Editing Hidan no Aria:Volume6 Chapter3

Amdo's educational building is made up of 1 level above ground, and 3 levels below ground, with the levels underground wider than the level on top.

With Reki and Haimaki, who were following me, I passed through the corridor, ringing the doorbell of Workroom B201, which was adorned with a plaque which had "Hiraga Aya" written on it--

The workbench that was situated within the room had a DVD player and a TV, which was broadcasting a shoujo anime on it.

Shunting the protective goggles upwards, Hiraga-san used those innocent eyes to look between Reki and me.

Said Hiraga-san, pointing two fingers at Reki and me.

"No we're not. What I'm asking is, is the object I contracted you for completed?"<ref>Hiraga-san is saying, "デキてる (Dekiteru)", which carries the connotation of getting along well, or perhaps being lovey-dovey. This turn of phrase is rather hard to explain. At any rate, Tohyama-san is saying, "できてる (Dekiteru)", which, in this case, means, "Is it finished?" However, because they are homophones, he isn't really getting the point across.</ref>

What I had just received was the scramasax that Sherlock had used in I-U.

At the end of the battle, I borrowed this to mount the ICBM...but because of its unnatural sharpness, I had been keeping it up till now. What I had contracted Hiraga-san to construct was something fitted for me, a reinforced rubber handle as well as a hidden sheath--

I placed it in the sheath behind my back. Yeah, it's completely hidden. As expected of Hiraga-san.

I-U, as a group, may have splintered, but its remnants are still on the run. So, it's practically certain that one of those ability users, just like in manga, will attack.

The bullets that this Desert Eagle uses are bullets that have three times the stopping power of the 9mm parabellum ammo that my Beretta uses, a .50AE.

And after school--I didn't want it to look like I was peeping, but I still observed the swimming pool--I noticed that Reki, also wearing the school swimsuit, was standing with the other girls by the edge of the pool.

Strands of hair hanging on each of her cheeks, the rest tied up with a ponytail, Jeanne delivered a sharp smash, currently in a furious match with a curly-haired member of the tennis club.

Jeanne's tennis-wear--

Having long, graceful legs which a Japanese person would be hard pressed to have, (well, now that I think about it, she isn't Japanese,) her thighs were full, and delightfully supple. Also, they were amazingly white, almost like snow.

Every time her skirt flipped up, those were exhibited for all to see, so the stimulation of arousal was hardly normal. This is too dangerous, right?

Damn it. Why is it that the girls' tennis outfit is designed such that it appears to be showing off their lower body? To the designer: Get the hell out here! I wouldn't mind using my sword to help fix your broken mind. <!--Rephrased~-->

For the sake of preventing any suspicion that I would be doing such a thing, I dropped my head, and as I fought an inner battle with Hysteria Mode, which was threatening to activate...the sound of the match stopped.

I jerked my head up, only to see a freshman kouhai shouting, "Please use this towel!", running towards Jeanne, who appeared to have achieved a landslide victory.

...Jeanne, you're pretty popular, aren't you. Even if among the female students. I may not know why, but it seems that she's a beautiful person that's just as attractive to girls. <!--OH HELL YES. OH HELL YES.-->

--In the time since the Plea Bargain that allowed her to transfer from I-U to Butei High, Jeanne had already enrolled in Informa, joined the tennis club, and like now, she was living a fulfilling high school life.

And opposed to that, having been defeated by her in the underground warehouse last spring, I...am being restricted by a robot girl and a wolf.. What have I gotten myself into?

Not able to avoid spiraling into deep depression, I-- <!--Changes the meaning a bit too much for my liking. It doesn't say anything about the time period, just references "I", using the next few words as an modifier.-->

Her silver hair partitioned, hanging down her back, she had changed into her uniform, striding out of the clubroom for the tennis club...

"But, because of your haste, I did not have time to shower. As such, I only used a wet towel to wipe my body, and perfume to mask my scent."

Also, did you say you used perfume? Even though you're still a high school student. As expected of the ojou-sama who holds the blood of nobles.

