Chidori Kaname heard a strange sound on her balcony and opened her eyes. A peeping tom? she wondered, reaching for the alarm clock by her bed. It was her beloved English-made penguin clock, which she’d been using for three years now.
It was just after seven o’clock in the morning, and the morning sun shone bright through the window. Way too early for a peeping tom, right? Kaname thought next. “Geh...” Then she climbed out of bed, rubbed her weary eyelids, and walked to her apartment’s balcony while still in her pajamas.
A local white cat was perched on top of the outdoor air conditioning unit. “Meow.”
“Oh,” she said sleepily. “Morning.”
The cat regarded her for a moment, then departed for the next balcony over.
Kaname took a leisurely shower. The lukewarm water put her in such a haze that she found herself on the verge of falling asleep on her feet. She managed to drag herself to the changing room and, still naked, brushed her back-length black hair until her mind finally woke up. After washing, she picked out her underwear and put on her uniform.
Three minutes later, she glanced at the mirror. Her face was slender, with delicate features. When silent and still, she looked terribly mature, almost cold. “Heh. Ha ha ha...” When she forced herself to smile, she looked charming and girlish. Eh, she told herself. That’s pretty typical, though...
She got breakfast, brushed her teeth, then checked the contents of her bag: wallet, student ID, PHS phone, lipstick, compact, cotton rounds, tissues, handkerchief, band-aids, baby oil, nail file, candy, headache medicine... No issues here.
She pulled a gold watch out of a drawer. Its design seemed far too grown-up for a teenage girl, but she put it on her left wrist.
“Right,” she declared, “all set.” She turned to the picture frame on the table, which held a picture of a smiling woman in her thirties. The woman had features very similar to Kaname’s, and a capable air about her. She was sitting on a beach somewhere, holding a nine-year-old girl in her arms. “See you later, Mom.” Kaname smiled at the photo, then headed down the road to school as usual.
Better hurry! she told herself. Got that classic lit quiz in first period!
Sagara Sousuke heard a strange sound on his balcony and opened his eyes. An enemy? he wondered, reaching for the 9mm pistol by his bed. It was his beloved Austrian-made Glock, which he’d been using for three years now.
He looked at the clock. It was twenty past seven in the morning.
Sousuke crawled out from under his bed, listening closely at the sliding glass door before stepping firmly out onto the balcony. His gun was trained on the culprit: a black cat, which was perched on the outdoor air conditioning unit.
“Meow.”
He stared at it silently.
The cat regarded him for a moment, then departed for the next balcony over.
Time to set out, he told himself.
He ate his breakfast: a slice of ham, a tomato, mineral water, and a pinch of salt and sugar. A luxurious breakfast indeed, he thought. On the battlefields of Central Asia, he’d sometimes gone a week without food or drink. It made him appreciate such things all the more.
He swiftly washed up and brushed his teeth, then glanced at the mirror for exactly three seconds. Severe features, drawn into a sullen expression. Haphazardly cut black hair. A sharp gaze, a stern brow, and a tight frown.
No issues with my complexion, he decided. Internal organs all functioning.
He went through his possessions: automatic pistol, revolver, combat knife, Swiss army knife, throwing knives, hand grenades, stun grenades, plastic explosives, all-purpose digital transceiver, night-vision goggles, special anti-personnel mines, survival kit, spare ammo, various medicines...
“Good. Perfect.” His preparations for the day’s expedition were complete.
He looked at a picture stuck to the wall. It was a faded photo of a line of men in camouflage clothing. They were seated on the arm of a beat-up arm slave, automatic pistols raised. He straightened up to attention. “I’m heading out,” he announced.
Sagara Sousuke then put on his high-collared student uniform, placed his textbooks and notebooks in his bag, and took the morning road to school.
It’s time to steel myself, he thought. I have a classic literature quiz in first period!
●
Kaname got off the train at Sengawa Station, which was on the Keio Line on the outskirts of Tokyo. The area had a large number of girls’ colleges, junior colleges, and high schools, so there were a greater-than-normal number of young women on the station platform. They were roughly equal in proportion to the white-collar workers on their daily commute.
“Chidori-san!”
“Hmm?”
The young man calling to her on the station platform was good-looking. He was a student at Jindai High School, which Kaname also attended.
“Shirai-kun, right? Morning,” Kaname said indifferently, quickly turning away again.
“Wait! Did you think about what I said yesterday?” he pleaded. “I could really use your answer...”
“What was that again?” she questioned.
“I asked if you wanted to go out with me!”
“Oh, that? Nah, pass. Denied. Buzz off.” Kaname punctuated her statement by walking swiftly away.
“W-Wait!” Shirai-whoever said, grabbing her shoulder from behind.
Kaname looked back at him with open displeasure. “Did you not hear me?” she asked coldly. “I said no.”
“Why not?! I’m breaking up with my current girlfriend, so—”
“So what?” Kaname brushed his hand away.
Nevertheless, he persisted. “I said wait!” He grabbed her wrist, this time roughly.
“Ow!” Kaname cried.
“I’m begging you! Really think about it! I’m serious about— Eh?” A sudden cold sensation on Shirai’s neck struck him silent. “Huh?!” Someone had twisted his arm behind his back and pressed a sharpened combat knife to his throat.
“That’s enough, dangerous figure,” commanded the owner of the even-more-dangerous knife.
“Ah, Sousuke. Morning,” Kaname said casually, as she caught a glimpse of the familiar face looming behind Shirai. That sullen expression, that tight frown, that Jindai High uniform—it was her classmate, Sagara Sousuke.
“Chidori,” said Sousuke, “who is this man?”
“Shirai-kun from Class 2,” she told him. “He tried to talk to me after class yesterday. That’s all.”
“Is this correct?” Sousuke whispered into the other man’s ear.
The young man nodded swiftly in response. “Y-Yes.”
“Why are you after her? Is it political? Has someone ordered her kidnapping? Talk.”
“Wh-What are you— Yeek!” The blade, cold as ice, dug a few millimeters into Shirai’s skin.
“I said, talk,” Sousuke snarled.
Kaname, uncomfortable with the sight of a squirming Shirai, tried to talk Sousuke down. “It’s okay, Sousuke,” she said reassuringly. “He’s an ordinary civilian. Let him go.”
Sousuke looked at her dubiously. “You’re certain?”
“Of course I am!”
“You’re not being coerced into saying that?” he pressed. “To protect a hostage, perhaps?”
“Of course not!”
“Hmm...” Sousuke relaxed the pressure on the knife and began to speak slowly to the trembling young man. “Listen to me. The woman you laid your hand on is the vice president of our student council. In other words, the second-highest-ranked person in the school.”
“R-Right...”
“I’ll let you off with a warning this time. But never do this again. Your family will pay the price if you do. Understand?”
“C-Come on...”
“Removal of their fingernails will just be the start,” Sousuke promised. “I’ll inflict unimaginable pain on your wife and children.”
“He doesn’t have a wife and children!” Kaname protested.
Sousuke ignored her and released his quarry. “Have I made myself clear? On your way, then.”
Shirai scrambled away, tearing through the gathered onlookers.
“Honestly... Couldn’t you have found a gentler way to stop him?” Kaname grumbled. “You war-addled man...”
“I wasn’t really serious,” Sousuke admitted.
Kaname genuinely never knew when he was being serious and when he wasn’t. Sousuke had grown up overseas—moreover, in some of the world’s most dangerous war-torn regions—and had only recently transferred to their school. He still didn’t seem to grasp how life worked here in peaceful Japan. So, at last, she just let out a sigh. “Fine, thanks anyway. Now let’s get to school. First period is classic lit.”
“Ah...”