超ヒロイン戦記 - Super Heroine Chronicle/Flow Chart/Episode 6: Butei Killer

第6話: 武偵殺し

Episode 6: Butei Killer

Aria: …

Meru: …

Meru: U-Um, Aria-san?

Aria: If you need to use the bathroom, you have five minutes.

Meru: No, I don’t need to use the bathroom….Hauu~…

Rem: This really is like a prison. Won’t Aria-chan get tired?

Aria: Not really.

Rem: No need to be so tense, we’re not going to do something treacherous like escaping. You can relax you know?

Aria: I see. Then, you all show me your abilities.

Meru: Abilities?

Aria: You have battle techniques right? Let’s kill time by showing me them.

Hibiki: So you’re going to evaluate me with your professional eyes right? Then first up is me, Hibiki Tachibana. Here I go!

Hibiki: I don’t have a weapon since I fight empty-handed! I don’t have a particular style, but I use my Master’s teachings.

Aria: You’ve already shown me that. That’s what you remembered from watching movies, right?

Hibiki: Yes! I watched a lot of movies, and even trained my body, as well as arranging the moves!

Aria: I’ve seen the way you fight, for an amateur to master those moves in such a short amount of time is pretty impressive.

Aria: Also that battle armor you wore, that seems to have increased your attack power and speed greatly. And your ability to use it is pretty good.

Hibiki: Even though you saw it once, you were able to analysis it so well.

Aria: However good your form and power are, you are still full of openings.

Hibiki: …Yes, there are a lot of circumstances behind that. I can’t bring out my full power…

Aria: You don’t have to explain. Now you’re next!

Meru: Um, second, Meru! I will show you the Magical Yo-Yo hissatsu~, walking the dog~!

Aria: …The movements are interesting, but this isn’t a street performance.

Meru: This is not a street performance! Magical Yo-Yo has a history in the secret arts of the assassination techniques…

Aria: Yes, yes. Next.

Rem: I’m third, Rem Ayanokoji. My weapon is a customized .44 Colt Magnum.

Aria: Hmm, so it’s not an Anaconda, but a Python Custom then. Pretty rare to see someone use that.
(TL note: The Anaconda model is a .44 Colt Magnum, the Python model is a .357 Colt Magnum. Rem’s gun is a customized Python model which gives it the ability to shoot .44 magnum rounds, with the extended barrel of the Python model)

Rem: Eh? I haven’t heard of the Anaconda. Is a Python really rare on this world?

Aria: It’s an old fashion gun. There are a lot of enthusiasts for it though, and the parts can be found anywhere. Okay, that’s everyone then.

Claude: Um, about me…?

Aria: Ah, you were here. You…dash.

Claude: Yes?

Aria: Go dash over to the Matsumoto store and buy me their peach buns there. Also get me coffee.

Claude: You’re using me!?

Aria: You’re good at running right? Buy them in 10 minutes. See it’s on the map here.

Claude: Are you sure about not observing me?

Aria: If you’re not back in 15 minutes, I’ll blast a hole in one of the three left here.

Claude: That’s worse than me getting shot! I-I’ll hurry up and buy them!

[Claude leaves]

Aria:…So, just that much I was able to get what I want? If he just kept quiet, it would be peaceful though.

Rem: I see, how tough.

Meru: Is it always like this?

Aria: That’s right. Got a problem?

Hibiki: (This feeling, this is just like how Tsubasa-san was before…)

[Some time passes]

Aria: Funyuu~~! This peach bun is delicious~~!

Hibiki: This is! Almost as expensive as Flower’s okonomiyaki!

Aria: That’s because peach buns are the best!

Rem: And she already ate 5 of those… (Seems like it’s best to feed her a lot of those!)

Aria: Gonna eat another one~♪ Hamuhamuhamu~.

Claude: *exhausted* I almost ran myself to death there…

Aria: You went over the time limit a bit, but you bought a lot, so you have my praise.

Claude: I didn’t…know how many you wanted so…Ha~, fu~, he~…

Meru: Though, that was a good idea buying a lot.

[Aria’s cell, mail tone]

Aria: Hm? Mail? It’s not information from [Informa]. Is it an emergency…?

Aria: …I’ll be back in a bit.

Rem: Did something happen?

Aria: There’s been a bus jacking. The criminal is most likely the Butei Killer.

Meru: The criminal responsible for that bomb on the skateboard? I thought Shirayuki-san said that Butei Killer was caught…

Aria: The Butei Killer has not been caught!

Rem: There seems to be a reason behind it.

Hibiki: Aria-san! Is there anything we can do to help?

Aria: Don’t think about doing anything unnecessary, stay right here. You’ll be in the way.

Hibiki: But it’s better than being alone…!

Aria: Didn’t you hear me? You’re in my way.

Hibiki: Aria-san!

Aria: I will catch the Butei Killer alone.

Aria: (It’s true you’ll be in the way…for this bus jacking, moving as a group of more than 2 people is too conspicuous and dangerous. Also…)

Aria: See ya.

[Aria leaves in a hurry]

Meru: …In the end she left on her own.

Hibiki: Rem-san! I can’t leave her alone like that!

