Hidan no Aria:Volume7 Chapter3

3rd Ammo: The Third Quadra

The three girls from Connect had several simple single-earphone-type incams, and taking them, we established communication, sharing the same frequency.

Afterward, confirming that we had reached our respective positions...first, a message from Shiranui was transmitted through the incam.

"...Tohyama-kun. On Car 7, there are several TV staff of some location aboard and they have cameras. They understand that this is an incident, so it seems that all along, they have been using the train's wireless LAN to broadcast."

"Broadcast...in this situation?"

"Yes, they seem to be happy. They were able to be right at a scoop."

Really...They have no sense of reality.

Despite the fact that everyone might die in a heartbeat.

"...Leave them. Reporting is a freedom."

Scooping up the butterfly knife which I had dropped just now, that was all I said.

Because of the incident with Nii-san, I hate the media, but--in any case, I cannot stop the information leak. I can just pray that this doesn't lead to something bad.

--At the front of the train, next to me,

"Kinji, use heel sock too."

Saying that, Aria put her white sneakers back on.

To prepare for a case where one has unstable footing, Butei normally carry a titanium-alloy hook around with them.

On the belt buckle or at the bottom of the holster, concealed metallic components have the ability to fit together and change into several different forms for several different purposes, much like a toy like a transformer robot.

For the sake of not falling off the Shinkansen, Aria had attached those her shoes, choosing spikes.

"During the bus-jacking, we had used wires attached to the roof as our support, but this time, we'll be in close quarters combat. There's the chance that the wire will be severed."

"--Correct decision."

And, while I too was attaching the spikes to my shoes...

Having finished her preparations earlier, Aria turned her back this way, going through a series of stretching exercises.

"You know. In Osaka, the thing with you and Reki--"

After a while, as if for the purpose of breaking the awkward silence, Aria interjected.

"I don't really mind. For intruding too much on your private matters, I apologize."

This is...a tone which shows that you really do mind.

Apparently, she's still angry that I was together with Reki throughout the field trip.

"Aria. It probably made you misunderstand, but...at that time, I was under Reki's Sniper Restriction. Reki is silent, so she didn't say much, but it seems that she was trying to protect me."

"Fuun..."

Having said that, Aria turned her head, seeming to be half satisfied, half suspicious.

"--Well, it's fine.　I was waiting around there anyways. Waiting on my own."

"Waiting? For what?"

"It doesn't matter, right? Alright, this conversation is over. Ah, anyways, I'm so unlucky. Even though my birthday is so close, I've been dragged into this incident."

A glance flickering my way, Aria stamped lightly, seeming to be testing out the spikes.

"Really, I'm so unfortunate. It's my birthday next week."

...Why did she say it twice. Birthday, birthday. At least, I'll memorize it.

Thinking about that, I met her eyes, and Aria's expression seemed a little urgent,

"Ah, u-um. Kinji. Where's your hometown?"

She seemed to be deliberately leading the conversation away from that topic.

I don't really understand, but--I'll just go along with her.

"Sugamo. My grandparents are living there."

"Sugamo...? Were you planning to go there with this Shinkansen? If so, it's a shame."

Saying that, it seemed that Aria wasn't very familiar with Japanese geography.

"Sugamo is in the city."

"In the city...Then, why do you live in a dormitory? Wouldn't it be fine to commute to school?"

"--Well, for a lot of reasons."

Fixing my shoes, I faced Aria without explaining in detail.

So, the atmosphere turned to "Ready"--

Aria was patting her cheeks, mustering her fighting spirit, showing a cute movement.

Alright--from now on, it's time to fight. As if telling herself that.

It's just a theory that when a two-man cell hasn't fought together for a long time, they should have some idle chatter in order to synchronize, but we had just finished with that.　We had done it arbitrarily in the conversation just now.

"Let's go."

Immediately reaching out for the stairs, Aria's petite hand was--

-because I was on top, covered by my hand as if being embraced.

"Wh-what, all of a sudden. Hand, handhand."

Apparently weak against surprise attacks, Aria's face turned red in an instant, and I reached out with my little finger, flipping down her skirt.

"Only when going up stairs and ladders, ladies first is an exception."

