Vol 1 Chapter 4 (1/2)

Chapter 4: Hidden Ones at a Place of Pa.s.sage

What should you worry about

Before getting embarra.s.sed?

Point Allocation (Habit)

White surrounded everything.

It was morning on the aerial s.h.i.+p named Musas.h.i.+. A stealth barrier covered not just the s.h.i.+p’s sky, but the area below it as well. All external light was made to pa.s.s straight through the entire barrier field, so the entire area around the Musas.h.i.+ seemed to glow with a white light.

The Musas.h.i.+ was illuminated more than one would expect from the brightness of the sky, but…

“This pale morning light is so irritating,” said a voice in the shadows.

A two building academy was located on the rear of Okutama, the Musas.h.i.+’s second central s.h.i.+p. Its sign said Musas.h.i.+ Ariadust Academy and a land bridge connected the second story main entrance to the schoolyard.

It was early enough in the morning that not even the athletic teams had begun practice, but Mitotsudaira looked to the school building’s clock from the shadows below the bridge.

…Arriving at 5:30 may have been overdoing it…

The small Cerberus on her shoulder would occasionally lower its three heads to express its sleepiness. Seeing that brought a smile to her face, but she knew she would have to say goodbye eventually.

“Is this a bad habit of someone who’s going to lose something?”

She looked to the clock again.

It was 5:55 AM. She could not help but feel glad, but she also had to be on her guard. After all…

“Is Tomo…really going to confess?”

She had read that below a bridge or below a tree was a common scene for students to confess. Early morning was also important. It supposedly happened more often during graduation season, but she had also heard things were different on the Musas.h.i.+, where there was no escape.

But why had Tomo asked her to come here?

…If it is to confess…

To who?

“To me.”

Why?

“Well…”

She did not know.

What had she done to attract Tomo?

The night before, she had guessed that Asama wanted a marriage between girls because she was a shrine maiden that served her G.o.d and she could plan her life more easily with the support of a feudal lord like Mitotsudaira.

…But Tomo’s family runs the Asama Shrine, so she has plenty of income.

The shrine was in charge of Musas.h.i.+’s s.h.i.+nto contracts, ether management, divine transmissions, s.h.i.+nto charms, and spell tools. It had more economic power on Musas.h.i.+ than a large corporation. So…

“Could she be after m-my body…?”

She blushed as she said that, but it was a possibility.

…She’s tall, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s would best be described with an ominous or imposing sound effect, her b.u.t.t is probably the same given how little s.p.a.ce it leaves in the chair when she sits down, and…oh, dear. Why am I hanging my head and punching the bridge’s column?

“I-I need to stop comparing her to myself! For Adele’s sake!”

At any rate, she may have been attracted to Mitotsudaira in the same way that the wealthy are sometimes attracted to the poor.

…B-but my mother would require the most extreme sound effects imaginable.

But that was not a fair comparison. She had always a.s.sumed that was average, so when she had come to Musas.h.i.+ and gone through the school’s physical examination, she had wondered the following:

…Maybe I’m the one that’s average?

She could almost hear the others saying “no”, so she punched the column.

“Anyway.”

Given who her mother was, she had a chance for the future. Probably. Maybe. She tried not to think about the possibility of taking after her father.

But what was she supposed to do? She had always kind of known Tomo was a little crazy, but it seemed being a trueborn Musas.h.i.+ resident made her the real deal. Mitotsudaira had not expected Tomo to interfere with her own life plans, but it made sense if she thought of it like a natural disaster.

But, she thought.

Marriage between girls could be difficult for a variety of reasons, but she had provisionally inherited the name of Lord Mitsukuni of Mito Matsudaira. She had inherited a man’s name, so it was possible she could marry a girl as part of the history recreation.

She checked the academy clock out of the corner of her eye and found it was 6:10.

It’s almost time, she thought while preparing herself.

Asama’s dreaded visit would come soon.

Mitotsudaira needed to face her directly and confront her properly, so she stepped out from below the bridge and faced the bow.

“Now, then.”