Rem: Even if we unreasonably came with her, we would be in the way. Unless we were told of what kind of circumstances were involved…

Claude: …

Claude: (This is the first time we’ve agreed on something…)

[Scene change]

Aria: …This is strange. Just like I was told, this should be the designated location. Where is the hijacked bus…?

Aria: Was the information wrong? That can’t be the case…

[Dream demons appear]

Dream demon: …!

Aria: W-What is that…!? They’re different from those Noise from earlier…?

Dream demon: …!

Aria: There are more of them…this couldn’t be, a trap!?

[Battle Map]

[Aria by herself against several dream demons]

Aria: There are a lot of them…! What the heck are these things…?

[Claude appears]

Claude: Aria-san!

Aria: You!? Why are you here!?

Claude: To return the favor for saving me from that time with the skateboard, I secretly followed you thinking there might be something I could do.

Aria: …I don’t remember ever wanting anything in return!

Claude: I’m sorry…but this is my way of returning the favor. It would be too dangerous for you if I didn’t…

Aria: Idiot! Because you say such unreasonable things, that’s why I said you’d be in the way!

Claude: I-I’m sorry…

Aria: Anyway, don’t do anything unreasonable! Make sure to run properly as a diversion! Use those fast legs of yours with pride!

Claude: Y-Yes! So I won’t get in your way I’ll do it properly…!

[Some time during the battle]

Claude: Hm? Doesn’t something sound like it’s getting closer…?

Aria: Above us!

[Laura appears]

Claude: Uwah!? That’s!? That person is dangerous…!!

Laura: You are the S Rank Butei, Aria H. Kanzaki? Fight with me!

Aria: …You’re the Butei Killer?

Laura: You will be the first Butei to fight against me. Though you are no match for my Schwarzer Regen, you might be able to provide me some fun?

Aria: I’ll ask you this. Do you know the Butei Killer?

Laura: Don’t know.

Aria: That’s a lie! This bus jacking with a bomb on board is the Butei Killer’s way of committing the crime. There’s no way you don’t know anything!

Laura: Hmm, though she’s an S Rank Butei, seems like she isn’t good with reasoning.

Laura: Well no matter, why don’t you try to capture me for questioning? Though I won’t talk!

Aria: Stop acting superior! I’ll blast holes in that toy like decoration of yours!

[Battle continues]

[When Aria attacks Laura]

Aria: I got you now!!

Laura: …Fool.

[Laura’s AIC activates. Aria is unable to move]

Aria: Kuu~…W-What is this…? I-I can’t move…?

Claude: Aria-san!?

Laura: Ha ha ha~! You may have sharp movements, but once you’re caught, you can’t do anything!

Aria: Even though she isn’t touching me, why can’t I move…! Why! WHY!!

Laura: Active Inertia Canceller’s performance test shows plenty of results. Sorry about this, but I’m ending this now!

Aria: !?

Laura: Take this~!!

[Laura is hit by a gunshot from somewhere. AIC is cancelled]

Laura: What~! The wrist joint was shot!? From where!?

Aria: That was a good shot! Even we have a trump card up our sleeve!

[Reki appears]

???(Reki): …It hit.

Laura: A sniper…!

???(Reki): …I am a single bullet.

Aria: That was good timing, Reki!

Claude: Eh? She took the shot from that far away…?

Aria: So, let’s start with Round 2. Eyepatch woman!

Laura: You’re not wrong about that. All 3 of you together, come at me!

Rem: How about more than 3 of us?

[Meru, Rem, and Hibiki appear]

Claude: Everyone!

Hibiki: Well, we came anyway!

Aria: How…did you all get here?

Rem: We used a tracking device to get here. That we put on Claude-kun.

Meru: I will show you that Magical Yo-Yo isn’t a street performance!

Laura: This is fine…this could be entertaining.

[More grunt enemy units appear]

Claude: Ah~…!

Aria: Did you realize you were at a disadvantage?

Laura: Don’t know anything about this. They just came out on their own without asking.

[Battle continues]

[When Laura takes a certain amount of damage]

Laura: That should be enough for today. I collected a lot of data.

Aria: Are you running away?

Laura: Go sharpen your skills. When you do, I will collect new data from you.

[Laura leaves]

Aria: The information about the Butei Killer got away! Got away! Got away! Got away~!!

Meru: Aria-san, please calm down~!!

Aria: No way! I won’t let her get away! I will definitely, definitely catch her~!

Hibiki: There’s no way you can chase after her in the sky if you can’t fly!!

Aria: Coward! Hand over the information about the Butei Killer! Come back here!!

Rem: (Nevertheless this is strange. Why are dream demons appearing on this world?)

Rem: (Seems there’s a lot of things we don’t know…)

[Battle End]

[Return to visual novel section]

Aria: …

Hibiki: I’m sorry, not being able to catch that person who flew off earlier.

Meru: If I remember correctly, that person is called Laura. Tsubasa-san already fought her before.

Hibiki: Really!?

Claude: Aria-san, who is the person that was helping us by sniping?

Aria: Aah~, you’re talking about Reki.

