Chapter 3: Changing Future

I'm in big trouble. While things turned out well for Chris, she has now teamed up with Hibiki, who has helped her overcome her trauma. Now Chris is wearing her Ichaival Symphogear.

I can't help but wonder why both Tsubaki and Chris are so obsessed with fighting me.

"STOP RUNNING AWAY!"

"I can't really agree with her, but yeah, stop running away."

It seems my actions caused Chris to join the fight much earlier, but Noise is still appearing, which doesn’t make sense since Fine should be with them, meaning there shouldn’t be any Noise in Japan.

They're really not holding back now. Chris has already launched a rocket at me, which I deflected with a massive shield while blocking a flying slash aimed at my surfing shield. They are relentless in their pursuit.

Hibiki has been left out of the action because she doesn't know about her rocket punch at this point, and both Chris and Tsubasa are aware that Hibiki would just stop them, so they left her behind. I decided to jump into the crowd, activate my camouflage, and slip into an alley before transforming back.

"Mei, you’re a guy? Wait, you’re Mamoru all along?"

Oh great, my luck is terrible; I ran into Hibiki as I transformed back. This is awkward, and we both fall silent just as Chris appears with Tsubasa in tow.

"Hibiki, have you seen where that woman went?"

"Uh, no, Chris, I haven't seen her."

Chris slowly gazes at me, then shifts her attention to Hibiki, grinning widely, which reveals her thoughts. I try to walk away, but Tsubasa blocks my escape.

"Who are you?"

This is awkward since we were just fighting earlier, but now that I've become a man, they shouldn't notice a thing.

"My name is Mamoru. You're Tsubasa, the idol from Zwei Wing, right?"

"Yes, I am Tsubasa. What are you doing here with Hibiki?"

"Oh, I was just taking a walk when I ran into Hibiki. We're what you could call running friends; we always meet for our morning runs, right, Hibiki?"

Hibiki looked surprised for a moment before nodding vigorously.

"Yeah, Tsubasa, we always meet for our morning runs."

"I see."

"Suspicious."

Chris slowly approached me, inspecting me from head to toe before turning to Hibiki and letting out a sigh.

"Hibiki, your taste in men is terrible."

"What?" we all exclaimed in unison.

Ignoring our surprise, Chris casually draped her arm around my shoulder as she stared at Hibiki and me.

"You're her boyfriend, right?"

"No, I'm not. Besides, Hibiki loves Miku, so I'm not her boyfriend."

"Hey, why are you bringing Miku into this?"

"So Miku isn't your girlfriend yet, S-E-N-P-A-I?"

"You know what? I kind of like this guy now."

"Hahh... Chris, stop messing around."

"HAH! Who are you to order me around?"

I was surprised; I never expected Chris to skip calling Tsubasa "senpai." But it is early in the series, and they aren't close yet. Plus, Chris joined before facing defeat at Tsubasa's hands, so I suppose it's understandable. Still, how do I escape this situation?

"Well then, if that’s all, may I leave now? You all seem busy with something."

"We’ve finished our business, so come with us, boy. Let’s have some fun."

"Chris, I don’t feel right dragging innocent people into this."

"No need to worry! Besides, we have three Symphogear users here, and there’s no Noise around. Aren’t you curious about his relationship with Hibiki, S-E-N-P-A-I?"

She mimicked my earlier phrasing, but I sensed that Tsubasa had softened a bit. Maybe she talked to Hibiki, or perhaps she had a dream about Kanade. At least that’s a relief, since I don’t know how to comfort her. But I need to brace myself for when she learns that Fine is responsible for Kanade's death.

"Oh, look over here! He’s ignoring us. What do you think, huh, Hibiki, S-E-N-P-A-I?"

"Uuuuhh, Chris, can you please stop that? He only said that because I was teasing him last time, and he plans to enter the academy next year, right, Mamoru?"

"Yeah, so technically you're my senpai since you were there first. But honestly, while I know Tsubasa as an idol, who are you?"

"Oh right, I forgot! You need to introduce yourself. Well then, pleased to meet you, my name is Chris."

Chris extended her hand for a handshake. As I took it, she gripped it tightly, causing me pain, especially since I'm just a normal guy and not in my transformed state.

"Argghhh."

"Oh, sorry! I forgot you're a normal human. There are so many superhumans around here that I lost track."

"Very funny, Chris..."

"That’s too far, Chris."

"Yeah, my hand hurts, Mamoru."

"I don't want to hear that from you, idiot! Why do you always act so mighty?"

I slowly grabbed my aching hand, wondering how long they'd keep me here. As I thought about it, Hibiki placed her hand on the headgear, followed by Chris and Tsubasa.

"Looks like it's time out. See you later, Ma-mo-ru."

"I'm really sorry for what Chris has done. See you later, Mamoru."

"Mamoru, you better explain things tomorrow, okay?"

With that, the three of them flew away using Chris's rocket. It reminded me that they still hadn't learned how to fly properly, since each of them had their own method, although Chris's rocket was much faster.

Well, at least tonight was fine, but I have a feeling Hibiki won't let it slide tomorrow.

Lost in thought, I slowly made my way back to my apartment and went to sleep.

Just as I expected, Hibiki was waiting with her arms crossed while I was running.

"So, can you explain everything now?"

"Well, I had a feeling this would happen sooner rather than later, but to have it revealed this early is a shock even for me. Sure, let's head to the nearby café."

I slowly walked toward the café, with Hibiki following me. I noticed two people who were clearly spying on her, but I decided to ignore them since it would be easy for me to handle.

"Now, where do we start?"

"Let's begin with why a guy like you managed to become a Symphogear user. From what Sakurai and Fine said, only women can use Symphogear."