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Fyuu* A gust of wind blew past--and Jeanne's scent, a comfortable, grassy fragrance, wafted from her body.

Before, I had heard Nii-san...No, I should say Kana...say that just relying on perfume wasn't fully effective, and that only when perfume is mixed and melded perfectly with a woman's natural scent, will it be able to create a pleasing, moving fragrance.

"Tohyama, you yourself may not know this, but the students in Butei High, especially those in Assault, believe that you have excellent abilities in battle, and from the shadows, they respect and admire you. However, they're afraid of your reaction, so they aren't too open with their admiration. To tell the truth, after hearing about your induction exam, I looked at you in a new light."

"This is also written in the reports that Masters keeps. They said that, while there are some ups and downs with your status, you possess the greatest alternative power, your charisma, your leadership--you just lack integration with others, and there are some issues with your personality."

What kind of opponent the enemy is, what are his weaknesses, what does he like, what does he hate...the first side able to grasp these characteristics has an overwhelming advantage.

The person that I had contracted in April was Riko from Inquesta, and the person that I had contracted this time was Jeanne, who had taught Riko how to sift through information. After all, the teacher should be better than the student, and jokes and false information tend to appear in Riko's reports.

"Elite snipers will often try to hide information about themselves, and Reki has this tendency as well. As such, the amount of information that exists about her is extremely limited."

"Also, her past history is a blank. The success rate of missions after entering Butei High is 100%, an impeccable record. But, she is extremely selective with her missions."

"The first, a teacher asks her directly to do so. Under certain, rare circumstances, Masters will assign the contract to specific, excellent students...although these cannot be solved outright because of special conditions, it is possible to earn a large amount of credits, nullifying the need to take an exam. You ran into something like this during your first year, right?"

"--the second, missions with an LD Score of over 900" <!--I was tempted to make a typo. Ever so tempted. Need to check if LD Value is actually LD Value, as I don't have the raws right now.-->

Shocked, my hand slammed into a button on the vending machine.

LD Score is a ranking system, assessing the difficulty of a Butei mission. I don't normally pay attention to it, but special, outside organizations will use the value as an evaluator for the compensation.

300~400 are commissions meant for student Butei, 500~700 are commissions meant for professional Butei, and that is basically how it's divided.

"Reki...accepted several of those maximum difficulty sniping missions. And, speaking in light of the fact that she still has a 100% success rate, we can already determine that she is either an ability user or a sorcerer."

The "Eagle Eye" in question is something that takes advantage of snipers' prodigious eyesight to observe a target from far away--a codename for a reconnaissance mission.

That mission, where both the credit and money compensation isn't high, is such that, usually, only inexperienced freshmen or trainees in Snipe accepts it...

"The first time, the contractor was Aria. The date was April the 2nd. She contracted Reki to be her "Eagle Eye", so she could figure out which entrance you leave Inquesta from, and lie in wait."

At that time, thinking of how to combat Aria, I took a mission, trying to escape outside--but Aria, lying in wait outside the Inquesta building, appeared before me.

"And in July, she accepted a mission from Masters, the content being, observe the third boy's dormitory. At that time, Masters had apparently been warned by the police, being told to observe an empty room...since it's Butei High, they have to strengthen their alertness. And, Reki accepted that mission."

I remembered that too. That was the time where Shirayuki saw Aria in a bunny girl outfit, and she went trigger happy on her M60. At that time, Reki was using the Dragunov's scope to observe my room.

"And, the 'Eagle Eye' missions that Reki accepts all fall under certain criteria. Only when it involves you, Aria, or Shirayuki, will she accept."

"Aria, Shirayuki, or me...?"

But, I understand a little now...from the beginning, Reki had been paying attention to what goes on around me.

"The first time I investigated, I found some other pieces of information, but many of those were unconfirmed. This is all that can be reported. Alright--did you gather anything yourself?"

A few days ago, after Reki and Aria's battle...I had explained my situation under Reki's Sniper Restriction, as well as Lima Syndrome, which was my adopted plan of action, asking Jeanne for assistance...

