Bullet 3: Emblem 2

 

　Tower height: 126m…

　Naturally, there are no fall barriers at the top of the Rainbow Bridge’s main tower.

　And it was shaking even more than it looked like it was.

　Akari’s legs naturally turned inward and wobbled as she risked her life to get there.

“… I can’t… standing on such a shaky place… I can’t stand here… at least lower…!”

　In response to Akari’s whining…

　Aria, who was standing there with her feet perfectly still and unconcerned, shows me the screen of her cell phone.

　10:04 remaining.

　Those reddish-purple eyes were not looking at Akari now.

　For some reason, they have been looking down below us for a while now.

“… I see, we have been interrupted, but I will not stop the timer. That is a rule for my tests.”

“Interrupted…?”

　Akari, confused, looked down.

(…we are too high!)

　And, at first I shudder at our height, but…

(…that’s…!)

　Akari, who had a better eyesight than most, also noticed something strange happening on the roadway far below.

　There was a convertible and a boxcar coming from the central Tokyo side to the Daiba side, driving at breakneck speed to the bridge. And they were driving in reverse.

　They were chasing… a familiar convoy of vehicles from Logi department of Butei high.

　The men in the convertible…

　I’m not sure, but… are they armed? Akari raised an eyebrow…

　papapapa!　The distant sound of gunfire began to echo from below us.

　Sparks can be seen erupting on the side of the Logi convoy.

　The lead car of the Logi convoy is under attack.

　The tires of the convoy were punctured, or perhaps the convoy were thrown into a drift, and then fell over the bridge, like rolling dice.

　As the surrounding cars fled like spiders, the convertible and boxcar made a U-turn and began attacking the convoy again.

　Now I could see the weapons being used. The men were armed with Assault Rifles.

　Through the convoy’s broken windows and crumpled frame, I could see the criminals Aria had recaptured this morning, who were now trying to escape.

　The men who attacked the convoy seemed to have tattoos on their arms, although they were still too far away to make out the tattoos.

　The part of the tattoo that looks like a line though is probably a snake.

(…That tattoos is like the one from this morning…!)

　These are the same Chinese criminals that Aria caught this morning.

　Although the butei have quasi-police powers, the normal procedure for captured criminals in the case of Tokyo Butei High is to ultimately transfer the arrested criminals to one of the stations under their jurisdiction – the Wangan, Mita, Atago, or Azabu police stations.

　During the transportation, a gang of criminals attacked them to save their friends.

　It seemed though that Aria had already figured this out.

“I knew they had friends.”

　Aria took out a paratrooper wire, a must-have for students in the Assault department.

　And then…

“You stay right here and be quiet.”

　And with that, bam!

　Like she was bungee jumping, she jumped off the top of the main tower.

(…!)

　Aria intends to join the fight between the students of Butei High and the criminal gangs that started below us, to save the students of the Logi department who do not specialize in combat.

　　§　　　§

(4 Ak-47’s and two Chinese Norinco Corp Tokarev copies…)

　While analyzing the enemy’s strength from above, Aria hooked the hook of her para jumper wire to the steel frame of the tower.

　The reel, which doubles as a handle, sparks, and the speed of her descent rapidly accelerates…

　She approaches the bullet-riddled scene from above.

　The students of the Logi department were fighting back desperately, using the overturned convoy as a shield, just like their textbooks said.

　But what Logi students usually hold is a steering wheel, not a gun. Their marksmanship is as good as, if not a little worse, than that of most seasoned criminals.

　Furthermore, their firepower, which is mainly small handguns so as to not interfere with their driving and manoeuvring, is significantly inferior to that of the enemies armed with assault rifles.

　Their efforts are not looking good against the assault of high power assault rifle rounds…

　Aria had already descended to a distance where she could hear the voices of those of the Logi department.

“We are under attack by a group of heavily armed criminals! Assault and Sniper support is needed right now!”

　Aria heard a student on the radio calling for help.

“… is just one member from the Assault department okay?”

　Aria responded from above.

　And while jumping down into the middle of a firefight, armed with a silver-white and a jet-black government handgun…

　Aria opens fire from the sky, like a fighter plane firing upon enemies in an air raid.

　Large calibre .45 ACP rounds rain down, Wham! Bam! The bullet hitting the criminals guns as if they had been punched or kicked out of the criminals hands.

