n

n

n

n“Smile!”

nA flash of light, followed by a soft ‘click.’

nAfterwards, Yuri lowered her phone to take a look at the picture.

nIt was ridiculous. Shu was kneeling next to a boar almost as big as her, sticking her thumb. And seated on the boar’s back was Rin, making a victory sign.

nOff to the side, Chihiro shook her head and said, “All of you are crazy. Actually crazy.”

nYuri opened the MIRAIZ app, using it to change everyone out for their avatars before posting it on Twotter. After that, she put her phone away and said, “Fresh ingredients are the best ingredients, Chichi.”

n“That doesn’t mean we should go hunting down a giant wild boar!” Chihiro turned to point at Shu and Rin and said, “And how did you to kill that thing anyway?!”

nShu stood up and brushed her pants legs. After that, she smiled and said, “It’s just a wild boar. We had tons of those back home.”

nRin hopped off the boar and landed on the ground, smiling. “Yeah! Well, we didn’t have a lot of these at my home. But it’s just a boar, you know? They don’t really have any complicated movements.”

nShu nodded. “What Senpai said.”

nChihiro gave the two a blank stare.

nYuri smiled and then took a look around. Even if Shu and Rin were able to take out a boar, it was still good to check if the surroundings were safe.

nAfter a bit of walking, the group had arrived at a small clearing with a stream flowing past, some tall grass, and a few stalks of bamboo.

nThe perfect place for a rest after walking all that time. Although…

nYuri looked at the boar and frowned. “…This is going to be a little hard to cook.” She had considered getting fresh ingredients to cook, and she had thought about cooking a boar. But she thought a boar would be a lot smaller than that.

nShu turned to look at the boar and then hummed. “You’re right, Riri. This is a pretty big one. More food for us, but it’ll be hard to roast this entire thing…”

n“Ooh!” Rin stuck up her hand and said, “Can I butcher it then?”

nSilence.

nYuri blinked and then carefully said, “You… want to butcher it, Senpai?”

n“Mmhm!” Rin nodded and said, “Can I? You brought some knives, right?”

n“I… did. But are you sure? It’s a bit messy, so-“

nRin waved her hand and said, “Don’t worry about it! Just like in Creature Hunter, we gotta dismantle the monster to get the loot, right? I can do it!”

n“Um…”

nYuri glanced at the others.

nShu gave Yuri a thumbs up.

nChihiro was desperately shaking her head and crossing her arms just off to the side and out of Rin’s sight.

nYuri could understand Chihiro. After all, this was their Senpai. It would look pretty bad if they forced her to do the most work.

nBut on the other hand, Yuri didn’t really want to deal with handling bloody meat…

nAfter a bit of thinking, she nodded and then knelt on the ground, taking off her bag. After setting it down, she pulled out a folded cloth belt carrying her knives. “Okay, Senpai. But knives aren’t toys, so-“

nA blur of colors.

nThe next thing Yuri knew, Rin was standing there holding the entire set of knives over her head.

n“Yay! I got knives!”

n“S-Senpai?!”

nRin lowered them and then expertly plucked a cleaver and carving knife from the set before dropping the others on the ground. “Let’s go!”

nYuri got up and said, “W-Wait a minute, Senpai! You’ve got to-“

n…drain the blood first.

nYuri didn’t have the chance to finish talking.

nIn the time she stood up, Rin arrived at the boar and started swinging her knives.

nBut it wasn’t haphazard swinging like Yuri expected. Instead…

nA clean chop at the boar’s neck, cleaving the head. Quick slashes around the shoulders, chops at the joints…

nRin practically flew around the boar, silver flashing as she swung her knives.

nBlood sprayed, but never in the direction of the other girls.

nAnd then in the span of a minute, the entire boar collapsed into a pile of meat, expertly butchered.

nRin landed on the ground, knives still dripping blood, and then spun around to look at Yuri. “How’d I do?”

nIn the corner of Yuri’s eyes, she saw Chihiro take a few steps back.

nShu’s eyes were sparkling in appreciation.

nAs for Yuri herself… She let out a strained smile and said, “You did great, Senpai.”

n…Yuri thought that Rin was the more normal of her three senpais. But she was starting to understand why there was such a gap between Prototype and Prodigy now.

nRin grinned and then waved her knives around. “Should I wash these for you?”

n“N-No. I’ll take care of it.” Yuri quickly stepped forward and held out her hands.

nRin paused, holding the knives close to her as if considering it.

nYuri felt some sweat on the back of her neck.

nBut then Rin nodded and spun the knives around, holding them blade first while offering the handles to Yuri. “Okay… Here you go.”

nYuri nodded as well, taking the knives back while ignoring how Rin’s hands were casually getting covered in blood.

nOff to the side, Chihiro quietly muttered, “Scary.”

nRin immediately turned towards her.

nChihiro flinched and took a few steps back.

nRin smiled and stuck up her thumb. “Nice, Chi-chan! I think knives are scary cool too!”

n“…Y-Yeah.” Chihiro slowly nodded. “Th-that’s right, Senpai.”

n…Let’s just get cooking already.

nYuri sighed and then started grabbing the other materials to start prepping their meal.

nTwine for tinder, a lighter, a pan, a cutting board, salt and pepper, metal kebab sticks…

n…A whole boar was a bit much, but Yuri *did* want some more cooking experience…

n—–AI|IA—–

nA roaring fire, paired with the sounds and smells of sizzling meat.

