Labyrinth of the Blue Witch

by Gakuto Mikumo

  “Well, it’s not so much Kojou as it is Himeragi, y’see,” Motoki Yaze interjected in his eternally flippant tone of voice.

  He was Kojou’s “bad” friend, as well as an old friend of Asagi’s from back when they were primary schoolers.

  Asagi’s mood worsened further upon hearing the girl’s name from Yaze’s lips.

  “Himeragi—you mean the middle school transfer student?”

  Noticing the change in Asagi, Yaze made a worldly looking nod.

  “It’s well-known that for whatever reason, wherever Kojou goes, she goes. If Kojou gets into X, Himeragi gets into X, too, and that’s a big deal. They’ll get lots of customers for sure, then.”

  Asagi voiced her low opinion of the matter. “They’re all a complete pack of idiots.”

  Essentially, they were inviting Kojou as bait for getting Yukina Himeragi to join in. It was true that Yukina was a lovely and captivating girl, and any event she participated in would have customers flock over to get a good look at her.

  As Asagi put her chin in her palms and sulked, Rin asked with a look of even greater pleasure, “You’re all right with this, Asagi?”

  Asagi looked back in annoyance. “With what?”

  “The Hollow Eve Festival. You wanted to go to it with Akatsuki, didn’t you?”

  “Um…” Asagi froze on reflex as the sudden question hit the mark.

  Like festivals in general, the Hollow Eve Festival was a serious matter for couples. There were haunted houses, fireworks displays, as well as fortune-telling, stalls selling charms for deepening bonds—the Demon Sanctuary was just full of stuff like that. The reason Asagi was hesitating about inviting Kojou was that it was hard to make it sound casual.

  Meanwhile, the boys in class continued to invite Kojou to their various events.

  “Ah…er, thanks for the invitations, but I’ve gotta say no.”

  There was a minor uproar within the classroom as Kojou declined with unexpected firmness. “What?! What’s the problem with this?! We’ll even let you drink coffee for free!”

  “How about twenty-f— No, thirty percent, you jerk!”

  “You don’t get it, Akatsuki! You still do not grasp the profoundness of beach volleyball!!”

  “If being a judge isn’t enough for you, how about being one of the male contestants?!”

  The classmates pressed Kojou to change his mind. But Kojou scratched his languid-looking face.

  “Er, I made a promise to go out to the festival with someone this year, so I can’t. Sorry.”

  All at once, bloodlust surged in various people as they heard Kojou’s words.

  “A promise to go out with someone…?! You mean the transfer student in middle school?! Is that it?!”

  “The transfer student? Ah no, nothing to do with Himeragi here.”

  Kojou’s casual reply threw the invitation makers completely off. Without exception, their gazes shifted in Asagi’s direction.

  “…Not…the transfer student?”

  “So, you mean Aiba, then?”

  “Aiba, huh…? Well, we can settle for Aiba.”

  “Yeah, Aiba would work, come to think of it. Can’t be helped. We definitely need Akatsuki in our event now…”

  “….She looks really pissed for some reason, though.”

  The boys’ not-so-private discussion made Asagi’s lips twitch repeatedly. Rin and Yaze only sighed in apparent pity.

  That moment, someone at the classroom entrance called out to Kojou in a loud voice.

  “Akatsuki! Visitor for you! A girl from middle school.”

  This time, the bizarre timing caused a far larger commotion in the classroom.

  “What?!”

  “The transfer student?! Then it’s really the transfer student? Aiba’s just for pretend?!”

  “No, wait! That’s…!”

  “It can’t be! The Saint of Middle School…?!”

  The one calling Kojou’s name was Yuuha Tanahara of the same class. A girl with almost translucent silver hair stood behind her back, as if she was hiding behind it.

  She wore a long-sleeved, long-necked undershirt under her middle school uniform, which made her come off almost like a nun. In a certain sense, her beautiful visage stood out even more than Yukina’s.

  She was Kanon Kanase, a third-year student in middle school. Also known as “the Saint” for her looks and the air of kindness around her, she had many fans even among the high school boys. Though not public knowledge, she was also a princess of the Aldegian royal house. No doubt that accounted for the sublime elegance that made her difficult to approach.

