Volume 7 - CH 3(2/3)
"Ah, that's true. I did suspect this before..."
"It's better to adjust it...you'll waste too much like that..."
"Oh. Then, since you're reading [Byakushiki]'s data, can I ask if if there's anything I don't understand?"
"I'm...okay with that..."
"Mn. Thank you."
"..."
Quickly returning to inspect her own machine, Kanzashi still remained stone-faced as ever, but it seemed like she was looking more lively.
"Then..."
"Orimu~, Kan-chan~"
*Patapatapatapata*. Footsteps could be heard coming here...there's only one person who would call us that.
"Honne..."
It's Nohohon-san, also known as Nohotoke Honne. She's a secretary of the Student Council, a maid at the Sarashikis and my classmate. Her characteristics are her lazy expressions and the slow movements.
(Hm? If her family served the Sarashikis for generations, she and Kanzashi should be childhood friends too.)
"Ehehe. I'm here to help~"
Honne swayed her drooping sleeves slowly and gently. She just so happened to hit a 2nd year who was passing by, and who glared at her in return .
However, this being Nohohon-san, she was still as carefree as ever.
"Kan-chan, I'm here to adjust your machine~ehehe!"
"St-Stop it...don't...ah, ah..."
It seems that Kanzashi's not used to dealing with this childhood friend who's of the same age.
"Honne...you were called over, by onee-san...right?"
"Huh~? Nope—I'm Kan-chan's personal maid. It's my job to help!"
"..."
"I'm Nohotoke Honne who watches your life from Monday to Thursday!"
For some reason, it felt like a catchphrase from a certain advertisement.
"What about...Friday, Saturday and Sunday?"
"Huh—, I want to rest on weekends!"
"3 days...you really rest too much..."
That's completely right. Please work properly, maid of a prominent family.
"Then, where should we start? Should we upgrade the system? Or the weapon support system?"
"Weapon support system. It won't do if it's not me...I want to set up the mobile control...Honne, you..."
"Adjust the shield barrier, right? Got it!"
"Li-Listen...help me, check the armor..."
"Ehehe, I understand."
Having lost all resistance to Nohohon-san, Kanzashi sighed and lowered her shoulders.
"Wha-What...are you looking at..."
"Ah, no, it's nothing."
"I hate...guys who sta-stare at me like that..."
"Oh, ah, sorry."
After that, the three of us were so busy adjusting the machine that we lost track of time.
Half of the time, I did the adjustments based on the reference books, but due to the brilliance of the occasional suggestions Kanzashi made, I managed to increase the energy efficiency by 15% today. Amazing.
"But really. It's a lot of work to adjust the machine...oh my."
I just need to operate the controls if it's just a system tuning, but the delicate task of tweaking the power output or the structural dynamics means that we had to open up the armor of the machine and work on the parts directly.
We were using mechanical arms, but it's really tough to open the armor like that.
"Orimu, you relied on Professor Tabane's machine's functions. IS itself should be delicately adjusted personally!"
Woah! The day when Nohohon-san gave me an accurate suggestion actually came.
"The IS'...self-improvement and optimization is really impressive...but, you can't...rely on it."
"I-I understand."
"Speak...speaking of which...that..."
Kanzashi started to squirm all of a sudden...what's wrong?"
"Erm...that..."
"?"
She wrapped her fingers around and played around with them. Her eyes wavered, and she looked like she couldn't calm down at all as she looked around, obviously looking suspicious.
"Do you want to go to the bathroom?"
"Ah...!"
Lifting her head up, Kanzashi immediately blushed.
--*GANK!*
"OWW!!"
"Ojyou-sama~[7C 7], I beat up the rude fellow~"
I say, Nohohon-san! Is-Isn't that a screwdriver!? It hurts when you mess around like that!
"Orimu~, I feel that you're so inconsiderate!"
"Gu..."
"Even if she really wanted to go to the bathroom~, it's courtesy for her not to say it!"
Guaahhh! Nohohon-san's so harsh when lecturing me about basic knowledge!
"It's said that with an elder sister around, the younger brother will be unfamiliar with the opposite gender. My friends used to say that in the past, but I guess Orimu's abnormal. That's a bad habit~"
"That-That's not true!"
...I guess.
