about this. If I were to compare the situation to a game of Old Maid, it would be like a card that Ares already took away from me. I did still have one card hidden up my sleeve, however—hysteria mode. All I had to do was show Ares what the average me was normally capable of before he found out the details of this attribute of mine. If I could do that, Ares would be disappointed in me since I couldn't do anything all that spectacular, all he'll probably distance himself from me.

"...All right. I'll go ahead and leave this apartment then."

The colossal thorn in my side accepted my conditions and finally announced that he would be leaving.

"I don't have a lot of time myself. I'll determine how skilled you are during that one case."

"...Only one, regardless of how simple it might be."

"Okay. And in exchange, you have to see it through until the end, regardless of how complicated it might be."

"Fine."

"But if you hold back of cut any corners, I'll open a hole in you."

"Right. I'll give it everything I've got. I promise."

Everything I've got while I'm the normal me, that is.

End of Second Bullet

---

Third Bullet
Assault Division

I've come back—back to the Assault division, also known as the "there's no tomorrow division." The percentage of survivors in this division at the time of graduation was ninety-seven point one percent. In other words, out of every one hundred students, roughly three wouldn't live to graduate. They would lose their lives while either on a mission or during training. This was the truth. That's how things were in the Assault division. It was the part about being a Butei that was kept in the shadows.

I could hear the sound of gunshots and swords clashing against each other coming from the Assault division's facilities. But today, I had been making sure my equipment was in order and filing an application to audit and whatnot, so I used up most of my time on everything except actually training. I was only going to be handing one case, but I wanted to get some target practice in at least. It didn't look like it was going to happen. However, in Assault, where students always form particles and operate together, people naturally become quite affable...

"Oh! Kinoka! I knew you would come back! Come on in and end your life as quickly as possible, even if it's just one second earlier!"

"So you're still not dead yet, huh, Natsuru? Do me a favor and die one tenth of second earlier than I do."

"Kinoka! You finally came back to die, huh?! An idiot like you can die in no time! It's the idiotic Butei that die first, after all."

"Then why are you still alive, Mikami?"

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Telling others to die was the way of greeting people here, but by returning this greeting to all these people happy to se me back and telling me to die I just lost even more time. After getting away from these guys reeking of gunpowder and leaving the Assault Facilities, there was a little midget with his back leaned against the front gate waiting for me under the sunset sky. Needless to say, it was Ares. Upon seeing me, Ares came scuttling in my direction. He then lined up beside me as I walked onward with a sullen look on my face.

"...You're pretty popular aren't you? I was a little surprised."

"It's not that I want to be liked by these guys."

I was telling the truth.

"You're not very sociable. You king of have that 'dark and gloomy type' aura about you. Everyone here seems to...how should I put it? They seem to think rather highly of you."

That was probably because they remembered what I was like during the entrance exam. They remembered what I was like in hysteria mode. The exam given to those of us applying to join the Assault division was one consisting of actual combat in which the goal was to disperse ourselves inside a fourteen-story abandoned building and while armed, arrest every other participant. In record time, I tied up all of the others who were either personally defeated by me or ensnared in a trap I had set—including five instructors who, as part of a "pop quiz," were lurking in the building without our knowledge.

Damn it.

I went and remembered something I wanted to forget. Ares must have noticed that my mood had grown worse because his gaze dropped to the ground as he walked beside me.

"Um, Kinoka?"

"What?"

"Thanks."

"What are you talking about all of sudden?" I replied in a low, through irritated tone to Ares who had an honest look of happiness on his face.

I'll bet you are happy. You literally got your "slave" who's to going be fighting on your behalf.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I only came back to Assault because I had no other choice. I'm going right back to Inquesta after resolving one case."

"I know. But..."

"What?"

"You were pretty cool walking around Assault with everyone crowding around you."

"..."

Why are you telling me something like that?

I'm pretty sure it wasn't his intention, but by having a boy—a boy who only looks cute, at that—say something like that to me, I was at a loss for words.

"Nobody comes near me at Assault. There's too much of a difference in skill and no one can keep up with me... Well, that's perfectly fine through. I'm 'Ares' after all."

"'Ares'?" Puzzled, I tilted my neck to the side when Ares said his name with a different inflection than usual.

"'Ares' is also the name for the Greek god of war. He's the son of Zeus and Hera. All alone—that's what I am at every Butei high school. That's how it was in London, and that's how it was in Rome."

"So your plan is to make me your slave and change the performance to a duet?"

Ares giggled as I made the remark the remark without even looking at him. Looking at him from every corner of my eye, he truly did seem to be laughing genuinely.

"You can say some pretty amusing things, after all."

"There wasn't anything amusing about it."

"Yes there was."

"I don't get your sense of humor."

"The second you returned to Assault you really did become a little more animated. Up until yesterday, you never seemed like you were being honest with yourself. It was as if you were in pain. You're a lot more appealing now."

"That's...not true."

Ares made another embarrassing statement. I didn't want to hear it. I had a feeling what he was saying might be true.

"I'm gonna stop by the VA. You go on home by yourself. Now that I think about it, starting today, you're going back to the boys' dormitory. There's no point in you leaving school with me."

"We're headed in the same direction until we get to the bus stop," Ares said as he stuck his tongue out at me with a smile.

He was as spiteful as ever, but Ares seemed to be truly happy that he was able to bring me back to Assault. I could tell from the expression on his face. He was so easy to figure out. Ares definitely wasn't suited for Inquesta.

"Say, what's a 'VA'?"

"It's not my fault. I've spent most of my life in Europe. Hmm...I'll go with you then. Today I'll make an exception and do you the favor of hanging out with you. Consider it a reward."

"Don't need it. That's not a reward, it's a penalty game."

I started to pick up my pace and distance myself from Ares. Ares responded by grinning and after catching up, increased his walking speed to match mine. He was starting to really get on my nerves so I took larger strides and walked even faster. Ares continued to keep up, his jacket dancing back and forth.

"Don't follow me! I don't even want to see your face right now!"

"Then I'm definitely gonna keep following you!"

"Don't!"

In the end, we wound up running together side by side until we reached the arcade.

What's with this girl? He's abnormally fast.

"Huff, huff, huff, what is this?" asked Ares, who was standing so close his ponytail was brushing up against me.

His red eyes were fixed on a crane game situated in front of the arcade.

"Huff...huff. This? It's a UFO Catcher."

"UFO Catcher? That's kind of a childish name." Well, it's a game available at the sort of place you would go to, so it's bound to be ridiculous. Ares peered inside the crane game with a sarcastic look on his face. Behind the glass casing was an abundance of small stuffed animals that seemed to be a bizarre cross between a lion and a leopard.

"...ah...!" uttered Ares pressing himself against the glass casing.

The combination of his height and the background full of stuffed animals made his look unquestionably like an elementary school student. If a police officer were to see this, he would probably be taken away and reprimanded.

"What? You've never seen one of these?"

"..."

"What is it already?"

"..."

"Are you hungry or something?"

"...They're so cute..."

Huh?

Hearing him whisper that line was so unlike him, I momentarily grew weak at the knees. Sure, the stuffed animals behind the glass casing were cute...but it wasn't something you would hear coming out of the mouth of Ares the Quadra, the Butei who prided himself on his demon-like strength and slaughtering all enemies on sight. I thought I would point out how his personality had just switched to that of a different person's, but as I came next to her, I saw drool hanging from his mouth, which was in the shape of an upside-down triangle.

We can't have this. This isn't the type of face that should be exposed to the public.

"Want to give it a shot?"

"I don't know how."

"Even a kindergartener could work this thing."

"Can it be done right away?"

"It can. Want me to show you how it works?"

Ares turned towards me and repeatedly nodded his head up and down.

What's gotten into him? He's completely throwing me off balance.

The rules weren't so complicated that they actually needed explaining, but after I told him to press the vertical and horizontal buttons in order, Ares took out a coin pouch decorated with symbols from a deck of cards and found a quarter. He then stood up straight in front of seriousness you'd be more likely to see when he was attending sniping class. His aim wasn't very precise, however. The crane only just slightly lifted a leg of the lion-leopard hybrid; the stuffed animal itself didn't budge.

"T-That was just practice. I know how it works now."

"Well, yeah, even an idiot would understand how it works after trying it once."

"I'm gonna try one more time."

Ares took another one hundred yen coin out of his pouch, and after inserting it into the machine, once again started pressing the four control buttons. This time he only succeeded in lifting the tail of one of the stuffed animals. He wasn't very good at this game.

"By the way, if you put in five quarters, you get six chances."

"Oh, be quiet! I'll get it the next time! I got the hang of it now!"

That's exactly what people who don't have the hang of it say.

As I expected, the crane continued to just graze the stuffed animal.

"Nggggggh!"

"Don't have a mental breakdown now, Ares."

"I got it for sure this time! I'm serious!"

After two more failed attempts, Ares went to the change machine and got ten dollars worth of quarters, only to continue his losing streak.

"This time I'm really serious! Really, really, really, reaaaaally serious!"

He's hopeless. I better do something about this fast. Not only does Ares have the look, but also the mentality of an elementary school student. He's the type that would ruin himself if he ever got addicted to gambling.

"Out of the way."

After watching Ares squander about thirty dollars, I couldn't bear to stand by any longer and unwillingly took out my wallet. The proud nobleman had tears welling up in his eyes and wouldn't take his hands off the buttons, but I shoved him out of the way.

Let's see now. Hmm...This one by the hole is a good target.

I set my sights on a mysterious cat-like animal that was buried underneath many others and looked like it was in a difficult position to get to at first glance. Every stuffed animal in the casing was exactly the same, so regardless of which one I choose, he probably wouldn't complain. The crane lowered in on my target and perfectly grasped the body of the stuffed animal.

"Ngh...!"

I could hear Ares making a noise with his throat as he swallowed hard.

"What have we here?" I soon realized that the tag of another stuffed animal was caught on the tail of the stuffed animal I captured. The crane lifted up the one I originally targeted, and that stuffed animal brought along another one dangling from its tail.

"Kinoka, look! You fished out two of them!"

I can see that plain as day without you telling me. And fishing isn't exactly the right term.

"Kinoka, you're in big trouble if you let them go!"

"At this point, it's out of my hands!"

"Oh...oh, it's almost there! It's almost there! Get in there!"

Though not as much as Ares, I found myself rather anxious as well. One was a done deal. But the other...I wasn't so sure.

Will it make it? Will it make it?

The crane released its grip. The first stuffed animal fell into the hole...and the other followed suit, dragged along by the tail of the first.

"You did it!"

"Alright!"

It was quite a pleasing outcome. And before I knew it—it really did just kind of happen automatically—Ares and I were high-fiving each other with huge smiles on our faces.

"Ah" we said at the same time and blinked our eyes.

"Hmph." We also said this at the same time as we became agitated and turned our backs on each other.

Damn it.

I was angry with myself. Why was I getting along with a person like this? Ares is...

"F-For an idiot like you, that was very well done!"

Ares thrust his hand into the prize slot with so much force, I thought he was going to jump inside the machine himself, but instead, he simply snatched up the two stuffed animals and pulled them out. Taking a closer look, I saw their legs which had the name "Leopon" written on them.

What kind of name is that?

"They're sooooo cute!"

Ares squeezed them in his hands and hugged them tightly. Leopon looked like he was going to burst. Seeing Ares like that, he resembled a "normal" boy so strongly that I felt—how should I put it—a strange sensation come over me.

Maybe...Could it possibly be...that Ares really was just a normal boy like any other?

That would mean what Ares told me just a while ago could actually be applied to his...Ares was the one always being dishonest with himself and pushing himself too hard. Was there something constraining his true self and forcing him to be somebody he wasn't?

"Kinoka."

Facing Ares, I noticed that his arm was extended towards me, offering one of the two stuffed animals.

"I'll give you one. You won them, so this is your reward."

I was a bit taken aback by Ares' slanted eyes, which emphasized the smile on his face.

What do you know...He can make expression like that. Damn it. He looks so cute.

"R-Right." I accepted the Leopon and realized for the first time that it was actually a strap for a cell phone.

Now that I think about it, I've never put a strap on my cell phone. Guess I'll try attaching it.

I took out my cell phone and slipped the cord of the strap into the hole at the bottom. Seeing this, Ares took out a pearl pink cell phone and by watching my example, began to attach his own Leopon, through he was having a hard time. Coincidentally, it would seem as if he didn't have a cell phone strap either. The string protruding from Leopon's rear end was fairly thick and wouldn't fit into the hole so easily. Why did the designers of this stuffed animal even place a cord on an unusual spot?

"Kinoka, whoever gets their strap on first is the winner."

"What are you talking about? Are you some kind of little kid?"

"I got it. I think about it this way too. I'm not losing to you."

I suddenly realized that this might be the first time I ever received anything from a boy. Shiro was always giving me some sort of gift of the other, but he was a childhood friend, so that didn't count.

The two of us stood there grunting as a battle to strap Leopon to our cell phones unfolded. I had to admit, it was pretty petty.

"With the freeloader gone, my apartment had returned to its original calm and quiet state. I woke up this morning alone in my peaceful bedroom to the alarm of my cell phone. I tried to grab a hold of it, but my hands closed in on Leopon instead.

".."

After looking at Leopon for a short while, I listlessly prepared to got to school. Finishing the leftovers from a meal I bought at the convenience store, I looked at my wristwatch, which Reiko returned to me yesterday.

"?"

I still have some time. I could have sworn I had been loafing around a bit more than that. Guess I'll make some tea.

That's odd.

I had left my apartment a little ahead of time like I was supposed to. Yet, the seven fifty-eight bus had already arrived at the bus stop where large, warm raindrops started falling from the sky. Other students were pushing and shoving and trying to get onboard. When arriving at the bus stop, which was within the school district, just before first period was about to begin the bus would always be crowded. If you were unlucky, it might get filled to capacity before you had the chance to get on.

"Yes! I got on! Sweet victory! Hey, Kinoka! Mornin'!"

As I ran up next to the bus, Muto from Logi was on the ramp lifting her arms into the air in celebration. Behind her, students were jam-packed.

Not good.

It would seem that due to the rain, all the students who commuted by bicycle decided to use the bus.

"M-Muto! Let me on!"

"I'd love to, really, but no one can do! It's completely full! Come to school on your bike!

I mentioned with my hands for Muto to go farther in and make some space but the fact of the matter was she was trying to keep from getting pushed out.

"My bike was totaled! It I don't get on this bus, I'm gonna be late!"

"What can't be done, can't be done! Kinoka, it's important for a guy to know when to give up! Just ditch first period! Having said that, I guess I'll see you during second period!"

"I'll see you at second period" my ass!

The doors of the bus cruelly closed in my face leaving me with nothing but the words of my heartless "friend", Muto. The chatter and laughter I heard coming from inside filled me with envy.

Damn. I gotta walk in this pouring rain? Not only that but I'm gonna be late for sure.

I walked along the path to school with the rain beating down on my shoulders, and my eye's glaring at the perfectly stright road that continued down Academy Island as far as I could see. One of the reasons Mega-Floats went into development to begin with was so that a runway for an airport could be made relatively cheap. It was no wonder this school had such a pointlessly long and awkward shape. That in itself was already off-putting, but now I had this uncomfortably warm rain to deal with as well. Unpleasantness to the one thousandth power.

Maybe I should just ditch first period like Muto said. No, I can't do that. First period is Japanese. I need to attend general education courses so I can keep up in class whan I transfer to a normal high school. I don't want to skip class.

I was walking past the Assault division's black gymnasium with these thoughts in my head when my cell phone rang.

Pulling on the Leopon strap, I took out my cell phone and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Kinoka, where are you right now?"

It was Ares.

What gives? It's already eight twenty. Class should have already started so why is he calling me?

"Uhh, I'm next to the Assault department."

"That's perfect. Go in and arm yourself with class C equipment and come to the roof of the boys' dormitory. Hurry."

"What's the big idea? Assault class isn't until fifth period."

I complained and Ares raised his voice in anger.

"It's not for class; there's been an incident! When I say 'hurry', it means get moving!"

I looked at myself in disgust. TNK bulletproof vest. Helmet with enhanced plastic face guard. Wireless headset with Butei High's emblem printed on it. Fingerless gloves. On my belt, which was so tight that it was biting into my waist, hung a gun holster and four spare magazines. This class C equipment, which resembled that of an SAT or SWAT officer, was the aggressive equipment that Butei wore when they entered the fray. Many of the cases in which the Assault division got involved were quite dangerous, and I was often instructed to equip myself in just this manner.

A case.

Regarding what? What had happened? Dear Lord, let it be a trivial one.

With that prayer in my heart, I emerged onto the roof, and there was Ares, being hammered by the rain and dressed in the same class C equipment I was wearing. He was yelling into a handheld transceiver and had a ghastly expression on his face.

"...?"

I suddenly noticed that Reki from Snipe was sitting under the eaves by the stairway with his knees pulled up a feet flat on the ground. Ares was a shrewd one. He was a transfer student, but he knew who the top players were. Like me, Reki was given a rank of S when he entered this school. But unlike me, he was still a S-rank affiliated with the Snipe division. Reki was what you would call a prodigy. He had a thin build and was taller that Ares by half a head's length. His skill was undisputed, and he was a handsome looking boy with his hair cut short, but he didn't stand out very much because of his unemotional, robotic personality. As a side note, nobody knew what his last name was. Apparently, not even he knew.

"Reki."

I called out to the boy, who was sitting as still as a piece of furniture, but he didn't respond. That was to be expected, however. He had on large headphones and was listening to something. When I was in Assault last year, I paired up with him from time to time in the course of completing a few jobs, but it looked like he still hadn't broken that bad habit of his. After poking him in the head with my fingers a few times, he finally took off his headphones and looked up at me. As always, he had such well-formed features that you would suspect his face was a product of computer graphics.

