Volume 7 - CH 3(1/3)
It had been past a week since Ichika started looking for Kanzashi.
"Hey, pair up with me."
"Absolutely, not..."
As it happened everyday, news that Ichika was chasing Kanzashi non-stop soon spread.
"Hey hey, did you hear that?"
"I heard that Orimura-kun's trying to get closer to Sarashiki-san of Class 4."
"Huuh? That's a lie, right!? Why, why!?"
"I'm not really sure, but it seemed that Orimura-kun chose Sarashiki-san as his partner in the personal IS tag match."
"Huh, what about the rest?"
"Well, about that, how should I put it..."
–Cecilia Alcott's situation:
"Ichika-san...I'll make you regret for not pairing up with me. Fu, ufufu, fufufufu."
The [Starlight MKIII] and the four BITs fired out at the same time. As they were in [Polarized Shooting] trajectory, Cecilia shot down all the moving targets.
"Tremble to your heart's content under the Requiem that's played by me, Cecilia Alcott, and [Blue Tears]."
–Huang Lingyin's situation:
"I want my right shoulder part to be replaced with a spread [Impact Cannon], send me the package data of the piercing [Impact Cannon] on the left side. Also, [Souten Gagetsu]'s to be changed into a spear. Change the [Impact Cannons] on the wrists to a high voltage chain! To be done in three days—ha? Can't do it? DO IT EVEN IF YOU CAN'T! GET TO WORK!"
After sending a one-sided message to the person in charge of manufacturing her armaments in her own country, Rin fired the [Ryuuhou] at maximum output.
The ground exploded majestically, leaving a large crater in the arena.
"Watch this, Ichika...I won't forgive you even if you beg me for forgiveness!"
"Kukuku." Clenching her fist tightly, Rin's eyes were burning with battle intent.
–Charlotte Dunois' situation:
"Zzst—haa—"
Looking down from 200m above the central tower, there were 57 targets on the perimeter. They were all auto-fire mock-battle types.
"Let's go, [Revive]!"
*Swoosh!* Charlotte quickly swooped down. She was holding onto two large and long .59 caliber heavy machine guns [Desert Fox]es, one in each hand.
"..."
Not decelerating but accelerating, Charlottle swung the heavy machine guns and shot down her targets.
*CLUNK!* Once she used up her bullets, Charlotte threw her guns away and summoned a pair of Assault Blades.
Charlotte continued to maintain her maximum speed as she flew down to the ground in a straight line.
She continued to slice up all the targets in her path as she quickly approached the ground.
–HAAAAA!!
Just when she was about to crash hard into the ground, Charlotte did a 180 degree turn, using the thrusters on her feet to support her body. With that, she crossed her arms and threw the two blades in her hands, hitting the last target nicely.
"I'm a strong opponent here, Ichika."
Charlotte smiled. That angelic smile however was giving off an absolute zero-like freezing air.
–Laura Bodewig's situation:
*Creak*...*creak*...Laura was sitting on the bed of the changing room as she sharpened her knife.
Then, she raised the knife to check it.
The thing that was sharpened until it was glittering like a mirror was a sharp weapon that could cut off flesh on the slightest contact.
"...Ha."
Seeing her face reflected on the blade, a smile appeared on Laura's face.
(Instructor rejected me, and I couldn't pair up with Ichika. What was I doing...)
If it has come to this...
Black flames lit up in Laura's body.
(I'll show you. I'll let real terror strike your body, Ichika!)
*KLANG!* The knife that was thrown out went into Ichika's photo that was in her locker.
"I'll win! After I win, I'll make you completely mine, Ichika!"
Laura stood up and clenched her fist. There was no sign of hesitation in her eyes.
(That's right. Get ready, Ichika!)
Laura's eyes gazed sternly at the photo in the locker.
–Ah.
Looking closely, the knife pierced viciously into Ichika's forehead on the photo.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
It was the only photo she had. However, Laura completely forgot that she bought the negatives as she turned completely pale. She gingerly raised the photo that had a hole opened in it with both hands.
(I-I-I finally got this. It was the only photo in the world...)
She paid 200,000 yen to get the priority to choose at the photo auction Mayuzumi Kaoruko organized.
And she even bought the photo of the Ichika she liked, together with the negatives.
–That's not too bad.
