Taking half a step back, I replied, “Shirayuki … don’t worry. There’s only one thing that’s impossible.” I moved into a position that would protect Aria from the battle that was going to start between two chouteis. “I’ll come to hate you? That, of all things, is impossible.”
Almost as if my low voice had given her a push, with a forced smile, she turned her head halfway towards me as she unraveled the white ribbon that was tied in her hair.
“I’ll be right back.”
Shirayuki repositioned her foot, sounding her geta with its red thong and carrying her sword in a different position. Her stance was different from what it was before. She was grasping the very edge of the pommel of her katana with her right hand and held it sideways above her head so that flat the of the blade could be seen. It was a peculiar stance that was unlikely to exist in any school of kendo.
“Joan, I can no longer allow to you escape.”
“…?”
“It’s because you’re about to witness the forbidden kidou that lies hidden within Hotogi priestesses. Like you, we, too, have inherited the power and name of our ancestors. Aria’s family has done so for one hundred and fifty years. Yours for six hundred. And we have been doing so for a long period of roughly two thousand years.”
Shirayuki strengthen the grip of her hand holding the katana, and a waving, scarlet light shined at its point. The light quickly extended over the entire sword blade. The light, which was illuminating the computer filled room, was the light of flames! At this point, there was no doubting that it wasn’t a trick using benzene or flammable gas. It was unmistakably Shirayuki’s trump card—her supernatural ability.
“‘Shirayuki’ is an alias used to hide my true name. My real name … is Himiko (scarlet maiden).”
The second she finished her sentence, Shirayuki darted towards Joan, closing in on her like a blazing arrow. Joan, who for a short instant was entranced by Shirayuki’s technique, stooped down low, and pulling out a gorgeous, western style sword that had been hidden behind her back, stopped the powerful attack into which Shirayuki had put her all.
What would have normally been sparks, emerged in the form of jewel-like diamond dust that immediately evaporated as the two swords vied for dominance. Joan skillfully avoided a swing from Shirayuki’s katana, and it cut the computer beside her in two without making a sound. Joan dodged backwards from Shirayuki’s next attack, placing some distance between the two of them. It was an obvious retreat.
“Fire …” I said to myself.
Taking a good look, I noticed there was a tinge of fear mixed in with cold sweat running down the face of the beautiful girl. In hysteria mode, I could tell. She was afraid of fire. Joan said that the founding ancestor of her clan began developing that technique after nearly being burnt at the stake. Most likely, it was out of fear. She was afraid of what nearly took her life. For generations, her clan has been studying the secret art of ice manipulation with that fear deeply ingrained in their hearts.
“What you just saw was the first of a series of attacks of Hotogi Souten style, Hinokakabi (Scarlet Shining Man). Next, I’m going to cut through that sword with Hinokaguchi (Scarlet Flame Hammer of Fear),” Shirayuki said, once again raising the blazing scarlet katana over her head.
It’s just like a torch. I see now. The purpose of that stance is to keep the surging flames from harming the wielder.
“That will be the end of this. There’s nothing this Irokaneayame cannot cut.”
“That’s my line. The Sacred Sword Durandal can cleave through anything” Joan proclaimed, her voice full of courage.
The large sword Joan wielded was an ancient-looking but a well maintained, magnificent claymore. The blue jewel that decorated its cross-guard sparkled in the light given off by Shirayuki’s flames. Shirayuki sprang towards Joan again … but to my eyes, it seemed as if she were rushing to bring the battle to an end.
Clang! Clang!
Their swords exchanged strikes a number of times, sending the loud sounds of clashing, fierce metal echoing through the room. It was almost unbelievable to watch as Shirayuki’s katana and Joan’s sword sliced through everything they came in contact with. The computers along with the cabinets that housed them. The bulletproof elevator door. The linoleum floor and walls. But there was one thing that wasn’t being cut apart. It was the metal that formed Shirayuki’s Irokaneayame and Joan’s magical sword—the Sacred Sword Durandal as she claimed it to be. Those swords, both exalted for being able to cut through anything, were the only things that didn’t receive a single scratch no matter how many times they clashed against one another.
