Aria the Scarlet Ammo (novel), Volume 1

by Chugaku Akamatsu

  “You want a hole opened inside you?” Aria placed a hand on her pistol with an irritated look on her face.

  “I’m…looking for a cat today.”

  “A cat?”

  “I’m going to look for a cat that got lost in Aomi. It pays one hundred dollars and it’s worth one-tenth of a credit.”

  I chose the lowest paying and tedious job I could find posted on Inquesta’s bulletin board. I figured by letting Aria know that straight out, she would lose interest. I was wrong. “Hmm…” she said as she caught up to me when I tried to walk away.

  “Stop following me.”

  “Don’t worry about me. Just show me how you perform as a Butei.”

  “I refuse. Stop following me.”

  “Do you hate me that much?”

  “I absolutely, positively hate you. Stop following me.”

  “If you say ‘Stop following me’ one more time, I’m gonna open a–”

  I didn’t want a hole opened inside me, and I no longer had the energy to deny her, so I went to Aomi via monorail with Aria tagging along beside me. Aomi district, which used to be full of warehouses, had gone through redevelopment and was now a stylish city with expensive condominiums and high-end boutiques lined up one after another.

  “So? You said you were going to look for a cat, but what kind of deduction are you going to use to find it?”

  “None, really. I’m just gonna walk around every place a cat is likely to go. What about you? Why don’t you suggest a plan? If you’re asking me, you must have something in mind.”

  “Nope. I’m not good at deduction. It’s kind of weird, but I didn’t inherit his most distinctive trait.” Aria said somewhat listlessly, looking up at me from underneath that well shaped forehead of hers. “Anyways, I’m hungry.”

  “Lunch break just ended a little while ago. Didn’t you eat anything?”

  “I did, but I’m still hungry,” Aria whined.

  This girl sure has poor fuel consumption.

  “Treat me to something.”

  “You’re gonna start getting in my way already?”

  That reminds me…I skipped lunch myself today since I was busy selecting a suitable job. I suppose I can just get her something while I’m at it. Plus I don’t want to get shot at again. Guess I’ll head over to McDonalds.

  Being the slave that I was, I went to buy the little princess the Giga Mac Set she requested, and when I got back, she was staring at the well-figured mannequin of a high-class boutique. Aria was looking back and forth between the sparkling sunny dress the mannequin was dressed in and her own body. I chuckled. That look in her eyes. I get it. So she admires that sort thing, huh? With her curve-less body like that of an elementary school student’s she’s gonna have to keep dreaming.

  “Hey.”

  “Ah.” Turning around, Aria must have been able to discern the traces of a smile on my face. Her cheeks instantly turned red and she starting swinging her fists in the air.

  “I-It’s not like that! T-This is what you call being slender! I’m the slender type!”

  “I didn’t say a word.”

  Leaving her behind, I headed towards the park across the street. After finding a nice bench and placing the McDonald’s bag on top of it, Aria came and plopped down next to it, looking like she had something to say. Her red Butei High skirt rose into the air slightly, giving me a brief glance of the holster underneath it. It was a phenomenon that Muto called “not quite a panty flash but more of a gun flash.” I’m convinced he’s a complete idiot. The female students of Butei High concealed their pistols underneath their skirts, and because it was necessary for them to draw their pistols quickly in an emergency, the skirts they wear were generally short. Aria’s skirt was no exception and was also rather short. But the reason that didn't make me the least bit happy was probably because she had the body of a grade school student.

  “Aria, you should put some distance between us when we go around this park looking for the cat.”

  “What for?”

  The words coming out of our mouths were almost incomprehensible as we spoke to each with our cheeks full of meaty hamburgers.

  “Just look around and you’ll see.” I placed my half-empty Giga Cola on the bench and looked around in the direction of what I was referring to.