But it was too late even if she thought of that. She had burned the negatives because she was afraid that others would duplicate it. In other words, this was really the only existing photo of Ichika in the world, the one that Laura liked the most. And this one photo now had a hole ripped through it viciously by the knife.
"D-Duct tape...if I use duct tape, maybe..."
Though Laura frantically rummaged through her locker, she only had military rations, prepared IS suits, knives, knives, knives and more knives.
"Huh..."
Forcefully poking out her face from the locker, Laura screamed loudly.
"MEDIC!! MEEEDDDDDIIIICCCC!!!!"
Her eyes were completely teary, and it most likely wasn't just a feeling.
...Either way, Ichika had been treated cruelly like an enemy by the girls with the personal ISes.
And as for the last important character, Shinonono Houki—
"Houki-chan get!"
"WAAH!? Wh-Wha-What's going on, Sarashiki—san!?"
After school, she was caught by Tatenashi while doing Iaido[7C 1]?training in the kendo dojo.
"Ah hun, call me Tatenashi."
"Ta-Tatenashi-san. Is something the matter? I'm doing self-training."
"Ha, Iaido with real swords? You're going for real."
"Yeah, sort of. I'm a descendant of a family that went through the Sengoku Era[7C 2]?after all."
"Really? Okay, I understand. Houki-chan, pair up with me!"
"What!?"
"Please! I-It's unbearable that no one wants to pair up with me."
"I see, alright..."
Tatenashi put her palms together and begged. Seeing Tatenashi like that, Houki was so troubled that she couldn't look back at her coldly.
"Okay?"
"Well, this, if that's the case, I don't really mind..."
"Really? That's great. Houki-chan's so kind."
Tatenashi's face went from troubled to delighted as she gave a radiant smile.
(Uu...! I-I got fooled, huh...?)
Just when Houki was wondering about that, Tatenashi grabbed Houki's hand and walked out.
"Come on, let's go. Let's do it!"
"Whe-Where are we going?"
"The checkup room. I want to see Houki-chan's biometrics."
"Whaa..."
"Oh my. Isn't this important? IS have an auto-adjust mechanism, but it's not good to do these adjustments without the latest figures."
"I-I see."
Understanding Tatenashi's smooth explanation, Houki found herself in front of the checkup room.
"Open sesame!"
As she said that, Tatenashi touched the switch on the door. *Phoosh*. The sound of compressed air being released could be heard, and the door opened diagonally.
"Then, I'll operate this. Houki-chan, please stand on the scanning area."
"Okay."
Summoning the control panel, Tatenashi began to prepare the data scan.
During this time, Houki wiped her sweat off with the towel on her neck.
"Okay, I'm ready. How are you feeling, Houki-chan?"
"I'm okay here."
"O-kay, let's begin."
*Beep*, *beep*. The keyboard was tapped, and the scanner floated up from below Houki's feet, shooting out an intensive green light on her body.
"Hm, this is..."
"Is there a problem?"
"Houki-chan's breasts are really big. Maybe I lose by a notch."
"WH-WHERE ARE YOU LOOKING AT!?"
"Ahaha. Sorry, sorry."
"Do it seriously! Really..."
After that, Tatenashi never said anything strange to tease Houki. About 2 minutes later, the checkup was complete.
"Then, I'll send the data to [Akatsubaki]. There will be a certain level of auto-adjustments, but you have to do the rest yourself...oh yeah. I'll explain those things to you before the tournament starts, okay?"
"Mn, okay. I don't have a reason to refuse."
"Fufu, Houki-chan, you're cute when you're being honest, you know?"
"Pl-Please stop teasing me! The-Then, I'll say goodbye for today."
"Mn. Good job."
After leaving the checkup room, Houki had an inexplicable feeling.
(Why is it...that I don't hate her for saying that...)
Normally speaking...if it were someone else, she would resist that person no matter what.
But for some reason, she accepted Tatenashi's words.
This inexplicable feeling wasn't something she was unhappy about. Engulfed in this emotion, Houki walked to the bathroom in a good mood.
◆
"..."
Tatenashi was still in the checkup room.
Opening several display screens to compare the data, her expression became extremely serious.
(What's going on...)
On the left side, Houki's personal biometrics from when she entered the Academy were displayed. Her physical ability was top-notch like now, but the most important 'IS compatibility' was rated at?C
"..."
