Narita Airport, Tokyo.
People were gradually coming out of the international arrivals gate. Takamine Rinji stepped out wearing sunglasses, a light shirt, and pulling a compact suitcase.
Waiting outside for him was a stunning woman with long blue hair.
"Rinji, how does it feel to be back in Japan again?"
"Well, at least the wind here doesn't blow blood-stained sand into my mouth."
"You're unbelievable. Why did you even want to go to the Middle East back then?"
"Heartbreak. I wanted to distract myself with something life-threatening… turns out I'm surprisingly suited for the battlefield."
"As expected of that man's son."
The beautiful woman sighed and helped Rinji with his luggage.
"Anyway, get in the car first. I'll take you to where you'll be staying."
"Thanks, Aunt Kaya."
...
The car moved slowly down the street. The sidewalks were crowded with people, and traffic was heavy.
As Japan's most prosperous city, this place was packed with people and the pace of life was fast.
"Aunt Kaya, are the windows of this car bulletproof? What about blast protection..."
"No such thing. Japan is very safe."
The beautiful blue-haired woman Takamine Rinji called "Aunt Kaya" was actually named Sagara Kaya, wife of the "Uncle Sagara" he often mentioned.
As she drove, she handed Rinji a document from the side.
"This is your student ID. Take a look."
"Okay."
Rinji took the student ID from her. On it was a well-dressed blond boy—him—and under the name section were the characters for Takamine Rinji. At the top, the school name was printed.
"Shuchiin Academy?"
"That's right. It's a well-known elite school in Tokyo."
"An elite school? Why are you sending me there?"
"To study, of course."
"I know that much. But… I'm not some 'elite'. My dad's just a plain farmer, one of those honest types who works hard in the fields. A regular high school would've been enough."
"Think carefully about what your father did before becoming a farmer."
"Upholding world peace, making pocket money here and there."
"That's what he told you!?"
"Yeah. Seems like he did quite a lot around here in the past. Never told me the details, but once he made his money, he dumped all the work on Uncle Sagara."
"Exactly. My husband's been stuck doing his job ever since."
"Want me to apologize?"
"Forget it."
"Aunt Kaya, you still haven't told me why you're sending me to that school. Is there some secret mission involved?"
"There actually is."
"What?"
Rinji's face turned serious instantly.
"What kind of mission? Uncover a spy? Protect a politician? Assassinate—"
"Study hard and improve every day. That's your mission."
"..."
"Don't look so disappointed. This is your father's idea. Stop running off to war zones. Sit down and read some books for once."
"Books? I read plenty."
"What kind?"
"Jane's Defence Weekly, Aviation Week & Space Technology, IATION. Oh, and I've read a few issues of Japan's Ships of the World too."
"...Forget it, you're just like your dad. Anyway, there's another reason I'm sending you to that school."
"What is it?"
"I'm a teacher there. I can keep an eye on you."
"...Huh?"
...
They arrived at a luxury apartment complex.
Kaya opened one of the doors and tossed the key to Rinji.
"You'll be staying here from now on. I live next door. If you need anything, just come find me."
"Got it."
"So, what kind of heartbreak did you go through that made you flee to the Middle East? You were what—twelve—when you left Japan?"
"Oh, I got dumped."
"...Huh?"
"Long story short, I confessed to a girl in Kyoto and got rejected. You know, I was just a dumb kid who didn't know the first thing about love. Went home broken-hearted, and Dad introduced me to the Middle East."
"..."
"Though after about a month there, I got over it. Carried a rifle for four years, only coming home for holidays. When I first heard I had to come back to Japan, I instinctively refused."
"...I'm tempted to ask who the girl was, but never mind. One thing's for sure—Japan's small, but the odds of running into someone you met years ago are low."
"I know."
"Alright then… wait, now that I think about it, didn't you have some conflict with the Shinomiya Group four years ago?"
"Yeah, I did."
"What happened?"
"When I was twelve, I borrowed some money from Dad. It wasn't enough, so I tried investing to earn more. Ended up clashing with those Shinomiya bastards."
"What exactly did you do?"
"Land dispute. You know, I was just a clueless kid. Didn't understand corporate warfare. The Shinomiya subsidiaries played dirty and I had no way to fight back."
"So you gave up?"
"Nope. I got pissed, escalated the business conflict into a violent one—blew up several of their major companies in Kyoto and sank a few of their shipping vessels. A couple people died."
"..."
"After that, you get it. Got dumped, fled the country. That's how it went."
"I'm not even going to comment on how insane it is to treat a war zone as a 'refuge'. But I do need to warn you—there's a Shinomiya student at Shuchiin Academy."
"Talk about coincidence. Someone from Kyoto ending up in Tokyo too… oh, that one."
Rinji frowned slightly, remembering.
He had indeed met someone from the Shinomiya family back then—a girl around his age. The eldest daughter of the family head.
Her name was...
"Shinomiya Kaguya?"
"You know her?"
"Met her once. Actually, that's a good thing."
"What do you mean?"
"Just her luck—wiping out the Shinomiya family starts with her."
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't you dare. I'm here to stop you from doing anything crazy. Don't even think about that kind of stuff!"
"Aunt Kaya, you don't get it. My grudge with the Shinomiyas runs deep. That Kaguya girl even had a little something to do with my heartbreak."