The instant the woman gave the order, the man stopped his attack. Without hesitation, he returned to a normal stance, standing upright in the corridor.
“………”
Kurumiya sighed in relief and let go of his wrist. She glared at his ivory-white gas mask. “Really, what unbelievable power… He’s quite something even with the limiter on. Hey, can you stand, Kyousuke?”
“Y-yeah…somehow. Thanks, Miss…” Taking the hand extended toward him, Kyousuke staggered to his feet.
“Eh?” The woman’s eyes widened. “You were attacked by Renji…and you’re fine? It’s just as I heard—you’re really amazing… I see. You certainly have an outstanding talent. Even if you’re awful on the inside,” she added hatefully.
Behind the woman gaped an enormous hole in the wall between the reception room and the corridor.
The window into which Kyousuke had been slammed—even though it was specially made bulletproof glass—was spiderwebbed with pale cracks, practically solid white. It was proof of an unbelievable superhuman strength.
“………”
The man who had caused this disastrous scene had stood silent since he was told to stop and had not so much as twitched. His right arm, destroyed by Kurumiya’s attack, dangled limply.
Partly because of the ominous gas mask, he seemed like the type who wouldn’t feel human weakness—in other words, completely mechanical. His huge body, more than six feet tall, was covered with massive muscles, and his skin was packed with tattoos from the tips of his fingers all the way to the bottom of his chin.
On the chest of the T-shirt he was wearing were the characters GMK48. Kyousuke vaguely recognized the name of Renko’s band, apparently(?).
“Uh, ummm—”
“Ahem.”
Before Kyousuke could ask any questions, the strange woman stood up. Looking from the seated Renko to the man standing at attention and then to Kyousuke, she took a seat.
“…Excuse me. I lost my composure just now. I am Reiko Hikawa. I work as a researcher in the criminal underworld. I created Renko and the other Murderers’ Murderers and am something of a mother figure to them.”
Smiling, Reiko pushed the bridge of her glasses up. Her prescriptionless lenses reflected the light. “Now, recently I’ve heard that you’ve been seducing my daughter and treating her callously… I couldn’t just let that stand, so I hurried here. Are you prepared, Kyousuke Kamiya?”
“Regarding the relationship between you and Renko, I’ve heard all about it from darling Hijiri, and I completely understand the situation.”
They had changed locations—and were now in the conference room on the new school building’s first floor.
Reiko, perched on the edge of a desk, recrossed her legs and continued, “The one-sided love that Renko has for Kyousuke is stopping my daughter’s murderous impulses, right? And so Renko is trying to make Kyousuke fall in love with her, and then kill him. But because this gigolo values his own life, he refuses to let his guard down, no matter how much time passes. Nevertheless, Renko is attractive, so he’s permitting himself to love only her body. He’s just using her feelings so he can play around as he pleases…and, that’s about the whole of it?”
“No, the last part is wrong.”
“Don’t play innocent!” Reiko slapped her palm down on the desk. “You must be joking, Kyousuke Kamiya! Isn’t it true that you went so far as to get in the bath with Renko, hmm? It’s crazy to believe that nothing happened. With my daughter’s erotic body right before your eyes, is there a man alive who wouldn’t make a move? Of course not!”
“But I didn’t make a move, though…”
“Are you saying my daughter’s not attractive, you bastaaaaaard?!”
Reiko rose halfway to her feet and loomed over to Kyousuke.
“Huh?!” Kyousuke sputtered as the woman’s face suddenly closed in.
“…Hey, deep down, you’re already madly in love with Renko, right? But since you’ll be killed once you admit to it, you’re desperately trying to bury your true feelings. That’s right, isn’t it? Heh-heh.”
“N-no way…” Kyousuke, being scrutinized so closely, averted his eyes without thinking. His heart was beating fast.
Calming his ragged breathing, Kyousuke answered, “I am, well…a totally ordinary, normal person! No matter how attractive she might be—”
“So she is attractive? Ah-ha, you think she’s attractive. In that case, why don’t you make a move, hmm? You’re holding back, after all, hmm? Hey, hey—”
“Stop it!” Renko interjected, pulling her murmuring mother away. “This is total entrapment, isn’t it? Drawing his feelings out of him against his will like this won’t satisfy me, Mom. I’m trying to get Kyousuke to say ‘I love you’ spontaneously, of his own free will. Nobody asked for your help!”