　Aria lands on the ground and, as if it was the training from earlier, fires only at her target’s guns, shooting them one after the other.

　For Aria, who was said to be a marksmanship prodigy, a slightly skilled shooter cannot even compare to her. For her this fight was boring, like replaying a game over and over again.

　　§　　　§

　Akari’s trembling increases as she listens to the sound of gunfire below.

“uu…uu…”

　Her trembling legs are now in the process of descending the suspension bridge wires of the Rainbow Bridge.

“Cases don’t… wait for… butei…!”

　Akari chants Aria’s words as if they were a spell for courage, but…

　She is moving as slow as a tortoise.

　The more I tremble, the greater the danger of falling. When I think about that, I can’t stop myself from shaking even more.

　Furthermore, bullets were flying around the site where I was about to go to.

　It is not Aria or a teacher who are shooting down there, who will aim for your bulletproof uniform.

　These are real criminals, who attack Butei with genuine intent to kill.

　But. Even so.

　My friends are being attacked. Aria-senpai is fighting.

　Even though we will be fighting somewhere like this, I cannot just be a bystander who watches from up high…

　I will not be afraid. I am not just a small girl. I am a butei!

　To prove it to herself, Akari sets off.

　She goes to her friends. And to her enemies.

“…!”

　…zuru!

　My legs…

　I slipped. The shaking caused it, especially since it started shaking out of nowhere.

　The paratrooper wire hanging from the bridge suddenly extended. Akari, falling down, gripped the brake on her handle with the thought that her heart is about to stop.

　Unable to get her balance since she is already walking on air, Akari falls straight down.

(…!)

　Once this happens, there is no longer the option of cancelling it.

　Some things are inevitable.

　The time will come for even cowards or weak people.

　While I was hesitating, something intervened… and forced me to jump into action. I do not know what the result will be. I don’t know much, but I do know that now I am here I have to do my best.

　If I don’t do my best here, I might really die.

(… that is what it means to be a butei…!)

　Akari, having initially decided to be patient, descends to Aria, who is fighting with two pistols. While she loosens the brake on the wire, the manages not to hit the ground and die, but is still descending very rapidly.

　However, as if she was shrugging of such determination, the situation seemed to be leaning heavily in favour of Aria.

　The enemy has been silenced for the most part.

“If you are going to fight, use a better gun.”

　I could hear Aria shouting advice to me, even in the middle of a gunfight, as she kicks away a fallen enemies Tokarev copy.

　At the scene of the incident where even is celebrating victory…

(!)

　… Akari could see something from her position in the sky.

　It was in the blind spot of Aria, coming from behind her, as she was looking at the fallen enemies…

　One man secretly got into a convertible and stepped on the gas pedal.

　The criminal who pretended to be beaten is about to make a getaway while attacking Aria with the car!

　The gun was not a good gun, but the car itself was a BMW, and stolen at that.

　It accelerated quickly, closing in on Aria’s back.

“!”

　When Aria looked behind her, the car was already rapidly closing in on her and was close enough that avoiding it would be difficult.

　In the cars glaring headlights, Aria took a defensive stance to minimize damage should she get hit.

　It was at that moment.

“… look out!”

　Akari kicked a nearby pillar, changing the direction of her fall to land on Aria.

　And then, da~n!, she kicked off of Aria’s small body, pushing her outside the path of the convertible.

“!?”

　Aria was saved by Akari’s quick thinking, and right in front of her eyes, whoosh!

　Akari crashed into the car, destroying the windshield of the convertible.

　It was as if she was taking the hit in the place of Aria, who Akari had saved.

“…whoah!”

　There is no way for the driver to avoid the girl who had suddenly appeared in front of her, and the man freezes for a second when he hits Akari, causing him to panic and sharply turn the steering wheel.

　The convertible, with the smell of burning tires turned and Boom!, crashed into the guardrail!

　Hit by the car, Akari’s body is thrown into the air and hit the ground, rolling with a rumble.

(Ugh…. I… can’t move…)

　But then I remembered that I was currently at a active crime scene…

　bam, Akari got up.

　But, now she had a severe headache.

　Her head was hit hard when she got hit by the car. However.

“…it hurts!”

　When she shouted, she sounded rather cheerful.

　I remember hearing about this from Ranbyo sensei from the Assault department. The head is a relatively concentrated area of nerves and blood vessels, and that it will bleed and hurt more than it should from relatively small damage.