"Were you called here by Ares, too?"

"Yes," answered Reki in his monotone voice.

"Actually, what I really want to know about is those headphones. What kind of music are you listening to?"

"It's not music."

"What is it then?"

"The sound of the wind," Reki said plainly and repositioned the sniper rifle—a slim, semi-automatic gun called a Dragunov—resting on his shoulder as naturally as if it were a tennis racket or something of that nature.

"We're out of time." Ares had finished his conversation and turned to face us. "I wanted at least one more S-rank student with us, but they're all out working on other cases."

Apparently, in Ares' mind, my rank had been promoted to a much higher one than it actually was.

"We're going to go after them as a party of three. I'll make up for what we lack in firepower."

"Pursue what? What happened? At least give a proper briefing."

"It's a bus-jacking."

"...Bus?"

"The school bus for Butei High commuters. It's the one that stopped in front of your dormitory at seven fifty-eight."

Say what?! Are you telling me that bus was hijacked? Muto and a lot of other Butei High students are crammed together like sardines on that bus.

"..Is the culprit onboard the bus?"

"I'm not sure, but in all likelihood, I'd say no. The bus has rigged with a bomb."

A bomb. Upon hearing that word, the bicycle-jacking incident that took place a few days ago darted through my mind. Ares must have picked up on what I was thinking because he cast me a sidelong glance.

"Kinoka, this is 'Butei killing." It's the work of the same criminal who tampered with your bicycle."

...Butei killing?

I knit my eyebrows upon hearing those familiar words. It was the widely used term for the serial murders that Shiro was talking about the other day.

"The first Butei to be victimized had his motorcycle hijacked. Next it was a carjacking. After that was your bicycle. This time it's a bus... In all instances, the culprit rigs the vehicle with a bomb that's designed to explode when speed is reduced, effectively imprisoning the victim inside the vehicle. The bomb can also be activated by remote control. But there's a pattern in the radio frequency that the culprit uses to control the vehicle. I figured out the pattern when I saved you last time and this time as well."

"But the criminal behind the 'Butei killings' was apprehended."

"That person wasn't the true culprit."

"Say what? Wait a second. What are you talking about?"

It didn't make sense. There were too many holes in the conversation we were having. Still, Ares turned towards me and gave me an intense look with a hint of irritation in his eyes.

"There's no time to explain all the background information and there's no need for you to know. I'm the leader of the party."

Ares placed his hands on his waist and stuck out his chest. Reki, standing nearby like a statue, gave Ares a brief glance.

"Wait... Wait, Ares! You-"

"This case is already underway! The bus could explode at this very moment! Our mission is to rescue everyone onboard! That's all there is to it!"

"If you want to be the leader, go ahead! But if you're the leader, give the members of your team a proper explanation! Butei risk their lives when they head out for any kind of mission!"

"Butei Charter, Article One, 'Believe in your comrades and help one another'! The victims are our Butei High comrades! There's no need for any other explanation!"

Above us, another loud sound could be heard amidst the pouring rain. It was the sound of a helicopter. Looking up, we saw a Logi single-rotor helicopter with a blue revolving light coming down to land on a rooftop of the boys' dormitory. Ares...He had covered all bases and even arranged for something like this. If this was how things were going to proceed, then there certainly wasn't any time to hear an explanation.

"...To hell with it. Al right, I'm in! That's what you want to hear, isn't it?!"

Ares looked at me as I yelled out, and with his drenched ponytail flying about in the gusts created by the helicopter...he smiled.

"Kinoka, looks like this is going to be that first case we made a promise about."

"Quite a case at that. I gotta be the unluckiest girl in the world."

"Keep your end of the bargain. I'm looking forward to seeing your true skills."

"I'm letting you know in advance, but I don't have the kind of ability that you think I do. It's also been a while since I've done this sort of thing. Are you really sure you want to bring an E-rank Butei along with you on a mission as difficult as this?"

"If by the off chances you get in a pinch..I'll protect you. Rest assured."

According to what we were fold by connect (Communications Division) through our headsets, the Butei High school bus was an Isuzu Erga Mio. It started driving erratically after leaving the women's dormitory where Muto and the others got onboard and hadn't made any stops at any other bus stop since then. At that point, there was an emergency call from the students inside the bus notifying us about the bus-jacking. The bus, carrying sixty students and exceeding its capacity for passengers, circled around Academy Island once and was heading towards Odaiba via the bridge in South Aomi.

"The Metropolitan Police Department and Tokyo Bureau and Butei haven't taken action?" Surrounding by the roaring noise of the helicopter as it increased in altitude, I spoke to Ares through the headsets.

"They have. But our target is a moving bus. There's a certain amount of preparation required."

"So we're the first ones to tackle this head on."

"Of course. I caught onto the culprit's radio frequency and made preparations before a report was made."

Ares gave a snort and did an inspection of the two pistols he always used. As far as I could see, his gray and black pistols only differed in color and were of the same make. They appeared to be custom made guns with a Colt Government as their base. It was the trademark gun of Colt's manufacturing Company, and all of the various patents had run out on it, so it was fairly easy to customize them as one pleased. What particularly stood out was the conch cameo attached to the grip, which was embossed with the profile of a handsome man that vaguely resembled Ares.

"It's in view."

Hearing Reki's voice, both Ares and I brought our faces to the bulletproof window. Looking out the window on the right, I could se the buildings and costal road of Odaiba and the Rinkai Railroad. But at this distance the cars were too small and I couldn't make them out.

"I don't see anything, Reki."

"It's the bus making a right in front of Hotel Nikko. I can see the Butei High students behind the window.

"I-I'm surprised you can see all that. What's your eyesight vision?" asked Ares.

"Both my left and right eye have 20/3.3 vision."

Ares and I looked at each other in shock as Reki nonchalantly replied with an unbelievable numerical figure. The helicopter pilot descended to the location Reki had mentioned, and there in fact was the Butei High school bus speeding along. It was traveling fast—remarkably fast. The bus was overtaking one car after another as it raced by the television station. I could se people flooding out of the station with their cameras and cell phones taking pictures of us as we chased after the bus.

"We're going to transfer to the roof of the bus from mid-air. I'm going to check the exterior of the bus. Kinoka, you go inside and contact me after assessing the situation. Reki, standby inside the helicopter and keep following the bus."

Ares quickly and efficiently gave him instructions and began to remove a backpack containing a tactical assault parachute from the ceiling.

"Go inside...? If the culprit is in there, I'd be endangering the hostages."

"If this is a 'Butei killing', the culprit won't be inside."

"This might not even be a 'Butei killing'!"

"If it's not, just handle the situation as it develops. Knowing you you should be able to."

This boy...

Butei are often criticized for it by the public, but we make it a principle to resolve matters with expedition, so we tend to deal with circumstances by relying on the spontaneous judgments we make in any given situation. But Ares' plan wasn't simply ignoring theory. You could even call it absurd. Basically, he wanted to be the first one on the scene without conferring with anyone else, and instantly settle the matter with overwhelming combat ability. It might be placing too much confidence in the members of this team.

I think I understand why Ares performs a "solo vocal" in every country he goes to.

Using the tactical assault parachute, Ares and I fell towards the bus at a speed almost no different from free falling and rolled along the roof as we landed. It had been a while since my last parachute jump and I nearly slipped right off the bus. Fortunately, Ares grabbed my arm in time..

"Come on! Be serious now!" yelled Ares in irritation.

"I am! This is me being serious...! At this moment..." I trailed off as I attached the wire in Ares' belt to the roof of the bus as I don't get thrown off.

Aria did the same and rappelled down the rear of the bus. I used a mirror on an extendable rod to check the inside of the bus in case the perpetrator was onboard. The students were jostling inside, but there was no sign of anyone who looked like he or she could be the culprit. I had one of the students open the window and slipped inside after releasing the wire. The students onboard were already in a state of disarray, but when they saw me come inside, they increasingly rose to a clamor. They were al speaking over each other and I couldn't understand what they were telling me.

"Kinoka!"

Turning towards the direction of a familiar voice, I found Muto, the girl who said something about seeing me at second period and abandoned me.

"Muto. Not quite second period yet, but it looks like we meet again."

"Y-Yeah. Damn it. Why did I have to get on this bus?"

"Punishment for abandoning a friend, wouldn't you say?"

"Kinoka, that girl over there."

The girl Muto pointed to was wearing glasses and standing next to the driver's seat.

"T-T-T-Tohyama! Help us!"

Her eyes were filled with tears. If I recall, she was from the middle school.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"I-I-I don't know when, but my cell phone was replaced with a different one. It suddenly started talking..."

"If you reduce speed, the bomb will freaking explode."

So that's how it is.

The same person was probably behind this, just like Ares said. The culprit was the same person who hijacked my bicycle!

"Kinoka, what's going on?! Give me a status report!"

It was Ares' voice.

"It's just like you said. The bus is being operated remotely. Did you find anything?"

"There's something here that looks like a bomb!"

I extended my neck to look over the heads of the other students, and outside the rear window, I could see a wire and Ares' legs. He was hanging upside down looking underneath the bus.

"Kaczynski Beta type Composition C-4. It's the 'Butei killer's' specialty. From what I can see...the bursting charges have a volume of thirty-five hundred cubic centimeters!"

I thought I was going to faint.

What the hell? "Excessive" doesn't even begin to describe that amount of fire-power. If something like that were to explode, not just a bus but even an entire train would be airborne.

"I'm gonna go underneath and try to dismantle it...ah!"

The exact moment Ares cried out, the bus received a powerful jolt. Losing their balance, the students fell over one another and screams filled the air. In a panic, I looked towards the rear window to see a convertible that had collided into the bus from behind and was now backing away, distancing itself from us.

"Ares, are you okay?!"

No response. That collision seemed to have taken him out. I stuck the upper half of my body out the window so I could climb onto the roof and make my way to the back of the bus. The sound of an engine accelerating made me turn around. The car that should have been behind us—a dark red Renault Sport Spider—had pulled up alongside the bus. In its empty driver's seat was an Uzi placed on top of a barbette and it was aimed in this direction.

"Everyone, get down!" I yelled, warning the students in the bus, and right after they lowered their heads...

Bratatatatat!

A countless number of bullets decimated the windows of the bus from the rear to the front in one fell swoop. I took a bullet to the chest as well and was sent hurtling back into the bus. Thanks to the bulletproof vest, I wasn't injured, but the impact was like getting hit by a flying knee strike. It was a sensation I just couldn't get used to no matter how many times I experienced it. The bus shook in a somewhat awkward manner so I looked towards the driver's seat.

"!"

The driver was collapsed on top of the steering wheel. He had a bullet wound in his shoulder. Most likely, he wasn't able to get down because he was driving. The bus was starting to veer heavily into the opposite lane. A car coming towards us from ahead managed to avoid the bus, but collided into the guardrail, sending sparks into the air.

Things are getting really out of hand! What should I do? I don't know. I just don't know! In my current state, I don't know how I can bring this situation under control!

"Freaking turn right at Ariake Coliseum."

I heard the Vocaloid's synthetic voice come from the cell phone that the girl dropped when she fell. To make things worse, the bus was starting to lose speed!

"M-Muto! Take over for the driver! Don't let the bus slow down!"

After taking off my bulletproof helmet and throwing it to Muto, I put my hand on the window once again.

"T-That's no problem, but..." Muto put on the helmet as soon as she caught it and with the help of some other students, laid the injured driver on the floor before taking his place in the driver seat. "The other day, they found out my car was customized. I can't have any more violations on my record!"

Turning my back on Muto, who sounded rather desperate, I proceed to climb onto the roof of the bus.

"This bus is already in violation of driving in the passing lane. Isn't that great, Muto? Your license is officially revoked."

"I hope you fall! I'll run you over while I'm at it!"

Speeding in the heavy rain, the bus made its way onto Rainbow Bridge.

"Does the culprit plan on bringing this explosive into the city?!"

With half of my body outside of the bus, I did my best to keep from getting thrown off. As the bus took the sharp curve near the entrance to the bridge, it tilted to the right, and for an instant, the wheels on the left side of the bus lost contact with the ground, but it managed to make the turn. Muto had instructed everyone to gather on the left side of the bus, doing a good job of maintaining its center of gravity and keeping it from tipping over. That was Muto for you. Just what you'd expect from an honor student of Logi. As the bus raced down Rainbow Bridge, there wasn't a single car to be seen. It looked like the Metropolitan Police Department had taken precautionary measures. The road was blocked off.

"Hey, Ares, are you okay?!" I yelled out from on top of the bus.

"Kinoka!" Ares came climbing up his wire from behind the bus and looked up at me.

"Ares! Where's your helmet?!"

"It broke apart when that Renault rammed into the bus! Where's your helmet?!" Ares pointed at my head.

"The driver was wounded! I lent my helmet to Muto and had him drive!"

"It's too dangerous! Why did you come out here defenseless?! How could you make such an faulty judgment call like that?! Hurry up and get back in the—Behind you! Get down! What are you doing, you idiot?!"

Ares' face went pale as he suddenly drew his two pistols and charged at me.

What happened?

Unable to grasp the situation, I turned around and looked behind me. What I saw was the Renault Sport Spider, which had taken up position at the front of the bus, opening fire...with the Uzi pointed at my face. Bullets came flying towards me.

I'm a dead man.

That's what I honestly believed.

Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. While returning fire at the Renault, Ares ran up and tackled me with that small body of his. The sound of bullets ripping through flesh resonated twice, and fresh blood flew into my line of sight. I didn't feel any pain, however.

"Ares!"

Ares rolled on the roof and off the side of the bus. He left behind a trail of blood that was washed away by the rain.

"Ares! Aresssss!"

I pulled on Ares' wire with every ounce of strength I had. The Renault reduced its speed and fell back to the side of the bus.

Not good. If that thing opens fire at us now, it's all over!

That's what I was thinking to myself but...the Uzi remained silent. Upon taking a closer look, I saw that the barbette was broken. In that brief exchange of fire, Ares had destroyed the Renault's weaponry.

If you get in a pinch, I'll protect you.

Ares' anime voice repeated inside my head.

"Aressssss!"

Screaming at the top of my lungs, I hauled Ares, who was utterly motionless, up onto the roof of the bus. I felt the blood freeze in my veins when I saw him up close, and at that moment...

Pow!

The sound of something bursting filled the air.

Pow!

There it was again.

"?!"

The sounds were followed by the Renault rapidly spinning out of control and crashing into the guardrail. The bus left the Renault behind in the distance as it exploded and burst into flames. I looked ahead and saw the Butei High helicopter flying parallel with us off the side of Rainbow Bridge. Its hatch was wide open, and I could see Reki on one knee pointing a sniper rifle in our direction. There were many buildings situated in Odaiba, which prevented any possibility of sniping, but here on this large bridge, it was now a valid option.

"...I am a single bullet."

I heard Reki voice through the headset. Looking more carefully at him, I noticed that he was aiming at the bus.

"A bullet possesses no human heart. Therefore, I do not think..."

He was whispering to himself what seemed to be a verse of poetry.

"...I merely fly towards my target, nothing more."

I had heard this a few times before at Assault. Reki had a habit of reciting those lines when he was about to fire at his target. The second he finished his incantation...

Blam, blam, blam!

The muzzle of his gun flashed three times. With each flash came the impact of a bullet on the bus, and each of the three sounds was followed by the lagging sound of a gunshot.

Clunk, clunk, clunk!

I heard the sound of some component falling off from underneath the bus and rolling down the street behind us. It was the bomb as well as the parts that were connecting it to the bus.

"...I am a single bullet..."

Reki's voice was followed by another gunshot.

Bang!

Sparks arose from the parts the bomb were attached to, and the entire unit soared through the air like a soccer ball. It then made its way to the median strip and from there, continued on its path to the ocean below.

Boooooom!

I wasn't sure if the bomb had been triggered remotely or not, but a huge column of water rose from the ocean's surface. The bus slowly reduced speed...and came to a stop. On the roof of the bus, Ares who was deathly still...and I, who was unable to be of any use to the bitter end, continued to be pelted by the pouring rain.

Ares was admitted to the Butei Hospital where he was treated for minor wounds. We were lucky. That's all there was to it. The two bullets that hit Ares only grazed his forehead and didn't result in serious injury. Ares went through an MRI scan while he was suffering from a concussion, but there was no cerebral hemorrhage, so he had escaped with only external injuries.

The next day, after turning in a report to the educational affairs department, I went to the Butei Hospital to find Ares in a private VIP hospital room.

Reiko did mention that Ares was the son of a noble family or something like that.

Inside his hospital room was a small private room decorated with white lilies. Sticking out from between the flowers was a card that read "From Reki."

That robot-boy brought these with him? That's surprising.

I suddenly heard an odd sound coming from behind the door to his bedroom, which was just slightly opened. I found it suspicious and peeked inside to see Ares sitting up in a huge bed.

---

He was holding onto a hand mirror and looking at the wound on his forehead.

"..."

He must have been concentrating awfully hard because he wasn't aware of my presence. The swelling on his forehead still hadn't receded, and a deep red lump was bulging out. The bullets had left two intersecting linear scars on his head, ruining the well-shaped forehead he always so proudly showed off. I heard from the doctor yesterday that there was nothing they could do about the scars and that they would be permanent—scars that would remain with him for the rest of his life.

I heard that strange noise again. Ares was looking at the mirror with moist eyes, and he was repeatedly fastening and taking off the hairpin he always used. Seeing that, I felt a pain in my heart as if it were being pierced by dozens of needles. Ares...was very fond of his forehead. It must have ben really difficult for him to have a scar like that on it.

