AABullet 25: Oleander Part 2
… Kiyochikuto just stares at Takachiho, who had suddenly appeared from nowhere, with an expressionless face that made it impossible to read her thoughts.
To Kiyochikuto,
“The Akari Mamiya before you managed to defeat me. To insult her and call her “weak” is also an insult to me.”
Takachiho using her own reasoning and logic managed to make it so that Kiyochikuto also insulted her.
Kiyochikuto in response is quiet, either because she doesn’t care what Takachiho is saying or because she has not even bothered to listen to her.
However, whether she is the shy type, didn’t care, or does not want to give unnecessary information to Takachiho, who had interrupted her… The talkativeness she had when she was one-on-one with Akari before disappeared entirely.
At any rate though, right now Akari has the numerical advantage,
“Takachiho-san, thank you… You saved me.”
As Akari stood back up, she thanked Takachiho.
“…”
The last time they met, at the quartet, Akari was fiercely hostile to Takachiho, and so Takachiho having Akari honestly thank her…
With a face that didn’t know how to react, she turned bright red.
However, as she looked at Akari with her innocent and grateful face thanking her… For just a moment Takachiho understood what “moe” truly was, feeling as if she had just helped save a small and cute animal from a hungry wolf.
However, Takachiho’s perplexed expression and bright red face quickly returned to her refined and sharp look,
“I feel like I should mention this just to make it clear. I did not save your life. Do you understand?”
Even though she had come to help Akari, she began to yell at her instead.
To Takachiho Urara, who is trying to put on a crisp and professional front…
“Bu, but”
But as Akari begins to stutter,
“You’re you, and so I am just going to tease you again!”
While blushing, Takachiho began to shriek to Akari in embarrassment. Perhaps it is because she is so flustered, but she began to speak in the Tottori dialect.
…Takachiho Urara… While she is an eccentric girl, Akari was sure that, for the time being at least, she was on her side.
As Akari thought on her new ally, Takachiho turns to face Kiyochikuto,
“… Now then, I don’t actually know who you are.”
Takachiho unfastened the zipper clasp on the side of her skirt with her fingernail. The weighted zipper automatically drops to the bottom of the zipper track opening up, giving her dress a slit like a Chinese dress.
Takachio then quickly pulls out her revolver-style pistol from the inside of her dress, a Sturm Ruger Redhawk with its 9.5 inch long barrel.
“The crime of not only insulting me but also trying to steal my prey has a heavy fine!”
The café on Butei Island, where Butei High is located, is designed like a bar from an old western movie. Because of that, the sight of a gun is common here and so no commotion occurred when Takachiho pulled hers out. However, the nearby waitresses seemed to have felt in the air that a fight was brewing, and casually hid behind the bulletproof counter.
Since Takachiho drew her gun Akari decided to reposition her UZI…
… Standing right next to Takachiho, Akari also pointed her gun at Kiyochikuto.
With two guns pointed right at her…
She did seem surprised or scared. She is an outlaw after all, she lives in a world where guns and knives being pointed at her are commonplace.
But,
“…”
… After a short time, she showed a strange reaction.
Seeing Akari and Takachiho standing right next to each other… For some reason, she began to… Kaaa blush…?
“I see. So that is your relationship.”
Kiyochikuto’s eyes went back and forth from Takachiho and Akari, as she mumbled to herself and in deep thought.
Akari did not know what she was thinking about, but for some reason her breathing is getting a little rough and she appears to be sweating…?
Akari could only wonder, (is she… excited? Because of both of us? Huh? Why?).
“…?”
“…?”
Kiyochikuto’s reaction is incomprehensible to Akari and Takachiho, but not aggressive, so both girls lose their earlier tension having nowhere to direct it.
–Suu…
As if the two guns being pointed at her are nothing more than prop weapons, Kiyochikuto gets up from the sofa and,
“… Using this material I can easily make a new manga, I hope I can make it in time for summer…”
Muttering incomprehensible things to herself, Kiyochikuto started acting as if she was planning on just leaving the café.
It is not as if she is planning on running away though. It is as if she just simply has something that she wants to prioritize over Akari and Takachiho.
She took out a white handkerchief that is embroidered with flowers and gently raised it to her nose. And,
“… I won’t get in the way of that kind of female friendship. I might be an outlaw, but I am not tactless or uncouth.”
She spoke to Akari and Takachiho while wiping away her slight nosebleed.
Neither Akari nor Takachiho could understand why Kiyochikuto was getting so excited, and so the two of them,
“?”
“?”
While Akari and Takachiho were both looking back and forth from each other and Kiyochikuto in confusion…
Kiyochikuto, whose voice turned cold again, turns her expressionless eyes towards Akari.
It seems that she somehow, in her own way, managed to regain her composure.