  And just like that, Kojou casually spoke to Kanon, not even noticing the looks they were getting. “Kanase? You came to school, huh?”

  “Ah yes. I’m sorry to intrude upon your class, but…”

  “No, that’s totally all right. You’re feeling better now?”

  “Yes, I left the hospital the other day.”

  Kojou and Kanon were having an intimate conversation, as if they were old acquaintances. The students in the classroom hung on their every word and action.

  Rin Tsukishima lowered her voice and whispered into Asagi’s ear. “How did they become acquainted?”

  “There’s no way I’d know something like that!”

  Blood rushed into Asagi’s head as she replied. She knew that Kojou and Yukina had gotten wrapped up in some kind of trouble involving Kanon Kanase not long before. However, Kojou’s excuses glossed over all the details; she still didn’t know why he’d been involved in an incident like that. And not even noticing that Asagi was glaring at him, there was Kojou, standing next to Kanon and making a frivolous smile.

  “So you came all this way to say hi?”

  “Yes. Also, there is a favor I wanted to ask you.”

  Kojou seemed surprised as he replied. “A favor? Me?”

  Kanon bashfully lowered her eyes a little. “Yes, ah…”

  As the silver-haired girl’s voice hesitantly trailed off, Kojou’s classmates held their breath, waiting for her to continue. Finally, Kanon strongly raised her face and asked Kojou in a voice full of tension…

  “Could I go to your place and…stay over tonight?”

  That moment, what seemed like a cold silence came over the classroom. Only Asagi had an expression of complete shock as she raised her voice in a “Wha—?!” Then…

  Kojou’s demeanor was casual as he accepted Kanon’s request.

  “Sure, I don’t mind at all, but…”

  Asagi’s eyes opened wide and froze like that as her shoulders shook as if she was touching a live wire.

  “Wh-wha—?!”

  Watching from beside her, Yaze made an exasperated-looking shake of his head.

  Rin strongly grabbed Asagi’s wrist and dramatically raised both of their hands together.

  “Hold it right there!” The classroom was shaken once more as if there was an earthquake happening. Even Kojou and Kanon were compelled to notice the odd aura and look over. Rin grinned as she informed Kojou of the resolution. “We will be joining you. You don’t mind, do you, Akatsuki?”

  Kojou had a stupefied look on his face as he replied with a question. “Huh?”

  Asagi still had no idea what on earth was going on as she glanced between the bewildered Kojou, the pleasantly smiling Rin and the others, and her own hand raised up high; then, she shouted…

  “Whaaaaat?!”

  There were two days left until the Hollow Eve Festival. Signs of the rising festive mood came into sharper and sharper perspective.

  3

  Island South was Itogami Island’s southern district full of residential neighborhoods. Here the Akatsuki siblings lived in an apartment building built on top of a gentle artificial hill.

  Their room number was 704. It was arranged in a standard three-bedroom, kitchen, dining room, living room arrangement. The spectacular view from the window contrasted the evening sky with the Itogami City skyline spread below them and dyed red by the rays of th
e setting sun.

  The large plates on the glass dining table were piled high with food.

  Kanon was standing in her school uniform, looking down at the cooking and feeling very out of place. As an expression tinged with tension came over her face, the sound of fireworks erupted, as if meant to make her cower.

  Nagisa Akatsuki called out as the firecrackers filled the air with noise. “Kanon, congrats on getting out of the hospital!”

  She was a third-year middle school student, just like Yukina and Kanon, and also Kojou’s biological little sister. She looked a bit more childish than other girls her age, but as a whole, she was a very capable little sister. Her looks were on the cute side; her grades were so-so. She was skilled at every kind of housework. Her biggest flaw was her propensity to talk too much, but rather mysteriously, she never seemed to irritate anyone with it.

  Most of the food on the table was her home cooking.

  Kanon looked around with an embarrassed but grateful expression as confetti fell all over her body.

  “Um, ah… I’m sorry to have made you go through all this trouble just for me…”

  Nagisa spoke in an even brighter voice, as if seeing Kanon like that only encouraged her further.