"That's rather direct. I've already explained that in a parallel world where Gungnir doesn't exist, you're covering the masses from Noise attacks, and a shard from your fight pierced my back, allowing me to use Symphogear."

"So, I was dead in your world?"

"Yes. In fact, when I came to this world and saw you, I was surprised that you were alive and well. It made me think that this happened because you weren't wearing Gungnir."

So far, I had managed to weave some nonsense that seemed plausible. Now that I think about it, I'm glad I was able to fool even Fine, who is one of the geniuses. Maybe she is unstable after I mentioned Enki. Well, Hibiki shouldn't be smart enough to realize I was talking nonsense, especially since no one can prove I was wrong; it is a fact that I can use Symphogear.

"Then why do you call me senpai?"

"Well, that's a rather silly question, but it fits you perfectly. You were the one who guided me when I arrived in this world in the first place, Hibiki senpai."

"I see. Then why aren't you joining the group?"

"First of all, Fine is here. Second, I’m from the future, and I don’t want my actions to cause things to spiral out of control."

"But from what I hear, you exposed Fine, so isn’t the future already changing?"

Oh, surprise! This is the first time I’ve seen Hibiki be this smart, which makes me wonder if she really is Hibiki. Then I notice she’s wearing an earpiece, meaning this whole conversation is being heard by others. I realize this when I see her start to sweat as she tries to look away.

"Hah... So who’s listening in? Is it Fine? Tsubasa? Or Director Genjuro?"

"Fine was arrested after you left the headquarters."

"Huh? She got arrested that easily?"

"Well, apparently she thought it would be much easier to wait for you to answer her questions. She’s hit a dead end on how to improve the Symphogear, so she let Genjuro arrest her. But apparently, Genjuro plans to ask her to join after she’s punished enough."

"I see. Did either director Genjuro or Fine tell Tsubasa the cause of Kanade’s death?"

"Oh, the previous owner of Gungnir, right? From what Genjuro said, he was waiting for Tsubasa to be stable enough before telling her the news."

Now, I don’t know what will happen in the future. With Fine being arrested, there’s a chance F.I.S. will rescue her, or the U.S. might ask for her release. Considering Japan's relationship with the U.S., she could escape, but I don’t think Fine would choose to do so; after all, it would be rather easy for her to escape on her own.

"Yeah, the future is already messed up. So I’ll tell you that in the near future, you’re supposed to fight Fine while she wields both Durandal and Solomon's Cane. But now that future no longer exists, I doubt we’ll fight her unless fate decides to mess with me and generate someone to take her place. This is all rather annoying."

It looks like Hibiki is at her limit; I can almost see smoke coming from her head. I decide to wave my hand toward the two spies, whom I suspect to be Miku and Chris. It’s likely Chris is the one spying and dragging Miku along, but I’m surprised she already knows her as well.

"Well, since Miku already knows Chris, you probably spilled it to her, right, Hibiki?"

"Huh? Why are you mentioning Miku's name?"

As expected from her, the idiot didn't notice she was being followed, but that's one of her charming traits. For now, I slowly move aside as Chris sits next to me and Miku sits next to Hibiki. Hibiki's surprised reaction is so good that I almost forget my original point.

"Now that you two are here, how about you order some food and drinks while I explain who I am? Of course, if you want to wait for me to explain it at the Special Disaster Response Team headquarters, that's fine too."

"Then let's eat something sweet first and talk later at headquarters. You'll have to explain anyway, so it makes sense to do it there so I don't have to hear it twice."

It seems Chris is rather carefree or thinks it's troublesome. Miku glances at Hibiki and me several times, making me wonder if she feels jealous. Even though it's still early in the timeline, their relationship has already come this far—it really makes me want to cry, but I hold back since a man suddenly crying isn't cool.

"Sure, besides, I still have the condolence money leftover from my parents' death, so you can order as much as you want."

Suddenly, the atmosphere becomes awkward as I notice Hibiki and Miku fall silent. Chris starts shaking before turning to me.

"Keep it. That's your parents' money, and I don't want to eat with money from dead people."

"Uh, how long has it been since they died, Mamoru?"

"Hibiki, that's rude."

"It's okay, Miku. This world's version of me lost his parents, but let's just say I feel bad for him, so I exchanged places with him since he wanted to be with my parents more than the money he received."

That was a close call; I almost messed everything up. Now I need to reveal who I am. There's a chance they'll find out I was actually born in this world, so this lie works because no one will question it—they have no proof.

I hope they don't, because I'll need to think of something else if this doesn't work out.

"Huh, you’re from a parallel world, Mamoru?"

"Oh, right! Miku doesn’t know that. I thought you already told her, Hibiki S-E-N-P-A-I."

"Ugh, Mamoru, can you please stop teasing me?"

"Nope! I actually agree with Mamoru. Please tease this idiot even more, especially after the headache she gave me this morning."

"I already said sorry, Chris."

"Yes, but I haven't forgiven you yet."

"Hahaha..."

Miku let out an awkward laugh as their orders arrived. I expected Hibiki to order something substantial, but I was surprised to see that Chris ordered the same thing as well.

"What? A girl can’t enjoy her sweets in peace? I like the desserts here."

"So, Mamoru, what is your relationship with Hibiki?"

"Oh, you don’t need to worry about that, Miku. It’s not like I’ll steal your girlfriend or anything. She’s just my senpai, that’s all—nothing more, nothing less."

Hearing my words, Miku started to blush, and so did Hibiki. Chris and I continued to tease them until we finished our desserts. Afterward, we headed into the Special Disaster Response Team.

I hoped everything would go well as I followed Hibiki and Chris, with Miku right beside me.