Bullet 4: War Sisters

　At Tokyo Butei High, which trains the next generation of Armed Detectives, there is a system in place called the Amica system, in which for a year, a senior and junior work together.

　This system, which originated at the world first Butei training institution, the Rome Butei High in Italy, has been adopted today by Butei High schools in many countries as a supplementary curriculum that allows students to train one another.

　When two boys are in the same unit, they are called “War Brothers”, two girls are called “War Sisters”, and with a boy and girl either or is used. Seniors can treat their juniors as a subordinate and learn the basics of leadership and management, while the junior can learn from their senior the skills and techniques of a butei, and in the future, they can pass on what they have learned to the next generation.

　For this reason, the two who have decided to become Amica’s literally spend their days together as a brother or sister.

　The following day, in the evening – in front of the first girls dormitory at Tokyo Butei High.

(I am really walking with Aria-senpai…)

　Aria, who was as quick with paperwork as she was running, has arranged for the two War Sisters contracts to be filed with Masters.

　The faculty gave an immediate and tentative OK, and the process is to be approved and registered electronically at 8:00pm tonight.

　Walking dreamily with Aria, Akari enters the girls dormitory, a seven-story apartment building where Aria is temporarily living.

　In the elevator hall of the women’s dormitory, we passed a pair of girls who appeared to also be War Sisters.

　(To them we must seem like War Sisters as well…)

　The thought of this made Akari’s face heat up with happiness and nervousness.

(… I am going to be spending even more time with Aria-Senpai from now on too…!)

　Excitedly, Akari envisions the near future of her with Aria.

　Together, the two War Sisters confront a difficult case. Aria wields a gun as if she was the protagonist in an action movie, and Akari helps her to defeat the enemy before them.

　Those days will soon begin. Yes, as early as tomorrow. No, it may even start tonight.

　The more she imagines it, the more her daydreaming accelerates.

“We are here”

　Aria stops in front of room 707 of the women’s dormitory and opens the door using a card key. (TL Note: I thought 707 might be a reference to something from Sherlock Holmes but if it is it is nothing obvious. If anyone knows what 707 might refer to feel free to DM me on Discord.)

　Akari had a longing to live in a dormitory since she is a commuter student from her home apartment, and so she was familiar with the entire layout of the dormitory by browsing the schools website…

　According to my memory, room 707 is a VIP room with a rent of 300,000 yen or so. (TL Note: About $3K USD)

　As I walked down the common corridor for the dorm, I remembered that the layout of the VIP rooms was distinctly different from the other rooms, about three times as large.

(This is Aria-Senpai’s room…!)

　Akari’s tension, which was already raised from standing outside a VIP room, was raised even further.

“Here”

　Aria handed Akari the key card that opened the door to her room.

“The first thing a War Sister senpai does is give a key to their shared room. You will be helping me a lot from now on”

　That means… you are… giving me a key to your room!

“Yes! Senpai! I will do my best!”

　Holding the key card in front of her chest with both hands, Akari answered with a thrilled expression.

　I am so happy, although I am also a little scared.

　And so, I entered room 707 with great reluctance.

　There were several rooms, too many for one person to use, probably 6 rooms or more including a living room, dining room, and kitchen.

　In fact, it seems that Aria only uses the living room and her own bedroom, the rest of the rooms are empty. I was amazed at the lavish amount of space, but the living room, which was large than the total floor space of my house, Heights Kachidoki Room 202, also took my breath away.

　There was antique furniture that is not overly ornate but certainly expensive.

　The latest AV equipment and PC’s are in curious harmony with each other, but the kitchen looks a bit lifeless… the reason being that Aria had no need to cook for herself.

“Wow… So big!”

　Akari’s reaction, which came out of her mouth was refuted by Aria.

“Really? My room in my parent’s house was about 10 times larger than this”

　Aria said, not in a sarcastic tone, but in a tone that implies Aria truly thought this place was small.

