Sky Striker Ace, But Symphogear Chapter 40

Raye's explanation carved a new wound into Hibiki Tachibana's heart, dealing another blow to her already dejected state of mind.

If Raye herself was unwilling to speak about it, then Hibiki Tachibana had no way of obtaining any useful information from her, much less understanding her. The naive idea of using understanding to eliminate conflict had become rootless duckweed, with no possibility of being realized.

"Isn't there any other way? Ugh."

Something she had finally managed to think of, something she herself could do, had ultimately turned out to be useless. Hibiki Tachibana looked even more dejected as she unconsciously sat down on the folding chair Raye had placed across from the table.

"You look pretty down. Want some chocolate? Sweet food is a great remedy for a bad mood, and you just went through a huge battle. You must be hungry by now, right?"

Noticing Hibiki Tachibana showing signs of shutting down, Raye thought for a moment, took a chocolate bar from the pile of snacks, stuffed it into the dejected girl's mouth, and said this.

If Hibiki Tachibana's mental state worsened, it might affect her Relic fusion state and cause some unexpected problem with Raye's mission. So, if necessary, Raye would try to address the other girl's psychological issues.

"Thanks, but I don't have an appetite right now."

Although the food had already been brought to her lips, the sorrowful Hibiki Tachibana had none of her usual healthy appetite.

Still, Raye's action had an effect. At the very least, she had successfully left Hibiki Tachibana temporarily unsure how to deal with her, causing her to shut down further.

"Is that so? It seems Tsubasa Kazanari's severe injuries really hit you hard."

Seeing this, Raye gained a deeper understanding of just how poor Hibiki Tachibana's current mental state was.

However, even if she had known things would turn out this way, Raye would not regret what she had done. After all, the Swan Song posed a somewhat serious threat to her life. To make her battles more secure, she would never refuse a method that could seal a singer's Swan Song.

"Well then, how about letting me treat Tsubasa Kazanari? I have some experience treating injuries caused by Swan Songs. Judging by Tsubasa Kazanari's compatibility, saving her life shouldn't be a problem."

Then, faced with the situation, Raye naturally proposed this plan.

By now, the recovery of the airspace was basically complete. The laptop she had just used for work had been closed, and the Sky Striker was no longer connected to it, instead hanging at her waist.

"Raye, what are you doing? What are you trying to do to Tachibana!?"

The one who answered Raye was not Hibiki Tachibana, but Genjuro Kazanari, who had noticed that the distance between Hibiki Tachibana and Raye was dangerously close.

He seemed to have just finished explaining what happened afterward to Ryouko Sakurai, while Ryouko Sakurai, after hearing it, hurried off to inspect the traces left by the battle.

"Nothing. I merely made a simple suggestion to Hibiki Tachibana, though I doubt she'll agree."

Once Commander Kazanari noticed what was happening here, Raye stepped away from Hibiki Tachibana and kept a distance that would not provoke Second Division's sensitive nerves.

"Whew. Tachibana, are you okay? She didn't do anything to you, did she?"

Ignoring Raye's words, Commander Kazanari stepped in front of Hibiki Tachibana again and asked the withdrawn girl.

"I told you, I really didn't do anything to her. Well, forget it. My work is already done, so I won't waste any more time here."

Watching Commander Kazanari protect Hibiki Tachibana, Raye spoke helplessly. Then she stopped paying attention to them, picked up the computer desk, chair, and other things she had brought here, and used the Multi-Task Warblade Mecha to return them to their original places.

"Goodbye. Next time we meet, I'll take Hibiki Tachibana away. Defend against me if you want."

After confirming that all the components had been recovered, Raye pulled a red crystal from her pocket and casually smashed it against the ground.

A red light flashed, and the girl's figure vanished from the battlefield, cutting off Second Division's plans to track her.

"Did she really just leave like that?"

Watching the figure vanish within the red light, Genjuro Kazanari thought.

"Whew. Hm? What's that?"

After confirming that Raye had most likely truly left, Genjuro Kazanari breathed a sigh of relief. Then he noticed a box filled with miscellaneous items still sitting where Raye had been working, something that had not been there before.

