_Tatang!_
Bullets fired through the smoke from both feet.
Of course, Wakamo didn’t expect that a single grenade would put Yukino out of action, so she didn’t move from her spot for too long.
Rather than provoking the opponent further to reveal her position, Wakamo decided it would be better to escape outside the 2nd Bridge and engage in guerrilla warfare, causing her eyes to widen behind her mask.
As soon as she saw the thrown cluster mine spit out shrapnel on the bridge floor, Wakamo pulled the trigger toward the smoke.
Following the heavy gunshot, shrapnel exploded simultaneously, turning the inside of the 2nd Bridge into chaos.
Recognizing that staying on the bridge would be unbeneficial, Wakamo immediately dove towards the external exit she had memorized.
Even though her hearing was muffled by the successive blasts, Yukino didn’t miss the distinctive click-clack of Wakamo’s heels. Thus, she could pursue without even a moment’s hesitation.
Wakamo burst out of the bridge and immediately clung to the side of one of the stacked containers, quickly climbing atop it with agile movements.
“Hmm. What were you thinking setting off such dangerous items on the bridge? I can imagine the automatic navigation system of this cargo ship is completely ruined now.”
“I don’t want to hear that from a criminal who set off grenades first.”
After that, the two fox beastkin silently aimed their guns at each other.
The moment one pulled the trigger, the battle would resume, but Yukino was aware that her position was disadvantageous. While there was ample space for Wakamo to maneuver, she had cover but no room to operate.
Most importantly, since it was already dark, if Wakamo escaped from atop the container, she might lose track of her. If the previously mentioned escape route actually existed, everything would fall apart.
However, if it didn’t exist, then since Wakamo had already caused damage to the 2nd Bridge, they could just hunt her down as intended… But the problem was the uncertainty.
“…Hmph.”
And it was Wakamo who turned her back first.
Yukino’s heart raced in that moment.
[This is FOX 1. The Reikubyō no Yū has escaped to the top of the container. Immediate pursuit is required, requesting support. FOX 4 will move to the bridge to take care of FOX 3 and set up a sniping position.]
Though not as swift as Wakamo, Yukino pulled herself up onto the container with relative ease and switched on her weapon light to chase after her.
_Tung!!!_
“Ugh…!”
Despite her vision being obscured by the light, Wakamo’s sniping demonstrated chilling accuracy as a bullet struck her left shoulder. The power was enough to make even Kurumi, who was caught off guard, faint instantly.
[This is FOX 2, we’ve encountered the Reikubyō no Yū. FOX 4 is continuing to move toward the bridge.]
The pursuit through the night officially began. It was a rare sight of foxes hunting a fox.
*
Kosaka Wakamo.
A notorious criminal from Hakgwiyaeng Alliance Academy, she was expelled in her first year, infamous across Kivotos, and known as the Reikubyō no Yū.
Wearing a glamorous fox mask, Wakamo had no reservations about crossing lines with two terrorist clubs when it interfered with her hobbies; unlike them, she was an actual student perpetrating acts of terror for the sake of terror.
So, it wasn’t surprising at all when they realized Wakamo had planned this terror. Known as one of the seven prisoners, and having been thoroughly incarcerated until the disappearance of the Student Council President, it wouldn’t be odd for her to commit any act of violence, excluding murder.
Of course, she must have her own reasons as well. Essentially, there are no villains in Kivotos without a story or a reason among students.
It was simply the situation that made them that way. Meeting teachers and receiving the guidance of adults could be seen as the main theme of “Blue Archive.”
Still, there would certainly be students who could not be rectified in such circumstances…
Well, that isn’t what’s important right now.
As Niko shone her light, revealing Wakamo, she pulled the trigger for a light greeting. Wakamo lightly dodged and the bayonet attached to her gun created a strange feeling of discomfort.
“Oh dear, I ended up meeting the most dangerous fox of all. Not a hint of weariness despite facing all those hired hands.”
“Hello, Wakamo-chan! Not so happy to see you.”
“…?”
I find it rather annoying when I can’t see the opponent’s expression because of a mask. I felt the same when I first faced the Arius Squad.
“Just in case, let me ask, but you don’t plan on surrendering, do you?”
“Surrender, you say?”
Muttering that, Wakamo swiftly turned her gun and pulled the trigger.
_Tung!!!_
“…The light?!”