"Ho-Honne...that's, enough..."
"Yes, ojou-sama!"
"What ojou-sama...don't call me that..."
"Mn! Kan-chan!?"
"I don't like that either..."
The conversation that occurred between them calmed down after that, and Kanzashi again looked over at me.
"Th-Then...the flight test...I hope, you can accompany me..."
"What. That's it? No problem."
"Tha-Thank...you."
Kanzashi cautiously bowed at me.
To me, it felt that it wasn't something that's to be requested like that, so I felt somewhat awkward.
"The-Then, do you want to use this arena?"
"It's flight testing...number 6..."
Speaking of Arena 6, it's the arena that was used a few days ago for [Cannonball Fast], the Super-speed flight training arena. Unlike the other arenas, the space's completely open, and there's no restriction to fly around as long as we keep moving around the central tower of the Academy.
"Alright, let's go!"
"A-Alright..."
"Take care~ I'll go to the control room and use the data scanner to assist you!"
Nohohon-san waved her droopy sleeves softly, and again knocked into another girl, who glared at her slightly for a while.
◆
"Thruster efficiency...check..."
Having opened all the controls of her [Uchigane Nishiki] at Arena 6's conditioning point, all the values entered her eyes.
Due to Honne's help, there was quite some development in the building of the machine. Most likely, she would follow her sister Utsuho to join the conditioning class in second year. That's the level of ability Honne had.
(And...)
Ichika's [Byakushiki] values had a lot of use.
As it was the machine that was developed from the same development center, the data compatibility was much more than expected.
"..."
But maybe, more than that, perhaps Ichika's own existence was important.
(Wha-What...am I thinking...I...)
Kanzashi forcefully rubbed her reddish face into her hands.
Just when she was doing this, a message came from Ichika through the private channel.
"How is it? Can we move off now?"
"Y...Yes..."
"Then, I'll fly off first. We'll meet at the highest point of the tower."
"I-I understand."
Kanzashi bent down and fixed her feet into the gravity catapult.
The holographic display showed the word?Ready, and it instantly became?Go!. Kanzashi accelerated and flew to the sky in Arena 6.
(Structural Dynamics...no problem...next, Hyper Sensors...connect, activate...)
*Pi* *Pi* *Pi*, the Hyper Sensors soon caught [Byakushiki].
Zooming in on Ichika's face, Kanzashi's heart couldn't help but beat faster.
(Ca-Calm down...concentrate...concentrate...)
Noting the output levels of the thrusters on her back, Kanzashi let the machine accelerate.
(Maintaining thrusters in this position...no problem...acceleration...shield barrier to be tested activated...)
She summoned the control option and tried to turn.
It was an action that shouldn't have had any problem, but on activating the shield barrier, the machine started to stutter and stopped.
"...?"
Just when she felt that it was weird, numerous displays showed up, confirming the current parameters.
(Shield barrier created interference when deployed...so...[PIC] was interfered with...)
It seemed as though there was a problem with the installation of the shield on the wrist, and Kanzashi temporarily cancelled the deployment as she summoned a keyboard on both sides to input data one by one before letting the machine fly.
(Adjusting point of deployment...from [PIC] interference range...Gravitational Deflection Angle...6m in front of machine...undergoing adjustments...then...balancing boosters...4 minus and ignition...)
At the central tower of IS Academy which was in a curved shape, the machine outside it used the thruster output to fly up quickly.
At that time, Kanzashi piloted the machine with both hands on the keyboards and caught up with Ichika, completing the course in the process.
"Yo!"
Ichika casually raised his hand.
And Kanzashi, who didn't know how to respond, nodded her head slightly first.
"How is it? That machine."
"It's alright..."
"Really? That's great."
Smiling away heartily, Ichika just looked so dashing, and Kanzashi hurriedly looked away.
"The-Then...let's go back..."
Feeling that it may end up with something really abnormal if it was just both of them, Kanzashi quickly flew down without waiting for Ichika to answer.
"Heh. It's really fast. It's about as fast as Cecilia's [Blue Tears], right?"
"I-I guess...according to the figures..."
Kanzashi frantically answered.
Her machine quickly flew down at breakneck speed as if it was running away from Ichika.
(...Hhuh?)
Following Kanzashi from behind, Ichika suddenly noticed something abnormal.