"...Ares." I pretended like I had just arrived and knocked on the front door after slightly distancing myself from it.

"Ah, h-hold on a second."

I could hear the rustling sound of hasty movement coming from inside the room.

"...Come in."

I entered the room just in time to see Ares rewrap the bandage around his head with amazing speed and proceed to tinker with his gun using some sort of tool. It was a bit contrived, but apparently he was pretending to have been doing maintenance on his gun.

"Are you here to visit me?" when he glanced at me, there was a look of aversion in his eyes that he wasn't trying to hide.

"Just don't treat me like I'm some sort of injured patient. I can't believe I'm being hospitalized for a little scratch like this. The doctors here make such a big deal out of everything."

"You're every bit an injured patient. That wound on your forehead-"

"What about it? Stop your gawking."

"Well, I mean, it's gonna leave a scar isn't it?"

"So what? I'm not concerned about it. You don't have to be concerned about it, either. That takes care of maintenance." Ares placed his gun on the side table and crossed his arms. "Butei Charter, Article One, 'Believe in your comrades and help one another.' I was merely abiding by our creed. I wasn't making any special exceptions when I saved you just because it was you.

"The Butei Charter...? It's just a bunch of stuck up ideals. Don't go around defending them like some idiot."

"...Are you saying I'm an idiot? I don't wanna hear that from someone like you. But...you may be right. I just might be an idiot for saving an idiot like you."

Ares turned his back on me, and I didn't feel like carrying on this conversation any further so I just held out the bag of goods I brought from the convenience store. After a short silence, Ares' nostrils quivered as he sniffed the air.

"...Peach buns?"

I hadn't even opened the bag, but he knew by the scent. Ares turned towards me and his angry red eyes opened wide.

"Knock yourself out. I bought all they had—five to be precise. They're your favorite, aren't they?"

For a moment, Ares just sat there quietly eyeing the bag, but soon enough he snatched it out of my hands and plunged his own inside. He then began to greedily devour the peach buns, which had already started to cool off. It was kind of like feeding a wounded, savage animal.

"Take your time. Those peach buns aren't going anywhere."

"Be quiet. I can eat them however I want."

Ares stopped eating just long enough to say something spiteful with that bean paste-stained mouth of his and continued to gobble down his peach buns in silence. Butei Hospital was famous for serving awful tasting food. He probably hadn't eaten too much since he's been here.

"Well, listen while you eat. After that incident, they found the hotel room that the culprit was using."

"...What about the hotel register?"

"There was none. Rather, I should say the records were tampered with. It was done from the outside."

I took out a translucent film from my bag and laid it by Ares' knees.

"We had Reiko Mine and other members of Inquesta and Repier inspect the room. The end result...not a single trace of anything that would help to identify the culprit could be found."

"I'm not surprised. Our 'Butei killer' is incredibly cunning. There's no way the person would leave behind any footprints."

"'Butei killer', huh? I was convinced that both my bicycle-jacking episode and the bus-jacking were copycat crimes of the 'Butei killings'. After all, the perpetrator had already been arrested."

"I told you. They arrested the wrong person."

"I was unable to refute Ares' theory. Sure enough, these crimes didn't seem like the work of some petty copycat criminal.

"Also...the results of the investigation on the bicycle-jacking are included in that file. But to be honest, there wasn't much to gain from that incident, either. Both the Segways and the Uzis were stolen goods."

"Those guys are all so useless. Reading those documents would be a waste of time."

"If that's what you think, just throw them in the trash."

I wasn't really being serious, but then Ares actually did just that, causing me to become a little angry. Although they didn't come up with any clues, Reiko and the others worked throughout the night conducting the investigation.

"You can leave now. It's over isn't it?"

"?"

You were going to help resolve the first case that presented itself after returning to Assault. That case is closed so your contract has expired. You can go back to Inquesta now. Good-Bye." Ares had finished his peach buns and spoke with exasperation.

"What the hell? You really are a self-centered person, aren't you? You were so forceful in dragging me into this, and now that you're done with me, that's how you're gonna be?"

"Do you want me to apologize? Will you feel better if I pay you?"

"...Do you want to make me angry?"

"I want you to hurry up and leave. Let me be alone."

"You got it. I'm outta here."

"I could feel myself getting angrier by the minute. I wasn't sure why I was so upset, but each of Ares' words stung me like bees.

"Humph!" I turned my back on Ares as well and started heading out of the hospital room.

"I can't believe you..."

I heard Ares say something under his breath as I took hold of the doorknob.

"I was counting on you...I thought you would show me the skills you demonstrated that other time if I brought you on a mission with me!"

"Nobody told you to have such big exceptions of me! You came to your own conclusions! I don't have that kind of skill! And besides...I've already decided to quit being a Butei! Why do you always decide everything on your own?!"

Unable to control myself, I raised my voice as I spun around to face his. For some reason, when Ares was the person I was dealing with, I couldn't maintain my composure.

Shit. What's going on? This isn't like me.

"I have to decide everything on my own! I'm running out of time!"

"What's that supposed to mean?! You're not making any sense!"

"If you're a Butei, why don't you look into it on your own?! Compared to...compared to my circumstances, your reasons for wanting to quit being a Butei are trivial! I just know it!"

Trivial.

Hearing those words, before I knew it, I had impulsively approached Ares, and forgetting that he was a boy, I nearly grabbed him by the collar. However, I restrained myself, and my fists closed on themselves instead—tightly enough to leave nail imprints on my hand.

"W-What? What's your problem?"

Even Ares was taken off guard by the threatening attitude I had never shown before. I placed both of my hands on the bed and buried my face in the sheets.

I must have a hideous look on my face right now—a face I don't want to show to anyone.

Shiro had mentioned this to me before, but my family, the Tohyama's, have been heroes of justice for generations. The occupation may have changed depending on the era, but for hundreds of years, we have ben fighting on behalf of the weak using the power of our unique genetic make-up known as hysteria mode. My father, who died in the line of duty while I was still a toddler, was active as an armed prosecutor, and my older sister was also a Butei. As far as I was concerned, they were heroes I wanted to model my own life after. That's why I entered Butei High of my own free will without hesitation. My hysteria mode might have been the cause of some bad experiences I had in middle school, but I figured I would eventually be able to control it like my father and my older sister. That's how optimistic I was. But during the winter of last year, something happened that turned my entire life upside down—the boating disaster off the coast of Uraga.

Embellir, a Japanese-registered cruise ship, had sunk, and one passenger with missing. It was a misfortunate accident in which the search was called off without the body ever turning up. The person who died was a Butei who happened to be on the boat—Kaname Tohyama, my older sister. According to what the police said, my sister, a person who was always fighting on behalf of the weak for a mere pittance and never lost to even the most formidable of villains, was helping to evacuate the crew and passengers and failed to make it out in time as a result. But fearing lawsuits from passengers, the company that offered the cruise as well as some of the passengers who were incited by the company, harshly criticized my sister after the accident. The claimed that my sister was an incompetent Butei for not being able to prevent the accident, despite being onboard the ship. All the numerous verbal attacks posted on the Internet and in the weekly magazines that were aimed at me, the surviving family—even now, they still haunt me in my dreams.

Why did my sister die after saving other people? Why was she made into a scapegoat? It's because of the hysteria mode in our genes...and it's because she was a damned Butei! That's right. Butei. Heroes of justice. They just fight and fight until they're completely battered, and even if they wind up dead, people will still throw stones at them. They're worthless roles, and whoever fills them is only going to lose out! That's why I gave up becoming something so ridiculous. From this point on, I'm going to be a regular person. I'm joining the side that just lives their lives saying irresponsible things and spends their days carefree and in peace. That's what I've decided.

I lifted my head. Ares...wasn't saying a word. When my eyes met with those camellia-colored eyes of hers, I realized with this black feeling inside me that I had towards Ares was. He and I were alike. Ares shouldered a heavy burden that no one else could understand and was tragically running at full speed down the path of a Butei in the direction directly opposite of where I was headed. I was trying to run away from my issues, while he was trying to confront his. That's why I was unable to remain calm when Ares was involved.

"In any case, I've already given up on being a Butei. Starting next year, I'll be going to a normal school."

"..."

"Are you listening?"

"Alright...alright already...You..." Ares looked away from me and closed his eyes for short while before reopening them. It was like placing the period at the end of a sentence that shouldn't be written. "...weren't the person I was looking for."

End of Third Bullet

---

Fourth Bullet
Under the Bangs

In the end, Ares and I parted from each other on disagreeable terms.

I wonder if this was really the best.

It was precisely the outcome I had always wished for. I was able to show him that I couldn't do anything in my current state thanks to that bus-jacking incident. Thus, Ares became disillusioned and set me free. As a result, I could now leave Assault. All I had to do now was peacefully bide my time at Inquesta and transfer to a regular school next year. Then I could wash my hands of this Butei lifestyle and become and ordinary adult. What's wrong with that?

But what is it—this feeling that's eating at me?

Presently, I was spending the weekend with emotions that caused me boundless irritation. I couldn't make any sense of them and they had lingered with me since leaving the hospital. Whether I was watching television or surfing the net, the sound of that hairpin opening and closing just wouldn't leave from my head. I had heard that Ares was due to be released from the hospital on Sunday morning—this morning—and busied myself with cleaning and laundry so as not to think about him. But it was because of this...that I coincidentally caught sight of Ares in an unexpected place after he was discharged. It was at a beauty salon in the corner of Academy Island. The dry cleaners I had gone to happened to be next to the salon, and on my way home, I was so shocked to see Ares in his transformed state that I stopped dead in my tracks. He didn't realize I was there, so it was somewhat like I was spying on him again, but...

"..."

Ares, looking a little down, still had hair in a ponytail, but his hairstyle was slightly different. He had bangs. He looked amazingly cute with them, really...but there was no questioning why they were there. They were for concealing the scar on his forehead. When that thought entered my head, my heart was again filled with a sharp prickling sensation. Making clip-clop noises with his sandals, decorated with puff balls which were the color of Rainier cherries, Ares walked towards the monorail station. He was dressed in his casual clothes. Since I had only ever seen Ares in his school uniform or class C equipment, seeing him look like any other boy was actually quite different. Wearing a simple, neat, white shirt, plaid light pink and red button-up shirt over it, and black shorts, Ares had a modern look about him that made it seem as if he stepped right out of a fashion magazine. If a picture of him were put on the cover, both the magazine and the outfit would probably sell like hotcakes. True, Ares was the type who always took care to make sure he had a respectable appearance, but it was the first time I had ever seen him this dressed up.

I wonder where he's going. On a date? There's no need for the interrogative case. That's probably it. Ares' girlfriend... He had one? I wonder what's she's like.

With those thoughts in my mind, I wasn't really sure why...but I just started following him. Ares took the monorail to Shinbashi, and from there, going through Kanda via train, got off at Shinjuku. Following Ares from a short distance, I noticed that the girls in the city were eyeing him. It made sense. You'd be lucky to find a boy this cute. Not only that, but he put his all into dressing himself up nicely. It would've been odd if girls weren't looking at him. Ares left the station through the west exit and emerged into the skyscraper-dominated city, his sandals incessantly clip-clopped every step of the way. The direction he was heading in also had me tilting my head. There was nothing here except for office buildings. Did that mean his girlfriend was a company employee? I continued to follow Ares, and he eventually stopped in front of one the most unexpected buildings. It was the Shinjuku Police Department.

Why did he get all dress up to come to a place like this?

"...You stink at tailing people. I can see you as plain as day," said Ares without even turning around to look at me.

I swallowed hard, despite myself.

Well, well. He knew.

"Um...well, you said it yourself. 'If you're a Butei don't ask questions. Investigate on your own.'" I felt awkward so I replied with a somewhat defiant attitude as I walked over to Ares' side. "More to the point, if you knew I was there, why didn't you say anything?"

"I couldn't make up my mind whether or not I wanted to let you know about this...what with you being a victim of the 'Butei killer' and all."

"?"

"Well, we're here now. You plan on coming along even if I tried to send you away, aren't you?" said Ares, lacking his usual stubborn spirit.

Ares entered the police department, and my mind was filled with puzzling thoughts as I followed behind him.

I recognized the beautiful woman who came into the visiting room for detainees on the other side of the acrylic glass window under the supervision of two guards.

If I recall...I saw her on the cameo embedded on the grip of Ares' pistol. She was the lady who was engraved on that cameo and looked like a female Ares. Her long hair arced in a gentle curve and she had eyes like onyx. Her white porcelain skin was the same as Ares'.

"Oh, my...Ares, is this young lady your girlfriend?"

"N-No, she's not, mama."

This lady who looked at me with a hint of surprise on her face, but spoke with a gentle and composed voice—she was Ares' mother. Or so it would seem.

S-She's so young. She seems more like an older sister of Ares rather than his mother.

"She's a dear friend of yours then? How about that! You've gotten to the age at where you have female friends. And you used to be so bad at making any friends at all," Ares' mother chuckled.

"That's not it. This is Kinoka Tohyama. She's a student at Butei High, not...what you're thinking. Not by any means," Ares declared positively in front of his mother who was smiling gently.

You don't have to deny it that flatly.

"...It's nice to meet you Kinoka. My name is Kanae Kanzaki. I'm Ares' mother. It would seen you're been helping out my son."

"Oh, no, I haven't really..."

Kanae seemed like the type of person who gave the atmosphere a pleasant feeling, despite being in a room such as the one we were in. Truth be told, I have a weakness for people like this. Quite unlike me, I became flustered and was unable to speak very smoothly. Seeing me like that seemed to put a look of irritation on Ares' face, and he leaned forward towards the acrylic glass.

"Mama, we're only allowed to speak for three minutes so I'll make this quick...this girl with the dumb look on her face is the third victim of the 'Butei killings.' Last week, a bomb was planted on her bicycle at school."

"...Oh dear..." said Kanae, hardening her expression.

"One more incident occurred. The day before yesterday, there was a bus-jacking. The 'Butei killer' is suddenly becoming more and more active. That means whoever is behind this is going to reveal himself before long. So first, I'm going to catch the 'Butei killer' just like I planned. If I can prove your innocence in regards to the 'Butei killings' alone, I can reduce your sentence of eight hundred and sixty-four year to seven hundred and forty-two. I'll do something about all the other accusations before the Supreme Court trail too. I swear."

My eyes nearly nearly popped out of my head when I heard what Ares just said.

"Then I'm going capture all those members of IU who made a scapegoat out of you and throw them in here."

"Ares, I appreciate what you're trying do, but it's still too early for you to take on IU. ...Have you found a partner?"

"I...just can't find one. No one can keep up with me..."

"That won't do, Ares. Your gifts are hereditary. But you've also inherited the less desirable traits of our family—your excessive pride and childish personality. At this rate, you won't even be able to make use of half of your abilities. What you need is a partner who understands you and can serve as an intermediary connecting you to the rest of the world. A suitable partner will help to draw out your powers, increasing your abilities a thousand-fold. Your great-grandfather and grandmother also had outstanding partners, didn't they?"

"...I've heard enough about that in London to make me sick. I'm called defective because after all this time, I still can't find a partner...but..."

"Take your time and walk slowly through life. Children who run too fast wind up falling down," said Kanae slowly blinking her eyes, which had long eyelashes attached to them.

"Kanzaki. It's time, announced the guard standing next to the door while he looked at the clock hanging on the wall.

"Mama, just you wait. I will catch all the real culprits before the trial."

"You mustn't be too hasty, Ares. I'm worried about you. Don't go running off on your own."

"I have to! I want to get you out of here as soon as possible!"

"Ares, my lawyer worked hard to push back the date of the Supreme Court trial, so I want you to calm down and find a partner before anything else. That wound on your forehead is proof that you're rushing into dangerous situations that you're not capable of handling by yourself."

Kanae scolded Ares for the injury that he had tried his best to hide, along with the bandages, under his bangs.

"I can't! I can't! I can't!"

"Ares...!"

"It's time!"

Kanae leaned towards the acrylic glass window trying to soothe Ares who had become quite agitated, but the guard put her in a full nelson and dragged her away.

"Ah!" Kanae groaned slightly.

"Stop it! Don't be so rough with her!"

Ares snarled his tooth like a small wild animal and his camellia-colored eyes were furious as he pounced at the acrylic window. The glass may have been transparent, but it was also thick and solid. Naturally, it didn't give in to Ares, nor did it even budge. Kanae could only watch Ares with a look of uneasiness as the two guards dragged her out of the room. The door to the visiting room closed with a heavy, metallic thud that contradicted its soft cream-color.

"I'm gonna sue them. There's no way treating people like that should be allowed. I'm gonna sue...for sure."

The entire time, I couldn't bring myself to speak to Ares as he muttered to himself while heading back to Shinjuku Station under a could filled sky. I merely followed behind him like a shadow.

"..."

Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop.

Walking as noisily as ever, Ares made it back to the Alta Shopping Center where he suddenly...

Clip-

...came to a halt. I stopped as well. From behind, I could see Ares droop his head, tense his shoulders in anger, and clench his fists so tightly that they trembled along with his arms, which were pointed straight down.

Drip. Drip...drip.

A few drops of water fell at his feet creating small blotches on the ground. There was no need to check. They were undoubtedly his tears.

"Ares..."

"I'm not crying," said Ares in an angry voice, trembling and with his head still facing downward.

Surrounded by humid winds, we were subject to the smirks of passersby as we stood there in the center of the sidewalk. They were probably assuming we were a couple in the middle of a fight.

"Hey...Ares."

I walked in front of Ares and stooped down a little, peering into his face.

Drip...drip. Drip.

From eyes hidden behind his bangs, pearl-like droplets ran down Ares' inclined cheeks.