"Reki always wears earphones, hearing these mysterious sounds. Yesterday, I took advantage of the time she was in the shower, and borrowed her headphones and MP3 player...copying it into a micro-SD card."

Before this, I had tried listening to the sounds...It was slightly eerie, but it really was just the sound of the wind, playing endlessly.

Because the cord was too short, our heads slowly approached each other as we listened...*Shh*. Jeanne's long, silver hair, fluttering in the midst of the wind, lightly brushed my cheek.

Widening those sapphire-like blue eyes halfway through her speech, Jeanne noticed that I was looking at her from an extremely close distance, and she pulled her head away.

I said, taking off my headphones...and passed the micro-SD card with the music file on it to Jeanne, waiting for her to speak.

While using her own ice-blue cellphone to call that person she "happened to know", Jeanne brought me to see--Connect. Next to Informa, it's where students are taught to support those in the battlefield through the use of communicative devices.

A Connect sophomore, although we were in the same grade, I couldn't remember what she looked like, but...I was very familiar with that voice.

The operator assumes command from Connect, accurately stating the team's status to all its members. Often, they will also report the ETA of reinforcements, the change in weather, etc., informing them of information that Butei in the middle of the combat cannot find out for themselves.

In the bus-jacking incident in April, telling us which bus was hijacked, as well as informing us of all the situational reports before the reinforcements took action-- <!--Past tense~-->

-was the operator, Nakasorachi. Which is to say, she was one of the people working behind the scenes, absolutely critical to the resolution of that case.

Nakasorachi's operating is perfect. She is always amazingly calm, able to follow separate conversations with several Butei, all speaking with hurried, unclear voices at the same time. In spite of all that, she is able to pass on each and every piece of information accurately.

Even more worthy of praise is her elocution, her voice is just as clear, as pleasing to one's ear as that of an NHK anchor. I had never heard her wrong, not once.

She's probably seen me before, through the small camera installed in every headset, but as for me, it was my first time seeing her.

Thinking of this, Jeanne, saying "Follow me", hurried me onwards--<ref>Jeanne says this in English. It is her catchphrase.</ref>

Under Jeanne's guidance, I arrived at the audio classroom, and it appeared that, for the sake of keeping dust outside, shoes were forbidden inside.

Changing into slippers and entering the room...because school was already over, the classroom was empty. <!--Event flag? Please?-->

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Tap Tap* Several types of headphones piled up in her arms, a girl ran this way from the side...but because she was carrying too many, it didn't seem as if she could see in front of her--

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Whoosh* A pair of silver-edged glasses flew into the air--and beside me, who had reached up, grabbing it, *Gcch Gcch*

The earphones that she was carrying spilled out onto the floor, while the tangled wires wrapped around her head, her arms, as well as her feet, which were wearing red indoor shoes.

If it was a normal guy, he'd probably be feeling quite lucky. But, that isn't me. I have to avert my gaze, looking upwards, making sure that there isn't the slightest chance that I somehow looked between those thighs. After all, safety first.

That girl, named Nakasorachi, extricated herself from the wires with Jeanne's help, and waving her hands in the air, she shouted "Glasses, glasses!" Almost like in a manga, like a dog chasing its own tail, she crawled around, tracing circles on the ground, feeling for her glasses. Are you alright? <!--No, not megane route. Damn.-->

Is it that her eyes aren't good? Or is it that her fringe obscures her vision, making her vision hazy? Or is it both? Anyways, finally able to see my appearance, she,

Her face, obscured by her hair such that I could only see the bottom part, turned red. Ooh, that's a rapid-blushing technique able to match Aria's.

"Je-Jeanne, suddenly, suddenly suddenly, brought a boy with her...Awaahh."

"I-I-I-I, Jea-Jeanne-san, Jeanne-san was alone, I thought that Jeanne-san was going to come by herself, no-not, a boy, I didn't think that a boy would come, I haven't prepared my heart yet! I'm too excited! Ah, I say excited, but it isn't a happy excitement!"