She physically prepared herself and the Cerberus mimicked the motion on her head.

She could feel the morning wind on her skin and hair. The tuning had cleansed the wind as it circled around within the stealth barrier.

She thought it was a nice wind, but…

“Sniff…hm?”

The smells of morning life were beginning to fill that wind. Okutama contained a lot of students and Takao and Oume on either side contained a lot of Far Easterners, so…

…Is this…?

She smelled cooking fish, the steam of cooking rice, radishes, and vegetables mixed with the saltiness of miso soup. It all swirled up through the tube-like barrier walls.

…Kh.

Not eating breakfast had been a mistake.

A sticky dampness overflowed from the edge of her lower lip and she briefly swayed on her feet from the pressure of the wind. Meanwhile, the Cerberus on her head pushed itself further and further forward as it sniffed at the smell.

“Oh, whoops…”

To make sure the Cerberus did not fall off her head, she extended her arms to the side to keep her balance. She somehow managed to keep her footing after taking one step forward and two steps back.

And then she heard a sudden voice from behind.

“Mito! Are you okay!?”

On the mental side, Mitotsudaira nearly died when Asama tapped her shoulder.

Asama saw Mitotsudaira literally jump.

…Oh.

To make sure the Cerberus did not fall off her head, she did not move her head much, so her b.u.t.t hopped up instead. She’s pretty good at adlibbing, thought Asama, but she was also a little worried about the girl.

After all, she had been watching Mitotsudaira pace around below the bridge and occasionally punch the column, so she was acting a little odd.

In fact, she had had thought Mitotsudaira was strange before, but this meant it was the real deal. After all, normal people did not grope their own b.r.e.a.s.t.s out of the blue, punch a column, sniff at the air, and then start staggering around. That meant she was strange. It was a perfectly logical conclusion.

Mitotsudaira’s jump kept her airborne for a relatively long time, but once she landed, she turned toward Asama.

Her voluminous hair swung around and her face was red.

“T-T-T-T-T-Tomo!?”

“Um, yes. Are you okay?”

“W-well, um, uh…!”

She is acting weird, thought Asama with a mental tilt of her head.

To make her blush and grow this fl.u.s.tered, Asama must have caught her in a strange situation.

What had been going on with Mitotsudaira all this time?

Asama thought back over Mitotsudaira’s previous actions.

…A half-werewolf hiding under the bridge while sniffing around and growing both embarra.s.sed and fl.u.s.tered.

Asama used those keywords to realize what was going on.

“Mito.”

“Wh-what!?”

Asama looked around to make sure they were alone, pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve, and handed it to Mitotsudaira. She placed her hands on Mitotsudaira’s shoulders and nodded.

“Don’t worry. Marking is a biological phenomenon. I don’t sense anyone else around and I’ll look the other way, so please continue.”

“Why am I being treated like a strange girl!?”

…Huh? Is that not what this was?

Asama tilted her head in thought and looked to Mitotsudaira from close up. The girl was blus.h.i.+ng and had her defenses up.

…Does she have a cold? She almost certainly has a fever.

Asama pressed her forehead against Mitotsudaira’s.

Mitotsudaira saw two objects deserving of a sound effect in front of her eyes.

…Wh-what is this!?

They were huge. Asama was taller, so she had bent over to press her forehead against Mitotsudaira’s. Mitotsudaira was not sure why she had done that, but her shoulders were pinned in place and a Far Eastern girls winter uniform was taking on an unreasonable shape right in front of her eyes.

Each one may not have been as big as her face, but they at least covered the distance between each eye’s outer edge. In close quarters combat, they would certainly hide anything at her feet or on her torso.

Plus, the way they jiggled threw off her sense of perspective. But…

…I understand now! Only an amateur would call these a handicap!

They pose a risk of weighing you down, but they can also work to your advantage in combat!

Larger b.r.e.a.s.t.s act as an anchor when attacking and increase the strength of the blow. Now I know why my mother is so powerful. If she has the strength to control all that weight, it means she has plenty of fundamental strength. That’s why I can’t beat her. There’s nothing I can do. I can’t beat those giant b.r.e.a.s.t.s. No, heh heh, there’s nothing I can do… Wait, why am I crying in my heart?