　Aria, who was sitting on a velvet sofa, picked up an antique landline phone and placed it on her thigh…

“Your parents house… is in England, right?”

　Akari asks, knowing that Aria is an exchange student from England.

“You are now my War Sisters, so I will tell you. I am from nobility, a line of Dames. I am a legitimate daughter of the Holmes family”

“Holmes…?”

　Which… that must mean…

“Sherlock Holmes. You must have read about him in your textbooks, right? I am Sherlock Holmes the Fourth”

　Aria said that naturally.

　She said that as if it was nothing of importance.

　She began turning the phone dial with her white, slender finger, which seemed impossible that just yesterday it was shooting such a large pistol.

(…!)

　I knew that Aria was an aristocrat, but I had no idea that the middle letter, “H”, of Kanzaki H. Aria, was an acronym for “Holmes”.

　Sherlock Holmes is the name of the man who lived during the Victorian era, from the late 19th to the early 20th century…

　He was the world most famous detective, active about a century ago.

　Although later generations have emphasized only his detective aspect, Sherlock was also a master marksman and martial artist, as well as the founder of the butei, as he would sometimes use military force to solve crimes.

　… he was indeed in Akari’s textbooks.

　Aria, who is in front of me right now, is the great granddaughter of that historical celebrity.

　Of course, Akari cannot help but be surprised.

　However, it seems that the girl from such a prestigious background is not too happy about the surprise…

“… no need to act so surprised. For instance, half of my private property is an inheritance. I only earned half of it myself, so halve your compliments and surprise”

　Aria says so coolly, before putting the handset to her ear as if to say she is ending her conversation with Akari.

　Akari, reading the situation, only nods her head.

　But…

(Wow! I just learned an amazing secret about Aria-Senpai!)

　In my mind, I was in a state of pure excitement.

　I am now Aria-Senpai’s Amica, who is top notch in butei status, achievements, and even bloodline.

　In other words, Aria is truly one of the best.

　When I think about it like that, everything in front of me looks rosy.

“– Hi, Sarah” (TL Note: This is in English.)

　Aria’s phone seems to have connected.

　She began speaking in English. It is normal for her to speak English as it is her native language, but it is cool to see her like that.

“This is Aria speaking. Yeah, I’d like to talk about my bullets…” (TL Note: English too)

(Her pronunciation is so clean…)

　Akari, who is terrible at English, cannot understand a word of what Aria is talking about now… Aria is now writing something down on a notepad with a Montblanc fountain pen.

　And then,

“Hey, you”

　Suddenly, she put her hand to the receivers mouthpiece and looked at Akari.

“Can you place an order at Amdo and S-Lab for sterling silver bullets, Honashi, and multi use bullets?” (TL Note: no clue what some of the original is, I am pretty sure most the names are not even actual words, what I can gather is all of it is for super natural enemies.)

　…?

“Eh?”

　Akari’s head was filled with “?”.

　I know those words were probably Japanese, but…

　I do not know what she said.

　Akari, who has never done advanced work as a butei because of her E rank, is not familiar with high-level butei terminology.

　So I was forced to shake my head and…

　Aria returned to the phone…

　And again, they are talking about something in Japanese.

　Their conversation in English now is something I must be able to understand. In order to be useful to Aria-senpai. However, I couldn’t understand a word of what Aria was saying in English or Japanese.

　Akari is…

　Despaired.

　I want to help you as soon as I can… but I can’t find anything in particular I can do to help you.

　While I was standing in a corner of the living room,

“Akari”

　After finishing her phone call, Aria called out to me while opening the lid of a wooden box that was beside her.

　And then,

“I am trying to track a signal. We have narrowed down the source of the signal, and we are going to use this yagi to track it. Here, assemble this”

　She handed me the crate.

　I took a quick peak inside the crate and saw that it contained metal parts of various kinds.

　There was also an instruction manual, but it was written in English… so Akari could not understand it.

　When I raised my face to tell Aria I could not read it,

“– I am going to go place the order myself. I am counting on you”

　Quick to act, Aria was already leaving the room.

