Vol 2 Chapter 2 (1/2)
Chapter 2: Rainy Girl
Part 1
”Oh, Itsuka…Eh? What happened to you?”
It was s into the classroom, was called out with a puzzled voice by Tonomachi
Well even if it wasn't hi at his current state, everyone would have had the same impression too
Because whether it was his face or hands, his whole body was practically covered in bandages, on top of that his steps were staggering so much that it seemed like he would fall over anytime
”…Aah, a little so”
shi+dou gave a wry sh
Over to the side Tonohter
”Oh yeah, I heard that net radio, as up with that? It was pretty da”
shi+dou's face twitched upon hearing those words
”Y-you've already heard it? that”
”Oh, I listened to it a little before I left the house But that's supposed to be a joke right? It would be scary if that were real”
”Ah…Hahahaha… Yeah, y-you're right…”
shi+dou let out a dry laugh and averted his gaze
”Lea-Leaving that aside Tono at?”
shi+dou raised his voice in order to change the topic as it would be troublesoained more interest in that radio broadcast
Tonoe in the back of a azine
”Ah, this— Oh yeah, I also want to ask you about so”
”W-what is it?”
shi+dou asked hi
”Nurse, miko, or maid…… Which one do you like most?”
”…Huh?”
shi+dou let out a startled voice due to Tonomachi's unexpected question
”It's been decided that the gravure costu poll… This is so troubling”
”…Ahh, is that so”
shi+dou replied with a sigh Tonoazine towards shi+dou
”So? Which one do you like!?”
”Eh…errrrmm…then……the maid…?”
shi+dou replied due to being pressured by Tonoor In that moment, Tonomachi's eyebrows suddenly twitched
”Wh-What's wrong?”
”——To think that you would like maids! I'm sorry but our friendshi+p ends here!”
”……”
shi+dou, scratched his cheek, then walked over to his own seat
”H-Hey, where are you going? Itsuka!”
”……Our friendshi+p ends here right?”
”Hey, What the heck? Aren't you being too serious Don't you think a world where Maid lovers and Nurse lovers can coexist in peace is also kind of good? ”
It seems like Tonomachi is in the Nurse faction
shi+dou placed his bag on his seat, all the while ignoring Tonoazine on his table and followed him over
At thata bulky reference book——Origalanced towards him
”……”
”O-Oh…Tobi+chi, good ”
”Good ”
Origami replied in a monotonous voice and then tilted her head
”Maid?”
It seemed that she heard the conversation just now shi+dou waved his hands all flustered
”…Uh, n-no, don't mind that”
”I see”
Origahts towards the book
”Good mornin—”
Immediately after, Tonoahtest
Tonorinding shi+dou in the side of his stomach
”Although this happens every tiets a reply back after a welcome? Y-You…”
”Ho-How should I know? Stop it already”
shi+dou shook off the annoying Tonomachi, and arrived at his seat
The door of the classroom rolled open, and Tohka entered
Naturally, due to Tohka currently now living in the Itsuka family house, the route to school was exactly the saether it would probably appear suspicious, so Tohka had to leave a bit later after shi+dou
In addition to that, she was still affected by that terrible induction she received aftermore fuel to the fire when 75 days haven't even past
”……”
Tohka silently sat in her seat on the right side of shi+dou's desk and without looking at him, she moved her lips
”…Err, about…this , I'm sorry Is your body okay?”
It see shi+dou scratched his cheeks whilea bitter smile
”O-Oh…Don't worry about it…”
”Mu……”
Tohka made a s
”…Ah”
Several class them stares of interest
But, it seems Tohka had not yet realized it
”Bu-But you were also at fault too You suddenly…You knoas surprised”
Because of Tohka's words, everyone listening caught their breath
”To-Tohka…Why don't we have this talk later…?”
”Huh? Why is that?”
Tohka faced shi+dou while tilting her head, and finally noticed the gazes co from everyone
”…Eh?”
