Infinite Stratos Volume 4 Read online

  Cecilia gave two slow blinks, then slowly broke the ice.

  “Ling...”

  “WHAT?!”

  “Let’s go inside and get a drink. I don’t really have a handle on what’s going on either, but...” Above Cecilia’s smile, a vein throbbed on her forehead. “...I’d like an explanation.”

  Before the gates of Water World. The charged air around them seemed to shimmer and twist with something other than the summer heat.

  ◆

  “So Ichika must have sent me here in his place.”

  “Sure looks like it.”

  “Sigh. So something was up. Honestly, I knew it sounded too good to be true.”

  “Liar. Look at how much effort you put into your outfit.”

  “What?! Wait, no! I just wanted to dress properly for an outing!”

  “Sure, fine, whatever.”

  Ling folded her napkin into a paper airplane as she half-ignored Cecilia. The soft paper, as expected, simply fell to the ground rather than gliding. It was a good match for her mood.

  “Hmm-hmm.”

  “Sigh...”

  Two sighs overlapped in Water World’s café.

  “So?”

  “So what?”

  “Wanna leave?”

  “I suppose. I’m in no mood to swim.”

  “Sigh. Guess I will too...”

  Just as they both stood up, an announcement came over the PA.

  “And now, let me tell you about today’s main event! The duo aquatic obstacle course championship begins at one! If you want to enter, come to the reception area by noon!” At first, it sounded completely uninteresting, but then came the kicker. “Grand prize is an all-expenses-paid, five-day six-night trip to Okinawa!”

  —That’s it!

  —What a stroke of luck!

  A trip to Okinawa. It’d be impossible for Ichika to worm his way out if they brought up what happened today. And with that in mind—

  “Cecilia!”

  “Ling!”

  “LET’S WIN THIS!”

  A firm handshake. Thus was born an unprecedented—if only because it was the first time—partnership.

  ◆

  “The first annual Water World duo aquatic obstacle course championships begins now!”

  The MC shouted as she leapt into the air. Her sudden motion seemed almost enough to make her voluptuous chest jump out of her skimpy bikini top. A primarily, low-pitched roar of approval rose from the gathered crowd of spectators, perhaps for the start of the race or perhaps just for that. If nothing else, they certainly appreciated that all the contestants were women. Of course, every single man who’d tried to sign up were met with a laugh that could only mean “Come on, dude, how dense are you.” Even in a female-dominated society, some things remained the same. And one of those was that swimming races were best with women as the participants. That was championship organizer and park owner Mukoujima Kouichirou’s guiding principle—or at least his fetish.

  “All right, everyone! Give our contestants a round of applause!”

  The participants bowed, to a hail of applause. Yet one pair among them was more focused on other things. Ling and Cecilia. The two were looking each other over as they went through their warmups.

  “Whew. New swimsuit, Cecilia?”

  “Well, yes. How shall I phrase it, it was, ah, a change of mood.”

  “Liar. I bet you just wanted to show it off to Ichika. It’s really obvious when you pick something that flashy.”

  “I don’t need to hear that from you! And what about you, anyway? Slimmed down a tad from the class trip last month, haven’t you?”

  “Well, of course! That’s what happens when you live healthily!”

  “I see, I see. I’d never have expected that from a night owl like you.”

  Even if they were officially a duo, there was still plenty of competition going on. But each was more than ready to go, and both knew just how much was resting on this race.

  “The grand prize is an all-expenses-paid, five-day six-night trip to the island paradise of Okinawa! Everyone, do your best!”

  Yes. Their goal was that prize. Each of them let out a low chuckle as they dreamed of their victory.

  No matter how much of a blockhead Ichika is, he has to know what happens when a young couple takes an island vacation.

  They say summer changes a person. So if it’s their last chance to make summer memories...

  Their eyes drifted together.

  “Ehe.”

  “Ahahah.”

  I’ll figure out how to get them away from Cecilia later.

