“Butei Charter, Article One, ‘Believe in your comrades and help one another’! The victims are our Butei High comrades! There’s no need for any other explanation!”
Above us, another loud sound could be heard amidst the pouring rain. It was the sound of a helicopter. Looking up, we saw a Logi single-rotor helicopter with a blue revolving light coming down to land on the rooftop of the girls’ dormitory. Aria…She had covered all bases and even arranged for something like this. If this was how things were going to proceed, then there certainly wasn’t any time to hear an explanation.
“…To hell with it. All right, I’m in! That’s what you want to hear, isn’t it?!”
Aria looked at me as I yelled out, and with her drenched twin pigtails flying about in the gusts created by the helicopter…she smiled.
“Kinji, looks like this is going to be that first case we made a promise about.”
“Quite a case at that. I gotta be the unluckiest guy in the world.”
“Keep your end of the bargain. I’m looking forward to seeing your true skills.”
“I’m letting you know in advance, but I don’t have the kind of ability that you think I do. It’s also been a while since I’ve done this sort of thing. Are you really sure you want to bring an E-rank Butei along with you on a mission as difficult as this?”
“If by the off chance you get in a pinch…I’ll protect you. Rest assured.”
According to what we were told by Connect (Communications Division) through our headsets, the Butei High school bus was an Isuzu Erga Mio. It started driving erratically after leaving the men’s dormitory where Muto and the others got onboard and hadn’t made any stops at any other bus stop since then. At that point, there was an emergency call from the students inside the bus notifying us about the bus-jacking. The bus, carrying sixty students and exceeding its capacity for passengers, circled around Academy Island once and was heading towards Odaiba via the bridge in South Aomi.
“The Metropolitan Police Department and Tokyo Bureau of Butei haven’t taken action?” Surrounded by the roaring noise of the helicopter as it increased in altitude, I spoke to Aria through the headsets.
“They have. But our target is a moving bus. There’s a certain amount of preparation required.”
“So we're the first ones to tackle this head on.”
“Of course. I caught onto the culprit’s radio frequency and made preparations before a report was made.”
Aria gave a snort and did an inspection of the two pistols she always used. As far as I could see, her gray and black pistols only differed in color and were of the same make. They appeared to be custom made guns with a Colt Government as their base. It was the trademark gun of Colt’s Manufacturing Company, and all of the various patents had run out on it, so it was fairly easy to customize them as one pleased. What particularly stood out was the conch cameo attached to the grip, which was embossed with the profile of a beautiful woman that vaguely resembled Aria.
“It’s in view.”
Hearing Reki’s voice, both Aria and I brought our faces to the bulletproof window. Looking out the window on the right, I could see the buildings and costal road of Odaiba and the Rinkai Railroad. But at this distance the cars were too small and I couldn’t make them out.
“I don’t see anything, Reki.”
“It’s the bus making a right in front of Hotel Nikko. I can see the Butei High students behind the window.
“I-I’m surprised you can see all that. What’s your eyesight vision?” asked Aria.
“Both my left and right eye have 20/3.3 vision.”
Aria and I looked at each other in shock as Reki nonchalantly replied with an unbelievable numerical figure. The helicopter pilot descended to the location Reki had mentioned, and there in fact was the Butei High school bus speeding along. It was traveling fast—remarkably fast. The bus was overtaking one car after another as it raced by the television station. I could see people flooding out of the station with their cameras and cell phones taking pictures of us as we chased after the bus.
“We're going to transfer to the roof of the bus from mid-air. I’m going to check the exterior of the bus. Kinji, you go inside and contact me after assessing the situation. Reki, standby inside the helicopter and keep following the bus.”
Aria quickly and efficiently gave her instructions and began to remove a backpack containing a tactical assault parachute from the ceiling.
“Go inside…? If the culprit is in there, I’d be endangering the hostages.”
“If this is a ‘Butei killing’, the culprit won’t be inside.”
“This might not even be a ‘Butei killing’!”
“If it’s not, just handle the situation as it develops. Knowing you, you should be able to.”
This girl…
Butei are often criticized for it by the public, but we make it a principle to resolve matters with expedition, so we tend to deal with circumstances by relying on the spontaneous judgments we make in any given situation. But Aria’s plan wasn’t simply ignoring theory. You could even call it absurd. Basically, she wanted to be the first one on the scene without conferring with anyone else, and instantly settle the matter with overwhelming combat ability. It might be placing too much confidence in the members of this team. I think I understand why Aria performs a “solo vocal” in every country she goes to.
Using the tactical assault parachute, Aria and I fell towards the bus at a speed almost no different from free falling and rolled along the roof as we landed. It had been a while since my last parachute jump and I nearly slipped right off the bus. Fortunately, Aria grabbed my arm in time..
“Come on! Be serious now!” yelled Aria in irritation.
“I am! This is me being serious…! At this moment…” I trailed off as I attached the wire in my belt to the roof of the bus so I don’t get thrown off.