  “What are you saying? You’re today’s guest of honor. Here, sit, sit! Eat, eat! I’m really proud of this salad. It’s got homemade dressing with walnut, peanut, and sesame in it. This here’s Tanaya’s Itogami Croquette Deluxe. This here’s the Nagisa Special Red-Hot Chili Beans Grand Finale. The Neapolitan carbonara pasta’s almost finished boiling, too.”

  Kanon smiled pleasantly but awkwardly, perhaps cowed a bit by Nagisa’s vigor. “Th-thank you.”

  Yaze, brazenly sitting right next to Kanon, immediately reached out with his chopsticks.

  “Whoa, this is delicious. That’s Nagisa for you. Have you gotten even better?”

  Asagi happily put a hand to her cheek as she brought some soup served cold to her lips.

  “It really is. Her being Kojou’s little sister is kind of a waste.”

  Kojou, chased off to the corner of the living room, glared at the girls with a dumbfounded look.

  “Why are you all here at Kanon’s recovery party, too?”

  “Hey, don’t say that. It’s something good to celebrate, the more the merrier, right?”

  “Just so you know, Kojou, I paid for the meat you’re eating.”

  “Ughh.”

  Kojou made an exasperated sigh at Yaze and Asagi’s thoroughly shameless behavior. Actually, Kojou still had no idea why they’d suddenly proclaimed they were coming to his place.

  The fact was, their having come was making it a bit easier for him anyway.

  Even if it was a recovery party for an acquaintance, he naturally felt a fair bit of awkwardness at the prospect of eating a meal surrounded by girls the same age as his little sister.

  Asagi suddenly posed a question while taking a break from her food.

  “…So, what is your relationship to Kanase, anyway?”

  Whatever impression her looks gave, she was a voracious eater. Nagisa plopped new food onto Asagi’s empty plate time and time again.

  “I explained yesterday. Kanase was getting treatment for her illness at Magus Craft, and Himeragi and I gave blood to help out. Right, Himeragi?”

  “Yes. Th-that’s right. I’m sorry to have worried you all because we were in such a hurry.”

  Kojou and Yukina smoothly gave their explanations. They’d made sure their stories matched for just such an occasion. But detecting that such a smooth excuse was unnatural in and of itself, an obvious look of doubt came over Asagi. “So, what’s the business with the princess?”

  “Well, like I said, Kanase’s dad was the royal sorcerous engineer of Aldegia when he was younger, so that’s why she was coming to visit.”

  “Hmm.”

  Kojou and Yukina’s explanation differed notably from the truth, but given the relationships between the various people, it wasn’t much of a lie, either. Though Asagi clearly didn’t buy the whole thing, she apparently gave up on pursuing the matter further.

  Instead, it was the final participant who spoke from the direction of Kojou’s room.

  “Hmm…so this is Akatsuki’s room. Surprisingly normal. Hmm, very interesting.”

  “Could you, like, not go into other people’s bedrooms and look under their beds, Tsukishima?” Kojou called out in a shrill voice, watching Rin from behind as she leaned down to the floor.

  She was known for acting cool and collected with everyone else no matter who they were, but her behavior toward Kojou was a little different. Rin, whose father was a famous scholar of demonic biology, was exceptionally well versed about the characteristics of demons. Thanks to that, Kojou felt that Rin acted from time to time like she’d figured out he wasn’t a normal human being.

  That said, she’d never looked at Kojou with any hint of hostility. Evidently she had no intention of rocking the boat. She came off as the classical amused observer. No doubt her insistence on coming to the Akatsuki residence was part of that inquisitiveness.

  Rin seemed to take great interest in Kojou’s shelf.

  “I found an album. Can I take a peek?”

  “Go ahead, but that’s just something from elementary school. Doubt it’s got anything interesting.”

  Kojou had meant to warn her to take good care of it, but the girls seemed to all get a different idea. Now Asagi and Yukina gathered around Rin, looking much more interested now that he’d opened his big mouth.

  As she flipped the album’s pages, Rin raised her eyebrows in apparent amusement.

  “Aw, widdle Akatsuki. Hmm, he looks much the same, doesn’t he?”

  Yukina stared intently as she conveyed her own impressions.

  “So senpai was an elementary schooler once, too. Cute…perhaps?”