"I-I'm not cry-" Ares grit his teeth, and the tears flowed freely from his eyes, which he firmly held closed.

And then...

"...not cry...i..ng...! Waaaaaaaaaaah!"

The last thread holding him together snapped and he wept openly. Refusing to show me his face, Ares tilted his head all the way back and simply cried like a child. He wailed so loudly, it felt as if my heart were vibrating in response to the sound waves.

"Waaaaaaaaaaah...mamaaa...mamaaaaaaa...!"

Evening befell the city as it advertised trendy clothing and the latest electronic gizmos with its dazzling neon sign lights and up-beat music. Those flashing lights seemed to be playing with Ares' peach-colored hair, the way they illuminated his head. And then, as if to add insult to injury, we were caught in a sudden shower. Both people and cars continued to pass by us, one after another, as we stood there in the rain.

A girl holding a cell phone to her ear noisily passed by saying, "Hahaha! Seriously?! That's so funny!" I was powerless to comfort Ares, whose incessant crying mingled with the hustle and bustle of the city, and just stood by his side in silence.

At the start of the week, Tokyo was being visited by strong winds, and while attending classes for general academic subjects, I noted that the seat to the right of mine was empty. Apparently, Ares wasn't coming to school today. Yesterday, when Ares finally stopped crying in front of the Alta Shopping Center, he told me that he wanted to be alone, so we parted ways there and hadn't been in contact with each other since. That day, I followed Ares whom I just happened to come across by chance, acquainted myself with his mother as one of the victims of the "Butei killer", and learned quite a few things—things I wish I hadn't learned.

Ares' mother was being held in custody as a suspect in the "Butei killings" and was already convicted at the appeals court. In all likelihood, the lower court reserved system was being applied. With this new system, in a case where sufficient evidence was presented, the process leading to a Supreme Court hearing could be expedited, preventing any delays to the trial. The sentence awaiting her at the Supreme Court was eight hundred and sixty-four years in prison—basically a life sentence. Looking back on the conversation that took place in the visiting room, there would seem to be other charges Ares' mother was faced with besides the string of murders that were a result of "Butei killing." Ares declared that all of them were false charges and was trying to clear his mother of them before the Supreme Court trial. The Belligerent means by which he intended to do so was by capturing the true culprits as an official Butei.

There was also mention of a "partner." Ares' family, the "H's", was of nobility. Evidently, they were a distinguished family of police officers or something to that effect, and they all drastically enhanced their abilities by pairing up with a capable partner, thereby accomplishing all sorts of commendable deeds. This was why Ares, too, was being pressed to find a partner...but he was having difficulty with that. It was no surprise. It would be by no means, an easy task to find a partner who could keep up with a genius like him. Ares might have been using the term "slave" in place of "partner" to lower the standards of the person he was searching for, even if only in title, thus reducing the psychological burden he bore.

Pondering about all of this, my Inquesta class, which I was completely unable to concentrate on, came to an end, and I was alerted by a text message that was sent to my cell phone. It was from Reiko.

Kii-chan, when class is over come to Club Estella in Odaiba. I have something important to discuss with you.

Normally, I would have just ignored a message like this. First of all, an invitation from a boy was an invitation to trouble, and Reiko's "important" discussions have never once actually been important. This time, however, circumstances are a little different. Reiko was using the information from last week's bus-jacking to continue his investigation, which was probably the reason he ditched today's Inquesta class. Plus the fact that Ares didn't come to school today was weighing on my mind. Something in my gut told me it would be worth it, so just in case, I got on the monorail to Odaiba.

I got lost a little along the way, but after arriving at Club Estella, I found out that the place was essentially a high-class karaoke box. In the parking lot was a customized shocking pink Vespa.

This horrible taste in colors...I've seen it before. This belongs to Reiko.

On the surface, it looked like it had a 50 cc engine, but Reiko was been boasting of how he paid Muto to remodel the Vespa to the point where it just barely passed automobile inspection, and now it could reach speeds of one hundred and fifty kilometers per hour.

Muto...you really need to be more discriminating about what jobs you take.

The time was six in the evening. The sky at sunset was so distinctly red that it resembled blood, and scattered clouds of navy blue were drifting along in it at an unusually fast rate. It was more likely an effect of the typhoon approaching Tokyo. The wind was quite strong. I entered the club and stepped into a bar lounge where there were female office workers on their way home from work and couples on a date picking at cakes that were like works of art. Looking around, I noticed some female students from Butei High here and there.

This place is pretty popular, isn't it?

"Kiiii-chaaaannn!"

Reiko trotted his way towards me wearing a Lolita school uniform, as always. The one he had on today was really something. In particular, the shirt was bulging with black like a carnation. The bulges were probably created by his shirt.

"Really now, Reiko. What are you doing skipping class and coming to a place like this?"

"Hee hee. I was dressing up in this, my Sunday best. But you took so long in getting here I thought I'd been stood up. I'm so glad you made it."

"We're not in the kind of relationship in which one of us can do any 'standing up' or be 'stood up.'"

"Oh, you're being so cold. You're about to head down the 'Reiko route', you know?

"Say what? You make absolutely no sense."

The upward glance he was giving me was oddly seductive, and I clicked my tongue.

Maybe I shouldn't have come after all. What's with this girl?

Reiko latched onto my arm as if he was trying to hang down from it, and we went further into the establishment, with Reiko in high spirits. Seeing this, the other boys from Butei High began whispering to each other.

"Holy shit. Now Kinoka's going out with Reiko?"

"I wonder if he's into short boys."

"That's probably the case. Don't forget about Hotogi."

Hey, you guys. I can hear you. Stop creating one misunderstanding after the other.

The karaoke room that Reiko practically pushed me inside of was a private room of two decorated in an art nouvea style. Reiko sat me down on a fluffy couch, and after seating himself right beside me, indicated with a wink the Mont Blanc and black tea on the table.

"I'm the one that called you out here, so everything's on me." Reiko gulped down some awfully sweet looking milk tea and looked up at me with his large eyes.

"Aaaah, that hit the spot. Say, Kii-chan, you got in a fight with Ares, didn't you?"

"That's none of your business, is it?"

"Sure it is. You and Ares have to get along well with each other."

"Why is that?"

"Because if you don't, it's no fun for me!"

Reiko stuck a fork into the Mont Blanc and smiled at me. It was an expression that meant he was telling the truth.

"Kii-chan, say 'Ahh.'" Reiko brought the fork with the chunk of cake on it next to my face.

"I don't think so. Stop being so dumb."

"...'Butei killing'..." He said it as if he were pulling out a winning card and my eyes reacted accordingly.

"...Did you...find something out?"

"I'll tell you if you say 'Ahh.'"

It was so embarrassing. I almost wanted to die, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I took a bite of the Mont Blanc that Reiko offered me and gave him a threatening look with my eyes that said, "Now spill it."

"Hee hee. I found out about this in the files at the Metropolitan Police Department. The thing is, the people who died as a result of 'Butei killings' might not have been just the motorcycle-jacking and the carjacking incident."

"What do you mean?"

"There's something called a 'potential incident'. An incident that was officially categorized as an accident might have actually been caused by the 'Butei killer', but nobody knows because of a cover-up."

"That's possible?"

"I found such a case in the files. I think the person might have been a victim of the 'Butei killer.'"

Reiko took out a piece of paper that was folded in four quarters from his poche pocket and slowly unfolded it as if he were performing a magic trick. He then showed me what was written on it.

"!"

It felt like the blood in my veins had frozen solid.

---

December 24, 2008 Boating disaster off the coast of Uraga
Fatalities: Butei Kaname Tohyama (nineteen years old)

---

"This name—it's your sister, isn't it? I'm thinking the boat was hijacked."

"Reiko's voice sounded like it was coming from far off into the distance.

...The "Butei killer". What are you? Who are you? Why my sister? Why did you target my sister and me?!

"I like it."

Reiko's voice was filled with passion, and upon hearing it, I came back to my senses. When I looked her in the eyes, he narrowed them as he gazed at me.

"I like it, Kinoka—that look in your eyes. It sends shivers down my spine." Reiko brought the upper half of his body closer to me looking as if he were of deriving a sense of ecstasy. "Je t'aime à croquer. During the entrance exam, I fell in love with your eyes at first sight."

"...Reiko?"

In the course of the exam, I defeated Reiko as easily as if he were merely toddler. I wondered if that was what he was referring to.

"Kinoka."

In that uncomfortably confined room, Reiko was demonstrating animal-like movements. Then out of the blue, he grabbed onto me. It was all so sudden that I was helpless to do anything about it and was pushed down into the couch.

"...Reiko?!"

"Kinoka, you sure are insensitive to love. It's almost like your purposely trying to be insensitive. Say...you do realize, don't you? We're in the middle of an event scene."

My head was being enveloped by Reiko's ponytail as well as the rest of his long hair, which was done in dog tails. His baby face was so close to mine that there were barely five inches between us. Different from that of Ares', Reiko was giving off a sweet masculine scent like vanilla or almonds. He brought his lips as close to my cheek as possible without actually touching it, and from there, his mouth approached my ear. I'm not sure what his intentions were, but he bit my earlobe. It hurt.

"Say, Kinoka. I did go through the trouble of geting us this expensive room... It's okay if you do the sort of thing that happens in the games..." said Reiko in a passionate and sorrowful voice as he pressed his entire body against mine.

R-Reiko. Had Reiko always been this seductive?

Some of the guys at Inquesta who were more 'appreciative' of Reiko called him the 'hunky Lolita face', and with him lying on top of me, I now understood why. He was always dressed up in clothes a little boy would be interested in and had mannerisms of a child, yet the ridges in his body were all too will defined, and a very hard body it was at that...

"Kinoka, no one will ever find out what takes place in this room. Shiro is busy training for SSR, and Ares is going back to England. I heard he'll be taking a charter plane at seven tonight, so he's probably at Haneda airport by now. So...how about doing something fun with me? Hee hee."

It was in part because Reiko's seductiveness was so sudden, but also because his advances were so unexpected, I didn't have a chance to mentally prepare myself. Before I knew it, the core of my body was heating up and hardening as my blood began to boil. I was in hysteria mode.

"...!"

At that instant, something sparked inside my head. What Reiko had just told me and the boating incident that happened in the past melded into a single line, as if they had been brought together with an electromagnet. And that line...led to a terrifying ending that could never be changed once it came to be.

This is bad. Real bad. I have to get moving. Now!

"Sorry about this...!"

In hysteria mode, I slipped my hand in front of Reiko's face and snapped my finger. The second Reiko flinched and blinked his eyes...

"It's about time for good little boys to return home and go to bed, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

I had Reiko's small body scooped up in my arms, and turning around I laid him down on the couch. I then stood up and dashed out of the room smoothing my bangs upward. It was my hysteria mode hair style...

End of Fourth Bullet

---

Fifth Bullet
Olmes

It depended on the type of simulation I received, but hysteria mode only lasted from around twenty to forty minutes. By the time I had reached terminal two of Haneda Airport, I was already back to normal mode. Even so, I couldn't afford to stop. If my deduction was correct, Ares was about to come face to face with that person. He was about to come face to face with the "Butei killer." With a flash of the badge in my Butei handbook, I bypassed the check-in area as well as the metal detectors and ran through the gate.

Ares. If you want to go back to England, be my guest. But don't engage in combat with the "Butei killer" any more. If the "Butei killer" defeated my sister...you won't be able to beat the "Butei killer" on your own. That's a fact.

My sister was strong—stronger than anyone. She was clever too. Even if I were in hysteria mode, I couldn't even begin to compare with her.

Ares...! Next time you won't get off with just a wound to the forehead! You're gonna get killed! You'll die!

I ran down the boarding bridge and as they were closing the hatch, just barely managed to get on ANA flight six hundred, Boeing 737-350 headed for London Heathrow Airport. The hatch made a loud sound as it shut behind me.

"I'm a Butei! Cancel this flight!"

I thrust my Butei badge in the face of a flight attendant with a small build who looked at me with eyes wide open.

"S-Sir, I'm terribly sorry, but what exactly-"

"There's no time to explain! Just see to it that this plane stays grounded!"

Quite startled, the flight attendant nodded his head up and down and hurried up the stairs to the second floor. I wanted to go with him, but fell to my knees instead. Leaving Assault and letting my stamina drop so low had taken its toll on me. I was completely out of breath from sprinting all the way here and didn't feel like I could take another step.

Well...at any rate, I've managed to keep the plane from taking off.

Just as that thought entered my head, I could feel the plane jolt into motion.

It's...moving.

"U-Um...I-I couldn't stop it. T-The pilot said that according to regulations, once we've entered this phrase, the flight can't be aborted without orders from air traffic control," said the flight attendant coming down from the second floor and trembling as he looked at me.

"W-What kind of idiot...?!"

"P-Please, don't shoot! First of all, are you really a Butei? The captain screamed at me saying, 'Stop the plane?! We haven't received any instructions like that!'"

What a moron! What should I do? Should I force them to stop the plane even if it means threatening them with my gun? No, that's no good. From with he just told me, it's evident that the captain doesn't trust me. Threatening her at this point probably wouldn't stop the plane.

Looking out the window, I saw that ANA flight six hundred had already entered the runway.

If I forced them to stop now, we'd be running the risk of colliding with another plane on the runway. I gotta think of another way. It's too late to stop the plane. If I've lost the initiative, then I'll just have to flight defensively or we're going to lose. There's no other choice but to change strategies.

The plane had risen into the air and the fasten-seat belt lights disappeared. It was a hassle, but I calmed down the flight attendant and had him guide me to Ares' seat—or rather, private room I should say. The cabin deck structure of this plane was clearly different from that of a regular passenger plane. The first floor was an expansive bar, and on the second floor was a center passageway with doors lined up on the left and right said. I had seen something like this of the news before. It was an ultra-luxurious passenger plane called a "flying resort", and all of its seats were located in suites. In other words, it was a newly designed aircraft patronized by celebrities that didn't have typical seats, but instead was built with twelve private rooms you would find at a first-class hotel, and each room was completely furnished with its own bed, shower room, and other amenities.

"...K-Kinji?!"

Ares opened his crimson eyes wide he saw me enter his suite decorated with fresh flowers.

Great. For the time being, at least we've managed to meet up with each other.

"..You never cease to amaze me, milord Ares. A one-way ticket like this probably costs around two thousand dollars, no?"

I made the comment while admiring the double bed and Ares got out of his seat glaring at me.

"Barging into a person's room without permission? How rude!"

"You have absolutely no right to say something like that, wouldn't you agree?"

Ares must have remembered had he forced his way into my apartment because he held his tongue despite his anger.

"...What did you follow me here for?"

"Why does the sun rise? Why does the moon rise?"

"Oh, shut up! If you don't answer me, I'm gonna open a hole in you!"

I think Ares was displeased with me using his own line against him, seeing as he placed his hands on the hem of his pants. I was actually relieved.

Good. He has her weapons with him.

"Butei Charter, Article Two, 'Fulfill the contract made with your clients at all costs.'"

"...?"

"I promised to work with you to resolve the first case that came up after returning to Assault. That case of the "Butei killer" still hasn't been resolved."

"What are you boasting about? You're just a useless guy who can't do anything!" Ares howled like a lion cub, bearing his tooth.

"Get out of here! Thanks to you, I know all too well now. I really as suited for an "ares"! There isn't a person in this entire world who can be my partner! That's why I've decided to continue fighting alone! It doesn't matter if my opponent is the "Butei killer" or anyone else!"

"...I wish you had said that a little sooner." I sat down in the other available chair and looked out the window at the city below us as if it actually held my interest.

"...Once we get to London, go straight back to Japan. I can at least get you an economy class ticket in exchange for your severance pay. You don't have anything to do with me anymore! Be sure you don't talk to me!"

"I've never had anything to do with you."

"Shut up! I forbid you to speak!"

Amidst strong winds, ANA flight six hundred soared in the skies above Tokyo Bay. Ares, with a miserable look on his face, had his arms and legs crossed as he was sitting in his chair and staring out the window. 'I might as well be hanged' is what I was thinking to myself. Whether the destination was London or anywhere else, if I was going to get on a plane, I would be flying regardless. At this point, the only thing left to do was wait for the enemy to make the first move.

"This is your captain speaking. I want to apologize to our guests, but in order to avoid turbulence from the typhoon, the plane will be making a detour, so our flight is estimated to be around thirty minute late."

The captain finished her announcement and the plane shook slightly as it resumed its flight. The shaking itself wasn't such a big deal...

Crack! Craaack!

The sound of thunder strike resonated, causing Ares' eyes to open wide as he ducked his head.

"Scared?"

"O-Of course I'm not scared. Don't be dumb. More importantly, don't talk to me. Hearing your voice is irritating to no end."

Another loud boom echoed as soon as he finished speaking.

"Kyaaa!"

I smiled wryly at seeing Ares yelp out.

Well, well. There's something that even Mr. Ares the Quadra can't handle. Who would've thought it'd be thunder.

"If you're so afraid of thunder, crawl under the sheets and tremble all you want."

"S-Shut up, you."

"It's gonna be a big mess if you wet yourself."

"Y-Y-You're an idiot!"

Craaaaaack!

"Uwah!"

It had finally reached to the point where the deafening sound of thunder caused Ares to jump right up out of her seat. And then he really did crawl under the covers of his bed. The situation developed so identically to the way I had imagined that I couldn't help but laugh, ignoring the dire circumstances.

It's possible he actually wet himself.

"Ares, do you have a change of underwear?"

"K-Kinoka, you're such an idiot! I-I'm gonna open a hole in you later!"

Whoa. He's seriously shuddering like crazy.

Craaaaaaack! Craaaaaack!

