With a light sensation of weightlessness, my left foot in skis meets the surface. Splash! The refreshing spray joyfully soaks my body. I focus on maintaining balance as I slice through the cool water with the tip of my right foot.
I place my right foot behind on the ski and fold my wings as much as possible behind me. The basic position leans my upper body back, creating resistance if my wings are spread.
Glancing at a diagonal angle, I catch a glimpse of Hina, who was a bit ahead of me, finishing her balancing act. Hina, giving me a blank stare, drops one hand from the rope and raises her machine gun.
Oh snap, looks like I started slightly late. Hifumi, confirming I’ve got my balance, starts to accelerate late, but the gap begins to widen just slightly.
Instead of hurriedly preparing to shoot, I lean my body to create some distance and pull on the tow rope. With my speed already picking up, the sea breeze roughly pummels my body.
Piiing——
Amidst the sound of the wind, a familiar sound comes from the right. Hina, with one hand gripping the tow rope and her machine gun held across her arm in a strange pose, begins firing.
Dudududududu!!!
As the ruthless barrage of bullets rains down on me, I lean further toward the surface of the water. The tow rope tightens, pulling my body to the right, but my skis continue moving to the left, increasing the gap with Hina.
Every time a bullet imbued with Hina’s mystery strikes the surface beside me, little fountains of water shoot up as if artillery were falling.
Seizing the brief moment when Hina stops firing, I let go of one hand. My unstable posture causes me to wobble momentarily, but it’s not enough to make me fall. Before Hina resumes firing, I aim the gun at her and pull the trigger.
I aim as precisely as possible instead of going for a wild shot. Regardless of which method I choose, the completely different shooting environment means my hit rate will be poor anyway. This was evidenced by Hina’s futile attempts at hitting me from a stable posture—she hadn’t managed to hit a single shot yet, and I had to get in her head…
“Eep?!”
My posture briefly falters. A quick glance shows Hina is in the same boat. The boat guiding us has passed the hologram-marked first checkpoint and is taking a sharp turn.
Naturally, our bodies lean in the direction of the curve. As a result, the distance between Hina and me inevitably shrinks. This was just the situation I wanted as I prepared to shoot.
At this distance, I should be able to land at least five shots.
With that thought, I grip the tow rope tightly and unleash a storm of bullets aimed at Hina’s trajectory.
Slash!
Oh no. The timing got weirdly messed up.
Since we were on the inside track, instead of five shots, I managed to hit only about three when Hifumi suddenly accelerated straight ahead.
I shouldn’t blame Hifumi. After all, this is a competition, but it’s also a race. Being even slightly ahead means one step closer to winning.
The issue is that as the speed increases, our burden from being towed from behind gets heavier!
I tighten my grip on the tow rope and switch the direction of my gun. Then, I change the hand gripping the rope.
Based on experience, this is the most dangerous moment. It’s already tough for my small hands to reload, and I have to do it while in this awkward position and under my rival’s pressure.
Even if I lose my balance and fall into the water, as long as I don’t let go of the rope, the battle isn’t over. But if I do let go, the game is pretty much done.
Calmly, with my now-empty hand, I quickly create three clusters of stars and send them flying toward Hina. She widens her eyes and hurriedly leans her body. It seems she’s trying to create distance from behind, but having just come out of the corner makes the road a bit long.
Pew!
Judging by the sound, two out of the three star clusters I sent pass Hina and hit the surface, but one seems to have properly hit her. Regardless, my hands show no hesitation as I pull a magazine from my belt, reloading.
Click!
After finishing the reload, I check Hina’s position. I can’t hear a splash, so she probably didn’t lose her balance, but perhaps the explosion obscured her vision, creating a distraction.
A regular student would have at least lost their balance from that, but she’s Hina. With her remarkable resilience, she likely shrugged it off with ease.
Piiing—— Dudududududu!!!
Here we go, she recovered after directly taking that hit in just a few seconds. Without letting the closer distance escape her, Hina starts firing again, simultaneously gaining distance once more.
The gunfire from Hina, which had become more frequent, began to die down. It seems she was hit in the legs a few times, causing her strength to be slightly diminished. She probably aimed precisely at the most effective hit zones—arms and legs.
“Phew.”
A chuckle escapes me. The thrill of racing across the water while engaging in a shootout is nothing short of exhilarating. Once properly established, it wouldn’t be surprising for this to become a genuine summer sport in Kivotos.
I catch a glimpse of the second checkpoint approaching. This time we’re entering the corner from an outer course a bit ahead. I have to make sure to take full advantage of this.
Hina whimsically lifts her back foot while repeatedly reloading her machine gun on skis, a sight that nearly makes me laugh out loud, but just as I was about to set my shooting stance, the corner is upon us.
I cut through the water, rapidly closing the gap with Hina while trying to avoid crossing paths with other teams since that would be against the rules, so I lean low, splashing water everywhere.
With my gun in one hand, I fire rapidly in the direction I suspect Hina is positioned. Accuracy is secondary. As long as I manage to land one or two shots while obscured by the spray, that would count as a success.
As we round the corner, the positions of both boats become similar again, and I can feel the distance between Hina and me closing. I empty my magazine, rising to an upright position.
Then, I use the strength in my ski’s front foot to quickly adjust directions, slicing through the water yet again.