  This park was a constant gathering place for countless young couples. It was close to the ocean, the scenery was pretty, and it was newly made—all of which were factors that made this place a well-known date spot. Of course, the reason I chose to start our search at this park was because it was the only park in Aomi and thus, a place we were likely to find a cat, but I was also hoping Aria would see what kind of place this was and decide not to walk too close to me. It seemed like my calculations were completely off.

  “Ah…” Aria saw a couple of lovers, who appeared to be college students, sitting on the bench across from ours and clinging to each other like pieces of a puzzle. For a brief moment, Aria froze up as she held a French fry between her lips like a cigarette. She then switched her gaze from the couple to me, then back towards to the couple again, and one more final time towards me. Aria’s face turned bright red.

  This girl blushes too easily.

  “Unhh…Unh!” Aria groaned.

  Upon seeing a coupled walk past us holding onto each other’s arms, Aria became further unsettled and crossed her arms. It was as if she wanted to be certain there was no chance her arms could link up with mine.

  “See? You should probably head back to school, Aria. If we walk around together in a place like this, people are going to be convinced we’re dating again. I don’t want to attract any attention. It’ll cause problems for you as well if a guy you like happens to be around and misunderstands.”

  “There isn’t a guy I like!” Aria’s ruby colored eyes were open wide as she made a display of that anime voice of hers.

  “T-T-There isn’t! I couldn’t care less about r-romance! It’s just a waste of time! I honestly don’t care! I’m serious!”

  …Don’t overreact so much. You’re not a kid.

  Apparently, Aria was quite the sensitive type when it comes to conversations about love and romance. I’ve found one of her weaknesses.

  “But you don’t want your friends to get any weird ideas, do you?”

  “Hmph! I don’t have any friends. I don’t need ’em. If people want to start gossiping, just let them. Who cares what other people say?”

  Aria tried to hide her embarrassment by sticking the straw of her Giga Cola in her mouth and taking a long, hard sip.

  “Well, I do agree with you about not being concerned with other people, but there is one thing I want to say.”

  “What?”

  “That’s my Cola.”

  Aria spit out the Cola that was about to make its way down her throat.

  That’s gross. This is a “beautiful yet bashful high school girl”?

  As I looked at her, she responded by blushing again.

  “You pervert!” Aria then threw a punch at me, knocking me off the bench—an unreasonable outcome, no matter how you look at it.

  Evening.

  We finally found the lost cat we had been searching for. It was at the waterfront near the edge of the park. Specifically, it was some sort of ditch or canal. Crying softly, the cat had all the characteristics mentioned in the documents I was given, and was wearing the small bell that could be seen in the picture I was provided as well. It was definitely the cat I was after.

  “Okay, little one. Be a good kitty...”

  The cat, which was inside a garbage can that had fallen into the canal, mustered up all the strength it could and hissed threateningly at me as I drew near.

  Don’t be like that. I’m not your enemy. I’m here to save you.

  I stuck my hands into the pile of crumpled papers and empty cans and pulled out the kitten, which had its fur standing on end.

  “That a girl. Aren’t you happy? You’re safe now.”

  I wonder
if my smile, which I hadn’t put on my face for some time, was awkward and unpleasant to look at. As soon as the kitten’s eyes met mine, it cried out and struggled to get away.

  “H-Hey… W-Whoa!”

  Still holding the cat in my hands, I spectacularly fell over backwards into the shallows of the canal. My saving grace was that I left my cell phone and pistol on the bank just in case.

  “That’s odd…” Aria said to herself. I noticed Aria sigh as she looked down at me from atop the tetra pods she was sitting on.

  I received one-tenth of a credit for finding the lost cat and the day came to an end.

  “Riko.”

  I had sent Riko an e-mail asking her to meet me, and there she was, waiting in the greenhouse in front of the girls’ dormitory. By greenhouse, I mean a huge vinyl greenhouse that’s always deserted and convenient for meeting someone in secret.

  “Kii-kuuun!” Near the rose garden, Riko spun around and greeted me.

