I took my seat in the classroom and played with my watch-style phone.
I needed to pull the weapon gacha that I missed this morning due to all the chaos. That night, Asuna collapsed after just one try, so I only have one point, one pull.
---------
Stand Arrow
An item from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
When it pierces someone, a "Stand ability" awakens.
However, there's no guarantee the awakened Stand can be controlled. If it can't be controlled, it can lead to death.
This arrow can only be used on up to four people, regardless of whether a Stand can be controlled or not. After it's used on four people, it becomes a regular arrow.
---------
Ohh... another tricky item.
A Stand, from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, is a visible manifestation of a person's psychic energy.
The author intentionally avoided power creep, so there are few Stands with the power to erase an entire area. Instead, they specialize in unique abilities, like being able to unilaterally attack an opponent by incorporating them into the Stand's rules.
The problem is that if you don't have the will to control the Stand, you might die... I'm not desperate enough to gamble like that right now, so I'll just seal this away for a while.
Besides, there's something else I need to think about.
"Shou-kun, are you okay? You looked pale."
"You sound quite happy, Akari-san."
The one who spoke was Mamiya Akari, the protagonist of Aria the Scarlet Ammo AA. She has a body as petite as Aria's. Her expression was completely relaxed, in contrast to her worried words.
I wasn't very interested in the AA series, so I didn't pay much attention when I first saw her. I honestly just thought of her as a normal classmate until I heard her name.
No matter what, I should have thought "huh?" when I saw her face and heard her name, but I didn't at all.
But I can't dwell on that.
This morning, I met Aria during the bike jacking. In the end, I was just chased around by a furious Aria, but come to think of it, that's what happened to Kinji in Volume 1 as well.
Maybe, due to some kind of influence, I'm being led towards the events... Nah, I'm overthinking it... but maybe not. But let's leave that alone for now.
The problem is how to deal with the events of Aria the Scarlet Ammo Volume 1, which are almost certain to happen.
I know who the culprit is, but it's pointless to point fingers without any evidence. Furthermore, with all these mixed-up elements, something completely unexpected might happen.
So, I'll just have to gather information without being misled by the original story and deal with it.
Having decided that, I focused on my conversation with Akari-san.
"Hehehe, can you tell? I actually became amicizia with Aria-senpai!!"
"Oh, is that so?"
"That's a weak reaction!"
Amicizia is like a mentor-apprentice relationship for Butei.
"Tch, Aria again... She's been like this all morning, Akari-san."
You just clicked your tongue, didn't you?
This girl is Sasaki Shino. A classic Japanese beauty with long black hair, and an exceedingly cute girl.
However, she's so in love with Akari-san that she's become half-stalker, a dangerous girl.
"Unbelievable, right? She actually succeeded at the Emblem against Aria-senpai."
Hino Raika, a girl with a ponytail and a strong-willed look, pulled her chair closer.
I get along with these three relatively well. It's not like we're super close, since we're a mix of boys and girls, but still.
"Succeeded at the Emblem?"
"Yeah."
"Akari-san?"
"Yeah."
Unbelievable. To succeed at the Emblem against Aria, who can keep up with a Kamen Rider's physical abilities...
The Emblem is a challenge to steal the Butei High school emblem from a senior student you want to become amicizia with within 30 minutes. It's not something you can do so easily.
"Aria-senpai is amazing. She even solved a bomb case this morning!! And she used the parachute I sewed for her!! She's so amazing, Aria-senpai..."
Oh, yeah, I was there too.
Shino-san's eyes are getting murky. Is she okay?
"Th-That's amazing. By the way, I bought some mille-feuille today..."
"Oh, it's from Aria-senpai. Sorry, I have to go!!"
Saying that to Shino-san, who was holding out a paper bag, Akari-san ran out of the classroom.
"Hey, Raika."
"What is it, Shou?"
"Isn't this... bad?"
"It's bad. That Shino is seriously dangerous."
The two of us subtly distanced ourselves from Shino-san, who was repeating Akari-san's name in a low voice.
And just like that, I got no information. I'm so disappointed.