“……”

　Akari, afraid to interfere with Aria at all, could not even ask what these parts were for.

　Then, standing stunned in front of the closed door…

(…ya… yagi?)

　Akari kept repeating the word “yagi” in her head.

 

 

　After a few moments…

“You…”

　When Aria returned home after running an errand, to her dismay,

“!”

　Akari, sitting in a crumpled upright position in front of the wooden box, turned around with a startled shiver.

　Akari, who did not know what to do, was looking at the instruction manual.

“What are you doing…?”

“I… I was told by Aria-senpai… to build the yagi…”

　Aria turned around in a panic and saw the parts from the wooden box scattered around her.

　Akari tried her best to build it, but…

“Ah… You broke it”

　As Aria, who was picking up the parts said, the results were disastrous.

“I… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

“You don’t seem to be a professional idiot… but there is no better ideal for a butei team than being able to do a lot of things, right? Driving, forensics, shooting… is there anything you can do?”

　From Aria’s point of view…

　Akari was not trying to purposefully break anything.

　Rather, if Aria was a level 99, Akari was probably a level 20 or so. So I need to entrust her with a correspondingly simple task, surely.

　However, Akari is an idiot, far below Aria’s expectations.

　For Aria, who was a level 1 or 2 honour student, Akari comparatively a drop-out girl who hasn’t encountered much, and was let alone capable of assembling an antenna.

(… what I can do…)

　Akari, with her eyes downcast, had no answer.

　There is nothing I can do.

　Aria sighed as she looked at Akari’s dreary face that told her everything she had to know.

“… follow me”

　After saying that, Aria led Akari out of the room.

　Once they left room 707, they went up the stairwell of the women’s dormitory to…

　Akari was brought up to the rooftop in the middle of the night.

　The rooftop is wide, with a mark in the centre indicating that a helicopter can land here.

　And there was another large crate placed there.

“Is this…?”

　Akari asks, looking at the cloth-like object inside.

“It is an assault para-glider. We are improving it to make it turn better”

　Saying this, Aria hands Akari a canopy – a piece of cloth that will be used as the umbrella for the para-glider – and a set of sewing tools from the box.

　It is a heavy, large-size cloth, and there is a large amount of it.

“I have not sewn the fabric together yet, so go ahead and do it. It would normally take me half a day”

　A manual was there, this time in Japanese, bound with several sheets of paper.

“Y-, Yes!”

　Akari answers with a slight waver.

“Since you just have to sew according to the procedure manual, you can do it, right?”

　Aria responded to Akari’s confirmation with no intended malice.

　But… this is a kind of job not typically done by butei.

　This is a job that has nothing to do with ones skills as a butei.

“…okay”

　Holding the paragliding materials handed to me tightly against my heart.

　Aria, unable to see Aria’s face, replied with her eyes downcast.

　　§　　　§

　It was 7PM, an hour after I had asked Akari to help me improve my para-glider…

　After buying replacement parts for the parts that Akari had destroyed, Aria made a side trip to the intelligence department, Lezzad.

　Lezzad is one of the specialized departments of Butei High. This department trains butei who specialize in espionage, intelligence, and sabotage of criminal organizations.

　Beside a magnificent oak tree planted to hide the windows of that school building…

“… Akari’s gait and stance were based on Japanese martial arts”

　Leaning against the wall, Aria speaks about her impression of Akari.

　The person who Aria is speaking to is Hina Fuuma, a first-year intelligence student who is suspended upside down from a large tree above Aria’s head.

　Fuuma listens to the story while munching on her fried noodle buns…

　She is a girl who resembles a female ninja, so it is no wonder she chose to join the Intelligence division instead of the assault department as a transfer student. In addition to her sailor uniform all butei wear, she usually hides the lower half of her face with a mouthpiece except for moments like now where she is eating.

