Bullet 8: Kinji Tohyama Part 1

JULY 30, 2022 ~ FROZZENDETH

　– When training in the Assault Department, after meeting the minimum quota for specific training, you are free to do whatever training you want.

　The purpose of this freedom is to develop a habit that will see people continue practising on their own, with the training helping them survive in the future.

　It is for this reason that many students continue to hone their marksmanship and CQC skills even after school.

　On that day, too, in that black walled gymnasium Assault department building, voluntary hand-to-hand combat and and knife fighting was being conducted. The training conducted was in the form of a semi-life-threatening simulation, with the participants dressed in their bulletproof uniforms used for actual combat.

　There is a training gym on the second floor of the Assault department.

　And there… Akari was training to improve her basic fitness on a exercise bike, although she was so petite she has to stand to pedal.

　There is a glass window in front of the bike, and through that window you can see the first floor, which at a quick glance is no different from an ordinary gymnasium.

(I wonder if Aria-senpai will come today.)

　Since she is looking at the window in front of her, Akaris skirt…

　Due to her standing posture, she is a little defenceless right now.

　However, since Butei High requires its students to wear the bulletproof uniform whenever they are on the premises, Akari had no choice but to wear the short sailor uniform as she stands and pedals on the exercise bike.

　Behind Akari, and right now doing pushups, is Raika, who has a keen eye for such feminine opportunities.

　Raika, who was also training, was trying to find the right moment to tease Akari…

“Shino isn’t here right now…”

　Raika called out to Akari.

“Yep”

　Behind Raika, Akari, her skirt still fluttering up, was reminded of the other day when she saw Shino off.

　That day, after general subject classes were over, Shino, who was aiming for a Amica contract with a specific senpai, had to leave Butei High for a while and go on a training camp where that senpai was staying.

　A Bentley Mulsanne, a luxury car costing tens of millions of yen with a female chauffeur who was exclusive to the Sasaki family, picked Shino up in the entrance of the general school district. Raika’s eyes lit up like a little boys when she saw the rarely seen car, saying “Wow!”.

“Akari-chan. What a sad fate… I cannot see you for a while…!”

　Shino handed her suitcase to the driver and gyugyugyu…!

　After, she hugged Akari as hard as she could, as if she could not possibly miss this opportunity.

“… please be okay as long as I am gone! Wait for me to come back!”

　She leaned out of the window of the Bentley and kept waving her hand with regret and remorse on her face…

　(…if I recall correctly, that is what happened.)

“I did not know there were so many different tests for a War Sister’s contract.”

　Akari talks to Raika behind her as she continues using her exercise bike.

“Ahh. It is weird for a War Sister to make her come out to the mountains. Okay, and… 100!”

　Raika, having fulfilled her push-up quote, lies down on her back on the spot. And then,

“Well, while Shino is away, I can monopolize Akari… uhehehehe…”

　Akari turned around and saw…

　Raika, lying on her back, was making a rectangle with her index finger and thumbs of both hands, like a photographer who has found a good angle.

　Raika’s finger camera is…

　Akari is right now standing on her exercise bike, and the finger camera is angled to point up her skirt from below!

“uwa, white cotton. It’s like a pair of kid panties. It is more like “panchu” than “pantsu”.”

“….!?”

　Finally, Akari noticed Raika’s gaze and held down her skirt.

“Panchu, full view~♪”

　After enthusiastically teasing Akari, Raika spread her hands out like a airplane and began running away.

“He-, Hey-! Baka Raika! Low angler! Pervert!” (TL Note: the original is okanehare for pervert, which translates loosely to “pay me”. This doesn’t make sense to me, unless Akari is selling pantie pics now, and the only other thing that could make sense is “I will make you pay” which seemed out of place here, so I put “pervert!” instead.)

　Akari angrily chased after Raika, smoke billowing out from her head.

　This was a customary event that often takes place between Raika and Akari. Raika’s various sexual harassment → Akari rages → Akari chases Raika… but, this time, the chase did not last as long as usual.

