Editing Masou Gakuen HxH:Volume 4 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 2===

With his treatment and break over, the day for Kizuna to resume going to school finally came.

“Good morning.

“Go, good morning. Himekawa, you are doing uniform checks right on the day you are returning to school?”

In front of the school gate, there was the figure of Himekawa Hayuru with electronic paper in one hand doing inspection.

“Yes, because I had left all of my public morals committee member work to other students, I have to help a little at least.”

Bathed in morning sun, the figure of Himekawa calling out to the students was really beautiful. Her black hair was sparkling from the light of the sun, her expression and voice were lively.

Even though before this she was doing checks with a solemn look, now her atmosphere was completely different.

He guessed that because for the current Himekawa, this normal day was a breather for her where she could feel tranquility.

They had slipped through the verge of death several times, and then even more severe battles would be waiting from now on. Until the next mission, this brief ordinary day was an important time.

“? Is something the matter, Kizuna-kun? You will trouble the other students if you are standing still distractedly in that kind of place.”

“Eh, yeah, I guess. My bad. Then I’ll head first to the classro――”

“Ah, please wait.”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

Himekawa was approaching the position of Kizuna who was going to leave to the classroom. She stepped to a distance that was too close for talking, Himekawa’s hand suddenly reached out to Kizuna’s neck.

“Oi, what are you……”

Himekawa’s white and slender fingers were put on the knot of the necktie that was at Kizuna’s collar.

“Geez, the way you tied the necktie is untidy.”

“Eh?”

She loosened the knot and untied the necktie temporarily.

“You are the captain of Amaterasu, so please take care of your personal appearance.”

“Ye, yeah……”

‘Wha, what’s with this newly wed situation? This is the time of going to school at the gate you know?’

Himekawa’s face was right near Kizuna’s nose. In this distance it felt like he could even hear the sound of her blinking. Himekawa’s long eyelashes looked even longer from this near. Himekawa was pouring her gaze fixedly at Kizuna’s collar, she briskly untied the necktie once and tied it again. Her slender and soft fingers was ticklishly touching Kizuna’s neck.

There was a gentle fragrance of flower.

The glossy long black hair was swaying by the wind, swaying silkily like in a dance.

‘Is this, the aroma of Himekawa’s shampoo I wonder?’

Kizuna’s heart was suddenly beating fast.

The students who arrived at the school were throwing subtle glances at them while passing through the school gate, but he became unbothered even by that.

However right at that time, his neck was tightened up tightly as if opening a curtain. And then, his chest was lightly tapped. Suddenly returning to his senses, his eyes met the eyes of Himekawa that were looking up at him.

“Ok, it’s fine with this now……is something the matter?”

Kizuna felt that not only his cheek, but even his ear became hot.

“Hee-!? N, no, nothing at all-, then, work hard!”

Kizuna headed to the entrance with an awkward way of running.

He walked through the corridor heading to the classroom. After meeting the surprise attack of the AU, the war situation was in the middle of getting strained, but there was not even a little bit of darkness that could be felt from the expressions of the students.

‘Well……guess that’s how it is.’

Something like an emergency situation had been there the whole time since the 2nd Another Universe Conflict. It was no use to make a fuss over it at this late hour.

Rather, from Guam to Okinawa, Ataraxia was in the middle of steadily drawing near to Japan. The number of enemies they shot down was also increasing, they had become able to defeat the enemy battleship that they hadn’t managed to do before this. Even the weapons of anti-magic weapons use that was in the middle of development, was entering the stage of testing in real battle. Surely even the students were feeling the atmosphere that they were going out in offense even further than before. Far from shaking in fear, on the contrary there was the air of firing up in enthusiasm.

Perhaps everyone’s strength would be necessary for the recapture of Tokyo. At the very least, the technical research department had to hurry in their development and mass production.

He opened the classroom door even while thinking about such thing.

“Kizuna―!”

The instant he entered the classroom, a red ponytail flew to Kizuna.

“Uwaaa! S, Scarlet!? You, your year is different!”

“The class hasn’t started yet, so it’s fine right? My building is different, so I cannot come here unless it’s lunch break or a long free period.”

Her hands circled on Kizuna’s neck and her body was glued to him.

“N, no. Wh, why are you making it a given that you will hang out in our class?”

“What’s with thatt, it’s no good?”

Scarlet puffed up her cheeks.

“Leave it at that, Scarlet.”