I'm not sure if it was just bad luck or if the captain wasn't a very good pilot, but this plane was flying right next to a thundercloud.

"...K-Kinoka~~~..."

From underneath the blankets, Ares called out to me in a tearful voice and grabbed a hold of my sleeve while I was sitting next to him.

"C-Come on. You don't have to be that scared. Here, I'll turn on the television."

I shrank back a little from Ares, who was tenaciously hanging onto my sleeve like a child, and flipped through the channel after turning on the television with the remote. Recent movies and anime flashed by. I left the channel on a historical drama that was probably included for the more elderly passengers.

"Don't claim to have forgotten about me, the great Sakurafubuki! I won't stand for it!"

Oh...this is a sword-play samurai movie that's based on one of my ancestors—Kin of Tohyama, a famous magistrate.

According to my sister's theory, Kin of Tohyama also had the genetic makeup allowing him to go into hysteria mode, and apparently, he was something of an exhibitionist because by stripping herself to the waist, her intellectual and physical abilities would rapidly increase.

"Look. Watch this and take your mind off of it."

"R-Right."

It would seem Ares' rule stating that I couldn't talk to him had been rescinded. His trembling hand, which was clinging to my sleeve, was so small and frail... At this moment, I really did think of it as the hand of any normal girl.

If—and this is a big "if"—Ares were just a normal boy right now, I, being just a regular, everyday high school girl...

"Ares."

...would bring my hand over his trembling hand...just like this...

"K-Kinoka...?"

Sure. As a regular classmate, as a friend, I could at least ease his trembling.

After a few seconds of hesitation, just when Ares' fingers were about to close on my hand...

Blam! Blam!

...a sound resonated throughout the plane. This time, it wasn't the sound of thunder, but a sound that we the students of Butei High and more used to hearing—gunshots. Stepping out into the narrow corridor, I found the place to be in utter chaos. Passengers coming out of the twelve rooms and a few flight attendants—a medley of the young, the old, males, and females—were creating a ruckus with anxious looks on their faces. Looking towards the front of the plane where the gunshots came from, I saw that the door to the cockpit was wide open.

"!"

Beside it stood the small-figured idiot of a flight attendant I dealt with earlier. He was dragging the captain and co-pilot of the cockpit. I wasn't sure what happened to them, but they weren't moving at all. Seeing the attendant cast them aside on the floor of the corridor, I hurriedly drew my gun.

"Freeze!"

Upon hearing me, the flight attendant raised his head and smiled with a face lacking any characteristic features. He then winked at me and went back into the cockpit saying, "Freaking attention please."

I heard a brief, sharp noise like a pin being drawn, and the flight attendant threw a can at me that he pulled out from inside his back pocket. It rolled up next to my feet and a chill ran down my spine.

"Kinoka!"

Subduing his fear of thunder, Ares cried out as he came out of the room.

Psssssshhhh!

I could tell from the noise. It was a gas canister. Sarin. Soman. Tabun. Phosgene. Zyklon B. The names of all the poison gases I learned about in Assault raced through my mind. If it were a particularly strong type of gas, this battle was already lost.

"Everyone, get back into your rooms! Shut the doors!" I yelled as I pushed Ares back into the room.

Just before I closed the door, the plane shook violently. All of the lights went out, and the fearful screams of the passengers could be heard one after another. Before long, the darkness was illuminated by red emergency lamps.

"Kinoka! Are you okay?!"

I looked up at Ares who was showing concern for my well-being and tried taking a deep breath. I was able to breath. I could see. My limbs weren't paralyzed. I'd been had. Apparently, the gas ejected was harmless.

"Ares. That ridiculous was of speaking...that flight attendant was the "was the Butei killer". The perp showed up after all."

"...after all...? You knew the "Butei killer" was going to show up...?" Ares looked at me with his camellia-colored eyes wide open.

I decided to tell him about the deduction I made while I was in hysteria mode.

"The 'Butei killer' started off with a motorcycle-jacking and a carjacking. This is something I just learned about recently, but...a certain Butei was also killed in a boat-jacking incident. In that particular case, the Butei probably confronted the 'Butei killer' face to face."

"...Why do you think so?"

"Because the boat-jacking was the only incident you didn't know about. You didn't intercept the radio frequency, right?"

"Y-Yeah."

"The 'Butei killer' wasn't sending out any. In other words, there was no need to control the ship remotely. The culprit was there on the boat in person."

I had always found it odd that my older sister, of all people, "didn't make it out in time".

"But the targeted vehicles—a motorcycle, a car, a boat—which became larger each time, suddenly got smaller. My bicycle. After that was the bus."

"...!"

"Do you get it, Ares? From the very beginning, it was a message. He had you in the palm of his hand from the start. He pinned the guilt on your mother and declared was on you. And now he's planning on having a confrontation with you during the third incident just like he did with my sist...I mean, the Butei who was killed in the boat-jacking. Only this time a plane's ben hijacked."

Ares, who wasn't very good at deduction, gritted his teeth in frustration. All of a sudden...

Beep, beep. Beep. Beep, beep, beep.

The fasten-safety belt lights made emergency high-pitched noises as they began flickering erratically.

"...Japanese Morse code..." whispered Ares.

That being the case, I tried my hand at deciphering the flashing lights as I was rocked back and forth in the plane.

Come on over. IU is heaven. Come on over. I'm at the bar on the first floor.

"He's inviting you to come down."

"That's just fine. I'll open a hole in her," said Ares narrowing her eyes in anger and pulling the pistols out from underneath his jacket one right after the other.

"I'll come with you. I'm not sure if I'll be of much help in my current state though."

"I don't need you to come with me."

Craaaaack!

Ares' entire body went stiff as the thundercloud outside made its presence known again.

"Should I come or not?"

"I-if you want to come so badly, I won't stop you."

Following the small guide lights that were installed on the flooring at regular intervals, the two of us cautiously made our way down to the first floor. The first floor was lavishly decorated bar, and underneath its chandelier, a man was sitting cross-legged at the counter. It was the flight attendant from earlier.

"!?"

With our pistols pointed at him, both of us knitted our brows. He was wearing a Butei High school uniform. Not only that, but it was a remodeled school uniform trimmed with innumerable gothic features. His shirt, bulging outwards like a flower with help of pannier, was the same one Reiko was wearing at Odaiba.

"You fucking played marvelously into my hands this time as well."

As he said this, the flight attendant tore off the mask-like prosthetic makeup he was wearing over his face. From behind it appeared...

"...Reiko?!"

"Bon soir."

There was no mistake. The person in front of us who guzzled down a blue cocktail and winked at me was none other than Reiko. I was utterly astounded at this bizarre turn of events. Did this mean that after parting with me in Odaiba, he got on that customized Vespa and tracked down this plane just like I did? Did he then dress up like a flight attendant and used his Butei badge to get onboard?

"A person's talents for doing battle with others by utilizing both brain and brawn tend to be inherited, don't they? There are quite a few gifted people at Butei High who inherited, don't they? There are quite a few gifted people at Butei High who inherited their talents like the two of you did. But...your family is special, Olmes."

"...!"

Upon hearing Reiko say that word, Ares stiffened up as if an electrical current had passed through his body.

Olmes...? Was that the family name of Ares' British relatives, the "H's"?

"Who...are you exactly?"

Reiko smiled at Aria who was furrowing his brow, and the lightning that flashed by the window illuminated his smiling face.

"Reiko Mine Lupin the Forth. That's my real name."

...Lupin...? That Lupin? The great French phantom thief who we road about in our Inquesta textbook? Reiko is...the great-grandson of Arsène Lupin?!

"But...no one in my family ever called me 'Reiko'. They wouldn't call me by the cute name my mother gave me. They had a strange way of addressing me

""Strange...?" whispered Ares.

"Fourth. Fourth. Fourth. Mr. Fooourth. Every single one of them...even the damned servants...that's what they called me. Isn't that horrible?"

"W-What of it? What's so bad about "Fourth"?

For some reason, Reiko suddenly opened his eyes wide and glared at Ares who posed the question.

"...What isn't bad about it?! Am I a number?! Am I nothing but DNA?! I'm Reiko! I'm not a number! Damn you all!"

Without warning, Reiko went into a rage. He wasn't screaming at us per se, but at somebody else. His anger wasn't directed at the present situation, but at somewhere else.

What's with this boy?!

"Unless I exceed my great-grandfather, I'll never be able to be myself. I'll just be treated as "Lupin's great-grandson'. That's why I joined IU and obtained this power. Using this power, I'm going to take myself back!"

Ares had a serious look on his face while he listening to Reiko, who wasn't making a bit of sense.

"Wait. Hold on. What are you talking about...?! What is Olmes? What is IU? Were you...really the one behind the 'Butei killings'?!"

"...'Butei killings'? Oh. That was just..." Reiko shifted his gaze to Ares. "...a game I was using as a prologue. The person I'm really after is Olmes the Fourth—you, Ares."

His eyes were no longer the eyes of the Reiko I knew. They were the eyes of an animal fixated on its prey.

"One hundred years ago, the battle between our great-grandfathers ended in a draw. In other words, if I can eliminate Olmes the Fourth, I can prove that I've surpassed my great-grandfather. Kinoka...be sure to play your part."

The animal-like eyes turned towards me.

"Members of the Olmes family require a partner. Olmes the First, who fought with my great-grandfather, had an excellent partner. That's why I had you hook up with Ares—to keep the conditions the same."

"You brought Ares and me together?"

"Yup."

Reiko giggled and reverted back to his usual frivolous self.

This boy... The whole "idiot Reiko" character was just an act he had been putting on the entire time.

"I planted a bomb on your bicycle and had it send out a reeeally simple radio frequency."

"So you realized I was tracking the radio frequency that the 'Butei killer' used...!"

"Well of course I did. I mean, you were so overtly checking with Connect. But Kinoka didn't seen very interested...so I had her cooperate with you during the bus-jacking."

"The bus-jacking too...?!"

"Kinokaaa. A Butei should never entrust her watch to somebody else, no matter what the circumstances are. If you keep track of time with an imprecise watch, you'll be late for school."

My watch... So when we were in the greenhouse, he broke it on purpose. Then he offered to repair the watch as an excuse to take it home with him where he tampered with it. As a result, I missed the seven fifty-eight bus that day...

"So...everything went just as you planned, is this it?!"

"mmm, not exactly. There was one thing that was completely unexpected. I used the bicycle-jacking as a way of getting you two to meet, and I had you team up with each other during the bus-jacking. But I hadn't counted on your unwillingness to stay partners with Ares. I was rather surprised that you didn't take action until I told you about how I took care of your sister."

Kaname.

"My sister... It was you...?!"

Kaname. The person I idolized and respected more that anyone. He's the one who kiled her...!

I could feel it. I could feel the blood rushing to my head.

This was my weakness. When my sister was involved, I couldn't keep my cool...!

"Hee hee. Look, Ares. Your partner's upset. Fight alongside him!"

Reiko... Just what one would expect from the grandson of phantom thief Lupin. I assume this is all going according to plan as well...!

"Kinoka, I'll let you in on something special. Guess what? Your sister...he's currently my girlfriend."

"Cut the crap!"

"Kinoka! He's trying to provoke us! Calm down!"

"How the hell am I supposed to calm down!?"

I am not going to let you continue to insult my departed sister!

I impulsively tightened the grip in my right hand, which was holding the Beretta, and at that instant, the plane shook violently again.

"!"

"Oh là là"

Before I realized it, the Beretta had disappeared from my hand. The gun made a hollow sound as it broke apart on the floor right behind me. All I could see was the smiling face of Reiko who was pointing a small-sized pistol at me—a Walther P99.

"Non, non. We can't have that, Kinoka The way you are now, you won't be of any use in a battle. And besides, Olmes' partner isn't the type who participates in fighting. He takes the viewpoint of a regular civilian, giving Olmes hints and drawing out his full potential. Play that role."

Seeing an opening with Reiko was busy giving his lecture, Ares mode his move. He was like a little lioness. I had just noticed him spring forward when he had his two pistols out homing in on Reiko. He must have judged from from seeing Reiko's weapon that it would work. In close combat between two Butei who always wore bulletproof clothing, a bullet was no longer a weapon that penetrated and killed the opponent the one shot. It became a blunt weapon. That being the case, the total number of bullets in one's possession would determine the outcome. If Reiko were hiding an Uzi, which can contain twenty or thirty bullets, underneath that large jacket of his, Ares would be at a disadvantage. But a Walther 99 normally only held up to sixteen bullets. In comparison, Ares' Government held seven bullets. If you put a bullet in the chamber ahead of time, or inserted one into the ejector, that would make a total of eight. Since he had two pistols, that gave his a total of sixteen shots. It was even.

Or so I thought.

"Ares, you shouldn't assume you're the only one who uses twin pistols." Reiko threw aside his cocktail glass and with that hand, pulled out another Walther P99 from underneath his jacket.

"!"

But Ares wasn't in a position to stop now.

Blam, blam blam!"

Ares started firing his pistols at Reiko from point-blank range.

"Grah! Why you...!"

"Haha! Ahahaha!"

Ares and Reiko were competing to hit each other with their bullets, the two of them only inches apart. Butei Charter, Article Nine, "Under no circumstances shall a Butei kill another person while operating as a Butei." Ares avoided aiming at Reiko's head in order to uphold that law. I'm uncertain if Reiko was attempting to fight on the same terms, but he wasn't aiming at Ares' head either. Ares' and Reiko's hands intermingled as if they were in the middle of a fierce martial arts competition. A close-combat gun fight between Butei involved staying out of your opponent's line of fire, dodging, or using your arms to knock aside the arms of your opponent.

Bang! Bang, Bang!

The bullets fired from their guns miss their small-bodies targets and instead embed themselves into the walls and the floor.

"Ha!"

Reiko laughed aloud when both of Ares' guns signaled that they were out of ammunition, but at that instant, Ares pinned both of Reiko's arms underneath his armpits. The two of them stood there together as it they were embracing, and Reiko's pistols went silent.

That's the way! In hand-to-hand combat, the odds look like they'd be in Ares' favor...!

"Kinji!"

Ares called out to me, but there was no need. Spinning it in my hands, I opened the butterfly knife I kept as a keepsake of my brother. Its blade looked red, glinting under the emergency lamps.

"That's as far you go, Reiko!" I said as I ran towards them, careful to stay clear of the pistols sticking out from behind Ares.

"Quadra... It's such a coincidence, isn't it Ares?" said Reiko. "You and I are alike in many ways. Our lineage. Our cute looks. And...our nicknames."

"?"

"I have the same name as you do— 'Reiko the Quadra'. But you know, Ares..."

I stopped in my tracks. Instinctively, it was all I could do, faced with the surreal and eerie scene that spread out before me.

What...is that?!

"...Your 'Quadra' isn't the real thing. You're still oblivious...to my real power!"

Reiko laughed. And as he did so, his ponytail was moving—just like the hair of Medusa from Greek mytholody. It grabbed onto a knife that Reiko had probably hidden on his back and used it to attack Ares.

"!"

Just as shocked as I was, Ares dodged the first strike...but Reiko's other pigtail, which was also armed with a knife, found its target, drawing fresh blood.

"Aaaaagh!" screamed Ares reeling backwards.

He had been cut on the side of his head. Red blood gushed out from the wound.

"Aha...ahaha! Great-grandfather, after one hundred and eight years this much of a difference in ability between descendants can change, can't it? This boy can't even use his own powers let alone a partner! I can win! I can win! Today, I can become me Aha! Ahaha! Ahahahaha!"

Reiko laughed as he started to talk unreasonably again, all the while thrusting Ares backwards with his hair. That hair must have been exceptionably powerful because it was startling to see just how easily Ares was knocked back before falling at my feet like a tattered rag.

"Ares...Ares!"

Tightly closing his eyelids against the blood that painted his face dark red, Ares continued to grip the pistols in his hands. Reiko licked the blood off the knife being held by his hair with a gratifying look on his face.

Unreal...He's a monster. What I need to do right now is get Ares out of here.

I could hear Reiko laughing at the top of his lungs as I turned my back of him and ran with Ares in my arms.

"Ahahahahaha! Come on, now. Where do you think you're going to run to in a small plane like this?!"

It had been a while since the last time I held Ares in my arms like a princess—and he was so light, it filled me with grief. When human beings become stiff of struggle about, they feel heavier than they actually are. Ares must have been losing consciousness because he was in a complete state of lethargy. I ran into the suite we had been in previously and laid Ares on the bed. The first thing I did was clean the blood off Ares' face with one of the towels that the room was supplied with.

"Ngh..." Ares groaned.

Above his temple was a deep cut underneath his hair.

This is bad. It hit an artery on the side of his head. It's not as vital as the carotid artery but I've got to stop the bleeding right away...!

"Get a grip...the wound isn't that deep!"

Using the hemostatic bandage in my Butei handbook, I sealed the wound on Ares' head. The bandage was nothing but a temporary from of treatment that used petroleum jelly to forcefully stop the bleeding. I wonder if Ares was aware of that; he smiled listlessly, paying little heed to the lie I told him.

"Ares!

Half crazed, I stuck my fingers into the penholder of my Butei handbook and pulled out a small hypodermic syringe that had the words 'Razzo' written on it.

"I'm gonna use Razzo! You're not allergic, right?!"

"...n...o..."

Razzo was like a condensed mixture of adrenaline and morphine. Basically, it was a restorative drug that contained both an analeptic and an analgesic.

"Razzo is a drug that's injected directly into the heart. This can't be helped, okay?"

Having given Ares advanced notice, I climbed on the being able to blow a hole in me...!"

"I-If you...do...anything..weird...I'll...blow..."

"Right. Do me a favor and recover to the point of being able to blow a hole in me...!"

I aggressively lifted my his shirt.