With the distance between us opened up as it once was at the race’s start, I begin to reload while staring at Hina, who wears an oddly irritated yet smiling face. Her wings, appearing much larger now compared to before, sprout from her back, splashing against the water.
…What’s this?
Is it possible that those wings made balancing easier for her while taking my attacks? That would be totally unfair!
Some people find their wings a hindrance, while for others, it offers an advantage. It’s a completely unjust feeling.
Hina and I simultaneously aim our guns at each other. Ten checkpoints remain ahead. It feels like it’s going to be a rather long battle.
*
Suddenly my body sways dangerously. The two boats have picked up speed; they feel like they’re moving twice as fast as at the start of the match. Accepting bullets into my body would throw my balance off dramatically.
Having just passed a checkpoint, only one remains. After that, it’s a straight course to the finish line. It’s pretty clear that the outcome will likely be determined at this last checkpoint.
I’m down to my last magazine, just reloaded… and one more. I can’t exactly assess Hina’s condition, but she can’t be too relaxed either. Assuming we both have the same number of magazines, she might have about half a magazine left.
Even if my magazine runs dry, I can still use Shinpi for bombarding, but that isn’t endless either. Against someone like Hina, I need to infuse each bullet with Shinpi to land meaningful hits.
Once my magazine’s empty, I might manage to bombard a couple of times, but I’ll need recovery time in between, and by then, the match would likely be long over.
The key is whether I can defeat my opponent within the single magazine left, but honestly, I’m skeptical about that part. At this rate, it seems the outcome might just rely on the two steering the boats.
Piiing——
Upon hearing the sound announcing Hina’s shooting, my body reacts, and I rapidly adjust my skis. Somehow, I’ve managed to master some advanced techniques. Perhaps the instructor who trained me would be amazed.
Boom!
The sound that followed causes me to snap back to reality, my eyes widening.
I had just said that the competition’s outcome likely hinges on the two in front.
But that doesn’t mean I was asking them to ram into the opponent at about 100 km/h…!!!
*
Ajiitani Hifumi’s self-assessment is as follows.
Looking at it, she seems like an ordinary student.
There’s hardly anything remarkable about her appearance, her grades are just average unlike Hanako, and unlike Azusa, she’s not skilled in combat—truly an ordinary, unremarkable student without a standout quality.
Hifumi didn’t dislike this ordinariness. In fact, she held it dear.
Yet even she had objects of admiration.
One day, after meeting in front of a café, she began dating a dependable senior, became a precious friend, and an idol she wanted to emulate.
That same person had asked her to partner up for an event match at the upcoming festival. She wanted her to drive the boat.
Hifumi couldn’t refuse that proposal. She didn’t want to.
Thus, she learned how to drive a boat. Surprisingly, it came easily to her.
It was indeed a curious thing. That even a thoroughly ordinary person like her had something she excelled at.
However, the competition remained precariously balanced all the way to the point they were about to reach the next checkpoint.
Her idol, Mika-senpai, turned out to be stronger than she had imagined, while the rival Student Council President from Gehenna was equally formidable.
Perhaps the issue lay in the driver on the opposing side, who was also not to be underestimated.
Glancing sideways, Hifumi felt intimidated without realizing it.
Her opponent casually steered the boat with one hand, leisurely reading a book, unfazed since the start of the match—never once putting the book down.
“Ugh… I can’t let this continue. I have to repay Mika-senpai’s faith in me…!”
She needed to win for Mika-senpai.
“Hifumi-chan! If you win this time, I’ll get you any Peroro merchandise you want, no matter if it’s limited edition or not!”
For the sake of Peroro goods, she had to win.
Ajiitani Hifumi could absolutely not accept defeat.
Boom!
“…What are you doing right now?”
“Ugh… Well, you see…”
Feeling the chilly gaze finally directed at her as the opposing driver closed her book for the first time, Hifumi felt her heart race.
“I…”
“Hah… how annoying… Why are you only getting motivated now?”
“I want Mika-senpai to win.”
“Sorry, but that’s not going to happen. I also have reasons to win this match. The Student Council President made me a promise.”
“And I want Peroro’s goods…!”
“…What?”
Boom! Drthththth——
“Kyaah?! W-What are you doing all of a sudden?!”
“Ugh… Peroro nii—iiiiiiiiim!!!!!”
In that moment, Hifumi’s obsession with Peroro awakened her abilities beyond limits.
Iroha, who felt a sense of intimidation from her in that instant, sensed a crack in her pride as a tank commander.
“…Fine, but if you’re challenging me like that, I’ll play along for a bit.”
Iroha, having put down her book, gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands.
The already fast boats accelerated endlessly. The two competitors struggling in the back were now completely out of the driver’s mind.
The meaningless duel developing in the back became the climax of yet another rivalry, while in the front, it became ignited.
In a flash, as they passed the last checkpoint and the two drivers reached a maddening speed that became overwhelming, Hina and Mika lost their balance, unaware they had plunged into the water.
The clash of pride between the two drivers ignited.
A head-on duel between two genius drivers, proud and determined.
Kaboom!!!
The showdown concluded with both boats capsizing simultaneously, just shy of about 50 meters to the finish line.
The result of the season opener was nothing short of a frustrating draw.
There were neither winners nor losers in the end.