　Then.

“Akari!”

　Aria, who I managed to rescue earlier, ran towards me with a panicked look.

　Or rather, instead of panicked she seemed surprised that Akari got up on her own without any issue.

You are reading story Hidan no Aria AA at novel35.com

　Well, naturally she would be surprised, Akari had gotten hit by a car and all she had said was “…it hurts!” and gotten back up.

　However, Akari did have a reputation for being able to take a hit in the Assault Department. Since transferring as an intern from her junior high school, she has been constantly getting beat up by the older girls in combat training so… before long she has become better at passive defence and has more endurance than most people.

　Meanwhile, the man in the convertible, who was only slightly injured, was yelling something in Chinese, trying to get his stalled car to start again.

　Aria pointed the muzzle of the gun in his direction.

“…?”

　But the convertible would not move.

“… The key is over here!”

　Akari had the key hooked around her index finger and was sticking her tongue out.

　When Akari had hit the convertible, she used some kind of technique to snatch the key away.

　The man in the driver seat, who probably couldn’t even speak Japanese, saw that the key had been taken away and was deflated, as if he was saying “I give up”.

　Aria started to laugh at Akari’s gesture.

　She must have thought that Akari accidentally grabbed it and it got removed.

(…)

　Akari could not say what exactly she had done as she rolled over the car. Especially not to Aria.

　From the road behind the two girls, a police car was now just arriving.

　The criminals were taken away in new convoys.

　The injured were transported by ambulance, and the police were busy clearing up the aftermath.

　With such a flurry of traffic on the roadway in the background, Akari and Aria were standing on the edge of the Rainbow Bridge.

　They are on the edge of the bridge used for maintenance and inspection work.

　A lattice-like grating floor continues along the roadway, with narrow footing and no fencing.

　A strong wind ruffled both girls twin tails, the sea below was tinged with the sunset, and seagulls were flying over the ocean.

“… you looked like you were going to start crying, but you ended up following me all the way.”

　Aria, who had called Akari out to meet her here, has now shown her phone once again.

　The time remaining was a minute and a few seconds.

“As a reward for earlier, I will give you one last chance.”

　The chance she was referring to didn’t need to be explained to Akari… she means once more chance to challenger her and take the star-shaped seal emblem on her hip.

“He-… here?”

　Akari did not have confidence though.

　The place they were right now was narrow, with a single misstep meaning you inevitable fall.

　Even when she was at Butei High, where she had freedom of movement, she was unable to even get a foot in the door, but here…

　Can she possibly take the emblem away from the athletic Aria? No…

“That kind of thing is imp-…”

　Reflexively, the word “impossible” almost comes out of Akari’s mouth.

　I have to win.

“Instead of allowing others to say they “never can” or “it is impossible”, I give them a chance. Do not say those things, it stifles the unlimited potential of human beings.”

　Aria told her.

　Anything said or given to me by someone I admire gives me joy. Even if it is a harsh reminder.

　So, Akari grabbed onto the rest of the word about to leave her mouth, “impossible”, swallowing the rest.

　I am not going to say that word to you anymore.

　And so…

　You have left me with only 1 option.

　I have to do it. I am determined.

　Akari let go of the handrail on the road side of the fence that she was holding onto as a lifeline…

　Clenching her fists, she shakes off her fear…

　Akari opened her eyes again, and her eyes now were different than before.

“… Aria-senpai. Please, come and attack me.”

　No longer afraid of what lay below her, she stood firmly on her own feet and asked Aria her request.

　To the weak girl before her, Aria raised an eyebrow with a “?”.

　However, Akari was ready. She anticipated Aria’s confusion.

　And so…

“I have been running after you this whole time Senpai. I don’t want to be a War Sister with Aria-Senpai if she will only run away.”

　… a provocation from the weak to the strong.

　At first, Aria listened to these words with a scowling face.

“What you just said…”

　Her eyes had changed now as well, she was clearly ticked off.

　Even know though, she has a smile on her face and is trying to be cute and affectionate with her rebellious underclassmen…

“… you take that back!”

　She came running at Akari like a puma attacking its prey!

　Akari, however, remained standing upright and steadfast.

　The distance between the two girls was rapidly decreasing.

　Time remaining: 15 seconds or so.

　In other words, there truly is only 1 chance left.