"Uu..." Ares trembled slightly.

His skin was like white porcelain. His pecs were adorable. My heart raced with a nearly audible thud. At a time like this...take about indiscretion.

But damn it, why is every inch of this boy so cute?

"Ares...!"

I laid trembling fingers on his white skin. Searching for his sternum, my fingers traveled down his miniature torso. At two fingers length higher, I found his heart.

"K-Kinoka..."

"Don't move."

"I...I'm scared..."

As he spoke in such a feeble voice, I used my teeth to remove the cap from the syringe I held in my right hand.

"...Ares, can you hear me?! Here it comes!"

He didn't answer. He didn't budge. The beating of his heart—it had stopped.

Ares!

"...come back!"

I thrust the syringe into Ares' chest as if I were slamming my fist down on top of his. Hesitate and it's over. That's why I strengthened my resolve and just injected the medicine into his heart.

"...!"

Ares went into convulsions. His face twisted in response to the intense power of the drug. But I was happy to se his face even in that condition. It was proof that he was alive. He had been resuscitated.

"Ngh...!"

Ares inhaled deeply through his nose and opened his small mouth in a quiver.

What's the outcome...?

On the verge of reliving, Ares' pallid skin began to retrieve its pink color and, and his respiration gradually became stronger. And then...

"Hwuah!" Ares gasped, and the upper half of her body sprung up like a zombie does in the movies.

"Huh...wha?! W-W-W-W-What the-?! What is this?! M-My breasts?!"

It would seem that due to the medicine, Ares' memory was in disarray, and he was unable to remember a few details.

"Ki-Kinji! You did it again, didn't you?! W-Why do you want to look at my breasts so badly?! Are you trying to make fun of me? Is it because they're small?! They just won't grow, no matter how many years pass! I'm just gonna be one hundred and forty-two centimeters tall for the rest of my life!"

In his confused state, not only Ares' face, but his entire body was as red as a boiled octopus while he was pulling down his shirt. Soon enough he realized that there was a syringe stuck in his chest.

"Gyaaah!"

He let out a scream unlike anything you'd think you would ever hear from an elegant high school girl and swinging his arm in a wide arc, wildly yanking out the syringe.

"Look at what you're holding! You were taken out by Reiko, and I used Razzo to..."

"Reiko...Reikoooo!"

In a frenzy, Ares fized his clothing and grabbed his pistols off the bed. He then tried to stagger his way out of the room with the look of a demon on his face.

Not good.

Razzo was a restorative, but at the same time, it was also a stimulant. Ares' physical constitution must have made his particularly susceptible to its effects because he wasn't in his right mind. He wasn't able to judge how much of a difference there was in combat ability between him and Reiko.

"Ares, wait! You won't be able to win against his using standing means!" I yelled as I stood blocking the door and grabbed both of his gun-toting hands with my own.

"It doesn't matter! Let...go! You go hide in fear somewhere!" Ares yelled back with his hands grasped by mine and bearing his fang-line tooth.

"Q-Quiet down, Ares! Reiko's going to find out that we're in the same room and that we're also not working as a team!"

"I don't care! I'm 'Ares', anyway! I'll take care of Reiko by myself! And besides, you didn't need to come here to help in the first place!" A crazed look had surfaced in the red pupils of Ares' eyes, which were glaring at me.

This is not good. If doesn't look like I can get him to calm down.

"You hate me, don't you?! You said it yourself before you went looking for that cat when we were in Oumi! I remember it clearly!"

God, what can I do to shut her up? I've got to seal this mouth that hollers with an anime voice. But there's no way I'm letting go of these hands that are holding onto his guns. The second I do, he'll probably shoot me and run right out of this room. There's got to be some way to... There might be one...

It was a last-resort measure that would take advantage of Ares' weak point. But if I were to go through with it, I...almost without a doubt would go into hysteria mode—that hysteria mode which brought nothing but bad memories and caused my sister's downfall. It would summon forth my other self whom I absolutely didn't want to be and didn't want to show anyone, especially a boy.

But...but...! But right now, there's no other way! At this rate, Reiko is going to come straight for us. He might even already be behind the door.

If Reiko was to hear us off easily. And he would be right. Unarmed as I am, naturally I'd be killed, but so would Ares...!

"I remember! You told me, "I absolutely, positively hate you"! I was acting like it didn't bother me when you said that but...I was thinking of you as a potential partner and yet...you told me you hated me! The truth is I was really hurt back then...!"

Ares...forgive me!

"So I don't care anymore! If you hate me, that's fine! Just go ahead and hat-"

I sealed Ares' screaming mouth...

...with my own.

"...!"

Ares was so surpised, his camellia-colored eyes seemed like they might pop right out of his head. As I suspected, this midget of boy who didn't know how to handle romantic situations, went completely stiff as a result of the kiss I gave her out of desperation. He didn't just quiet down, his whole body, even the tips of his hands became as rigid as stone.

And this kiss...It was a double-edged sword.

Ares' lips, like the petals of a cherry blossom, were so small and soft... I could feel those lips, slightly warmer than mine, becoming the embers that set my entire body ablaze. My heart thumped loudly. I felt a painfully sharp constricting sensation at the core of my body. It burned like fire, and I could feel something surging up from there that I couldn't hold back.

...Incredible. This is the time in my life...I've ever experienced such an intense hysteria mode...!

The two of us took a deep breath as our lips parted. It was a rather long kiss since both of us had frozen up.

"Ares...forgive me. There was no other choice."

"...o-o-o-open a h-ho-..." The strength left his legs, and he sank down onto the floor. "K-K-Kinoka, you idiot...! What d-do you think you're doing...at a time like this...?! That...that...that was my f-f-f...first kiss...!"

For a second, I though he going to cause another commotion, but it didn't look like that was the case. The tearful vioce that was coming from the back of his throat was dull and husky.

"Don't eorry. It was mine, too."

"You idiot...! T-Take responsibility...!"

Now in hysteris mode, I knelt, down and brought my eyes at the same level as Ares' who had been looking up at me on the verge of crying and shaking like a small animal.

"You got it. I'll take responsibility in any way you'd like. But...first we're got some work to do."

"...Kinoka...! This is the second time you..."

Ares seemed to have noticed that my voice was much calmer and deeper than it was previously. He opened his eyes wide with an expression on his face that indicated he had remembered something—most likely the bicycle-jacking incident. I brought my mouth to the side of his head that wasn't injured and whispered into his ear.

"Buei Charter, Article One, 'Believe in your comrades and help one another.' I believe in you, Ares. So believe in me, and use me as a decoy. Listen to me. We're going to work together...and arrest the 'Butei killer.'"

"It's time for the 'bad ending'. Hee hee. Hee hee hee."

Using a key he must have produced from somewhere, Reiko opened the door to our suite. He held the door open with his knife wielding hair just as if it were her own hand, and in each of his actual hands, he held a pistol as he smiled at me.

"I figured you two might have killed each other after fighting among yourselves. But that doesn't seem to be the case, so here I am! Ah..."

Did Reiko catch on to the fact that I was so calm I could have been mistaken for another person? He truly looked happy as he clapped his guns and knives together.

"Haha! Did you and Ares do something together? I'm surprised you could under these circumstances. Hee hee."

Reiko... Did he know about it? Did he know about my hysteria mode?

"So? What's going on with Ares? Don't tell me he dead," said Reiko pointing to the bed with the knife in his hair.

There was a lump underneath the blanket consisting of a pillow and sheets that was made to look like a person was lying in the bed.

"Who knows?"

Just very briefly, I looked towards the shower room to the side of me with me eyes, and Reiko, observant as he was, following my gaze.

"Aaaaah...I just love it when you're like that. It makes my heart race. I might lose control and wind up killing you."

"That's the attitude you better have when you come at me. Otherwise you'll be killed," I said in a warning tone.

Reiko had a look of shock on his face as he pointed his gun at me.

"You are the greatest. I just love you to death, Kinoka. Come on. Show me what Olmes' partner can do." Reiko started to pull the trigger of his gun, and I raised the emergency oxygen cylinder, which I had hidden next to the bed, in front of him vertically.

"...!"

If he were to fire, it would explode. I would be done for, but so would Reiko, Realizing this, Reiko hesitated for an instant. That instant was all I needed. I threw the cylinder at Reiko, and then lunged at him myself. If I could get next to him, I could overwhelm him with the difference in our physiques. The butterfly knife I had hidden made an audible noise as I opened it in the palm of my hand.

"...!"

Reiko knit his brows, and at the exact same moment...

"Whoa!"

The plane must have entered an air pocket because it suddenly lurched wildly. I hadn't planned on this sort of bad luck manifesting itself again. It took me by surprise, even in hysteria mode. Losing my footing, I fell on one knee and watched as Reiko laughed and pointed his Walther at my forehead in the tilted room. And then...

...!

From the muzzle of his gun, a bullet came speeding towards me. I could see it.

I can't dodge this—not to right or left. There's absolutely no way. If that's the case...!

Screeeech!

Using my knife, I cut the bullet in two. I was in astonishment myself at the feat. The effect of the hysteria mode I had gone into this time were tremendous. Splitting a bullet in two—to be honest, I was only half way convinced it could be done. I could hear both halves of the bullet driving themselves into the wall behind me to the left and to the right. While Reiko was looking at me wide-eyed, a hint of awe mixed with the expression of surprise on his face, I drew the black Government I had borrowed from Ares and pointed it at him.

"Don't move!"

"Shoot me and Ares' dead!" Reiko threatened.

He seemed to have judged that, given the position his body was in, he wouldn't have been able to aim the gun at me in time and pointed it towards the shower room. At that moment, the door to the small cabinet next to the ceiling opened and Ares came rolling out with his silver government in hand.

Blam, blam!

He shot both pistols out of Reiko's hands with amazing precision.

"!"

Then, while still in mid-air, he discarded his gun and pulled out two Japanese swords from behind his that arced towards Reiko like meteors. In that one fluid motion after drawing the swords, he continued to bring them down on Reiko's ponytail, severing it from the rest of his hair. The light brown frizzy hair that had been fashioned into a ponytail fell to the floor along with the knives.

"Ah..!"

Reiko placed his hands of the sides of his head and let out a cry of anxiety for the first time. Ares put away his swords and recovered his pistol in one smooth motion.

"Reiko Mine Lupin the Fourth."

"You've been caught in the act of attempted murder, and we're placing you under arrest."

I started the sentence and Ares finished it as we simultaneously pointed the black and silver Governments at Reiko. Reiko looked back and forth between Ares and me with a huge smile on her face.

"I see. You made it seem like he was under the bed and in the shower room, but you were bluffing in both cases. In actuality, you made use of Ares' small size and hid him in the cabinet...Very nice. You can't pull off a double bluff nuless you're really in tune with one another."

"It was against my will, but I did live with him for a while. You get in tune even if you don't really want to."

"You two should be proud of yourselves. This is the first time I've ever been pushed this far into a corner."

"We're far beyond pushing you into a corner. It's checkmate."

"You're such a moron," said Reiko, his voice dripping with venom.

"Reiko's hair suddenly began to wriggle about in its entirety. I was late to react to the uncanny scene in front of me. Inside of Reiko's hair...something was being operated?

"Stop! What are you doing?!"

I charged at Reiko in an attempt to seize him, but at that moment, the plane lurched violently again. It was descending rapidly...! Ares lost his balance and slammed into the wall. It was the best I could do to simply stay om my feet.

"Buh-bye" Reiko said as he dashed out of the suite with lightning speed.

I thought it was odd. This plane reeled in Reiko's favor way too often. He probably had a remote control hidden in his hair that he was using to control the plane. ANA flight six hundred was losing altitude at an alarming rate as it descended among the clouds of a typhoon.

What is she planning to do by descending the plane's altitude this much?

I raced through the corridor surrounded by the screams of the other passengers and went down the stairs. Reiko was standing with his back against a window in the corner of the bar.

"Where do you think you're going to run to in a small plane like this, my little squirrel?" I threw back at Reiko the same words he used earlier as I pointed the Government at him.

"Hee hee. Kinoka, I'd advise you not to come any closer that that," Reiko smiled, showing off his white teeth. Clay-like objects—mostly likely bombs—were taped to the wall, forming a circle around Reiko.

"As you know, being the 'Butei killer', I specialize in bombs."

Seeing me stop, Reiko gathered the hem of his skirt in his hands and raised it slightly, bowing to me in feigned politeness.

"Say, Kinoka. Want to come over to the heaven on earth known as IU? Bringing one person along wouldn't be a problem. I could take you with me. You know, in IU..." Reiko narrowed his eyes. "...you'll find your sister."

I don't believe this girl. He's desecrating the memory of my sister again.

"Don't make me any angrier than I already am. Mark my words, Reiko. Mention my sister again and I just might violate Article Nine on impulse. That would result in an undescribable conclusion for both of us, wouldn't you say?"

"Butei law, Article Nine, "Under no circumstances shall a Butei kill another person while operating as a Butei."

"Ah. We can't have that. I need you to remain a Butei," said Reiko winking at me and wrapping both of his arms around his body. "Let Ares know that we'll welcome the two of you anytime, then."

Boooooooom!

Without warning, Reiko detonated the blasting charges behind him.

"...!"

A circular hole had opened in the wall and Reiko used it to leap outside of the plane. And he did so without a parachute...!

"Rei-...!"

I tried to shout out his name, but I couldn't. The air within the room was rushing towards the window as if it were being sucked out by a giant vacuum cleaner. The alarms inside the plane blared, and oxygen masks fell from the ceiling like an avalanche. All the various objects in the bar were sent flying towards the gaping hole—paper, tablecloths, glasses wine bottles...me.

"...!"

I grabbed onto a stool that was fixed to the floor, and the plane's automated systems started to scatter about fire extinguishing substances and sheets of silicon from the ceiling. Those adhesive sheets, which were like birdlime, amassed in midair and closed of the hole Reiko made just like a spider web. Reaching out to a nearby window, I pulled myself up and looked outside. What I saw in the faint moonlight was window, I puled myself up and looked outside. What I saw in the faint moonlight was Reiko drifting farther and farther away as he spun in circles like a dancer with the sky as his stage. I watched as Reiko unraveled the ribbon on his back, causing his excessively large jacket and pants to transform into an awkward looking parachute. The last I saw of him was when he waved his hand in my direction and vanished into the clouds with nothing on but his undergarments.

I se now. He lowered the plane's altitude this far so he could make his escape.

"...?!"

There were two flashes of light that showed up from behind the clouds Reiko had just disappeared into, and they were heading this way at a ridiculously fast speed. My hysteria mode-enhanced eyes closed in on the objects.

You...you gotta be kidding me. Missiles?!

Boooooooooom!

A devastating sound thundered, and ANA flight six hundred experienced the most sever oscillations of the flight. The impact was clearly unlike something caused by a gust of wind or lightning. It was like the plane had been struck twice by a giant hammer.

"...!"

I hung onto the window as if my life depended on it. Then I looked towards the wings of the plane, praying that they would still be there. It had taken one nightmarish beating after another, but ANA flight six hundred managed to be holding up. There were two jet engines situated on each of its wings, and the inner engine of each pair had been destroyed, but the remaining outer engines were intact. The plane was just barely staying airborne as smoke trailed behind it like shed blood. I was still feeling dizzy due to the sudden drop in air pressure, but I had to hurry to the cockpit. ANA flight six hundred might have withstood the missile attack, but it was still continuing its rapid decent.

The captain and co-pilot seemed to have been hit with tranquilizer darts courtesy of Reiko, for they both were unconscious.

"...What took you so long?!"

Ares, who I presumed entered the cockpit by using the IC chip embedded keys he took off the pilots, turned around and screamed at me while bearing his tooth when I arrived. At his feet lay an odd piece of equipment which resembled the barbette that had been attached to the Segways. It appeared to be the remains of a device Ares dismantled—the one Reiko installed for the purpose of controlling the plane remotely via the controller he had hidden in his hair. Ares fit his small body snuggly into the pilot's seat and took hold of the steering wheel-shaped control column.

"Ares, can you pilot an airplane?"

"I could if it were a Cessna. I've never flown a jet plane before."

He pulled back on the control column with so much force and so little hesitation that I had trouble expelling a few doubts in my mind. ANA flight six hundred responded by elevating its nose as if it had suddenly woken up from a slumber.

"I can control the planes altitude and direction, but..."

"Can you land?"

"No."

"...I see."

I could tell that the plane was flying horizontally. Returning my attention to the window, which was streaked with heavy rainfall, I noticed the plane was flying so close to the ocean surface that a chill ran down my spine. It couldn't have been much more than three hundred meters in the air. It was a perilous situation. I sat down in the other chair and upon finding the radio, switched from intercom to speaker.

"...Please respond...thirty-one. I repeat. This is Handea Control Tower. ANA flight six hundred, respond on emergency communication frequency one twenty-seven six thirty-one. I repeat. One twenty-seven thirty-one. Please respond."

Their communication came through. I turned on the microphone that was installed on the instrument board.

"...This is flight six hundred. The plane was hijacked moments ago, but we've managed to regain control. The captain and co-pilot and incapacitated. Currently, we two Butei who were passengers on the flight are piloting the plane. My name is Kinoka Tohyama. The other is Ares H. Kanzaki."

The voice of the people at Haneda were mixed with both relief and surprise in response to my statement.

Great. For the time being, at least we've established a connection with the control tower.

I then proceeded to make use of the satellite phone I took off the captain's belt a short while ago. This type of phone, which was very similar in appearance to a cell phone, was also used in maritime communications, so it was capable of making a connection to a phone line via satellite no matter where you called from or at what speed you were traveling. As I started making the call, I connected the phone to the speaker using Bluetooth. I was still in hysteria mode. Everything I needed to do came to mind in perfect order.

