“I watched it when it was first airing on TV…and I was blown away. You know the scene when the heroine talks to the last boss, the emperor, after the battle by the fortress?”
“The scene in the throne room, right?”
“Yeah, that one.”
“Yep, that’s a really famous scene.”
It was the first time the heroine showed she wasn’t some powerless damsel in distress who had to wait for the hero to show up to save her—but instead had a strong will and sense of justice. She directly challenged the emperor, who was trying to use his power to take over the world, and shared her vision with him, even though doing so put her life at great risk. And despite the emperor mocking her ideals, calling them the “naive ramblings of a child,” he started to see the heroine differently. He respected her… Even Masachika squealed in delight when he saw the scene. “The heroine’s sooo freakin’ badass!” he yelled that day. It all made sense now. The heroine’s actions changed Chisaki. The instant he came to this conclusion of his, Chisaki continued speaking with deep feeling as though she were reliving the moment:
“When I saw that scene, it hit me. I was like, ‘Oh, power is everything.’”
“Huh?”
“Men don’t give you the respect you deserve if you’re weak. The heroine would never have been kidnapped if she had the power to defeat the emperor. I realized at that moment that if you ever wanted to get anything in this world, you need to be strong enough to shut up your enemies first.”
“Wow… She was actually turned off by the heroine’s actions and was influenced by what the emperor did instead…”
“Right after that, I cut my long hair short and started training myself both mentally and physically so no guy would ever look down on me again. Took a hard year’s worth of training at my relative’s dojo but check me out now.”
“And now you’re a killing machine… Definitely some extreme modification went on while you were there…”
Masachika mumbled his honest thoughts while disapprovingly glaring at his sister, who was nodding as if to say, “I know what you mean, Chisaki. Last bosses like the emperor…are awesome.”
“Would it have killed you to have just said, ‘And now you’re a better version of yourself’? Anyway, I was able to get rid of the whole ‘feeble, beautiful young girl’ image after that. Now people fear me.”
“From man to machine… How tragic… Wait. Comical, perhaps?”
“Anyway, because of that, I really empathized with Touya when I saw how hard he was working to change himself.”
“Oh, are we talking about when you first fell in love? The story’s moving so fast that I’m having a hard time emotionally switching gears.” Masachika smiled stiffly, rolling his eyes at Chisaki, who had suddenly started to glance bashfully at Touya. Yuki cracked a troubled smile as well. And yet those two began to passionately gaze into each other’s eyes as if they didn’t have a care in the world.
“I was still really surprised when he told me he liked me after having only chatted a few times before.”
“Come on, you didn’t have to tell them that.”
“But because you did that, I realized just how much you had changed.”
“Yeah, I got a little too ahead of myself there.”
“And you were stuttering, too. Remember?”
“Ahhh! That’s enough! Come on!”
Touya sheepishly stared back into Chisaki’s smiling eyes, but there was nothing awkward or unfriendly about their exchange. If anything, the entire mood was very sweet and affectionate…as Masachika and Yuki kept their eyes on…anything else.
“I can’t take any more of this…”
“What should we do? Should we start flirting, too? Should we hug? Big hug?”
“No.”
The siblings whispered to each other while still facing forward, but the flirting couple didn’t seem to notice. An entire twenty minutes went by like this until it was time to switch members. Ayano ended up taking Yuki’s spot, and Maria sat in front of Masachika.
“Hey. ♪”
“Good afternoon.”
“…Hey.”
Maria had her usual bubbly smile; on the other hand, Ayano’s expression was as blank as always before she immediately turned into air.
The conversation was dead on arrival…
Masachika couldn’t help but internally joke about the situation, because Maria was usually the listener, and Ayano was usually air. It was a terrible combination for encouraging discussion. Masachika glared at Ayano with a slightly reprimanding gaze for trying to disappear, despite the fact that they were specifically here to converse and get to know one another.
“Ayano. How about taking the lead and starting the conversation? That is the point of this whole exercise, after all.”
“…! You are right. My apologies.”
Ayano’s shoulders twitched, and she promptly lowered her head as if she agreed with Masachika. After lifting her head back up and letting her eyes wander a bit, she faced Maria with a blank expression and asked:
“What kind of maid uniforms do you like?”