The reason I was going to climb the ladder before Aria was...also for the sake of making sure that I would not have a hole blasted through me afterward, when Aria would notice the spatial relationship between myself and her skirt, but--

-it was also for the reason that, my mind in Hysteria Mode had had an uneasy prediction.

If this prediction turned out to fit the reality, the first person to exit would be in danger.

Leaving Aria, holding her skirt with both hands, her face having become red, below, I--

-extended my torso out from the rectangular exit leading out to the roof into the outside of the train, which had become completely dark.

"...!"

--Whoosh--

While I was doing that, an enormous amount of wind pressure assaulted my back.

The Shinkansen was operating at over 200 km/h--the wind-flow flowing over the roof was far more violent than I had imagined.

The sound of my necktie and bulletproof uniform being buffeted by the wind rang out.

(But, it isn't to the extent where it's impossible to stand up.)

Fighting against the wind, I relied on my spikes to stand up.

Koko was--there.

Having already moved to the anterior of Car 16, at the only pantograph there--a metallic component stemming from the aerial wiring above the car which supplies electrical energy to the vehicle--in front of it, a large installation had been set up, and it was flashing as if giving off some sort of signal. Alright. Her back was facing this way.

(...We haven't been noticed.)

Having bent over for the sake of reducing air resistance, at my feet--

Clank.

The sound of the lid of the door I had just exited slamming shut rang out.

Rumble Rumble Thud! The sound of Aria, apparently having been trying to come up, falling to the floor resounded.

As I went "Tch", turning around--

Bang! Bang Bang!

I released bullets from the Beretta in my right hand.

Clank! Clank----!

Approaching me from the back, another Koko used the broad Seiryuutou as a shield, deflecting the bullets.

"Kihi--!"

Creak!

The spikes on her feet groaning, Koko dropped to all floors in that position.

"Sister Pao! Kinji came!"

"--Sister Mei! Hold tight!"

The two Kokos, at the front and back of the car yelled to each other in Chinese--

Having noticed the sound of the gunshots, the Koko at the back of the car drew an SMG, an Uzi.

Taking that opportunity, I retreated from the Koko who had been called Meimei, the one holding the Seiryuutou, reaching approximately the middle of the car.

The position was such that I was caught exactly in between the two Koko's at my front and back.

(...As I had predicted.)

This Koko and Koko. They looked exactly the same, something like twins, right?

I had deduced that in advance, and ended up not being cut down--

-because my mind in Hysteria Mode had seen through this trick from two pieces of information.

The first piece of information is--the Explosive Bubble bubbles that had blown Aria away.

That was the same thing as the light that had injured Reki in the night-fight.

But, the range of that dispersal device, the atomizer, is short.

It isn't able to attack a sniper that is at least two kilometers away.

Which is to say, at that time, some other person had covered Reki with that Explosive Bubble.

The Koko that is strong in martial arts--Meimei was the offender.

Creeping in under the distraction of the hunting dogs, Meimei released that vapor explosive.

And, the second piece of information is--the conversation with Aria in the car.

From that conversation, I realized that the second Koko's appearance was exactly the same as the first's.

Aria had gotten angry over the fact that Koko looked like her, and apparently, on the day of Water Tossing, during their Aru=Kata battle, she had said, "I told you get to get rid of it!"

But, Koko had said that she had no memory of such a thing.

Rather, she had said that this was only the first time that she had met Aria in person.

In other words, the person who had engaged in Aru=Kata with Aria at Butei High was another Koko. With the exact same appearance, one more Koko--and that was the person that was on the back end of the car right now, Paonyang, right?

This trick...it's obvious to say it's obvious.

Koko had called herself "The Warrior of Ten-Thousand Techniques", but a single person cannot do everything.

Martial arts. Marksmanship. The Kokos had divided up their specializations, acting as Ten-Thousand Arms--"The Warrior of Ten-Thousand Techniques".

"Koko, Koko--It's time for your punishment."

While looking at the Kokos on the left and right of me, one after the another, I drew the Desert Eagle that was stored by my chest with my left hand.

Desert Eagle. The gun of my father's legacy can also be used by the me in Hysteria Mode.