nAfter digging a fire pit… Well, after Shu dug a fire pit, Yuri went to work.

nSeasoning the meat, roasting it, making a stew with some fresh mountain herbs and water…

n“Uwa!” Shu’s eyes lit up as she grabbed a kebab. “You’re amazing, Riri!”

nRin took a bite out of her own kebab and nodded. “This is really good, Yuri!”

nChihiro nibbled on her kebab and muttered, “…It’s not bad.”

nYuri rolled her eyes and said, “Then wait for the stew, Chichi. You’ll probably want something hot to warm that cold heart of yours.”

nChihiro snorted and then set her kebab to the side, pulling out her phone.

nRin laughed and then looked at Shu. “Do those two always argue?”

nShu nodded. “They do! I think that’s because Chi-chan is still a bit childish though.”

nChihiro immediately cut in and said, “I am not childish!”

nRin laughed again before she walked over and patted Chihiro’s head. “It’s okay, Chi-chan. Being childish is fine. It’s the best way to have fun, you know?”

n“…Aren’t you younger than me, Senpai?”

nRin blinked and then tilted her head. “…Oh yeah. I just turned sixteen, so… I think you’re right?” She shook her head and said, “It’s okay though! I’ve had more life experience, so if you need advice you can rely on Senpai!”

n“…”

nYuri smiled and then checked on the stew. Taking a seasoned wooden spoon out from her bag, she scooped up a bit of the broth and tentatively took a sip.

nWhen she did, Yuri had to resist the urge to recoil.

nIt was strong. The sharp and gamey scent from the boar stuck out from everything else. The herbs dampened it a bit, and the salt and pepper Yuri dashed in changed it enough to not be completely overwhelming. But it was still strong.

nThen again, that was to her tongue. It was… probably fine for the others. But while it was fine to eat, it should probably simmer a bit more until the flavors came into balance.

nChihiro sighed and kept scrolling through her phone. But after a few swipes, she paused, as if realizing something. “…Hey. We’re in the mountains near Hokkaido, right?”

nYuri left her spoon in the pot and then sat back. “Technically, we’re still on the mainland. But pretty much. Why?”

nChihiro’s eyes widened and she suddenly stood up. “D-Doesn’t that mean that we’re in man-eating bear territory!?”

nRin’s eyes sparkled. “Man-eating bears?”

nShu laughed. “What are you worried about, Chi-chan? It’s not like we’ll get-“

nChihiro pointed at Shu with panicked eyes and said, “STOP! Don’t finish that-“

n“-Attacked by a bear or something.”

nChihiro froze.

nSilence.

nAnd then Shu shrugged. “See?”

nChihiro tensed and then let out a sigh after seeing nothing happening. “…You’re right. Maybe I was a bit too-“

nA roar cut through the air, followed by the sounds of bamboo snapping. In the distance, a giant brown mass started getting closer.

nChihiro screamed and moved her hand to her side. But when she came up with nothing, her face paled.

nYuri felt her heart race as the brown mass… No, that was a giant brown bear.

nDid it get drawn by the smell of cooking? Dammit, she should have realized that. But… What could they do now? Run?

nNo way. They’d get hunted down and killed.

nThis wasn’t like the VR game where they had superpowers. So what-

n“HYAH!”

nShu kicked off the ground and charged at the bear.

nYuri’s eyes widened and she called out. “Shu! No!”

nThe bear roared and swung its giant limbs at Shu’s head.

nYuri screamed and covered her eyes, not wanting to see her friend die in front of her eyes.

nBut then she heard a weird sound. A low grunt, like the bear was confused.

nYuri hesitated and then cracked a finger open to see what happened.

nShu wasn’t moving. Her fists were raised and she was poised to throw a punch, her body turned to the side and wound up. But before she did, she froze.

nAnd the bear had as well. Its limbs were raised, as if ready to pounce. But it didn’t move.

nYuri was confused. And then she quickly realized why.

nBits of silver flashed beneath the bear’s brown fur. Her entire knife set, over a dozen blades pinned in each of the bear’s joints and locking it in place.

n“What just-“

nBefore Yuri could finish talking, a blur shot past her. Rin, flipping through the air… with two metal kebab sticks in her hands?

nShe landed on the bear’s shoulders.

nAt that time, the bear shuddered, as if trying to break free. But before it could do anything-

n“I win, Mister Bear!”

nA pair of silver flashes, followed by a burst of blood.

nThe bear’s body finally gave out, collapsing on the ground and sending a few of Yuri’s knives clattering against the floor.

nRin stepped on the bear’s head and then stuck up her fingers in a victory pose. “Two wins for me!” She looked at Shu and said, “You’ll have to try better next time, kouhai!”

n“Argh!” Shu stomped her foot on the ground and said, “Not fair! I had it!”

nRin stuck her tongue out.

nYuri watched everything and then slowly turned to look at Chihiro.

nChihiro turned to look at Yuri as well. And for the first time, the two instantly understood each other, not needing to share a single word.

n‘Those two…’

n‘…They’re freaking crazy, right?’

nYuri and Chihiro shared a sigh and watched Rin and Shu get to work plucking out the rest of the knives in the bear.

n…What a wacky wild weekend this was…

n