Sparks appeared from time to time on the boosters on the legs of the [Uchigane Nishiki] Kanzashi was piloting...*PA*...*PAPA*...
(It's really weird.)
Thinking about that, just when he was about to open a communication channel, the booster on the right leg of the [Uchigane Nishiki] exploded.
"!?"
Due to the sudden explosion and the imbalance due to the unexpected loss of one of the boosters, Kanzashi and the machine flew diagonally in a straight line towards the outer wall of the central tower.
"KANZASHI-SAN!"
([PIC] was ineffective...!? Wh-Why—)
Many 'Errors' appeared on the screen, and [Uchigane Nishiki], which had lost control of the system, quickly closed in on the outer wall of the tower.
"Ch—!!"
Kanzashi closed her eyes in reflex. At that moment, a powerful voice flew in like it was tied in.
"KANZASHIIIIIIII!!!"
Using [Ignition Boost] to increase the output of the thrusters to the maximum, Ichika forced his way between Kanzashi and the wall.
(Ah...)
Ichika hugged Kanzashi's body, and his back slammed into the wall.
"Guu...!"
A pilot with an IS on has protection, but the impact couldn't be removed completely as Ichika grimaced with pain.
"O...Orimura...kun..."
"He-Hehe...are you alright...? To be honest, I'm feeling a lot of pain now..."
Saying that as he gave an awkward smile, Ichika looked like a hero to Kanzashi.
The stupid words that were said to calm the situation down sounded really cool to Kanzashi's ears.
"A-Ah...erm...erm..."
"Are you alright, Kanzashi?"
"Huh...? Y-Yeah..."
"Really? That's good."
With the pain still coursing through him, Ichika closed an eye and pulled himself from the wall.
The outer wall of the tower had a huge dent on it due to the impact, and a part of it cracked.
"..."
Continuing to grasp Ichika's hand like that, Kanzashi felt her heart beat so crazily it ached.
It was the first time she stuck so close to a guy's body, but she didn't hate it. It must be because he's Ichika, Kanzashi thought as she matured late.
?Hey, hold it, those students over there! What happened!? I'm seeing an indication that the tower was damaged!??
"AH, yes. Well, it's an IS training accident. I'm Orimura Ichika from Class 1-1."
"Sarashiki...Kanzashi, from Class...1- 1-4."
?AN ACCIDENT!? YOU AREN'T HURT, ARE YOU!? ARE YOU ALRIGHT!??
WA WA. Continuing with the questions was the math teacher Edwards Franchee. On a side note, she was born in Canada, 25 years old, and looking for a boyfriend. Her hobby was gardening.
"Anyway, it's good that you aren't hurt. Since you need to return to the Maintenance Branch, please wait for us down there."
?O-Okay. Then, please be careful on the way down.?
After cutting the communication signal, Ichika carried Kanzashi and slowly descended.
"It'll be dangerous if there's another system error. Let's just go down like this."
"A...Alright..."
Gently...nodding lightly, Kanzashi went silent.
Right now, her face was dyed as red as the sunset.
◆
"Ahh...as expected, just as expected, I had to hand in a report..."
Having returned to the maintenance branch, we explained everything to the teacher, and after undergoing a checkup to see if we were alright, a report of more than 10 pages was passed to us.
"Haa...these are really tough. Man..."
"..."
Kanzashi looked like she was rather apologetic as she looked at me.
"Hm, what's wrong?"
"Ah, er...m..., it was...all my fault...so-sorry..."
"Well, you don't have to mind. It can't be helped if it was a machine malfunction."
"Uu..."
As I said that, Kanzashi gripped her hands tightly and lowered her head.
(Ah. She was really affected by it. Well, the machine she fine-tuned had a mishap.)
It's great that she was not hurt.
And having understood her personal limits, Kanzashi should have grown up a lot from now on.
"I say."
"What...is it...?"
"Better to get the people from the conditioning class to help."
"..."
"There's only one week to the tag match. Safety's the most important thing—"
"U...uu...I'll do that..."
"Huh?"
For a moment, I didn't know what to do when I saw Kanzashi nod her head lightly.
I thought she would definitely, wordlessly refuse or say something like 'No...'.