"Did she forget to take it?"

Genjuro Kazanari thought, then quickly walked over to inspect its contents.

Somewhere in the suburbs, at Fine's private residence, a flash of red light appeared, and Raye, who had just vanished from the battlefield, appeared inside a room.

"Chris, I'm back."

Having finally finished all her work, Raye returned to their base, to Chris's side.

"Mm. Oh, Raye, you're back. So, um, how did the job go?"

The white-haired girl in red, Chris Yukine, was briefly distracted when Raye entered, then asked naturally.

She only knew that Raye had gone out to do some work; she did not know the details.

After Raye had pulled her away, she had said something like, "I have important work to do, Chris. Go back first, I'll be there later," leaving Chris dazed as she was sent back to their base.

She had now waited around doing nothing at the base for nearly two hours before Raye finally appeared.

"The main objective failed, but I used the remaining equipment to temporarily take Tsubasa Kazanari out of combat. In the next battle, we probably won't need to consider Tsubasa Kazanari as a fighting force. Yawn."

As Raye explained things to Chris, she seemed somewhat sleepy.

The continuous work, battle, calculations, and analysis had placed a considerable burden on both her mind and body. Once she returned to a safe place, a deep fatigue began emerging from every part of her body.

"Is that so? Well, anyway, things should still be under your control, right, Raye? Also, um, aren't you going to sleep? You look really exhausted."

Chris said.

Raye's explanation reassured Chris somewhat, while Raye's utterly exhausted appearance made Chris worry.

"I'm fine. I can hold on a little longer. I'll sleep after I organize the data I got today... Whew. Anyway, Chris, do whatever you want. See you tomorrow."

With that, the girl's body swayed as she passed through a door and vanished from Chris's sight.

Sure enough, she's still the same Raye she used to be.

Watching Raye force herself onward in such a worrying state, Chris nodded, as though confirming something in her heart.

"Whew."

Chris Yukine rubbed her forehead and removed the Telepathic Communication device Raye had placed there earlier. Since they had returned to a safe point, they naturally no longer needed it to communicate.

What exactly happened back then... I can finally understand a little now.

Chris thought.

Although she had never believed that Raye would do something so terrible, lacking evidence had left Chris Yukine with lingering doubts.

But today, she had finally confirmed that the truth behind the explosion from several years ago was absolutely not what Raye had previously made it appear to be.

The reason Chris Yukine was so certain was the information she had learned from the cashier at the hot spring district. After learning the woman's identity, Chris had earnestly asked whether she had heard anything about that explosion and Raye.

In the end, her expectations were not disappointed. She received two pieces of information that were not much, but sufficient to overturn her previous conclusion.

I don't know much about that explosion either. Any information is fine, even rumors? All right, let me think...

Hmm, rumors... Oh, right. I heard one rumor. Someone saw strange Noise wandering around the orphanage before the explosion happened, but it disappeared right away, so everyone suspected he had just seen things.

Um, are there any other related rumors, little Chris? There are, but... all right. Still, I hope you won't get your hopes up after hearing it.

They say that after that disaster, the resentment of the orphanage's survivors lingered and turned into ghosts wandering around there. And that ghost was said to be a platinum-haired girl holding a red death scythe and wearing tattered white clothes...

P.S. I thought about it all night. Anyway, this is how it'll be for now.

Hibiki Tachibana's Resolve

Lydian Music Academy, High School Division—

"Did you hear? Apparently there was a gas explosion in the hot spring district yesterday."

"A gas explosion? No way."

"It's true. I saw the scene from far away last night. It was my first time seeing an explosion and mushroom cloud on that scale. It was really scary."

"If you ask me, they should investigate the gas company responsible for laying the pipes there properly. I heard there was also a gas explosion there several years ago, and the current hot springs were discovered because of that explosion."

"So what exactly happened? Something that huge occurred."

"Thankfully, it seems there was a small Noise disaster there, and some official personnel happened to be evacuating the crowd, so I haven't heard of any casualties."