“This certainly is … a battle between top-ranking chouteis!” came Aria’s voice from below me, and she finally lifted her head.
“Aria,” I whispered, crouching down next to her, “can you move?”
“I … seem to be okay now. But my guns are frozen to the floor so even if I recovered them, they won’t be of any use. My pistols aren’t meant to be used in cold environments. They probably won’t be functional unless I completely disassemble and perform maintenance on them,” said Aria, looking at her frozen Governments in frustration.
“Let’s come up with a plan.”
Aria, who was always arbitrarily acting on her own authority, looked up at me … and nodded her head without protest. It would seem she treated me like an actual partner when I was in hysteria mode.
“I’d like to support Shirayuki in some way, but if our timing is off, we’ll wind up becoming a hindrance. You have experience arresting espers like this, don’t you? Isn’t there some way to create a chance for us to take her down?”
“To be honest . . . I’ve never come up against a Stealth this powerful. But I don’t think … their battle is going to last very long.”
“What do you mean?”
“The greater the power an esper uses, the more that person’s stamina is depleted. When fighting a butei, they make it a point to use as little power as possible … but when the opponent is one of their own kind, they continue to release their full powers just like that. That’s why they run out of steam so quickly. That moment will be our chance.”
“Can you tell when that moment is?”
“As a rule of thumb, probably. Half of it will be based on intuition though. ... Will you trust me?” Aria asked, sounding just a little bit fretful.
I see it left a scar on her heart when I told her I couldn’t believe her the other day. This won’t do.
If two buteis don’t have a relationship of trust, they wouldn’t be able to act in unison. Their timing would be off. I straightened out my knees and gently stroked Aria’s pink hair.
“I was being an idiot the other day. I want you to forgive me. I swear . . . I’ll trust you for the rest of my life.”
“Th-The rest of your life?”
It seemed my formal choice of words wasn’t in Aria’s Japanese vocabulary.
“Even if no one else in the world believes you, I alone will always be on your side,” I explained, staring deep into her camellia-colored eyes.
Aria, whose natural habit of become red in the face had already made her cheeks quite rosy, became the bright red color of a strawberry. Her face, full of surprise, looked somewhat happy as well, and I asked her if that were the case.
“Feeling happy?”
“… Y-You’re an idiot, Kinji! E-Even in super mode, you’re an idiot … you idiot …!
“Answer me. I want to be certain of your feelings,” I urged her.
“... A-A little … a little happy. B-But just a little bit, okay?!”
“If you’re happy, I’m happy. Now then … will you trust me as well?”
“… Y-Yes.” Aria nodded and even gazed up at me the way a child does with an adult.
It’s like she’s at my beck and call when I’m in hysteria mode.
“We both believe in one another,” I delivered the finishing blow, and Aria brought her coupled hands to her chest as if something had rang out dee
p in her heart. “That’s why I want you to be confident and tell me how we should time our attacks. We’re going to arrest Durandal.”
While I was rebuilding the bond of trust between Aria and I, the conflict between fire and ice in which Shirayuki looked as if she were dominating at the beginning, now seemed to be an even battle. “…Ngh!” Shirayuki was swinging her sword around with her teeth clenched tightly; it didn’t even look like she was breathing.
She made an attack in which she practically used her entire body to ram into her opponent, and Joan finally fell backwards against the wall in a squatting position. But …
“Haaa, haaa, haaa!”
… Shirayuki, the person who landed the attack, was the one breathing hard and looking groggy. As if to illustrate her shortness of breath, the flames surrounding Shirayuki’s katana were much smaller than what they previously were.
“Throw down your sword, Joan. You’ve lost.”
“Heh … heh heh,” Joan laughed unseemly, and with one smooth motion, instantly created a flowing mist of minute ice crystals all around her. Under the cover of that mist, she rolled forward, escaping to Shirayuki’s side. In a panic, Shirayuki swung to the side her katana, which had lost most of it flames.
Clang.