Tohka gasped in surprise and sweat starting falling down her cheeks She had remembered that yesterday at home it was explained to her that the fact that shi+dou and Tohka were living together was a secret
”I-It's not what you think everyone! It's not like ether!?”
”——!?”
Everyone from the class frowned all at the same time
”I-Idiot…”
shi+dou muttered softly and then intentionally spoke in a loud voice
”A-Aaah! In theto school we coincidentally bumped into each other! Were you okay Tohka!?”
”Mu…? U-Umu, no problem!”
Tohka seeh it was difficult, they ether
Well, although it did look kind of forced…Originally, the talk of [a high school ether] itself sounded unrealistic, he continued blabbering until everyone felt satisfied just in case
…Well even so, there was still one person to shi+dou's left side asn't satisfied…A feive anyone the chills
”……”
Somehow, he felt like he would coh
—However, that proble speed
The 4th period bell rang and echoed throughout the building, indicating that lunch break had started
And at the same time,
”shi+dou! It's lunch time!”
”……”
At shi+dou's desk— to the left and right, Jyan! tables were docked on both sides
And of course, on his right was Tohka, and on the left was Origami
”…Nu…What do you want? You're disturbing us”
”That's my line”
Froed from both sides
”We-Well……Calht…?”
When shi+dou said that, reluctantly, Tohka and Origami quietly sat down And then both of thes
shi+dou followed, bringing out his own bento, and placed it on the table All of theether, and then—
”……”
He saw Origa unprepared
shi+dou's bento was so And of course it washome this month)
Naturally— if it was necessary to prepare another person's portion of hurriedly prepared bento, it was shi+dou's job to do so
”……”
Origaave shi+dou a cold look, and co the contents
—The sa identical
”Nu, hat? Even if you give ive it to you…”
Tohka didn't realize the seriousness of this ami a puzzled look
”What is theof this?”
”Thi-This is…”
When Origami asked her question, shi+dou burst out in a cold sweat and avoided eye-contact
”Ac-Actually This was being sold by the lunch vendor thisand coincidentally Tohka was also there—”
”Liar”
Origami interrupted shi+dou midway, and then removed shi+dou's bento box lid
”154 days ago, you bought this at the discount shop that is in front of the station for 1580 yen, and you are still using it This is not so from the lunch vendor”
”H-How do you know so like tha-?”
”That isn't iht now”
No, he thought that this was kind of an ia Like just now, his words would have been stopped halfway
”Muu, ere you two talking about just now! Don't split up the group!”
Fro left out, raised her voice, puffing up her cheeks
And, at that moment
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-----------
A loud alarhout the whole town
In an instant, the noisy classroo lunch break, suddenly went quiet
—It was the spacequake alarm
Around 30 years ago, a threat towards people, the worst disaster, was referred to as spacequake, and looms as an omen for disaster
”……”
At that ami had showed an expression of hesitation, and then immediately stood up fro speed
”…Eh?”
shi+dou was in a confused state and could only follow her using his eyes…Well, although it was a little indiscreet, he couldn't help but think that he was saved by the alar at the perfect time
While Tobi+chi Origami was a student, she was also a talented individual in the Ground Self-Defense Forces' AST
Meaning, she was heading towards the battlefront right at this moment— To kill the Spirits, just like the situation with Tohka before
”……”
shi+dou clenched his teeth
He knew he couldn't stop Origami But—
Over there at the classrooirl's voice echoed in a dazed state
”……Everyone, it's the alarround shelter immediately”
The physics teacher dressed in a white coat— Reine, pointed her fingers towards the direction of the corridor
After the students sed their saliva, they exited towards the corridor one by one
”Nu? shi+dou, where is everyone going?”
Tohka asked while looking at the other class her head
”Ah-Aah…to the shelter There is one under the school”
”Shelter…?”
