Aria the Scarlet Ammo (novel), Volume 1

by Chugaku Akamatsu

Blam, Blam!

  The sound of two gunshots resonating in succession instantly brought a dead silence to the class. Aria, red as a tomato, had drawn her two pistols and fired them without hesitation.

  “R-romance?! Don’t be stupid!” Aria exclaimed.

  A hole had been made in the left and right wall where each of Aria arms, spread like wings, were pointed.

  Clink, clink, clink.

  The empty cartridges that were ejected from the guns fell to the floor making the silence all the more noticeable. Idiot Riko, little by little, slunk back into her chair with her body twisted in a position as if she had been in the middle of some avant-garde dance. The rule at Butei High was students were not to fire their weapons “any more than necessary” when outside the firing range. In other words, it was allowed. Shoot-outs were a daily occurrence for Butei, which was what the students here were trying to become, so it was necessary to make them as desensitized to gunfire as any other soldier by exposing it to them regularly. That was the rationale, but…this girl must have been the first person to ever suddenly open fire during her self-introduction at the start of the new semester.

  “All of you keep this mind! If anyone says anything stupid like that…”

  It was the first thing Aria H. Kanzaki said to the students of Butei High. “I’m gonna open a hole in you!”

  The instant it became time for our lunch break, I was plagued with questions from the other students, but managed to come up with an excuse to take my leave from those idiots and took refuge on the roof of the science building. I couldn’t answer any questions regarding Aria to begin with. I met her for the first time this morning, she saved me after my bike was hijacked, and then she chased after me with her weapons in hand. That’s as far as our relationship went. I didn’t know her personally. As I let out a sigh in a fit of depression, a few girls came up to the rooftop chatting. I recognized their voices. They were girls from my class—girls from the Assault division at that. I crept into the shadows like a wanted criminal.

  “You know that e-mail notification that was sent out by the educational affairs department? The one about a second-year male student’s bicycle being blown up. Don’t you think it was referring to Kinji?”

  “Ah, I was thinking the same thing. After all, he didn’t show up at the opening ceremony.

  “Geez. Kinji sure is unlucky today. First, he has his bike blown up, and then there’s Aria.”

  The three girls, sitting side by side next to the chain-link fence, seemed to be talking about me. With a rather sour look on my face, I decided to just hide quietly for the meantime.

  “I felt kind of sorry for Kinji back in class.”

  “I know what you mean. Aria was going around asking questions about him before the day could even start.”

  “Ah, she asked me too. She wanted to know what kind of Butei he was and if he had any past achievements. I didn’t really give it much thought though. I just said, ‘He was pretty amazing when he used to be in the Assault division.’”

  “I just saw Aria in front of the educational affairs department. I’ll bet she’s looking through his file right now.”

  “Sheesh. She must be seriously head over heels for the guy.”

  Being the center of their conversation, I just couldn’t help but listen in on them.

  “Before the day could even start”? That means she started stalking me right after the hijacking incident.

  “Poor Kinji. He already hates girls, and then of all the girls in this school, Aria sets her sights on him. I don't care if she was raised in Europe or anything like that; she seriously needs to take a hint.”

  “But you know, Aria does seem to be a bit popular with the guys.”

  “That’s right. I heard she got her own fan club right after transferring here during third semester. Apparently, the pictures that the guys from the photography club secretly took of her during gym are being sold at a premium.”

  “I know about that. I’m told the Polaroid pictures of her taken during figure skating and cheerleading class go for hundreds of dollars. The same thing goes for her rhythmic gymnastics pictures.”

  What kind of classes are those? Is this really a legitimate school?

  “But the thing is she doesn’t have any friends, does she? She skips school a lot too.”

  “And she’s always eating lunch by herself. She sits in the corner of the classroom, all alone.”

  “Psh! How creepy!”

  Listening to their obnoxious chatter, my gloom only deepened further. Having no interest in others, I wasn’t even previously aware of Aria’s existence, but she apparently had a personality that brought attention to her even here at Butei High, which was full of couples.

  There was a specific time frame during which students were allowed to transfer out of Butei High School and into a regular school. Under Butei Law, students were required to register all their firearms and swords with the public safety commission, which is why students weren’t permitted to withdraw from school until April, when the time came to renew their registration. Furthermore, students who wished to transfer out of Butei High had to submit an application one year or at least six months in advance. I already had my application form filled out. I planned to turn it in shortly and leave the world of the Butei come next April. My only regret is having to leave my apartment. It’s a real nice place.

  Evening.

  Finally free of those idiots in my class, I slumped deeply into the sofa at my apartment and from the window, gazed at Tokyo’s sky, aglow with the setting sun. I’ve been living alone in this dormitory apartment since January of this year. Originally, these apartments were made to accommodate four people, but when I switched divisions, just by chance, there were no other males from Inquesta to share a room with, so I don’t have any roommates. Lucky me. It was a great feeling to be able to live as I pleased and in peace in this space where I wouldn’t be bothered by all the dumb couples of Butei High. Nothing beats solitude.

