From there on out it was the Jun Aikawa show, and that’s all that needs to be said about that.
One thing’s for sure, there was nothing and no one, even in that academy, who could stand in her way. She took out every obstacle organic or inorganic with literally a single blow, mowing down, decimating, repulsing, and generally having her way with every single foe (all of whom appeared to be students of the academy) who tried to stop her, effortlessly running roughshod over the various traps that had been laid throughout the school building, and after all the hoopla, hullabaloo, and whoopdedoo was over, after the absolute force of the raging tempest had run its course─that is, running after the course of that raging tempest, we finally escaped the school building and followed the roofed walkway to the backdoor of the “faculty building.”
She was so overwhelming that there’s no point in trying to depict it; she made such a mockery of their resistance that it’s beyond description. Hime-chan and I, who’d been scurrying every which way in the face of just a handful of students before Aikawa showed up, were rendered essentially superfluous.
“You say ‘essentially,’ Master, but I think we really are supersfluous. Hime-chan and Master have both been totally useless so far.”
“In making objective observations of that sort, it’s best to avoid direct means of expression. Vague language is the cornerstone of the nonsense user.”
“Hime-chan isn’t whatever kind of weirdo you’re talking about.”
Weirdo? Thanks a lot.
“But Ms. Jun’s really something, isn’t she. She got even better than before. It’s a beauty to see such a glad-hander at work.”
“I think you mean you’re glad to see such beautiful handiwork.”
“Oh, you’re right. You’re the beauty, huh, Master.”
“…Rude.”
“Huh? Then you’re denying it?”
“No… I mean, I won’t not not not not admit that there might possibly be some aspect of the beauty in me.”
“So which is it?”
“Will the pair of you shut up already?” Aikawa chided, idling in the entryway of the faculty building. “I’m thrilled that the two of you are getting along so well and all…but doesn’t anything strike you as suspicious? I’ve been wondering about it ever since I got here.”
“About what, exactly?”
“Doesn’t it seem like everyone who’s attacked us has been a student? Isn’t that weird? It’s not out of the question that they’d leave it to the students as a training exercise if it were just the two of you, but…me? Jun Aikawa? Sending the ‘teachers’ or ‘security guards’ after me would just be common courtesy, don’cha think?”
I couldn’t decide if she was being judicious, or arrogant. But either way, it was true: all the people trying to stop us were young women, all of them wearing the same black uniform…that Hime-chan, myself, and Aikawa had on.
Wait a sec.
That I had on?
“Hey, Aikawa? Now that the cat’s out of the bag, think I can change out of this outfit?”
“Ah… Come on, what’s your problem? You look cute.”
“But, I mean…”
“Aww. Iitan’s so moé!”
“…”
That made it hard to take off the uniform. Or rather, she was basically coercing me into keeping it on. I somehow felt like she was toying with me, but anyway, back to the real issue at hand.
On the plus side, Aikawa’s strategy─of heading in, to strike at the core, instead of out in an attempt to escape─was not what they’d be anticipating. It was what you might call a surprise offensive. They thought they were the pursuers─that they were the predators. Which is exactly why they would never in a million years expect us to attack them. Even now, they probably thought we were just running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to find a way out. In other words, they simply had an insufficient sense of urgency. Even up against Jun Aikawa, they hadn’t even considered the possibility that they might become the prey.
“’Spose so─ach, what a pain.”
“A pain? Isn’t it better if it’s easy? Then they won’t brought out the big guns.”
“That’s not what I was talking about, Ichihime─”
Aikawa drew one foot all the way back─and kicked in the iron door just like that. It crashed to the ground with a CLANG…must’ve been pretty rusted out. Had to be.
“I meant that it’s a pain having to bust down the door like this. So we can creep in through this rear emergency entrance like a bunch of sneaky cockroaches. Damn thing didn’t even have a keyhole.”
“…”
A-ha, apparently Aikawa would’ve rather marched straight in through the front door, announcing her name for all to hear. Instead we managed to get all the way here incognito, without a single “teacher” showing up. She seemed disappointed that, since we hadn’t been discovered, we had to use the back door. Always wanting to be in the spotlight.
“Pretty sure the Director’s office is on the top floor. She sure loves high places─c’mon, follow me.”
Aikawa, who naturally possessed a perfect memory (unlike me), had the layout of the school perfectly memorized. She hustled up the emergency stairs like she owned the place. “Oooh, a friend in high places is a friend indeed!” Hime-chan followed after her, mumbling another of her mysterious pseudo-aphorisms.
“We’ve got to avoid the staff room… Ach, what a pain in the ass. I don’t give a shit about schemes or traps, so go ahead: use your numbers and your supplies and your advantageous position, get up on your high horse and come at me!”
“If they do, we won’t have a chaaance.”
I don’t know what kind of history Aikawa and Hime-chan shared, but from this frivolous back and forth it seemed like they were quite close. Despite not having seen each other in a while, there was none of the expected awkwardness or distance, and, come to think of it, nor had there been anything said about friendship neglected, no attempt to thaw old acquaintance. Which conversely seemed to demonstrate the intimacy between them. Aikawa obviously has a big-sisterly disposition, and Hime-chan is very much the type who stimulates a desire to protect, so in a certain sense they were a perfect fit for each other.
“Hunh?”
Hang on. In that case, wasn’t I a pretty irrelevant character in this little scene? I wasn’t wild about that. Especially when I’d had to dress up like this. With my raison d’être hanging in the balance, I decided to ask Aikawa a question.
“Um, Jun, from what you were saying before, it seems like the Director is an acquaintance of yours. So, what kind of a person is she?”
At that point the only thing I could imagine was a real villain. Gathering up innocent young girls and giving them this kind of special education. That’s one hell of a harem.