　The reason is that Raika stopped abruptly when she heard a conversation among the boys looking down onto the first floor.

　Mugyu!　Because Raika stopped abruptly, Akari collided into her back.

“–Hey, did you hear that Kinji is coming back to the Assault Department!?”

“I did! By Kinji they have to mean Kinji as in Kinji Toyama, right?”

“He was said to be the chief candidate for the Assault department!”

　Raika overheard her sophomore senpais talking about this…

　(Raika’s serious face is making me feel nervous…)

“… Raika?”

　Concerned about Raika’s serious expression, Akari paused her anger and called out to her.

“Kinji Toyama… that man is coming back?”

“Kinji…? Who is that?”

“He is a senior in his second year. He was always away on missions, and last year he transferred to Inquesta, but before… He was in the Assault Department and was an S-ranked Butei.”

“An S-rank in their freshman year!? There is such a person…!”

　The top of the top for Butei – the S-rank Butei – is strictly limited in numbers, with only the best in each field being selected. There are only a few hundred of them in the whole world, and that is including adult butei.

　Akari’s Amica, Aria, is one of them, but it is very rare for high school students to be S rank.

　And it is even more rare for a first year.

“I heard that Kinji Toyama even beat an instructor in his entrance exam. He is a legendary man. A junior high school student who can beat a professional Butei is a monster.”

　The instructors at Butei High are a select group of professional Butei’s from Japan and other parts of the world, who were former soldiers, mercenaries, policemen… and, as rumour would have it, mafia members. The students are reminded on a daily basis just how strong the instructors are.

　And Kinji Toyama, who was in the third grade of junior high at the time of his exam, was said to have defeated them.

“…monster…”

　Based off of Raika’s story, Akari tried to imagine, with her limited information, who this person Kinji Toyama was.

　(He must be a big man, like a professional wrestler, since he could beat the instructors of Butei High.)

　(He cant be using a normal gun. He must be using, like, a bazooka, like the hero of an action movie.)

(There is such a person in the same school as me… I only passed the entrance exam because there was a vacancy…)

　Beside Akari, who was trembling at the mere thought of Kinji,

“I have never spoken to him but I know his face. Oh, there he is.”

　Raika pointed to the first-floor.

“…”

　Coyly, Akari peeked through a inner window on the second floor.

　There… was two seniors. They are making a fuss, saying “It’s Kinji!” and “He’s really back!”

　At the centre of a small crowd…

　Was a dark-looking boy with a slightly glazed look in his eyes, rubbing his black hair wearing a crumpled uniform and tie.

(…?)

　(Could he be the rumoured Kinji Toyama…?)

　He was far from what Akari had just imagined, he seems like an ordinary high school boy that could be found anywhere.

　(He looks like someone I had seen somewhere recently, but even if I had, he has an air kind of like… If I had seen him, I would have forgot about him five minutes later. He is unimpressive and has no presence.)

　But the students in the Assault course are in a happy mood about Kinji’s return to Assault. Or, rather, they are messing with him and teasing him.

“… something… is different from what I imagined…”

“Well that is what he looks like. He is a year above us, and apparently some first year students are trying to beat him in a fight as it is a big deal if you get a Upper Win, but… it does not look like they’re going to win.”

　”Upper Win”, which Raika referred to, was a Butei High term that means that a junior beat their senior in a private battle.

　The different between those who have received one year of practical training and those who have received two years is significant, and so a Upper Win cannot usually happen. So, at Butei High, those who can get a Upper Win are highly valued by their peers and teachers.

　(From the way she is talking, Raika may also be aiming to beat Kinji.)

“His War Sister though is Fuuma from the intelligence. He seems to be a difficult person fight. Well, I can’t win anyway, and I don’t fight fights I cannot win.”

　After that Raika left the training gym, scratching the back of her head and internally seething at the fact that she didn’t stand a chance at fighting Kinji.

　Akari, who was left behind, tried to observe Kinji on the first floor of the gymnasium for a while longer…

　As for Kinji’s strength that was considered to be the same as the S-rank Aria, that did not become obvious till later.