"W-Which I've only seen from the incam monitor, he's so cool, I-I didn't think he would come here, moreover, Tohyama-kun! Aah..." <!--I chose to interpret Pii as a sigh or a scream.--> <!-- I really love this part so I can't help myself from keeping the comment. The original text is:「来るなんて、格好良い、しかも、思ってなかったから、インカム映像で見ていた遠山君が、ががが、ぴい」, which as we see is a pretty messed up sentence. If we arrange it to correct order, it would be something like this: 「インカム映像で見ていた遠山君が、来るなんて、思ってなかったから、しかも、格好良い」(YNH: Wouldn't it be something more like. "-would come here, so cool, yet, I didn't think that, Tohyama-kun that I saw on the monitor, h-h-h-h-he, ahh."? Where the normal text would be, what you said, "The Tohyama-kun that I saw on the incam monitor, I never thought he would come, and, he's so cool," I mean, this is pretty much up to interpretation, as Japanese sentence structure is different from English sentence structure in the first place. So, as long as the words are jumbled, it should work, right? I'm not sure whether I translated this from Japanese or Chinese though, probably Chinese, seeing that I put a 'cold' part in. Well, I guess it doesn't matter, since like I said, sentence structure is too different for it to come across clearly.->

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Shhh* While looking at me, Jeanne pointed at one corner of the room. Saying "The same? How are we the same at all?", I grumbled while walking to the wall...

Nakasorachi had taken a cellphone out of the pocket of her skirt, and being told something by Jeanne, *Patatatata! Patatata!* With a speed that blurred one's eyes, she entered in a cellphone number.

"--Hello, nice to meet you. Saying this is a little weird, but this is the first time we have met in person. I am Nakasorachi Misaki. Sorry for just now."

"I have the bad habit of being easily excited...so, please forgive me, I can only speak with you like this, relying on the phone--Will this be fine?"

"That is the sound that Reki from Snipe always listens to on her headphones. She said that she was listening to the sound of her birthplace, although...we cannot hear anything, but what sounds like wind. I know that having you try to perform an audio analysis without a video of any kind is a difficult contract--"

"--Not at all. Audio is able to convey much more than video. At least, for me, it is as if seeing a video. Also, because I am in the same normal class as Reki-san, sophomore class C--I can recall her headphones. Reki-san's headphones are...these. Sennheiser PMX990. One of its characteristics is its clarity of sound, a masterpiece which accentuates the higher pitches. Please wait a moment."

"From the echo and speed of the wind, the place of recording was an expansive field--a piece of ground at a high altitude. There are forests close by. Coniferous forests. The sound of the leaves rustling...this is, Larix Sibirica."

Based upon the ambient noise during a telephone conversation or some other method of communication, it is possible to deduce a specific location based upon said noises. This is the method named, sound investigation.

And, Nakasorachi appeared to be able to perform such an analysis with just her ears. It looks like her ears, abnormally good, make up for her eyes.

"Added to that, according to the sounds of the vegetation, this location is probably somewhere between Northern Mongolia and Siberia."

"I can hear the breathing of horses. It isn't big, they aren't domesticated, but not completely wild...they're probably the descendants of Mongolia's horses, Equus przewalskii. Also, the howling of wolves...but on the contrary, these howls are quite loud, for wolves. I believe that they are a subspecies of gray wolves, tundra wolves."

As I was feeling overwhelmed by Nakasorachi's sense of hearing as well as her wealth of knowledge--I felt that I was understanding these sounds less and less.

"I'm sorry, but I'm out of time. I'll be leaving first...afterward, could you structure what you learned in an e-mail and send it to me? I'll leave that micro-SD here, for now. It's fine if you return it later."

"Re...re-re-return it...? Go-go-go-go-go-going to the boy's dormitory, it's impossible! Be-be-because, I don't have any fitting underwear!"

Well, after all, this is Butei High, the gathering place of the strange. I sighed...opening the door, preparing to leave the Connect classroom...