　What is a bit odd though is that the pleated skirt of her uniform somehow maintains its normal orientation and shape, defying gravity, while her long scarf and black hair ponytail is hanging down…

　However, she is a student with a unique atmosphere that convinced Aria that this is absolutely Fuuma.

　It is not uncommon for a student to hire a fellow student for a mission at Butei High, and Aria had hired Fuuma for a mission.

　It was a background check on Akari Mamiya, a first-year student in the Assault Department, whom I accepted as my Amica.

　However, I have not openly opened an investigation into Akari yet as I dont have enough information on her yet, so I am passing on information I know this way to Fuuma…

“Despite her Japanese stance though, the techniques she used were not from karate, judo, or aikido”

　Akari’s techniques on the Rainbow Bridge…

　While telling Fuuma all this information, Aria asks Fuuma for her opinion as Fuuma is well versed in Japanese martial arts.

　After finishing her fried noodle bun she received from Aria as payment, Fuuma recovered her face and,

“… the technique that Kanzaki-dona saw is probably ‘tobi-tsuki’. Originally, it was a shinobi killing technique to pick out the eyes and internal organs of the enemy with ones bare hands” (TL Note: This is spoken in an old dialect, the book actually had both the old and new version, presumably because of how old the dialect is.)

　In her unique way of speaking, she stated… quite a disturbing opinion.

　Aria is… completely silent.

“However… the tobi-tsuki is a technique that uses the power of the enemy themself to work, and at the moment of collision between the two, the shinobi thrusts their fingers into the body, such as the mouth of naval, and pulls out the muscle and organs inside. The fact that the emblem on the surface of Kanzaki-dono’s body was able to be safely removed seems odd. Mamiya-dono may have revised her tobi-tsuki technique for some reason…”

　…if Fuuma’s opinion is correct, that is a bit creepy and scary.

　Japanese butei are forbidden to kill according to Article 9 of the charter surrounding butei law. Akari must have remade the technique to comply with Article 9.

　Aria, who herself is a master of the martial arts handed down from generation to generation and started with Sherlock Holmes can understand the need of reworking a technique. But… to be able to rework a technique… one must be able to use the original form of it.

　Why would Akari, who seems so harmless and helpless, know how to do such a brutal technique?

　Aria, who was beginning to feel an unusual sense of tension as that question arose in her mind, was completely silenced by Fuuma’s analysis.

“…”

“…”

　After a few moments of silence between the two girls…

　…guuu…

　Aria heard the sound of Fuuma’s belly grumbling.

　Her face is expressionless… but apparently she hasn’t been eating enough.

　She is a poor butei whose family is equally poor and her tuition fees are barely being covered.

“… for an additional fee.”

　And so Aria gave her the backup fried noodle bun she brought just in case.

“I’m sorry”

　Fuuma lowered her mouthpiece again and began to happily munch on the fried noodle bun.

　The commission is cheap, but hungry butei will rarely work for merely the price of food.

“Continue to investigate Akari. You have been a butei for nearly a year, so it shouldn’t be hard for you to find out more. Tell me more later.”

“Yes, maam” (TL Note: again, old dialect)

　After saying these words, Fuuma disappeared into the darkness, blending in with the leaves that rustled in the winds. The slightly dusty spring breeze drowned out the smell of the Yakisoba bread sauce.

　　§　　　§

　On the rooftop of the first women’s dormitory…

　Under the stars, Akari was diligently stitching the canopy of her para-glider.

　The cloth is sturdy, stiff, long and large, so it is hard to finish sewing it.

　However, the sewing itself is a simple task that any girl can do.

　The procedure manual is in Japanese, and it is just a matter of actually doing it.

　But…

“…”

　As I worked in silence, many things came to mind. The darkness of the night did not help though, and all I could think of were negative things.

　A few moments ago, Aria, my ideal, said to me…

“There is no better ideal for a butei team than being able to do a lot of things, right?”

“Since you just have to sew according to the procedure manual, you can do it, right?”

　… those words have been stuck in my mind since Aria said them.

　I knew Aria had no bad intentions when she said it, but that is why it is hard for me to bear them.