"We-Well...since Nohohon-san's okay, I'll get Mayuzumi-sempai along as well."
"So-Someone you know...is it?"
"Ah, sort of. You see, we met often because of news club stuff, so it naturally ended up like that."
"I-Is...that so..."
? Is it just me, or Kanzashi didn't look too happy just now...
"..."
"..."
Huh? The moment we recovered, we found ourselves with nothing to say.
Edwards-sensei, who had been making a fuss up till now, isn't here now, so it's just Kanzashi and me in the large maintenance branch.
"Ah, that..."
I do feel that there's nothing to say.
"Ah-Ahh-Ahh..."
Forcefully...Kanzashi gripped her hands and ran in front of me.
"Thank you...very much."
"...What for?"
"We-Well...thank you...just now, because of you..."
Kanzashi immediately backed away from me and turned aside. Perhaps she's feeling shy about saying it out loud. She clasped her hands together in front of her chest and softly played with her fingers.
"What, that? Well, isn't that to be expected?"
"..."
*Jiii*. She continued to stare at me...what's with that?
"...So, cool..."
"Huh?"
"No-Noth-Nothing..."
"? Really?"
Looking outside, the sky became pitch black under the screen of night.
It's been about 10 minutes after we dispelled our ISes, and our bodies should be cold now.
"Let's go back. We'll catch a cold if we continue to stay here."
"O-Okay..."
She nodded her head, but for some reason, Kanzashi didn't move.
"..."
"What's wrong, Kanzashi-san?"
"Do-Don't..."
"Huh?"
She's probably shy. Looking closely, Kanzashi's face is all red now.
"Do...Don't say...san...just, call me Kanzashi..."
After saying those words softly, Kanzashi scampered away as if she was escaping.
Seeing her disappear behind the door, I scratched my head.
(Call her Kanzashi, is it? Our emotional distance should have shortened, right?)
◆
(I-I said it...)
Having returned to her own 1st year dorm, Kanzashi showered in hot water, as *DOKI* *DOKI* her heart beat.
For the Sarashikis' daughter, allowing another to use one's given name had a significant meaning.
"..."
Kanzashi touched her lips and tried to say the words.
'I'-'chi'-'ka'...
"..."
*DOKI* *DOKI*. Blushing furiously, Kanzashi felt that her heart was a fragile item as she gently touched her chest.
It wasn't too big, but the treasure of love that was hidden in it was really soft.
"Honne...really has it good..."
They're both in their first years, yet they had a difference of 2 cup sizes.
Her sister Utsuho was the same. She had well-ripened fruits.
And her older sister—
"Ah!"
Upon thinking till here, her head suddenly cooled down.
Kanzashi, who was drowning in the heat of love, became a captive by her own realistic sense of inferiority, and her body jerked slightly.
(Tatenashi...nee-san...)
The existence she looked up to yet couldn't catch up to...Sarashiki Tatenashi.
She was a gentle sister, an outstanding, strong person and a lovely woman—she was completely flawless.
(I...can't catch up to that person at all...)
It was unknown when she started to think like that.
--She ended up unable to catch up to that back.
--She couldn't look at that expression directly.
--She started to feel painful about bearing the same family name.
"..."
*Gya* *gya*. The warm shower of rain fell.
Lowering her head, Kanzashi looked like she was crying, but that face—looked up.
"Calm down...nee-san, nee-san...I-I..."
--I, Kanzashi, won't be crushed as long as I have Ichika.
She finally found a hero, someone who had a bright smile.
"Orimura, Ichika..."
She tried to call that name again, and she was happy yet trembling anxiously. The inexplicable drive rose up within her.
Courage—Perhaps that's what people call it.
◆
"Thank you very much!"
After the special training ended, Houki and the kendo members bowed and thanked each other.
"Hey~. You don't have to say it so stiffly."
Floating down from above was Houki's coach and tag match partner, Tatenashi.
She looked carefree as usual as she waved her hand lightly.
"No, it's unacceptable for a swordsman[7C 8]?to lack formalities."
"Swordsman?"
Seeing the stern looking Houki, Tatenashi couldn't help but give a wry smile.
"Oh yeah. How about we have dinner today? At the cafeteria in the second year dorm. I'll lead the way."
"Huh? No, I—"
"Okay. It's decided. Let's go, let's go."