  Perhaps I can trade something to Ling for them.

  As the two finished their warmups, underlying their grins was a cunning wariness.

  “So, let’s explain the rules! The first team which makes it to the island in the center of this fifty-by-fifty meter pool and grabs the flag is the winner! Now, as you can see, the course spirals inward. It’s littered with obstacles that teams will only be able to overcome by working together! Teams will have to show their friendship, their compatibility, and their ability to cooperate!”

  Ling and Cecilia looked over the course as they listened. The central island itself loomed imposingly in midair... Well, it was hung up with wires, but that wasn’t the problem.

  There’s no way to swim up to that. Need to find a shortcut, like—

  That’s going to be hard to get to. And they said that if we pull it down into the pool, they’ll reset it.

  Each realizing how clever the setup was, they began to plan around it.

  None of the other participants are pilots, so...

  Ling and Cecilia were each national cadets, commanding all the firepower of a 20th-century army, and they had the training to match. They’d easily be able to take any man off the street in a fight. They’d even have a fair chance against a trained soldier. The capabilities of an IS demanded an equally-capable pilot.

  “All right! The race is about to begin! On your marks, ready...”

  Bang! The report of the startup pistol echoed as 24 members of 12 teams dove into the pool at once.

  “Cecilia!”

  “Got it!” The neighboring team who’d snuck in a quick leg sweep at the start had reached the first island. This race was no-holds-barred. But what rule could be more suited to a pair of national cadets with military-equivalent training? “Here I go!”

  “Yeah!”

  Grabbing that other team’s ankles, they pulled them back down to the water. Quickly, the race was split into teams focused on taking the lead and teams focused on holding back the others. But that created its own problem. As the youngest duo there, Ling and Cecilia were the center of attention. All eyes were on them—or on the targets which may as well have been painted on their backs.

  “Ugh, this sucks!”

  “Out of my way!”

  No matter how many opponents they pulled back down, they just kept coming. It seemed like there was an arrangement between the leaders and the scrappers, who were more concerned with climbing back into their way than making progress themselves.

  “Ugh, we’re gonna get left behind!”

  Watching the leaders reach the second island, Ling and Cecilia began to feel the pressure, and they looked over at each other.

  “It’s a bit early, but it’s time to show what we have up our sleeves.”

  “Sigh... I’m not sure this is a good idea...”

  “You want to win, right?”

  “You’re right! We have to win this!”

  As they spoke over their private channel, Ling and Cecilia faced the pair blocking their way. With a roar, their foes linked arms for a lariat. Sighing, Ling and Cecilia slipped past them like a breeze. With a loud splash, the other team fell back to the pool.

  “It doesn’t matter how many times you pull us down, we’ll keep coming back!”

  The enemy team floated back to the surface. But they were missing one vital thing.

  “They say, ‘Woman cannot live without swimsuits...’”

  “As Marie Antoinette may have said, let them swim nude.”

  “EEEEEEEK!”

  After a quick glance at their foes, Ling and Cecilia wadded up the tops they’d stolen and threw them backward into the crowd. As could be expected—no, even more so—the men went into a frenzy.

  “That’s one obstacle out of the way.”

  “Let’s catch up.”

  The first island was set up to require one teammate to hold a float steady while the other clambered over a wall, but—

  “We need to make up for lost time.”

  “Yeah. We can’t let them get any further ahead.”

  Ling and Cecilia both leapt for the float at once. It was tiny, not even enough to hold a single woman above water alone, but each cleared it with the agility of an acrobat. A cartwheeling handspring carried Ling over clearly. Shortly after, Cecilia followed. The crowd’s attention was pulled away from the lost tops by their performance, and a cheer echoed.

  “That was amazing! They may only be high school students, but they must have some sort of special training!”

  Next up was the second island, where they were simply able to ignore the obstacle. One was supposed to block a water jet as the other passed through, but they just raced by at once.

