Editing Kämpfer:Volume 2 Chapter 3 (section)

=== Infiltration and Battle ===

[[File:Kämpfer V2C3 Natsuru meets transformed Akane.jpg|thumb|Natsuru (in female form) encounters a battle-ready Akane in the bushes of the Girls' Division grounds.]]

The physics teacher was a rather neurotic man. Not only did he keep noticing me, he also kept muttering, "If you slack off all day, you'll grow up to be a useless adult interested only in alcohol and games." Who were you talking about?

During an important class, I was utterly sleepy. I was probably talking about Newton or New Zealand when I finally collapsed. I even dreamed of running around the campus at dawn. I later learned that more than half the class had also fallen into a deep sleep. The chain reaction that can be triggered by just one person falling asleep is a hallmark of our Class 4. It seems I'm the key figure this time.

As expected, the topic of heated discussion after class was the "mysterious female student causing such a stir on campus."

The rumors had gotten out of hand. Boys and girls alike love gossip. Besides being a rather exaggerated lesbian, I was even accused of "eating even elementary school students," and even a female teacher, "being slept with her," and "being hospitalized was just a cover-up. She even enrolled at the Takarazuka Music School, enjoying a life of luxury." Who on earth could have come up with these rumors?

Of course, the number one idiot, Higashida, was the center of the conversation.

"I knew this girl before the news came out," he boasted. There are people like that in the world, whether it's music, comics, or anime, who thrive on being a step ahead of the others.

Higashida looked at me and waved.

"Hey, Natsuru, come join us."

"No thanks,"

I said, shaking my head. Why did I have to listen to rumors about myself, all of which were false?

"Don't say that. You're the special advisor to the Beauty Research Club. You should absorb more information."

When did I get that title?

"So we called you over. We're discussing that girl's private life. It's said that her skills in bed have ten beautiful girls willingly captivated and serving her. That's our conclusion."

What a rotten conclusion.

I reluctantly joined in. Rumors can escalate so quickly. If it gets this far, I think I'll become the most famous homosexual in Japanese history.

"Great! Now that the special advisor is joining us, there's nothing to be afraid of."

"What are you talking about?"

Higashida said, looking serious.

"Didn't I tell you before that I tried to take a picture of the mysterious female student, but failed?"

"I guess so."

As someone involved, I knew about this, but I continued to play dumb.

"That's it. Regarding that mysterious beautiful girl, I'm determined to take a picture of her. If I can, the status of the Beauty Research Club within the underground community will rise again."

"You'd better stay put..."

Higashida said, "That won't work. The Beauty Research Club has only grown this big in my generation. Anyway, I need your help."

"Why me?"

"You know someone in the girls' club, right? Like the girl in the library or Kondou Mikoto."

"I also know Sakura Kaede."

"That person is incomparable. No one will admit that you are friends with her. Anyway, I just want a picture of that girl. Can you help me contact the girls' club and ask her to let me take a few pictures?"

"You're asking me such a troublesome thing."

"Everyone will be very happy."

"Huh—..."

I frowned. What's the point of asking for a favor? As for me, I admit that I look pretty after becoming a girl, but it's too disgusting to have to take pictures. And the thought of handing the pictures to Higashida makes me feel twice as disgusted.

"I don't want to."

"Don't say that. I've been targeted by people in the school lately and I can't move around freely."

If possible, I would also like to do it myself, Higashida said so, and he looked very unwilling.

A guy like him, so interested in girls and willing to bribe them with money, would naturally be under the watchful eye of the school. If caught, he'd face suspension at best, or even repeated a grade. The student council turned a blind eye, but that was simply because Shizuku didn't take him seriously.

"Natsuru will definitely do it."

"That's ridiculous! You're forcing me."

"I'll pay you. What do you think of Sakura Kaede's photo?"

"What?"

I can't help but react when I hear Sakura Kaede. It's a bad habit of mine.

"What... When was it taken?"

"Don't look down on us, the Beauty Research Club. And it wasn't a digital camera, it was taken with a SLR. I'll give you the photo. You can develop it if you want. How's that?"

"Hmm..."

This is so annoying. It's hard for me to refuse anything involving Sakura Kaede, but I can't just agree to it in this situation. I could just ignore the consequences and do it later, but that seems too hasty.

"...That's not enough. I can't contact the girls' club with just a photo. Give me some interesting information."

I tried to make things difficult for Higashida to refuse, but he actually took the bait.