”Aah For now, let's leave the explanation for later We are going too Tohka”
”Nu-Nuu”
Tohka regretfully glanced at her untouched bento, and stood up following shi+dou's instruction
They followed the other classmates and exited to the corridor
”……shi+n You're co this way”
Riene caught shi+dou by the collar
”Uh, Reine-san? This way means…”
”……Isn't it obvious? We're going to the <fraxinus>”
When shi+dou questioned her, he raised his voice but not loud enough to allow the other students to hear them, and Reine replied
”……It has only been one day……You ht not have made your decision yet on what you will do fro ant to show you The Spirits and the current situation”
shi+dou sed his saliva to moisten his dry throat and clenched his fist
”…I understand I'll go”
Reineat the students that were lined up, she faced towards the entrance
”……Well, let's hurry It won't be long before the spacequake”
”Y-Yes And— Ah, Reine-san Is it okay if we didn't bring Tohka along?”
He said as he glanced towards Tohka
Speaking of Tohka, she was looking confusedly at the class up for evacuation
”……Aah, it's about that— Umu, ill have Tohka evacuate to the shelter with everyone else”
”Eh? Is that okay?”
”……Aah With her powers currently in a sealed state, Tohka isn't that different from other humans Also, if she sees the battle between the Spirit and the AST, she ht be troubled if she reht? [Ratatoskr] wants to avoid having Tohka accumulate stress as much as possible”
”No, but……”
Right when shi+dou wanted to say soh pitched voice echoed
”Ho-Hora, Itsuka-kun and Yatogami-san, even Murasame-sensei too! P-Please don't just stop and stand over there! If both of you don't hurry and evacuate, the dangerous is danger!”
shi+dou's homeroom teacher Okamine Tamae, nicknamed Tama-chan, perked up her s of her words was confusing though
”……Un, if we get caught we'll end up in an annoying situation Let's go”
Reine nal with her eyes and faced her feet towards the entrance
”Uh, ah wait a second—”
Although it was a little worrying, it couldn't be helped shi+dou roan and scratched his head He then took Tohka's hand and placed it in Tama-chan's hand
”Sensei, I' on you to take care of Tohka!”
”Fue? Eh? Ah, ye-yes, of course”
Tama-chan was quickly entrusted with Tohka, her eyes were in circles as if she was suddenly du [I-I'm also a teacher too!”]
”shi+dou…?”
Tohka curved her eyebrows in uneasiness
”Tohka, listen Please evacuate together with Sensei to the shelter”
”What about you? What are you going to do shi+dou?”
”Ah…I, have an important task to do Go on ahead without me Okay?”
”…! Ah! shi+-shi+dou!”
”Itsuka-kun! Murasa!?”
While hearing worried voices from the pair left behind, shi+dou and Reine ran outside the school building
Part 2
”—Aah, both of you ca on you for the preparations, Reine”
From the captain's seat, Kotori said this to thee of the <fraxinus>
”…Ah”
Reineback her white coat's hee
”—Now then…”
And, when shi+dou re her head
”Although we are sorry that we didn't give you much time but have you made your decision? shi+dou”
”…Uh—”
He choked But, over froe, a loud sound from the siren echoed
”Wha…What?”
”An unusually strong Spirit wave reading has been detected! It's co!”
A e, and shi+dou's eyes were spinning from the confusion
When Kotori heard the shout, pachin she snapped her fingers
”Okay Switch the Main e of where the prediction site is”
When Kotori gave the order, a bird's-eye view of the toas projected on the main monitor
It was the main street which was lined with ures visible, as if it was a ghost town
In the e, Warp
”Eh…?”
At first, he had thought that the i
The space
The space, that originally was empty, distorted, it was as if a ripple on the surface of water was created by throwing a rock at it
”Wha-What is this…?”
”Ara? Is this the first time shi+dou has seen this?”
The er—
He thought that a sether with the sound of an explosion, the screen had turned pure white
”——!”