  “What’s with the ‘perhaps’?! Just say I was, dammit!” bitterly complained a dejected Kojou.

  Kanon giggled and smiled as she listened to the exchange. “So this is from just before Kojou moved to Itogami City, huh?”

  Asagi was the one who checked the time stamp on the photo. “Seems that way. All the other ones were clearly taken when he was still in primary.”

  Kojou had met her immediately after moving to Itogami Island some four years before. Kojou had only just entered middle school.

  “Who’s that? They’re together in a lot of these photos.” Yaze picked up the album as he asked.

  Kojou was photographed with a teammate in the same basketball uniform. The youth was heavily sunburned but was a primary schooler with a very energetic face.

  “Ah yeah, that’s Yuuma.”

  “Yuuma?”

  “Someone we played with when we were little kids. Pal from basketball when I was young… We were kinda like two rotten apples in a barrel.”

  “Really,” went Rin, narrowing her eyes in apparent admiration.

  “Quite handsome. Completely wasted on a friend like you, Akatsuki.”

  Kojou lamented, his lips twisted like that really hurt.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?! So what if my friend looks better than me?!”

  For his part, Yaze glared at the photo with an expression that didn’t look fake at all.

  “Shit. I thought I was Kojou’s only good friend, but to think the guy before me looked this awesome!”

  Asagi scowled, looking like she deeply resented this. “You two are both totally creeping me out…”

  Kojou’s eyes bulged on reflex.

  “What, me, too?!”

  Nagisa burst into laughter. “Unlike Kojou here, Yuuma was definitely popular with the girls back then.”

  “Yeah.” Kojou grudgingly nodded. His old friend was very popular with the ladies.

  Then, as if only just remembering, Nagisa whipped out her cell phone and opened up her mail screen.

  “Oh right, I got an e-mail a little earlier. Yuuma’s arriving at the airport at nine o’clock tomorrow morning.”
r />   Yaze looked back in visible surprise. He stuck out a quivering finger at Kojou’s album.

  “Huh? You mean he’s coming to Itogami Island?” Kojou replied with a tone of indifference as Nagisa carried in a plate full of pasta.

  “That’s right. Apparently a relative twisted some arms and got Yuuma a Hollow Eve Festival ticket.”

  The whole reason he’d dug up the old album in the first place was to prepare for the reunion with his old friend.

  “That’s right, you said you’d promised to show someone around town this year, didn’t you, Akatsuki?” Rin spoke as if her suspicions had suddenly been completely cleared up.

  “Yeah. I promised I’d show Yuuma around the island,” Kojou said as he brought some pasta to his lips.

  Rin had a satisfied look on her face, smiling at Asagi as if to console her. “If it’s to show a friend around, it can’t be helped. Right, Asagi?”

  Asagi, having returned to her seat at the table, assaulted her food once more with even greater vigor. “It’s fine. I figured it was something like that anyway.”

  Nagisa beamed at the sight of her cooking rapidly disappearing.

  Asagi suddenly gave the food a rest and looked at Yukina seated beside her. Asagi drew close to her face and asked in a whisper, “Hey…did you know about Kojou’s friend coming…?”

  “No,” said Yukina, shaking her head in apparent disappointment. “This is the first I’ve heard of his plans for the festival.”

  The two traded a glance and sighed at the same time.

  “That’s just like him.”

  “…It is, isn’t it?”

  What the heck’s that all about…? Kojou wondered; for no concrete reason, seeing the two express such an odd amount of sympathy for the other made him feel uneasy.

  4

  Despite much concern and consternation before it began, the party ended peacefully and festively.

  Kanon, the guest of honor, happily listened to Nagisa’s ceaseless banter and Yaze’s stupid stories without a single disagreeable look on her face; getting to observe Kojou’s private life apparently made Rin content as well.

  Asagi and Yukina were in a heated rhythm and dance video game duel, their tension level approaching desperation for reasons unknown. In one corner was Yukina, boasting superhumanly fast reflexes; in the other was Asagi, possessing a genius’s intuition and deep knowledge of computer algorithms. Their white-hot battle resulted in the pounding out of unheard-of high scores, but ended without a clear winner. Kojou had a hard time telling if they were getting along great or if they hated each other’s guts.