Aria did the same and rappelled down the rear of the bus. I used a mirror on an extendable rod to check the inside of the bus in case the perpetrator was onboard. The students were jostling inside, but there was no sign of anyone who looked like he or she could be the culprit. I had one of the students open the window and slipped inside after releasing the wire. The students onboard were already in a state of disarray, but when they saw me come inside, they increasingly rose to a clamor. They were all speaking over each other and I couldn’t understand what they were telling me.
“Kinji!”
Turning towards the direction of a familiar voice, I found Muto, the guy who said something about seeing me at second period and abandoned me.
“Muto. Not quite second period yet, but it looks like we meet again.”
“Y-Yeah. Damn it. Why did I have to get on this bus?”
“Punishment for abandoning a friend, wouldn’t you say?”
“Kenji, that girl over there.”
The girl Muto pointed to was wearing glasses and standing next to the driver’s seat.
“T-T-T-Tohyama! Help us!”
Her eyes were filled with tears. If I recall, she was from the middle school.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I-I-I don’t know when, but my cell phone was replaced with a different one. It suddenly started talking…”
“If you reduce speed, the bomb will freaking explode.”
So that’s how it is.
The same person was probably behind this, just like Aria said. The culprit was the same person who hijacked my bicycle!
“Kinji, what’s going on?! Give me a status report!”
It was Aria’s voice.
“It’s just like you said. The bus is being operated remotely. Did you find anything?”
“There’s something here that looks like a bomb!”
I extended my neck to look over the heads of the other students, and outside the rear window, I could see a wire and Aria’s legs. She was hanging upside down looking underneath the bus.
“Kaczynski Beta type Composition C-4. It’s the ‘Butei kil
ler’s’ specialty. From what I can see…the bursting charges have a volume of thirty-five hundred cubic centimeters!”
I thought I was going to faint.
What the hell? “Excessive” doesn’t even begin to describe that amount of fire-power. If something like that were to explode, not just a bus but even an entire train would be airborne.
“I’m gonna go underneath and try to dismantle it…ah!”
The exact moment Aria cried out, the bus received a powerful jolt. Losing their balance, the students fell over one another and screams filled the air. In a panic, I looked towards the rear window to see a convertible that had collided into the bus from behind and was now backing away, distancing itself from us.
“Aria, are you okay?!”
No response. That collision seemed to have taken her out. I stuck the upper half of by body out the window so I could climb onto the roof and make my way to the back of the bus. The sound of an engine accelerating made me turn around. The car that should have been behind us—a dark red Renault Sport Spider—had pulled up alongside the bus. In its empty driver’s seat was an Uzi placed on top of a barbette and it was aimed in this direction.
“Everyone, get down!” I yelled, warning the students in the bus, and right after they lowered their heads…
Bratatatatat!!
A countless number of bullets decimated the windows of the bus from the rear to the front in one fell swoop. I took a bullet to the chest as well and was sent hurtling back into the bus. Thanks to the bulletproof vest, I wasn’t injured, but the impact was like getting hit by a flying knee strike. It was a sensation I just couldn’t get used to no matter how many times I experienced it. The bus shook in a somewhat awkward manner so I looked towards the driver’s seat.
“!”
The driver was collapsed on top of the steering wheel. He had a bullet wound in his shoulder. Most likely, he wasn’t able to get down because he was driving. The bus was starting to veer heavily into the opposite lane. A car coming towards us from ahead managed to avoid the bus, but collided into the guardrail, sending sparks into the air.
Things are getting really out of hand! What should I do? I don’t know. I just don’t know! In my current state, I don’t know how I can bring this situation under control!
“Freaking turn right at Ariake Coliseum.”
I heard the Vocaloid's synthetic voice come from the cell phone that the girl dropped when she fell. To make things worse, the bus was starting to lose speed!
“M-Muto! Take over for the driver! Don’t let the bus slow down!”
After taking off my bulletproof helmet and throwing it to Muto, I put my hand on the window once again.
“T-That’s no problem, but…” Muto put on the helmet as soon as he caught it and with the help of some other students, laid the injured driver on the floor before taking his place in the driver seat. “The other day, they found out my car was customized. I can’t have any more violations on my record!”
Turning my back on Muto, who sounded rather desperate, I proceed to climb onto the roof of the bus.
“This bus is already in violation of driving in the passing lane. Isn’t that great, Muto? Your license is officially revoked.”
“I hope you fall! I’ll run you over while I’m at it!”
Speeding in the heavy rain, the bus made its way onto Rainbow Bridge.
“Does the culprit plan on bringing this explosive into the city?!”
With half of my body outside of the bus, I did my best to keep from getting thrown off. As the bus took the sharp curve near the entrance to the bridge, it tilted to the right, and for an instant, the wheels on the left side of the bus lost contact with the ground, but it managed to make the turn. Muto had instructed everyone to gather on the left side of the bus, doing a good job of maintaining its center of gravity and keeping it from tipping over. That was Muto for you. Just what you’d expect from an honor student of Logi. As the bus raced down Rainbow Bridge, there wasn’t a single car to be seen. It looked like the Metropolitan Police Department had taken precautionary measures. The road was blocked off.
“Hey, Aria, are you okay?!” I yelled out from on top of the bus.
