"Sigh..."
Kirin was feeling depressed.
This was because she had a makeup session for her practical clothing training. She knew she couldn't have improved much since yesterday, but there was no leniency at Butei High. If you couldn't do something, you had to keep doing it until your body remembered.
This meant that a hellish training session awaited Kirin. It was as if to say makeup students had no rights, with even lunch breaks being used for the session. If she couldn't pass, this same schedule would continue every day until she did.
But for the diligent Kirin, running away was not an option. She was just feeling down about it.
Still in her uniform, Kirin stepped onto the poolside. She had properly brought a change of clothes this time, so she wasn't worried like yesterday.
"Sensei?"
There were no obstructions to her view on the poolside, but she couldn't see her teacher.
"(Maybe they're not here yet?)"
Thinking so, she shifted her gaze and saw the door to the equipment room was open. It was a place that stored various things besides the usual swimming equipment like kickboards.
"Sensei? Are you in there?"
There was no answer.
"..."
Feeling a premonition, Kirin took her beloved sword from its bamboo sword bag.
Holding it ready to draw at any moment, she entered the room. Inside, she found...
"Sensei!?"
Her teacher was slumped over, unconscious.
Parts of their clothes were wet. Not their whole body, but only certain areas.
Kirin rushed over in a panic to check on them.
"Thank goodness..."
Fortunately, their breathing was clear. There were no noticeable injuries, so it seemed they had simply been knocked unconscious.
"But..."
The teacher had no external wounds. It was unnatural for a struggle to only result in wet clothes.
"Some sort of ability user—"
Kirin unconsciously drew her sword. It was a sharp slash that didn't seem possible from a kneeling position. An attack that used the rotation of her hips to cut down an opponent behind her.
If the opponent hadn't defended themselves, their upper and lower body would have been separated, but...
"Water!?"
The sensation on her sword was a loud 'SPLASH!!' as if she had hit a mass of water. The blade passed through without any resistance.
"Heh heh, it's useless, useless!"
"(What is this—)"
It was a mass of water extending from the ceiling.
It hung down from the ceiling like a spider's thread. The mass of water had multiple eyes, a face, hands, and even spoke.
Kirin cautiously held her sword and retreated from the unknown opponent. The mass of water mocked her with a sneer.
"Hmm? What's wrong? You're backing away. Is backing away going to solve anything? Do you think you can damage water?"
"..."
"If you don't resist, you won't have a bad time, 'course not!!"
With that shout, the water rushed at her.
"Hah!!"
Kirin desperately swung her sword, but...
"Mmph!? Mmmph!! Mmmph!!"
The mass of water, not caring about being split in two vertically, stuck itself to Kirin's face. Her mouth and nose were covered, and she couldn't breathe. She frantically tried to pull the water away, but...
"I told you it's useless. You can scoop water, but you can't grab it. Right?"
The face of the water appeared before Kirin's eyes and declared cruelly.
Even if she couldn't grab it, she would suffocate at this rate. She threw her sword aside and tried to push the water away, desperate for air, but...
"(No... I'm already out of... breath...!)"
Just as she thought to call for help, the strength drained from her body. She crawled on the floor, reaching her hand out of the warehouse.
"(Senpai...)"
Her whispered voice became a bubble that floated in the water. After that, all strength left Kirin's body.
Confirming that Kirin had completely lost consciousness, the mass of water skillfully moved her to the wall. It then wrapped itself around her entire body, and...
"Say, 'cheese'."
It took a picture of the scene.
"Time to send this."
The recipient was, of course, 'Shou Yozuki'. It also added the location in text before sending it.
"I was lucky. It's so convenient that Shou Yozuki has a sister-in-arms. Looks like things are going to go smoothly because of her. From my research, I'm sure he won't abandon this girl."
After accepting this job, the results of his research and observation over the past few days had revealed that Shou Yozuki was a severe softy.
He was confident that even if this was an obvious trap, he would fall for it.
"Well then, Shou Yozuki will be here soon, so I'd better get ready to welcome him, right?"
The mass of water grinned.
---------
Seeing the email, I immediately dashed out of the classroom. Or rather, I jumped out the window.
I think my classmates who remained in the classroom were taken aback, but I couldn't care about that right now.
By the time I landed on the ground, I was already clad in my BJ. My destination was the pool equipment warehouse. With my current speed, it would take less than 10 seconds.
"Wait! Shou Yozuki!!"
"That's right, Shou-kun!!"
"Huh? Ah, whoa!"
I looked up, then frantically dropped my gaze.
It was Yami and Mea, who had jumped out a second after me. Since they had jumped in their school uniforms, their skirts were flying high. The view from below was, well, quite something.
That's why I had hastily averted my eyes.
"...You're a lecherous man even at a time like this."
"I don't think you're one to talk, jumping in a skirt."
"Oh, come on, it's not like there's anything to be embarrassed about if it's seen... and besides, I've seen something much more amazing from you."
I dodged Yami's cold stare and ignored Mea's loaded comment.
I didn't have time to worry about such things now.
"I understand. Kirin Toudou is under attack. There's no doubt about that."
"Yeah, that's right! So—"
"Calm down. This isn't like you."
"!!"
Yami's quiet voice calmed my surging emotions a little.
"That's right, Shou-kun. Going straight into a trap that's so obviously an invitation will never turn out well. Especially when they're waiting for you, prepared for anything, like this time."
Mea said something very reasonable in her usual tone. It felt weird for her to be so normal.
"But the email said..."
The email had also included a very 'typical' message telling me to come immediately and to come alone.
"We have no obligation to follow the enemy's demands. If you go alone, your judgment, cards, and options will all be limited."
"They took a hostage and told you to 'come here' because they want to talk to you, right? It won't be a problem even if we go with you."