  Ah, it sure is quiet…

  This morning’s bike-jacking seemed like a dream. Regarding that incident, Repier collected the remains of the Segways, and Inquesta started an investigation. It might seem like I’m beating a dead horse, but the sad truth was that in the daily life of students at Butei High something as trivial as attempted murder wasn’t given too much attention. Due to having gotten too used to gunfights while in Assault and being pestered about Aria all day, not even I, the victim, was giving it much thought. Still…I wonder what that was all about. It was pretty malicious for a prank. Looks like our “Butei killing” copycat criminal is a bomber.

  Bombers were one of the vilest types of criminals existing in this world, and they usually showed no discretion when choosing their targets. Generally, they gathered people’s attention by indiscriminately causing an explosion and then forced their demands on the society.

  Ding-dong.

  Does that mean that bomb just happened to be planted on my bicycle due to bad luck?

  Ding-dong, ding-dong.

  Or was I personally being targeted? But for what? Nobody had any reason hold a grudge against me.

  Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong.

  Oh, shut up!

  Someone had been repeatedly ringing my doorbell for some time now. I was going to pretend that I wasn’t here, but it didn’t look like it was going to work.

  What's going on here? I had a hell of a day today, and I’m dead tired. At least, leave me in peace after school is over.

  “Who is it…?” I asked in a dreary, less-than-polite tone as I grudgingly opened the door.

  “That took you forever! When I ring the doorbell, answer the door within five seconds!” came a stern voice.

  In front of me was a girl with her hands on her hips and narrowed eyes the color of a reddish purple camellia.

  “K-Kanzaki?!”

  There was Aria H. Kanzaki, standing before me in her school uniform. I rubbed my eyes like a character in a comic b
ook would, but when I opened them, Aria was still there.

  Why is she here?!

  “You can just call me Aria.” Before Aria even finished her sentence, she hopped over the threshold on one foot, taking off her shoes and dropping them by the door. She then started to trit-trot her way into my apartment.

  “H-hey!” I made a grab for Aria in an attempt to stop her, but thanks to her child-like stature, she easily ducked out of the way. All I had gained from my efforts was the feel of her smooth pigtails as they grazed my fingertips.

  “Wait a second! Don’t just come barging in here!”

  “Bring my suitcase inside! Say, where’s the bathroom?”

  Aria paid me no heed and went snooping around all over the place. Finding the bathroom rather quickly, she scurried inside and closed the door behind her.

  …Not good.

  This was Butei High. And the term “Butei” originates from “armed detective”. In other words, I had been tailed.

  “And what does she mean by ‘suitcase’…?”

  Still not sure just what was happening, I looked behind me to find a suitcase on wheels—which I could presume Aria brought with her—sitting outside the door. It was fairly stylish with a striped pattern and a logo that unmistakably indicated it to be a name-brand suitcase.

  This can’t be happening.

  If any of the other students see a girl’s suitcase sitting outside my door, there’s no telling what they’re going to say. I mentioned it to Shirayuki this morning as well, but this is a men’s dormitory.

  “Do you live here by yourself?” Aria came out of the bathroom and washed her hands. She paid no attention to me as I dragged her abnormally heavy suitcase through the door, wondering what she could have possibly packed into it, and continued looking around the apartment. Then she invaded the living room and went to the farthest corner where the window was located.

  “Oh, never mind.”

  Never mind “what”?

  Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, Aria spun around and faced me, her twin pigtails following her lead in an elegant curve.

  “Kinji, be my slave!”

  …

  ……

  …………Unbelievable. This girl is absolutely unbelievable. One moment she saves me, the next moment she shoots her pistols and waves her swords at me. She sits next to me in class, comes barging into my home, and now it’s “be my slave”?

  “What are you just standing there for? At least have the sense to hurry up and bring me something to drink! How rude can you be?!”

  Aria dropped that small butt of hers onto the sofa I had been sitting on previously, causing her skirt to flutter high into the air. When she crossed her legs, I caught a short glimpse of her thighs as well as one of the two pistols she kept attached to them.

  She stays armed even after school? This girl’s dangerous.

  “I want coffee! Espresso lungo doppio! Use cane sugar! Have it ready in one minute!”

  You’re the rude one here. And what kind of coffee is that? Sounds like an incantation of some sort of magic spell.

  I had a strong gut feeling that getting her to leave would prove to be a most frightening task, so I just abandoned the idea and made her a cup of instant coffee.

  “?” With a look of surprise on her face, Aria brought her nose to the cup, which she was holding on both sides, and sniffed at it intently.

  “Is this really coffee?”

  Apparently, she didn’t know what instant coffee was.

  “That’s all I’ve got, so be thankful and drink it.”

  She took another sip.

  “It tastes weird. It kind of reminds me of Greek coffee… Hmm, maybe not.”

  “The taste isn’t the issue here. More importantly,” Sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the table, I took a sip of my own coffee as I pointed my finger at the trespasser. “I’m grateful to you for saving me this morning. And…I apologize for saying things that upset you. But that’s no reason to barge in here like this. What’s the big deal?” I asked with pursed lips.