---------
After school.
"Why is Akari-san tailing me?"
And she's so bad at it. She's hiding her head but not her butt.
No, I get it.
Aria told her to.
It would be easy for Aria to find out about me since I told her my name. So, she looked me up, found out I'm a classmate of her amicizia, Akari-san, and ordered her to investigate.
Seriously, what if I were a dangerous person? You can tell that with that powered suit, Akari-san would be a piece of cake to take down, can't you?
In the first place, I tried to make contact with her after she calmed down and looked for her everywhere, but I couldn't find her.
Seriously, I don't know what she's thinking.
I should probably lose her now. I have to go grocery shopping.
I took several turns, left and right.
By the time I got to the supermarket, Akari-san was gone from behind me.
See? Her tailing is too sloppy.
Is she going to be okay, Akari-san?
As I walked through the automatic doors of the supermarket, I couldn't help but worry about Akari-san's future. My own future is a handful, though.
Alright, what should I make for dinner tonight?
---------
"Kuro, did you make any friends?"
"Onii-chan, your question sounds like an old man's..."
"Shut up."
After that, I arrived home without being found by Akari-san or ambushed by Aria.
"Oh, my, Kuro-san, you're so loved. I'm envious."
"But... he doesn't really love me."
"Don't emphasize 'love'."
We talked and laughed while sharing our meal.
"What about you, Kurumi-san? Are you getting along with everyone in your class?"
"Yes. I'm in the same class as Asuna-san, so she's been helping me a lot."
Asuna-san looked away. Is she still holding a grudge about yesterday? Just so you know, you were getting into it yourself towards the end.
"Let's get back to the topic. How about you, Kuro?"
"Well... I... made a few friends... I guess."
"That's good, that's good."
I'm so relieved to hear that.
"Senpai, that look on your face is a little gross."
Yukina, don't you like me? My feelings are hurt.
"So, what kind of people are they?"
Asuna looked very interested.
"Um, there are three of them. They do martial arts, and I went to their practice today... or rather, they dragged me along."
I see, I see. I'm glad Kuro made friends.
As I ate, I smiled warmly at Kuro, who was shyly talking about her friends.
"Their names are Takamachi Vivio, Rio Wesley, and Corona Timil... See, these girls."
We all looked at the screen of the phone Kuro held out. On the screen, next to a shy Kuro, were three girls her age and a woman who looked older than all of us.
Oh, wow...
My hand froze. The moment I saw this picture, the names of these three people became something I couldn't ignore.
Those are the main characters of Lyrical Nanoha ViVid. So she's also meeting characters from a different series.
I'm so confused.
Aria has her eyes on me, and Kuro is friends with the main characters of Lyrical Nanoha ViVid, hahahaha...
As I let out a dry laugh, the doorbell rang.
Who could it be at this hour... No way.
I rushed to open the door.
And there she was,
"You're late, Shou."
Aria, with her arms crossed.
"...You looked me up."
"Of course. Kamen Rider... no, Yozuki Shou. Akari's tailing was a fake."
I see. She made her do that obvious tailing to make me lower my guard. My attention would be on Akari-san, so Aria could tail me easily. And she could rush in to help if Akari-san got into trouble.
I was the naive one.
"Shou-kun, who is it?"
Asuna came out from the back.
"Oh? Aria-chan? Why are you here?"
"A-Asuna? Why are you here... Don't tell me..."
Aria glared at me sharply.
"W-We can talk about that, and everything else, inside."
I invited Aria in.
"Shou, you're going to be my partner!"
And that was the first thing she said when she entered the living room.
"Isn't that a little sudden?"
Stop it, everyone. Don't glare at her like that. Kurumi, stop laughing into your hand.
"I saw you fight this morning and knew you were the one. I want you to join my party. And I want everyone else to join my party too."
"What!?"
"Oh, my."
She's so pushy. She's like a door-to-door salesman. Oh, I guess that's hard to understand.
"Don't worry. I'll give you a proper reward if you join my party!"
You need money to move a Butei. She understands the basics very well.