Beretta in my right hand. Desert Eagle in my left hand.

Doubla, dual-wielding.

Now that I think about it, in terms of blades, I also have a butterfly knife and a scramasax.

I'm in the middle of a field trip, so I don't have many bullets. If I run out of ammo, against the two Kokos...I can do nothing but use twin-blades.

--Aria. Riko.

I'll be borrowing your specialty for a moment.

Tohyama Kinji Version--Quadra of Mimicry.

"Kinchi, you...went into Hysteria Mode, didn't you. How?"

Apparently noticing that my aura was different from earlier, the Koko holding a blade--Meimei glared at me.

"Did you use Aria? Did you use Aria who looks like Koko?"

Paonyang, holding her submachine gun ready, turned red with a surprised expression.

They had realized that, with Aria, who was very alike to themselves, my Hysteria Mode--had been triggered by arousal. Realizing that, it seemed that for some reason, their alertness had increased.

...How impolite. Because I had had past experiences with going into Hysteria Mode with various women, you said it in a loud voice, but it's not like I can just do it with anybody, you know?

"Be-be careful, Sister Mei. There's a lot to be careful of."

"Yes, Sister Nyang. No matter how I look at it...it is impossible to capture HSS without injury.

The two people, saying that as if playing on stereo--their eyes, already very slanted, narrowed even more.

A stronger killing intent than before radiated from my left and right.

Almost numbing, it was a true killing intent--

--They finally got serious, huh?

Until now, it seemed that Koko had been showing themselves as relaxed in order to catch the enemy off guard.

Haha. As expected of the teacher, the martial style is extremely similar. To the someone who wears Goth Loli uniforms.

"Kinji, it's me. After 10 seconds, we're accelerating. Don't fall off."

From the driver's seat, Muto communicated over the incam.

"What happened, Kinji! The door isn't opening!"

I heard Aria's high-pitched voice, which was almost as if it was trying to mask Muto's.

"I'm in the midst of battle. There are 2 people exactly like Aria on top of the train."

Answering with only that, I didn't say anything that might urge Aria to support.

The me as of now is in Hysteria Mode. I don't want to see girls in danger.

"Don't hold back, Sister Mei. It doesn't matter if you kill him."

"Yes. It doesn't matter if I kill him--!"

Thud---! Reading her Seiryuutou, Koko; Meimei ran towards me from the direction of advancement.

--Quick. Aided by the 250 km/h tailwind, she shortened the distance in a heartbeat.

And, with a stance reminiscent of baseball's head-first sliding, she charged this way.

"--!"

Thud!

The Seiryuutou, the force of her entire body behind it, swung at my feet, and I jumped lightly, avoiding it.

I wanted to jump upwards normally, but I was immediately buffeted backwards by the air pressure,--

PaPaPaPaPa!

The Koko holding a gun fired her Uzi from behind me.

Twisting around in the air, I--fired the same amount of bullets from my Beretta - Kinji Model, defending with Billiard Shot.

The enemy's bullets all exploded into sparks in the air--

"-Ha!"

This time, as if stretching out from the roof, Meimei, doing a handstand, immediately kicked up at me.

I had no choice, kicking girls is rather painful for me, but--

My feet and Koko's feet met each other midair--

And, I leaped off her feet as if they were a jumping platform.

Meimei and the me in Hysteria Mode. I jumped with the combined power of two. High. Jumping over the flowing power lines and the hanger of the power pole holding them up, swiftly flying upwards for two, three meters.

From midair, using the Desert eagle--boasting three times the stopping power of a Beretta, I fired at Meimei's Seiryuutou.

--BANG!

With the recoil akin to that of a mortar, I hung in the air for a moment.

As expected of the automatic strongest-class Desert Eagle. This power isn't to be laughed at.

Clank! Deflected, the Seiryuutou was torn out of Meimei's hands, sliding backwards on the top of the Shinkansen.

At the anterior of the car, just as Paonyang picked it up--Clank.

Still in the air, below my feet, the Shinkansen accelerated.

This speed--260 km/h--!

Paonyang embedded the Seiryuutou into the back of the Shinkansen, and I could see that she was using it as a pole to retain her balance.