“She had to go for a wild pitch for her first throw…”
“Hmm… If I had to choose, I suppose I would go with something classic? The maid uniforms with the long skirts are so cute, aren’t they?” Maria answered.
“She managed to hit the ball?!”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. But I think miniskirts are really cute, too. I really like anime music, after all.” Maria continued with her surprisingly earnest reply.
“Hmm? The ball she hit is veering a bit in an unexpected direction.”
“Really? I have studied a little about anime music,” Ayano responded.
“And then she caught the ball as if this were only natural. I feel like I’m listening to aliens converse…!”
“You studied anime music? Do you want to be an anime singer and songwriter?”
“No, not at all.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“…”
“……”
“…The game is over if you don’t pass the ball back,” Masachika pointed out with a fed-up look, since Ayano kept giving simple answers and not engaging. Ayano jumped, then hurriedly began darting her eyes around the inside of the train for inspiration.
“…! O-oh, yes. My mistake. Um…”
“Giggle. There is no need to rush.” Maria smiled thoughtfully, since it was obvious Ayano had no idea what to talk about.
“No, but… I, uh…”
But Ayano shrunk almost as if she was ashamed of herself. She blinked a few times before finally squeezing another topic out.
“Um…do you like trains?”
“She’s literally using the first thing she saw…”
“I don’t really use the train that often.”
“And then Masha replies without even a second of hesitation. What kind of saint is she?”
“What about you, Ayano?”
“Me neither…”
“Throw the damn ball back… Sigh…”
Masachika patted Ayano on the head to show his appreciation in spite of being annoyed at how the conversation kept dying so quickly. He then took it upon himself to liven up their exchange on behalf of his socially inept childhood friend.
“So you usually take your bike or the bus everywhere?” Masachika picked up the conversation with Maria where Ayano had left off.
“I actually like to walk most places, but…I guess I do take my bike if I’m going somewhere far.”
“Really? I’m kind of surprised. I can’t really imagine you tearing through town on a bicycle, either.”
“Oh my. ♪ Really? I’m actually great with walking. I usually walk instead of taking the train if it’s within three stations away, and if it’s farther than that, I almost always use my bike.”
“That’s incredible. I still think taking the train would be faster, though. Do you have something against trains, or…?”
“Not at all. I simply enjoy the scenery when I walk. There’s always something new you can find if you walk down streets that you’ve never been down before, right?”
“Yeah, definitely…” Masachika nodded with a sense of satisfaction, since something immediately came to mind. When he went on a walk around town to find a good restaurant to take Alisa for his birthday (?), he realized that there were surprisingly a lot of places he had never been before in and around town.
“Besides…trains are dangerous, aren’t they?” continued Maria, raising an eyebrow slightly.
“Hmm? How so?”
“You know, like how people injure their wrists while holding the hanging straps.”
“The hanging…straps…?”
Masachika shifted his gaze toward Ayano, but she shook her head as if she also had no idea what Maria was talking about. It made sense, though. She was like Maria, since she didn’t use the train really thanks to having the Suou driver around to take her everywhere.
“People hurt their wrists with the hanging straps? You mean like if the train makes a sudden stop, and the momentum jerks their arms?”
“That’s a good question. I have never hurt my wrist on the train before, and Chisaki said she hasn’t, either, so maybe it only happens to men?”
“Hmm? Chisaki…? …Hmm? It only happens to men…?”
There was something bothering him about what she was saying…and his cheeks tensed when he suddenly came to a vague realization of what had happened.
“Hey, uh…Masha? Did these people hurt their wrists when you were with Chisaki?”
“Why, yes… It actually happened three or four times when we took the train together before.”
“…Was the train crowded?”
“Hmm… I think I remember the train being crowded enough that there weren’t any hanging straps left to grab on to.”
“Were those men standing next to or behind you, Masha?”
“What?! How did you know?!”
“…Yep.”