"Wait-Wait a minute! I—"
"Okay okay let's go!"
"Ha..."
Unable to endure Tatenashi's angelic expression, Houki couldn't help but sigh deeply.
It was the same when she complied to pair up with her. Why was Houki unable to resist Tatenashi at all?
At first, she thought that this sempai wasn't willing to listen to others, but even after thinking about that and getting manipulated, there were a lot of inexplicable things.
(For-Forget about it. It's not like I hate it.)
Now being led by the hand that was holding hers, they walked to the changing room in the arena.
It wasn't something she hated.
"..."
She remembered her own sister who used to hold her hand like this.
Shinonono Tabane—
To Houki, Tabane was an existence she couldn't surpass no matter how hard she tried.
When she was young, Tabane was someone she relied on, and someone she was proud of.
But unknowingly, she felt that the difference between her and her sister had started to show.
--That person, she's of a completely different breed from me.
The inherent talent difference was too great.
But even so, somewhere in her heart, the aspect where she viewed her sister Tabane as someone she vaguely admired only lasted until 'That Incident'.
(--)
"Houki-chan."
"Ah, what is it!?"
"What's wrong? We reached the changing room."
"Huh, I see, yeah. Okay."
"Are you thinking about something? You look really scary."
"Do-Do I?"
"I do. Girls are prettier when they smile—!"
Tatenashi went behind Houki and moved both hands under her armpits.
"Koochi koochi koochi!"
"GUHAA! HA-HAHAHA! STO-STOP IT...AHAHAHAHA!!"
Just like that, they spent two minutes in laughter, and Houki was out of breath when the tickling attack ended.
"Haa... haa... haa..."
"Mn--, Houki-chan and Laura-chan's reactions are so cute...speaking of which."
"Wha-What is it?"
Finally regaining her breath, Houki opened the locker and answered,
"Houki-chan, regarding your elder sister—Professor Tabane, do you keep her away?"
"..."
It wasn't that she hated it. Recently, she finally started to realize it.
But she would remember that incident when they met.
She wanted to seal her memories, her lack of control over her emotions, and—
(The hurt I inflicted on her...)
All those were her own fault.
Not Tabane's fault, but her own fault.
She couldn't control herself, drowned in power, and caused 'That Incident' to happen.
She no longer wanted to remember that, and now she wanted to run away from everything related to Tabane.
In fact, she wanted to reject the entrance to IS Academy, but she finally entered because the government somewhat forced her. Of course, that was because she was Tabane's imouto.
"It's not that I hate her."
"Really. That's good. A family should get along well together."
Though I really can't say that about others—
Tatenashi murmured, although it wasn't heard by Houki.
"Let's take a shower together."
"Huh? No, I'll just use my own room—"
"Okay okay. That guy's gonna hate the sweaty smell."
That guy. Houki knew who Tatenashi was referring to, and her face immediately blushed.
"It's so late already, and there shouldn't be anyone in the shower room. We got the whole room, you know?"
"Pl-Please don't drag me along! I'll just walk on my own."
Though Houki protested, Tatenashi just answered with a smile and even pulled Houki by the arm.
...
......
.........
"Ah~ it feels so good."
In the shower of hot water, Tatenashi let out a refreshing sigh.
The showerheads in the shower room were separated, and both of them entered neighboring cubicles. Even though they were separated, the leg and head area were completely open for everyone to see, so there would normally be girls chatting away happily. The spacers were all translucent glass sheets, and though they could block the exposure of the chest to the thigh, the human figure would be shown as a silhouette.
Houki didn't like this shower room as her bust size would be checked on by the other girls.
"..."
"Are you the bathing type, Houki-chan?"
Tatenashi suddenly asked Houki, who remained silent up till now.
"Well, as for what you said just now."
"Hm? About Houki-chan's onee-san?"
Nn. Houki nodded her head.
"I don't really hate her. I'm really grateful about the Personal IS."
"I see."
"But I still can't understand."
"Can't understand what?"
"What was my sister thinking..."
"Hmm."
*Kyushh*. Tatenashi turned off the shower and leaned on the spacer.
The space between the body and the spacer couldn't take the ample breasts, and they were squashed.
"You're scared because you don't understand?"
"..."