“Child of the Mamiya. I will give you a week. Two years ago I planted seeds… It is time for those flowers to bloom.”
Takachiho did not seem to understand the meaning of these words at all…
– Akari, on the other hand, promptly gave a stiff expression.
– Two years ago. Those key words sharply tore and gouged out Akari’s heart.
“If you agree to give all of yourself to me, then no one will have to get hurt…”
With her umbrella in her hand, Kiyochikuto spoke that ominous demand to Akari before leaving the coffee shop…
At that time…
A folded piece of paper fell out of Kiyochikuto’s skirt.
(… It fell out… No. She dropped it. On purpose.)
Akari hurriedly picks up the piece of paper that Kiyochikuto dropped for her. On the paper is an email address composed of random numbers and random letters.
Akari shoves the paper into her pocket, not giving chase to Kiyochikuto who calmly walks out of the café as if nothing were out of the ordinary.
After all, Kiyochikuto is the person who just a few minutes earlier nearly killed her using nothing more than a thin wire.
Should she carelessly pursue her too deeply, she risks not only falling into Kiyochikuto’s trap again but also bringing Takachiho into it as well.
“…”
Akari watches her walk out as Takachiho lowers her muzzle…
While glaring at the door with a “humph” as Kiyochikuto walks out, Kiyochikuto stole a sideways glance at Akari. Apparantly… Kiyochikuto is worried about what Akari might think of her for some reason.
A short while later–
Akari and Takachiho also leave Cafe Wild Shoot.
Takachiho never inquired about Kiyochikuto. She seemed to pick up that Akari did not want to talk about her judging by her silence on her.
Akari had to admit to herself though that perhaps Takachiho really is a caring person. She initially took her to be a difficult person to get along with, but the more time she spent with her, the more convinced she was that Takachiho was actually a potentially caring friend.
“Thank you, Takachiho-son.”
Akari bows her head in gratitude to Takachiho for her earlier help.
Seeing that, Takachiho began to blush once again for some reason.
“–Do-, don’t misunderstand! Just now… If you were to die here to someone like her after beating me, I would just be laughed at at school!”
Takachiho began to mumble some tsundere excuse with warped logic to justify her actions as not helping Akari out of goodwill.
Then, as if to prove her excuse as true, she promptly unfolded her own umbrella and left the café with an awkwardly brisk walk.
However, a short distance away…
— She gave Akari a little glance. Her glance clearly conveyed what she had wanted to say, “are you really okay being targeted by such a person?” with a very concerned face.
Butei High Ambulance department.
In the hospital lobby in the evening are many students from Butei High sitting beside Akari on the bench.
Some of them have minor injuries with some of them having casts on their arm, they seem to be those involved in the bus hijacking incident in which Aria was injured saving them from.
“Has the culprit of the bus jacking incident been captured yet…?”
“Not yet, however Inquesta and Rapier are coordinating their investigation.”
“Damn it! Our comrades were hurt and we can’t do anything about it! We don’t even know who did it! Why are we…!”
As she listened to the frustrated male students complaints from the other side of the lobby…
(Aria-senpai… I can’t even visit you…)
Akari, who was spoken to by Aria’s nurse, sat back down and checked her cellphone.
Suddenly,
(Ah)
A little while ago she had received a text message from Nonoka saying “I just arrived at the hospital”, and now saw her entering the lobby.
Akari was sitting on a bench in front of the entrance, so she thought that Nonoka would see her right away, but…
For some reason, Nonoka after entering the lobby was looking all around her, as if she was lost.
“Nonoka. I am over here.”
When Akari calls out to her,
“Big sis.”
Nonoka turns around at her voice.
However, despite Nonoka looking right at her eyes, Akari did not get the sense that they were making eye contact. It felt like Nonoka was looking right through her.
Come to think of it, Akari could swear that Nonoka’s eyes are unfocused and a little cloudy…
However, other than seeming a little lost, her expression and attitude are the same as usual for Nonoka, so Akari thought that maybe this is all just her imagination.
Rather than focus on her imagination, Akari has something important that she has to tell Nonoka as soon as possible.
As she approaches Nonoka,
“I am sorry for calling you so suddenly… I cannot leave the hospital today. Also, here.”
As she is talking to Nonoka, Akari pulls out 10,000 yen in cash and an express train ticket from her pocket, the train ticket which she had obtained urgently from a classmate form the Logi department.
“…?”
Making a strange expression,
“… Stay with our aunt in Nagano for a while. I will explain everything to you later.”
Akari told Nonoka what to do with a face that both begs for her cooperation and conveys the seriousness of this.
“O-, okay.”
While confused over why this is happening, Nonoka reaches out to grab the money and listen to her sister, but–
“… Ah…”
Her right hand grabs nothing but air.
She can’t make her hand grab the ticket.