“Wha—” Reiko was at a loss for words. Staggering, she clapped both hands over her mouth. “Re…Re-Re-Re-Re, Renko…Renko didn’t take my side, she took Kyousuke’s! Im-impossible… Is this the rumored rebellious age? Oh, what should I do…what should I do, Renji? Your big sister Renko is acting strange!”
“………”
Waiting beside her, Renji did not answer. His broken arm in a sling, he watched Kyousuke and the others without the slightest movement. It seemed that her younger brother Renji, a “custom-made killing machine” just like Renko, differed from his older sister in that he barely expressed any emotion—and did not constantly open his mouth to say silly things.
“Hey, what should I do, Hijiri?!”
“I dunno.” Reclining against the wall, Kurumiya cut her down with a curt reply. “Thinking is your job, after all. Don’t ask me, super mom.”
“Ehh, you’re being mean. Baby body!”
“Fuck off and die.”
If a student had been the one to make that remark, it would have been a bloodbath, but Kurumiya had just spit back a retort as though she was used to the banter.
Pressing her index finger against her temple, Reiko groaned. “Ohhh… I don’t know, what should I do? It would solve the problem if my daughter’s love would bear fruit, but I don’t want to help…”
“Why not?!” Renko demanded.
Reiko smiled. “Because I’m not satisfied with Kyousuke.”
“Eh—” Renko was at a loss for words. “Wh-what do you mean by ‘not satisfied,’ Mama?!”
“I mean just what I said. I don’t like Kyousuke very much. I don’t like him, so I don’t want to hand my daughter over to him! If he seemed like a good boy, I would help you with all my might, and you’d be able to kill him just like that! Though it doesn’t seem like I’m going to start to feel that way.”
“Well then, well then!” Renko tugged at the hem of the white lab coat, clinging to Reiko, trying to make her understand. “If you come to like Kyousuke, that won’t be a problem, right?! If you approve of Kyousuke—”
“No, no, no, no, ninety-nine-point-nine percent no.”
“But why?!” Renko wailed.
Her mother smiled. “Because I’m not satisfied with Kyousuke.”
“You said that already!”
Apparently she really did not like him.
Renko sighed, “Kksshh…” and hung her head. “Boo. Tell me why, Mama… You’ve never refused me like this. I love you, and I love Kyousuke, but you hate Kyousuke… It makes me sad that you hate him so much.”
“Renko…” Reiko placed a hand on her daughter’s head and gently tried to placate her. “Look here—I’m sad, too, you know? I’m sad, but it can’t be helped. I think it’s no good for Kyousuke to fall in love with you. He’s trying not to fall for you, because you will kill him once he does. It’s impossible to make someone like that come around.”
“It’s not impossible! When you give up, that’s when you lose the match!”
“But if Kyousuke falls for you, that’s when he loses his life!” Reiko made a troubled face. “What’s to be done…? Honestly, I hadn’t expected that you would be this madly
in love. You’re not even listening to what I’m saying. Oh, Hijiri, what should we do?!”
“Dunno,” Kurumiya answered, exhaling purplish smoke. “If it’s no good asking, how about ordering? If you really want something, Murder Maid can’t defy you. It should work if you force her. Just say ‘Give up on Kyousuke.’”
“Ehh, no way, such a drastic measure. What if my daughter hates me because of it, what then?”
“I dunno! Geez, you’re a tiresome lot… Hurry up and decide what to do. I’m busy with preparations for the athletic festival now. I don’t have time to waste on unnecessary—”
“…Athletic festival?” Reiko asked, allowing her puffed-up cheeks to deflate.
“Yeah. An event we’re holding in two weeks. A dustup between all six classes… Whoever wins gets a raise, and the losers take a pay cut, so it’s serious.”
“……”
After contemplating this for a short while with a hand on her chin, Reiko asked, “Which class did you say you were in charge of again?”