Wordlessly, she pushed me out of the classroom, and after confirming that there was nobody in the corridor...she said softly, as if whispering,

"Reki. I didn't say it earlier, because I couldn't confirm the information that I had received, but--before Reki entered Butei High--ever since she was 14, she was not only in Japan, but it seems that she was also active in Russia and China. Because, before her international Detective Armed License was ratified, she had received a Butei License, allowing her to travel to China and Russia."

Even in self-defense, a Butei is forbidden to kill. At best, this applies in Japan and Western Europe--but when one talks about reality, Butei that do nothing but kill, do exist.

"Tohyama. Since you said that you're under Reki's Sniper Restriction, this problem would be best solved early. I certainly accepted a contract to aid you, but--if you wish to make Lima Syndrome a reality, in the end, you must still build a good relationship between Reki and you."

"No. She would have been happy in her heart. After all, this is something that would make anyone happy. Even if that meal cost a mere 100 yen."

"What I wanted to say was this behavior, treating Reki as a girl, treating her gently. Because of your role as a boy, this will have an effect. As long as you continue doing this, you will be able to build a good relationship with Reki. Right, I've thought of a good idea. Why don't you go to Caravan I now? Use that time where you have freedom of action."

"Things that girls would like...what's that? I'm not holding myself back, but I really am clueless when it comes to that area. Couldn't you tell me something a little more specific? You're a girl too, right?"

"That's--this method may be a little cliche, but use gifts to deepen your relationship. Once girls receive things like clothing or jewelry from boys, they'll feel that some distance has decreased, creating a happy feeling. Even girls and boys that are fighting make up with this method."

"Listen well, Tohyama. There is not a girl on Earth that has no interest in clothing. This is a law of the world." <!--Well, Akamatsu-sensei.-->

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Rustle* Facing Jeanne, who said those words with an earnest face and feeling a little suspicion appear in my heart, I...

"Then, would you be happy as well? For example, if you were to receive some clothes that you liked that I had bought for you from a boutique."

"--N-no. If Tohyama sees me wearing clothes like that...he'll definitely think I am strange. The fact that the clothes I like don't fit my image, I understand perfectly."

"Then, for example...just as an example--I wouldn't mind a fluttering, long skirt with patterns that a girl would like. There should be a headdress. Ah, no, that's just an example." <!--Oh Jeanne...-->

"I-I'd be happy about that. Originally, I'd only wear it in my room, but if it was something you bought for me, it's not that I wouldn't specially show it to only you. If you wouldn't tell anybody." <!--胸は溶湯。。。-->

Day 1: Educational trip to tour Kyoto shrines (Tour at least three points and submit reports afterward.)

Day 2 & 3: Freedom of action (Touring the cities: Osaka, Kobe)"

On the road, I had just been sitting there dazed, but the Shinkansen really is fast. We had left Shinagawa at 7:00, and barely after 9:00 we had arrived.

And what they were saying...I could guess. Those few, while they were walking through the train, they saw Reki and I, and immediately, their faces became excited.

But, the fortunate thing is, because of matters dealing with her mother's trial, Aria missed the field trip...and Shirayuki, staying at the Hotogi Kyoto Shrine, would have a hard time going onto the streets.

If they were to meet Reki here and start a battle, they'd definitely give the residents of Kyoto some trouble. The type that tends to occur with stray bullets.

"There isn't really somewhere I'd like to go either. But, the first day, we have to see at least three temples or shrines, submitting a report about them. So, we're going to have to walk a lot, today. It should be fine, right?"

During the time we had seen [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiyomizu-dera Kiyoumizudera] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinkakuji Kinkakuji], Reki, following at my side, had been wordless from the beginning to the end.

Just, as we were walking through the tourists and geisha, whether it was to keep me from escaping or to keep us from separating, I did not know, but she would grasp my sleeve.

And, known for my misfortune, I would always meet other students just at that moment, "Ah, they're linking their arms." "They're so lovey-dovey." It was like pouring oil on the fire of those horrible rumours.