“Nonoka…?”
Towards the bewildered Akari… Fura.
As if using her as a support, Nonoka falls towards and leans on Akari.
Akari hurriedly grabs her body and holds her up.
Nonoka is…
Losing consciousness, still standing only because Akari is helping her.
“Nonoka…? Nonoka! Nonoka!!”
The surrounding Butei students all notice and react to Akari’s screams.
Immediately the hospital staff are alerted, a commotion breaking out in the lobby as staff arrive on site to support and a stretcher promptly arrives that Nonoka is loaded onto.
Nonoka on the stretcher is promptly carried away into the hospital with the nurses and doctors going with her.
Akari too… Just like when Aria was being transported in the ambulance, all Akari could do is stand there and watch in horror and despair, helpless to do anything.
– Several hours later, when it is pitch black as she looks out the window…
Nonoka is sitting upright in a private room inside the hospital.
Her eyes are wrapped in multiple layers of bandages, making her injuries look particularly gruesome and painful…
Akari has her face buried in Nonoka’s blanket,
“… Nonoka… gusu… eguu…” (TL Note: gusu here as a sound effect is like crying, sniffling, etc. Eguu is similar to wailing.)
Akari could only cry and worry.
(It is not just Aria-senpai now, but even Nonoka is hospitalized… What am I supposed to do?)
Her older sisters helplessness and timidness giving her enough energy to talk,
“It is okay big sis. I am sure that myself and Aria will be better soon.”
Nonoka puts on one of her usual happy smiles on her lips as she moves her hand to touch Akari’s.
“But even the doctors don’t know what the cause is…”
– In response, Akari looks up at Nonoka’s bandaged and blindfolded face with her own panicked face streaked with tears.
Akari could only continue to hate herself, here she is being comforted by her younger sister when she should be the one comforting her instead.
To Akari, who is about to cry even more after realizing this fact,
“Don’t be such a cry baby, onee-can. Even though I can’t see, I can still hear you crying you know.”
Nonoka spoke to Akari with a smile on her lips, but…
Tears beyond her control began to poor out from underneath her bandages.
In response to Nonoka’s bold and confident words,
“– No. Your confidence is misplaced. First is sight… then hearing, and taste. In 8 days from now, the last thing you will lose is your life.”
Suddenly, came a voice denying any faith.
When Akari turns around, without her noticing Hina Fuuma had entered the room, and spoke while reading Nonoka’s medical record on the hospital wall.
As well,
“Akari-san! Nonoka-san!”
Shino–
“Akari!”
Raika–
“Mamiya-sama!”
And Kirin are in the room, Kirin carrying Jonathan in her arms.
“Everyone…”
Akari, who earlier had disappeared without saying a word to anyone, now realized just how worried she had made everyone about her… and could only blame herself, feeling sorry for worrying her good friends more than they already are.
Shino in particular was devastated when she disappeared, and began to hug Akari with tears of joy on her face that she was safe.
On the other hand, Raika and Kirin turn towards Fuuma with stiff expression on their face. Outside of the hospital room, odds are Fuuma had already explained some of the circumstances to her regarding Nonoka’s condition.
– “In 8 days Nonoka will die.”–
Ready to hear the rest of the story and explanation, Akari with fear on her face slowly turns her head to look at Fuuma who is standing by a wall in the room.
“The cause of Nonoka’s current condition… It is “Fucho Poison”. It is a poison that first kills all 5 of a persons senses 2 years after it is applied. The poison is designed at a molecular level each time it is made, thus only the person who makes that specific strain of the poison is able to create an antidote.”
“How do you know all that about this poison…?”
When Akari asks Fuuma that question… Fuuma with frustration and regret on her face,
“I know all this… Because that poison originally belonged to and was made by the Fuuma clan. It is a Fuuma technique.”
Fighting through regret and second-doubts on sharing this shameful and regretful history, Fuuma manages to force herself to say this revelation.
A technique of the Fuuma. In other words, it is a creation developed by the clan that Fuuma Hina belongs to, a powerful ninjutsu poison. However, something doesn’t make sense.
“Why would the Fuuma do this to Nonoka-san…?”
Kirin, fearfully grabbing onto Raika’s arm, cautiously asks Fuuma.
Fuuma in response seems finally ready to speak on her clans history out of necessity given the situation,
“… I must apologize to you, Akari and Nonoka, for my clans failures. A few years ago, a young child in my clan was struck with a different poison… In return for an antidote, we were forced to supply the recipe and method for creating the Fucho Poison.”
While frowning, Fuuma reveals the defeat of her clan and the extortion of their techniques.
And…
“Using a poison to learn a new poison– Is this not a trick of Kiyochikuto that you yourself are facing right now?”
… Fuuma asks Akari as if looking for a confirmation and agreement.