At any rate, she had solved a mystery. And as she pondered her inadequacy in combat, she considered attaching ingot weights to her chest when training.

“——————”

No! she shouted in her heart.

She was not here to praise giant b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She was here so Asama could confess to her, but she was clearly being swallowed up by that opponent.

She was the defensive type. Even if she tended to be on the receiving end, she had never expected for an attack to make it this far.

She wanted to put some distance between them, allowing her to take the initiative, so she acted on reflex.

“W-wait, Tomo!”

She grabbed Asama in order to push her away.

Her hands pushed from below at the obstacles in front of her eyes.

…Eh?

Her fingers seemed to sink into them.

…Ehhhhhhhhhhhh!?

She remembered her mother being the same. That woman’s body had felt dense and contained a springiness that pushed back, but Asama did not push back and the obstacles only transformed further the more Mitotsudaira pushed.

The term “shock-absorbing b.o.o.b armor” came to mind, but she was not sure what to make of that.

At any rate, she focused on pus.h.i.+ng Asama away and gathered her strength. When she did, a tremor ran through Asama’s body.

“Ahn.”

Asama reflexively pulled her thighs and hips back.

Before Mitotsudaira could even feel surprised, Asama’s forehead pressed down on her own.

The other girl’s gently arched body was leaning forward, making it hard to push her back, but Mitotsudaira started worrying about the fact that it looked like she was fondling Asama’s b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

Wait. Did I just unlock the path to being a breast sommelier? wondered Mitotsudaira, but then she remembered her original objective.

…W-wasn’t I supposed to be rejecting Tomo’s confession!?

The age was clearly heading in the opposite direction here. Asama arched her back even further in order to escape, but due to gravity, the weights hung down from her body and Mitotsudaira found herself supporting the falling b.r.e.a.s.t.s in her hands.

…Oh, I think some ancient view of the universe says the G.o.ds support mother earth’s weight from below. Maybe this is what that meant…

But what was she to do?

If Asama confessed now, the situation would prevent her from refusing.

This was likely one of the deepest gropings Asama had ever received and it was a rare experience for Mitotsudaira too. To use a technical term, this is what they called raising a major flag. Also…

“M-Mito…please don’t move your hands…”

…I’m not!

Asama was moving her own body which was transforming her shape inside Mitotsudaira’s motionless hands.

Most likely, Asama was trying to move away, but shaking her hips to pull back accomplished nothing because her balance was s.h.i.+fted too far forward. So in her mind…

…Sh-she thinks I’m actively groping her!?

If Mitotsudaira rejected the confession, Asama would have been groped for nothing. Mitotsudaira decided she needed to be prepared for the Asama Shrine to sue her for damages. But…

“Ah.”

Just as Asama let out a heated breath…

“Oh? I decided to stop by after finis.h.i.+ng our match, but what are you two doing so early in the morning?”

Some black wings descended from the sky on their right.

Asama saw Naruze land in the schoolyard.

She was already looking their way, and…

“Good morning.”

As soon as she landed, blood erupted from her nose.

When they saw the non-fallen angel fall to her knees and collapse forward on the schoolyard, Asama and Mitotsudaira stopped moving.

A pool of blood was growing in the schoolyard, but when they saw Naruze’s trembling hand drawing out a storyboard in midair, they were unsure whether to help her or ignore her.

At any rate, the situation seemed dangerous to Asama. Not only had Naruze seen them, but Naruze herself was turning this into a crime scene.

Also…

“T-Tomo.”

Mitotsudaira was practically holding Asama, but she moved back as if slipping out from under Asama’s body.

Asama responded by lifting her pulled-back hips and pulling back her torso.

“Mito.”

Mitotsudaira looked up at her while blus.h.i.+ng.

She then placed a hand in front of her chest and spoke.

“I-I feel bad saying this after what I just did, but…I cannot accept your request.”