Tatenashi then turned to the display screen on the right side. It's the latest biometrics she just got, and over there, the 'IS compatibility' was rated with the letter?S
(The biggest factor in the compatibility was that the pilot had to be born with it. Of course, the compatibility would naturally increase through training and synchronizing with the IS...)
But improving from?C?to?S?in such a short time was completely unheard of. Of course, there was no such record in any open library.
(The only ones who have the IS compatibility?S?are people like 'Brunhild' who won the Mondo Grosso, and the Valkyrias who won the group stages...)
In terms of compatibility, Houki was equal to the five strongest pilots in the world.
This sort of thing shouldn't be possible at all—logically, it should be like that.
(If that's the case, the key is...)
Related to that peerless genius, Shinonono Tabane. It should be correct if I think of it like that.
"..."
Tatenashi again gazed at the screen seriously. A sharp glint could be seen from the eyes that belonged to the Sarashikis.
◆
"Let's go to the cafeteria, Kanzashi-san."
"..."
After hearing from a certain information network that buns were sold out at the shop today, I ran into Class 4 when 4th period ended and grabbed Kanzashi's hand.
"It'll be my treat."
"No, no..."
Uu. Kanzashi curled up like a timid rabbit.
But there's no way back now. Either way, the deadline's 5pm today.
(Okay...)
I pulled Kanzashi away a little—or rather, forcefully.
"KYAAH!"
I lifted Kanzashi up and carried her,
Anyway, it's the Princess Cradle.
"Kanzashi-san, you're so light."
"Shu-Shut up...let-let me down..."
"Then, hang on tight."
"!?"
I ignored Kanzashi's protests and ran to the cafeteria.
On the way, I passed by a few girls who screamed in shock, but I ignored them.
I went down to the first level, out of the corridor, and opened the door of the cafeteria that was formed by three areas.
"WE'RE HERE!"
*BAM!* The door was opened loudly, and I was really loud. Because of these reasons, there were a lot of 'What just happened?' looks directed at me.
"Let go..., ..."
*PAK!* *PAK!* *PAK!* My head got hit many times.
Using this chance, Kanzashi started to get violent as she kicked me in the chin.
"Wa, idiot. Hey, stop fooling around!"
"Uu...! Uuu...!"
"I can see your panties."
"!?"
Perhaps realizing her actions after I pointed this fact out, Kanzashi, who had been struggling up till now, gradually reduced her movements, and soon became obedient.
"...-forgivable...unforgivable...unforgivable..."
Kanzashi didn't look at me, but bit her lips tightly as she muttered.
I put Kanzashi down while she was still like this, and to prevent her from running away, I pulled her hand and queued up at the counter.
"Today's set meal of the day is Tartar Fried Chicken. What do you want, Kanzashi?"
"..."
"Okay. Kanzashi will have a large pork chop curry rice."
"...Meat, I don't like it..."
Ohh, I finally got a response. Maybe this can do.
"The-Then how about the Seafood Rice Bowl?"
"U...Udon..."
"Hm?"
Kanzashi continued to squirm, and she looked at me for a moment, murmuring.
"Just udon will do..."
"Got it. Want some eggs?"
"..."
*Shake*...Kanzashi shook her head.
"But, I want...Kakiage..."[7C 3]
"Oh, Kakiage. Okay. It's good. Here."
"Uu, mn...it's nice..."
"Okay, I'll buy the tickets and get the meals. Go get some seats."
"Ah...the tables, inside there...they're...empty..."
"Oh, that's true...heh, Kanzashi-san's eyesight's really good."
"It-It's nothing...it's just normal..."
Just when I saw a skill that I didn't expect, our orders came out from the counter.
"Hn? If you have such good eyesight, why do you need glasses?"
"This, is a portable display."
"Heeh, I see."
"A holographic display's...really expensive."
"Is that so? Then, let's go to that table."
"..."
Mn mn. After nodding her head, Kanzashi followed me from behind.
On a side note, the cafeteria here's really big, so there's quite some distance to the seats inside. Because of that, most of them are empty. But since they're the seats where one can see the seas outside, they will be crowded if it's a bright sunny day that makes people happy.
(Today's weather's good too. Lucky!)
At the empty table, I sat opposite Kanzashi.
"Itadakimasu."
"I...Itadakimasu..."