“First-year Class A.”
“And Renko’s class is…?”
“First-year Class B.”
“Okay, and Kyousuke’s in which class?”
“My class. So what?”
“Well, Hijiri dear—”
Reiko’s glasses shone. She narrowed her mischievous eyes.
“Could Renji and I participate in that event?”
“……What did you say?” Kurumiya asked quizzically.
Reiko, holding everyone’s gaze, triumphantly continued, “As supporters for Renko’s first-year Class B! And also, to fight. To fight against Kyousuke’s first-year Class A. And then if Class A wins, I’ll give Kyousuke my approval. If Class B wins instead, Renko will back off of Kyousuke. It’ll be fun, right?”
“Ehhh?!”
It was an absurd proposal.
The two teens were taken aback, but their teacher simply blew a puff of smoke. “Ordinarily it would be impossible, but you always get VIP treatment. If you make your request directly to the board chairman, he’ll probably try to accommodate you. However, Reiko,” Kurumiya added belligerently, thrusting the tip of her burning cigarette toward the unruly parent, “do you really think you can win a battle after making me an enemy?”
Facing Kurumiya, Reiko folded her arms and threw out her abundant chest. “Eh? That’s just like you, Hijiri, such amazing confidence. But too bad for you, this is my win. I’ll defeat Class A and you with it, and I’ll take my daughter back from Kyousuke!”
“Wait a minute!!” Renko slipped in between the two adults, who had already started to argue. “Don’t go on talking about whatever you want! I want you to consider our feelings, too!”
“…Hmm? Aren’t I taking them into consideration? You don’t want to give up on Kyousuke. I want you to. If neither of us will surrender, then it’s best to settle it with a contest. You like Kyousuke, don’t you, Renko?”
“Yeah!”
“And you have faith in Kyousuke, don’t you?”
“Yeah!”
“Then you must also believe that Kyousuke is going to win?”
“Y-yeah…”
“And you, Kyousuke—” Reiko shifted her gaze. “If you don’t want to be separated from my daughter, you’d better try your hardest. But if you do want to be separated, then just don’t try at all. Heh-heh. You’re free to choose whichever option you like. But if you choose the latter, you’ll probably be halfway killed by Hijiri. Though that’s better than being killed by Renko, hmm?”
Staring at Kyousuke as if she could see the deepest part of his heart, Reiko smiled.
She meant to assess him. By watching his actions in the contest, she intended to suss out his true feelings toward her daughter.
“………”
Kyousuke, however, could not answer.
Reiko said nothing to this but narrowed her eyes, only to eventually move her gaze off Kyousuke. “Oh, and by the way, you can’t ease up on him either, Renko! Since you like Kyousuke, and especially since you believe in him, you must really try to destroy him. If he’s the kind of boy who can be so easily crushed, I’m certain it would happen sooner or later. Surely you’re anxious about Kyousuke’s true feelings toward you?”
“…Y-yeah. But Mama—”
“But?”
Renko shut her mouth and left her question unfinished. After a moment of restless fidgeting, she answered, “…N-nothing. I get it…if Mama says so, I won’t go easy.”
“Okay, well done! Good girl, good girl!” Reiko nodded and rubbed her daughter’s head. She smiled, showing sharp canines.
“—And that’s that. The athletic festival will be a fight between Hijiri, leading her first-year Class A, and me, leading first-year Class B, plus whatever other rabble. I’m telling you now, I won’t lose! I’m going to make you regret this. I’m going to utterly destroy you! Seducing my beloved daughter, sexually assaulting me… I’ll pay you back double! Ready yourself, Kyousuke Kamiya!”
“…………Kksshh.”
Beside Reiko, who was making her declaration of war, the giant wearing the ivory-white gas mask let out a faint breathing sound. His powerful gaze could be felt through the opaque viewport.
—Renji Hikawa.
Known as a Slaughter Maid, he was currently wearing a limiting device, but it was obvious he was a monster whose physical abilities rivaled even Renko’s own without her mask.
Th-this is the worst…
A joint effort was already out of the question. He now had much more to worry about than just the third-year students. Kyousuke prayed again to the merciless gods.
