That night, after the crowds had cleared, Chifuyu walked through Kyoto’s old city. Pulling out her phone, Chifuyu entered a secret direct connection code. Three seconds later, it picked up.
“What is it, Chifuyu?” The voice was the Unnamed Squad Leader.
“Thanks for sending Maya’s IS, Karen.” She was no longer just ‘Squad Leader.’ Chifuyu had named her Karen Calleria.
“It was nothing. I’m glad it helped.” Karen, the Squad Leader, sounded pleased with herself.
“Are you sure you should have gone that far, though? Even as the leader of the Unnamed, do you have that much free reign?”
“If it’s for you, I can make it happen.” Karen’s tone was nothing but respectful.
Chifuyu was grateful, but still couldn’t manage much more than a wry laugh, “C’mon. We’re equals, right? You can just treat me like a normal person.”
“This is normal for me.”
“I see. Maybe you should take some time to appreciate some flowers. It’ll help you learn about the things in life beyond duty.”
“Is that an order?”
Another wry laugh from Chifuyu. Their relationship was almost like that between Tabane and Chloe.
“Anyway, talk to you later, Karen.”
“Understood. Thank you, Chifuyu.”
“I should be thanking you.” Chifuyu laughed again, and ended the call. “...It’s cold.”
The chill wind blew on her face.
✦ ✦ ✦
Daybreak. It was morning in Kyoto, and Ichika opened his eyes in his private room at the ryokan.
“Mmm...”
Squish. His fingers were poking into something soft.
“Mmm?!” A sweet aroma filled his nose. Recognizing the scent of a girl, Ichika shot upright in shock.
“Mmm... Huh? Is it morning?”
“Charl! Your yukata, your yukata!”
“Eh? Eeeeeek!”
For some reason, Charlotte was sharing a blanket with Ichika—and her yukata was open far enough to expose her pink underwear. As Ichika pointed it out, she nervously folded it back closed, but it was already too late. He’d seen everything.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Ichika, you pervert...”
“It’s not my fault!”
Anyway, though, the big question wasn’t whose fault it was: It was what she was doing in his bed.
“Ugh...” He could hear moans rising up from the hall.
“Now what is it?!”
Ichika flung the door open. And there, lying sprawled on the floor, were the other cadets. Their dying message: ‘Charlotte did it.’
“Are you okay?! What happened to you?!” Houki was the nearest to him, and he tried to wake her up first. “Are you okay? What happened?!”
“Well...” Houki couldn’t find the right words. As Ichika inadvertently glanced down, he noticed her breasts poking out from her yukata, and—
“Stop staring, you idiot!”
Smack! He caught a fist to the face.
“Why me?!”
As blood streamed from his nose, Ichika slumped back into unconsciousness.
✦ ✦ ✦
Turning back time to the night before—
“Bwahaha. With the Schwarzer Hasen Sleeping Drug #5, Ichika won’t realize a thing of what happens tonight. And that’s my chance to...”
Laura was sneaking into Ichika’s bed. But just as she was about to achieve her goal, embarrassment overtook her.
“No, this is okay. This is what people do with their brides. It’s okay! It’s okay... I think.” She clenched her fists in determination. A little too hard, as the tip of her syringe dug into her own palm.
“Ah—” In moments, it had spread through her body, and soon she fell into a deep sleep. “Ugh... At least... At least, let me make it to Ichika’s bed...”
She collapsed on the floor. Soon, her breathing steadied (but definitely didn’t stop).
Meanwhile, in the hallway...
“Gah!”
“Haaa!”
Houki and Ling, the two childhood friends, were doing battle. Less metaphorically, more with live steel. Katana clashed against liuyedao. Both of them would rather die—and this was a real possibility—than yield.
Clang! Clang! Sparks flew as they battled.
“Out of my way! I’ve got a date with Ichika!”
“Too bad! I can’t let you near him with something as dangerous as that!”
Ling was of exactly the same opinion, but no one was there to point that out to them. After a strenuous battle, they both collapsed.
“Well, that was extremely dangerous.”
“Definitely.”
Cecilia and Charlotte had each taken a few blows during the brawl.
“Okay, then...”
“That leaves...”
Sparks flew between Cecilia and Charlotte. Friendship or not, this was a chance neither could let go of. They eyed each other up for a moment. The slightest hesitation and the other’s victory would be assured. Just as the tension reached its peak, Charlotte let out a gasp of surprise.
“Ichika!”
“Er?”
From behind Cecilia, Charlotte smiled like an angel.
“Damn—” Cecilia crumpled to the floor.
And then only Charlotte was left, her fists clenched in anticipation.
“I can finally... Me and Ichika can... Can...”
Imagining the night they’d spend together, she entered Ichika’s room. Spotting him asleep, she tried to hold back her urge to rush toward him. But her heart, and her body, were too honest, and—
“Eh?!” Slipping on something, she face-planted on the floor, knocking herself out and sliding forward under his blanket. Thus was the pile of bodies created.
Meanwhile... Kanzashi was staying up late to catch the last episode of an anime.
“They have to be up to no good.”
She was right.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Shiny! Breakfast time! C’mon, Shiny!” Ichika was trying to care for the cat Allie had given him, but it had no interest in the cream he’d bought. As he did, the cadets pressed their way into his room. They were dressed in their IS Academy uniforms rather than yukata.
“Ichika, it’s a cat. You can just feed it leftovers,” Houki chimed in from over her bowl of egg on rice. Shiny turned away in disgust.
“Cats have a highly-developed sense of smell. Perhaps it would prefer moi.” Cecilia sprayed on a dash of perfume, then held out her hand to Shiny. To which Shiny ignored Cecilia, and padded away.
“Leave it to me! A cat toy should do the trick!” The words weren’t even out of Ling’s mouth before she pulled one out and tried to get its attention. Shiny was somewhere between uninterested and disinterested.
“Hmm, it’ll take me a while to make some kibble. Should I?”
At least the word ‘kibble’ got Shiny to perk up for a second. But only for a few moments, until it began to doze off again.
“I know, the Schwarzer Hasen insignia should do it!” No one really agreed with Laura, but no one really disagreed either, so she gave it a try. Not even a glance from Shiny.
“Maybe you should find someone else to take care of it...” Kanzashi, allergic to cats, chimed in from the doorway.
“What’s going on?” Ms. Yamada, wondering why they hadn’t gotten together yet, had come to check on them.
“......?!?!”
And seeing her, Shiny leapt toward her.
“Ahh, cats love these.” She had something which looked almost like a nut in her hands.
“Meow! Meow!” It almost sounded like ‘Give me! Give me!’ The nutlike thing was the fruit of the Japanese catnip plant.
“Purrrrrrr...” Shiny rolled around adorably, luxuriating in the scent.
“Well, Orimura. You should give it some of this, but not too much.” Ms. Yamada handed him the fruit and left. And Shiny leapt into Ichika’s arms, firmly decided on where it wanted to be.
“Well aren’t you a crafty one.”
And thus it was finally decided just who Ichika’s roommate would be.