Yurishia stood from her chair and approached them while her large breast was shaking.

“What’s with you, I can decide for myself a thing like this right? There is no reason for me to follow Yurishia’s instruction.”

Scarlet averted her face standoffishly.

“This is not an instruction or anything like that, the class is starting already you know? Go back to your classroom quickly.”

“Hmm―ph. It’s fine even if I’m late just for a little.”

Yurishia released a sigh ‘haa’, she then took out a communication device from her chest and put it on her ear.

“Yesss, this is Yurishia. Please come to collect your boss here. ASAP. After all if you are late for thirty seconds, there will be a dishonorable rumor that the ace of Masters is late coming to class.”

“Wa-, Yurishia, who are you talking with!?”

Without even waiting for the answer, the sound of several Heart Hybrid Gears flying in the corridor could be heard approaching here.

“Scarlet!”

A student wearing a Heart Hybrid Gear on top of her uniform rushed into the classroom. Looking at that figure with braided brown hair, Scarlet let out a panicked voice.

“Clementine! Wha, what are you doing coming here!?”

It was Clementine from Masters. She also participated in the Okinawa recapture battle, she was a gunman that liked western genre with the braided brown hair as her trademark.

“Scarlet yourself, what are you doing in the classroom of the upper classman? If you are late, we are going to get shouted at.”

Clementine grasped Scarlet’s arm without letting her say anything.

“We are going back quickly. Henrietta, take care of the opposite side.”

One more person entered the classroom, a platinum blonde intellectual girl wearing glasses. The same like Clementine, she was wearing Heart Hybrid Gear over her uniform. And then as expected, she was similarly taking the arm of Scarlet forcefully.

“Roger.”

Because Henrietta was in charge of protecting the Megafloat at the previous battle, so Kizuna and the others were not an acquaintance with her. However after the Okinawa battle, she was transferring to Ataraxia similarly with the other members.

“Then, let’s quickly return. The class will start in ten more seconds.”

“Ah, hey! Let go of me! YOU TWOOOOOooo”

Without even any time to talk, the two ignited their thrusters and literally flew back to their own classroom.

Himekawa entered the classroom as though replacing them.

“……Just now, what happened?”

Yurishia answered with a wry smile.

“Aah, don’t mind it. Rather than that how about taking a seat? The class will start soon.”

“Yes, I can tell you with confidence…..that the first hour of today will be self-study.”

The classroom was stirring. Himekawa lightly cleared her throat and continued her notification.

“It seems that Sakisaka-sensei, is late to school.”

Finally that red jersey couldn’t even operate normally. The whole classroom was enveloped in a disappointed air.

‘――Well, it can’t be helped for Sakisaka-sensei.’

Kizuna glanced at Aine’s seat from the side. The desk without its owner looked lonely.

He didn’t hear that Aine would be absent today. Had something happened to her?

At that timing the door of the classroom opened and Aine showed her figure. She was feigning her cool face as usual and took a seat at her chair while fluttering her silver hair.

“Aine, what happened? Do you feel bad?”

“No, I’m just cutting class. I think that it’s more beneficial to count the stains in the wall rather than going out to class.”

Himekawa knitted her eyebrows and let out a worried face.

“Aine-san, it’s better to not force yourself and rest in your room you know?”

“Eh…”

Aine was looking back at Himekawa in puzzlement from the unexpected reaction.

“Because, your complexion is bad, your voice is also not energetic.”

“……”

Aine looked down without even retorting back with her abusive tongue.

Kizuna stood up and took Aine’s arm gently.

“Himekawa, I’ll take Aine to the infirmary for a bit. Perhaps we will go to the lab after that……”

“I understand. Please take care of Aine-san.”

“Now, let’s go Aine.”

Unexpectedly, Aine was obeying him obediently. Her step was firm, but it was like her heart was not in it, she looked unreliable in any way.

The doctor was absent when they went to the infirmary. There was a pod for use of treatment in capsule shape, so he thought to first examine Aine there, but Aine obstinately insisted that the normal bed was better, so for now he made her lay on the bed.

“So, how is your condition?”

“It’s fine……in the first place, I don’t feel bad anywhere.”

Even so she was awfully lacking in vitality. Even her usual abusive tongue didn’t make any sound.

“……I just, saw a little bad dream.”

“Is that so? It’s fine if that’s the case.”

Kizuna confirmed Aine’s vital sign in his smartphone.