Because of that, for the sake of not meeting anybody from Butei High...I avoided Ginkaku temple, which was a set location, and following Muto's advice, who had come here before, we went to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanj%C5%ABsangen-d%C5%8D Sanjuusangendou], where none of my classmates were. I avoided taking the bus, and instead, we took a taxi. Reki is really expensive.

Sanjuusangendou, since ancient times, has been renowned as a place for testing arrows.

It is said that, the 120 meter long main hall, under the eaves, was used for an archery competition called "Arrow Traversal", and even now, it was still continuing, albeit in a different form.

Walking through the corridor, which was lined with one thousand statues of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanyin Zenjuukannon], all neatly arranged in a row, I...glanced towards Reki.

I counted the hands of Zenjuukannon, thanking God in my heart that Aria did not have this many. Rather than a Quadra, she'd be a Sendra<ref>Sendra is a play on Quadra, which is an Italian word. 千(Sen) is the Japanese word for one thousand.</ref>. Thinking about that, I chuckled...

Seeing that, in the middle, there was something like a backless-bench, covered with a red cloth, I sat down...looking over Reki, I gazed upon several windmills, apparently made by the local children.

"Just now, when you were walking through the corridor, your smiling face--was the same as the face when you are together with Aria."

Reki shook her head, her hair rustling. <!--I'm just going to translate ふるふる as a verb rather than an SFX. Same for the above case.-->

If Reki and I were really engaged, then I'd be able to understand her anger. But, this was something that, according to what Reki had said, something like an arranged marriage...It was not because she liked me that she stays close to me.

Just that, Reki had received some [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denpa_Onna_to_Seishun_Otoko denpa] from whatever place--and she was just obeying "wind"-sama's orders.

"Just like what other people say in the shadows, I--do not have the emotions of a normal person. Because, the wind does not like people's 'emotions'."

The "wind" that Reki had said...it looks like it's a firm delusion, set deep within herself.

While I was complaining in my heart, I looked at the red dragonfly, sitting on her head like a ribbon, suddenly thinking back to Jeanne's words.

"That's--this method may be a little cliche, but use gifts to deepen your relationship. Once girls receive things like clothing or jewelry from boys, they'll feel that some distance has decreased, creating a happy feeling. Even girls and boys that are fighting make up with this method."

Written on Masters' schedule was the fact that Osaka too was a city where we could go see shrines, so it's two bird with one stone.

Hearing me say that, Reki looked at me with, for some reason, a little surprise, before she nodded-- <!--Removing modifiers: Reki looked at me with a little surprise before she nodded.-->

She remained expressionless, but, if I were to use Haimaki as a comparison, it'd be a state in which his tail was wagging slightly.

This place was the gathering place of teenagers, well, to put it in terms of Kyoto, it's a location akin to that of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shibuya Shibuya] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harujuku Harujuku].

But, exiting the subway, which was like a mole, Reki and I, wearing bulletproof uniforms...stood out amongst the crowd of teenagers, wearing very current and fashionable clothes.

"Coming here was good, but...I don't know it at all, the fashion of this city, that is."

After all, the location that Introvert and Wordless shouldn't have gone to, is here.<ref>Introvert is Kinji, and Wordless is Reki</ref>

During July, my bank account had received the halved reward of the casino security detail, and the compensation of the commissions I took during the summer holiday may have been small, but I still received it from Butei High.

This is so difficult. Then, I'll directly make Reki walk and look for a store that she wants to go to. I'll just spend some time drinking coffee there or something.

No...letting Reki, who has no consciousness of the outside world, or rather, no common sense at all, walk wherever she wants to, is dangerous.

This street is full of boys radiating a feeling of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanpa nanpa], and Reki will have no idea of their ulterior motives. Even during the Casino security detail, she had trouble with the womanizing CEO.

Because the boys were wearing the same uniform as me, and the girls were wearing a dark-red sailor uniform, I noticed it immediately.

They too had finished their touring of the temples early, and were now touring the city...they seemed to be coming here to play. Over here, there was also an Osaka Butei High, they were moving with that as a destination. Damn it.