"It's nothing serious, but there seems to be a commotion in the girls' club."

"Why is it happening again? It must be like last time, a fight in the library or something."

I was also involved in that incident.

"No, it seems like there's another fight, but it's strange. Two girls are running around the school fighting."

"They're really energetic."

"And you know, there were gunshots."

"What did you say?"

I couldn't help but yell.

"Did you just say guns?"

Higashida didn't seem convinced, rather frightened by my reaction.

"If it were a fight, it's possible, but a gunfight in the girls' club is ridiculous. That's why I said it was a rumor, probably just hearsay."

"When did it happen? A long time ago?"

"This morning, maybe it's still going on now."

If that's true, it's terrible. Could it be...could it be that someone would use a gun in the girls' club? The only people I can think of are those two.

"Higashida, tell me how to break into the girls' club."

"What? I told you before, right? I can't tell you yet."

"I agree about the photo. I can also help you with Kondou Mikoto's photo."

"Really?"

"I won't lie."

I do sometimes, but I'm serious now.

Higashida was silent for a moment, considering.

"I understand. I'll teach you a method, but you have to help me get the photo of that mysterious female student."

"Leave it to me. I'll definitely take it for you."

Because it's me.

Akane's leave of absence really bothered me, and someone else heard gunshots. There's only one conclusion.

Higashida told me how to break into the women's wing: climb over the wall. There's a long, continuous wall with iron bars on top of it, separating the men's and women's wing. I could just go over there. It's usually heavily guarded, so I gave up on that plan, but there's actually a way.

"Go to the east side of the men's building and open the window leading from the second floor to the third floor landing,"

Higashida instructed.

"That window is the shortest path to the women's wing, and you can clearly see the iron bars."

"Just opening the window won't get you through."

"There's a folding ladder in the nearby utility cabinet. You can use it to climb over the wall from the window. When do you want to get in?"

"Now."

"The guards will be patrolling that way soon... in ten minutes, hurry!"

I knew it without you even telling me. Before leaving, he reminded me, "Don't forget about the photos," so I'll try to remember.

I quickly ran to the east staircase and, just as Higashida had predicted, found a ladder in the utility closet. I opened the window on the landing. So that's it! This way, we're pretty close. Even so, the underground society that figured out this method is truly impressive.

I quickly extended the ladder through the window. Since it rested directly on the iron mesh, it felt unstable, but there was nothing I could do at this point.

I carefully stepped on the creaking ladder and landed safely on the grounds of the women's wing.

Once I reached the women's wing, I realized there was no way to retrieve the ladder. It was only a matter of time before we were discovered. It looked like another way to infiltrate the women's wing would be missing. Higashida must be terribly anxious right now.

Putting that aside for now, I crouched low, careful not to be seen by the guards, and walked slowly.

I didn't hear any gunfire. It was just a rumor, so the truth was unclear. The question now was whether it was still going on.

I hid in the waist-high grass. The area between the first- and second-year girls' buildings was neatly maintained, like a park. It was supposedly built because campus life needed a place to relax. But why didn't the boys' buildings have one? A while ago, there was a broken-down bicycle right in front of the building.

I strained my ears, but there was no sound at all, let alone gunfire.

It must have been a miscommunication. Just as I was thinking that, something flew down from above.

"It hurts!"

The falling object hit me squarely, making me scream in pain. And it was pointing a gun at me.

"Stop getting in the way, idiot! You're joining in when things are so busy. I'm going to beat you to a pulp. Go to hell!"

It was Akane, transformed into Kämpfer. At the same time, my bracelet also changed, transforming into a woman's.

Akane's finger was on the trigger.

"Wait, don't shoot."

"Ah... it's Natsuru."

Akane muttered, seeming to regret not being able to shoot.

"What are you doing?"

"That's what I was saying. I heard gunshots and came to check."

"You're really weird! Someone's chasing me."

"It's the enemy Kämpfer, right? How many are there?"

"One, using a Gewehr rifle."

"Is it the guy I fought before...?"

"Probably."

I poked my head out of the bushes, but saw no enemy anywhere.

"Akane, have you been fighting since this morning?"

"Yeah, I was attacked as soon as I arrived at school. The attack was so intense that even the guards came running. I almost called the police. After that, it was a nerve-wracking game of hide-and-seek."

"What kind of person was my opponent?"

"A short girl, I couldn't see her face."

Suddenly, there was a snap, and the leaves in front of me blew away.