I see? Is that... right? Wait a minute.
"Are both of you coming with me?"
"Oh, come on. Are you really going to leave me here?"
"..."
Mea playfully tapped my shoulder. Yami didn't say anything, but her lips were pursed as she looked away.
If they were going to say that. Even Yukina got mad at me for trying to do things on my own.
I should calm down for now.
"Let's pull for a bit..."
"...Pull?"
"Gacha? Are you going to do a gacha?"
"...Gacha?"
For now, I'll try to get a new ability or item. Maybe I can get a power that can break this situation.
In any case, it's important to increase my options. Yami told me that.
Yami, who didn't understand what I was about to do, tilted her head. In contrast, Mea, who knew everything, peeked at my device with sparkling eyes.
"I wonder what kind of ability we'll get! Oh, right, with Kirin-chan from yesterday and me from today, that's two pulls, right? Come on, come on, let's pull!"
She's so hyped! I get that watching someone do a gacha is fun, but seriously!
"What are you two—ah."
"What's wrong, Yami-chan—ah."
"What's wrong, you two—ow!?"
I received a tremendous impact from behind and nearly fell over.
I immediately went on high alert and turned around. But there was no one there.
W-what? Who attacked me!?
"Did you two see that!? Who was it!? What did they look like!?"
There's no reason for them to attack me directly in a situation where they have a hostage. If so, it must be another enemy.
"There's no need to worry about it."
"Yeah. We're short on time, so hurry up and do the gacha, okay?"
"Wait, don't tell me not to worry about being attacked..."
I couldn't accept it, but the two of them wouldn't say anything more. Reluctantly, I gave in and spun the weapon gacha again.
"This is..."
I thought about the ability I got. Then I looked at Yami.
"What is it?"
"Oh, it's just a little..."
I told her the plan I had come up with.
"Hmm, I see..."
Yami folded her arms and considered the plan.
"Alright. At the very least, it's better than all three of us going in without a plan."
"I'm good with it, too. Also, you're not hesitating to include me in your plan at all. There's a chance I could have set this whole thing up, you know?"
"The fact that you're saying that means it's not your doing this time. Let's do this."
With the plan settled, we put it into action.
"Then, as planned."
"If something happens, I'll be counting on your support."
"About that—"
"Huh? What is it?"
"No, nothing. It was nothing. Don't worry about it."
"Okay?"
Yami seemed to have muttered something, but when I asked her, she had already turned her back.
"...It seems I'm not the only one who cares about him."
---------
I immediately reached the pool.
"There was no interference."
This is Butei High. In other words, it's enemy territory for a criminal. It should be difficult just to infiltrate. That means the enemy has enough power to negotiate on enemy ground.
There was no one at the pool during lunchtime.
I stepped onto the poolside. The destination was the equipment room. But something else caught my eye first.
"Kirin!!"
In the center of the filled pool was Kirin, who had been restrained in the equipment room in the photo. It looked like she was just floating, but the water was wrapped unnaturally around her body.
"You're a little late, Shou Yozuki. Taking your sweet time, aren't you?"
"You are...!"
The one who called out to me was the mass of water. It was covered in eyes all over its body, and was quite gross. It was near Kirin, who was floating in the pool.
This guy, don't tell me...
"Aqua Necklace...!!"
"Whoa there, you know this Stand? Just as I expected from you, Shou Yozuki?"
It didn't make sense. Why would a Stand user attack at this time? I pushed the question aside and instinctively prepared my steel ball, but...
"That won't work, you know. Your Stand is no use against me."
I didn't launch the steel ball. It would be pointless.
The Stand in front of me was named Aqua Necklace.
Simply put, it's a water-based Stand. It's a Substance Assimilation Type Stand that can merge with real water, and in a way, it's a special Stand because it can be seen even by non-Stand users.
And because it's water, physical attacks are meaningless. Even Star Platinum's fists couldn't damage it.
I scanned the entire pool.
I wasn't sure how much water it could assimilate with, but he must have called me to the pool because it was a field advantageous to him.
"Hey, don't come any closer. I've got a hostage here, you know? Well, I wouldn't let you get out of the pool unscathed even if you did jump in, though."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it."
"Good. Now, have a seat... or rather, there's no chair, is there?"
"Just get to the point already."
"Right. We don't want to miss our afternoon classes, do we? Or are you going to Special Operations Division 6?"
How does this guy know about that...
"You know a lot about me, including my Stand's ability."
"Well, I've been watching you for the past week, after all."
"Watching..."
I see.
His Stand, Aqua Necklace, assimilates with water. Not just liquid water, but even water vapor and steam.
There's no place in daily life without water. There's the sink and bath at home, and public restrooms outside. There might even be morning dew on plants.
If he hid his Stand in those places, he could observe me like a surveillance camera.
Aqua Necklace also had a long range. The Stand's user could gather information about us without even being in our line of sight.
"As expected of someone entrusted with a 'crucial role'. Heh, living with that many women and having sex with a different one two days in a row. Quite the ladies' man, aren't you?"
"Tch..."
So he really saw everything, huh.
"Thanks to that, I easily found a weakness in you. At first, I was going to target one of the people you live with. But I had an idea from a conversation yesterday."
"A conversation yesterday?"
"The conversation about this little lady. About her having a makeup session at the pool."
Was it the story about Kirin forgetting to bring her change of clothes yesterday?
"It's 'easier' to do things on a field that's advantageous to me. For someone who's related to you and could be a hostage to come to a place with water on their own. It's too convenient."
"You researched me this much. What's your goal?"
"Ah, that..."
Aqua Necklace paused for a moment, then...
"I want you to help me kidnap Princess Lara."
He said with a laugh.
--------------------------------------------
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