Kiyochikuto in the past had used poison to force the Fuuma clan to share the method of creation for the Fucho Poison. Now, Kiyochikuto is using this same technique on Akari, using Fucho Poison to force her to share the creation method of Takamaki.
“…!”
“Onee-chan…”
Akari and Nonoka are stunned and can only hold their breath when the name “Kiyochikuto” is mentioned by Fuuma in front of everyone else.
Everyone…
Akari does not want to get them involved in this.
She does not just want to avoid them getting involved in this. She does not even want them to know what this is all about… This mighty but abominable and terrifying power that surrounds and haunts the Mamiya clan.
For that reason… Akari cannot say anything at all.
Akari has already decided what she is going to do. In order to solve this problem without saying anything to anyone else or getting them involved…
She has decided that she has no choice but to go to Kiyochikuto by herself.
That is her only option.
(… The only one who can create an antidote that can cure Nonoka… The only person who can save her… That only person is Kiyochikuto…!)
Grinding her teeth in frustration, Akari grips the paper that she had put into her skirt pocket, the one that she had picked up earlier at the café, with Kiyochikuto’s email address written on it.
(If I just agree to become Kiyochikuto’s pet… I can save Nonoka!!)
Looking down at the ground, Akari tries to leave the hospital room.
She does not say anything to anyone, nevermind look at them, and tries to leave without touching anyone.
“Akari-san!”
“Akari!”
In response to Shino and Raika’s voices pleading with her to stop,
“– Don’t follow me!”
Yelling at everyone in the room, Akari forcefully grabs the door handle of the hospital room.
And,
“If I have to become a sacrifice to save Nonoka and protect everyone else… That’s fine with me!!”
With a tearful voice as tears stream down her face, Akari swings open the door with all her strength.
The door opens with a slam, and beyond…
“…!”
“A self sacrifice is only a “beautiful story ending” in fairy tales.”
–It’s Aria.
Akari’s Amica, Aria, is standing on her own two feet.
“…!”
Akari had strengthened her resolve to go through with her plan no matter what, no matter who tries to stop her, but…
Aria is standing before her in a patients uniform, her forehead bandaged heavily and using crutches… And yet, Akari could not even find the strength to try pushing Aria out of her way.
Aria’s consciousness is already clear, her mind sharp,
“Self-sacrifice is just a means of “escaping reality”. The more you try to escape reality, the more serious and detrimental the situation becomes.”
With a sharp look in her eyes, Aria speaks to Akari as if she is both teaching her and reprimanding her.
“… Aria-senpai…”
Hearing Aria and her words, Akari finally… Stops. And falls to the ground.
“Mouu–, Takachiho sent me a strange email about you and some other girl, so I got worried and began trying to figure out where you are…”
”My, my”, with a hint of pity on her face, Aria enters the room, pushing Akari back in as she does so.
It seems like shortly after the café incident, Takachiho was still concerned for Akari’s safety and so had contacted Aria to inform her of Akari’s condition and the incident itself.
“…”
To Akari, who is only feeling more and more depressed, helpless, and is keeping her mouth shut,
“– Was it the enemy who contacted you first?”
Quickly, Aria redirected the conversation back to the heart of the matter.
Even so, Akari did not want to say anything to even Aria, and so with a face that clearly says “I guess I can’t help it”,
And with a slightly angry expression on her face now,
“I am not an idiot, Akari. On the contrary, my instincts are rather sharp… Kiyochikuto is not your only enemy is she, Akari?”
Kiro, and Aria turns her reddish-purple camellia eyes towards Akari’s own eyes.
“– You have been hiding something from me for a while now.”
At that line, Akari’s throat lets out a small “…ah…”.
“You have been hiding your true self and suppressing your real powers from me for a long time. That is why your Butei rank is still so low… Am I wrong?”
Aria spoke while thinking of the Tobi-Ugachi that Akari had shown her during the Amica Exam and the 10 Bolts she had shown her in the Assault shooting lane a few days ago.
“… Can you really solve anything while still hiding your true strength?
Those words from her idle… They pierce Akari’s chest, straight into her heart.
Akari fell silent, and can only look down at the floor.
Nonoka, Shino, Raika, and Kirin’s worried gaze all gather on Akari’s back.
“… Sorry…”
Slowly… Akari opens her mouth. And speaks to everyone.
“I am sorry everyone. Until now, I have hid something from you…”
Shedding tears…
“… I will tell you the truth. In front of Aria-senpai… I will reveal everything. Without any lies.”
With an empty and lifeless smile on her face, her cheeks stained from her tears…
“I… Am a student who has no right to be here. I do not belong at Butei High.”
Akari in front of everyone, including Aria, reveals her “true identity” which she had kept hidden and buried within her.
Go For The Next!!!
Silvered Tongue Reborn 