Reckless and Relentless
YESTERDAY’S FRIENDS ARE TODAY’S ENEMIES
SECOND EVENT
“Hey, hey, heeeeeey! What are you gonna do when you get this tired?! Keep this up, and defeating the upperclassmen might as well be a dream within a dream. You don’t even measure up to freshman Class B, you bastaaaaaards!!”
Six AM. A lisping, angry voice roared out over the still-dark grounds.
Just ahead of Kurumiya, who was providing harsh motivation, the students of first-year Class A jumped up and down as they circled a two-hundred-meter track, sketched out in quicklime.
They jumped onward, carrying twenty-two-pound sandbags and wearing hefty shackles. Their assignment was for each person to circle the track five times. One hour had passed since the start of morning training—the students were complaining about the overly rigorous exercise.
Shinji, tilting backward as he jumped, gasped for breath between words. “Why, do we…ha…have to…ha…ha…do this…kind of thing, Kamiya…hahhh…?”
“…Don’t ask me,” Kyousuke replied wearily, suffering more from mental fatigue than physical exhaustion. With a sigh, he recalled the events of the previous day:
The day after they had met Renko’s mother, Kyousuke and the others had assembled before morning training and had heard shocking news at the first special morning assembly since they had entered school.
“Today we have some very unfortunate news to share with you. The teacher for first-year Class B, Mr. Kirito Busujima, has been bitten by one of his venomous pet snakes and is unconscious, in critical condition.”
And that was not all. Stepping in for Busujima as temporary homeroom teacher would be—
“My name is Reiko Hikawa. Nice to meet you!”
—the person they had feared it would be. It seemed likely that Reiko had had a hand in Busujima’s unfortunate fate. In addition, under the pretense of a student exchange, her companion, Renji, had enrolled in Class B. The two obviously had some connection to Renko, but regarding that particular subject, Reiko had only boasted, “There’s a deeeeeep reason, deeper than mine and Renko’s cleavage,” in a flagrant attempt at deflection.
On top of that, Reiko had vetoed the collaboration between first-year classes. The friendly Renko also got entangled in the situation, and the atmosphere of the class had once again grown tense.
�
�What are you doing?!” Kurumiya yelled. “Pick up the pace, piggies! You’ve only just started!! After you’re done with the leaning jumps, we’ll move on to strength training with leg lunges, single-leg bends, Hindu squats, upper-body bends, wrestler bridges, push-ups, sit-ups, wall pushes, and more! And that’s just the warm-up! I’ll resuscitate you even if you faint, so you’d better give it everything you’ve got!”
Perhaps because she was burning with feelings of rivalry, Kurumiya’s coaching had gotten even more severe, and Kyousuke and the others were now subject to grueling drills from morning until night.
Even though the students had been undergoing continuous physical training for half a year since matriculating at Purgatorium Remedial Academy, by the time they finished afternoon exercises, none could even take another a step.
Nearly hobbled by fatigue, today they began their first day of real hell—
“Aiiieee?!” Suddenly, a female student collapsed behind Kyousuke and the others. Dropping her sandbag, she lay facedown on the ground, gulping for oxygen. “Hah…hah…”
A few moments passed, but the girl did not get up.
“You there, Maina Igarashiiiiii!” Kurumiya yelled and threw the iron pipe at her.
“Gyan?!”
Taking the iron pipe to the back of the head, Maina cried out in agony. She tried to recover, but whether because she was flustered or tired, she wasn’t able to properly lift the sandbag. “Huph, huph…hwaaahhh?!”
A second iron pipe came flying toward Maina’s face as she fell over.
“Gyah?! Y-you’ll knock my head oooffffff!!” Catching the pipe with her forehead, Maina writhed in pain on the ground.
Several nearby students stumbled over her collapsed body and went flying.
“Owww… Geez, again?! Be careful, Crafty Cat!”
“That’s so majorly irritating! I’ll beat the hell out of you next time you get in my way!! Don’t fuck around, for real!”
Ayaka and Tomomi re-shouldered their sandbags and overtook Maina.
Murder Machine and the Catastrophic Athletic Festival Page 4