"Yaiyaiya!"

Having lost her Seiryuutou, Meimei knelt to the ground while screaming that out, fishing two large fans from out of her sleeves.

(Battle-fan--huh? This is the first time I've come up against it.)

From the air, I looked down at the fans, dyed crimson and gold, widening.

I had seen Shirayuki use battle-function fans before, but they had been made out of bamboo and paper.

However, Meimei's Chinese fans were made of metal. The edge, gleaming in the moonlight, was a blade.

Running, Koko twisted her entire body, jumping upwards, trying to dice me like a mixer--

And against that edge, Chnk, Chnk!

I kicked off of it with my spikes, dancing into the air once again.

And once more, I fired the Desert Eagle in midair.

---BANG! ZNG!

Meimei immediately overlaid the metal fans, somewhat deflecting the .50AE bullet.

However, the Desert Eagle's stopping power was cheat-level. Destroying the two fans, it forced Meimei towards the front of the car.

Once again hanging in the air through the recoil, I brushed the aerial cables in the air, modifying my trajectory--

Finally touching the roof of the Shinkansen again, I stretched my arms outward, pointing the Doubla at the Koko sisters.

The light from Hamamatsu station flowed past us like innumerable tracer bullets.

I--

This battle is no longer in desolate territory.

An Aru=Kata gunfight at 260 km/h. This isn't something one can see in even Kung Fu movies.

It's a shame that Hong Kong's famous director, John Woo's camera isn't here.

--SSSHHHHAAAAAAAAA

Going onto a large curve, the Shinkansen leaned to the left as it tried to retain its bank angle.

For the sake of preventing the derailment of high-speed trains, they will take the curve like an airplane, banking.

The chassis moved with centrifugal force, and we were standing slanted along with the train.

Her back against the slanted ground beneath her, Meimei, having thrown away her broken fans, bent over--Ba

The flat of her hand standing erect, she stretched out her hands to retain her balance, her opened knees dropped till they reached right angles as she bent her hips.

And, Thud!

Just like what Riko had did to Haimaki at Butei High station, she kicked up with her right leg.

"As expected, Kinchi. You really do have good skills. If it were possible, I don't want to kill you."

Immediately pointing her right hand at me, Meimei shook her sleeves--Clank!

She took something small out of her sleeve, holding it in her hand.

I can't see it...What is it. What did she take out?

I have a bad feeling.

That is something--like a finishing move.

Staying alert, from the opposite side of Meimei--the sign of a gunshot was--!

"!"

The moment I dropped down--PaPaPaPaPaPa! The sound of gunshots rang out.

The bullets that Paonyang, walking this way, had fired with her Uzi whooshed over my head.

(...Danger!)

The stray bullets that I had just dodged were heading straight for Meimei, in front.

Thinking that, the me in Hysteria Mode readied the stance for Billiard Shot in an instant, but--

All the stray bullets passed through the air just left and right of Meimei. They didn't hit her.

Paonyang--as the Koko that specializes in marksmanship, had shot such that even if she missed me, she would not hit her sister.

With a Uzi, she sprayed countless of bullets in that instant--with a submachine gun.

Amazing marksmanship. The level of Aria, Kana, and I.

Does someone like that still remain in this world?

No...That was not all I should be surprised at.

Meimei--another Koko, was completely at ease.

She trusted that Paonyang's bullets would not hit her. As if she understood that she would not shoot herself.

(They're alteregoistic. These sisters...!)

I leaped upwards, kneeling on one knee on top of the car.

I tried to raised my Beretta to counterattack, but--

While switching the long-magazine of the Uzi, ThudThudThud, Paonyang kicked my head and gun while running over me. Towards Meimei.

Zuzaaaa, Paonyang, doing a headfirst slide at the end of the Shinkansen--

-at Meimei's feet, she stayed lying down like that. As if protecting herself from whatever was about to happen.

"--!"

My eyes caught sight of the equipment that Meimei had whipped out from the palm of her hand.

"Time for the fireworks."

That is--

-the thing which fires the vapor explosive bubbles, an atomizer!

"--Explosive Bubble Dragon Chain!"