　I can also recall Aria’s disappointed expression…

“Oww!”

　Akari pricked her finger with the sewing needle.

　I was forced to pause my work and wiggle my fingers to help relieve the pain.

　Akari… hugged the cloth, face down.

(… I can only… do this…)

　Slowly, my vision began to blur.

　The dream I had when I entered the women’s dormitory with Aria, my dream of being reborn as a cool butei, playing a big role as I help Aria… it is not possible. I’m sure.

　I was only imagining it.

　I don’t have any specialties that can make that dream a reality: driving, forensics, shooting, communications, information processing, equipment procurement…

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

　I only became her Amica because of my one trick that caught Aria by surprise.

　That was all there was to it.

　Myself, I am still just an E-ranked butei.

　I am just a little girl, basically a toddler, who can’t do anything and am nearly a Butei High dropout.

(I was ecstatic since I could be Aria-Senpai’s little sister… but it doesn’t make sense for a child who has no merit to be a younger sister of someone with so much potential…)

　The rooftop, despite not being cold at all, begins to feel like a cold front is coming on.

　For Akari, Spring has already begin giving her new challenges and encounters…

　And these new challenges and encounters are about to be transformed into anguish and ordeals.

　　§　　　§

　Aria rented an unoccupied workshop at Amdo, the equipment department, and completed the yagi antenna herself…

　The time was already 2 a.m.

(… I’m so late.)

　I returned to the roof of the women’s dormitory to install the antenna, for which I had already obtained permission to install.

　I thought that Akari would have left by now since it was so late…

“… tsu”

　Akari was still on the roof.

　She is sitting wrapped in the canopy of the para-glider, cooing and sighing in her sleep.

　I wonder if she had been sewing for the last 8 hours.

　Wondering, I took the cloth for the para-glider and looked at it, and sure enough, the work was done.

　I thought she would have finished it much, much later.

　… Aria has a case that she is pursing personally.

　For this case the yagi antenna and para-glider are necessary tools to complete the case.

　The plan was to be prepared for that case tomorrow morning.

　For Aria’s schedule, the yagi and the para-glider have to be ready tonight…

　Akari though had the para-glider prepared earlier than Aria had originally planned.

　That means that Akari, her Amica, has contributed to their Amica relationship in an admirable way, meeting Aria’s standards.

“Ah… Aria-Senpai!”

　Akari woke up and rushed to her feet as Aria approached her.

　Beside Akari, Aria checked the seams of the canopy.

　… there was no problem. The seams were sewn together tightly.

　The canopy was not stitched like the optional method used in the manual, it is finished even more sturdy than I thought it would be.

“Is this stitch…?”

“I did a backwards stitch. I thought it would be sturdier”

　Apparently, this stitching method was chosen by Akari herself.

“Backwards stitch? Is that a Japanese stitching method?”

“After each stitch, I pull the fabric to the left or right and return the needle to the same hole. It is the strongest way to sew by hand”

　I would imagine it would be very, very time-consuming to do that kind of stitching on something this big…

　But thanks to this, the strength of this para-glider has been improved. The reliability is clear to see, with this para-glider odds are being able to withstand rigorous use and maneuvers that a para-glider should not normally make.

　Aria’s strict eyes check over the para-glider checking to see if it can survive actual combat…

　Akari, interpreting Aria’s questioning as dissatisfaction with the stitching style,

“Uhm, sorry! If this stitch isn’t right, I will re-stitch it! Uhm, because the manual did not describe a definite way to sew it, I took the liberty of…”

　Akari hurriedly began to take her needle and thread back out.

　Her fingertips… they must have been pricked by the needle. It was slightly stained with blood.

　Aria saw this and shook her head.

“I can see no reason why you would need to re-sew it. No one else would have sewn this so carefully. Thank you.”

　Then Aria gently stroked Akari’s head.

“I found 1 good thing about you. You are a good girl, Akari.”

