Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Kanako’s HSS

There was no doubt that these armed self-balancing vehicles were all being remotely controlled by the enemy, and the firing of the submachine guns was likewise aimed through cameras mounted on the vehicle bodies.

Therefore, all Tohyama Kanako needed to do was block the cameras on the balancing vehicles, causing the enemy’s control to stall for a moment—just enough to create a sliver of opportunity for a counterattack.

Such an opening might be difficult for ordinary people to grasp, but Tohyama Kanako was not ordinary. The blood flowing through her veins reminded her of this at every moment, the ballistic calculations and precise blind firing she had just performed were also thanks to the power brought by that bloodline.

“Is it taken care of?” Aria asked as she caught her breath and stood up. After realizing that all the enemy balancing vehicles had been destroyed, she recovered from her momentary mental shutdown and regained clarity.

“So easy~~” Tohyama Kanako said, sliding the gun back into the holster at her left waist.

Aria took two steps toward the doorway, wanting to confirm it with her own eyes.

However, Aria tripped—she tripped over her own skirt.

The buttons on Aria’s skirt seemed to have been damaged by the explosion just now.

Tohyama Kanako had already noticed this when she carried Aria out of the vaulting box earlier, and it was also one of the reasons she hadn’t wanted Aria to join the fight.

Aria’s skirt slid all the way down to her calves in one go, revealing underwear that matched the pattern of her bra.

“Hard to say… the taste is a bit childish, but it’s cute~~” Tohyama Kanako thought to herself, smiling as she did.

She quickly stepped forward to catch Aria—now was definitely not the time for idle impressions.

“You really have to be more careful~~” Tohyama Kanako said as she helped Aria up, also pulling her skirt back into place.

“Ugh…”

Perhaps out of embarrassment, Aria’s eyes welled with tears. She lightly bit her lip and tried several times to fasten the buttons, but to no avail—the buttons were clearly beyond saving.

Seeing Aria’s pitiful state, Tohyama Kanako took out a small coil of steel wire from her student handbook.

As a Butei, one had to be prepared to deal with all kinds of complicated situations at any time, carrying various small tools was common sense. This coil of wire, together with other gear, could be used for rappelling down buildings or climbing them.

Watching Aria fumble clumsily, Tohyama Kanako simply decided to fix the skirt herself so it wouldn’t slide down again.

“J-just so you know, I could’ve handled a situation like that on my own, okay? Hmph!” Aria said stubbornly, though her confidence sounded a bit weak.

“Is this what they call a tsundere?” Tohyama Kanako wondered inwardly, while replying perfunctorily, “Yes, yes~~”

Tohyama Kanako didn’t doubt Aria’s ability to handle the earlier situation. Just the fact that she had jumped down from the rooftop and controlled a glider to save someone was proof enough.

But considering Aria’s current condition, whether she could even grip a gun properly was another matter altogether.

Still, Tohyama Kanako kept her mouth shut—after all, the reason Aria was so flustered lay with her.

“It’s true, you know. I’m not lying,” Aria said, sounding a little anxious.

“I never said you were lying~~ And I don’t think a good kid like you would lie~~”

“Good kid… are you always like this? To all girls—this… this…” Aria couldn’t think of the right word for a moment, but then suddenly remembered something and changed the subject. “When we were in the vaulting box, you didn’t do anything while I was unconscious, did you?”

Aria didn’t seem like she had originally planned to pursue the matter, but seeing Tohyama Kanako like this made her uneasy after all.

“What do you think I would’ve done~~?” Tohyama Kanako asked in return.

“Like taking advantage of someone and a-attacking me…” Aria subconsciously raised her arms and hugged her chest.

After helping secure the skirt, Tohyama Kanako stood up and said, “If that’s what you think~~ then just assume that’s how it was~~”

“Ugh…” Faced with Tohyama Kanako’s bluntness, Aria didn’t know how to react.