Masachika’s eyes were narrowed suspiciously in contrast to Maria’s surprised, wide-eyed expression. The men who hurt their wrists had most likely been… After thinking about it some more, he realized that it wasn’t a surprise she would be targeted. Alisa always had her guard up, and she really stood out, for better or for worse, which meant these men would actually avoid her. In fact, it was to the point that last time they went out together, almost everyone in their train car was sneaking glances at Alisa, and there weren’t a lot of questionable men among those onlookers. Meanwhile, Maria’s hair color and skin tone didn’t stand out as much as Alisa’s, and creeps were naturally drawn to her gentle aura.
And once they get too close…their wrists get the chop.
After realizing what was happening, he looked over at Chisaki on the other side of the aisle with a trembling gaze and asked Maria:
“How did Chisaki react to their injuries?”
“Hmm? Oh… She is amazing. She always takes the initiative and walks the injured men to the stationmaster’s office. I always try to help, but I don’t know enough first aid, so I have no choice but to let Chisaki take care of things.”
“…Fascinating.”
“…? What do you mean? Did you figure out what was happening?”
“Oh, no…but I think you should make sure to continue bringing Chisaki with you whenever you take the train from now on as well.”
“Wow. Chisaki said the same thing. It’s not like I’d ever have a reason to ride the train alone for the most part, though…”
A random thought suddenly came to mind, and Masachika figured it’d be a good excuse to change the subject, so he asked:
“What about your boyfriend? You don’t take the train when you go out together?”
“Huh? Oh… It’s currently a long-distance relationship, so we never really get the chance to go anywhere together.”
“Ohhh. He’s Russian, right? At least, that’s what I heard through the grapevine.”
“Hmm?”
“Wait. He’s not?”
“Oh, right… His name.”
“…? What was that?”
“Don’t worry about it. ♪ What about you two?”
“…?”
“Is there anyone…you like right now?” Maria cheerfully asked, leaning slightly forward with her hands clasped in front of her chest. Relationships. It was a topic that many young women enjoyed, but it made both Masachika and Ayano curiously tilt their heads in unison.
“Uh… I’m more into 2D girls myself. Just can’t get into 3D.”
Ayano suddenly blinked in confusion as if she took what Masachika just said at face value.
“Are you sure? Because I vaguely remember you having a girlfriend in elementary school and—”
“No! That… That doesn’t count because we were kids. I wasn’t an otaku back then, either.”
He frowned a bit, because even though she didn’t mean to upset him, it was a past he had no interest in remembering. He then put Ayano under the spotlight while pretending to not notice the curiosity brimming in Maria’s eyes.
“What about you, Ayano? Is there anyone you like?”
“I have two—too many responsibilities to accept such an offer. My top priority is Lady Yuki.”
“Wait. Has someone asked you out before?”
“Yes, twice in the past.”
“…Wow.”
Masachika was genuinely taken off guard by the surprising news. There was something that bothered him about two guys asking his childhood friend out.
“Are you curious about them?”
“Huh? Oh, uh… Yeah, I guess?”
“I could tell you their names if you wished.”
“Nah, don’t. Take their names with you to the grave.”
Masachika stopped Ayano from hurting these two guys any further, then frantically scratched his head.
“I mean…I am curious, but it’s more like…I’m moved that the concept of love isn’t completely foreign to you anymore. I’ve known you for so long, and before I even realized it, you were all grown up… What am I saying? I’m not your mom.”
“I do not plan on getting myself involved in any sort of romance, though…”
“Yeah, I know… Oh, and watch how you say that. One wrong mistake, and it’ll sound like you’re bragging about being really popular.”
After another sigh, Masachika faced Maria once more and shrugged.
“Anyway, as you can see, there’s absolutely nothing interesting going on in our lives.”
“So neither of you plans on ever falling in love?”
“Not really…”
“Never.”
“Oh… That’s too bad…”
Maria leaned back in her seat and slumped, but Masachika was inwardly relieved… However, his relief would prove to be short-lived.
“Then how about you tell us about your girlfriend from elementary school, Kuze?”
“Wait. What? Come on, give me a break.”
He lowered his head, glancing in Ayano’s direction for help. She then firmly gazed back into his eyes, nodded, and stated:
“I am genuinely curious about her as well.”
“Ayano?!” shrieked Masachika, caught off guard by his friend’s betrayal. The next ten minutes were a clash between two women extremely curious about a past relationship and a man who felt like he was in hell.
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