"Who are you calling?"

Ares' question was answered by the new voice that came from the speaker.

"Hello?"

"Muto, it's me. Sorry from calling from an unfamiliar phone number."

"I-Is this Kinoka?! Where are you right now?! Your boyfriend is in trouble!"

"He's not my boyfriend, but if you're referring to Ares, he's right here next to me."

Gosuke Muto was an excellent student in the Logi division. Keeping relations with the guy seemed to be my inescapable fate, but the time had finally come for it to pay off.

"Wait...What are you doing...?!" Muto said confused.

"B...bo...boy..."

Having been called my boyfriend, Ares displayed his proneness to blushing and became a stuttering mess. He looked like he was about to start pretesting so I placed my index finger on his lips and put a stop to it.

"...Ngh!"

Ares became redder still, but more importantly, he stiffened up and remained quiet.

"...Muto, I'm surprised you knew about the hijacking. Is it on the news?"

"It's been big news for a while now. A passenger probably used one of the phones inside the plane to report the incident. The guys at Connect looked up the list of passenger names in on time. Ares' name was included so we gathered here at the classroom."

I gave a brief explanation of our current situation to Haneda Control Tower and Muto. I told them how the plane had been hijacked and that the perpetrator escaped. I also mentioned that we were hit by missiles and two of our engines were destroyed.

"ANA flight six hundred, remain calm. That B737-350 was made using the most state-of-the-art technology. It can fly without any problem using just the remaining two engines. That's a benefit that won't change regardless of how bad weather conditions are."

Ares showed signs of relief at hearing the information Haneda Control Tower provided.

"More importantly, Kinoka, you said the two engines that were destroyed were the inner engines, right? Tell me the number on the fuel gauge. There should be a square-shaped screen a little above the center of the EICAS (Engine-indicating and crew-alerting system). You'll see a circular meter with two rows of numbers, each with four digits. Below that, there are three graduations next to the word 'Fuel'. Tell me the number that's in the center, marked 'Total.'"

That was a vehicle geek for you. Muto spoke as if she were looking right at the instrument board.

"Ii just became five-forty. It seems to be dropping little by little. It's at five thirty-five now."

I heard Muto click her tongue after I told her what she wanted to know.

"Shit...it's really leaking excessively."

"The fuel's leaking...?! T-Tell me how to stop it!" Ares cried hysterically.

There was a short pause.

"There's no way to stop it. Simply put, the engines of the B737-350 that are closer to the fuselage are also the gates to the fuel system. If they've ben destroyed, the leakage can't be stopped no matter what you do.

"H-How much longer will the fuel last?"

"There might be a lot of fuel left, but it's leaking out at a fast pace. I hate to tell you this, but...around fifteen minutes."

"This state-of-the-art technology is really something." I said in a word of sarcasm to the people at Haneda Control Tower.

"Kinoka, I heard this from the guys at Connect, but apparently that plane had just been flying in circles above Sagami Bay. Right now, you're flying above the Uraga Channel. Head back to Haneda. Considering the distance to other airports, that's you're only option."

"That was my intention all along," said Ares.

"...ANA flight six hundred, how are you piloting the plane? Kame sure you don't take it off of autopilot."

"The autopilot went off line a long time ago. I'm piloting the plan right now."

Ares looked at the section of the instrument board where a red light that read 'Autopilot' was flashing, accompanied by a warning tone that beeped at the same tempo. I didn't know the details, but Ares was probably right.

"...that being the case, I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me how to land."

"...it's not the sort of thing an amateur can become capable of doing right on the spot... Currently, we're preparing to engage in emergence communications with the nearby aircrafts in the area. We'll try to find a captain with a long history of flying the same modal plane..."

"There's no time," I interjected. "I want you to open communications between us and every other aircraft in the vicinity. Can you do it?"

"W-Well, yes, that's possible, but...what do you plan on doing?"

"I'm going to divide them up and have all of them explain to me at the same time the different procedures required to land this plane. Muto, you help out too."

"At the same time?! Kinoka, you're not Prince Shotoku!"

"I can do it. In my current state, I can do it. Could you be quick about it? We don't much time, after all."

I noticed Ares looking at me with an expression of surprise on his face. He looked like he was about to say something, so I silenced his with a wink of my eye and returned my gaze to the front of the plane. Flying under the clouds, through the raging rainstorm, I could see the lights of Tokyo coming into view beyond the black ocean. We were headed straight for the lights as if we were on a collision course to Tokyo.

Listening to eleven people speak at once, I instantly understood how to land the plane. Now I was able to read all the gauges on the instrument board. We were currently at an altitude of one thousand feet; that was around three hundred meters. It was a dangerous altitude to be flying at no matter how you looked at it, but since we would only remain airborne for ten more minutes, we couldn't afford to waste a single drop of fuel, so I didn't dare to climb even one meter higher. As we approached the airspace above Yokosuka, we heard a deep voice come from the speaker connected to Haneda.

ANA flight six hundred, this is the Ministry of Defense, Aviation Administration."

Ares and I exchanged glances.

The Ministry of Defense...?

"You are not granted permission to use Haneda Airport. The airport is currently being blockaded by the Self-Defense Force."

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

The person who yelled was neither Ares nor I. It was Muto.

"Who is this?" demanded the deep voice.

"I'm Gosuke Muto, a Butei! Flight six hundred is leaking fuel! They can only fly for ten more minutes! There's nowhere for them to make a diverted landing! Haneda is their only option!

"Butei Muto, yelling at me isn't going to get you anywhere. This is an order from the Minister of Defense."

I felt an unsettling presence and looked to the side of us. Ares followed my gaze outside the window and I heard his catch his breath. Right outside of the plane, an F-15J Eagle, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force's fighter jet, was flying right next to us.

"Hey, Ministry of Defense. I can see one of your friends outside the window..."

"...He's there to guide you. Follow him out to sea and head for Chiba. He'll take you to a safe landing zone."

Ares rotated the hand wheel to the right and starting turning the plane towards the ocean. As I disconnected the line to Haneda, I placed my hand on top of Ares', stopping him.

"Don't head out to sea, Ares. That guy was lying."

"?"

"The Ministry of Defense doesn't think we can land safely. Once we're over the ocean, well be shot down."

"Y-You can't be serious...! It's not just us; there are civilians on this plane as well!"

"If we crash land in Tokyo it'll be a big disister. They're desperate."

My hand still on top of Ares', I turned the whell to the left and had the plane head towards Yokohama.

"K-Kinoka?" With his fingers somewhat stiffened, Ares looked up at me anxiously. It was a look that said I was being depended on.

"If that's how they're going to be, then we'll respond respectively and take hostages. Ares, fly over the city."

ANA flight six hundred flew over Yokohama Minatomirai and into the Tokyo metropolitan area. There were seven minuts of fuel remaining.

"So where do you plan on landing, Kinoka? There's no other airstrip in this city."

"Muto, how long of an airstrip would we need?"

"For a B737-350 with two engines...I'd say about two thousand four hundred and fifty meters."

"...do you know what the wind speed is over there?"

"Wind speed? Reki, what's the wind speed at Academy Island?"

"My sense is that five minutes ago, it was forty-one point zero two meters per second heading south-southeast."

I heard the voice of Reki from Snipe in the background.

"In that case, Muto, how long would the airstrip need to be if we came down against a wind speed of forty-one meters per second?"

"...I guess...two thousand and fifty would do it."

"...Just enough," I whispered to myself, and both Muto and Ares went silent for a moment.

"Where do you intend to land?" asked Ares. "There's no straightaway like that in Tokyo."

"Remember the way the Mega-Float that Butei High lies on is shaped? It's a rectangle two kilometers from north to south and five hundred meters from west to east. If we go in at a diagonal, we can secure two thousand and sixty-one meters."

"H-Hey..." Muto sounded concerned.

"Dont worry, Muto sounded concerned.

"Don't worry, Muto. We're not gonna come down on Academy Island."

"...?"

"We'll use Empty Island. There is another Mega-Float to the north, on the other side of Rainbow Bridge."

"Dude, you're...How do you come up with these outrageous ideas? Is that really you, Kinoka?"

"Haha...Ares, who's siting right next to you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Go ahead and answer."

This is no time to be teasing Ares, hysteria mode Kinoka, I reprimanded myself.

But Ares just gave another demonstration of how susceptible he was to blushing. His indignant eyes began to open wide, and he looked like he was going to make an objection, but it probably dawned on her that I was the leader taking charge at the moment. The proud little prince turned away from me and answered.

"Kinoka."

He said it ungraciously with the attitude of a child who surrendered to an adult.

"There you have it, Muto. I wish I could be elsewhere though."

The night view of Shibuya and Harajuku passed by directly underneath us.

Everyone in the city must be pretty startled.

"The Mega-Float...In theory, it's doable..." Muto replied with a sigh.

The hardened expression on Ares' face suddenly lightened up.

"But you know, Kinoka," Muto continued. "That place is really just a floating island. It doesn't even have guidance lights, let alone any guidance systems. Regardless of the type of plane, even in the worst situation, at the very least, you need guide lights or you can't make a nighttime landing. Not to mention your vision is gonna be horrible due to the heavy rain; plus, there's a windstorm. Add to that the fact that you're going to be landing manually-"

"Well then, Ares, do you wanna give up on landing and commit suicide with me?" I interrupted Muto's lecture and asked Ares.

"I-I refuse to commit suicide with you even if it kills me."

Ares made somewhat of a contradictory statement and stuck his tongue out at me.

"Haha. This is a happy occasion. Our opinions matched for the first time."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm against committing a double suicide myself. I refuse to let you die."

Ares ducked his head down and turned red again, looking as if he was thinking something along the lines of, "Why do have to go and say things like that?!"

"That's the situation, Muto. This plane is going start making preparations to land."

"Wait! Wait, Kinoka! Empty Island is wet with rain! You won't be able to stop in time with two thousand and fifty meters!"

"I'll do something about it. Have faith in me."

"D-Do whatever you want! Screw this up and I'm gonna run you over!"

She must have gone berserk because before she hung up, I could hear her yelling at everyone else in the classroom.

Nearly grazing the skyscrapers of Shinjuku, ANA flight six hundred made a wide turn to the right. There were three minutes remaining. Needing to reduce speed in order to land on a short runway, flight six hundred flew over Tokyo Dome and soared past Tokyo Station and a rainy Ginza at an annoyingly relaxed pace.

"Ares, this plane is flying lower that Tokyo Tower. Make sure you don't crash into it.

"Don't take me for an idiot."

Ares extended the landing gears and transferred the main controls to the co-pilot seat where I was.

Okay, Tokyo Bay is coming into view. I should be seeing the Mega-Float any time now...

But my brain, being in hysteria mode, came up with the conclusion right away. We had down our best up to the point, but landing the plane...was impossible. I couldn't see even a trace of Empty Island. Just like Muto has said, past Shiodome, Tokyo Bay was shrouded in darkness. There were no guidance lights or anything, so if fell to reason. I knew it would be dark, but to think it would be this dark... The way things stood, I had no idea what angle to land at or how high I was flying. Under these circumstances, not even a veteran pilot would be able to avoid a disaster. I had no choice but to change my way of thinking and come up with a method to crash land that would result in the fewest casualties. Ares' sixth sense must have told him that's what was going through my mind.

"Kinoka. It's okay. I know you can do it. You have to. If you want to quit being a Butei, dying as a Butei would mean defeat. And you're not the only one. I still haven't saved my mom!"

As Ares was speaking to me, just like magic...

"I can't afford to die yet! There's no way I'm going to die in a place like this!"

...lights became visible on Empty Island in front of Bay Bridge...!

"Kinoka! Are you seeing this, you damned idiot?!

The line connecting us to Muto became active again, and I heard her voice along with the heavy rain splatting on the windshield.

"Muto?!"

"If you die, Shiro-...I mean, there are people who are gonna be in tears! I stole the biggest motorboat they had at Logi! We all brought Armed's (Equipment Division) Maglites out here without permission, too! You be sure to write everyone's apology letters for them after this is over!"

Following Muto's complaints, a third party and a fourth party, one after another, people's voice came through on the line between Muto and me.

"Kinoka!"

"I can see the plane!"

"You're almost there!"

"Hang in there just a little longer!"

Being in hysteria mode, I could tell. These voices. It was them. They were the students Ares and I rescued during the bus-jacking...! They had crossed over to Empty Islands from Academy Island and were making guidance lights for us!

Butei Charter, Article One, "Believe in your comrades and help one another."

I carefully lowered the plane's altitude and made my way down—down to the island to which they led us...!

Screeeeeeeeeeeeech!

ANA flight six hundred went through with its forced landing on the rain beaten Mega-Float. Enduring oscillations that seemed strong enough to make the eyes come out of one's sockets, Ares activated the reverse thrusters.

"Stop, stop, stop, stop, stoooooooop!"

"Here we gooooo!" I yelled in tune what Ares' high-pitched anime voice.

I quickly maneuvered the sterring wheel used for taxiing the plane and made it curce. It would take more that two thousand and fifty meters for the plane to stop on a runway wet with rain. Muto was right about that. But I had a plan. I had come down on the Mega-Float prepared to infiltrate that plan. It was coming up ahead—the pillar of a wind turbine generator...!

Crash!

I steered the plane so that its wing collided with the pillar and swung around it, sending the plane spinning as it slid. Inside the cockpit, Ares and I were tossed about like clothes in a washing a machine.

...

"Ngh...owww..."

I smell...gardenias. Oh, right. This is Ares' scent.

Suffering from the pain that I felt throughout my entire body, I opened my eyes. Outside the window, I could see Rainbow Bridge. ANA flight six hundred...had come to a stop. Everything was as close a call as it could have ben, but somehow, it worked out. But...for some reason, I was unable to mave. At that point, I already knew to expect the situation that Ares and I were fated to end up in. Just as I predicted, I was sitting in a reclined co-pilot's seat with Ares lying on top of me. Ares was unconscious and had his legs around my waist, his arms over my shoulders, and his handsome face resting on top of my head.

"Haha..."

I slowly looked down towards her upper body..and there was no problem. His shirt wasn't lifted up.

Looks like I'll get out of this without being shot at this time.

Or at least, that's what I thought for the next three seconds. While Ares' shirt may have been in order, his pants were completely dropped.

"...!"

I quickly averted my eyes. Then, without looking and careful not to wake Ares up, I gently pulled up his pants for him.

That should do it.

I managed to survive after nearly being killed for seeing the top half. I sure as hell wasn't going to be marked for assassination again for seeing the bottom half. Can you blame me?

End of Fifth Bullet

---

Final Bullet
La Bambina dal'ARES...

Anyways, I slept like a log at the hospital, and when I woke up, it had all been a dream. Such was the conclusion I was hoping for, but that didn't seem to be the case. The evidence was the pain all over my body. Considering there were twelve areas on my body, which consisted of bruises, abrasions and sprains, I guess it made sense that I was in pain. This was reality—quite different from the way things worked in comics or the movies.

At the moment, I was looking at the night view of Tokyo from the balcony of my quiet apartment. One of the wind turbine generators of Empty Island was bent, and underneath it was a B737-350 waiting to be dismantled.

Aw, shit. I went and ruined the scenery I liked so much.

"I never thought I'd see such a beautiful starry sky in Tokyo," said Ares.

"It's that whole 'clear whether after a typhoon's passing' thing."

Ares and I were speaking on the balcony under a sky filled with countless stars. Today was a hell of a day, what with questioning by the police and interviews for television. It had gotten this late before I could finally get back home to this apartment. For some reason, Ares came with me though.

"...My mom's trail date got pushed back," Ares said while gazing out at Empty Island. "This latest incident proved that the changes against him for the 'Butei killings' were false. His lawyers said the Supreme Court trial would be postponed until further notice."

"I see."

The situation didn't really call for a 'Congratulations', so that was all I replied with. After looking at the B737 with its broken wing, Ares turned towards me.

"Tell me, why...did you get on that plane and come to my aid?"

"Why?" Don't ask me questions that I don't know the answer to myself.

"...well, because I figured that being the idiot you are you wouldn't be able to defeat the 'Butei killer.'"

"I-It wasn't that big of a deal...I could have handled it on my own. You're the idiot."

"Yeah, I guess. I might be an idiot for saving an idiot like you."

I put my elbows on top of the balcony wall and let out a fairly deep sigh. Ares blinked those big eyes of his and after hesitating a bit, spoke up again.

"Sorry. That was a lie."

"What was?"

"The part about being able to handle it on my own."

He said it with a sigh and started talking in a subdued fashion, which was rare for Ares.

"You know, when we were up there in that plane...I figured it out. I understood why I need a partner. There are some things I can't resolve by myself. If you weren't there, I'm sure I would have..."

"..."

"...That's why I came to say goodbye today."

"...Goodbye?"

"I'm going to go and find a partner after all. The truth is...I wish it could be you, but a promise is a promise."

"Promise?"

"Just one case. We promised, didn't we?"

"Oh...yeah."

Now that he mentions it, we did promise that. I return to Assault and pair up with Ares—just once. It only lasts until the Butei killer case is resolved.

"Butei Charter, Article Two, 'Fulfill the contract made with your clients at all costs.' So I won't come after you anymore."

Ares was becoming less and less resolute. He continued to repeatedly make up his mind to say something, only to decide against it again until he finally looked me straight in the eyes once more.

"...Kinoka, you make a fine Butei. That's why I respect your will now and...I won't call you a slave anymore. So...if you ever change your mind...um, come see again. If that time should come, then next time, we'll be partner for sure..."

It seemed like Ares still wasn't able to completely give up on the idea, and my response to his offer was a simply apology.