  Riko was just about as small as Aria, but she belonged to what you would call the “pretty little girl” category. She had two large sparkling eyes and her wavy hair was done in dog ears. It was an audacious hairstyle that incorporated twin pigtails into the long, soft hair flowing onto her back.

  “Still wearing that custom made uniform, I see. What is that white fluffy mess?”

  “It’s the Butei High school uniform arranged in a white Lolita fashion! Kii-kun, you really need to memorize all the different Lolita styles.”

  “No thanks. Geez, exactly how many uniforms do you have?”

  While watching Riko start counting with her fingers all the different types of custom-made uniforms she had, from my bag, I pulled out a paper bag that I used to carefully hide some video game software.

  “Riko, look at me. Listen, keep this a secret from Aria.”

  “Oh, you got it!” Riko stood to attention and saluted with both hands.

  I handed her the paper bag with a bitter expression on my face and she ripped it to shreds in the process of opening it while breathing so heavily through her nose that it was audible.

  She’s just like a wild animal.

  “Oh my God! It’s, White and Black, The Tale of White Clover, and My Goth!” Riko cried out.

  Riko was jumping up and down waving the R-15 games around in both hands. They were basically girl games that a person couldn’t purchase unless they were fifteen years old. You could assume as much from her outfit, but Riko was an otaku. However, what set her apart from the average otaku is the fact that she had an unusual interest in girl games, despite being a girl. She showed an especially strong obsession for games in which the heroine wore the same frilly, fluffy clothing as she did. Of course, Riko was fifteen years old herself, so she was capable of buying these games. But she was complaining to me the other day about how she couldn’t buy an R-15 game at the video shop, which also served as a game shop here on Academy Island. Apparently, the girl working there judged her to be a middle school student after seeing how short she was. That’s why I went and bought them for her. It was dreadfully embarrassing, and I’m sure the salesgirl misunderstood my intentions, but it was necessary if I were going to come up with some countermeasures to deal with Aria.

  Why did Aria want to make me her slave, anyway? That’s the first mystery I needed to solve in order to get rid of her. If there was some definite reason, I had to do something about it as soon as possible. And since Aria wouldn’t tell me what that reason is, I had no choice but to deal with the matter by doing a thorough investigation on her and making my own deductions. The outcome of the battle between two Butei would be determined by the information that each had on one another.

  “Ah…I don’t need this one or this one. I hate these types.”

  Huh? I could have sworn these were all the kind of games she likes. With a perturbed expression on her face, Riko gave me back My Goth Two and Three, the sequels.

  “Why? These are the same as the others aren’t they?”

  “No. Two and Three are profanations. They’re an insult to the original and don’t deserve to have the same title.”

  …This girl sure has bizarre reasons for getting upset.

  “Well…whatever. In that case, I’ll give you all the games except for the sequels. In exchange, be sure to tell me everything about your investigation on Aria, just like what we discussed the other day.

  “You got it!”

  Riko was an idiot—an undeniable idiot. But what I found out at Inquesta was that while she may be an idiot, she did have one redeeming quality. Riko, who in addition to being an Internet addict, also had other hobbies truly fitting for a Butei such as spying on others, eavesdropping, and hacking, making her exceptionally adept at gathering information. You could say she was a modern intelligence thief. Apparently, that’s the reason she’s a rank-A Butei.

  “Alright then, let’s get on with it. I had to pretend to go to the bathroom and escape through the window using the wire in my belt to rappel down to get here. It’s only a matter of time before Aria realizes and comes to detain me.”

  I took a look around me and sat down on a railing just high enough to put my foot on.

  Riko put the games away inside her clothing and sat down beside me with a small hop. Her feet didn’t reach the floor, and she swung them back and forth.

  “Say Kii-kun, are you being henpecked by Aria? She’s your girlfriend, so if you want to know about her profile, you should just ask her directly yourself.”

  “She’s not my girlfriend.”

  “What? Rumor has it you two are a bona-fide couple. The Aria fan club is in an uproar saying they’re going to kill you because you were seen leaving the dorm hand–in-hand with Aria in the morning. Roaar!”