Convenience store, clubhouse, a neko-design cafe...in my line of sight, next to the cafe, "Chaton B", a select shop aimed towards girls, appeared before my eyes.

Inside "Chaton B", there were a lot of neko designs as well...they seemed to be using a forest as an image theme, the shelves and cases were all made out of wood. The decorations were all leaves and vines too.

Haimaki wagged his tail, looking up at the assistants with a face that seemed to convey the message, "I'm a good boy!". <!--Somebody have a better idea for いい子ちゃん?-->

"I...am in a certain situation, and I have to buy something for that girl over there, but...she doesn't really know what kind of clothes she likes, so would it be possible for you to pick something for her?"

If one wants ice cream, he goes to an ice cream parlor. "Shirts" ,"Skirts", "Pants." I, confused and ignorant about any of these phrases that girls use, should ask the assistants, right? <!--Right, I can see where you had a problem with that. Should work better now.-->

"Situation, huh? An-san, it's that, right? Yer preparing to break through her barrier, right? I knew it from a glance. That girl's guard is pretty firm."

And, the barrier around Reki's heart was extremely strong. For the sake of breaking through it, I came here to go shopping so we can improve our relationship.

I thought that there was probably no-one undergoing Sniper Restriction from a girl, but Osaka Butei High is near here, it could be that this shop was often visited by Butei.

"Leave it to me! I'm a genius at choosin' clothes based on my customers' sizes. Alright, young lady, tell me ya height and weight. And, ya three sizes, hehehe."

Not really knowing how things go at this store, I followed her instructions, sitting by the table, and quickly, from "Chaton Cafe", which seemed to have some sort of relationship with this place, another onee-san, wearing a brooch with a different cat-design, came, holding a menu, smiling all the while. Ku. I have to pay for the coffee as well.

Surrounded by these people, all speaking [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osaka-ben Osaka-ben], which my ears weren't accustomed to, I, the outsider, folded my arms, waiting...

"How's it?"

Wearing a yellow kindergarten hat along with a water-blue smock and standing there wordlessly, Reki had a tag with "れき" written on it pinned to her chest.<ref>Reki's name is written [レキ] as opposed to [れき], though they share the same pronunciation.</ref>

N-no, even more than that...those legs had become horrifying. I had thought that the length of the skirt would be to scale with a normal kindergartener's skirt, but it was a shocking mini-size. It stopped 1 centimeter below the inseam.

Seeing the sheathe for her bayonet, gunchira (Seeing the area under the skirt where guns and knives are hidden. Namer: Idiot Muto), was happening even now.

"O-of course, if it fits well, it fits well, but...don't use these kinds of clothes please...at least, something that she can walk outside in..."

But, it too was something that fit Reki really well, the shop assistant onee-san was really good at choosing an outfit that matches with her customer.

Afterward, calling it "Jungle girl," she made Reki wear clothes with a reindeer pattern...it fit her too. There was no incompatibility.

After that, wearing something very similar to the frilly dresses that Riko usually wears, it was a lolita costume. (Under Riko's persistent reminding, I finally remembered.) Originally, this seemed to be clothing that was meant to be worn by rather lively girls, but with Reki wearing it, she looked like an antique doll.

But, this kind of clothing would make the sleeves get caught when readying her sniper rifle, so, from the Butei standpoint, I denied it... <!--NG means "No go," right?-->

Lastly, the assistant said, "Next is my favorite," taking out some clothes from the corner of the shop so Reki could try them on.

Suddenly, I thought about something. I spent some time buying little things at the outdoor stalls.

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Rustle* After the curtain had opened, a slender foot, wearing white, high-heeled sandals exited the changing room.

Makeup applied, her hair combed and set properly, wearing a white sleeveless one-piece, the lack of sleeves its highlight, Reki was--

Those exquisite features, already looking as if she was a work of art, confirmed onee-san's words. She was like a sparkling diamond.

One portion of the white cloth, made of what looked like fine silk, accentuated the lines of her body, which were already highlighted by the illumination of the store, making the sense of transparency that Reki already gave off even stronger.