She rejected Asama.

Asama felt a sinking feeling inside her heart.

She was not quite sure what the first half of the rejection had meant, but it was unfortunate all the same.

…I should have known she couldn’t.

Mitotsudaira was provisionally the second in line to ruling the Far East, a Rank 1 Musas.h.i.+ Knight, and the owner of a company. As the daughter of the Asama Shrine, Asama understood how one’s position affected their decisions.

With that in mind, Mitotsudaira was taking her position seriously and Asama may have been taking hers too lightly.

Hmm, she thought while feeling like the heat from the night before was cooling. But…

“Ah.”

She realized Naruze was no longer moving.

“A-are you okay, Naruze!?”

She ran over, flipped the girl onto her back, and found the non-fallen angel covered in her own blood with a happy, open-eyed smile on her face. Wow… thought Asama as she nearly flipped her back over, but ended up leaving the girl on her side so she could breathe. Wings could be quite heavy, so trying to carry her could damage the wings.

“So leaving her would be best.”

“No, how about we call Naito? She’s the expert.”

Asama sent a divine transmission message to Naito.

“Um, Naito? It’s Asama. Naruze flew down, landed, got an explosive nose bleed, and finished herself off. Is this some kind of disease? What should we do?”

“Ohhh. After last night, she wanted to get all fired up, so she ate a bunch of chicken hearts and livers at the grilled chicken place. That probably came back to bite her.”

Asama wondered if that was similar to cannibalism, but that may have been what had caused this. However, the barely conscious Naruze began weakly singing a lyrical song with the same expression as before.

“I think she’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure her life isn’t flas.h.i.+ng before her eyes?” asked Mitotsudaira.

“Oh, I’ll grab a spare uniform and be right there,” said Naito. “Just a minute, okay?”

“Sure, sure,” replied Asama while placing a small tamagus.h.i.+ near Naruze to protect her. A small torii-style sign frame appeared from the top, so she set it to tune the area and protect the indicated individual’s health before twisting the sign frame to turn it on.

Something like a thin mist covered a three meter area around Naruze. That indicated the ether tuning was underway.

She wondered whether she should just leave the girl there, but…

“Um.”

She had forgotten why she was here in the first place.

She faced Mitotsudaira again and looked the silver wolf in her somewhat wavering golden eyes.

“Mito, sorry about all this.”

“Don’t be. That last part was pretty incredible, but I don’t mind. I have my own position, but I do think under different circ.u.mstances I might have accepted your request.”

Asama was thankful for the girl’s kindness, but she doubted Mitotsudaira would accept even if she asked again.

…I guess I can do it with Kimi or even alone…

She eliminated that thought from her mind.

She was facing Mitotsudaira right now, so her own issues could wait.

She gave a deep bow.

“I am truly sorry. I got all worked up without thinking about what you would want.”

“No, um,” began Mitotsudaira. “I really do think I would have agreed if I had a more comfortable position.”

Asama was glad to hear it, but she also knew that meant there was no chance. Reality was cruel and that was all there was to it, so Asama raised her head with a smile.

“I really am sorry. …I guess it was a little sudden to ask you to form a band with me.”

…That’s the first I’ve heard of that!!!

Mitotsudaira mentally leaned back so far she nearly fell over.

…What’s this about a band!?

Wasn’t this a confession scene?

Wasn’t that why she had groped…no, supported her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and why the two of them had been surrounded by such a strange atmosphere?

But now that she thought about it, Asama had never actually told her why they were meeting up this morning.

…Oh, maybe I’m just an idiot.

She had jumped to the wrong conclusion.

But what was this about forming a band?

She understood what that meant, but she was puzzled that the idea had come from Asama and that she was being invited.

It was not that she had no interest in music. In fact, she had an understanding of and skill at music. Her father had enjoyed strings music, he had taught her to play, and she had danced with her mother.