“As compensation~~ how about I let you touch too? What do you think? That way we’ll be even~~” Tohyama Kanako leaned closer to Aria and deliberately thrust her chest forward a little.

Though not quite on par with Aome, Tohyama Kanako felt the difference shouldn’t be that great.

Aria’s gaze instantly locked in place, her arms loosened, then tightened again, her heart thrown into intense turmoil.

“Oh right~~ you already experienced it when the bomb exploded, didn’t you~~ Want to try it again~~?” Tohyama Kanako bent down and whispered seductively into Aria’s ear.

Aria’s face, which had only just calmed down, flushed red again, giving the impression that steam might start rising from her head.

“So interesting~~ this kid,” Tohyama Kanako chuckled to herself.

“Well~~ I won’t tease you anymore. I wouldn’t actually take advantage of someone~~” Tohyama Kanako knew when to stop. She wasn’t about to give up her body so easily, what she had just said was merely teasing.

“After all, that kind of thing is only fun when it’s done openly and properly~~” That was what Tohyama Kanako left unsaid.

“Ah…”

Seeing Tohyama Kanako pull away, Aria seemed to feel a bit at a loss.

After that, Tohyama Kanako planned to leave. If she stayed any longer, something truly indescribable might end up happening.

Although Tohyama Kanako, in this state, was very interested in girls, even things like that had an order to them.

Aria, on the other hand, said she would stay at the scene, claiming she wanted to investigate the traces left behind by the Butei killer.

However, Tohyama Kanako knew better. She understood this was just an excuse—Aria wanted to avoid her, after all, she had already hidden herself inside a vaulting box.

“Bye-bye~~ Classmate Aria who blushes so easily~~”

“What do you mean blushing? That’s because you—”

Tohyama Kanako ignored Aria’s protesting words and walked straight out of the sports equipment storage room.

In the center of the field was a charred crater—this was where the bomb had exploded. Shattered bicycle fragments were scattered all over the grounds.

Just imagining that she herself could have ended up like that sent a chill down Tohyama Kanako’s spine.

Fortunately, amid the misfortune, it seemed that when the bicycle fell, the schoolbag in the basket had been flung away. Thanks to that, Tohyama Kanako’s bag had survived the incident.

Even so, the bag looked scorched by flames. If it hadn’t also been made from bulletproof materials, it probably wouldn’t have made it either.

After checking that nothing inside the bag was damaged, Tohyama Kanako headed toward the academic affairs office. Having been subjected to a bomb attack, she had to report it—and after all that chaos, there was no way she’d make it to the opening ceremony.

—————————————————————————————————————

“So tired…” By the time Tohyama Kanako finished reporting the full sequence of events and left the academic affairs office, she had already exited her special state.

Emotional Outburst Savant Syndrome, also known as Hysteria Savant Syndrome, abbreviated as HSS.

This was the formal name of the special state, which Tohyama Kanako herself also referred to as “Burst Mode.”

When a person is X-aroused, the brain secretes a neurotransmitter called β-endorphin.

Under the influence of this substance, activity in the brain, cerebellum, spinal cord, and other parts of the central nervous system increases dramatically.

People who suffer from Emotional Outburst Savant Syndrome secrete about thirty times the normal amount of β-endorphin. As a result, their reaction speed, judgment, thinking speed, and so on all reach roughly thirty times that of an ordinary person, allowing them to easily accomplish things that normal people cannot.

Back in the sports equipment warehouse, Tohyama Kanako’s ability to accurately estimate and calculate submachine-gun ballistics, and then fire with precision, was thanks to this.

In short, people with this condition enter a kind of super mode when X-aroused. The side effect is a drastic change in personality—in Tohyama Kanako’s case, she becomes extremely frivolous and enjoys teasing and playing with other girls.

That’s right!

Tohyama Kanako, a seventeen-year-old female high school student, is a pervert who becomes aroused by other girls.

[To be continued.]