The blade pierced the wall … and came to a stop. It was all too clear. Shirayuki was losing the power she had been using until now—and it happened in just a few minutes. It was just as Aria said. Chouteis were powerful. They can pride themselves on possessing a strength that was incomprehensible to others. But they were unable to fight for an extended period of time. Video games worked the same way. When a character that uses powerful magic runs out of the means to cast those spells ...
“Haaa, haaa ... haaa.” Still holding the hilt of her Katana, Shirayuki fell on one knee. She looked completely exhausted. It was as if she had just run a full marathon. She pulled her katana out of the wall and resting it on the floor, she fumbled for the vermillion-lacquered scabbard that was lying nearby. And for some reason, she used it to sheath her sword.
“You’re soft.” said Joan. “You’re a woman as soft as ice cream. To think you would aim only for my sword and not my body … despite the fact that it’s utterly impossible to cut through the Sacred Sword Durandal,” said Joan, repositioning herself and placing Durandal’s edge against Shirayuki’s neck.
Aria … not yet? It’s still not time to give our support?
I saw Shirayuki grit her teeth as she place the sheathed sword behind her, almost as if she were trying to hide it.
Shirayuki!
I nearly jumped out on impulse, but Aria placed an admonishing hand on my arm.
“Not yet, Kinji! Shirayuki’s … probably leaving herself just enough strength to perform one more attack. … But she needs time before she can use it. It looks to me like … she’s charging up some kind of power …” Aria said in a soft voice, looking as if she were desperately restraining her own self from rushing out into fray.
Diamond dust began to dance around Joan again as she held her sword in her hand. Before my very eyes, it raged throughout the room like a snowstorm. Once again, the cold instantly dropped to sub-zero temperature inside the room!
“Behold the Fleur de la glace d’Orléans (Ice Flower of Orleans)! Turn to silver ice and forfeit your life!”
Beyond the diamond dust, Joan’s Durandal began emitting a bluish-white light that steadily grew brighter. Just then …!
“Kinji, follow after me in three seconds!” yelled Aria, pulling out the two short katanas from behind her and flying towards Joan like a bullet.
… One second.
Joan, who had been concentrating on her battle with Shirayuki, turned around startled.
… Two seconds.
“A mere butei!” Joan swung her sword sideways towards Aria in a fit of rage, but even faster than that, Aria used the katana in her right hand to pick up the priestess garbs Joan had thrown to the floor and flung them up in front of her, robbing Joan of her sight for just an instant.
“!”
Aria lowered her body and slid with skill of a professional soccer player. Joan’s arm continued to swing on the path it traveled. Aria had read her opponents movements and carried herself using aikido-like baritsu movements. Above Aria, a torrent of blue light pushed aside the priestess garbs in midair and rose upwards. The spectacle before me truly was something one would see in a video game. An eddy of shining ice crystals converted into blue cannon fire and reached all the way to the ceiling. It spread on impact like a colossal flower of ice blooming on the ceiling.
… Three seconds!
“Kinji, now! Joan can’t use her powers anymore!”
Aria didn’t even have to tell me. I raced towards Joan, creating a rift in the diamond dust around me.
Blam! Blam! Blam!
I fired along a vertical line centered on the upper half of Joan’s body with my Beretta, which I had set to fire in three-burst rounds. Using Durandal, which she had already brought back in front of her, Joan deflected all three of the bullets. I had anticipated she would. She was a master swordswoman who could fight on even grounds with Shirayuki. That’s why I increased my speed and closed in on her. I would engage her in the close-range pistol combat I had learned in Assault. During class, I used something similar to the shields employed by riot police though. When enemies had a means of defending themselves from bullets, the tactic buteis use to defeat them is by showering them with bullets at point-blank range.
“A lowly butei like you dares to challenge me?!” Joan roared, actually coming right for me. Aria swung her two katanas at Joan’s feet, and naturally, expecting that as well, Joan jumped into the air, leaping towards me. Using her sword, she blocked the bullets I fired to intercept her. But she didn’t just defend herself. After her sword arced back, she brought it down again—aiming for my skull.