　Aria smiles as she says this, and Akari’s round eyes get big as she raises her eyes to look up at Aria…

　… poro, poro.

　And tears began to pour out of her large, round eyes.

“?”

　Aria was puzzled, not know what she had said that made Akari cry…

“Aria-Senpai…!”

　Akari hugged me and kept crying even more.

“…ehh? Wh-… what is wrong?”

　Aria, who was being hugged so tightly it hurt, is dismayed by this unexpected reaction.

“Nothing… Nothing is… egu, hii…!”

　When asked, Akari did not answer immediately, but she instead held onto Aria and wouldn’t stop crying.

(…?)

　Aria grew up in London, where people of various races, ethnicities, and religions live.

　I am not in the habit of thinking much about other people’s feelings.

　Emotions are a person’s private possessions and problems.

　In principle, it is something that outsiders should not enter into, and I even consider it a kind of insult to be overly concerned about it. In fact, it is impossible for me to read the feelings of people who are not family members.

　Therefore, Aria has always tried to treat others in a dry manner.

　I only communicate necessary information and do not go further into other peoples mind. It is good if you can empathize with their joys and sorrows, but if you cannot empathize with them, leave them alone. In other words, I leave most peoples feelings alone.

　That was the mindset needed to live in an international society with different values and people, for Aria.

　But…

　This is Japan. It is a very different country from the UK, with almost a single ethnic group.

　Japanese people are naturally good at caring for each other and considering the feelings of others.

　When in Rome, do as the Romans do. (TL Note: This is in English.)

　Despite her previous disposition to peoples feelings, Aria did not push away her cute junior who was sobbing, but for some reason instead gently hugged her back. Akari would probably want that too.

　And… besides.

　She is my War Sister.

　I am not very good at that kind of thing… but… I will try to think more about my sisters feelings and act accordingly in the future…

　These two girls were now no longer strangers to each other.

　　§　　　§

　Akari’s body was cold from the night wind, so Aria prepared a bath for her.

　The bathroom is spacious, expected for a VIP room. The bathroom is 5 times larger than the bathroom in Akari’s apartment.

“I will take a bath with you”

　Aria told me this in the changing room and began to take off her uniform…

　Surprised, Akari hurriedly wiped away her tears to clear her vision.

　With her twin-tail hair curled up in a bun, Aria’s smooth body is exposed completely, partly since both Akari and Aria are girls.

　Quickly, sa~, sa~, Aria took off her card-print underwear as well.

(……!)

　Aria’s skin is fine, due to her being quarter British.

　Her skin boasts a dazzling whiteness, as if the skin itself were luminous.

　Akari looked at Aria’s breasts, something girls do even in passing… Aria’s breasts looked even flatter than when she is wearing her uniform.

　It is a disappointing size considering it is a high 2. (TL Note: the 2 is not incorrect, I think it is referring to AA due to next sentence.)

　However, her breasts are still a little bigger than my AA. Maybe an A?

　Her breasts are small, but so area her hips.

　Her hips are round and cute, although it is also tight and curvy upward.

　It is a rule that butei, who may be working undercover, should not have visible muscles like bodybuilders do. Aria is no exception to this rule, and when she is naked, you would never know that this petite girl’s body is possible of using force that she displayed in the CQC and firefight yesterday. Her naked body is delicate and as beautiful as glasswork.

　But… there is an old bullet wound scar lingering faintly on her back…

　It was a quiet testament to the fact that Aria was a butei.

“… Akari? Come quickly”

“Ye-, yes”

　Akari, who had been rudely looking at Aria’s bullet wound, was barely able to say “yes”.

　Although embarrassed, Akari takes off her uniform and reveals her even more infant body than Aria’s.

　Not wanting her War Sister to think of her as a sloppy sister, Akari carefully folded her uniform and underwear, which she would not normally take off in front of someone, and despite being afraid walked into the bathroom with Aria…

　Aria stretched out her legs while Akari sat down on a step, both soaking in the large bathtub.

“…oh. So that is why you started crying.”