Getting a silent affirmation, Tatenashi continued,
"If that's the case, I'm the same."
"Huh?"
"So I'm sure your onee-san's the same as well."
Unable to understand.
Unable to understand, and being afraid as a result.
However, one has to understand that courage was needed.
The courage that surpasses the fear of hurting oneself, that surpasses the fear of hurting others.
"It's alright."
"In-In what case?"
"There's no need to worry. I'm sure your onee-san would treat you as someone important."
"..."
"So, there's no need to be scared."
Explaining this gently, Tatenashi maintained a silent smile on her face until the end.
◆
The next day, in the second preparation room after school.
"Ah, Mayuzumi-sempai! Thank you for your appearance today!"
"Let me say first that my appearance fee's really high, you know~? An exclusive, ahem, date for once."
"Huuh?"
"A date with Orimura-kun. Fufu—that's something to be proud of."
"Pl-Please spare me."
If we want to complete Kanzashi's personal IS, we definitely need the 2nd year ace of the conditioning class, Mayuzumi Kaoruko-sempai to help us.
"Okay~ Okay~ Okay~. I want to go on a date with Orimu~"
And there's Nohohon-san, Nohotoke Honne. She's a first year, but amongst the members of the conditioning course, her ability's top notch.
"Fuu, hm, then, do I need to call in Kyouko and Fee to help?"
As she said that, Mayuzumi-san pulled her handphone out to gather her team.
And the bait was—
"Mn, two photos of Orimura-kun. Anyway, it's not like you can't have a date in school, right?"
Me again? But I'll be willing to toil on if I can get a flock of fish to bite on.
"REALLY!?"
A voice came over from the other side to confirm. Most likely, it's that 'Kyouko' or whoever.
"Tha-That's still acceptable."
"OKAY! OKAAAYY!! DEAL! DEAL DEAL! ZUU-SAN! BRING YOUR BEST CAMERA ALONG!!"
Since when did Mayuzumi-san...become Zuu-san?
"Okay okay. How about Fee?"
"Heh. I think I want that famous massage."
"There's no problem right? Orimura-kun?"
"Haa, well, never mind. I've done quite a few massages recently when I was sent to the clubs."
"Okay! It's decided! Hurry up and gather at the second prep room! Last one here will have to treat juice!"
After saying that, Mayuzumi-san hung the phone up. However, there's only me, Kanzashi, Mayuzumi-san and Nohohon-san here, so it's just a showdown between Kyouko-san and Fee-san.
"Then—, let's get to work!"
Mayuzumi-san smiled. 30 minutes later, I felt the strictness of the conditioning course that would drive me crazy.
"Orimura-kun, hand over the cables over there! All of them!"
"Then get the super-large wrench and the hi-frequency cutter."
"Fu. There aren't enough holographic displays. Get a few LCDs here. 8 will be enough. Borrow a mini-TV here too."
"O-Okay."
Anyway, I went around working busily.
In order to complete Kanzashi's personal machine [Uchigane Nisihiki], all the second year members of the conditioning class were present and fighting.
The hardware included the thrusters, boosters, armor, armaments, internal firearms and so on. Also—the core needed to use data to create the respective parts and the final model of the machine. Kanzashi continued to assemble the IS in order to operate it immediately after finishing work.
However, there're a lot of problems with the software.
It's based on the [Uchigane], but there's the adjusting and checking of things that include the construct of the [Multi-Lockon-System], the booster's [Unit Control System] optimization and efficiency maximization, the machine's [Energy Bypass Operating System] simulation, and the [Shield Barrier] system.
Helping to support the development, the pilot, Kanzashi, had been operating on both software and hardware with the support of Nohohon-san, She's working on things far more than what an ordinary person can do, like operating the machine, gathering data and controlling the feedback.
What's most amazing however is the way she's controlling those machines. She's not just using voice control, eye control or body gestures, but also using both hands and both feet to control 2 keyboards each, 8 holographic keyboards altogether.
I know that she can put her hand between the keyboards above and below. As the keyboard below's being typed on, the keyboard above can be controlled by the hitting motion.
The problem is that the toes are doing the same thing, though she's using [PIC] to let the IS float in mid-air, that's practically god-like.
As a side note, the keyboard's not flat, but a fully cu-->>