“Your current Hybrid Count is 70%. Heart Hybrid is not yet――”

The moment he said that, Aine wrapped her body inside the blanket and turned her back to Kizuna.

“Aine. As I thought, is Climax Hybrid scary for you?”

Aine didn’t answer with her back still facing him.

“There is something that I have to say. In the mission next time we plan to recapture Tokyo. Naturally, this will be the largest scale mission compared to everything until now.”

“So…..?”

Aine raised a small voice.

“Climax Hybrid cannot be avoided. Especially, Aine’s Pulverizer will become the trump card at the crucial time. That’s why Aine, I want you to do Climax Hybrid with me.”

Aine kept her silence inside the blanket. After quite a time passed, finally she answered quietly.

“……I don’t want to.”

“The mission next time will be with the full power of Amaterasu and Masters. It will be hard to survive unless we devoted all of our strength.”

Kizuna touched Aine over the blanket.

‘What?’

Aine’s body was trembling in shivers.

“Because……it’s scary.”

Aine turned her face across her shoulder to Kizuna. Kizuna felt like the heart inside his chest was clenched. Aine was making a helpless expression as if she was going to cry anytime soon, like a lost child.

“Aine……”

Kizuna embraced Aine’s body.

“Each time I did Heart Hybrid and Climax Hybrid, I remembered strange things. It felt like I was changing into something completely different.”

Aine was scared of recovering her memory. The image she recalled couldn’t be thought of as something of this world, they were all just absurd scenes, so she was harboring fear towards those unknowns.

“It’s fine. Calm down Aine.”

Kizuna gently put his hand on Aine’s shoulder to reassure her. Aine didn’t resist and sat on the shoulder following Kizuna’s urging, but he couldn’t feel any vitality from her figure. Her shoulders dropped like a withered flower.

“There was no such thing like this before……I didn’t care who I was and where I came from, I felt that it’s fine even if I die if I cannot fight……despite so, right now it’s scary. The current me, my current life, to have them completely gone is really scary.”

“Aine, no matter what your remember, there is nothing to fear. No matter what happened in your past, all of those had come to pass.”

Aine raised her face and glared at Kizuna with a sharp gaze.

“Don’t say whatever you like thinking that this is another person’s problem! Just about everything that I recalled doesn’t seem to be the things of this world you know? I thought that maybe they are things that I saw at a movie or on television in the past, but if that’s the case then the content should be more scattered yet……everything strangely feels connected as one. It looks completely like a connected world. Besides……even the dream this morning…”

“Dream?”

Aine shut her mouth and lowered her gaze.

Kizuna too scratched his head awkwardly.

“Aine…..my bad. Sorry, I only made you scared all this time.”

Kizuna gently embraced Aine’s body closely. Aine leaned her body to Kizuna as if to entrust her body to him.

“……No, even I understand. I’m like a kid, to get scared from something like a dream. But, this is not about logic. Even if I think to welcome it, the feelings that say it’s scary are rapidly arising……I cannot stop it.”

Kizuna entangled his fingers in Aine’s hair. And then he lightly slide his fingers as if to comb her hair. The silky hair slipped through his fingers without getting stuck.

“A……”

Aine partly closed her eyes and twisted her body.

Her hair was beautiful silver. The sensation of it slipping through between his fingers felt really pleasant. It smoothly tickled on his skin, the comfortableness healed even the caressing side.

“Aine, no matter what kind of past you have, no matter who you were and where you come from, I……we won’t change. You are our important comrade. For me, you are no one else but Chidorigafuchi Aine.”

Kizuna caressed Aine’s head repeatedly.

“That’s why you don’t need to worry. When your past becomes known I……not just me, surely Nee-chan too, even Himekawa and Yurishia. There will be no one that changes.”

“Kizuna……”

Aine buried her face onto Kizuna’s chest. And then Aine circled her hand on Kizuna’s back and hugged him tightly. Aine’s large breast was pressed on Kizuna’s body.

“I’m happy you say that…..but, surely……”

“Yeah. It’s fine to not hurry. It will be a large scale operation, but at the beginning we will only scout. Let’s slowly put your thoughts in order. Have faith in us more.”

Aine kept her face buried and answered with a stifled voice.

“Yes……sorry.”

‘Yes. No matter what I will become, surely Kizuna and the others won’t change.’

Aine swallowed back the words that almost came out from her throat.

‘――The one who will change, is me.’