  Holding onto her cup, Aria remained perfectly still as she shifted her red eyes and looked into mine.

  “You don’t know?”

  “Of course, I don't know.”

  “I thought you, of all people, would have figured it out a long time ago. Hmm…but I guess it’ll dawn on you sooner or later. Oh, never mind.”

  I do mind.

  “I’m hungry.” Aria suddenly changed the subject as she threw herself on top of the arm of the sofa. Seeing her girlish gesture put a slightly red hue on my cheeks, and I averted my eyes.

  “Do you have anything to eat?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “You gotta have something. What do you usually eat?

  “I always get my meals from the convenience store downstairs.”

  “Convenience store? Ahh, that miniature supermarket. Okay then, let’s go.”

  “What do you mean, ‘Okay then, let’s go’? What for?”

  “You’re so dumb. We’re going to get something to eat. It’s already dinner time.”

  This isn’t good. We’re not on the same page here. Wait a second. Is she planning on staying for dinner too? I want her to hurry and go home.

  As I placed my hand on my forehead because of a resulting headache, Aria jumped away from the couch in a way that made it seem like she had springs attached to her body. She then marched her way over to me and brought her face so close to mine that she was looking up at me from directly underneath my chin.

  Whoa, back up. “Do they sell Matsumoto Peach Buns there? That’s what I feel like eating right now.”

  There were three things a Butei had to watch out for: darkness, poison, and women. Aria, falling squarely into the third category, bought seven whole peach buns at the convenience store. Peach buns were just plain-old bean paste buns shaped like peaches, which was slightly popular a little while back, and she practically bought every last remaining one. I didn’t think she was actually going to eat all of them right then and there, but then she betrayed my expectations and looked like she was going to do just that. Sitting at the table, Aria was already devouring the fifth one. Where in the world is she putting those peach buns inside that small body of hers?

  I was eating my usual hamburger patty bento and sending the bothersome intruder a gaze with my eyes that tried to convey the message, “Hurry up and leave.” But Aria wasn’t paying attention to my glare and the message they were sending her. Instead, she proceeded to start on her sixth peach bun and place her hand on her cheek as she blissfully savored her meal. Were those things really that tasty?

  “By the way, what exactly did you mean by that ‘be my slave’ remark?”

  “Join my party in the Assault division. We’re going to conduct Butei operations together.”

  “What are you talking about? I left Assault because I hated it and transferred to Inquesta, the most normal division there is here at Butei High. Not to mention I intend on transferring out of this school and into a regular one. I’m not going to be a Butei. That in mind, you want me to go back to that insane division? Impossible.”

  “There are three phrases that I hate.”

  “Are you listening to me?”

  “That’s impossible. I’m too tired. I don’t feel like it. These are three deplorable phrases that people use to stifle their own unlimited potential. Make sure you never use those words in front of me again. Understood?”

  Having said that, Aria gobbled down the seventh peach bun and licked the bean paste off her fingers.

  “As for your position, let’s see…you should be in front with me.”

  “Front” refers to front man. It’s the vanguard position when Butei form a party—a dangerous position with the highest probability of getting injured.

  “No I shouldn’t. Why me, anyway?”

  “Why does the sun rise? Why does the moon shine?”

  Again, the conversation goes awry.

  “You
’re just like a kid who does nothing but ask questions. If you’re a Butei, gather information yourself and make your own deductions.”

  I don’t wanna hear that from someone who looks like a kid herself.

  I almost said it out loud, but then I remembered that I was nearly killed this morning for making a similar remark, so I swallowed my words. In any event, there’s one thing I understood. Any attempt to engage in a discussion with her would be useless. If I were to make an analogy between our conversation and a game of catch, Aria would be a pitching machine one-sidedly throwing her demands directly at me until I turned black and blue. In order for me to compete with her, my only option is to be completely frank in making my own demands known. Having come to this conclusion, I switch to a slightly more overbearing tone.

  “In any case, get going already. I want to be alone. Go home.”

  “I will…eventually.”

  “And when will that be?”

  “When you agree to join my party in Assault.”

  “You do realize it’s already night time?”

  “I’m going to do whatever it takes to get you to join. Time’s not on my side. If you refuse…”

  “You bet I’m gonna refuse. What are you gonna do about it? Try your worst.”

  I took a firm position as I denied her, and Aria glared at me with those large eyes of hers.

  “If you refuse, I’m going to stay here at your place.”

  Say what?! My cheeks were twitching so spasmodically I looked like I was about to go into a seizure.

  “W-wait a second! What on earth are you talking about?! There’s no way you’re staying here! Go home!” I was so shocked that I had to swallow down the hamburger, which nearly made its way back up my throat.

  “Stop your whining! If I say I’m staying here, then I’m staying here! I already prepared for a drawn-out battle!” shouted Aria with a voice that sounded like she was about to go on a frenzy and pointed to her suitcase near the door while scowling at me.

  That suitcase is filled with all her personal belongings, she’s planning to stay! Why is she going this far? What’s her objective? What could she have to gain from bringing someone like me back to Assault?