　Aria says with a look of dismay to Akari, who earlier had explained why she started crying, although it took quite some time.

　And to Akari who looks shunned…

“There is no need to cry. If you were a A or S ranked butei, there would be no point in making you my Amica. You don’t need to suddenly become stronger, okay? If you do, you will just be given even more troublesome tasks.”

　With a tsuntsun face, Aria spoke to Akari.

　Her words were clumsy, but I could sense that she was saying them to encourage me…

　Akari’s heart was filled with energy and joy.

　What Aria said was true.

　I am imperfect. But even if I remain imperfect, I can still stay by Aria’s side.

　There is a tendency in the world to seek out only those who are capable of working immediately and meeting expectations, but that also means that those seeking these people out do not have the time to nurture them.

　The person I admired, Aria, was not so narrow-minded.

　She may have a small body, but she is a much larger person, and has more than enough strength to keep Akari by her side. The fact that Akari was trying to grow taller from the beginning to match Aria might have been perceived as disrespectful by Aria.

“Aria-Senpai…!”

　Unable to stand still, Akari stands up with her hands on the edge of the bathtub.

“I… I… I will do my best!”

　Zaba! Her feet shoulder-width apart, stamped her feet on the bottom of the tub, clenched her fists, and declared this.

　And – as a result of this pose.

　Akari’s lower half of her body was displayed in front of Aria’s eyes, who was sitting in the bathtub.

“…!”

　Even though we were both girls…

“- you should at least cover up your front!”

　Aria turns red and bam!

　She quickly grabbed both of Akari’s hands, who is of course completely naked, and made her hide her important parts.

“…!”

　Akari, who has a rather active imagination, somehow felt that this was the type of behaviour that should not be performed between two girls.

“I’m Sowwy!”

　Biting her tongue with her face bright red, Akari tried to pronounce “I’m sorry!” and ducked down into the hot water.

　Aria’s bedroom had only one bed, but it was a bed that could sleep even five Aria’s as the bed was super king-sized.

　Since it was late at night, Aria asked Akari if she would sleep with her tonight.

　Akari was planning to monopolize Aria wearing a negligee and have a leisurely slumber party girl talk, but…

“Good night then. Turn off the light when you go to sleep.”

　Aria then laid down and fell asleep in 3 seconds, even with the lights still on.

　Aria soon fell into a deep sleep, and her adorable, doll-like sleeping face can be easily seen…

　What a-, what a beautiful girl.

　I don’t know why I, a girl, think she is this beautiful, but this is beyond beautiful. She is divine.

　Overall, she is elegant yet lovely, her sleeping eyes are softened from their usual somewhat harsh appearance, the bridge of her nose is well-shaped, and her cherry pink lips are fresh and soft yet firm.

　Previously I could only sneak around in the hallways and corners of the street to spy on her beautiful face, but now I can stare at it from a distance of only 5cm. This is revolutionary. I am so happy to be her War Sister.

　Akari, thrilled to the point of fainting…

　I am completely wide eyed from the excitement and can’t fall asleep.

　I could have easily watched Aria’s sleeping face for an hour or two, but it was already midnight…

(…aaah)

　Then I suddenly remembered to do something, and took out my cellphone to send a e-mail to my sister, Nonoka.

　She might be worried about my since I did not come home tonight.

“I will be spending the night with Aria-Senpai at her room. I borrowed her pyjamas since we are almost the same size.”

　Akari ended her e-mail with a laugh and sweat emoji, which made her giggle.

　I am happy and excited that I can be with Aria like this now.

　I felt like bragging a little bit, and sent that same email to Raika and Shino as well.

　Akari looked at the clock on her cellphone and thought “I have to go to sleep…” so turned off the light in her bedroom and,

“Good night, Aria-Senpai”

　Akari spoke to Aria as she slept, and then she too slept in the same bed as her Amica.

　　§　　　§

　Early in the morning, shortly after 5:00a.m, Aria woke up.