On a side note, in the end, I ordered a Tartar Fried Chicken. The delicious Tartar sauce is irresistibly good. I smiled as I took a large bite out of it.
"..."
As for Kanzashi, she dipped the Kakiage on the udon down into the soup with chopsticks. Most likely, the bubbles that would come out from them would be what she was aiming for. I did feel that Kanzashi was like an excited kid as she continued to look at it innocently.
"Oh, you're the deep-fried sponge kakiage type. Watch out. Laura's of the crispy type. There'll be war once she sees it."
"...No...this, it is a full body bath..."
Oh, a new sect altogether. That was really disrespectful.
Anyway, Kanzashi and I continued with our lunch.
"Even so, the Tartar Fried Chicken today that's fresh out of the fire's really great. Want some, Kanzashi?"
"Huh...?"
Kanzashi raised her head in shock, and I used my chopsticks to pick the Tartar chicken and brought it to her mouth.
"..."
She looked at it blankly, and then saw my face. Kanzashi then lowered her head.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but her ears seemed to be blushing.
"If-If that's...so..."
"Hm?"
"Do you...conquer[7C 4]?girls like that...?"
"Huh?"
Throw down[7C 5]? I did carry girls up, but I do let them land properly. I don't think I threw them down once.
"I don't understand. Oh well. Try it,...ah, but you hate meat, right?"
"Erm...it's alright, if it's chicken..."
"Is that so? Great. Then...ahh."
"Ahh...n..."
Feeling somewhat timid, Kanzashi bit onto the Tartar chicken.
One entire piece of chicken was too big for Kanzashi's mouth, and so there was about half of it left on the chopsticks.
"..."
Seeing Kanzashi chew on, I finished off the remaining piece of chicken.
"Well, it's really good."
"!?!?"
It was like she was suddenly shocked when she was about to swallow, Kanzashi patted her throat a few times and hurriedly drank a gulp of water from her cup.
"Haa...haa...haa..."
"Wha-What's wrong? Are you alright?"
"Ah!"
Kanzashi's breathing wasn't in sync yet, but she glared at me sharply. It felt like she was protesting at me or something.
"Well, Kanzashi-san."
"..."
"Can you share some of that delicious looking Kakiage with me?"
On seeing the part that was bitten and tasted, I thought she would give me some of it.
"No-No way!!"
She forcefully refused me, even lifting her bowl up and moving away from me.
"Ah, sorry. I didn't know you liked it that much."
"I-I...won't give this to you..."
It's just Kakiage. No need to be so serious.
"...!!"
Kanzashi seemed to detect something, as she suddenly dropped chilli peppers into my rice.
"GYAAHHHH!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"
"..."
She turned 90 degrees to the side from where I was seeing her, seemingly saying 'Who cares about you'.
*Chiu* *chiu* *chiu* *chiu* *chiu* *chiu*... she continued to slurp the udon silently.
"Wha-What do I do now. This..."
Seeing the red-dashed rice, I swallowed my saliva.
Is this the famous Calvary hill[7C 6]?... No no no, this isn't the time for jokes.
"It's not that I can't eat it. It's not that I can't eat it..."
If that's the case, I have to eat it.
"It's not that I can't eat it! It's not that I can't eat it!"
*GANK!* I picked up the bowl and scooped up the rice into my mouth with the chopsticks.
My gung-ho, or rather, brave act now raised applause from around me—however.
"HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!"
I could feel my tongue expanding crazily.
My tongue felt like it got ripped off instead of burnt. Water, miso soup. Tartar sauce, I can't even taste anything now.
"Ka-Kan-Kanzashi-san...that's too..."
Tilting her head slightly as she watched me suffer and stutter, Kanzashi said quietly from those thin and even lips.
"Serves you right."
Such cruel words, and an even crueller voice. But at that moment, even if it was for just a moment, Kanzashi smiled.
◆
"...And so, the most important aspects in battle are 'weight', 'speed' and 'mobility'. These three aspects take up a large ratio..."
Fifth period, Class 1-4. Kanzashi listened quietly to the lesson material at the last row.
Actually, it was more like she was leaving it to deaf ears, but that wasn't a problem since the information was in her mind already. Even if she was asked to answer now, she could read it out as if she was reciting it.
--However, that wasn't the main problem.