　Akari’s fists almost clench spontaneously from fear and nervousness.

　But… I have to hold on.

　Open my hands. I need to relax.

　If I don’t, I cannot win.

　This technique…

　Aria reached out to grab at Akari’s face. The centre of gravity shifted slightly to the right. Perhaps this is an anomalous osotogari motion, in which Aria runs beside Akari, pushing her face to the side and at the same time sweeping her lefts out with a back kick.

　… it is amazing. It is amazing how fast she is. Aria’s small body seems to have the engine of a fighter jet.

　But that is okay.

　Akari dared to accept her technique head on. Because…

(The only time I can do this technique is when I am countering…!

　Any strong man, at the moment of an attack, uses their body for the attack.

　On the flip side, when attacking the defence at that moment is neglected.

　Aria also naturally had this condition. The armpit, which for a palm strike must protrude, is wide open, and the flank protected normally by the left arm is open, leaving only the blouse for protection.

　And so Akari…

　She received the blow to the forehead from Aria’s palm, and at the same time was struck by her foot.

　It is so fast that I don’t even recognize how Aria moved.

　…bachiiii!

　My brain shook, my whole body collapsed, it was a blow so hard that I could not repel it in any way.

　Aria’s baritsu blows blow away both her consciousness and body with a single blow.

　But.

　Akari’s soul remembered a technique she learned from her mother.

“…!”

　Akari’s body was thrown off of the Rainbow Bridge, and she was thrown into the air.

　The fell from the bridge girder, which was 52 meters above the sea.

“Hey…! You are in the Assault department and you are going down that easily?!”

　Aria’s face, her voice, screaming in surprise, in the distance…

　There was a few seconds of weightlessness, as if you are free from everything.

　And then Akari fell back down and into Tokyo Bay.

　..zabu!

(I have a dream…)

　Face up, the distant Rainbow Bridge can be seen in a blur through the sea water.

　Although she sunk quite deep, Akari was able to get to the surface by kicking her feet. No… she would go farther. To the bridge. To Aria on the bridge. (TL Note: This obviously does not mean she is going to fly up 52 meters, just a stupid way of saying how Akari will swim up to the surface but her goal is beyond that.)

　There is still time, just a few more seconds.

(… I am going to be just like Aria-senpai!)

　Akari desperately reaches her hand out towards Aria.

　First to break the water was her hand, followed by Akari’s smile! And when she got out of the sea…

“I got it!”

　And then the 30 minute timer expired.

　In Akari’s hand, which she was now holding up to Aria… was a star-shaped seal.

“… we are now War Sisters!”

　The emblem was held firmly in Akari’s hand.

　　§　　　§

“…..!?”

　…there is no way it was taken.

　That was Aria’s first thought when she saw Akari emerge from the water with the emblem.

　But when she flipped up the blouse of her own sailor suit and looked at her flank, she found…

　The star-shaped sticker that should have been placed there is missing.

(Did it… get stolen… when our paths crossed for merely a moment?)

　It could only have happened at that moment when Aria and Akari made contact.

　But it must have been a matter of tenths of a second.

　Akari must have been unconscious at the time. Aria intentionally caused a concussion by hitting Akari’s skull with the bottom of her palm, not her fist, to shake her brain.

　And yet… how?

　Aria’s mind was filled with confusion and then she remembered the collision between the convertible and Akari.

　At the time, I just assumed that Akari’s hand had accidentally caught the key and removed it…

　Now I see that I was mistaken.

(That wasn’t… a coincidence…!)

　That, and now this… it is some kind of technique.

　Even in the moment that someone loses consciousness, he or she can perform a technique that has been memorized into the cells of their body through repeated, repetitive training. This is what we call technique memory.

　Akari has some kind of skill that even Aria does not know.

　… a technique that lets her take something off of her target at the same time as a collision.

　I don’t know the principal. I don’t even understand when it could have been used.

　How did Akari acquire such a high-level skill, which even I cannot understand, in a way that it has been memorized into even her bones? I do not know anything.

　But…

　I do know one thing.

　That is, Akari Mamiya…

(… she is my first Amica…!)

　She has passed the test to authenticate her contract to become Aria’s Amica.

　And so, on this particular spring day…

　Kanzaki H. Aria and Akari Mamiya became War Sisters.

　On a bridge littered with crushed bullets and shell casings, where the scent of gunpowder smoke still lingers.

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