(…)

　Akari is still sleeping, her cellphone in her hand.

　Perhaps exhausted from eight hours of continuous sewing, she showed no sign of waking up from the sounds and movements of Aria getting up.

　The more I look at her, the more I see Akari as just another, normal girl…

(You’re… you’re hiding something)

　After changing into her sailor suit and returning to her bedroom, Aria looks down at the sleeping Akari and thinks.

　This girl is hiding something.

　Whatever she is hiding is a horrible truth, I am sure of it.

　Aria’s intuition was whispering to her.

(… you will die. You will die if you keep it hidden.)

　One who willingly hides one’s true self even in the midst of battle is like having a jammed gun, it puts a butei at a disadvantage.

　For a butei, fighting always means risking one’s life. If you hesitate to do what you should do because you are trying to hide something,it could lead to your immediate death.

　This has happened already to many butei recruits.

　But, maybe that is why. Maybe it was a good thing that I had made her my Amica.

　It is also the role of the older War Sister to prevent this and to protect their younger sister.

　　§　　　§

“…Aria-Senpai…?”

　When Akari woke up around 7:00a.m, Aria was already gone from the bedroom.

　I feel like everything is gone just because Aria is not there.

　For a moment, I even think that everything that happened yesterday was a dream.

　But it is true. Both what happened yesterday and that Aria is not here.

　Because right now, I am on my War Sister’s bed.

“Ah…”

　A note from Aria was left on the bedside table.

　Akari’s face lights up when she finds it.

“Thank you for the para-glider. I will use it.”

　She wrote the note in Japanese, despite it being easier to write it in English.

　Akari hugged the note.

(You are going to use it…!)

　Outside the window, a fresh spring morning sky is spreading.

　Just like Akari’s current, radiant feeling.

　Akari stepped out of the bedroom onto the balcony, and took in a lungful of fresh air.

　And I think.

　Aria is not here right now.

　Right now I cannot see her beautiful face.

　But that is unavoidable.

　Because right now, my War Sister is so far ahead of me that I cannot even see her face right now.

　But from now on, I will run towards her.

　We cannot stand side by side from the start. I am right now too far behind her.

　But thanks to Aria, I now know clearly which direction I should run toward.

　Because, Aria-Senpai who is ahead me and running at a lightning speed, is showing me her back.

　I need to run toward her back. I need to keep running, until one day I can stand side by side with her.

　That is surely what it means to grow up as a War Sister.

(This is the world of a War Sister…)

　Akari didn’t understand that until she became one…

　She smiled back at the morning light that seemed to illuminate her war forward.

　　§　　　§

　Shino Sasaki… she had a special ringtone for e-mails from Akari.

　Akari was the only person who gets this kind of special treatment.

　This was done so that even if an e-mail from Akari arrives in the middle of the night, she can immediately get up and check the e-mail.

　Late night texting is a precious act of sharing late night time with a partner.

　For Shino, who has never spent the night with Akari, exchanging late-night e-mails is a rosy affair, a compensatory act.

　… or at least it was supposed to be.

　Shino is usually seen as a calm girl, and as her teacher Tokoro Irin Sensei said, “Mrs. Sasaski is a cool beauty.”

　But when I received an e-mail from Akari I was so excited that I immediately picked up my phone. I was so happy, oh so happy. And yet… the e-mail was…

“I will be spending the night with Aria-Senpai at her room. I borrowed her pyjamas since we are almost the same size. (laughs) (sweat)”

　For Shino, this was the most shocking e-mail of all…

　Akari-Chan.

　Cute, cute, my cute Akari-Chan.

　Sleep over.

　In the room of that girl who suddenly appeared.

“…tsu…”

　Reading the e-mail again, Shino’s face scrunched up first thing in the morning.

“Akari-Chan…”

　I don’t want to… read e-mails like this. It is a nightmare.

　With that thought, Shino erases the email, losing the light from her eyes.

　But even if the e-mail disappears.

　… the fact is, the truth does not disappear.

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