Due to her mother’s divine protection as a werewolf, the woman’s energy had infected her and her father as well. And her mother had likely enjoyed the feedback from the other two. Her mother had sometimes spoken in Mitotsudaira’s juvenile speech patterns and Mitotsudaira had sometimes heard her mother using baby talk in her parents’ room at night.

“Heh heh. How do you wike dat~? Do you want it wike dis~? Or maybe wike dis~? Since you’re giving it a real effort, I might just stop if you can hold it in for ten more times~. Oh, dear. You need to be more honest with yourself~. One~, two~. …Heh heh. Don’t worry~. Even if you can’t hold it in, I’ll help you get nice and big again~. Now, let’s keep going wike dis~. Three~, three-point-one~.”

She had also heard long, shrill cries and sobs from her father, but now that she thought about it, that was something else entirely.

She belatedly discovered a new truth there.

…That really was the worst home for a proper upbringing.

At any rate, what was going on?

Asama had only ever shown an interest in Gagaku and even then only with a highly s.h.i.+nto focus, so she had completely ignored pop music and Western music.

Mitotsudaira did not know why she had suddenly thought to form a band, but setting the reason aside…

…With Tomo, that might not be so bad.

Mitotsudaira was a Rank 1 Musas.h.i.+ Knight, so she had her own position in society.

While she did not know what had led Asama to try to form a band, she did understand why the girl would be hesitant to do so on her own.

Asama may have been worried that it clashed with her shtick.

They were in the second year of high school and were effectively mid-level members of the Far East’s students. They had to take things seriously, but they also had a lot more options now.

In that case, thought Mitotsudaira.

“Um.”

She wanted to take back what she said. Even if she was not going to explain that she had mistakenly thought Asama was confessing to her, she wanted to join that band.

Part of it was wanting a hobby, but she also wanted to be able to work with her friends toward something she could not do on her own.

So she spoke to Asama who was beginning to turn her back.

“Tomo…”

Just as she was going to tell the girl to wait, she heard a bark from the hair behind her.

The Cerberus must have fallen from her head when Asama’s forehead had pressed down on Mitotsudaira’s, so the three-headed wolf was caught between the two backmost rolls of hair. But…

“…!”

That bark of warning was followed by a sudden figure appearing beyond Asama who had turned her back.

…Naito!?

No.

What she had thought was Naito’s wings was actually hair. It was someone else who had nimbly jumped down from the bridge.

“…Kimi!?”

Kimi saw herself as a diligent girl.

She always set her goals for the day first thing in the morning and made sure to follow that plan. And today…

…I must reject anything and everything!

The night before, she had learned that her brother was interested in a certain girl. She had contacted that girl and had settled things inside herself, but she still wanted to enjoy and indulge in the expected role of an elder sister.

She would probably start thinking about all of this again if her brother took more serious action in this regard, but she would not be thinking about herself as much as she would be thinking about watching over, supporting, and if it came to it, being a place of solace for that nearby individual who she could almost call another version of herself.

To do that, she had decided this morning to do everything she could now.

She knew what she needed to do. She had to play the “selfish sister” when faced with this sudden turn of events. And she was going to play that role here.

“Stop! You mustn’t confess!”

She grabbed Asama’s hands and pressed them firmly against her own chest.

“Ahhhn. St-stop it, Asama! If you come at me that strongly, I won’t be able to resist!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but is your brain even working!? Oh, it isn’t, is it!? Is it!? That’s the answer, isn’t it!?”

Asama blushed and pulled her hands away. When the girl stepped away, Kimi grabbed Mitotsudaira’s hand and pressed it against her chest too.

“Ah, ahhh! You too, Mitotsudaira!? Did you fall for my charm!? You did, didn’t you!? That’s why you tried to confess to me, isn’t it!? But you can’t! I’m the type that practices self love through cell division!”

“That’s the first I’ve heard of this, even if this misunderstanding sounds rather familiar!”

The Cerberus barked in agreement, so it seemed to know who its master was.

“Now, then.” Kimi let go of Mitotsudaira’s hand, faced Asama, crossed her arms, and tapped her right heel against the ground. “So? Why did you call me here this early in the morning, Asama?”