"She was trying to attack us."

"She's probably just attacking randomly."

"She probably knows where we are."

Akane raised her gun.

"With two of us, there's no need to play hide-and-seek with her. Let's just take her out."

This guy really isn't suited to hiding. She must have accumulated a lot of pressure.

"Where is the enemy?"

"We'll find out once we get out!"

Akane rushed out. If she made too much noise, the school would notice, but she seemed completely unconcerned, firing without hesitation.

The enemy finally appeared, in front of and to the right of Akane. So, it was a petite girl, the one I'd fought before.

The girl held a massive gun, a sight completely out of place for her petite frame, the all-black muzzle pointed at me.

"What?"

It wasn't aimed at Akane, but at me. The bullet grazed me beautifully.

"Are you serious?" I extended my wrist, concentrated my strength in my fingertips, and unleashed a Zauber magic spell. Purple flames morphed into blocks and flew towards the enemy.

The enemy was enveloped in flames... well, not quite. Before that, they'd been flung to the ground, taking advantage of the momentum and charging towards me.

"Nats..."

A small face loomed, gun in hand, charging at me.

Just as I was about to fall, I managed to catch my footing, but ended up tumbling to the ground, the muzzle of her gun pressed against my heart.

She didn't attack me, so I pressed the tip of my right hand against her neck.

"..."

The girl's features were unassuming and small, but her eyes were piercing.

"Are you Natsuru?"

her voice was sharp.

"So what?"

"I don't have time to fight you. Don't come and ruin my fun. You're such an eyesore."

"An eyesore... what?"

"This is my final warning. Stay out of my sight."

The girl pulled the trigger.

"Natsuru!"

Gunshots rang out from the other side, and Akane began firing wildly.

"Tsk!"

the girl muttered, using me as a stepping stone to fly through the bushes, then ran away without a backward glance.

In a flash, she disappeared.

"Ah—that guy actually got away,"

Akane complained, her target, of course, being me.

"Can't you pull yourself together? That bastard should have been killed right then and there. You're not falling in love with her just because I spared your life?"

"What nonsense! She said she didn't have time to fight us."

"What are you talking about? Did she really say that?"

"Yeah, she seems very busy,"

Akane raged. She hated being looked down upon.

"What a joke! Forget about Natsuru, but she's so bold to talk to me like that! I'll beat her to a pulp next time!"

Eh...did I let it go?

Anyway, it seems she let me off the hook. I've only been a Kämpfer for a short time, so I'm still not very good at fighting. If I really fought, I probably wouldn't be able to beat her. Damn it.

Why she let me off, though, I don't know. If it were the student council president's ally, they'd probably be even more ruthless and persevere to the end, even though that look in her eyes was anything but ordinary.

"You're so useless!"

a voice came from the other direction. It wasn't Akane, but it was as clear and sharp as ice.

Standing there was Student Council President Shizuku.

"You...!"

Akane's gun was already in position, and Shizuku used her Schwert to counterattack.

"I saw your fight. It was just amateurish. Looks like you need to put in a little more effort."

"It was Natsuru who struck, okay? Not me."

"Hey, isn't it a partner's responsibility to defend Natsuru-san?"

"Damn it..."

Anyone could clearly see that Akane was furious, but she didn't fire. She just muttered a few words and angrily left.

"Senou-san."

Shizuku turned towards me.

"Why do you think I gave you a Girls' Club student ID? If you don't make good use of it."

"Huh?" I couldn't help but reply. "What do you mean by make good use of it?"

"It means literally. You should understand Japanese, right?"

"No, that Kämpfer bracelet just now was red. She must be the president's companion. You told me to make good use of it. Are you asking me to defeat her?"

"Yes."

"Is it okay for your companion to be defeated by us?"

"I can't say that."

Shizuku sheathed her dagger. In an instant, her long hair shone, and she transformed from a Kämpfer back to her normal form.

"It's still class time, it's not too late to go back to the classroom, go ahead."

"How can I go back in this state?"

"I'm not talking about the boys' section, I'm talking about the girls' section."

You're saying that again, are you really going to turn me into a woman?

"Girls are boring if there's nothing to attract their attention."

Shizuku said this without a smile.

She must think it's none of her business to say that. So, it seems I can't not give Higashida the photo. I thought about it before entering the girls' second-year class, fourth. That guy definitely won't forget about the girls' photo. Every time we see him, he keeps nagging me. I guess I need to come up with something.