I thought that if Aria takes the time to beautify herself, she could be on the cover of fashion magazines, and Reki...was the same.

Well, Aria would be on one of those popular magazines that everyone reads--and Reki would be on those high class fashion magazines aimed at ojou-samas. If I had to make a distinction, that would be it.

Even with that, Reki wasn't making any special expressions, but as if checking herself out, she looked into the full-body mirror, her gaze somewhat satisfied.

Justa prank? Didn't study? Damn it, I knew I should've learned these kinds of words from Muto, who was originally from Kobe.

According to the assistant's explanation, Chaton Call was this store's unique event, a competition to see how many of the cats walking around Chaton Cafe could be called to one's table.

The time limit is one minute. If you stand up from your seat, you are disqualified, and touching the cats with your hands is forbidden too.

The prerequisite for participation is: the people involved have to be a couple, but since things had come to this, I had no choice but to sacrifice everything to win this.

I was embarrassed to the point where I wanted to die, however, we could use the fact that, for some reason, we were mistaken as lovers, meeting the prerequisites.

Now, the money I had had been slightly decreased by the tea that Reki had drunk, and it had fallen below the price of the clothes that had been shown to us earlier.

Since things had come to this, I had to gift Reki with these clothes. Not winning, or running away with the clothes, was not an option.

It seems that Reki was born under the star for putting my wallet in danger. Please make that star go supernova.

Despite the fact that I was so nervous, the onee-san, over at the cafe, made her announcement, the noise entering the mic amplified by the speakers.

The groups of couples inside the shop started going, "Here kitty, here kitty," making whistling noises, starting to call the cats towards them.

Damn it. The shop knew this, which is why they had this event, right? Since the cats aren't familiar with anybody, everybody will be disqualified, as written on the blackboard.

"That's right. But, it's not easy. It seems like these cats have been trained to not respond no matter how much the customers call them."

She had just uttered something that was capable of entering the best three of, 'words most unlikely to come out of Reki's mouth'. Overwhelmingly rare.

With just the same monotone as ever, all she said was, "Nyan".

Before, in Ueno, the imitation that Aria had done was better. That too was amazingly horrible, but an imitation as bad as this makes me unable to even say that it's an imitation.

Now...now that I think about it, Reki...had done something similar to this in the first semester. She had spoken to the grey wolf, which was completely hostile towards us, immediately taming it. Right now, that wolf was Haimaki.

Somehow, Reki seems to be a inexplicable girl that is able to undergo communication with animals. Although such a thing isn't possible for humans.

The "Nyan" from earlier was...

No, seeing as how obedient the cats were, it was probably a strong message, something like: "If you don't come, I will whip you into the ground. I will set Haimaki on you."

The onee-san from Chaton B said, "Us sisters here will work hard!", and in full view of the other customers, she brazenly gave me the cash coupon for a 50% discount.

The customers started chanting, "Kiss! Kiss!", a kiss call.

"Please do not move your gaze unnaturally. I do not know who it is, but I am afraid that it is an S-rank professional. At the start, he showed no signs of aggression, but now, he is openly radiating hostility. From outside the store--near the entrance, he is observing this place."

"--I think it was from that point onwards. After I had worn these clothes and strode out of the changing room, I could feel that gaze. After we arrived at this city, I felt that somebody was following us for a moment--but after that, I thought that they had retreated."

Seeing Reki and I together, her expression, for some reason, looked as if the world had ended, Aria twisted around violently, running away.

"I-it's fine for you! Because I haven't said it to you clearly! But, Reki--Reki, I definitely told! That girl, kn-knew full well! Reki! Reki--I won't forgive you! Reki, you...Reki, you!"

"You too--let go of me! I'm busy! Just that, before going to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kure Kure], I came to Osaka Butei High to get some equipment that I had left here! Because, Muto Goki and Riko are waiting for me at Kure!"

Aah. Caravan I, despite the fact that this was an activity where we're supposed to make teams...the relationship between Aria and Reki, as well as I, was getting worse and worse.

==Translator's Notes and References==

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