　A while later…

　With a sports drink in one hand, Akari was walking alone in the school after classes.

　And, just as she was leaving the school gates to go home.

(– Ah, Aria-senpai!)

　Akari was overjoyed to find Aria H. Kanzaki near the gate.

　But shortly after…

　That smile, piki!, solidified.

“… you are a popular person. I was a little surprised.”

　And Aria…

　She approached Kinji Toyama, who had left earlier, and called out to him.

　Akari’s eyes bulged at the sight.

“I don’t want those people to like me.”

　Kinji answers a little grimly, looking sideways at the Assault department.

　Aria doesn’t smile at this response, and there appears to be a psychological distance between the two of them.

　But, despite that, it is by no means a bad atmosphere.

　Because, you see, they started walking almost next to each other.

　(Kinji is walking next to Aria, and Aria is following him.)

“You don’t socialize well, and you are a bit gloomy. It seems like you have good friends at Assault though and everyone gave you a… what was it? A glance. Kinji, watching you walk through the Assault Department… you were kind of cool, walking through the Assault Department surrounded by people.”

　Aria talked to Kinji as she was staring at him.

　(She is even saying things that could be taken as a compliment…!)

(What!? What!? What!? What!? What!?)

　Akari almost began to panic.

(Kinji Toyama… who are you!?)

　(I must, must, MUST find out who that dirtbag is!)

　After a few minutes…

“Don’t follow me! I don’t even want to look at you right now!”

“I don’t want to see your stupid face either!”

“Then don’t follow me!”

“No!”

　And so on. For some reason, Kinji and Aria were chasing each other on the street as they made their way home.

　(They seem on the outside to be on bad terms, but their relationship may be that of fighting friends instead.)

　For Akari, that was very bad.

　For Akari, after all, fighting in a friend relationship can lead to a lovers relationship later. Or at least, that is how it is often described in shojo manga.

　(If Aria-senpai, the senior whom I adore, should happen to go out with a dull boy like that…!)

　(… I won’t let it happen!)

　Akari watched as Kinji and Aria went to a video game arcade. And then, Aria took out two stuffed animals from the UFO catcher and gave one of them to Kinji.

　(I don’t know anything about Kinji, but did you like stuffed animals Aria…?)

　(She is smiling. Aria-senpai is.)

(Sh-, she looks like she is having fun…!)

　Akari continued to spy on them from behind a roadside mailbox, and then…

(Kinji Toyama…! That guy, what if… what if I let such a guy latch onto Aria-senpai!?)

　Akari was beginning to get impatient as she watched this existential crisis approaching Aria.

　(Aria-senpai is as perfect as a goddess, so there shouldn’t be any problem.)

　(In other words, it is Kinji Toyama who is to blame. That man must have brain washed Aria-senpai.)

　Akari narrowed her target to Kinji and began tracking him after he left Aria.

　She followed Kinji Toyama to…

　With a sigh, Akari walked through the alleys of the artificial island, where Butei high was located.

　Thankfully it was quite windy today, so the sound of the wind drowned out the sound of Akari’s footsteps.

(… I will find out what kind of person you are…!)

　When Akari, who was beginning to get angry, turned at the crossroads where Kinji went, Kinji had suddenly dissapeared…

“… Mamiya-dono. Let’s end this here.”

　From overhead, Akari was stopped by a strange, time-honored way of speaking.

　(I never felt any sign that someone was in that direction!)

“…!?”

　When Akari looked up, about 4 meters high, there was a girl from Butei High hanging upside down with her toes on a lamppost and her arms folded.

　Black hair in a ponytail. Shinobi armour on her hands.

　She is wearing a mask-like cloth that covers her mouth and a long scarf, and her sharp eyes are turned towards Akari.

“… it is nice to meet you for the first time. I am Master Toyama’s Amica, Hina Fuuma.”

　Akari’s body stiffened when she heard the name.

　She stepped back, unconsciously bracing herself.

(Fuuma–!?)