"I'll pass. I don't want to take on unnecessary risks."
Kuro flatly refused.
"Yes, me too. I don't want any more rivals..."
Yukina also seems to be against it. Wait, rivals?
Oh, I see. They've accepted that I have other girls, but they don't want any more rivals to pop up? Then why do they encourage me to summon more girls?
So, do they think I'll make Aria fall for me? That's not going to happen. People don't just fall for their work partners. Oh, but workplace romance is common, isn't it?
"Aria-san, why do you want to form a team with us?"
Kurumi-san asked.
"If you're a Butei, you should..."
"From now on, you'll be entrusting your back to your comrades. Don't you trust us? We're one thing, but isn't Shou-san the person you thought was 'the one'?"
Aria looked down.
She seems to be hesitating.
I'll wait until Aria makes up her mind... Huh?
Kurumi-san is pulling on my sleeve.
"Shou-san, the rest is up to you."
"Kurumi-san, did you use the Tenth Bullet of Zafkiel?"
"Yes. It seems Aria-san was looking you up. I did a little research of my own, too."
The Tenth Bullet of Zafkiel has the ability to transmit the past memories of the target it shoots. It seems it was easy for Kurumi-san's power to learn about Aria's situation.
Even so,
"I can't believe Kurumi-san would worry about me."
"Oh, I love you, Shou-san. Enough to want to devour you."
It seems I misunderstood Kurumi-san. She did this much for me, so I'll do my best too.
"Aria, just as you looked me up, I looked you up too. I know your situation."
"!"
Kuro, Yukina, and Asuna all looked at me. Aria, who had raised her head, had tears in her eyes.
"It's to save your mom, right?"
"!"
The three who didn't know the situation were shocked.
"Everyone."
I said, with my back to Aria.
"Aria's mother is in prison, sentenced to 864 years. All of it is a false charge."
"What!?"
"No way..."
Asuna put her hand to her mouth in disbelief. That's a normal reaction.
"I want to help Aria. I need your help."
I lowered my head.
I decided this when the story started. Anyone who knew the situation would want to help. And if I can, I'll also help the girl who's going to become the culprit this time.
This is the first step towards that. I don't know what will happen. Everyone's help is essential.
The three of them were silent for a while.
Honestly, this might be a tough topic for Yukina and Kuro.
Yukina doesn't know her parents' faces, and Kuro was made to be a non-existent being by her mother. Neither of them has a good relationship with their parents.
And Asuna (before Mother's Rosario) had a bad relationship with her mother.
They might refuse.
But my worries were unfounded.
"It's fine, Shou-kun."
"Well, if Onii-chan says so, I guess we have no choice."
"That's right. It can't be helped."
All three of them had a 'what can you do' look on their faces.
Stop it, I'm about to cry.
"Thank you, all of you."
Now, we're ready.
"Aria, we'll help you too. Let's save your mom."
"Thank you... Shou... everyone...!"
Tears streamed from her camellia-colored eyes, and Aria sobbed.
I patted her head and said,
"Well, let's eat."
And so, I invited Aria to the table with the warm meal.
I'll make everyone in this world happy. That's the price for me being in this world of dreams.
I've decided.
Yes, I've decided.
---------
"By the way, Shou."
"What is it?"
Aria was smiling. The only sign of her crying was her slightly swollen eyes. It was a goddess-like smile. I felt a bad premonition.
She said she wanted to eat momo manju, but it's impossible to prepare that on the spot. Maybe she's going to say something about that.
"What do you call Asuna?"
"Asuna-san."
"What about Kurumi?"
"Kurumi-san."
What is this girl talking about?
"And what about me?"
"Aria."
"...Aria?"
"Aria."
Huh? W-What? You're scaring me.
"I'm the same age as those two, you know?"
"...Oh."
"Why don't I get a 'san'?"
That's it...! What should I say? Is it better to be honest and say that she's small and childish, so I just ended up calling her that?
Yeah, I should be honest.
"W-Well, that's because you're smal-"
"Get lost."
And that's how we ended up forming a party with Aria.
--------------------------------------------
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