“!!”
It was a superhuman feat for someone who had lost her magical abilities. The speed of the incoming sword was greater than that of which I assumed Joan’s motor skills were capable. Durandal was on a clear path to my skull, and I was unable to get out of its way. Just then … everything appeared to be moving in slow motion to my hysteria mode eyes. There was one technique that would help me to overcome this situation—and it required both of my hands. But I couldn’t allow myself to let go of the pistol in my right hand. Speaking in terms of chess, it was a piece I needed in order to achieve checkmate. That’s why I used my empty left hand …
“… Ngh …!”
…to stop the magic sword, Durandal. It was the method of catching a sword blade with one’s bare hands—the single-handed version. I was a bit skeptical as to whether or not I could put it off, but I did it. It was thanks to hysteria mode ... and to the training Aria gave me.
“…!” Holding the hilt of her sword, Joan landed right beside me. “… I can’t believe you ...” Joan looked at edge of her prized sword being gripped between my index finger and middle finger, but as I expected, she still didn’t seem to have lost her fighting instincts. Keeping her sword in my left hand, I placed the barrel of the gun in my right hand against the back of her neck.
“. . . This is the end of the line, Joan. It would be best for you to behave like a good little girl,” I said, chastising her like a child.
“Butei Charter, Article Nine,” she replied.
I slightly averted my gaze and smiled wryly. She was right. If I were going to uphold the law, I wouldn’t be able shoot Joan in the neck.
“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten. Buteis can’t kill people.”
“Ha ha. You certainly are a clever young lady.”
“Y-Young lady?” Joan must have found the designation embarrassing because, her face slightly reddened. “B-But I’m not a butei!” she said, straining the arms in which she held her sword.
Come on now. You’re already captured, young lady. This battle is over. The reason being …
The sound of footsteps made by getas with red th
ongs could be heard racing towards us.
“Don’t you lay a hand on Kin-chan!!” cried Shirayuki as she came running at us with magic sword Durandal in her sights. “… Hihinohotogikami (Scarlet God of Hotogi)!”
Similar to iai style, Shirayuki drew her katana from its scabbard and swung it upwards in one fluid motion. A scarlet flash of light came out along with the katana ... and the upward swung blade sliced through Durandal. It then sent an eddy of flames like those from an incendiary bomb spiraling upwards towards the roof far above. The frozen ceiling and the layer of ice covering it shattered as if it were blown up by a grenade launcher! As debris fell all around her, Joan stood there dumbfounded at the fact that Durnadal had been cut in two.
“…!”
At the very end of it all, yet again did something she hadn't accounted for take place. Joan, having a weakness for such things, could do nothing but stand there with her sapphire eyes wide open.
“Durandal!” an anime-like voice called out. Aria took advantage of the opportunity, and the sound of handcuffs being clamped onto Joan’s right wrist could be heard.
“Ah?!” Joan looked at her wrist, and what she saw attached to it were anti-esper handcuffs. It probably shouldn’t even require mentioning, but they were handcuffs that Aria bought on the first day she began acting as Shirayuki’s bodyguard.
“You’re under arrest!!” Aria pounced on Joan like a carnivorous beast and cuffed her left wrist as well.
“That’s why I said ‘It would be best for you to behave like a good little girl.’” Spinning the top half of Durandal’s blade, which had been cut near the hand guard, I grabbed it by its lower end. Meanwhile Aria, clinging fast to Joan, put additional handcuffs on her ankles. I took my watchful gaze off of Aria. Although her actions didn’t suggest it, like Aria, she was, after all, a young lady who came from a very proud lineage. That confidence of hers did prove to be her downfall though.
Joan, till the very end, you made light of Aria and I—of buteis. That was the cause of your defeat. But the buteis gathered here are Holmes the Fouth a. k. a. Aria the Quadra, and I in hysteria mode working effectively as partners. We aren’t “mere buteis”.
Aria the Scarlet Ammo (novel), Volume 2 Page 15