The main problem was what happened between her and Ichika in the cafeteria during lunch break.
"..."
Rewinding time back.
The scene was when Ichika fed Kanzashi 'Here, ahh', and ate the rest himself.
(Tha-That's not just it...in-in-indirect...kiss...he, even did that...)
And from Ichika's reaction, it didn't look like he hated it.
If he were lying, Kanzashi's instincts would have told her that.
However, Ichika just looked happy in front of her.
"..."
Feeling that she was blushing, Kanzashi hurriedly buried her face into her textbook.
(An-And then...after that...my food...he-he even wanted to eat it...)
*Gushuu~*...like heat smoking out, Kanzashi's heart got dominated with shame.
(Uu...uuuu...?)
She couldn't understand. She couldn't understand. She couldn't understand.
She couldn't understand him. She couldn't understand his intentions
--And also, she couldn't understand anything about her own heart.
(Wh-What...do I want to do. Ah...? What...will happen to me...?)
Beginning to lose control of herself since she was unable to calm down, Kanzashi began to feel restless as she shook her petite body.
(That thing...on the first time...I don't understand...at all...)
Again, she suddenly remembered Ichika's smiling face.
(A...u...)
Kanzashi held back in order not to let that strange sound out as she was pinching her thigh viciously.
?If you don't understand, shouldn't you try it??
(Huh...?)
She heard Ichika's voice, and soon lifted her head. She shook her head lightly and looked around.
?Pair up with me, Kanzashi-san.?
(No, no...)
?Why??
(Be-Because...I don't...I don't understand...I...I, hate things that I don't understand...)
?But if this keeps up, you won't understand anything in the end, right??
(Even though...it's like that...)
?There's nothing to be afraid of. Just leave it to me.?
(Ahh...uu...)
They were like the lines that appear in the usual hero anime. But these felt better than anything else.
"Hey, pair up with me, Kanzashi."
"O-Okay!"
Kanzashi grabbed Ichika's hand that was stretched out in front of her.
Abnormally excited, Kanzashi stood up forcefully the moment she grabbed the hand.
(...H-uh?)
She suddenly realized it.
The orange sunset shone in from the window outside. The classroom was empty, and the Ichika in her imagination continued to hold onto her hand without disappearing.
(What? ...What?...Whaat?)
Just when Kanzashi was confused, the Ichika in her imagination jumped up.
"I DID IIITTTTTT!!! You said that you wanted to pair up, right? Right!? That's great! Let's run to the staff room and apply for the tag-match team! Okay, *DON!*"
Kanzashi's hand was held tightly by Ichika, who rushed out of the room.
That powerful force that dragged her made Kanzashi realize that this is reality, and she felt her face blush because of the shameful feeling.
(I-In other words...I started spacing out from the 5th period...then until the 6th period...it's over. Orimura-kun's here...he invited me...I mixed up reality with my imagination...)
--This is bad!
Still thinking about this, her body reached the front of the staff room.
"Let's go in then."
"Wa-Wai—"
Wait. Before she could say that, Ichika's hand dragged her into the staff room.
As she was mindful of how her hand was held, Kanzashi signed without understanding what was going on.
"Okay! Let's work hard at the preparation room from today onwards!"
"We-Well..."
"We need to wear our IS when adjusting, and so we need our IS suits. I'll get changed then. See you at the preparation room!"
"Well, that..."
*Ta*, *ta* ,*ta*. Kanzashi's words couldn't catch up to Ichika's back who was running.
...But Ichika suddenly turned his head behind while running.
"Ah! Which preparation room?"
"The-The...second one!"
"Got it. See you later then!"
Seeing Ichika run off, Kanzashi realized that she had stretched her right hand out when she recovered.
--What did I do that for?
Thinking about this, she started to feel shy and hurriedly retracted her hand.
"..."
She again recalled what happened a few minutes ago.
She couldn't say 'Wait' when they entered the staff room.
--But was that really because she couldn't say it?
--Most likely, she was looking forward to this and 'Didn't say it', right?
"..."
*Gugugugugug*. She shook her head left and right.
But whether it's her mouth or her heart, she just couldn't say 'You're wrong'.
The sunset shone into the corridor. In the orange world, Kanzashi felt for the first time since birth, the sweet pain that gushed out from her chest.
◆
"Alright. Let's see Kanzashi-san's machine!"