  “Hahaha! That was easy!”

  “Nothing compared to a minefield.”

  The third and fourth islands were equally easy, and soon they made it to the fifth and final one.

  “Let’s finish this!”

  Realizing that just rushing forward would lose them the race, the leaders turned to face Ling and Cecilia.

  “Ahahaha. As if mere civilians could handle us national—”

  “That’s Kizaki and Kishimoto! They’re going
to hit us with their martial arts!”

  “...Wait, what? What do you mean, their martial arts?”

  “One of them’s got an Olympic gold in wrestling, and the other’s got a silver in judo! I’d heard they were friends, and it looks like they’ve figured out how to combine their disciplines too!”

  “What? A gold medalist? Hey, wait, don’t they look different from everyone else?”

  ‘Macho women’ was the perfect phrase for the duo who were bearing down on Ling and Cecilia with an angry roar.

  Oh no! We’re already worn out from racing here! If we try to mix it up with these muscleheads—

  They’ll simply plow over us...

  Realizing the danger of their exhaustion, the two unconsciously came to a stop. But this just made it worse.

  “Got you!”

  “Ugh!”

  Ling and Cecilia wanted to leap backward and open some distance, but they were on a floating island... There was nowhere to run.

  “We’ve got to... Cecilia!”

  “What is it?!”

  “I have a plan! Go in!”

  “You want me to frontline?!”

  “Yeah! There’s no time to explain!”

  “Ugh, whatever!”

  As the medalists closed in, Cecilia rushed forward in a suicidal attack.

  If I can just distract them! I believe in you, Ling!

  “Cecilia! Turn around!”

  “Eh?”

  Cecilia spun around as she heard her name yelled. Filling her vision was the sole of Ling’s foot.

  “Whaa— BWUH!”

  Right in the face. Right in the face, hard.

  “Got it!”

  Rin hopped off Cecilia, flung her light body toward the goal... and came up with with the flag.

  “We won!”

  Behind her, the island, destabilized by her leap, tipped, as the medalists’ tackle carried them and Cecilia off into the water meters below.

  Splaaaash!

  Ling squinted while gazing into the waterspout.

  “Thank you, Cecilia. I couldn’t have done it without your sacrifice.”

  Cecilia’s smiling face floated in the sky. As if she were dead.

  “Fufufu.” A laugh, as chill as absolute zero, welled up from the depths, followed by an even more intense waterspout. “I absolutely will not forgive this! You stepped on my face! With your foot! Ling!”

  Cecilia, with Blue Tears formed around her swimsuit, glared at Ling with rage.

  “Oh, you want some— Shenlong!”

  Ling materialized Shenlong and quickly moved to counter.

  “Wait, are you two IS Academy students? I never imagined we’d be seeing two IS today! But wait, wait! Is that allowed?”

  The MC’s voice was filled with a blend of enthusiasm and bewilderment. As she waved her hands, her bust jiggled along.

  “Got you!”

  “Rahhh!”

  Clang! Sparks flew as their blades clashed.

  “Tears!”

  “Too slow!”

  As Cecilia launched her bits, Ling skillfully weaved in and out with bursts of her thrusters.

  “Ugh! Inertial braking... You’re as sharp as ever!”

  The barrel of Cecilia’s rifle wavered as it traced over targets. Ling seized on the opportunity.

  “My impact cannon’s faster than yours! Eat this!”

  She squeezed off a triple shot while still upside down, before closing in for the kill. Cecilia was ready, though, and parried with her rifle.

  “Once you stop, I’ve got the advantage!”

  Her bits shot twice at Ling’s back.

  “I’m still faster at this range!”

  Close enough to reach out and touch each other, the two fired their weapons at full power. Neither backed down, and—

  “Ah...”

  “Eh?”

  “Uh?”

  FSHOOOOM! The explosion shook Water World.

  ◆

  “Anyway! This sort of thing is absolutely, ab-so-lutely! Unacceptable!”