Reki: …

Claude: Wah!? She’s here all of a sudden…D-Does she have no presence like me…?

Reki: I did what I needed to in accordance to the request of the client.

Aria: Reki is a S Rank Butei from the sniping department [Snipe]. I contracted her in advance before coming here just in case.

Reki: …Mission completed. I’m heading back.

Meru: Reki-san just left on her own.

Aria: Anyway, why did you all come here!?

Rem: We asked a Butei High School student about it, they told us that there was no bus jacking.

Aria: What did you say!?

Hibiki: We don’t know why Aria-san received that false information, but because of that we had to come.

[Riko appears]

Riko: That just means someone is after Aria!

Hibiki: Riko-san!? You also came?

Riko: Actually I was watching things earlier, I was planning on making an appearance if you were in a pinch, but I never got the chance.

Riko: But it was so cool~. Aren’t you all pretty good as a team?

Aria: …Hmm. Not really, I was fine by myself.

Hibiki: But, who could be targeting Aria-san?

Claude: Who is that Laura person anyway…?

Aria: I’ll definitely catch her…! And that Butei Killer as well!

Claude: …

[Scene change]

Claude: Um, Aria-san…

Aria: You get going too. Everyone else already went in.

Claude: Why are you obsessed with the Butei Killer?

Aria: That doesn’t concern you.

Claude: That might be so…however the incident today, Aria-san wasn’t acting normal…

Aria: Eh…

Claude: Like when those dream demons came, I would have though Aria-san would have run, since that was a situation to run away from.

Aria: Not really, that much isn’t a problem.

Claude: It was the same when that Laura person came. If it had been only Aria-san and I at that time…

Aria: That’s why I asked for Reki’s help!

Claude: Even with the three of us, it was still dangerous. I saw that Aria-san was very impatient about things. …am I wrong?

Aria: You, even though you have that kind of personality, you were calmly observing things. That’s pretty cheeky of you.

Claude: I’m sorry…

Aria: My mama right now is in prison.

Claude: Eh?

Aria: A prison sentence of 864 years. 122 years of that sentence is because of the Butei Killer crime.

Claude: What do you mean? Aria-san’s mom is the Butei Killer?

Aria: Don’t say such a stupid thing! She’s falsely charged! Mama was framed for someone else’s crime!

Aria: Mama was used by that as a scapegoat for those IU bastards…

Claude: IU…?

Aria: I will get the evidence to prove that Mama was falsely charged, I have to reduce her sentence as much as possible right now. …Since it still isn’t time for the court to do the trial yet.

Aria: The Butei Killer is close by…I’ll catch them and prove my Mama is innocent, and push back the court date!

Aria: …Even though this doesn’t concern you.

Claude: Aria-san…

[Scene change: Claude, Rem, Meru, Hibiki are inside a room]

Claude: …and that’s what happened.

Rem: So that’s why. I can understand why Aria-chan was so impatient.

Hibiki: To try and capture all the criminals involved for the crimes that add up to the 864 prison sentence, that would be too much for her by herself!

Rem: No, it’s the opposite. Because of that unreasonable goal, she can’t afford to have other people involved. That’s why she is doing it alone.

Meru: But she saw our battle techniques earlier, maybe she’s…?

Hibiki: That’s right! Couldn’t she be looking for someone to fight alongside her…!?

Rem: That might be the case. But we can’t just simply step on her feelings…

Hibiki: I have a good idea!

Meru: Hibiki-san!? …What are you going to do?

Hibiki: Fufu~, just leave it to me!!

[Door opens, Aria enters]

Aria: You’re pretty loud in here, did you try to plan an escape?

Hibiki: Aria-san, let’s go to a karaoke place together!

Aria: Eh…?

Meru: (She didn’t think of anything and just went straight right into it…)

Rem: (I forgot…Hibiki-chan is the type that just completely uses force to push through things…)

Aria: Are you an idiot!? What do you mean karaoke! I don’t have time to play around!

Hibiki: Then when will you be free? Please tell me! We’ll go on your day off!

Aria: I told you I don’t have time!

Hibiki: No no, I already heard that Aria-san already has all of her graduation credits! That means you got a lot of free days, meaning your schedule’s definitely open! Right?

Aria: No, it’s not right! I said I’m not going!

[Hibiki sticks to Aria]

Hibiki: Now, let’s go and sing our hearts out! I’m actually a student of the Lydian Music Academy, though I’m an ‘a cappella’…

Aria: Hey!? Don’t stick to me! Let go!

Hibiki: I won’t let go~! We’re going to go sing, sing at the karaoke place, so which way? Anywhere is good!

Meru: (S-She’s using coercion…!)

Aria: Eei, what is with this!? Suddenly using this ridiculous strength…!! Kuu~, I can’t get out of this hold!!

Hibiki: Come on come on, Aria-san!

Aria: I…I get it already! I’ll go if you want me to go!

Meru: She got her way!

Rem: Is that her battle style…?

Hibiki: Ehehe~, this will be fun, Aria-san!

Aria: I get it, just let me go already!

[EPISODE 6: MERU ROUTE END]

[Go to [Episode 7: Partner] to continue]