The five girls sat on a thin blanket laid out on the cement squares of the school roof. They ate from their packed lunches and enjoyed a mostly clear spring sky with little wind. Other groups of students also ate lunch on the roof, but they had a corner to themselves. The view from Kumotawa High School, standing three stories high and built on a low hill, provided it with one of the higher vantage points in town. It provided a great view over the surrounding area through the chain-link fence that walled off the roof.

  “I am pleased to meet you all,” Ayako said in an exaggerated formal manner, “my name is Tomoe Akiyama. I have just moved here from Kyoto. I hope we can all be friends.“

  “I wasn’t that stiff, was I?” Princess Tomoe was a little shocked. “I practiced my introduction to the class.”

  “Maybe you weren’t that stiff, but you were more nervous than I expected.” Chiyo grinned. “It was actually kind of cute. I think half the boys fell in love with you. I heard some whispering.”

  “I’m so embarrassed,” Tomoe put her hands over her mouth.

  “Too bad we weren’t in your class,” Karen added. “I’ll bet that made you fit right in. No one would ever suspect you’re a princess in disguise—.”

  “Shh!” Sarah poked her friend. “You shouldn’t joke about that even if no one can hear.”

  “You should be more careful,” Ayako chided. “This is serious for her.”

  “Sorry. My bad,” Karen’s face flushed. “You can have one of my cookies as an apology. I guess I’m so thrilled that I’m your friend that it still goes to my head sometimes.”

  “Apology accepted, Karen.” Tomoe smiled. “I was so nervous I wouldn’t be accepted this morning. I have only had private tutors and never attended a regular school before. But I was too shocked to be nervous when Ayako shouted out, ‘I’ll be your friend.’”

  “It was great!” Chiyo gleefully clapped. “The class sat silently after that. Everybody was stunned, even the teacher. Then I also shouted, ‘I’ll be your friend too.’” Chiyo’s cheeks flushed a bit when she said that. “I’ve never done anything like that before.”

  “You must have been caught up in the moment,” Sarah said, “you’re usually more reserved.”

  Ayako flipped her hands out in a big expressive gesture. “Then the whole class shouted out, ‘I’ll be your friend,’ too! There was a big commotion, and the teacher told us all to calm down.”

  “I did feel welcome after that,” Tomoe added. “Thanks, Ayako.”

  Ayako grinned. “I just wanted to make sure the day started special for you. It’s hard being the new student. By the way, you’re sitting next to Takashi. He wants to be ‘friends’ with all the girls.”

  “I think I can handle him,” Tomoe confidently replied.

  “I don’t expect anything less,” Ayako said. “Do you still want to see us practice tonight? We’re doing cover shooting drills, so they will be more interesting than target practice. Yuriko is working us harder for the upcoming regional tournament.”

  “Yes, I would still like that very much. I would love to see how you train.”

  Lunchtime passed quickly, and other girls from their class visited to say hello to the new student, too.

  *****

  The outdoor target range lay behind the school in a low fenced-off valley. Today, it was set up for shooting drills rather than as a target range. When drills were being done, the seven-person firing line used only the two, four, and six firing positions, allowing three identical shooting stands to be set up with space between them. Today, the Gun Girls Auxiliary practiced cover shooting drills, with each stand providing multiple cover positions to use.

  All of the second and third-year girls practiced shooting on the move, while the first-year girls practiced shooting statically until they became more experienced. Each girl would shoot at short, medium, and long-range metal targets from standing, kneeling, and prone positions from both the left and right-hand sides of the cover. These girls looked like a high school militia due to the combination of their school uniforms with their combat gear, including their rifles, web gear, shooting glasses, hearing protection earmuffs, and elbow and knee pads. The seriousness was offset a bit by the odd cell phone charm or small plushy hanging off the web gear in an unobstructive place.

  The crackling sounds of rapid rifle fire echoed over the range. Three girls at a time ran through their shooting drills under the watchful eye of Yuriko, their combat coach. Ayako made the training look easy with her practiced movements when she shot. Two rounds hit the nearest popper to Ayako, the impacts causing loud tinging sounds on the metallic disc targets. She shifted position into a crouch to fire two more at a medium-range target and stood to fire two rapid shots at the far target. She then shifted to the left-hand side of the target to fire two more standing at medium range target, then crouched to shoot the near target and stood to shoot the medium target again. Ayako would then repeat the pattern twice more, while constantly shooting. The drill taught them how to handle their weapons on the move and rapidly engage different targets. Finally, they had to eject the magazine and rapidly reload to fire at a target once more to show a successful magazine change.