"That's good, but even so, it's terrifying. Noise and gas explosions, all at once."

"Forget that. Did you watch TV yesterday...?"

Laughing and chatting, the high school girls enthusiastically discussed all kinds of things, using them as fuel to sustain their social bonds.

Yet for Hibiki Tachibana, who had personally experienced everything yesterday, that atmosphere was like a thin but forever uncrossable barrier, impossible to blend into.

This can't go on. I have to do something.

Someone as weak as me will only become a burden when everyone is fighting. I won't be able to do anything.

But what should I do? What can I do when I can't even summon my Armed Gear?

Thoughts like these tangled together chaotically in Hibiki Tachibana's mind.

She wanted to help others. She wanted to protect this peaceful everyday life. Yet for some reason, she still could not summon Gungnir's Armed Gear, and her thoughts had reached a dead end.

If she wanted to become stronger, she needed to be like Miss Tsubasa and Miss Kanade. But unable even to take the first step, she was like someone trapped in an inescapable whirlpool, with her weak self at its center.

"Hibiki."

A gentle voice rang out, stopping the chaotic thoughts in Hibiki Tachibana's heart.

"Miku?"

Looking up, Hibiki Tachibana saw her best friend. The girl wearing a white ribbon headband, Kohinata Miku, was watching her from not far away.

"Has something happened lately? You haven't seemed very lively, Hibiki, and you didn't come back to sleep last night either."

Miku tilted her head slightly and asked Hibiki Tachibana, who was sitting alone on a bench during this rare lunch break.

"Ahaha, I've just run into a few things recently. I'm working part-time somewhere, and I'm a little tired, that's all. I'm fine, Miku. Once I get used to it, I won't be like this anymore."

Faced with her best friend's question, Hibiki Tachibana's gaze wandered as she forced out a smile and tried to laugh it off.

"Hibiki."

In response, Miku simply sat beside her and looked at the girl next to her with gentle eyes.

"Ugh, sorry."

Noticing Miku's expression, Hibiki Tachibana realized just how clumsy her act of pretending nothing was wrong had been.

"You don't need to apologize. And Hibiki, you're forcing yourself to do something that's very difficult, aren't you?"

Miku shook her head, then said with certainty based on how well she understood Hibiki Tachibana.

"As expected, I can't hide it from you, Miku. But let me think a little longer. This is something I need to consider carefully."

With her disguise exposed, Hibiki Tachibana spoke with a troubled expression.

"Mm, I understand."

Miku replied.

Some more time passed, but Hibiki Tachibana, thinking alone with a furrowed brow, still could not find her answer.

"Um, Hibiki, I think that no matter what kind of problem you're facing, as long as you stay true to your own style, you'll definitely overcome it in the best way possible."

Seeing Hibiki Tachibana like this, a rare sight indeed, Kohinata Miku thought for a short while before speaking.

"My own style... but can that really work?"

Hibiki Tachibana asked doubtfully, asking both Miku and herself.

Could doing things in the way of her weak self, rather than copying the style of someone strong like Miss Tsubasa, truly change her weakness?

"Hibiki has to do things Hibiki's way. That's how it should be. Do things your way, Hibiki. I believe you'll definitely be able to do it."

Kohinata Miku said gently.

"...But I've already failed before. Even when I gave it everything I had, exhausted every possibility, I still couldn't do it. Can I really do things my way?"

Hibiki Tachibana said. She recalled how she had once tried with all her might, in her own way, to understand Raye, only to fail in the end.

Thinking of that, her expression became uneasy again.

"Is that so? Hibiki failed."

Miku fell into thought, one hand resting on her stomach.

"But if you fear moving forward just because you failed, then you can't make up for that failure. Hibiki, only by continuing forward can you avoid suffering the same failure again."

After thinking for a moment, the black-haired girl with the ribbon spoke gently yet firmly to Hibiki Tachibana.

"...Keep moving forward."

Feeling the encouragement from her best friend, Hibiki Tachibana unconsciously recalled someone saying something similar to her at some point.

"If it's you, Hibiki, I believe you can do it. Because that's your strength, Hibiki."