Although he knew that this was an event happening inside the screen, he instinctively covered his face with his arms
After a few seconds, while slowly dropping his arms, he opened his eyes, and on the screen was a totally different scene from before
In the town, a hole had opened up
There was no other way to express it
A portion of the buildings that were supposed to be lined up, were shaved off into a shallol shape
Shops, street lights, telephone poles, and even the surface of the road that was supposed to be there, everything, had disappeared
What's more, maybe due to the after-effects of the explosion, the surrounding area looked as if a huge hurricane had struck
This o, the place where he first met Tohka
Which means, just now, that was—
”…spacequake…”
shi+dou said in a shaky voice, Kotori [yes] consented
”—This is the dimensional distortion that occurs when a Spirit comes over to this world And the cala nature”
”……”
He had seen the ruins of buildingsthe moment the explosion occurred
His palms were sweaty
There were tiure out the phenomenon in his head— and thanks to this experience, he finally felt like he understood it
He understood the terror it causes— The town, the space where people live their daily lives, was destroyed, all in an instant
”Well, at least this time the explosion was on a small-scale”
”It seems like it”
Kotori and a tall ht behind her— Vice commander Kannazuki Kyouhei, had commented
”Good fortune— hat I wanted to say, but since this is the [Hermit] this much should be normal”
”Well, I guess so Even a the Spirits, she has the docile-type disposition”
shi+dou, still silent, pushed together his brows
—That explosion just now, it was small-scaled?
At first, he didn't understand what Kotori and the others were talking about, but then immediately remembered
That ht be the case Since the spacequake left a crater around 10 meters in diameter From their perspective, it should be a small compared to the others
Of course…even if he fully understood this now…
”…Hey, Kotori”
So in Kotori and the others' conversation bothered shi+dou He opened his mouth to speak
”What on earth is [Hermit]?”
”Aah, it's the code-name of the Spirit that just appeared Wait for a moment— Can you zoom in on the screen?”
Kotori, pointed her finger towards the crew e
When she did that, the iht in the middle of the town
And with that, soed on-screen
”…Rain?”
shi+dou quietly muttered
Without warning, he thought that the screen turn darker, dripdrip, rain started to descend
But— that wasn't what interested hier cared about the rain
In the middle of the area that looked like a crater, they were able to detect the figure of a sirl
”—?!”
A shock hit his heart, as if it had been grabbed by an eagle's talons, and passed throughout his whole body
Standing still in the irl And what's nized of her
”Ah, that is…”
Covered by a hood with rabbit ears like accessories, was a blue haired girl
She looked to be around 13 to 14 years old, wearing a large coat and innerwear made from a mysterious material
And on her left hand, with a con, a rabbit puppet was equipped
If shi+dou's eyes and brain orking properly…then that ithout a doubt—
The girl he had encountered yesterday when he was returning home from school
”—? What's wrong shi+dou?”
Seeing shi+dou act strangely, Kotori spoke in a dubious voice
shi+dou, after gazing at the screen once, reasserted himself
”I-I've irl before…”
”What did you say? When did this happen?”
”Just yesterday…when I was returning ho—”
shi+dou, going through his memories, spoke briefly about the events that happened yesterday
After hearing shi+dou talk for a while, Kotori pointed her fingers to the crew on the lower bridge
”Send the Spirit wave reading from yesterday at 1600 to 1700 to my terminal, ASAP!”
And then she lowered her sights to the screen she was holding, and scratched her head in frustration
”…It didn't recognize the main numerical value of the disorder huh It was the same with Tohka last time…shi+dou, why didn't you tell me this at home yesterday?”
”Do-don't say so impossible I didn't know she was a Spirit when I first met her…!”
At the sa, the speaker that was installed on the <fraxinus> bridge roared with a loud sound
”—!? What, is going on—”
”—The Spirit did appear…So we aren't the only ones taking action”
shi+dou's finger tips twitched a little from Kotori's words
”The AST…huh?”