“The answer is, of course, a refusal. Surrendering before even fighting is a bit too far from my nature.”
Wakamo, making the most strategic choice she could in this situation, turned around and started to flee. It seemed she intended to erase her trace after accurately shooting down Niko’s weapon light.
“Wow—oh! That’s remarkably fast.”
“FOX 1, we’ve lost the Reikubyō no Yū.”
[We’ll pursue… no, first, let’s regroup over there. FOX 4, we’ll postpone establishing the sniping position. Once we reach the 1st Bridge, we’ll locate the Reikubyō no Yū through the CCTV first.]
[FOX 4, entering the block.]
I thought about chasing after the vanished Wakamo alone but figured she was like a mouse in a trap. There’s nothing more frustrating than messing things up in a panic, so it was best to follow Yukino’s calm judgment.
Sitting down on the container and looking up at the night sky, Niko came over to sit beside me.
“I suddenly got a craving for inari sushi.”
“…Out of nowhere?”
“Well, it’s already past dinner time, right? It wouldn’t be appropriate to make inari sushi during a mission.”
…Ah, now I’m suddenly hungry too.
It’s simply unfair. Why do I have to miss out on a guaranteed fun match and spend the night on a cold, hungry sea?
I considered pulling out my phone to check the game results but refrained, knowing it wouldn’t allow me to verify results that way.
“I have a feeling tonight is going to be pretty long… Should we try to convince the others into grabbing some dinner? We might have enough ingredients to make inari sushi.”
“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”
Of course, that was a joke.
While waiting for Yukino to join, I chatted about this and that with Niko. Although we didn’t talk long, I truly didn’t want to see these kids being embroiled in a coup.
[This is FOX 4… confirming the Reikubyō no Yū has entered the hull. Also, the useless Kurumi has regained consciousness.]
[What?! Who’s calling me useless, Autogi…? What am I supposed to do about something even the squad leader missed?]
[FOX 3, if you’ve recovered, please check on FOX 4 and the state of the 2nd Bridge. If the navigation system is damaged due to the battle, wake the crew and prioritize instructing them to repair that section.]
After Yukino joined us, orders kept coming in through the radio. Since it was Yukino’s side that had concluded there was no need to hurry in the current situation, it seemed she intended to stabilize things before resuming the operation.
Niko and Autogi wandered through the hull, requesting incapacitated hired hands to subdue the academy ship’s students they had freed. So, if Wakamo had no escape route, time was ultimately on our side. No matter how cornered she got, I believed Wakamo wouldn’t detonate the bombs planted on this ship.
After Autogi reported that the captain and crew had regained consciousness, Yukino sat down in front of me and Niko, pulling out a sheet of paper, which she illuminated with her flashlight.
Revealed was a layout of the Nereus’s interior structure.
“There are only those two sets of stairs leading to the deck from inside the hull, along with the connecting corridor. Starting from there, in order to corner the Reikubyō no Yū while preventing a path for escape to the deck, someone has to remain on the 1st Bridge to continuously brief our position.”
“Couldn’t you leave that to the captain of the Nereus?”
“…We can’t entirely exclude the possibility of betrayal. The captain must be aware that the Reikubyō no Yū has planted bombs on the ship. Just knowing that the bombs are there means we can’t trust the personnel of this academy ship recklessly, in my judgment.”
“Huh. That sounds like a bit of excessive concern, but I’ll trust your judgment, Yukino-chan.”
“Leave Autogi on the 1st Bridge, and the four of us will enter the hull. Let’s continue to maintain pairs of two.”
Having come to that conclusion, Yukino placed her finger on the layout.
“Ultimately, she’ll have nowhere to run and will be pushed down to the lower levels of the hull. Without any way to escape, we’ll confront her. We can’t gamble with the lives of thousands on this academy ship… So ultimately, our remaining option is negotiation.”
Yukino bit her lip as if frustrated.
I too wasn’t pleased with the current situation, but the presence of the bombs was holding us back.
From Wakamo’s perspective, it was a devilishly well-played move, and for us, it felt like being caught in a corner.
In a place like Kivotos, where there are rarely any deaths, the potential for hundreds of people to perish was too heavy a burden for this ship’s personnel to bear.
I couldn’t dare go against Yukino’s decision based on my flimsy faith in the ‘original characters.’