In the second prep room, Kanzashi and I were together.
It's an elimination tag-team tournament for pilots with personal IS, but because of the high standard of this tournament, there were many students other than us who were tuning their machines too.
"I said, please send me the mobility data you got yesterday."
"I want to lighten my armaments. Can I make it if I do so now?"
"Wait! The Hyper Sensors base values are off! Who was the last one who tweaked it!?"
There was quite a ruckus. Since they're working together happily, there will be groups screeching all over the place, but everyone was tuning their IS seriously.
"Heh, that's the first time I'm seeing the upperclassmen with Personal ISes."
"Over there is...the 2nd year, Forte Sapphire-san...with her IS [Cold Blood]...opposite her is the 3rd year, Daryl Cayce-san and her [Hellhound V2.5]..."
I'm somewhat shocked by Kanzashi's smooth explanation.
She spoke so fluently, not stuttering and stopping like usual.
"And...behind is..."
"Ya...Cecilia..."
Standing over there was the representative cadet of England, Cecilia, piloting her IS [Blue Tears].
"Yes. I want to increase the output efficiency by tweaking the mobility."
"We can do that...but it'll be difficult to control the IS, you know? Of course, it won't be as safe."
"No problem. I won't lose in my next battle."
"Oh well. Let's try it. If the consequences are too severe, we'll just change it back to normal."
"You're right."
Cecilia continued to discuss with the 2nd and 3rd year girls who were most likely in the conditioning class.
Suddenly, she turned to look at me. Perhaps she noticed me.
"Humph!"
Her face darkened as she forcefully turned her face away. After I refused to participate in the tag match with her, Cecilia would treat me as an enemy no matter what.
(Well, I do feel sorry about that...)
But there's no need to be that angry.
On a side note. Rin would kick me hard every time we met. Laura would completely ignore me, and Charl would start to say, 'What's wrong, Orimura-kun?'.
"..."
You don't have to be that angry, right...even I will feel hurt.
"...It's about time. We have to start..."
"Oh-Oh yeah, that's right. Do your best."
After checking that I nodded my head, Kanzashi stretched her right hand out. There was a crystal ring on the middle finger of that hand.
"Appear...[Uchigane Nishiki]..."
Kanzashi's body was covered with light, and floated up as the armor was donned on her.
"Hehe..."
It's the next generation of [Uchigane], and though I heard that it's a prototype, it looked completely different.
The skirt armor was modified into a one-winged type. Compared to the defensive [Uchigane], [Uchigane Nishiki] focuses on mobility.
The armor on the wrist became a beautiful line, and it became a construct that could utilize its mobility in combat.
The parts on the shoulders aren't shields, but hold a large winged-shaped thruster and 2 little boosters on both front and back sides of it. That figure resembled [Byakushiki].
Looking at it, the [Nishiki] didn't have any similarities with the [Uchigane], but the Hyper Sensors on the head were of similar design.
"Speaking of which, huh? Don't tell me the machine's complete."
I asked, and Kanzashi, who kneeled down to remove the IS, shook her IS slightly.
"The armaments...aren't done. And...I haven't gotten operational data...it's impossible for it to battle like this..."
"I see. Lemme ask, the armaments are?"
"Hi-performance guided missiles that use a complicated lock-on system...and, the particle cannon's not..."
"Particle cannon? You can use the [Byakushiki]'s data."
Though it's differently designed from the particle cannon on my [Byakushiki], she should be able to use the sample data of output control and structural dynamics.
Thinking about this, I summoned the [Byakushiki]'s console and began to search for it hurriedly.
"Then, this is the [Yukihira Nigata]'s..."
"..."
"Oh, got it."
"!"
I lifted my head, and found myself exchanging looks with Kanzashi.
At that moment, Kanzashi looked aside.
"Hey hey. You can't read the data like this, right? Look."
I forcefully grabbed her hand and brought her in front of the holographic screen.
"How is it? You can use it as reference, right?"
"..."
"Hm?"
"You, you're too close...a-a little further..."
"Ah, sorry."
Immediately, the hand separated.
"..."
Kanzashi rubbed the wrist that I had touched and again focused on the screen.
"..."
Kanzashi's eyes were serious as she looked intensely at the screen, using her fingers to check the relevant data.
"This...output's too great-->>