”Yes”
He glanced towards the screen— Smoke swirled around the place where the Spirit was — which was now being called [Hermit] Probably, a missile or some sort of explosive was launched at her
And surrounding her, a s heavyaround
The Ground Self-Defense Forces' Anti-Spirit Team, in short, the AST
Different froanization, [Ratatoskr], which was led by Kotori and the others, they were a special tea military power that aimed to eliminate all Spirits
Inside the smoke, a small silhouette Hop, jumped out— It was [Hermit]
The girl with her left hand tucked into a puppet ca AST round, and leapt into the sky
The AST members immediately responded, and pursued [Hermit] all at once
And with the weapons that were installed into their armor, an innumerable amount of ammunitions were fired
”—! Look out!”
Reflexively shi+dou had shouted— but the warning didn't do anything useful across the screen The large barrage of bullets and missiles released by the AST members hit [Hermit]'s body mercilessly
”Those guys……doing that to that girl…”
His eyes opened wide, and he was grinding the back of this teeth
”……What are you trying to say after all this time?”
As he did that, Kotori, had said that while having her eyes halfway open
”Didn't you learn anything when this happened to Tohka? To the AST, it doesn'tthat matters is their sense of duty to protect this world; To those people, they would reject any dangerous existence and follow their survival instincts like animals”
”But…even so!”
The irl leapt into the sky once again
But- [Her from place to place
”That girl…Why doesn't she fight back?”
”This isn't unusual Even a the Spirits [Hermit] is a very docile type”
”…Then—”
”If you're asking for the AST to have irl is a Spirit, they won't stop”
”…Kuh!”
In response to the flat out answer, shi+dou bit his lip
No…Even if he were to repeat himself, he already knew the answer
Her disposition, or her personality, to the AST it doesn't matter
To the down the enemy that causes harm to this world
—The method that could overthrow this situation…there was only one way
shi+dou clenched his fingers in a fist so tightly, he thought that blood was about to flow out Quietly, he cleared his throat
”…Kotori”
”What?”
”…If it wasn't because of her Spirit power…that girl would have never been targeted by the AST, right?”
When shi+dou said that, Kotori knitted her eyebrows together, and her eyes faced shi+dou
”Yes— That's absolutely right”
”The spacequakes…they wouldn't have occurred right?”
”Yes”
shi+dou kept quiet for a
”—And I can make that happen?”
”If you still don't believeTohka's present condition, then I don't mind if you doubt me”
”……”
After shi+dou scratched his head, he used both his hands to pull his cheeks
He gently lifted his down cast eyes, and reasserted his determination
”Help irl…!”
”—Fufu…”
Kotori, looking happy, made her candy rod stand up
”Now that is—— My Onii-chan”
She turned to face the crew on the lower bridge, and shouted
”All members prepare for a Level One capture!”
”ROGER!”
The crewtheir consoles all at once
While Kotori was gazing upon this scene, she licked her lips
”Now then—— let us begin the DateWar!”
Part 3
”—Hey, Tama-chan sensei”
Tohka who had evacuated to the established large-type underground shelter in the school, as if to suppress her rustling feelings, grabbed the heht beside her
”Ya-Yatoga me that…”
Taree coo
But Tohka, disregarding Tah of rejection, continued her words
”That sound just noas that? What on earth is this place?”
”Wha-What are you saying That alarht be a chance a spacequake round shelter since it will be safe here”
”spacequake…? What is that?”
Tohka tilted her head, and Tama-chan wore a 'surprised' expression
”Eh? What is a spacequake? You don't know?”
”……Muu”
After being told that, Tohka made an aard and unhappy face
It would see, was a word that everyone knows
There ht be a chance that she had asked a bad question Tohka had been warned by shi+dou to avoid doing things that norant is okay but try to avoid crossing the line that could lead to exposing yourself'
And, not knowing how to handle the silence, Tama-chan shook her hands in panic
”Ah, no no, it's alright I guess that, there are still people that don't know”