  “You don’t have to make horns with your fingers.”

  Hand in hand? Must’ve been that morning. I was just dragging her along because she wouldn’t let go of me…

  “So how far have you two gone?”

  “What do you mean ‘how far’”?

  “X-rated stuff.”

  “We haven’t don’t anything like that you, numbskull!”

  “Oh, come on! You two are a healthy, young couple!” All smiles, Riko nudged me in the ribs with her elbow.

  “…You’re always taking the conversation in that direction. It’s a bad habit of yours.”

  “Phooey.”

  “Let’s get down to business already. Information on Aria…let’s start by having you tell me about her evaluation at Assault.”

  “Okie-dokie. Hmm…as far her rank, she’s S. You could count the number of second year students with an S-rank using one hand.”

  To be honest, what she just said didn’t surprise me. All I had to do was recall the way she handled herself during the bicycle-jacking. Her abilities were obviously on a completely different scale from most others.

  “She’s smaller than I am, but she’s also skilled at hand-to-hand combat. The styles she specializes in range from boxing to grappling techniques. Anything goes. She’s basically a Vale…Vale…Vale ti…”

  “Vale Tudo?”

  “Yeah, that’s it. She can use that. In England, it’s shortened to just ‘Valetsu.’”

  I recalled the moment when I was thrown by Aria in the gym storehouse. It was certainly impressive, that’s for sure. I was in hysteria mode, yet the most I could do was perform a defensive fall.

  “Her skill with pistols and knives is on a genius level. She uses two of each. That girl is ambidextrous.”

  “I know.”

  “Well, do you know the other name she goes by?”

  A nickname, huh? Butei who were capable could pride themselves on an abundance of achievements naturally come to have nicknames. Aria already had a nickname at the mere age of sixteen? I made an expression that said I had no idea, and Riko smiled proudly.

  “Aria the Quadra.”

  Quadra.

  In Butei terms, using twin pistols or twin swords was called “double.” It stemmed from the English
word “double”, so by analogy, her nickname probably meant someone who uses four weapons.

  “Isn’t that funny? ‘Quadra.’” Riko said.

  “I’m not really sure where you see the humor in it, but…whatever. What else? Tell me about how Aria has performed as a Butei. What merits has she achieved?”

  “Ah, I found out some pretty amazing stuff about that. She’s on a leave of absence right now, but since the age of fourteen, Aria’s been serving as a Butei of the London Bureau of Butei, and she was active all over Europe.” Switching to a slightly more serious tone of voice, Riko looked up at me with her big eyes. “They say that during that period, she never once let a criminal escape from her.”

  “Never…once?”

  “She’s arrested every person she’s ever set her sights on. It’s happened ninety-nine times in a row. Not only that, but she caught them all on her first assault.”

  “What? Are you serious?

  Unbelievable.

  In most cases, when the job of arresting a criminal fell to a Butei, it was because the criminal became too much for the police to handle, so the task was thrust upon us. The Butei would persistently hunt them down (this was called an “assault” using Butei terminology) until they finally arrested the perpetrator. But succeeding ninety-nine times in a row and all on the first attempt… That’s the kind of monster I’ve got chasing after me? Just thinking about it was about to send me into a fit of depression, so I decided to change the subject.

  “Uhh…what else? How about personal details?”

  “Let’s see. Her father is half-British and half-Japanese.”

  “So she’s a quarter Japanese.”

  No wonder both her hair and eyes are red, and she has big, bright eyes, uncommon for a Japanese person. I mean, her name is Aria H. Kanzaki.

  “That’s right. And her middle name, which starts with “H”, is the family name of her British relatives. They seem to be a very renowned family. Her grandmother has the title of Dame.”

  “Dame?”

  “It’s a title the royal family of England bestows to people. Men who are bestowed a decoration are given the title, ‘Sir’. Women are given the title, ‘Dame’.”