"...Sorry," I said, unable to help but look away from his.

I had no intention of becoming a Butei. There was the issue of my brother as well. And to be honest, I'd had enough of placing myself I dangerous situations like the one we just went through.

"T-That's fine. If that's the way you feel about it. I mean, I am still an 'ares' anyways. Forget what I just said."

With that, Ares turned his back towards me and perhaps due to the cold, headed back inside.

What a bummer! This month in Tokyo was the pits! In the end, I wasn't able to find a partner, I injured my head, and I was horrible at UFO Catcher!"

Ares spoke as it she just didn't care anymore, and figuring I could at least se him off cheerfully since it would be the last time, I feigned a smile as I went back inside.

"If...there is a next time, I'll show you the rick to winning at UFO Catcher. But you know, you do need a sense for which prizes make good targets."

What? Are you trying to say I don't have good sense?" retorted Ares, looking up at me with his hands on his hops and bearing his tooth. "Keep insulting me and I'll open a hole in you! Ten of 'em...no, a lot more!"

Ares stuck his tongue out at me and laughed. I must have been contagious because I found myself laughing as well. I'm not sure what was so funny exactly, but we just continued to laugh together. I saw Ares to the door and watched over him as he put on his shoes, which he had slovenly thrown down on the floor when he came in.

"Ah, it's already this late. I've gotta hurry."

"Do you have some sort of appointment?"

"Yeah. Someone's coming to pick me up. What with everything that's happened, the London Bureau of Butei said they would have their helicopter in Tokyo to take me back."

The London Bureau of Butei. That's where Ares was operating as a Butei.

"Before my mom was arrested, I worked there pretty extensively. They're nagging me to hurry and come back. It's their way of turning a blind eye to their own incompetence. But, I decided this would be a good opportunity for me to go back for once and make a fresh start."

"Go back...to London?"

"Yeah. I'll be heading to the British Navy's aircraft carrier by helicopter, and from there I'll get on a carrier based jet."

A...navy aircraft carrier? Talk about large scale. That's nobility for you.

"I hope you find someone—a partner, that is."

"I'm sure I will. Thanks to you, I know that 'there's nobody in the world who can be my partner' isn't true."

"I se...Yeah, I guess so. Well, see you around. Hand in there."

"I will. Bye-bye."

Ares opened the door without looking back...and left the apartment. I didn't shop him from going. The door closed after him.

Not this episode is finally over with...

...

"...?"

I didn't hear Ares' footsteps. He had left, so the next thing he would have to do is go to the elevator or the stairwell. Finding it a little odd, I looked out the spy hole. What I saw was Aria in front of the door, sobbing.

"Not like this...I don't want things to end like this, "Kinoka...There's no one...There's no one...like you...anywhere. I'll never...be able to find anyone..." Ares whispered to himself as he frantically used the back of his hand to wipe away the tears streaming from his eyes.

...Ares. Why...are you crying? You were laughing just a second ago. You were laughing with such a positive attitude. So why? Why are you crying...Ares.

In the end, I wasn't able to bring myself to open the door. I felt that doing so would have made profound changes in my life. I sank down into my sofa and my hand on my forehead.

Just pretend you never saw it. You never saw Ares' tears. Then it can all come to an end. That's right, Kinoka. Just think back. Being with that boy is nothing but a nuisance. All he does is bring trouble with his. He's like the plague. It's great that he's gone. Come on, Kinoka. Open up your desk drawer. Get out your application to transfer out of Butei High. That's right. That's the way it should be. You've been busy recently, so you couldn't turn it in, but why not just take it to the educational affairs department right now and stick it in the mail slot? Then you can attend a normal high school and go to a normal college. Why not become a salary woman or something and live the ordinary life you've been planning for yourself?

The more I thought about it, the stronger a presence Ares became in my mind. Ares...Ares. He showed up all of a sudden like a typhoon and threw my life into disarray; the he disappeared, like the wind.

...What was up with Ares exactly? I thought I would be relieved once his was gone...So why am I so depressed? Am I being swayed by the cute little thing's tears? Me? That's ridiculous.

Somehow, the Leopon attached to my cell phone to my cell phone on the desk looked like it was crying.

"Damn it. Kinoka...what are you thinking? Stop. Just stop," I said to myself.

I've thought to myself more than once that Ares, fighting courageously, was like a small lion cub. But he was no lion. He was a lost little kitten. He left his home and didn't know where to go. No one would stand by him, and he would wind up covered in blood after battling crows and stray dogs. He had no idea what to do and was crying inside a garbage can that fell into a ditch. Ares was that little kitten.

"Ares..."

I squeezed Leopon in my hand. If Ares were going to save his mother, Kanae, he would have to fight against other foes besides the 'Butei killer'. Ares...He would have to fight, and fight, and kep fighting in this world that was like a giant garbage can.

Are you okay with that?

He continued to call himself an 'ares' to the very end.

Are you okay with that, Ares? You're still wet behind the ears. You're the defective heir of the Olmes family. Are you okay with being an 'ares'?!

"Of course he isn't. You understand, don't you Kinoka."

Like Ares, I, too, was a defective heir to the Tohyama family. I couldn't become a hero of justice. But...but...

...If it were just Ares' ally, that was something I might be able to become.

I could just barely smell Ares scent, which still remained in the apartment. It was that overly sweet aroma of gardenias.

"Sweet...really swet. Kinoka, you're too damned sweet! Damn it all!"

Talking to myself, I ripped up the application to transfer. I tore it in two, right down the center.

Thirty minutes had passed since Ares left my apartment. No busses would be coming at this hour. My bike was destroyed. That's why being the sweet idiot I was, I ran as fast as I could to the boys' dormitory where Butei High's helipad was located.

I could see a helicopter on top of the roof. That had to be it. The rotor was spinning, and it looked like it was going to take of at any minute. To make the situation worse, of all the times, the elevator was currently not running because it was under inspection. I raced up the emergency stairwell and headed for the roof. I had pretty much run the entire way from the women's dormitory in the southern end to the boys' dormitory in the north. Now I was climbing up a stairway, and my heart was about to burst. The boy really did make do a lot of running. Sweat dripped off my face and strong winds disrupted my respiration right when I was already short of breath. But I couldn't stop. I absolutely couldn't stop. I didn't like being a Butei. I didn't like Butei High, either. I also didn't like being around boys. And I didn't like being in hysteria mode. None of that had changed. But what I disliked even more was the thought of becoming the kind of lousy jerk that could ignore the tears of that midget, Ares. There were still six months before the time came to submit applications to transfer out of this school. As for my torn up application, I'd fil out another form during these six months. But until that time comes...I'll run for you just a little while longer!

Bam!

I kicked open the door in front of me, and I could see that I was a little too late. The helicopter, creating a thundering sound with its rotor, had just reached a height of ten meters in the air above the roof.

"Ares!" I yelled.

Ceasing to think, I just continued screaming.

"Ares! Aresssssss!"

I yelled with lungs that were completely out of breath. I yelled so hard, I thought those lunghs were going to burst. I yelled louder that I ever had before in my life.

"Aresssssss!"

My hair became disheveled in the gusts of wind sent down upon me by the helicopter's rotor. My shirt and pants were flapping noisily in the wind with seemingly enough force to be ripped off my body. I'm sure Ares couldn't hear my voice over the sound of the helicopter. But I couldn't help but scream anyway. Ares! Ares! Ares!

The sliding door of the helicopter opened with an audible sound and a surprising amount of force.

"Kinoka, you idiot! What took you so long?!"

Ares had his head sticking out of the door, and then of all the things, he tied a wire to the edge of the helicopter and jumped down surrounded by the strong winds!

"Wai-! You-!"

Though Ares was slowing himself down with the wire, he was descending at a speed that wasn't much different from free falling. The pilot must have gotten flustered and screwed up in controlling the helicopter because it wobbled in mid-air, sending Ares swinging like a pendulum.

"Wha-? H-Huh?! Huuh?!"

"...H-Hey! Wai-!"

I backpedaled in an attempt to catch Ares, but soon enough my back came up against the chain-link fence. Ares finally went and released himself from the wire, causing him to come flying directly towards me diagonally.

---

Do you think boys come falling down out of the sky?

---

In the next instant, all the color drained from my face.

"...!"

The force of Ares' impact sent me reeling back into the chain-like fence, which bent backwards a great deal as a result. The fence was now slanted at an angle and shaped more like a launch ramp, and the two of us slid down it, returning to the roof.

Thank goodnesws. One false move and we would have fallen right off the roof.

"Y-You seriously-!"

"Ares, what are you doing?!"

"My bellowing was followed by that of a Caucasian man in the helicopter. He was probably a government official of the London Bureau of Butei.

"Pbbbbbtt."

Ares was pulling down his lower eyelid with his index finger and sticking his tongue out at the helicopter in the sky while it sent his ponytail fluttering all over the place with the downward air current it was making. I'm not sure if that upset the people on board, but a few officials from the Bureau of Butei used a wire to descend from the helicopter onto the rooftop.

The London Bureau of Butei. They wanted to take Ares back. They want to bring him back to Britain and work him like a horse. They were probably in a panic because Ares said he would return, but was now jumping ship.

The situation sure looks grim. There's too many of them. At this rate, Ares' going to be taken back to London. I've got to do something...! But in my current state—the Kinoka who's not in hysteria mode—there's absolutely nothing I can... No, I have to do something. That's just an excuse for me. Find out what it is you can do even when you're not in hysteria mode!

"Ares."

"What?"

"Do those guys have wire on them?"

"They should have used it all when they descended from the helicopter just now. There were no spares inside," said Ares placing his hands on his pistols.

"Don't shoot, Ares. They're officials from another country. If they get hurt, it's gonna be a big problem."

"...What are you going to do then?"

I replied by making a desperate dash to the door that led to the stairway. Once there, I used the Beretta I bought anew to fire a couple rounds into the doorknob and destroy it.

Perfect. It bent out of shape quite nicely. It should be impossible to leave this rooftop now.

"W-What's the point of sealing off the exit?!" stormed Ares.

I smiled wryly as I looked back at his. I imagine it must have been a pretty pathetic and unreliable looking face.

"Sorry, Ares. This is the only thing I could come up with in my current state."

"?"

"You...jumped off of here to save me before, didn't you?"

When the 'Butei killer' took over my bicycle, Ares, you jumped off the roof of the boys' dormitory to save me. I remember it well.

"Ares, in my current state, this is how I naturally am—a guy who's not capable of doing much of anything..."

"...?"

"But repaying you the favor you did me—I can do that much!"

Ares, come on! You strengthen your resolve! If you intend to make a worthless girl like me your partner, you're gonna have to do reckless stuff like this!

I ran towards the chain-link fence we had just nearly toppled over.

"Kinoka?!" said Ares, running after me.

"Ares! You're an 'ares'! It's true! I'm sure you are! But...!"

The chain-like fence was in the shape of a launch ramp, and I used it just like one.

"...I'll at least be your BGM!"

Screaming those words, I jumped into the sky looking as if I were striding over the full moon, which just reached its peak.

---

I wonder.

Am I a too much of a Ms. Nice Girl? Why did things come to this, exactly?

---

The wire in my skirt that I attached to the chain-link fence earler was slowing down my fall. Ares, with his shirt turned up considerably, had jumped down and came grabbing onto me in mid-air. Ares and I came crashing into the vinyl greenhouse that was located next to the boys' dormitory. The vinyl foor became a cushion to stop our fall...or, that's what I had hoped. We plowed right through the roof and fell inside of the greenhouse.

"...O-Ow..."

"K-Kinoka, you idiot!"

I certainly was a reckless idea. Our eyes were spinning around like they do in the comic books. Ares staggered to his feet.

"T-That was the worst plan ever! You're in 'idiot Kinoka mode', aren't you...?"

That word finally came out of Ares' mouth, and my check twitched upon hearing it. Although he didn't know all the details, the number of people who knew about my secret had increased. The searchlight of the helicopter came shining down into the greenhouse from above. We found ourselves being singled out by the circular light as we were right in the center of it. It was just like an act out of an opera.

"Kinoka."

Ares pointed his crimson eyes at me. I looked up at him, still sitting on the ground.

"You have mysterious abilities tat are rapidly enhanced when triggered by something."

"..."

"I'm not sure what that 'something' is. And you have no self-control over it."

"..."

"But you know, I just thought of something. It that's the case, all I have to do is train you to be able to use those abilities at any given moment! That's it! The answer was the simple! Don't you agree?!"

"Wai-...! T-That might be physically possible...but it's ethically out of the question!"

"A woman shouldn't go back on her word!"

"I never said any words to go back on!"

"Oh, just be quiet! I'm going to make you my partner and become an excellent 'H', just like my great-grandfather! I've made up my mind!"

"W-What is that 'H', already?!"

"You still haven't figured it out?! Unbelievable! What an idiot! Massive idiot! Guinness World Record level idiot! Gold medal idiot!"

Hey, that's going a bit too far, isn't it?

"Oh, forget it! I've chosen you, so I'll just tell you! My name is..." Bearing his tooth, Ares put his hands on his hips with an exaggerated motion as he stuck out his chest, which couldn't be pushed up or plunged. "Ares Holmes Kanzaki!"

"Ho...lmes...?!"

"That's right! I'm Sherlock Holmes the Fourth! And I've chosen you to be my partner, J. H. Watson! I'm not letting you excape again! If you try to get away..."

Wait, wait. Wait a second!

"...I'll open a hole in you!"

End of Final Bullet

---

Epilogue
Go For The NEXT!

Sherlock Holmes

He was Britain's famous detective who had an active career around one hundred years ago—an expert with guns and a master of baritsu. And Reiko was France's phantom thief, Lupin the Fourth. The first generation Holmes and Lupin battled together in France, and after the struggle ended in a draw, their grudges were passed down through the family. That's what I read in some document at Inquesta. It turns out that 'Holmes' is pronounced 'Olmes in French.

So that's what it was. But still... His favorite food is peach buns. He goes on a rampage with his pistols at the drop of a hat. He swings around Japanese swords. Can a cute little midget like that really be a Holmes?!

My inner turmoil was completely meaningless however, Ares, on the bothersome pretext of discovering the key to switch me in and out of modes, had come back to my apartment. I protested against living together, but he argued that since Reiko hadn't been captured, the case of the 'Butei killer' still hadn't been resolved. I told him he was just splitting hairs. Having said that...I did agreed with Ares as far as his opinion that Reiko was probably still alive. And I was interested in what he was saying about my sister and that 'IU' he kept bringing up. Those missiles that came out of nowhere and hit the ANA flight six hundred were a mystery as well. This case was far from being closed.

With those thoughts in the corner of my mind, one night, Ares and I were arguing over whether peach buns or eel buns tasted better. The chime of the cell phone in my pocket alerted me to an incoming text message. The signal quality in this apartment wasn't the best, and sometimes it would take some time after a message was sent before my cell phone would chime, or at other times a backlog of messages would come all at once. I received a shock as I looked at the display. There were forty-nine unread text messages and eighteen voice recorded messages. And they were all from Shiro. The first one read, "Kin-chan, is it true that you're living with a boy?" It was followed by "I just got back from Mount Osore, and I heard a rumor that a boy named Ares H. Kanzaki had seduced you." "Why aren't you answering?" "I'm coming over!" I watched as Shiro's messages gradually evolved into something horrifying over a period of thirty minutes.

"Shit! A-Ares, m-m-m-m-m-m-m-make a run for it!"

"W-What are you talking about? Why are you trembling all of a sudden? Y-You're creeping me out, Kinoka..."

"T-T-The 'armed shrine priest' is...ah! Oh no...he's here...!"

Footsteps that sounded like they belonged to a raging bull in the middle of a charge were resonating in the hallway of the apartment complex. They were coming closer! A piercing metallic sound rang out, and like a bad joke, the door to the apartment was cut open. Standing there firmly with his feet set apart and suited for battle with a metal-plated headband and a sash that held up the sleeves of his shrine priest garb was...

"Shiro!"

Shiro was wheezing as if he had made a mad dash all the way over here, and he wore an angry expression under his squarely cut bangs.

"So...you were here...after all...Ares...H...Kanzaki!" said Shiro trying to catch his breath between each word.

"W-Wait! Calm down, Shiro!"

"It's not your fault, Kin-chan! You were tricked! I know it!"

I still wasn't sure what triggered it, but every now and then, Shiro would turn into a demon-like berserker just like this. And at times like these, for some reason, the people around me—usually boys—wind up taking the brunt of his attacks.

"You thieving hussy! A-A-Atone for your sin of seducing and defiling Kin-chan with your death!"

Shiro lifted his Japanese sword, which gave off a bluish glow, above his head. Not even Ares could help but back away, and he was even forgetting to draw his pistols.

"S-Shiro, stop! I haven't ben defiled in any way!"

"Kin-chan, step aside! I can't kill him unless you get out of the way!"

"Kinoka! Do something about him! W-What's going on here?!"

"What's going on?" That what I want to know!

End of Volume 1

---

Cast:

Ares H. Kanzaki: Koki Miyata (Japanese); Zach Aguilar (English)

Gosuke Muto: Megumi Han (Japanese); AmaLee (English)

Kanae Kanzaki: Sayaka Ohara (Japanese); Stephanie Young (English)

Kinoka Tohyama: Ayaka Asai (Japanese); Kara Edwards (English)

Reiko Mine: Noriaki Sugiyama (Japanese); Ray Chase (English)

Reki: Miyu Irino (Japanese); Matthew Mercer (English)

Shiro Hotogi: Kengo Kawanashi (Japanese); Johnny Yong Bosch (English)

---

Thanks for reading! Next month, I will tackle the final volume of the first part of "Freezing", and then return to "Aria".

Later