Days later, Cecilia had decided to take her private jet to England to get to the root of the problem.
“This has to be a trap, Cecilia,” Ichika said.
“I know. But I can’t just ignore her.” Observatories had determined that the laser attack had come from orbit. But who had ordered them? How was Chelsea involved? Why was the third Blue Tears IS completed? The more which was revealed, the stranger the mysteries got. “So I’ve decided to return to England.”
“I’ll come too, then.” Ichika took her hand as he volunteered.
“Ichika... Thank you.” A trip for two to England, like she’d always planned—or not.
“I’m thirsty, Cecilia. Oh, is this a fridge? Lucky. Can I have a cola?”
“This sure feels different than just taking an IS.”
“A private jet, huh. Wow, you really are loaded.”
“Is this plane equipped with infrared sensors?”
“Can I have some chips...?”
“Wow, eating on a plane, Kanzashi?”
“Remember, class, you’re supposed to stay in your seats with your seat belts fastened.”
“Could I have a coffee, Ms. Yamada?”
The passenger list was the usual crew, with the addition of Ms. Yamada and Chifuyu.
“I understand why Ms. Orimura is here. And I understand why Ms. Yamada is along too. But the rest of you—” Cecilia half-screamed out of frustration. “What are you doing here?!”
The rest of the girls looked surprised at the question. ‘Girls,’ specifically. Not Ms. Yamada or Chifuyu.
“Well, you know... Houki?”
“Yeah. Right, Charlotte?”
“Of course! Isn’t that right, Laura?”
“Indeed. Kanzashi?”
“Well, um, err... Sis?” Tatenashi was nowhere to be seen. “Um... You know... Ichika, can you...?”
Somehow, even though he wasn’t expecting the conversation to turn to him, he had exactly the right answer.
“You’re all worried about Cecilia too, right?”
“I... I see... Very well, then.” Calmed by Ichika’s warm smile, Cecilia sat back down.
Ten thousand meters in the air, crossing into eastern Europe...
“Again. Is this plane equipped with infrared sensors?”
“Huh? Why do you keep asking that, Laura?”
As they looked out the window behind Laura, they saw exactly why.
“A missile?!”
The roar of its warhead’s detonation shook the plane. Cecilia dove to cover the pilot, Ichika, and Chifuyu, as they opened their IS. They bailed out of the disabled plane, and as they did, a girl who’d just discarded a rocket launcher awaited them.
“Aww, that didn’t do the trick. Did it, now, Sarashiki Tatenashi?” Soaring in the skies alongside them was the previous Russian representative pilot, Rogna Kalinych. Her IS, Gustoi Tuman Rossiya, made that much clear.
“Well, that wasn’t what I wanted to do with my afternoon. Ichika!” Tatenashi snapped open a fan reading ‘go on ahead.’ “I’ll deal with that smirking old hag. Ms. Orimura, you take the lead.”
“Roger. Don’t let her catch you out.”
Tatenashi giggled.
“I am Sarashiki Tatenashi.” As she spoke, she unfurled her Rusty Nail chain sword. “I’ll teach her a lesson she won’t forget.”
It was unclear who was the hero and who was the villain as Ichika and the others’ IS sped away, hugging the terrain. And then only Rogna and Tatenashi were left.
A silence fell over the battlefield.
“Wahhh...” Rogna suddenly began to cry. “I’ve been soooooo lonely without you!”
She dove toward Tatenashi for a hug, which Tatenashi nimbly ducked away from.
“Uh, listen. I don’t swing that way.”
“Ahh! So cold!” Tatenashi was five years younger, but she was already completely done with Rogna in a romantic mood. “Love is fierce! Love... Love is an explosion!”
Two nearly-identical IS clashed, wave after wave of exploding nanomachines detonating in midair. Soon they’d attracted the attention of the locals, and unfortunately, footage of the romantically-charged spat between the current and former Russian representatives was on air worldwide.
✦ ✦ ✦
The terrain flashed by mere tens of meters beneath their feet as Ichika and the others made for Germany. If it were only the IS pilots, they could easily have made England, but the jet’s pilot and Chifuyu couldn’t hold out that long. ...Well, on second thought, Chifuyu would probably be fine.
“Ichika! Um, er. You must be getting tired. I can take Chifuyu for a while.”
Ichika turned his head to respond to Houki matter-of-factly while still keeping Chifuyu in a princess carry.
“No, let’s keep going. I can handle her,” he replied. Houki couldn’t really argue with this, but that didn’t mean she, or anyone else there, was happy about it.
Ichika’s enjoying this a little too much.
Maybe he really is into that kind of thing...
Jeez, he’s all over her!
And look at her! She has her arms around his neck and everything!
Mein Lehrerin... I never thought... Hahahaha... Ahahahah...
No fair...
Chifuyu was normally supremely self-confident, but the stares were beginning to get to her.
“Um, listen. Ichika. You can leave me behind and continue on to England,” she said.
“There’s no way I can just leave you!”
His sudden insistence shocked her.
“Fine, if you insist...” She tightened her embrace, looking almost pleased with herself.
✦ ✦ ✦
At a special forces airfield in Germany, the Schwarzer Hasen lined the runway.
“Laura’s late.”
“She said she’d be here half an hour ago.”
The crowd was beginning to buzz with thinly-veiled consternation. Their uniforms were pitch-black with red piping, and each one wore a patch over their left eye.
Second-in-command Klarissa Harfouch, though, stood stock-still.
“Aren’t you worried, Klarissa?”
She answered the voice from behind her with an angry roar.
“You fool!” It was loud enough to make the front row’s ears ring. That was how forceful her voice was. “How it works in Japan is, ‘The time you wait is part of the date, too.’”
Gasps of awe arose.
“Wow, XO!”
“You know everything!”
“It makes me tingle!”
“She’s perfect in every way.”
Klarissa allowed herself a self-confident chuckle. “Quiet, please.” Her firm sternness only set her squadmates off even more.
“Not a word, then!”
“The quietest of nights for this star to shine in!”
While they were busy not getting the point, seven dots of light made landfall on the IS runway.
“Angetreten! Augen rechts!” At Klarissa’s order, the squad formed up for inspection. No less of a formality could be expected to greet their commander Laura and former instructor Chifuyu.
“Ahh, Lehrerin Orimura is going to look so fabulous. I can’t wait to see her gallantly marching forth at the lead of a host of valkyries—”
Enter stage right, Chifuyu being princess carried by Ichika.
“..................” You could practically hear something snap in Klarissa’s head.
“Rührt euch, Klarissa.” There was a pang of deep regret in Laura’s voice.
“Commander? What in the world is... that?” As Chifuyu climbed down from Ichika, Klarissa pointed, her voice trembling.
“That is Orimura Ichika,” Laura sighed and, Klarissa leaned in to whisper in her ear, “Should we be okay with this?! Siblings or no, that kind of contact with the opposite sex is going to ruin him for marriage!”
“You don’t have to tell me that. But she told me quite specifically she ‘wouldn’t let me have him,’ so...”
“And you’re just going to accept that?” Klarissa glared at Ichika, who happened to look up at that moment.
“......?”
“Ugh... Don’t give me that innocent look! I can’t believe that you’re her brother!” She nervously chewed her fingernails.
“...Klarissa.”
“Yes, Commander?!”
“You’re not me. So stop acting like I used to.”
“.........”
Laura and Klarissa both let out deep sighs.