Together with that scream, the Explosive Bubble that she released windward wasn't very visible in my dark field of vision--there were many of them.

Zig-zagging side by side, they rushed towards me like a miniature dragon.

(Fuck...!)

I can't--dodge that.

A bomb's area of effect is normally an expanding "sphere". Even if its diameter is the extent of a vehicle, one can dodge to the front or back.

However--multiple explosions, stretched out in a row, encompassing the whole of the top of the train, cannot be dodge.

I'll have to take it. If I don't prepare myself to any degree of damage, then...!

As I went "Tch", crossing my arms over my head, protecting it--

At Meimei's side--if one were to call it a dragon, the first Explosive Bubble popped at the tail.

BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM---!

The explosion set off the next bubble, and then the next bubble--the explosions continued in a chain. As if a slender Chinese Dragon was blazing into flame.

"--!"

I put strength into my legs, trying to withstand the impact, but--Clank!

As if a raging dragon had just thundered into my body, I was blown towards the back of the train.

The impact and heat wave stopped my breathing, and for a second, my consciousness--went blank.

Even so, without releasing the guns on my left and right, standing up on the roof, in my ears--

"Meimei! Get Kinji off! Sister Juu came to assist! She came earlier than planned!"

-could hear Koko's voice saying that.

Looking up towards the sky, from the air behind me, Barabarabarabara...

As if brushing past the stars between the clouds, I could see a helicopter come.

(Now...Reinforcements for the enemy are coming now...!?)

Earlier, Koko had said, "Promise for a date".

It seemed that that was meeting up and extraction with the companion that was riding this helicopter.

Not even leaving me enough time to frown, Meimei fished a small gourd out of her sleeves, which were being buffeted by the wind--

Guii-----! Thud.

With a pose as if gazing up into the sky, she faced straight up, emptying the contents in one gulp, throwing it away.

"---Drunken Eight Trigrams Palm---"

Sway. In a moment, Meimei, looking as if she had lost her balance--

TapTapTapTapTap! While her twin-tails were fluttering like ribbons in gymnastics, she closed in on me with frontal somersaults and cartwheels.

"--!?"

My reaction towards those erratic movements, which I had seen for the very first time, was late.

Movements like stepping on the gourd that she had thrown away and tripping mixed in, I could not keep Meimei in my sights.

Wh-what kind of movement is that? Drinking alcohol and then fighting...that's impossible!

"JYAAAOOH!"

Thump.

Meimei extended her legs, clinging to my waist, who was barely standing.

"Kuh...!"

No, not only her legs.

Shh--snaking around my neck was a twin-tail.

This is what I had been subjected to on the day of "Water Tossing", the irregular choke. That front...!

"ShanShiKeiKeiBa!"

In a heartbeat, Koko was holding her own twin-tails, Guiii!

She threw herself backwards.

"...!"

The same as the day of the opening ceremony, my windpipe and carotid artery was clamped.

I grabbed hold of Koko's twin-tails as if we were playing tug of war, trying to resist, but--

-added to Koko's two arms, she was using the power of her back to pull the tails on her left and right completely tight.

I-I can't...I'm losing my strength...!

"Kihihi! From the beginning, you can't win the princess of the middle of the world! Peaceful idiot Japanese!"

This is bad...my consciousness is starting to fade...

...I'm done. My mind in Hysteria Mode told me that calmly.

This is my loss. Once again.

The first reason being, this was two against one.

Moreover, those two could completely synchronize their actions exhibiting perfect co-operation.

Teamwork increases the power of individuals.

Yes, I had--been subjected to the figurative opposite of what we had always done to EU's assassins.

(This too is...divine retribution...?)

The second reason for my loss was...Hysteria Mode. That weak-point had been exposed.

I did not want to hurt girls, without letting Aria join the battle, my battle ability dropped, and even the enemy, Koko, I tried to protect, creating an opening.

Naive. Too naive.

I...really am a peaceful idiot Japanese person.

I smiled a wry smile, tainted with self-derision, but even the muscles in my face...I could no longer put strength into them.

Blackout----when blood no longer flows to the brain, the optic nerves cease their function--at the denouement of that feeling, as I lose consciousness--