  “Yes, ma’am...”

  Ling and Cecilia, back in their street clothes, shrunk back from the likewise clothed MC in her office. Fortunately, no one had been injured, but the pool had been partially destroyed, and even the skylight overhead was cracked.

  “I can’t believe you two!”

  “Er, ah...”

  “What?!”

  “Well, um, about the competition...”

  “So, uh. We still get the prize, right?”

  The MC glared at them with a killer’s gaze.

  “Sorry... Never mind...”

  With the damage Ling and Cecilia’s IS had done, the race was of course canceled. And there were no winners in a canceled race. They felt the last flickers of hope wink out, leaving their spirits shrouded in gloom.

  “Someone from the Academy will be along shortly to collect you... Try not to do any more damage before then.”

  “Yeah...”

  It was already five o’ clock, and the setting sun gave an orange cast to the world. The faraway buzzing of cicadas sounded almost mocking. Ring, ring. The phone in the office rang, and the MC picked it up.

  “Front office. Yes, of course. Understood.” With a clatter, she hung the phone up and waved at Ling and Cecilia as if to shoo them away. “They’ve arrived. Get out of here.”

  “Understood...”

  As the door clicked shut behind them, they shuffled out, staring at the carpet.

  “You two look really down. Was she that hard on you?”

  “What?!”

  They both looked up at once.

  “Yo.”

  Waiting for them was the man each had planned on spending the day together with in the first place: Ichika.

  “Ms. Yamada was supposed to come, but something came up. I was done with the testing, so I—”

  Before he could even finish his sentence, Ling and Cecilia both took a step forward and grabbed him by his collar.

  “Seriously...!”

  “It’s all your fault! If it wasn’t for you...”

  Even Ichika knew to wilt and make a quick excuse under those withering glares.

  “W-Wait! I’m sorry! I don’t know what for, but I’m sorry! Uh— Why don’t we stop for something on the way back? Anyone in the mood for an early dessert? Huh?”

  “........”

  Ling and Cecilia each thought for a few seconds, then leaned forward and whispered.

  “@Cruise...”

  “The most expensive of the limited-edition parfaits.”

  “Ugh.”

  That was 2,500 yen each. Ichika slumped, realizing how much more it was than he’d planned on.

  “Problem?”

  “Oh, you think you have the option to refuse?”

  “Fine... Sigh...”

  For the girls, Ichika’s decision was like flicking a switch. As glum as they’d been before, now, they clutched his arms joyously.

  “All right, let’s go!”

  “Ah! Cecilia, why are you grabbing his arm?! Ichika! Me too!”

  “W-What’s going on? Why are you—”

  “We can barely walk.”

  Ling and Cecilia’s voices overlapped.

  “Can’t we?”

  “Indeed.”

  “.........”

  Ichika sighed at their coordination, and together, slowly, they set off for @Cruise, a diner by the station.

  “I suppose this will suffice as an apology.”

  “But we won’t be so easily pleased next time, understand?”

  “Sure, sure...”

  The trio cast a long, long shadow in the setting sun. Such were the events of a dog day of August.

  Chapter II: A Rhapsody of Two Kittens

  “Laura Bodewig. Rank, Ensign. Current assignment, IS test pilot.”

  A dimly-lit room. The chill air made it obvious that it was underground. This... This was a dark place in my memories.

  RTI training. Resistance to interrogation. The worst part of military training. Not too long ago, the room it was conducted in had been used for actual interrogation—actual torture. The dark stains on the floor had nothing to do with the chill damp.

  The sound of dripping water. Condensation falling from the ceiling ate at my mind.

  “How are you feeling? Not very good, huh?”

  Without the determination to stand or the energy to sit up, I let the question drift by me. The master of this room was a woman, but I could not see her face. Backlit, she stood with her hands folded behind her waist. Her voice rang clearly, almost beautifully, in the damp air.