  Each girl finished their drill fairly quickly. They took their magazines out, cleared their weapons, put the safeties on, and called out, “Weapon’s safe!” When Yuriko heard the last call, she blew her whistle to let everyone know the round was over. She then critiqued or complimented each girl on their technique before letting the next set of girls go up for shooting. With only fourteen girls in the club, there was never a huge queue.

  A few spectators from the high school always watched the proceedings from the stand behind the girls. Tomoe sat there to watch the girls. She watched the girls run through their drills attentively, paying rapt attention to her friends, noting how well they performed the drill. Ayako, in particular, was very good, she noted, followed by Karen. It wasn’t surprising that Ayako was the club captain based on her talent, and she easily led the other girls. She seemed to be a natural leader.

  Tomoe saw that Yuriko was a very good coach who corrected the girls when she needed to. Still, there was never any anger or frustration, just encouragement and clear feedback about mistakes or improvements to make. She was nothing like the military drill instructor that Tomoe imagined. Shusui, her instructor, was tougher on her. It was no wonder that all of the club members thought she was great. She just wished she could have seen Yuriko shoot. Her friends told her she was amazing. When she first arrived, she demonstrated her skill on the range and awed them. She completed a complex drill where she hit every target perfectly while on the move, switching between speed loads of her rifle and a pistol to score it perfectly in record time to show them how the special forces did it.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  After every girl performed the cover drill three times, they lined up to perform a movement and cover shooting exercise. One at a time, they would dash to the first cover blind, fire at targets, dash to the next blind, shoot again, then dash to the last blind to finish off. When the last girls finished, they reversed direction to finish up for the day.

  The club completed practice in less than 90 minutes. After everyone cleared and secured their weapons, they gathered around Yuriko for the debrief.

  “That went very smoothly, girls,” Yuriko said. “It was a good session today. Excellent shooting, Ayako and Karen. You’re all shooting well, but remember your technique is only as good as your practice. Handling your rifles should be like a natural extension of yourself, and most of you are doing that.”

  One of the girls asked, “Is our team ready for the next tournament? And do you think we can beat Hiroshima High this time?”

  “I think we could,” Yuriko easily answered. “You’re all much better now.”

  Chiyo eagerly raised her hand and spoke at the same time. “Do you think Ayako can beat Saiyori again in the singles drill again? Saiyori was really upset that Ayako beat her out by one point.”

  “Chiyo…” Ayako protested.

  “What are friends for?” Yuriko smiled. “No pressure on Ayako to defeat the captain of the best team in our region. I also remember she was quite upset!”

  General laughter burst from the girls.

  Hiroshima High tended to beat out the other GGAs in the American Zone to move on to the Nationals every year. At the Nationals, they usually placed first or second, too.

  Yuriko continued speaking. “Both of them are fairly well matched. You can tell that Saiyori practices a lot and has some first-rate instructors. On the other hand, Ayako has talent, and her skills have sharpened since the last time. Winning is a definite possibility, but Saiyori is motivated to beat her as Ayako broke her winning streak.”

  That brought a few murmurs from the girls.

  “OK. Remember, this is primarily a team event. You will all do well. Some of you are only participating in single marksmanship events, but those representing the club in the team events need to remember we are only as strong as how well you work together. This club exists to protect the community due to the dedication of generations of girls who came before you. Everyone here is a winner already, no matter how they do, but a trophy is always a nice prize. We still have three weeks to practice, and we have the shoot house this weekend. I think that will be fun for everyone.”

  There were smiles all around. The girls looked forward to the shooting drills in a real military training ground.

  “That’s it for the day, then,” Yuriko concluded. The next meeting is a long one. We have some rifle retention practice and then CQB drills in pairs. Let’s clean up now. Airi, Emily, and Rin. Please stay for a moment for some additional pointers.”

  The remaining girls then began cleaning up. They took down the targets, swept up the brass, and put away the blinds in the range storehouse. The seniors gave directions to the juniors in the club when necessary.

  Ayako finished locking up the storehouse and joined up with the girls. Chiyo, Karen, and Sarah were with Tomoe, along with a number of the other girls, having a lively conversation. She thought it was lucky that the current club members got along so well. In her first year with the club, several of the third-year seniors did not get along and argued frequently. The club’s atmosphere lightened up after they graduated. When elected to be club captain last year by unanimous vote, she tried to make sure everyone was accepted.