“Kinji!” Aria came climbing up her wire from behind the bus and looked up at me.
“Aria! Where’s your helmet?!”
“It broke apart when that Renault rammed into the bus! Where’s your helmet?!” Aria pointed at my head.
“The driver was wounded! I lent my helmet to Muto and had him drive!”
“It’s too dangerous! Why did you come out here defenseless?! How could you make such an faulty judgment call like that?! Hurry up and get back in the—Behind you! Get down! What are you doing, you idiot?!”
Aria’s face went pale as she suddenly drew her two pistols and charged at me.
What happened?
Unable to grasp the situation, I turned around and looked behind me. What I saw was the Renault Sport Spider, which had taken up position at the front of the bus, opening fire…with the Uzi pointed at my face. Bullets came flying towards me.
I’m a dead man.
That’s what I honestly believed. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. While returning fire at the Renault, Aria ran up and tackled me with that small body of hers. The sound of bullets ripping through flesh resonated twice, and fresh blood flew into my line of sight. I didn’t feel any pain, however.
“Aria!”
Aria rolled on the roof and off the side of the bus. She left behind a trail of blood that was washed away by the rain.
“Aria! Ariaaaaa!”
I pulled on Aria’s wire with every ounce of strength I had. The Renault reduced its speed and fell back to the side of the bus.
Not good. If that thing opens fire at us now, it’s all over!
That’s what I was thinking to myself but…the Uzi remained silent. Upon taking a closer look, I saw that the barbette was broken. In that brief exchange of fire, Aria had destroyed the Renault’s weaponry.
If you get in a pinch, I’ll protect you.
Aria’s anime voice repeated itself in my head.
“Ariaaaaaa!!”
Screaming at the top my lungs, I hauled Aria, who was utterly motionless, up onto the roof of the bus. I felt the blood freeze in my veins when I saw her up close, and at that moment…
Pow!
The sound of something bursting filled the air.
Pow!
There it was again.
“?!”
The sounds were followed by the Renault rapidly spinning out of control and crashing into the guardrail. The bus left the Renault behind in the distance as it exploded and burst into flames. I looked ahead and saw the Butei High helicopter flying parallel with us off the side of Rainbow Bridge. Its hatch was wide open, and I could see Reki on one knee pointing a sniper rifle in our direction. There were many buildings situated in Odaiba, which prevented any possibility of sniping, but here on this large bridge, it was now a valid option.
“…I am a single bullet.”
I heard Reki’s voice through the headset. Looking more carefully at her, I noticed that she was aiming at the bus.
“A bullet possesses no human heart. Therefore, I do not think…”
She was whispering to herself what seemed to be a verse of poetry.
“…I merely fly towards my target, nothing more.”
I had heard this a few times before at Assault. Reki had a habit of reciting those lines when she was about to fire at her target. The second she finished her incantation… Blam, blam, blam!
The muzzle of her gun flashed three times. With each flash came the impact of a bullet on the bus, and each of the three sounds was followed by the lagging sound of a gunshot.
Clunk, clunk, clunk!
I heard the sound of some component falling off from underneath the bus and rolling down the street behind us. It was the bomb as well as the parts that were connecting it to the bus.
“…I am a single bu
llet…”
Reki’s voice was followed by another gunshot.
Bang!
Sparks arose from the parts the bomb were attached to, and the entire unit soared through the air like a soccer ball. It then made its way to the median strip and from there, continued on its path to the ocean below.
Boooooom!
I wasn’t sure if the bomb had been triggered remotely or not, but a huge column of water rose from the ocean’s surface. The bus slowly reduced speed…and came to a stop. On the roof of the bus, Aria who was deathly still…and I, who was unable to be of any use to the bitter end, continued to be pelted by the pouring rain.
Aria was admitted to the Butei Hospital where she was treated for minor wounds. We were lucky. That’s all there was to it. The two bullets that hit Aria only grazed her forehead and didn’t result in serious injury. Aria went through an MRI scan while she was suffering from a concussion, but there was no cerebral hemorrhage, so she had escaped with only external injuries.
The next day, after turning in a report to the educational affairs department, I went to the Butei Hospital to find Aria in a private VIP hospital room. Riko did mention that Aria was the daughter of a noble family or something like that.
Inside her hospital room was a small private room decorated with white lilies. Sticking out from between the flowers was a card that read “From Reki.”
That robot-girl brought these with her? That’s surprising.
I suddenly heard an odd sound coming from behind the door to her bedroom, which was just slightly opened. I found it suspicious and peeked inside to see Aria sitting up in a huge bed.
She was holding onto a hand mirror and looking at the wound on her forehead.
“…”
She must have been concentrating awfully hard because she wasn’t aware of my presence. The swelling on her forehead still hadn’t receded, and a deep red lump was bulging out. The bullets had left two intersecting linear scars on her head, ruining the well-shaped forehead she always so proudly showed off. I heard from the doctor yesterday that there was nothing they could do about the scars and that they would be permanent—scars that would remain with her for the rest of her life.
Aria the Scarlet Ammo (novel), Volume 1 Page 9
