One day after class, Chidori Kaname was on cleaning duty. She had just brought the trash to the dump site behind the northern school building and was on her way back, when she picked up on a series of sharp metallic clinks and clanks coming from the chemistry lab. The sounds of levers, cylinders, and springs snapping back and forth—all sounds she’d come to recognize by now.
“Hmm?” she said. The chemistry lab was on the ground floor, but the curtains were drawn. Kaname idly approached the window, attempting to peer through the gap in the curtains.
Inside the dimly lit room sat a small group of men, inspecting and treating a variety of firearms. They were curiously dressed in urban camouflage fatigues, with bandoliers wrapped around their chests and waists. On the tables around them sat rows of shining submachine guns, bulky shotguns, heavy-looking assault carbines, and automatic pistols. There were also spare magazines and grenades on hand.
They looked like a whole crowd of Sousukes.
“This MP5 is acting up, even though I just replaced the chamber...”
“It definitely seems to be lacking firepower.”
“Well, it might not work for fighting in the bush, but it should have more than enough power for a shoot-out in the school.”
“Plus, it’s light and easy to handle. In a setting like this, I think my M40’s at a bigger disadvantage.”
“Please, for killing our prey, even my Walthar will do. Heh heh heh...”
They spoke those sinister words while precisely and swiftly loading shotgun rounds, shifting rifle bolts, and carefully adjusting sights.
Kaname felt confused. Surely Sagara Sousuke is the only person in the whole world who’d be messing with dangerous weapons on school grounds, she speculated. And... shoot-outs? Prey? What in the world are they up to?
“This is...” she breathed.
“A coup d’état,” came Sousuke’s voice from behind her.
“Ghh—?!” Kaname almost screamed, but Sousuke quickly clamped a hand over her mouth.
“Hush,” he said. “They’ll hear you.”
“Ugh... Where the heck did you come from?” Kaname hissed back.
Wearing his usual sullen expression and tight frown, Sousuke said in a hush, “You assigned me to trash duty. It’s natural for the person on trash duty to monitor the removal of the trash.”
“How is that natural?” she wanted to know. “And who are those people? Friends of yours?”
“No, I have no association with dangerous people like that.”
Yeah, give me a break, Kaname thought to herself, but decided to hold her tongue about it.
“And did you see their arsenal? Heckler & Koch and Colt carbines, special forces P90s, Benelli shotguns... I also caught glimpses in the back of a few SAWs. With equipment like that, they could easily lock the entire school down. However... the caliber of the guns is curiously diverse,” Sousuke observed. “I felt certain that the channels through which one could acquire ammunition in Japan were limited... Chidori. I’d like to get your opinion on the matter.”
“How could I possibly have an opinion?”
“I believe they intend to mount a raid on the student council room,” he told her, “which means that we must strike first, with all speed.” Sousuke pulled a small shotgun seemingly out of nowhere and began changing out its ammunition. “I don’t have time to get my rifle from my locker. It’s unlikely that I’ll be able to deal with them on my own with my current equipment. I will require your support.” Kaname began to panic as Sousuke pressed the shotgun into her hands, while he pulled out his usual trusty pistol.
“W-Wait a minute...” she tried to say.
“I’ll get around to the corridor side and burst in,” said Sousuke, cutting her off mid-protest. “You shoot from the window. You don’t need to aim at the enemy; it’s enough that you shoot at the ceiling. After firing one shot, hide immediately. That’s all I need you to do. I’ll handle the rest. Just don’t put your finger on the trigger until you’re ready to shoot. Understood?”
“But... it all seems a little sudden,” Kaname objected. “And also, are you serious? I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“It will be fine. I know you can do it.” Sousuke was adamant with her.
“N-No way! And what if I accidentally hit someone?!”
“No need to worry. That shotgun is loaded with rubber rounds,” he said reassuringly. “They’re non-lethal. I just need them to think that they’re surrounded.”
“But... I don’t...”
“They’re on the verge of overthrowing the student council,” Sousuke insisted. “You must be brave, Chidori.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about! I just think we should investigate a little more—”
“Trust me,” said Sousuke. Then he sprang into action, heading for the emergency exit door.
“And there he goes,” said Kaname. “What in the world am I going to do?”
Just then, a nearby window rattled open. They’d been talking so casually, after all, the people inside must have noticed their presence.
A man wearing a mask and goggles poked his head out of the window, causing Kaname to shout in alarm.
Then he said, “What are you doing, Chidori-senpai?”
Kaname, who’d been juggling the shotgun that Sousuke had forced on her, frowned as she recognized the voice. “Huh?”
“It’s me,” said the other person, removing their mask and goggles. “Me,” he said again. It was Sasaki Hiromi, the first-year student in charge of the student council’s equipment.
“Sasaki-kun?” said Kaname. “What are you doing? Why are you dressed like that?”
The short, baby-faced boy smiled innocently and tugged at the collar of his fatigues. “What, this? Pretty cool, right? We’re playing survival games.”
“Survival... what?”
“Survival games. You’ve never heard of it?”
“Er... that thing where you shoot at each other with toy guns?” asked Kaname, hazarding a guess.
Hiromi’s expression became a bit testy. “Hey! They’re not toys. I mean, they are toys, but... Well, we typically play in the fields outside, and we’ve been talking about taking it indoors. There aren’t many people in the north building after class, anyway. We’re hoping to get a proper club going! We’ve even asked Hayashimizu-senpai.”
“Hah...” Kaname said weakly. “But—”
Just then, a student who had been watching the conversation from behind Hiromi interjected. “Oh, Miss Vice President? We’re being very careful about safety. We take turns standing lookout to make sure that nobody enters the game space. And we pick up all the ammunition we shoot. We even brought a vacuum cleaner. I promise, okay?” It seemed they were being very conscientious gamers.
Kaname, who was finally grasping the situation, let out a sigh of relief. “Ah... so that’s what it’s all about. But you really need to get proper permission— Wait, what’s wrong?” She stopped as she realized that the gazes of the others watching her had fallen on the gun in her hands.
“Chidori-senpai, why are you carrying that thing?” one of the boys asked. “Is that one of Sagara-senpai’s airguns?”
“What? Oh, I almost forgot...” Kaname trailed off upon suddenly remembering her conversation with Sousuke. This is bad, she realized. He’ll be in the hallway right now, preparing to engage them in close-range combat. She began to say, “Guys, we’ve got trouble! You have to—”
But her attempt to warn them was interrupted by a crash. It was too late. The lab’s corridor-side door—or, rather, the wall right next to the door—fell inwards with a roar, opening up a huge hole. A hole that had been made by a directed explosive.
At almost the same instant, Sousuke came charging through the smoke with his pistol in hand. “Now, Chidori! Shoot!” he shouted, pointing his pistol at their nearest “enemy.”
“Sorry,” she told the other students, “Get out of the way for a sec.” Then she hefted up her shotgun.
Blam! Blam!