  The girls walked back to their club room at the school, where they put away their gear and locked up any extra ammunition. They would take their rifles home in soft-sided carrying cases slung over their shoulders along with their school bags. While they carried their guns, they had to wear the GGA armbands. Ayako returned the club’s keys to the teacher’s faculty room as her last task. The girls then left school as a group. At the school gate, a number of them said goodbye, and the remaining nine decided to hang out for a while.

  “Are you serious?” Ayako asked Tomoe as they led the group down a sidewalk. “You’ve never been to MaxiBurger or the Golden Arches?”

  “No. My family never eats at any fast-food places. We have family chefs. But I’ve always wanted to try it. The commercials on TV make it look so good, and it looks fun.”

  “Wow,” Airi commented from behind. She was the peppiest of the first years in the club and almost too friendly and in-your-face with her behaviour. “That would fit with you being dropped off at the school in a limousine this morning.”

  “That’s so embarrassing,” Tomoe blushed. “My family is overly protective.”

  “Be nice,” Ayako gently cut in. “You’ve met her now and know she’s just like us. A richer us, I have to admit, but I’m glad to have her along.”

  “That’s right,” Chiyo added.

  “I didn’t mean anything,” Airi apologized, “it is just so unusual.”

  “I can understand that. No offence taken,” Tomoe added. “Watching you all shoot was so interesting today. I practice kenjutsu myself, so I know how much work you have put in.”

  “You use a katana, too?” Airi asked with wide eyes and a slightly excited squeal in her voice. You’re just amazing, and I need to know how you all met.”

  Fortunately, they had already made up a story about meeting at the shrine weeks ago when Ayako and Chiyo were on patrol. The walk to the touristy downtown part of Odewara, full of restaurants and gift shops, didn’t take more than 20 minutes, and the girls chatted like friends with Tomoe by the time they arrived at the MaxiBurger restaurant. Their group managed to snag a long table before ordering their food. They then made two big piles of fries in the middle of the table to share between them and sipped on their soft drinks. Tomoe happily laughed and joked with the girls. She had a very good time, but she kept part of her joy about fulfilling an ordinary dream like this to herself to avoid standing out.

  *****

  When the gathering broke up, Tomoe called for a pickup. Ayako and Chiyo stayed with her until the limousine arrived to pick her up before they headed home. Nagisa, her assistant and bodyguard, opened the door for her and gave a slow bow.

  “How was your first day of high school, Princess? I hope everything went well.”

  Tomoe and Nagisa sat together in the back of the limousine. Tomoe looked over at Nagisa and always thought that she looked so professional in her grey suit and short hair—almost too professional to be a companion and close friend.

  “You worry too much about me,” Tomoe mildly protested. “School went fine. I guess I was more nervous than I was expecting when I introduced myself to the class, but Ayako helped me get accepted. I managed to watch the GGA girls practice and then went to MaxiBurger with them afterwards. The girls are quite good at shooting, and it was fun to hang out with them.”

  “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. You’re lucky to be friends with Ayako. She seems to be a very level-headed and capable girl.”

  “She is. I can see why she is the captain of the GGA.”

  “I guess you would like to continue going to school then,” Nagisa added in a playful tone.

  “Of course! But being dropped off by limousine is too noticeable. I think the whole school thinks I’m some rich girl.”

  “It is part of your cover, princess.”

  “I know… but it’s so obvious.”

  “Hiding in plain sight is the best. An old ninja trick.”

  “I guess. I just wish I could be normal sometimes, just like the rest of the students.”

  “We are who we are. Experiencing this means you also know what you are fighting to protect.”

  “I know. My duty is important, and I accept that.”

  Nagisa looked Tomoe over. She did look like a normal high school student in her uniform. “You’ve carried a burden since birth, and it is part of you. I love you for being you, and I think your friends do too.”

  “Thanks, Nagisa.”

  Nagisa gently held her hand. “It will be fine. The chef is making your favourite meal tonight, too, so I hope you’re ready for a nice meal of seasonal vegetable tempura, grilled sweet fish, and barley rice.”

  “That would be nice. It will give me energy for practice tonight with Shusui.”

  The ride home passed quickly for both women, and dinner was delicious.

  *****